100 partnership for Essexpublished at 14:04 British Summer Time 25 May 2024

14:04 BST 25 May 2024

Kent v Essex 498-6

Brought up with a towering six over deep midwicket by Jordan Cox off Arafat Bhuiyan.

That's 100 from 91 balls between Cox and Shane Snater.

500 is within one blow.

A maiden from Ben Raine to Tom Lammonby. Somerset won't mind that, they need to lay the platform for a substantial score.

Three slips in place as Peter Siddle begins the next to Andy Umeed.

Big appeal from Jordan Clark for lbw against Toby Albert, who has improved to 91 since lunch.

He played and missed the ball which certainly thumped his pads, but maybe the umpire thought that was drifting down leg as it was moving quite a bit in the air.

Hands on heads around the Surrey cordon and from Clark himself as Albert backs out of his crease rather sheepishly.

Image source, Rex Features

Middlesex finally have a breakthrough at Lord's and Cheteshwar Pujara was the man to go, caught at mid-wicket off Nathan Fernandes for 129. John Simpson is still there on 117 and they are 387-5.

Gloucestershire have begun their reply to Derbyshire's 526 all out and Cameron Bancroft has just found the boundary off Daryn Dupavillon - does that rhyme with super-villain? - to take them to 15-0.

Yorkshire debutant Vishwa Fernando is continuing his spell at Wantage Road, where Northants are 93-1 in reply to 362 by the visitors.

Lewis Hill has hit an early afternoon boundary for Leicestershire, who are 64-2 in the 23rd over after bowling out Glamorgan for 387.

150 for Jordan Coxpublished at 13:55 British Summer Time 25 May 2024

13:55 BST 25 May 2024

Kent v Essex 473-6

The East Kent man is enjoying his return to the Garden of England.

The 23-year-old brings up his 150 from 217 balls with 17 fours and two sixes.

He's putting his old teammates through the ringer here...

Another six for Shane Snater as Arafat Bhuiyan is just short of a length allowing the all-rounder to pick the ball up and deposit over the rope at long on.

Bit cooler and cloudier at Canterbury this afternoon. Kent will want to find a way off this field as soon as possible, but it's likely to be in the hands of Tom Westley at this point.

Ben Raine is looking for a full length straight after lunch to give the ball a chance to swing.

Tom Lammonby clips him away for three runs, but Andy Umeed is denied a boundary by a diving stop at mid-on.

Peter Siddle will continue at the other end.

Jordan Clark sends down the opening over of the afternoon but offers Nick Gubbins too much width from the fifth delivery, allowing him to slam the ball through the covers to the short boundary to move to 80*.

The lead is up to 81.

Essex, and Jordan Cox, will bat on after lunch...

He's on 140* with Shane Snater on 18 not out.

Mike Taylor
BBC WM commentator

Alex Davies can’t often have batted for 90 minutes before hitting a boundary, but that wrinkle from a hard-fought morning session indicates the level of discipline demonstrated by the Warwickshire captain as he steered his team through to lunch.

His unbeaten 75 has spread over 72 overs, and in Jacob Bethell he found a reliable ally to hold Lancashire at bay.

They came together when Dan Mousley fell just 10 minutes into the second day, edging a drive off George Balderson quickly to Keaton Jennings at slip.

Lancashire’s seamers kept scoring opportunities to a minimum, and before long Nathan Lyon began another probing spell from the Anderson End, but a pitch that looked spicy yesterday appeared from a distance to be more placid in today’s brighter weather.

As lunch approached, the batters lifted their sights. Davies finally pierced the field to cut Jack Morley for four, and Bethell – who survived one near-miss against Lyon when only a thin inside edge denied a otherwise-certain lbw verdict – dared to advance two paces to the Australian spinner, chipping him over mid-wicket.

At the break their partnership is worth 73, and although the scoring rate has been modest, they may have given their team the advantage.

And that's lunch.

Adam Finch chases a wide delivery from Dillon Pennington and edges through to give Tom Moores his third catch of the day. And a regulation one compared to earlier exploits.

Worcestershire are all out in jjst 31.1 overs.

No prizes for guessing whose morning this has been.

Notts skipper Haseeb Hameed with one of the easiest decisions he’s had to make after winning the toss.

His attack has not let him down with all four bowlers picking up wickets to rout the Worcestershire batters for 80, Rob Jones top-scoring with 19

Luke Fletcher was the pick with 3-18 after coming into the side for Olly Stone.

There were also three wickets for Pennington, and two apiece for Dane Paterson and Lyndon James.

This will not be an easy pitch for Notts to make their reply so we could be in for more fireworks after lunch.

Image source, Getty Images

Adam Finch almost gives the sharp Nottinghamshire slip cordon another catch, but luckily for him, Dane Paterson's delivery misses his edge.

Next ball he drives more cnvincingly through midwicket for two.

He then farms the strike with a single off the last ball of the over.

Fifteen minutes until lunch. If they make it through.

Division One

Durham 265 v Somerset 171 & 19-2

Hampshire 204-1 v Surrey 127

Kent v Essex 449-6

Lancashire v Warwickshire 166-4

Worcestershire 77-9 v Nottinghamshire - still in play

Division Two

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire 526

Leicestershire 57-2 x v Glamorgan 387

Middlesex v Sussex 385-4

Northamptonshire 84-1 v Yorkshire 362

Ben Gibbon pushes off the back foot off Dillon Pennington and takes a couple.

He then edges the final ball of the over low down to third man and takes two more to move to five.

Adrian Harms
BBC Sussex

Sussex have batted themselves into a strong position whereby they’ll feel they probably can’t lose this game.

However, with weather interruptions expected over the next two days, there may not be enough time to bowl Middlesex out twice on a pitch that’s offering virtually no encouragement to the bowlers.

Cheteshwar Pujara and John Simpson have added an unbroken 221 for the fifth wicket, both scoring centuries, but even at this early stage, with a poor forecast, a draw is looking the most likely result

Frank Watson
BBC Hereford & Worcester

This is one of the pitches where we shouldn't say too much until both sides have bowled.

I don't think it's going to be very easy to bat on this afternoon either.

It depends on if Worcestershire can bowl with the same control and threat as the Nottinghamshire bowlers but I don't think this surface is going to get easier.

I will be very surprised if it flattens out significantly today.

A solid start by Northamptonshire at Wantage Road, despite the loss of in-form opener Emilio Gay for 32.

Ricardo Vasconcelos is 29 not out and Luke Procter has 17 after they finally bowled out Yorkshire for 362.

Jordan Thompson raced to 53 off 51 balls for the Tykes in a game between two winless sides, putting on 80 with Matthew Revis (27) before their last three wickets fell for one run.

There was one moment of unexpected excitement as a swarm of bees or wasps flew across the ground, prompting several players to throw themselves to the floor to avoid them.

Postpublished at 13:14 British Summer Time 25 May 2024

13:14 BST 25 May 2024

Worcs 72-9 v Notts

The scheduled 1.10pm lunch has been delayed for 30 minutes with the last pair at the crease.

That sounds an optimistic time frame.

Dillon Pennington bowls short and Adam Finch has taken it on, heaving it over square leg for SIX!

A rare reason for cheer among the home supporters.