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Thanks to Hoppsy (below) for occasional nuggets from Chelmsford as and when the muse strikes. I owe him a CCLive! beer very soon.
David Hopps
There is a good crowd in at Chelmsford as unabated sunshine continues to boost attendances, but the visiting Yorkshire contingent have been scratching their heads a little glumly at the teamsheet. They knew that the presence of Joe Root and Harry Brook was merely ephemeral (amounting to one game, last week’s defeat against Warwickshire) but there is no Malan, and no fast bowling partnership of Buckingham and Sears either. It’s McGrath vs Silverwood over the next four days, two coaches with both Essex and Yorkshire links, and although Essex lack the England-bound Sam Cook, that Yorkshire teamsheet does look a little vulnerable.
Hampshire’s fielders drop a third catch of the morning.
Injury watch
In no particular order and I’m sure I’ve missed some (I’ll update as you inform me!):
Jordan Cox and Paul Walter (Essex), Dillon Pennington (Notts), Joey Evison, Jas Singh (Kent).
A morning for batting so far – Alex Davies has slapped a couple of sixes off Surrey’s opening bowlers – the indignity! Just three wickets gone round the grounds – Bartlett has followed Procter back to the pavilion at Northampton, Northants 33-2 and Glamorgan have lost ul Hassan to Kashif Ali at Canterbury, Glamorgan 36-1.
An early wicket! Will Williams, back in the Lancashire squad for the first time this year, removes Luke Procter with his second ball of the summer. While second slip kindly gives Ben Slater a second life at Trent Bridge.
A first game in five years for Jason Roy
So the juggernaut can still pull a few surprises. Surrey, shorn of Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith, play Jason Roy at six and hand a debut to New Zealand right-arm fast bowler Nathan Smith.
Weather watch
We are up and running all round the grounds. The forecast is for warm and dry weather all round, with some showers possible on Monday, mainly in the south west.
Ali Martin
He may have been due a rest anyway but Latham and Webster in Warks team means no Michael Booth, their second- leading wicket taker (and tormentor of Harry Brook last week). Booth, Zimbabwe born, is qualifying for England but still an overseas player at present.
More on the PSL’s shift to the UAE.
Division One table
1 Nottinghamshire (played 4) 70
2 Warwickshire (played 4) 66
3 Surrey (played 4) 60
4 Durham (played 5 ) 58
5 Hampshire (played 4) 55
6 Sussex (played 4) 52
7 Somerset (played 5) 52
8 Essex (played 4) 50
9 Yorkshire (played 4) 43
10 Worcestershire (played 4) 18
Division Two table
1 Leicestershire (played 5) 95
2 Derbyshire (played 5) 74
3 Middlesex (played 5) 65
4 Kent (played 4) 55
5 Gloucestershire (played 5) 51
6 Lancashire (played 4) 46
7 Northamptonshire (played 4) 37
8 Glamorgan (played 4) 29
Tom Latham boosts already buoyant Warwickshire.
A morning missive, from Tim Maitland:
“We are less than two weeks away from England’s one-off Test with Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge acting as a soft curtain raiser for the curtain raisers of ODI and T20 series against West Indies, before the proper cricket starts, but where are we?
“Chastened and humbled after the pyjama teams took a beating in India and the disappointment at the Champions Trophy? That doesn’t seem to be our style anymore. It’s a shame really. We used to be so good at self-flagellation, didn’t we? With the exception of the decisions forced by the fitness or lack thereof of the bowlers, do we expect anything to change? Are we fielding a quasi Lions side or does the proper test team get a run out?
“Is Zac Crawley, over a year removed from his last Test century, really playing for his place? It’s not the Baz-Ben style to hang a player out to dry like that, is it? We back ourselves. And when that doesn’t work we back ourselves some more.
“Personally, I’d quite like to see a bit more of a chalk-and-cheese approach to the opening pair: someone with a contrasting style to Ben Duckett, an accumulator more than a shot maker perhaps, who can solidify things should Duckett’s aggression fail and limit the number of times we get to see Joe Root trudging out with barely 10 runs on the board and the ball still cherry ripe.
“It’s a moot point because it’s not going to happen, but who would that be? Does Tom Haines of Sussex, the first and only player to pass 500 runs in the County Championship this year, get a look in? Two centuries and two 60s in his last three games (against Notts, Surrey and Somerset, no less) is some return. Or does Haseeb Hameed deserve a third chance? A county captain averaging over 110 for the Championship leaders who did contribute three half-centuries when India toured here in 2021. Does Bazball get a buzz from resurrecting mis-managed talent?
“Or would it be more in character for Stokes and McCullum to take the next cab from the rank of their own system and push Durham’s 20-year-old Ben McKinney into the spotlight after his century for England Lions against Australia A in February and his form-confirming 153 against Warwickshire last month? I need a lie down.”
IPL suspended, PSL moved
And the political tensions between Pakistan and India throw their shadow over cricket.
The PSL is going to play the rest of its season in the UAE, and the IPL has been suspended indefinitely.
For your coffee break, a moving interview with Mohammad Abbas, by Ali. Abbas returns to the Championship today, though in the unfamiliar colours of Nottinghamshire, and against his old county.
Fixtures
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex v Yorkshire
Trent Bridge: Notts v Hampshire
Hove: Sussex v Worcestershire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Surrey
DIVISION TWO
Canterbury: Kent v Glamorgan
County Ground: Northamptonshire v Lancashire
Preamble
Good morning! Round six, already. Elderflower stretching out, still no rain or swifts. And an England call up for CCLive favourite, young James Rew, replacing the unlucky Jordan Cox. Things get underway at 11, do join us.
