Tanya's roundup
As County Championship cricket pauses till late August to make way for the Vitality Blast, a timely win for Essex against Warwickshire leaves them surveying the summer from the heady heights of the top of the table. Simon Harmer, yet again, was their lock-picker – taking six for 75, his seventh five-wicket haul of the summer. His pile rises to 64. Warwickshire’s fresh-faced batsmen were undone by Harmer’s morning burst of four wickets in 20 balls, which included Liam Banks for his first first-class 50.
Somerset’s slip-up came at Headingley, where they were comprehensively thrashed by an innings – only their second defeat of the year. Steven Patterson, the Yorkshire captain, took the big wicket of Tom Banton and Somerset folded by lunch; Patterson finished with four for 54. Yorkshire, after their first win of the season at Headingley, go third.
There was a hint of a thrilling run-chase in the air at the Ageas Bowl as the afternoon faded to evening, until Kent lost three quick wickets in their pursuit of 152 off 17 overs. Joe Denly had frisked Fidel Edwards for six on his way to 29 off 22 balls – but when Daniel Bell-Drummond was bowled for two, the teams quickly agreed to shake hands. Earlier Aneurin Donald and Keith Barker had kept the wolves at bay with a partnership of 63, steadying the ship after Hampshire lost three quick wickets before lunch.
In Division Two, Chris Rushworth did what he does best, charging in at full pelt, to guide Durham to their fourth win of the season. Rushworth finished what he had started on Monday evening, pocketing six for 39 and 10 wickets in the match. Worcestershire’s Ed Barnard and Ben Cox (62) put on 94 in a doughty partnership to delay the inevitable, and Brett D’Oliveira added 43 with Charlie Morris at the last.
At Sophia Gardens, Glamorgan fell to their first defeat of the season after a reinvigorated Toby Roland-Jones took five for 68 to help bowl them out 257 runs short. The Middlesex man has now taken 19 wickets in two games.
Northamptonshire slid into the surprise third promotion spot by beating Derbyshire a day and a half early at Chesterfield. Luke Procter took four for 26 on a pitch marked by the ECB as below average.
On the second day at Cheltenham, Chris Dent made 125 as Gloucestershire overtook Leicestershire.
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And that’s that. A draw at Southampton to go with the other results tapped up today. Only the game between Gloucestershire and Leicestershire trundles on, with two days still to go and Gloucester slightly in the lead with four wickets in hand. Congratulations to Chris Dent for a smashing century.
Thanks so much everyone for your comments and messages, we’ll meet again in August - with Essex just pipping Somerset at the top of Division One, and a sharp-elbowed battle for promotion places bubbling up in Division Two. Till then, have a wonderful summer. Good night!
Hampshire drew with Kent
Mission aborted!
I’d better go concentrate on the round-up but will pop in now and then with updates from this surprise Southampton excitement. A thriller to tide us over till late August!
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A lovely two hundred run partnership at Cheltenham - a hundred for Chris Dent and 81 for Tom Smith.
And down to the wire at the Ageas: Kent will need 152 to win off 17 overs!!!
🤲 HERE WE GO | Edwards edges behind off @GStewart195 and Hampshire are all out for 298
— Kent Cricket 🏏 (@KentCricket) July 16, 2019
We'll need 152 in 17 overs - @VitalityBlast is back early!
LIVE STREAM ➡️ https://t.co/KYT8kvrTWx #SuperKent pic.twitter.com/B6a8meXBTv
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Ok, so I think this is now the definitive T20 list. Some sensational names there. Can the Hundred really top this? I think India are still saying none of their players will be available.
Some cracking T20 Blast signings:
Nicholas Pooran - Yorkshire
Babar Azam and Jerome Taylor - Somerset
Mohammad Nabi and Adam Milne - Kent
Rashid Khan and Alex Carey - Sussex
Fakhar Zaman and Mitchell Marsh - Glamorgan
Mujeed ur Rahman and AB de Villiers - Middlesex
Ashton Agar - Warwickshire
Logan van Beek and Billy Stanlake - Derbyshire
D’Arcy Short and Cameron Bancroft - Durham
Adam Zampa and Mohammad Amir - Essex
Michael Klinger and Daniel Worral - Gloucestershire
Chris Morris - Hampshire
James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell - Lancashire
Mohammad Abbas - Leicestershire
Faheen Ashraf and Dwaine Pretorius - Northants
Dan Christian and James Pattinson - Notts
Imran Tahir and Aaron Finch - Surrey
Martin Guptill and Callum Ferguson - Worcestershire
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Donald’s wicket after a patient 43 off 123 balls hasn’t resulted in the collapse. Yet. Hampshire 285 for eight, 139 ahead, and Kent starting to run out of time.
Just spotted on twitter - Fakhar Zaman for Glamorgan!
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Durham beat Worcestershire by 109 runs
A complete Rushworth, five in the innings, ten in the match, led Durham to their fourth win of the season - they now lie fourth, just behind Northants, one point shy of a promotion position.
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Tea-time scores
And then there were two:
DIVISION ONE
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 409-9 dec (Organ 100, Rossouw 92; Stevens 5-68) and 265-6 (Holland 69) v Kent 555 (Denly 154, Bell-Drummond 94, Kuhn 95; Edwards 5-118) Hampshire lead by 119 runs.
DIVISION TWO
Cheltenham: Day 2: Gloucestershire 174-2 (Dent 96 not out) v Leicestershire 252 (Dexter 56)
Also, had completely missed the fact that Rashid Khan has been appointed Afghanistan captain as replacement for Gulbadin Naib.
(Tea -time scores to follow)
I would like to thank @ACBofficials for my appointment as captain of Afghanistan National Cricket Team. It's an honour and privilege to serve Afghanistan in this very important role. Many thanks to @GbNaib for his support and together we will strive to bring success & victories.
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) July 13, 2019
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Some cracking T20 Blast signings:
Nicholas Pooran for Yorkshire
Babar Azam for Somerset
Mohammad Nabi for Kent
Rashid Khan for Sussex
Fakhar Zaman for Glamorgan
Mujeed ur Rahman and AB de Villiers for Middlesex
Ashton Agar - Warwickshire
Thanks for the shout outs - keep them coming!
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And they bat on at The Rose Bowl, Donald-Barker partnership now 58 and spanning nearly 30 overs...
D’Oliveria hanging on at The Riverside but he’s only got Morris left for company ...
At Cheltenham Chris Dent in the nervous nineties.
Across the roses:
Been a pleasure spending the last 3 weeks with @YorkshireCCC . Looking forward to seeing you guys in a few weeks. Great bunch of lads and a very welcoming family 🙏
— Keshav Maharaj (@keshavmaharaj16) July 16, 2019
Aneurin Donald and Keith Barker digging in at the Ageas - a partnership of 50 in twenty overs - but with the lead only 112, safety is a way away.
A third-wicket partnership of nearly a hundred putting Gloucestershire in a happy place at Cheltenham this afternoon. Gloucestershire 136 for two, trail by 116.
Look at this elbow and weep.
Another wicket down at the Riverside - Cox for a patient 62. We know D’Oliveira (14 not out) has it in him - but today? Worcs 184 for seven, chasing a fantastical 168 more.
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Essex beat Warwickshire by 187 runs
And Essex leapfrog to the top of the table - four points above Somerset. Simon Harmer adds another six wickets to his total, his seventh five-fer of the year. Essex have won seven of eight games. Warwickshire minus Sibley and Sam Hain, didn’t have the bricks and mortar. What a belting cliffhanger this Championship is turning into.
England women’s squad for the first Ashes Test.
Heather Knight (Berkshire, captain)
Tammy Beaumont (Kent)
Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire)
Kate Cross (Lancashire)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Georgia Elwiss (Sussex)
Kirstie Gordon (Nottinghamshire)
Amy Jones (Warwickshire)
Laura Marsh (Kent)
Nat Sciver (Surrey)
Anya Shrubsole (Berkshire)
Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wicket-keeper)
Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)
The Guardian asked its writers to fill out one those favourite World Cup moment etc questionnaires- the type of exercise guaranteed to wipe your brain clean of all knowledge it possesses.
So I think it is time to do one for CCLive! that we can revisit in September. Here’s mine off the top of my head - I expect I’ll have missed off someone critical.
Favourite match: Yorkshire’s thriller v Surrey at Scarborough.
Best batsman: Dom Sibley
Best import: tricky... Marnus Labuschagne or Keshav Maharaj
Best bowler: Jimmy Anderson or Lewis Gregory
Best young player: er.. Saqib Mahmood or Jamie Smith
Best comeback: Toby Roland Jone
I like these spa towns.
And the 96 run partnership has been broken at The Riverside, with Barnard lbw to Rimmington for 43; Rushworth is bowling from the other end. Ben Cox hangs on, 52 not out. Worcestershire are 156-6, needing another 196 to win.
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Ooooh-er - are we going to have a surprise at The Ageas? Hampshire’s lead is only 64 with McManus now gone and Darren Stevens in danger of doing a Darren Stevens. Hampshire 210 for 6: Donald 14 not out in just less than an hour.
Siddle, then Harmer - this ain’t going to last long. Warwickshire 2011 for nine and five more wickets for Harmer.
Gary Naylor has tweeted in
It didn't seem the right time to post this in the immediate glow of glorious triumph @tjaldred, but it is worth pointing this out now.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 16, 2019
From the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee 24 January 2006. https://t.co/cBIgPZmU3b
I’d forgotten that, but I guess partly that was the fact that they couldn’t compete financially? I can’t imagine a future when Free to Air TV has complete coverage but a few more breadcrumbs would be nice.
Just reminded myself what the next TV deal has promised us: “Sky and the BBC will share live content during a five-year deal that starts in 2020. The BBC will show live coverage of 10 matches in the new Twenty20 competition, including the final, as well as two England T20 internationals.”
I suppose what I’d really like is a Test or two to be on during the summer holidays. Someone suggested the Lord’s Test, but I’m not sure that would always be the best choice. Perhaps it could be a roving choice each year, giving every ground a chance to show itself off. Anyway, not likely to happen till 2025.
Though, in fairness, the BBC has promised as part of the deal to put cricketers on programmes like the One Show, and CBBC.
Lunch-time scores
And then there were four:
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 245 (Cook 84; Rhodes 5-17) and 316-9 dec (Cook 83; Rhodes 4-38) v Warwickshire 161 (Siddle 5-33) and 171-7 (Banks 50; Harmer 4-55). Warwicks need 230 to win.
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 409-9 dec (Organ 100, Rossouw 92; Stevens 5-68) and 196-5 v Kent 555 (Denly 154, Bell-Drummond 94, Kuhn 95; Edwards 5-118)
DIVISION TWO
Riverside: Durham 212 (Eckersley 50, Raine 78 not out) and 290-8dec (Burnham 76; Barnard 4-79) v Worcestershire 151 (Rushworth 4-28) and 139-5 (Rushworth 5-19). Worcestershire need 213 to win.
Cheltenham: Day 2: Gloucestershire 83-2 (Dent 50 not out) v Leicestershire 252 (Dexter 56)
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Lunch scores to follow:
Yorkshire beat Somerset by an innings and 73 runs
The third of the late morning trilogy. Yorkshire captain Steven Patterson spoilt Somerset dreams with four morning wickets - including his 400th first-class wicket. It is only Somerset’s second defeat of the summer and they will slip from the peak of the Division should Essex do as expected against Warwickshire. Yorkshire’s first win of the season at Headingley could turn out to be the day the Championship race twisted.
Northants beat Derbyshire by 72 runs
A match won in Northamptonshire’s first innings, which was nearly a hundred runs larger than any other in the match. In a low-scoring game, Temba Bavuma’s century was the clincher. Luke Procter today’s destroyer with four for 26.
Middlesex beat Glamorgan by 256 runs
Glamorgan could only last an hour and a half this morning in what was always going to be a near-impossible task. The reborn Toby Roland-Jones finished with five for 68 - and ten wickets in the match - leaving Mr Boom-Boom de Lange was stranded on 45. It was Glamorgan’s first defeat of the season, but they remain second in the table.
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I never imagined Jack Russell and Twitter...
Could spend the rest of my life watching this https://t.co/VlpjZ9yKZs
— Jack Russell (@jackrussellart) July 16, 2019
This, I think, is a Full Rushworth. 13-6-17-5. Worcestershire 115-5 need a further 237 to win.
Rushy FIVE-FOR#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/pA9ih3xJRL
— Durham Cricket 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) July 16, 2019
Had taken my eyes off Kent v Hampshire ... but turns out nothing much has happened. Ian Holland and Rilee Rossouw both pottering past fifty as the Hampshire lead moves on to 28.
Derbyshire crumbling, Luke Procter now has four for 25. What a shame for Chesterfield – the match is going to be over with a day and half to spare.
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A third for Harmer, can Warwickshire (112-5) last till lunch?
5⃣ That's three for the Spin King...#ESSvWAR pic.twitter.com/SSd3XFSJR7
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) July 16, 2019
Gareth Roderick is run-out at Cheltenham for 22, so Gloucs are now 48-2. It always amuses me slightly when players are run-out in the first-innings of a Championship game - surely there’s no need for risky tight singles?
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De Lange going large at Sophia Gardens... oh but that’s a fourth wicket for Toby Roland-Jones. Death throes now...
CARNAGE// de Lange goes 6,4,4,6,4 to take 24 off a Murtagh over, including this monster maximum over cow corner 😮
— Glamorgan Cricket 🏏 (@GlamCricket) July 16, 2019
Glamorgan 250/7 after 83 overs #GLAvMID #GoGlam pic.twitter.com/LFMmi9qzfc
Two in two, it’s HARMER TIME!
So, you know that Tom Banton upon whose shoulders Somerset’s hopes lay? He’s out. Bowled by Steven Patterson for 63.
I’m just recovering from biting into a nectarine fresh from the fridge. Oh my teeth and gums....
Anyway, Peter Siddle wouldn’t never do anything so stupid - instead he’s just dismissed young Banks for that round fifty.
At the Riverside, a bald 33 year old takes the ball. He lives to bowl. In he charges ... at the other end Ross Whitely holds his pose but deep down he knows it is all over. Behind him a stump has skittled along the ground. Durham are on their way.
Perfect start #ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/9ghanfNZjg
— Durham Cricket 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) July 16, 2019
A maiden first-class fifty for 20 year old Liam Banks at Chelmsford. Well played! How great that must feel?
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That’s not very Cheltenham! A wicket in the first over of the morning. Miles Hammond gone for a fat, unsatisfying duck. Gloucestershire 2/1.
Somerset’s hopes of holding out for a draw slipping away. Fisher grabs his third of the innings, Groenewald caught at point for 8. Somerset 168 for five, still 156 behind. And even if they were to get a lead, there is no Gregory or Leach to turn the screw.
At Headingley, Maharaj has the ball...
Start of play scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford Essex 245 (Cook 84; Rhodes 5-17) and 316-9 dec (Cook 83; Rhodes 4-38) v Warwickshire 161 (Siddle 5-33) and 67-1. Warwicks need 334 to win.
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 409-9 dec (Organ 100, Rossouw 92; Stevens 5-68) and 119-2 v Kent 555 (Denly 154, Bell-Drummond 94, Kuhn 95; Edwards 5-118)
Headingley: Yorkshire 520 (Ballance 111, Kohler-Cadmore 102, Brook 101; Bess 4-130) v Somerset 196 (Jamie Overton 52 not out; Maharaj 7-52) and 159-4 (Banton 58 not out)
DIVISION TWO
Riverside: Durham 212 (Eckersley 50, Raine 78 not out) and 290-8dec (Burnham 76; Barnard 4-79) v Worcestershire 151 (Rushworth 4-28) and 31-3 (Rushworth 3-4). Worcestershire need 321 to win.
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 171 (Lloyd 67; Helm 5-53; Roland-Jones 4-45) and 171-6 (Hemphrey 52 not out)v Middlesex 384 (Malan 166; Carey 4-54) and 342 (Robson 140 not out). Glamorgan need 365 to win.
Chesterfield: Day 3: Derby 146 (Sanderson 5-46) and 155-5 v Northants 342 (Bavuma 134) and 122 (Palladino 4-33). Derbyshire need 164 to win.
Cheltenham: Day 2: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire 252 (Dexter 56)
And the latest from Moeen Ali yesterday, in case you missed it.
“Morgs was dead right to highlight how the different opinions on such things in this dressing room are actually part of our strength. We are an incredibly diverse team from different backgrounds and cultures but, crucially, we respect this and embrace it. We never shy away from it.
It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you believe in, if you can come together with a common purpose – in our case winning the World Cup – and you show courage, unity and respect (our team mantra) you can achieve anything.”
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Just wanted to point you towards this series of wonderful pictures by the Guardian’s own Tom Jenkins. He’s not just a fantastic photographer, but a great bloke too.
Preamble
Good morning everyone, it is the last CC! Live! for a while - so I hope a few of you have time to drop in. So much to talk about - is this the beginning of the end for Somerset? Much rests on Tom Banton’s young shoulders. Is this the start of Essex’s victory charge? Warwickshire have a mountain to climb to stop them, as do Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens. Kent have a chance of forcing a win at the Ageas Bowl; and who knows what will happen at Chesterfield where 24 wickets fell yesterday. Chris Rushworth-inspired Durham are likely to run through Worcestershire in the course of the day.
At sedate Cheltenham, we’re only hitting day two - Leicestershire were bowled out as the sun shone.
The Surrey v Notts and Lancashire v Sussex games finished yesterday.
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