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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Simon Burnton at Lord's

Notts take charge against Essex: county cricket day one – as it happened

Stuart Broad claims the wicket of Alastair Cook as Nottinghamshire took the upper hand at Trent Bridge.
Stuart Broad claims the wicket of Alastair Cook as Nottinghamshire took the upper hand at Trent Bridge. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Roundup: Anderson and Broad among the wickets

Jimmy Anderson laid down an early Ashes marker as he made short work of Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne in his first county appearance of the summer.

Anderson was making a belated start to his 22nd season with Lancashire following a calf injury and left his mark on Labuschagne, who has just arrived for his second overseas stint with Glamorgan. Anderson dismissed him for 12 with a wonderful delivery and went on to finish with one for 22 from 13 overs. Glamorgan, meanwhile, finished 117 for three in the first day of their County Championship match at Old Trafford.

For the third time in first-class cricket Stuart Broad took the wicket of Alastair Cook, but the England bowler was upstaged by Luke Fletcher, who got career-best figures of six for 24 off 16 overs as Essex were bowled out for 99. At stumps Nottinghamshire were 188 for four in reply, with Steven Mullaney getting a half-century.

Northamptonshire’s Ben Sanderson and Gareth Berg split 10 wickets between them as Sussex were skittled for 106. Sussex started badly, with Tom Haines falling early, and got worse. By the end of his fourth over Sanderson had taken three wickets for three runs and Sussex were 19 for three. Four overs and two runs later Berg bowled a two-wicket maiden, and when Tom Clark was pinned lbw by Sanderson, they were 21 for six.

But matters did improve from there thanks to Ollie Robinson’s unbeaten 49, and a total of 106 was in the circumstances something of a triumph. Still the wickets continued to tumble, Ben Curran out to the second ball of Northamptonshire’s reply and Ricardo Vasconcelos soon following. But half-centuries from Rob Keogh and Saif Zaib settled things down and they ended the day with a healthy lead.

The day’s lowest total came at Southampton, where Hampshire were 36 for two against Somerset, but then Sam Northeast was run out and they fell apart: by lunch they had scored seven more runs and lost another four wickets. Their innings ended for 79 and, though both Somerset openers fell with the score on 11, they took the lead for the loss of only one further wicket.

There was some serene batting at Leicestershire, where Sam Evans and Marcus Harris shared a stand of 195 against Surrey, both scoring centuries. From 208 for one, however, the score at stumps of 306 for six will be a minor disappointment. The day’s only other centurion was Robert Yates, who helped Warwickshire to 271 for seven at the close against Worcestershire.

Updated

Close of play scores

Group One

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)
Warwickshire are 271-7.
Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)
Notts 188-4 in response to Essex’s first-innings 99, and lead by 89 runs.

Group Two

Leicestershire v Surrey (Leicester)
Leicestershire are 306-6.
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Gloucestershire 19-1 in response to Middlesex’s 210 all out, and trail by 191.
Hampshire v Somerset (Southampton)
Somerset 142-5, lead Hampshire (79 all out) by 63.

Group Three

Yorkshire v Kent (Headingley)
Kent are 224-7.
Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford)
Glamorgan are 117-3, with only 39 overs played.
Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)
Northants are 214-5, and lead Sussex (106) by 108.

I’m going to go now, but someone will update if and when anything remarkable happens. In the meantime, here’s a roundup:

For the third time in first-class cricket Stuart Broad took the wicket of Alastair Cook (who has only scored 16 runs in response), but after making that early breakthrough the England bowler was emphatically upstaged by Luke Fletcher, who at the age of 32 got career-best figures of six for 24 off 16 overs as Essex were bowled out for 99, the troubled defence of their County Championship title continuing. Nottinghamshire proceeded to press home their advantage with the bat, with Steven Mullaney getting a 57-ball half-century and Haseeb Hameed falling one run short.

If Fletcher’s was the individual bowling performance of the day Northamptonshire’s Ben Sanderson and Gareth Berg won the doubles, the bowlers both clutching the ball as they left the field after splitting the 10 wickets between them as Sussex were skittled for 106.

Sussex’s innings started badly, with Tom Haines falling to the fifth ball of the game, and got worse from there. By the end of his fourth over Sanderson had taken three wickets for three runs and Sussex were 19-3, which was when things really started to get bad. Four overs and two runs later Berg bowled a two-wicket maiden, and when Tom Clark was pinned lbw by Sanderson with the first ball of the following over Sussex were 21-6. Though Delray Rawlins soon followed matters did improve from there, thanks largely to Ollie Robinson’s unbeaten 49, and a final total of 106 was in the circumstances something of a triumph.

Still the wickets continued to tumble, Ben Curran out to the second ball of Northants’ reply – Robinson, having impressed with the bat, with the first of four (so far) with the ball – and Ricardo Vasconcelos soon following, but half-centuries from Rob Keogh and Saif Zaib helped settle things down and they ended the day with a healthy and growing lead.

The day’s lowest total came at Southampton, where Hampshire were a non-disastrous 36-2 midway through the 21st over against Somerset, but then Sam Northeast was run out and they fell apart: by lunch, seven overs later, they had scored seven more runs and lost another four wickets. Again there was some resistance lower down the order, with Lewis McManus, Felix Organ and Keith Barker all reaching double figures (only just – they got 13, 11 and 10 respectively) before the innings ended for 79. Though both Somerset openers fell with the score on 11 they moved into the lead for the loss of only one further wicket.

While wickets tumbled elsewhere there was some serene batting at Leicester, where Leicestershire’s Sam Evans and Marcus Harris shared a second-wicket stand of 195 against Surrey, both scoring centuries; having started the season without a County Championship ton to his name, the 23-year-old Yates became the first person to score three this year. From 208-1, however, the score at stumps of 306-6 will be a minor disappointment. The day’s only other centurion was Robert Yates, Warwickshire’s 21-year-old batsman getting his second of the season against Worcestershire at Edgbaston and helping his side to 271-7 at the close.

The scores on the doors, with four games over for the day and four ongoing:

Group One

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)
Warwickshire are 271-7.
Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)
Notts are 150-4 in response to Essex’s first-innings 99, and lead by 51.

Group Two

Leicestershire v Surrey (Leicester)
Leicestershire are 306-6.
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Middlesex were bowled out for 210, with Gloucestershire 1-0 in reply.
Hampshire v Somerset (Southampton)
Somerset are 116-4, and lead Hampshire (79 all out) by 37.

Group Three

Yorkshire v Kent (Headingley)
Kent are 224-7.
Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford)
Glamorgan are 117-3, with only 39 overs played.
Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)
Northants are 187-5, and lead Sussex (106) by 81.

Stumps at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire end the day on 271-7, with Michael Burgess on 65*.

Five-fer/innings break double klaxon: David Payne ends the Middlesex innings with another excellent inswinging delivery, way too good for Tim Murtagh. Robbie White was Middlesex’s one bright spark with the bat, and is stranded on 76*. Middlesex will have seven overs at Gloucestershire at the end of the day.

It’s also stumps at Headingley, where Kent are 224-7 at the close.

At Lord’s Thilan Walallawita comes out, gets off the mark with a gorgeous cover drive, and is caught at third slip next ball. Still, a shot for the highlights reel.

They’re not coming back out at Old Trafford, only 39 overs bowled today. “It was bad light which took them of at Old Trafford,” pointofinformations Romeo. “They should have gone off earlier. Clear anti-Welsh bias because Lanky are scared.”

Rain has stopped play at Old Trafford (again) and Headingley.

Well this sounds pleasingly chaotic.

A gorgeous delivery here from David Payne to dismiss James Harris at Lord’s. Very much like the one that did for Peter Handscomb, though it looked better because the batsman didn’t leave it. Having said that, he didn’t try to play it either, he just didn’t have a clue what to do as the left-hander swung the ball in and cleaned out middle and off.

Play is back under way at Old Trafford, where there has been quite a lot of rain and not a lot of action. Glamorgan are 111-2 after 35 overs.

Michael Burgess becomes the day’s latest half-centurion at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire are 242-5. But Haseeb Hameed falls tantalisingly short, out fot 49 at Trent Bridge, where Notts are 84-4, still trailing by 15.

More good news at Lord’s: they have turned the floodlights off.

Half-century klaxon: Robbie White has reached 53 for Middlesex here at Lord’s. After starting the season with scores of 17, 2 and 0 his last five innings have been 73, 72, 92, 10 and now 53*. The 25-year-old still doesn’t have a first-class century to his name - could this be his moment?

Another wicket here at Lord’s, Robbie White trapped lbw by Matt Taylor for 20. It’s the third lbw decision of the day - the first one looked a bit high, the second a lot high, but this one looked a good shout. Middlesex are 159-6.

Surrey have finally broken Leicestershire’s second-wicket partnership, Amar Virdi getting rid of Marcus Harris for 101. Between them Harris and Sam Evans, centurions both, took Leicestershire from 13-1 to 208-2.

Updated

One race Sam Evans has won: the 23-year-old, who entered the season with not one first-class century to his name, he is the first batsman this season to score three hundreds.

So who did score the day’s first hundred? I’m not entirely sure, but as I type both Warwickshire’s Rob Yates and Leicestershire’s Marcus Harris are on precisely 100 (Leiceshire’s Sam Evans is also on precisely 100, but was definitely third in this race).

Archer update:

This happened a while ago, but deserves a mention. Is it too late now to say Sarro? Northants are 49-3 against Sussex at tea, and trail by 57.

Slater falls to Snater at Trent Bridge. Special prize* for anyone who can come up with other examples of near-namesakes dismissing each other.

* There’s no prize

I think they could turn the floodlights off now.

Lord’s as Middlesex play Gloucestershire.
The sun (and floodlights) shine on Lord’s as Middlesex play Gloucestershire. Photograph: Simon Burnton/The Guardian

The race for the day’s first century looks like being won at Leicester, but by whom? As I type Marcus Harris and Sam Evans are both on 84, and Leicestershire 175-1. Meanwhile at Edgbaston, Robert Yates is on 83 and Warwickshire 168-4.

Two five-fers in one innings for Northants, which seems as good an excuse for a cheesy photo as any.

Gareth Berg, left, and Ben Sanderson of Northamptonshire
Gareth Berg, left, and Ben Sanderson of Northamptonshire celebrate their five-wicket hauls against Sussex. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Updated

Tom Lammonby, then. Last season he was Somerset’s most productive batsman, averaging 51 across 11 innings. So far this season he’s scored 5, 0, 0, 0, 8, 70*, 13, 9 and today another 0, and he’s averaging 13.12. Somerset are 19-2 as I type, having lost both openers, though given they bowled Hampshire out for 79 they’ve got some margin for error.

Ollie Robinson does not get his half-century.

Fiver-fer klaxon! Gareth Berg snaffles his fifth wicket by doing this to Jack Carson, and Sussex are 106-9 with Ollie Robinson on the verge of an incredible-in-the-circumstances half-century, standing as he does on 49.

It’s now all over for Essex, who lost their last four wickets for no runs and from 80-4 are all out for 99.

Updated

Three-wicket maiden! Notts’ Luke Fletcher has just swept away most of Essex’s lower order like so many toenail clippings, with Nick Browne, Shane Snater and Peter Siddle all falling to leave Essex on 99-9, and that’s his first ever six-fer!

Innings break: Hampshire, bowled out for 92 in the first innings at the Oval last week, are all out for a mere 79!

Hampshire lose a ninth! Kyle Abbott is caught behind, and Mohammad Abbas is in. I think of all cricketers, Abbas sounds the most like he has been conjugated in Latin.

Updated

Rain all over the place! Rain has stopped play at Lord’s - though it’s full sunshine here as I type and the covers are being packed away - as well as Trent Bridge and Old Trafford.

Hampshire and Sussex are battling to be first to end their innings. Hampshire have lasted longer, Sussex have scored more, but they’re both eight down. Ollie Robinson and Stuart Meaker have dragged Sussex to some semblance of respectability, but the latter is now gone and Sussex are 84-8. Hampshire are 76-8, with the wonderfully-named Felix Organ the latest to go.

Jimmy’s not the only one who was on target here (though Labuschagne in the end got 12, and was caught behind, so best not get carried away).

Another wicket falls here at Lord’s, Peter Handscombe bowled for 10 by David Payne, an excellent inswinging delivery and another poor leave, and it’s 61-3 here.

Updated

We’ve had our first two half-centuries! Glamorgan’s David Lloyd motored to the landmark with a scream of four fours - it’s his fourth half-century of the season but his top score so far is 84 and he hasn’t reached triple figures since 2018. Meanwhile Warwickshire’s Robert Yates, who already has an unbeaten 120 to his name this season, is on 58 as I type.

Play is back under way here at Lord’s. The floodlights remain on but the sun is currently shining! Still chuffing freezing, mind.

A lunchtime update

Eight games, and 25 wickets so far. Only two teams chose to bat, and they’ve both lost only one morning wicket:

Group One

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)
Having been put in to bat, Warwickshire are 95-1.
Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)
Having lost the toss, Essex are 71-4.

Group Two

Leicestershire v Surrey (Leicester)
Leicestershire won the toss, chose to bat and are 78-1.
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Middlesex were put in, and are 51-2.
Hampshire v Somerset (Southampton)
Somerset won the toss and have Hampshire reeling on 43-6.

Group Three

Yorkshire v Kent (Headingley)
Kent lost the toss, and are 66-3.
Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford)
Glamorgan won the toss, chose to bat, and are 65-1.
Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)
Sussex are 47-7, having lost the toss as well as most other things.

Updated

Essex are fifth in Group One and though the top two places are still anyone’s in that off all groups is it time for them to worry about claiming one of those all-important spots? They’re playing Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, and are 62-4 with Nick Browne motoring on 38 and nobody else really sticking around long enough to lend him a hand.

Stuart Broad claims the wicket of Alastair Cook earlier.
Stuart Broad claims the wicket of Alastair Cook earlier. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Updated

A second wicket here at Lord’s, Max Holden given out lbw. It was an abysmal leave, but that was surely going over the stumps, and not by a little.

Meanwhile in Southampton, Hampshire have lost three wickets for one run in three overs to fall from a not-disastrous 36-2 to a calamitous 37-5. Each of the four bowlers used so far has taken one wicket, and Sam Northeast was run out.

Ollie Robinson is dropped at mid off, and Sussex could have been 28-8 there.

Since the end of the sixth over Sussex have lost five wickets for six runs.

Sussex’s Delray Rawlins goes for a duck. 25-7.

Northamptonshire’s Ben Sanderson today: seven overs, four wickets, four maidens, seven runs.

Now Tom Clark is lbw for one and Sussex are 21-6!

Brown lasted three balls.

Off with their Head! Sussex are 21-4 now, Travis Head the latest to fall, caught at first slip for nine, which makes him their highest scorer so far. The captain, Ben Brown, comes out to steady the ship.

And the first wicket falls from the second ball back! Robson is given lbw to Ryan Higgins, his 25th wicket of the season, which puts him joint top of the wickets table.

The rain has stopped, the covers are off, the skies have brightened and the players are back on here at Lord’s.

Ben Sanderson is very much the rainmaker in Northampton - it’s now 19-3 there, Stiaan van Zyl has been clean bowled and Sanderson has bowled three overs and taken three wickets at the cost of three runs.

It’s also raining in Northampton - raining wickets, that is (can you see what I did there?). Sussex are 15-2 and have lost both openers for a combined eight runs.

It’s Stuart Broad v Alastair Cook at Trent Bridge, and there’s a clear winner: Alastair Cook c Moores b Broad 3, Essex are 24-1.

Rain stops play! It’s raining now at Lord’s, the players trot off, and Middlesex have survived a testy 11.4 overs in really awkward conditions without loss.

Play has begun at Old Trafford, and Glamorgan have negotiated Jimmy’s first over without loss.

Not only have ominous grey clouds now settled above Lord’s but the ground staff have assembled at the hover cover, which is never a promising sign.

Lord’s as Middlesex play Gloucestershire in the County Championship
Dark clouds over Lord’s as Middlesex play Gloucestershire in the County Championship. Photograph: Simon Burnton/The Guardian

I am of course habitually jealous of professional cricketers, but this is just too much:

The first wicket of the day falls at Headingley, where Daniel Bell-Drummond has fallen to the sixth ball of the day.

Lancashire’s live feed is showing blue skies, but there are telltale water droplets on the camera, and the words “RAIN DELAY” plastered across the screen. So Jimmy Anderson’s warm-up must go on for now.

Updated

This is a cruel blow. The key bit from Middlesex’s story is this quote from Peter Waxman, Middlesex’s Head of Science and Medicine: “Toby twisted his right knee in warm-ups on Tuesday sustaining a cartilage tear, which is due to be surgically repaired today (6 May 2021). He is having keyhole surgery to ascertain the full extent of the injury and to repair the damage. His precise recovery time will be dictated by the exact nature of the injury and the procedure that is performed. He is expected to be unfit to play for a lengthy period of time.”

Particularly since the last time Roland-Jones played Gloucestershire, this happened:

Updated

Gloucestershire have won the toss here at Lord’s, and they’re going to have a bowl. Here’s all the toss-based news:

Group One

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)
Worcs have won the toss and will bowl.
Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)
Notts have won the toss and will have a bowl.

Group Two

Leicestershire v Surrey (Leicester)
Leicestershire have won the toss and will bat.
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Gloucs have won the toss and will bowl.
Hampshire v Somerset (Southampton)
Somerset have won the toss and will bowl.

Group Three

Yorkshire v Kent (Headingley)
Yorkshire have won the toss and will bowl.
Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford)
Glamorgan have won the toss and will bat.
Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)
The toss has been delayed, though the rain seems to have stopped.

Hello world!

And so, we go again. I’m at a sun-bathed Lord’s, hoping it remains sun-bathed because in the period between me deciding I’d better bring a coat and me getting in the car (the one bonus of an audience-free Lord’s being the ability to get a parking space) I forgot to bring a coat. On the plus side, I’ve been in this box before and know where the heater switch is. The scene from my box this morning is extremely pleasing, looking as it does very much like this:

Lord’s before Middlesex’s game against Gloucestershire
The scene at Lord’s before Middlesex’s game against Gloucestershire in the County Championship. Photograph: Simon Burnton/The Guardian

As ever this season, you can watch every match via the ECB’s match centre here and listen to BBC commentaries here, though this one must be very important because it’s on Sky.

After this weekend’s matches we’ll be halfway through the group stage, so let’s settle back and take in the state of play, shall we?

Group One

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)
Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)

Group One is simmering rather nicely, with only 14 points separating first place from last (compared with 49 points in Group Two and 55 points in Group Three), and just five between first and fifth. Worcestershire are the bonus point champions, sitting as they do just two points away from the group leaders even though they still haven’t won a game. Today they play the group leaders, so something’s got to give there.

Group Two

Leicestershire v Surrey (Leicester)
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Hampshire v Somerset (Southampton)

Gloucestershire are the runaway leaders, and take their unbeaten record to Middlesex, who have repeatedly failed to convert promising positions (mostly against Somerset) into victories. Leicestershire’s search of a first win - they have lost three out of four so far - continues against a Surrey side that came good last week to get their own first victory on the board, while it’s third against second as Hampshire welcome Somerset.

Group Three

Yorkshire v Kent (Headingley)
Lancashire v Glamorgan (Old Trafford)
Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)

Group Three is looking worryingly close to cooked already, with Yorkshire and Lancashire yomping clear of the pack. Can Kent, marooned at the bottom of the heap, stop the Yorkshire juggernaut at Headingley? And can Glamorgan apply the brakes to Lancashire’s runaway train at Old Trafford, where Jimmy Anderson will be donning whites and taking to the field for the first time this season? We’ll find out over the next few days, while Sussex and Northamptonshire will be competing for the honour of keeping the leaders vaguely within their sights.

So here we are. I’ll do my best to keep on top of the going-on around the grounds, but please do get in touch if something interesting happens at the match you’re monitoring. Right then, the sun has gone in and I’m off to flick the heater switch.

Updated

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