Kent leave Anderson wicketless on landmark day as fans wait to see Archer and Bethell
Tanya Aldred
With the longest day behind us, the County Championship slipped into its summer sandals once more. Those waiting for Jofra Archer to bowl in his first red-ball match for four years, or Jacob Bethell to audition for the next England batting slot, had to bide their time. But there was plenty more to see.
At Blackpool, the Division Two wooden spoonists gathered. Jimmy Anderson was presented with champagne before play to celebrate his 300th first-class match – but he went wicketless in his first day as interim Lancashire captain, as Kent motored along thanks to an unbeaten 86 from Ben Compton and an easy‑on‑the‑eye half‑century from Tawanda Muyeye. Damp squalls washed out much of the evening session.
At Bristol, the players lined up for a minute’s silence in memory of Gloucestershire’s president, the former fast bowler David Lawrence, who died just a year after announcing his motor neurone disease. Derbyshire had the best of the day as the left-arm spinner Jack Morley winkled through Gloucestershire, finishing with six for 55. Derbyshire then raced to 116 for two.
Jersey’s young batter Asa Tribe hit a maiden first-class century to help Glamorgan to reach a healthy 305 for five against the early‑season table-toppers Leicestershire. Logan van Beek pondered the Kookaburra ball: “In Australia and New Zealand [it] is a good ball – here it feels very different, because the wickets are a touch slower and it just seems to get soft more quickly.”
There was also a maiden first‑class century for Joe Cracknell, as Middlesex fought back from 33 for three – happily for their new first-team coach Dane Vilas – against Northamptonshire at the County Ground.
It was an uncharacteristically smooth day for Somerset’s batters against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, after the openers Tom Kohler Cadmore (104) and Josh Davey put on 186 for the first wicket. Bethell was clonked for 23 in his first two overs.
Sussex’s James Coles was happy to let England wait a little longer for Archer, making his first Division One century, against Durham on a damp day at the Riverside. Archer smacked a quick‑fire 31 at No 10.
Ben Slater fell four runs short of his century for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire on an absorbing day at Trent Bridge, while the 20-year-old Charlie Allison hit his second consecutive Championship hundred for Essex, this time against Hampshire. Surrey’s Matt Fisher and Jordan Clark grabbed three wickets each as Worcestershire crumbled to 209 all out.
Key events
Kent leave Anderson wicketless on landmark day as fans wait to see Archer and Bethell
Tanya Aldred
With the longest day behind us, the County Championship slipped into its summer sandals once more. Those waiting for Jofra Archer to bowl in his first red-ball match for four years, or Jacob Bethell to audition for the next England batting slot, had to bide their time. But there was plenty more to see.
At Blackpool, the Division Two wooden spoonists gathered. Jimmy Anderson was presented with champagne before play to celebrate his 300th first-class match – but he went wicketless in his first day as interim Lancashire captain, as Kent motored along thanks to an unbeaten 86 from Ben Compton and an easy‑on‑the‑eye half‑century from Tawanda Muyeye. Damp squalls washed out much of the evening session.
At Bristol, the players lined up for a minute’s silence in memory of Gloucestershire’s president, the former fast bowler David Lawrence, who died just a year after announcing his motor neurone disease. Derbyshire had the best of the day as the left-arm spinner Jack Morley winkled through Gloucestershire, finishing with six for 55. Derbyshire then raced to 116 for two.
Jersey’s young batter Asa Tribe hit a maiden first-class century to help Glamorgan to reach a healthy 305 for five against the early‑season table-toppers Leicestershire. Logan van Beek pondered the Kookaburra ball: “In Australia and New Zealand [it] is a good ball – here it feels very different, because the wickets are a touch slower and it just seems to get soft more quickly.”
There was also a maiden first‑class century for Joe Cracknell, as Middlesex fought back from 33 for three – happily for their new first-team coach Dane Vilas – against Northamptonshire at the County Ground.
It was an uncharacteristically smooth day for Somerset’s batters against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, after the openers Tom Kohler Cadmore (104) and Josh Davey put on 186 for the first wicket. Bethell was clonked for 23 in his first two overs.
Sussex’s James Coles was happy to let England wait a little longer for Archer, making his first Division One century, against Durham on a damp day at the Riverside. Archer smacked a quick‑fire 31 at No 10.
Ben Slater fell four runs short of his century for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire on an absorbing day at Trent Bridge, while the 20-year-old Charlie Allison hit his second consecutive Championship hundred for Essex, this time against Hampshire. Surrey’s Matt Fisher and Jordan Clark grabbed three wickets each as Worcestershire crumbled to 209 all out.
Close of play scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham v Sussex 322-9
Chelmsford: Essex 292-8 v Hants
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 298-6 v Yorkshire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Somerset 327-3
New Road: Worcestershire 209 v Surrey 47-0
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 187 v Derbyshire 116-2
Blackpool: Lancashire v Kent 213-3
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Glamorgan 305-5
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire v Middlesex 397-8
It’s been good to be back – lots of centuries today, and some bowler toil with the Kookaburra ball. As Logan van Beek said: ““In Australia and New Zealand the Kookaburra ball is a good ball – here it feels very different, because the wickets are a touch slower and it just seems to get soft more quickly.
“That makes it hard from both a bowling and batting point of view. But it does bring the spinners more into the game, which I think is the goal, and teams just have to pick two spinners.”
We’ll be back tomorrow, till then – good night!
Clocking off for now from this damp tent, to write up for the paper. Do keep an eye on things BTL.
Close of play at Blackpool
Driving rain shuts the door here at Stanley Park, Kent 213-3.
Elsewhere in Division Two, Jack Morley’s six wickets have wriggled through Gloucestershire for 187; Leicestershire have winkled out the Glamorgan top four, 268-4; and Middlesex are sailing along – from 33-3 to 345-8. Joe Cracknell in the nervous nineties, six wickets for Guthrie.
A late-afternoon wander round the Division One grounds –
Worcestershire are all out for 209 – which is better than it might have been at 153-8. Three wickets for Jordan Clark and Matthew Fisher, Matthew Waite the highest scorer with 68. Surrey are 4-0.
It was raining at Durham, where Sussex are 257-8, but now they are out again. Jofra Archer at the crease. Three wickets for de Leede, Coles 90 not out.
Charlie Allison (85) and Simon Harmer have taken Essex to 246-6, three wickets for Abbott.
Notts are 253-5, Slater another man out in the 90s, bowled Moriarty for 96. Bess and Moriarty have bowled 43 overs between them.
And untold riches for Somerset, 229-2 – 104 for Kohler-Cadmore. Both wickets to Che Simmons.
The locals seem to have decided this is done for the day. Those not packing up and leaving are crammed into the bar, elbow to anorak, watching England v India.
Down comes the rain, on come the covers, and they take tea two balls early – Kent 213-3, Compton 86 not out.
And minutes before they take tea at Stanley park, a wicket! Muyeye, frustrated, has a whang and is caught by Mitchell Stanley. Balderson the stand-breaker, teasing with his disciplined length. Three overs, three maidens since he came back after the rain break.
And one more thing on Bumrah, this epic read by my friend Sharda Ugra. Six years old but still fabulous.
I haven’t got used to Matthew Fisher playing for Surrey yet. Anyway, he has a third wicket, as Worcestershire slip to 155-8. Matthew Waite still there, desperately trying to prop up the house, on 52.
There’s no need to gild the lily, but here is some Bumrah glory by numbers.
Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance isn’t best illustrated by numbers, but they do show how extraordinary he is.
The leading Test bowlers of all time (with 200 wickets) all have very similar averages – then there is a bigger gap between Bumrah and no 2 than the rest of the top 10 pic.twitter.com/s7xekaCEgk
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) June 21, 2025
Middlesex have collected a batting point, Lancashire have bowled a maiden over, and along the boundary edge the poplars are waving with ill purpose.
Tea-timeish scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham v Sussex 209-4
Chelmsford: Essex 193-6 v Hants
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 196-3 v Yorkshire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Somerset 189-2
New Road: Worcestershire 149-7 v Surrey
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 151-6 v Derbyshire
Blackpool: Lancashire v Kent 188-2
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Glamorgan 197-3
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire v Middlesex 250-6
Fifty for Muyeye – seven fours and off a foxtrot 66 balls. The weather is drawing in again though. Kent 184-2. Elsewhere, they’re taking tea, scores to follow.
Kent have stepped on the accelerator in big boots – 12 off Mitchell Stanley’s over including a huge six over midwicket by Muyeye.
A hundred for Tom Kohler-Cadmore
His first opening the batting for Somerset, who are on a roll against Warwickshire, ah, though his partner Josh Davey has just been caught off Che Simmons for 64. Somerset 186-1.
Go for a walk around the ground. Like a stray wind, Jimmy has changed ends, now vering south. Muyeye, who has a more muscular build than I imagined, twice drives him stylishly to the rope. Compton, carefully does it, has a half century to his name – though dropped on 54 by Jennings off Green. In the nets, two young boys play with an incrediball.
Mes has sent me a picture of his fresh yogurt cake. A glistening slice of chocolate topped loveliness. I can’t attach the photo so you’ll just have to believe me. Incidentally, we are back on at Blackpool, the seagulls doing a celebration flypast.
A maiden first-class hundred for Asa Tribe!
Well played, youthful young thing! Glamorgan 169-2.
In Division Two, Jack Morley (3-29) has roughed up Gloucestershire, who have lost three quick wickets – 96-3. At Wantage Road, Middlesex are 187-6, four wickets for Guthrie. There will be a restart at 3.10 at Blackpool
Meanwhile at CLS, Sam Conners has his first wicket for Durham after a fabulous diving catch by Ollie Robinson removes Danial Ibrahim.
There’s been a tannoy announcement here at Blackpool, but due to the roaring generator, the flapping tent and the fact it was spoken from an underground swimming pool , I can’t impart any news. They are, though, slowly folding some covers at the far end.
It has stopped raining in Blackpool, although the press tent prepares for takeoff.
Elsewhere, Mitchell Santner has dropped Matthew Waite off his own bowling, as Worcestershire wobble at 99-5. Jonny Bairstow has his second catch of the innings, Hameed and McCann back in the pavilion, Notts 122-2. Somerset are yet to lose a wicket, 100-0; Matt Critchley has reached fifty in Essex’s 130-4 and Bas de Leede has bowled Daniel Hughes for 60, Sussex 126-3.
Radical shake up of the Championship
Stiffen the sinews:
Rain also at Edgbaston, where they’ll restart shortly, and at Trent Bridge.
Did anyone else spend last night at a summer solstice celebration? I went to one at Ryebank Fields, a lovely bit of greenfield land in south Manchester under threat from developers, where there was singing and poetry, a didgeridoo and salted peanuts. It was gorgeous and about 20 degrees warmer too.
Rain at Blackpool – squalls of it, damping the pints, ruining the cheesy chips, turning the umbrellas inside out. The covers are on – we could be a while.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham v Sussex 91-2
Chelmsford: Essex 95-3 v Hants
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 90-0 v Yorkshire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Somerset 71-0
New Road: Worcestershire 70-3 v Surrey
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 35-0 v Derbyshire
Blackpool: Lancashire v Kent 105-2
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Glamorgan 105-1
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire v Middlesex 130-4
Muyeye survives and that is sandwiches. Off go the players, on come the groundstaff with a bucket of sand and a huge great brush. Lunchtime scores to follow.
Squinting into the sun, which has suddenly flashed a summery leg, I seeLuke Wells loop in from the South End. Time for one final over from Tom Bailey, bowling to the extravagantly talented Muyeye, whom I don’t I think I’ve seen bat in the flesh before.
In Division Two – a second wicket here at Blackpool – where Hurst, standing up to the stumps, has snaffled DBD off George Balderson. Kent 91-2.
A rain delay, and early lunch at Bristol, where Gloucestershire are 35-0 against Derbyshire. There was a minute’s silence before the start of play in memory of David Lawrence.
Before the start of play, Gloucestershire players and staff, alongside @DerbyshireCCC , held a minute of silence in memory of David ‘Syd’ Lawrence MBE, Gloucestershire’s President. pic.twitter.com/8UpUVyM1pz
— Gloucestershire Cricket 🏆 (@Gloscricket) June 22, 2025
Glamorgan are 100- 1 against leaders Leicestershire, Asa Tribe has the first fifty of the round.
And Leus du Plooy is holding Middlesex’s innings together with 47, Middx 124-4, three wickets to Guthrie.
The Blackpool picnics have arrived in little brown bags – I know two-fingered kitkats aren’t strictly vegan, but they’re so good…Let’s wander around the grounds.
Hughes and Clark are rebuilding after the early loss of Haines – Sussex 70-1 against Durham. Jofra Archer is down to bat No. 10.
Essex’s batters are struggling a little: Elgar and Cox (back after the abdominal injury which wiped him out of the Test squad against West Indies) have joined Walter back in the pavilion, Cox for a six-ball duck. Essex 71-3 v Hampshire.
Top of the table Notts openers Hameed and Slater are making serene progress against Yorkshire, Notts 66-0.
Kohler-Cadmore and Josh Davey are the latest novelty pairing at the top of the Somerset order- and it is working very well – Somerset 71-0. Bethell has bowled four overs for 23.
And Libby and Nicholls have taken Worcestershire to 62-1 against Surrey.
“Morning Tanya,” hello there Brian Withington! Are you moonlighting from the OBO?
”I was just belatedly catching up with your preamble when stumbling bleary eyed I thought that Jimmy’s metronomic secrets had been unearthed (and undone) by the discovery of a ‘missing wire’ in his inner workings. Imagine my relief when I read on to discover that only the Blackpool livestream was impacted …”
Yes Jimmy appears to be in full working order, immaculate as ever, ball polishing at mid-on.
A wicket at Blackpool – a top-edge sweep caught by Ali’s nudge-and-a-wink Mitch Stanley off Chris Green. A sweet little cameo of 34 by Jaydn Denly . Kent 55-1, enter DBD.
Ali Martin
This is probably an absurd shout given he is only making his first-class debut today but I wouldn’t rule out Mitchell Stanley being a possible Ashes bolter (or smokey as the Aussies say). England like him a lot – tall, fast, moves the ball late – and he was on the Lions tour of Oz last winter. The big question is how he copes with demands physically as he’s only bowled 10 overs in a day previously. But one to keep an eye for sure.
Ali Martin has one eye on events at Headingley, the other on CCLive. “Calvin Harrison helped bowl Notts to victory over Northants in the Blast on Friday night” he writes … “now he’s playing for Northants in the CC.”
You can follow the Test OBO with the one and only Rob Smyth here
as Denly brings up the Kent fifty with a SIX.
Two strands of of flotsam and jetsam from inside the Blackpool tent, where the canvas and steel structures are playing a noisy percussion. Paul Edwards tells me that Krish Patel, currently with Northants on a two year rookie deal, is leaving to study applied maths at Brown university. From Wantage Road to Rhode Island.
And Ken Grime says that Ashton Turner and Mitchell Stanley are the ninth and tenth Lancashire players to make their debuts at Blackpool.
On the field Anderson is taking a breather after five overs, 0-13, to be replaced by Chris Green.
With half an hour gone, and Jimmy still unrewarded against basement dwellers Kent, a quick squiz around the grounds. Wickets with the friendly Kookaburra have been hard to come by – Middlesex (32-2) have been the most profligate, Guthrie grabbing de Caires and Holden. Elsewhere Sussex (Haines b Raine – 18-1) and Essex (Walter caught off Abbott, 28-1) are the only other teams to have lost wickets.
As well as Jofra Archer’s return for Sussex, his first red-ball game in four years, Jacob Bethell gets to show his show-stopping moves for Warwickshire in the light of love-rival Ollie Pope’s century against India yesterday.
Division Two Table (seven games played)
Leicestershire 139
2 Derbyshire 108
3 Glamorgan 97
4 Gloucestershire 88
5 Northamptonshire 72
6 Middlesex 70
7 Lancashire 66
8 Kent 65
Division One Table (seven games played)
1 Nottinghamshire 115
2 Surrey 105
3 Sussex 95
4 Warwickshire 93
5 Somerset 92
6 Durham 84
7 Hampshire 82
8 Essex 75
9 Yorkshire 59
10 Worcestershire 54
For those settling down to watch Jimmy Anderson zip in from Blackpool’s North End, hold your horses. A slight technical hitch – a missing wire that holds the whole thing together – means the stream is not flowing. Things should be working after lunch, but Scott Read and co will be still be on the radio.
Division Two fixtures
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Gloucs won the toss and will bat
Blackpool: Lancashire v Kent Lancs won the toss and will field
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Glamorgan Glamorgan won the toss and will bat
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire v Middlesex Middx won the toss and will bat
Division One Fixtures
Chester le Street: Durham v Sussex Sussex won the toss and will bat
Chelmsford: Essex v Hants Essex won the toss and will bat
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire Notts won the toss and will bat
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Somerset Somerset won the toss and will bat
New Road: Worcestershire v Surrey Worcs won the toss and will bat
David ‘Syd’ Lawrence dies aged 61
Very sad news from Gloucestershire. Just a year after he announced that he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, David Lawrence, the first British born Black cricketer to play for England, has died.
David Payne spoke on behalf of Gloucestershire’s playing staff:
“I’d like to offer our sincerest condolences to Syd’s family at this truly devastating time.
“Syd was a true legend of the Club and someone every player had immense respect for – not just because of the fantastic cricketer he was, but for the amazing person he was, and what he gave to this Club both on and off the field.
“Sharing last year’s T20 success with Syd is a memory we will never forget and will cherish forever.
“Syd will always be an inspiration to us all, and we thank him for everything he did for our great game.”
Preamble
Good morning and welcome back! Lather up for two weeks of midsummer cricket, Kookaburra balls and skylarks.
While Jofra Archer flexes his bowling boots at Chester le Street, I’m at Blackpool [never say the Guardian misses a big story] , where the wind is buffeting the tent and Jimmy Anderson, in his 300th first-class game, is captaining Lancashire for the first time (while Marcus Harris is on paternity leave).
Elsewhere, there has been a proliferation of short term signings. Young Indian batter Tilak Varma joins Hampshire, Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique joins Yorkshire, Western Australian offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli joins Warwickshire and other Australian offspinner Todd Murphy signs on the dotted line for Gloucestershire.
Over on the outfield, Jimmy Anderson is being presented with a bottle of champagne for his 300th first-class game, and play starts round the grounds in half an hour.
