Graham Hardcastle's county roundup
Somerset are doing their bit to keep the Division One title race alive. Having made all the running over the first three days at Headingley, they are closing in on a sixth win to cut the gap to Surrey to 32 points.
Tom Abell’s side have it all to do to catch Surrey, whom they meet at Taunton in the penultimate round of fixtures. But they are still fighting, epitomised by their captain, whose superb unbeaten 132 help set a 419 target late on day three before seeing Lewis Gregory strike twice.
Surrey wrapped up their eighth win in 10 matches during the third afternoon against Nottinghamshire at the Oval, their sixth successive triumph, including five by an innings. Their seamers blew the visitors away twice for less than 150.
Tom Curran starred with five wickets in the first innings before Conor McKerr added four in the second. Morne Morkel also struck three times in the second and has 38 wickets at 13.84 this summer.
Having gained a first-innings lead of 79 during the early stages of day three, with the Scottish seamer Josh Davey completing a maiden five-wicket haul as Yorkshire fell from 292 for seven to 320, Somerset had to battle hard at the start of their second innings on a challenging pitch, recovering from 29 for three.
Abell stroked his first hundred of the campaign. He was superbly backed up by James Hildreth’s 72, the pair sharing 135 for the fourth wicket, and the in-form Lewis Gregory, who crashed 57 off 41 in the search for quick runs after tea. Gregory removed the openers Harry Brook and Adam Lyth in the nine overs before close (eight for two).
If Yorkshire go on to lose, they will go into their final four games in the bottom two. Lancashire have jumped above them courtesy of their second win of the campaign, against Worcestershire. Chasing 314, they slipped to 178 for six before the stand-in captain Dane Vilas hit a brilliant unbeaten 107 and shared 139 with Josh Bohannon (78 not out).
In Division Two, the leaders Warwickshire took a giant step towards promotion with an innings win over Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay, while Middlesex invigorated their late promotion charge by defending 231 to beat Sussex at Lord’s. They are 23 points behind second-placed Sussex with four to play.
Meanwhile, the Yorkshire target Ben Duckett has signed for Notts on a three-year contract and could make his debut against them at Trent Bridge next week having joined on loan for the rest of the season.
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Lancashire have won by four wickets, and they are out of the relegation zone for the time being. Their second win of the season owes much to Dane Vilas’s brilliant 107 not out and Josh Bohannon’s unbeaten 78. In pursuit of 314, they advanced from 178-6. Here, Somerset have made their declaration. Tom Abell has posted his first century of the season, however. Somerset lead by 418 runs. Lewis Gregory hit Matthew Fisher for six over cover to reach a 35-ball fifty.
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Lancashire are within 68 of victory against Worcestershire at Southport. They are 246-6 having been 68-4 early in the chase. Stand-in captain Dane Vilas is 78 not out and has shared 68 for the seventh wicket with youngster Josh Bohannon, who played a season of Liverpool Competition cricket at Southport a few years back. He has 39. Here, Somerset are 213-5, leading by 292. Lewis Gregory has come in and whacked 19 off 10 balls, including a huge straight six off Jack Leaning, following the departure of Steve Davies in the first over after tea.
Middlesex have beaten Sussex by 55 runs at Lord’s to throw the title race wide open again. Middlesex have a chance after that really slow start to the campaign.
We are now waiting for the declaration here at Headingley. Somerset 163-3 with a lead of 242. James Hildreth on 71 and Tom Abell 51 have shared 134 for the fourth wicket. How many will the visitors want? I don’t think they need any more than 350.
Interesting signing news affecting Yorkshire...Northamptonshire’s Ben Duckett has signed for Notts on a three-year deal, starting with a loan move until the end of the season. He turned down Yorkshire to move to Trent Bridge and could debut against them next week.
Sussex are on the ropes at Lord’s, 114-8 chasing 231. Fledgling seamer Ethan Bamber, a winter star with the England under 19s, has taken three of them for Middlesex, added to by two apiece James Harris and James Fuller. The promotion race really is hotting up in Division Two.
I hear whispers that Matt Proctor is going out in style at Southport, announcing Ed Barnard as Ed Barnyard. A rare slip of the tongue. Lancashire are 111-4 in pursuit of 314 to beat Worcestershire.
Meanwhile, Surrey have won by an innings against Notts at the Oval, their sixth win in a row, including five by an innings. They are now 48 points clear, meaning Somerset simply have to win. 16 points would cut that to 32. They are 89-3 second time around against Yorkshire, leading by 168.
Tom Abell and James Hildreth are in the early stages of a ship steadying mission for Somerset, who slipped to 29-3 before lunch and have now reached 69-3, leading by 148. Yorkshire need another three quick wickets to get themselves back onto an even footing you feel. I would fancy their chances of chasing 300 tomorrow.
Tom Abell and James Hildreth are in the early stages of a ship steadying mission for Somerset, who slipped to 29-3 before lunch and have now reached 69-3, leading by 148. Yorkshire need another three quick wickets to get themselves back onto an even footing you feel. I would fancy their chances of chasing 300 tomorrow.
Surrey are closing in on victory over Notts at the Oval, where the visitors are 148-8 in their second innings and trailing by 126. That would pile the pressure on Somerset, who simply have to win the game here at Headingley (41-3, leading by 120 at lunch). Morne Morkel and Conor McKerr have taken three second-innings wickets apiece for Surrey.
At the bottom of Division One, Lancashire are heading towards another defeat, against Worcester, at Southport, and that would put a massive nail in their coffin. Chasing 314, they have reached lunch at 96-4. A huge task awaits Steven Croft and Dane Vilas after lunch. At Chelmsford, wickets for Sam Cook, Simon Harmer and Peter Siddle have reduced Hampshire to 44-3 at lunch in reply to 435 all out.
In Division Two, it looks like being one heck of a finish at Lord’s, where Sussex are 41-2 chasing 231 to beat Middlesex in a hugely significant promotion battle. Gloucestershire - 261-2 and leading by 352 thanks to Chris Dent’s unbeaten 118 - are firmly on course for victory over Leicestershire at Bristol. At Colwyn Bay, Glamorgan, trailing by 300 on first innings against Warwickshire, are 41-1 second time around, while Derbyshire and Kent are playing out a high-scoring affair at Derby. The hosts are 308-4 in reply to 561.
Somerset are three down. They have lost Ed Byrom, Azhar Ali and Marcus Trescothick, the latter two in successive overs to Matthew Fisher and David Willey. Approaching lunch, the visitors are 37-3, leading by 116.
A rearguard half-century for Notts’ new overseas signing Kraigg Brathwaite at the Oval, where Surrey are charging towards another innings victory. Notts have lost three wickets this morning - Morne Morkel with two of them - and are currently 122-5, trailing by 152. Brathwaite is 60 not out.
Two quick wickets at Southport for Ed Barnard have put Lancashire under the pump. He had Haseeb Hameed and Rob Jones caught behind within the space of three balls in the 16th over, leaving the score at 47-3. It’s now 52-3 with Alex Davies and Steven Croft at the crease pursuing that 314 target. Some good news for Lancashire, however, in that Liam Livingstone looks set to be fit for Finals Day next month - possibly even beforehand - after his broken thumb. He is touting himself around for some league cricket this weekend. Somerset 8-1 having lost Ed Byrom, bowled by David Willey. The lead is 87.
Yorkshire are all out for 320, with Josh Davey finishing with a career best 5-65 as Somerset take a first-innings lead of 79. Warwickshire’s first innings has ended on 503 at Colwyn Bay, a lead of 300 over Glamorgan, who have just started their second innings. Middlesex are now 232-9 against Sussex at Lord’s, leading by 230. Oliver Robinson and Jofra Archer have four wickets apiece.
Lancashire are 15-1 after the early run out of nightwatchman Toby Lester. Middlesex have also lost a couple of wickets against Sussex at Lord’s, including Dawid Malan for 70, caught behind off Oliver Robinson. It is quite ironic that Robinson is now producing the goods for Jason Gillespie, the man who sacked him at Yorkshire a few years back for things such as shoddy time keeping and turning at the wrong ground for a second-team game.
Yorkshire are 304-9, with Josh Davey taking both wickets to fall this morning, including Andrew Hodd caught at slip for 85. Davey’s 5-59 represents a career best.
A bit of early news from Southport, and it comes off the field. Lancashire have tweeted that their popular PA announcer Matt Proctor, a man who also worked over the road at the other Old Trafford in the winters on MUFC radio and was close to Sir Alex Ferguson, is retiring after 27 seasons in the job. Today is Lancashire’s last home day of cricket this season.
Here at Headingley, David Willey edges Josh Davey to first slip. Yorkshire 296-8.
Preamble
Good morning from a sunny Headingley. We have transported the blog over the M62 - not the most pleasant experience at 8am on a Friday morning I can tell you - to pick up the last two days of relegation-threatened Yorkshire against title-chasing Somerset.
We will of course be keeping one eye on the conclusion of Lancashire and Worcestershire at Southport, where the hosts are pursuing an unlikely 314 and reached close last night on 8-0 with nightwatchman Toby Lester at the crease. These are two of the four games ongoing in Division One, with Surrey on course for another victory at the Oval given Notts, following on in reply to 375, are 83-2 second time around and still 191 in arrears. While Sam Curran was trying to drag England back into the Test at the Ageas Bowl with the bat, older brother Tom was excelling with the ball for Surrey - five wickets in the first innings.
If, as expected, they wrap up victory, that makes it imperative that Somerset win here. They hold the advantage, leading by 107 with Yorkshire 292-7 in their first innings. But it could have been far rosier for them given the hosts were 119-5 midway through the second afternoon before Tom Kohler-Cadmore and retiring wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd shared 173. Hodd will begin day three on 84 having come back into the side at the eleventh hour following a back spasm for Jonny Tattersall on Tuesday. Having not expected to play again, he now looks good for a run of games until the end of the season, if only as a batsman.
At Chelmsford, Essex closed day two on 363-6 against Hampshire thanks to a Dan Lawrence century. Wednesday’s first day was wiped out by rain.In Division Two, we are already a game light after Northants beat Durham by seven wickets yesterday, so just the four to keep up to date with today.
Leaders Warwickshire are dominating at Colwyn Bay, where they are 445-8 in their first-innings reply to Glamorgan’s 203 all out. A double century and 20,000 career first-class runs for Ian Bell yesterday. ‘Get him in, Ed’, I hear you cry! Gloucestershire are in a similar position of strength over Leicestershire at Bristol - 152-1 in their second innings and leading by 243.
At Lord’s, Middlesex look like they have a good chance of putting a spanner in the works of Sussex’s promotion bid whilst breathing life into their late dash for the line. They are 210-5 in their second innings thanks to a Dawid Malan unbeaten half-century, leading by 208. At Derby, a high-scoring draw is on the cards between Derbyshire (210-2) and Kent (561).
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