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Kent v Derbyshire, Somerset v Yorkshire, and more: county cricket, day four – live | County Championship
Key events
Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater are trying to wrap this up before sandwiches. Notts 41-0 need just 32 to beat Leicestershire.
At Lord’s, Ben Raine and Matthew Potts are keeping pavilion would-be slumberers awake, reducing Middlesex to 55 for three. They still trail Durham by 81 so this isn’t dead yet.
Jonny Bairstow decides Joe Root is going to be the partnership breaker. My son plonks himself on the sofa and is instantly disapproving of the Yorkshire kit “too much colour.” “Ooooh,” Root’s hands fly to his head, “aaaah”, as Abell hits close to mid wicket. Somerset 48-3.
Over to The Oval, where Surrey are getting into their work. They’ve taken two wickets this morning – Hughes for 39 and Hudson-Prentice for 15. Charlie Tear is proving tricky to dislodge, 43 not out. Sussex 152-6, trail by 112.
Kent are nearly there after Jas Singh sends Zak Chappell’s off stump spinning away – an entertaining 20. Derbyshire 82-7.
Ben Brown (62) and Scott Currie (25) are sticking it out at Southampton…actually as I type Crane has just been lbw to Mason Crane. Hampshire 194-7.
Notts need 73 to win!
Two valuable not outs for Josh Hull, Ben Green is Patterson-White’s fifth wicket, out for 37. This should be a over just after lunch at Grace Road.
Delight at Taunton, meanwhile, as James Rew is caught behind by YJB off Dom Bess. A second low score of the match. Bairstow leaps about, as do his teammates – you see how highly they all rate Rew. Somerset 21 for three and in deep trouble.
Oh dear, that wasn’t a good ball to leave, Tom Lammonby. Plonks a big front foot forward, raises his bat and glances under his armpit to see the off stump dance. A second for the impressive Hill. Somerset 18 for two. Time for a James Rew special.
At Canterbury, Kent are fair frolicking. Four for Matt Milnes now, Martin Andersson, sometimes a steadying hand, and Brooke Guest, have their stumps dismantled. Derbyshire 52-6.
Thomas has a complete slog, misses, and White, wild-haired, appeals with imploring arms. No says the umpire.
Aha, here comes Dom Bess. Vic thinks this is a good idea.
Four wickets for Patterson-White now at Grace Road, Ben Green, if seven wickets weren’t enough, is now trying to haul Leicestershire towards a lead of 100.
Great to see Joe Root clapping enthusiastically, part of a co-ordinated Yorkshire appreciation of George Hill from the slips. Somerset 11-1.
At Taunton, where the clouds are fluffing up like threatening candy floss, Archie Vaughan’s bails spray up into the air, bowled by good un from George Hill for four. Vaughan thuds his bat into the grass in frustration as he walks off Somerset 9-1.
Durham have added another 37 this morning at Lord’s and lost a wicket – the lead over Middlesex 137. Seems unlikely this will be anything more than a draw, but perhaps Potts and Raine can conjure magic.
At Taunton, YJB may have just dropped Vaughan, but tricky to tell. Jack Leach watches intensely from the boundary edge.
Archie Vaughan and Josh Thomas start the Somerset chase. Expecting this to zig and zag – with Somerset 43 for three, then stumble to the finish held together by Craig Overton’s heave-ho 57.
Derbyshire’s unlikely run-chase against Kent is already in tatters at 34 for four. Three wickets for Matt Milnes: Came, Jewell, Montgomery and Madsen all done and dusted.
Kevin Hand says that Glamorgan are on track for their biggest ever thrashing of Hampshire. And just to hurry things along, Felix Organ is obligingly lbw to Jamie McIlroy. Hampshire are six down, and still trail by 190.
Somerset need 260 to win!
Richardson nibbles, gives James Rew a leaping take, just after making fifty. Now the fun begins.
So far not so good at Grace Road though, where Leicestershire are now eight down – Scriven to the fourth ball of the m orning.
Last night Paul Farbrace said there were no signs of concussion for Tom Haines, which is excellent news, and Sussex will need him.
“We’ve had a bad couple of days,” said Farbrace. “We were in the field for six hours and then find ourselves 0 for 2.
“They had their tails up and bowled very well with the new ball. We will have to bat well tomorrow but Dan Hughes has been nice and calm and showed what’s possible.” So far so good.
We are underway all round the grounds.
Free entry at Canterbury
To see Kent cross the line for the first time this season. Maybe.
“I think all three results are possible (but) I think we’re in the driving seat,” said yesterday’s centurion Chris Benjamin. “So if we can bowl the way we did this evening, we’ve got a great chance.”
Sunday’s round up
Emilio Gay’s third century of the season may have come with an unspectacular trowel down to third man, but it could be career-defining. Like Zak Crawley, Gay is playing Division Two cricket, but two of his Durham centuries have come against the challenging Lancashire, and now Middlesex, attacks, even if the Lord’s pitch was friendly. David Bedingham also flew to a hundred, while poor Kasey Aldridge was lbw for 99.
Gay’s former county Northamptonshire grabbed their first win of the summer, after Ben Sanderson rampaged through Worcestershire’s second dig. His six wickets in 29 balls skittled an innings that had been progressing, if slowly, at 88 for two. Fourteen overs and 26 runs later, Worcestershire were all out. Sanderson’s seven for 31 gave him a career best 11 wickets in the match. James Sales and Lewis McManus had earlier hit hundreds in Northants’ 597 for seven declared.
There was youthful joy at the Oval where 19-year-old Adam Thomas frisked to a century on Championship debut, a companion piece to Dom Sibley’s 187. Sussex wheeled through the onslaught until Surrey were finally bowled out for 622. Matt Fisher then immediately firebombed Sussex’s reply. His first ball spat off the pitch and hit Tom Haines in the grill, who staggered backwards and immediately retired hurt. Fisher then removed Tom Clark lbw with his second ball and had James Coles caught behind from his sixth.
An intriguing game has built up at Taunton, where 64 from Joe Root, 92 from James Wharton and some wagging of the tail ensured Yorkshire’s bowlers would have something to go at against Somerset on the final day.
Despite a flamboyant first-innings century from Stevie Eskinazi, Nottinghamshire thundered towards victory. Olly Stone, who picked up five wickets in Leicestershire’s first innings, plucked out another three as they followed on, including Eskinazi lbw, this time for a duck. Ben Green and Jonny Tattersall ensured Notts would have to bat again
Hampshire’s rough season continued, following on they finished five down, still 204 behind Glamorgan. Mason Crane pocketed four wickets at his former home. Kent can dream about a first win of the year, against Derbyshire, thanks to a partnership of 184 between Chris Benjamin (123) and Joey Evison (88).
Scores on the doors
Division One
Southampton: Hampshire 214 and 118-5 v Glamorgan 536-7dec
Leicester: Leicestershire 308 and 215-7 v Nottinghamshire 490
Taunton: Somerset 274 v Yorkshire 162 and 365-9
The Oval: Surrey 622 v Sussex 358-9dec and 76-4
Division Two
Canterbury: Kent 352 and 335 v Derbyshire 304 and 19-1 Derbys need 365 to win
Lord’s: Middlesex 430 v Durham 530-8
Northampton: Northants 597-7dec BEAT Worcestershire 306 and 114 by an innings and 177 runs
Preamble
Hello and happy bank holiday Monday! If you’re not off doing lovely things, there’s some absorbing cricket to keep an eye on. The weather, typically, may misbehave, with bands of showers particularly across the south. But we cross our fingers. Play (should) start at 11am, do join us on the sofa, there’s plenty of space.
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.
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