Burns hits 227, Smith inspires Cox and Bairstow
While Jamie Smith was making hay at Old Trafford, the country’s other wicketkeepers flexed their wrists in the County Championship.
Jonny Bairstow bristled with intent as he marched out like a soldier in burning boots at North Marine Road. His boundary-heavy 57 delighted supporters sitting on the wooden-slatted benches in the face of a mischievous wind, but he was one of five players to fall to Jack Carson, and his wicket precipitated a middle-order collapse. Still, Yorkshire have a valuable first-innings lead over Sussex.
Jordan Cox, released by England on the eve of the Test, slammed a vivacious 141 off just 124 balls on a slow Southampton pitch, after Essex were inserted by Hampshire’s James Vince. Cox took the tempo, which had been slow and steady in the hands of Dean Elgar and Tom Westley, and wrestled it into a galloping pony. Alongside, Elgar fashioned an elegant third hundred of the summer, finally out for 136. But with the first day lost to rain – and terrible weather predicted for Saturday – Essex will need the game to fast-forward on Sunday to keep leaders Surrey in near sight.
At the Oval, where Surrey ground Lancashire’s attack into flour, Ben Foakes made his highest score of the summer, a classy 82 against a rosy-cheeked attack of ingenues. But the drinks were on home side’s captain, Rory Burns, who hit a fluent and career best score of 227 as Surrey declared on 444. And James Rew made 49 at Edgbaston, bolstering Somerset’s middle order with Kasey Aldridge, but Ed Barnard’s five-fer ensured Warwickshire finished on top.
At the other end of the Division One table, Kent’s second innings started disastrously when Ben Compton was run out for a duck, though his opening partner Tawanda Muyeye finished unbeaten on 80. This after Worcestershire had knocked up a lead of 276, Akeem Jordan finishing with five wickets on his Kent debut.
Another intriguing day – with Surrey pressing the accelerator, led by a double hundred from Rory Burns, but Essex playing catch up thanks to a vibrant innings from Jordan Cox. Thanks for all your messages, till tomorrow – good night!
Close of play scores
DIVISION ONE
New Road: Worcestershire 447 v Kent 171 and 104-2
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 337 and 27-1 v Somerset 239
The Oval: Surrey 444-9 v Lancashire 204 and 4-0
Southampton: Hampshire v Essex 404-8
Chester-le-Street: Durham 531-7 dec v Nottinghamshire 220-8
DIVISION TWO
Merchant Taylor’s School: Middlesex 250-7 v Northamptonshire 207
North Marine Road: Yorkshire 326 v Sussex 189 and 26-0
County Ground: Derbyshire 429 v Glamorgan 168 and 39-0
Bristol: Gloucestershire 227-3 v Leicestershire 402
Updated
With Surrey, and Derbyshire, batting on and on, time for me to write up for Friday’s early deadlines. Do chat on BTL.
A hundred for Dean Elgar, fifty for Jordan Cox, a duck for Ben Compton
Events, events. Ben Compton run out for a duck, shortly after Tawanda Muyeye was dropped on 0. Kent, never boring, 12-1.
Jordan Cox has just smashed a run-a-ball fifty to complement Elgar’s meticulous 123. Essex 264-2.
And Yorkshire wobble further, 253-7, a fourth for Carson
Three wickets for Rushworth at Edgbaston: Aldridge still batting, on 62, but Rew (49) and a tub-thumping Overton both back in the pavilion. Somerset 211-7, still 127 behind Warwicks.
Lancashire in deep trouble at The Oval, Surrey steaming ahead. Rory Burns 178 not out, Ben Foakes (82) with his highest score of the year. The lead 138 and the new ball toothless. Lancs already hovering close to the relegation zone in Division One, and in deeper trouble if Worcestershire go on to demolish Kent. The one bright side for them? Tomorrow’s weather forecast.
Five wickets for Akeem Jordan: Kent bat again
Maybe this time Kent’s batters won’t bring on an attack of the vapours in their supporters? Worcs finally all out for 447, a cracking card with seven players scoring 30 or more, and D’Oliveira out for 97. Five wickets for Akeem Jordan.
And another! Yorkshire have a classic case of the middle-order wobbles. Tattersall gone for 16, consecutive wickets in consecutive overs for Carson. Yorks 224-6.
Updated
An absolute beauty just after tea, to the call of the gull, as Carson, in sunglasses, bowls Will Luxton in the first over after the break at Scarbados. Luxton gone for 59 – Yorks 222-5. Sussex keep plugging away.
Updated
Tea-time-ish scores
DIVISION ONE
New Road: Worcestershire 423-9 v Kent 171
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 337 v Somerset 186-6
The Oval: Surrey 307-3 v Lancashire 204
Southampton: Hampshire v Essex 197-2
Chester-le-Street: Durham 531-7 dec v Nottinghamshire 134-6
DIVISION TWO
Merchant Taylor’s School: Middlesex 128-2 v Northamptonshire 207
North Marine Road: Yorkshire 214-4 v Sussex 189
County Ground: Derbyshire 378-8 v Glamorgan 168
Bristol: Gloucestershire 102-2 v Leicestershire 402
It looks gorgeous at Scarborough, though the brisk wind flapping at the fielders’ trousers will make sure no-one dozes off in the crowd. Yorks 209-4, a lead of 20 in this promotion-clash.
Northants have a breakthrough at Merchant Taylor’s, as Yuzvendra Chahal traps Max Holden for 25,Middx 119-2.
Surrey announce partnership with Cricket Brasil
Surrey have announced a new partnership worth £20,000 a year for the next three years with Cricket Brasil. Funds from The Oval Cricket Relief Trust will go towards high performance development; infrastructure and facilities and training and education.
Associação Brasileira de Cricket was set up in 2001 and became an ICC affiliate country in 2006, receiving T20I status for the men’s and women’s teams in 2018. It aims to achieve success in elite cricket but also use cricket as a way of delivering social change.
Matt Featherstone, the President of Cricket Brasil, said: “The partnership with Surrey will help to drive cricket across Brasil to new levels. We cannot wait to get started working to make a difference to so many people at the elite end of the game but also at the grassroots of the sport.
“There is a real passion for cricket in Brasil and we are committed to making the game a force for social good in this country.”
Surrey also support cricket in Rwanda, where a partnership with the charity Cricket Builds Hope has been in place since 2016.
And this time Jonny has to go, lbw to Carson for 57 off 72 balls, and he isn’t very happy about it. Much appreciation from the Scarborough crowd.
Whoops. Tom Haines and Ollie Robinson have a howler, running in together to catch a top edge from Bairstow. Haines leaves it to Robinson, who inexplicably lets the ball dribble through his fingers. They put their hands to their chins and almost-stare at each other. Next ball Bairstow pulls six into the wooden seating. Yorks 193-3.
Fifty for Jonny Bairstow and more!
A quick tour round the Division Two grounds: Middlesex have had a pretty start against Northants, now 100 for just the loss of Stoneman for 36. Sanderson the wicket taker, the deficit just 107.
Fifties for Will Luxton and Jonny Bairstow have taken Yorkshire to within a pinch of Sussex’s total at Scarborough, now 185-3.
Gloucestershire have a small mountain to climb after Leicestershire’s tail wagged vigorously, and Tom Scriven has just split the opening partnership, Glos 75-1.
And Derbyshire are having fun at the County ground, the lead 174 over Glamorgan, and contributions all down the card (30 extras gratefully recieved). Derbys 342-6, Kellaway 3-59.
Nottinghamshire trip up after the rebuild, losing Hameed (44) and McCann (51) within an over: 101-3. de Leede and Wagner the wicket-takers.
Elgar and Westley are easing Essex into a comfortable position at the Rosebowl – a century stand, and no reward for the Hampshire attack since the third over. Elgar already has fifty, Westley not long behind him. Essex 116-1.
Rew and Aldridge doing a brick-by-brick rebuild for Somerset from the sinkhole of 65-5. Rew, after his magical year in 2023, has struggled a little, only averaging 33 this summer, with one Championship hundred under his belt. Somerset 110-5, still 228 behind Warwickshire.
Updated
A hundred for Rory Burns...
..as Surrey slip effortlessly into the lead at The Oval. I know he’s got a team of superstars but Burns slips under the radar as a leader, all eyes on (the magnificent) Alec Stewart. Surrey have been Championship winners in 2018, 2022, 2023 and probably 2024 on his watch.
A lovely ode to Joe Leach drops from Rob Knap: “Following the Pears v Kent online, with the Test match on in the background. Not a productive day but I feel like I should be enjoying every minute of the CC this year.
“Every year somebody moves on (usually to a bumper contract with Notts in our case), but for Worcestershire, losing Joe Leach next year really is a big thing. I wanted to give him a shout out for yet another fine performance yesterday. It was remarkable that coming back from injury, creaking as his knees must be - and after a very ordinary first spell - he managed his second best career bowling figures yesterday of 6-52. Kent are clearly struggling, but you still have to get them out...
“I once heard an opponent praise his bowling, then describing him as an ‘unfashionable’ cricketer, a word which seems to say a lot given the current context for the professional game. He’s been a classic county pro. It feels like he’s been with us all century, but he’s still only 33! Loyal, reliable with the ball and with the odd swashbuckling innings to enjoy, he’s had such a good career for us (460+ wickets at just under 27, 4000ish runs at 23.5) - his retirement feels not only like a goodbye to Joe the player but also another inexorable step towards losing his ‘unfashionable’ type of professional cricketer from the game.”
Perhaps aptly, the last picture the Guardian library has of Leach is during the Bob Willis Trophy.
At New Road, meanwhile, Worcs have moved onto 286-4, a lead of 115. Another fifty under the belt of D’Oliveira.
After Durham’s pre-lunch declaration, Notts have soaked up the early loss of Slater, Hameed and McCann scoring at almost a run a ball. Durham well on top, though they are missing workhorses Stokes and Potts from their bowling line-up.
Burns dabs a four off the second ball after lunch and the good ship Surrey sails on its way.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
New Road: Worcestershire 237-4 v Kent 171
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 337 v Somerset 57-4
The Oval: Surrey 171-3 v Lancashire 204
Southampton: Hampshire v Essex 81-1
Chester-le-Street: Durham 531-7 dec v Nottinghamshire 29-1
DIVISION TWO
Merchant Taylor’s School: Middlesex 57-0 v Northamptonshire 207
North Marine Road: Yorkshire 104-3 v Sussex 189
County Ground: Derbyshire 247-5 v Glamorgan 168
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire 386-9
A third wicket for Glamorgan’s Ben Kellaway at the County Ground, but Derbyshire’s lead is already 77. Last night a tired Sam Northeast told reporters: “They weren’t easy conditions and we were rusty in the red-ball game, so we didn’t deal with it as well as we can do.”
Kent fans looking for succour won’t find it on the scorecard from New Road. Worcestershire are already 33 runs ahead, just four wickets down. Two wickets for new signing Jordan though, including Roderick for 63.
The world class keeper who will play no more internationals, Ben Foakes (25 Tests, two hundreds, four fifties, average 29, 69 catches, 10 stumpings), joins Rory Burns at the crease after Tom Aspinwall persuades Jacks to tee off to mid-off. Surrey 151-3, trail Lancs by 53. Tom Hartley comes into the attack for his first Championship game since May.
Updated
100 for Ashton Turner!
Turner gets the four runs he needs to collect a maiden Durham century on his first appearance for the county. Very nicely done! This is not the match Olly Stone was hoping for (1-109) when he was released from England duties. Durham 515-6.
Durham continue to charge towards the weekend at CLS, poor Haseeb Hameed’s call at the toss proving to be a costly one. Currently 482-6, with Ashton Turner just four runs away from being the third centurion of the innings.
Not the dream start for Somerset. After winkling Warwickshire out for 337, Tom Kohler-Cadmore is caught off the second ball of the innings, charging to his doom. Somerset 0-1.
Good morning Gary Naylor!
”I know I bang the drum for this, but I think cricket should develop a means of calculating the carbon cost of each match. Obviously, there would be some estimation, but there would be hard data too and, once a methodology is agreed, simple comparisons can be made between organisations and over time. Set a target of 10% reductions year on year and use the fund to support bids for specific projects that can be scaled up if successful. Sports should take a lead on this and the summer game, obviously most under threat, should lead sports’ efforts.”
It’s a great idea. Edgbaston did calculate the carbon cost of their “Green match” last year, and I think Lord’s do it. I’ll do some digging.
Northant’s tail lasted nearly an hour this morning, all out for 207. Five wickets for Toby Roland-Jones at Merchant Taylor’s.
Tim Maitland has thoughts on the ICC’s “Test” fund:
“If the ICC’s multi-million plans for test cricket are limited to boosting match fees, I’d argue that it’s a short-sighted approach doomed to failure because it doesn’t address the problem and isn’t sustainable.
”The solution to Test cricket’s travails is more bums on seats and more eyes on more TV screens further down the ladder. I would suggest that that involves marketing the long-neglected, long form of the game. Why not promote it as “Proper” cricket or “Cricket for the Connoisseur”, leveraging contracts with broadcasters to push the message in a relatively cost-effective manner?
”Yes, throwing cash at match fees will tempt some bigger names back to the test fold, but how long can the ICC bankroll competing against the wages of franchise cricket, given that one of the effects of their efforts will be to make the T20 leagues up their offers in return.
”I just hope there are more strings to the ICC’s bow than this.”
Apologies about the slight delay, I couldn’t find my laptop charger for said machine which ran out of power at an inopportune time. It is beautifully sunny at The Oval, where Will Jacks has lofted six, as he can, and spectators are in shirt sleeves. Williams, a smear of suncream over his nose, and Balderson causing a few problems to the Surrey glitterarti.
Sussex’s innings is all over at Scarborough for 189 and Robinson and Unadkat are now reeling in to Yorkshire’s top two. Adam Lyth has score 13 of the 15 runs on the board.
And second morning wicket at The Oval – as Ryan Patel follows Sibley back into the pavilion, Balderson the bowler this time as Patel nibbles and gets an outside edge.
A classic CCLive dismissal! Mohammad Abbas, still slim as a pencil, fizzes one into Robin Das’s shinpads. Essex 12-1.
Das is struck on the pad and the umpire raises his finger ☝️ pic.twitter.com/Jc0IkMkUIG
— Hampshire Cricket (@hantscricket) August 23, 2024
Lancashire have their first breakthrough as Dom Sibley opts not to play a shot at Will Williams. Surrey 86-1.
Correction: Tim Maitland, it turns out, is not sipping hot Bovril in Scarborough. “Full disclosure: I’m at a suitably safe distance from Scabrrr. Hong Kong, currently 32C and humidity in the 80s. It’s like breathing soup here.”
But, despite Lilian’s best efforts, a prompt start round the grounds, even at yesterday’s washout at Southampton. Hampshire have won the toss and are having a bowl.
Weather watch
Storm Lilian blows in with high winds, and damp stuff, especially in the north. The Met office musings? Storm Lilian brings heavy rain and strong winds during the early morning but clears northeastwards quickly. Blustery showers and sunny spells follow. Largely dry across Wales and southern England, until the evening. Windy here to start, but slowly easing.
A email drifts in. Hello Tim Maitland at (I think) North Marine Road.
”The spinners should get some nice drift at Scarborough this morning.
”This from Bridlington, 20 miles down the coast.
“As far as I can tell from G****e Maps, the pitch at North Marine Road seems to be aligned NNW-to-SSE, so the westerly winds should be cross winds from both ends.
“The Beeb weather forecast claims the 16C temperature at start of play will feel like 16C. Try telling that to the hardy souls desperately hugging their cups of Bovril for warmth.”
Positive news here on a dedicated fund to boost match fees for Test cricket. Be nice to see a dedicated climate fund too, as recommended by the Hit for Six report.
Thursday's round-up
Rocky Flintoff, the 16-year-old son of Andrew, celebrated his GCSE results with a debut first-class innings for Lancashire.
Flintoff, batting at four, strolled out at 33 for two, Lancashire’s youngest first-class cricketer, all wonderfully familiar gait and rush of the bat. A juicy drive and a timely pull for four, plus a couple of lucky moments, were enough to get the juices flowing till he was caught at backward point for 32 to his first ball after lunch.
Surrey continued to run through an inexperienced Lancashire lineup, with half the team 23 or under, and they were bowled out for 204, with four wickets for Jordan Clark and three for Dan Worrall. Rory Burns and Dom Sibley then whisked Surrey to 83 without loss before rain stopped play. The day had started with a minute’s silence in memory of Surrey’s Graham Thorpe.
More youthful brilliance at Chester-le-Street, where 19-year-old Ben McKinney panned a gorgeous 121 in his just his second first-class match for Durham. McKinney, a former England Under-19s captain and part of the Lions team that beat Sri Lanka last week, was ruthless on the Nottinghamshire bowlers, reaching his hundred with a peachy cover drive and off just 117 balls. Once he had departed, Alex Lees picked up the baton, reaching a more pedestrian, but just as valuable, 145.
The seagulls swooped on breezy North Marine Road, where Tom Alsop’s 84 held the fort for Sussex in a crucial Division Two promotion battle. Australia’s Daniel Hughes collected 53. Jonny Bairstow was shipshape behind the stumps in his first Yorkshire Championship appearance of the season.
Derbyshire’s Zak Chappell ripped through Glamorgan with six for 47; Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones took three wickets as Northamptonshire struggled; Warwickshire’s Jacob Bethell and Michael Burgess made half-centuries against Somerset; Ian Holland built a hundred against Gloucestershire and Worcestershire’s Joe Leach’s six for 52 demolished Kent.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
New Road: Worcestershire 137-2 v Kent 171
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 277-6 v Somerset
The Oval: Surrey 83-0 v Lancashire 204
Southampton: Hampshire v Essex No play on Thursday
Chester-le-Street: Durham 393-5 v Nottinghamshire
DIVISION TWO
Merchant Taylor’s School: Middlesex v Northamptonshire 167-7
North Marine Road: Yorkshire v Sussex 187-9
County Ground: Derbyshire 119-2 v Glamorgan 168
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire 291-7
Preamble
Good morning from an autumnal Manchester, a boots and anorak dog-walking day. Day two of this first of five matches in the run- up to the end of the season, and lots already to get your teeth into from a blooming debut century from young Ben McKinney to six wickets from old-timer Joe Leach.
