Championship Capers

A look at events on the final day of action in round two of the 2026 county championship and a photo gallery.

Today was the final day of action in round two of the 2026 County Championship. What follows is my take on a day that ended just about an hour ago.

NEW SIGNINGS SHINE FOR SUSSEX

My first port of call was Hove where Sussex were playing Warwickshire. The match looked very interestingly poised at the start of play. However the potentially classic finish did not arise because Jack Leaning and Tom Price, each of whom had been playing elsewhere last season, batted superbly and carried their side to a five wicket win, Leaning scoring 120 not out and Price 70 not out. In all their stand was worth 144, about 100 of them on this final day.

EXPERIENCE TELLS FOR LANCASHIRE

A fine second innings bowling performance by Derbyshire after both sides had topped 350 first time round left them needing a mere 138 to win. When they moved past halfway to that target with only three wickets gone it looked like they were in control. Then wickets started to fall, and as things got nervier it became more and more a time for experienced heads, and in contemporary cricket they do not come much more experienced than Sir James Anderson, 44 years of age and still going strong. Sir James’s scalps included those of Derbyshire’s in form batter and his near namesake Martin Andersson to give his side hope and Ben Aitchison to virtually seal the deal. He also trapped Anuj Dal LBW for 0, and had Shoaib Bashir caught by Harry Singh to put Derbyshire nine down. The final wicket fell in somewhat comical fashion, a mix up between Zak Chappell and Mohammad Abbas leading to the former being run out. Derbyshire had subsided from a high water mark of 73-3 to 108 all out and defeat by 29 runs. Anderson had figures of 9.5-3-18-4. If Sir James needs further inspiration to keep going he might look up the details of Ernie Robson, a Yorkshire born swing bowler who played for Somerset and played his last season in 1923 at the age of 53.

CAPSIZED BY AN OVERLOAD OF RUNS

Surrey and Leicestershire eventually shook hands on a draw, with Surrey 263-4 in their second innings, 92 ahead and barely more than an hour to go until stumps. This game yielded 1474 runs for 24 wickets (Surrey 783-13, Leicestershire 691-10), and average of 61.47 per wicket. I consider this pitch to be unfit for a four day game by reason of being too favourable for batting, and were it up to me would certainly be docking Surrey points for it.

A LUCKY ESCAPE FOR KENT

The last match standing was at Canterbury, where Northamptonshire were trying their utmost to win in the face of resistance from Kent in the person of Ben Compton (114 not out from 287 balls) and the local weather. The combination of Compton’s resistance, a long rain delay and the light closing in at about six o’clock thwarted Northamptonshire, and with Kent an effective minus 253 for five and having taken only two wickets themselves the match ended in a very one-sided draw. Northamptonshire themselves were once arguably even more humiliated in a match in which they escaped defeat, against Gloucestershire in 1907 – they had been bowled out for 12 (the lowest ever total in a completed championship innings) in their first innings, and were 40-7 in the final innings when the rain made its final intervention.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Runs Galore

A look at happenings in the county championship, with a focus on Surrey v Leicestershire, and a photo gallery.

The second round of matches in the 2026 county cricket championship is now into its third day. This post focuses mainly on events at The Oval where Surrey are facing Leicestershire.

THINK THAT’S A BIG SCORE?

Surrey might well have been feeling pretty good about things when they responded to being put into bat by scoring 520 in the first innings. Leicestershire have moved into a comfortable first innings lead, and with day three approaching its end they are effectively immune from defeat. Rishi Patel anchored the early part of their innings with 164, being fifth out with the score at 412. At that point wicket keeper Ben Cox joined Stevie Eskinazi, and they put on 227 for the sixth wicket before Jordan Clark pinned Eskinazi LBW for precisely 100. Cox and Ben Green have taken the score on to 661-6, with Cox passing 150 for the first time in his career. It has just started to rain at The Oval, which may well be the end of day three there. The rain seems to have stopped as quickly as it started, and play is back on at The Oval. Leicestershire are now on to 673-6

ELSEWHERE

Scoring has generally been less extravagant elsewhere, but most matches are still in progress (unless the weather has intervened). Gloucestershire are plummeting towards a hefty defeat against Durham, being currently the equivalent of minus 229 for eight – 201-8 following a first innings collapse for 175 in the face of a Durham score of 605-5 declared. Kent may escape in their match against Northamptonshire, but if so it will be more than they deserve. First they allowed their visitors to plunder 684-2 declared – the highest ever first class innings to feature the loss of just two wickets, beating a 682-2 declared by West Indies v Leicestershire many years ago (Everton Weekes scored a triple century in that innings), then they collapsed for 178 in their own first innings, and lost Zak Crawley early in their second innings, although Sam Northeast, back where he started his career after playing for several other counties over the years, and Ben Compton are enjoying a good stand for the second wicket. Worcestershire are closing in on a win over Middlesex, in a game that has not seen ridiculous scoring. Middlesex need 76 more runs, while Worcestershire need one more wicket. Somerset have beaten Essex by 10 wickets in the one result to be confirmed thus far.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Surrey Going Well in ‘Tony Lock’ Clash

A look at happenings at The Oval where Surrey are facing Leicestershire in what I have dubbed the ‘Tony Lock’ clash.

The second round of county championship matches of the 2026 season got underway this morning. At The Oval Surrey, great left arm spinner Tony Lock’s first county, are in action against Leicestershire, the other county for which he played. This post looks at developments in that game so far.

THE PRELIMINARIES

Leicestershire had Josh Hull playing after he had missed the first match of the season. Other noteworthy names in their XI included New Zealand left arm spinner Ajaz Patel and England spin bowling all rounder Rehan Ahmed. Leicestershire have not of late often been good enough to be in division one – the last time this equivalent match took place was way back in 2015. For Surrey Jordan Clark was back in the side after missing the season opener due to illness. Leicestershire won the toss, and in spite of the presence of Ajaz Patel and Rehan Ahmed, they chose to bowl first.

THE PLAY SO FAR

When both Surrey openers were back in the hutch by the end of the 15th over, with only 42 runs on the board, Leicestershire would have been feeling happy with themselves. By lunch, with the score reading 110-2, and both Jamie Smith (coming off a second innings ton against Warwickshire) and Ollie Pope looking fluent it had quite clearly been Surrey’s morning – if you put the opposition in three wickets by lunch is break even point, with four+ needed to put you ahead on the session.

After the interval Smith and Pope continued to play impressively, extending their partnership to exactly 200, with both completing centuries. This was especially important for Pope, in need of some big scores after a horror show Ashes series during which he got dropped from the side, and saw his replacement Jacob Bethell bat superbly. Smith also struggled in that series, but he at least has a test average the right side of 40, something to which Pope as yet has never been able to point.

The partnership ended when Pope edged Patel through to Cox to go for 103 and make it 242-3. Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence then shared a rapid 50 stand, which has just been ended with Lawrence being bowled by Rehan Ahmed for 31. Smith is on 122 not out. Ajaz Patel and Rehan Ahmed having a wicket a piece on day one is good for Leicestershire in one way, but it does not strengthen their case for bowling first.

Surrey have cruised past 300 while I have been preparing this post for publication – the score currently stands at 314-4 with Smith on to 137 not out and Foakes having just hit his most convincing shot so far to move for 2* to 6*.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Today’s photos come in two parts. I start with a special feature – four pics of a ‘Holly Blue’ butterfly (they seem to be doing well this year) from yesterday…

A Holly Blue on a green leaf in Kettlewell Lane Park.
The second image (full version)
Cropped but not otherwise edited…
…cropped and edited.

Now for the full gallery…

Midweek Mixture

Today it is mainly about the photos, but I make a mention (and link to) this year’s number one in the Classic FM hall of fame – Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man – a Mass for Peace” in the intro.

Today has been warm and sunny (to the the extent that for the first time in 2026 I have been out and about in short sleeves), and I have lots of photographs to share. Over the Easter weekend the Classic FM Hall of Fame countdown happened – the top 300 pieces of classical music as voted for by listeners. Though the county cricket had most of my attention I listened to the last stage of each day. I mention this because this year for the first time in the history of the countdown (now 31 years) the number one slot went to a living composer – Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man – a Mass for Peace” (click here for a recording) gaining the accolade.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Now for those photographs…

Today’s pictures start here.
This Orange Tip gets the nod for feature image.

Match Drawn at Edgbaston

A look at day four in the county championship and a photo gallery.

Today was the fourth and final day of the first round of County Championship 2026 fixtures. This post looks at events in the match between Warwickshire and Surrey.

A GREAT PARTNERSHIP

Surrey resumed today on 169-3, still 47 runs short of avoiding an innings defeat. There were some close calls early in the day, but both Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence batted very well, and by lunch, with the fourth wicket pair still in residence, the draw was already looking the likeliest outcome. The pair went on to break a record that had stood since 1906, for the biggest fourth wicket partnership for Surrey against Warwickshire. By the time Chris Woakes took a catch off Rob Yates to dismiss Smith for 132 the score had climbed to 366, and any result other than a draw looked very unlikely indeed. By the tea interval the score had risen to 390-4, and it was just a question of when hands would finally be shaken. In the event it took another hour and 57 more runs before the moment arrived. Dan Lawrence was undefeated on 161, and at the other end Ben Foakes who had saved Surrey from a disastrous start on day one was unbeaten on 36. Surrey had scored 288-1 on this final day. The pitch, lively on day one, seemed very flat indeed by the end of day four. Nevertheless both sides have reasons to be pleased. For Warwickshire there was Dan Mousley’s first championship hundred, especially significant in that while their bowling depth was obvious for all to see some had had questions about the batting, and 50+ scores from a number of their other players. For Surrey there were three individual tons (Foakes, Smith, Lawrence), a new career best score from Tom Lawes, and considerable resilience demonstrated on two occasions, first recovering from 65-6 to post 328 in the first innings, and then batting very well to secure the draw after what they themselves admitted had been a poor bowling display. I would expect both these sides to be near the top come the end of the season – both have considerable bowling resources, and as both showed in this match, they can bat more than adequately. |Essex and Sussex have each recorded victories in their opening games, Somerset and Nottinghamshire drew their match, and rounding out division one Yorkshire and Glamorgan are still playing, though a draw looks likely there.

PHOTOGRAPHY

My usual sign off…

A green shieldbug on a green leaf…
…and close up
A small blue butterfly on a buddleia leaf near the Eastgate Bridge over the Gaywood River, King’s Lynn (two pics).

Warwickshire Take 216 Run First Innings Lead

A look at the latest developments in Warwickshire v Surrey and a photo gallery.

Today is day three of the opening round of county championship fixtures for the 2026 season. This post looks at what has been happening between Warwickshire and Surrey.

THE DAYS EVENTS

Sam Hain was the first to fall on day three, trapped LBW by Matt Fisher for 94. Mousley continued his impressive play of the previous day until he fell for 144, caught by Rory Burns off James Taylor. That was 394-4. Warwickshire skipper Ed Barnard looked in magnificent form until Burns caught him off Fisher for 25. Aussie Beau Webster became the fifth Warwickshire player to top 50 in the innings before being pinned LBW by Tom Lawes. Numbers 7,8 and 9 in the Warwickshire order, Kai Smith, Chris Woakes and Jordan Thompson, all fell to 18 year old left arm spin bowling all rounder Ralphie Albert, Smith to a catch by Foakes, Woakes clean bowled and Thompson caught by Fisher. Thompson’s dismissal ended the innings, with Ethan Bamber having been LBW to Taylor for 11. Warwickshire thus ended on 544, a first innings advantage of 216. Albert’s figures were 20.3-1-80-3, splendid in such a huge total. The only Surrey bowler to be more economical than Albert was Australian veteran Sean Abbott, whose right arm seam yielded 25-4-74-1.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Maiden County Ton for Mousley

A look at goings on on day two of Warwickshire v Surrey and a photo gallery.

Today is the second day of the county championship season. This post looks at events at Edgbaston where Warwickshire and Surrey are playing.

YESTERDAY EVENING

Surrey continued the fightback I reported on yesterday, eventually reaching 328, of which 128 came from the bat of Ben Foakes. The last wicket fell right on the stroke of time, meaning that Warwickshire did not have to bat in the evening session. They would have been disappointed to let Surrey off the hook from 65-6, but would also have noted that the pitch was definitely easier to bat on than it had been at the start.

TODAY

Today has belonged to Warwickshire. They have moved into a first innings lead for the loss of a mere two wickets. All four batters to have gone to the crease for them so far (Alex Davies, Rob Yates, Dan Mousley and Sam Hain) have topped 50. Mousley reached his first ever county century (he has scored an FC hundred for The Lions, England’s ‘understudy’ squad) just before the light got bad enough for the umpires to take the players off. With Sam Hain unbeaten on 80 at the other end Warwickshire were 330-2, two runs ahead of Surrey’s 328. With the pitch now playing very easily Warwickshire can and should leave Surrey with only a draw to play for – it would be advisable for Warwickshire to give themselves a bowl at Surrey tomorrow evening if they are not already all out by then, but they can certainly afford to bat for two whole sessions tomorrow, and possibly for another hour after tea just to render their lead insuperable.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The WNAG 4th birthday cake.
Pictures of my new trophy and medal (six in total).
Today’s pictures start here.

Cricket Season Underway

A look at events in Warwickshire v Surrey on the opening day of a new cricket season and a photo gallery from work.

The 2026 first class cricket season got underway at 11am UK time this morning, making use of the fact that today and Monday are both bank holidays to play a round of four-day fixtures on which no day will be a regular working day. This post looks at goings on at Edgbaston where Warwickshire are facing Surrey. One piece of big general championship news is that the powers that be have seen sense and abandoned the experiment of using the Kookaburra ball in English matches as the failure it was.

EARLY STRUGGLES

Warwickshire won the toss and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey survived a tough morning largely through Dominic Sibley who batted through at one end. They should have made it through the session for the loss of three wickets, but a loose shot from Dan Lawrence right on the stroke of the interval handed Ethan Bamber his third scalp of the morning and sent Surrey in for lunch at 61-4. Almost as soon as the afternoon session started there was more trouble for Surrey, as Sibley was caught by Rob Yates off Chris Woakes and then Woakes clean bowled teenager Ralphie Albert to make it 65-6…

THE REVIVAL

At that point Ben Foakes, a world class wicket keeping all rounder who should be a regular in the England test side, was joined by Tom Lawes, a talented young seam bowler who can bat. This pair batted through the afternoon session, Lawes reaching a new career best 78 not out by the interval, while Foakes was on 55 not out, and the score had risen to 198-6. Foakes is a very experienced campaigner, and is likely to pass the career landmark of 10,000 first class runs before the end of the season. Play is just resuming for the evening as I type this.

PHOTOGRAPHS

First, a standalone from last night, the fourth birthday of the West Norfolk Autism Group (WNAG):

Me at the fourth birthday celebrations of WNAG, which took place at Strikes in Gaywood yesterday evening. The trophy I am holding aloft is for a win at ten pin bowling, while the gold medal around my neck is for a triumph at scrabble. The WNAG T shirt is on over my jumper because it was not warm enough to be in just a T shirt and I felt that on this occasion that T shirt had to be on display.

My remaining pictures come from work…

We start with some items of militaria which will be going under the hammer at the end of April.
This lot made almost double the high estimate in our March auction…
…partly because of this image of the reverse and the accompanying confirmation that I was able to offer that the blob of gum is original.
This is one of 70 postcard lots in the April sale – I have not images the others yet.

A Family Wedding

An account of a long day yesterday, with a cousin’s wedding at its heart.

Yesterday a cousin of mine got married in Southend (where the couple live). Given the amount of travel involved in attending the wedding, my parents and I also decided to visit Wallasea Island, a wetland area/ bird reserve that has been created using spoil from the Elizabeth line, and which is more or less on the way.

OUTWARD BOUND

My father arrived to pick me up just before 9AM, and we then went into the centre of town to pick up my mother who had opted not to walk from their accommodation to my place, where the car was parked. Then we headed by various roads towards Wallasea Island. My parents car is not well suited to photography, but I managed to capture a few views of Ely Cathedral…

WALLASEA ISLAND

We saw hardly any of Wallasea Island in the end, and saw no exotic species during our time there, but I saw enough to be impressed.

ROCHFORD

We made a stop for refreshments at Rochford, just on the outskirts of Southend. The cafe we visited was excellent, and Rochford has a couple of interesting features.

The Rochford town map.

THE MAIN EVENT

There was one final problem before the main event. My sister and my nephew both also needed lifts from the centre of Southend to the actual venue, The Red Brick Barn, Sutton Hall, Rochford, and my parents car seats only four. In the end my sister and I were dropped at the venue first and then my parents went on to meet my nephew and bring him to the venue. The ceremony was followed by official photographs and then a meal. We left not long after six, with my parents having an early start the next day, and me not being a huge fan of big social occasions (it was still 9:30PM by the time we got to my place!).

These last pictures were taken during the official photograph session.
Amand and Ed, the happy couple.

A MINIATURE RAILWAY

My sister reported seeing a railway carriage in the grounds, so I went to investigate, and while there was no actual rolling stock there was a station on a miniature railway.

Pictures from Norfolk

A gallery of recent photos.

The weather has been fine in my part of the world of late, apart from Friday which was dull and grey. I thus have lots of pictures to share, and not being inspired to think of things to write about I offer up this gallery:

One of the villains of the natural world – an ichneumon wasp (this variety lays its eggs in a caterpillar, which then gets eaten from the inside by the larvae).