"There’s enough going on without it being the other end of crazy"
Some thoughtful chat about pitches in the Reporters’ Network quotes last night:
Glamorgan’s Zain ul Hassan, who took four for 26 in Surrey’s 115 all out at The Oval:
“There have been a lot of result pitches around in these final weeks of the season and that’s I think because there are quite a lot of teams either going for the Championship, trying to avoid relegation or get promoted.
“More pitches have been greener and it has been really hard for batting around the country.”
And Hampshire’s Scott Currie at Grace Road:
“The pitch is doing a bit but when you’re at the bottom of the league, I think teams earn the right at home to do what they like with the pitches. As bowlers, we’re not going to complain - I had a season on loan here and I wish the pitches had done as much then.
“We never had a wicket with shaved ends while I was here but credit to Alfonso Thomas, Claude Henderson and the ground staff here for trying to produce wickets that are doing a bit. Some balls have gone up, some have gone down, but no one’s been hit. There’s enough going on without it being the other end of crazy.”
Now bright sunshine as we wheeze past Slaithwaite.
More chaos at Middlesex:
Related: Middlesex upheaval grows as chair Richard Sykes reveals intent to resign
Tuesday's round-up
A brow-mopping 123 wickets fell on the first day of the penultimate round of matches as the season hurtled towards the autumn trapdoor. It was difficult to know what to make of it, though title-hunting Somerset might repent at leisure the last half of the evening session at Headingley, which they finished on 68 for five. Jonny Bairstow’s busy 79 had hauled Yorkshire to 212, though he was dropped twice. Much rests on the oaken shoulders of Craig Overton.
With clouds building and floodlights on, Nottinghamshire crawled towards a precious batting point at Hove against Sussex’s parsimonious bowlers, something that seemed risible until a ninth-wicket stand of 74 between Brett Hutton and Tom Giles. Hutton’s two-and-a-half-hour 59 was the highest score of the innings.
A career-best six for 26 by Ethan Bamber helped keep Essex down as Warwickshire drove for points at Chelmsford. Essex were whistled out for 134, though that was riches from the ashes of 33 for seven, thanks largely to an unbeaten 61 from the on-loan wicketkeeper George Bell, who has jumped out of the Old Trafford frying pan to find his boots burning again. But Warwickshire wouldn’t have it all their own way as they too collapsed, 151 for nine at stumps, a slender lead of just 17 runs.
Zak Crawley curated the only half-century at Canterbury to bring Kent in touching distance of Lancashire’s 161.
There was a cascade of 20 wickets at the Oval, where neither Glamorgan nor Surrey could reach the heady heights of 140. Matt Fisher limped out of the game with a groin injury.
Ian Holland’s career-best six for 38 dismissed Hampshire for 214 in the Division One battle for the wooden spoon. Ben Brown’s unbeaten 80 saved his side too many blushes. Leicestershire, who are still waiting for the Cricket Regulator to rule on their pitch, shuffled to 148 for seven, thanks to fifty from Hamza Shaikh.
At Chester-le-Street the runs ran freely as India’s Mayank Agarwal blazed Worcestershire’s bowlers around the ground with a dazzling 177. For once, Ben Stokes had to play second fiddle, though his thunderbolt 50 off 40 balls delighted the faithful who had come to wallow in autumn sunshine and the warmth of promotion. Durham were cruising to a full set of batting points before the setting sun spoiled their fun.
Hundreds for Derbyshire’s Ben Aitchison and Wayne Madsen stayed Northamptonshire’s promotion push.
Scores on the doors
Division One
Chelmsford: Essex 134 v Warwickshire 151-9
Grace Road: Leicestershire 148-7 v Hampshire 214
The Oval: Surrey 115 v Glamorgan 132 and 30-0
Hove: Sussex v Nottinghamshire 232-9
Headingley: Yorkshire 212 v Somerset 68-5
Division Two
Chester-le-Street: Durham 437-7 v Worcestershire
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Middlesex 324-9
Canterbury: Kent 151-7 v Lancashire 161
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 15-0 v Derbyshire 372
Preamble
Good morning! It’s grey travelling across the Pennines, the cloud low, leaves rusty, train, endpoint Scarborough, empty. A bowling alley day yesterday, wickets for fun, special shoes or not, and runs a desperate struggle except for Wayne Madsen, Ben Aitchison and the magnificent Mayank Agarwal. Do join us for more chaos from 10.30 as day two unfolds.
