Live coverage of 2014’s penultimate round of LV= County Championship games as Middlesex seek to secure their Division One status and Hampshire aim to seal promotion.
By Rob Barnett
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12.05pm – Ryder makes Rob Taylor his fourth victim, leaving sorry Leicestershire 65 for six.
Nash raises an impressive fifty on a green pitch at Trent Bridge where Sussex are 84 for one.
WICKET! Harvey Hosein gets his first catch in first-class cricket! Ansari knicks White through to Hosein for 22; Surrey 47-1 (17.5) #SURvDER
— Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) September 15, 2014
11.45am – Leicestershire are 51 for five! Ryder gets a third scalp, trapping Niall O’Brien in front.
UPDATE: The light has not improved sufficiently so lunch will be taken at 12 o'clock. Umpires will inspect if it has improved post-lunch
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) September 15, 2014
11.35am – It gets worse for Leicestershire, who are 43 for four after Ryder cheaply cleans up Josh Cobb.
Tim Murtagh bowls Nick Compton to leave Somerset 32 for two.
Sussex move past 50 with Chris Nash and Ed Joyce going well.
11.11am – Leicestershire slip to 35 for three as Greg Smith, who was earlier dropped by wicketkeeper James Foster off Masters, falls to that combination.
Coles bags a second scalp, this time having Ben Harmison held at second slip.
Surrey start steadily with openers Zafar Ansari and Rory Burns still at the crease.
Not good news from the middle as the pitch cover is brought back on and mist descends around the ground. Light remains the big issue
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) September 15, 2014
10.58am – Essex strike twice in two overs, Jesse Ryder trapping Angus Robson in front and David Masters having new man Ned Eckersley caught behind for nought. Leicestershire are therefore 29 for two.
Somerset and Sussex each break through, Marcus Trescothinck falling to Gurjit Sandhu and Harry Gurney having Luke Wells caught behind.
Bad light - another inspection at 11am
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) September 15, 2014
10.37am – The first wicket of the day goes to Hampshire and Matt Coles, who bowls his former Kent captain Rob Key for nought in the second over.
Out to the middle pic.twitter.com/wKhclRWqfF
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) September 15, 2014
10.30am – The action in five of the six contests is getting under way. Stay here for the latest updates.
10.20am – While waiting for the action to start in 10 minutes, why not read our comprehensive Division One and Division Two previews?
We are delighted to announce that @AlexWakely1 has been appointed Captain for the 2015 season in all formats. pic.twitter.com/32lqwDplFc
— Northants Cricket (@NorthantsCCC) September 15, 2014
10.12am – Here’s what’s happened at the coin-flips:
Sussex and Kent opt to bat while Middlesex, Essex and Derbyshire choose to field. There will be an inspection at the Emirates Durham ICG at 10.30am.
10am – Hello and welcome to our LV= County Championship blog. The penultimate round of 2014 games starts today with the matches, like last week’s, beginning at 10.30am. News of the tosses follows shortly. Here are the fixtures:
Durham v Northamptonshire, Emirates Durham ICG
Nottinghamshire v Sussex, Trent Bridge
Somerset v Middlesex, Taunton
Hampshire v Kent, Ageas Bowl
Leicestershire v Essex, Grace Road
Surrey v Derbyshire, Kia Oval
The players warming up with a bit of football this morning! News from the toss is on the way.. #LVCCpic.twitter.com/yKWlQHWSx1
— Hampshire Cricket (@hantscricket) September 15, 2014