Key events
As Hartley continues, long legs, high arm from the Statham end, the ball scuffing into the dust. Derbyshire prod, runs now irrelevant.
But there’s more action at CLS, where Ben Raine removes Patterson-White’s middle stump. Notts lead by 77, two wickets left.
Notts have the new ball. Carse pounds the turf.
At OT, Hartley wheels in, a huge lbw appeal, not out. Four maroon and gold chairs from the hospitality suite have been brought out onto the grass and two members of the groundstaff, tanned nut brown by the harsh Lancashire sun, are watching with a cup of tea.
Gloucestershire need 63.
At Bristol, Cameron Green looks likely to steer Gloucestershire to victory, 32 not out, Bracey 11 not out – just 67 needed. Just the ticket for the generous benefactor.
A wicket at Durham. Two wickets at Durham! Both Verrynne and James gone, one to Drissell, one to Ackermann. Clarke and Patterson-White with hammer, nail and hatch duties. The lead 57, just three wickets in hand.
Teatime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 664 v Nottinghamshire 407 and 305-5
Taunton: Somerset 338 and 150-5 BEAT Sussex 152 and 335 by five wickets
The Oval: Surrey 512 BEAT Yorkshire 255 and 229 by an innings and 28 runs.
Edgbaston: Hampshire 300 and 203 BEAT Warwickshire 194 and 220 by 89 runs
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 134 BEAT Essex 157 and 110 By 225 runs
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 and 66-2 BEAT Northants 185 and 304 by eight wickets
Bristol: Gloucestershire 516 and 65-4 v Kent 424 and 253 Gloucestershire need 97 to win
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 and 184-7dec v Derbyshire 314 and 165-5 Derbyshire need 164 to win
Lord’s: Leicestershire 274 and 102-3 BEAT Middlesex 232 and 143 BY seven wickets
Spectators on the pitch at OT, tea round the grounds.
Record crowds at The Oval
A heady 14,853 spectators went to The Oval over the last four days to watch Surrey and Yorkshire, a 21st century record at the ground.
Surrey are confident that, with 38,000 already coming through the Hobbs gate (other gates are available) this year, they will beat last year’s record of 65,000 watching Championship cricket at The Oval
The final round of this two-months block of Championship games coincides with the Festival of Red Ball cricket – and Surrey are laying on free cricket coaching sessions for under 16s plus other activities to celebrate.
If you’re in London, and have time on your hands, I recommend it – if you don’t mind watching the 2024 Champions stretch into their winning lycra.
A second for Hartley! An inside edge onto his pad into the left mitt of man under the helmet George Bell. Delighted are Lancashire and delighted is Jimmy Anderson and his lovely big white smile. Derbyshire, 151-5, now in big trouble. Dal, who was stumped twice against Glamorgan last week, joins Andersson.
And a third wicket at Bristol, Ollie Price hits his bat in frustration after flapping the ball back to bowler Nathan Gilchrist. Glos 41-3, need 121.
Oooof! A dismissal similar to accidentally putting your swimming costume on the wrong way round and strolling out to the pool, Guest bowled sweeping, ball zipping behind his legs. Hartley rejoices. Andersson, who failed in the first innings, joins Came.
Notts may yet wriggle out of this one. They’ve got a lead, a small one, and Joe Clarke is well entrenched with 71. Verreynne 23 not out. Five wickets in hand.
And the ball after cutting Tom Bailey very energetically for four, Madsen gets a whisper legside and is caught for 19. He marches off. Derbys 128 for three. Fifty one and a half overs left.
Gloucestershire haven’t won at Bristol since September 2022, and that might not change after a tricky start to their chase this afternoon – both Bancroft and Charlesworth gone in single figures. Gloucs 26-2.
A generous round of applause for Harry Came’s fifty, and very chipper it was too, including ten fours. It’s beautiful in the sun at OT but chilly in the shade, a brisk wind fluttering the pride flag on top of the pavilion. Derbyshire 121-2, require 208.
Jake Ball of Somerset, lately Durham, and now Kent, with the new ball. What entreaties has Adam Hollioake whispered in his ear?
Derbyshire breathe a temporary sigh of relief, Anderson’s post-prandial spell is done: four overs, two maidens, one for four.
Gloucestershire need 162 to win!
Kent did well to nudge up to 233-5, just a shame they then lost five for 20 – the last wicket a stunning catch by Cameron Green at second slip. A target of 162 should be light work for Gloucestershire’s first win of the season.
Yorkshire coach Anthony McGrath chews the fat after an innings defeat by Surrey:
“It is obviously disappointing to lose any game, but being beaten by an innings is not great. I think we spoke at the start of this game about how well we’d performed last week [at Essex] and the importance of backing it up this week against another good team.
“Obviously, they’ve set the benchmark for the last three years, but again we just couldn’t hold our skills with both bat and ball for long enough. Against good teams at this level in this division, you’ve got to do it hour after hour, session after session, and it’s about the first team that breaks, unfortunately.
“Again, we competed for parts, but then we just lost clusters of wickets. When we got pressure on with the ball, we just couldn’t make that breakthrough, and then the guys who were coming on after that just released some pressure. It’s just about the levels of this division and learning.
“We’ve just said in the dressing room that, to be at the level I think these lads can be, we’ve got to hold our skills and have a lot more belief in our abilities for longer against a top team like Surrey.
“Going into the game we had the leading run-scorer and the leading wicket-taker, but I think we’re performing with only four or five guys and you need more than that in this division. It’s very obvious now, after six games, that we need individuals to stand up and perform. So, again, I think it’s the skills, but it’s also the belief.”
Ben Charlesworth has pulled apart the Kent tail – Stewart, Denly, Ball – in quick succession. Singh Dale pops up to remove Kashif. Benjamin still there, forlornly, on 56. The Kent lead 158.
… and there you have it! Lloyd gets an Anderson almond and pings him plump on the pads. Derbyshire 78-2.
And at the Jimmy Anderson end, Jimmy Anderson.
Lunchtime scores
Chester-le-Street: Durham 664 v Nottinghamshire 407 and 179-4
Taunton: Somerset 338 and 150-5 BEAT Sussex 152 and 335 by five wickets
The Oval: Surrey 512 BEAT Yorkshire 255 and 229 by an innings and 28 runs.
Edgbaston: Hampshire 300 and 203 BEAT Warwickshire 194 and 220 by 89 runs
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 134 BEAT Essex 157 and 110 By 225 runs
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 and 66-2 BEAT Northants 185 and 304 by eight wickets
Bristol: Gloucestershire 516 v Kent 424 and 241-7
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 and 184-7dec v Derbyshire 314 and 78-1 Derbyshire need 251 to win
Lord’s: Leicestershire 274 and 102-3 BEAT Middlesex 232 and 143 BY seven wickets
Bad news for Kent, Grant Stewart gone just before lunch, eyeing up Ben Charlesworth, but cutting onto his stumps. Kent 241-7, lead 149.
Not exactly what the captain ordered, 14 from the over. Derbyshire are going at 4.15 an over.
And, with ten minutes till lunch, Harris plays his trump card: Josh Bohannon.
Fifty for Chris Benjamin!
Stewart and Benjamin have pulled on Saturday’s clothes and are re-pummelling the Gloucestershire attack. Stewart 41 from 35 balls, Benjamin 51 from 132. Kent 233-5, the lead 141.
Things are afoot at CLS, where Notts are four down and still 106 behind. McCann bowled by Carse, Slater slides an outside edge off Yusuf for 74. I may have been a little hasty with that handshakes comment.
And yes, that’s the end of Anderson, who shuffles down to slip to chew the fat with George Hurst.
A pause at OT as Luke Wells goes to fetch the ball which has made its way to the nets.
It was Ryan Patel who bowled Jonny Bairstow – and there is a great interview with him in Wisden Cricket Monthly this month. It is a piece on cricketers who are always playing for their place/careers. Patel is in a better position than the other two (from memory Scriven and Andy Umeed but don’t quote me on that), he won his county cap last year, presented with it by Alec Stewart at the end of season dinner, with his parents watching.
Anderson reels into over six – probably the last of this spell. He walks to his mark, and then the familiar arms pummel him in. Hmm, Lloyd didn’t look entirely in control of that shot to a short ball, which he flicks urgently legside. Derbyshire 35-1.
Surrey BEAT Yorkshire by an innings and 28 runs.
That didn’t take long. Rather a dismal collapse for Yorkshire – four wickets lost in just over seven overs for 21 runs. Only another 13 runs for YJB. Four wickets for Clark, three for Lawes.
Surrey are stretching into their 2025 skin, two wins under the belt now, and up to second in Division One.
The Oval: Surrey 512 BEAT Yorkshire 255 and 229 by an innings and 28 runs.
Surrey 22 points, Yorkshire 3
Anderson strikes! This time it takes 21 balls, as Jewell chips to a diving Tom Bailey at mid-on. Anderson ticks off another Australian wicket (for the second time in the match).
As Derbyshire put their toe in the water of the third-highest successful run-chase at Old Trafford, 3.73 an over needed, a spy at the other second division match.
Kent are having a good morning, or were having, Leaning just out for 34. Another good innings from the impressive Benjamin, not out 42, who has been joined by first-innings centurion Grant Stewart. The lead 94 – if they could just squeeze out another 70 or so….
We don’t think that many of this Derbyshire line-up – apart from Madsen, and possibly Lloyd, and Tickner in a Test match – will have played against Anderson before. So that’s nice for them. First over survived. The sun comes out and illuminates the slips – daddy longlegs Keaton Jennings and diminutive George Bell.
The highest successful fourth-innings run-chase here against Lancashire was Nottinghamshire’s 359 in 1991.
And Jimmy Anderson has the ball at the Jimmy Anderson end.
Lancashire declare! Derbyshire need 329 to win.
The instructions from Marcus Harris are obviously up and at em – Hurst and Bailey throwing the bat at OT. A bit of confusion at the end with overthrows and ball hitting helmet – but they declare on 184-7, Hurst 56 not out.
Last night James Rew was the Somerset man on media duty after they beat Sussex.Here he talks about his England call up.
“It was an incredible moment when I got the call, something you dream of, but never think will happen.
“To join up with the squad last week and do a bit of training with them was amazing. Just watching Test Match players go about their business is a great learning experience.
“It’s hard to put into words how I felt. Everything they do is a class apart and to be able to draw on the wisdom of great players is a wonderful opportunity for me.
“Watching the England boys bat in the nets and the level of skill they show was incredible. And the way they train is the next level to anything I have seen before.
“The commitment they show to practice is amazing to see. I am going back to train with the squad tomorrow for the next couple of days before the Test Match starts on Thursday.
“If I am not required, I will be heading up to Durham with the Somerset team. If I play for England it would be fantastic, but just being involved in the build-up to the Test will be tremendous, so we will wait and see.”
And another interesting snippet from later on in his interview is that Lewis Gregory opened the batting at an early stage of his career.
Lancs are batting on at OT, but only added eight runs before Balderson holed out. Tickner also seems to have hurt the back of his knee in his follow through.
No beers before bedtime.
Sunday’s round-up
Leicestershire’s rise to the top of Division Two – four wins out of six, nearly half the season gone – is starting to cultivate peony‑sized dreams of promotion. Middlesex fell under the cartwheels, losing six for 34, dismissed for 143 in their second innings.
Logan van Beek and Ben Green gathered three wickets each. Peter Handscomb, the captain, hit the winning runs and Leicestershire could tick off a first Championship win at Lord’s in 45 years.
At Old Trafford, Derbyshire just avoided the follow-on thanks to some doughty batting and tail‑end bounty. Lancashire pulled Jimmy Anderson back from patrolling the boundary with an eight‑down Derbyshire needing 29 to not bat again. But although he removed Zach Chappell, Ben Aitchison and Blair Tickner got the visiting side over the line.
Lancashire suffered a tumble of wickets going for quick runs, including an astonishing caught and bowled by David Lloyd, but a lead of 285 is nearly enough to let Anderson off the leash in the second innings. A career-best six for 19 from Matthew Waite helped Worcestershire to secure their first win of the season, as Essex’s second‑innings chase of 336 ended damply – 110 all out.
Lewis Gregory is finding the shoes fit very nicely in his new role as Somerset opener. His busy and boisterous 89 lifted Somerset to a five-wicket win against Sussex, from an unpromising 30 for three.
James Fuller (five for 56) and Kyle Abbott (three for 44) undid Warwickshire against Hampshire at Edgbaston. Chasing 310 they lost two wickets with 10 on the board, and the climb was too steep.
Durham cruised to their highest first-class score, with centuries from Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson and Graham Clark. Yorkshire are in trouble at Surrey despite an unbeaten 64 from Jonny Bairstow. Sam Northeast and Asa Tribe safely escorted Glamorgan to a three-day victory against Northamptonshire.
Scores on the doors
Chester-le-Street: Durham 664 v Nottinghamshire 407 and 67-1
Taunton: Somerset 338 and 150-5 BEAT Sussex 152 and 335 by five wickets
The Oval: Surrey 512 v Yorkshire 255 and 185-6
Edgbaston: Hampshire 300 and 203 BEAT Warwickshire 194 and 220 by 89 runs
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 134 BEAT Essex 157 and 110 By 225 runs
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 and 66-2 BEAT Northants 185 and 304 by eight wickets
Bristol: Gloucestershire 516 v Kent 424 and 135-4
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 and 141-6 v Derbyshire 314
Lord’s: Leicestershire 274 and 102-3 BEAT Middlesex 232 and 143 BY seven wickets
Preamble
Hello from a cooler Old Trafford, where the clouds have dropped and the sky is grey. Only four games still in progress, after Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Somerset, Hampshire and Worcestershire all romped to victories yesterday. Of those left: Yorkshire look unlikely to bat all day at The Oval, even with a furious YJB at the crease; Kent are in trouble against Gloucestershire unless Grant Stewart fancies a reprise of the first innings; a draw beckons at CLS, which leaves the most interesting prospect at Old Trafford – where Derbyshire might find themselves with a battle on their hands against Jimmy Anderson.
Play starts at 11am, do join us.
