Key events
The clouds are closing in at Grace Road, the tall figure of Tom Bailey, running in from the pavilion end, just about visible through the gloom. Rehan Ahmed plays him back with perfect caution.
A few early wickets round the grounds: at Chester le Street, James Rew is gone, lbw to James Raine; Yorkshire have lost James Wharton, caught at first slip, Taylor has removed Lewis McManus at Northampton and Chris Woakes is back amongst the wickets – trapping Jake Libby to remove Worcestershire’s lynchpin.
Shubman Gill is India’s new Test captain
Shubman Gill has succeeded Rohit Sharma as India’s Test captain. The best of luck to him, it’s quite the responsibility. Gill, 25, previously led India in five T20s, as well as being captain of IPL team Gujarat Titans.
This was interesting from John Turner last night: “Initially it felt horrendous bowling, the first two overs weren’t great, but it is always great to get some wickets and found some rhythm towards the end.
“Every over I bowled, I bowled better. I ran in harder and hit the crease with more momentum. It is weird how a spell ebbs and flows like that.
“It has been an interesting start to the season. It isn’t how I planned on it going, I wasn’t planning on going on loan but it served a good purpose for me and I enjoyed it.
“I am slowly going in the direction I want to be going in and I think that is noticeable from the sidelines as well. It has been a weird few months.
“I was in a really good place at the start of pre-season but there was a two week period where everything went south. It turned around pretty quickly. It is weird to think I made my England debut six months ago and then on loan trying to find some cricket after that.”
On the (muggy) walk to the ground I saw a seagull, a solitary swift, wild roses and the British Gas museum. It rained here in the night but the groundstaff’s efforts mean that we are starting on time with Lancashire needing early wickets.
Head to Grace Road for your homemade sugar fix (I recommend the cherry cake):
Weather watch
Cloudy, with hit and miss scattered showers.
Friday’s round-up
High spring hangs over this final May round of Championship cricket, the international summer pulling eyeballs away, the lack of rain leaving parched pitches.
A good crowd collected on the apple-green benches sitting around the Grace Road boundary. They saw Lancashire get off to a steaming start thanks to Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells, but then fold in familiar fashion to patient Leicestershire bowling. Logan van Beek removed the two openers either side of lunch, finishing with three for 38, while Josh Hull found some devil in the dirt. Leicestershire lost two evening wickets, but Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill saw the day out. After his come-back game against Gloucestershire last week, Lancashire are without Jimmy Anderson – the club said that they were “managing his return to competitive cricket.”
Durham won the toss at Chester le Street and chose to bat on a pitch that shuffled its uneven bounce that never quite let the batters settle. Ollie Robinson top scored with 52, while Matt Henry spearheaded Somerset’s attack, finishing with four wickets.
Hampshire were pancaked for 154 at Southampton, Henry Crocombe taking four wickets in 11 balls in his first game of the season. John Turner then countered with three wickets in nine balls to leave Sussex with work to do. A Sam Cook-less Essex were sent packing in two sessions by a Surrey side including Sam Curran, who had zipped down from Trent Bridge where he had been watching brother Ben play for Zimbabwe on Thursday – Curran ended up being Cook’s first Test wicket. Michael Pepper held the Essex innings together with 75, but Surrey perch greedily, 94 for three at stumps.
Saif Zaib’s charming 141, his highest first-class score, rescued Northants from 57 for four against Gloucestershire; while Caleb Jewell’s unbeaten 152, his first Derbyshire century, gave the Kent bowlers little time to rest.
Marnus Labuschagne was contained by Middlesex, caught for 23, but Glamorgan’s Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson rebuilt in a boundary-laden partnership of 228. Toby Roland-Jones finished with four wickets. A quizzical Headingley pitch tested Nottinghamshire, but Ben Slater and Joe Clarke made half-centuries. Tom Latham’s 59 and Sam Hain’s first half-century of the summer were balanced by four more wickets for Tom Taylor as Warwickshire were bowled out for 227.
Scores on the doors
Division One
Chester-le-Street: Durham 277 v Somerset 63-3
Southampton: Hampshire 154 v Sussex 110-5
The Oval: Surrey 94-3 v Essex 217
New Road: Worcestershire 53-0 v Warwickshire 227
Headingley: Yorkshire 10-2 v Nottinghamshire 228
Division Two
Derby: Derbyshire 352-2 v Kent
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 334-7 v Middlesex
Grace Road: Leicestershire 59-2 v Lancashire 206
County Ground: Northamptonshire 327-6 v Gloucestershire
Preamble
Hello from an overcast Leicester. A busy day of cricket yesterday, the majority of games sprinting into their second innings. We’ll keep an eye on proceedings from the Grace Road boundary, while England polish off the game at Trent Bridge. Do join us, with a cup of coffee and a belly scratch.
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