Key events:
Round the grounds in the first half hour: just four wickets to fall – two of them at Edgbaston where Kent are 28-2. Ben Compton caught early, for just four, and a second for Hannon-Dalby when he traps Bell-Drummond for 10
Nick Brown snaffled behind by Ben Foakes off Kemar Roach, also for 10, Essex 28-1 at The Oval, and Ali Orr, on the back of his century against Leicestershire, is lbw to Tim Murtagh for 7. Sussex 18-1.
This is what will cause county championship fans to join the revolution.
4 | The heat is causing issues with some of our livestream cameras which we’re attempting to resolve.
Northamptonshire 13/0.
— Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) July 19, 2022
This is dedication from Gary Naylor! Please keep us updated and stay cool. With apologies to England’s leading run-scorer…the only two people I know who allegedly don’t sweat are Alastair Cook and Prince Andrew.
Sparse crowd at The Oval in an eerily quiet London @tjaldred. Hot, but breezy on Level 3 of the OCS Stand.
I’ve played cricket in Perigeux when it felt about 10 degrees hotter than this. On reflection, I probably shouldn’t.
Alastair Cook not sweating, bat in hand, on 6.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 19, 2022
Thanks to Romeo for pointing it out – a change of the playing hours also at Northants v Lancs.
Timings for tomorrow have changed! ⚠
Each session will be shortened by 30 minutes with a new close of play of 4:30pm. Play will still begin at 11am.
Supporters with a general admission ticket for Day 1 can also use their ticket for entry on Day 2. 🎟
— Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) July 18, 2022
Warwickshire win the toss and….are having a bowl????
Let’s hope they look less disgruntled than South Africa’s women did last night.
As far as I can tell, no other clubs have chosen to reduce the hours of play – so 11am-6pm at Taunton, Northants, The Oval, Edgbaston, Derby and Lord’s and 11am-4.30pm at Cheltenham.
Championship tables
DIVISION ONE
Surrey 165 (9)
Hants 150 (9)
Lancs 137 (9)
Essex 118 (8)
Northants 103 (8)
Yorks 101 (8)
Warwicks 95 (9)
Kent 90 (9)
Somerset 72 (8)
Gloucs 55 (9)
DIVISION TWO (each team has played nine games)
Notts 159 (9)
Middx 138
Glam 137
Worcs 127
Derby 124
Durham 111
Sussex 93
Leics 66
News from Northampton where Will Young has been installed as Championship captain for the rest of the season . Ricardo Vasconcelos has stepped down to focus on his game.
Ali on Ben Stokes and cricket’s relentless quest for more.
For reference-(admission, I wrote the tweet but it is just a summary of the Hit For Six report published in 2020)
And in altogether happier news – I haven’t managed to catch any of this yet, but it looks superb.
Fixtures
DIVISION ONE
Cheltenham – Gloucestershire v Hampshire
The County Ground – Northants v Lancashire
Taunton: Somerset v Yorkshire
The Oval: Surrey v Essex
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Kent
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire
Lords: Middlesex v Sussex
Preamble
Good morning! Hope you’ve got shade and water, wherever your are, as we head into the unknown- record-breaking heat in the UK. Nonetheless, the County Championship goes ahead – with seven games – all in the southern half of the country.
The ECB has given clubs special dispensation to limit play today. If both sides agree, they can plump for three 90 minute sessions – with at least one drinks break per session. The umpires can stop play at any time if they are worried about player safety. Any lost time will be made up on days two, three and four when the temperatures return to normal. Gloucestershire and Hampshire have signed up – not sure about any other clubs yet.
The travel chaos meant I couldn’t make it down to Cheltenham today – if you are out on the grounds, please drop me a line to tell me what it is like out there. If you haven’t melted.