Key events
Is weatherhousing a verb? Anyway, they’re off at Lord’s, they’re on at Chelmsford, and there’s a pitch inspection at Wantage Road where Asa Tribe made his maiden 200 yesterday – and raised his hand yet further for the Lions trip.
He reflected on it last night:
“It feels like I can’t do much wrong at the moment and I’m really happy with the way it’s going. I need to focus on my game and keep putting performances in for Glamorgan, it’s good to be in the position I’m currently in and I’m really enjoying it.”
Dom Sibley has retired hurt at The Oval, Ben Foakes now accompanies Ollie Pope.
And Ben Green is having fun at Taunton – presumably under orders to smash it around. Somerset move into the 420s.
No red-ball change of heart for Adil Rashid ahead of the Ashes. Unfortunately.
At Taunton, Ben Green finds himself batting for Somerset again, before his permanent move to Grace Road, which has been his temporary home for much of this season.
More rain
Delayed starts also at Grace Road and Chelmsford.
Weather watch and delayed starts
Unsettled. Delayed starts at Northampton, Hove and probably more.
The Met Office forecasts: “Bands of rain or showers, turning heavy and thundery at times, will move northeast across most areas through the day. There will be some sunny spells. Windy with possible gales in the southwest. Turning cooler from the west.”
“My form has been awful”
Tom Abell on his relief at that fantastic hundred yesterday.
“My form has been absolutely awful up to the last couple of games. I was short of runs earlier in the summer, but now I feel I have found a rhythm and greater clarity to my batting, which means I can fulfil my role in the middle order.”
Durham’s Ryan Campbell sets the scene at Chelmsford:
“There will be a battle going on, that’s for sure. We’re going to have to fight for every run. We know they’ve got a good spinner to bowl on the last day. But there is weather coming, depending who you listen to or which weather app you’re looking at. But we’ve going to ignore those and come out trucking with a great attitude and try and bowl Essex out.
“We know it’s a massive game. We’ve got a massive three games. We’re playing three teams around us and we want to win every game. It’s all up for grabs. These two days are going to have a big bearing on the rest of our year.”
Tuesday’s round-up
A round of closely matched first-innings games bubbled intriguingly around the country. At the Oval, Surrey oiled their sinews and started to pull away from Warwickshire, after Rory Burns (idiosyncratically), Dom Sibley (steadily) and Ollie Pope (busily) each collected a half century. Earlier, Warwickshire had inched to a two-run first-innings lead, but just short of a batting point, thanks to fifty from Ed Barnard and some lusty blows from Nathan Gilchrist. There were three wickets for the rapid Gus Atkinson and four for Tom Lawes.
Nottinghamshire, who started the round just nine points behind Surrey, stay on their tail after Josh Tongue ruined Worcestershire’s afternoon. Tongue’s intimidating spell of nine overs, three for 24, took out Worcestershire’s top three, and Lyndon James removed Nos 4 and 5 to leave them 93 for five and with a lead of just 68. It was galling for Worcestershire after Tom Taylor’s four wickets had earlier kept Notts in check.
At Taunton, where afternoon rain swept through once more, Tom Abell carried Somerset’s innings with a distinguished five-hour 130 on a pitch that looks likely to turn. He was finally out to an off-balance slog-sweep to mid-wicket off his former teammate and now Yorkshire spinner Dom Bess. Abell and Lewis Goldsworthy (65) had kept the fires burning after James Rew was caught in the first over of the day.
A five-and-a-half hour century from Dean Elgar and a smash-and-grab 97 from Matt Critchley took Essex to tickling distance of Durham in the relegation battle at Chelmsford.
Shan Masood enjoyed his first Championship innings for Leicestershire, his fourth county, moving to a chanceless 80 not out against Gloucestershire at Grace Road. He put on 152 with Lewis Hill (88), much to the delight of the watching fans, including a tubby, and hungry, golden retriever.
Middlesex’s Leus du Plooy hit a hundred against his old county Derbyshire in a tight game at Lord’s; while Lancashire crept to within nine runs of Kent’s first innings, thanks largely to 64 from Tom Hartley. There were four wickets for Matt Parkinson and an inspired Matt Quinn. Saif Zaib, Division Two’s leading scorer, hit yet another half century for Northamptonshire, this time against Glamorgan, while Sussex continued their poor run of form, bowled out for 122 by Hampshire.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 312-3 v Durham 333
Taunton: Somerset 391-6 v Yorkshire
The Oval: Surrey 246 and 181-1 v Warwickshire 248
Hove: Sussex 122 and 37-1 Hampshire 226 and 173
New Road: Worcestershire 182 and 93-5 v Nottinghamshire 207
DIVISION TWO
Canterbury: Kent 293 and 96-0 v Lancashire 284
Grace Road: Leicestershire 270-4 v Gloucestershire 482
Lord’s: Middlesex 298v Derbyshire 283 and 17-0
Northampton: Northants 309-5 v Glamorgan 467
Preamble
Good morning from a damp Leicester. The rain plops down on the hoodied students and the put-out squirrels feeding in Victoria park. It looks like an on-off day around the grounds, but do join us to watch the covers and chew over miscellany.
