Three batters shone in Warwickshire’s mammoth 665 for five declared against Surrey on a baked Edgbaston pitch. New Zealand’s Tom Latham hit the highest score on debut for Warwicks, with 184; Ed Barnard flamed a career-best 177, but it is Zen Malik who is in danger of becoming a motivational message. Malik came to Birmingham via six years of touting himself around the counties, SACA, Staffordshire and Glamorgan’s second XI – where he made two centuries against Warwickshire last year and was quickly hoovered up by performance director Gavin Larsen who called him “the best uncontracted player he’d seen”. And now in his second first-class game, aged 27, he lofted Dan Lawrence back over his head for an effortless, twinkle-toed, maiden hundred. Barnard continued his happy day by trapping Rory Burns lbw for 27 before stumps, but another brutal day for the bowlers seems inevitable on Sunday. Mohammad Abbas, as slippery and as slight as ever, showed his old county Hampshire just what they were missing, with five wickets on his Nottinghamshire debut. The pick of his wickets was a gleaming marble that kissed the top of Ben Brown’s off stump and sent it dancing into the dust. Kyle Abbott’s brisk 67 kept Nottinghamshire’s lead to 137 before he pulled on his bowling boots, took the new ball and quickly removed both Notts openers. Just to keep it interesting, Notts then lost three for nine, before Liam Patterson-White and Jack Haynes steadied the ship. A lead of 308 should be more than enough with Abbas ready once more to prowl at the top of his mark. A disciplined George Hill undressed Essex at Chelmsford, zipped out for 123 on a moody pitch that furrowed brows. There had been a resurgence of sorts from 59 for six, when Michael Pepper and Noah Thain added 46, but the end came quickly – Hill’s six for 51 his second-best Championship figures. Adam Lyth then hit his second fifty of the match as Yorkshire eased into an extremely comfortable lead. There was just time for Wharton to slam a six onto the press box before stumps. Five wickets for Fynn Hudson-Prentice, and six catches for John Simpson, put Sussex on top against Worcestershire at Hove. Tom Taylor continued his good game with the joint top-scorer with 32, after taking five-wickets on Friday. Sussex had built a lead of 170 by stumps, despite losing both Tom Haines and Daniel Hughes without a run on the board. Run-machine Marcus Harris added a third Championship hundred to his Lancashire tally for the summer. His 121 against Northamptonshire took his total for the year to 706 – leaving a thousand runs before the end of May a tempting possibility with two rounds left. Northants bowlers were not helped by their soapy-fingered fielders. A Lancashire first-innings lead of 38 was not imposing, but Northants second innings also failed to thrive. Ben Kellaway duly picked up the nine runs he needed for his maiden first-class century, but kept going with increasing confidence, flaying Matt Parkinson for three successive sixes to finish 181 not out when the declaration came. At 549 for nine, it was Glamorgan’s highest score against Kent. Then came the Kentish collapse, though from 23 for five, 156 for eight at stumps was a tablecloth of plenty. Chris Benjamin’s 68 not out was his highest score for Kent. “Theoretically, you meant to put the scoreboard out of your mind,” said a phlegmatic Adam Hollioake, the Kent head coach, “but we’re all human beings, and unfortunately, scoreboard pressure does exist.” That’s all from us for tonight, great to see Mo Abbas back in his bowling boots. Till tomorrow, bye! DIVISION ONE Chelmsford: Essex 123 v Yorkshire 216 and 114-1 Trent Bridge: Notts 333 and 171-6 v Hampshire 196 Hove: Sussex 284 and 66-3 v Worcestershire 180 Edgbaston: Warwickshire 665-5 v Surrey 98-1 DIVISION TWO Canterbury: Kent 156-8 v Glamorgan 549-9dec County Ground: Northamptonshire 238 and 140-6 v Lancashire 276 I suppose I should start writing. I leave Yorkshire with a goodly lead, Lyth 61 not out; Notts 97-6, a lead of 234; Sussex 34-3, a lead of 138; Surrey one down – Burns to man of the moment Ed Barnard. In Division Two, Benjamin is hanging on in Kent’s first-innings debacle (124-7); and Northants are five down, have lost Keogh, the lead just 78. Do keep chatting BTL, we’ll remain open till late. A Hopps-o-gram from Chelmsford: Yorkshire spectators had been speculating how a crash of wickets at Chelmsford might also bring a similar crash in ticket prices for tomorrow. Alack, such financial husbandry is no longer an option as Yorkshire’s openers have built on their first-innings lead of 93 with impressive old-school deliberation. Finlay Bean has had a good game: comparatively. He probably needs to be told this because he is only averaging 15 for the season, but his scores of 31 and 19 have helped Yorkshire solidify their innings on both occasions. He has shared in 72 for the first wicket, out of 216 in the first innings, 71 second time around, his innings ending when he failed to pull Noah Thain through the leg side. Adam Lyth has again looked on top of his game. There has been a surprising lack of turn for Simon Harmer. This is very much Yorkshire in the ascendancy. I think I just saw Chris Benjamin, almost imperceptively, shake his head as Grant Stewart has a huge hack and plays onto his stumps. Kent 109 for seven. Sue Redfern sends an unhappy yet limping Jack Leaning on his way, lbw Fernando. Kent 104 for six. There’s never a dull moment in this round – Sussex have started their second innings at 0-2, the opening pair gone. And Notts are six down, with a lead of 221. James the latest man to be sent on his way , a wicket for Sonny Baker. Notts 84-6. It seems such a glorious pastoral scene at Canterbury, all long shadows and afternoon whispers, as Leaning drives Fernando to the rope. Just a shame about that 457-run deficit. I missed this story from yesterday – former Australian legspinner Stuart MacGill has been given 495 hours of community service and a 22-month intensive corrections order, – but avoided a prison sentence – after being found guilty of the supply of cocaine. Just to keep it interesting, Notts have now lost three for nine at Trent Bridge. I assume Hampshire are holding their catches this time around. Sussex pocket a lead of 104 runs at Hove. It should be enough. Kudos to Tom Taylor for adding 32 from No. 10 to go with his first innings five-fer. Bowlers seem to be doing a lot of rescuing of batters this round. Hudson-Prentice five for 40. Haines and Hughes go again. Rory Burns and Dom Sibley tiptoe into the void – Surrey 17-0 from nine overs. After the announcment of an immediate ceasefire between India and Pakistan, it seems there may be an about turn on the IPL. Leaning and Benjamin have already double the score since they came together at Canterbury, unfortunately Kent still trail by 497. And it’s not easy batting for the Division One leaders either, Notts are four down, the lead 187. Just 18 for McCann this time around. SACA haven’t posted about Zen Malik yet, but Arav Shetty looks a pretty good prospect… DIVISION ONE Chelmsford: Essex 123 v Yorkshire 216 and 28-0 Trent Bridge: Notts 333 and 30-2 v Hampshire 196 Hove: Sussex 284 v Worcestershire 157-8 Edgbaston: Warwickshire 665-5 v Surrey DIVISION TWO Canterbury: Kent 43-5 v Glamorgan 549-9dec County Ground: Northamptonshire 238 and 54-2 v Lancashire 276 And he does it! Smacking Lawrence over his head for four. He gets a huge hug from Barnard, and applause from Ben Foakes in his wicket-keeping gloves. Another success for SACA, and a pat on the back for Warwickshire for spotting Malik’s worth in Glamorgan second XI garb, and giving a chance to a 27 year old. Warwickshire 665 at tea. One over left before tea, Malik on strike on 99. He must face Dan Lawrence’s food mixer spin. “Now Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott don’t play for the same county anymore it’s easier for both of them to take five-fers.” So true Romeo, and Abbott has added to his first-innings tally, bowling Hameed for eight. Two overs till tea, Malik 98 not out… he and Barnard have a wee chat in the middle. Apart from Lancashire, there’s been little joy for those batting second in this round: Worcestershire 130-8 at Hove, 154 behind. Four for Hudson-Prentice. Not a good omen for Surrey, still plugging away against Warwickshire’s 640-5, though the batting conditions at Edgbaston are blissful for batting. Kyle Abbott is single-handedly trying to keep Hampshire in the game at Trent Bridge. After five wicket in the first innings, he is the last man out and the highest scorer with 67. Notts are now batting again, a first-innings lead of 137, and poor weary Abbott has the ball again. Meanwhile, at Edgbaston, Zen Malik tries a take-that stride down the pitch and casually slams Tom Lawes back over his head. Division Two Northants, I’m afraid, have had an inauspicious start to their second innings. Vasconcelos and Bartlett back in the pavilion – 19 for two. Kent are having a cover your head with a paper bag kind of day, now 23 for four in the face of Glamorgan’s 549 for nine. Two wickets each for James Harris and van der Gugten. Did Adam Hollioake’s contract have an escape clause? Approaching his highest fc score. And a first fifty for Zen Malik! What a first couple of Championship games after winning last week’s game against Yorkshire with a six. Surrey trudge on into over 151. Warwickshire 600-5. “Make sense of anything,” Hopps is thoughtful post-lunch at Chelmsford. “Yorkshire have a lead of 93, with Essex sent packing for 123, but the ball that will strike trepidation into their hearts is the delivery from left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty which bounced and turned over the startled Yorkshire keeper, Jonny Bairstow. The batter who missed it by a mile, Simon Harmer, might have allowed himself a smile because this pitch promises his off-spin substantial rewards. This once docile pitch is slowing and beginning to grip for seamers and spinners alike. George Hill has also benefited. He has bowled straight at brisk medium and has returned his second-best Championship figures of six for 51. The crowd incidentally, is 1,000 below Friday’s figure of 2,600 – not for the first time are Essex’s Championship crowds lower on a weekend. Make sense of that. Make sense of this pitch. Make sense of anything.” As Essex are winkled out for 123. That Yorkshire lead a very handy 93 on this pitch of various hues. Three wickets for Ben Coad and one for Dan Moriarty in his first match of the season. In the other Division Two game, Northants are fighting back at the County Ground. From 184-3, Lancs are bowled out for 276, a lead of 38, bigger than a teaspoon, smaller than a good sprinkle. Three wickets each for Conway and Procter. Unfortunately for Kent, this means they have to bat. Eight balls in, they are five for one. Finch, lbw James Harris four. Ben Kellaway left unbeaten on 181. Great stat but… …Luis Reece? Luckily cricinfo is on hand: Reece made an immediate impact when he opened the innings for Lancashire in the Championship, averaging 55.53 and being named as the county’s Young Player of the Year as they won promotion from Division Two. Sign of the interest he had generated came when he represented MCC in Abu Dhabi prior to the 2014 season. A rise in standards, though, proved more difficult for him to combat and he failed to retain his place as his average took a battering. A knee injury slowed his progress with the ball. His 2015 season was disrupted when he broke a hand thumping the dressing room wall in frustration at a poor run of form and a dubious lbw decision, and at the end of another unproductive summer in 2016 he moved to Derbyshire. Essex really need a Sussex-style reversal of the scorecard by the end of the day. They are in some serious trouble against Coad and Hill, with Moriarty now joining in with the wicket of Pepper. Is Noah Thain the man for the job? Up comes the Warwickshire 500 and Barnard’s second century of the season. Gone are the days of propping up Worcestershire’s tail – now he smacks Surrey around Edgbaston. Glamorgan ease past 500, Warwickshire nearly there. Long days in the field for Surrey and Kent. Abbas, a-back. Albert for a duck. DIVISION ONE Chelmsford: Essex 94-6 v Yorkshire 216 Trent Bridge: Notts 333 v Hampshire 99-5 Hove: Sussex 284 v Worcestershire 70-3 Edgbaston: Warwickshire 481-5 v Surrey DIVISION TWO Canterbury: Kent v Glamorgan 498-8 County Ground: Northamptonshire 238 v Lancashire 242-6 Look up to see Ben Brown’s off stump dancing merrily away from its earthly grave, courtesy of Mo Abbas. Hampshire 99-5. Regrets, I have a few. As it was written, so it came to pass. A third century of the season for Marcus Harris. Lancs have a lead, with four wickets in hand. “Warwickshire 444-4! I’m in Nelson nirvana,” taps Tim Maitland. “Does anyone have any idea how the rules of Nelson affect Nottinghamshire being 333 all out. Does it mean that the entire match is subject to the nefarious and nebulous wiles of Nelson?” After hitting him for two successive fours, Prest is helpless as Abbas nips one in for a pre-lunch bonus wicket. Hants now four down. David Hopps is back with another missive from Chelmsford. “On the aforesaid docile pitch, Essex have lost their first six wickets for 59 in 32 overs. It’s been painstaking progress against insistent spells from Ben Coad and George Hill. Yorkshire have bowled much straighter than Essex on the opening day. Hill has filled out and is beginning to look a fully-fledged county all-rounder: Robin Das was his victim at third slip. But the typically skilful spell from Ben Coad (away movement accounting for both Matt Critchley and Tom Westley), leading the Yorkshire Post correspondent to bemoan once again England’s lack of interest in him. “Sam Cook, a similar bowler of limited pace, has broken through; Coad probably never will. Talking of Yorkshire Post correspondents, there have only been six in history and Terry Brindle, one of that number, a writer of considerable elegance, passed away in Australia earlier this month.” Both Essex and Surrey have had better days. Essex have gone weak-kneed in the presence of Coad and Hill – 79-6, 137 behind Yorkshire. While at Trent Bridge, Tom Lawes has picked up his second wicket – but at some cost. Tom Latham finally out for 184 in his debut innings for Warwicks. Warwicks 451-5, Barnard still there on 79. James Vince is the most missed team talisman. Discuss. Notts chip away, Middleton back in the pavilion for 22. Hants 75 for three. In Division Two: Glamorgan continue to wring the Kent bowlers dry, 445 for seven. Kellaway 116 not out. And Lancs are fast-catching up Northants. Wondering how? Marcus Harris is how. He approaches yet another hundred. Lancs 206 for four, just 28 behind. In other news, a funny story from Reuters: United Arab Emirates batters retired out en masse in an effort to end their match against Qatar quickly with rain threatening to affect the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup Asian qualifier in Bangkok. UAE reached 192 for 0 in 16 overs with Esha Oza making 113 off 55 balls before deciding to finish their innings early to avoid a washout on Friday. Ending an innings by declaration is not allowed in T20 Internationals, however, so every batter had to pad up and walk to the middle before retiring without facing a ball. UAE then bowled out Qatar for 29 in 11.1 overs to secure a crushing win by 163 runs and remain top of Group B. Sussex have sent three Worcestershire batters on their way, even with Ollie Robinson off the pitch with what is reported to be a sore left leg/ankle. At 45-3, Worcestershire are going to wish they made more of Sussex being 88-6 yesterday. As Glamorgan sail past 400, Kellaway reaches his first first-class century. Well played! It’s been quite the round for young run-makers. Some additional stattage from Romeo. “Ben Kellaway has not only scored his maiden century, but is also now an official first-class all-rounder, with a batting average of 27.93 and a bowling average of 27.85. “He was already a 50-over official all-rounder (31.7 and 23.08).” When Abbas played for Hampshire his trousers always used to be slightly too short. The Notts kitman/woman seems to have measured his legs correctly. A magical slip of a man. At the other end Brett Hutton is an old fashioned, underrated, broad of beam tricksy English seamer. A pleasing combination and not easy to face on this pitch. And there is Abbas’s first wicket for Notts! Gubbins a 13-ball duck. Hants 31-2. Kyle Abbott, speaking last night, didn’t sound too happy about Notts reaching 333. Generously, he didn’t mention the five dropped catches by his teammates. “To be quite honest, their total seems a little bit over par on that pitch. There was a bit more in it than that sort of score might suggest,” he said. “We were a little bit unlucky this morning. There was a lot going on, sometimes a bit too much.” And, sure enough, Mark Stoneman is already out this morning, caught and bowled by Brett Hutton. Hants 24-1. Mohammad Abbas is slinking in as he always did. “Good morning Tanya (and Happy American Mothers’ Day, if you feel in need of an extra day’s credit).” I’ll take any credit I can get, Tim Maitland. “With Warwickshire resuming only four down and presumably in a position to eliminate defeat from the list of possible results at Edgbaston, is it time we talked about the defending champions’ bowling this year? “Of course they’re missing Dan Worrall and Gus Atkinson from the side that beat Somerset last time out, but that’s the only time they’ve taken 20 wickets this season and, early doors though it may be, the evidence suggests that they’re not going to repeat that feat this week. “Kemar Roach has finished his four-match stint, the Curran brothers have been playing pyjama cricket - Tom with Lahore Qalanders, Sam with Chennai Super Kings - but those were all known and, presumably, planned for. Are they in trouble?” You’re doubting the mighty Surrey? In plain sight? Barney unleashed on the current mess we find ourselves in: David Hopps is back … and reports: When you insist it’s a docile Chelmsford wicket only for Yorkshire to skedaddle to 216 all out and then take three quick wickets in reply, all alibis are helpful. So thanks to Essex’s leggie Matt Critchley (who ended up with four wickets) for saying: “I’m not sure about how to read the pitch. We thought it was going to be flat. I think it’s a slow, dead wicket.” Or Yorkshire’s James Wharton who said much the same. Good judges both, clearly. Both these sides have unreliable batting orders so who knows what might happen today.” Don’t want to sound too middle aged but I’m very excited by the bedding plants I’ve just bought from the scouts. In other news, Virat Kohli is about to call time on his Test career: A meeting of the National Drought Group is never a good sign… There was a to-and-fro scrap at Trent Bridge, the difference being Nottinghamshire’s 20-year-old England Lion Freddie McCann, who hit a wonderful century, already his third in the Championship. Kyle Abbott collected five wickets for the 43rd time in his career – it could have been more but Hampshire dropped five catches. The 2024 champions had a difficult day at Edgbaston. Tom Latham, who only arrived in Birmingham on Tuesday after recovering from a broken hand, frolicked to an unbeaten 139 on his Warwickshire debut. Alex Davies had set the mood, playing wantonly at the Surrey attack, slapping a couple of early sixes, until he was bowled by a full toss from Dan Lawrence. Surrey, shorn of Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope by England, picked Jason Roy for the first time in five years. It was a memorable day for off-spinner Jack Carson, who celebrated a maiden first-class century at a sunny Hove. It was an intelligent rescue act after Sussex, sitting pretty at 80 for nought, promptly lost six for eight as Tom Taylor (five for 56) ran riot. The last-wicket stand of 73 was particularly galling for Worcestershire. James Wharton’s careful innings of 63 not out just about knitted Yorkshire together on a day when they lost nine for 108 on a two-faced Chelmsford pitch. Matt Critchley collected four for 49. Essex then lost their opening pair and the nightwatchman before the close. Glamorgan, boosted by news that Marnus Labuschagne would be returning for two games (and a sixth season) later this month, had a good day against Kent at Canterbury, where a north wind confused the seasons. Young specs-wearing Asa Tribe was bowled by Matt Parkinson six runs short of a first Championship century, Ben Kellaway was unbeaten on 91. A ding-dong unrolled at the County Ground, where Northamptonshire were reduced to 67 for six before the last four batters added 171 – much to Lancashire’s frustration. Lewis McManus cooked up a half century and was well supported by Liam Guthrie and the tail. Lancashire lost both George Bell and Josh Bohannon for nought, but yet another fifty from Marcus Harris smoothed the waters. DIVISION ONE Chelmsford: Essex 27-3 v Yorkshire 216 Trent Bridge: Notts 333 v Hampshire 2-0 Hove: Sussex 284 v Worcestershire 7-0 Edgbaston: Warwickshire 364-4 v Surrey DIVISION TWO Canterbury: Kent v Glamorgan 389-7 County Ground: Northamptonshire 238 v Lancashire 110-3 Hello! And a happy Saturday morning all round. It’s another fine day around the grounds and play will start at 11am, so do join us post park run/croissant/child’s football game for some county cricket perambulations.
Author: Tanya Aldred