I’ve filed my write-up, that should land on these pages very soon. The blog will stay open for a while so feel free to continue the chat BTL after a glorious, intriguing, exciting (and tautological) day of county cricket. Thanks for your company and comments – I believe Tanya will be back at the helm tomorrow with plenty of close finishes and results in the offing. Take care and goodnight.

What happened next..?

Well, this was good eh?

Surrey have polished off The Pears at the Oval:

Popping back to post the winning moment from Hove. Shades of Jonty Rhodes from Flynn Hudson-Prentice!

Time for me to start thinking about dipping my quill for tomorrow’s paper. Keep an eye on things for me and keep chatting away BTL. I’ll be back later for the close of play roundup.

James Vince is pinned LBW by Dane Paterson! A huge wicket for Notts.

Hampshire are 33-3 and still need 137 more… could this one be going the same way as the game at Hove?

Sussex have done it at Hove! Yorkshire all out for 161 to fall short by 21 runs! The final 4 wickets Yorkshire falling for just three runs – Ollie Robinson finishing with 4-42 including snaffling three wickets at the end without conceding a single run.

Good afternoon Kim Thonger who is daring to believe… and getting on the plonk:

“Afternoon James

I’m a diehard Somerset fan sitting in gloriously sunny Rutland (it’s a microclimate you know) deliberately thinking the unthinkable, which is that Kent still have the faintest sniff of winning. My theory is that if I think it out loud, The Law of Jinx will prevent it happening, allowing me to relax, open a bottle of The Rutland Vineyard’s finest white wine, First Crush, and light the barbecue.”

Kent are 226-1 with Crawley still there. 150 runs behind. I’m saying nothing.

Adam Lyth is gone at Hove! What drama! Ollie Robinson gets him with a snorter and the game is still in the balance – 25 runs plays three wickets!

Marnus in the runs for Glammy. The Aussie batter has notched a fifty for Glamorgan in their second innings against Middlesex. Opening up, he is unbeaten on 64 and his side trail Middlesex by just 34.

Tea Time-ish scores:

DIVISION ONE

Chelmsford: Essex 123-4 v Warwickshire 397 and 94 all out – Essex require 207 runs to win with 6 wickets remaining

Stanley Park: Lancashire 357 and 353-9-dec v Durham 236 – Durham require 475 runs to win

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 235 and 209 v Hampshire 276 and 2-0 – Hampshire require 167 runs to win with 10 wickets remaining

Taunton: Somerset 554 v Kent 128 and 197-1 Kent trail by 179 runs with 9 wickets remaining

The Oval: Surrey 213 and 427 v Worcestershire 128 and 122-8 – Worcs require 391 runs with 2 wickets remaining

DIVISION TWO

Derby: Derbyshire 362 v Northamptonshire 422 and 11-0 – Northants lead by 74 runs with ten wickets remaining

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 183 and 126-3 v Middlesex 343 – Glamorgan trail by 34 runs with 7 wickets remaining

Grace Road: Leicestershire 325-7 v Gloucestershire 706-6 dec – Leics trail by 381 with 3 wickets remaining

Hove: Sussex 150 and 227 v Yorkshire 195 and 147-6 – Yorks require 36 runs to win with 4 wickets remaining

Notts have had a shocker at Tent Bridge this afternoon – they’ve lost the second half of their batting card for just 40 runs and have been skittled for 209.

HAMPSHIRE NEED (JUST) 169 TO WIN

Ben Stokes has five wickets in Blackpool. 5-84 on his first return to Durham for the first time in couple of years. Still, Lancashire sitting pretty with a lead of 446 ahead.

Dan Worrall has ten wickets and counting in the match at The Oval, Worcestershire seven down after a torrid afternoon.

Ed Barnard pins Dean Elgar LBW! A huge wicket for Warwickshire as Essex still need 220 more and they’ve lost the South African Anchorman.

100 for Zak Crawley!

A first ton of the season for the England opener, he’s been imperious since lunch, all powerful drives and dismissive pulls. He embraces Ben Compton at the other end and gives a wave of his bat.

Crawleywatch: Big Zak is on 99 in Taunton…

Ben Stokes gets Keaton Jennings!

Jennings 213-ball 155 included 18 fours and two sixes but is brought to an end by the England Test captain.

Stokes has 4-79 for his efforts in the afternoon sun but Lancs have a in imposing 440 run lead… and counting.

Just as I press send on that update Yorkshire lose their SIXTH! Jonny Tattersall sweeping Jack Carson but getting a top edge. 62 runs plays four wickets…

Yorkshire chipping away at Hove – that’s the fifty stand between Lyth & Tattersall as the target is reduced to just 62 more. A first win of the campaign coming into sight for the White Rose.

Worcs six down at Surrey, three day finish in the offing at The Oval.

Ben Compton brings up his fifty off just 67 balls, pootling along in Zak Crawley’s slipstream.

Ben Stokes snares George Balderson to add a third wicket to his column in Blackpool.

Essex are 82-3 and need another 247 runs more to vanquish Warwickshire. Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox at the crease. Michael Rae has 2-21 for the visitors. A stroll to stretch the legs and a cup of tea calls. Back soon!

Crawleywatch: He’s up to 85…

Important 50 for Jack Haynes of Notts at Trent Bridge – the home side’s lead creeps up to 128 runs AND just as I type this he is OUT! Fletcha Middleton taking a sharp chance close in off the inside edge, Felix Morgan gets the wicket. The lead 128 but only four wickets left for Notts to eke out a decent target.

Over at Headingley… well batted Danni Wyatt!

Gus Atkinson bundles out Brett D’Oliveira’s leg stump to leave Worcs five down and in danger of capitulation this afternoon.

At Hove – it is squeaky derrierès time for Yorkshire as Sean Hunt castles James Wharton for 18 to leave the visitors five down and still needing a further 100 runs to win. All eyes on Adam Lyth who is duking it out obdurately on 36 from 84 balls. ParpParpParp.

Worcestershire in trouble in South London – Dan Worrall continues his eye catching season with three early wickets – The Pears well and truly bruised at 38-4.

The beleaguered (of late) Zak Crawley goes to 50 at Taunton. His first of the season. Plenty of boundaries in the innings so far and he’s been up against Jack Leach and Craig Overton. A hundred would stop a bit of chatter…

Tanya isn’t actually putting her feet up - she’s over on the OBO tools for the England v Pakistan T20 at Headingley.

You can follow the action here (just as long as you pop back, promise?

The teams take to the field after lunch, I’m tuned into Sussex against Yorkshire where nerves might be on the jangle. Root fell before lunch to make it four wickets lost for the visitors, Adam Lyth is still there on 25 not out – if he goes then Yorkshire will be teetering. 138 runs still needed.

Lunchtime scores:

DIVISION ONE

Chelmsford: Essex 20-2 v Warwickshire 397 and 94 all out – Essex require 310 runs to win with 8 wickets remaining.

Stanley Park: Lancashire 357 and 206-4 v Durham 236 – Lancs lead by 327 runs with 6 wickets remaining.

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 235 and 126-4 v Hampshire 276 – Notts lead by 85 runs with 6 wickets remaining

Taunton: Somerset 554 v Kent 128 and 22-1 – Kent trail by 329 runs with 10 wickets remaining

The Oval: Surrey 213 and 427 v Worcestershire 128 and 22-1 – Worcs require 491 runs with 9 wickets remaining

DIVISION TWO

Derby: Derbyshire 274-6 v Northamptonshire 422 – Derbyshire trail by 148 runs with 4 wickets remaining

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 183 and 33-0 v Middlesex 343 – Glamorgan trail by 127 runs with ten wickets remaining

Grace Road: Leicestershire 210-5 v Gloucestershire 706-6 dec – Leics trail by 496 with 5 wickets remaining

Hove: Sussex 150 and 227 v Yorkshire 195 and 45-4 – Yorks require 138 runs to win with 6 wickets remaining

I’ll never (ever ever) get bored of seeing this sort of thing:

A second century of the game for Keaton Jennings! A scampered two on the stroke of lunch! A sun hat heavy standing ovation for the opener as he strolls off for a well deserved sandwich.

Righto, with the clock ticking round to 1pm and my tummy starting to rumble like a pair of tennis shoes in a tumble dryer… it’s time to get my head down and do a lunchtime round up before seeking out some sustenance.

Not an ideal start for Essex as they try and haul in a target of 330 to win. Feroze Khushi goes for a golden duck – Michael Rae pinning the opener LBW to give Warwickshire a shot in the arm on the approach to lunch.

Looks like a belter at Headingley for the third England v Pakistan T20I this afternoon:

Now then, Yorkshire stuttering in their chase of 183. Finlay Bean and Shan Masood back in the hutch already! Yorks 21-2 and need 162 more… Sussex pulling off some nifty grabs too:

Joe Root joins Adam Lyth out in the middle. Another one before lunch will make it interesting…

A flurry of activity around the grounds!

WARWICKSHIRE ALL OUT FOR 94 – ESSEX NEED 330 TO WIN

SURREY ALL OUT FOR 427 – THEY LEAD WORCESTERSHIRE BY 512 RUNS

And just like that it is all over for Kent’s first innings at Taunton. Nevermind eh, they are about to get another go… Somerset enforce the follow on. Kent 178 all out and still trailing by 378 runs. Gulp.

James Rew takes a brilliant tumbling catch to dismiss Joe Denly!

It’s all kicking off at The Oval. Jordan Clarke is scudded out LBW to a ball that keeps low, Matthew Waite denying the Surrey man his century. Waite then picks up Gus Atkinson with a carbon copy a couple of balls later. At the other end – Sean Abbott crunches Yadvinder Singh for a couple of sixes into the sun scorched bleachers before Singh has the last laugh by cleaning him up bowled.

Surrey are batting on despite a humongous lead of 511 runs and counting. Kemar Roach joins Dan Worrall in the middle.

Good morning to Gary Naylor, who as per, is making a lot of sense:

“If these early rounds were an opportunity for England players to find a bit of form at a lower level, not many have taken it have they? Could it be that it’s not that much lower a level after all - just a different challenge? Rob Key was interviewed yesterday saying that he wanted promising pacers to go from 80mph to 85mph. Why not say develop a wobble seam delivery or an in-ducker or a cutter? We’re not Australians and our best bowlers in history have been masters of movement and control not pace and bounce.”

To Blackpool where Keaton Jennings has just passed fifty, bunting Callum Parkinson down the ground for six and gliding Ben Raine away through point for four. Ben Stokes is now bowling at the Lancashire opener, bustling in with purpose. Stokes looking every inch a lean and tat laden Vincent Van Gogh.

It’s all go at Hove!

Sussex’s second dig is snuffed out in quick time – Tom Alsop flashing to third slip and falling for 86 and a couple of deliveries later Ollie Robinson has his furniture rearranged. Feng Shui it ain’t. George Hill finishing with 3-44 off his 22.5 overs.

Yorkshire need 183 to win. It could be all over today on the south coast.

Enjoyed this high level nonchalance from Keith Barker:

What better way to spend a Sunday morning than a beer with breakfast with the lugubrious tones of Vic Marks. He’s in fine fettle on the Somerset stream with Migael Pretorius keeping Joe Denly honest, zoning in on the pads and stumps. Denly quirts a single off the inside edge to bring Joey Evison onto strike. BOLWED ‘IM! Pretorius nips one back and sends the leg stump cartwheeling! Kent 147-6 and Somerset holding all the aces.

Just to say the comments BTL will be activated any moment. The bods on the desk are on the case. Andrew Benton emails in to ask if I’ve had a late/disturbed night? Well, yes but no more so than usual with a toddler... In this instance I can claim innocence. Promise.

The Simon Harmer machine keeps on twirling and whirring. The wily spinner has removed nightwatchman Michael Rae at Chelmsford. Warwickshire spluttering at 53-6 but they do have a handsome lead of 288 runs. Essex creeping back into the contest though.

Easy like a Sontag Morgen? Already a couple of wickets to fall in the first few minutes of the day.

Will Young has nicked off to Kyle Abbott to see Notts go to 33-2 at Trent Bridge against Hampshire. Joe Clarke strides to the wicket with purpose in the midlands.

Unlucky for some – namely Aussies – Dan Lawrence has fallen for 87 at The Oval! Ben Gibbon digs one in short and Lawrence won’t be happy to get out to it. A half tracker in truth and he spoons the pull shot to Nathan Smith on the square leg boundary.

The Making of Jimmy

It all started with a phone call. “It was highly unusual for Val to ring me. In fact I don’t think she ever did before or since, that wasn’t her style at all,” says John Stanworth, recalling how Valerie Brown, the wife of the then captain of Burnley CC, Peter Brown, telephoned one Sunday evening in the late-90s.

It would be a tipoff worth interrupting Antiques Roadshow. A different kind of rare and inestimable commodity was about to be unearthed. “Val just said: ‘The lads and Peter keep talking about this lad, he’s a bowler. Have you heard of James Anderson?’”

“I haven’t actually,” Stanworth replied. She said: “Would you mind coming down to have a look at him?”

Forgive the shameless self plugging but I really enjoyed doing this piece on James Anderson’s early days with the help of the Brown family and John Stanworth. As phone calls go, Val Brown’s is quite an important one in the history of English cricket…

The 11am bell clangs around the grounds. Let’s play!

Bright sunshine in Blackpool as Colin Ackerman, shirt billowing gently in the sea breeze, bowls to Keaton Jennings. Lancs lead by 212, can Durham get themselves back into this game? They might need a certain Benjamin…

Scores on the doors:

DIVISION ONE

Chelmsford: Essex 162 v Warwickshire 397 and 43-5

Stanley Park: Lancashire 357 and 91-2 v Durham 236

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 235 and 33-1 v Hampshire 276

Taunton: Somerset 554 v Kent 108-5

The Oval: Surrey 213 and 342-5 v Worcestershire 128

DIVISION TWO

Derby: Derbyshire 170-2 v Northamptonshire 422

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 183 v Middlesex 303-6

Grace Road: Leicestershire 133-5 v Gloucestershire 706-6 dec

Hove: Sussex 150 and 194-7 v Yorkshire 195

Here’s Tanya’s round up of yesterday’s action:

The Blackpool tower peered over the wall of Stanley Park, curious for the England Test captain’s batting return. But, despite being greeted by warm applause, the England Test captain’s batting return was a brief one – 16 balls – before getting an outside edge to Nathan Lyon and being scooped up at second slip for two.

Lyon – sunglasses, long sleeves, huge shirt – finished with four for 59, but had to share the limelight with the 20-year-old Tom Aspinwall, bowling for the first time in Championship cricket. Aspinwall, who has turned out for England Under-19s, stalks to his mark like a man chasing down a supermarket manager, but it was the testing spells he sent down, running in from the South End, that stuck in the memory of those watching from the sunny banks, drifting through the pages of dog-eared paperbacks and picking up a 99 from the ice cream van.

Aspinwall’s first wicket, Colin Ackermann, was plucked out of the air by Keaton Jennings. The next four he collected in 27 balls after tea, including David Bedingham for a brilliant 101, his third century of the season. Aspinwall led Lancashire off, grinning broadly and holding the ball high in his right hand, saying afterwards he was “a bit shell-shocked” to be bowling to Ben Stokes, alongside Lyon.

Durham’s post-tea collapse left them with a first-innings deficit of 121. They needed something special and it came in a tumbling catch by Matthew Potts off Stokes, clinging on as he landed with a thud. Stokes thought he’d got a second, but the umpire disagreed, and he grew increasingly frustrated as Lancashire eased into the distance.

Elsewhere, Gloucestershire knocked up their highest first-class score, 706-6 declared, to the backdrop of Arron Banks, the co-founder of Leave.EU, declaring an interest in overthrowing the board of the club. Graeme van Buuren, the captain, picked up the third century of the innings, before Leicestershire folded despite a half century from Rishi Patel.

A century from Mark Stoneman put Middlesex in a good position against Glamorgan and a determined 77 from Tom Alsop gave Sussex a lead of 149 against Yorkshire.

In Division One, Che Simmons, “the next Jofra Archer”, had a scorching first spell in first-class cricket with Warwickshire – 6-2-10-3 – to rip through the Essex middle order.

There were four wickets for Nottinghamshire’s Ollie Stone at Trent Bridge, but Liam Dawson (95) and Keith Barker (74) gave Hampshire a first-innings lead; Surrey rubbed Worcestershire’s noses in the dirt, Lawrence 86 not out, the lead 427.