28.03.2024

County cricket: Somerset go top, Warwickshire beat Glamorgan – as it happened

A nail-biting day at Taunton ended with a six-wicket win for Somerset that takes them to the top of Division One. Their run chase on an awkward pitch was led by Matt Renshaw, whose 61 came on top of a first‑innnings hundred.

Forties from George Bartlett and, after a stutter, Tom Abell and Steve Davies, carried them over the line.

Nottinghamshire’s second innings of 505 could not make up for their 134 first time round. Somerset, who finished on 250 for four and have never won the title, face Surrey, one Championship point behind them, in next week’s round of games.

Ian Bell’s second unbeaten century of the match, after a Championship drought of more than two years, guided Warwickshire to victory against Glamorgan. Bell hit 17 fours in his 115 and put on 113 with Jonathan Trott, who made his second fifty of the game. Warwickshire are top of Division Two; it was Glamorgan’s third consecutive defeat. “Last year was a tough season, but you get back up and have another go,” Bell said. “I probably didn’t deal with not playing for England as well as possible, whether I still wanted to play or didn’t want to play.”

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Durham bowled out Derbyshire for 172 to win by 95 runs despite being dismissed for 96 on the opening day. There were five wickets for Chris Rushworth and four for Matthew Salisbury. It was a fine win for a rag-tag side hampered by injury and blooding three debutants.

Kent strained for a win at Bristol but Gloucestershire stood firm following on. An opening partnership of 114 and, later, a 100‑run stand between Kieran Noema-Barnett and Graeme van Buuren blunted their best efforts.

The Essex captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, has been suspended for two games after a disciplinary offence at Old Trafford, which took him to nine points. He will miss the RL game against Yorkshire and either the semi‑final or the Championship game with Nottinghamshire.

And match drawn at Bristol. A brave fightback by Gloucestershire following-on: plaudits particularly for Noema-Barnett unbeaten on a 129 ball 42, and van Buuren, out just before the end to Daniel Bell-Drummond.

That’s stumps. Thanks for your company, comments and all the rest. Enjoy your days off. Till next time.

A wicket! for Daniel DB, his first in professional cricket! Three wickets required in not many minutes. van Buuren c Kuhn 59.

Can the Guardian’s man of the day do it for Kent?

Kent Cricket ?
(@kentcricket)

DBD into the attack. Minimum of 8 overs left. 4 wickets required

June 12, 2018

Ah here’s the answer – 10 overs, I think, left in the match.

A second half century of the match for Graeme van Buuren (106 balls, 6×4).

He the man (or something like that)

Warwickshire CCC ?
(@WarwickshireCCC)

? Warwickshire chase down 294 and win by four wickets.

Great win! ? ?#YouBears

June 12, 2018

And Warwickshire have won by four wickets! Ian Bell wonderfully not out for 115, Patel not out 4. Salter 26 overs, 4 for 80.

Bell is now the first ever Warwickshire batsman to score a century in each innings of a match vs Glamorgan – but it was better than that.

And Gloucestershire march slowly forward, deficit only 52, still four wickets left. More importantly, the clock tocks on. I wonder, might they shake hands soon or will Kent keep going till the bitter end?

...and past 100! 11 actually – 163 balls and 16 fours to date. Two hundreds in the match after a drought of two years.

Ambrose just out , lbw for 21 after a valuable 21, but with only 8 needed, it is too late for Glamorgan.

And Bell is not out 99…

Very high-fives to Abell, 46, and Davies, 40, who steadied the ship at the end. A tremendous team performance which means they leapfrog Surrey to the top of the table. A brave-fight back from Notts, but in the end their first-innings balls-up was inescapable. Their match with Surrey next-week at Guildford is mmmmouthwatering.

Without wanting to jinx anyone, it looks like Somerset and Warwicks have done it. The pressure game is now at Bristol – can Gloucester hold out? Hurrah for Noema-Barnett and van Buuren and their partnership of 50 for the sixth wicket.

That was two wickets in two balls for David Lloyd. I think Warwicks have got it in the bag though, Bell still there, majestic on 87. And Davies and Abell plucking it out for Somerset, target down to 49.

Crikey – Trott’s OUT for 67 and then Hain for a 2-ball duck. Both wickets to Lloyd. 60 needed, six wickets in hand.

Not sure if I should really publicise something I’m involved in, also not sure if anyone is still reading, but a few of us have set up @TheNextTest – a twitter feed, hoping to turn into something more, for cricket fans who would like a more sustainable game. Please follow us if you’re interested – we’d welcome any ideas, criticisms, things you spot at grounds, good or bad.

Warwicks and Somerset racing to the finish. Somerset need 61, Warwicks 62.

I see from Twitter that Gloucestershire have taken tea, digested it and are now back on the field, sorry my browser wasn’t updating for some reason. Gloucs 223 for 6, need to survive till the close…

Tea scores: a wicket at Taunton on the rattle of tea knocks Somerset off the firm-favourite perch; a purring partnership of 103 between Bell and Trott makes Warwickshire’s target look easy.

Somerset 392 and 163 for 4 (Renshaw 61; Abell 7 not out; Carter 3 for 48), chasing another 85 to beat Notts 134 and 505.

Warwickshire 250 and 222 for 2 (Bell 73, Trott 65) need 72 to beat Glamorgan 220 and 323.

Gloucs v Kent still playing

In answer to Capbnut’s question below the line – Renshaw will fly home in August, see here

“Renshaw’s time with Somerset will be cut short, with the 22-year-old set to leave Taunton in August before the end of the English season following an Australia A tour call-up.”

I make a cup of tea, slice of toast, and Renshaw is out for 61. Is there life in the old Taunton dog yet? 91 to win, seven wickets in hand. Seven wickets in the match for Matt Carter.

Fifty for Trott in a partnership of 91 with Bell. The years are peeling away, the tender hope of youth springing forth, at Edgbaston – target only 84.

(Another) 50 for Renshaw – 91 balls, 7 fours, 1 six. Trotty hovering close on 42. Gloucester on the slide:212 for 5. J Taylor, a second wicket for Denly, lbw for 15. They’ve just lost 2 for 7.

Uh-0h, a wicket at Taunton – but it is not Renshaw. Bartlett b Carter for 43. Somereet 125 for 2, 123 to win.

Gloucester lose another, 204 for 4. James Bracey c Rouse b Denly for a nearly-two-hour 27. The Somerset target shrinks to 123, Warwickshires’s to 116.

Renshaw does it again

And it’s looking good for the batting team at Edgbaston. I don’t want to sound obsessed with this, but Bell has now hit 10 fours in his 87-ball 58, compared to 12 fours in his 248-ball 106. It’s a heady drug that confidence. Warwicks only need 123 to win.

Ah, I see Renshaw is moving through the gears now: 51, 93 balls, 7 fours. And George Bartlett doing stirling work with 31 not out. Somerset need 138 runs, Notts 9 wickets.

If the scoreboard is too traumatic, check out the drought conditions!

Lancashire Cricket
(@LancsCCC)

? | @YorkshireCCC are all out for 75.

? @LiamHurt who took 5-17.

June 12, 2018

In other news, Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate has been suspended for two games after a disciplinary offence at Old Trafford – which completely passed me by, for which, apologies. It was a level 1 breach: (wilfully mistreating any part of the cricket ground, equipment or implements used in the match, and using language that in the circumstances, is obscene, offensive or insulting). He has previously breached dictates in the last two years, so this subsequent breach brought him three penalty points which took him up to 9: hence the suspension for the Royal London game v Yorks and either the RL semi-final or the Championship game v Notts.

Imran Qayyum in trouble too, for a level 1 breach at Kent’s RL game against Essex (dissent) and Matt Henry in the same match (dangerous bowling). They both get a reprimand.

Dent, it turns out, lasted about another eight minutes, c Rouse b Podmore for a most valiant 76. I fear for Gloucester now. Over at Hove, England women have just bought up the hundred in the 19th over.

Respect to captain Chris Dent, 70 not out in 239 minutes, if he can just stay there for another 180, Gloucester have escaped.

And for those who want more galloping stumps: those Durham v Derby’s highlights. Chris Rushworth 5-47.

Durham CCC ?
(@DurhamCricket)

The most amazing @CountyChamp win since… last month?#DURvDER #ForTheNorth

June 12, 2018

And well done to little rag-tag Durham, victory against all the odds by 95 runs. From the darkness, a great light.

Right, Trott’s in at Edgbaston. A second wicket for Salter, Rhodes c Cooke for 61. 123 for 2, chasing another 170. Bell 39 not out. Warwickshire need these two to do the business.

Welcome back

Cricket Shouts
(@crickshouts)

“We’ll have a bowl.”

June 12, 2018

Lunch everywhere except The Riverside:

Somerset 392 and 46 for 1 (Renshaw 15 not out; Bartlett 9 not out), chasing another 202 to beat Notts 134 and 505.

Warwickshire 250 and 119 for 1 (Rhodes 61, Bell 36) need 175 to beat Glamorgan 220 and 323.

Gloucestershire 240 and 155 for 2 (Dent 54 not out, Bracey 19 not out ) need 187 to make Kent bat again.

Derby 9 down, Palladio and Olivier the last men standing. Rushworth now 4-44.

Looks like the sun might have gone in at Taunton? No shadows.

Nottinghamshire CCC
(@TrentBridge)

REPLAY | Mullaney gets the ball talking as Moores completes the easy catch #SomvNotts

June 12, 2018

A stutter! A stutter! Somerset 32 for 1, Byron c Moores b Mullaney 22. Still 216 to chase.

Byrom outscoring Renshaw shock at Taunton and now 24 of Bell’s 31 runs have come in boundaries at Edgbaston. At Bristol, 49 for Dent, who batted at 2 in the first innings and 1 in the second. Sometimes I even bore myself.

And that’s a eighth down at Riverside. Slate for a valiant 68, a fourth for Salisbury: 4-39. Derby truly doomed now.

Just a little wave to my colleague Adam Collins over on the women’s ODI blog, who has just peeped at us in the jalopy from his jaunty motor. Please send him the odd message as he updates on England Women’s progress against South Africa at Hove. In his words: “If the home side get knocked off again today, it will be the third time in a row they have lost a 50-over series since holding the World Cup aloft at a packed Lord’s in July last year.”

But as you asked, I see Bell has hit five fours in his 24 – confidence regained after that first hundred for 2 years. As for Trotty, dying to make up for that unfortunate run-out in the first innings. I think they’ll take Warwicks over the line.

I think Mes might be trying to trick me into something, but I’m just not sure. He’s asked how I think Trotty and Bell will bat today….

At Taunton, Renshaw has not hit a four yet…but at Bristol, Gloucestershire suffer a mini-collapse. Roderick now, lbw Thomas for a 6-ball duck.

Darn it! Another one. Derby 108 for 7, needing another, unlikely, 160. Viljoen unmistakably bowled. See here

Durham CCC ?
(@DurhamCricket)

Full, straight, out! @nrimmo11 makes a mess of middle

June 12, 2018

There’s something in the water – a wicket at Edgbaston too. Dom Sibley caught R Smith (that made me double-take) for an 88-ball 19, which rather puts Khawaja’s 143-ball 125 in perspective.

Warwicks a creditable 71 for 1, but still chasing another 223

And at Bristol, a wicket. Benny Howell lbw Podmore for a 128-ball 67. Gloucestershire 115 for 1 in their challenge to bat out the day.

Notts all out for 505- well batted! Davey 4-76, van der Merwe 4-138. Somerset to chase 247 – my purse is on them.

As Warwicks and Gloucestershire bat serenely onwards, a huge thank you to Paul Frame who has sent me links to the highest championship scores of the season.

Three scores of 500-plus in Div 1: Notts 505-9, this round, Somerset 506, v Hampshire in May, and Worcestershire 526 against Surrey in May.

In Div 2: Kent 582 for 9, this round, Glamorgan 526 for 9, against Gloucs (again) in April, Durham 520, against Derby in May.

A wicket at Taunton! Matthew Carter for 20. Notts 502 for 9.

And Notts have passed 500! Two teams in this round – have any any other counties done it this season? I’d be very grateful if someone with that sort of memory could let me know.

And… another man down at The Riverside. A third for Salisbury, this time the unfortunate Daryn Smit lbw for 1. 89 for 6.

A third wicket for Chris Rushworth at Durham, as Derby stumble-trip, to 85 for 5. Callum Brodrick for 19.

As no wickets have fallen yet, time for some trivia. Did you know that one of the umpires standing at the Warwickshire-Glamorgan game is on an exchange trip?

Yeshwant Barde is the eighth Indian umpire to come to the UK as part of an deal between the BCCI and the ECB. You can also spot him at Arundel for Sussex v Durham, and Canterbury for Kent v Middlesex.

Good to see they’re giving him a mix of urban jugular and rural bliss. Just like my french exchange Nadege, who experienced both the thrills of Woking swimming baths and Windsor castle.

The Brits who have gone the other way: Martin Saggers (2017), David Millns (2016), Alex Wharf (late 2015), Cook (early 2015), Michael Gough (2013), Peter Hartley (2012) and Tim Robinson (2010).

Agree with those below the line, do read Barney’s excellent interview with Daniel Bell-Drummond, who seems a thoroughly good egg. Also great on The Platform Initiative, “Launched this summer … based on an original idea by Bell-Drummond. The intention is to bring cricket back into schools from which it has retreated, and in particular to re‑sew a passion for the sport among kids of Caribbean descent.”

A truncated fixture list, after three-day finishes at Old Trafford, The Ageas Bowl and The County Ground. Wins for Essex, in a frantic to-ing and fro-ing of 19 wickets, and Surrey, who thrashed Hampshire – their young side perched, for now, at the top of the Championship table. Of Northants current plight, it is perhaps best to say nothing, but it was a plucky performance by Leicestershire, under their new captain Paul Horton.

Four games remain, the Division One game at Taunton, which could go any of three ways and batting conditions look sweet. Nottinghamshire have a lead of 210, after a splendid maiden first-class century for Tom Moores, with two wickets in hand. A win for Somerset will put them above Surrey at the top of the table.

A splendid fight-back by Durham puts them on the front-foot at The Riverside, with Derbyshire already struggling at 69 for four, needing a further 199 to win. There were two wickets for Durham debutant Matthew Salisbury, to give him five in the match.

At Bristol, Gloucestershire have made a good start following-on, 73 for 0, but are still a chasmic 269 behind Kent.

And an intriguing day’s play ahead at Edgbaston where Usman Khawaja’s 125 was a cut above any other batting in the match and gave Glamorgan more than a chance of a win. Warwickshire start on 25 for 0, needing another 269 for victory.

And a picture of south-west idyll to pass the minutes till 11. Over 6000 supporters have already watched the game against Notts at Taunton – no-one watches Championship cricket etc etc….

Somerset Cricket ?
(@SomersetCCC)

Can’t make it to the CACG today?

Watch all the action from #SOMvNOTTS on our free live stream with BBC commentary!

June 12, 2018

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