And it is all over at Edgbaston too: Match drawn.
So here is your final scoreboard for the round:
Division one
Headingley: match abandoned without a ball bowled.
Old Trafford: Nottinghamshire win by six wickets. Lancashire 73 all out (Ball 4-14, Gurney 6-25). Nottinghamshire 10 for 4 (Onions 1 for 6, Mennie 3 for 4).
Aegeas Bowl: Hampshire win by 196 runs. Worcestershire 127 all out (Head 45 not out; Abbott 4 for 45, Edwards 3 for 33).
Division two
Lord’s: Middlesex win by 160 runs. James Harris: highest score, most runs, most wickets (c/0 T Beecroft)
Edgbaston: Match drawn. Sussex 374 all out (Brown 91, Wiese 106; Stone 8 for 80). Warwickshire 87 for three. (Sibley not out 42, Hose not out 15; Sharma two for 16)
Canterbury: Gloucestershire win by five wickets. Gloucestershire 108 for 5 (Howell 52 not out; Henry 3 for 37)
Thank you all so much for your company. Apologies for the jinxes. Until next time! Goodnight.
And Warwickshire go into the lead! 79/3. Handshakes soonish?
Apropos of nothing at all, check out who are coming to Canterbury in the summer. My second ever gig, behind Tanita Tikaram.
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Rob Bleaney has kindly sent me a link to a bit of Yorkshire clickbait with Ryan ten Doeschate stirring the pot.
“I don’t understand why there has been a drive for them to preserve their outfield. What’s the fear with creating mud when they don’t have another game here until Friday? Fair enough if they’d given it a good crack and I’d seen guys out there working around the clock. You can accept that. That would be my only gripe.”
REPLAY: The first of @ImIshant's wickets in Warwickshire's 2nd innings. A touch of away swing that finds the edge as Bell attempts a cover drive.
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC) April 16, 2018
The eighth time Ishant has taken Bell's wicket in all cricket - the previous seven all in international cricket. #gosbts pic.twitter.com/jyaRRTxK9H
Ah. Warwickshire 60 for 3.
Bell c Brown b I Sharma 10; Trott lbw Sharma 4. Sharma 2-15
TEA in the one remaining match, the parallel universe that is..
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 45 for one: Sibley 23 not out, Bell 10 not out (Robinson 1-28). Warwickshire trail Sussex by 30 runs.
Thank you ChrisRyanParker! We have our fifth ONE TO WATCH:
“Not sure what the qualification for ‘ones to watch’ are, but I’m hoping Josh Coughlin will get a look in at Durham this year. Capped (and I think captained) England at Under 19 level, and rated as highly as big brother Paul was at that age.”
Here are the brothers doing good things:
A HUGE thank you to @DurhamCricket players Josh Coughlin, Paul Coughlin and Ryan Pringle for attending our All Stars Cricket session today. pic.twitter.com/oiogV6EW46
— Hetton Lyons CC (@HettonLyonsCC) July 16, 2017
Classic from YP’s Chris Waters:
Collared by a spectator at Headingley who enthusiastically told me that he remembered seeing the previous abandoned Championship game there in 1967. 'Oh yes, what do you remember about it?' I enquired. 'Nothing,' he replied. 'Match were called off.'
— Chris Waters (@CWatersYPSport) April 16, 2018
And I’m going to add Robert’s man-crush Ben Brown to the list, though at 29 he is pushing it a bit.
At Edgbaston it’s 35 for one, Bell not out 5, time for another fifty before the close, what a balm that would be, especially after year.
I’m thinking maybe an early season round of matches in France?
Fontaine Wallace pic.twitter.com/VxdJKYi0wL
— Paris (@ParisAMDParis) April 16, 2018
Warwickshire 25 for 1. Rhodes b Robinson 6.
More serene batting at Edgbaston: Warwickshire 18 for 0
But really, I would like some more ones to watch if anyone has any to throw into the hat, I’ve got to keep this blog going till tea at least...can we make a team of them?
You see, it’s not just you Yorkies.
We don’t know what the fuss is about at @YorkshireCCC. Honestly, you southerners don’t know what bad weather is. @bbctms @bbcsport #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/8Zv0jI5MTM
— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) April 16, 2018
Sorry, got distracted there. At Edgbaston, Sussex are all out for 374, with a lead of 75. Stone finished with 8 for 80. Well done that man! Also huge congrats to Wiese and Brown.
Ok, some ones to watch.
First from Lee Smith: “ I was looking forward to seeing George Garton bowl for Yorkshire however with events at Headingley that possibility has drained away for the time being.” (boom! boom!)
and from Wegie: “Tom Barber, once of Hampshire, now of Middlesex. Left arm. Clocked at 96mph at Loughborough over the winter.” (That link is only for those who have Times subs, sorry, otherwise try this)
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And some world record news!, from Philip Bailey via WISDEN institution Harriet Monkhouse:
10 is the lowest target ever successfully chased when losing four wickets in first-class cricket
10-4 (target 10) Nottinghamshire v Lancashire at Manchester 2018
HERE ARE THE REST:
12-4 (target 11) Kent v Sussex at Town Malling 1841
16-7 (target 16) New South Wales v Victoria at Melbourne 1855-56
18-4 (target 18) White Conduit Club & Moulsey Hurst v Hornchurch at
Hornchurch 1787
18-5 (target 18) Lancashire v Kent at Catford 1875
20-4 (target 20) Somerset v Gloucestershire at Taunton 1907
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Re Olly Stone BTL Captbnut: I think he has been generally injury-prone, poor bloke. England U-19 captain, on the pace programme but back injuries before the freak one that ruined his knee. Cricinfo say he went to Warwickshire because he had “assurances that he would not be over-bowled.” One to keep an eye on.
Any more suggestions for ones to watch? Let’s see if we can get one into the Test team come May. Anyone seen Zak Crawley?
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Something pretty to look at:
📊Plenty of red and blue lines on @David_Wiese's wagon wheel! #gosbts
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC) April 16, 2018
Lots more like this on the Sussex Cricket Match Centre ➡️https://t.co/BubdJuaj35 #gosbts pic.twitter.com/2K8DIkRQ75
A mini-collapse: Sussex 362 for 9. Wiese lbw Stone 106. Stone 7-73.
And some naughty-boy nets here at OT: pitch looks fine now...
Back on at Edgbaston and a wicket, Brown out for 91, still comfortably the second-highest score of the round and Sharma hits his first ball for four to collect the fourth batting point.
Who needs sandpaper when you have a Dukes ball in England in April #countycricketlive
— Nicky (@somersetbagpuss) April 16, 2018
LUNCHTIME round-up:
Division one
Headingley: match abandoned without a ball bowled.
Old Trafford: Nottinghamshire win by six wickets. Lancashire 73 all out (Ball 4-14, Gurney 6-25). Nottinghamshire 10 for 4 (Onions 1 for 6, Mennie 3 for 4).
Aegeas Bowl: Hampshire win by 196 runs. Worcestershire 127 all out (Head 45 not out; Abbott 4 for 45, Edwards 3 for 33).
Division two
Lord’s: Middlesex win by 160 runs. James Harris: highest score, most runs, most wickets (c/0 T Beecroft)
Edgbaston: Sussex 347 for 7 (Wiese 103 not out, Brown 90 not out). They lead Warwickshire by 48 runs.
Canterbury: Gloucestershire win by five wickets. Gloucestershire 108 for 5 (Howell 52 not out; Henry 3 for 37)
Match figures of the day and a career best: Harry Gurney: 12.2-5-25-6
🎉 What a day for @gurneyhf!
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) April 16, 2018
👏🏽 Career-best First Class figures of 6️⃣-2️⃣5️⃣
❓ Is it the best you've seen him bowl?#lancsvnotts#mondaymotivation pic.twitter.com/Wzx2D10AEl
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Some stats (and don’t forget the stoppage for rain)
#LancsvNotts Day Four:
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) April 16, 2018
⏰ 90 minutes of cricket
🏏 25 runs
🔴 12 wickets
💪🏽 1 Notts victory pic.twitter.com/UCUSftrmz8
Here he is:
The first County Championship 💯 of the season is scored.
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) April 16, 2018
David Wiese is the player, reaching his century batting at 9 for @SussexCCC https://t.co/FSwiDCKQvK
Commentary now @5liveSport #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/8UDAE4iTY5
And the first and only century of the season goes to David Wiese. Congratulations! And a team also passes 300! Sussex 338 for 7.
And a suggestion from Neil Harris:
If the weather makes fixtures such a lottery in April. Why not have the first two fixtures as the home and away reverse. That way the two teams involved get two tickets to the lottery, 1 home, 1 away #countycricket @tjaldred
— Neil Harris (@njhcricket) April 16, 2018
In the two remaining matches... at Southampton Worcestershire are subsiding: 112 for 9 while Edgbaston is a land of its own: Wiese and Brown still batting serenely.
And so Nottinghamshire roar to victory: 10 for 4, Patel 4 not out, Wessels 1 not out. Onions 1 for 6, Mennie 3 for 4. What an extraordinary morning: 12 wickets fell in 15 overs.
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Nottinghamshire 9 for 4! Taylor c Livingstone b Onions 0.
Shame they’re not chasing 40 really.
Huge appeal for lbw against Samit Petel by Mennie. Not out. Five to win.
And steady Samit Patel sees off the hat-trick.
And another one! Libby caught at second slip! Mennie on a hat-trick! Notts 5/3.
Worcestershire now 100-7.
Feel for this poor man. I also just found this - had no idea such a thing existed, only the Yorkshire version. May I prescribe a cup for disgruntled red-roses this morning?
Some match figures from Old Trafford: Jake Ball 9-57, Harry Gurney 8-43.
And another one at OT! Great catch running backwards by Hameed. Nash c Hameed b Mennie 0 . Nottinghamshire 5/2
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Thank goodness for calm waters at Edgbaston: a 70- wicket partnership between Wiese (45 not out) and Brown (64 not out).
And a consolation wicket at Old Trafford. Mullaney c Onions b Mennie 1.Notts 1/1.
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Gurney took 6 wickets in 30 balls.
Elsewhere Gloucestershire have won by five wickets, Benny Howell not out 52. Three for Matt Henry and two more for Darren Stevens.
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Mennie c Moores b Gurney 0. Lancashire 73 all out. Notts need 10 to win. A career best for Gurney 12.2-5-25-6 who is applauded off the pitch by his teammates and bashfully waves his cap. Ball 10-5-14-4. Lancashire lost 8 for 15 from 60 balls today; and 10 for 24 in all.
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Eek, close you eyes Lancies: Lancashire 73/9. Vilas c Wessels at first slip b Ball. Full length, invited the drive, the drive came. And went.
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Lancashire 73/7. Bailey c Moores b Gurney 1. Gurney joins the five-fer club 5-25.
Lancashire have now lost five for 8 in 41 balls. Ball is bowling excellently here, a super length, testing all the time.
Gloucestershire now 84/4. Henry 3-27. Surely not...
Oh and that’s another one down at Old Trafford. Clark c Nash (brilliantly at gully) b Ball 0. Lancs 66/7.
Stumps shattered! Croft b Ball 0. Lancs 66/6 and lead by 2...
Everything proceeding calmly at Canterbury, GLoucestershire 77/1 but oh dear not at Southampton: Worcestershire 67/5.
Three wickets in the space of 19 balls for 8 runs at OT this morning.
Out next ball - to a great length ball from Ball: Livingstone c Moores b Ball 12. Lancs: 66/5
And this, from DaddyPig (yikes,can i really call you that?) BTL:
“The drainage at Headingley is perfectly good. Two years today, after horrible winter flooding, we started the season on time against Hampshire, whilst the local league seasons were delayed. When it rains, the players are back on again in remarkable time. But once soil with any amount of clay is waterlogged, it requires evaporation to extract the water. Drainage relies on gravity and it isn’t enough on its own, and when the water table is high then it won’t drain at all . It’s been cold and cloudy as well as soaking wet for the past month. That’s all there is to it.
“Switching the game to Chelmsford would’ve been a good and creative thing to do, and it’s a shame that the agility and thought weren’t there to at least consider that. I doubt if there are any outgrounds in Yorkshire that are in any better condition, unless somewhere like Upper Wharfedale CC at Grassington has benefitted from natural drainage on the limestone.”
Cracking four there from Livingstone off Ball.
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And some on the spot knowledge from Neil in Yorkshire, which might ruin the conspiracy theory, though it was fun while it lasted.
“I think the rain graph for Yorkshire doesn’t tell the whole picture. There has been a lot of snow in recent months, which won’t be captured in the daily rainfall stats but has a big impact on how saturated the ground is for when the rain then does fall. If the ground has been covered in a couple of feet of snow at various points over the winter that water has to go somewhere when it melts.”
Thank you Neil.
Back on at OT. Sorry HPG.
Rain stopped play here at Old Trafford 62/4.
And another one down at Old Trafford: Chanderpaul c Taylor b Gurney 0. 62/4. Gurney 4-22. It’s very gloomy out there.
Play also at Edgbaston and Southampton. Ah, wicket at Edgbaston, but it’s not good news for Olly Stone. Robinson c Ambrose b Barker 12. Sussex 194-7.
Anyway, away from Headingley
Play starting on time at Old Trafford, as most players stroll out with their hands stuck firmly in their pockets though Livingstone is wearing short-sleeves. Oh and Jennings out to the third ball of the day, lbw Gurney 27
At Kent there is free entry and free parking today!
I still think the suggestion by someone below the line by was the best - why, when the ground must have been looking like a saturated sponge for days, didn’t they just swap either to Chelmsford or another out-ground in Yorkshire, assuming somewhere was playable? I wonder, looking at the graph again, if the rain this year was perhaps the wrong type of rain?
Yorkshire chairman: “The ground has seen unprecedented wet weather over the past few months”. Yorkshire groundsman: “It’s the worst pre-season in 30 years”. In the last 25 years at Headingley, 11 pre-seasons (and four of the last seven) have been wetter. #bbccricket #YORvESS pic.twitter.com/H9sUYHqdpj
— Kit Harris (@cricketkit) April 16, 2018
Oooh, trouble at Headingley and some data thanks to @KitHarris . The media haven’t been allowed down on the pitch to inspect the swamp this morning.
“Yorkshire chairman: ‘There have been absolutely no issues with our drainage system”. In the last 25 years, Headingley has had 101 days when first class cricket was played in April, and nine days have been lost to rain. Seven of the nine were this year.’
And more weather data here with a graph . Now get stuck into that.
Good morning!
And welcome to the final day of the first round of the 2018 Specsavers County Championship. And what a round it’s been - general chaos interrupted by the odd oasis of calm. No innings more than 300, no centuries, but a few lovely little knocks from the old timers and new blood: James Vince, Ian Bell, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Gareth Berg, and can we call Zac Crawley and Moore’s 30-odd cameos?
Wickets tumbling everywhere with five-fers or more for Jake Ball, Olly Stone, Ryan Higgins, and James Harris who gets the player of the round County Blog golden cup.
And play has been called off at Headingley! Without a ball bowled. Poor Yorkies. Maybe this will cheer you up?
At Old Trafford the weather is cardigan-not-coat and the first session should determine whether Lancashire can hold on or not against a sharp-looking Nottinghamshire attack.
At Southampton the weather may yet save Worcestershire, but Kent seem unlikely to escape at Canterbury baring something extraordinary.
At Edgbaston, there might just be a draw but Olly Stone has a chance to be only the fourth Warwickshire man to take all ten in an innings.
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