Surrey v Durham, Yorkshire v Essex, and more: county cricket day three

Key events

Stephen Moss

Sussex are 385 for four at lunch after a meandering kind of morning in which they added a largely untroubled 107 runs. Warwickshire appear to have abandoned any attempt at winning the game by conventional means, resorting to leg theory (not very effective when bowled by Bamber) and an assortment of funky fields.

Rocchiccioli returned just before lunch, prompting my companion to ask how many other first-class cricketers can boast four Cs in their surname. This same waggish companion also thinks Rocchiccioli sounds like a particularly tempting Italian sorbet.

We are now going to look for a rocchiccioli to cool us down at lunch. I also intend to swim on the beach at Hove, a pebble’s throw from the ground. So if we miss the first half hour after lunch and an unlikely Sussex collapse, apologies.

Lunchtime scores

DIVISION ONE

Southampton: Hampshire 140-5 v Worcestershire 679-7dec

Taunton: Somerset 379 v Nottinghamshire 322-4

The Oval: Surrey 820-9 v Durham 138-3

Hove: Sussex 385-4 v Warwickshire 415

York: Yorkshire 236-6 v Essex 368

DIVISION TWO

Chesterfield: Derbyshire 261 v Lancashire 367 and 271-5

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 365-4 v Gloucestershire 380

Canterbury: Kent 566-8dec v Northamptonshire 255-2

Grace Road: Leicestershire 188-9 v Middlesex 534

Something to chew over during lunch. The Next Test (a not-for-profit group that I’m part of, who work to raise awareness of the effect of climate change on cricket and for a greener game ) published a climate and nature plan in June, in conjunction with Gloucestershire CCC and the Bristol climate and nature partnership. It was written with cricket lovers in the southwest, but we hope it will be useful to clubs all around the county. You can find it here on our website.

Centuries for Kellaway, Ingram, Vasconcelos and Harrison

In Div Two:

Lancs lost early wickets at Chesterfield but Ashton Turner and Michael Jones have since gone boundary-tastic. Lancs 243-4, a lead of 349 over Derby.

Glamorgan are in touching distance of Gloucestershire’s first innings, and just four wickets down, thanks to centuries from Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram. Glamorgan 348-4

Double tons at Canterbury too, where Ricardo Vasconcelos has just raised his bat, and now Calvin Harrison (loan signing of the year) too. Northants 245-2.

And at Grace Road, the mighty Middlesex of yesterday are struggling to split the last Leicestershire pair, who have added 25. Leics 166-9.

Stephen Moss

James Coles duly reaches his hundred, but in a very fortunate way – with an edge for four off Bamber. It would have been snaffled at second slip, but Warwickshire have omitted to post any slips at all for the aggressive Coles.

Elsewhere in Division One:

Matt Fisher has a second wicket at The Oval cauldron, Durham 102-2, Jacks and Lawrence already in the game.

Hampshire have lost a fifth, and it is the big one – Liam Dawson lbw – yorker to ankle -for 27 to Adam Finch.

Notts lost Slater for 124 (a second for Jack Leach) but Jack Haynes and Ishan Kishan are rebuilding nicely – Notts 290-4.

YJB went early at York, but Lyth and Revis plod on. Yorks 214-4.

Stephen Moss

Coles and Ibrahim put on 50 in good time and were making serene progress until Ibrahim fell lbw for 36 to Ethan Bamber to a ball my companion on the Gold Member’s bench at Hove thinks kept a little low. Coles, who smacked Rocchiccioli into the marquees at midwicket for six, looks nailed on for a hundred as he eases through the far from nervous nineties.

Ali Martin on home turf this week:

We have a special guest today – fabulous Guardian institution Stephen Moss, who has settled into a bench at Hove. Hopefully we will get dispatches (like the one below) throughout the day.

Stephen Moss

The principal incentive to come to Hove on another broiling day is to watch the Italian-Irish offspinning Aussie Corey Rocchiccioli (subs please check) bowl. He delivered 35 overs yesterday and took three for 94 on a batsman-friendly surface. Warwickshire have sensibly kept him on this morning, with the pace of Hannon-Dalby at the other end.

Rocchiccioli is tall and has a pleasingly prancing approach to the wicket, but new batsman Dan Ibrahim – Sussex opener Daniel Hughes was out to Rocchiccioli off the penultimate ball last night for 151 – off-drove the Aussie’s first ball for four and James Coles refused to let him settle, hitting a couple of fours to cow corner as Sussex pressed on past 300.

Have just realised that Callum Parkinson is playing for Worcestershire, signed from Durham on a two-week loan.

He is a temporary replacement for Fateh Singh, who has a knee injury.

Hampshire have lost another wicket this morning – a third for Tom Taylor. Hants 80-4.

I’m not at York today, but think the game will get more interesting after the stupor of day one. They hope the pitch will start to take spin – so could be happy hunting for Simon Harmer. If anyone can get things going it is YJB, though Yorkshire watchers told me he is batting within himself this year – responsibility resting heavy, perhaps.

And the first wicket of the day falls at Chesterfield – where Josh Bohannon edges through to Brooke Guest. Despite their healthy position, KJ will hope the other end doesn’t become another red rose revolving door. Lancs 122-2.

This was Dom Sibley, fresh (?) from his big one yesterday.

“I’m a Surrey boy so to do it here at the Oval is also really special. It’s amazing to be able to do it – though I almost ran myself out and had to dive in for the single that got me to 300!

“It was a pleasure to bat with the other three guys who scored hundreds. Their natural tempo of scoring runs means that my job is easy at the other end.

“It has been a very hot couple of days but I feel fine and hopefully won’t wake up feeling too stiff in the morning. With more than 800 on the board we are in a good position and I thought we bowled brilliantly in the last session today – we just need to keep up the pressure on them.”

Poor Durham must stagger to 671 just to avoid the follow on.

Around the grounds, just one game has inched into its third innings – at Chesterfield, where Lancashire look like they really might get their first win of the season.

Weatherwatch

A blissful 22 degrees here in Manchester. And a north-south divide across the country. The Met office says: Hot, sunny and humid in the southeast today. Cloudier and fresher elsewhere with showery outbreaks of rain. Heavy showers and thunderstorms possible across parts of Scotland and northern England later in the afternoon.

Monday’s round-up

On and on went big bad Dom. Past 200, past his highest previous score, past 250 and, with a sprinted single that left him spreadeagled in the Oval dust, to 300.

Sibley clambered to his feet, raised his bat and soaked up the warm applause for a mammoth effort of concentration: 28 fours, two sixes and 472 balls of toil as the mercury rose. He joins an elite club of triple-centurions for Surrey at the Oval, in Mark Ramprakash, Kevin Pietersen, Bobby Abel, Jack Hobbs and Tom Hayward. At the other end, Dan Lawrence shimmied 174 and Will Jacks 119 as Surrey set their record first-class score, finally putting Durham out of their misery at 820 for nine.

Alex Lees, who had won the toss on Sunday morning and chosen to field, then had to pad up. He was unbeaten on 33 at stumps, though lost his opening partner Emilio Gay early, bowled behind his pads. The Durham off-spinner George Drissell found himself in the firing line – his 45 overs cost 247, the most runs conceded by a bowler in the championship.

Elsewhere, first-innings runs flowed in brutal temperatures; in fact the 4,508 runs scored across the first innings of the nine games is the most in a round of matches ever. Kent finally declared on 566 for eight, bolstered by hundreds for Daniel Bell-Drummond and Harry Finch against Northamptonshire.

Jake Libby’s undefeated 228, the second double century of his career, carried Worcestershire to 679 for seven declared, whereupon Hampshire suddenly collapsed to 68 for three. But that was nothing on Leicestershire’s wobble. After finally dismissing Middlesex for 534, they found themselves 103 for eight, with the teenage seamer Naavya Sharma providing the gilt braiding with four wickets in 11 balls.

Yorkshire rattled through Essex in the morning, their reward batting against Simon Harmer bowling in the dust as a warm wind doused Clifton Park like a hairdryer. The run rate slunk under three an over all day, even with Jonny Bairstow at the crease. Ben Slater’s 116 not out propped up Nottinghamshire on an afternoon when Somerset’s Jack Leach wheeled through 25 overs.