Lizzy Ammon's latest from Hove
Luke Wells has had an impressive innings here. It was scratchy at first but he’s starting to find some fluency although batting is far from easy in the gloom on a pitch which is showing variable bounce. He’s moved to 60 and Sussex are in a decent position at 115/3. They have just lost the wicket of young Harry Finch, who played a couple of very elegant shots before being bowled by Jeetan Patel.
The lights have been in full effect for most of the afternoon and the scoreboard lights are shining brightly. Fair play to the umpires, Evans and Gough, who have kept them out there. Other umpires would have taken them off hours ago.
Graham Hardcastle has some better news
The players are back out in the middle after a 20-minute rain delay. No overs have been lost, so there is the best part of 31 remaining. Yorkshire are 220-5 with Jack Leaning on 69 and Adil Rashid on five.
Graham Hardcastle reports of rain at Taunton
We are off for rain at Taunton with only eleven balls bowled after tea. Yorkshire have added one run and are 216-5 in the 66th over.
Graham Hardcastle's tea-time report
Craig Overton struck twice in the 61st over to help Somerset hit back following an aggressive fourth-wicket stand of 93 inside 19 overs between half-centurions Jack Leaning and Jonny Bairstow.
The pair came together with Yorkshire’s score at 118-3 after 42 overs, and Bairstow quickly found rhythm on the way to a 58-ball fifty. Unfortunately for him, however, he only faced one more ball as he edged Overton to Marcus Trescothick at second slip, leaving Yorkshire at 211-4 at the start of the 61st.
I said earlier that I was looking forward to watching Glenn Maxwell bat on his Yorkshire debut. Well, good job I didn’t blink! He fell for a second ball duck, caught at cover off Overton.
Leaning, on 68, is still there with Adil Rashid, a man with an exceptional batting record in matches against Somerset, for company. All of a sudden, these two have work to do. Yorkshire have reached tea at 211-5.
Lizzy Ammon reports
Sussex’s reply has begun pretty safely and it seems the pitch has either tamed or Warwickshire’s opening seamers aren’t getting as much out of it. Chris Nash and Luke Wells have moved the score to 27 without loss after 8 overs. Wells was dropped from the first team after the first two rounds having looked in no sort of form and he’s not looked entirely comfortable; he’s getting too far back into his crease against Chris Wright.
The gloom remains although it may be marginally less gloomy than it was earlier; it’s going to be a long old session with another 39 overs remaining this evening which gives plenty of time for the spectators to continue to partake of the ale in the Tent at the Cromwell Road end of the ground.
Lizzy Ammon reports on an early tea at Hove
Well we’re having an early tea here because Warwickshire are all out for 180. That man extras was the top scorer and the innings was finished off by Steve Magoffin taking the final three wickets.
Even though the wicket is not ideal and it was an excellent piece of bowling in tandem by Jordan and Robinson this morning, Warwickshire didn’t bat terribly sensibly. They do, at least, have something to bowl at but only thanks to the eighth wicket half century partnership between Barker and Patel We’re going to have a mammoth evening session of a whopping 49 overs and conditions are in no way easier than they were earlier so Sussex are in for a real challenge against the likes of Barker, Rankin, Wright, Clarke.
Graham Hardcastle updates from Taunton
Did I say attritional?
Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leaning have just hit six fours in an eight-ball spell off Peter Trego and Jamie Overton to help take Yorkshire to 178-3 after 53 overs.
Bairstow hit four through the leg-side, three to mid-wicket and one to long-leg, off a Trego over before Leaning found the cover fence twice at the start of the 53rd to reach a 112-ball fifty. Leaning is Yorkshire’s first batsman to top 350 for the season.
Lizzy Ammon reports from the second session
Batting has got a bit easier here in the last half an hour and there’s a very good partnership going on between Keith Barker and Jeetan Patel who have put on 59 which in the context of the innings is substantial.
Oh...
Everytime I start typing a blog update a wicket goes. Patel goes for 16; Just nicking a good length ball behind off Magoffin. Nothing to do with the pitch that time. Warwickshire now 159/8.
The Warwickshire seamers will be itching to have a go at the Sussex batsmen on this pitch and in these conditions but 159/8 is not a good position for the visitors to be in having won the toss.
Away from the middle, there are two new exhibits in the Sussex museum; one of which is the opportunity for one to have your photo taken and have it superimposed into the Sussex squad photo. So if you’re in the Hove area pop in and stick yourself in between Magoffin and Joyce on the front row.
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Graham Hardcastle reports
It seems that each time Yorkshire get themselves into a position of strength, Somerset strike, and that’s what has just happened again courtesy of Peter Trego’s second wicket. He had Andrew Gale caught at first slip by Jim Allenby, although Marcus Trescothick parried the initial chance at second. Yorkshire are now 129-3 in the 47th over. Jack Leaning is still there on 33, but some tight bowling has managed to keep the in-form 20-year-old in check.
The perfect description for this day so far would be attritional, although it made me chuckle to hear that Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s former director of cricket, described a similar day last summer as “nutritional”.
Lizzy Ammon reports
The pitch here at Hove is, I am afraid, not the best. There’s some variable bounce. Warwickshire are now seven down. Robinson picked up his sixth wicket as Clarke edged to the slips for 11 and then Trott tried to pull Jordan through square but could only pull it on to his stumps for 35.
I haven’t spotted a cricket liaison officer yet (the artists formerly known as pitch inspectors) but I suspect there may be one on their way if this continues. Ed Joyce admitted that the Hove pitch for the Middlesex match was not a good one and it was marked “below average”. No one minds them being lively but variable bounce is just not cricket.
Graham Hardcastle reports
This match is evenly poised, with Jamie Overton providing Somerset with a pre-lunch boost in the form of the wicket of Will Rhodes, who was caught at leg gully by a diving Tom Cooper as he fended at a hip-high short ball.
Yorkshire have reached lunch at 87-2 from 29 overs, with Andrew Gale and Jack Leaning not out. With the visitors looking untroubled for the majority of that session, they will no doubt be a touch frustrated at their position.
There seems to be a touch of swing on offer for the bowlers, which replays suggest contributed to the departure of Alex Lees - undone by a Peter Trego in-ducker.
I am particularly looking forward to watching Glenn Maxwell bat on his Yorkshire debut. Maxwell only batted once for Victoria during the most recent Sheffield Shield campaign in Australia, but he is keen to use this short spell as a Championship overseas player to further his Test credentials for Australia.
The batting all-rounder will fill in until his big mate Aaron Finch recovers from a torn hamstring, which is expected to be some time in mid-June. That would provide Maxwell with two Championship appearances. Maxwell is carded to bat at six.
Lizzy Ammon reports
It’s lunch here at Hove and it’s been an extraordinary morning for young Ollie Robinson in just his third first-class match. He picked up all five of Warwickshire’s wickets this morning with incredible figures of 9-3-17-5. He was on a hat-trick having dismissed Laurie Evans and Tim Ambrose in consecutive balls. He’s bowled a hugely impressive spell with real control, moving the ball both ways. He got Evans with an away swinger and then Ambrose with an inswinger.
Robinson was released by Yorkshire after some disciplinary issues but has really knuckled down here under the watchful eye of Mark Robinson and Jon Lewis and is an exciting prospect.
Difficult morning for Warwickshire having won the toss and slightly weirdly decided to bat. 80 for five at lunch.
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An update from Lizzy Ammon
It’s gloomier than a Christmas episode of Eastenders here at Hove and it’s been a very difficult first hour for the Warwickshire openers. They battled hard against the fierce attack of Magoffin and Chris Jordan. They’ve just lost their first wicket on the stroke of the hour. Westwood, who has passed 7000 first-class runs this morning, has just mistimed a pull and skied a catch to Magoffin off Robinson. He’d been hit on the hand by Jordan and looked unsettled after that. He has a bit of a history of broken fingers does Westwood and has been unlucky with injuries throughout his career. He’s in good form this season though and already has over 500 runs but he got a bit of a working over by Jordan.
And before I can press send, Ollie Robinson has taken his second wicket in the over. Chopra played at a good length ball and got a thick edge to the safe as houses hands of Jordan.
So from 35-0 after an hour they are now 35-2 after 62 minutes.
I have news on the orange boots issue: are they being banned or not? I’m told by the ECB that they are fine for domestic cricket because it is the ECB who decide on the clothing regulations for domestic cricket. There has been an issue in relation to ICC dress regulations which is to do with the size of the manufacturers label. The explanation was a bit too technical for my little brain though but the long and short of it is that these fluorescent orange boots will remain on display in county cricket.
This is also a good opportunity to wish a very happy 10th birthday to the excellent Chance to Shine who have had made coaching contact with over 2.5 million kids and have had some amazing success stories. They are a fantastic organisation and make a real difference in schools where there wouldn’t be any cricket at all if it weren’t for their work.
Graham Hardcastle reports
Somerset have the breakthrough. Alex Lees, for 34, has just been trapped lbw by Peter Trego with 55 on the board.
Other than that, there has been little encouragement for the home side’s all seam-attack, with Lees and opening partner Will Rhodes looking comfortable in good batting conditions.
After losing the toss, Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale admitted to the TV cameras that he would have batted anyway. Somerset’s decision to play five seamers and no spinner looks a questionable one, even at this early stage.
Their Pakistani overseas left-armer Abdur Rehman has been left out for the second match running. Understandable on a Trent Bridge seamer, but not so here on a dry pitch which was used for a T20 Blast match on Friday.
Lizzy Ammon reports
Just 45 minutes ago it was glorious at Hove, the sun
was beaming down and Warwickshire won the toss and decided it was a batting day. Then the clouds rolled in and now it’s chilly and a bit murky. The team news is that Ateeq Javid is in for William Porterfield who has some sort of unspecified tweak.
Sussex are resembling more of an accident and emergency than a cricket team. Their casualty list is as follows: Jimmy Anyon, Lewis Hatchett, Tymal Mills, Ajmal Shazhad, Ashar Zaidi, Matt Prior, Mike Yardy and Matt Machan.
Yup eight first teamers all broken. So Luke Wells comes back into the side as does young Harry Finch. Chris Jordan is back in the loving arms of his county after being released by England. He’s been bowling from the Cromwell Road end and looks like a man on a mission.
After 20 minutes, Warwickshire have moved tentatively on to 13 without loss.
There’s a beer festival at Hove today and it’s already doing steady business even though the sun isn’t over the yardarm (whatever that expression means).
Graham Hardcastle touches base at Taunton
Good morning from an overcast Taunton, where there is as much interest off the field as there is on it.
With Yorkshire afforded a week away from Championship action after this round of fixtures, there is every chance that this will be Jason Gillespie’s last four-day match in charge as England chase his services.
The Australian has been at Headingley since the start of the 2012 season, and Yorkshire have only lost three times in that period, twice in 2013 and once last year.
Both teams won their most recent fixture. Somerset beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last week and the champions saw off Hampshire at home the week before.
England squad bowler Liam Plunkett plays his first Championship match of the season for Yorkshire having missed Hampshire due to disciplinary reasons, including missing the final training session before the match and a photo shoot.
Somerset have won the toss and will bowl first.
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Lizzy Ammon reports from Hove
Good morning on this glorious Sunday morning. Welcome to the county blog. There are three Division One matches kicking off today and two in Division Two (and a random Blast match at Bristol).
I’m at Hove where an injury hit Sussex are taking on Warwickshire. Graham Hardcastle is at Taunton where Somerset, fresh off the back of their first County Championship win of the season, are taking on Yorkshire.
Elsewhere Durham have travelled to New Road, Surrey are at Beckenham to face Kent and Derbyshire have taken the trip to lovely Southport.
So avoid the bank holiday shopping, grab yourself a drink and let us talk you through the action on the county circuit.
Some pre-play reading here’s our very own Mike Selvey, who’s got the honour of ringing the bell at Lord’s today, on the action at the Home of Cricket yesterday.
The Royal Gurkha Rifles were out in force at Lord’s. Around the ground young soldiers from this magnificent group of fighting men, 13 of whom have been awarded the Victoria Cross, stood with collecting buckets, gathering donations towards aid for a country devastated by earthquake. In the Bowlers’ Bar MCC members gathered before play, tongues hanging out in anticipation, expecting the five-minute bell to be rung by Joanna Lumley, who has done so much fighting herself for the rights of these soldiers. In the event it was not Ms Lumley at all but Colour Sergeant Padam Gurung who gently sounded a few notes. On the first day it had been Dickie Bird who did the honours and he rang it so enthusiastically and at such length it might have been the Trumpton fire brigade on a call-out.
And enjoy the cricket!
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