County cricket: Surrey v Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire v Lancashire – live | County Championship

OBO OG Rob Smyth is over on the international tools as England and Pakistan duke it out at a sun bathed Edgbaston. Ok ok, you’re allowed to go and have a look but come back quickly – or else I’ll sulk…

Marchant de Lange had the punters scrabbling for their seats post lunch as he took two in two to find himself on a hat-trick! The amply moustachioed bowler picked up Vasconcelos and Karun Nair but couldn’t get the third to seal the deal – new batter George Bartlett spoiling the party.

Contrasting first ball fortunes for Vasconcelos and Gay…

Arf.

Plenty of Jimmy chat BTL. particularly enjoyed this ditty:

“He is the very model of a modern Jimmy Anderson,
In wicket taking bursts he is something quite phenomenal,
He knows the bats of England, and can lead attacks historical,
From Toilet Bowl to Manchester, in order categorical;

He’s well acquainted too with matters ump reviewable,
He understands his bowling, keeps it simple, economical,
Over thousand wickets, he must be teeming with a lot o’ news,
Will be commentating soon and reading all those early wicket runes!”

Time for a quick sarnie and a leg stretch, you’ll keep an eye on things for me, won’t you?

Northants 56-1 v Gloucestershire 409 – debutant Siddarth Kaul has pocketed a five wicket haul in his first outing for Northants but the visitors have a handy total of 409 to protect. Emilio Gay fell for a golden duck before lunch to set up an intriguing afternoon session.

Glamorgan 136-4 v Sussex 278 – The home side are recovering after being on the end of some Jayden Seales treatment this morning. At one point reeling on 41-4, Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson have set about steadying the ship at Sophia Gardens.

Surrey 65-0 v Warwickshire 343 – Messrs Burns and Sibley are doing their thing at the top of the order for the South Londoners, they’ve headed for a cucumber sandwich and slice of Viennetta sitting pretty as they respond to Warks not too shabby 343.

Nottinghamshire 64-2 v Lancashire 331 Saqib Mahmood took his first wicket of the summer and looked in good fettle from his few overs after returning from injury. Notts have lost two early wickets with Has Hameed 28* off 71 balls and Joe Clarke just arriving at the crease on a hot streak of form.

Kent v Worcestershire 424-7 – Joey Evison and Matt Parkinson are in the wickets with three apiece. Adam Hose fell ten short of a century and the visitors added 116 runs for the cost of two more wickets in the morning session.

Hampshire 420-6 v Durham – Tom Prest has gone to his second first class century, its been slow going on the south coast thought with only 84 runs scored in 31 overs. The Durham bowling attack putting the skids on.

Lunchtime Scores

Division One

Southampton: Hampshire 420-6 v Durham

Canterbury: Kent v Worcestershire 424-7

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 64-2 v Lancashire 331

The Oval: Surrey 65-0 v Warwickshire 343

Division Two

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 136-4 v Sussex 278

The County Ground: Northants 56-1 v Gloucestershire 409

That’s lunch. A tour around the grounds incoming. Apologies for the delay – had a minor domestic emergency involving two sets of missing car keys coupled with a toddler throwing soil around the house. My three year old has obviously taken the news about Jimmy very badly…

Oh Jimmy Jimmy…

And the international summer gets underway this afternoon at Edgbaston as Heather Knight’s England take on Pakistan – and it’s on terrestrial tv too. Not that you’ll be diverting from the County blog mind…

This piece from Andy Bull is fantastic

By the end he could do things with a ball that made the old bowlers whistle. Which is how his career will be remembered. He was the hardest-working bowler in the business, and the most skilful, a master of the old English tricks of swing, seam and cut. Sometime this summer, he will be asked if his record will ever be beaten, same as they did Trueman back in 1964. The honest answer, if he gives it, is probably not. They play fewer Tests these days and the Twenty20 circuit means the players have too many other temptations. Anderson’s fast-bowling records will stand like Muralitharan’s, and Don Bradman’s, for as long as the game is played. There’ll never be another.”

BREAKING NEWS:

James Anderson confirms he will finish his Test career at Lord’s, the first Test of the summer. Read his instagram post below:

…And he has his first wicket! Ben Slater edging into the slips:

Plenty of eyes on Saqib Mahmood who is having his first bowl in the county champo this summer. He’s had a terrible time with back injuries but is still thought of as a real prospect to fill the impending Anderson shaped hole for England. He’s got three slips and a gully in place…

Lancashire are all out for 331 at Trent Bridge and Surrey have polished off Warks at the Oval for 343.

Jayden Seals is running amok against Glamorgan – the welsh side are now 50-4!

Lovely stuff from Jayden Seals, the bails flying upwards like a pair of quizzical eyebrows:

Billy Root has had his furniture rearranged by the impressive Jayden Seales – he goes for just 5 to leave Glamorgan on 25-2 in response to Sussex’s 278.

Elsewhere – Glos have gone past 350 with a Marchant de Lange swipe for six. Northants will want to prise out the last couple of wickets sharpish and get out there with the bat.

At the Oval, Ed Barnard has notched up his sixth first-class century and his first for Warwickshire. His side were in trouble at 167-6 for yesterday afternoon but are now well placed at 343-9 on a green tinged pitch.

DingDingDing! 11am rolls around. Let’s do some cricket.

Have just watched this doozy, you should too:

An emotional day at Canterbury yesterday, i’ve just read this lovely piece from the classy quill of Andrew Miller:

But this was not a day for such crassly pointed details. This was a day designed to wash over you as a background to your life choices; to exist – as might have been the case when time itself was first corralled at the height of the Industrial Revolution – only as confirmation that this is your moment of leisure, and it’s yours to tailor as you please.

Watch the cricket, or don’t watch the cricket – it’ll still be there if you ever look up to check the score. Do the crossword, go for a stroll. Pat a dog, eat an ice cream. Loll on the grass banks while marvelling up at the pointlessness of the floodlights, which on a day like this seem as oblique and immutable as the Easter Island statues.”

Here are the current scores on the doors:

Division One

The Rosebowl: Hampshire 336-4 v Durham

Canterbury: Kent v Worcestershire 308-5

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Lancashire 306-8

The Oval: Surrey v Warwickshire 318-8

Division Two

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 21-1 v Sussex 278

The County Ground: Northants v Gloucestershire 338-8

There’s no shortage of reading material to keep you occupied until the bell clangs at 11am. Simon Burnton has been pondering life after Jimmy…

Last year, asked yet again about his potential retirement, Anderson said: “I feel privileged to have got in a position where I can make a decision because, as a bowler, it is usually taken out of your hands. It will be nice to go out on my own terms.” There are not many things that Anderson has looked incapable of, but perhaps making that decision was one. Now his choice of final moments has narrowed, but an August date with Sri Lanka and Old Trafford’s Anderson End seems a romantic choice. He was the 613th man to play Test cricket for England, and the next to make his debut will be the 713th. His was a hell of a century.”

Here’s Tanya’s round up of the action yesterday:

At Canterbury, Worcestershire, playing for the first time since the death of their young spinning all-rounder Josh Baker, lined up on the boundary edge alongside their opponents, Kent, before play for a minute’s applause in memory of the 20-year-old.

On a beautiful day, with the ice-cream van happily doling out cones, Gareth Roderick completed back-to-back centuries, gently tapping the embroidered 33 (Baker’s number) on his shirt with his bat, as he did so. Kashif Ali made 72 as Worcestershire ended an emotional day on 308-5.

Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings was furious with himself after top-edging to slip on 91 at Trent Bridge, while Tom Bruce collected his first half century in what has been a tough early summer, a rock-about innings containing ten fours and one six.

Nottinghamshire’s Dillon Pennington spoilt the visitors’ day with three quick wickets towards the end. Jimmy Anderson who, it was revealed, will step away from Test cricket at the end of this summer, was watching from the sidelines.

After a slow start to his Hampshire career since moving from Sussex this winter, Ali Orr made his first century for his new side. His steady 126 was brought to an end by Peter Siddle, pulling on county cap number five, this time running in for Durham. Callum Parkinson took three wickets and Tom Prest bish-bashed 65.

Surrey’s Jordan Clark kept tabs on Warwickshire on a queasy-green Oval pitch, with four for fifty, but Ed Barnard stitched together a lower-order recovery, 96 not out at stumps.

Division Two leaders Sussex were picked apart by Glamorgan’s James Harris (4 for 93) and Mir Hamza (4 for 70), though some clever accumulation by the tail added 138 from the depths of 140 for seven.

Siddharth Kaul, the Indian seamer called up for three Championship matches with Northants, picked away at Gloucestershire, but Miles Hammond steadied nerves with 112, reaching his first ton for two years with a six.

Preamble

James Wallace