LV= Insurance County Championship 2023: Round 15 Matches
©Cricket World / John Mallett
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LV= Insurance County Championship 2023: Round 15 Matches - Sept 19th - 22nd Day 1 - Live Cricket Streaming, Reports, Scores and Reactions
Here are all the LV= Insurance County Championship 2023 Round 15 Day 1 - Live Cricket Streaming, Scores, Match Reports, Stats and Reactions.
Division One
Top Tournament Stats: LV= County Championship 2023 Division 1
Division One
A burst of three wickets in 25 balls gave leaders Surrey the impetus after they had initially been made to work hard by Northamptonshire on a rain-affected first day at The Kia Oval.
The visitors – without a win at the Oval since 1994 – need a miracle to avoid relegation in the LV Insurance County Championship but they had grafted to 106 for two before Surrey, who started the penultimate round of matches with an 18 point lead over Essex, took four wickets when play resumed after a two-hour rain delay.
At stumps Northants had reached 171 for six from 63.4 overs with Indian batter Karun Nair undefeated on 51.
Openers Emilo Gay, who made 145 when these sides met at Northampton a year ago, and Hassan Azad did well to negotiate testing opening spells by Kemar Roach and Dan Worrall for the first 11 overs when they accumulated only 33 runs, after being put in.
Roach gave way to Jordan Clark and with his fourth ball Clark made the breakthrough when Gay tickled at a rising delivery down the leg side to give Ben Foakes his 50th catch in this season’s Championship. At the same time Clark became Surrey’s leading wicket-taker on 47.
Jamie Overton, meanwhile, had bowled only 17 balls after replacing Worrall at the Vauxhall End before walking off the field, feeling his hip.
The big fast bowler soon returned to the field, however, and although he caught Luke Procter at second slip off Tom Lawes for eight to reduce Northants to 51 for two he also badly dropped Nair on 11 off the returning Worrall.
Left-hander Azad and Nair, who made 78 in a losing cause against Warwickshire on his Northants’ debut last week, both left the ball well in helpful conditions for Surrey’s seam attack.
Only six overs were possible immediately after lunch, with Northants adding ten runs to their interval total before rain arrived. A lengthy delay followed which included an early tea, and Azad had battled in all for 151 balls for his 48 when he gloved a pull at a near-90mph short ball from Worrall to Foakes.
Surrey struck again with the total on 132 in a repeat of Procter’s dismissal when Lawes picked up his second wicket to remove Rob Keogh.
The leaders now got on top. Overton pitched one up and Saif Zaib was caught behind for two and shortly before bad light forced the players off Lawes produced a superb yorker which uprooted Lewis McManus’s off stump for his third wicket to secure a second bonus point.
The light improved to allow another ten balls and there was time for Nair to reach an unbeaten half-century from 109 balls with nine fours. Much depends on him tomorrow if Northants are to post a competitive total.
Surrey’s Tom Lawes said: “It was a bit of a frustrating day due to the time lost to rain and bad light, and they also batted very well in the conditions. “But we fought back well in that last session and got our rewards late on in the day. It was obviously a good toss to win and with the lights on the ball nipped around all day.
“I felt a bit out of rhythm in our last game against Warwickshire but it felt a lot better today and the ball swung for me throughout. “Hopefully we can get them all out fairly early in the day tomorrow and then it will be down to us to bat well and try to get runs on the board and get ahead in the game.”
Northants batting coach Ben Smith said: “Surrey have a formidable attack and in that first hour I thought Hassan (Azad) and Emilio (Gay) put in a really good effort to set us on our way. It was tough but the way they played was fantastic and Emilio was a bit unlucky to get out the way he did.
“We showed application today as a batting unit because you don’t get too many boundary chances against their seam attack. It was disappointing to lose two or three wickets late on but we now have to try to put a competitive total on the board because conditions are likely to stay similar throughout the game.
“These are the matches you want to get yourself up for as a cricketer and it is very satisfying if you can put in a performance against a team like Surrey.”
Tom Lammonby repaid Somerset’s faith with his first century of the season as the hosts ran up 214 for two after losing the toss on a rain-shortened opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with relegation-threatened Kent at Taunton.
Having played in all 12 previous games without reaching three figures, the 23-year-old opener got the monkey off his back in style by hitting a brilliant 109 off 151 balls, with 16 fours. Lewis Goldsworthy marked his first Championship appearance of the season by making 70 not out and contributing to a second-wicket stand of 132.
Kent’s woes were compounded by an injury to Michael Hogan, the 42-year-old seamer limping off disconsolately with what looked like a hamstring or thigh problem having bowled 11.2 overs for 30 runs.
Morning rain led to a 1.45pm start, with the day’s play initially being reduced to 63 overs, and Kent’s bowlers looked to have ideal conditions when they took the field. The pitch was green and the floodlights were already on beneath overcast skies.
But, having left out their specialist spinners, the visitors’ seam attack failed to get enough balls in the right areas to capitalise on any movement, allowing Lammonby and Tom Abell to make a positive start to the Somerset innings.
Skipper Abell, promoted to opener in the absence of Sean Dickson, whose partner has just given birth, gave a more solid look to the top order, while Lammonby went for his shots from the outset, producing two fine straight drives for boundaries.
The left-hander hit 3 fours in an over from Arafat Bhuiyan, who struggled for line and length in his opening spell. Hogan switched ends after bowling three overs, but was unable to make a mark, while being typically economical.
First innings runs have long been a problem for Somerset, but Lammonby and Abell comfortably brought up a half-century stand in the 14th over, the former moving to a fluent fifty off 52 balls, with 10 fours.
Their partnership had reached 73 when Abell, on 20, played a loose shot to an Arafat delivery wide of off stump and edged to Tawanda Muyeye at first slip. By then Somerset were well placed and Goldsworthy, also batting higher in the order than usual having spent much of the season in the second XI, helped Lammonby build on their encouraging start.
The pair produced another half-century stand off 83 balls, both producing an array of attacking shots in taking the score to 127 for one off 31 overs at tea. Lammonby had played and missed a few times, but otherwise looked in fine form to be unbeaten on 70.
He gave a chance on 76 at the start of the final session when Daniel Bell-Drummond spilled a sharp chance at gully off Jaskaran Singh before a two through the leg side off Hogan took him to his highest score of the summer, beating the 78 made against Lancashire at Old Trafford.
The dependable Hogan departed soon afterwards. Kent’s attack lacked variety as Goldsworthy moved to 49 when more rain brought a short interruption, with three more overs lost. His fifty occupied 85 balls, with 7 fours, surely laying down a marker for regular selection next season.
A single off Joey Evison took Lammonby to his hundred off 137 balls. It had been an apparently effortless innings packed with sweetly-timed strokes, but hopes that he would still be there at stumps ended when he nibbled at a decent delivery from Bell-Drummond and edged through to wicketkeeper Harry Finch.
Goldsworthy’s innings lost nothing by comparison and he was still there, having faced 150 balls and hit 9 fours, when bad light ended play for the day at 5.55pm, with a possible 6.4 more overs to be bowled.
Somerset centurion Tom Lammonby said: “I am still learning my trade and about the ups and downs of cricket. Hopefully, what I have learned this summer will help me get out of ruts quicker in future. “The season I have had will make me a stronger player and I look forward to the next few years ahead.
“I am a naturally positive player and if I get a bad ball I want to put it away. I think that is a good mentality to have.
“Today I got some loose deliveries up top and they enabled me to get away. I made my first hundred with Tom Abell at the other end and I always enjoy batting with him, so I couldn’t have hoped for a better opening partner.
“Lewis Goldsworthy has waited for an opportunity this season and took it really well.
“Having been put in on a potentially tricky pitch, we could have been in trouble had we lost early wickets. So it was nice for me to bat for most of the day, even if I am a bit frustrated at getting out near the end.”
Kent head coach Matt Walker said: “The day didn’t go as we anticipated. It was a good toss to win under cloudy skies with the pitch have been under covers for 24 hours or so.
“The wicket was very green and unfortunately we didn’t use the conditions to our favour. We just didn’t put enough balls in the right area.
“When we did there was plenty there for the bowlers. But we weren’t able to create any pressure at all.
“Tom Lammonby got one of the easier hundreds you are likely to see, so it was very disappointing.
“When you talk about injuries it always sound like you are making excuses, but they have been ongoing all season and Michael Hogan’s today has topped it off.
“You’ve got to laugh or cry. It was a big ask for our young seamers today, but they have bowled better,”
Adam Rossington ended his horror season with a century as Essex commanded day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Hampshire and boosted their title bid.
Wicketkeeper Rossington came into the match having only scored 188 runs in a season ramshackle by injury and poor form but pushed through the gears to reach 104 – his best for Essex.
Matt Critchley added a ninth Championship fifty to his impressive season after Tom Westley reached 1,000 runs for the campaign on his way to his own half-century.
Essex ended the day on 310 for six, Critchley still going strong on 83 after his 177-run stand with Rossington.
Essex began this penultimate round of fixtures 18 points behind leaders Surrey, and the final challenger to the London side’s hunt of back-to-back titles. They started by winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Third placed Hampshire have a strong role in determining the location of the Championship as they face Surrey in the final round, after potentially making a decisive mark on Essex’s ambitions.
This could be Alastair Cook’s final match at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford – with his current two-year contract ending at the end of this season. His future is uncertain as he approaches his 39th birthday this winter.
If this does turn out to be his finale, it didn’t start well as he was bowled around the wicket by a textbook Mohammad Abbas beauty.
His opening partner Nick Browne dangled his bat outside off stump to nick behind as Essex slumped to 18 for two, but Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence combined to improve the hosts’ position.
Westley needed 15 runs to reach 1,000 first-class runs this season, something he had only achieved once before – in 2016, when he Ryan ten Doeschate and Browne also piled up four figures. That was the last time at Essex player had achieved the feat.
In fact, only three Essex players – Stuart Law and Paul Grayson in 2001 and Andy Flower in 2003 – have ever scored 1,000 runs in Division One since the Championship splitting into two in 2000.
Westley joined the trio with a flick into the leg side with his 25th delivery.
He ticked along nicely, as he has throughout the season, unleashing the odd straight drive or trademarked flick off the pads on his way to his seventh half-century of the season.
He didn’t score another run as he drove Kyle Abbott to third slip. It ended a 64-run stand with Lawrence – who is definitely making his last home Chelmsford appearance ahead of his move to Surrey.
Lawrence fell three overs later to Liam Dawson, having struck back-to-back boundaries, edged to first slip, with the left-arm spinner also picking up the skittish Paul Walter lbw to leave Essex 132 for five.
The demise was short-lived as Critchley found his flow quickly, reaching his half-century in 70 balls.
It wasn’t a boundary-a-thon though. He only scored to fours and a sliced six down the ground off Dawson, with 28 milking singles controlling his scoring.
Critchley, Rossington and Walter had all been awarded their Essex county caps at lunchtime. Like Critchley, Rossington celebrated with 50 – his first of a frustrating season.
It came in 83 balls and was brought up with a six over long on – which also moved his alliance with Critchley past 100.
He raced past Critchley’s scoring with his second fifty coming in 56 balls to bring up his second ton for Essex, since moving from Northamptonshire at the beginning of last summer.
Rossington’s assault ended on 104 as he attempted to yahoo-one over midwicket and was caught behind, but Essex cruised to the close – which came to an early due to bad light, having earlier been on and off for rain.
Olly Hannon-Dalby starred with a five-wicket haul as Warwickshire’s seamers took advantage of bowler-friendly conditions at Lord’s to dismiss relegation-threatened Middlesex for 121.
Hannon-Dalby finished with five for 29 under overcast skies to move within one wicket of 50 in this year’s LV= Insurance County Championship, while Chris Rushworth and Ed Barnard collected two apiece as the hosts were bowled out in 39.5 overs.
But the spotlight then shifted to Middlesex stalwart Tim Murtagh, who is playing at Lord’s for the last time prior to retirement and pulled his side back into contention with a quick burst of wickets.
The 42-year-old removed three of Warwickshire’s top four before skipper Will Rhodes’ undefeated 36 steered them to 72 for four at stumps, a deficit of 49.
With gloomy conditions and drizzle in the morning, it was no surprise that the Bears chose to bowl after winning the toss, although Mark Stoneman – captaining Middlesex with Toby Roland-Jones rested – and Sam Robson looked relatively untroubled as they added 20.
However, the bowlers found enough movement to beat the bat a number of times and Middlesex’s openers were soon on their way, Stoneman edging a Rushworth inswinger behind and Robson lbw to one that seared back at him from Hannon-Dalby.
Jack Davies, who had registered his maiden first-class 50 last week against Lancashire, survived a couple of close calls against Barnard, with one edge that fell just short of second slip and another whistling past his leg stump. However, Craig Miles soon sent the left-hander’s off stump flying and, in the next over, the dependable Barnard accounted for Ryan Higgins in identical fashion.
When Barnard had John Simpson caught wafting outside off stump, the home side were 55 for five, but Josh de Caires – who punched Rushworth off the back foot for a rare boundary – and Joe Cracknell prevented further damage before lunch. Barnard and Hannon-Dalby kept it tight after the interval, sending down 17 consecutive dot balls and Middlesex had extended their total by nine runs when the rain intervened shortly afterwards.
That prevented play until 3.30pm and Cracknell promptly drilled Barnard’s first two balls after the restart to the off-side boundary – only for the Bears to reassert control with a further clutch of wickets. Cracknell’s hour and three quarters at the crease came to an end as Rushworth trapped him leg before for a battling 28 and Hannon-Dalby then struck three times in two overs, ushering Murtagh to the middle.
The veteran bowler, who confirmed on Monday he would be calling time on his 23-year playing career, was given a guard of honour by the Warwickshire fielders as he walked out to share a last-wicket stand of 21 with De Caires. Murtagh’s contribution was a tidy defensive shot to the one ball he faced, while his partner pumped Rushworth to the fence twice and pulled Hannon-Dalby into the grandstand for six before clipping him tamely into the hands of midwicket.
Warwickshire’s reply began with three consecutive wicket maidens – two of them chalked up by Murtagh, who struck with his second delivery as Rob Yates dragged on from outside off stump. Murtagh also prised out Kraigg Brathwaite, with Simpson flinging himself to his right for a low one-handed catch to remove the West Indies captain, and then trapped Alex Davies in front as the visitors slumped to 25 for three.
Ethan Bamber pierced Dan Mousley’s defences to capture the fourth Warwickshire wicket, but Rhodes – despite a scare when he almost played on to Jayant Yadav – and Barnard saw them through to stumps.
Division Two
Top Tournament Stats: LV= County Championship 2023 Division 2
Division Two
Derbyshire and Sussex were frustrated by rain which prevented any play on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Derby.
No play was possible before lunch and after further showers the umpires took the inevitable decision after an inspection at 2.20pm.
Sussex came into the match under a different sort of cloud after they were docked 12 points for receiving a fourth fixed penalty in the season which also resulted in a one game suspension for captain Cheteshwar Pujara.
The penalty has effectively ended their hopes of overhauling Worcestershire to take the second promotion place in Division Two.
Derbyshire will be hoping conditions improve to give them a chance of ending an unenviable record in the county championship at Derby.
They have not won a first-class game at their Incora Ground headquarters since September 2019 when they beat Sussex inside three days.
In a match they must win if they are to have a realistic chance of adding promotion to their One-Day Cup success, Leicestershire finished a shortened first day in a strong position in their LV=Insurance County Championship match against Yorkshire.
Will Davis finished with four for 28, Tom Scriven and Scott Currie with two wickets each as Yorkshire stumbled to 155 for nine in 38.5 overs after a start delayed until 2.20pm because of rain and an end brought forward by about an hour by bad light.
This is the penultimate round of the Division Two season, which started with Leicestershire 19 points behind second-placed Worcestershire in the race to accompany Durham into the top flight next season.
Finlay Bean passed the milestone of 1,000 first-class career runs in only his 15th match but a middle-order collapse saw the visitors fail to build on his 40 nor skipper Shan Masoon’s 34 after the home side had opted to bowl first.
In blustery conditions that made life difficult for Leicestershire’s bowlers as they tried to the available help from a particularly green pitch, Bean and opening partner Adam Lyth seemed set to enjoy another productive day in a season that has seen them average above 65 partnership runs.
Although they induced the odd edge, both Chris Wright and Scriven struggled with line and length with the new ball as the first-wicket duo helped themselves to seven boundaries in putting on 45 in the first 11 overs, Bean’s first scoring shot to the leg-side boundary taking him to that 1,000-milestone, which he has reached quicker than Geoff Boycott, Len Hutton and Herbert Sutcliffe to name just three illustrious predecessors.
But a change of bowling at both ends saw Lyth caught at second slip flashing at one from Currie before Davis squared up Bean to get a thin edge through to the ‘keeper, his first wicket in only his third Championship appearance this year.
Yorkshire suffered a sticky patch either side of tea that saw them slip from 91 for two to 98 for five. James Wharton was bowled by Davis offering no shot and George Hill was caught behind pushing at Scriven, before Wright returned to end Shan Masood’s progress with a leg-before to the first ball of the evening session.
After Jonny Tattersall had edged Scriven to first slip at 112 for six, Ben Mike’s aggressive response saw 35 added with Matthew Revis in six overs before the latter perished off the edge driving at Currie, with Mike bowled by Davis, who then had Ben Coad caught at wide mid-on before the light closed in.
Leicestershire made four changes from the line-up that failed heroically to chase down 499 to win at Hove last week, with both protagonists in the partnership that set up last Saturday’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final triumph given a place in the Championship side for the first time this season.
Sam Evans replaces the out-of-form Sol Budinger at the top of the order while Harry Swindells, after coming in from the cold with a match-winning unbeaten 117 at Trent Bridge, is given another opportunity to win a contract beyond his current deal, which effectively expires next week.
He comes in for Colin Ackermann, shortly to join World Cup preparations with The Netherlands, who is missing through illness and has therefore almost certainly played his last match for Leicestershire before moving to Durham next season.
Saturday’s big occasion therefore brought the curtain down on a seven-season stay at Grace Road that saw him score almost 8,000 runs across all formats and take more than 100 wickets, memorably including his world record seven for 18 against Birmingham Bears in the 2019 T20 Blast.
In other changes, in addition to Davis coming in for the injured Matt Salisbury, Louis Kimber replaces Rehan Ahmed, who is on England duty. Wiaan Mulder, who missed Hove through illness, has returned to his native South Africa ahead of the domestic season there.
Yorkshire, who have drawn five of their last six in addition to a win over Derbyshire at Scarborough, left out spinner Dom Bess in favour of another seamer in the ex-Leicestershire all-rounder Mike.
Leicestershire seamer Will Davis, who took four for 28, said:
“Saturday was a great day for us and it was good to be a part of it but we’re still in with a chance of trying to push the top two in this competition so it wasn’t difficult to get our minds ready to play today.
“It can be difficult in those circumstances but after a couple of days celebrating it was back to work today, knowing there was still a lot to play for.
“The pitch was green but it has not played that badly. The odd one did a bit but it was certainly not horrendous. They did well at times trying to put us under pressure by putting the bad balls away, so to win the toss and have them 150 for nine, we’re pretty happy.
“I’ve had to wait my turn but I just did what I have been doing all season in the twos, just trying to keep bashing away and putting it in the right areas to give the ball a chance to do something.
“It would be nice to get a five-for but the main thing is to get that last wicket and get us batting as quickly as possible tomorrow.
“I don’t know what is happening next season as far as a contract is concerned. I’m just turning up and taking it day by day, trying to perform my best and see what happens.”
Yorkshire’s Finlay Bean, whose 40 was his side’s top score, said:
“We’re slightly under par, but from what some of the lads and the umpires said later on, the pitch started to do a bit more.
“Mine and Lythy’s mindset was, ‘There’s likely to be a ball with your name on it, so let’s take the positive option’.
“We can certainly do the same to them with the ball. The saying is, ‘Don’t judge a pitch until both sides have batted’. I think that’s true in this case. I’m certainly backing our attack to knock them over.
“It’s something I can be proud of (1,000 Championship career runs). I’m just ticking them off as they come, and hopefully I can kick on.
“I just want to contribute towards the team. Getting us back up to Division One next year is the main target, and to do it with Lythy at the other end would be great.
“Putting on some decent partnerships with him and getting the team off to a good start is what I want to do. The fact we’ve both got three hundreds this year is great.
“I learn a lot from him out there and putting on good partnerships together means I can spend longer at the crease with him, as well as in training. It helps too that we’re both left-handers.
“People might ask how we stay motivated at this stage of the season (after the points deduction) but we are all the time thinking of next year and there’s a big focus for us on using these games to build momentum ahead of next year.
“Once we knew what the points deduction was, it was a weight lifted off our shoulders so that we can have a clean slate next year and go again.”
Jake Libby completed 1,000 first class runs for the second time in three seasons as Worcestershire made an encouraging start to their top-two LV=Insurance County Championship encounter with leaders Durham on a truncated day at New Road.
The opener brought up his personal milestone with a single off Durham’s new signing, Sri Lankan seamer Vishwa Fernando.
Libby and Gareth Roderick put on 97 when finally got underway at 3.45pm with a possible 36 overs remaining.
Conditions had looked ideal for bowling after Durham captain Scott Borthwick won the toss.
But his bowlers did not find the right length on a consistent basis and Roderick had time to complete a half century before he was dismissed by Bas de Leede shortly before bad light halted play.
The morning excitement in the city revolved around the discovery of an unexploded wartime shell that closed part of the centre.
Durham had already assured themselves of promotion, after Leicestershire failed to collect any batting bonus points in last week’s defeat at Sussex, and required a maximum of five more points to clinch the Division Two title.
Nearest rivals Worcestershire began the game 21 points ahead of third placed Leicestershire who had leapfrogged Sussex following yesterday’s points deduction.
The home side were unchanged but Durham handed a debut to Fernando, with Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts on England duty.
Roderick and Libby adopted a positive approach against Ben Raine and Fernando.
The first 10 overs yielded 41 runs via a mixture of boundaries and the occasional play and miss, particularly against 51-wicket Raine.
But the new ball attack struggled to find a consistent line and length and Libby produced two of the shots of a truncated session with back foot cover drives for four at the expense of Fernando and Paul Coughlin.
Libby had fortune on his side when on 43 as replays showed he was short of his ground from Paul Coughlin’s direct hit after turning Bas de Leede to cover.
Roderick drove de Leede for his eighth boundary to complete a 73 ball half century but he was comprehensively bowled by his next delivery after working to leg with 97 on the board.
Libby just had time to complete his personal run milestone before the players were taken off.
Worcestershire opener, Jake Libby, who completed 1,000 first class runs for the season, said:
“It did seam a little bit, and Rainey (Ben Raine) was a threat for them but myself and Gareth (Roderick) got off to a really good start, a positive start.
“We tried to put pressure on the bowlers all season. It was a shame to lose Gareth at the end but he batted superbly well.
“You can catch a cold sometimes on days like that when you are in the dressing room for long periods and then suddenly you are out there the next but we were really pleased.
“The pitch is a little bit tacky, a little bit slow, but I feel you can score on it. We are in a really good position and hopefully we can get off to a good start tomorrow morning.
“It is nice to get 1,000 runs not needing it going into the last game. I had half an eye on it but nice to get it out of the way and we’ve got two massive games and can really focus on that now and getting the results we need.
“Run out scare? I looked up and saw it was Coughers (Paul Coughlin) and he is one of the best fielders on the circuit. It felt tight to be honest and I might have got away with one there.
“But I was trying to put pressure on them, and trying to rotate was important on that wicket.
“Particularly first innings, we’ve just got to put ourselves in as good a position as we can and try and pile on as many runs as we can.
“We’ve bowled really well, particularly at the back end of the season, so if we can put a good score on the board, we will back ourselves to certainly get 20 wickets on this (pitch).
Durham bowler, Bas de Leede, who claimed his side’s only wicket, said:
“Frustrating to wait so long to get out there and play but when we did get on, it was our own fault we didn’t particularly play the way we wanted to.
“It was good to break the opening partnership but I don’t think we have bowled in the right areas for long enough to be honest.
“Hopefully we can get it right tomorrow and a get a few early wickets.
“If we can come back and put enough balls in the right area, the wicket is good enough for us to make things happen.
“We had a golf day last Friday and had a little party (to celebrate promotion) and hopefully we can get the five points needed this week to win the title, and have a bigger one.”
© Cricket World 2023
