Key events
Northants declare with a lead of 193
Saif Zaib, who looked so good in his hundred last week against Lancashire, flames another, off 90 balls, against Derbyshire. He’s out, for 105, Northants pass 500, and promptly declare.
Durham all out 427
An impressive recovery there by Yorkshire, who looked down and out when Lees and Gay were having fun. The Durham lead: 120.
Leicestershire move smoothly past Lancashire, with seven wickets in hand. The forecast for tomorrow “cloud, outbreaks of rain” suggests chasing batting points is probably Leicestershire’s best bet.
Tim Maitland muses on Cam and Cam. “The more mechanically minded would instantly have gone with “Twin Cams”.
”If they’re both really tall, they’d be “Dual Overhead Cams”.
Nottinghamshire’s Australian landscape gardener has been showing his worth with bat as well as ball. O’Neill just out for 50, from 53 balls. HH still plodding away, 125 not out, the Notts lead 249.
There must be something in the water today – there goes Ollie Pope, next ball, hooking, but gloving, at Seales, next ball. Surrey 237-3.
A century for Ollie Pope
A first hundred of the year for the ginger prince. Surrey crunching methodically through the gears alongside the seagulls. Alongside him, Dan Lawrence has hit one six and one four in his 13.
They’ve resumed at Canterbury, and at Lord’s. Having the benefit of the two Camerons – the Can-Can(?) – has proved pretty profitable for Gloucestershire so far against Kent
Glamorgan have safely negotiated the first four an a half overs of their second innings, but a deficit of 252 runs looms large.
Out in the middle at OT, Mr JM Anderson is having a bowl.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham 386-6 v Yorkshire 307
Chelmsford: Essex 179 and 317 v Worcestershire 202 and 1-1 Worcs need 294 to win
Southampton: Hampshire 336 v Somerset 184
Hove: Sussex 435 v Surrey 216-2
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 93 v Nottinghamshire 307-6
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 307 v Northamptonshire 375-5
Canterbury: Kent 393 v Gloucestershire 472
Old Trafford: Lancashire 263 v Leicestershire 242-3
Lord’s: Middlesex 470-9 v Glamorgan 199 and 12-0
Worcestershire, set 295 to win, just had time to lose Gareth Roderick to the second ball of the innings, before everyone trooped off for lunch.
Hartley gets a rest at last: after a spell of 15 overs one for 54, over last night and this morning. Luke Wells, head gleaming in the sun, rolls his arm over from the Jimmy Anderson end. Ten minutes till lunch here, lunch being taken around the grounds.
And 150s for Luke Procter and Emilio Gay
Procter departs immediately, caught at gully. He’s steered Northants to a 47-run lead.
Emilo Gay too, bowled George Hill for 152, as Durham suffer a mini-wobble, losing three for 24. A memorable first century for Durham.
A century for Haseeb Hameed
Congratulations to CCLive!’s favourite son for a 16th f-c century and a tenth for Notts. I don’t know how it happened but he is now 28.
In Division One:
At Edgbaston, HH is nearing three figures, though Warwickshire have chipped away at the other end, Lyndon James a second wicket for Barnard for 42. Notts 256-6, a lead of 163.
Half centuries for run-gobbler Dom Sibley ,and Ollie Pope at Hove, Surrey 158-1.
Hampshire have lost three wicket this morning, all of them to the surprising arm of Tom Lammonby. Hants 280-7: Gubbins out for 82, Dawson for 72.
Essex are nine down at Chelmsford, the lead over Worcestershire: 280. Two morning wickets for Tom Taylor, Shane Snater still htere on 34. The late middle order doing a good job here for Essex.
And finally, to Chester le Street, where Durham have zipped past Yorkshire, just four wickets down. Lees was finally out for 172 and Emilio Gay is undefeated on 149.
Another! A wicket for John Turner at OT, Holland caught mis-pulling by Mahmood. Lancs have now got rid of both the overnight batters in quick succession.
A hundred and out for Rehan Ahmed!
Rehan Ahmed reaches his second first-class century, with a single from a drive, crisp and pleasureable as a slice of buttered toast. A gorgeous century to watch, 14 fours,measured defence. Huge applause by the Leicestershire balcony as he removes his helmet and raises his bat.
Then he’s out, propping forward to Hartley and giving a catch to silly mid off.
Ahmed’s only other f-c century came in September 2022, 122 against Derbyshire, batting at No. 5. On the basis of watching him here at OT, there should be many more.
With an hour gone, a trip around the other Division Two grounds:
A century for Luke Procter, 128 not out, and a nippy 43 from Rob Keogh has put Northants in a dominant position in at Derby, just 11 runs behind, seven wickets in hand.
Ben Compton is continuing to hold Kent together, now 166 not out. Kent 354-8, 118 behind Gloucestershire.
And at Lord’s, the Middlesex lead is a hefty 217.
Division Two table (as of April 14)
1 Leicestershire 39
2 Kent 38
3 Derbyshire 36
4 Lancashire 23
5 Northants 18
6 Gloucestershire 18
7 Glamorgan 15
8 Middlesex 14
Three overs for Mahmood this morning at OT, Anderson Philip has replaced him: liquid run-up to the wicket, hands shoved in pockets for the trudge back. Rehan Ahmed has looked in fine fettle, playing with characteristic artistic ease but also patience. He and Holland have put on 46 runs in the first ten overs.
A first missive: and a very happy Easter to you Tim Maitland:
“Salutations Tanya!
“I’m struggling to concentrate on the cricket at the moment. It doesn’t help that my beloved Western Bulldogs (Long story short: some disreputable caddies on the LPGA decided I needed an AFL team and I didn’t have the sense to ignore them) are playing St. Kilda right now.
“But it’s not just that.
“I’m finding it hard to get a sense of who is in form, especially with the bat. Maybe it’s because we were distracted by Tom Banton’s 371, which he’s followed with scores of 6, 0 and 5. How long a lead does a triple centurion get before his chain is yanked?
“If Surrey’s Dom Sibley adds significantly to his 40 overnight, does he hold the crown after a 66 at Essex and then 100 not out and 1055 against Hampshire? Incidentally he made 3 in his one game for Khulna Tigers in Chittagong, which is officially called Chattogram, which would be a great name for a social media platform wouldn’t it?
“Or is it Tom Haines? His 174 against Surrey in this round of matches is, weather permitting, potentially match winning and his second innings 141 set up the victory against Somerset last week.
“As for bowlers… have you got anything? [Ed – My immediate thought is Fergus O’Neill?]
“The Bulldogs, incidentally, have living legend Marcus Bontempelli aka The Bont back for the first time this season, but as I speak our 6 ft 10 in young superstar-to-be ruckman Sam Darcy has just hobbled off with an injured knee, which would be a disaster for the Doggies.”
Division One Table (as of April 14)
A most unexpected hue:
1 Warwicks (35)
2 Sussex (35)
3 Notts (35)
4 Hampshire (30)
5 Essex (28)
6 Yorkshire (27)
7 Surrey (23)
8 Somerset (19)
9 Worcestershire (12)
10 Durham (11)
Weather watch
A delay only a Hove. Elsewhere the Met Office is full of spring-time optimism:
Rain across western Scotland and Northern Ireland easing, and rain in southeast England fragmenting into scattered showers. Dry elsewhere with variable cloud and sunny spells, most prolonged for parts of Wales and northwest England. Mostly light winds.
All is now well at OT, the players are out, the sun too.
Heavy roller problems
An Easter delay at Old Trafford, where the heavy roller has broken down and is stuck in the middle.
Tall Paul on his surprise promotion up the order for Essex:
“A few years ago when I wasn’t playing first team I opened a lot for the twos, Then I did a few games with Cooky during Covid time, so it’s not completely unfamiliar for me. It has been a really nice challenge because it something new, something to prepare for. I think I’ve dealt with it well so far, though it is still early in the season. It’s about turning up every day and giving it your best shot.”
Sciver-Brunt is Edwards’ first choice for England captaincy.
She’s an outstanding cricketer and and the best candidate. My main worry is if she actually wants to do it.
Saturday’s round up
A fit looking Saqib Mahmood, with a tentative mullet, bowled in his first Championship game for Lancashire since May 2024. In he steamed from the Statham End at Old Trafford, up against Leicestershire’s tyro opening partnership of Sol Budinger and Rehan Ahmed.
Budinger was dropped between first and second slip on a duck, and Leicestershire then made hay, fizzing past 100 in 19.4 overs. Ahmed, a pocket rocket with wrists of steel and a high‑fashion post‑shot pose, punched thrillingly through the covers, flashed extra‑cover drives, whipped with elan.
Tom Hartley caused trouble in his six overs from the James Anderson End towards the close and, after Budinger fell to Mahmood, Ahmed played out the last 20 minutes with an extravagant, and tight, defence.
Earlier Tom Scriven had collected a career-best five for 46, as Lancashire lost their last four wickets for 21 runs. Marcus Harris, once of Grace Road, made his fourth half-century in his fifth innings since arriving in Manchester.
A hundred for Ben Compton, scored at quite the lick, kept Kent in the game at Canterbury, after Gloucestershire strode past 450, a 27-ball 51 by Marchant de Lange ensuring a fifth batting point. James Bracey was left unbeaten on 151, Nathan Gilchrist putting in his Easter egg career best figures of seven for 100. Zak Crawley collar up, was then caught for one.
A possible rival for his England opening spot, Tom Haines, brightened the twinkle in Rob Key’s eye with a second hundred in consecutive matches, 174 in seven‑and-a-half hours against a Surrey seam attack of Dan Worrell, Jordan Clark, Gus Atkinson and Matt Fisher, who dedicated their day to slowing down the Sussex scoring rate. Ben Foakes conceded just one bye on a pitch with, at times, unreliable bounce. Surrey reached 90-1 at stumps.
Seam bowling to stick in the scrap book from Fergus O’Neill (five for 19) and Brett Hutton (five for 38) left Warwickshire in deep trouble at 93 all out. Nottinghamshire, going out to bat just as the sun came out, then stretched to 204 for five, led by a cast-iron 75 not out from captain Haseeb Hameed
After three ducks in four innings, Emilio Gay came good at Chester le Street with 105, he and Alex Lees (148) pounding Yorkshire into the north-east dust with an unbeaten second-wicket partnership of 242. It was Gay’s first century for Durham.
A second century of the season for Max Holden, tempo dictated by lunch, helped Middlesex into a promising position at Lord’s. There were three wickets for Timm van der Gugten, and Glamorgan’s fielders stayed perky on a trying day.
Paul Walter, settling nicely into the opening slot left vacant by Dean Elgar, hauled Essex out of a hole with 104, and, together with a career best 49 not out from Noah Thain, gave Essex a lead of 210. Sri Lanka’s Kasun Rajitha picked up four Worcestershire wickets on debut.
At Southampton, fifties from Nick Gubbins and Liam Dawson gave Hampshire a 10-run lead, after Somerset had been bowled out for 184. Migael Pretorius was the one thorn in Hampshire’s side, making 47 from a 48 run last-wicket partnership for Somerset.
It was a good day for Northamptonshire in Derby, Ricky Vasconcelos (82) and Luke Procter (97 not out) reducing the deficit to less than a hundred.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham 264-1 v Yorkshire 307
Chelmsford: Essex 179 and 233-6 v Worcestershire 202
Southampton: Hampshire 194-3 v Somerset 184
Hove: Sussex 435 v Surrey 90-1
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 93 v Nottinghamshire 204-5
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 307 v Northamptonshire 236-3
Canterbury: Kent 318-7 v Gloucestershire 472
Old Trafford: Lancashire 263 v Leicestershire 120-1
Lord’s: Middlesex 353-4 v Glamorgan 199
Preamble
Good morning! And a very happy Easter to all those who celebrate, buns, bunnies, church and chocolate. For those who don’t, or who want a little extra on the side, let me present the County Championship – day three, round three. Play starts at 11am, we’ll be here all day.
