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County cricket day four: Leicestershire v Sussex, Somerset v Notts and more – live | County Championship
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All is fine at Grace Road, both teams having a kickaround in the sun. Leicestershire will need to invoke the spirit of Louis Kimber to have a chance. That June day in 2024, Leicester needed 464 to beat Sussex and when Kimber came in they were 139 for five – he got them to within 18 runs with his pulverising 243. Today, Leicestershire started needing 481 against the same opponents and are 125-5.
Root and Brook to play for Yorkshire
News from Yorkshire: Joe Root will play in the Championship games against Sussex, Somerset and Surrey; and Brook will play two games in May, against Warwickshire and Surrey.
“We have to be on it from the first ball”
Leicestershire are learning the hard way. This was Stevie Eskinazi last night:
“We’ve already learned that in Division One, where if you’re off it for 45 minutes like we were in that first session on day one, teams can go a long way to winning the game and that’s why they’re in this division and that’s why they’ve been so successful.
“We know that from the very first ball of the game we have to be on it and if we’re not, it becomes a long couple of days. But I’m really proud of the efforts of the guys in the field. I think at certain periods today, for example when Ben Green was running up that hill, getting the ball to talk, that’s the sort of cricket we want to play, where we were competitive, we were on the front foot.”
Sunday’s roundup
Storm Dave left its mark on the County Championship in the early hours of Easter Sunday, knocking over the camera gantry and untethering a cover at Chester-le-Street, leaving the pitch unplayable for Durham v Kent. Elsewhere, there were brickbats and chocolate eggs.
Leicestershire made a of hash of chasing an unlikely 481 against Sussex on a suddenly sun-dappled late afternoon at Grace Road. Rishi Patel was run out going for an optional second run in the second over, sent packing by a steaming direct hit from a crouching Jack Carson on the long-leg boundary. Wickets then tumbled with clockwork regularity, Jake Weatherald flashed at a delivery from Henry Crocombe, who then dismissed Lewis Hill for a pair. Finally Rehan Ahmed dashed for glory at James Coles, but found infamy, out for 34.
Essex celebrated the first win of the season, thrashing Hampshire by an innings and 137 runs. Jamie Porter, Sam Cook and Shane Snater ran through Hampshire’s first innings, before Matt Critchley – who had a match to remember – snaffled five for nine in 4.3 overs in the follow on, and Simon Harmer, in sunglasses and snood, three for 49.
Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones zipped out five for 37 against Gloucestershire, who were forced to follow on at Lord’s. Leg-spinner Mason Crane pocketed five for Glamorgan to put them in a great position against Yorkshire. Will Luxton became the second official ECB injury sub, replacing Jonny Bairstow.
Northamptonshire’s Harry Conway made life tricky for the visitors at Wantage Road. At 6ft 7in the Australian pinged the ball like a stale Creme Egg, ripping out the heart of Lancashire’s second innings, removing Josh Bohannon, George Bell and Michael Jones in one over. However, Tom Bailey (35) and Ajeet Singh Dale (unbeaten on 44) rebuilt, leaving Northants 321 to win.
Shoaib Bashir, wind buffeting his trousers, grabbed his first wicket for Derbyshire, but later cost the club five penalty runs for “deception” after feigning to throw the ball when fielding. Nineteen-year-old Dan Lategan was Worcestershire’s mortar with 89 and 43 not out in the follow-on.
Somerset’s James Rew left his calling card with a century against Nottinghamshire; Surrey are in fix at Edgbaston, still 47 short of innings defeat against Warwickshire, but on an increasingly generous pitch. Jamie Smith made an unbeaten half century.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 302 and 111-3 v Yorkshire 226
Southampton: Essex 461-7d BEAT Hampshire 156 and 168 by an innings and 136 runs.
Grace Road: Leicestershire 245 and 125-5 v Sussex 361 and 364 Leicestershire need 356 to win
Taunton: Somerset 347 and 214-1 v Nottinghamshire 338
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 544 v Surrey 328 and 169-3
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 625-8dec v Worcestershire 312 and 68-1
Chester le Street: Durham 335 and 83-2 v Kent 197 no play today, storm damage
Lord’s: Middlesex 445-9dec v Gloucestershire 216 and 120-3
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 258 and 9-1 v Lancashire 384 and 194
Preamble
Hello and happy Easter Monday! It’s a fresh but sunny morning in Leicester, where squirrels are spring-leaping like disobedient fireworks and I spotted some wild garlic sprouting by the side of a footpath.
This is day four of the first round of Championship games, with Essex first to cross the line in 2026, thanks to a innings and more hammering of Hampshire. Loads more to look out for today, with results likely everywhere except Taunton. Upstarts Glamorgan could turn over Yorkshire on a pitch that Ryan Hadley says will become [even] more spin friendly and Warwickshire could do the same to Surrey – though the pitch is more placid at Edgbaston.
Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire all have a fight on their hands to come out of the round with a draw, and keep an eye on the topsy-turvy match at Wantage Road. They are due to inspect the pitch at Chester-le-Street shortly to see if any play is possible.
Things roll into action at 11am, do join us.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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