'Proud day' for Bell-Drummond as Kent win at Old Trafford
Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond was jubilant after his Kent side pulled off their first Championship victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford this millennium. “These wins are not easy to come by,” he said, “so hopefully we can go from strength to strength. This is a very proud day for me.”
Bell-Drummond, in his first year as skipper, led the way with an unbeaten and increasingly free-flowing 79, as Kent fought through a testing morning against a lively Nathan Lyon and Tom Hartley. Lyon took both wickets to fall, including an electric reflex caught-and-bowled, but Lancashire couldn’t stem the runs. They remain without a win this summer and sit firmly in the Division One basement. The one piece of good news is that Saqib Mahmood is expected to play in their next game at Trent Bridge.
Centuries for Sam Northeast – purveyor of fat hundreds and now the leading run-scorer in the country with a total of 561 – and Colin Ingram saw Glamorgan hold Yorkshire to a draw at Headingley – with thunder and lightning after tea ensuring no final-session tension. The hosts, who had galloped to 519 for seven declared in their first innings, were hampered by an ankle injury to Matt Fisher, which left him unable to bowl on day four.
Dan Moriarty and Dom Bess wheeled through 96 overs between them on a pitch that didn’t perhaps deteriorate as expected and they collected a wicket each, but Joe Root and Adam Lyth walked off with with two apiece. Events were called off at Lord’s without a ball bowled after rain ruined day four, as it had day one between Middlesex and Leicestershire.
Final scores
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Kent 261 and 166-3 BEAT Lancashire 92 and 332 BY SEVEN WICKETS
Taunton: Somerset 128 and 170-7 BEAT Essex 156 and 138 BY THREE WICKETS
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 246 and 109-9 LOST TO Sussex 479 BY AN INNINGS AND 124 RUNS
Lord’s: Middlesex 407-8 DRAW WITH Leicestershire 306
Headingley: Yorkshire 519-7dec DRAW WITH Glamorgan 221 and 372-7
And that is that! Thanks for your company over the last four days – see you all on Friday!
Yorkshire DRAW with Glamorgan
Headingley: Yorkshire 519-7dec DRAW WITH Glamorgan 221 and 372-7
Yorkshire 16 points, Glamorgan 10
Match abandoned at Headingley – it ends in a draw. Yorkshire pick up 16 points, Glamorgan get 10.
Right, with thunder rumbling around at Headingley, I think I’ll start writing up for the paper. BTL remains open, as always.
Bad light stops play at Headingley
Is this, the final curtain? Glamorgan 372-7. Northeast 142 not out, Crane one not out. Two wickets for J Root and Adam Lyth.
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Harris sent on his way, lbw, by the ump. Not a happy chappy. But Glamorgan now seven down.
Tea-time scores
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Kent 261 and 166-3 BEAT Lancashire 92 and 332 BY SEVEN WICKETS
Taunton: Somerset 128 and 170-7 BEAT Essex 156 and 138 BY THREE WICKETS
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 246 and 109-9 LOST TO Sussex 479 BY AN INNINGS AND 124 RUNS
Lord’s: Middlesex 407-8 DRAW WITH Leicestershire 306
Headingley: Yorkshire 519-7dec v Glamorgan 221 and 362-6
A wicket! With the final ball of the session. Adam Lyth and his nondescript doughnuts the man with the golden arm. Bevan lbw – Glamorgan 362-6, a lead of 64. Yorkshire bounce into tea.
Dom Bess has filthy knees, so at least something is right with the world. Northeast and young Bevan seeing Glamorgan through till tea.
Middlesex DRAW with Leicestershire
Lord’s: Middlesex 407-8 DRAW WITH Leicestershire 306
Middlesex 15 points, Leicestershire 12
And they call it a day at Lord’s.
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Dom Bess really has gone bold with the bleach bottle – full on white blond, no hint of honey. Happy for Moriarty here, he spent so long on the sidelines at Surrey, now into his 51st over (1-121) of the innings.
Daniel Bell-Drummond on today’s win: “These wins are not easy to come by, so hopefully we can go from strength to strength. This is a very proud day for me but now we have three days off and then we’re back to it.
“Both Wes Agar and Nathan Gilchrist bowled brilliantly. It was world-class bowling that bowled them out very cheaply in the first innings and put us in the box-seat in the game. They were hungry to get back into it and they really showed their class.”
A second for Joe Root! Cooke bowled and now the door is open.
100 for Sam Northeast!
A hungry Northeast reaches his second century of the year – the first was that unbeaten 335. He already has 500 runs under his belt – if he could make this a double, 1000 before the end of May suddenly flies into sight.
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Have arrived home. The Giro seems to have taken precedence over Yorks v Glamorgan, where Ingram has been out. A wicket for Root J. Glam four down, lead by 11.
A hundred for Colin Ingram!
This was before lunch actually, but deserves celebrating. A cracking performance by Glamorgan in their second innings to take things to near parity, a partnership of 200 between Ingram and that purveyor of big scores, Sam Northeast.
I’m going to cycle home now with the covers on at Old Trafford. One chink of light for Lancs supporters – Saqib Mahmood is due to play in the next round of matches, against Notts at Trent Bridge.
Lunchtime discussion: Roger Bannister’s sub four-minute mile, the top sporting achievement of the last 100 years.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Kent 261 and 166-3 BEAT Lancashire 92 and 332 BY SEVEN WICKETS
Taunton: Somerset 128 and 170-7 BEAT Essex 156 and 138 BY THREE WICKETS
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 246 and 109-9 LOST TO Sussex 479 BY AN INNINGS AND 124 RUNS
Lord’s: Middlesex 407-8 v Leicestershire 306 no play yet today
Headingley: Yorkshire 519-7dec v Glamorgan 221 and 277-3
Kent beat Lancashire by seven wickets!
Old Trafford: Kent 261 and 166-3 BEAT Lancashire 92 and 332 BY SEVEN WICKETS
Kent 20 points, Lancashire 3
It must be day four, chips and sandwiches for lunch in the press box – and very happy everyone is too. Kent need two to win… and there we are! DBD 79 not out; Denly senior 19 not out – a first win for Kent this season, and they look thoroughly delighted.
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If they are to lose –and Kent need just 15 - Lancashire will be the only team to have lost two Championship matches.
A little update on Fisher from Graham H at Headingley – Fisher didn’t warm up this morning , so presumably will play no part today. Looks like an injury to the left ankle.
And a wicket! A second for Lyon, Leaning obliges: straight into the hands of Wells at slip. Probably too little, probably too late. Kent 129-3, need 35.
Make that two fifities and two hundreds for DBD in four matches.
They’re taking an early lunch at Lord’s, 12.30 prompt for a medium glass of Sauvingon and an avocado melt.
Sam Northeast and Colin Ingram both moving towards seemingly inevitable centuries at Headingley against a Yorkshire side shorn of Fisher, who tripped while trying to save a boundary yesterday.
And Bell-Drummond passes fifty for the fourth time this season – a cracking start to his first season as Kent captain.
Twelve overs here at OT this morning, plenty of threat, but not as much pressure as Lancashire might have hoped – there hasn’t been a maiden yet. The hundred up for Kent, who need another 63.
It’s suddenly looking sticky for Kent. Hartley and Lyon have the bit between their teeth. At least Anderson isn’t pawing the turf in the deep.
No play, incidentally, at Lord’s – where it is raining and the forecast is miserable.
Brilliant! Compton must go this time, he drives, and Lyon, all international reflexes, dives to his right and collects. Kent 92-2, require 73.
A drop! And it’s the crab-like Compton, dropped by Will Williams, the ball bouncing out of his paws as he hit the ground.
Another email drops – good morning, Jonathan May!
“An interesting article by Ali re the PCA’s concerns about the volume of domestic cricket being played.
”To an extent the concerns make sense, given that, after the championship phase, the schedule becomes incredibly messy, due to the ECB’s mother of all disasters in adding a fourth format to the season. You often get the impression that players are unsure which format they’re playing mid-way through.
”Some complaints don’t wash though. Journey times in England aren’t much of an issue (compare US NBA basketball road trips!). And how about travelling around in team buses, not their cars, as it’s safer and more environment-friendly? Most sports teams seem to.
“Above all, 78 days’ cricket for a county (the number Ali quotes) doesn’t seem too much over six months. That includes all the championship days theoretically getting played on (which they never do) and the one-day cup, which is nowadays full of second-team players grateful for the chance to shine. Very few players, if any, play all the matches.
“Come on guys, it’s a professional sport and a nice life too. I’d swap it for an office job any day.”
Hartley and Lyon are wheeling away, not quite into the dust, the slightly less damp soil. Kent’s target has shrunk to 84 – make that 80 with that boundary from Compton, who is slightly less snail-like this morning.
Good morning, Tim Maitland!
“Just chewing the cud over Joe Root’s 156 against Glamorgan and the 119 he scored in the last match versus Derbyshire and I can’t help thinking it might be really good news for England.
”Of course these aren’t test calibre attacks, but I’d argue Root was the one person who didn’t need to be influenced by whatever Brendon McCullum wants the “Bazball” philosophy to be called. He was already scoring at a rate that would get under the skin of any test captain and, more importantly, was doing it in a relatively risk free manner: the nurdling of ones and twos off good balls and the exquisitely timed despatching of the bad ones. Relieved of the captaincy and given the freer reign of the Ben Stokes era, I’d argue Root became less effective. It wasn’t that his novelty shots were getting him out that often, but he seemed to be getting out more often pushing to score at a higher rate than he needed to.
”The beauty of yesterday’s innings (foreshadowed by the more pedestrian one against Derbyshire), was that while scoring at almost a run a ball - his century came pleasingly in exactly 100 balls, Root wasn’t pressing to manufacture runs. The scoop seems to have been largely shelved and the reverse sweep has been returned to its role as a surprise weapon.
”If this is part of a plan to get himself back to what made him such a successful test batsman in the first place, he could be about to enjoy a real Indian summer as he enters the later stages of his career.”
Players express concern about the congested domestic fixture list:
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Sunday's round up
In radiant evening sunlight at Old Trafford, Nathan Lyon was causing chaos. With the ball spitting and ripping, and four men close to the bat, squatting on top of their long shadows, Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond and Ben Compton dug into their task of survival, and digging out the 164 Lancashire had set them to win.
Lyon, sunglasses characteristically attached to his shaved head, appealed vigorously, but neither he nor Tom Hartley could make the breakthrough. Kent, despite losing Zak Crawley to the second over of the innings, lbw for one, need another 93. Earlier, Matt Parkinson and Wes Agar finished with three wickets each, despite some plucky innings from Lancashire’s young batters, Georges Balderson and Bell and Matty Hurst.
A reverse-swinging masterclass from a zinging Jayden Seales careered through Derbyshire’s second innings, sending them flying like Smarties at a children’s party, and to defeat by an innings and 124 runs.
Seales, who was twice on a hat-trick, finished with a career-best five for 29, and warm words from his head coach at Sussex, Paul Farbrace, who said: “In the four games he’s played for us, every single spell he’s run in hard. He’s never cantered in, he’s never taken it easy and never not wanted to bowl.”
Derbyshire’s New Zealand fast bowler Blair Tickner did not bat, and announced that his wife Sarah is suffering from leukaemia and is receiving treatment in the UK. Sussex lost a point due to a slow over rate.
Yorkshire flayed Glamorgan to all corners of Headingley, cantering to maximum batting points with bags of overs to spare. Joe Root cruised to 156, his second hundred in consecutive games, Finlay Bean an aggressive 173, his highest first-class score, while Harry Brook and Jonny Tattersall contributed funky fifties. Mason Crane, who took a tonking, finished with five for 152. Glamorgan lost three wickets – including Kiran Carlson unlucky to be run out off Root’s shin pad at silly point – before Sam Northeast and Colin Ingram dug in.
Hundreds for Sam Robson and Leus du Plooy helped Middlesex past 400 at Lord’s, with a couple of wickets for Leicestershire’s Rehan Ahmed.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Lancashire 92 and 332 v Kent 261 and 71-1
Taunton: Somerset 128 and 170-7 BEAT Essex 156 and 138 BY THREE WICKETS
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 246 and 109-9 LOST TO Sussex 479 BY AN INNINGS AND 124 RUNS
Lord’s: Middlesex 407-8 v Leicestershire 306
Headingley: Yorkshire 519-7dec v Glamorgan 221 and 171-3
Preamble
Good bank holiday morning! It’s a beautiful day here in Manchester – where Kent must garner another 93 runs for their first win at Old Trafford in the Championship this millenium. Elsewhere, Yorkshire are on the charge and things look fair for a merry draw at Lord’s.
