Day 1 of this round saw a positively hot day at Chelmsford which is where I was, for the match between Essex and Yorkshire. I had been hoping to see Joe Root, but neither he or Harry Brook were present. A look around the country on Day 1 saw a mixed bag runs wise. There were 4 Division1 matches and only 2 in Division 2. Both of the Division 2 matches were finished by Day 3. There were 2 drawn matches on Day 4 in Division 1, open was nailed on, the other a nail biting surprise!
Division 1
Essex v Yorkshire – Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford. Jonny Bairstow won the toss for Yorkshire and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Yorkshire 216 All Out & 426 for 6 , Essex 123 All Out & 273 for 9
The first session was one for the purists, the 2 Yorkshire openers batted with determoination, and conservatively. They put on 71 for the 1st wicket; Adam Lyth went on to score 58 from 148 balls. James Wharton came in at 3 and batted throughout the rest of the innings. he was 63* from 145 balls and faced 115 dot balls, he was patience personified. Jamie Porter took 2 wickets in 2 balls with Matthew Revis surviving the hat-trick ball. Dan Moriarty added what could be a valuable 24 runs. Matt Critchley took 4 for 49 as Yorkshire were bowled out in 77.5 overs for 216.
The Yorkshire bowlers had 16 overs to bowl and they certainly made the most of them! Essex were 27 for 3 at the end of Day 1, having lost both openers, Robin Das and Dean Elgar and Night Watch, Jamie Porter. George Hill took 2 of the 3 wickets. Hill carried on where he’d left off on Day 2. I was watching Saracens score 75 points against Newcastle, Essex didn’t score that many more runs! They were bowled out in a total of 60.4 overs for just 123. George Hill took 6 for 52 in his 17.4 overs. Ben Coad took 3 for 20. Michael Pepper top scored with 30.
Yorkshire faced 49 overs on Day 2 and were 114 for 1 at the end of the day, a lead of 207. Adam Lyth was 79*. Day 3 was all about Adam Lyth, he and James Wharton put on 153 for the 2nd wicket. Wharton made 61 from 117 balls. Jonathan Tattersall and Lyth then put on 72 for the 3rd wicket. Lyth was out after batting for over 6.5 hours, he’d scored 185 from 287 balls. Jonny Bairstow came in at 5 and in determined mood scored 79 from 74 balls, some innings. It wasn’t without challenges from Noah Thain, he was dropped but made the most of that! Yorkshire made 426 for 6 in the 115.2 overs they faced. Noah Thain took 3 of the 6 wickets.
With an uphill battle ahead, Essex faced 27 overs on Day 3, they lost 4 wicket for 45. I had to work on Day 4 , but confess I had the YouTube feed on at my desk. Michael Pepper and Matt Critchley put on 154 for the 5th wicket. Pepper was out just before tea, he’d scored 68 from 229 balls. The pair batted for 76.2 overs. I got the the ground at tea time and saw a fabulous 2 hours of cricket! Critchley’s was the 7th wicket to fall, he’d made 75 from 246 balls. Simon Harmer came in after 95.5 overs had been bowled. Shame Snater was out LBW for a Duck, a decision he was clearly unhappy with. Kasun Rajitha was in for 13.2 overs and scored 21 from 40 balls. We’d moved into the last hour/16 overs. Yorkshire bowled 21 overs in that last hour and Jamie Porter who’d joined Harmer faced 34 balls, the runs by were irrelevant long before then! Harmer scored 31 from the 115 balls as Essex batted out the day to save the draw. It was one of the most exciting sessions I’ve attended! It felt as good as a win from an Essex perspective!
Nottinghamshire v Hampshire – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Ben Brown won the toss for Hampshire and put Notts in to bat. Nottinghamshire won by 366 runs.
Nottinghamshire 333 All Out & 345 All Out, Hampshire 196 All Out & 116 All Out
Notts made 62 for the 1st wicket, but lost the 2nd in the same over, then 1 3rd 5 overs later, They fell to 82 for 4 in the 27th over. Freddie McCann who’d come in at 3 and Kyle Verreynne put on 78 for teh 5th wicket. In a bizarre run on the scorecard Verreynne, Lyndon James and Liam Patterson-White all scoresd 33, with James sharing 71 with McCann and Patterson-White 59. McCann’s was the last wicket to fall, he’d scored 138 from 217 balls. Notts were bowled out in 91.1 overs for 333. Kyle Abbot took 5 for 57 in his 21 overs.
Hampshire faced just 2 overs on Day 1 and were 2 for no wicket. With no small amount of irony, Muhammad Abbas, previously of Hants, took 5 for 31 in just 15 overs as Hants were dismissed in 49.2 overs for 196. Kyle Abbot showed his all rounder credentials, top scoring with 67 from 51 balls.
Notts faced 46 overs on Day 2 and were 171 for 6. They’d fallen to 84 for 6, before Jack Haynes with 60* and Liam Patterson White with 44* put on 87 before the end of play. Notts started day 3 with a lead of 308. Jack Haynes went on to score 120 from 176 balls and Patterson-White 135 from 213 balls. They put on 238 for the 7th wicket. Notts faced 91.1 overs and were bowled out for 345. Lead of 482.
Hampshire were bowled out in 33.3 overs for just 116. Lyndon James took 5 for 22 in his 7 overs! Sonny Baker top scored with 27.
Sussex v Worcestershire – The 1st Central Ground, Hove. Brett D’Oliveira won the toss for Worcestershire and put Sussex in to bat. Sussex won by 47 runs.
Sussex 284 All Out & 256 All Out, Worcestershire 180 All Out & 313 All Out
Sussex put on 80 for the 1st wicket, in the 22nd over, then then fell to 86 for 6 by the 33rd over. Only 1 of the Sussex Tom’s scored runs, Tom Haines made 53 from 89 balls. In the midst of what must have felt like carnage Jack Carson came in at 8 and he rallied the lower order to take Sussex from 126 for 7 to 284 All Out. Carson scored 102 from 138 balls. Worcestershire’s Tom, Taylor took 5 for 56 in his 22 overs. Sussex were bowled out in 90.3 overs for 284.
Worcestershire had 3 overs to face by the end of Day 1 and were 7 for no wicket. Worcestershire couldn’t get a partnership going and were bowled out in a total of 70.4 overs, for 180. Fynn Hudson-Prentice took 5 for 40 in his 14.4 overs. Tom Taylor top scored with 32.
Sussex were o for 2 wickets in the 4th over of their 2nd innings, losing both openers, that turned into 18 for 2 as Tom Clarke was out. Tom Alsop and James Coles put on 125 for the 4th wicket. Coles made 68 from 130 balls and Alsop scored 72 from 136 balls. Sussex faced a total of 79.4 overs and were bowled out for 256.
Worcestershire faced 40 overs and were 117 for 3 at the end of Day 3. Jake Libby was 64* at the end of the day. Libby went on to score 167 from 252 balls. His was the 8th wicket to fall. Worcestershire batted for 106.2 overs but just couldn’t hold on. This will have been another exciting finish to the game!
Warwickshire v Surrey – Edgbaston – Birmingham. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Warwicks in to bat. Match Drawn.
Warwickshire 665 for 5 declared, Surrey 504 All Out & 15 for no wicket.
A decsion at the toss that didn’t work out on Day 1. Warwickshire put on 70 for the 1st wicket Alex Davies made 45 and Rob Yates went on to score 86 from 151 balls. He and new signing Tom Latham put on 92 for the 2nd wicket. Sam Hain and Latham then put on 69 for the 3rd wicket. Warwicks were 281 for 4 at the end of Day 1. Latham was 139* from 244 balls. Tom Latham went on to score 184 from 319 balls. He and Ed Barnard put on 169 for the 5th wicket. Barnard was 177* from 254 balls at the declaration, he and Zen Malik, playing only his second match for Warwicks put on 215. Malik made 105* from 119 balls! 4 of the Surrey bowlers had in excess of 100 runs hit from their bowling.
Surrey faced 32 overs on Day 2 and were 98 for 1 at the end of the day. Dom Sibley and Ryan Patel put on 78 for the 2nd wicket. Patel scored 42. Sibley and Dan Lawrence put on 52 for the 4th wicket. Sibley made 64 from 199 balls and Lawrence 45. Ben Foakes was 85* at the end of Day 3. Surrey faced a total of 128 overs and were 369 for 9 at the end of Day 3. Trailing by 296 runs. Foakes is having a great 2025 with the bat! He went on to score 174* from 361 balls. Foakes and Cameron Steel put on 113 for the 7th wicket. Steel scored 55 from 108 balls. Foakes and Matthew Fisher then shared 158 for the last wicket, Fisher made 40. Surrey had faced 178.2 overs and scored 504.
A runs fest at Edgbaston, which was surely heading only one way. Surrey batted for just 5 overs before the captains shook hands, at tea time I believe.
Division 2
Kent v Glamorgan – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Daniel Bell-Drummond won the toss for Kent and put Glamorgan in to bat. Glamorgan won by an innings and 161 runs.
Glamorgan 549 for 9, Kent 212 All Out & 176 All Out
Glamorgan lost opener Zain ul Hassan in the 9th over and were 34 for 1. Asa Tribe and Sam Northeast put on 95 got the 2nd wicket. Northeast made 42. Tribe went on to score 94 from 135 balls. Colin Ingram and Ben Kellaway put on 133 for the 5th wicket. Ingram scored 70 from 114 balls. Kellaway was 91* from 136 balls at the end of Day 1. Glamorgan wrere 389 for 7. Kashif Ali had taken 4 for 75 in his 18 overs. Not the day Kent had hoped for having won the toss. Ben Kellaway went on to score 181* from 228 balls! He and Andy Gorvin put on 108 for the 8th wicket. Kashif Ali took 4 for 92.
Kent faced 58 overs on Day 2 and were 156 for 8, trailing by 393. Keeper Chris Benjamin was 68* from 128 balls at the end of the day. Benjamin was 94* from 171 balls at the end of the Kent innings. He and George Garrett had put on 54 for the 9th wicket. Kent were bowled out for 212 in a total of 74.1 overs.
Kent were bowled out in 48.2 overs, they scored 176. in common with the first Kent innings the wickets were shared.
Northamptonshire v Lancashire – County Ground, Northampton. Luke Proctor won the toss for Northants and elected to bat. Northamptonshire won by 70 runs.
Northamptonshire 238 All Out & 273 All Out, Lancashire 276 All Out & 165 All Out
Northants fell to 67 for 6, Opener Ricardo Vasconcelos had made 39 of those 67. Keeper Lewis McManus and Calvin Harrison put on 60 for the 7th wicket, Harris scored 29. McManus went on to score 53 from 89 balls. Liam Guthrie in at 10 scored 43 from 47 balls. George Balderson took 4 for 55 in his 17.1 overs. Northants werte bowled out in 56.1 overs for 238.
Lancashire faced 39 overs on Day 1 and were 133 for 3. Marcus Harris was 53* and Keeper Matty Hurst 31*. Harris went on to score 121 from 230 balls. His partnership with Hurst went to 125 as Hurst was out for 59. Lancs were bowled out in 81.1 overs for 276.
Northants faced 50.5 overs on Day 2 and were 140 for 6, a lead of 102. Saif Zaib scored 50 from 120 balls putting on 49 with Calvin Harrison for the 7th wicket. They were out in consecutive overs. Ben Sanderson, in at 9 scored 65 from 28 balls, he hit 12 Fours and 2 Sixes. Northants were bowled out in a total of 73.2 overs for 273, taking a lead of 235.
In spite of a 3rd wicket partnership of 83 between Josh Bohannon (41) and Marcus Harris (43) Lancashire were bowled out in just 58.4 overs for 165. Calvin Harrison took 4 for 32.
Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers
- Freddie McCann – Notts – 138 from 217 Balls
- Jack Haynes – Notts – 120 from 176 Balls
- Ben Kellaway – Glamorgan – 181* from 228 Balls
- Marcus Harris – Lancs – 121 from 230 Balls
- Adam Lyth – Yorkshire – 185 from 287 Balls
- Jack Carson – Sussex – 102 from 138 Balls
- Jake Libby – Worcs – 167 from 252 Balls
- Tom Latham – Warwicks – 184 from 319 Balls
- Ed Barnard – Warwicks – 177* from 254 Balls
- Zen Malik – Warwicks – 105* from 119 Balls
- Ben Foakes – Surrey – 174* from 361 Balls
- Kyle Abbot – Hampshire – 5 for 57 in 21 Overs
- Muhammad Abbas – Notts – 5 for 31 in 15 Overs
- George Hill – Yorkshire – 6 for 51 in 17.4 Overs
- Tom Taylor – Worcs – 5 for 56 from 22 Overs
- Fynn Hudson Prentice – Sussex – 5 for 40 from 14.4 Overs
365 Sporting Days - New! 