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Somerset have declared
But will the weather let them at that tasty pitch? I’m off for some Grace Road risotto – back shortly.
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Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 372-6 v Durham 333
Taunton: Somerset 441-6dec v Yorkshire
The Oval: Surrey 246 and 219-2 v Warwickshire 248
Hove: Sussex 122 and 37-1 Hampshire 226 and 173 no play yet today
New Road: Worcestershire 182 and 141-8 v Nottinghamshire 207
DIVISION TWO
Canterbury: Kent 293 and 131-2 v Lancashire 284
Grace Road: Leicestershire 320-5 v Gloucestershire 482
Lord’s: Middlesex 298v Derbyshire 283 and 30-1
Northampton: Northants 309-5 v Glamorgan 467 no play yet today
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Oh dear. Mahmood is sent on his way to the last ball before lunch, lbw Price 111. He look perturbed. They shuffle off for lunch, needing 12 to avoid the follow on and with time to accrue more bonus points. Leics 320-5, scores to follow.
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Early lunches being taken at The Oval, Lord’s, Canterbury and New Road – where Worcestershire lost three quick wickets on a tricky track while Roderick and Taylor nurdled runs. At 141-8 and lead by 116 – not, you’d guess, enough.
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There is still much chuntering from the Gloucestershire contingent after one of the groundsmen on the blotter inadvertently unloaded the sopped up gunge on their practise kit. It is getting darker here.
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A hundred for Shan Masood!
He’s not bad this lad. Under grey skies, and Grace Road floodlights, he reaches 100 in his first Championship innings for Leicestershire and brings up a bonus point in the process. He raises his bat modestly and gets a handshake and a bat-on-bottom pat from Eskinazi. Leicestershire 300-4.
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The rain has – at the moment – knocked out proceedings at The Oval, Taunton, Hove, Lord’s and Northampton.
Canterbury and Chelmsford have avoided this southern deluge and events are moving on. Lancs, via Williams and Bailey, have removed Denly (74) and Dawkins (36). Kent 125-2, lead by 132.
At Chelmsford, there’s a battle for bonus points – Durham have just picked up a bowling star, after winkling out Pepper, while Essex will fancy reaching 400. They already have a lead of 26.
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We’re on at Grace Road, and the strong wind rustling the flags is about the most exciting thing to report.
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It was heartbreaking to hear from this young girl in Afghanistan, and her dreams for a different life. How precious freedom is.
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An email drops:
“In The Spin today, you mention some counties opposed to a reduction in the number of county championship matches. I think Essex might be added to this list, following their meeting last evening.
“Your summary of the new proposal mentions the ‘sweetener’ of 2 extra one-day cup matches to make up for the loss of a Championship match. But this would mean a net reduction of only 2 days in the schedule plus more travelling between games. I thought one of the reasons for cutting back on the Championship was supposed to be reducing wear and tear on the players?”
Thank you Paul McIntyre! Were you at the meeting? Can you fill us in? And yes I completely agree on the two extra ODC games – all that faff for just two fewer Championship days.
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There’s a drying wind blowing at Grace Road and the players are out in the middle running through their paces. The groundsmen fold up covers with purpose. Play is due to start at 11.4o.
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Rain has arrived at Taunton, just as Somerset were getting a hurry on. While at The Oval, Surrey have lost scurrying Ollie Pope to be replaced with the bombastic Dan Lawrence – Warwickshire wont want him to get his eye in.
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Is weatherhousing a verb? Anyway, they’re off at Lord’s, they’re on at Chelmsford, and there’s a pitch inspection at Wantage Road where Asa Tribe made his maiden 200 yesterday – and raised his hand yet further for the Lions trip.
He reflected on it last night:
“It feels like I can’t do much wrong at the moment and I’m really happy with the way it’s going. I need to focus on my game and keep putting performances in for Glamorgan, it’s good to be in the position I’m currently in and I’m really enjoying it.”
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Updated at 12.01 CEST
Dom Sibley has retired hurt at The Oval, Ben Foakes now accompanies Ollie Pope.
And Ben Green is having fun at Taunton – presumably under orders to smash it around. Somerset move into the 420s.
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No red-ball change of heart for Adil Rashid ahead of the Ashes. Unfortunately.
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At Taunton, Ben Green finds himself batting for Somerset again, before his permanent move to Grace Road, which has been his temporary home for much of this season.
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Updated at 11.43 CEST
More rain
Delayed starts also at Grace Road and Chelmsford.
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Weather watch and delayed starts
Unsettled. Delayed starts at Northampton, Hove and probably more.
The Met Office forecasts: “Bands of rain or showers, turning heavy and thundery at times, will move northeast across most areas through the day. There will be some sunny spells. Windy with possible gales in the southwest. Turning cooler from the west.”
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“My form has been awful”
Tom Abell on his relief at that fantastic hundred yesterday.
“My form has been absolutely awful up to the last couple of games. I was short of runs earlier in the summer, but now I feel I have found a rhythm and greater clarity to my batting, which means I can fulfil my role in the middle order.”
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Durham’s Ryan Campbell sets the scene at Chelmsford:
“There will be a battle going on, that’s for sure. We’re going to have to fight for every run. We know they’ve got a good spinner to bowl on the last day. But there is weather coming, depending who you listen to or which weather app you’re looking at. But we’ve going to ignore those and come out trucking with a great attitude and try and bowl Essex out.
“We know it’s a massive game. We’ve got a massive three games. We’re playing three teams around us and we want to win every game. It’s all up for grabs. These two days are going to have a big bearing on the rest of our year.”
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Tuesday’s round-up
A round of closely matched first-innings games bubbled intriguingly around the country. At the Oval, Surrey oiled their sinews and started to pull away from Warwickshire, after Rory Burns (idiosyncratically), Dom Sibley (steadily) and Ollie Pope (busily) each collected a half century. Earlier, Warwickshire had inched to a two-run first-innings lead, but just short of a batting point, thanks to fifty from Ed Barnard and some lusty blows from Nathan Gilchrist. There were three wickets for the rapid Gus Atkinson and four for Tom Lawes.
Nottinghamshire, who started the round just nine points behind Surrey, stay on their tail after Josh Tongue ruined Worcestershire’s afternoon. Tongue’s intimidating spell of nine overs, three for 24, took out Worcestershire’s top three, and Lyndon James removed Nos 4 and 5 to leave them 93 for five and with a lead of just 68. It was galling for Worcestershire after Tom Taylor’s four wickets had earlier kept Notts in check.
At Taunton, where afternoon rain swept through once more, Tom Abell carried Somerset’s innings with a distinguished five-hour 130 on a pitch that looks likely to turn. He was finally out to an off-balance slog-sweep to mid-wicket off his former teammate and now Yorkshire spinner Dom Bess. Abell and Lewis Goldsworthy (65) had kept the fires burning after James Rew was caught in the first over of the day.
A five-and-a-half hour century from Dean Elgar and a smash-and-grab 97 from Matt Critchley took Essex to tickling distance of Durham in the relegation battle at Chelmsford.
Shan Masood enjoyed his first Championship innings for Leicestershire, his fourth county, moving to a chanceless 80 not out against Gloucestershire at Grace Road. He put on 152 with Lewis Hill (88), much to the delight of the watching fans, including a tubby, and hungry, golden retriever.
Middlesex’s Leus du Plooy hit a hundred against his old county Derbyshire in a tight game at Lord’s; while Lancashire crept to within nine runs of Kent’s first innings, thanks largely to 64 from Tom Hartley. There were four wickets for Matt Parkinson and an inspired Matt Quinn. Saif Zaib, Division Two’s leading scorer, hit yet another half century for Northamptonshire, this time against Glamorgan, while Sussex continued their poor run of form, bowled out for 122 by Hampshire.
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Updated at 10.54 CEST
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 312-3 v Durham 333
Taunton: Somerset 391-6 v Yorkshire
The Oval: Surrey 246 and 181-1 v Warwickshire 248
Hove: Sussex 122 and 37-1 Hampshire 226 and 173
New Road: Worcestershire 182 and 93-5 v Nottinghamshire 207
DIVISION TWO
Canterbury: Kent 293 and 96-0 v Lancashire 284
Grace Road: Leicestershire 270-4 v Gloucestershire 482
Lord’s: Middlesex 298v Derbyshire 283 and 17-0
Northampton: Northants 309-5 v Glamorgan 467
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Preamble
Good morning from a damp Leicester. The rain plops down on the hoodied students and the put-out squirrels feeding in Victoria park. It looks like an on-off day around the grounds, but do join us to watch the covers and chew over miscellany.
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Updated at 10.39 CEST