Yorkshire v Northants, Sussex v Lancashire: county cricket – live!

Play has been suspended for bad light at Headingley. Yorkshire 67-2.

Cripes! Hampshire lose their fourth wicket without adding a run as Liam Dawson walks off for a duck, caught Rikki, bowled Jordan. “Good swing bowling” says the radio. Hampshire 44-6.

Hampshire crumbling to rather a dust 44-5. Two each for the Clark(e)s, one for Kemar Roach. Single figures scores for Sam Northeast, James Vince, Tom Alsop and Joe Weatherly.

Mark Wood grabs a wicket with the first ball of his second over, slipping between the bat and pad of Rob Yates, scorer magnifico at Edgbaston last week. Out for 1. Warwicks 11-1. Cricket really out to prove today its reputation as a cruel mistress/great leveller.

A moving, and political, long read on India’s Covid crisis by Arundhati Roy.

Meanwhile Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, and umpires Paul Reiffel and Nitin Menon have pulled out of the IPL as controversy continues about the continuation of the tournament. Here is Sharda Ugra:

“Never mind Mars, the IPL is actually taking place in a galaxy far, far away. Until Sunday, 25 April, the single acknowledgement of India’s COVID tsunami used to come in the form of commentators either reading out messages or speaking in their own words. But not too many.”

They’ve started at Chester-le-Street and, after one runs comes from Chris Rushworth’s first over, Mark Wood has the ball…

A wicket! Smart bit of bowling by Rikki Clarke, pitched up, good line, and Tom Alsop nibbled behind. Hants 37-2.

A question from Gary Naylor: Should we be grateful that we have Youtube streams of all the Champo matches or disappointed that the quality of many leaves much to be desired? Four rounds in, I’m migrating from the first camp to the second – especially if there is on-screen sponsorship.

I must admit I haven’t watched that many live streams for long as it is impossible to work with too many windows open on my laptop. But from what I’ve seen, I’d fall into the gratitude camp. In a time of Covid, the clubs have stumbled on a way that they can provide coverage for fans worldwide. It’s free, and I’m sure the quality will only get better.

More on the Championship’s leading wicket-taker Ollie Robinson being rested by Sussex. Coach Ian Salisbury said: “He has bowled magnificently but his workload has been huge and we can’t afford to risk him breaking down.

“There’s a lot expected of him – not just with the ball, but with the bat, in the field and as vice-captain.

“But he’s not a bowling machine you can just plug in. He’s a human being and he’s due a rest.

“It’s so important that we look after the players. We have got a small squad and it’s quite a brutal schedule.

Ultimately the guys that play week in, week out, get one day off a week for six weeks.”

A second wicket at Derby, as Hundson-Prentice gets one to leap up off the pitch and Duckett edges to second slip. Notts 34-2. Essex stonewalling – 19 runs in the first 45 minutes. Elsewhere, Sam Robson flicked at Lewis Gregory and Middlesex are 33-1; and Kemar Roach grabs at wicket at The Oval, Joe Weatherly for 9, Hants 24-1. Kent 39-0, Sussex 47-1 and Yorks 43-1 zipping along.

Another email pings prettily in my inbox. It’s Tim Maitland: “Dimuth Karunaratne made 118 on the first day of the second test against Bangladesh in Kandy today, which I think we can all agree is a reasonable way to follow up the massive 244 he made in the first Test.

“Given that his innings before that was 75 in the second innings of the second test in the West Indies one might be tempted to suggest he is mining a rich a vein of form.
What makes all of this all the more worth knowing is that I’ve only just discovered that his first name is Frank.”

Play is due to start at noon at The Riverside. The delay due to generally unpleasant weather.

A fair scattering of wickets in the first half hour: Has at Notts for nought (18-1); Hassan Azad, also for a duck, Leicestershire (17-1); Thomason – what sorcery is this? -for yet another duck Sussex 24-1; and Lyth, um, without scoring, Yorkshire 20-1.

Elsewhere, plain sailing.

Anthony Bradley writes from his Yorkshire farm – a first I think!

“No Raynauds syndrome but the weather not helping much on our grass farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Cold and dry limiting growth just when we expect April showers. Not fit for cricket or new lambs!”

Oh no! Has out for a two-ball big, fat, unkind duck. Notts 6-1.

Thank you Tim Maitland for pointing out that poor Adam Lyth was bowled the first ball of the day – at least only one poor player suffered this fate this round compared the three last time.

I don’t know if any of you BTL suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome -but I find this kind of weather the worst – the contrast from being in moments of sunshine to the chill of the shade plays havoc with the circulation. Must be awful for cricketers – I know Chris Lewis suffered.

And here is double-centurion Haseeb Hameed on Notts, Lancs and the future.

Group 1

The County Ground: Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire

The Riverside: Durham v Warwickshire

New Road: Worcestershire v Essex

Group 2

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire

Taunton: Somerset v Middlesex

The Oval: Surrey v Hampshire

Group 3

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan v Kent

Hove: Sussex v Lancashire

Headingley: Yorkshire v Northants

Good morning! The fourth round of matches starts today – over a bank holiday weekend that promises to be chilly with sunny patches and showery interludes. It’s a metaphor we can unpick as we go along. In a week full of cricket news – some essentials: the return of Marnus Labuschagne, Glamorgan’s Australian jewel, to boost their chances against bottom of the table Kent; Mark Wood makes his season debut in Durham’s game against Warwickshire – who are without the rested Olly Stone; Yorkshire are without the resting Joe Root and Lancashire still have to do without James Anderson whose recovery from a calf strain is taking longer than hoped.

Lots of spicy match-ups: I fear for Worcestershire with Essex on the rebound after defeat by Warwickshire for the first time in 22 matches last week; Somerset v Middlesex will be a battle of the bowlers, after Middlesex thrashed Surrey last week – who in turn must attempt a bounce back against top-of-group-two Hampshire. Still win-less Nottinghamshire, turbo-charged by two centuries from Haseeb Hameed in the last game, face Derbyshire, where allrounder Matt Critchley has been skipping through the bluebells: 449 runs at 74.83 plus 13 wickets with his wrist-spin. At the Riverside, David Bedingham continues his quest for 1000 runs before the end of May, currently 565 runs at 141.25, as Durham take on in-form Warwickshire. At Hove, it is Jack Carson v Matt Parkinson; at Bristol, visiting Leicestershire are lead by Callum Parkinson for the first-time as they take on in-form Gloucester; Northants, fresh from that eye-popping run chase, play Yorkshire.