Richard Gibson at Trent Bridge:
Second new ball was taken at 255-7. This has been a terrific stand between Malan and Harris, and is now worth 100. Floodlights are on and rain is threatening to intervene. Malan into the 140s with consecutive boundaries off Luke Wood.
Richard Gibson at Trent Bridge:
Dawid Malan has endured a season punctuated by injury problems. However, he has shown his class in only his third appearance by taking advantage of a pre-lunch life to hit a hundred. Having broken a bone in his hand against Notts in the corresponding fixture back in April, he returned for the defeat at Yorkshire only to tweak a groin. Fully fit once more he has played a different game to his colleagues here and brought up his hundred from 143 balls. James Harris is the second top scorer in the Middlesex innings, unbeaten on 25, and is alongside Malan (102 not out) in a score of 205-7 at tea.
Richard Rae at Grace Road:
Having bowled rather too many loose balls before lunch, which Leicestershire, having been put in on a very green track, took on 109-4, Kent bowled with a lot more accuracy after the break, and picked up the last six Foxes’ wickets for just 50 runs. Matt Coles took three of them, ending with 6-55 (not quite a career-best), but given he also took two catches, he’ll surely be happy enough, not least because it means he now has 48 wickets for the season.
Leicestershire will be less happy. A number of their batsmen played a substantial part in their own downfall, by dint of throwing the bat at widish deliveries, and edging or even hitting the ball straight to the catcher. To add to their woes, a sudden shower has arrived, meaning the bowlers will have to wait before seeing what they can get out of the track. Pitch liaison officer Tony Pigott is here, and may well be in action.
Richard Gibson at Trent Bridge:
There was a rather strange demand made in the Nottinghamshire offices this morning – a member walked in and requested to view the run out of James Taylor in the win over Worcestershire this week. To refresh your memory it involved Alex Hales, as a runner, and Samit Patel. Not sure whether the club’s analysis camera would have had Hales in shot but I don’t think that was the reason that the said individual was politely declined.
They will be asking for footage of dropped catches and wickets taken from no-balls next and that really wouldn’t do. Particularly as Notts have put down three chances this morning, including Samit Patel flooring Dawid Malan low down at point off Brett Hutton, in the final over before lunch. Middlesex’s England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan was then taken comfortably at second slip only for Harry Gurney to have overstepped.
Yet for the second time in the innings a batsman failed to make the most of an escape with Morgan fatally following an out swinger from the highly-impressive Luke Wood. With Gurney then backing up with the quick dismissals of Middlesex captain James Franklin and John Simpson, Nottinghamshire are on top. Middlesex 141-6.
Richard Rae at Grace Road:
A pitch almost as green as the outfield suggested winning the toss could be pivotal, and Kent’s Sam Northeast saw his seamers pick up four Leicestershire wickets after he called correctly and opted to bowl first.
Three of those wickets fell to Matt Coles, and first to be dismissed was Matt Boyce, who pushed hard at a rising delivery and was well held by Adam Ball at second slip, the ball flying quickly and at chest height.
Angus Robson and Ned Eckersley added 58 for the second wicket before Robson drove a little loosely at Coles and thin-edged a catch to wicketkeeper Sam Billings, before Greg Smith, returning to his former county on a month’s loan from Nottinghamshire, went forward to his first delivery and edged a comfortable catch off Calum Haggett to Coles at second slip.
When Coles, now operating from the Pavilion End, then bowled Eckersley with a well pitched up delivery for 41, the Foxes had lost three wickets for jusy seven runs, but they were seen through to lunch by Andrea Agathangelou and Aadil Ali, the latter a 20-year-old academy graduate making his first-class debut for the county.
Ali had been presented with his cap beforehand by Jonathan Agnew, the former Leicester and England bowler, now of course BBC cricket correspondent. Aggers made a rather splendid little speech as he did so, gently reminding all the players how lucky they are. And on a beautiful day here at Grace Road, one couldn’t but agree.
Richard Gibson checks in from Trent Bridge:
Peter Moores’ coaching consultancy period at Nottinghamshire began with a Twenty20 defeat to Worcestershire on Friday but this is the business he has really been recruited for: to save the club from relegation in the County Championship.
Injuries and fatigue mean several changes from the team that defeated Worcestershire to move 13 points clear of the Division One drop zone earlier this week with crocks Luke Fletcher, Andy Carter and James Taylor missing and Australian import Ben Hilfenhaus not deemed in rude enough health to back up 41 overs in that match with another fill here.
However, Brett Hutton does remain of the attack that got them over the line in that survival duel and he has just taken the third wicket of the opening morning against Middlesex – failing to allow Brendan Taylor’s dropped catch at third slip play on his mind by following up to take Nick Compton’s edge for the second time in as many deliveries. Earlier, Luke Wood produced a pearler to swing one back through Joe Burns’ defence and Sam Robson was sent back lbw by Jake Ball.
Middlesex, beaten only once in the first half of the season, are 68-3 with Eoin Morgan, in only his third Championship appearance of the season, dropped by Taylor on nought.
Richard Gibson will have all the news from Trent Bridge, where Nottinghamshire are taking on Middlesex, while Richard Rae is at Grace Road for Leicestershire v Kent. Before the first update from around the grounds, why not take a look at Ali Martin’s chat with Steve Smith:
“I don’t feel like there’s any extra pressure at all,” says Steve Smith, who knows the bounty placed on his head this Ashes series could not be higher. The Australia No3, once the butt of English jokes, heads into Wednesday’s first Test sitting at the top of the world rankings and the most talked about batsman on either side.
“My game’s developed a lot over the last couple of years,” he says, in his softly spoken manner. “That’s happened through a lot of hard work. I’m very hard on myself. The rankings don’t bother me too much as long as I’m scoring runs and we’re winning games.”
Developed is something of an understatement with the right-hander having enjoyed an almost rocket-fuelled ascent into the batting stratosphere in the past 18 months. Originally plonked down at No8 as a leg-spinning all-rounder on his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, Smith will walk out to bat in Cardiff after Australia’s first opener is removed as the man who must not be allowed to bed in.
Smith is the most deceptive of players. His looks, even at 26, remain that of a schoolboy, his second middle name, Devereux, attracts sniggers on social media and the reason given for his selection during the 2010-11 Ashes – his captain, Ricky Ponting, hoped he could lighten the mood of a downbeat dressing room – has been eternally referenced. The joke is now on world cricket, with 1,617 runs in his last 23 innings at an average of 89.83 kickstarting a fresh search for any weaknesses.
