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Handily, they also meet this week at Taunton, with Somerset buoyant after white-ball successes that have them eyeing an unlikely treble, with places at Blast finals day and the One Day Cup to look forward to. Surrey meanwhile have eight players missing on England duty, with the T20 series against Australia crash-landing straight into the schedule after the Tests against Sri Lanka have concluded. Surrey though have added to their formidable depth by nonchalantly signing Shakib Al Hasan on a one-match deal, enabling the veteran former Bangladesh captain to get some red-ball cricket under his belt before their Test series against India. (It also gets him away from the political turmoil of his home country, in which he has become embroiled due to his role as a lawmaker in the party of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.)
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Elsewhere, third-placed Hampshire travel to doomed Kent, but the relegation scramble just above them looks tasty with improving Nottinghamshire visiting Essex, whose title hopes were torpedoed by their surprise defeat to Worcestershire, and seventh-placed Durham hosting Lancashire in eighth.
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We’ll be keeping an eye on the second tier too, as leaders Sussex host Glamorgan and Middlesex and Yorkshire duke it out for the second promotion slot behind them. Middlesex take on Gloucestershire at Lord’s while Yorkshire visit Leicestershire, who have an outside chance themselves.
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And it all starts, in the autumnal gloaming, at 10.30, rather more sensibly than at the Test, which is still scheduled for 11am, not that we’ll get a full day’s play at the Oval today.
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Those fixtures in full:
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Division One:
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Durham v Lancashire (Chester-le-Street)
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Essex v Nottinghamshire (Chelmsford)
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Kent v Hampshire (Canterbury)
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Somerset v Surrey (Taunton)
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Worcestershire v Warwickshire (Worcester)
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Division Two
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Leicestershire v Yorkshire (Leicester)
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Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
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Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (Northampton)
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Sussex v Glamorgan (Hove)
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Main Events
Archie Vaughan is not here After a somewhat awkward start against a fearsome Surrey attack – scoring four with a square cover drive as if he'd learned it at his father's knee – Somerset were 14 for 1 and Tom Lammonby looked confident at no.3 from the outset.
Unadkat proved his worth again to Sussex with his second out – and a big one at that. Sam NorthEast saw his off stump spin behind him. Having dominated at the start of the season, NorthEast are now completely slumping. Grammy 21-2. Then at Grace Road, Matt Fisher got out Leicestershire captain Lewis Hill to give Yorkshire an early second wicket. A third soon followed, when Ian Holland was out by Cord for a duck. Laics 3-3.
“There's been a lot of talk recently about spinners not being able to bowl in August, but for openers August is often the best time of the year,” wrote Reading Old Boy BTL. “They struggle through the spring and then carry on into the autumn.” If you want, you could link this to the subpar form of England's top three recently.
Division 2 leaders Sussex, Sussex also closed in on Glamorgan early on, with Asa Tribe catching Daniel Hughes at short leg off a delivery from India left-arm quick Jaydev Unadkat. Unadkat returned to the team last month for the final five matches of the season. Glamorgan are 18-1. Middlesex, Sussex's closest rivals, also got off to a shaky start, conceding Sam Robson for four off a delivery from Glamorgan's Ajeet Singh Dale at Lord's. Middlesex are 7-1.
A bold change of order For Somerset: Archie Vaughan (son of Others) is punted out in only his second first-class match, having already lost the same opener. Lewis Goldsworthy is castled out by a baffling inswing from Kemar Roach and is for a duck off the second ball. Somerset 0-1.
Goldsworthy was not the only batsman to take off his pads and throw his gloves on the dressing room floor. Leicestershire have already had Rishi Patel's fourth ball smashed by Ben Coad, while Northamptonshire's Indian opener Prithvi Shaw gave up four runs against Derbyshire, being run out by catcher Donald B. Chappell.
The start in Chelmsford has also been delayed due to weather.
A few thoughts from Wilberforce BTL: “Jack Home will be making his County Champions debut for Warwickshire and it will be interesting to see how he performs. It's a shame Warwickshire lost the toss. Jack has taken a lot of wickets in the One-Day Cup but it's a different challenge here. It's great he's signed a three-year contract.”
“I read Ali Martin's article on Mohammed this morning. Great article. I wish Mohammed the best of luck. Kashif Ali sees Mohammed as a worthy candidate to be the county's number three.”
Here's the article from Mo: He left the international stage with many great memories, but my personal favourite is the century he scored in Rajkot on the morning of Trump's election in 2016. The lure of cricket's glamorous escapism has never been stronger.
Toss News: Somerset won the toss and batted at Siderabad on a morning that saw a mix of cloud and sun, Notts decided to bowl at Chelmsford, Warwickshire bowled at New Road, Yorkshire took on Leicestershire at Grace Road, Gloucestershire did the same at Lord's, Northamptonshire opted to play Derbyshire and Sussex chose to bat against Glamorgan at Hove.
It was truly a morning with the Bowl game coming up first, but Somerset's bets on batting were understandable as they not only needed the win but the bonus points too.
Delayed start news: Rain in Chester-le-Street delayed the start of Durham v Lancashire and coffee has to be had at Canterbury too.
ℹ️ The pitch will be inspected by the umpire at 10:30 https://t.co/RfI3tMGfK1
— Kent Cricket (@KentCricket) September 9, 2024
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Their position:
Division 1
1 Sally P11 Points 193
2 Somerset P11 Point 169
3 Hampshire P11 Points 156
4 Essex P11 Points 149
5 Waltz P11 Point 134
6 Warwickshire P11 Points 132
7 Durham P11 Points 130
8 Knots P11 Points 116
9 Lancashire P11 Points 106
10 Kent P11 Point 71
Division 2
1 Sussex P11 Points 177
2 Middlesex P11 Points 158
3 Yorkshire P11 Points 157
4 Rachel P11 Points 139
5 Glamorgan P11 Points 125
6 Gloucester P11 Points 119
7 Northampton P11 Points 111
8 Derbyshire P11 Points 104
preamble
Good morning everyone. The good old County Championship has forever been mocked and relegated to an unwelcome corner of the season, no longer even an automatic barometer of England's worth, but this year we want an exciting ending rather than just a Surrey win, and thankfully we now have a chance, with Somerset's win over Durham and a Champions' draw at Trent Bridge putting Lewis Gregory's side within reach, 24 points behind the leaders.
Conveniently, the two teams also meet this week in Taunton. Somerset are chasing a surprise treble thanks to their white-ball success, having also qualified for the Blast final and the One-Day Cup. Meanwhile, Surrey are missing eight players from their England squad, with a T20 series against Australia coming into their schedule after the Test match against Sri Lanka. But Surrey have added further depth to their strong depth with the unassuming signing of Shakib Al Hasan on a one-match deal, giving the veteran former Bangladesh captain some experience of red-ball cricket ahead of the Test match series against India. (It also allows him to escape the political turmoil in his home country, where he is embroiled in due to his role as a lawmaker for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's party.)
Meanwhile, third-placed Hampshire travel to desperate Kent but the relegation battle just above them is also intriguing, in-form Nottinghamshire visit Essex, whose title hopes were dashed after a surprising defeat to Worcestershire, and seventh-placed Durham host eighth-placed Lancashire.
There's plenty to watch in the Second Division, with leaders Sussex hosting Glamorgan, while Middlesex and Yorkshire will battle it out for the second promotion spot. Middlesex take on Gloucestershire at Lord's and Yorkshire visit Leicestershire, who are also unlikely to win.
And it all gets underway at 10.30am in the autumn twilight – a more sensible timing than the Test, scheduled for 11am, even though there won't be a full day of action at the Oval today.
The full match schedule is as follows:
Division 1:
Durham v Lancashire (Chester-le-Street)
Essex v Nottinghamshire (Chelmsford)
Kent v Hampshire (Canterbury)
Somerset v Surrey (Taunton)
Worcestershire v Warwickshire (Worcester)
Division 2
Leicestershire v Yorkshire (Leicester)
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lowes)
Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (Northampton)
Sussex v Glamorgan (Hove)
