Here"s the day two roundup Tanya Aldred Tim Bresnan celebrated his move to Warwickshire from Yorkshire by scoring a lusty century. His 105 was stocky and sharp-elbowed and, together with academy graduate Rob Yates’ 88, gave Warwickshire a 227‑run lead against Northamptonshire before the innings was forcibly closed at the end of 120 overs – a new regulation for the Bob Willis Trophy. Northants inched to 19 without loss by stumps. Somerset’s Craig Overton laid waste to Glamorgan’s batting taking 5 for 38 with his express seamers. Glamorgan recovered from 38 for six to 131 all out, but their season threatens to open with a whimper. An opening partnership of 152 between Jake Libby and Daryll Mitchell put Worcestershire in the velveteen breeches at against Gloucestershire at Bristol. It was Kent’s May to September duo of Marcus O’Riordan and Darren Stevens who kept Essex on the hop at Chelmsford. The meticulous Nick Browne took 79 balls over his fifty before being bowled by Stevens; O’Riordan collected his first and second. Alastair Cook fell for eight. At Chester-le-Street, Durham wiped clean the memory of their first-innings 103 all out, finishing the day on 106-2 in the second, a lead of 10. Alex Lees constructed a patient 58 not out. Yorkshire had earlier suffered a middle‑innings collapse of 10 for four, rescued by some bat throwing by Ben Coad. Ben Slater, on loan from Nottinghamshire for two weeks, crafted an unbeaten hundred for Leicestershire who batted themselves into an encouraging position against an inexperienced Lancashire bowling attack, diminished by England call-ups. Slater and Hassan Azad (58) put on 153 for the first wicket after dismissing Lancashire for 322. Leicestershire were deducted five runs after Dieter Klein hit Danny Lamb on the foot, hurling the ball at the stumps after Lamb poked his delivery back down the pitch. A record wicket stand of 80 between Sam Conners and Leus Du Plooy, of which Conners made just five, gave Derbyshire hope at Trent Bridge. Du Plooy stood tall with a wonderful 130, and was applauded off the pitch by the Nottinghamshire players , as Derbyshire lost 6 for 40 around him mid-innings. Conners then took 3-19 in Notts’ second innings. A stubborn four-hour 73 by Scott Borthwick ensured that Surrey remained in the game on a stagnant pitch at The Oval. He was backed up by a sprightly cameo from Will Jacks and a more stoical effort from Mark Stoneman. Middlesex had earlier declared just before lunch after Nick Gubbins fell eight runs short of his double century. There was something in the water at Sussex where 12 wickets fell in the day in an evenly balanced game. Phil Salt, who made 68 in the first innings, continued in his good form with 80 as the second-innings hiccuped around him. Hampshire were earlier bowled out with a defecit of 23; with three wickets for Ollie Robinson and Mitchell Claydon. And it is goodnight from me as the game at Trent Bridge threatens to drift into the twilight. Another fascinating day, a triumphant comeback from Durham, magnificent century from Tim Bresnan, wickets for Craig Overton, great batting by Worcestershire, Kent’s bowlers on top at Chelmsford, surprising dominance by a Ben-Slater inspired Leicestershire, stoicism at The Oval, more runs from Phil Salt in an even game at Hove and Derbyshire doing their best to stay in the game thanks to Leus Du Plooy and Sam Conners. Till tomorrow! I’ll leave you with this while I attempt the round-up. Keep it up at the back. While I had my hand in the data, Tim Bresnan only went a scored a century on debut - 101 off 105 balls. Congratulations to the indefatigable carthorse. And to add to the list of firsts, Jake Libby, who moved from Notts in November after signing a three-year contract, is out for 77 on his Worcs debut. Worcestershire now trail Gloucestershire by 80 with eight wickets in hand. On the subject of the relative strength of Divisions, we will now, thanks to Bob Willis Trophy, get to see how sides from the two divisions match up. North Div: 2 Div one counties (Lancs, Yorks) , 4 Div Two counties (Derby, Durham, Leics, Notts) Central Div: Div one counties 4 (Gloucs, Northants,Somerset, Warwickshire) Div Two counties 2 (Glamorgan, Worcs) South Div: 4 Div one counties (Essex, Kent, Hampshire ,Surrey), 2 Div Two counties (Middx, Sussex) Here’s looking at you Central Division! Talk about punching above your weight. A couple of quick wickets at Chelmsford - Chopra and Khushi, both to Marcus O’Riordan - his first first-class wickets. May you have many more. As Durham defy all nay-sayers (42-0) and Sussex (90-1) also make a much-better attempt second-time around, an email arrives from Tom VDG, “Over the past couple of years, I’ve read a fair few reports regarding the relative strength of bowling attacks between the divisions with many commentators suggesting that Division 2 had the stronger attacks. Has this been proved true so far across the counties? Or has the class of the 1st Division risen to the top, like cream?” I would say, with trepidation, that the problems with sides like Notts (relegated last season) and Lancashire (up and down) hasn’t been their bowling attacks but their batting, which gets found out in Division one. You’ve spent lockdown thinking about your first innings of the summer. Not a bad way to do it Leus de Plooy, who has guided Derby from 19-2 to 218-9 - hang on, with a last wicket stand of 59 with Sam Conners.. who has made 2. TEA-TIME SCORES CENTRAL GROUP Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Northants NORTHANTS 142 all Out (Stone 4-39); WARWICKSHIRE 266-6 (Yates 88, Bresnan 72 not out) County Ground: Gloucestershire v Worcestershire GLOUCESTERSHIRE 267 (Dent 92; Morris 4-52); WORCS 161-1 (Mitchell 80, Libby 66 not out). Taunton: Somerset v Glamorgan SOMERSET 296 all out (Davies 81 not out; R Smith 3-41); GLAMORGAN 131 (C Overton 5-38) RAIN STOPPED PLAY NORTH GROUP Chester-le-Street Durham v Yorkshire: DURHAM 103 (Coad 4-23, Thompson 3-16) and 38-0; YORKSHIRE 199 (Raine 3-53, Rushworth 3-69, P Coughlin 3-46) New Road: Lancashire v Leicestershire. LANCASHIRE 322 (Vilas 90; Klein 3-81); LEICS 102-0 (Slater 67). NOT TEA:Trent Bridge: Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire: NOTTS 324 (Hameed 68, Patel 63; Cohen 3-47); DERBYS 208-9 (du Plooy 106; Ball 3-58, Evison 3-38). SOUTH GROUP The Oval: Surrey v Middlesex MIDDLESEX 347-6dec (Gubbins 192, Simpson 53; Clarke 3-48); SURREY 129-2. NOT TEA: Chelmsford: Essex v Kent KENT 387 all out (Robinson 78; Kuhn 140; Porter 4-107); ESSEX 111-2(Browne 50). Hove: Sussex v Hampshire SUSSEX 176 all out (Salt 68, Garton 54 not out; Dale 3-20, Crane 3-23) and 80-1 (Salt 51 not out); HANTS 153 (Robinson 3-36, Claydon 3-31) It is still raining at Taunton, with Glamorgan all out for an almost-respectable 131. Tea-time round the grounds, scores to follow. David Hopps phones in and reports that, “ I was just about to come in and watch the county stream but was delayed by a family of red kites circling around Bramham Park. Now I’m worried that I’m so washed up I’ll be regarded as carrion.” There, there, Hoppsy. Meanwhile, another grand remonstrance, this time from Nat Godden: “Someone’s just pointed out that Worcs tend to get overlooked. As a lifelong Essex supporter, I’m constantly amazed at how little mention we get (seems to have made no difference at all being champs for two of the last three years). Whereas Surrey, Middlesex, Yorks, Lancs and others seem forever favoured.” It is true that Essex (102-2; new captain Tom Westley out for 13, Alastair Cook lbw for 9, Nick Browne 48 not out) often get overlooked and they’ve always pushed above their weight, especially considering they’re not a Test match county (like Kent, though without the posh connections), eg giving Chris Silverwood his first coaching position in the UK. Consider my wrist slapped. Just reached for a handful of cashew nuts when Mark Stoneman became Thilan Walallawita’s first first-class wicket. Make of that what you will. Surrey 80-2. Meanwhile, oh-dear-Derbyshire have 8 single-figures scores in their 160-9 A telling-off arrives from John Morrissey, “You’re reverting to old habits and ignoring Worcestershire again! It’s probably 12 months or more since I reminded you of the existence of the Pears. Can I gently point out their first wicket partnership as the largest in the Bob Willis Trophy so far, with both openers getting fifties? Surely worth a mention in your otherwise excellent commentary!” John, most humble apologies. you’re quite right. Worcestershire are quietly amassing the opening partnership of the round between Daryl Mitchell (71 ) and Jake Libby (53). Worcs 130-0 and well on the way to Gloucestershire’s 267. Incidentally I see Dillon Pennington isn’t playing - he looked so impressive when I saw him in 2018, any news on his progress? So Yorkshire are all out for 199 and Durham get to go again - position yourselves behind the sofa. “I wonder” types Graeme Thorn, “if Jack Shutt (Yorkshire) has spent all his life hoping not to be the victim of an unfortunate typo?” At New Road Leicestershire are making the rookie Lancashire attack look, well, inexperienced. Wonderful to see Hassan Azad start where he left off last season (1,189 runs at 54.04) - an average of nearly 20 more runs than any of his teammates. “Hi,” types Mark Scarfe. “I’m in Oz and new to The Guardian. I like the live reports. Is this a common thing?” Mark, welcome! The live reports have been going for ages - the Test Over By Overs (OBOs), which started in 2002, were first and things have spiralled from there to cover all sports, including County Cricket, politics and even Strictly. More success for the old warhorse club: fifty for Tim Bresnan on his first innings for Warwicks. Warwicks 219-5. Meanwhile at Chester-le-Street a tasty last wicket stand between Coad and Shutt of 31 wrestles the game further out of Durham’s reach. And so Hampshire complete their botched job: two quick wickets and they’re all out for 153 - a deficit of 23 on Sussex’s first innings, losing 5 for 54. Mitchell Claydon grabbed the last two wickets to fall, finishing with 3-31, Ollie Robinson 3-36. Some love for Tim Murtagh, who celebrates 39 years youngandunplayableasever today, from Abhijato Sensarma: “It is tough to make up your mind about Tim Murtagh. He was operating his prime when he retired from international cricket, one would think. But then, what is one’s prime? For old warhorses like Murtagh and Broad and Anderson (even Herath till a few seasons ago), the prime never ends because they refine themselves after every minor slump. One cannot argue with Tim’s reason for retirement though - I suspect he wanted to settle into a more comfortable county career while handing over the reins to the next generation. Glad to see him back in action!” Yorkshire losing wheels, nuts and wing mirrors as Rushworth grabs Fisher for one. They’ve now lost four for 10 and only lead Durham’s inauspicious first-innings by 67 with one wicket remaining. More evidence of heavy lunching - Harvey Hosein lbw for 1 in the very next over. Derby now 120-5. Derbyshire rueing their sleepy-time four course lunch - following a rather large miscommunication between batsmen, Critchley run out for 45 to the first ball after the resumption. Let me know if this link works. LUNCHTIME SCORES CENTRAL GROUP Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Northants NORTHANTS 142 all Out (Stone 4-39); WARWICKSHIRE 194-5 (Yates 83 not out) County Ground: Gloucestershire v Worcestershire GLOUCESTERSHIRE 267 (Dent 92; Morris 4-52); WORCS 67-0. Taunton: Somerset v Glamorgan SOMERSET 296 all out (Davies 81 not out; R Smith 3-41); GLAMORGAN 71-6 (C Overton 4-21) NORTH GROUP Chester-le-Street Durham v Yorkshire: DURHAM 103 (Coad 4-23, Thompson 3-16); YORKSHIRE 164-8 (Raine 3-40) New Road: Lancashire v Leicestershire. LANCASHIRE 322 (Vilas 90; Klein 3-81); LEICS 24-0. Trent Bridge: Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire: NOTTS 324 (Hameed 68, Patel 63; Cohen 3-47); DERBYS 119-3 (Ball 3-33). SOUTH GROUP The Oval: Surrey v Middlesex MIDDLESEX 347-6dec (Gubbins 192, Simpson 53; Clarke 3-48); SURREY 9-1. Chelmsford: Essex v Kent KENT 387 all out (Robinson 78; Kuhn 140; Porter 4-107); ESSEX 23-1. Hove: Sussex v Hampshire SUSSEX 176 all out (Salt 68, Garton 54 not out; Dale 3-20, Crane 3-23); HANTS 147-8(Robinson 3-35) And on the L of Lunch, Surrey lose their first wicket: Ryan Patel driving at Tim Murtagh and caught for 4. Surrey 9-1 and that’s lunch! Scores to follow. Durham fighting back at Chester-le-Street in the battle of the bowlers. Yorkshire 162 -7 with former England U-19 captain Harry Brook just out for 41. Hampshire are quietly folding at Hove, a third wicket to Ollie Robinson, Hants 134-7, trailing Sussex by 42. Middlesex have declared at 347-6, which will give them a couple of overs at Surrey before lunch. Doesn’t look as if any team is going to make it to 400 - Lancashire now all out for 328, Kent 387 all out, and Middlesex 346-6 with 9 overs left of the first innings. Arghhgh! Nick Gubbins out eight short of his 200 going for the slog and extra batting points. Middlesex 342/5. Somerset’s morning: Simon Harmer taking his time to snaffle his first wicket of the season, but then takes a second in the following over. Kent now 387 all out and let’s see what Essex are made of. Shall we look at that Glamorgan scorecard in full? Selman lbw Davey 9 Hemphrey c Lammonby b C Overton 7 Carlson c VDM b C Overton 7 Cooke c J Overton b C Overton 0 Root c J OVerton b Davey 1 Douthwaite c VDM b C Overton 2 Wagg not out 13 Bull not out 4 Extras 11 55-6 This isn’t very Sunday morning. A very handy link to all the live feeds. An email drops: “Much as it’s lovely to be following along with you, we were among those who had tickets for the Oval to watch Middlesex v Surrey today until the plug got pulled on Friday,” writes Miranda Jollie. “We’d even picked out which beers to take (Weird Beard Brewery’s Gravelands & Reformatory, if anyone’s interested). Given our usual Middlesex experience is huddling from the wind on the top of the Pavilion while Middlesex underperform, it’s especially galling to be missing out on a glorious day for cricket with us in the box seat for once. Sigh.” Argh, I feel for you. Shall we arrange a time when you can drown your sorrows in conjunction with others BTL? Glamorgan, meanwhile, are missing Marnus Labuschage, currently 34 for five. Three wickets to Craig Overton. A second wicket at Trent Bridge - no make that a third, all three to Jake Ball - this isn’t looking so good for Derbyshire; Warwickshire take the lead against Northants with Tim Bresnan (that feels very wrong) batting for the first time in a Warwickshire helmet. So the clashing of Women’s IPL and Women’s BBL is proving controversial. Early wickets! Ahem, Josh Shaw falls to the second ball of the day off Josh Tongue; Heino Kuhn lbw to Jamie Porter, also to the second ball of the day; Charlie Hemphrey out to the second ball of the day from Craig Overton; Luis Reece gone now too, off Ball; and now Michael Burgess for 39 just after completing a 50 partnership with Yates (can you all just stop taking wickets so quickly pls, ed). And at Chester-le-Street, they’re off for rain. Yorkshire 100-4. News that the BCCI are intending to hold a women’s IPL, to run alongside the last leg of the men’s IPL, November 1-10 in the UAE. Sources say it will consist of four teams and is expected to involve some overseas players, though it will clash with the Women’s Big Bash in Australia. All subject to change in the current situation. A reminder that The Edge, the documentary following England’s quest to become No.1 in the world, is being shown on BBC2 at 9pm tonight Thought I’d start to keep a tally - let’s see where we are on September 10. One problem with regionalisation is that those in the South may get more opportunity to get on the field (though luckily Old Trafford is only in use for one match.) South Group: Hundreds (2 - Gubbins and Kuhn); 5 wickets (0) North Group: Hundreds (0); 5 wickets (0) Central Group: Hundreds (0); 5 wickets (0) Good morning! and welcome to day 2 of the Bob Willis Trophy. Such good vibes yesterday, for all its weirdness and empty grounds and Covid restrictions and lack of overseas players. The highlights? Hundreds from Nick Gubbins and Heino Kuhn; four wickets from Ollie Stone and Ben Coad; and 68 from Haseeb Hameed, which was more than the sum of its parts. A quick recap of the minutiae of the rules: