County cricket: Essex v Yorkshire, Somerset v Notts and more – live!

A compelling day of cricket that, and good to see that Notts can still pull it out of the bag – they had me worried for a moment. A first five-fer of the year for young Dom Bess, a career best for Toby Roland Jones, an up-yours wiggle from Ryan Higgins and late evening collapses by Warwickshire and Essex. Plus centuries of importance for different reasons for Cameron Bancroft, Tom Lace, Sam Hain and Alex Davies. Have a lovely evening and I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night!

I’ll leave you for a time ,while i write up, with the news that Yorkshire are 19 for two. Peter Siddle has bowled two overs and has two for five.

Just realised I didn’t chose the caption competition winner, but it turns out Krikkit wasn’t far off with:

“Australian players mistake coach’s intentions after he says pre semi-final team meeting will be a chance for the players to bear their souls.”

Here is a little tale about it all.

“You get a feel of the grass on your feet, a bit of grounding, the positive and negative energy flowing through and coming out of the Earth.”

Right on baby! I love it when the Aussies get mystical.

Now Moores goes, for one! Its so good to have Leach and Bess in the wickets again. Oh, and Patterson-White too…Leach 3-67. Notts 226 for 6, one hundred behind and a man out injured.

Sam Northeast and Aneurin Donald have added 44 after Hampshire lost four for six before tea. Hants 100-4. Oliver Hannon-Dalby 3-29.

OOOOh – Leach gete Libby for 72 after a 192-ball epic. Well played. I’m not feeling a Notts up from here – my money’s on Leach and Bess to plug away…Nash, incidentally, hasn’t come back in.

Still no breakthrough for Somerset, with Notts 196-2. The same goes for Yorkshire, still unable to dislodge ten Doeschate and Beard as the evening session progresses.

And what a start for Warwickshire as they try to keep Hampshire in reach. Hampshire are 64-4 at tea, with Oliver Hannon-Dalby taking three. Sam Northeast is still in, battling to keep that average looking healthy.

Gloucestershire were all out for 201, with Toby Roland-Jones taking seven wickets. Bowled. Middlesex have edged into the lead in that one, 39 without loss at Northwood.

Durham were all out for 117 in their first innings; they’re already 89-0 in their second, Cam Bancroft and Alex Lees both racing to 40+ runs in short order.

At Chelmsford, Essex are edging their way to a decent first-innings lead. Ryan ten Doeschate and Aaron Beard have taken their ninth-wicket partnership past 50, and Essex lead by 96.

Warwickshire all out 307 and Hampshire batting again are 37 for 0.

Lancashire recovering 59-2.

Zak Crawley out for 69, but Kent 113-2 and on top against Surrey.

I’ve just checked – Sam Northeast has scored 720 runs and is averaging 60. Hmmm. Not sure how my mind successfully erased that from my data banks.

This Notts -138/1 v the Championship leaders – is what Notts looked like on paper at the start of the season. Duckett has just smashed Jack Leach for six!

Graham probably put this up yesterday, apologies if so, but this is the Lions squad for the game against Australia A starting on Sunday. Northeast and Duckett are the only ones who don’t spring immediately to mind as having had great seasons.

• James Bracey (Gloucestershire)
• Zak Crawley (Kent)
• Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
• Ben Foakes (Surrey)
• Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
• Jack Leach (Somerset)
• Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
• Sam Northeast (Hampshire)
• Jamie Porter (Essex)
• Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
• Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)

Warwickshire, 300 for 9, likely to be following-on shortly. And Madsen (51) and Lace (30) finding batting easy against Worcestershire at Wantage Road:131-2. Glad to see Dillon Pennington back – I though he looked a real prospect last season.

In other news, one of my brothers has sent me a picture of some blackberries he found growing in London. In July? Shurely shome mishtake?

And a triple-Rushworth has finished off Leicestershire – all out with a lead of 95 over Durham. Can Cam Ban nurdle and nudge Durham into a lead that their bowlers can work with? Currently 11/0 in the second innings.

And a sixth for Toby Roland Jones! Gloucestershire 145-8.

Lancashire 2 for 2. Hameed for a duck, also to Sanderson. Please tell me he didn’t leave it…no, he edged it onto his stumps. (phew)

Chris Nash retiring hurt on 50 at Taunton, after being hit on the head by Jamie Overton. Been sent off by the physio.

Jack Libby’s first CC fifty of the season, and now Chris Nash joins him Notts: 120/1

Lancashire 2/1. Keaton Jennings edges Sanderson to second slip for a most unfortunate duck.

Rushworth takes a third at Grace Road, Leicestershire 206 for 8, a lead of 89.

Lancashire 0-0.

Kent and Notts still finding batting easy in the post-prandial window. Reports from Taunton tell of nothing in the wicket for the bowlers – Leach and Bess could be in for some heavy-duty turns.

Disappointment after lunch for Tom Westley, lbw to one that didn’t bounce as much as he expected from Olivier. Out for 81. Essex 208 for five, and scores are level.

Division One

Day three
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 539 (Holland 143, Donald 173; Stone 5-93) v Warwickshire 270-8 (Hain 112 not out)

Day two

Chelmsford: Essex 193-4 (Westley 79 not out) v Yorkshire 208 (Harmer 5-76)

Taunton: Somerset 326 (Davies 74; Wood 4-85) v Notts 91-1

The Oval: Surrey 271-9dec (Elgar 63, Foakes 60) v Kent 68-1

Division Two

Grace Road: Leicestershire 191-7 (Horton 50, Ackermann 57 not out; Raine 4-45) v Durham 117 (Wright 5-30)

Merchant Taylors’: Middlesex 172 (Shaw 4-33) v Gloucestershire 122-6 (Roland-Jones 5-30)

Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 442 (Bavuma 103; Onions 5-77) v Lancashire

Kidderminster: Worcestershire 113 (Reece 4-30) v Derbyshire 108 (Morris 4-26) and 96-2.

An interesting tweet. Just trying to look up the regs. I think counties can play one overseas player not qualified for England in CC and one-day comps, but have four registered for T20s, playing two at any time. Sound right?

I’ve just discovered a new toy: if you run your cursor very slowly along the clip of Sam Curran’s wicket you can create your very own slow-mo replay. The fielders and bowler were practically embracing before Dickson could bear to turn round and survey the damage.

Notts 85/1 shock!!!!!

Arghgh! Sorry all, and thanks to those BTL for pointing it out, Northants did NOT get full batting points, as they dawdled for too long over the necessary runs.

After squeezing three days into seven hours yesterday, they’re elongating time and space at Kidderminster… 65 runs and a couple of wickets. Derby 85 for 2 a lead of 80.

Sam Curran nips in with an early wicket -Sean Dickson for one. Kent 40-1.

Northants closing in on full batting points against Lancashire, despite Graham Onions five-fer: your local solicitors Procter and Buck holding up the mighty Lancs. And Northants, in the time it took me to write that, have done it: 402 for 8.

And a hundred for Warwickshire’s Sam Hain .

Bloody great to see some some different names having up days. Good times: Let them leave you up in the air/Let them brush your rock and roll hair.

Ok, so no-one at Surrey or Kent had read the small print. ECB competition regulations forbid Amar Virdi replacing Gareth Batty, so Batty bats on in spirit, but not in person. Hence the Surrey declaration.

It all seems a bit of a slog at Chelmsford, where Essex have scored 35 runs this morning. Meanwhile Notts are teetering on the edge of respectability: 46 for one.

Here are some Australians barefoot and in a circle. Caption competition BTL.

Durham fighting back against Leicestershire – four wickets for Ben Raine. Leicestershire 151 for six.

Surrey have declared: 271 for nine!

Notts stutter -an early wicket for Jamie Overton. Slater for 15. Notts 36 for one.

Surrey lose a couple of early wickets. Ben Foakes for 60; Rikki Clarke for 27. In other news, Gareth Batty has been taken ill overnight at The Oval and Amar Virdi has replaced him for the rest of the match.

And another! This time Richard Gleeson. Northants 334 for 7.

And Notts have made a good start! Libby and Slater, plugging away: 11-0.

An early wicket for Onions – Rossington for 76. Now four for 67.

Good morning! The bad news is that it is Monday, the good news is that County Cricket gets its little moment in the sun today. No World Cup games – New Zealand v India is tomorrow at Old Trafford and England vAustralia on Thursday at Edgbaston – no Women’s Ashes, just on the side Australia A’s men and women playing Sussex and England Academy women respectively.

So let’s stir the pot.

Hampshire and Warwickshire are a day ahead of everyone else – they start day three today, with Warwickshire recovering well from losing Sibley and Rhodes early.

In the rest of the Division One Games, Simon Harmer’s five wickets put Essex in a good position against Yorkshire, especially if Tom Westley can push on from his 52 not out; Dom Bess and Steve Davies’ runs at the last rescued Somerset against a Notts side who fought hard – let’s see how they do with the bat this morning. Bad weather disrupted Surrey’s game with Kent- Ben Foakes finished 57 not out.

In Division Two, Worcester and Derby had a shocker, both bowled out for less than 115, with four wickets apiece for Charlie Morris and Luis Reece; Northants made easy work of Lancashire’s Mahmood, Onions and Gleeson, with CCLive favourite Keaton Jennings also bowling two overs. Temba Bavuma made 103, his first Championship century. Middlesex were bowled out cheaply by Gloucestershire, who were 59-2 at the close; Leicester made short work of Durham’s batting, out for 117 – five wickets for Chris Wright – and have a lead of seven with four wickets in hand.