Key events<\/p>\n
Yorks chip away \u2013 Felix Organ now gone, spooning to mid-on for an adhesive 15. But Andrew Neal is still there on 26. Hants 200-7 need 78.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n A ninth wicket falls at OT, Noman caught at leg slip for three. Lancs 108-9, extras the top scorer.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Once Northants have wrapped things up at OT, there\u2019s tension building at Southampton (Hants need 91, three wickets left); intrigue at Taunton (Essex lead by 89 on a spinning track, 9 wickets down) and I was going to say gentle meanderings at Cheltenham but Gloucestershire<\/a> have just declared \u2013 Worcs need 279 to win.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n They\u2019re back on in bright sunshine at OT. Calvin Harrison has the ball. Debutant Walkden and Noman Ali the batters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kent beat Middlesex by 46 runs!<\/p>\n And that\u2019s that! Two in two for Parkinson (2-22), and a team bowling performance by Kent- three for Singh, two for Quinn and Dudgeon and one for Milnes. Cracknell high and dry on 65.<\/p>\n Merchant Taylors\u2019 School: Kent 350 and 254 BEAT Middlesex<\/a> 249 and 309 by 46 runs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A crucial wicket on the prarie. Parky the man, Tom Helm having a swipe and caught by DBD on the offside. Middx 309-9.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Should (ahem) Lancs lose this game it will be only their fifth defeat to Northants at OT, and the first time Northants have beaten Lancs here since 1999.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lunchtime scores<\/p>\n Southampton: Hampshire 197 and 179-6 v Yorkshire<\/a> 173 and 301 Hampshire need 99 to win<\/p>\n Grace Road: Leicestershire<\/a> 151 and 257 BEAT Glamorgan 152 and 214 by 42 runs<\/p>\n Taunton: Somerset<\/a> 469 v Essex 158 and 394-7<\/p>\n The Oval: Nottinghamshire<\/a> 184 and 306 BEAT Surrey 162 and 183 by 145 runs<\/p>\n Edgbaston: Warwickshire<\/a> 161 and 206-9 BEAT Sussex 156 and 207 by one wicket<\/p>\n DIVISION TWO<\/p>\n Derby: Durham 283 and 295-6dec BEAT Derbyshire<\/a> 156 and 84 by 338 runs<\/p>\n Cheltenham: Gloucestershire<\/a> 150 and 360-6 v Worcestershire 267<\/p>\n Old Trafford: Lancashire 137 and 106-8 v Northamptonshire<\/a> 284 and 298-4dec Lancs need 340 to win<\/p>\n Merchant Taylors\u2019 School: Middlesex<\/a> 249 and 300-8 v Kent 350 and 254 Middx need 56 to win<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Leicestershire BEAT Glamorgan by 42 runs!<\/p>\n Fabulous stuff! Not dead yet. A second win of the season for the Foxes. Five wickets for Ian Holland as Toole edges behind to Tattersall. A second win in consecutive games to boot.<\/p>\n Grace Road: Leicestershire<\/a> 151 and 257 BEAT Glamorgan 152 and 214 by 42 runs<\/p>\n Glamorgan\u2019s Kiran Carlson is caught at slip for 99 during their defeat to Leicestershire. Photograph: John Mallett\/ProSports\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.32 EDT<\/p>\n Lancs make it to lunch, Leicestershire have to get through another over of Ian Holland.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An extended morning session at Grace Road too, as Leicestershire<\/a> finally winkle out Chris Cooke for 33, lbw Holland, and now Crane too! The scales suddenly tip: 44 needed, one wicket in hand.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n They\u2019re playing an extra 15 minutes here at OT to see if Northants can wrap it up. Lunchtime scores elsewhere to follow.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And another one down at OT, a breath before sandwiches, a wicket for Harrison in his second over, Balderson caught at short leg. Lancs 99-8<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Five wickets for Jack Leach!<\/p>\n Somerset are slowly winkling those pesky Essex men out, though Harmer and Snater have added 20 and hung around for 10 overs. Careful patient bowling by Leach. Essex 390-7, lead by 79.<\/p>\n Jack Leach has been bowling up a storm at Taunton. Photograph: Harry Trump\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.31 EDT<\/p>\n Whether lunch or the new ball come more quickly for Leicestershire<\/a>, they need something. Just 54 needed now by Glamorgan, three wickets in hand, Crane and Cooke still there. Should Leicestershire win, Surrey will find themselves in even more of a relegation scrap.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Joe Moores out obstructing the field<\/p>\n Oh dear. Poor Moores instinctively puts his hand out and catches the ball after chopping it into the ground. He drops it almost as soon as it falls into his glove, in horrible realisation of what he\u2019s done, but it is too late.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Carlson out for 99<\/p>\n What an innings. Carlson must be in the top division of cricketers to have not quite made it for England. He has carried Glamorgan<\/a> to not quite touching distance, throwing distance, but with Crane and Cooke together victory is possible. Glam 193-7 need 64.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Young Joe Moores stands in the middle of the pitch all alone as Northants celebrate a second wicket in six balls. First Shetty is lbw to Sanderson, then Flintoff flays a short ball from that man Procter to deep backward square. Lancs 80-6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Hello Tim Maitland!<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell do Australia gain pushing out their Dad\u2019s Army one more time for the Bangladesh series? They must know that they have a crisis looming with Steve Smith 37, Alex Carey 34, Pat Cummins 33, Mitchell Starc 36, Nathan Lyon 38 and Josh Hazelwood 35 reaching an age where the cost of adult diapers, Werther\u2019s Originals and barley sugar could make touring financially unviable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not as if the \u201cyoungsters\u201d in the side – Travis Head 32, Marnus Labuschagne 32, – are going to be around long enough to babysit the new generation of players Australia are going to have to blood all at once, are they?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re probably beginning to wonder what relevance this has to your lovely County Cricket Live Blog, so let me ask now is a player like Nathan McSweeney better served playing Metro Bank One Dayers and a County Championship<\/a> game against a Lancashire side seemingly determined to prove it\u2019s one of the worst in the country for Northants (no criticism intended, I grew up there), or were the games in Darwin and Mackay a chance to prove that he\u2019s more than just Jasprit Bumrah\u2019s bunny?<\/p>\n \u201cMcSweeney, at 27, did all he could do to show he was worth another shot by captaining Australia A and scoring 226 not out in the only unofficial test against England Lions last winter but won\u2019t get another shot because Australia A\u2019s next game is until next September in India.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if McSweeney didn\u2019t deserve a go against Bangladesh, surely a couple of other names familiar to County Cricket would have benefited more from the experience – Jhye Richardson 29, last seen in May with Yorkshire<\/a>, or Fergus O\u2019Neill (barely out of kindergarten at 25) who\u2019s been ripping up trees for Nottinghamshire – than wheeling out the creaking joints of Starc, Cummins et al to firstly underperform and then equally as embarrassingly prove that they\u2019re out of Bangladesh\u2019s league inside two days.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just confusing that Cricket<\/a> Australia on the one hand don\u2019t seem to be investing in the Australia A set up while a generation of stars are qualifying for their bus passes and yet did nothing to take this opportunity to give them test match experience. The only excuse I can find for them is, given that it\u2019s taken them 23 years to get round to giving Bangladesh a Test series in Aus, maybe they don\u2019t have much experience of selecting teams to play the less-competitive nations?\u201d<\/p>\n Good question.<\/p>\n Australian captain Pat Cummins following the second Test against Bangladesh. Photograph: Dave Hunt\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.27 EDT<\/p>\n A nice opportunity for Rocky Flintoff and Arav Shetty here at OT. There\u2019s something abour Rocky, the high elbow, the little adjustments, the way he walks and cricks his neck, which are just like his dad. He made 60 something and a hundred in the one-day cup, so he\u2019s got form on the board.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhether this game will be as finger-nail biting as the Sussex\/Warks game is to be seen, but it\u2019s intriguingly poised,\u201d writes Mike Daniels from the Grace Road scorebox.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch for Glamorgan<\/a> depends on their pocket dynamo Kiran Carlson, who impresses every time I see him. Both sides need the win for very different reasons but I can\u2019t pick a winner at the moment. Should be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Glamorgan are currently 164-6, need another 93. Carlson still there on 94.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bohannon, averaging 19.52 this season, pushes forward defensively but it\u2019s a zinger from Luke Procter who, along with James Anderson, is only remaining player from Lancashire\u2019s 2011 Championship winning side still on the pitch.<\/p>\n Fact of the day from Paul Edwards: Procter, who was a qualified electrician, considering a plumbing career, and training as a hairdresser when at OT, has just signed a new two-year contract with Northants which will take him to 40.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.00 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019s looking terminal for Middlesex<\/a>, who have lost du Plooy (40) and quickly afterwards Gohar (1). 217-7 they need a nominal 139.<\/p>\n And after 45 minutes, Northants get the breakthrough here at OT, Bailey losing his off stump to Guthrie. Lancs 51-3.<\/p>\n Liam Guthrie lets loose for Northants. Photograph: George Franks\/ProSports\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.02 EDT<\/p>\n Poor Matt Critchley, snaffled at second slip off Jack Leach for 94. Essex 341-4 lead by 30. Somerset<\/a> will have to get wriggle on here or this game is going to drift away.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A drop at OT, Saif Zaib can\u2019t hold on at slip to an edge from Bailey. Lancs 37 for two.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An early wicket at Merchant Taylor\u2019s School, where Kent<\/a> must have half an eye on events at Old Trafford. Higgins the man to go, bowled Matt Quinn. Middx 200-5, need another 156. du Plooy 38 not out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Arrive at Old Trafford, where the press box is not optimistic. Nor, it seems, was Steven Croft last night: \u201cWe\u2019ve been out-skilled today again with bat and ball, are behind in this game as well, and tomorrow we\u2019ve got to come back and show what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Durham coach Campbell hails Potts and co<\/p>\n Durham coach Ryan Campbell giving diamond quotes as usual: \u201cIf there\u2019s anyone around the country who doesn\u2019t think that boy can play Test cricket they are absolutely crazy because that pressure he brought along with his ability to nip the ball both ways and never miss the spot is outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n And on Ben McKinney\u2019s 140: \u201cThat\u2019s probably Ben\u2019s best innings that he\u2019s played for Durham because we were none for one, the ball was nipping all over the shop and he showed his ability to knuckle down and be disciplined outside the off stump but if you gave him anything he was ruthless.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s another young kid who\u2019s out there for England at some point, I\u2019ve now doubt that he\u2019ll be coming.\u201d<\/p>\n And on Ben Stokes: \u201cI\u2019m a cricket fan and it was a sad day when he decided to retire. When he said \u2018I\u2019m going to go back and play for Durham\u2019 my ears sparked and the way he\u2019s bounded into the room and he\u2019s dragging every young fellow with him and trying to make them better it\u2019s hard not to just go \u2018wow!\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIn this game both with the bat and ball it\u2019s the Ben Stokes we know and he is the recruit of the year for us and now I guess I\u2019ve got to try and work out a way how I\u2019m going to contract him for next year!\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.03 EDT<\/p>\n Round-up: Stokes and Potts demolish Derbyshire<\/p>\n Durham showed why they are 50-league-boots ahead at the top of Division Two with a crushing display at Derby. Where to start with such a thrashing? The glorious 140 from Ben McKinney, eight match wickets for the magnificent Matthew Potts or some entertaining humpty and five wickets for the still irrepressible Ben Stokes?<\/p>\n Derbyshire lost their remaining wickets quickly on a sunny morning, which gave Durham a chance to gather runs of their own. Alex Lees fell to Ben Aitchison\u2019s first ball, but from there the tap was open. McKinney was majestic, rifle-shots flying to the rope, 15 fours and six sixes in all.<\/p>\n Half-centuries from Will Rhodes and a coconut-shying Stokes kept the scoreboard firing at the other end until Durham declared with Derbyshire set 423 to win. It was all over in less than a session as an almost unplayable Potts fired out three, and Stokes collected three more in his first over, later felling Brett Randell with a brutish bouncer (who went off after a second concussion check and didn\u2019t bat again). Stokes collected two more and Derbyshire sloped away, after the largest defeat by runs in their history.<\/p>\n Olly Stone\u2019s match figures of 10 for 94 detonated Surrey at the Oval. The last Notts bowler to take 10 against Surrey<\/a> at their home was Harold Larwood in 1936, and Stone proved almost as potent. Only Ollie Pope, last man out for 111, could hang about as Surrey were crushed by 145 runs.<\/p>\n Warwickshire won a thriller against their title-chasing rivals at Edgbaston, but only just. Their one-wicket victory over Sussex came as Chris Woakes and Olly Hannon-Dalby played out 13 dot balls before Woakes scrapped the winning runs. Earlier, Tom Haines had stood tall with 67 against fabulous bowling, leaving Warwickshire<\/a> to chase 203. Sean Hunt grabbed five wickets but Vansh Jani and Dan Mousley took Warwickshire most of the way and Woakes did the rest.<\/p>\n Things are tight on a dry pitch at Southampton where Hampshire need another 172 to beat Yorkshire, with seven wickets in hand. Yorkshire\u2019s tail added vital runs, with 30s from Jonny Bairstow, batting down the order because of a finger injury, and George Hill. Then Hampshire struggled to build impetus against a disciplined attack and a slow outfield.<\/p>\n Essex toughed it out against Somerset thanks to a rearguard 105 from Charlie Allison, and 76 from Matt Critchley, as they finished with an unlikely lead of three runs after following on. Somerset<\/a>, without Lewis Gregory who slipped and bruised his hip in Essex\u2019s first innings, plugged away without much reward.<\/p>\n Division Two promotion hopefuls Northants swarmed over Lancashire, dismissing them for 137, then setting 446 for victory thanks to a hundred from Ricardo Vasconcelos. Lancs then collapsed to 24 for two. Kent, also with Division One ambitions, are in a good position at Merchant Taylor School. They set Middlesex 356 to win, thanks to 50s from Tawanda Muyeye and Ben Compton, before Ekansh Singh plucked out the Middlesex top three before stumps.<\/p>\n Gloucestershire fought back at Cheltenham with half centuries from Ollie Price and Miles Hammond; while Sheridon Gumbs\u2019 93 put Leicestershire in a hopeful position against Glamorgan.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Scores on the doors<\/p>\n Southampton: Hampshire 197 and 106-3 v Yorkshire<\/a> 173 and 301 Hampshire need 172 to win<\/p>\n Grace Road: Leicestershire<\/a> 151 and 257 v Glamorgan 152 and 126-5 Glamorgan need 131 to win<\/p>\n Taunton: Somerset<\/a> 469 v Essex 158 and 314-3<\/p>\n The Oval: Nottinghamshire<\/a> 184 and 306 BEAT Surrey 162 and 183 by 145 runs<\/p>\n Edgbaston: Warwickshire<\/a> 161 and 206-9 BEAT Sussex 156 and 207 by one wicket<\/p>\n DIVISION TWO<\/p>\n Derby: Durham 283 and 295-6dec BEAT Derbyshire<\/a> 156 and 84 by 338 runs<\/p>\n Cheltenham: Gloucestershire<\/a> 150 and 248-3 v Worcestershire 267<\/p>\n Old Trafford: Lancashire 137 and 24-2 v Northamptonshire<\/a> 284 and 298-4<\/p>\n Merchant Taylors\u2019 School: Middlesex<\/a> 249 and 186-4 v Kent 350 and 254 Middx need 170 to win<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the final day of this August round of games. It\u2019s a beautiful morning in Manchester, sunny with a hint of autumnal bite (and very active squirrels), so no meteorological mercy in sight for Lancashire<\/a> in their battle for survival against Northants. It was a great day\u2019s cricket yesterday around the grounds, with three results \u2013 a nail-biter at Edgbaston won by Warwicks, alongside old-fashioned thumpings for Surrey and Derbyshire at the hands of Notts and Durham. Lots more to look forward to today, do join us.<\/p>\n