Another round of fixtures in this year’s county championship got underway on Friday (there is one more round, some of which I will unavoidably miss) before the Vitality Blast, One Day Cup and Hundred are played, with the second half of the championship season happening after these competitions are done. This post looks at events on the first two and a half days of the current round.
SURREY v YORKSHIRE
These are the two most successful clubs in the county championship’s long history, with Surrey dominating the current era. Surrey won the toss and opted to bowl first. Yorkshire had somewhat the better of the morning session, Surrey definitely the better of the afternoon session, but what still looks getting on for two full days later like the decisive tipping point of the contest occurred midway through the evening session. Yorkshire at 237-6 were still holding their own when Bairstow, previously majestic, played a very poor shot at Dan Lawrence’s part time off spin to be caught by Tom Lawes for 89. The Yorkshire first innings folded rapidly thereafter, with only a further 18 runs accruing. Burns and Sibley made it through to the close without loss, making it definitively Surrey’s opening day.
Day two went meltingly in Surrey’s favour, and by end of it they were 384-7. There were no centuries, but both Aussie recruit Kurtis Patterson, batting at number three, and Ben Foakes at number five topped 80. Foakes was 7th out for 86, with the score at 351, but unlike Yorkshire who folded from the point their seventh wicket fell, Surrey were far from done. Jordan Clark, far better with the bat than most county number eights, now assumed control of the innings, and New Zealander Nathan Smith also played competently.
The Surrey innings lasted for slightly more than a standard length morning session on day three (as they were nine down at the scheduled interval time an extra half hour was playable in the session, and about 10 minutes thereof were actually needed. Surrey scored 512 in total, for a first innings lead of 257. They were already well ahead when their seventh wicket fell, but whereas Yorkshire had added only 18 more from that point Surrey’s last three wickets piled on 161 between them. Bean fell early in the Yorkshire innings, to the bowling of Nathan Smith. Jordan Clark, scorer of 69 in the Surrey innings, made the big breakthrough when he had Adam Lyth caught by Patterson. Since then James Wharton and Jonathan Tattersall have batted well together, and at the moment Yorkshire are 81-2, 176 runs short of avoiding the innings defeat. Given how far adrift they still are Yorkshire probably need to bat until tea time tomorrow before they can even begin to feel safe. Tattersall has just lost patience and played a loose drive at Clark resulting in a catch to Sibley. Tattersall batted 82 balls for his 12. Yorkshire are 83-3, still 174 short of avoiding the innings defeat. Bairstow, the first innings top scorer is now at the crease.
ELSEWHERE
Somerset are playing Sussex, and it is just possible that a decision to enforce the follow on when they could reasonably have gone in again (it was the afternoon of day two, and their advantage was 186, so they could justifiably have opted to bat till lunch on day three, and have five sessions in which to wrap up the Sussex second innings). As I type they need another 109 with seven second innings wickets standing. I will not condemn them even if their decision to enforce does end up backfiring, because I think too many sides have a knee-jerk aversion to going for the quick kill in these situations, often citing a need to rest the bowlers. Lancashire are in action against Derbyshire, and Lancashire’s Sir James Anderson collected three cheap wickets in his first first class bowl since being accorded that status.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Yesterday, I included a picture of a pair of butterflies that I had not been able to identify on a flower head. I have been given what I believe after checking online to be a correct identification: Large Blue or Phengaris arion. As you will see today yielded another new butterfly find…
