County Cricket Round-Up - 30th May

There were runs and wickets aplenty as the ninth round of the LV= County Championship got underway in earnest today.  We round-up all of the action from the six matches below. 

18 wickets fell on the opening day at Chester-le-Street as Lancashire closed on 141 for eight in reply to Durham’s 102.  Graham Onions did the bulk of the damage as he removed four of the first five of the visitors’ batsmen at a cost of just 19 runs, while Jamie Harrison, Ben Stokes and Stephen Harmison all chipped in.  Opener Paul Horton again showed his willingness for a fight and was undefeated on 31 from 103 balls at the close. 

Luke Procter and Kyle Hogg had earlier shared eight wickets to bowl the home side out.  Hogg took three wickets in the space of six deliveries to reduce them to 34 for four from a potentially promising 32 for one, before Luke Procter polished off the remainder to end with career-best figures of five for 17. 

Ed Joyce hit a patient 77 to help Sussex overcome an inspired early burst from Tim Murtagh against Middlesex at Lord’s.  Murtagh had figures of three for four from six overs at one stage as he single-handedly reduced the visitors to 16 for three.  However, Joyce and Ben Brown (70) added a crucial 81 for the sixth wicket, while Naved Arif chipped in with a determined 38, and Sussex closed on 242 for eight. 

Nick Compton has only one more day left to score the 59 more runs that he needs to become the first man since Graeme Hick to score 1000 runs before the end of May; and he was not helped in his endeavours by Worcestershire’s top-order on the first day at New Road.  Captain Daryl Mitchell and Australian Phil Hughes added exactly 100 for the first wicket, before the latter was caught behind off Peter Trego (two for 56) for 53.  Mitchell fell 80 runs later for 80, but Vikram Solanki remained unbeaten on 82 at the close as the home side ended on 270 for three against Somerset. 

15 wickets fell on the first day of Division Two leaders Derbyshire’s match against Gloucestershire at Bristol.  The visitors were dismissed for just 95 after electing to bat with David Payne taking the first three wickets to fall in his first Championship match for over a month, while Will Gidman had a hand in five dismissals, taking four wickets with his medium-pace, before running out last man Tony Palladino. 

Gloucestershire lost Jonathan Batty early in their reply, but Alex Gidman (72 not out) and Kane Williamson (56) both made half centuries and they reached stumps on 182 for five. 

Northamptonshire fought back strongly from the perilous position of 45 for five to be bowled out for 253 on the first day at Headingley.  Steven Patterson and Mitchell Starc had each taken a brace of early wickets, but skipper Andrew Hall and wicket-keeper David Murphy began the repair job, before the latter’s dismissal to Ryan Sidebottom (three for 37) for 40.  Hall was then joined by Con de Lange (23) and David Willey (39) and took the score on to 232 before eventually succumbing for 79.  Yorkshire then faced five overs in reply and raced to 27 without loss. 

Marcus North hit a century to help Glamorgan edge ahead in their basement battle with Leicestershire on the second day at Cardiff.  After Dean Cosker (three for 59) and Jim Allenby (four for 39) had shared seven wickets in the visitors’ first innings total of 271, North got to work and put on 103 with opener Gareth Rees (66) for the third wicket.  He brought up his 34th first-class century during a fourth-wicket stand of 91 with Ben Wright (44), and was eventually out for 116 from 148 balls as Glamorgan closed on 302 for five. 

Weather Forecast: Rain looks likely to affect those matches played in the northern half of England tomorrow, although the far south may see glimpses of sunshine.  It will also be noticeably cooler, with highs of between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius. 

County News In Brief:Western Australia fast-bowler Michael Hogan will not be joining Glamorgan this summer as originally planned.  He had intended to join the Welsh county as a local player this season and then play Shield cricket this winter in Australia as an overseas player, but Cricket Australia vetoed that proposal when they learned that he intended to change his national affiliation.  He will now retire from Australian domestic cricket in March 2013, having fulfilled the final year of his Western Australia contract, and join Glamorgan then. 

Hampshire have signed Australian Glenn Maxwell as one of their overseas players for this year’s Friends Life t20 competition.  He was going to sign as a ‘local’ player by using his British passport until he realised that this would prevent him from playing state cricket in Australia.  An interview with Maxwell is available here. 

Yorkshire’s new president, Geoffrey Boycott, has defended the axing of leg-spinner Adil Rashid from the county’s first-team, saying, “You can’t just pick people because they’re leg-spinners.  You have to pick the quality.”