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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Macpherson at the Oval

County cricket – as it happened

Nottinghamshire’s Luke Fletcher is bowled by Rikki Clarke of Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.
Nottinghamshire’s Luke Fletcher is bowled by Rikki Clarke of Warwickshire at Trent Bridge. Photograph: Robert Rathbone/Rex/Shutterstock

So, another day done as Patterson and Brooks share an unbeaten 69 for the final Yorkie wicket. They are still 256 behind.

You all need to pray for no rain tonight. We could actually have a situation where we get some results. Maybe.

Speak tomorrow folks.

Scenes at Trent Bridge, I see!

The end of an uneventful day’s cricket at the Oval, as Surrey close 98-0, 55 behind. Great work from Harinath and Burns.

BADGER BORTHWICK!!

Here, Rory Burns reaches a thrilling 50. I’m joking, obviously, but he and Harinath are played really very well.

This sounds fun!

Can Somerset? Can they?

Slow going here, guys. All the kids have gone too so the rather frenzied atmosphere has died own. Really good stuff from the Surrey openers under stern examination from a fine attack; runs are hard to come by and the wicket is doing a bit. Voges has just brought himself on in place of King Rayner.

Today’s play - across the land, not just here - has hardly been the greatest advert for the follow-on, has it? Essex and Middlesex can’t get the first wicket, while Sussex are going well fighting back against Worcestershire. But...

In the absence of any terribly interesting cricket to tell you about, Wahab Riaz is here!

Big fan of Olly Stone’s work, and I’m a big fan of this. Shame, however, that Stone’s dismissal left Monty marooned 183 runs short of a maiden first-class double-ton.

This, by the way, is a great snap.

Updated

The remaining children - a gaggle of 20 or so in the corner of the OCS Stand - are chanting “We love you Burns, we do” etc. They just get county cricket.

Here are some highlights of Ben Foakes’ exhilarating unbeaten 59 earlier

Tea at the Oval. I obviously hadn’t been paying much attention because it’s caught me off guard. Anyway, gritty cricket this. Surrey are 36-0, and Rayner is his bouncy-turny thing on a wicket that is offering him plenty. Burns and Harinath are sensibly getting their hands and bats out the way at every opportunity, because as well as Rayner is bowling, he’s still hardly Murali on the fifth day in Galle. More of the same required from Surrey.

There is still the screechy hubbub of children here, but many have gone, it seems. At least the OCS Stand is far less populated than it was earlier. Really was a great initiative by Surrey. Saw lots of kids shadow bowling at lunch, which was lovely.

That test match looks fun

More weather in Taunton. Shame. By the way, Rayner’s first ball stayed mighty low...

Rayner is back. Batsmen of Surrey beware.

Steady start from Surrey. Murtagh and RoJo have Burns and Harinath groping a bit, but the batsmen have far greater control than yesterday. Both have been firm in defence and have played a nice straight drive each, while Burns has looked great through the covers. Promising early signs.

News to warm the hearts of all Glosters:

They are back on at Taunton. Sadly think it’s going to be rainwatch tomorrow.

A kid in the sightscreen just briefly held up play at the Oval! One of the many - 5,000-odd - children here has run under the tarpaulin and TRJ just had to wait a minute or two for him to get out before bowling to Harinath.

So Rayner now has 32 career wickets at 16.7 against Surrey including 25 at 14.6 at the Oval...

Six for Rayner! Ollie Rayner! The German Warne!

Surrey are all out for 242 - 153 behind - as Rayner gets Rampaul leg before for 0 and Middlesex have.... enforced the follow-on. Makes sense as they say there is weather about. They are not being cute about it, they are just ploughing on.

Surely Middlesex have to offer Rayner a new deal now?

Things I like to hear

Two quick wickets leave this game intriguingly poised. Gareth Batty - moments after creaming Rayner through the covers - was given leg before pulling, and now the same bowler has dismissed Matthew Pillans - who gave it a bit of humpty for a few minutes - caught at deep midwicket. Big celebrations followed, for this was Rayner’s five-fer. What a guy.

Rory Burns is out as Ravi Rampaul’s runner, and Surrey are five short of the follow-on mark.

Edgbaston breathes easy once more...

The Spin, as ever, makes for interesting reading.

Foakes reaches his 50. It’s all rather slow here, and Foakes is the main reason why - it’s a very admirable innings in the circumstances: he has scored just one boundary and took 207 balls to reach the milestone. Follow-on looking increasingly unlikely.

Impressive from Essex, by the way, with their two main bowlers - or at least the ones who’ve taken the bulk of the wickets this year - seemingly not firing.

Oh, that’s lovely.

Well, that was an odd session. Surrey have done brilliantly to deadbat, and they go to lunch 46 shy of the follow-on mark, and with a batting point picked up on the final ball of the session. I don’t reckon Middlesex will enforce the follow-on as the pitch is doing a bit - there’s certainly turn for Rayner - but they will be frustrated as Batty and Foakes have really dug in and knocked it about carefully against the new ball. Middlesex haven’t bowled as well as yesterday.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the session was when Surrey reached 200 and 1000 adults, followed by 5000 schoolkids, went absolutely nuts. They had no idea what they were cheering for or why, but my word were they going to cheer. Paul Stirling has never signed more autographs than he has today, a d I think they are just about to be released onto the outfield. Scenes.

Loads of good things happening at the Oval today, but nothing tops this. Vauxhall City Farm have decamped!

There are 5,979 people at the Oval! All but about 1,000 of them are under the age of 13 and they are making one hell of a din. There’s loads of competitions happening at lunch time - high catching comps, coaching sessions and stuff like that. Great scenes.

They are currently watching RoJo and Murtagh plug away with the new ball without much success. It’s, err, attritional.

Well done that man...

Updated

New ball has been taken (Surrey were rattling along at 1.975 an over with the old one), and Batty fires RoJo’s second delivery with it through the covers for a rapturously received four. That’s just the third boundary off RoJo this innings. He was pure class yesterday.

I’ve just discovered that there’s an end at New Road called New Road End. What a ground, but that is hardly bursting with imagination is it?

Foakes batting well within himself here, and working hard. He’s probably never had his runs cheered quite like this. Rayner’s back on but I’m a bit confused as to why we are yet to see my man TRJ. Franklin trucking away at the Vauxhall End.

Looking round the grounds, I notice Cameron Boy Wonder Bancroft has actually scored some runs and that Sussex continue to flatter to deceive. Ravi doing work with the ball is cracking, too.

And, sorry, what?! Down with this sort of thing.

Updated

Joe Root won loads of awards last night. Dan Lawrence’s wrists also won some, as did Charlotte Edwards.

James Harris into the attack to replace Rayner. His first ball is eased off the back foot by Foakes to the short boundary in front of the OCS, where the many thousand children are sat. They react like they are, as a couple of people have already said, at a One Bleeding Direction concert. I can’t tell what they are chanting, but I’m loving it. Little do they know that that was Foakes’ first boundary. 109 balls it took him.

Anyway, by the end of the over, Curran is gone, a thin edge on a cut flying through to Simpson, who took a catch low down. Required both umpires to confirm, but it’s out. Surrey still a long way off avoiding the follow-on.

And here’s what’s going on at t’Oval

It’s happening at Lord’s too!

By the way, if you’re not too clued up on where Sri Lanka are ahead of the Test series, this is a pretty good primer from a Guardian contributor who really knows his stuff.

Ollie Rayner and Tim Murtagh have opened up for Middlesex, to rapturous gaggles of noise from the OCS Stand. It’s just great.

Lonely cricket song! Thanks Liam.

Updated

Selve and I did reports of games of cricket yesterday. Read them please. Thanks.

Here’s mine of Middlesex schooling Surrey:

And here’s Selve on Joe Denly making runs:

Updated

Well a very, very good morning to you all. Doesn’t happen that often, but I’m genuinely very excited about today’s play at the Oval. These are two teams I admire and like for different reasons - and that perhaps confound London-county-cricket stereotypes. Yesterday was Division One at its absolute best; Roland-Jones was spectacular with bat and ball, and Surrey were taught some harsh lessons.

Today is a bit different, though. There are 4,600 (four-thousand-six-hundred) schoolkids coming to learn about this great game, which is just swell. I’d guess that perhaps one-tenth of them are here already, and they have all been handed those batons things to bang together, and are making one hell of a racket. It’s great fun. Hilariously, I have already heard two different sets of regulars grumbling about the noise of children. Was a bit embarrassed for them, to be honest.

As you’ll see at the top of the page, Mike Selvey has departed for Leeds so I am all by myself on the blog today, and I believe that will be the case for the next six days’ county cricket. Looking forward to all six of them, and hearing from you all BTL - there are plenty of well-poised games the length and breadth of the country, and hopefully we will get some results and there won’t be “any weather about.” Cross your fingers, cross your toes.

I’ll just be here at the Oval, singing lonely songs to myself. These two for starters:

Morning all,

Today we have Will Macpherson reporting from Surrey v Middlesex. Here is his report from yesterday’s play:

And here is Gary Naylor’s weekly roundup of all things county cricket:

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