Roundup: Leicestershire fall 15 runs short of 499 chase
A collection of corking finishes shuffled the chasing and falling packs in the Championship run-in.
Leicestershire nearly pulled off their greatest ever run chase, getting within 15 runs of their outrageous target of 499 at Hove. Jaydev Unadkat was the wrinkle in the fairytale, taking six wickets, the last four in 31 balls, including Tom Scriven (78) and Ben Cox (58) who had taken Leicestershire within dreaming distance. Cox is on loan before a permanent move from promotion rivals Worcestershire. It was the first time Sussex had won more than one game in the Championship since 2019 – and gives them a chance of promotion – though they are 18 points behind second-placed Worcs.
At Edgbaston a contrived finish nearly exploded in Warwickshire’s face after Northamptonshire, reeking of desperation, shook hands on their opponents chasing a modest proposal of 176 in 60 overs. But a superb Ben Sanderson hat-trick reduced Warwicks to 24 for five, the scorecard a scribbled mess. Michael Burgess, alongside Ed Barnard and Danny Briggs, inched them to the target with two wickets in hand. For Northants the result looks to have ended their survival hopes – they need to beat Essex and Surrey with maximum points, and hope their relegation battle rivals gather no points at all.
Kent had to nail down the doors with haste after their victory chase of 168 in 32 overs hit severe turbulence at 86-6. Nottinghamshire’s blushes had earlier been saved by Joe Clarke (141 not out) and Brett Hutton.
At Old Trafford, Lanky the giraffe joined the crowd in a standing ovation for Dane Vilas as he left county cricket at the end of Lancashire’s draw with Middlesex. The result gives Middlesex hope of staying in Division One – something that had looked unlikely at 19 for five on day one.
At Sophia Gardens, Yorkshire were thwarted by an impressive rearguard by Sam Northeast (166) and Eddie Byrom (101) for Glamorgan.
Phew! What a scorcher. That valiant effort by Leicestershire and the nip-and-tuck at Edgbaston the highlights. As ever, thanks for your company. See you on Tuesday, probably at The Oval, to witness Surrey’s crowning. Good night!
Close of play scores
Division One
Canterbury: Kent 446 and 86-6 DRAW with Nottinghamshire 265 and 348
Old Trafford: Lancashire 413 DRAW with Middlesex 194 and 160-3
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147-4dec and 176-8 BEAT Northamptonshire 250 and 72-0dec by two wickets
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 273 and 401-5dec DRAW with Yorkshire 500
Bristol: Gloucestershire 377 and 208-6 DRAW WITH Derbyshire 403
Hove: Sussex 262 and 344-9dec BEAT Leicestershire 108 and 483 by 15 runs
Division One Table (all sides have played 12 games)
1 Surrey 205
2 Essex 187
3 Hampshire 153
4 Warwickshire 149
5 Lancashire 146
6 Somerset 128
7 Nottinghamshire 122
8 Middlesex 95
9 Kent 93
10 Northants 63
Kent draw with Nottinghamshire
Canterbury: Kent 446 and 86-6 DRAW with Nottinghamshire 265 and 348
A missed opportunity for Kent.
Division Two table
1 Durham (12) 198
2 Worcestershire (12) 154
3 Sussex (12) 136
4 Leicestershire (12) 133
5 Glamorgan (13) 131
6 Derbyshire (12) 96
7 Gloucestershire (13) 95
8 Yorkshire (12) 81
Warwickshire beat Northamptonshire by two wickets!
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147-4dec and 176-8 BEAT Northamptonshire 250 and 72-0dec by two wickets
That was a very round-about way to come to the logical conclusion.
Just one game left – and Kent are locking the doors at Canterbury. Time for me to write up but will be back with any fireworks. Do mull it all over BTL.
A drop! At Edgbaston. Things looking pretty terminal now for Northants. Jack White drops Burgess, now pinging the ball all over the place. Only six needed.
Ralf: Warwickshire are edging ever closer to their target of 175, now just 20 away with Burgess 59 not out. Kent appear to have slowed down a touch, perhaps the thought of defeat lingering on the back of their minds. Kent five down and still requiring over 100, former Notts player Joey Evison strides out to join Ben Compton.
Defeat would be devastating for their survival hopes, especially with Middlesex clinging on at OT and there are few recognised batsmen in the dugout, so it really has to be these two.
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Ralf: Not a fascinating way to end Dane Vilas’ Lancashire career but the South African receives a warm standing ovation as the Lancs supporters show their appreciation for his services over the last seven seasons.
A rather tame end to a game destined for a draw once we saw the forecast for the week. Just under four sessions lost to rain plus a traditionally flat Old Trafford wicket is not a formula that usually creates a result.
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Lancashire draw with Middlesex
Old Trafford: Lancashire 413 v Middlesex 194 and 160-3 Davies 65 Eskinazi 26
The draw is looming like a dark cloud over Old Trafford, with Davies and Eskinazi well and truly weathering the storm. Davies has gone on to complete a maiden first-class fifty and has batted fluently, unlike his partner. Eskinazi, who played the entire Hundred campaign for Welsh Fire, has faced over a hundred balls for his 22 not out today. Elsewhere, Northamptonshire are fighting hard to avoid the drop, they have Warwickshire eight down still requiring 32. Kent are in a spot of bother and may be regretting their decision to go so hard, so early instead of pacing their pursuit over the 32 overs. They are 52 for 4 in just eight overs and require a further 116.
All three games in the Second Division signed off – but hats off to Leicestershire for that astonishing chase. Even if they don’t pinch promotion – as now seems likely – they’ve shown they can (almost) chase the impossible. Meanwhile Worcestershire reach for the celebratory corkscrew. Over to Ralf for a bit before it is time to write up.
Glamorgan draw with Yorkshire
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 273 and 401-5dec v Yorkshire 500
Nice work by the Glamorgan batters second-time around. Northeast 166 not out.
Gloucestershire draw with Derbyshire
Bristol: Gloucestershire 377 and 208-6 DRAW WITH Derbyshire 403
Thomson 4-79; van Vuuren 48 not out. Rain the winner.
Not saying I’m at the wrong game, but Lanky the giraffe, and his minder, doing a lap of the ground is causing the biggest commotion we’ve had for some time at OT. Lancs 140-3.
Sussex beat Leicestershire by 15 runs!
Jaydev Unadkat yorks Chris Wright to finish with figures of 6-94 and Sussex have gone absolutely wild in celebration.
Leicestershire’s hopes for promotion dealt a painful blow, while Sussex’s are reignited after a famous win.
A no ball- 17 needed at Hove…
Ralf: Warwickshire eight down! Still needing 52 and with just Rushworth and Hannon-Dalby to come Michael Burgess will have to play a gem of an innings to get his side home against Division One’s basement-dwellers Northamptonshire. Leicestershire are eeking towards their mammoth 499, 31 required with just that one wicket remaining. Cancel that he’s just hit back to back sixes, what a way to welcome himself to his new team mates this would be if he got his current employers over the line. Kent have lost a first wicket in their pursuit of 168 against Notts, Crawley goes.
Chris Wright – off to Sussex in a couple of weeks – off the mark with a boundary. Leicestershire, last knockings, need 34 to win, one wicket in hand. Back to Ralf.
Kent to chase 167 in 32 overs!
Zak Crawley – your time is now.
Notts nine down now. Paterson goes and Joe Clarke is in danger of being stranded, Asitha Fernando comes out to join him with the lead 167. That wicket is not good news for Middlesex, who were just six points ahead of ninth-placed Kent before this game. What is good news for them is the fact Tom Bailey is bowling off-spin for Lancs. So far the seam bowler has looked relatively tidy in his new role , if a little unthreatening. With 353 wickets bowling seam I suggest he probably shouldn’t quit his day job. This game at Old Trafford appears to be petering out and we may see a few more unorthodox bowling changes this afternoon.
As Lancs come out for one last heave –and Middlesex one last ho - I’ll hand over to Ralf.
Tea-time scores
Canterbury: Kent 446 v Nottinghamshire 265 and 348-8 Notts lead by 167
Old Trafford: Lancashire 413 v Middlesex 194 and 106-3
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147-4dec and 94-6 v Northamptonshire 250 and 72-0dec Warwicks need 82 to win
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 273 and 354-4 v Yorkshire 500
Bristol: Gloucestershire 377 and 169-6 v Derbyshire 403
Hove: Sussex 262 and 344-9dec v Leicestershire 108 and 453-7 Leics need 46 to win
BArnard out on the stroke of tea at Edgbaston! LBW Keogh. Warwicks 94-6, need 82.
Tea scores round the grounds to follow, into the final session with nothing yet decided.
Giving Ralf a brief rest while Luke Wells comes on to bowl to ironic cheers. Time to twinkle around the grounds. At Hove, Leicestershire are in cork-exploding distance of 499 – their largest fourth innings total by some distance. The previous best 404-5 against Oxford University, and, in the Championship, 394-7 against Derbyshire in 1947. Just 46 needed, Scriven (78) and Cox (57) – who Paul points out is on loan from promotion rivals Worcestershire.
Ah. A wicket. A WICKET! Scriven a third wicket for Unadkat. Leicestershire 453-7, need 46.
Ralf: It’s that time of the season where counties fortunes change entirely every hour. With Kent struggling to knock over an increasingly resistant Notts lower order and Warwickshire fighting back slowly against Northants, Middlesex’s chances of remaining in Division One look a lot rosier than they did half an hour ago. Eskinazi and Davies have calmed things down out here, putting on a comfortable 24 so far. Both teams battling hard but this one looks destined to be a rain-ruined draw.
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Just popping back briefly to say that Jimmy Anderson is leaving Lancs.
Ok, not that Jimmy Anderson, but the electrician who has worked at Old Trafford for years, causing all sorts of confusion. Good luck Jimmy in your new job at the stadium in Manchester. The other Jimmy Anderson can now look forward to an electrical-pamphlet free pigeon hole.
Now, with Warwicks still five down, Joe Clarke (120 not out) doing a superb job of keeping Kent at bay, and LEICESTERSHIRE needing just 60 to win, back to Ralf.
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Ralf: Joe Cracknell goes and that scent of blood Lancs smelt has only got stronger! Cracknell goes after smiting a magnificent straight six earlier in the over, undone by a clever bit of bowling from Hartley. Hartley, who has had an up and down year in red-ball cricket, will want to bowl his team to victory in this glorious September sunshine. For those saying Lancs have little to play for, Keaton Jennings’ side are looking for their first County Championship win at Old Trafford this season. Joining Jack Davies is concussion substitute Steve Eskinazi, replacing Max Holden, and he will hope to calm the nerves of his Middlesex team-mates.
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Ralf: Game on at Edgbaston! Warwickshire have lost another wicket and Ben Sanderson has aded to his collection, this time picking up Rob Yates. Warwickshire will remain confident with Barnard and Burgess at the crease. Burgess will want to prove his true all-rounder status after just his second ever bowl in first-class cricket. Warwickshire still require 141 runs to win.
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Ralf: With news of that potential Northamptonshire fightback, survival becomes paramount for Middlesex. Kent are still looking favourites against Notts, so a Middlesex defeat would be incredibly detrimental to their hopes of competing in Division One next season.
They have, however, just lost their experienced opening batsman, Mark Stoneman, to Hartley’s left arm spin, which opens the door to a young middle order, one whom has appeared very brittle throughout the season. Lancashire will smell blood with close to 60 overs remaining and no sight of the rain that has swept through Manchester in the last few days.
Joe Cracknell, in just his third first-class game, has looked comfortable during his 50- ball stay but Middlesex hopes rest strongly on him and Jack Davies. The Lancs lead is 168, so they have full license to attack after this morning’s positive batting from their lower order. Two more wickets before tea and the Middlesex dressing room will be increasingly tensing up but they are fighting hard for now.
While you digest the news from Edgbaston, I’m going to hand over briefly now to Ralf Syrett, here for the afternoon on work experience. He’s going to India next week as part of the Street Child Cricket World Cup where he’ll be reporting on what cricket can do to improve the lives of street children.
A hat-trick at Edgbaston!!!
Scrap my previous comments. Northants knew exactly what they were doing. Sanderson gets Rhodes, Hain and Mousley in consecutive balls. Warwicks 19-4.
So. Warwickshire lose an early wicket. Just flirting with Northants, the dirty dogs. 19-1 need another 157
And Notts still seven down at Canterbury. Which should inspire Middlesex who are still one down. Lancs fancy second – but not as much as Middlesex fancy staying up.
In Div 2: Glamorgan are fighting the good fight – hundreds for Sam Northeast and Ed Byrom. Going through the motions at Bristol (Glos 98-3, the lead 72 over Derbys).
And Leicestershire boldly go. Cox and Scriven well set, six down, 137 needed.
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A good (cricket) news story:
The ECB has announced a fresh £2m investment in programmes aimed at engaging black and south Asian communities and state-educated children. The funding will be directed to five of the governing body’s partner charities over the next two-and-a-half years, forming part of the ECB’s response to a damning report published earlier this year.
Ebony Rainford-Brent’s African Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE), the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) and the MCC Foundation join long-term partners Chance to Shine and Lord’s Taverners in sharing the new cash injection. PA
Lunchtime scores
Canterbury: Kent 446 v Nottinghamshire 265 and 235-7 Notts lead by 54
Old Trafford: Lancashire 413 v Middlesex 194 and 35-1
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147-4dec v Northamptonshire 250 and 72-0dec Warwicks need 176 to win
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 273 and 230-3 v Yorkshire 500
Bristol: Gloucestershire 377 and 83-2 v Derbyshire 403
Hove: Sussex 262 and 344-9dec v Leicestershire 108 and 346-6 Leics need 153 to win
With Northants smelling like desperation, time for the lunchtime scores:
Gosh, Warwickshire struck a harsh bargain. Northants declare on 72-0, leaving Warwickshire 176 runs to chase in two sessions.
An email!
“My first sighting of the reverse sweep was as played by Rosie Cartwright, who claimed to have invented it, in Ep 7, Series 16 of Heartbeat…just saying!
”NB I do actually have a rich and fulfilling life…”
Thank you Jane Mayes! If it helps, I think that Every Loser Wins sung by Nick Berry, Heartbeat’s PC Nick Rowan, was one of my brother’s first singles.
Distracted by people popping in and out of the press-box: Paul Allott, very chatty in a royal blue jumper, and soon Ralf the excellent work-experience lad who you might remember from last year.
Round the Division One grounds with 15 mins till lunch. Middlesex static at one down. Clarke and Hutton pressing on at Canterbury – the lead 41 over a frustrated Kent. And Northants not exactly galloping towards a tempting total at Edgbaston: 69-0 off 21 overs.
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Middlesex lose their first...
A breakthrough! Bailey of course. Robson takes off a batting glove and trudges off. Bailey finds some extra lift, Robson is squared up and squeezes a catch to Williams at third slip. Middx 14-1 – and so it begins.
Hogan’s run! Five wickets for Hogan at Canterbury, two in two balls as he has James caught for an 130-ball 39 and Harrison next ball. Clarke still there on 64, Hutton a rapid 20. Notts 201-7 – a lead of 20.
Things not going to script around the traps. Bell out for 91, stumped losing his head. Five wickets for Yadav in a final total of 413. And now a guard of honour for an embarrassed-looking Vilas as he takes the field for one last time as Middlesex come out to bat for their survival.
Not looking good for Leicestershire down at Hove. Two wickets for Carson, two big wickets – Ackermann for 136 and Amin for 94.
A wicket at OT – but don’t panic - it is Hartley. Bell can sniff his first first-class century. So can the crowd. And the balcony.
A game set up at Edgbaston!
Lots going on: Warwicks have declared 103 runs behind at Edgbaston, presumably Emilio Gay and Hassan Azad will now crack quick runs to set up an afternoon chase. Northants desperately need a win.
Feeling nostalgic for Old Trafford on my last visit here this season. A beauty in the hideous red stands, a crispness in the shadows. Soon I’ll be emotional about the terrible press box coffee. Lancs 380-6, Bell 81 not out. Declaration due soon.
A poignant ring of the five minute bell and final morning’s cricket at Old Trafford for Dane Vilas, who announced this morning that this would be his last game for Lancashire. Plenty of room if you want to pay homage to a long and lustrous career.
🗣 "This is going to be my last game at Emirates Old Trafford... it's an emotional game after the seven years I've had here - hopefully we can finish well."@DaneVilas ❤️
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) September 13, 2023
🌹 #RedRoseTogether pic.twitter.com/3CUePQGuT8
Another late World Cup call-up for Jofra Archer?
Simon Burnton with the latest:
Play everywhere, except in the big one – at Canterbury. But, unless there is any further heavy rain, things will start to unravel there at 10.45.
Tuesday's round-up
Autumn blew across the County Championship, shortening sessions and wiping out the day at Edgbaston. But at Canterbury, where Kent are chasing crucial survival points and Nottinghamshire risk being drawn into the mix, the game moved on swiftly.
After an early wobble, Nottinghamshire made a good fist of their second innings after being asked to follow on. Reduced to 78 for five by Joey Evison and Michael Hogan, plus a balletic one-handed catch by Zak Crawley, Joe Clarke and Lyndon James then put on an unbeaten 99 to reduce the deficit to just four runs.
It wasn’t good news for fellow members of the relegation pack, Middlesex, thwarted first by the weather and then by Lancashire’s batting at a soggy Old Trafford. The soon-to-retire Dane Vilas hit 124 and Luke Wells a feisty 97 as Middlesex’s spinners were put to the sword. The Lancashire lead was 136 when the rain came.
At Hove, the Division Two promotion hopefuls Leicestershire set off on the unlikely pursuit of 499 after Sussex declared five balls after lunch. The pursuit was made marginally less unlikely by stumps with Colin Ackermann unbeaten on 103, and Leicester needing another 278 for an incredible victory.
The Derbyshire captain, Leus du Plooy, zipped to a fifth century of a super season on a wet day at Bristol; the 22-year-old leg-spinner Ed Middleton picked up his first Championship wicket when Mark Watt charged down the pitch.
At Sophia Gardens, Glamorgan were forced to follow on after Yorkshire’s Matt Revis pocketed a career-best five for 50. Sam Northeast (45) and Eddie Byrom (52) had reduced the deficit to 107 by stumps.
Scores on the doors
Canterbury: Kent 446 v Nottinghamshire 265 and 177-5
Old Trafford: Lancashire 330-5 v Middlesex 194
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 142-4 v Northamptonshire 250 no play today
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 273 and 120-2 v Yorkshire 500
Bristol: Gloucestershire 377 v Derbyshire 398-9
Hove: Sussex 262 and 344-9dec v Leicestershire 108 and 221-3
Preamble
Hello! Autumn sweeps in, bringing end-of-season jeopardy with her. It was slipper weather this morning when I let the dog out –but all is now light-blue bright, as we head into the final day of this round, with everything still up for grabs.
Survival is the order of the day – for Middlesex at OT, for Notts at Canterbury, for Glamorgan against Yorkshire. Leicestershire’s task is outrageous – but possible promotion is a powerful drug, and Kent will be desperate to rattle Notts out quickly. The games at Bristol and Edgbaston look destined for draws. Play starts at 10.30am.
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