Key events
Leicestershire are close to parading their fourth win, just 66 runs away from victory against Middlesex.
Somerset add some excitement to their chase of 150 by losing two quick wickets – Davey and Lammonby in the same Robinson over. Davey had already been dropped at slip off Robinson, while Gregory was caught off a no-ball…
Blair Tickner’s run-up is even better from side on, very little girls in the playground playing ponies. Lancashire 25-0, a fair scattering sunning themselves in the stands, a few more loitering in costa coffee in the concourse.
Tea-time-ish scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 589-7 v Nottinghamshire 407
Taunton: Somerset 338 v Sussex 152 and 335 Somerset need 150 to win
The Oval: Surrey 512 v Yorkshire 255 and 63-2
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 194 and 157-7 v Hampshire 300 and 203 Warwicks need 153 to win
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 134 v Essex 157 and 77-6 Essex need 259 to win
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 v Northants 185 and 222-7
Bristol: Gloucestershire 516 v Kent 424 and 33-0
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 v Derbyshire 314
Lord’s: Middlesex 232 and 143 v Leicestershire 274 Leicestershire need 102 to win
And just a few runs too late, Aitchison is caught having a swing, and Derbyshire are all out for 314, a deficit of 144. They take tea at OT, scores to follow.
And they’ve done it! As Tickner casually slams Anderson for four. through mid off
Tickner gets a nose-tickler first ball. And edges the next through the slips for four. One needed to avoid the follow on.
And there’s one of them. Chappell pops a catch to short leg.
Aitchison smacks Luke Wells for two sixes, which leaves. Jimmy to take two wickets and not leak more than five runs.
Whistled up, with Derbyshire 29 short of avoiding the follow on, is James Anderson. This should be light work. But Aitchison pays no heed to England’s leading wicket-taker and dispatches him for two fours.
Anderson Phillip bounds in from the Anderson end. Derbyshire still need 31 to avoid the follow on.
Warwickshire have lost a fifth – the often adhesive Ed Barnard, 123-5. The target over hill, over dale.
The happiest places to live in the UK include four places where you can watch county cricket – York, Chesterfield, Worcester and London.
Round the grounds: Gloucestershire have been winkled out for 516, a lead of 92 over Kent. Can Kent bat sensibly?
I fear for Yorkshire at The Oval, both openers gone in their second innings, still 220 behind. Clark and Nathan Smith the wicket takers.
And Graham Clark looks likely to be the next century maker at CLS, 79 not out, the Durham lead 133.
Chappell and Aitchison are inching Derbyshire towards this follow-on. Jimmy Anderson, with his hands on his hips, is one of four men on the rope.
On the bright side, at least Charlie Allison wasn’t bowled by his brother. On the not so bright side, he is one of four early Essex wickets to fall. They are in deep trouble at 45-4, needing another 291 to beat Worcestershire. Critchley and Pepper left to rebuild.
John Simpson (52) and Fynn Hudson-Prentice (35) have become really quite an annoyance for Somerset, a partnership of 71 in 28 overs. The Sussex lead 80. Three wickets for Jack Leach.
A century for Ollie Robinson!
In the run-fest at Durham. His first hundred since last June – this pitch an excellent place to build confidence. Durham 507-5.
Runs have become hard to come by at OT, and the commentators reckon that the fact Jimmy hasn’t taken the new ball suggests they are keeping him up their sleeve for a follow-on.
Lancashire may not need the new ball – Guest is boshed, eyes up a lolly, flourishes for a drive and gets an inside edge onto his stumps. Derbyshire 236-8.
Middlesex are not having one of their better days. They need to hold on a bit longer for a slice of a Lord’s tea. Now 90 for six – van Beek, 3-24. Leicestershire close to another scalp.
A quick leg-stretcher round the ground, during which time Derbyshire lost Dal, Jimmy has retaken his position at slip, and Guest top-edged a six. Derbyshire trail by 232 – three wickets left.
Post-lunch, some innings starts. Yorkshire start their second innings, 257 behind Surrey. Essex have survived the first five overs against Worcestershire: 16-0
Post lunch – an almond croissant from Paul Edwards, bean cassoulet from Lancashire – and no Jimmy Anderson on the field.
And a question for BTL from Tim Maitland: With the Punjab Kings in action in the resurrected IPL, can I ask whether anyone else automatically hears the voice of Sean Connery whenever the name of Arshdeep Singh appears? Or is it just me?
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 436-5 v Nottinghamshire 407
Taunton: Somerset 338 v Sussex 152 and 224-7
The Oval: Surrey 512 v Yorkshire 255
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 194 and 56-2 v Hampshire 300 and 203
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 134 v Essex 157 Essex need 336 to win
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 v Northants 185 and 148-5
Bristol: Gloucestershire 438-8 v Kent 424
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 v Derbyshire 205-6
Lord’s: Middlesex 232 and 79-4 v Leicestershire 274
Lunch at Old Trafford, where that double wicket maiden from Balderson was the story, despite Anderson’s typical excellence. Lunch round the grounds. Scores to follow.
Some lunchtime reading on England’s next Test opponent, Zimbabwe, from Firdose Moonda:
Zimbabwe will play 11 Tests this year (8 at home) despite not being part of the World Test Championship. Why? How much will it cost them? And how much will they gain?
I found out here: ⬇️https://t.co/PDktG2nM6Q#cricket
— Firdose Moonda (@FirdoseM) May 18, 2025
Essex need 336 to win
To New Road where, for reasons inexplicable, Harmer and Porter have been struggling to remove Worcestershire’s nine, ten, jack. And now they have, Brookes lbw Porter 38. Essex will need to bat twice as well as their first-innings, and a bit more.
100 for Emilio Gay!
A great innings, an amusing dismissal, dropping on one knee to reverse-sweep, but missing, losing balance, dignity and stumps (rearranged by Patterson-White). Durham 422-5 and a lead!
And fifty for Brooke Guest!
And four balls later, another! Martin Andersson sent on his way, retreating unwisely, and lbw for a duck. Turns on his heel and returns whence he’d left a couple of minutes earlier. Derbyshire 182-6, 276 behind.
And just 20 minutes before lunch, the end of an innings of fortitude, and a career best 41, from Morley. A chip to mid-wicket, and a nice catch by Jennings, the bowler, Balderson. Morley given a warm round of applause by his teammates on the balcony.
A 100 for James Bracey!
Game saving innings from the middle-order: Bracey joins Green (caught for 128) in the hundred club. Bracey 103 not out, his second century of what has been a run-happy summer. Gloucs pass 400 – just 24 behind Kent, two wickets in hand.
Warwickshire not long for this game – now two down, a second for Abbott, and it is Tom Latham with a duck to complete a game of sparce returns.
Warwickshire need 310 to beat Hampshire
And have had a sub-optimal start. Yates plays an immaculate looking defensive shot but the ball ignores it and knocks off stump sideways like a man ten pints down. Kyle insatiable Abbott the bowler. Warwicks 2-1.
Well done Derbyshire! The fifth wicket partnership between Guest and Morely reaches fifty off 116 balls. One hour survived, 149 runs needed to avoid the follow on.
At Chester-le-Street, Durham are quickly catching-up Notts at a game which which surely come to an end tomorrow with handshakes at 5pm. Durham 353-4, Emilio Gay 85 not out.
It’s the turn of Jordan Clark and Nathan Smith to smite Yorkshire around The Oval, Surrey 419-7, a lead of 164.
Hampshire are eight down, both wickets this morning to Bamber who now has 4-54. Their lead over Warwicks 303.
And at OT, Jimmy is done for now, a spell of 5 overs, 0-12.
Harmer now has 4-18… Worcestershire lead by 282, which already would set Essex second largest total in the match…
Not an ideal start for Sussex – perhaps this is the start of Tom Banton’s rebuild. Sussex 145-6, still trail Somerset by 41.
Worcestershire – what are you doing? The pressure of winning a game weighing heavy – 75-7. Harmer now 3-13.
George Bell is a brave man, crouching as if to pet a puppy at Morley’s feet as Anderson glides in. It still takes a shift of brain gear to realise that he won’t be bowling for England again. Going by yesterday, Northants have another couple of Anderson overs to contend with before he takes a break. Northants 124-4.
A Sunday missive from Tim Maitland. Hello!
”I’ve been wondering how Somerset’s Tom Banton has been coping with his meager returns (6, 0, 5, 26, 3, 12, 13 and most recently 6 for a grand total of 71 runs) since his mammoth 371 against Worcestershire at the start of April.
”His struggles remind me of a feature I wrote for some golf magazines back in 2011 about the unprecedented void in winning experience of the world’s top golfers caused by Tiger Woods’ (and actually also Vijay Singh’s) domination of the game.
”Conveniently, it was the week that Graeme McDowell returned to the States after winning the 2010 US Open, perfectly teeing up my work by saying “Ï’d always joked that if I won a Major, you wouldn’t see me for dust: I’d be on a beach sipping cocktails.”
”His thrust being, that he was desperate for anyone who could tell him how you actually start again after such a huge triumph.
”As an aside, I spoke to Gary Woodland that week who, having just won his first PGA event, thought that his experience playing basketball on scholarship at Washburn University before switching to golf at the University of Kansas, would help him “down the stretch” in golf tournaments because winning was a daily occurrence in basketball. He claimed only one more tournament in the next seven years and, while he does have the 2019 US Open victory to keep him warm on those cold winter nights, still has only four victories to his name.
”More pertinent to Tom Banton’s plight, I also chatted with Justin Rose, who of course finished fourth at the 1998 Open Championship as a 17-year-old amateur, turned professional immediately and missed the first 21 cuts of his professional career: “It’s almost as if you have to be careful what you wish for,” he said.
”Having never won anything more heady than a pub quiz myself, I came to the conclusion that success can mess with your mind just as badly as failure. I suspect Tom Banton, who might have allowed himself to imagine a future England call-up had his form after his triple hundred met his expectations, or at least his hopes, might be inclined to agree.”
Very true, I’m not sure that being the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most talented, promises you a life of equilibrium.
Old Trafford bathes in sunlight once again. Jimmy Anderson is running in again from his own end and Brooke Guest rolls him off his hips for four. A very cosy field.
Saturday’s round-up
After a tumultuous few days, Lancashire ground their way past 450 against Derbyshire at Old Trafford. But despite the diligence of the batting, that wasn’t why the people came. The only batter to get a standing ovation? Number 11: James Anderson, 309 days since his last Test, 318 days since he did a turn for Lancashire at Southport.
The spectators, allowed on the field of play between innings, paused to stare at the heavy roller then drifted over to where Lancashire were warming up, phones pointed at Anderson as he flexed a hip there, shimmied through a rope ladder there.
The mechanics all seemed good. Still lean as a race horse. Still wearing the fat white wristbands. Still a sharp haircut. Still immaculately turned out. He took the ball at the Jimmy Anderson End to huge applause. And back the clock wound – puffed cheeked approach, head down unwind. And if he wasn’t quite pitch perfect immediately, it only took 18 balls for him to angle in the ripest peach from the peachiest tree and clip the top of Caleb Jewell’s off stump.
A second followed soon afterwards, David Lloyd, discomforted by a series of bouncers, jagging his head back but gloving behind. Anderson finished with two for 24 from his five overs and Derbyshire, four down at stumps, will see more of him on Sunday.
The 22-year-old George Bell, who made a useful 57, was watching closely: “That was class. I always enjoy it when he’s bowling, especially when I’m stood in the slips, something I didn’t think I’d ever have the chance to do. A bit of extra bounce, a bit of zip as well, he’ll find anything on that pitch that there is to have.”
At Chester-le-Street, nightwatchman James Minto, 17, became the youngest Durham player to pass 50, ping-ponging leaders Nottinghamshire for 67. Half centuries for Alex Lees and Emilio Gay took Durham to within 87 runs of parity.
Sussex were made to follow on by Somerset at Hove, after Craig Overton thundered through three wickets and swallowed three slip catches for good measure. After Daniel Hughes and Tom Haines put on 100 second time around, Sussex then lost four for 21.
Peter Hanscomb once more waved merrily to his old county Middlesex, hitting 89 to give Leicestershire the upper hand – just – at Lord’s. Zafar Gohar grabbed four wickets.
Glamorgan piled on the runs at Sophia Gardens, with half centuries for the free-flowing Ben Kellaway, Sam Northeast, Kiran Carlson and Timm van der Gugten, before reducing Northants to 49 for three in their second innings, still 190 behind. Cameron Green rescued Gloucestershire with 102 not out against Kent.
Eighties from Ben Foakes and Australian Kurtis Patterson put Surrey in a comfortable position against Yorkshire at the Oval, while Warwickshire were whistled out cheaply by Kyle Abbott, before Fletcha Middleton gave Hampshire a solid lead of 265.
Essex were routed for 157 at New Road, Tom Taylor the pick of the bowlers. Worcestershire then collapsed to 58 for five before stumps – but a solid lead of 259 buttressing their back pocket.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 320-4 v Nottinghamshire 407
Taunton: Somerset 338 v Sussex 152 and 127-4
The Oval: Surrey 384-7 v Yorkshire 255
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 194 v Hampshire 300 and 159-6
New Road: Worcestershire 358 and 58-5 v Essex 157
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 424 v Northants 185 and 49-3
Bristol: Gloucestershire 307-4 v Kent 424
Old Trafford: Lancashire 458 v Derbyshire 112-4
Lord’s: Middlesex 232 and 10-0 v Leicestershire 274
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Preamble
Good morning! It’s another sunny one and at Old Trafford it is Jimmy Anderson part two. Northants and Sussex are in trouble but some intriguing games bubbling up elsewhere, games start at 11am, do join us.