That's all folks!
Well, a frustrating day at the Oval – and, in fact, across the south. But an amazing win for Sussex and positions of strength for Lancashire, Worcestershire, Notts and Durham. Plenty to look forward to tomorrow! Join me here for that bright and early. Here’s the scores.
Division One:
- Middlesex 247 & 15-0 v Surrey 280 (no play there)
- Essex 159 & 158-4 v Somerset 164
- Warwickshire 200 & 275-6 v Lancashire 504-8d
Division Two:
- Sussex beat Glamorgan by 1 wicket
- Gloucestershire 258 & 55-3 v Worcestershire 363 & 295-8d
- Derbyshire 164 & 305-d v Durham 480-9d
- Kent 313-9 v Leicestershire 350
- Northants 141 & 167-4 v Notts 344-9d
Night all! Thanks again.
Stumps at Old Trafford! Warks 29 behind, four wickets in hand. Big day for both sides tomorrow...
Stumps at New Road! Gloucestershire 55 for three chasing 401. They face trial by Ashwin tomorrow.
Stumps at Trent Bridge! Northants 167 for four. Notts require six wickets. Northants need 250 runs. Belting final day in store.
Ashwin’s got Dent! Gloucestershire 51 for three chasing 401.
New ball taken at Old Trafford... Warwickshire 54 behind with four wickets in hand.
Just occurred to me: could we see a contrivance at Canterbury tomorrow? Kent struggling to stay in the race, Leicestershire winless. Bit in it for both...
Stumps at the Riverside! Derbyshire 305 for six, trailing by 11. Opportunity knocks for Durham on day four...
Warwickshire six down! Parkinson gets Barker! Still 75 behind Lancs.
A question: is that wicket?
- a) Parker
- b) Barkinson
I’m saying b.
Ashwin gets Tavare! Glos 26 for two.
Wickets!
- For Matty Potts at the Riverside. Derbyshire 298 for six, still 18 behind.
- Gurney leaves Northants four down - Keogh gone for a duck.
- And for Lloyds Leach at New Road. Dent gone. 25 for one chasing 401. 48 wickets this season for Leach.
Warwickshire trail by just 98! They have five wickets in hand...
That does look nice! I believe Lees and Plunkett are playing in that...
@willis_macp lovely day here in Harrogate watching the YCCC "2nds" against Derbyshire... pic.twitter.com/bLJCdL3I2z
— Jimbobacus 🇪🇺🇬🇧 (@HamsterShowJim) August 30, 2017
Jake Ball has taken two wickets in an over, and now Notts are back on track. Northants 122 for three.
When it rains...
What's going on here @Stevo208 pic.twitter.com/QQWl8TBXcw
— Sam Northeast (@sanortheast) August 30, 2017
And Onions gets Critchley! Derbyshire are five down, still 28 behind.
Wicket at Old Trafford! Matt Parkinson gets Lamb, and Warwickshire are 183 for five, still 121 behind... 22 overs in the day.
Northants have their 100 up. They need another 317 to beat Notts, with one wicket in hand...
Gloucestershire need 401 to beat Worcestershire.
The Woosters declared on 295 for eight. Daryl Mitchell made 130.
This was fun to write, why not read this?
Right, the Div Two table is here.
Sussex are third behind Notts and Worcestershire, who are both in with a shout of winning their games. They have one in hand, though....
Sussex win by 1 wicket!
Oh my word! Ollie Robinson, playing his first Champo game for a year, smashes Smith for a second six to seal the deal! He finishes with 41, and put on 32 for the last wicket with Briggs! Sussex, I reckon, go second....
STAT: In the last 20 years, no Englishman has more @CountyChamp wickets after 6 matches than Dom Bess!!#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/Tss4fd2pn5
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) August 30, 2017
Sussex need five to win...
16....
18 to win...
20 to win for Sussex. Glamorgan need one wicket...
Sussex’s target down to 21, and Robinson farming the strike by the looks of things...
From Trent Bridge:
4.45pm restart at Trent Bridge with 28 overs to bowl #bbccricket
— Alex Winter (@_alexwinter) August 30, 2017
Archer gone, Sussex nine down! Briggs joins Robinson, needing 30 to win.
A ton for Luis Reece! Derbyshire 64 behind, three down. Paul Coughlin isn’t bowling cos he has a slight side strain by the way.
Down to 30 required for Sussex...
Remarkable session at Colwyn Bay - 159 runs, 6 wickets and 3 dropped catches. Game poised for a cracking finale
— Alex Klymyszyn (@AlexKlymyszyn) August 30, 2017
Ah
Worcs are 280-5 for tea with Mitchell unbeaten on splendid 128 but it is now raining
— Worcestershire CCC (@WorcsCCC) August 30, 2017
Tea at Colwyn Bay! Sussex need 36. Glamorgan need 2 wickets.
Consecutive fours for Robinson and Sussex need 36...
At tea, Warwickshire are four down, and trail by 177.
Play abandoned for the day at Chelmsford...
Sussex now eight down! Jordan gone. They need 48 and have lost four wickets for five runs!
And now Jordan’s been dropped at slip!
Drama at Colwyn Bay! Wiese gone for one, Sussex seven down, still need 49.
Tea at the Riverside: Derbyshire 217 for three, 99 behind. Reece has 84.
Nash gone for 68! Sussex still need 52, with four wickets in hand. Jordan, Wiese, Robinson, Jofra and Briggs are the batsmen....
Tense in Wales... Ben Brown goes for 37 and Sussex need 54 to win with five wickets in hand...
Updated
Now the Bears are on the ropes... Top four gone. Is there anything Livingstone can’t do?
Now Hameed, having dropped Bell at backward short leg off Livingstone's offspin, snaps up Sibley for a good 57. Bears 117-4
— Andy Wilson (@andywiz) August 30, 2017
He’s a handy little player, this bloke.
WICKET! @CameronSteel2's second ball does the trick! Madsen (48) sweeps & it loops up to @richo18howu! 206/3, trail by 110 #DURvDER pic.twitter.com/XKPcdNGRVV
— Durham CCC 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) August 30, 2017
Ah. Northants 69 for one, need 348 more.
Huge rainstorm hits Trent Bridge at what is now tea #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/a2Sv2lEOPh
— Alex Winter (@_alexwinter) August 30, 2017
McLaren gets Bell for 15! 111 for three. Can Lancs do it?
Well I’ve hotfooted it home because it felt like a waste of my time and yours if I told you about what was going on at the Oval. Nothing was going on at the Oval.
Few bits going on. A bumsqueaker is happening at Colwyn Bay, where Andrew Salter got Stiaan van Zyl and Luke Wright with successive deliveries (the latter stumped, which sounds careless). Sussex are four down, but still need 69.
Ryan McLaren dismissed Jonathan Trott at Old Trafford, and Ian Bell was recently dropped. Warks are 111 for two, with Sibley 55 not out.
Daryl Mitchell has another century!
I, of course, will keep this thing fizzing and whirring away. There are five games happening!
Stumps at the Oval!
And we are just about to be called off for the day...
It is absolutely belting it down at the Oval. Cats, dogs, the rest.
We must be very close to a call-off here at the Oval. Rain set in, it’s cold, it’s minging. Get em off!
Wishing former Somerset man Arul Suppiah a very Happy 34th Birthday! 🎉#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/ltu4P2Hlyr
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) August 30, 2017
Wa wa wi wa
🎥 The pitch is occasionally misbehaving - this one nearly hit Madsen's ankles! 👀
— Durham CCC 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) August 30, 2017
122/2, trail by 194 #DURvDER pic.twitter.com/ehlDB5T0oC
Play abandoned at Canterbury! That game will now surely be a draw, which is a shame...
Warwickshire have put on 50 for the first wicket! But now...
The bits I've seen of Umeed it needs a good ball to dislodge him. Jordan Clark just produced one - a ripper. Warks 52-1, still 250odd behind
— Andy Wilson (@andywiz) August 30, 2017
And at the KIA Oval.
Still raining heavily at The Cloudfm County Ground. #ESSvSOM
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) August 30, 2017
*I look forward to hefty cheques from Cloudfm (not a radio station, by the way) and Kia.
Updated
Notts declare! Wessels goes for 116. Northants need 417 to win. Will they make it to tea?
Cricket is happening at Trent Bridge! Notts bat on...
Sources: More rain at Trent Bridge.
Lunch at New Road; Worcestershire lead Gloucestershire by 212 runs with 7 wickets remaining.
— Worcestershire CCC (@WorcsCCC) August 30, 2017
Lunch at the Riverside and Derbyshire are two down! Godleman goes to Rushworth for 0 and they are 100 for two...
Lunch in north Wales, where Sussex are 14 for two, needing 195 more to beat Glamorgan. Lucky they bat all the way down ... Jofra at No11!
Derbyshire are 100 for one (Pringle got Slater for 57) and 216 behind Durham.
Updated
Play due at 1.10pm at Trent Bridge!
Warwickshire have started digging their way towards parity against Lancs. They are 16 for none, and need another 288 to make Lancs bat again.
It’s lunchtime at the Oval now. Well, at 12.30. I don’t reckon I’ll see a ball bowled today.
Sussex lose Luke Wells first ball! They are 0 for 1 chasing 209.
Proper rain in south London now. Very, very rare in this particularly tropical part of the world.
Two wickets in three balls at New Road for Liam Norwell. Worcestershire are 77 for two, and lead by 183.
The rain here has reached Chelmsford...
Wicket! And all out! Glamorgan, that is. Jordan gets Meschede to finish with five for 41, and Sussex need 209 to win.
12.15 restart at Old Trafford! Lancashire have declared, 305 ahead on first innings.
Nick Browne gone at Chelmsford! Surely the rain here is on its way there? Essex are 157 for four, leading by 152. Declare, Tendo! I dare you...
Updated
Glamorgan nine down! Archer gets Carey. 181 for nine, a lead of 207...
Nothing happening here at the Oval.
Or, indeed, a short one.
Full covers on now and it could be a long day. #TeamMiddlesex
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) August 30, 2017
Rain set in now. Early lunch surely incoming.
Glam have lost their eighth wicket! But their lead is 200...
Adam Wheater has a 50! Essex lead by 135, and will win.
Updated
The rain is very, very light at the Oval, but the full covers are coming on. The forecast is very bad.
Updated
No play before lunch at Trent Bridge. Early break taken at 12.30 #bbccricket
— Alex Winter (@_alexwinter) August 30, 2017
A wicket at Rhos-on-sea! Cullen goes to Jordan. Glam seven down, lead by 182.
Now Sidebottom gets McLaren, Lancs are 504 for eight and ... they are off for rain.
Updated
And now it appears that the covers are going on... It’s drizzling.
Liam Livingstone is out!
He made 224. Gone trying to push the score on. Had already hit another six this morning, and goes to The Other Ryan Sidebottom. 501 for seven.
Liam Livingstone gone for 224 - the first batsman to be dismissed by two different Ryan Sidebottoms in the same season?
— Andy Wilson (@andywiz) August 30, 2017
Start at 11.20 here!
Apologies north Wales! Glamorgan’s lead up to 160...
@willis_macp There's also play at Rhos-on-Sea!
— Chris Drew (@mesnilman) August 30, 2017
So there’s play at Old Trafford and Durham but nowhere else. Who’da thunk it?
The rain has stopped and we will have a slightly delayed start. Play due to commence at 11:15. #ESSvSOM
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) August 30, 2017
The man from Opta tells me the problem here is a wet outfield. Which is frustrating.
Well this is a bit odd. It’s not raining (and if it is, I can’t see it, and I’m outside) and the light is fine (floodies on), but we will have a delayed start. Inspection at 11.05.
Updated
Oh for f...
It's still currently raining at New Road so start of play will be delayed.
— Worcestershire CCC (@WorcsCCC) August 30, 2017
I heard this morning that this has happened five times before, ever.
Hearing Surrey's selection of four teenagers vs Middlesex is the first instance of this in the County Championship since 1939.
— Phil Makepeace (@AlteredCourse) August 30, 2017
Oh for f..
UPDATE | There is currently light rain over Chelmsford and play will not be starting at 11am this morning. #ESSvSOM
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) August 30, 2017
I urge you to read this.
Lights on at the Oval, but no rain yet. Optimistic that we can start on time...
Follow on enforced at the Riverside!
Confirmation that the follow-on has been enforced & Derbyshire will bat again first thing this morning #DURvDER
— Durham CCC 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) August 30, 2017
I’m doing one of my absolute favourite things: watching Ollie Rayner play football. A genuinely hilarious man.
Well I’m at the Oval and it’s not raining. I was meant to go for a run this morning but, knowing the forecast, was put off by some spits of the wet stuff as I stepped out of my front door. Coward: the rain never did come.
If it does stay away all morning, things could work nicely for Surrey. Low cloud, a bit murky: wickets. Middlesex trail by 18 with 10 wickets in hand.
Morning all it's the morning call!
Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday. I’m Will Macpherson and I’m at the Oval, ostensibly to guide you through the day’s cricket but ... it’s supposed to wang it down today. It’s also supposed to wang it down at Chelsmford, and in various other parts of the country, which is a shame. Cross you fingers, cross your toes.
Despite the weather, I’m in a fine old mood this morning, cos them Bangladeshis beat them Australians. Wonderful news, on just about every level.
Anyway, on with the county stuff. If the weather stays fair, things are nicely poised at the Oval, and at Chelmsford. There could well be a result there is we get 96 overs in. At Old Trafford, Liam Livingstone was simply brilliant in his double ton. Read about that here.
In Div 2, Graham Onions rolled back the years to put Durham in a strong position against Derbyshire, while Notts are dominating Northants because of Riki Wessels. Glamorgan against Sussex should be a bumsqueaker, so should Kent-Leicestershire, while the Woosters are in a good spot against the Glosters.
Here’s where we are at. RAIN, RAIN, STAY AWAY. Do your dances, folks.
Division One:
- Middlesex 247 & 15-0 v Surrey 280
- Essex 159 & 117-3 v Somerset 164
- Lancashire 484-6 v Warwickshire 200
Division Two:
- Derbyshire 164ao v Durham 480-9d
- Glamorgan 294 & 126-6 v Sussex 268
- Worcestershire 363 & 10-0 v Gloucestershire 258
- Kent 313-9 v Leicestershire 350
- Notts 213 & 317-8 v Northants 141
Here, right here, is a round-up of everything that went on yesterday. I implore you to read on it, comment on it, hug it, hold it, whatever. Every little helps.
I am contactable in three ways. Here those three ways are.
- Below The Line (play nicely)
- In my inbox: will.macpherson.freelance@theguardian.com
- On the Twitters: @willis_macp
I look forward to hearing from you all. Please do be generous with your comments. All that leaves me to say is: enjoy the cricket. If there is any.
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