Surrey require 249 to beat Notts in title battle: county cricket, day three – as it happened
Rain and bad light stalked The Oval as Nottinghamshire and Surrey inched towards a denouement.There was time for Notts to add another 37 runs for the last two wickets, including a corking straight drive for four from Josh Tongue.On the next ball, though, he edged behind to Matt Fisher, who finished with 11 wickets in the match.Brett Hutton was left unbeaten on an invaluable 42 for the visitors.Set 315 to win, Rory Burns and Dom Sibley clinked down the pavilion steps, applauded by Surrey supporters sitting through the gloom.
Burns had a lucky escape when he was fumbled at slip in Tongue’s first over, and he and Sibley saw Surrey safely through to mid-afternoon, when bad light stopped play with the hosts 66-0.The destination of the title may hinge on whether Surrey can successfully chase the remaining 249 runs on day four.Worcestershire’s relegation from Division One was confirmed when they failed to pick up a third batting point at Chester-le-Street.Gareth Roderick collected 151 as Worcestershire batted all day, frustrating a Durham side desperate for their own bonus points.Sussex and Hampshire, also in the relegation mix, had mixed days.
A draw looks likely at weather-hit Hove, where John Simpson’s 66 gave Sussex a 38-run first-innings lead over Yorkshire, but Hampshire are in trouble at Taunton.The visitors were forced to follow on against Somerset after some ripping bowling from Jack Leach, who finished with a season-best seven for 69.“I have done an Ashes tour before and it didn’t go how I would have liked, so I feel like I have got some unfinished business in Australia,” Leach said.“I would love to go as part of the current team, I love what Baz and Stokesy have created … I feel good.I believe I would be in a good place to contribute for England, but we will just have to wait and see.
”Off they troop at the Riverside to draw the curtains on today’s cricket.Rain and bad light rather spoilt things, but we’ll be back tomorrow to watch the denouement at The Oval and events round the grounds.Thanks for your company – till tomorrow, good night!Riverside: Durham v Worcestershire 591-9Taunton: Somerset 454-8dec v Hampshire 172 and 35-1The Oval: Surrey 173 and 66-0 v Nottinghamshire 231 and 256 Surrey need 249 to winHove: Sussex 232-8 v Yorkshire 194Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Essex 325-5 no play todayThe County Ground: Derbyshire 17-0 v Glamorgan 259 no play todayBristol: Gloucestershire 158-5 v Northamptonshire 206Old Trafford: Lancashire 105-0 v Middlesex 211Grace Road: Leicestershire 459-7 v Kent 17-0 no play todayBut we’ll be back tomorrow to see how this one finishes.Time for me to write up for the paper as this damp day drips to a close.Play currently at Durham, Hove and Old Trafford.
BTL remains open for all those who want to mull things over,Moments after Ali Orr was dismissed lbw by Archie Vaughan, the rain starts and the players troop off,Hampshire 35 for one,Pakistan are 9 for two against UAE in their delayed Asia Cup game,It seems Pakistan initially refused to play after asking for referee Andy Pycroft to be removed.
They claimed that Pycroft, the match referee for the game against India, told captain Salman Agha not to shake hands with Suryakumar Yadav at the toss,The PCB tweeted that they had asked the team to attend the game and said that Pycroft had apologised to “the manager and captain of the Pakistan cricket team,”Affection for those sitting, waiting, in The Oval stands,Meanwhile, some Australian Ashes news:I think we should give in to the inevitable here,A lovely spin from Jim Wallace on fast bowling:A chance to wave goodbye to the summer.
Rain at Hove, which leaves us with play at CLS (treacley), Old Trafford (going through the motiony) and Taunton – where Hants have made a better fist of their second innings (31-0).Two wickets and 93 runs scored on a truncated day in the west country.Sussex have inched a lead of 30 against Yorkshire, Robinson and Hunt the men at the crease.A draw at CLS means both sides can live with a draw here in terms of relegation.A Hampshire defeat will interest all of the above, and they are currently 18-0, 264 behind at Taunton.
Roderick (137) and Brookes (34) push on against Durham – 434 for six,Maybe they’ll just bat through the match,Somerset opened with Leach and Vaughan, but so far Orr and Middleton have seen them off, Hampshire 15-0,I think it might be curtains here for the day,Lancs are without Jimmy today, who felt some soreness in his side yesterday and is waiting for the results from his scan.
Lancs bowled out Middlesex for 211 – four each for Aspinwall and Bailey,Currently 9-0 in warm sunshine in reply,I went to sit outside at The Oval,It is very dark, the floodlights blazing through the gloom,No news yet on any possible resumption.
Living his best life: 24.3-9-69-7.Hants trail by 282 and will, surely, soon be following on.Riverside: Durham v Worcestershire 420-6 Taunton: Somerset 454-8dec v Hampshire 172The Oval: Surrey 173 and 66-0 v Nottinghamshire 231 and 256 bad light stopped play, Surrey need 249 to winHove: Sussex 220-7 v Yorkshire 194Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Essex 325-5 no play todayThe County Ground: Derbyshire 17-0 v Glamorgan 259 no play today Bristol: Gloucestershire 158-5 v Northamptonshire 206 rain stopped playOld Trafford: Lancashire v Middlesex 211Grace Road: Leicestershire 459-7 v Kent 17-0 no play todayThe bathwater dribbling away on what could have been a thrilling penultimate game.An inspection at The Oval.
They’re on in Manchester, though it all seems quite futile when you look at tomorrow’s forecast.Gohar and TRJ have taken the score past 200.A good time for Notts to regroup, with Surrey 66 for 0.Thanks to James for this snippet: Surrey’s highest fourth-innings chase here at The Oval is 334 in 1987 against Middlesex.They won by two wickets.
And rain starts to fall, but we play on.Surrey pass 50 rather more quickly than Notts would have hoped.The terror of Taunton.Hampshire seven down still trail by 322.FIVE FOR LEACH!! Hampshire seven down, Jack Leach is inevitable!!WPA Live Stream ➡️ https://t.
co/2e49ehsnyO#WeAreSomerset#SOMvHAM pic.twitter.com/7pLElnuMLoMeanwhile, a first wicket for Shafiqullah Ghafari in the County Championship.SHAFIQULLAH GHAFARI!!! 🤩The first Afghan to take a wicket for Durham & his first pole in the @CountyChamp 🇦🇫#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.
com/IT7wbEyPpSAn edge, a drop! Burns (18) edges to first slip in Tongue’s first over but Patterson-White can’t hold on.A narked Tongue rubs the ball at the top of his mark.Jack Leach is thrilled by his ball to bowl Washington Sundar, bouncing around Taunton in high-fiving glee.And so he should, a beauty that bounced outside the off stump and zipped through the gate.Somerset 121-6.
STOP THAT JACK LEACH!!! Hampshire SIX down!!WPA Live Stream ➡️ https://t.co/2e49ehsnyO#WeAreSomerset#SOMvHAM pic.twitter.com/2HSpmhMwjNA change of bowling at The Oval – Josh Tongue comes on at the pavilion end.Ireland have got off to a flying start in the T20 v England.
You can follow it with OBO master Rob Smyth here,As a baby wails somewhere in The Oval stands, a look at the three other games in play,Gareth Roderick’s 110 has not saved Worcestershire from relegation at CLS,Worcs 370-5,Potts’ run-out in red- ball cricket havent brought him any great dividends in this match: 25-7-68-1.
John Simpson (43) and Jack Carson (18) have guided Sussex to within 26 runs of Yorkshire at Hove,“I just feel we are one big partnership away from getting the batting unit right back into it,” Jaydev Unadkat said last night,At Taunton, Washington Sundar is 23 not out, Hants 102-5, Vaughan and Leach whirling away,There is no play anywhere in Division Two,Essex well on the way to the draw that will confirm their Division One survival.
Hopefully we will get play tomorrow to accompany the tea and champagne event.A second wicket for Archie Vaughan at Taunton, and it is Ben Brown who loses his off stump.Hampshire will be batting again by tea if they’re not careful, 92-5.Brett Hutton thinks he has Sibley caught behind in his first over.At least he wants the umpire to think that , and so do the slips, and actually Sibley starts walking off….
but no finger is raised,Tis done,After the miracle of 2024, Worcestershire slip back down to Division Two after they fail to collect batting point number three,So now just one promotion and one relegation place to work out,And the Championship itself.
Talking of which, here come the umpires at The Oval, Notts in a huddle,And down the steps clink Sibley and Burns,Now we have the equation as Dillon Pennington’s off stump is removed by Atkinson for a valuable eight,Notts 256 all out; Fisher, 6-73 and eleven in the match,Game on.
Dillon Pennington pings four and receives a bouncer from Fisher as his reward.The lead creeps past 300.Appreciation for Josh Tongue’s corking straight drive from the AI conference attendees eating their lunch in the stands.But that’s the end of his musings as he’s caught behind off Fisher trying to repeat the stroke.Wicket number 11.
Notts 241-9, the lead 299.Notts have the better of the opening exchanges.The lead inches up to 285.Hello John Starbuck: “It’s probably best to keep the numbers down to two, otherwise they would multiply like mad and defeat the purpose of being able to identify the player quickly.“Mind you, that there are so many with duplicated numbers (99, 66, 22 etc.
) points to a superstitious streak amongst players, especially when so many turn out to be captains, of a sort.Check out your county team next time and see how many you can spot - the same numbers on both sides also happens sometimes, but there you go.”
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