LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 14 Day 3: All the Match Scores, Reports and Scorecards September 7th 2021

LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 14 Day 3: All the Match Scores, Reports and Scorecards September 7th 2021

Sunday September 5th – Wednesday September 8th

Derbyshire vs Leicestershire, Group 3 The Incora County Ground, 10:30AM

A record-breaking stand between Brooke Guest and Anuj Dal rescued Derbyshire on the third day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire at Derby.

The pair scored maiden first-class centuries as they passed Derbyshire’s previous highest sixth wicket stand of 212 by Garnet Lee and Stan Worthington against Essex at Chesterfield in 1932.

They added 227 in 73 overs with Guest scoring 116 and Dal 106 to lift Derbyshire from 56 for 5 to 313 for 8 although 65 is still needed to avoid following on.

The prospect of Derbyshire frustrating Leicestershire’s bowlers looked unlikely when two wickets fell in the first seven overs of another hot morning.

Resuming on 41 for 3, a daunting 487 runs behind, Derbyshire lost Billy Godleman and Matt Critchley with only 15 added.

Godleman was drawn into playing at a ball from Chris Wright that moved just enough to take the outside edge and give Harry Swindells his fourth catch.

If there was some mitigation for the Derbyshire captain, there was none for Critchley who launched a loose drive at Ben Mike and edged the ball into his middle stump.

At that stage, the chances of Derbyshire getting close to the follow-on target of 378 appeared slim.but Guest and Dal showed the application required.

A delay caused by one of Dal’s contact lenses falling out did not disturb their concentration as they wore down the Leicestershire attack.

Both showed patience and judgement to survive until lunch and they prospered in the afternoon with Guest cutting Mike for his seventh four to reach 50 off 98 balls.

Dal drove George Rhodes to the cover boundary to bring up his 50 from 122 balls and Guest swept the off-spinner for four to earn Derbyshire a batting point in the 68th over.

There was little assistance for Callum Parkinson’s left-arm spin but he delayed taking the new ball until after tea when Guest survived a strong lbw shout against Wright.

His hundred which came off 221 balls arrived with three fours in an over off former Derbyshire seamer Will Davis and Dal followed by pulling Mike for his 15th four to reach three figures from 210 balls.

The stand ended when Dal miscued a pull and after Alex Thomson was lbw to Parkinson, Guest was caught behind cutting to still leave Derbyshire with work to do on the fourth day.

Derbyshire all-rounder Anuj Dal, on reaching his maiden first-class hundred, said: "It was just a moment of elation, all that weight comes off your shoulders and then you realise you've got to face another ball! It's hard to get it  to soak in until you're back in the changing room but it was a great feeling.

On the record stand he said: "It is special. We got to a stage where we didn't know what the claps were for. You get in a zone and you forget about the stats as you look at the scoreboard it's just about taking it ball by ball and trying to get to the next interval.

"When you look back on it you think that's a great partnership, it was brilliant and a very proud moment."

Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon said: "The wicket has got much flatter in the sun and the guys had to work really hard, the ball didn't do a massive amount.

"But we've got to keep striving hard, we are in a great position and we've just got to have more discipline and more hard work tomorrow.

"They (Guest and Dal) applied themselves brilliantly, we challenged them with good lengths and they played well, got stuck in and showed great application."

Durham vs Glamorgan, Group 2 Emirates Riverside, 10:30AM

Glamorgan's Dan Douthwaite said: "I think at the start of the day it was our goal to take it as deep as we could without looking too far ahead. We said if we were coming back on Wednesday morning it would be big for us and provide momentum to take into our remaining games.

"We're happy that we showed that fight and that grit and determination that we were missing against Essex and in our first innings here. Obviously for me it was very bittersweet. It would have been nice to get my first hundred for the club. The dismissal is still very raw for me, but I was happy that we can do, and what we can offer for the rest of the season. I was stuck on 96 for a while, and the shot I played is usually one of my strongest against spin. I would argue that it was the right shot, but it doesn't take a genius to work out the execution wasn't quite there. I probably should have kicked it away, but I live by the sword and die by the sword."

Durham's Chris Rushworth said: "It was nice to get my 50th County Championship wicket of the season, but I don't think the day has gone as everyone thought it might. It's always nice to pass those milestones, but hopefully it contributes towards a win on Wednesday. The Rutherford drop last night could have changed the way the game went today, but that's cricket. It's turned into a nice cricket wicket, but because we've played so well over the first couple of days we have that luxury to go into Wednesday still way ahead in the game. Credit to the Glamorgan boys they played well and credit where it's due. We got an important wicket towards the close and we'll come back with fresh legs to go again."

Essex vs Gloucestershire, Group 2 The Cloudfm County Ground, 10:30AM

Gloucestershire 76 & 197 lost to Essex 276 by an innings and three runs

Simon Harmer took his LV= Insurance County Championship wicket tally for the season to 49 as Essex maintained their top spot in Division Two with an innings and three-run victory over Gloucestershire.

Off-spinner Harmer returned four for 78 as Essex claimed the five wickets needed on day four before lunch – with Gloucestershire bowled out for 197.

Essex have won both their Divisional stage matches by an innings, having previously thrashed Glamorgan.

Essex’s initial pursuit of the final five wickets didn’t take long as three wickets fell for no runs.

Sam Cook dragged Tom Lace outside off stump and caught an edge to bucket hands Simon Harmer at second slip with the 11th ball of the morning.

Ten balls later and Cook struck again with a fullish delivery to strike Graeme van Buuren on the pads.

In the following over, Chris Dent bravely attempted to leave Harmer – who had been getting significant turn and bounce – only for that delivery to cannon into middle and off.

Ryan Higgins and Zafar Khan wobbled Gloucestershire off 134 – with the former finding fluency with four fours and a six.

Pakistani overseas Zafar also found the boundary four times on his way to 24 during a 78-minute partnership with Higgins, worth 54.

But Harmer eventually ended the stand when he snared an outside edge to Alastair Cook at first slip.

And the victory was wrapped up at 12:18pm when Higgins was run out attempting a second run by Shane Snater at square leg.

Kent vs Worcestershire, Group 3 Canterbury, 10:30AM

Kent 393/10 (114.2 ov) beat Worcestershire 133/10 (39.4 ov) & 204/10 (60.5 ov) by an inns and 56 runs

Kent have beaten Worcestershire by an innings and 56 runs on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, after dismissing the visitors for 204 in their second innings. 

Nathan Gilchrist, Grant Stewart, Darren Stevens took three wickets apiece as the hosts recorded their second consecutive red-ball win in Division Three, having previously failed to record a victory all season. 

Joe Leach showed some defiance with 49 not out after Ed Barnard had hung around to make 44, but the visitors were left to rue their failings on the first two days, when Kent dominated throughout.  

The St Lawrence ground was drenched in sunshine at the start of day three and Kent fans unfurled a “Stevo is God” flag before the start of play, in honour of 45-year-old all-rounder Stevens, the county’s leading run scorer and wicket taker this season.  

Worcestershire resumed on 91 for six, still 169 behind and Ben Cox was the first man to go, lbw to Matt Milnes for two in the fourth over of the morning session. 

Barnard and Leach put on a partnership of 56 for the eighth wicket, but after holding out for 92 balls the former was lbw to Grant Stewart. 

Josh Baker made just a single before Stevens sent his off stump cartwheeling and despite a last-wicket stand of 36,  the victory was confirmed when Dillon Pennington edged Gilchrist to Zak Crawley at first slip for three, five minutes from the scheduled end of the morning session.  

Kent take 23 points and Worcestershire three. 

Kent’s Grant Stewart said: “At the start of the season it didn’t go quite to plan so it’s been in the last two weeks to put a few things right. We had a bit of a chat before the last game saying that we wanted to make a bit of a statement. Last week at Leicestershire dragged out a bit longer than we would have liked, but on a pretty docile wicket at times, it was nice to wrap it up in the first session. It’s been nice to put a few performances on the board and be a bit more respectable in the four-day competition. 

“We had pretty favourable conditions on day one but as a group you speak about the old classic, bowling in partnerships and not trying too much as the wicket flattened. Sometimes you can chasing a few wickets towards the back end of an innings so we just kept doing the same stuff.” 

Worcestershire’s Alan Richardson said. “Joe (Leach) and Ed (Barnard) especially showed some real good character. That was asked for at the start of the day by Joe and he led by example brilliantly, but it was ultimately too little too late really. We got ourselves into a situation where we were so far behind the game it was always going to be a real struggle. 

“The guys have played enough cricket to know that you’re going to have ups and downs. It’s trying to show that consistency so we don’t get too carried away when we win a game and also don’t get too down when we lose.” 

Northamptonshire vs Surrey, Group 2 The County Ground Northampton, 10:30AM

Surrey 252 and 238

Northamptonshire 171 and 106 for two

Surrey’s Amar Virdi and Gus Atkinson made career best scores in an enterprising last wicket stand worth 83 in 36 overs to help set Northamptonshire a daunting 320 to win in this LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Wantage Road.

The pair safely negotiated the extra half hour with Surrey nine wickets down before lunch and emerged after the interval keen to play their shots against the new ball. Virdi, belying his tailender status and an average of seven, struck seven boundaries in his 47, including clubbing Rob Keogh confidently over long-on.

Surrey’s bowlers then made early inroads with the ball, taking two early wickets, but an unbeaten stand of 69 by Emilio Gay and Keogh kept the hosts in the hunt at 106 for two at stumps.

They came together after Will Jacks had registered his second half-century of the match amid a clutter of wickets. Spinner Simon Kerrigan claimed three scalps in a marathon spell.

Bowling throughout the extended morning session, Kerrigan made an immediate breakthrough in the second over of the morning, taking the key wicket of Hashim Amla who pushed forward to a turning ball and was caught behind by Rossington for 26.

Seamers Ben Sanderson and Tom Taylor then accounted for Jordan Clark and Rikki Clarke cheaply as Surrey lost three wickets for just 23 runs inside 12 overs.

Jacks though moved to 50, mixing stylish boundaries with solid defence, before Kerrigan struck in successive balls. First, he deceived Jacks in the flight and hit the stumps. Then he bowled Reece Topley through the gate before Virdi safely negotiated the hattrick ball.

Atkinson lived dangerously with a couple of streaky boundaries through the slip cordon as well as taking a blow on the helmet which flew away for four leg byes. After lunch though he began to find the middle of the bat against the new ball and he and Virdi found runs easy to come by, frustrating Northamptonshire’s hopes of keeping the run chase to a minimum.

Surrey’s seamers built early pressure and Northamptonshire’s hopes were dealt two early blows when first Ricardo Vasconcelos nicked a Rikki Clarke delivery behind before Jordan Clark trapped Harry Gouldstone lbw to leave Northamptonshire 37 for two.

Gay looked increasingly assured after playing an early crunching backfoot punch for four through backward point. He was soon overtaken by Keogh who got off the mark with back-to-back boundaries down to third man off Clark and then punched through extra cover for four more as scoring became easier.

Flags around the ground were flown at half-mast to mark the death of former Northamptonshire player and past President Peter Arnold at the age of 94.

Surrey spinner Amar Virdi who scored a career-best 47 said: “It was a good partnership. It’s nice to contribute with the bat. It was a crucial partnership for us; the game was kind of in the balance, so for me and Gus to contribute there, it was good and it allowed us to bowl with a bit more behind us going into the fourth day tomorrow.

“I think Gus did fantastically well. He guided me out there. He’s a bit more experienced batter than I am. I thought we worked well together, we’ve played age group cricket together, so we’ve had experience of playing with each other before, and we just took it over by over, in half hour sessions and it paid off. So, now going in with the ball, I think we’ve got to have the same attitude as well.

“There’s a lot of hard work to come. It’s a pretty decent pitch still, there aren’t many demons in it at all, so I think tomorrow we’re going to have to be switched on and ready to battle. It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be a long day, so I think we’re just going to have to take it in short bursts and give it one hundred per cent and hopefully we’ll come away with a win.”

Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire, Group 1 Trent Bridge, 10:30AM

Lancashire need to score another 329 to pull off an unlikely victory in their crucial match against Nottinghamshire as the LV=Insurance County Championship builds towards what could be a thrilling conclusion.

Set a target of 443 to win from 135 overs after Nottinghamshire had declared their second innings on 339 for eight seven overs before tea, they were 115 for one from 39 overs at the end of the third day after Luke Wells (57) and George Balderson (45) shared an unbroken stand of 110.

Earlier, Tom Moores (97) and Lyndon James (91) each just missed out on hundreds but put Nottinghamshire in what looked like a strong position with a partnership of 176 for the sixth wicket, yet their bowlers have found little encouragement from an increasingly benign pitch.

Luke Fletcher, the country’s leading wicket-taker, struck with his fifth ball as Lancashire began their chase, a misjudgement from Alex Davies giving him his 57th success of the season and the 400th of his career in first-class games as the opener shaped to leave a delivery that clipped his back pad.

It will still take a history-making effort to get Lancashire over the line. The Red Rose county have scored more runs in the last innings only once and never to win a match. The county record for a successful fourth innings chase is 404, set in 1910.

The stakes are high for both sides in this four-match mini series to decide the 2021 title. The winner of this match, assuming there is one, will top the table at the halfway stage if Warwickshire fail to beat Hampshire at Edgbaston, or at least stay in close contention.

Earlier, Lancashire were hopeful of giving themselves a much easier task after Nottinghamshire resumed at 127 for five, just 231 runs in front.

But their overworked seam bowlers, charged with covering for the injured Saqib Mahmood, could not create even a chance, let alone take a wicket, as James and Moores added 103 before lunch and another 53 thereafter.

Ultimately a century eluded both in turn as they each fell to Wells’s leg spin. Moores, who scored 72 in boundaries, was three away from a third first-class century when he slogged to deep midwicket; James, having passed his previous best of 79, was on 91 when he was caught at mid-off, having hit 13 fours.

Tom Bailey, returning to bowl off-breaks with a ball that was 106 overs old, took a wicket second ball as Brett Hutton skied to long on but after Liam Patterson-White had rushed to 37 from 35 balls, skipper Steven Mullaney called his batters in.

Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire are making no comment about stories linking head coach Peter Moores with a return to international cricket as successor to Misbah-ul-Haq, who stepped down as Pakistan head coach on Monday.

Moores, who has twice been England coach, turned down an offer from the Pakistan board in May 2016, when he was working as a consultant at Trent Bridge, saying it was “not the right time for me or my family.”

He became Nottinghamshire’s head coach in September of the same year and his current contract, agreed in 2019, expires after this season.

He is bidding to become the first coach to win the County Championship with three different counties, having previously led Sussex (twice) and Lancashire to the title.

Lancashire’s Luke Wells, who took two wickets and is 57 not out, said:

“Things have not gone our way this game, really from the first over, and we didn’t bowl as well as we could have done initially. But the fight and resolve the players have shown since then has been remarkable, especially the seamers, bowling spell after spell in these conditions.

“Can we win? Nottinghamshire have a really good bowling unit but they only have three front-line seamers and they will be tired as well. There are no demons in the pitch and we have eight, nine batters, so who knows? Stranger things have happened.

“If we play well enough to give ourselves even a sniff in the final hour, then we will have played really well. For the moment we just have to keep showing the fight we have shown so far.

“Everyone knows what is at stake. We are three games away from potentially winning the Championship so there is everything to play for.”

Nottinghamshire’s Tom Moores, who top scored with 97, said:

“Myself and Lyndon just said we would take it 10 runs at a time and not look too far ahead. Time was a factor, too, just to take time out of the game.

“It put us in a position to go hard at them with the ball, like we tried to this afternoon. The wicket has lost a bit of pace with the weather we have had but we have lots of runs to play with so we can still be aggressive tomorrow morning and put them under pressure.

“Batting with Lyndon was great. He makes batting look very easy and bowlers look very slow. He soaks up pressure brilliantly and credit to him for working hard when the conditions were challenging and the ball was moving.

“It was disappointing to miss out on the hundred but it was more important that me and Lyndon put together a partnership that gives us a chance to win this game.”

Warwickshire vs Hampshire, Group 1 Edgbaston, 10:30AM

A compelling finale awaits at Edgbaston where Warwickshire closed the third day on 139 for two in pursuit of 296 to beat Hampshire in the LV=Insurance County Championship. 

An extraordinary match which began with 20 wickets falling on the first day has offered tougher toil for the bowlers with every passing hour. 

After Hampshire's second innings ended at 322, ninth-wicket pair Keith Barker and Brad Wheal having added 93, home openers Rob Yates (70 not out, 199 balls) and Dom Sibley (47, 160) added 99 in 50 overs.  

But spinner Liam Dawson then struck twice to keep the visitors very much in the match. The Bears, who will remain top of the table if they win, have plenty still to do, though Hampshire, already without the injured Kyle Abbott, suffered another blow when pace spearhead Mohammad Abbas limped off just before tea. 

Hampshire's second innings finally ended just before lunch on day three at 322,  a strong recovery from 173 for seven. After resuming on 260 for eight, former Edgbaston favourite Barker (75, 192 balls) and Wheal (a career-best 46 not out, 144 balls) stretched their stand to 42 overs before the former lifted Chemar Holder to Chris Benjamin at point. 

On a flattening pitch, Briggs then rounded off the innings by having Abbas caught close in by Yates to leave Warwickshire a target of 296 in five sessions and two overs.  

Yates and Sibley negotiated the potentially awkward two overs before lunch and then another 33 between lunch and tea. They concentrated hard and left skilfully to post a half-century partnership in 29 overs, reached when Yates flicked Abbas to the fine leg fence, only the fifth boundary of the innings. 

Deprived of Abbas from mid-afternoon, Hampshire's attack persevered impressively to ensure that, though wickets were not falling, runs arrived slowly enough to keep them in the game. The opening stand was worth 99 in the 51st over when Sibley, on a rare foray into attack, skied an attempted sweep at Dawson and wicketkeeper Alsop accepted the simplest of catches beside the stumps. 

Dawson then quickly added the wicket of Benjamin who tried to increase the scoring rate but perished in the attempt when he was caught by Barker at mid on. Yates and Sam Hain defended through the last nine overs to the close and a match which has been finely balanced throughout remains so heading into the final day. 

Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes said: 

"This is why you want to play Division One cricket and why you want to play against the best teams because they keep coming at you. It's been a very attritional day. Fair play to Keith Barker and their lower order for putting such a total on the board but then the way we applied ourselves with the bat was fantastic and we have given ourselves a great chance tomorrow. 

"Yatesy and Sibs did really well to see off the new ball. I think we have seen, as the game has gone on, it is quite a new ball pitch. As the sun has got on it, it has become harder to score but also harder to take wickets. 

"It will be a fascinating day tomorrow. The incentive couldn't be bigger. A win will keep us at the top which is where we want to be. All the hard work that started back in November counts for nothing if you don't get over the line in these games and the guys are really excited by the opportunity to chase another total down as we have done a couple of times already this year." 

Hampshire all-rounder Brad Wheal said: 

"I think it's going to be a good day of cricket tomorrow. We are in a decent position and a couple more wickets early doors tomorrow morning and we put ourselves in a very good spot to win this game.  

"The pitch is getting a little bit slower and flatter as the game goes on but there is definitely enough for the bowlers. We are just trying to keep it tight, they are just going at about two runs an over, and hopefully the chances will come. 

"I was pleased with my innings. Barks batted beautifully and he was a good partner to have throughout that stand. We were just saying we want to get as many runs on the board as we can and bat as long as we can so that we can put their guys under pressure and give ours something to bowl at so it was good fun." 

Monday September 6th – Thursday September 9th

Sussex vs Middlesex, Group 3 The 1st Central County Ground, 10:30AM

Sam Robson scored a career-best 253 and Robbie White his second successive century as Middlesex piled up the highest total in their history.

White was unbeaten on 110 when Middlesex declared on 676 for five on day 2 of their LV = Insurance County Championship match at Hove.

It was the sixth-biggest total Sussex have conceded in their history and highest for 21 years, but openers Tom Haines and Ali Orr enjoyed benign conditions too, taking their side to 103 without loss at stumps.

Haines past 50 for the seventh time this season and at stumps he was unbeaten on 73, which included 11 fours, with Orr 17 not out.

Much of the day had been spent ticking off records as Middlesex, who had resumed on 400 for two, batted Sussex out of the game.

Sussex’s bowlers stuck manfully to their task, but the pitch has offered little assistance and the three wickets they did take came from misjudgements by the batters.

Robson moved to his double hundred in the sixth over of the day with a boundary off Henry Crocombe and then accelerated, with his next 50 runs coming off 55 balls and taking him past his previous best of 231 against Warwickshire in 2013. It was a mild surprise when he tried to hit off-spinner Jack Carson through mid-wicket and gave Tom Haines, running across from mid-off, a catch. Robson had faced 356 balls and hit one six and 30 fours.

Carson picked up a second wicket before lunch when Max Holden was taken at bat-pad for one but White and Martin Andersson sentenced Sussex to more suffering in the baking heat during the afternoon, as they added 174 for the fifth wicket.

They went past Middlesex’s previous highest score of 642 for 3 against Hampshire at Southampton in 1923 and just before tea White, who made his maiden century against Derbyshire at Lord’s last week, took a boundary off Haines to reach his 100.

Andersson had played more fluently and looked on course for a century of his own but on 88 he tried to hit Delray Rawlins over the top but couldn’t clear long on. That was four balls before tea, but Middlesex opted to finish the over after the interval before Orr and Haines could run off to put their pads on after 161 overs in the field. White’s runs came from 193 deliveries with six fours.

Middlesex's Robbie White, who made 110 not out, said, "It's been a pretty amazing couple of days, first to see Sam [Robson] and Mark [Stoneman] put up that massive partnership and then to cash in and get a hundred for myself. After the hundred last week I felt pretty good. It was a decent wicket to bat on and with the sun out it was just a case of trying to help put us in as strong a position as possible. We've got two big days ahead of us but hopefully we can work through them. We've got runs on the board and the ball has done a bit and I think our two spinners will come more and more into play."

Sussex fast bowler Sean Hunt said, "I thought we kept going. Hats off to all our bowlers because it was difficult at times to control the run rate but even when they had 500 for two on the board we kept supporting each other and the commitment in the field by everyone was amazing. I've had a side strain and a back niggle so it's been a frustrating season but I feel fit and strong now and hopefully I can finish the season well and with a few wickets. We've obviously got a lot of batting to do but Tom [Haines] and Ali [Orr] have got us off to a great start, we can't have asked for much more really."

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