Amy Lofthouse writes from Yorkshire v Hampshire
Martyn Moxon confirmed during the tea break that Yorkshire have received no official approach about Jason Gillespie. If he were to become involved in the England set-up then he has had a good, long look at Carberry today. It’s been a fine innings from Carberry, who has dealt with the returning Brooks and Bresnan well. He drives gloriously through the covers. Smith, at the opposite end, thrashed Rashid back over his head for six.
It’s curious with Rashid; he bowls two or three bad balls an over but there were a few times, particularly before tea, when he had Smith on the ropes. Smith tried to cut him twice and only narrowly avoided edging to Bairstow. There was also a particularly loud LBW shout against him turned down, again off Rashid. Carberry though is well set - 88 and still going.
Richard Rae offers a few more thoughts on Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen’s timing has usually been impressive, in terms both of his individual shot-making and when he makes big scores, and such is again the case here at The Oval. On and on he goes, taking full advantage of being shelled three times, by Jigar Naik, a tough caught and bowled opportunity when Pietersen was on 96, just before lunch, by Mark Cosgrove, a fairly straightforward chance at first slip off the bowling of a distraught Ben Raine when he was on 1110, and 20 minutes before tea by Lewis Hill, who running back from mid-on was unable to cling on a steepler when Pietersen had reached 165. It didn’t help Hill’s cause that Ben Raine was nearby, sufficiently so for the two to look at each other before Hill took responsibility.
In going to 177, then, Pietersen has steered Surrey well past Leicestershire’s first innings score of 292, with power to add, and Surrey will be keen for him to do so, because at 54, the lead is far from decisive. One suspects, however, that the context of this game will not be considered of the first importance when the subject of Pietersen’s innings is raised by the media when they decamp to Lord’s for Andrew Strauss’s first press conference as England’s new director of cricket tomorrow.
Amy Lofthouse reports from Headingley
Jack Brooks will be going into tea a lot happier than he was at lunch time. Yorkshire have made some good inroads this session, particularly when it looked as though Carberry and Dawson were set for the rest of the day. Carberry brought up his half-century with a cover drive off Brooks, before sweeping and pulling Rashid who bowled far too short. Acting Hampshire captain James Vince pulled Brooks for a boundary but was pinned lbw the next ball.
Will Smith then fell for a first-ball duck, trying to withdraw his bat to a decent length delivery but the ball rose to take his glove and fly to Lyth at second slip. Sean Ervine defended the hat-trick ball, but Brooks recieved a warm ovation from the Headingley crowd as he reached 250 first-class wickets. It’ll be an interesting session this afternoon, not least as Carberry makes his way towards a century.
Gary Lineker reports (sort of) from Surrey v Leicestershire
I see @KP24 has scored 150+ just before Andrew Strauss starts work. Only a c**t would do that.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 11, 2015
Amy Lofthouse erports from Yorkshire v Hampshire
A fairly sedate afternoon at Headingley so far, but with a few interesting battles. Carberry v Bresnan has been the highlight. Bresnan has got a few deliveries to lift - which, ironically, implies Liam Plunkett would have been a handful on this pitch - and Carberry has played some stunning shots. He’s particularly strong cutting through the off-side. Adil Rashid has also had a bowl but he’s been slightly too short; Carberry whipped him through mid-wicket to bring up 12,000 first-class runs.
Nice moment for young Will Rhodes though, who induced an edge from Liam Dawson that flew to Leaning at first slip. The pace bowlers might have been slightly too full but Carberry’s willingness to play his shots has been a pleasure to watch. Watching him against Rashid has been an interesting battle’ Carberry, the England of old against Rashid, the potential for the future.
Richard Rae reports on Kevin Pietersen’s century
Another fascinating session at an absorbed Oval has seen the Leicestershire bowlers make Kevin Pietersen work hard for the century he appeared absolutely set upon from the moment he came to the crease late yesterday afternoon. But the point is, he has - and the manner in which he leaped and punched the air on completing the third run he needed, in the over before lunch, was an indication of how much store he set by it.
Leicestershire seamers Clint McKay, Ben Raine and Charlie Shreck gave him very little to hit all morning, and they also reduced their pace a little, forcing Pietersen to “work” the ball. Kumar Sangakkara went early, caught at second slip off McKay, and Raine, who bowled unchanged for the first hour of the day, snaffled Steve Davies in the same way, before Jason Roy, having hit Charlie Shreck for two exquisitely timed legside boundaries earlier in the over, got over-confident and edged an expansive drive at a wide delivery to be caught behind. Loss of wickets, as well as good bowling then, were a restraining factor, but a lofted six off the bowling of off-spinner Jigar Naik took Pietersen well into the 90s before a little dab behind square off McKay enabled him to reach three figures. The only semblance of a chance has been a possible caught and bowled by Naik, when Pietersen used his feet to make a delivery into a full toss, but drove it hard and low straight back at the bowler, who looked to have got his fingers under the ball on the full, but couldn’t hang on.
Pietersen will be determined to go really big this afternoon, and if he continues to show restraint on an essentially good track, he should do exactly that.
Kevin Pietersen has scored a century
A late cut for three has brought Kevin Pietersen his century at the Oval, his 100 coming up in 153 balls and featuring 12 fours and a couple of sixes. His leap into the air and big fist pump to follow suggest a certain amount of relief at reaching the milestone. That’s his 50th first class ton and his since August 2013, though of course there was the non-first class one against Oxford’s students earlier this season.
Amy Lofthouse reports from Yorkshire v Hampshire
Possibly the most intimidating thing about a Yorkshire crowd is the utter silence with which they greet any dropped catch. The silence is even more frightening than the barracking. It’s like when a parent tells you they’re not angry with you - they’re just disappointed. Horrible.
It’s lunch at Headingley and I wouldn’t want to be sat near Jack Brooks, who is not a happy bunny. He’s had Liam Dawson put down twice in the slips, two reasonable chances you’d expect them to take. Leaning dropped the first chance, a sharp chance as he dove to his left, while Adam Lyth was unable to cling on to a regulation, albeit high, delivery at third slip in the next over. He’s also just missed a run-out, again of Dawson, which has done nothing to improve his mood.
Bresnan meanwhile has a wicket, trapping Sean Terry lbw for a duck. Yorkshire were all about for 370 in roughly under an hour’s play, with Brooks the last man to go, bounced out by Fidel Edwards. Hampshire in reply are 21-1, with Dawson on his fourth life and Carberry looking good. Yorkshier going well with the ball though - plenty of plays and misses sets up an intriguing afternoon session.
Richard Rae reports from Surrey v Leicestershire
London can be an expensive place in which to be entertained, but county cricket stood favourable comparison with anything the capital had to offer yesterday.
A frenetic day’s cricket at the Oval saw Leicestershire bowled out for 292 in two sessions, during which an amiable young man who had been planning to do some coaching for Lutterworth Town CC that day scored his maiden first class century in only his third first class innings, and ended with the Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara playing through the final hour with a deliberation which must have made the hearts of the Leicestershire bowlers quail. And it was free to get in after 4pm - so in lovely late afternoon sunshine, you could wander in to one of the finest cricket stadiums in the world, and watch two of the finest batsmen in the world taking on some pretty good bowling - Clint McKay gave it everything, and both the young Leicestershire all-rounders Ben Raine and Rob Taylor bowled some cracking deliveries in excellent spells - on a good track.
Pietersen in particular looked set on making a statement, restraining himself with an ominous calm, though occasionally unveiling a shot that made the pavilion roar - flicking, rather than hitting, the off-spinner Jigar Naik over long-off for six was to be reminded that beneath all the hype, this chap KP really is a special talent.
And how good it was to see that his first action after the final ball was to turn to Lewis Hill and offer the Leicestershire player his hand. Play at Lutterworth ceased as Hill approached his century, and I’m told the cheer that went up when he achieved the landmark echoed around the East Midlands for some time. Drafted in as a makeshift opener when Matt Boyce failed to recover from injury, the wicketkeeper batsman played with a refreshing joie de vivre, going for his shots and almost always finding the middle of the bat. His previous claim to fame, incidentally, is being held up twice while working at a newsagents as a youngster - and not in the sense of being stuck in a queue. The first time he was threatened with a hammer, the second with a knife, apparently. McKay, sitting on the step outside the Leicestershire changing room when I spoke to Hill after play, shook his head in amazement. “Won’t be buying my papers there,” he grinned.
In the circumstances, then, it’s not surprising that Hill’s nerves stood up to the occasion, but Hill’s heroics notwithstanding, Leicestershire know that they needed to score at least another 100 runs in their first innings, and that unless they can get rid of the big two quickly, they’re going to be looking at a substantial, perhaps irretrievable, first innings deficit. As any fule kno, the Foxes have not won any of their last 35 county championship matches: they’re going to have to go some to end that run here.
Updated
As anticipated New Zealand registered their first victory of the tour before lunch at Taunton, but the margin was rather smaller than anticipated – 66 runs.
This was due to a wonderful century from James Hildreth, who made 115 from 135 balls. Hildreth is the man with his finger perpetually in the dyke when Somerset are batting this year.
He had some support from Craig Overton and there was cheerful belligerence from Tim Groenewald at the end. He cracked 47 from 37 balls, including five sixes, taking sixteen from one over from Ben Wheeler, who had caused Somerset’s upper order some embarrassment earlier in the game.
For the Kiwis Mark Craig, bowling off-breaks, ensured that the late-order fireworks would not prevail. He took three of the four wickets required, including the vital one of Hildreth. Craig finished with 5-34.
So the Kiwis can head off to Worcester, where on Thursday they start their final preparations for the Lord’s Test, in good spirits.
Some lunchtime reading from Gary Naylor:
Amy Lofthouse sends her first report of the day from Headingley
The 21-year-old (21! Always sobering) Jack Leaning has fallen at Headingley. He added just five runs in 40 minutes this morning. He looked frustrated to me - one lovely leg-side clip aside, he’s barely had the chance to play a shot. James Tomlinson, who has bowled extremely well this morning, pinned him on the crease and the youngster was forced to trudge off for 82.
Tim Bresnan also fell early this morning, attempting a lavish drive at a good Tomlinson delivery that flew to gully, who took a fine diving catch to his right. There’s been a run-out appeal, where the ball ricocheted off the stumps to go for a boundary, plenty of plays and misses and some tight bowling from Hampshire. I suspect they’ll be frustrated with the way things went yesterday. They let the last hour or so of each session slip away from them. Tomlinson is particular has bowled with purpose and they’ve tied Yorkshire down with just 26 runs added.
Somerset have not done much to dent the confidence of the Kiwis. To complete a satisfying victory the tourists need just four wickets this morning, while Somerset require 202 runs. James Hildreth is still there and he is the solitary player in the side to be in good form at the moment. He needs a hand.
For the New Zealanders there may be mild concern about Ross Taylor, a senior citizen now, who failed to contribute much with the bat in this match. It seems odd that he is not at the IPL with some of his colleagues. He was once so coveted in T20 cricket. But he bats more sedately now. Even during the World Cup he tended to eke out his runs while the rest were thrashing away with gusto.
Last night we caught a glimpse of New Zealand’s spin department, namely Mark Craig. He is a bouncy off-spinner from Otago; his career record is exceedingly modest but in his first Test match in the Caribbean he took eight wickets and was man of the match. Who knows whether he’ll have much scope to bowl in the remainder of this game? The Somerset loyalists hope so.
Elsewhere I see a news story that Andrew Strauss has the freedom to appoint England’s next coach – it won’t be up to Colin Graves. Well, I should damn well hope so too. Probably Strauss’s most important task is to make the right coaching appointment. He’ll require sound judgment for that as well as a persuasive tongue. Do not assume that any name he plucks out will automatically agree to take on the job. It does not work like that anymore. And the trials of Peter Moores may add to any candidate’s eagerness for the job.
I forget this is supposed to be an oasis free of international cricket. So what do we know of Matthew Critchley, who cracked a hundred yesterday for Derbyshire batting at eight – other than he’s 18, was born in Preston and bowls some leg-breaks? Sounds interesting…
Morning all,
Today we have Vic Marks at Somerset v New Zealand, Richard Rae at Surrey v Leicestershire and Amy Lofthouse at Yorkshire v Hampshire.
Here are the reports from yesterday:
Somerset v New Zealand
New Zealanders’ Mitchell Santner puts the skids under Somerset
All was tranquillity at the County Ground. No ECB presence was discernible to spy on the visiting Kiwi players (the main ones are still at the IPL). And there is no one down here who is likely to be on the shortlist to help shunt England towards a brave new world. No one was sacked. But there has been some diverting cricket, which will have been a source of satisfaction for the tourists. Their one regret may be that Somerset’s batting has been so fragile that it has not allowed their bowlers enough of a workout.
Surrey v Leicestershire
Leicestershire’s Lewis Hill hits ton after late call-up against Surrey
Having played the final ball of the day back up the pitch to Jigar Naik in careful, almost exaggerated, defence, Kevin Pietersen turned, took off his batting gloves and offered his hand to Lewis Hill, fielding at short leg. It was a nice gesture from Pietersen and one the bashfully smiling Hill clearly appreciated. In only his third first-class innings Hill had played with splendid positivity in scoring 126 from 147 balls, hitting 18 fours and two sixes, after the Leicestershire captain, Mark Cosgrove, had won the toss and chosen to bat first on a pretty flat Oval track.
Yorkshire v Hampshire
Yorkshire take control after Jonny Bairstow hits 102
Yorkshire were under the spotlight both on and off the field as they began their four-day game against Hampshire. Adam Lyth let his bat do the talking as he made a half-century to strengthen his Test match credentials, while Jonny Bairstow sent a reminder to England with a fine century. By contrast Yorkshire’s coach, Jason Gillespie, remained silent on speculation that he will take over as England’s head coach. Gillespie may be keeping mum on the England position but he made his hardline attitude to discipline known when he refused to consider the Test bowler Liam Plunkett for this game.
Enjoy the cricket.
