Mohammad Abbas (PC: Twitter)
The County Championship Division One witnessed five matches simultaneously getting commenced on Tuesday (20 September). Here's a brief report on the matches that transpired in the Oval, Bristol, Taunton, Chelmsford and Southampton.
Yorkshire won the toss and invited Surrey to bat first at the Oval. The right-arm pacer Ben Coad was terrific to take wickets of experienced batters Rory Burns (0) and Hashim Amla (14) early.
Soon, Ryan Patel departed for a well-compiled 41 off 82 balls. Amid a flurry of wickets at another end, Ollie Pope displayed composure to steer the team at a brisk rate. After scoring his 15th first-class century, Pope was dismissed by Steven Paterson for 136 off 131 balls, laced with 16 fours and two sixes.
At the end of Day 1, Surrey are at 292/6, with Jordan Clark batting at 55* and Jamie Overton unbeaten at 9*.
Brief Scores:
Surrey- 292/6
Ollie Pope 136 (131), Jordan Clark 55 (108);
Steven Patterson 4/52
Warwickshire's decision to bat first could not reap fruits as they were reduced to 64/3 with the talented Sam Hain and Alex Davies going back to the hut.
However, Sibley was terrific to keep his end steady and got support from Will Rhodes (24) and Jayant Yadav (17) as well. The left-arm spinner Danny Briggs then played one of his finest innings by scoring 65 off 110 balls.
Warwickshire are at 255/8 after the close of Day 1, with Sibley not-out at 105 off 252 balls, with his partner Oliver Hannon-Dalby yet to open his account.
Brief Scores:
Warwickshire- 255/8
Dominic Sibley 105 (252), Danny Briggs 65 (110);
Zafar Gohar 4/59, Ajeet Dale 2/43
Choosing to bat first, Tom Lammonby (30) and Imam-ul-Haq (25) provided a stable start to the Somerset team.
Afterwards, the in-form Tom Abell (111) and George Bartlett (62) were involved in a terrific 134-run stand for the third wicket.
At the end of the Day, they are at 271/4, with Lewis Goldsworthy (20*) and James Rew (6*) at the crease.
Brief Scores:
Somerset- 271/4
Tom Abell 111 (179), George Bartlett 62 (126);
Ben Sanderson 1/33, Jack White 1/51
Batting first, Lancashire managed to post a total of 131 on the board, with contributions from Tom Bailey (24) and Steven Croft (23) at Chelmsford. The experienced Simon Harmer took a five-for Essex.
In response, Bailey wreaked havoc to restrict Essex to a score of 107 by taking five wickets. Alastair Cook top-scored with 40 off 98 balls.
The skilful bowlers Sam Cook and Shane Snater triggered a collapse in the last session for Lancashire, resulting in them ending the Day on 25/6.
Brief Scores:
Lancashire (1st innings)- 131/10
Tom Bailey 24 (23), Steven Croft 23 (54);
Simon Harmer 5/41, Sam Cook 3/38
Essex (1st innings)- 107/10
Alastair Cook 40 (98), Feroze Khushi 17(35);
Tom Bailey 5/36, Will Williams 2/28
Lancashire (2nd innings)-25/6
George Bell 18* (17), George Balderson 3 (8);
Shane Snater 4/6, Sam Cook 2/6
Lancashire lead by 49 runs
Invited to bat first, Kent managed to amass a total of 165 runs, with the chief contributors being, Ben Compton (63) and Joey Evison (34). The experienced fast bowler Kyle Abbott took four wickets for Hampshire.
Then, Hampshire were bundled out for a petty score of 57, courtesy of Matthew Quinn's six wicket-haul. At the end of Day 1, Kent are at a precarious note with 25/3, and Tawanda Muyeye unbeaten at 18* off 32 balls.
Brief Scores:
Kent (1st innings)- 165/10
Ben Compton 63 (161), Joey Evison 34 (67);
Kyle Abbott 4/64, Mohammad Abbas 3/29
Hampshire (1st innings)- 57/10
Ian Holland 19 (34), Keith Barker 13 (10);
Matt Quinn 6/23, Harry Podmore 2/11
Kent (2nd innings)- 20/3
Tawanda Muyeye 18* (32), Ben Compton 2 (26);
Mohammad Abbas 2/5, Ian Holland 1/3
Kent lead by 128 runs
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