County Championship 2024

The clocks have gone forward, spring has arrived, and it's time for another joyous iteration of cricket's County Championship. This year it is sponsored by sheer pace, as that's what Rob Key has ordered from on high.

There are some format changes to be aware of. Most notably, the points for a draw have gone back to eight, after last season's trial experiment of reducing them to five. The Kookaburra ball will be used for four rounds of the County Championship, up from two last season. And hybrid pitches are allowed for the first time, in a one season experiment.

Division One has lost Middlesex and Northants to relegation, and they are replaced by last year's runaway winners of Division Two, Durham, and the somewhat unlikely presence of Worcestershire.

Surrey are strong favourites to make it three titles in a row. If they achieve it, it would be the third time in County Championship history that Surrey have won it three times in a row, which is rather fitting. Strengthening their side this year is the addition of England's constant nearly man Dan Lawrence, from title rivals Essex.

As well as Essex, Warwickshire, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire are considered the leading rivals to stop Surrey's run. Nottinghamshire have added England quick Josh Tongue to their bowling arsenal, and supplemented the batting with the return of Kiwi Will Young for seven games. Lancashire have secured the services of Nathan Lyon for seven games this season. Essex are considered second favourites with the bookmakers, though they've lost an awful lot of players, including Cook and Lawrence, but they have added Dean Elgar to the ranks.

Worcestershire look doomed to relegation from the outset, not helped by losing Tongue. Kent have flirted with relegation in recent seasons, and are likely to be close to the drop again. They've added Parkinson to their bowling repertoire. Durham will also be looking over their shoulder, and they've added the intriguing figure of Scott Boland to their squad until the end of July.

Somerset and Hampshire occupy a curious middle ground. Neither look strong enough to mount a title challenge, but equally they shouldn't be threatened by the drop.

In Division Two, the most successful county of all time, Yorkshire, are once again trying to break out of the tyranny of the lower tier. They were strong favourites to bounce back up last year, but only managed three wins from 14, and their misery was compounded by a total of a 50 points deduction (but they would have still missed out on promotion even if that didn't happen). Their only squad addition this year is the permanent signing of Moriarty from Surrey, after a short loan stint last season.

Last year's two relegated teams, Middlesex and Northants, will be bidding to do what Yorkshire couldn't do last season and get straight back up. Most notably for Middlesex, they've lost Murtagh to retirement after 16 years at the county and over 1,000 wickets in all formats. Northants have added Bartlett from Somerset and the genuine pace of Scrimshaw from Derbyshire to the squad for this season.

Also giving promotion a damn good go will be Sussex, Leicestershire and Glamorgan, who all narrowly missed out last season. The exciting Jayden Seales will be available for Sussex for the early part of the year, but Jofra Archer sadly won't be. Leicestershire gave it a proper effort last season, despite plenty of off the field turmoil, and it'll be interesting to see if they can replicate it once more amongst quite a few squad changes. Glamorgan have added one-test Mason Crane to their side, while retaining the ability of Labuschagne for a few games. He's probably keen for a few runs.

Rounding off the division are Derbyshire and Gloucestershire. Neither of them won a game last season. Derbyshire have at least been very busy in the off season, adding (among others) Pat Brown, Blair Tickner and Samit Patel, though they have lost the stable presence of du Plooy and the aforementioned Scrimshaw.

All starts on Friday. On with the merriment.

Many thanks, Duty. A good and informative intro to the 2024 Championship season.

I had missed the news in the winter that hybrid pitches are to be allowed for a trial basis. I'll be interested to see how much they are used and what effect they have. First thoughts are it seems a bit too unnatural and will overly aid the batters in their second dig through preventing (or far lessening) break up of the wicket. There again, pitch preparation has long been a mystery to me.

I was aware of the change back to eight points for a draw. That may hinder Surrey. As Championship winners for the last two seasons and favourites going into this one, I suspect several opponents will be content to play for and emerge with the increased points for a draw rather than taking the risk of going for the win.

As usual in recent years, calls by England for players to play Tests (always pleasing) and rest (often infuriating) will potentially impact each county's strength throughout the season. Surrey stand to lose a lot of runs there with Pope, Lawrence, Foakes and even Smith being in consideration for this summer's Tests. Hants shouldn't have that issue and so their experienced squad may do better than Duty's suggested mid-table finish.

Durham at 15.0 intrigue me in D1 - have two top quality County batters in Lees and Bedingham, with guys who can chip in. We will see how much they see of Stokes early season, now he has dropped out of the WT20 but he has promised some availability. And a bowling attack of Potts, Boland and Carse - plus some Wood and Stokes - is as good as any in the country.

I think Test call ups and general depth kills them eventually, but I have them far nearer the top of potential winners than 8th favourites!

guildfordbat wrote:Many thanks, Duty. A good and informative intro to the 2024 Championship season.

I had missed the news in the winter that hybrid pitches are to be allowed for a trial basis. I'll be interested to see how much they are used and what effect they have. First thoughts are it seems a bit too unnatural and will overly aid the batters in their second dig through preventing (or far lessening) break up of the wicket. There again, pitch preparation has long been a mystery to me.

I was aware of the change back to eight points for a draw. That may hinder Surrey. As Championship winners for the last two seasons and favourites going into this one, I suspect several opponents will be content to play for and emerge with the increased points for a draw rather than taking the risk of going for the win.

As usual in recent years, calls by England for players to play Tests (always pleasing) and rest (often infuriating) will potentially impact each county's strength throughout the season. Surrey stand to lose a lot of runs there with Pope, Lawrence, Foakes and even Smith being in consideration for this summer's Tests. Hants shouldn't have that issue and so their experienced squad may do better than Duty's suggested mid-table finish.

Interesting note on hybrid pitches Guildford - we had two installed at our club this winter (at great cost!), but heard that Kent are the only county side to not have any hybrid pitches on their square. The ECB are fully on board with them being used as well it seems, they do help reduce costs and last longer...generally tend to be a bit better for batting but still very early in data collection in general terms.
Will be interesting to see how they go when used in the real stuff!

As much as i want to see Essex win it it's very hard to look past Surrey....their batting line up is stacked, and the number of bowling options they have could fill 3-4 sides!! Highly doubt Jason Roy gets a look in, in red ball cricket nor is he needed in that side...Dan Lawrence isn't even guranteed a spot in the side which is why im suprised he even made the move...Would like to think Ben Foakes keeps his spot in the test side, especially if Stokes is going to be bowling again, but even so they have a class replacement in Jamie Smith. Sam Curran is an intresting one, for some reason he has fallen out of contention in all red ball cricket, tests and f/c, and I'm not really sure why...Frontline spin options their only real weakness

Few, albeit obvious, name to keep an eye on:

Josh Bohannon - Averaged 60 in the CC last year, to boost his career average up to 47. Finally delivered some 100s, rather than artificially boosting his stats with not outs, as he cracked 4x100s in 2023. Surely another season like that gets him a Test cap.

Matt Parkinson - Oddly forgotten about for a leg spinner with 173 FC wickets at 26, whilst going at 2.8 an over! A superb record. He wouldn’t be the first talented youngster (Hameed…) to leave Lancs and reignite his career. Everything crossed for him at Kent.

Dillon Pennington - Another one following the well trodden path out of New Road. Overshadowed a bit by Tongue who has had the same move, but if he can stay fit he could take stacks of wickets with his lovely high release point.

Jack Haynes - See above, the batting version. Such a shame for Worcs but Haynes is a brilliant talent.

James Rew - Current SR is 47. It got better as the year went on, but if you struggle to score against county bowlers then you will even more so in Tests where there are less bad balls. Let’s see you dominate attacks this year.

Dan Mousley - Hits a long ball and bowls some part time spin. Could be an Asia option going forward for England, although doesn’t give it as much of a rip as a Jacks. Could be a white ball superstar.

Ed Barnard - Hard to see past him doing the 1000 run 100 wickets double this year tbh

Think I'll plump for Surrey to win the title, Worcestershire and Kent to go down, and Yorkshire and Sussex to come up.

Agree that Durham have been underrated by the bookmakers.

In addition to the excellent list above, I'll be curious to see how Muyeye goes for Kent this season. After some promise last year, he might kick on this year. He's a highly exciting aggressive opening bat, 23 years old, who I don't think is eligible for England just yet, but might become so in 2026/27.

It's going to be interesting in the early weeks to see the three way keeper battle develop - Rew, Robinson and Smith - with an England place potentially up for grabs.

Unfortunately, looks like a fair bit of rain across England/Wales for the next few days, so the first round might be a battle for bonus points.

Fascinating story Muyeye - definitely one to keep an eye on as he tries to restore the allure of the Wisdens School Cricketer of the Year award. The first seven winners were Bairstow, Taylor, Buttler, Vanderspar (poor bloke), Bell Drummond, Abell and Kohler Cadmore - whilst the more recent winners don’t even have Wikipedia pages. The biggest reason yet to abolish private schools if they can’t even produce England cricketers.

Play called off for the day at Derbyshire. Also delays at Kent, Lancashire and Sussex.

Cricket is back.

Interesting first day. The bats dominated early, before the bowling pulled it back, was the general picture. All teams who won the toss opted to bowl first.

Essex collapsed from 170/2 to 244/9 against Notts. Elgar made 80, great start for him, and Cox 84, but no one else scored above 20. Paterson provoked the collapse and had 5/49.

Worcestershire made early mockery of being written off as relegation certainties, with a blistering opening partnership of 77 in 14 overs. They ended up 316/7 at stumps, quite disappointing after being 235/2. Kashif Ali made a ton. Roderick was about 40 off 60, then he hit a Khawaja-esque wall, and was eventually out for 68 off 163! The wickets for Warwickshire were shared between six different bowlers.

Glamorgan dominated Middlesex in Division Two. 370/3 on opening day. Sam Northeast 186*.

Leicestershire, like others, had a strong start with the bat, 89/1, before faltering and ending up 164/5. Aussie hopeful Harris got a half-century, Rehan got a flashy 28. 3/25 for Hill.

Of greater interest in the division was Sussex bowling first against Northants. Seales was very exciting with ball in hand, finishing with 2/33. Robinson had excellent control, but looked very gentle and inoffensive. No speedguns available on the footage, but I wouldn't have thought he was above 80mph for much of his effort. Finished with 0/14 from 9 overs. Northants 95/2.

300 for Sam Northeast at Lord's!

The man who got a quadruple century two years ago, perhaps fancying another. Needed a bit of luck to get to 300, not least when the easiest stumping chance in the world was missed with him on 291, but still a fantastic achievement.

Finishes with 335*, the highest FC score at Lord's, as Glamorgan declare on 620/3.

It really is exasperating that they can all afford international signings, overseas pre-seasons, academies, etc. to show that they're proper professional sports clubs, but there's still no real push or investment towards having decent coverage across the board. Watching Kent v Somerset on a stream that has no sound to keep the picture up(?!), and where almost every time they try to show a replay of a boundary they rewind so far that they only get halfway through the bowler's run-up before they have to cut back.

Kent all out for 284 against Somerset. Gregory 4/66 the highlight of the bowlers. A pretty good recovery from 114/5.

Lancashire appear to have solved the conundrum of Hartley v Lyon by preparing sharp turners. At least that's what I assume happened, with spinners taking 9 wickets out of 10 on what was effectively the first day. Lawrence with 4/91, but Steel taking the honours with 5/25. It was a quite shocking collapse, really, with Lancashire 150/2 and then bowled out for 202. Bohannon top scoring with 84. Good start for him this season as he chases a test appearance.

Essex v Notts very well placed. Essex bowled out for 253, Notts made 293 in reply. Joe Clarke with a century, backed up with 77 from Haynes. Cook, again, leading the figures with 4/59 and keeping that FC bowling average below 20! Essex are now 65/1 in the third innings, so it's tremendously well balanced.

Worcestershire finished up with 360, then they went through 8 different bowlers to limit Warwickshire to 292/5. Plenty of starts for Warwickshire, but none kicking on to three figures. Barnard the closest with 89.

After putting Glamorgan in to bat, and then watching them pile up 620/3 declared, Middlesex have stabilised things by reaching 138/1 at stumps, but still plenty of time for Glamorgan to get the 19 wickets, if the weather holds.

Northants 292/7 v Sussex, in what is now considered a bit of a slow paced game. Robinson, all eyes on him, only returning 1/46, which I think he'll be disappointed with.

And Leicestershire have thrown down an early challenge to Yorkshire by scoring 354 at nearly 4 an over. It was immense frustration for the Division Two favourites, as Leicestershire countered from 215/8 to that 354. Ben Mike with 90, still no FC ton for him, and Scriven hit 56. Yorkshire 72/2 at stumps, thanks to Lyth, and we should see Harry Brook bat tomorrow, which will be his first innings in a proper match since just before Christmas.

Duty281 wrote: ...

Essex v Notts very well placed. Essex bowled out for 253, Notts made 293 in reply. Joe Clarke with a century, backed up with 77 from Haynes. Cook, again, leading the figures with 4/59 and keeping that FC bowling average below 20! Essex are now 65/1 in the third innings, so it's tremendously well balanced.

Worcestershire finished up with 360, then they went through 8 different bowlers to limit Warwickshire to 292/5. Plenty of starts for Warwickshire, but none kicking on to three figures. Barnard the closest with 89.

...

Despite a first innings lead, Notts might have their work cut out if Essex can set them 200 or ideally 220 plus.

I expect Essex to regularly be a danger side this season. More than capable of taking 20 wickets every game with the superb spin of Harmer and the reliable seam threat of Cook, Porter and Snater. Like Hants (as mentioned previously above), they should also benefit from the lack of England call ups. The issue is likely to be whether they can score enough runs. Even with the addition of Elgar and Cox, the loss of Sir Alastair and Lawrence is significant - particularly, when you factor in that their seamers are real tailenders.

I'll try and mention the Warwickshire versus Worcestershire game a bit later, if only so I can say ''Bears v Pears'' - ahh, I just have!

Essex 187/5 in their second innings against Notts. A lead of 147 and the game shaping up nicely ....

Likely a match-winning partnership that for Essex. Critchley and Walter putting on 132 for the sixth wicket, propelling their side into a position of strength. Essex lead by 289, 8 down, and if the weather holds a good chance to force victory over Notts.

Somerset had a very strong day. Replying to Kent's 284, Somerset racked up 374/7 in 104 overs. Still in with a chance of getting four batting points, and maybe bowling Kent out on the final day. Renshaw with 66, Lammonby 90, Rew 57 and Aldridge 50*. The highlight from an England perspective being Rew's 57 off just 60 balls (his SR has been a talking point), as he rebuilt Somerset from 255/6 to a good position. But Lammonby also making an early mark in what could be a pivotal season for him.

Worcestershire got the last 5 Warwickshire wickets for 41 runs. Then Kashif Ali struck his second century of the game, a monstrous effort of 133 from 128, supported by Libby's 75. Means Worcestershire lead by 264, only two down, and a possible chance to force a precious early win for the relegation contenders.

Middlesex are 460/5 against Glamorgan. Looks more a Ranji Trophy game, than one from a damp England! Higgins with a century, Stoneman just short of one.

And Northants frustrated Sussex initially. The overnight position of 292/7 became 371ao. Sussex missed out on the final bowling point by one ball. Robinson claimed 2/67, but was outshone by Seales' 4/86. In response, Sussex marched to 351/6 in just 80 overs, with Haines notching up a ton. Perhaps a chance for Sussex to try and force a collapse tomorrow in the third innings.

Certainly been a good round for the batters with this Kookaburra ball.

No progress in the Yorkshire/Surrey games. The games at Derbyshire and Durham have still had zero balls bowled after three days. Weather does look better for the second round of fixtures at least.

Essex closing in on being the only victors of the round. They set Notts 335 to win, and Notts are 18/3 early on. Would be quite a thrilling comeback - Notts were 259/4 in response to Essex's 253 at one point.

Sam Cook pretty much unplayable. Got a hat trick in the first innings, now he's got second innings figures of 14-10-14-6, and match figures of 10/73. 275 wickets at 19.49, but England recognition seems even further away with Key's new desire for high pace.

Essex win by 254 runs, after being seriously up against it midway through the second innings of the match. Only Clarke provided real resistance for Notts, until he chopped on. Was beginning to wonder if Clarke might force himself into the Rew/Robinson/Smith battle, after getting the only century of the match.

Harry Brook is enjoying himself at Leeds, in his first competitive innings of the year. 75 off 51 against an outmatched Leicester attack. Yorkshire firmly in one day mode, 219/4 from 36 overs, as they chase batting bonus points.

69-ball ton for Brook.

Then a weird declaration from Yorkshire as they surrender the opportunity to get another batting point or two (might be over rate related?).

Potential nerd stat...

7 bowlers for Glamorgan have bowled 20 or more overs in this innings. I wonder if that's a record?

They are also only Northeast and Billy Root rolling their arm over from everyone but the keeper giving it a go. Given Billy bowls a bit anyway and Northeast is skipper, it would feel like a crime against cricket not to.

Duty281 wrote:Sam Cook pretty much unplayable. Got a hat trick in the first innings, now he's got second innings figures of 14-10-14-6, and match figures of 10/73. 275 wickets at 19.49, but England recognition seems even further away with Key's new desire for high pace.

I get it, but I don't. Especially for English (style) conditions, why not give the proven track record a go. Just feels like a self fulfilling prophecy when you don't give people a chance to disprove the idea they don't have what it takes.

It's not like they haven't been picking English style medium-fast seamers ahead of Cook to be fair. Jimmy, Broad, Woakes and Robinson are/were all smack bang in that category. Two England greats. Woakes has an insane home record. Robinson should be leading the England attack at home by now if he could figure out how to go for a jog.

Even in English conditions I hate seeing attacks of 78-82mph right-arm seamers though. T1 and T2 from the recent Ashes series displayed that yet again. Jimmy and Broad both getting on, Robinson laughably unfit and Stokes with one knee. It had no balance. Tongue added a lot coming in. I don't wish to disparage Tongue, but he's hardly express or insanely skilled either. It's not like he was in the mid-90s and reversing it round corners. He literally just bowled fast-medium instead of medium-fast and put it in good areas. The attack had so little variety in it, that was enough to be a point of difference though.

Medium-fast seamers with a very high skill level are a huge asset, but it's so condition dependent. I honestly don't think the conditions required produce the most enthralling Test cricket either. Nibbling green tops and 10-year-old Dukes balls out the back of a storage cupboard from batches that swung conventionally for 60+ overs is just as unbalanced a cricketing spectacle as an absolute road or raging bunsens to my eyes.

I do think Cook will get a go when Woakes and Jimmy phase out. I wouldn't pick him ahead of either for that medium-fast seamer role though. Jimmy has the extra skill of bowling dry when conditions don't favour him. Whilst Woakes is a quality number 8 batter. I definitely wouldn't pick all three in the same attack either.

Yeah, that's kinda what I meant. England already have illustrious options in Cook's category, so it's always been difficult for him to force his way through and into the reckoning. And now with Key saying he wants to see county bowlers bowling 85mph and up, it's even more difficult to envisage Cook getting a chance, when this England prefer the likes of Tongue, Atkinson, Mahmood, Carse etc.

Sussex nearly forced victory over Northants, but fell just short. Sussex declared on 478, and forced Northants to the brink at 170/9 (Northants lead of 63), but couldn't get the last wicket and bad light took them off. Robinson getting 2/19 and match figures of 4/86, which is solid going.

Kent had a little wobble v Somerset after both openers fell cheaply, but Denly and Bell-Drummond struck centuries to guide them safely to a draw.

Lancashire/Surrey no further play. That's one way to stop the champions! Worcestershire were stopped by the weather, a likely win scuppered. No balls bowled on any of the four days at Durham and Derbyshire.

Middlesex scored 655 in 211 overs against Glamorgan. Fair play to Glamorgan for sticking to their task and not losing control. Only one centurion in Middlesex's 655 - Higgins with a maiden double ton.

And Yorkshire's game was obviously a draw, but at least Brook entertained the few in attendance. Rehan's figures for Leicestershire a bit ugly: 5-0-43-0.

Let's hope for drier weather on Friday.

This desire for high pace sounds familiar, with the previous programme reaching its natural conclusion with the selection of a certain Sajid Mahmood. The ball did travel fast when he was bowling, sadly it was to the boundary!

Well, unlike Dawson, Cook hasn't given up on playing for England:

"I am pretty chuffed with the way the ball has come out this week, particularly with it being a Kookaburra," Cook said. "There have been some questions about what I could do with a Kookaburra ball… I'm desperate to play for England and hopefully that performance is something towards that."

Incidentally, Essex may be deducted points as Khushi's bat failed to meet the allowed dimensions. So Essex might be given a hefty points deduction.

Issue for Cook is he's basically up against Jimmy for the "swing/seam bowler in the low 80s, who doesn't bat". Probably needs him to retire to get a go.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Issue for Cook is he's basically up against Jimmy for the "swing/seam bowler in the low 80s, who doesn't bat". Probably needs him to retire to get a go.

Yes but Jimmy is probably unlikely to play even every home Test before finally retiring. That may allow an opening for Cook although a few faster others do seem to be on the scene.

Duty281 wrote:...

Incidentally, Essex may be deducted points as Khushi's bat failed to meet the allowed dimensions. So Essex might be given a hefty points deduction.

Some points should be deducted. Essex were the only winners in this week's full round of matches and they used unauthorised means in the process. That's not on.

The amount of the deduction should depend on whether there was intent involved which won't be easy to show. Assuming not the case, even a reckless disregard of the rules should result in some points being forfeited.

Duty281 wrote:...

Essex win by 254 runs, after being seriously up against it midway through the second innings of the match. Only Clarke provided real resistance for Notts, until he chopped on. Was beginning to wonder if Clarke might force himself into the Rew/Robinson/Smith battle, after getting the only century of the match.

...

Jamie Smith is getting some support as England's Test keeper. Besides our own Duty (doing an utterly splendid job on this thread) and Carlos, he's been touted by Nick Howson in The Cricketer and David Lloyd on Lancs TV.

Lloyd said the other day, ''I think they like Jamie Smith, the selectors''. I doubt he would have said that without there being some substance to it.

Even though there's something of a disconnect between the Championship and Test cricket, I struggle to envisage Smith keeping for England (at least in Tests). In red ball games, Smith will never get the keeper's gloves for Surrey whilst Foakes (''the best wicket-keeper in the world'' - Alec Stewart) is there. Even if Foakes were injured or (initially) retains his Test place, there's even another keeper at the Oval, Josh Blake, who is well regarded and might take the keeper's role for Surrey ahead of Smith.

I do believe Smith has genuine Test credentials but really and most of all as a batter. I feel it would benefit all if he were left to concentrate on and develop that part of his game. However, England do seem keen to try and pull rabbits out of hats and so I certainly wouldn't totally rule out the possibility of him keeping in Tests.

Lloyd not unnaturally views the keeper as batting at number seven where he has to ''balance the team''. He emphasised the importance of playing in an aggressive manner and being able to boss and dominate the tail. Without expressly referencing Foakes, it was clear that Lloyd didn't regard him as fitting the bill and playing the way England want.

Unsurprisingly, Lloyd also threw a Lancs keeper into the mix; Phil Salt, currently playing in the IPL. Not a bad call at all imo.The other two he regarded as possible to challenge for the role were Robinson and Bairstow whist Rew wasn't mentioned.

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:...

Incidentally, Essex may be deducted points as Khushi's bat failed to meet the allowed dimensions. So Essex might be given a hefty points deduction.

Some points should be deducted. Essex were the only winners in this week's full round of matches and they used unauthorised means in the process. That's not on.

The amount of the deduction should depend on whether there was intent involved which won't be easy to show. Assuming not the case, even a reckless disregard of the rules should result in some points being forfeited.

Durham were deducted 10 points for Nic Maddinson committing the same offence in 2022 - so would presume that would be the minimum. As everyone has had far longer to learn to comply now!

Joe Root named in Yorkshire's squad for tomorrow's game. Their top five looks outstanding for Division 2 cricket - Lyth, Bean, Masood, Root, Brook....good luck to Gloucestershire!

Bashir is in for Somerset this week, having missed out on the first game, but Hartley has not been chosen over Lyon for Lancashire, which will likely cause angst to the ECB. Ollie Robinson the bowler has been rested for this week's match - he's only permitted to play in 5 of Sussex's first 7 games.

Duty281 wrote:Joe Root named in Yorkshire's squad for tomorrow's game. Their top five looks outstanding for Division 2 cricket - Lyth, Bean, Masood, Root, Brook....good luck to Gloucestershire!

7, 0, 49*, 2, 26 at lunch on day 1...

Looks like Masood's rescuing them.

Absolute horror day for Durham, effectively the start of their season. They put Warwickshire in to bat, and Warwickshire are 266/0 after 48 overs.

Potts 12-1-61-0. Carse 8-0-66-0. Boland 8-1-39-0. Not a good day for the Aussie or the England hopefuls. Centuries for Davies and Yates.

90 and 100 to start the season for Lammonby. He looked very talented in his breakthrough season, then had a couple of shockers. Good to see him in the runs early.

Agony for Yates, falling for 191 off 205 after being caught in the deep. Still, Warwickshire are in a decent position at 343/1!

A good start for my predicted Durham title charge…

A day full of runs.

Essex with an eye watering 421/6 against Kent, despite losing one of their openers to a golden duck. Elgar and Critchley with tons.

Hampshire 305/6 v Lancashire. The openers didn't do much, but Gubbins, Vince and Prest all made half centuries without converting. The love of my life, Liam Dawson, is unbeaten on 61 and represents the best hope of me reaching eternal happiness Hampshire making 400. Lyon, picked over Hartley, bowled 32 overs, but only returned a below average 2/97.

Notts are also 305/6, but against Worcestershire. Joe Clarke with another ton, backing up his 104 in the first match. He might just be getting into that keeper battle for England. Slater the only other one to contribute a score, with 70. Duckett with another disappointing innings, not the season start he would have wanted. In a day of fast run scoring, I like Holder's 15 overs and 0/28 for Worcestershire.

Somerset had a wild 285ao. 196/1 became 236/9, a collapse sparked by a run out, before the 10th wicket partnership rallied. As mentioned above, a ton for Lammonby, and 3/57 for England hopeful Atkinson. England's past then steered Surrey to a safe 42/0.

Warwickshire bashed a barely believable 490/1 after being sent in by Durham. Davies 226 off 274, with Yates going for 191. Potts 0/88, Carse 0/95 and Parkinson 0/128. Painful stuff for a team picked as many people's dark horses.

Glamorgan were dismissed for 237, with Derbyshire's Thomson picking up a career best 7/65. Derbyshire reached 33/1 at stumps, a good chance to record a first FC win in a fair while.

Yorkshire's top five were talked up, and one of them delivered - Shan Masood with 140, but he had to wait for support from lower down the order. Root started his season with 2, and Brook battled hard for 26 but no further, as Yorkshire were bowled out for 326. Coad and Fisher made inroads before stumps to leave Gloucestershire 28/2. Yorkshire ahead after a tough start.

Leicestershire did well against promotion hopefuls Sussex, making 326/8. Sussex going through eight bowlers, and Seales wicketless through the day.

And Gay carried his bat for Northants against Middlesex, accumulating 165* in a strong total of 311/3. Been a very rough start for Middlesex's bowlers - 931/6 combined in the two first innings of games thus far!

Essex ended up with 530/7 declared - bit of a light declaration? Kent sauntered pretty easily to 245/1 at stumps, with centuries for Compton and Bell Drummond. No Cook for Essex, presumed injured, badly missed.

Hampshire were bowled out for 367. A steady hand from Jennings has steered Lancashire to 233/4.

Worcestershire are 220/6 in reply to Notts' 399.

Surrey with a good lead of 73 over Somerset, at 358/6. Sibley with a ton, Burns, Smith and Foakes all with 50s. Bashir with honest figures of 31-9-63-1.

Warwickshire finished their onslaught at 698/3 declared. Why not make 700? Why not let Rhodes (178*) make a double? Not as if it were a slow 698! Durham reached 178/3 at stumps, Lees keeping them afloat with 94*.

Derbyshire's victory hopes faltered as they were bowled out for 198, despite being 110/2 at one stage. Crane, remember him, with 4/60. However, Glamorgan are 74/4 in the third innings, Northeast with a golden duck and Thomson with three more wickets, leading by just 113, so Derbyshire are far from out of it.

Yorkshire are in complete control. Gloucestershire were dismissed for 263, most notable for a slow partnership of 98 in 41.2 overs between Bancroft and  Hammond. England hopeful Fisher with 3/65. Yorkshire then cemented their advantage by making 57/0 in the final 11 overs of the day. Should be seeing Root and Brook bat tomorrow.

Leicestershire and Sussex is brilliantly balanced. Sussex 282/6, after Leicestershire made 338. A century for Haines in that one.

And Northants finished up with 552/6 declared, Gay run out on 261. Seems pretty easy for batting, as many of these games have been, with Middlesex 128/1 at stumps.

guildfordbat wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Issue for Cook is he's basically up against Jimmy for the "swing/seam bowler in the low 80s, who doesn't bat". Probably needs him to retire to get a go.

Yes but Jimmy is probably unlikely to play even every home Test before finally retiring. That may allow an opening for Cook although a few faster others do seem to be on the scene.

Cook didn't want to go on the last Lions tour to India as his last tour to Sri Lanka in 2023 was 58-10-219-4, average 54.75 while Tongue 37-4-153-8 average 19.12.. Potts excelled on the India Lions tour 104.4 20 wickets at 16.95. He is having a hard time against Warks 23-2-106-0.

Amar Virdi in the Surrey changing room watching Dan Lawrence open the bowling.

Essex in complete command after breaking the resistance of Compton and Bell-Drummond, as the middle/lower order of Kent did nothing. Critchley with an unlikely 5-for, backing up his earlier century. Essex then piled on the runs with Cox striking 118 off 89. Lead of 374...few more runs tomorrow then the declaration.

Lancashire amassed 484 against Hampshire. Jennings with 172 and Bell run-out on 99. Dawson got a niceish 4/156. Hampshire then dug in, 39/2 after 21 overs at stumps, still trailing by 78. Going to need to bat most of tomorrow to salvage a draw.

Notts and Worcestershire in the balance. Worcestershire made 355. Notts were cruising in the 3rd innings at 125/1, but Duckett was dismissed for 63 and then the entire innings collapsed, as Notts lost 6 for 26. Lead of 195, 7 down, close finish in store.

Somerset facing defeat against Surrey. Surrey ended up with a lead of 143, and carefully chipped away at Somerset. Somerset lead by 61, but are 6 down. As mentioned, Lawrence reinventing himself as an all rounder, with 3/45. 50s from Lammonby and Goldsworthy not enough.

Durham were bowled out for 517, and needed to follow on, slumping to 12/2 at stumps, still behind by 169.

Glamorgan flew from 136/6 to 361/7 declared, thanks largely to a century from Cooke. That meant Derbyshire were set 401 to win, and they're currently 40/1. Would be quite something if they got that.

Yorkshire piled on the agony for Gloucestershire. Century for Lyth, fifties for Bean, Root and Brook, leaving Gloucestershire 498 to win. At 97/4 they're a mile off.

Sussex finished up with 694/9 declared, after being 282/6. The seventh wicket stand was worth 255, as Simpson made a double ton and Danny Lamb a near run a ball single ton. Leicestershire fighting to survive, they're 86/1, still trailing by 270. Sussex have already used 7 bowlers in 24 overs!

And Northants/Middlesex is set to be a bore draw, with Middlesex 553/2. Holden with yet another double ton and Du Plooy about to join him.

Durham were bowled out for 517, and needed to follow on, slumping to 12/2 at stumps, still behind by 169.

king_carlos wrote:

Amar Virdi in the Surrey changing room watching Dan Lawrence open the bowling.

And maybe a similar reaction from Virds when learning that as of tonight Cameron Steel is the leading Division One wicket taker in 2024.

As usual, a commendably thorough overview of the state of play at the end of day three in this round of CC games, Duty.

The remaining question is how much impact today's expected poor weather will have ....

guildfordbat wrote:

king_carlos wrote:

Amar Virdi in the Surrey changing room watching Dan Lawrence open the bowling.

And maybe a similar reaction from Virds when learning that as of tonight Cameron Steel is the leading Division One wicket taker in 2024.

Surrey have already taken more wickets with spin this season than the entirety of 2023!

Heading for 9 draws, which will be 17/18 draws to start the season. A combination of rain and the Kookaburra ball.

Three games were draws pretty early. I think all were hit by some rain this morning. A shame about Notts/Worcestershire which was set for a close finish, but didn't get back underway.

Gubbins led the rearguard for Hampshire to get to safety. Somerset, especially Gregory, Overton and Aldridge, have frustrated Surrey all day.

Durham have navigated their way out of trouble thanks, bizarrely, to Potts hitting his first ever FC century after being bumped up the order as a nightwatchman. 0/106 with the ball, but 133* (and counting) with the bat is an interesting reversal. And Reece and Guest ground it out for Derbyshire.

The only two prospects for wins are quite unlikely. Yorkshire need 4 more wickets in 21 overs to beat Gloucestershire, though both centurions, Price and Bracey, are out of the way. And Essex need 4 more wickets in 18 overs to defeat Kent, with 18 year old Denly (nephew of Joe) leading the defence in his FC debut.

Yep, nine draws for the second round. Although Surrey briefly threatened the impossible. Ten points separate second to last in the top division, with Essex ahead by seven points early on; and ten points separate the entirety of Division Two.

Weather looks dry for the third round of games starting on Friday. I've been unable to find any information about when the Kookaburra ball will be used. It is present for four rounds this season, and it's already been used twice, so I'm hopeful it'll be the Dukes ball for round three, because high scores have been far too commonplace.

Duty281 wrote:Yep, nine draws for the second round. Although Surrey briefly threatened the impossible. Ten points separate second to last in the top division, with Essex ahead by seven points early on; and ten points separate the entirety of Division Two.

Weather looks dry for the third round of games starting on Friday. I've been unable to find any information about when the Kookaburra ball will be used. It is present for four rounds this season, and it's already been used twice, so I'm hopeful it'll be the Dukes ball for round three, because high scores have been far too commonplace.

Hi Duty - I don't know when the Kookaburra ball is going to be used again but it's definitely the Dukes ball for round three.

Thanks, that's good to hear. Should get more results in the third round.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ecb-trial-kookaburra-english-county-cricket-fantastic-worst-decision-ever-1429486

No more use of the Kookaburra until late August.

Seems fine to me, do we really want the Darren Stevens type players nipping the ball around and averaging about 10. That isn't going to produce many international bowlers. Note that Sam Cook still did well, so it's not like some bowlers didn't take their chance to impress