Category: England County Cricket

The Bears and Leicestershire secured victories inside three days on another busy weekend of action

After pulling a muscle on 99, diving for the line during a quick single, Cox completes his hundred muscling a reverse-sweep before hobbling off to field concerned phonecalls from England. A fabulous hundred. Essex 251-4 and a lead of 312.

How is Warwickshire’s chase going? Pretty well, although Hamza Shaikh has just been caught by YJB off new boy Buckingham and Davies lost his off stumps to a screamer from Ben Coad. Only 125 more needed.

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Josh Tongue was on form again as Nottinghamshire beat Sussex to move ahead of the pack in Division One

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Josh Tongue’s second five-fer of the season will have England’s chief selector, Luke Wright, licking his lips at the prospect of getting the tall pacer back in the phalanx of fast bowlers all countries need these days. For now, Haseeb Hameed is having his say about his speedster’s work and Nottinghamshire sit atop Division One as a result.

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Zafar Gohar’s half-century helped Middlesex secure a draw against Derbyshire in the only County Championship match in this round to make it to the fourth day

And now Eskinazi slips through the Derbyshire fingers, gloved behind – the ball seems to fly off the gloves of Guest and loop just short of the sprawling close fielders. Derbys 94-1.

A couple of cricketing letters:

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The usual suspects may take the big prizes come the autumn, but it’s been a spring for the underdogs

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

In a round short on thrills, there was a sensational fourth morning at Chelmsford, where Worcestershire’s Ethan Brookes and Essex’s Jamie Porter were both cast in the role of a hero who wasn’t quite – for different reasons.

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…Worcestershire have already lost a wicket, and unfortunately for them it was Matthew Waite, a fourth wicket for Porter. The bowlers are in shirt sleeves, the keeper up the stumps, the three slips neatly arranged in height order.

Ali reports from Birmingham, where it is “pissing down”. It isn’t currently raining in Manchester, but is very soggy – think pile of newspapers accidentally left out in the rain by the newsagent. Rain too at Derby. Elsewhere, however…

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Attacking hundreds from Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence helped Surrey to 390 for three on the third day against Sussex, who made 435 in their first innings

A first missive: and a very happy Easter to you Tim Maitland:

“Salutations Tanya!

“I’m struggling to concentrate on the cricket at the moment. It doesn’t help that my beloved Western Bulldogs (Long story short: some disreputable caddies on the LPGA decided I needed an AFL team and I didn’t have the sense to ignore them) are playing St. Kilda right now.

“But it’s not just that.

“I’m finding it hard to get a sense of who is in form, especially with the bat. Maybe it’s because we were distracted by Tom Banton’s 371, which he’s followed with scores of 6, 0 and 5. How long a lead does a triple centurion get before his chain is yanked?

“If Surrey’s Dom Sibley adds significantly to his 40 overnight, does he hold the crown after a 66 at Essex and then 100 not out and 1055 against Hampshire? Incidentally he made 3 in his one game for Khulna Tigers in Chittagong, which is officially called Chattogram, which would be a great name for a social media platform wouldn’t it?

“Or is it Tom Haines? His 174 against Surrey in this round of matches is, weather permitting, potentially match winning and his second innings 141 set up the victory against Somerset last week.

“As for bowlers... have you got anything? [Ed – My immediate thought is Fergus O’Neill?]

“The Bulldogs, incidentally, have living legend Marcus Bontempelli aka The Bont back for the first time this season, but as I speak our 6 ft 10 in young superstar-to-be ruckman Sam Darcy has just hobbled off with an injured knee, which would be a disaster for the Doggies.”

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Dom Bess has ushered Yorkshire over the 300 line with a boundary but he’s losing partners, Ben Raine has bowled Sears to collect his fourth wickets of the innings.

And Cameron Green, reluctantly, must leave the field at Canterbury – tries to stare down the umpire after he gives him out (unluckily) lbw, but the ump keeps his finger raised until he turns tail. Gloucs 385-9.

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Warwickshire, Sussex and Nottinghamshire lead the way, with fancied Surrey, Essex and Somerset still winless

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Ethan Bamber knows a bit about drama (he is the son of Olivier Award-winning actor David Bamber), so it was no surprise that he finished a thrilling chase with a theatrical six. His 30 not out for Warwickshire against Durham was hardly a bit part, but it was a match in which there were 22 starring roles, county cricket delivering its unique storylines across not three acts, but four days.

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Warwickshire edged Durham by a wicket while Sussex dismissed Somerset for a first Division One win since 2015

An extravagant target…after some slap and tickle by the Leicestershire tail. Ben Mike 38 not out, three wickets for Jack Morley.

A few wickets round the grounds in this first half hour:

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How all the day three action unfolded, as Yorkshire cantered to a 504-run win and in Division Two Kent eased to an eight-wicket victory

Things have progressed without too much incident so far this morning at OT, Northants have kept their attacking fields, Lancashire their restraint. Lancs 152-4.

Elsewhere in Division Two: Leaning has picked up a second wicket to get rid of the dangerous Geddes (75), Middx 262-7. Singh Dale has dismissed the dangerous Carlson, Glamorgan 175-4 and looking down a sink-hole. And Derbyshire are nine down at Grace Road, 105 behind. Four wicket for Van Beek, who dismissed Andersson and who in the words of Mike Daniels “has firmly established himself as a favourite here very quickly.” Derbys 379-9.

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Hampshire and Nottinghamshire stole a march on champions Surrey in a fine first round of matches

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Walking through the warm, not even watery, sunshine of St John’s Wood with only the still leafless trees to betray the date, I suspected there would be runs in the first round of the County Championship – and so it proved.

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DIVISION ONE

Chelmsford: Essex 356-4 v Surrey

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The 125th edition – the calm before the 2026 storm – begins on Friday with notable names headlining the cast list

The cut of the grass, the shine of a boot, the sigh of a drop, the joy of a catch, the crunch of a four, the hope of the spring. Time stealthily gouging out lines, on faces, over scars, around knees. A first season. A last.

Here, suddenly, is April, unexpectedly sunny and dry. And with it, 135 years after the first County Championship (minus one year for Covid, four for world war one and six for world war two), the 125th.

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Familiar faces such as Kemar Roach will feature, as will the two Camerons in Bristol – Bancroft and Green

Those of us lucky enough to watch county cricket in the 1980s, with a packet of Salt’n’Shake in one hand and an autograph book in the other, could tick off Viv Richards at Somerset, Malcolm Marshall at Hampshire, Michael Holding at Derbyshire (imagine!) and Courtney Walsh at Gloucestershire in only a couple of games. And that was just for starters.

The growth of franchise cricket means that players at the peak of their powers will rarely now sign on the dotted line to spend their entire summer in northern climes perfecting their red-ball skills. But the appeal remains, like a sudden blast of Madonna’s Into the Groove from a passing car as you wait for the lights to change. The 2025 County Championship overseas roster is an intriguing one. Choose your games carefully and you have a chance to watch some of the world’s best do battle against each other and the indignities of the British weather.

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After years of strife, Headingley starts the County season with a new coach, a strong squad and a burning desire to prove the critics wrong

The spring sun beams down benevolently on Leeds and the mood at Headingley is buoyant. After the turbulent years following the fallout from Azeem Rafiq’s revelations, relegation in 2022 and two years of fines, disappearing sponsors, a points deduction and strained relationships between players and management, an uncanny calm seems to have settled over the spikey old ground.

There’s a new coach in town, a new captain, two new fast antipodean bowlers to pound into the Yorkshire turf in Jordan Buckingham and Ben Sears. The club are debt free after Sunrisers Hyderabad took a 100% stake in Northern Superchargers – though an argument over demutualisation is brewing on the horizon. There’s even a new coffee machine in the press box.

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