Jacob Duffy and Matthew Waite took advantage of a seam-friendly pitch to skittle Essex for 179 at Chelmsford. New Zealand’s Duffy led the way with a fine display of fast, accurate bowling that was rewarded with figures of 4-39 while Waite took out three middle-order wickets as Essex were dismissed inside 59 overs. Only Simon...
Cameron Green hit a century on his Gloucestershire debut as the visitors posted 365-7 on day one of their County Championship game with Kent at Canterbury. Fellow centurion James Bracey made 109 not out and put on 167 with the Australian international, who had to retire not out on exactly 100 with suspected cramp. Nathan...
Ul Hassan led Glamorgan’s solid progress in the first session after being put in, reaching his half century off 82 balls in the final over before lunch with little hint of the difficulties to come. He survived a close lbw shout from Paterson on six, but the veteran South African seamer got his reward for...
Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen continued his prolific start to the season by leading an impressive fightback on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two match against Northamptonshire at Derby. The 41-year-old followed a century in the first game against Gloucestershire and 96 at Leicester on Monday with 89 out of a fourth wicket...
Tom Haines’ unbeaten 89 and a half-century from opening partner Dan Hughes put Sussex in control on a rain-shortened first day against Surrey at the 1st Central County Ground. Rain arrived just after 15:00 BST and although they returned at 17:40, only 11 more balls were possible. Sussex closed on 227-2 from 53 overs, Haines...
James Wharton, George Hill and Dom Bess all hit half-centuries at Chester-le-Street as Yorkshire had the better of a hard-fought opening day against Durham. Durham’s Australian overseas seamer Brendan Doggett impressed with 4-69, but Yorkshire closed on 295-8 when bad light ended play 15 overs early. Number three Wharton made 69 at the start of...
Nottinghamshire struck two early blows against Warwickshire before rain wiped out the bulk of the opening day of their County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston. Play started on time but just 9.2 overs were possible before the rain arrived with the home side on 34-2 having been put in. Having chosen to bowl, Nottinghamshire...
Lancashire’s batters might be grateful that only one session of play was possible on the opening day of their County Championship match against Leicestershire at Emirates Old Trafford as they fell to 61-3. After being asked to bat first in cloudy conditions, Keaton Jennings’ side had proceeded uncertainly to lunch before the light showers that...
Kyle Abbott continued his impressive career record against Somerset as Hampshire made the most of little play on day one of their County Championship fixture. Abbott added two wickets to take his tally to 71 scalps versus Somerset, with 40 of them coming at an average of 12 at Utilita Bowl. Fellow fast bowlers James...
All-time greats such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby and Stephen Hendry have won multiple World Championships but failed to retain the title the year after their maiden victory. O’Sullivan won his first in 2001 and went on to win again in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2022. Selby won back-to-back in 2016 and 2017...
Defending champion Kyren Wilson will play Lei Peifan with Ronnie O’Sullivan set to face Ali Carter in the first round of the World Championship as he bids for a record eighth title in the modern era. O’Sullivan, 49, who is yet to confirm if he will participate, has not played competitively since snapping his cue...
How has it come to this? Argyle only avoided relegation back to League One in their first season back at this level thanks to a final-day win last May. It was something of a surprise then when they turned to England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney in the summer, given his struggles in this...
Premier League parachute payments have often been accused of distorting competition in the Championship. In the past 10 seasons half of relegated teams (15 of 30) have bounced straight back to the Premier League. Although recently relegated Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United look well placed for an immediate return, Luton – who went down last...
Josh Bohannon came to Lancashire’s rescue with a century as their County Championship Division Two match with Northamptonshire ended in a draw. On-loan Notts leg-spinner Calvin Harrison’s career-best 7-119 from a marathon 57 overs (for career-best match figures) had looked likely to propel Northants to a first win in 26 years at Old Trafford. But...
Maximum bonus points was enough to keep Leicestershire at the top of the early Division Two table after their County Championship match against neighbours Derbyshire ended in the draw that had looked nailed-on throughout the final day, despite visiting captain Wayne Madsen inevitably making runs. Out for 96, 41-year-old Madsen missed out on notching his...