From Graham Hardcastle at the Ageas Bowl
Jack Brooks has just picked up a much needed wicket for the champions. Will Smith has been caught behind down the leg-side for 46, leaving Hampshire at 181-4 in the 70th over.
While there is no doubt that Hampshire have had the better of this day in tough conditions, their slow scoring rate means Yorkshire will be confident of turning things around. If I was a Hampshire fan, I wouldn’t like them to be 240-6 at close. Liam Dawson is still there on 35 and has been joined by Sean Ervine, who has six.
Somerset have put themselves in front here with the wicket of Ed Joyce right on the stroke of tea. He’d looked unsettled against the extra pace and bounce of Jamie Overton despite having played mostly very solidly for his 83 with 3 balls left before the break he feathered down the legside giving Overton (J) his second wicket.
And with that wicket Somerset could feel that they’d broken through the bulk of the Sussex batting line up and headed for a cuppa very pleased with the first two sessions – it’s not been easy for the bowlers with the howling winds but the Overton twins in particular have bowled very well.
Sussex’s day hinges on this partnership between Ben Brown and Michael Yardy and for the moment it remains dry although it’s so windy I feel like we’re going to twist off out of Kansas and land in Oz.
It’s tea at the Ageas Bowl, reports Graham Hardcastle
Hampshire have recovered from the loss of three wickets in the first half of the afternoon, reaching tea at 153-3 from 57 overs. They can be extremely chuffed with their efforts. Jack Brooks, Tim Bresnan and Steve Patterson all struck as the hosts slipped from 74-0 to 109-3, including the dismissal of the obdurate Jimmy Adams for 52 off 122 balls.
Will Smith and Liam Dawson have since steadied, and they will resume their 44-run stand this evening, with 34 overs remaining in the day. We have lost five overs due to the weather.
Brooks made the breakthrough when he forced Michael Carberry to edge behind before Bresnan bowled James Vince through the gate with a delivery which swung away and jagged back. Those two wickets came in successive overs, leaving the score at 77-2 in the 30th. And when Patterson had Adams caught at first slip in the 45th over, Hampshire were in danger of undoing their good work having lost three for 35. Smith has reached 34 not out and Dawson unbeaten on 19.
It’s blowing an absolute hoolie here in Hove and we’ve had a couple of short sharp showers. In truth no one is enjoying this, the wind is making is hard for the bowlers and the pitch is doing enough to make the batsmen feel like they are never really in. Ed Joyce has played very well for his 82* but it’s not been chanceless; he’s played and missed a few times and was dropped on 23* but has also played some beautiful back foot drives and cuts.
A nice partnership between Luke Wright and Ed Joyce was broken when Trescothick took a very good low catch at second slip with the score on 136 which brought Michael Yardy to the crease in his last ever match here at the County Ground. The small crowd applauded him all the way to the crease. He’s made a good start with a couple of crunching drives.
It’s got a real end of season feeling about it all though, the fielders look cold, the spectators are wrapped up in lots of layers and the flags on top of the scoreboard look like they may be blown away into the sea at any moment.
Graham Hardcastle writes
Jimmy Adams has gone. He’s been caught at first slip off Steve Patterson for a dogged 52, leaving Hampshire at 109-3 in the 45th over. Will Smith and Liam Dawson are the men charged with halting a Yorkshire afternoon charge. After three post lunch wickets, an excellent start before lunch is is danger of turning into a problematic one for the relegation-threatened hosts. Adams was undone with a swinging delivery which he fended to a tumbling Alex Lees. The champions are sensing blood. They now have four slips in as Smith faces Fisher. Hang on, we’re off for rain. 114-3 in the 46th.
Bit of excitement here. Peter Trego has got the wicket of Chris Nash in the third ball of his fifth over. Squared him right up getting a thick edge to Trescothick. Trego was fired up because the first ball of the over he (and the rest of the Somerset) team were convinced they had Nash caught behind. He didn’t walk and the finger didn’t go up and it led to a few words from Craig Overton who might just need to be a bit careful, he’s already in trouble with the disciplinary committee for a level 1 breach in last week’s match against Hampshire.
Graham Hardcastle writes from the Ageas Bowl
We are off for rain with Hampshire now 82-2 after 33 overs. No sooner had Jack Brooks forced Michael Carberry to feather behind, Tim Bresnan bowled James Vince through the gate with one that swung away and jagged back. Good ball, yes. Good shot, no. Vince was driving reasonably expansively. Jimmy Adams has advanced to 36 not out and has Will Smith for company on three. It doesn’t look like we will be off for long, however. In fact, as I type, the umpires are back out in the middle and the covers are coming off.
Well it’s lunch here at Hove and the sun is out at the moment. It’s been an interesting hour and a quarter’s play on what is a very good pitch but with bowling friendly overheads.
We started with tandem Overtons both of whom have really come on this season. Craig in particular has become one of the best young bowlers on the circuit. Jamie too has begun to find some control to add to his pace. It was Tim Groenewald coming on at first change made the first breakthrough getting Luke Wells caught at second slip by Trescothick at the second time of asking. Then Ed Joyce, who has had a relatively quiet season by his own high standards, was dropped on 23 by Craig Overton at third slip – it was a sharp chance but Joyce is looking is good touch so maybe one that he will come to rue.
Matt Machan who made a nice looking start played a criminally loose shot outside off stump spooning to extra cover where Craig pouched the catch off the bowling of his brother. Machan is a decent young player and has over 900 LVCC runs this season but he’s going to need to cut out that sort of stuff. The silence from the balcony as he trudged off with seven minutes left to lunch was deafening.
Sussex headed to lunch 72/2 and on a good pitch will be looking to cash in on the bonus points front. They may be very important when it comes to reckoning up time especially if all matches in this round are going to be weather affected.
Graham Hardcastle writes from the Ageas Bowl
This is the last pitch Hampshire’s long-serving groundsman Nigel Gray will produce as he is due to step down at the end of this, his 25th, season. While there has been assistance for the bowlers, it seems to have come through the air more than anything else.
After 19 runs in the first two and a half overs of the afternoon, Yorkshire have made the breakthrough courtesy of Jack Brooks, who got Michael Carberry caught behind for 28 as he played forward. Hampshire are now 74-1 in the 29th over.
Gray, meanwhile, will continue to work with Hampshire in 2016 on a part-time consultancy basis alongside his current assistant Karl McDermott, who takes over all responsibility for pitch preparation from the start of next year.
Graham Hardcastle writes from the Ageas Bowl
Hampshire will be thrilled with their start to this crucial fixture. It hasn’t been without fortune against an accurate Yorkshire seam attack, with a couple of edges wide of the slips and Michael Carberry looping a false shot against Tim Bresnan short of point. After only 20 runs came from the first 17 overs, the scoring rate has since picked up markedly.
Hampshire’s 50 came up in the 25th over courtesy of a confident Jimmy Adams drive against Steve Patterson. They have reached 55-0 from 26 at lunch.
Fledgling seamer Matt Fisher impressed with the new ball. Four of his opening six-over spell were maidens. This morning’s batting effort has had the air of last week’s second-innings resistance against Somerset, with the two left-handers hopeful of cashing in later this afternoon.
Graham Hardcastle reports from Hampshire v Yorkshire
We are through 17 overs of play, and it has been attritional to say the least. Hampshire openers Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry are taking no chances having been stuck in on a green pitch as they bid for survival, and have only added 20 runs against the seam quartet of Jack Brooks, Matt Fisher, Steve Patterson and Tim Bresnan. But, as they say, you can’t score runs sat in the pavilion. Good effort.
And here’s our news story about the death of Brian Close:
Gary Naylor has posted his weekly county cricket roundup:
Some cricket is going to break out here on the South Coast. We’ll start at 11.45 and Sussex have won the tosss and will bat. Somerset have left out Lewis Gregory and brought in Tim Groenewald. Sussex have Ed Joyce back after his neck injury but Ollie Robinson is out with sore shins or some such thing. Zaidi comes in for Robinson and we’re going to see Lewis Hatchett for the first time this season.
Somerset come into this with their top three having scored very good centuries last week. Tom Abell really should go down on your lists of ones to watch. His footwork is impeccable and his technique is so correct it will stand it him good stead on all different types of wickets. Trescothick’s century last week was vintage Tres – like watching him when he was 25 and Tom Cooper scored his first century for Somerset in FC cricket and after scoring it he had an extended look to the heavens for his mate Phil Hughes – he was batting at the other end on that fateful day.
Sussex weren’t in action last week but come into this off the back of a draw against Yorkshire and a win against Worcestershire and seem to have finally clicked – all a bit late.
As I type all this though, it’s gone dark again and the main cover has gone over the wicket. Lord only knows. I’m off to find an extra strong latte and a custard cream.
Graham Hardcastle reports from the Ageas Bowl
More from Dickie Bird on the death of Brian Close, who leaves behind his widow Vivian, son Lance and daughter Lyn:
“I feel very sorry for Vivian, his wife, because she has had such a hard time recently because he hasn’t been well. He was a great captain. He led from the front and was never beat. He would come back from all odds. He was a brilliant bloke to play for. He was as straight as a gun barrel. What more can I say. He was a really good all-round cricketer. A good batsman, a good bowler and, of course, brilliant in the field. Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Wayne Daniel peppered him with short-pitched bowling. If I’d have been there as an umpire, I’d have stepped in and stopped it straightaway. But Closey was chesting them away, they tell me. He was a tough guy. He led from the front, and I thought he was a magnificent captain. We have lost a true legend of the game. He also played a tremendous part in pulling Somerset out of the doldrums and brought Viv Richards on and helped Ian Botham as a young man. He also brought Joel Garner to Somerset from the Lancashire League. Those three greats had a lot to thank Closey for. He was a character in many ways. He used to call me lad. He would have a cigarette on him and I’d say ‘would you like a Whiskey Brian?’ He said ‘yes, I would. Make it a double!’ He will be sadly missed.”
Hampshire, meanwhile, have made a watchful start against Yorkshire new ball pair Jack Brooks and Matt Fisher on a green pitch. They are 9-0 after six overs.
Graham Hardcastle reports from the Ageas Bowl
You could argue a case for this being the best possible time to play Yorkshire. This is a match which comes less than 48 hours after lifting the County Championship trophy, and they have rested four of their star names in Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Ryan Sidebottom.
On the other hand, you could argue that having suffered only a fourth defeat in the last 62 Championship matches against Middlesex on Saturday, chances of them suffering two losses in two are remote.
Hampshire, second bottom and eleven points behind third and fourth bottom Somerset and Sussex, need a win here this week in front of the TV cameras if they are going to boost their chances of avoiding an immediate return to Division Two. It would be their fourth win of the campaign in their penultimate fixture.
They will have one eye on events at Hove, where their two closest relegation rivals meet. A draw there and a defeat here for Hampshire would have, as good as dammit, dire consequences.
Yorkshire, chasing a record points haul in the two-divisional era, have handed 17-year-old seamer Matthew Fisher his third Championship appearance in place of Sidebottom.
They will end the week with their second of three trophy presentations. They were officially presented with the trophy at Lord’s on Saturday, Sky are keen to have another presentation on camera before Yorkshire return home to celebrate with their home supporters at Headingley next week.
The match will start at 11am with an air of sadness following the death of Yorkshire legend Brian Close overnight, the last county captain to claim back-to-back Championship titles before Andrew Gale achieved that feat last week.
Yorkshire, who have won the toss and will bowl, will wear black armbands. Their president Dickie Bird is here at the Ageas Bowl, and he said: “I was completely stunned when Jason Gillespie and Anthony McGrath came out this morning to tell me the sad news that Brian had passed away. I felt very stunned and very numb. I had a lump in my throat and there were a few tears because I have lost a damn good friend.”
Updated
A very good morning to you. It’s lovely to be back on the blog and back at lovely Hove although it has to be said it’s not looking quite so lovely as last time I was here. Twenty minutes ago it was darker overhead than Katie Hopkins’ soul but it’s brightened up a bit and they are mopping up. Inspection at 11.
Somehow Sussex and Somerset who seem to have been middle table mainstays of the top division for ages have got themselves into a relegation scrap. They are level on points, Somerset have three wins and Susssex have 4 wins to their name this season. Both have had real problems in the batting departments and Sussex have been plagued with injuries to their bowlers all season.
It does look as though we’ll get some cricket today and tomorrow. If the forecast is to be believed I may drown on Wednesday though. If that’s the case, I leave my Wisden collection and my debts to you the Guardian county bloggers.
Morning all,
Today we have Lizzy Ammon in Hove for Sussex v Somerset and Graham Hardcastle in Southampton for Hampshire v Yorkshire. It’s raining at both grounds, but we live in hope...
Enjoy the cricket
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