Key events
In Bristol, Cameron Bancroft is busy appeasing the purists. The Australian opener is 39 off 116 balls, with Gloucestershire going at less than two an over. His partner Miles Hammond is on 14 off 64. Proper Cricket.
Warwickshire pass 600 … and Hampshire end on 367
The Bears have clocked up 600 ⦠and they want even more; they havenât declared. Elsewhere, Hampshire have been bowled out for 367, with Nathan Lyon wrapping up things with the wicket of Kyle Abbott. The Australia and now Lancashire offie finishes with figures of 3-110.
At least Ed didnât bother driving:
Double ton for Emilio Gay!
Middlesex really are having a miserable time with the ball so far this season, having watched Sam Northeast go to a triple ton last week. Now theyâre struggling to remove Emilio Gay, who has just brought up his maiden first-class double century.
Essex declare on 530 for seven
Essex arenât going to do a Warwickshire and gun for 600 ⦠theyâre satisfied with 530-7 in their first innings against Kent. Matt Critchley â routinely tipped for England by friend of the blog Adam Collins â finishes with 151 not out. Shane Snater gave it a bit of tonk at the end with a 16-ball 26*.
Another wicket at Edgbaston ⦠like London buses and all that. Parkinsonâs bowled another beauty, this time turning one past Ed Barnard to bowl the all-rounder for 1. At the Oval it feels like watching England back in the summer of 2020: Rory Burns has joined Dom Sibley in reaching a half-century.
Zaltz delivers, as pointed out by LongHop BTL.
It is now… 555-1 is the highest ever 1st-innings score with one wicket down, by a team that has put in to bat in FC cricket. Previously: Karnataka, 553-1 v Madhya Pradesh, Nov 2004. https://t.co/19l6zFCfFf
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) April 13, 2024
Hundred for Will Rhodes … and Alex Davies departs for 256!
Warwickshire continue to punish Durham â Will Rhodes, the former Bears skipper, goes to his ton off 153 balls. And then from the very next ball Alex Davies is bowled for 256, Callum Parkinson producing a ripping delivery to knock over the current Bears captain.
Over at Chelmsford, Jaydn Denly, nephew of Joe, is having a bowl for Kent as Essex continue to have fun with the bat, Matt Critchley is unbeaten on 127 while Simon Harmer, very useful down the order, moves to 41. Jaydnâs uncle is also in Kentâs XI!
Big fan of these kind of highlights, which are more than just wickets, fours, sixes etc. Also quite hypnotic to watch Lyon just land dot after dot.
A first-ball first-baller at Grace Road! Sussexâs Tom Clark has departed from the opening ball of his sideâs innings after Leicestershire were bowled out for 338, Matt Salisbury the bowler. Meanwhile, Dom Sibleyâs just absolutely pulverised a short ball from Lewis Gregory at the Oval. Heâs on 49, going at a decent lick, too.
At Edgbaston, Warwickshire have gone past 500 (!). Will Rhodes has taken three boundaries off one Matt Potts over to bring up the landmark. Carnage â Iâm expecting 1,000 by the end of the day.
At the Oval, Gareth Batty is very animatedly working with Dan Lawrence on the new signingâs funky off-breaks. The quest to be a proper, proper all-rounder is on.
Terrific.
âHello Taha.â Hello, Andrew Benton. âWould you know if there have been any developments on the introduction of bamboo bats?â
Hmm, last I heard on it was this statement from the MCC, who cited Law 5.3.2: âThe blade shall consist solely of wood.â
âCurrently, Law 5.3.2 states that the blade of the bat must consist solely of wood, so for bamboo (which is a grass) to be considered as a realistic alternative to willow would require a Law change,â read the statement.
âImportantly, the Law would need to be altered to allow bamboo specifically, as even if it were to be recognised as a wood, this would still be illegal under the current Law, which bans lamination of the blade, except in junior bats.â
Cricket really is a weird olâ game.
Yesterday’s action
Hereâs Tanyaâs roundup from last night:
It was a day for batting as the sun came out and the Kookaburra ball was placated as it likes to. There were eight centuries around the grounds, one a magnificent 226 by Alex Davies as Warwickshire pinballed 490 for one by stumps at Edgbaston. Daviesâs swashbuckling knock was his first double century, and he and Rob Yates pounded 343 for the first wicket until Yates was caught for 191. It was a chastening return to Division One for Durham and for their new overseas recruit Scott Boland, an expert with the Kookaburra. There was one bright spot for Durham, Ben Stokes bowling two practice spells. The hope is that he might return for their match on 24 May.
At the Oval, 3,000 people pushed through the turnstiles to watch Somerset gallop through the morning session against Surrey before tumbling into a batting black hole after lunch. While the ice-cream van did a good trade, Tom Lammonby reached his seventh career century, a promising early sign from a man who usually makes his hundreds in September.
He and Matt Renshaw had skipped along to 178 for the second wicket before Lammonby called for a quick single on 99. Renshaw was run out from a direct hit and from there they concertinaed, losing seven for 20. It was only some big hitting from Lewis Gregory that dragged Somerset towards a batting point. There was time for four overs from Shoaib Bashir as Surrey made smooth evening progress.
Elsewhere, there was a century for the Yorkshire captain, Shan Masood, against Gloucestershire at Bristol, as Joe Root and Harry Brook fell cheaply to Zaman Akhter (five for 89).
There were centuries too for Dean Elgar and Matt Critchley as Essex made hay against Kent; Joe Clarke as Worcestershire plugged away against Nottinghamshire; and Emilio Gay, whose 165 against Middlesex was his highest first-class score and helped Northamptonshire gather home batting points, something they didnât achieve until 26 September last year.
What’s the score?
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 421-6 v Kent
The Rose Bowl: Hampshire 305-6 v Lancashire
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 305-6 v Worcestershire
The Oval: Surrey 42-0 v Somerset 285
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 490-1 v Durham
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 237 v Derbyshire 46-1
Bristol: Gloucestershire 28-2 v Yorkshire 326
Grace Road: Leicestershire 326-8 v Sussex
Northampton: Northamptonshire 311-3 v Middlesex
Preamble
Good morning, folks! Iâm at the Oval, playing the role of sub teacher while the brilliant Tanya Aldred has a well-deserved breather.
As itâs my debut on this particular page, please go easy on me, send in as much helpful correspondence as you desire, and, most importantly, have a great time BTL. Iâd also love to know if youâre somewhere in the shires taking in a game.
The headline from yesterday: well, weâve got a decent game on here between Somerset and Surrey, but whatâs been going on at Edgbaston?! Durham â with their stellar cast of Boland, Potts and Carse â had a chastening day against Warwickshire, who put up 490-1 from 96 overs. Alex Davies remains unbeaten 226 from just 274 balls. Yikes.
Anywho, hereâs my tune for the day. Letâs have some fun.
