365 Sporting Days – New!

April really came good this year and in Chelmsford at least the weather was simply glorious. Every game had a full day with varying results across the country. I’m starting this on Day 1. As I sit down on the evening of Day 2, All I can say, is WOW – TOM BANTON!! Day 3 saw one result in Division 1 and 3 in Division 2! Day 4 was another day full of bright blue skies in Chelmsford, it is so good to have County Cricket back! Let’s wrap things up – There was some amazing cricket and poor Tom Banton’s efforts weren’t enough to see his team on the winning side, but it will be an innings that lives long in the memory of those who were lucky enough to be there.

Division 1

Essex v Surrey – Ambassador Cruise Line Ground – Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Essex 582 for 6, Surrey 365 All Out & 219 for 6

Essex were without their star opener Dean Elgar after he was given extra paternity leave after the birth of his twins, hopefully all is well with him and his family. Paul Walter and Charlie Allison opened the batting and that proved to be a good choice. They reached 78 for 1 before Allison was out. Walter went on to score 95 from 172 being out to pretty much the only chance he’d given all game. Tom Westley scored 40 then along came Jordan Cox who did reach his century, making 117 from 148 balls. Essex finished day 1 on 356 for 4. Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper carried on where they’d left off on Day 1 and took Essex to 534 for 5, a partnership of 216. Pepper was out for 109 from 162 balls. Noah Thain joined Critchley and scored 26 from 16 balls, with the score on 582 for 6 and Critchley on 145 Tom Westley declared. Essex had faced 147.2 overs.

Surrey found themselves on 8 for 1 after Dom Sibley was trapped LBW by Sam Cook, Ollie Pope joined his captain, Rory Burns and he survived a dropped catch early on. Surrey were 109 for 1 at the end of Day 2. At the end of Day 2, it’s hard to imagine anything but a Draw. Then along came Day 3, Pope didn’t make Essex rue the dropped catch for too long, he was out for 45 from 111 balls. We then had the present and former England Keepers, Jamie Smith and Ben Foakes. Smith plays a few beautiful shots, before a stinker to see him clean bowled. Foakes played a patient innings and was 92* from 191 balls, missing out on a deserved Century. Rory Burns had also batted with his usual patience and made 73 from 171 balls. The Essex bowlers had a frustrating day but Surrey were bowled out for 365 in 129.5 overs. Simon Harmer, looking back to his best, took 4 for 83 in his 47 overs.

With a lead of 217 Essex captain Tom Westley forced the follow on, Surrey had to face 6 overs and were 9 for 0 at the end of Day 3. The task for Essex on Day 4 was to take 10 wickets, for Surrey it was to bat all day. Essex took 6 of the 10, with poor Jamie Smith out to a comedy run out, Dom Sibley hit the ball and didn’t move. Once Smith was back in the pavilion Sibley shouted one of the loudest NO’s I’ve heard from the middle. He batted for most of the day and scored 66 from 221, batting for over 4.5 hours. Ben Foakes, Surrey’s player go the match scored 50 from 134 balls. Essex used 8 bowlers and 5 of them took wickets on the day, with Paul Walter and Tom Wesytley being the only 2 not to take at least 1 across try match. The match finished with 10 minutes on the clock, Surrey had a lead of 2, Essex needed 4 wickets to bat again and time had run out.

Hampshire v Yorkshire – Utility Bowl – Southampton. Jonny Bairstow won the toss for Yorkshire and elected to bat. Hampshire won by 5 Wickets.

Yorkshire 121 All Out & 275 All Out, Hampshire 249 All Out & 148 for 5

The choice at the toss didn’t go so well in Southampton as Yorkshire were bowled out for 121 in just 34.4 overs. David Malan was the top scorer with 31. Kyle Abbot and Liam Dawson both took 3 wickets.

Hants faced 59 overs and were 164 for 5 at the close of play. Hants batted for a total of 89.2 Overs and scored 249. Keeper Ben Brown top scored with 49, Hants are going to miss James Vince those year.

By the end of Day 2 Yorkshire were 189 for 6, Opener Adam Lyth was 57*, he and Jonny Bairstow put on 105 for the 4th wicket, Bairstow made 56 from 108 balls. Yorkshire led by 61 runs with 4 wickets remaining. Adam Lyth went on to score 106 from 275 balls as he watched his partners walk back to the pavilion. Surrey were bowled out for 275 in 99.5 overs.

Hampshire took 39.3 overs to make the required runs, Tom Prest in at 5 top scored with 57 from 69 balls to see Hants become the first winners in Division 1 in 2025.

Nottinghamshire v Durham – Trent Bridge – Nottingham. Haseeb Hameed won the toss for Notts and put Durham in to bat. Notts won by 8 Wickets.

Durham 378 All Out & 289 All Out , Nottinghamshire 579 All Out & 89 for 2

Durham lost 2 early wickets and were 24 for 2 Alex Lees, opening and Colin Ackermann put on 78 before Lees was out for 52. Ackermann watched wickets fall as he made 116 from 203 balls, his was the 7th wicket to fall. Durham were 370 for 9 from the 96 overs they faced on Day 1. Durham added just 8 runs to finish their innings on 378 all out. Fergus O’Neill took 5 for 81 in his 22.5 overs.

Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater put on 62 for the first wicket, Slater and Freddie McCann then put on 95 for the second. Slater scored 92 from 147 balls and McCann 79 from 158 balls. Notts faced 86 overs and were 297 for 5 at the end of Day 2. Matthew Montgomery with 75 from 146 balls and Lyndon James put on 118 for the 7th wicket. James and Josh Tongue then put on 96 for the 9th wicket, Tongue scored 55 from 57 balls. James was the last wicket to fall, he’d made 125 from 160 balls.

At the end of Day 3, Durham had faced 30 overs and were 114 for 3, giving them a lead of 87 runs. Colin Ackermann got his 2nd Century of the game scoring 124 from 223 balls he and Graham Clark shared a partnership of 135 for the 6th wicket. Clark scored 62 from 123 balls. Durham were bowled out in 85.3 overs for 289. Josh Tongue took 5 for 66 in his 21 overs.

Notts needed 17.1 overs to score the runs required making 89 for the loss of 2 wickets.

Somerset v Worcestershire – The Cooper Associates County Ground – Taunton. Lewis Gregory won the toss for Somerset and put Worcs in to bat. Match Drawn.

Worcestershire 154 All Out & 485 for 9 &, Somerset 670 for 7

Worcs were bowled out in 45.3 overs for 154 in spite of an opening partnership of 70. Jake Libby scored 30 and Gareth Roderick 58 from 98 balls. There were 8 scores of 6 and lower! Kasey Aldridge took 5 for 36 in his 8 Overs.

Somerset were 187 for 4 at the end of Day 1, Tom Banton who was 84* had put on 101 with Tom Abell. This is where the truly amazing Tom Banton innings happened! bearing in mind he remained not out at the end of Day 2! He was 344* from 381 balls, and had shared a partnership of 371 with Keeper James Rew, Rew made 152 from 275 balls. At the end of Day 2 Banton had batted for just over 8 and a half hours! A truly phenomenal feat! The day finished with Somerset on 637 for 6 from 144 overs. Banton went on to score 371 from 403 balls, some start to his 2025! Somerset declared on 670 for 7, they’d faced 149.4 overs.

Worcestershire were 40 for 2 and I some trouble before Kashif Ali and `Ethan Brookes put on 55 for the 3rd wicket. Brookes scored 35, Kashif made 52 from 91 balls. Adam Hose and Brett D’Olivera then put on 158 for the 4th wicket, Hose scored 82 from 151 balls. D’Oliveira then put on 110 for the 7th wicket with Matthew Waite. D’Oliveira made 121 from 230 balls and Waite was 87* from 319 – that all added up to Worcs batting out the day and a draw being declared.

Warwickshire v Sussex – Edgbaston- Birmingham. Alex Davies won the toss for Warwicks and put Sussex in to bat. Match Drawn.

Sussex 528 All Out & 313 for 7, Warwickshire 454 All Out & 104 for 2

Sussex were 386 for 5 at the end of Day 1, The were 40 for 3 before Tom Clark and James Coles put on 121. Coles was out for 51 from 102 balls . Clark then shared a partnership of 200 with Caption, and Keeper John Simpson, Clark was out for 140 from 279 balls and Simpson was 116* from 142 balls. Simpson batted on and was 181* from 262 balls as Sussex were all out for 528, they faced 136.3 overs. Ethan Bamber took 4 for 105 in 30 overs.

Alex Davies and Rob Yates put on 116 for the first wicket, with Davies scoring 66 from 65 balls. Yates finished the day on 113* from 148 balls having batted for over 3 and a half hours. Warwickshire were 223 for 3 at the end of Day 2. Yates added just 2 to his tally on Day 3, and was out for 115 from 159 balls. Dan Mousley in at 6 and Ed Barnard in at 7 put on 124 for the 6th wicket, Mousley scored 63 from 105 balls and Barnard went on to score 82 from 136 balls. Warwicks were bowled out for 454 in 113.2 overs.

Sussex faced 35 overs on Day 3 and were 126 for 3, a lead of 200. Sussex batted for a total of 85 overs in their 2nd innings and scored 313 for 7. Tom Alsop top scored with 82 from 131 balls.

Warwickshire batted for 28 overs scoring 104 for 2 before the game was declared a Draw.

Division 2

Derbyshire v Gloucestershire – County Ground – Derby. Wayne Madsen won the toss for Derbyshire and put Gloucs in to bat. Derbyshire won by 9 Wickets

Gloucestershire 222 All Out & 259 All Out , Derbyshire 391 All Out & 93 for 1.

Gloucestershire were all out for 222 in 70.4 overs they were 65 for 4 before James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren put on 69 for the 5th wicket. Bracey made 48 from 82 balls and van Buuren 67 from 109 balls. Luis Reece took 6 for 52 in his 20.4 Overs.

Derbyshire were 127 for 2 at the end of Day 1. Opener Caleb Jewell made 61 from 48 balls. Harry Came in at 3 and captain Wayne Madsen put on 177 for the 3rd wicket. Came scored 83 from 124 balls and Madsen went on to score 118 from 166 balls. Derbyshire made 391 in 78.5 overs.

Glucestershire batted for 40 overs on Day 2 and were 128 for 3, Ben Charlsworth was 77* from 114 balls. Charleworth went on to score 110 from 191 balls. But 26 was the top score aside from him and Gloucs were bowled out in 87.1 over for 259.

Derbyshire took just 19.3 over to score the required runs, Caleb Jewell top scored with 51.

Glamorgan v Leicestershire – Sophia Gardens – Cardiff. Peter Handscomb won the toss for Leicsand put Glamorgan in to bat. Leicestershire won by 10 Wickets

Glamorgan 229 All Out & 248 All Out, Leics 427 All Out & 53 for No Wicket.

Glamorgan were bowled out for 229 in 74.3 Overs. Keeper Chris Cooke top scored with 55 from 102 balls.

Leics were 65 for 1 at the end of Day 1. Ben Mike, who must’ve come in as a nightwatchman made 88 for the 2nd wicket with opener Sol Budinger], Mike made 41 from 86 balls and Budinger scored 56 from 97 balls. Lewis Hill and Peter Handscomb then put on 142 for the 4th wicket. Handscomb scored 63 from 100 balls and Hill went on to make 96 from 125 balls. Keeper Ben Cox and Chris Wright had put on 102 runs after the 8th wicket fell, with Cox on 51* and Wright 74*. Leics were bowled out in 118 overs for 427.

Kiran Carlson scored 113 from 214 balls his was the 8th wicket to fall as he watched the wickets fall around him. There were 8 scores of 8 and under, Andy Groin contributed 50 to Glamorgan’s 248, scored in 86 overs.

Leics took just 6 overs to score 53 and they didnl;t lose a wicket as they went.

Northamptonshire v Kent – County Ground – Northampton. Luke Proctor won the toss for Northants and put Kent in to bat. Kent won by 145 Runs.

Kent 231 All Out & 171 All Out, Northants 142 All Out & 114 All Out

Kent were 60 for 3, with Zak Crawley facing just 7 balls before being bowled by Liam Guthrie for 1. Tawanda Muyaye top scored with 72 from 106 balls as Kent were bowled out for 231 in 62.5 Overs.

Northants were bowled out in 42 overs for just 143, Rob Keogh scored 64 of those runs from 81 balls. Jas Singh took 4 for 35 in his 12 overs.

Kent were bowled out in 55.3 overs for 171, they were from 66 for 1 and in spite of an innings of 52 from 96 balls for Joey Evison there wasn’t another meaningful partnership.

Northants were 107 for 7 at the end of Day 2, requiring 153 runs to win, Kent required 3 wickets. Northants scored just another 7 runs on Day 3 as Kent, remarkably, won this game! Keith Dudgeon took 7 for 36 in his 10.4 overs.

Middlesex v Lancashire – Lord’s – London. Keaton Jennings won the toss for Lancashire and put Northants in to bat. Match Drawn.

Middlesex 260 All Out & 407 All Out, Lancashire 359 All Out & 262 for 8

I somehow totally forgot this one on Day 1, so writing up Days 1 and 2 together. Middlesex lost opener Nathan Fernandes in the 5th over, they were 5 for 1. Sam Robson and Max Holden put on 122 for the 2nd wicket. Robson scored 70 from 83 balls and Holden then shared a partnership of 51 with Less du Plooy. Holden made 69 from 115 balls and du Plooy 41. In spite of a couple of good partnerships Middlesex were bowled out for 260 in 68.2 overs. Tom Aspinwall took 4 for 32 in his 9.2 overs.

Lancashire had a better opening partnership making 97 for 1. Keaton Jennings made 55 from 123 balls, and Michael Jones 40. Keeper Marcus Harris in at 4 and Luke Wells put on 120 for the 5th wicket. Wells made 38 and Harris was 134* at the end of Day 2. Lancs faced 121 overs and were 353 for 9. They added just 6 runs on Day 3. Marcus Harris made 138 from 197 balls.

Max Holden shone again on Day 3, and he finished the day on 135* from 274 balls. He and Ben Geddes put on 163 for the 5th wicket. Geddes scored 74 from 133 balls. Middlesex were 288 for 6 at the end of Day 3, leading Lancs by 189 runs. Max Holden carried on where he’d left off on Day 3 and finished on 184 from 335 balls. Middlesex batted for a total of 119.4 overs and were bowled out for 407.

Lancashire batted for 66.5 overs and scored 262 for 8 before the match was declared a Draw,

Century Makers & 5 Wicket Takers

• Colin Ackermann – Durham – 116 from 203 Balls
• Colin Ackermann – Durham – 124 from 223 Balls
• Lyndon James – Notts – 125 from 160 Balls
• Jordan Cox – Essex – 117 from 148 Balls
• Matt Critchley – Essex – 145 from 261 Balls
• Michael Pepper – Essex – 109 from 162 Balls
• Tom Banton – Somerset – 371 from 403 Balls
• James Rew – Somerset – 152 from 275 Balls
• Brett D’Oliveira – 121 from 340 Balls
• Tom Clark – Sussex – 140 from 279 Balls
• John Simpson – Sussex – 181* from 262 Balls
• Rob Yates – Warwicks – 115 from 159 Balls
• Wayne Madsen – Derbys – 118 from 166 Balls
• Ben Charlsworth – Gloucs – 110 from 191 Balls
• Kiran Carlson – Glamorgan – 113 from 214 Balls
• Marcus Harris – Lancs – 138 from 197 Balls
• Max Holden – Middlesex – 184 from 335 Balls

• Fergus O’Neill – Notts – 5 for 81 in 22.5 Overs
• Josh Tongue – Notts – 5 fro 66 from 21 Overs
• Kasey Aldridge – Somerset – 5 for 36 in 8 Overs
• Luis Reece – Derbys – 6 for 52 in 20.4 Overs
• Keith Dudgeon – Kent – 7 from 36 in 10.4 Overs
• Tom Bailey – Lancs – 5 from 79 in 26 Overs