County cricket: Warwickshire v Hants, Kent v Surrey, Notts v Somerset and more | County Championship

An early lunch at Derby but cricket seems less likely than a family of ducks coming to play, with huge fat puddles on the outfield. Ten minutes till lunch and Kent and Gloucestershire are still there!

And thanks to Romeo for this tweet of the Currie ball:

Cricket gear recycling project

Round the grounds after the first hour and only three wickets have fallen all morning. Raining now at Taunton, and still no play at Wantage Road or Derbyshire.

Surrey’s Jordan Clark has just dropped a slippery caught and bowled, but Kent are giving a good account of themselves 183-6, Compton the only man out.

Warwickshire are still two down at the Rose Bowl, Rob. Yates continuing his perky start to the season with another fifty. Warwicks 141-2, the lead over Hants 231.

Gloucestershire too showing surprise resistance, 131-6. Zafar and Hammond have put on 51. The lead over Sussex now 69.

Well done Miles Hammond, a fine fifty full of fortitude at Hove, taking Glos from 14-2 to 125-6. No wickets fallen in the first hour. Just another five to survive.

Good morning, Gary Naylor. “I know people get sniffy about the tactic, mainly because it spoils stats (it seems), but shouldn’t Hampshire be lobbing a few in the air now to set up a target of 280 in 50 overs? With the snoredrawfest of the first two rounds pretty much a write-off, I rather hoped captains would be positively disposed towards forcing results. There’s only 11 rounds left after today!”

Someone did mention that we’ll be over half way through by the end of May! Dribs and drabs after that till we start again properly in September. Warwickshire now 109-2, Barnard joining Yates

Thanks to Richard O’Hagan for digging out this link to the Currie knuckleball.

At Canterbury, Matt Parkinson has just driven Kemar Roach for four. Last night he was phlegmatic about his first five-wicket haul for Kent, and quietly cutting about the Lancs set-up:

“I wouldn’t say it was nice (to get his first five wicket haul for Kent) after today. It was more bittersweet. I think it’s been coming out nice all season, it’s just we’ve never been in a position to push the game forward in the first three games. We’ve been on the back foot so it was nice to get five wickets but it was a tough day as well.

“The opening bowlers for Surrey, Worrall and Roach are class aren’t they? They probably showed our young lads how to bowl on there really. They bowled well and when you’re trailing by 300 and you’ve got a sticky 20 over session it’s never fun.”

(On settling in Kent) “I’m loving it but it’s cold isn’t it? I was promised warm weather when I signed the contract, I may have to speak to Paul (Downton) about that but it’s a fantastic group. It’s very different to Lancashire and I’ve loved it. I feel valued, I feel my opinions are valued.

“It is a (young group). That was one of the pulls to come here. I felt Lancashire was an old group I guess and you never quite felt that your voice is heard as much. Obviously here it’s a very young squad and even some of the boys that are older haven’t played a great deal so I guess it’s up to myself and Deebs, Jack Leaning, Joe Denly and Zak when he’s around to help the young lads.”

A shout out to 19-year-old Ronnie McKenna, who kept wicket for Essex yesterday after Michael Pepper picked up a finger injury.

Hampshire get rid of the big one – Davies for 40 to Abbas. Warwicks lead by 152. I wonder what sort of lead they’ll want if they fancy going for a win.

It’s not looking great for Kent. Nick Compton, batting down the order because of a stiff neck, had just become Dan Worrall’s fourth little snackrel of the innings. Kent 139-6, trail by 160, with all the top order back in the pavilion.

While Notts set about compiling more, more and more runs, this is a great spot:

Weather watch

Richard, some Sunday night quotes for you from Derby:

Derbyshire captain David Lloyd: “The way Madsey (Wayne Madsen) and Thommo (Alex Thomson) went about it was superb.

“They showed a lot of fight there, for those two to build that partnership was really good for us. They’ve made a really big effort for us so fingers crossed we can keep going tomorrow whatever the weather is.

“Just for pride you want to bat the day out and put some runs on the board and show some fight and character. It’s been a tough few days for the team and we have to learn a lot from this going forward.”

On the ball from Currie that bowled him he said: “He’s done me there! I thought this is hitting me on the head and it was obviously a knuckle ball and dipped, made me look a right idiot. Sometimes you just have to say well bowled.”

Leicestershire fast bowler Scott Currie said: “There wasn’t too much assistance and I can’t fault the lads at all, I thought they all stuck to it brilliantly and 12 wickets was a just reward.

“We’ll rock up tomorrow and see what’s in front of us. To get sixteen wickets in a day was going to be hard work,,it was all about sticking to what we’ve done so well as a group “

“On his ball to bowl Lloyd he said: “It’s something I’ve worked on over the years, it doesn’t normally dip quite like that but it did today and it’s always nice when you can make someone look a bit foolish but he’s a great player and I’m sure he’ll make myself look foolish on some other occasions.”

I can’t find a clip of that ball anywhere, if anyone does have one up their sleeve, please send it this way.

The dog is in disgrace after coming back from a wet walk, running upstairs, jumping on the bed with the clean sheets and rolling around. Nearly as big a disgrace as I am in with Richard O’Hagan:

”Morning, Tanya. I know that the ECB have no great love for Leicestershire, as evidenced by our not getting a women’s side that would’ve done wonders for cricket in the county, but surely we deserve a mention of our efforts in the freezing cold yesterday?”

Ooops! Apologies Leicestershire and Derbyshire fans. Not quite sure how that happened – sometimes something has to give with a limited word slot, but this time I just had a brain fade!

Sunday’s round up

Scores on the doors

Preamble