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Key events
Barnes Bridge is on the screen as Oxford get ready to pass through first.
Matt Moran is the Cambridge cox who made that gamble to shift line … and Oxford have moved over to cover it.
The water’s looking awfully choppy. Cambridge, at Chiswick Eyot, have decided to take another line, moving closer to the Surrey side.
Oxford’s lead is worth more than six seconds at the Hammersmith Bridge. That losing run is surely coming to an end.
Oxford are moving closer to the Surrey side as they lead by a length. Hammersmith Bridge comes into view.
Oxford’s lead grows as we pass Craven Cottage – Cambridge are four and a half seconds behind at the Mile Post.
Harvey warns Oxford multiple times as the boats approach Craven Cottage. Cambridge aren’t letting the Dark Blues pull away.
Oxford make an electric start, nipping ahead immediately.
Away we go!
Clare Harvey, the umpire, brings down the red flag. The women’s race begins!
Cambridge women won the coin toss and they’ll start on the Surrey side.
Luke McLaughlin
The women’s crews are in position, side-by-side on the water. Our skipper says there has been clearance for the race to start on time, so we should be off in about five minutes. Someone alongside me in the boat, who has forgotten more about rowing than I know, says: “I really think Oxford could do it …”
As the TV coverage focuses on Heidi Long, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, here’s what she had to say to Luke, speaking movingly about her late father.
I’d get in the car sometimes and he’d be like: ‘How was rowing?’ and I’d just give a two-word answer, probably like most teenagers. And honestly right now, what I would do for him to just pick me up, and just chat about rowing.
I love being able to talk about him because he was such an incredible man. So much positive energy. He cared about so many people and he fought so hard through his disease. I can do 10 more strokes in a rowing race. That’s nothing compared to what he did.
Luke McLaughlin
Stephan Freischem – father of Mia Freischem (Cambridge) and Lilli Freischem (Oxford), speaking at the start outside Thames Rowing Club in Putney.
He resides in Cologne, Germany and works as a patent attorney.
Split allegiance today … actually on the one side it’s calming, because we know one of our daughters will win. On the other side, it’s just amazing.
The sisters’ race is all over the media in Germany. It’s in Der Spiegel – the magazines and newspapers are full of it. I’ve never seen that before. The German people are interested in the Boat Races as an English tradition, but the country usually doesn’t pay that much attention. It is very exciting to see how the sisters’ news boosts the news about the Boat Race.
It wasn’t a sacrifice [to support his daughters]. We have always tried to raise independent kids, interested kids. And we did not think that we would be so successful. They are interested, they are competitive, and they are nice people. So we are in heaven, actually. We didn’t expect to be so successful.
They are very supportive of each other.
Our man on the ground is Luke McLaughlin … and, well, he’s watching from a boat.
Just departed on the media launch for the women’s race. Lifejackets on. Plenty of excitement on the riverbank with big cheers from the gathering crowds for the Oxford and Cambridge crews … Under normal circumstances I am in the media room at the finish – this is a lot more fun.
It’s sister taking on sister: yep, Oxford’s Lilli Freischem against younger sibling Mia. Mia is doing a PhD in surgery and, as noted on the event’s official website, “hadn’t heard of the Boat Race until my sister competed in the reserve race in 2023”. Quite the flex if she goes on to beat Lilli.
The women’s crews
Oxford: Louis Corrigan (Cox), Heidi Long (Stroke), Sarah Marshall, Esther Briz Zamorano, Kyra Delray, Julietta Camahort, Lilli Freischem, Emily Molins, Annie Anezakis
Cambridge: Matt Moran (Cox), Aidan Wrenn-Walz (Stroke), Mia Freischem, Camille Vandermeer, Antonia Galland, Carys Earl, Charlotte Ebel, Isobel Campbell, Gemma King
Please do get in touch if you’re lining up by the Thames or watching on from home. It’s a cloudy day in London but the rain looks to be staying away.
Here’s a reminder of the course the crews must navigate. We begin in Putney for a 6.8 km-long race, passing Craven Cottage, Hammersmith Bridge, Chiswick Eyot and Barnes Bridge, finishing before Chiswick Bridge. If you’re ahead at Hammersmith Bridge, you’re pretty much nailed on to win.
Preamble
Welcome to the latest edition of the sports day that got a little out of hand. The Boat Races – contested by crews from Oxford and Cambridge universities – are back, nearly 200 years on from the first men’s race.
The buildup has been less eventful than last year: yes, how can we forget the PGCE eligibility hoo-ha and those high E coli levels. This time round the focus is on a fresh look, with Channel 4 taking over coverage from the BBC. Reality TV’s Jamie Laing is one new presenter. We wait to see if this gets down with the kidz.
As for the actual contest, well, it hasn’t really been one for a while. Cambridge’s men have won six of the last seven races and look primed to make it four successive victories. It’s worse for Oxford’s women, who have lost eight in a row. But their long wait looks like it’ll end today, with the Dark Blues – led by Olympic medallist Heidi Long – starting as favourites. The women’s race begins at 2.21pm BST, the men’s an hour later. Get in, we’re going rowing.
Power firm SSEN predicts wind gusts could reach about 80mph in parts of the country over the Easter weekend.
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Five wickets for Pennington!
The first five-fer of the season! Pennington polished off the Somerset tail, just short of a third batting point. Somerset 347 all out. Can Overton, who bashed 60 not out with the bat, now do it with the ball too? Notts 0-0
Fifty for Jake Weatherald
A really impressive debut Championship innings from Jake Weatherald in overcast conditions and on a quite juicy pitch. Chilly too. His nut brown arms tell the tale of a summer spent playing cricket in very different conditions. Fifty from 65 balls, seven fours. Leicestershire 88 for two.
A good start for Warwicks
At Edgbaston, Surrey were finally dismissed for 328 – a fabulous recovery from 65 for six. Three wickets for Bamber, two each for Woakes, Thompson, Gilchrist and Barnard.
Warwickshire have gritted their teeth after the disappointment and made a good start to their innings. Yates and Davies have faced 50 balls a piece, one has 13, the other 40 – I’ll let you guess which is which. Warwicks 66 for 0.
A hundred for Matt Critchley!
A thirteenth first-class century for Critchley, but he’s lost Allison for 80, at last a result for the short stuff from Hants. Essex 259 for four.
Fifties for Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram
From the depths of 28 for four last night, Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram have rebuilt Glamorgan. Kellaway, another Lion predicted to have a bright future, reached his half-century first before being bowled by a gorgeous ball from Dom Bess. Glamorgan 137 for five, Ingram 59 not out.
Again apologies that things are slow this morning, the wifi keeps dropping in and out and the hotspot on my phone is also being disobedient. Here, quickly, before it drops again, Ollie Robinson has sent nightwatchman Scriven on his way, before taking himself off. Weatherald and Holland drop anchor.
With an hour gone, let’s trot round the grounds.
“Salutations Tanya!” Good morning Tim Maitland.
“I am torn between two burning issues.
”Firstly, why does the UK insist on giving storms such ridiculously benign names? Storm Dave is more likely to give people the impression that there’s time for a nice cup of tea and some custard creams rather than the desired effect of battening down the metaphorical hatches. What’s wrong with using the names of historical villains? Storm Genghis? Storm Atilla? Storm Thatcher? At the very least give them French names and strike fear into the heart of the general population.
”The second thought is would the England batting line-up be better with a player like Ben Foakes in it? I’m not specifically banging the drum for Foakes, just for the England management to resists the urge to fill their side with yet more peroxide-tipped, high testosterone pyjama cricketers fashioned in their own likeness and instead add a player late in the order capable of having a steadying influence – much in the way that Joe Root calms the top of the order when he inevitably comes in to bat 20 minutes into the innings – and occasionally buy time for the last survivor of the specialist batters or Ben Stokes himself to build their own innings. Someone who can do more than provide another cameo of carnage before handing the initiative back to the bowling side.
“I only mention this as two days of yellow storm warnings and a forecast of snow in the Scottish Highlands should presumably give us all a surfeit of time to consider such things.”
Sadly, I think Ben Foakes time has passed – which seems a ridiculous thing to say about such a talented player.
One for Lancashire fans
A little plug for Paul Edwards, sitting next to me here at Grace Road and supplying statistical nuggets for the blog on a daily basis. He and Graham Hardcastle have set up a new website lankylanky.com, which will cover all aspects of Lancs cricket, including in-depth features, profiles, historical pieces, batting collapses etc. It will be wide-ranging, looking at men’s, women’s and disability cricket as well as the recreational game.
There is a 20 per cent discount until the end of April, code: LANKY20.
Round the grounds, Somerset have a second batting point (Overton 38 not out); Martin Andersson has knocked up a career-best 150 for Derbyshire; Ben Sanderson has nipped out George Balderson for 21, Lancs 394-8.
Ollie Robinson’s first over brings a caught behind appeal against Scriven. Robinson is sure of it and most fed up when turned down.
A statistical goblet from yesterday: Yesterday was 8,231 days since Leicestershire last played first-division cricket. That day was 19 Sept 2003, playing Sussex at Hove, the same match that Sussex won the Championship.
Sorry everyone, a few wifi problems this morning. A blowy gray day at Grace Road but things will start on time.
Ali Martin’s report from Birmingham
Friday’s round-up
The spectre of the Ashes loomed over day one of a new Championship season, every innings, every wicket, a play in one act sent straight to the laptop of Brendon McCullum.
England Lion Emilio Gay won the race to the first century of the season for Durham, a classy innings, fierce on the loose ball, and in tricky conditions at Chester-le-Street. When he was finally out, a fourth catch of the day to Kent’s Zak Crawley, he had pocketed 128 from just 140 balls.
Crawley’s turn with the bat went about as well as Jamie Smith’s and Ollie Pope’s over at Edgbaston, two boundaries before falling lbw to Matthew Potts for nine.
At Grace Road Tom Clark embroidered a stylish 101, as Sussex gave promoted Leicestershire a bloody nose in the morning session, racing to 155 for two by lunch. Lion Tom Haines made a giddy half-century and James Coles, of mega-deal Hundred fame, a pretty 28. An England and Wales Cricket Board bowling scout, watching from the wings, then saw Ollie Robinson remove Rishi Patel in the four overs of Leicestershire’s innings possible before stumps
At Taunton, Somerset performed their usual rescue act, this time from 14 for two against the champions. Tom Abell stroked a flawless 108, and he and young James Rew (64) added 140 for the fourth wicket against Nottinghamshire. One of Rew’s drives lilted through covers like a lullaby. Craig Overton clubbed 32.
Rain wiped out much of the day at Sophia Gardens but Glamorgan, back in Division One for the first time since 2005, had a tricky start. They lost four wickets in six overs against Yorkshire including the fancied Asa Tribe, who donated Jonny Bairstow a pillowy catch. Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram rebuilt to 99 for four at stumps.
History was made at Southampton, where Noah Thain became the first full substitute in County Championship history under the ECB’s new experimental rule change. He replaced the Essex captain, Tom Westley, whose finger was fractured by a snorter from Hampshire’s Sonny Baker. Wobbling at 67 for three, and with Westley retired hurt, Matt Critchley (97no) and Charlie Allison (60no) rebuilt calmly. There was a minute’s silence at the start of the match in memory of Hampshire and England legend Robin Smith, who died during the winter.
There was also a minute’s silence at Lord’s, to remember long-serving groundsman Mick Hunt. On a stodgy day, Leus du Plooy’s 98 not out helped Middlesex to 279 for five against Gloucestershire.
It was a tough day for Worcestershire’s bowlers at Derbyshire, where Martin Andersson shimmied a rapid unbeaten 134. Worcestershire are without South African signing Beyers Swanepoel, whose desperation to get to New Road was such that he left for the airport with seven overs of a domestic one-day final to go and then found that a furious South African had withheld his no-objection certificate. “Beyers would probably say he’s made a bit of an error in hindsight,” said the Worcestershire chief executive, Ashley Giles.
Lancashire were the only side who won the toss and batted and could be happy enough with their work against Northamptonshire thanks to 90 from Josh Bohannon, 87 from Luke Wells and 71 from Michael Jones.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 99-4 v Yorkshire
Southampton: Hampshire v Essex 219-3
Grace Road: Leicestershire 15-1 v Sussex 361
Taunton: Somerset 292-6 v Nottinghamshire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Surrey 328
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 391-4 v Worcestershire
Chester le Street: Durham 335 v Kent 50-2
Lord’s: Middlesex 279-5 v Gloucestershire
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire v Lancashire 346-7
Preamble
Good morning! In Leicester, the sparrows are chirping as the city stretches into Easter Saturday.
At Grace Road, Sussex, giddy from for their success on day one, will press further. I worry a little what havoc Ollie Robinson might unleash on Leicestershire’s batting line up. Anyway, it all starts at 11am – do join us for news around the grounds.
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