On the (muggy) walk to the groundI saw a seagull, a solitary swift, wild roses and the British Gas museum. It rained here in the night but the groundstaff’s efforts mean that we are starting on time withLancashireneeding early wickets.
Head to Grace Roadfor your homemade sugar fix (I recommend the cherry cake):
Cloudy, with hit and missscattered showers.
High spring hangs over this final May round of Championship cricket, the international summer pulling eyeballs away, the lack of rain leaving parched pitches.
A good crowd collected on the apple-green benches sitting around the Grace Road boundary. They sawLancashireget off to a steaming start thanks to Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells, but then fold in familiar fashion to patientLeicestershirebowling. Logan van Beek removed the two openers either side of lunch, finishing with three for 38, while Josh Hull found some devil in the dirt.Leicestershirelost two evening wickets, but Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill saw the day out. After his come-back game against Gloucestershire last week, Lancashire are without Jimmy Anderson – the club said that they were “managing his return to competitive cricket.”
Durhamwon the toss at Chester le Street and chose to bat on a pitch that shuffled its uneven bounce that never quite let the batters settle. Ollie Robinson top scored with 52, while Matt Henry spearheadedSomerset’sattack, finishing with four wickets.
Hampshirewere pancaked for 154 at Southampton, Henry Crocombe taking four wickets in 11 balls in his first game of the season. John Turner then countered with three wickets in nine balls to leaveSussexwith work to do. A Sam Cook-lessEssexwere sent packing in two sessions byaSurreyside including Sam Curran, who had zipped down from Trent Bridge where he had been watching brother Ben play for Zimbabwe on Thursday – Curran ended up being Cook’s first Test wicket. Michael Pepper held theEssexinnings together with 75, but Surrey perch greedily, 94 for three at stumps.
Saif Zaib’s charming 141, his highest first-class score, rescuedNorthantsfrom 57 for four againstGloucestershire; while Caleb Jewell’s unbeaten 152, his firstDerbyshirecentury, gave theKentbowlers little time to rest.
Marnus Labuschagne was contained byMiddlesex, caught for 23, butGlamorgan’sSam Northeast and Kiran Carlson rebuilt in a boundary-laden partnership of 228. Toby Roland-Jones finished with four wickets. A quizzical Headingley pitch testedNottinghamshire, but Ben Slater and Joe Clarke made half-centuries. Tom Latham’s 59 and Sam Hain’s first half-century of the summer were balanced by four more wickets for Tom Taylor asWarwickshirewere bowled out for 227.
Division One
Chester-le-Street:Durham 277 vSomerset63-3
Southampton:Hampshire154 v Sussex 110-5
The Oval:Surrey94-3 v Essex 217
New Road:Worcestershire53-0 v Warwickshire 227
Headingley:Yorkshire 10-2 vNottinghamshire228
Division Two
Derby:Derbyshire352-2 v Kent
Sophia Gardens:Glamorgan 334-7 v Middlesex
Grace Road:Leicestershire59-2 v Lancashire 206
County Ground:Northamptonshire327-6 v Gloucestershire
Hello from an overcast Leicester. A busy day of cricket yesterday, the majority of games sprinting into their second innings. We’ll keep an eye on proceedings from the Grace Road boundary, while England polish off the game at Trent Bridge. Do join us, with a cup of coffee and a belly scratch.