Key events
Another lbw, another wicket for Hutton. Tazeem Ali gone for 12. Warwickshire are one run ahead.
Relegation calculatoins
We think Essex are safe. Hampshire (now one down), if they win, are safe. So all eyes to Headingley where Durham are in deep trouble – Yorkshire are still batting, a lead of 104.
This is too, too easy. Hampshire: 59-0.
And another! Three in the over. Booth gets bat (?) onto ball and it trickles, like a cold wet Thursday, onto his stumps. Warwicks 106 for eight.
Barnard undone by a beauty from Dillon Pennington – a 200th first-class wicket, and second in the over. Warwickshire 104 for seven now and the season fading fast.
“Switching off for a short period can really hurt”
Paul Farbrace on Sussex’s near miss:“I just said to the lads up in the changing room, it is a lesson that you can play brilliant cricket for a day and a half, then switching off for a short period can really hurt.
“Robbo (Ollie Robinson) was outstanding. He hasn’t quite been fully fit this year but when he has been he has stood up. When you need your best players, they tend to stand up.
“The lads got a bit panicky for that short period after being so good for a day and a half, playing some silly shots, but we held on in the end.”
Notts nearly there. Zen Malik shuffles into Pennington for 32. Warwicks 103 for six.
Press box team of the season
Haseeb Hameed
Dom Sibley
Rehan Ahmed
Tom Haines
Saif Zaib
James Rew (c)
Calvin Harrison
Tom Taylor
George Hill
Josh Tongue
Jack Leach
“I’m just picking through the wreckage of Australia A’s five-wicket defeat to India in Lucknow,” writes Tim Maitland. “Despite having taken a first innings lead of 226. The only logical explanation to a scoreline that reads Australia A 420 & 185 India A 194 & 413 for 5 is they were so impressed with this year’s county championship that they played the first and fourth innings with Kookaburra balls and the middle innings with Duke’s.”
Leicestershire set Northants 501 to win
Where’s Brian Lara when you need him. Half centuries for Patel, Budinger and Cox (off 30 balls) in Leicestershire’s 260-5.
The umpire raises his finger high as Sam Hain plays a studiedly defensive bat and edges behind, Verrynne leaping in front of slip to take. A first wicket for James, Warwicks 91 for five, still 25 behind.
At Southampton, no scares yet for Hampshire, 16 for 0.
A last lunchtime walk around the ground. It’s cold now, and quite dark and a young steward sweeps up under the stands.
A good showing of fans though, especially in the stand opposite the press box. Someone has brought a fantastic supply of Marks and Spencer treats. And there are a good number of lovely woolly Notts jumpers on display.
Thanks to Neville Scott for his statistical delving – the leading wicket takert his season is not Kyle Abbott but four-counties Tom Taylor: 58 wickets at 22.88.
Not a bad season’s work for Kyle Abbott: 56 wickets at 20.7.
A presentation at Trent Bridge to Alex Hales for 18 years of service.
Lunchtime scores
Chelmsford: Essex 393-7 v Somerset 433
Southampton: Hampshire 248 and 1-0 v Surrey 147 and 281 Hampshire need 180 to win
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 374v Warwickshire 258 and 79-4
New Road: Sussex 350 and 63-7 BEAT Worcestershire 123 and 287 by three wickets.
Headingley: Yorkshire 365-7 v Durham 346
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 265 and 118-4 v Lancashire 374
Canterbury: Kent 217-5 v Derbyshire 698-6dec
Lord’s: Middlesex 634-9dec v Gloucestershire 217-6
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 189 v Leicestershire 429 and 207-5
I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Thanks to Romeo for finding a previous Muslim CC-winning captain.
”Asif Iqbal was captain of Kent in 1977 when they won the CC jointly with Middlesex. He was replaced for 1978, when Kent won on their own, by Alan Ealham because of the shenanigans over the Packer lot.”
Hampshire need 181 to win
Good money on Matt Fisher running through them before stumps.
Sussex beat Worcestershire by three wickets
Skin of teeth. Ollie Robinson, eleven wickets in the match, hits the winning runs. Ali was watching. “Amusing moment over the stream from New Road – Ollie Robinson walks out with two runs required, seven down, to a shout of “you’re a one-man team” from the stand.”
New Road: Sussex 350 and 63-7 BEAT Worcestershire 123 and 287 by three wickets.
Sussex now seven down… two runs needed…
“Off for bad light at Headingley and an early lunch (it’s barely 12 noon guys, even my dad waited until 1230 for his ) with Yorkshire 365 for seven. Durham looked miffed at being denied the chance to bowl under heavy cloud cover.
But the news from the south coast will delight both these sides. If Surrey recover to beat Hampshire a drawn game at Headingley would send Hampshire down. Tanya, arithmetical genius that she is, will be able to give you all the details you desire.”
Hoppsy, I know you only put that line in to check if I read your copy.
Essex pretty safe and more
Around the grounds at midday.
In Division One:
Essex have picked up a third batting point, and are, i think, almost safe. 369 for five. Elgar gone for 118. Somerset are hoping to overtake Surrey but much depends on what is happening at Southampton….
…where Kyle Abbot is seeing off the season with a bang (5-71) and Surrey have a lead of 176 with one wicket left. All eyes here this afternoon for the relegation run chase.
Warwickshire haven’t collapsed in a heap, but are in trouble at 65 for four, still 51 behind the Champions. Hain and Malik rebuilding.
There is bad light at Headingley, where Yorkshire, seven down, have a lead of 19.
And Sussex are five down, but need just 16 at New Road.
Still quite a lot of people in today at TB, perhaps to see the trophy presentation later, if Notts get this over the line this afternoon. Abbas, gliding like water between rocks, is a joy to watch, would be a wonderful present for the party division next year if he does go to Derbyshire.
Sussex, now 33 for four, need 28. Surely, surely, not?
Over to Hoppsy.
“Dew on the cars,” warned Kevin Sharp, who is doing some coaching with Yorkshire women these days, and who has recently moved back to the Broad Acres after many years in Worcestershire. But dew on the cars has not materialised into dew on the pitch, and Yorkshire have moved cagily into a first-innings lead.
“They have lost their sixth wicket, though, a fourth for the redoubtable Ben Raine, who tailed one back to have Matthew Revis lbw. Revis won Yorkshire’s player of the year award last night and his stock has risen enough for him to be mentioned in despatches when England A squads are discussed. We all have players who through a quirk of fate have never played outstandingly when others have, and Revis is mine.
“He is a tall, powerful lad, but his bowling threat remains theoretical rather than actual – his first-class average remains the wrong side of 45. Championship hundreds in three successive matches this season is statistical proof of his ability and Durham will be pleased to see the back of him. As an aside, by the way, the ejected spectator yesterday was a Yorkshire member and was removed because of alleged foul-mouthed abuse against the Durham coach Will Gidman and the stewards who intervened.”
Yorkshire 355 for six.
We were wondering in the press box whether HH is the first Muslim captain of a Championship winning side. We couldn’t think of a previous one. Can the hive mind help?
And a gentle lobbed catch sends Young on his way. A wicket had been coming. Warwicks 29 for four. Abbas three for ten.
Surrey are now eight down, a popped balloon ending to their 2025 summer. They lead by 152.
Thinking about Rob Steen, who was so always so generous to me when I was just starting out, and commissioned me to write for his New Ball magazine when I was almost too shy to speak to anyone. Such an altogether lovely guy. RIP.
Notes from yesterday that I didn’t have space to include – no one from this Notts side has ever won a Championship before.
And more from Peter Moores:
“I think all three titles as coach have been as good as each other. I think I’ve always been the same as a coach. I immerse myself in it, wherever I am. It’s part of the way I am. I’ve learnt a lot because you cock up a lot of things on the way as a coach, that’s for sure.
“When success comes, it’s a reward for everybody. I say to everybody, it’s not just about winning or losing our games. It’s a much bigger thing than that, it’s about the development of people, the stories, the memories you get. When you look back, it feels fantastic.”
Championship prize money
WINNERS £521,210
2 £260,600
3 £130,300
4 £104,240
5 £78,180
Walk in past an optimistic heron staring at the Premier Inn pond, Mower World and over the river, arriving just in time to hear the Trent Bridge announcer welcome the 2025 County Champions onto the field.
A lovely message from Hoppsy, remembering the dear cricket writer Rob Steen.
The dying days of the Championship season is the most wistful time of year for many cricket lovers, a time to reflect on summers now departed and the passage of time, and never more so than this year for me with old friends departing. Matthew Engel has written a beautiful tribute to Rob Steen, once a cricket writer of this parish, and a decent and principled man, that you can read below.
If you can face a slightly laddish anecdote, Rob cut his teeth on an England A tour in the early 1990s. He had minimal work and, in desperation, filed an analysis of the tour on spec to a Sri Lankan newspaper. Nothing was heard and Rob was at a low point. So a plot was hatched where Michael de Zoysa, who had become a friend, and who was to go on to become a much-respected Sri Lankan cricket figure, phoned Rob purporting to be the newspaper editor and informed him that if his piece was rewritten to become more favourable to the Sri Lankans they could pay him a pittance and publish it.
Rob dutifully obliged, removing all positive references to the England tourists and left the rewrite behind reception of the hotel to be collected, as instructed. Again, no piece appeared. The following evening, as Rob bemoaned his lot in life, Michael appeared in the bar waving the piece, complete now with yellow marker pen (his idea) and accusing him of “bloody colonial attitudes.”
Rob was no colonialist, quite the opposite, and was about to launch into a passionate defence of his beliefs when he realised he had been had. All I can say in our defence for such a prank is that he earned considerably more in free drinks that week than he would ever have earned had the piece gone to publication. RIP.
Elsewhere…
At the Utilita Bowl, Surrey relinquished the title for the first time in four years, and the spotlight swung to their opponents, Hampshire, who need to match Durham’s result against Yorkshire to avoid relegation. Hampshire took a first-innings lead of 101 but Ralphie Albert, grandson of snooker’s Jimmy White, made an unbeaten 61 to ensure Surrey’s bowlers would have something to defend.
Mayank Agarwal’s stunning 175, including 20 fours and five sixes, had the Headingley faithful purring in their seats, and took Yorkshire to within 32 runs of Durham’s total, with five wickets remaining. Jonny Bairstow fell first ball, a third wicket for Ben Raine, who had earlier been Durham’s last man out for 101.
At Chelmsford against Somerset, Paul Walter’s highest first-class score of 158 took Essex close to safety in Division One.
Meanwhile, the Professional Cricketers’ Association refused to rule out taking strike action. The body’s chief executive, Daryl Mitchell, told the BBC that he was “disappointed and disheartened” by the first-class counties’ decision to stick with the schedule status quo.
“We will be led by the players,” he said. “The WhatsApp group last night was pretty animated and there were some high emotions. We are a union. I don’t think any union would rule out the possibility of strike action if their members wanted it.”
Notts are champions!
Scores on the doors
Chelmsford: Essex 295-2 v Somerset 433
Southampton: Hampshire 248 v Surrey 147 and 225-6
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 374v Warwickshire 258 and 7-3
New Road: Worcestershire 123 and 270-6 v Sussex 350
Headingley: Yorkshire 314-5 v Durham 346
DIVISION TWO
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 265 and 41-2 v Lancashire 374
Canterbury: Kent 117-2 v Derbyshire 698-6dec
Lord’s: Middlesex 634-9dec v Gloucestershire 146-3
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 189v Leicestershire 429 and 86-2
Preamble
Hello from, suddenly and wistfully , the penultimate day of the season. The Championship is decided, the beer cans empty.
There was no bunting in town when I went in to buy coffee and a bowl of chia seed overnight oats (this is the Guardian, and I highly recommend public and plants if you’re In Nottingham.) But I hope the city embraces their cricket team. The Championship is an arduous slog, to win, to beat Surrey, is a huge achievement.
Attention now turns to the other end of the table, where Durham, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Essex scrabble to escape the drop. Play starts here at Trent Bridge and around the grounds at 1030am. Do join us, and bring a cardigan.
