Division Twoers in great form:
- Neil Dexter, who is currently churning more runs out against Worcester
- Ed Joyce, who has 75 against Glamorgan, in far fewer balls than it has taken Chris Nash to get to 31
Feels like Alex Blake should be added to that list; he’s dragged Kent to 163 for eight as his team-mates have done diddly-squat.
There have been a couple of wickets at CLS, and how Durham needed them.
— Hampshire Cricket (@hantscricket)
July 3, 2016A brilliant knock from Adams (86) comes to an end. McCarthy picks up his first wicket & Hampshire are now 178-2. Alsop (14*).
News from the Women’s T20i in Bristol!
A couple of weeks ago Tammy Beaumont had never made a half century for England. It seems remarkable to think after a record 342 in the ODI series. She’s on track for another big one today bringing up her half century in just 30 balls. She’s the complete modern player, very happy to use her use her feet to go straight (her one six over long off would have cleared any rope), but then compulsively reverse sweeping. No one has ever made more than 92 for England in a Wt20i (that was Lottie, obviously); Beaumont looks set to break another record…
England in complete control, 86-0 just short of half way.
Updated
Tahir, who is ticking now, took a second wicket here, as Croft prodded forward and was struck on the pad. Looked good from my vantage point. Crowd enjoying Immy lots, especially when he consecutively saved two runs, running miles round the boundary from fine leg – off the bowling of Gurney.
After 17 overs straight either side of lunch, he’s now gone off. Hitman Hutton, as they call him in these parts, on in his stead.
Jimmy Neesham plays his cricket in Dunedin normally. Both times I’ve been there it’s been cold and wet. Outfield must have been bad at Chesterfield. Derbyshire-Northants in the T20s is off.
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh)
July 3, 2016All efforts made today but nothing anyone could do. Most saturated outfield I’ve ever seen. Overhead conditions irrelevant @DerbyshireCCC
Misbah caught at third slip off his second ball 132-4 from Groenewald. Trego has shrewdly taken himself off. We might see Amir batting soon perhaps … snappers on red alert.
This is an important and at times emotional read that I urge you to get stuck into. Trescothick: what a guy.
— Andy Nash (@57deacon)
July 3, 2016Marcus Trescothick opens up about mental health https://t.co/JWlQroCSTS Pass it on and help someone who issuffering in silence#mentalhealth
Van Meereken has a second wicket. Azhar Ali caught behind from a neat away-swinger. 129-2. Only captain Trego leaking runs; must be the burden of captaincy. Just bumped into Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan manager and a very spritely 74. Wished him a peaceful tour and ended up – inevitably – wondering how many more wickets he would have taken with DRS. Sadly can’t go BTL without contacting “my administrator”, not something I’ll undertake on a Sunday – of course this may have been the case for several weeks… Whoops 132-3 – Masood lbw to Groenewald.
Updated
Broad took a wicket here a short while ago, Petersen caught behind via the ol’ legside strangle. Thing is, Broad – and this happens very rarely – didn’t think it was out, and Petersen certainly didn’t. The rest of the Notts mob appealed, mind. It’s 135 for three and Broad has both Smith and Croft struggling.
Updated
Adam Collins is the Guardian’s man at Bristol for the WT20i today. Here’s England’s team. New cap for Sophie
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam)
July 3, 2016Sophie Ecclestone gets a debut for England. The XI: Winfield, Beaumont, Knight, Sciver, Elwiss, Wyatt, Jones, Brunt, Gunn, Hazell. #ENGvPAK
Ecclestone is England’s first debutant in the format since March 2014….
Big breakthrough for the Yorkies. Who else but Tim Murtagh?
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC)
July 3, 2016WICKET – Yorks 111-3. Lees c Rayner (second slip) b Murtagh 63. #TeamMiddlesex
Mark Footitt’s fit again, and he’s in the wickets, which is great to see.
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket)
July 3, 2016Warwickshire 82-2..Chopra c Foakes b Footitt 42
Tahir bowled horribly before lunch, but – in partnership with Broad – he’s done better since the break, and with the final ball of his seventh over, Procter has tried to heave him to cow, and his off bail has gone. Terrible shot. 119 for two.
News here is that Jimmy Anderson was having a very light bowl in the middle during lunch. Notts have rested Jake Ball in the anticipation of his Test debut at Lord’s a week on Thursday.
All is tranquil at Taunton. 79-1 at lunch. Mohammed Hafeez was bowled by a new Somerset bowler, Paul van Meekeren, who is from Amsterdam. He has been impressive on his debut for the county. Naturally I was curious about van Meekeren, who is about six and a half feet tall and bowls at a fair pace. I immediately thought of Andre van Troost, who decorated Somerset sides of the Nineties and who probably terrified more batsmen than he dismissed.
“Is he quicker than van Troost”, I asked. “No”. “Is he more accurate”. “Yes”. To be honest that did not enhance my knowledge greatly. Here van Meekeren has bowled nicely under the shrewd guidance of Captain Trego. As did Josh Davey, the Scottish bowler.
Davey went for 16 in his eight overs and 12 of those came in two balls in the same over when he decided to bang the ball in short to Hafeez. Otherwise Davey bowled an impeccable length and he beat the bat several times. There is enough grass on the pitch to encourage bowlers, which means that there is a good test for Pakistan batsmen seeking to acclimatise. Shan Masood and Azhar Ali have been watchful and someone will have mentioned to them that batting usually gets easier in the afternoon at Taunton.
It has been a decent morning for Yorkshire and some hard graft for Middlesex, who after Tim Murtagh took Adam Lyth’s wicket with the first ball of the match, managed only one more before the lunch interval.
Instead, Alex Lees and Kane Williamson added 85 for the second wicket before Williamson, against the run of play and certainly the quiet manner in which he was bedding himself in, was caught at the wicket. Both Lyth and Williamson had made the ‘leave’ the danger strategy, both of them edging an indeterminate attempt to let deliveries from Murtagh and James Franklin respectively pass harmlessly by.
Lees has played robustly well though, reaching an accomplished half-century with an off-driven six, well caught in the back row of the terraces adjacent to the press box, and is currently 59 not out, having faced 86 balls, with 7 fours and two sixes, the second swept off Ollie Rayner. At lunch Yorkshire are 96-2, with Gary Ballance, still the scourge of spell check, just off the mark with a cover driven four.
Lunch: scores on the doors
Div One:
- Lancashire: 109-1 v Notts
- Warwickshire 78-1 v Surrey 273 (Day 2)
- Yorkshire 96-2 v Middlesex
- Hampshire 95-0 v Durham
Div Two:
- Leicestershire 100-1 v Worcestershire
- Kent 88-5 v Essex
- Sussex 26-0 v Glamorgan 335 (Day 2)
Tour game:
FYI – we will have updates from Adam Collins, who is at Bristol for the women’s T20 between England and Pakistan this afternoon. Four people ATL! Lovely.
Enjoy your lunch.
A view of the County Cricket Ground in Somerset, showing St. James’ Church in the background. Photograph: Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images
Updated
That’s lunch at Trent Bridge. Lancs are 109 for one, having chosen to bat and, Stuart Broad and occasionally Brett Hutton (who got the one wicket to fall, Hameed) aside, Notts have bowled poorly. Procter, having zipped along, has overtaken Smith, and both take lunch in the 40s. Imran Tahir has been particularly poor – with a couple of half-trackers in each of his five overs.
Interesting first over from Imran Tahir, here. It involved two no balls and three half trackers, conceded two boundaries behind square on the offside and cost 13. Mmmm.
Good news from Guildford!
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket)
July 3, 2016Latest is restart at 12:40..1 over lost in the day
At Trent Bridge, Lancs are going well. Smith, ever so correctly, and Procter, oh so crabbily are picking off bad balls – there’s been a fair bit down the legside. 80 for one now.
Shame to see Glamorgan’s innings end like this, but certainly better safe than sorry. Looks a good score on what sounds a sporting pitch. Rudolph back in the runs, too.
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC)
July 3, 2016INNINGS BREAK: The Glamorgan innings has come to an end on 335 for 9 as Michael Hogan has retired not out after being hit by a bouncer
What is wrong with this country? *Insert-recent-politics-gag-here*
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket)
July 3, 2016Afraid to say we are coming off for rain…
Essex going very nicely at the ECG…
— Kent Cricket (@kentcricket)
July 3, 2016Dickson c Foster b Porter 18. Kent 31-3 in 15th over. Darren Stevens joins Sam Northeast.
I suspect that might be the end of a very fine, if rather luckless, spell from Stuart Broad. 8-3-9-0 for him, with plenty of bats beaten. I say plenty of bats, but there are only two bats, aren’t there. Those two bats were beaten plenty of times.
And there’s a wicket! Hutton, who’d be looking rather loose, has it, and Hameed is on his way. He’s inside edged onto his pad and it’s plopped up to gully, while Hutton appealed for leg before. Procter in, Lancs 34-1.
Just as I was saying Stuart Meaker might be catching the attention of other counties, I was alerted to this (thanks Luke Robison on the twitters). That’s that then, and sensible business from Surrey.
July 2, 2016Excellent news this morning as @SMeaker18 signs a new 2 year contract https://t.co/ShMG6oDxa7 pic.twitter.com/n4xDNBGmWr
Stuart Whittingham is looking a very good find for Sussex…
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC)
July 3, 2016WICKET.. a fourth for Whittingham and it’s Rudolph that goes! Shahzad takes the catch down at deep third man. Gone for 87, Glamorgan 309/9
A wicket at Guildford brings Lord Ian of Bellington to the crease. So good to see Meaker bowling well. Could be some interested parties as I believe he is out of contract at season’s end…
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket)
July 3, 2016Warwickshire 39-1….Umeed b Meaker 18
Oh blooming heck, Ben Stokes is playing for Durham. Just as a batsman. Stoneman captains as Colly has a thumb problem.
Speaking of Durham, anyone fancy a job?
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket)
July 3, 2016We are recruiting – Apprentice Chef, for details: https://t.co/je19bg68UA
It’s a hefty drive for me to Scarborough but worth it. I love this place although it must be a couple of decades since last I was here. I played here maybe half a dozen times for Middlesex, and during the Festival, and it has a special atmosphere. Already there is a good crowd sitting on the terraces. I look for familiar things. The press box is still where it was behind the arm. Upgraded now, the labyrinthine access would still flummox the uninitiated who could see the final destination while quite unable how to fathom a way in. Tradition has it that no one in the press box offers any help in that regard.
It looks as if the pavilion roof has been done since last I was here, for there is no sign of the single tile that replaced the one broken by Bluey Bairstow during his memorable ( still talked about) hundred in adversity and heavy defeat against Middlesex. It was here too that I found out I was going on that winter’s tour to India, Sri Lanka and Australia.
So it really is a trip down memory lane, with the Middle Saxons back. They had a toss and Yorkshire decided to bat first. Not the best of starts either as Tim Murtagh’s opening delivery caught Adam Lyth in two minds as to whether he should leave the ball, and, half cock, he succeeded only in edging to the keeper. Not more success since then, with Toby Roland-Jones coming down the slope from the Trafalgar Square end, and Steve Finn waiting in the wings.
Greetings from Taunton, where the church bells have just stopped ringing and the Quantocks are easily visible. So let the Pakistan tour commence. To the slight dismay of snappers and newshounds Pakistan are batting. This means that any glimpse of Mohammed Amir will be delayed.
However I gather that many of 200 schoolkids who came down to the ground yesterday had a good look at him. The Pakistan players, who have been billeted at the Ageas Bowl over the last fortnight, participated in a relaxed coaching clinic with the youngsters and signed countless autographs. It was, by all accounts, a very successful afternoon and Amir happily played a full part in proceedings.
Somerset are playing most of their first choice batsmen, but not so many of their bowlers – there are no Overtons for example. The senior citizens of Pakistan are all there and they have several of those in the dignified form of Misbah, the captain, Younis Khan and Mohammed Hafeez. Pakistan chose to bat upon winning the toss in contrast to the plan they used when touring here in the Sixties. Then they mystified the home side by opting to field first on a belting Taunton track. The plan was soon revealed “You bat for one day; we bat for two”.
So the news from Trent Bridge, then. I’m taking my first look at BTL darling Haseeb Hameed, who hardly lived up to his burgeoning reputation as a blocker by squirting his second ball through point for four. Broad and Gurney are bowling, and Imran Tahir is awaiting the chance to do so, while Greg Smith is also back in the side because Chris Read’s hand is still not quite right. Lancs are a more settled side.
I notice Adam Lyth fell in the first over after Yorkshire chose to have a bat, while Hampshire opted not to have a toss and then were put in anyway by Durham, who are captained by Mark Stoneman in Collingwood’s absence. Kyle Abbott is playing his first game for Worcestershire. Handy signing that.
Updated
Morning all it’s the morning call!
Well good morning! My apologies, we have had a couple of technical issues that have now been overcome, so here we are! There are three of us – all in particularly lovely places. I’m at Trent Bridge for Notts v Lancs, Lord Selve is at Scarborough (lucky him!) for Middlesex’s visit to Yorkshire, and finally Victor Marks has trotted down from Cardiff to Taunton to take a first look at the Pakistanis. He is, I suppose, on Amir-watch, if you like.
Anyway, there is loads going on. Stuart Broad, one of four Notts changes, is currently bowling in front of my eyes, while Ali Cook is in the field for Essex against Kent, who have Kagiso Rabada in their side.
Unquestionably the most welcome return, however, is that of Tom Fell, batting first drop for Worcester after telling cancer exactly where to shove it. Welcome back Tom. Great to see you playing. And great to see this…
— James (@investor_bod)
July 3, 2016@GeorgeDobell1 Highlight of season: @WorcsCCC members, ground staff and players applauding Tom Fell’s return today. Hugs from his teammates.
Enjoy the cricket, folks! Lots of comments please!
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