The county championship season is into its second day, and most matches have now had some action. I continue to follow the west midlands derby, which shows every sign of being a classic game. Elsewhere, Sam Northeast is cashing in on the feebleness of Middlesex’s bowling – he now has the highest ever first class score at Lord’s, having surpassed Graham Gooch’s 333 for England v India in 1990.
WARWICKSHIRE V WORCESTERSHIRE
Warwickshire fought their way back into things in the later stages of yesterday, and by the close Worcestershire were 316-7 after 93 overs (bad light curtailed play with three overs not bowled, but we were by then half an hour past the scheduled close due to the preponderance of seam bowling on display. This morning Worcestershire advance their score to 360, a fine effort for a side sent into bat. Veteran seamer Joe Leach took a wicket for Worcestershire, but Warwickshire are going nicely at 94-1, skipper Alex Davies on a solid 32*, Will Rhodes a punchier 33*, with Rob Yates out for 26. Yates was once on England’s radar after a superb breakthrough season, but he has done little recently, and a score of 26 with a few nice strokes is not really what is required of an opener in first class cricket. Alex Davies has gone while I was preparing this post for publication – a good started wasted through a poor shot. Will Rhodes is still there, and Ed Barnard has joined him, and got underway with a six.
ELSEWHERE
Lancashire v Surrey saw no play at all yesterday, but they have managed to make a start today – Lancashire are 61-1 in the 24th over. The wicket, that of failed England opener Keaton Jennings, has gone to Dan Lawrence via a return catch. Somerset have five Kent wickets down so far, but Harry Finch and Joey Evison are offering resistance for Kent. Lewis Gregory has three wickets to his credit. The county of my birth, Gloucestershire are involved in one of two fixtures not to have had any play on the first two days (day two washouts already confirmed in both cases), the Derbyshire ground staff, like their Durham counterparts for the match against Northamptonshire being unable to render the surface playable. Glamorgan have decided that 620-3, with Northeast 335*, is enough for them and have declared.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I have a bumper photo gallery for you (don’t forget to click on images to view them at a larger size)…
aspiblog 