Report
Matt Critchley, Michael Pepper dig in to deliver unlikely draw for Essex
Fifth-wicket stand of 154 in 77 overs follows 45 for 4 on third evening after Yorkshire set 520 target
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
12-May-2025
Essex 123 (Hill 6-51, Coad 3-20) and 273 for 9 (Critchley 75, Pepper 68, White 4-43, Hill 3-31) drew with Yorkshire 216 (Wharton 63*, Lyth 58) and 426 for 6 dec (Lyth 185, Bairstow 79, Wharton 61)
Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper knuckled down for a monumental fifth-wicket stand of 154 in 77 overs to steer Essex to the unlikeliest of Rothesay County Championship draws against Yorkshire at Chelmsford.
The pair came together in the depths of despair at 45 for 4 on the third evening and batted for four-and-a-half hours together, spanning 458 balls, and looking to have made it through two complete sessions on the final day. Pepper, though, fell to the last ball before tea after a 229-ball 68 that included five fours and two sixes.
Full postSussex seal hard-fought win despite Jack Libby's Hove comforts
Opener makes 167 but Worcestershire fall short in valiant fourth-innings chase
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12-May-2025
Sussex 284 (Carson 102, Haines 53, Taylor 5-56) and 256 (Alsop 72, Coles 68) beat Worcestershire 180 (Hudson-Prentice 5-40) and 313 (Libby 167, Karvelas 3-52, Robinson 3-66) by 47 runs
Sussex's persevering seam attack finally broke Worcestershire's determined resistance - led by Jake Libby's 167 - to claim their second win since promotion back to Division One in the Rothesay County Championship.
No opponent loves batting at Hove more than Libby, who has now made the three highest scores of his career at the 1st Central County Ground. And while he was there to anchor their chase, Worcestershire looked capable of overhauling a target of 361.
Full postFoakes, Fisher secure safety for Surrey as Edgbaston pitch proves too flat
Warwickshire had chance to turn screw but were thwarted by record tenth-wicket stand
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12-May-2025
Surrey 504 (Foakes 174*, Sibley 64, Steel 55) and 15 for 0 drew with Warwickshire 665 for 5 dec (Latham 185, Barnard 177*, Malik 105*, Yates 86)
Ben Foakes harvested a career-best unbeaten 174 for champions Surrey as their Rothesay County Championship match with Warwickshire drifted to a draw at Edgbaston.
Foakes amassed 174 from 361 balls, the last 107 of them in a tenth-wicket stand of 158 in 58 overs with Matt Fisher (40, 145 balls) as Surrey totalled 504 in reply to Warwickshire's 665 for five.
Full postAdam Lyth 185 sets Essex an unlikely target
With 456 runs to get, Essex are staring down the barrel of back-to-back defeats when they resume on day four
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11-May-2025
Essex 123 and 64 for 4 (Critchley 13*, Pepper 7*, White 3-17) need another 456 runs to beat Yorkshire 216 and 426 for 6 dec (Lyth 185, Bairstow 79, Wharton 61)
Adam Lyth's patiently accumulated 185, and Jonny Bairstow's typically belligerent half-century, set Essex an unlikely 520 to prevent Yorkshire chalking up their second Rothesay County Championship win of the season.
Lyth's second century of the spring, the 39th of his 18-year first-class career, spanned six hours and 41 minutes of determination and obduracy. The 37-year-old left-hander shared a 153-run second-wicket stand with James Wharton, who added 61 to his unbeaten 63 from the first innings, that underpinned Yorkshire's 426 for 6 declared.
Full postEmma Lamb, Grace Potts team up for Lancashire win
Grace Potts' 4 for 37 leads excellent bowling effort against The Blaze before Emma Lamb's 74 anchors Lancashire pursuit
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11-May-2025
Lancashire 226 for 6 (Lamb 74, Cross 38*, Threlkeld 35*, Gordon 3-33) beat The Blaze 222 (Claridge 63, Jones 52, Potts 4-37) by four wickets
A half century by Emma Lamb and List A best bowling by Grace Potts helped Lancashire Women complete a Metro Bank Women's One-Day Cup double over leaders The Blaze at Emirates Old Trafford.
Potts' 4 for 37 led an excellent bowling effort by the Lancashire attack on a slow wicket that restricted the visitors to a below-par 222 all out from 48.2 overs with half-centuries by England wicketkeeper Amy Jones and Ella Claridge.
Full postJake Libby stands in Sussex's way for final-day push
Hosts need seven more wickets after probing display at Hove
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11-May-2025
Worcestershire 180 and 117 for 3 (Libby 64*) need another 244 runs to beat Sussex 284 and 256 (Alsop 72, Coles 68)
Sussex go into the final day of their County Championship fixture against Worcestershire with their noses in front after dismissing New Zealand stalwart Henry Nicholls and number four batter Kashif Ali late in the evening session.
An 81-run second-wicket stand from Nicholls and opening batter Jake Libby had steered the visitors into a decent position before Nicholls' mistimed pull shot found the gloves of wicketkeeper John Simpson and gave Sussex debutant James Hayes his maiden first-class wicket.
Full postBryony Smith century steers Surrey to a convincing win over Somerset
Crucial stands with Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge defy tenacious Amanda-Jade Wellington in rain-hit match
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11-May-2025
Surrey 306 for 7 (Smith 110, Dunkley 79, Wyatt-Hodge 44, Wellington 4-47) beat Somerset 215 (Knight 36 Wellington 36, Monaghan 2-43, Gregory 2-43, Stonehouse 2-47) by 101 runs DLS method
Bryony Smith posted a superb hundred to steer Surrey to a convincing 101-run win over Somerset on the Duckworth Lewis Stern Method in the Metro Bank One Day Cup women's competition at the Cooper Associates Ground in Taunton.
Leading by example, Surrey's captain scored 110 from 103 balls, struck 15 fours and dominated crucial stands of 100 and 134 with Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley for the first and third wickets respectively as the visitors made 306 for 7 in a contest reduced by rain to 44 overs a side. Dunkley raised an attractive 79 from 81 balls and Wyatt-Hodge contributed 44 with eight fours, while Australian spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington returned figures of 4 for 47.
Full postFoakes leads Surrey fight as Warwickshire press for victory
Yates three-wicket burst unlocks prospect of follow-on at Edgbaston
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11-May-2025
Surrey 369 for 9 (Foakes 85*, Sibley 64) trail Warwickshire 665 for 5 dec by 296 runs
County champions Surrey face a last-day rearguard action after their heavily-depleted batting line up faltered on the third afternoon of their Rothesay County Championship Division One match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
In reply to the home side's 665 for five, Surrey closed the third day on 369 for nine, still 296 short of the follow on figure. Ben Foakes is unbeaten on 85 (185 balls), Dom Sibley struck 64 (199) and Cameron Steel 55 (108) but while five of the top seven passed 40, none has yet emulated the three Warwickshire batters who passed three figures.
Full postJack Haynes, Liam Patterson-White bat Hampshire out of the game
Hampshire collapse to three-day defeat amid their centuries and Lyndon James' five-for
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11-May-2025
Nottinghamshire 333 (McCann 138, Abbott 5-57) and 345 (Patterson-White 135, Haynes 120) beat Hampshire 196 (Abbott 67, Abbas 5-31) and 116 (James 5-22, Hutton 4-56) by 366 runs
Hampshire collapsed to a three-day defeat after centuries from Jack Haynes and Liam Patterson-White had batted them out of the game as Division One leaders Nottinghamshire romped to a third victory in their opening five matches of the Rothesay County Championship season, winning by a massive 366-run margin.
All-rounder Patterson-White struck a magnificent career-best 135 containing 21 fours and two sixes, with Haynes making 120, the pair sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 238 as the Trent Bridge side made 345 in their second innings.
Full postHarrison spins it for Northants after Sanderson onslaught
Key tailend innings puts Lancashire on back foot before legspinner seals contest
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
11-May-2025
Northamptonshire 238 (McManus 53, Balderson 4-55) and 273 (Sanderson 65, Zaib 50) beat Lancashire 276 (Harris 121, Hurst 59, Conway 3-48, Procter 3-70) and 165 (Harrison 4-32) by 70 runs
Legspinner Calvin Harrison turned the game with a decisive spell of four for 32 as Northamptonshire fought back to seal their first Rothesay County Championship win of the season against Lancashire.
Harrison, on a short-term loan from Nottinghamshire, dismissed Marcus Harris and Josh Bohannon in quick succession after the pair had guided the Red Rose county to 116 for two - almost halfway to their 236 victory target at Wantage Road.
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