County Cricket, 2019

[Kevin S]

Harry Brook beaten by Siddle, hit on the pad, line of the stumps and that's the two overnight batters gone in the first half an hour.

Yorkshire 62 behind with five second innings wickets remaining.

Somerset have not lost any further wickets this morning, so have nine in hand and have built the lead up to 113 now.

[Kevin S]

Porter traps Lyth - he'd dug in well yesterday afternoon but a low skidding one gets Lyth on the back foot.

Yorkshire six wickets in hand, still 68 behind.

[Sporting]

I was only jesting but thanks anyway!

[Kevin S]

Somerset lead Nottinghamshire by 92 runs with 9 wickets remaining. The one they've lost was a night watchman fail. So they're looking to set a high target tomorrow.

[Sporting]

Oy, Kevin! Where are the Somerset updates?

[Kevin S]

Well it doesn't look like Essex will be bowling for an innings victory this week but they're trying to eke out a first innings lead with these last three wickets in hand.

This wasn't meant as a challenge, but...

Yorkshire 30/3, 90 behind.

[Tony C]

Lancashire have told Haseeb Hameed that he will be released at the end of this season. I still think (and I suspect I'm in a minority here) that if the right county got hold of him they could still turn his career around.

Saw Hameed go for a three ball duck last week where his body language suggested he wasn't going to last long. Jennings had already gone first ball.

Today more of the same: Both went for nought with Hameed apparently playing and missing several times before tamely giving it up.

Hameed's demise is pretty painful.

[Tony C]

Probably more to do with it being slap bang in the middle of Mamba-land, with little or no public transport, surely?

Lancashire put on free shuttle buses from Oxenholme (Kendal) station where there are direct links to Manchester, Preston, Wigan etc.

[Kevin S]

Yorkshire starting their second innings now 120 behind.

[Kevin S]

110 overs completed, Essex have a lead of 100 and are 308/8 which I think means they get 3 batting points and Yorkshire get 2 bowling points.

[Kevin S]

RtD has his fifty and the lead is 73 with two wickets in hand.

Beard has hit 16 off the 19 he's faced.

[Kevin S]

Well it doesn't look like Essex will be bowling for an innings victory this week but they're trying to eke out a first innings lead with these last three wickets in hand.

[Kevin S]

Took me a while to twig that this match is in Chelmsford and not away - Yorks contested the toss and chose to bat first. Anyway, they made 208 so got the batting point on the board.

Day 2 and Essex are 132/3. The live stream is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqzlw1HiC_I

[Guy Profumo]

I went yesterday. Can't help but think Sedbergh may be a one-off - many Lancashire members railed against the decision (the Yorkshire connection) and apparently those involved at Southport (along with Aigburth, the county's traditional ground outside of OT) made their displeasure known too.

Very enjoyable day and, whilst both sides had periods of dominance - certainly Durham reducing Lancs to 0-2 in the first over of the second innings got them dreaming of a result - the ultimate draw didn't surprise me. Probably pretty warm there today. I teach a few miles away and it was sweltering.

Probably more to do with it being slap bang in the middle of Mamba-land, with little or no public transport, surely?

[Kevin S]

Absolute beauty from Siddle for the second wicket.

https://twitter.com/EssexCricket/status/1147817174473596929?s=19

Harmer has just got Brook with a nice one too so that's lunch. Yorkshire are 128/5 after 30 overs.

[Tony C]

I went to the first day of Lancashire v Durham. This was held at Sedbergh School, which became the 13th ground at which Lancashire hosted a first class game. There had been some controversy around this, partly due to the remoteness of the venue, but mostly because Sedbergh isn't in Lancashire - it's currently in Cumbria and historically part of (shudder) Yorkshire. It's certainly an attractive ground and coped well with a crowd of around 1500.

Not the the most exciting days play, with Lancashire slowly accumulating runs and every so often losing a wicket. At one point the run rate dropped to about two an over, but picked up in the evening session as Jones and Vilas added 87 for the fifth wicket. Durham's bowling attack didn't greatly impress in conditions that favoured them. It was overcast pretty much all day with a short shower sending the players off after about four overs, although only fr ten minutes and no overs were lost.

I went yesterday. Can't help but think Sedbergh may be a one-off - many Lancashire members railed against the decision (the Yorkshire connection) and apparently those involved at Southport (along with Aigburth, the county's traditional ground outside of OT) made their displeasure known too.

Very enjoyable day and, whilst both sides had periods of dominance - certainly Durham reducing Lancs to 0-2 in the first over of the second innings got them dreaming of a result - the ultimate draw didn't surprise me. Probably pretty warm there today. I teach a few miles away and it was sweltering.

[Capybara]

Indeed. Looks like a cracking last day.

[Guy Profumo]

Egad!

Yorkshire win.

We didn't think that when we bowled up this morning.

(We didn't even think it when the last wicket partnership held on as long as they did)

[longeared]

Get in!

[Kevin S]

Somerset W6 L1 D1 +18 batting, +23 bowling = 142
Essex W5 L1 D2 +16 batting +21 bowling = 127

[Paul S]

The last game of the season has thrown together Somerset v Essex starting on Monday 23rd September.

[Kevin S]

Ashwin has seen off Siddle for now. That was a great tussle.

Jamie Porter comes back on and gets the wicket on the second ball! Funnily enough, it was caught at long on by Siddle.

Essex win by an innings and 123.

[Kevin S]

Ashwin is a wonderful player. Really nice strokes and he's trying to make sure he faces the Essex quicks, leaving Ball to face the spin.

[Kevin S]

Harmer traps Broad lbw, one to go.

[E10 Rifle]

It might be good yeah, though the very fact of Essex and Somerset – two counties set to be sidelined somewhat by the ECB's Botched New Hundred-Addled Future - being the front-runners warms my cockles. Indisputably the best two sides in the country this season.