Key events<\/p>\n
Ben Aitchison has the new ball at the racecourse end. Three slips fold their arms and wait. Alex Lees is off the mark with a speedy single.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n The weatherhouse swivels- as they come onto the field at Derby, it starts raining at Southampton and The Oval.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n At Taunton, Somerset\u2019s Josh Thomas is nudging towards fifty, Somerset<\/a> 98-2. Jamie Porter has just winkled out Lewis Goldsworthy for 16.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A third catch for Ollie Pope as Haynes nibbles obligingly. Notts 41-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ben Allison is making a mess of Gloucestershire\u2019s scorecard. Bancroft, Hammond and Bracey are all safely in his pocket and Phillips has been bowled by Waite to leave Glos 33-4.<\/p>\n At The Oval, Notts are wading towards lunch at 40-4, with Jack Haynes dropped by Tom Lawes for good measure.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A 12.30 start at Derby, lunch at 1.10pm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.04 EDT<\/p>\n A Derbyshire<\/a> huddle, and a round of applause. The captains put on their blazers for the toss, which Derbyshire win and will bowl.<\/p>\n Meanwhile at the desertscape of Merchant Taylor\u2019s school, Zak Crawley (17) has lost his opening partner Ben Compton for 13. Kent<\/a> 40-1.<\/p>\n Shades of yellow: Merchant Taylor\u2019s school Photograph: Ray Lawrence\/TGS Photo\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.02 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s like a scene from a musical out out in the middle at Derby: measuring tapes, catching practise, rollers, Ben Stokes bowling in a Durham<\/a> tracksuit. The umpires come out and stare meaningfully at the pitch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lancashire, a thoughful lament, from Guy Hornsby.<\/p>\n \u201cMorning Tanya, in the drizzle not of Old Trafford but the M6. Tim Maitland asks the question many of us Lancashire members ask ourselves. Unlike many of the more vocal members from various meetings, I don\u2019t think the cause of the malaise is The Hundred, or white ball cricket in general. The glory days of the 80s and 90s they would love to return to are sadly from a different cricket landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cI do agree with some that, while digging Lancs out of a considerable financial hole, the club has perhaps not focused enough on red ball cricket as it has on (much needed) commercial enterprises. That work has given us a much better financial outlook, but it feels like the rot set in a season or two before relegation. We didn\u2019t future proof the squad, and some who scored tons of runs (Jennings and Bohannon for example) dried up at the wrong time as Dane Vilas left. Our attack was middling and we struggled to get results. The appointment of Dale Benkenstein was a disaster, and he never seemed to have the dressing room. We have – Marcus Harris aside – made poor overseas signings and while Steven Croft has done well we\u2019ve seen a good start to the season tail off and face another season in the lower division.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s hard to see how we get back up with the current squad, so it\u2019s a dismal time for the club, and will be even more so when Anderson retires. The white ball teams do ok at least. As much as I like him, you\u2019d have to question Mark Chilton\u2019s performance, though the women have done brilliantly last year. For a club with so much history, a decent business model and Hundred money, it\u2019s a very strange place we find ourselves in. It\u2019s not good enough. Some board changes under Dame Sarah Storey, including a new CEO coming in, Richard Kenyon, need to change the narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Despite Mohammad Abbas playing at Headingley and signing for Derbyshire<\/a>, in my mind he is always running in for Hampshire in slightly too short trousers. But they don\u2019t need him today \u2013 Yorkshire are 19-3, Whiteman and Lyth gone in consecutive Kyle Abbott overs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>No play before lunch at Old Trafford<\/p>\n It was bouncing down most of the night in Manchester so they\u2019ll do well to soak everything up. The umpires are going to take another look at 12.15 and the players will take an early lunch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s something in the water \u2013 Will Luxton lbw for 2 (Yorkshire 9-1); Cameron Bancroft caught behind for 9 (Glos 16-1); Tom Lammonby Sam Cooked for 20 (Somerset 36-1). Oh and Notts have lost a third \u2013 Joe Clarke for one, caught off Fisher. (Notts 14-3.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Surrey on the march: the first wicket of the round is Haseeb Hameed in the second over of the morning, the next his opening partner Ben Slater, five balls later. Notts 11-2, a wicket each for Dan Worrall and Matthew Fisher.<\/p>\n Two catches for Ollie Pope who was one of five members of the super-sized England squad to have very sensibly been released to play in the Championship. The others are Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex) and Fisher (Surrey).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There has been an outbreak of sunshine in Derby and there will be a pitch inspection at 11.50am. The groundstaff mop the covers.<\/p>\n And hello Tim Maitland: \u201cIt\u2019s been a while. In fact it\u2019s been an eternity, during which time I have come to the inevitable conclusion that all the Hundred does is prove that an endless stream of sixes serves only to make sixes seem less exciting. <\/p>\n \u201dSome of the One Day Cup games were watchable though, weren\u2019t they? I\u2019ll get to the point.<\/p>\n \u201dComing, as you do, from the wrong side of the Pennines, can you either now or at greater length at a later time, please make sense of what Lancashire<\/a> are doing in the second division and why, if you believe all the Red Rose propaganda, such a great cricketing county is second from bottom in a division they\u2019ve no business being in? <\/p>\n \u201dAs facetious as my approach may seem, I am genuinely interested. Considering how Yorkshire are (nearly always correctly) portrayed as the poster boys for how not to run a county, Lancashire (and indeed Middlesex) seem to be saying \u201cHold my beer\u201d (or in Middlesex\u2019s case, my Pimms and lemonade).<\/p>\n P.S. Given that (apart from detesting Lancashire, complaining about the weather, beer, pies, Rugby League and claiming that Yorkshire is God\u2019s Own County) hating Leeds is about the only thing that truly unites Yorkshiremen, do you think the genius executives of the Sun TV Network Limited were genuinely surprised that attendances dropped close to 20% after they renamed the Northern Superchargers as Sunrisers Leeds?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Debuts for Henry Nicholls for Somerset, and Hamza Shaikh for Leicestershire<\/a>, signed from Warwickshire mid season.<\/p>\n Hamza Shaikh gets his first Leicestershire cap. Photograph: John Mallett\/ProSports\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.45 EDT<\/p>\n Delays, delays<\/p>\n No play at three grounds for now: Old Trafford, Edgbaston, and here at Derby where thunder has just rolled alluringly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Arrive at Derby in teeming rain. Apparently Ben Stokes had a net at 8.30am but it all looks very soggy now.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes dashs in from the rain. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.43 EDT<\/p>\n Over in Leeds, England and Pakistan wade into day two of the Test. Ali Martin was watching yesterday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Last night I heard a radio programme<\/a> about an amazing young man called Ben West who, after his beloved younger brother Sam took his own life aged 15, started a suicide prevention website called Reasons to Stay<\/a>. Strangers submit letters for people struggling with their mental health, which are then checked by clinical professionals. Anyone visiting the website gets a new letter, a new message of hope, each time they refresh. It is there for you if you need a helping hand.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Weather watch<\/p>\n There\u2019s a yellow weather warning hanging over the UK today. It\u2019s good news for the parched earth of course, but talk about timing. The Met office says: \u201cFrequent showers are expected, some being heavy and thundery with a risk of hail. The most intense showers are likely across parts of England and Wales, especially northern and central areas. More isolated elsewhere and feeling cooler than of late.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Division Two table<\/p>\n 1 Durham<\/a> 149<\/p>\n 2 Kent<\/a> 117<\/p>\n 3 Northants 115<\/p>\n 4 Middlesex<\/a> 99<\/p>\n 5 Derbyshire<\/a> 99<\/p>\n 6 Worcestershire<\/a> 95<\/p>\n 7 Lancashire<\/a> 81<\/p>\n 8 Gloucestershire<\/a> 38<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Division One table<\/p>\n 1 Notts 116<\/p>\n 2 Somerset<\/a> 111<\/p>\n 3 Warwickshire<\/a> 111<\/p>\n 4 Glamorgan<\/a> 107<\/p>\n 5 Sussex<\/a> 105<\/p>\n 6 Essex<\/a> 105<\/p>\n 7 Surrey<\/a> 91<\/p>\n 8 Yorkshire<\/a> 89<\/p>\n 9 Hampshire<\/a> 72<\/p>\n 10 Leicestershire<\/a> 72<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Happy retirement Keith BarkerGolden arm: Keith Barker Photograph: Warren Little\/Getty Images<\/p>\n After 17 seasons, Keith Barker has finally hung up his boots after being troubled by injury. He started his career at Warwickshire<\/a> and then had seven magnificent years at Hampshire before returning to Edgbaston last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI always knew this day would come, but that doesn\u2019t make it any easier. In my head I still want to compete, still want the ball in my hand and still believe I can make a difference. Unfortunately, after a long career and plenty of injuries, my body is telling me it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n \u201cTo finish my career where it started, in a city that became my home and at a club that will always mean so much to me, feels incredibly special.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to miss playing more than I can put into words, but I\u2019ll walk away proud, grateful and thankful to everyone who has been part of the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n He was always so fun to watch and a pleasure to speak to pre season a few years ago. Wishing him a happy retirement.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Fixtures<\/p>\n DIVISION ONE<\/p>\n Southampton: Hampshire v Yorkshire<\/p>\n Grace Road: Leicestershire<\/a> v Glamorgan<\/p>\n Taunton: Somerset<\/a> v Essex<\/p>\n The Oval: Surrey v Nottinghamshire<\/p>\n Edgbaston: Warwickshire<\/a> v Sussex<\/p>\n DIVISION TWO<\/p>\n Derby: Derbyshire<\/a> v Durham<\/p>\n Cheltenham: Gloucestershire<\/a> v Worcestershire<\/p>\n Old Trafford: Lancashire v Northamptonshire<\/p>\n Merchant Taylors\u2019 School: Middlesex<\/a> v Kent<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello! We\u2019re back and.. it\u2019s belting down. Or at least it was but, by the magic of Darren Stevens, the slate of Stoke on Trent has, after Uttoxeter, faded to fluffy clouds and milky skies as I head to Derby to start this round of fixtures much as I ended the last block \u2013 on Stokes watch.<\/p>\n This is the first of six helter-skelter rounds of Championship cricket which will finally slow to a stop on 27 September. By then we will have a Championship winner, two relegated Division One teams and two happily promoted clubs from Division Two. Thrillingly, nothing is yet set in stone (though Durham<\/a> look likely to be playing top tier cricket next year) and it\u2019s tight at the top of Division One.<\/p>\n There are some intriguing fixtures to restart with \u2013 a relegation battle between Hampshire and Yorkshire, a repeat of last year\u2019s big beast face-off at The Oval (only Surrey are seventh and there\u2019s no Josh Tongue), and some jockeying for position at Edgbaston and Taunton. Glamorgan take on their fellow promoted team Leicestershire<\/a>, though the form book says this will end only one way.<\/p>\n