Key events
At The Oval, Warwickshire inserted Surrey and Ethan Bamber has pinched out Dom Sibley for six. Surrey are boosted by England’s Ollie Pope and Gus Atkinson, as well as ex-England Ben Foakes, Rory Burns and Sibley, and near-England Dan Lawrence, and one Test Matt Fisher, and England-speculated Dan Worrall, plus Tom Lawes, Ryan Patel and Jordan Clark. Surrey 37-1.
And a wicket for one-Test Josh Hull at Grace Road, a spicy yorker through the defences of Joe Phillips. Gloucs 53-1.
Leicestershire are without their pocket rocket Rehan Ahmed, kicking his heels with England, and here at Grace Road Gloucestershire have made a tasty start, Ben Charlesworth sending a half volley from Ian Holland dancing over the grass for four. Gloucs 39-0.
At Taunton, Jonny Bairstow has followed up his admiration for the Taunton pitch with a catch to dismiss Archie Vaughan off George Hill. Somerset are 21-1 after being invited to bat. Somerset are not totally out of the Championship race yet – unlikely as it is with a 26-point gap to Surrey and 17 points between them and Notts.
The weather has been kind and we have games around the grounds. As well as Ben Green turning out for Somerset, we have Olly Stone on loan to Middlesex, and Mayank Agarwal spending his September in Yorkshire colours. There are undoubtedly more…
Out stroll the umpires, onto the vast expanse of Grace Road. Leicestershire are without Ben Green, who has signed on the dotted line to become a Leicestershire player for the next two seasons but been recalled by Somerset for the final three weeks of the season. Ian Holland has been appointed captain for the rest of the season after Peter Handscomb returned home ahead of the Australian summer.
The County Structure (part 999)
Although the counties have agreed to cut the number of Blast fixtures, the future of the Championship remains up in the air. Following extensive discussion, the option that will be put forward to a vote by the county chairs is the 13-game County Championship version, with a 12-strong Division One divided into two conferences, and six-team Division Two.
The Division One teams would play each team in their group twice, before splitting, with the top three teams in each group playing each other to decide the Champion. The bottom three would battle to avoid relegation, while the two top teams from Division Two will be promoted (after a 13-game season).
A cut to the Championship would be sweetened by the addition of a couple of one-day cup games. If the proposal doesn’t get the two-thirds majority needed, the counties will stick with the current 14-game season, and either decision will be set in stone till 2031.
Division Two table
1 Leicestershire 193
2 Glamorgan 165
3 Derbyshire 141
4 Middlesex 138
5 Gloucestershire 131
6 Lancashire 127
7 Northants 123
8 Kent 97
Division One table
1 Surrey 175
2 Nottinghamshire 166
3 Somerset 149
4 Warwickshire 148
5 Hampshire 129
6 Sussex 127
7 Yorkshire 126
7 Essex 126
9 Durham 114
10 Worcestershire 89
Fixtures
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex v Durham
Taunton: Somerset v Yorkshire
The Oval: Surrey v Warwickshire
Hove: Sussex v Hampshire
New Road: Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire
DIVISION TWO
Canterbury: Kent v Lancashire
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Gloucestershire
Lord’s: Middlesex v Derbyshire
Northampton: Northants v Glamorgan
Preamble
Welcome back! It’s a heavenly September morning at Grace Road, neck-kissingly warm, a dappled blue sky, trees just starting the annual journey from lime green to mustard yellow.
Leicester can clinch promotion this round if they can gather 20 points – a win against Gloucestershire and any four bonus points. What they are being promoted to remains uncertain – more on this later.
Play starts round the grounds at 10.30 am, do grab a coffee and join us.
