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Lyndon James takes centre stage to leave champions on ropes
Notts gain vital first-innings advantage before Matthew Fisher's second five-for keeps Surrey in touch
Vithushan Ehantharajah
16-Sep-2025
Nottinghamshire 231 and 219 for 8 (Patterson-White 58, Fisher 5-57) lead Surrey 173 (Burns 47, James 3-35, Tongue 3-43) by 277 runs
The 2025 Division One season has been a scrappy affair. Sparse on real, top-tier quality, in part because of a wayward schedule. Even here at the Kia Oval, the home of the defending champions, it has been far from vintage. Nevertheless, 80,484 people have come through the gates this summer. Around 41,000 of them Surrey members wanting to vibe with a historic four-peat push.
On Tuesday, however, for the first time this season, those of the brown cap persuasion had to confront the idea that, maybe, this might be a County Championship title too far. Worse still, the team that may take it from them were doing it on their patch.
Full postBailey gives Lancashire edge despite De Caires, Geddes fifties
Middlesex stutter to 189 for 8 on truncated day at Emirates Old Trafford
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
16-Sep-2025
Middlesex 189 for 8 (De Caires 52, Geddes 52, Bailey 4-60) vs Lancashire
Tom Bailey took four wickets to ensure Lancashire reduced Middlesex's already slim promotion hopes still further on a rain-affected second day of the Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
After the first day of the game had been wiped out by rain, only 44 overs' play was possible between the heavy showers on the second but the visitors ended a long and mostly sunlit evening session on 189 for 8 after Ben Geddes had been dismissed for 52 four overs before the close and Seb Morgan had fallen lbw to Bailey's last ball of a truncated day.
Full postAllison leads Essex march with safety in sight
Charlie Allison's 98 heads impressive collective effort while Michael Pepper remains 54 not out
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
16-Sep-2025
Essex 325 for 5 (Allison 98, Pepper 54*) vs Warwickshire
Charlie Allison fell two runs shy of a century in an effective batting display by Essex on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship match with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Advancing towards the draw that would secure their Division One status, Essex closed on 325 for 5 with Allison's 98 off 175 balls heading an impressive collective effort. No batter scored fewer than 25 while Michael Pepper made 54 not out (94), Dean Elgar 48 (111) and Matt Critchley 47 (64).
Full postAbell, Aldridge tons increase Hampshire's sense of peril
Somerset recover from 99 for 5 to leave visitors looking over their shoulder
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
16-Sep-2025
Somerset 381 for 7 (Aldridge 149*, Abell 118) vs Hampshire
Centuries from Tom Abell and Kasey Aldridge saw Somerset recover from a perilous position on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match against Hampshire at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.
After the first-day washout, the hosts slumped to 99 for 5, having won the toss, before Abell and Aldridge put together a sixth-wicket stand of 221, Abell making 118 and Aldridge 149 not out. Keith Barker was the pick of the Hampshire bowling attack with 2 for 35 from 13 overs.
Full postRoderick 95* leads Worcestershire's solid start
Trio of fifties set the agenda for bottom club in must-win contest
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
16-Sep-2025
Worcestershire 320 for 5 (Roderick 95*, D'Oliveira 84, Edavalath 61) vs Durham
Half-centuries from Rehaan Edavalath, Brett D'Oliveira and Gareth Roderick helped Division Two bound Worcestershire frustrate relegation candidates Durham on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash.
Durham struck twice in the morning session to leave the visitors 49 for two, but 21-year-old Edavalath and 19-year-old Dan Lategan combined for a partnership worth 84 to steer their side out of a spot of trouble.
Full postLancashire book One-Day Cup final berth despite Kathryn Bryce century
Threlkeld, Lister star with bat in tense five-run victory over The Blaze
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
16-Sep-2025
Lancashire 241 for 6 (Lister 96, Threlkeld 92) beat The Blaze (K Bryce 124, Elwiss 55) by five runs
Lancashire Women maintained their hold over The Blaze in this season's Metro Bank One-Day Cup to book a place in the final despite Kathryn Bryce's magnificent 124 in a tense semi-final at Trent Bridge.
Ellie Threlkeld's side await the winners of Wednesday's second semi-final between Hampshire and Surrey at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton. The final is on the same ground on Sunday.
Full postKonstas, Kellaway, Connolly make India A toil on opening day
Harsh Dubey took three wickets for the hosts, including that of Konstas for 109 off 144 balls, in Lucknow
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Sep-2025
Australia A 337 for 5 (Konstas 109, Kellaway 88, Connolly 70, Dubey 3-88) vs India A
Sam Konstas, the incumbent Australia opener, strengthened his case for the Ashes by hitting a hundred in a session for Australia A against India A in Lucknow. Campbell Kellaway, who is also in the opening mix, contributed 88 off 97 balls in a 198-run opening stand, which established Australia A's dominance.
For India A, Harsh Dubey, the Vidarbha left-arm fingerspinner, took three wickets, including that of Konstas for 109 off 144 balls.
Full postPatterson makes early mark with ton, but record stand secures Tasmania victory
The left hander picked up his form from last season with a century in front of chair of selectors George Bailey
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Sep-2025
Tasmania 225 for 8 (Kuhnemann 56*, Hope 49*, Sangha 2-34) beat New South Wales 224 (Patterson 110, Ellis 3-37) by two wickets
New South Wales batter Kurtis Patterson started his Ashes audition with a sterling century, but the Blues slipped to a two-wicket one-day loss to Tasmania after a record ninth-wicket stand between Bradley Hope and Matt Kuhnemann.
Patterson, watched by Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey, struck 110 from 125 balls in the NSW's 224 all out. Tasmania, with another Ashes hopeful Jake Weatherald making 28, were reeling at 124 for 8 in the opening game of the Dean Jones Trophy at Cricket Central in Sydney.
Full postFisher, Atkinson give Surrey the edge in de facto season showdown
Fast bowlers confirm readiness for roles in Australia this winter as champions showcase strength in depth
Vithushan Ehantharajah
15-Sep-2025
Surrey 43 for 1 (Burns 19, Pennington 1-9) trail Nottinghamshire 231 (Slater 50, Fisher 5-61, Atkinson 4-41) by 188 runs
An option off the table in this week's vote for the new County Championship format featured a final between the top two to determine a champion. A late summer showdown after a 13-match season, a spice grenade thrown in the first-class slow-cooker, just to feel alive again.
It seems more likely that the status quo - a 10-8 split, 14-match campaign - will win out. The other option is a top tier of two pools of six teams, playing home and away. The top three in each pool play against the other three, with the winner determined as champion on points in that mini-league.
Full postNissanka helps Sri Lanka edge sloppy Hong Kong in a thriller
Hong Kong gave Sri Lanka a scare, but a slew of dropped chances meant they could not pull off the upset
Andrew Fidel Fernando
15-Sep-2025
Sri Lanka 153 for 6 (Nissanka 68, Hasaranga 20*, Murtaza 2-37) beat Hong Kong 149 for 4 (Nizakat 52*, Rath 48, Chameera 2-29) by four wickets
A Pathum Nissanka fifty at the top of the innings, and a Wanindu Hasaranga cameo at the end saw Sri Lanka survive a scare from the group's lowest-ranked team, Hong Kong.
In two disciplines, Hong Kong were valiant. Anshy Rath batted with determination to score 48, and Nizakat Khan with verve to make 52 not out off 38, the pair driving Hong Kong to a total of 149 for 4.
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