High spring hangs over this final May round of Championship cricket, the international summer pulling eyeballs away, the lack of rain leaving parched pitches.A good crowd collected on the apple-green benches sitting around the Grace Road boundary.They saw Lancashire get off to a steaming start thanks to Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells, but then fold in familiar fashion to patient Leicestershire bowling.Logan van Beek removed the two openers either side of lunch, finishing with three for 38, while Josh Hull found some devil in the dirt.Leicestershire lost two evening wickets, but Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill saw the day out.

Durham won the toss at Chester le Street and chose to bat on a pitch of uneven bounce that never quite let the batters settle.Ollie Robinson top scored with 52, while Matt Henry spearheaded Somerset’s attack, finishing with four wickets.Hampshire were pancaked for 154 at Southampton, Henry Crocombe taking four wickets in 11 balls in his first game of the season.John Turner then countered with three wickets in nine balls to leave Sussex with work to do.A Sam Cook-less Essex were sent packing in two sessions by Surrey.

Michael Pepper held Essex together with 75,Saif Zaib’s charming 141, his highest first-class score, rescued Northants from 57 for four against Gloucestershire; while Caleb Jewell’s unbeaten 152, his first Derbyshire century, gave the Kent bowlers little time to rest,Marnus Labuschagne was contained by Middlesex, caught for 23, but Glamorgan’s Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson rebuilt in a boundary-laden partnership of 228,Toby Roland-Jones finished with four wickets,A quizzical Headingley pitch tested Nottinghamshire, but Ben Slater and Joe Clarke made half-centuries.

Tom Latham’s 59 and Sam Hain’s first half-century of the summer were balanced by four more wickets for Tom Taylor as Warwickshire were bowled out for 227,The covers are coming on at Grace Road – time for us to sign off for the night,Thanks for your company, till tomorrow!Division OneChester-le-Street: Durham 277 v Somerset 63-3Southampton: Hampshire 154 v Sussex 110-5The Oval: Surrey 94-3 v Essex 217New Road: Worcestershire 53-0 v Warwickshire 227Headingley: Yorkshire 10-2 v Nottinghamshire 228Division TwoDerby: Derbyshire 352-2 v KentSophia Gardens: Glamorgan 334-7 v MiddlesexGrace Road: Leicestershire 59-2 v Lancashire 206County Ground: Northamptonshire 327-6 v GloucestershireStumps at Grace Road, Leicestershire 59-2, things drawing to a close around the grounds,In Division Two: Caleb Jewell’s unbeaten 152 has put Derby in a great position – 352-2; twin centuries for Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson have more than made up for Marnus Labuschagne’s lack of runs – Glamorgan 319-6,And a lovely 134 for Saif Zaib has left Northants sitting pretty.

Lots has happened:Durham bowled out for 277, four wickets for Matt Henry, while Somerset have lost this week’s opener Lewis Gregory, bowled by Minto for five.Hampshire rustled out for 154 – but Sussex already 90-5.Essex Surreyed for 217, But Surrey have already lost Burns in reply.Another good day for Worcestershire’s Tom Taylor, 4-37, as Warwickshire were dismissed for 227George Hill and Jordan Thompson wriggled out Notts at Headingley – with fifties for Joe Clarke and Ben Slater.Lift my head from the computer to see Rehan Ahmed and Rishi Patel at the crease.

Sol Budingher gone early for four to Will Williams – playing because Anderson isn’t.Lancs were bowled out for 206 about half way through the evening session – those 17 extras and 17 and 23 from Hartley and Bailey extremely valuable.Tom Bailey leaves with a cuff-twirling flourish – and loses his off stump.Lancashire 176-8.I am going to have to take a break to write up for early edition, but will be back.

Division OneChester-le-Street: Durham 227-8 v SomersetSouthampton: Hampshire 154 v Sussex 13-1 The Oval: Surrey v Essex 217-8New Road: Worcestershire v Warwickshire 178-5Headingley: Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire 178-5Division TwoDerby: Derbyshire 231-1 v KentSophia Gardens: Glamorgan 214-3 v MiddlesexGrace Road: Leicestershire v Lancashire 171-7County Ground: Northamptonshire 175-4 v GloucestershireAnd they take tea with Lancashire 171 for seven!Wickets are dropping around the grounds, like fat raindrops on a hard outfield.George Hill has taken a quick couple, leaving Notts 129-5.Please excuse me for a few minutes, Sean Jarvis has come up for a chat.Hurst has looked in fine fettle over the last few games, and is continuing to collect runs with a scamper here and a glide there.Already 30 not out.

I don’t know exactly what Henry Crocombe had for lunch but he seems to have just taken four wickets in two overs – three of them – Albert, Fuller and Abbott – for nought.Hampshire 133-8.Up, up, up goes the finger! Josh Hull sends Josh Bohannon on his way, lbw, one that swings in with a nip.An excellent effort by Leicestershire here with the ball, barely a free gift on offer.Lancs 112-4.

Essex aren’t going to win the title this year, are they,Currently 142-5 – faltering against the firepower of Curran S, Clark, Smith and Lawes – and Jamie Overton has dropped two catches,Pepper (31) joined by Thain for the rebuild,The tea and cakes cabin is open over at the Meet and as an altruistic gesture, for the benefit of all CCLive readers, I will investigate further shortly,Not content with sending Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal over with India A, the India U-19 squad includes Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14 year old who scored an IPL century earlier this month.

And success for Ben Green! Marcus Harris, ex of Leicestershire 2021 and first seven months of 2024, loses his bails.Lancs 94-3.A sixth half-century of the season for Caleb Jewell as Derbyshire race along against Kent.The one wicket to Gilchrist, David Lloyd lbw for 50.Now 142 for one.

Some Sam Cook love:🔥🔥🔥 THINGS YOU LOVE TO SEE!!!!!!! The first of many for Sam Cook!🦅 #FlyLikeAnEaglepic.twitter.com/kml2NfWpVsI also got to meet Mike Daniels from the scorebox – claim to fame!Elsewhere, Durham have also had post-prandial trouble, losing Bedingham, lbw to Pretorius for 17.Durham 109-4.I’m still digesting my delicious lunchtime quiche and walking back when Logan van Beek removes Luke Wells with the very first ball of the afternoon.

A big fan of the Leicester dining experience.The players eat on long tables in the same room as anyone else who wants to order a hot dinner –it feels very relaxed and healthy.Hopefully interaction with fans helps players realise that idiots who send them abuse on social media are just that and not representative of club supporters.But possibly the players hate it!Division OneChester-le-Street: Durham 96-3 v SomersetSouthampton: Hampshire 93-4 v SussexThe Oval: Surrey v Essex 103-4New Road: Worcestershire v Warwickshire 65-2Headingley: Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire 67-2Division TwoDerby: Derbyshire 106-1 v KentSophia Gardens: Glamorgan 71-3 v MiddlesexGrace Road: Leicestershire v Lancashire 77-1County Ground: Northamptonshire 71-4 v GloucestershireHampshire lose two with 70 on the board – Gubbins and Prest – and, together with Northants, oh and Essex – are four down by the brink of lunch.Glamorgan have lost just three, but one of them is Marnus Labuschagne for 23, caught off Higgins.

No stomach-settling runs yet for Australia’s finest cheese and ham toastie eater.Keaton Jennings glances behind him as he walks off, in a very un Keaton Jennings like way, but the finger was raised and van Beek has made the breakthrough.Lancs 74-1.I love the random-ness of Grace Road – as if designed by a toddler with lego who has lost concentration half way through and wandered off to pick at bits of carpet on the stairs.Particularly fond of the stand perched on top of the Charles Palmer suite.

Wells and Jennings are pressing on nicely here: 71-0,The forecast rain looks as if it will be showers at best (or worst) over the weekend, so plenty of hard yards to run on hard ground for the bowlers,The batters have the upper hand around the grounds in the first hour and a half of play – oh, apart from at Northampton where Procter and Miller have followed Vasconcelos back into the pavilion – both wickets to teenage quick Archie Bailey,Shame that their old boy Ben Curran has been out cheaply at The Oval, but congratulations to Sam Cook for his first Test wicket,Josh Hull – eight wickets at 27 – rolls in, a trudge back to his crease turning into a 16 pace power run.

,Long arms, longer legs, baby face, some unexpected bite from a friendly pitch,Wells is watchful,Lancashire 46-0Wells gets a life, as he is dropped, on 10, at first slip off local giant Josh Hull,Cracking delivery.

I can see the iconic Attenborough tower of my old university in the distance, but unfortunately not the scorebox where Mike Daniels normally lurks.Elgar and Walter are making good progress at The Oval, 49-0.Alex Lees lost his stumps to Somerset’s Matt Henry first ball.Durham 25-1.Stoneman also started his day in disappointment, caught for 0 off McAndrew, Hants 20-1.

Rob Yates was the early wicket at Edgbaston, Warwicks 22-1, and HH’s chase of 1000 runs before the end of May looks forlorn, caught off White for 6.Notts 12-1.A quick-silver outfield at Grace Road, and Keaton Jennings making the most of it: Lancs 25-0.Elsewhere in Division Two, Derbyshire (34-0) and Glamorgan (15-0) have also got off to a brisk start, while Northants have lost Vasconcelos for four, lbw Tom Price.Northants 11-1.

Good morning Tim Maitland!“Salutations Tanya, may your trip to Grace Road bring you joy.It brings back memories of a very young version of me wasting tape and the time of one David Gower esq.for the sheer delight of hearing him speak.“However my mind is dawdling over Headingley, another of my old haunts.Where if Yorkshire are going to have any against Nottinghamshire, it’s about time someone other than Adam Lyth stepped up, isn’t it? They’re just not getting the kind of match winning, or even innings winning performances with the bat.

“Lyth, who made 106 against Hampshire in early April and what should have been a victory defining 185 at Essex earlier this month, and Dom Bess, with 107 in the win over Worcestershire, are their only centurions.Lyth, with 682 runs to his name sits behind only Nottinghamshire skipper Haseeb Hameed in the Division One run scoring table.Next best? Dawid Malan’s 98 (also against Worcestershire) and the even-lesser spotted Joe Root’s 90 in his only appearance this year.“But what strikes me as interesting, considering Young Jonny Bairstow’s role as captain and jilted lover (in the England sense), is how slowly they’re scoring when you’d expect a Bairstow side to be Bazballesque in their approach.With the exception of YJB’s 79 at a strike rate of 106 when he was pushing for the declaration at Chelmsford, and his contributions at Surrey (89 at 78 and 77 at 74) most of the knocks of any note this season have been closer to 50.

00 than,“Perhaps that’s an indication that most of the time they’ve been struggling to hold innings together rather than grabbing games by the throat?”I think you’re right,The Yorkshire young guns haven’t really pushed on so far this season – almost the opposite of Bazball’s hit yourself out of trouble mentality,England and Zimbabwe are about to get underway at Trent Bridge, you can follow its’ bish-bash-bosh progress with Jim Wallace and Daniel Gallan,We’ve started a minute before eleven, three slips standing boot to boot, as Holland charges in.

Round the grounds, some ins and outs.Ben Kellaway has exams so misses Glamorgan’s game, but Matt Kuhnemmann plays.No Jimmy as Lancs “manage his return to competitive cricket'.Surrey add Sam Curran (torn away from watching brother Ben at Trent Bridge), Jamie Overton and Dan Worrall, Paul Walter returns for Essex, David Bedingham for Durham.Both teams are warming up on the dry Leicestershire grass.

Warm sunshine, a few fluffy clouds, lots of lovely places to sit under a tree and read a book.In the middle, Peter Handscomb is wearing his leaf green Leicestershire blazer and has won the toss and having a bowl.No Jimmy today for Lancs – a management of workload thing.1 Leicestershire 1152 Derbyshire 853 Glamorgan 754 Gloucestershire 755 Middlesex 686 Kent 637 Lancashire 638 Northants 591 Notts 962 Surrey 933 Warwickshire 824 Durham 805 Hampshire 796 Sussex 757 Somerset 738 Essex 649 Yorkshire 5610 Worcestershire 43Division OneChester-le-Street: Durham v SomersetSouthampton: Hampshire v SussexThe Oval: Surrey v EssexNew Road: Worcestershire v WarwickshireHeadingley: Yorkshire v NottinghamshireDivision TwoDerby: Derbyshire v KentSophia Gardens: Glamorgan v MiddlesexGrace Road: Leicestershire v LancashireCounty Ground: Northamptonshire v GloucestershireGood morning from Cross Country trains, chugging through high spring, the Midlands countryside all elderflower and ash saplings, and green, green, green all around.I’m on my way to Grace Road to see the runaway leaders of Division Two play feeling-a-little-less -queasy-than-they-did-last-week Lancashire.

Loads more to look forward to round the grounds.Play starts at 11am, do join us!