Championship Round-up: Robinson show continues at Chester-le-Street

Championship Round-up: Robinson show continues at Chester-le-Street

Elsewhere, Lewis Gregory kept Middlesex in check against Somerset, while the Adams pair lead Hampshire's fight at Trent Bridge

Stumps, Day Two: Sussex 335 and 115/3 lead Durham 339 (Hastings 72; Robinson 4/71, Shahzad 4/72) by 111 runs, at Emirates International Cricket Ground

Debutant Oliver Robinson continued his excellent performance for Sussex, claiming a four wicket haul after the second day at the Emirates International Cricket Ground.

Robinson, who made history with his century yesterday, followed up his two wickets last night with that of Durham number three Scott Borthwick, as the hosts wobbled to 165/4. The 21-year-old, who also took the wicket of Paul Collingwood, Durham’s hero in their victory over Somerset, finished with 4/71 in his maiden first-class game, whilst Ajmal Shahzad continued his excellent season thus far with figures of four for 72.

Like Sussex, Durham had to rely on their tail-enders to rescue them from danger, with Usman Arshad and John Hastings making 116 for the ninth wicket, the latter making 72 from just 86 balls, as the hosts secured a slender first innings lead.

Sussex, given 32 overs in the final session, began their second innings in fits and starts, with three players dismissed between 24 and 30. Closing on 115/3, Matt Machan (25 not out) will look to steer the visitors to a defendable total at Chester-le-Street, whilst a certain centurion may be eyeing up promotion in the batting line-up when his second bat comes around.

 

Stumps, Day Two: Middlesex 306/7 (Voges 98, Gubbins 92; Gregory 4/93) trail Somerset 408 by 102 runs, at Taunton

Four wickets from Lewis Gregory kept Somerset in a strong position against Middlesex, despite two fifties from the visitors at Taunton.

Gregory, who already has one five-wicket haul to his name this season, was by far the strongest of the hosts’ bowlers , finishing the day with four for 92 as Middlesex closed still 102 runs behind Somerset’s first innings effort of 408.

Resuming on five without loss, Middlesex lost both Sam Robson and Nick Compton within the first hour, with the former England pair edging to slip and the wicketkeeper respectively, as Gregory claimed his first two scalps of the day.

“The Middle” were able to recover though, in the form of Nick Gubbins and captain Adam Voges, with both players making it to the 90s but finishing short of three figures – Gubbins caught at slip off Jamie Overton (3/42), whilst Voges was lbw to Gregory.

The visitors’ middle order didn’t collapse as Somerset’s did the previous day, with James Franklin’s 41 anchoring the side at stumps, although Overton fought back with two wickets in three balls to give Marcus Trescothick’s side a strong chance of claiming a first-innings lead at Taunton after an interrupted second day.

 

Stumps, Day Two: Hampshire 167/4 trail Nottinghamshire 371 by 204 runs, at Trent Bridge

A battling half-century from Jimmy Adams has given Hampshire hope in their game with Nottinghamshire, after Adams’ namesake Andre had earlier led the fightback with the ball.

Resuming on 301/6, with Alex Hales unbeaten on a century, hopes of making 400 were not out of reach for Nottinghamshire, who boast depth in their batting with Will Gidman and Vernon Philander in the ranks.

Hales was dismissed early in the day, however, bowled by Adams for 141, while Vernon Philander fell just a few overs later to leave the score on 312/8 – suddenly making 350 an unlikely target. The lower-order had other ideas though, a notorious theme in this County Championship season so far, with Luke Wood and Jake Ball each contributing 26 batting at ten and eleven, following Adams’ dismissal of Gidman caught behind.

Hampshire’s response to 374 begun poorly, with Liam Dawson bowled by Philander from the South African’s seventh ball, although that was the only breakthrough the international bowler was able to get from his 14 overs. Philander’s day was not done there though, as he claimed the key wicket of James Vince with a direct hit to leave the visitors wobbling at 142/4.

Earlier, Jimmy Adams played patiently for a half-century, using all his experience to amass fifty partnerships with Michael Carberry and Vince, until Wood roared back with two wickets as Nottinghamshire ended Day Two on top at Trent Bridge.

NO COMMENTS

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.