Frizzell County Championship Division Two in 2005

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In the 2005 English cricket season, the Second Division of the Frizzell County Championship was contested between the following county cricket teams:

• Derbyshire (finished 8th in the 2004 season)
• Durham (finished 9th in the 2004 season)
• Essex (finished 5th in the 2004 season)
• Lancashire (finished 8th in Division One in the 2004 season and were relegated)
• Leicestershire (finished 6th in the 2004 season)
• Northamptonshire (finished 9th in Division One in the 2004 season and were relegated)
• Somerset (finished 4th in the 2004 season)
• Worcestershire (finished 7th in Division One in the 2004 season and were relegated)
• Yorkshire (finished 7th in the 2004 season)

Before the season Lancashire, Worcestershire and Essex were widely perceived to be the major challengers for the title. Lancashire, historically one of the stronger sides in the County Championship, had been embarassingly relegated after internal struggles in the team and supporters regarded anything but instant promotion back to the top division as unacceptable.

Contents 1 Table 2 Match details 2.1 Round one 2.1.1 Derbyshire v Worcestershire (13-16 April) 2.1.2 Essex v Yorkshire (13-16 April) 2.1.3 Lancashire v Somerset (13-16 April) 2.1.4 Leicestershire v Durham (13-15 April) 2.1.5 Table at 16 April 2.2 Round two 2.2.1 Durham v Worcestershire (20-21 April) 2.2.2 Northamptonshire v Leicestershire (20-23 April) 2.2.3 Yorkshire v Somerset (20-23 April) 2.2.4 Table at 23 April 2.3 Round three 2.3.1 Derbyshire v Northamptonshire (27-30 April) 2.3.2 Somerset v Essex (27-30 April) 2.3.3 Worcestershire v Lancashire (27-30 April) 2.3.4 Table at 30 April 2.4 Round four 2.4.1 Durham v Somerset (6-9 May) 2.4.2 Essex v Leicestershire (6-9 May) 2.4.3 Lancashire v Derbyshire (6-9 May) 2.4.4 Yorkshire v Northamptonshire (6-9 May) 2.4.5 Table at 9 May 2.5 Round five 2.5.1 Lancashire v Durham (11-13 May) 2.5.2 Leicestershire v Yorkshire (11-14 May) 2.5.3 Northamptonshire v Essex (11-14 May) 2.5.4 Worcestershire v Derbyshire (11-14 May) 2.5.5 Table at 14 May 2.6 Round six 2.6.1 Durham v Yorkshire (20-23 May) 2.6.2 Essex v Worcestershire (20-23 May) 2.6.3 Somerset v Lancashire (20-23 May) 2.6.4 Table at 23 May 2.7 Round seven 2.7.1 Northamptonshire v Somerset (25-27 May) 2.7.2 Yorkshire v Essex (25-28 May) 2.7.3 Derbyshire v Leicestershire (26-29 May) 2.7.4 Table at 29 May 2.8 Round eight 2.8.1 Essex v Derbyshire (1-4 June) 2.8.2 Lancashire v Northamptonshire (1-4 June) 2.8.3 Leicestershire v Somerset (1-4 June) 2.8.4 Worcestershire v Durham (1-4 June) 2.8.5 Table at 4 June 2.9 Round nine 2.9.1 Yorkshire v Lancashire (8-11 June) 2.9.2 Somerset v Worcestershire (8-11 June) 2.9.3 Durham v Essex (9-11 June) 2.9.4 Table at 12 June 2.10 Round ten 2.10.1 Derbyshire v Lancashire (15-17 June) 2.10.2 Leicestershire v Worcestershire (15-18 June) 2.10.3 Northamptonshire v Durham (15-18 June) 2.10.4 Table at 18 June 2.11 Round eleven 2.11.1 Durham v Lancashire (8-11 July) 2.11.2 Somerset v Leicestershire (8-11 July) 2.11.3 Worcestershire v Yorkshire (8-11 July) 2.11.4 Essex v Northamptonshire (10-13 July) 2.11.5 Table at 13 July 2.12 Round twelve 2.12.1 Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (20-23 July) 2.12.2 Yorkshire v Leicestershire (20-23 July) 2.12.3 County Championship: Derbyshire v Durham (21-24 July) 2.12.4 Lancashire v Essex (21-24 July) 2.12.5 Table at 24 July 2.13 Round thirteen 2.13.1 Leicestershire v Essex (26-29 July) 2.13.2 Somerset v Durham (26-29 July) 2.13.3 Yorkshire v Derbyshire (26-29 July) 2.13.4 Table at 29 July 2.14 Round fourteen 2.14.1 Essex v Durham (3-6 August) 2.14.2 Leicestershire v Lancashire (3-6 August) 2.14.3 Derbyshire v Somerset (4-7 August) 2.14.4 Worcestershire v Northamptonshire (4-7 August) 2.14.5 Table at 7 August 2.15 Round fifteen 2.15.1 Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (10-13 August) 2.15.2 Somerset v Yorkshire (10-13 August) 2.15.3 Durham v Leicestershire (12-15 August) 2.15.4 Table at 15 August 2.16 Round sixteen 2.16.1 Derbyshire v Essex (16-19 August) 2.16.2 Lancashire v Yorkshire (16-19 August) 2.16.3 Worcestershire v Somerset (16-19 August) 2.16.4 Table at 19 August 2.17 Round seventeen 2.17.1 Essex v Somerset (24-27 August) 2.17.2 Leicestershire v Northamptonshire (24-27 August) 2.17.3 Yorkshire v Durham (24-27 August) 2.17.4 Lancashire v Worcestershire (25-28 August) 2.17.5 Table at 28 August 2.18 Round eighteen 2.18.1 Durham v Derbyshire (30 August-2 September) 2.18.2 Northamptonshire v Lancashire (30 August-2 September) 2.18.3 Worcestershire v Leicestershire (30 August-2 September) 2.18.4 Table at 2 September 2.19 Round nineteen 2.19.1 Somerset v Northamptonshire (7-10 September) 2.19.2 Yorkshire v Worcestershire (7-10 September) 2.19.3 Leicestershire v Derbyshire (8-11 September) 2.19.4 Essex v Lancashire (9-11 September) 2.19.5 Table at 12 September 2.20 Round twenty 2.20.1 Durham v Northamptonshire (14-17 September) 2.20.2 Derbyshire v Yorkshire (16-19 September) 2.20.3 Table at 19 September 2.21 Round twenty-one 2.21.1 Lancashire v Leicestershire (21-23 September) 2.21.2 Northamptonshire v Yorkshire (21-24 September) 2.21.3 Somerset v Derbyshire (21-24 September) 2.21.4 Worcestershire v Essex (21-24 September) 2.21.5 Final table 3 Links to detailed coverage of the 2005 English cricket season

[edit] Table

The table, showing all completed matches is as follows:

2005 County Championship - Division Two
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Lancashire	16	7	6	3	0	43	47	212
2	Durham	16	6	8	2	0	45	44	205
3	Yorkshire	16	5	10	1	0.5	49	42	200.5
4	Northamptonshire	16	5	8	3	0	45	46	193
5	Essex	16	5	7	4	0	51	36	185
6	Worcestershire	16	5	4	7	5.5	53	46	179.5
7	Leicestershire	16	3	7	6	0.5	45	45	159.5
8	Somerset	16	4	5	7	0	42	37	155
9	Derbyshire	16	1	7	8	0	31	43	116

[edit] Match details

[edit] Round one

[edit] Derbyshire v Worcestershire (13-16 April)

Worcestershire (21pts) beat Derbyshire (3pts) by 10 wickets

At Derby, Worcestershire won the toss and chose to bat. Stephen Moore was run out early for 19. He held his pose, showing off his defensive shot during an appeal for leg before wicket, as Moss came in on the blind side and threw the ball at the stumps. The other opener, Stephen Peters, stayed around though, and made 55. Once Moore was out, Peters was joined by Graeme Hick, who was given lives on 8 and 57, and made 80 off 119 balls before finally being lbw for 80 off one that kept low. Vikram Solanki then went for a duck, but Worcestershire were never in trouble, finishing on 305 for 6 at close.

Worcestershire kept batting on the second day, before declaring after winning their fourth bonus point on 350 for 9. Derbyshire's batting was woeful, with no-one scoring more than 30 as their first innings ended on 135 all out, 215 behind. Matthew Mason, who took two wickets and a bowling analysis of 10-6-6-2, Alamgir Sheriyar and David Wigley, who took three each, were the main contributors with ball in hand for Worcester. The follow-on was enforced, and Derbyshire were 10 for 0 when stumps were drawn.

Only 74 overs were bowled on the third day, with rain ending play at tea. Michael di Venuto put up the Derbyshire resistance, scoring 111 in an innings that included 12 fours and 1 six before finally being stumped off Gareth Batty. Steve Stubbings played the anchor role, and had made only 33 when the first wicket fell for 150. Batty bowled unchanged for a 32 over spell as Sheriyar and Wigley tried, and failed, to get di Venuto. Once he was gone, there was a flurry of wickets to 175 for 4. At close Derbyshire were within sight of a draw, being 11 runs behind with six wickets remaining.

Gareth Batty increased his second innings tally to 5 for 87 to dismiss Derbyshire early on the fourth day, as Stubbings' innings ended with just 10 added to the previous day's score for a total of 58. By the time they were all out for 285, Derbyshire had set a target of just 71 in 68 overs. It took them only 14 as Peters and Moore won the match for them by 10 wickets. It was an easy victory for Worcestershire in the end, helped by Derbyshire dropping 6 catches along the way. Worcester coach Tom Moody said, "We haven't got our overseas players here but this was a good example of the depth of our squad. To have a successful season, you need players who can come in and stand up and be counted and they've done that. The game proved that catches win matches with Derbyshire dropping six while Worcestershire hardly missed an opportunity. We were let off the hook a bit in the first innings with some dropped chances but our catching was exceptional, particularly with the conditions being so cold. I think the cold weather was the hardest thing for Gareth [Batty] because it's difficult for a spinner to get his hands warm and grip the ball." (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Essex v Yorkshire (13-16 April)

Essex (12pts) drew with Yorkshire (5.5pts)

At Chelmsford, Yorkshire won the toss and put Essex in to bat. Essex never looked by, as Will Jefferson, Essex' 6'10'' opener put on 149 before being out leg before just before the end of the first day's play. Essex captain, Ronnie Irani, said, "People think his height is a weakness, they try and over-test it — they try and pitch it up too much or bowl short too much." Jefferson could have been run out for 0 after a mix-up with Cook, and was dropped on 6. Alastair Cook, hero for the MCC at Lord's fell early for 11. However, Jefferson was given admirable support by Zimbabwean Grant Flower, who was 55 not out at close, with Essex on 224 fo 2, after 26 overs were lost to rain. Seven Yorkshire bowlers were used, but few had any success, and England bowler Matthew Hoggard went wicketless on the first day.

A total of 47 overs were possible in the next two days, as Essex moved on to 394 for 4 - losing two men to Hoggard. Andy Flower, Grant's brother, and Ronnie Irani were on unbeaten half-centuries at the close of the third day's play, a draw a virtual certainty.

After adding only 7 in 11 balls on the fourth and final day, Essex declared on 401 for 4, batting on to score the extra bonus point before putting Yorkshire in. Yorkshire found it difficult on a pitch that must have been affected by the rain. Whilst Yorkshire's captain, Craig White, resisted with 59 not out, the team disintegrated to 205, 196 behind. Essex enforced the follow-on, but in yet another rain-affected day, Yorkshire held on. Jaques scored 67 not out from 88 balls out of his team's 105 for 2. Essex scored maximum bonus points, but were denied by the weather. Yorkshire escaped with the draw, but were fined 0.5 points for a slow over rate during Essex' innings. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Somerset (13-16 April)

Lancashire (10pts) drew with Somerset (9pts)

At Old Trafford, Somerset won the toss and elected to field on a seaming pitch after a delayed start. Mal Loye was the only Lancastrian to score a half-century, as Somerset made the most of the conditions. Iain Sutcliffe, Stuart Law and Mark Chilton all worked themselves into the 30s, but failed to progress. Lancashire finished the first day on 235 for 7.

Second day honours went to Lancashire. First their not out batsmen, Dominic Cork and Sajid Mahmood, took the eighth wicket partnership to 94, and Lancashire finished on 323. Andrew Caddick took 4 for 78. James Anderson and Dominic Cork then set about damaging Somerset's batting. Only Ian Blackwell, who was dropped by Law at slip when on 17, put up much resistance, with captain and England opener Marcus Trescothick making only 11. At one stage Somerset were 53 for 4, and they finished the day on 193 for 7, with Blackwell not out on 74.

Just as Lancashire's tail had pushed on at the end of their innings, so did Somerset's on the third day. Blackwell made his second century in two innings, finally surrendering on 122. The second-highest scorer was Richard Johnson with 40. Blackwell explained, "I've changed a few things this year and started to bat on off stump. A lot of bowlers have been going across me because they know that I go at widish balls. The ball's now closer to me if it's slanted across and I'm backing my hand-eye co-ordination to avoid being lbw." The day itself was very cold, with Blackwell saying, "It was absolutely perishing out there. I think play should be abandoned if it gets that cold." After Somerset were dismissed for 272, six Somerset men came out to field sporting woollen hats. Bad light and rain meant the day ended at 2.07pm, with Lancashire on 33 for 1, 84 runs ahead. Whilst a Lancashire victory was not out of the question, the most likely result was the draw.

Lancashire batted on for another 49 overs, scoring 195 for 6 declared, and setting Somerset a target of 247 runs in 31 overs. Paul Horton and Loye put on 94 for the first wicket. But all in all, taking 61 overs to score 195 was hardly declaration batting. Somerset did not go for the win (which would have meant scoring at well over 7 an over), and made 69 for 3 off 22.3 overs before play ended because of bad light. Lancashire's Mal Loye, who fell just short of his century on 92 in the second innings to go with his 53 in the first said, "To get a couple of fifties against a pretty good attack is a good start. It was a pretty difficult pitch to bat on during the first day but it got easier as the match wore on and I was disappointed to miss out. Getting a century is a psychological thing for a batsman. I don't set myself goals or anything like that, but it's always nice to get a hundred." (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Durham (13-15 April)

Durham (22pts) beat Leicestershire (1pt) by an innings and 216 runs

Durham won the toss against Leicestershire and elected to bat first at Grace Road, Leicester. The first day was dominated by Durham's Australian left-handed opener, Mike Hussey. Hussey may not be good enough to make the Australian Test squad, but he was good to make an undefeated 165 off 290 balls on a flat pitch on the first day. Former England Under-19 batsman Gordon Muchall helped Hussey add 166 for the third-wicket partnership, before being run out for 82. Durham finished day one on 325 for 3.

On the second day, Hussey powered on, and was seventh man out for 253, an innings that included 3 sixes and 33 fours. Durham finally declared on a mammoth 523 for 8 declared off 161 overs. It didn't get much better for Leicestershire when they finally did get to bat on a pitch was much less placid than on the first day. Liam Plunkett soon took their first four wickets, and also had one dropped as Leicestershire struggled to 49 for 4. Leicestershire went on to finish their first innings on 123 all out. Plunkett finished on 5 for 43. Leicestershire were then forced to follow-on exactly 400 behind. They made 10 without loss by the end of the day. Stephen Harmison, England's out of form fast bowler, performed well, but could still not take a wicket and was upstaged by Plunkett.

Durham spent 70.3 third-day overs on the process of finishing off Leicestershire. The good news for England fans will be the return to form of Harmison, who took 4 for 30 as Leicestershire were dismissed for 184. At one stage, Harmison had taken three wickets in a 15-ball spell without conceding a run. Plunkett continued to unsettle the batsmen and finished on 3 for 55. Only one Leicestershire batsman, John Maunders, was able to score a 50.(Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 16 April

County Championship - Division Two at 16 April 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	1	1	0	0	0	8	22
2	Worcestershire	1	1	0	0	0	7	21
3	Essex	1	0	1	0	0	8	12
4	Lancashire	1	0	1	0	0	6	10
5	Somerset	1	0	1	0	0	5	9
6	Yorkshire	1	0	1	0	0.5	2	5.5
7	Derbyshire	1	0	0	1	0	3	3
8	Leicestershire	1	0	0	1	0	1	1
9	Northamptonshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

[edit] Round two

[edit] Durham v Worcestershire (20-21 April)

Durham (19pts) beat Worcestershire (3pts) by 7 wickets

Worcestershire won the toss at Chester-le-Street and chose to bat first. Stephen Peters and Stephen Moore started them off well as they moved to 75 without loss. Then Mark Davies, who is fighting for his first-team place, took six wickets to reduce them to 120, before Steve Harmison (3 wickets) and Paul Collingwood (1 wicket) finished off the tail to reduce Worcestershire to 171 all out. Collingwood then returned with the bat and got to 88 not out, to leave Durham well-placed on 139 for 2 at close.

On the second day, Collingwood completed his century, finally falling for 129 when Durham were 229 for 4. The Durham tail did not back up the start given to them by the specialist batsmen, however, and they were all out for 286, a lead of 115. Liam Plunkett, who had a good first game but a quiet first innings in this second game, then returned to knock out three top-order wickets. The rest of the bowling unit performed well, and Steve Harmison took a hat-trick on his way to 5 for 61. Harmison later said, "The way I was feeling, my tail was up and I felt I could go through them. The position they were in I don’t think they were too keen to hang around. Before the last ball [of the hat-trick], I felt confident. It was a decent ball in a decent area and I was glad when he [David Wigley] chopped it on."

Chaminda Vaas top-scored with 42 not out, as Worcester were all out for 146. This left Durham a target of only 32 to win, which they got for the loss of 3 wickets to win with two days spare. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Northamptonshire v Leicestershire (20-23 April)

Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Leicestershire (9pts)

The first day at Northampton saw only 26.2 overs, during which Northamptonshire progressed to 90 for no loss. On the second day Bilal Shafayat (59), Martin Love (50), David Sales (113), Damien Wright (95) and Gerard Brophy (52) all contributed with the bat, as the hosts moved to 433 for 6 declared. However, Northamptonshire bowled without luck, allowing Leicestershire to score 69 for 0 at close.

On the third day, Leicestershire progressed to 339 all out, with Darren Robinson scoring 100. However, the innings was controversial, with three debatable decisions going against the visitors. First Robinson was given out caught, when the ball probably hit his forearm. Then HD Ackerman was out leg before to a delivery that looked high. Then, at 220 for 5 Aftab Habib edged Jason Brown low to Martin Love at first slip. Habib thought it had not carried, and Love and one umpire were not sure. The other umpire said he was out, so off Habib went. But he returned to confront Shafayat who taunted Habib on the dismissal. Northamptonshire progressed to 45 for 0 at close.

The fourth day saw the game peter out to a draw, as a late declaration, with the score on 238 for 3, left Northamptonshire just less than two session to dismiss Leicestershire, who were set an unrealistic target of 333 to win in 58 overs. Leicestershire were 115 for 4 when the draw was agreed with 11 overs still available. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Somerset (20-23 April)

Yorkshire (22pts) beat Somerset (3pts) by an innings and 44 runs

Rain meant no play was possible on the first day at Headingley. The second day was dominated by Ian Harvey, who, at close, was on a career-best 161 not out after being dropped by Andrew Caddick on 96. Yorkshire were on 401 for 7. Matthew Wood had added 95 in 174 balls earlier in the day.

The third day Somerset acting captain, Marcus Trescothick, was away, as his first child was born in the night. On the field Yorkshire declared on 501 for 9, after Harvey got 209 not out, and Tim Bresnan 74. Their eighth-wicket partnership of 238 is the second-highest for Yorkshire after the 292 put on by Lord Hawke and Bobby Peel in 1896. Somerset, batting with 10 men, lost opener Sanath Jayasuriya for 0 after 3 balls, and were all out for 182. Following on Somerset plummeted to 10 for 3, and then 37 for 4 (which, given Trescothick's absence, meant that they only had five batsmen left). However, they avoided losing further wickets on the third day, finishing on 109 for 4 at close, still 310 runs behind.

Somerset clung on for 66 overs on the fourth and final day, with John Francis carrying his bat for 125 as they recovered to 275. This left Yorkshire with their first win of the campaign, and a comprehensive victory. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Table at 23 April

County Championship - Division Two at 23 April 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	2	2	0	0	0	13	41
2	Yorkshire	2	1	1	0	0.5	10	27.5
3	Worcestershire	2	1	0	1	0	10	24
4	Essex	1	0	1	0	0	8	12
4	Northamptonshire	1	0	1	0	0	8	12
4	Somerset	2	0	1	1	0	8	12
7	Lancashire	1	0	1	0	0	6	10
7	Leicestershire	2	0	0	2	0	6	10
9	Derbyshire	1	0	0	1	0	3	3

[edit] Round three

[edit] Derbyshire v Northamptonshire (27-30 April)

Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Derbyshire (6pts)

Northamptonshire batted first at Derby, and openers Bilal Shafayat and Martin Love took them to the sword, though Derbyshire dropped them both. Shafayat finished the first day unbeaten on a career-best 156 from 267 balls; Love was on 129 off 233 balls; Northants were on 292.

Shafayat added only 5 to his overnight score before being lbw, but Love went on to 168. Northamptonshire finally declared on 451 for 7. In reply, Derbyshire regularly lost wickets, finishing the second day on 135 for 4. On the third day, Johann Louw took 6 for 71 to force Derbyshire to follow on 210 in arrears. However, Derbyshire fared much better in their second innings - with both openers undefeated and their score on 119, 91 behind with one day to play. Rain then wiped out the final day's play. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Essex (27-30 April)

Essex (22pts) beat Somerset (2pts) by nine wickets

On 35 overs were possible on the first day. On a green Taunton pitch, Somerset fared poorly against Essex's seam attack. Alex Tudor, who had moved from Surrey, took the first two wickets, including Marcus Trescothick for 4. Somerset were on 119 for 5 at stumps.

Somerset were soon dismissed on the Thursday for 190. Essex's youngsters, Alastair Cook, who looked to be headed for an England call-up before long, and Ravinder Bopara, aged 20 and 19 respectively, made merry with the bat. Although the pitch did not seam as much as the first day, they put on 181 together. Cook was finally out bowled for 111, and Bopara not out for 71 at close, with Essex on 224 for 3, 34 runs ahead.

Bopara could not add to his overnight total on the third day, as he was caught off Richard Johnson's bowling. But Essex were able to take control, finally declaring on 427 for 8 when Tudor was run out for 57. Somerset's fast bowlers, Johnson and Andrew Caddick had picked up three wickets each, but had not been able to stop the flow of runs. Foster was not out on 78 when the declaration came. In reply, Somerset fared okay till Trescothick went with the score on 57, and then, at 65 for 1, Andre Adams, Essex's New Zealand import took a hat-trick. Michael Burns edged an outswinger, and Sanath Jayasuriya and James Hildreth were both leg before. With Adams picking up one more wicket before the close of play, Somerset finished on 128 for 5, still 109 runs off making Essex bat again.

On the Saturday, Somerset's tail was quickly reduced to 180 for 8. There was then something of a rearguard action with 63 put on by Caddick and Robert Turner for the ninth wicket, and Turner and Nixon McLean putting on 70 for the tenth. This left Essex with a target of 77 to win, which they did easily with the loss of just one wicket. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Lancashire (27-30 April)

Lancashire (17pts) beat Worcestershire (6pts) by 76 runs

Lancashire batted first after losing the toss at Worcester, and were soon in trouble. At 81 for 3, Andrew Flintoff, playing his first first-class match after returning from injury, came to the crease. However, after facing 5 balls he was back in the Pavilion without scoring. It got worse for Lancashire as they fell to 97 for 6 and 196 all out, mostly thanks to an unbeaten 69 from wicket-keeper Warren Hegg. In reply, Worcestershire lost Stephen Moore early, but Graeme Hick and Stephen Peters were there at close, with Worcestershire on 59 for 1.

Hick dominated the second day's play as he moved from 32 not out to 176 in 231 balls, his 127th first-class century and his 97th for Worcestershire. This now puts him tenth in the list of all-time century makers, just ahead of WG Grace. However, no other Worcester player scored more than 27 as Muttiah Muralitharan picked up 5 wickets, and they finished on 306, 110 ahead. Lancashire were 47 for 1 in reply at stumps.

There was cheer for England fans on the third day, as the England regular Flintoff was back to his belligerent best, scoring 83 from 101 balls. Stuart Law also made 83, but was slower, taking 152 balls. With support from Dominic Cork (57), Lancashire were able to set a fair target. Their 377 left Worcestershire 268 to win. They lost Peters first ball, and Moore also fell, but with Lancashire pitching short to Hick, it was 58 for 2 at close.

On the final day, 3 wickets from each of Dominic Cork and Muttiah Muralitharan helped dismiss Worcestershire for 191 runs, with David Wigley unable to bat because of a broken hand sustained when James Anderson bowled a beamer at him in the first innings. After the match Cork talking about his match performance of 7 for 115 said, "The ball is coming out well at the moment. I've worked hard with Mike Watkinson over the winter with it. It's early season and these sort of conditions suit a bowler like myself." Watkinson, in response, spoke of Lancashire's determination to get straight back into the first Division after the disappointment of relegation last season, ""We talked about the start of the season and the need to start well and to get a positive number in the wins column is a good feeling. We have two home games now coming up against Derbyshire and Durham and maybe we can kick on from here." (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Table at 30 April

County Championship - Division Two at 30 April 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	2	2	0	0	0	13	41
2	Essex	2	1	1	0	0	16	34
3	Worcestershire	3	1	0	2	0	16	30
4	Yorkshire	2	1	1	0	0.5	10	27.5
5	Lancashire	2	1	1	0	0	11	27
6	Northamptonshire	2	0	2	0	0	16	24
7	Somerset	3	0	1	2	0	8	14
8	Leicestershire	2	0	0	2	0	6	10
9	Derbyshire	2	0	1	1	0	5	9

[edit] Round four

[edit] Durham v Somerset (6-9 May)

Durham (19pts) beat Somerset (5pts) by four wickets

Durham saw off the Andrew Caddick scare against Somerset to win a close match by four wickets. Somerset chose to bat after winning the toss at Stockton-on-Tees, in the first match at this ground in six years. England fast bowler Steve Harmison continued his return to form, removing both Somerset openers, but conceded many runs in the process, and it was England ODI all-rounder Paul Collingwood who was the star, taking the wickets of the Somerset top-scorers James Hildreth (caught by Gareth Breese for 70) and Ian Blackwell (bowled for 48) in addition to the three last lower-order wickets. Somerset were all out for 252 in just 63.3 overs.

In reply, Durham struggled with playing Andrew Caddick, as he removed four Durham batsmen for single-figure scores. Only Liam Plunkett (74 not out) and Mark Davies (62) managed to play Caddick with some success, and that was on the second day - at stumps on day one, Caddick had taken five wickets and reduced Durham to 141/7. Plunkett and Davies, batting at 8 and 10 respectively, saved the innings to 298 all out and a lead of 46 runs - while Caddick was taken around to end with six for 106.

Harmison and Collingwood continued in the style of the first innings, although this time it was the real pace bowler who took the most wicket. On the afternoon of the second day, he again took both openers - including England opener Marcus Trescothick, and when Ian Blackwell (87) and Andrew Caddick threatened to run away with it with their partnership of 78 for the last wicket, it was Harmison who got Blackwell out, caught by Liam Plunkett. Durham were set a tricky target of 243, but the Jamaican-born all-rounder Gareth Breese saw off the challenge of Caddick, who took yet another six-for - this time for 98 - to end with match figures of 12 for 104. Unfortunately, he was the only bowler to dig in, and Michael Hussey (51), Dale Benkenstein (51) and the aforementioned Breese with 79 not out saw Durham reach the target to preserve their unbeaten run in the Championship. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Essex v Leicestershire (6-9 May)

Essex (21pts) beat Leicestershire (3.5pts) by six wickets

In a relatively closely fought game at Chelmsford, the Essex team showed more resilience than the visitors, with nearly everyone chipping in to give the hosts a relatively comfortable victory. It started with a good bowling effort on the first day, after Ronnie Irani had chosen to put Leicestershire in. It nearly backfired, Darren Robinson and Darren Maddy easing their way to 98 for no loss, but the part-time medium pace of Essex number three Ravinder Bopara got Maddy out, resulting in a mini-collapse to 167 for 8. David Masters (27) and Phil DeFreitas (20) saved the innings somewhat, but Leicestershire's final total of 220 off 81 overs meant that Essex looked like being in the drivers' seat. Dale Steyn, the young South African pace bowler with three Test caps, took three for 69 on Essex debut, but Darren Gough was the pick of the bowlers with three for 46 - including Robinson, Paul Nixon for a golden duck and DeFreitas.

With every Essex batsman except number 11 Steyn (run out for 0) scoring in double figures, Essex showed a real team effort, with in-form opener William Jefferson top-scoring with 93 as Essex got into a relatively comfortable lead of 142. Leicestershire fought back well on the third day, though, having lost Maddy before stumps on the second day to be 57 for 1. Robinson, Dinesh Mongia, Aftab Habib and HD Ackerman all passed 30, and Claude Henderson chipped in with a fine 55 from number 9, as Leicestershire made their way to a lead of 190. Only Gough showed consistent threat, taking four wickets for 60, while Steyn again became too inconsistent - he conceded 102 runs in his 21-over effort, although he did get the wickets of Robinson and Otis Gibson.

Essex had the entire fourth day to secure their victory, but didn't slouch - their 191 runs were up inside 44.2 overs, England A left-hander Alastair Cook the fastest scorer with 59 off 69 balls while Zimbabwean keeper Andy Flower finished with 74 not out to lead Essex to their target. To compound Leicestershire's misery, they were deducted half a point for a slow over rate. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Derbyshire (6-9 May)

Lancashire (22pts) beat Derbyshire (3pts) by an innings and 72 runs

Derbyshire batted first at Old Trafford, but fared poorly, being dismissed for 215, with Luke Sutton top-scoring with 95. No one else passed 40, however. James Anderson took 4 for 62, and was the pick of the Lancashire bowlers. In reply, Lancashire made 65 for no loss at stumps on the first day.

Lancashire continued their dominance on the second day, although only 40 overs were possible as they progressed to 175 for 1. The third day saw them finally dismissed for 469, with Mal Loye (101) and Stuart Law (112) making centuries. By close Derbyshire had progressed to 81 for 1, leaving them at least the possibility of a draw. However, that wasn't to be as they plummeted to 182 all out. Spin bowler Gary Keedy was the hero for the home side, taking 6 for 60. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Northamptonshire (6-9 May)

Yorkshire (20pts) beat Northamptonshire (5pts) by 10 wickets

Northamptonshire were dismissed for 281 on the first day at Headingley, with Deon Kruis taking 5 for 59. It was a recovery of sorts, as Ben Phillips and Johann Louw put on 95 for the eighth wicket, but Anthony McGrath ended the visitors' resistance with three wickets. Yorkshire were 30 for 0 in reply at the end of the first day. Phil Jaques dominated the second day, with his 176, which helped Yorkshire to an all out total of 328, a small lead of 47. His fellow Australian Damien Wright recorded what turned out to be Northamptonshire's best bowling figures, ending with eight for 60. Northants were 9 for 0 at stumps on the second day.

On the third day, ten-man Northamptonshire capitulated. They lost their first wicket without a run being added, and never really got going, being 115 for 7 at close on the third day, and being dismissed for 175 and setting a target of 129 on the fourth. It was clear they were not going to win, and Yorkshire gave them no chances, winning by 10 wickets. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 9 May

County Championship - Division Two at 9 May 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	3	3	0	0	0	18	60
2	Essex	3	2	1	0	0	23	51
3	Lancashire	3	2	1	0	0	19	49
4	Yorkshire	3	2	1	0	0.5	16	47.5
5	Worcestershire	3	1	0	2	0	16	30
6	Northamptonshire	3	0	2	1	0	21	29
7	Somerset	4	0	1	3	0	13	19
8	Leicestershire	3	0	0	3	0.5	10	13.5
9	Derbyshire	3	0	2	1	0	8	12

[edit] Round five

[edit] Lancashire v Durham (11-13 May)

Durham (20pts) beat Lancashire (3pts) by 9 wickets

Durham recorded another comprehensive win, this time at Old Trafford. After winning the toss, Lancashire were skittled out for 199, and with Durham making 92 for 2 by close on the first day, they were well on top. This continued on the second day, with Michael Hussey making 144 and wicket-keeper Philip Mustard 77 before they were all out for 338. Muttiah Muralitharan took 5 for 107, bowling 39 of Lancashire's 107 overs. Lancashire were struggling again at 135 for 5 at close, and only managed to make it to 173 on the third day, as Andrew Flintoff was the only Lancashire batsman to pass 20. Durham knocked off the 35 runs required for the loss of one wicket. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Yorkshire (11-14 May)

Yorkshire (17pts) beat Leicestershire (5pts) by six wickets

Yorkshire made an epic comeback against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Leicestershire won the toss and batted, scoring 278 with HD Ackerman top-scoring with a quick 85 not out - forging partnerships with everyone from 6 to 11, who were asked to block at the other end and thus were all out in single figures. After the Barbadian pace bowler Ottis Gibson had reduced Yorkshire to 151, getting Matthew Wood, Phil Jaques and Ian Harvey out in his 6-56, Leicestershire began the task of assembling a big lead. Everyone made some sort of contribution, but the most intriguing decision of the day was captain Ackerman's - with the lead of 403 and well over a day and a half left to play, he decided not to send fellow countryman Charl Willoughby in to bat and declared instead, thinking he would be more use with the new ball.

It backfired spectacularly. Wood (48), Jaques (37), Michael Vaughan (53) and Harvey (47) all made entertaining knocks, but it was Anthony McGrath who stole the show with a five-and-a-half-hour 165 not out - the grindstone of Yorkshire's amazing runchase, the highest in the Championship this season - indeed, the highest fourth-innings run chase in the club's history. Leicestershire's bowlers were smashed to all corners, Phil DeFreitas the only one who escaped with some respectability as he took two for 50 in eleven overs. Gibson, Leicestershire's best performer of the first innings, conceded 124 for no wicket the second time around. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Northamptonshire v Essex (11-14 May)

Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Essex (6pts)

At Northampton the home side batted first. Bilal Shafayat (153) and Usman Afzaal (168) scored two huge centuries to help Northamptonshire to 552 for 7 declared. When Essex finally got to bat, it was a different story, with the batsmen, particularly the tail, struggling. Johann Louw took 6 for 51, as Essex subsided to 178. The follow-on was enforced, and from then on the bat dominated again. Alastair Cook made a career-best 195 in 513 minutes, supported by Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who made 142 not out, as Essex eased to the draw at 495 for 6 declared. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Derbyshire (11-14 May)

Worcestershire (22pts) beat Derbyshire (5pts) by 9 wickets

Worcestershire's Stephen Moore dominated the first innings, making 246 as they climbed to 478. The score would have been a lot less if it weren't for Jamie Pipe, who came in with the score on 300 for 8 and put on 80, sharing a 173-run stand with Moore - eight short of the county ninth-wicket record from 1907. In reply Derbyshire were bowled out for 263, with no player making a half-century. The follow-on was enforced and Derbyshire did do better, but their 314 set Worcester a target of 100, which they easily knocked off for the loss of one wicket. Derbyshire's second innings included 7 lbws. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 14 May

County Championship - Division Two at 14 May 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	4	4	0	0	0	24	80
2	Yorkshire	4	3	1	0	0.5	19	64.5
3	Essex	4	2	2	0	0	25	61
4	Lancashire	4	2	1	1	0	20	52
4	Worcestershire	4	2	0	2	0	24	52
6	Northamptonshire	4	0	3	1	0	29	41
7	Somerset	4	0	1	3	0	15	19
8	Leicestershire	4	0	1	3	0.5	15	18.5
9	Derbyshire	4	0	1	3	0	13	17

[edit] Round six

[edit] Durham v Yorkshire (20-23 May)

Durham (10pts) drew with Yorkshire (9pts)

In the clash of the two top teams of Division Two of the Championship, Durham came the closest to losing a game so far in the season - though they threw it away themselves. With England requiring Steve Harmison to be rested, the team at last looked beatable, though they had Yorkshire on the rack at 124 for 7 and 179 for 9. However, Richard Dawson and Deon Kruis let loose for Yorkshire, scoring 75 for the last wicket in a late blitz to guide Yorkshire to a total of 254.

In reply, Durham were in a spot of bother at 146 for 6, but a partnership worth 126 between Gareth Breese and Philip Mustard lifted Durham to 316. With a 62-run deficit on first innings, Yorkshire lost their first seven wickets for only 128 runs, but Anthony McGrath hit a potentially match-saving 133 not out - his second important century of the season, following his 165 not out against Leicestershire a week earlier. He was supported by Chris Silverwood, who smashed 80 off 66 balls before eventually being bowled by Michael Lewis, who removed the five last batsmen in his five for 80.

Despite McGrath's big score, Durham were only set 245 to win in well over a day. They started sedately, as Michael Hussey (23 not out) and Jon Lewis (18 not out) took them to stumps on day three without losing a wicket, and cut 53 off the winning target. What looked like a reasonably simple chase, however, was intervened by rain, bad light and clever bowling from the South African Kruis. Gordon Muchall and Hussey looked to be securing it at 132 for 2, however, but a mini-collapse in the last overs saw the Durham fans biting their nails. Eventually, the chase was stopped nineteen runs short of victory for Durham, but they lost eight wickets in the process and were probably glad to escape with a draw - though they would be ruing the slow scoring at the end. Dale Benkenstein, their No. 4, hit 28 not out off 78 balls. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Essex v Worcestershire (20-23 May)

Worcestershire (21pts) beat Essex (4pts) by eight wickets

Essex and Worcestershire took notice of the bad weather forecasts, racking up runs swiftly at Chelmsford. The Essex batting effort was not very spectacular, and only Ronnie Irani's 85 saved some grace for Essex as wickets tumbled amid showers on the first day. They finished 220 all out as Worcestershire's bowlers teamed up, Matthew Mason the best with four for 48. In reply, Ben Smith made a century including fourteen fours, and with help of Gareth Batty (54) and Kabir Ali (53), both former England players, Worcestershire got to 383 all out - a lead of 163. Alastair Cook, Essex' 20-year-old prodigy, made a quick 46, but it was their 37-year-old Zimbabwean Andy Flower who, as so many times before, was the top scorer and the rock of the Essex innings with 85 - which led them to 329.

Setting Worcestershire a paltry 167 to win, Essex got off to a good start bowling, removing opener Stephen Peters for 0 and nightwatchman and wicketkeeper Jamie Pipe for 11 just before stumps, as Darren Gough and Dale Steyn took a wicket each for Essex. On the fourth day, however, Stephen Moore built on his good batting form after 246 against Derbyshire a week before, however, making 63 not out and pairing up with Graeme Hick (76 not out) for 146 runs to win the match with relative ease. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Lancashire (20-23 May)

Lancashire (11pts) drew with Somerset (7pts)

Rain ravaged the match between Somerset and Lancashire allowing little play on the first three days. Between the showers, Lancashire had Somerset at 48 for 2 on the first day, but the little play that was possible after that gave Michael Burns (87) and Sanath Jayasuriya (72 not out after three days) opportunity to increase the score to 195 for 3 on day 3. A draw looked more than likely, even if the sides would agree to forfeiting an innings. The fourth day was a full day of cricket, and Muttiah Muralitharan took five for 56 for Lancashire as they bowled Somerset out for 294. Iain Sutcliffe then lifted Lancashire to four batting points and 351 for 3 declared with his 150, well helped by an unbeaten century from Australian Brad Hodge. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 23 May

County Championship - Division Two at 23 May 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	5	4	1	0	0	30	90
2	Yorkshire	5	3	2	0	0.5	24	73.5
3	Worcestershire	5	3	0	2	0	31	73
4	Essex	5	2	2	1	0	29	65
5	Lancashire	5	2	2	1	0	27	63
6	Northamptonshire	4	0	3	1	0	29	41
7	Somerset	5	0	2	3	0	18	26
8	Leicestershire	4	0	1	3	0.5	15	18.5
9	Derbyshire	4	0	1	3	0	13	17

[edit] Round seven

[edit] Northamptonshire v Somerset (25-27 May)

Somerset (21pts) beat Northamptonshire (8pts) by six wickets

Somerset won the toss at Northampton and chose to bowl - and although they got the hosts Northamptonshire out in a day, Martin Love (166) and wicketkeeper Riki Wessels (son of Kepler) (102) made quick centuries to lift the hosts to 408. Conversely, however, two Northamptonshire batsmen batting at 4 and 5 perished for ducks to Richard Johnson. Somerset replied well, though, with 53 from opener Matthew Wood, but rash strokes gave wickets around everywhere as Somerset made 356 - admittedly only 52 behind. Off-spinner Jason Brown got six wickets for 112, just as many than he had taken before this game, while Ian Blackwell played a typical 59 off 77 balls.

Northamptonshire lost the wicket of Bilal Shafayat in their eight overs before stumps on day two but could still be reasonably pleased with the first two days' play. However, on the third day, their side collapsed with Gareth Andrew taking three for 31 as they crashed to 100 all out - Ian Blackwell removing two in his only over, which was also a maiden. In chasing 155, Somerset had some problems in tackling the bowling of Johann Louw, who took two wickets, but still managed a relatively comfortable six-wicket win. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Essex (25-28 May)

Essex (12pts) drew with Yorkshire (9pts)

Centuries from Andy Flower (188) and Ronnie Irani (103) along with 93 from the former Yorkshire player Darren Gough helped Essex to a massive score of 622 for 8 declared at Headingley, as Yorkshire's bowling were taken for runs. Essex were 76 for 4 after two wickets from Deon Kruis, but Yorkshire failed to turn the screw, and the partnerships for the fifth to eighth wicket were all worth more than 100 runs for Essex. Andy Flower and Irani added 213 for the fifth wicket.

New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams then took two early wickets to dig into Yorkshire, who finished the second day on 53 for 2. The third day was calmly played by Yorkshire, as only Gough could take wickets - ending with four for 49. Yorkshire saw out the day well to end on 336 for 8, meaning that Essex would have to take twelve wickets on the final day to win the game. They only dug out seven - Tim Bresnan, Chris Silverwood and Deon Kruis frustrating them to build a further 72 runs overnight in the first innings, and following on Yorkshire easily withstood the spin of James Middlebrook who had to bowl 29 of 68 Essex overs, as Yorkshire made their way to 238 for 5 with Phil Jaques and Anthony McGrath making half-centuries (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Derbyshire v Leicestershire (26-29 May)

Leicestershire (19pts) beat Derbyshire (5pts) by 4 wickets

Derbyshire lost wickets slowly but surely at Derby as only Australian Michael di Venuto stood tall against the Leicestershire onslaught, scoring 76. Eventually, Derbyshire declared on 251 for 9, as wickets were spread about evenly. Leicestershire replied well, with an opening partnership of 85, and a half-century from Dinesh Mongia took them to 188 for 2. But Graeme Welch took four for 48 as the last eight wickets fell for 91 runs, with only Darren Robinson's gritty four-hour century saving Leicestershire blushes. The Derbyshire reply was equally gritty, as 112 overs of cricket yielded only 259 runs, with di Venuto scoring 73 runs in a little less than five hours - although no bowler consistently threatened the Derbyshire batsmen. Derbyshire finished their second innings on 285, setting a target of 258, and Derbyshire dug out three early wickets for 48 runs. But 47 from Mongia along with half-centuries from HD Ackerman and John Sadler turned the match around, and Leicestershire made it to their target of 258 for the loss of six wickets. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 29 May

County Championship - Division Two at 29 May 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	5	4	1	0	0	30	90
2	Yorkshire	6	3	3	0	0.5	29	82.5
3	Essex	6	2	3	1	0	37	77
4	Worcestershire	5	3	0	2	0	31	73
5	Lancashire	5	2	2	1	0	27	63
6	Northamptonshire	5	0	3	2	0	37	49
7	Somerset	6	1	2	3	0	25	47
8	Leicestershire	5	1	1	3	0.5	20	37.5
9	Derbyshire	5	0	1	4	0	18	22

[edit] Round eight

[edit] Essex v Derbyshire (1-4 June)

Derbyshire (11pts) drew with Essex (9pts)

Derbyshire batted first at Chelmsford, and they put on a commanding 462 with Stephen Stubbings making 92 and Graeme Welch 112. Essex lost quick wickets in reply, going to 34 for 4, but the tail wagged greatly with Ronnie Irani, James Foster and James Middlebrook all getting half-centuries as the hosts made 320. Derbyshire, who were without a win all season, probably erred in delaying their declaration to lunchtime on the fourth day, at 236 for 3, with Michael Di Venuto making 110. A half-century from Alastair Cook and a maiden first-class century from Ravinder Bopara saw Essex through to the draw on 245 for 5, well short of their theoretical target of 379. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Northamptonshire (1-4 June)

Lancashire (7pts) drew with Northamptonshire (7pts)

There was no play on the first day at Old Trafford because of rain. The weather on the second day allowed only 54 overs, and in that time Northamptonshire made 148 for 5. They were all out for 175 on the third day, after James Anderson took 3 and Muttiah Muralitharan 4 wickets. Lancashire fared worse in reply, slumping to 27 for 5 and 35 for 6, before recovering slightly to 149 all out thanks to 48 from veteran wicket-keeper Warren Hegg. Northants lost 2 quick wickets in their second innings, before ending the third day on 94 for 3. This left a small chance of victory on the final day, but it wasn't to happen. Muralitharan took 4 quick wickets, but the visitors still made 225, a target of 252 runs. Lancashire were saved by captain Mark Chilton who kept his wicket as all about were losing theirs. The opener finished on 113 not out, as Lancashire saved the match ending on 188 for 8. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Somerset (1-4 June)

Leicestershire (10pts) drew with Somerset (7pts)

Rain prevented any play on the first day at Oakham. The second day saw Leicestershire score 294 for 7, with HD Ackerman striking a century. They finished their innings on 338 a few overs into the third morning. Somerset did not apply themselves well in their reply, as they were dismissed cheaply for 105, and Leicestershire enforced the follow-on with a lead of 233 and just over a day still to play. John Francis scored a battling century as Somerset worked hard for the draw on the last day. They lost only 3 wickets as they effectively put up shop, scoring 225 in 100 overs to get the 4 points. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Durham (1-4 June)

Worcestershire (9pts) drew with Durham (9pts)

The first day at Worcester was washed out by rain. Durham batted to 256 when they finally got a chance to bat on the second day, but more rain meant Worcestershire could only get to 226 for 7 at close on the third day, and a draw was a formality. This was confirmed with the innings closing at 267 all out, and Durham chose not to chase a victory, declaring on 180 for 2 with Paul Collingwood on 103 not out when stumps were drawn on the final day. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 4 June

County Championship - Division Two at 4 June 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	BP	Pts
1	Durham	6	4	2	0	0	35	99
2	Essex	7	2	4	1	0	42	86
3	Yorkshire	6	3	3	0	0.5	29	82.5
4	Worcestershire	6	3	1	2	0	36	82
5	Lancashire	6	2	3	1	0	30	70
6	Northamptonshire	6	0	4	2	0	40	56
7	Somerset	7	1	3	3	0	28	54
8	Leicestershire	6	1	2	3	0.5	26	47.5
9	Derbyshire	6	0	2	4	0	26	34

[edit] Round nine

[edit] Yorkshire v Lancashire (8-11 June)

Yorkshire (10pts) drew with Lancashire (11pts)

Lancashire batted first in the Roses match at Headingley and though opening batsman Mark Chilton was out first ball to Matthew Hoggard his partner Iain Sutcliffe made a free-scoring 153 including 26 boundaries. Former England U-19 pacer Tim Bresnan then struck back with three wickets in four balls to leave Lancashire all out for 379 at stumps on the first day. Yorkshire's 335 in reply included solid innings from Phil Jaques, Craig White and Michael Lumb, while Lancashire's James Anderson took four wickets. Lancashire declared their second innings at 337 for 5, built around a patient 112 from Chilton, and that set Yorkshire 382 for victory. Yorkshire fell to 182 for 8 before a resistant 64 not out from Matthew Hoggard (only his second half-century of his career) saved the draw, as he shared partnerships of 45 for the ninth wicket with Richard Dawson and 46 for the tenth with Deon Kruis. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Worcestershire (8-11 June)

Worcestershire (22pts) beat Somerset (8pts) by eight wickets

Having won the toss and chosen to bat first at Bath, Somerset made 408 in the first innings including 127 by Matthew Wood and 55 by South Africa's Graeme Smith, captaining the side. Worcestershire put on 423 in reply, Ben Smith going on to make 140 and Stephen Moore 86 after both were dropped at slip in double figures by Ian Blackwell. Andrew Caddick took five for 132 in a 31-over effort for Somerset. Worcestershire then cemented their control over the game by dismissing Somerset for 152 in the second innings, with Matt Mason taking 5 for 34. The Worcestershire batsmen achieved the target of 138 for the loss of just 2 wickets, Moore making his second fifty of the match with an unbeaten 66. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Durham v Essex (9-11 June)

Durham (22pts) beat Essex (3pts) by an innings and 19 runs

Durham continued their impressive form in the 2005 season by defeating Essex in just three days at Chester-le-Street. A hefty 506 in the first innings, with Gordon Muchall and stand-in captain Dale Benkenstein both making centuries, provided the basis for Durham's attack to see off the Essex batsmen in just 55 overs to leave them 106 all out and following on, Ashley Noffke and Mark Davies taking four wickets each. Essex fought back in their second innings but their 380, including 82 from Dale Steyn (initially sent in as a nightwatchman) and 103 from tail-end all-rounder Andre Adams, was not enough to catch up with Durham's 399-run first innings lead, and Durham recorded an innings victory. (BBC scorecard)

[edit] Table at 12 June

County Championship - Division Two at 12 June 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	7	5	2	0	0	22	21	121
2	Worcestershire	7	4	1	2	0	22	21	104
3	Yorkshire	7	3	4	0	0.5	18	17	92.5
4	Essex	7	2	4	2	0	23	22	89
5	Lancashire	7	2	4	1	0	16	21	81
6	Northamptonshire	6	0	4	2	0	22	18	56
7	Somerset	8	1	3	4	0	15	21	62
8	Leicestershire	6	1	2	3	0.5	11	15	47.5
9	Derbyshire	6	0	2	4	0	10	16	34

[edit] Round ten

[edit] Derbyshire v Lancashire (15-17 June)

Lancashire (18pts) beat Derbyshire (3pts) by one wicket

In a low-scoring match which came down to the last wicket at The County Ground, Derby, Dominic Cork had the pleasure of beating his old county, as Derbyshire failed to break their duck of wins that had been going since July 2004. Winning the toss and batting, Derbyshire saw Australian Michael di Venuto and Ben France joined up for an opening stand of 56 - the second highest partnership of the match. Then, Greg Chapple dug out both openers, as Derbyshire lost the next three wickets for 15. Chapple had bowling figures of 19-10-29-3, as his spell had the lowest economy rate in the match. However, it was Cork who got the most wickets, after taking the last three of the innings to finish with four for 40 and send Derbyshire off for 191. Lancashire lost two wickets for 12 runs in reply, and despite 37 from Brad Hodge they were at 128 for 6, but Cork's 64 from number eight in the batting order - the highest innings of the match - along with 24 from Muttiah Muralitharan - took Lancashire to a 50-run lead. Muralitharan then bowled 27 consecutive second-innings overs, taking six for 50 as Derbyshire made 185, setting a target of 136 to win. Iain Sutcliffe and Mal Loye added 53 for Lancashire's second wicket, but they then lost seven men for sub-12 scores and fell to 131 for 9. However, Sutcliffe was not stirred as he completed his innings of 62 not out, adding the required five runs with Muralitharan. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Worcestershire (15-18 June)

Leicestershire (18pts) beat Worcestershire (6pts) by 12 runs

Worcestershire were on top of Leicestershire for three and a half days at Grace Road, yet lost the match. Despite Dinesh Mongia scoring a quickfire 66, Leicestershire could only scamper 225 in their first innings, Ray Price taking three for 29 with economical off-spin and Nadeem Malik taking his fourth career five-wicket-haul. In reply, Worcestershire made 323, young batsman Daryl Mitchell making a gruelling 63 not out in five hours while Zander de Bruyn top-scored with 67. Leicestershire then collapsed to 149 for 8, thanks to tight bowling from Price who got four wickets, but experienced wicketkeeper Paul Nixon lifted them with a fine 85 before being run out. The last two partnerships added 89 runs, lifting Worcestershire's target to 141 in about 50 overs - very gettable in most cases. And when Worcestershire were 95 for 4 with the two young batsmen Steven Davies and Mitchell at the crease, it still looked possible. But Davies trod on his wicket attempting to pull a short ball, Mitchell was lbw to Mongia, Ray Price was run out for a five-ball duck, and despite double-figure scores from Chaminda Vaas and Matt Mason Worcestershire fell thirteen short of their target. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Northamptonshire v Durham (15-18 June)

Durham (10pts) drew with Northamptonshire (8pts)

Neither team really attempted to win this game at The County Ground, Northampton, which wasn't as badly hit by rain as many other games in that week. Batting first, Durham made 334 from a tricky position at 73 for 4, Northamptonshire bowler Damien Wright trailing off after three early wickets, and a seventh-wicket partnership between Ashley Noffke and Phil Mustard for 135 lifted Durham out of a tricky position. Dale Benkenstein got four cheap wickets for 29 in the Northamptonshire effort, while David Sales top-scored with 50 not out, but Durham looked on top. However, going at only three an over, Durham didn't ram home the advantage, captain Benkenstein choosing to boost his own average with 83 not out. Thus, Northamptonshire were set 414 in 70 overs - a ridiculous task - and despite two wickets from Gareth Breese, both teams were content with the draw. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 18 June

County Championship - Division Two at 18 June 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	8	5	3	0	0	25	24	131
2	Worcestershire	8	4	1	3	0	26	24	110
3	Lancashire	8	3	4	1	0	17	24	99
4	Yorkshire	7	3	4	0	0.5	18	17	92.5
5	Essex	8	2	4	2	0	23	22	89
6	Leicestershire	7	2	2	3	0.5	12	18	65.5
7	Northamptonshire	7	0	5	2	0	23	21	64
8	Somerset	8	1	3	4	0	15	21	62
9	Derbyshire	7	0	2	5	0	10	19	37

[edit] Round eleven

[edit] Durham v Lancashire (8-11 July)

Lancashire (22pts) beat Durham (1pt) by an innings and 228 runs

Durham struggled in this game, partly due to the fact Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood and Mike Hussey were on international duty for England and Australia respectively and their replacements of New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle and seamer Ashley Noffke not able to fill their void. Durham collapsed to 167 all out against the bowling of Glen Chapple and Gary Keedy, before Mal Loye made a double ton and Dominic Cork an unbeaten ton to give Lancashire a 363-run lead on first innings. Then, Chapple took four for 18, as Durham were rolled over yet again for 135. A very useful win for Lancashire in their quest for promotion against the league leader. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Leicestershire (8-11 July)

Somerset (22pts) beat Leicestershire (6pts) by ten wickets

Graeme Smith was the difference between the two teams at Taunton. After Leicestershire had made 330 in the first innings, with wicket-keeper Paul Nixon top scoring with 62 not out, it was the South African captain who took control of the innings. Farming the strike exquisitely, he smashed 27 fours and eleven sixes in a career highest score of 311 - while his partners were sensible enough to not leave him stranded. Thus, Somerset made 566. Leicestershire were tamed in their response as Andy Caddick and Charl Langeveldt paired up and with good fast bowling restricted Leicestershire to 189 for 6. All-rounder Ian Blackwell then took three tail-end wickets to leave a target of 18 runs with more than a day to spare, and Somerset knocked off the runs inside six overs to win by ten wickets. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Yorkshire (8-11 July)

Yorkshire (20pts) beat Worcestershire (4pts) by three wickets

Yorkshire closed the gap to the promotion spots from 6.5 to 1.5 points after a three-wicket win at New Road over Worcestershire. Matthew Hoggard had a welcome return to form after being smashed out of the Twenty20 format with an economy rate of 11, by taking three for 68 in Worcestershire's first innings. Despite Hoggard's efforts, the hosts were bowled out shortly before stumpson day 1, making 345 runs. Richard Pyrah, playing his first first-class game of the season, and Craig White then rescued Yorkshire from 113 for 4 with a fifty each , but Nadeem Malik and Kabir Ali finished with three wickets each to get them all out for 300, trailing by 45. Then, Tim Bresnan took two early wickets before stumps, and continued on day three to end with career-best figures of five for 42. However, another England prospect, Kabir Ali, took four more wickets in Yorkshire's reply, as they were 222 for 6 overnight - needing 46 runs to win. They lost wicket-keeper Ismail Dawood early, but were not pegged back further, and Richard Dawson's 51 not out lead them to the target. Worcestershire were also docked two points for a slow over rate in the match. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Essex v Northamptonshire (10-13 July)

Essex (22pts) beat Northamptonshire (3pts) by ten wickets

Essex won a spin-dominated match at Chelmsford. Batting first, Essex made 506 against Northamptonshire - whose normally astute spin attack was batted out of the game. Monty Panesar took a career best seven-wicket-haul in the innings, but conceded 181 runs in the process, bowling a mammoth 56.3 overs. The Northamptonshire reply was stifled by four wickets from James Middlebrook, as they crumbled to 141 for 6, but Ben Phillips and Damien Wright added 95 for the seventh wicket before Tony Palladino grabbed three wickets in four balls, and they finished on 247. Following on, Northamptonshire had made 203 for 2 when Essex' captain Ronnie Irani brought Alastair Cook on as seventh-bowler. The off-spinner, normally an opening batsmen, claimed his three first first-class wickets as three wickets fell for five runs, and Danish Kaneria wrapped up the rest of Northamptonshire's batsmen as they bowed out for 261. Chasing a target of 3, William Jefferson hit a four with the second ball of Essex' innings, thus ending the game. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 13 July

County Championship - Division Two at 13 July 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	9	5	3	1	0	25	25	132
2	Lancashire	9	4	4	1	0	22	27	121
3	Worcestershire	9	4	1	4	2.0	29	27	114
4	Yorkshire	8	4	4	0	0.5	21	20	112.5
5	Essex	9	3	4	2	0	28	25	111
6	Somerset	9	2	3	4	0	20	22	84
7	Leicestershire	8	2	2	4	0.5	15	21	71.5
8	Northamptonshire	8	0	5	3	0	24	23	67
9	Derbyshire	7	0	2	5	0	10	19	37

[edit] Round twelve

[edit] Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (20-23 July)

Northamptonshire (19pts) beat Worcestershire (6.5pts) by 82 runs

Worcestershire's fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had a field day despite serving up no balls on the first day at Northampton, but that was only the first day, and Northamptonshire came back to win the game. The match had started well enough for the hosts Northamptonshire, but a menacing spell from the Pakistani fast bowler reduced them from 150 for 2 to 173 for 8 - Matt Mason helping out with two wickets as well. Shoaib finished with six for 47, including twenty runs conceded due to no-balls - while Monty Panesar and Jason Brown rescued the hosts to 299 with a last-wicket stand of 62. Young wicket-keeper Steve Davies then made a career-best 95 in his sixth first-class game, which helped lift Worcestershire to 381, a lead of 82.

Northamptonshire lost six wickets to spinners in their second innings, Ray Price and Gareth Batty taking three each while Shoaib was expensive, conceding 67 in thirteen overs, as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 364 - Bilal Shafayat making 84 and Riki Wessels 102. Chasing 283 to win, Worcestershire got off to a good start with an opening partnership of 54, but Northamptonshire's spinner Monty Panesar took three for 47 to leave them 139 for 5 overnight, Ben Smith unbeaten on 50. Smith only added seven to that score, while Panesar took three more wickets, bowling 26.5 overs in one straight spell which yielded six for 77. Johann Louw and Brown also got one wicket each, as Worcestershire succumbed for 200 to suffer their third successive Championship loss, which sent them out of the promotion zone. Worcestershire were also deducted half a point for a slow over rate. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Leicestershire (20-23 July)

Yorkshire (17pts) beat Leicestershire (7pts) by six wickets

Australian Chris Rogers continued his fine run of form as his 93 gave Leicestershire a good start, which Ottis Gibson and Claude Henderson exploited by scoring 127 for the eighth wicket to lift Leicestershire to 366 all out. South African Deon Kruis got the four lowest-batting batsmen to end with respectable figures of four for 90, but Yorkshire didn't use their innings well, as Gibson, Charl Willoughby and Stuart Broad took three wickets each and Yorkshire crumbled to 187.

Tim Bresnan then removed both the openers for ducks, but John Maunders and Chris Rogers made healthy knocks to take Leicestershire to a somewhat respectable 217 for a sizeable target - while Richard Dawson took four for 54 and Tim Bresnan added another man to his tally and finished with three for 44. Michael Wood and Joe Sayers set Yorkshire on track to chasing the target of 397, pairing up for 115 before Wood was caught out for 70, and Yorkshire were 132 for 1 overnight, setting up an intriguing chase. And, as in May when the teams met at Grace Road and Yorkshire chased a club record 406, Yorkshire recovered from a dismal first innings to take the victory. Sayers made 104, Anthony McGrath 55, and Ian Harvey an unbeaten 54 as Yorkshire reached the target, making their second highest fourth innings total to win in their 142-year history until this match - and both of those were against Leicestershire in 2005. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] County Championship: Derbyshire v Durham (21-24 July)

Durham (11pts) drew with Derbyshire (7pts)

Paul Collingwood made a first-innings 190 - 52% of the Durham total - on his return to County Championship cricket following his stint with the England ODI team in the NatWest Series. However, Derbyshire's second highest score of the season, and rain cutting off about 80 overs of the match, resulted in the match in a draw. The hosts had taken three early Durham wickets for 59 after being put in the field, but Collingwood and skipper Dale Benkenstein lifted Durham with a 250-run partnership - to 309 for 4. However, Derbyshire did get some kind of revenge - five wickets fell for nine runs by the end of the day, as Durham were 363 for 9 at stumps, and only eight runs were taken before the last wicket fell on the second day. Durham took wickets as well, though, as Mark Davies got three wickets for four runs, including Michael di Venuto for 32, and Liam Plunkett also took three wickets as Derbyshire made 161 in 41.1 overs.

Asked to follow on, di Venuto took 113 balls for his second-innings century, but batted more slowly after that as Derbyshire began to build a lead with a 252-run stand between di Venuto and Hassan Adnan. A brief spurt of wickets, initiated by di Venuto departing for 203, saw Durham lose four men for six runs to go to 360 for 6, but Travis Friend and Graeme Welch made 135 in a seventh-wicket partnership as Derbyshire set a target of 330. After Durham had batted out 36 of their 66 overs, scoring 93 runs and losing two wickets to spinner Ant Botha, play was stopped and the match declared a draw due to poor weather conditions. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Essex (21-24 July)

Lancashire (10pts) drew with Essex (9pts)

Essex batted resolutely and calmly, without any rush until the fifth session, and quietly worked their way to 536 for 9 declared at Old Trafford. Grant Flower made a healthy 115 before being caught behind off Gary Keedy, while his brother Andy made 138. Australian Andrew Crook got the best figures for Lancashire, three for 71 with his part-time off-spin, but he was also very expensive in only ten overs. Lancashire number three Mal Loye replied with 194 after Andre Adams had dug out the hosts' captain Mark Chilton for 4, as the match ground towards an inevitable draw, Loye spending 200 balls for his century and eventually spending nearly eight hours at the crease before being caught by Alastair Cook off Grant Flower, six runs short of what could have been his second double century in July 2005. Lancashire eventually batted out a mammoth 220.3 overs - Danish Kaneria bowling 70.2 of those without a single wicket - to make 655 for 6 before the captains agreed to a draw. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 24 July

County Championship - Division Two at 24 July 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	10	5	4	1	0	29	28	143
2	Lancashire	10	4	5	1	0	26	29	131
3	Yorkshire	9	5	4	0	0.5	21	23	129.5
4	Worcestershire	10	4	1	5	2.5	33	30	120.5
5	Essex	10	3	5	2	0	33	25	120
6	Northamptonshire	9	1	5	3	0	26	26	86
7	Somerset	9	2	3	4	0	20	24	84
8	Leicestershire	9	2	2	5	0.5	19	24	78.5
9	Derbyshire	8	0	3	5	0	10	22	44

[edit] Round thirteen

[edit] Leicestershire v Essex (26-29 July)

Leicestershire (11pts) drew with Essex (8pts)

Ronnie Irani and Alastair Cook, who both made fifties, lifted Essex to 297 after being put in to bat at Grace Road. David Masters was Leicestershire's best bowler, with four for 65, and he bowled eleven maidens in 25 overs. However, Masters and the rest of the Leicestershire middle order showed precariously little resistance with the bat, as Darren Gough took two quick wickets before stumps on day 1 and Tony Palladino joined in with two more as Leicestershire imploded to 20 for 4. John Maunders and Aftab Habib lifted Leicestershire to a more respectable score, but they were still 132 for 6 at close on day 2, with half the second day's play lost due to rain. The third day was rained off, and on the fourth day Habib went on to make an unbeaten 153, Leicestershire declared on 382 for 8, and the match ended in a draw as Essex easily survived 29 overs to make 80 for 2. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Durham (26-29 July)

Durham (22pts) beat Somerset (5pts) by 207 runs

Durham continued their march through Division Two of the County Championship, recording their sixth win of the season thanks mainly to Paul Collingwood and spineless batting from Somerset. Collingwood made 181, for his second successive match with a century, and along with half-centuries from Mike Hussey, Gordon Muchall and Gareth Breese it lifted Durham to 476 for 9 declared seven overs into day three after the second day had been broken up by the rain. Jamaican spinner Gareth Breese then snared five for 83 as Somerset made their way to 303 in 68 overs, while Durham got to 208 for 1 in reply before declaring for the second time in the match - only Graeme Smith getting a wicket for Somerset. Smith started positively with fellow opener James Francis, adding 56 for the first wicket, but Breese added another four to his tally as he finished with match figures of nine for 138. Ian Blackwell played an unusually cautious knock of 8 off 62 balls, but he was eventually lbw to Michael Lewis, and Somerset subsided for 174 to lose by 207 runs. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Derbyshire (26-29 July)

Yorkshire (12pts) drew with Derbyshire (11pts)

Phil Jaques and Anthony McGrath lifted Yorkshire with a third-wicket partnership of 310, 13 off the county record set in 1928, and although Jaques only added two to his overnight score of 217 before he was out caught, Yorkshire still amassed 570 thanks mainly to Ian Harvey and Craig White. Derbyshire spinners Ant Botha and Andy Gray got cheap wickets towards the end, as White was left stranded on 67 not out with the lower-order making insignificant contributions. However, Chris Silverwood and Richard Dawson chipped away at the Derbyshire batting line-up, taking two wickets each as Michael di Venuto was fairly alone with his 79 and Derbyshire made their way to 247 for 7 at stumps on day 2. That turned out to be the score at the end of day 3 as well, rain preventing any play as the match moved closer to a draw. Derbyshire's late-order battled for another thirty overs before they were bundled out for 350, and despite Deon Kruis snaring two early wickets in the follow on, Derbyshire survived 60 overs to make 173 for 5 at the end of day four and save the draw (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 29 July

County Championship - Division Two at 29 July 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	11	6	4	1	0	34	31	165
2	Yorkshire	10	5	5	0	0.5	26	26	141.5
3	Lancashire	10	4	5	1	0	26	29	131
4	Essex	11	3	6	2	0	35	27	128
5	Worcestershire	10	4	1	5	2.5	33	30	120.5
6	Leicestershire	10	2	3	5	0.5	23	27	89.5
7	Somerset	10	2	3	5	0	23	26	89
8	Northamptonshire	9	1	5	3	0	26	26	86
9	Derbyshire	9	0	4	5	0	14	25	55

[edit] Round fourteen

[edit] Essex v Durham (3-6 August)

Essex (18pts) beat Durham (3pts) by two wickets

Durham won the toss at Southend-on-Sea, yet only lasted two sessions for 196, New Zealander Andre Adams taking five for 60 while Danish Kaneria took three for 30 for Essex. The hosts struggled in the chase, however, as Australian Michael Lewis taking four for 69 as Essex stumbled to 134 for 7, but opener Alastair Cook hung around for four and a half hours, crafting 107 as Essex scraped 245. Adams dug out both openers when Durham returned to bat, but good partnerships from the rest of the order, led by Dale Benkenstein's 124, saw Durham to a second-innings total of 347.

Essex needed 299 to win, and had four sessions to do it. They lost Ravinder Bopara after just 12 minutes, caught off Liam Plunkett, but Andy Flower and Alastair Cook forged a 72-run partnership before Durham medium-pacer Mark Davies struck and had Cook caught behind. At stumps on day three, Essex were 129 for 2. Lewis and Gareth Breese did a lot of bowling for Durham on the fourth day, and after Ronnie Irani departed for 48, Durham got regular breakthroughs, as no Essex partnership following the third was worth more than 25. Andy Flower stood tall, however, spending six and a half hours at the crease to end with 132 not out. With the century, he passed 1000 runs in the Championship, and ensured a two-wicket win for Essex. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Lancashire (3-6 August)

Lancashire (19pts) beat Leicestershire (5pts) by 234 runs

Leicestershire were in the game at Grace Road for exactly two days, after having Lancashire effectively 68 for 3 in the second innings. However, they lost it from there, and Lancashire took the win to go into second place in the Championship table. Lancashire had won the toss and batted first, with Iain Sutcliffe top scoring with 93, as nine batsmen made it into double figures but only Sutcliffe managed a fifty. Medium pacer Ryan Cummins got three for 32 in his first game for Leicestershire, but only bowled ten overs, as the captain preferred an ineffective but economical Claude Henderson. After making their way to 16 for 0 on the first day, Leicestershire fell apart twice, first from 69 for 0 to 78 for 4 and then from 160 for 5 to 183 for 8. However, Aftab Habib made 84 to lift them to 261, only 30 behind Lancashire's first-innings score.

In Lancashire's second innings, Otis Gibson got two quick wickets as Lancashire fell to 22 for 3 shortly before stumps on the second day, but Australians Stuart Law and Andrew Symonds batted well together with a 111-run partnership before Law was out to Henderson. Symonds powered on from there, bludgeoning 17 fours in his 121, and Glen Chapple and Warren Hegg made season-best scores of 60 and 77 respectively as they added for 121 for the eighth wicket. Lancashire declared on 368 for 9, not bothering to send in James Anderson to bat, thinking he might be better use with the ball. Indeed, he was - he took three for 39 before stumps on day three, as Leicestershire collapsed to 78 for 5 in chase of 399. There wasn't much respite on the fourth day either - after Dinesh Mongia and Habib had added 27, Anderson came back with two quick wickets, finishing with five for 79. Dominic Cork and debutant leg-spinner Simon Marshall wrapped up the Leicestershire chase as they were all out for 164. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Derbyshire v Somerset (4-7 August)

Somerset (21pts) beat Derbyshire (7pts) by five runs

Arul Suppiah, James Hildreth and Wesley Durston helped themselves to boundaries and Somerset to a big first-innings total in a close match against Derbyshire. Suppiah passed fifty for the first time in his first-class career with a five-hour 123, while Durston was stranded on 146 not out - his only century of the season. Graeme Welch took four for 82 to be Derbyshire's most effective bowler, but that didn't say much, as they conceded 460 to Somerset's batsmen. However, Derbyshire's tactic of slow attrition worked well against Somerset's frontline bowlers, Andy Caddick and Ian Blackwell. They made 438, in a mammoth 149 overs, before declaring with eight men down - four Derbyshire batsmen making fifties, Ant Botha top-scoring with 91, while 40 overs from Caddick yielded four for 102. Somerset weren't too keen on a big target either, making 61 in 32 third-day overs, as the match looked to peter into one of the most drab draws of the Championship season.

However, on the fourth day, 426 runs were hit and enough wickets fell to get a result. Blackwell smacked 88 not out in 85 balls as Somerset added 184 in the first fifty overs of the day before declaring, which set Derbyshire 268 to win in 50 overs - a good one-day total. Derbyshire attempted the chase, Jon Moss slashing 106 and adding runs with Luke Sutton, and at 247 for 4, Derbyshire looked to have a good chance at winning it. However, two run-outs and two wickets each for Blackwell and Caddick saw Derbyshire lose their last six men for 15 runs, and Somerset snatched a five-run win. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Northamptonshire (4-7 August)

Northamptonshire (17pts) beat Worcestershire (3pts) by 137 runs

Worcestershire gave away the initiative in the second innings, losing by 137 runs thanks to a frantic second-innings 190 from David Sales. It was the visitors, Northamptonshire, who chose to bat first at New Road, and after seeing off Shoaib Akhtar and Kabir Ali in a frantic opening spell where Bilal Shafayat went for 1, Northamptonshire looked fairly confident at 177 for 4. Then Shoaib returned, taking four wickets (to end with bowling figures of 9.2-1-55-5), and the wheels fell off as Northamptonshire lost their last six wickets for 12 runs. Stephen Moore continued his fine form, making 62, as Worcestershire looked to gain a slender lead - Ben Phillips taking a couple of wickets to give Northamptonshire some hope of tying the hosts down. Then, Damien Wright ripped through with some quick wickets, as Worcestershire went from 110 for 3 to 147 for 8 - only for Shoaib and Matthew Mason to give Worcestershire the lead thanks to a boundary-filled 47-run partnership.

Ali and Mason then chipped away at the Northamptonshire batsmen, and would have fancied their chances when the visitors were 64 for 5. However, a quickfire partnership between Sales and Wright turned the match on its head again, as the pair added 188 runs in 112 minutes - one run less than Northamptonshire had managed in the entire first innings - to send Northamptonshire into a relatively big lead on this pitch. Sales was 152 not out overnight, and powered on to 190 before Malik had him caught. However, the damage was done, and Worcestershire faced a steep target of 360 to win - or five sessions for a draw. Losing Moore and Graeme Hick early on, Ben Smith attacked for a fine 92, and a 45-minute flurry of runs from Zander de Bruyn gave Worcestershire some hope at 154 for 3. However, Monty Panesar got four for 40, Phillips dug out three for 56, Worcestershire lost the last seven wickets for 68 runs, and whimpered into a heap. Worcestershire were later deducted one point due to a slow over rate. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 7 August

County Championship - Division Two at 7 August 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	12	6	4	2	0	34	34	168
2	Lancashire	11	5	5	1	0	28	32	150
3	Essex	12	4	6	2	0	36	30	146
4	Yorkshire	10	5	5	0	0.5	26	26	141.5
5	Worcestershire	11	4	1	6	3.5	34	33	123.5
6	Somerset	11	3	3	5	0	28	28	110
7	Northamptonshire	10	2	5	3	0	26	29	103
8	Leicestershire	11	2	3	6	0.5	25	30	94.5
9	Derbyshire	10	0	4	6	0	18	28	62

[edit] Round fifteen

[edit] Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (10-13 August)

Northamptonshire (17pts) beat Derbyshire (4pts) by 182 runs

Northamptonshire won the match at The County Ground, Northampton despite only posting 140 all out in the first innings. Derbyshire's medium-pacer Ian Hunter took four for 50 to get the best figures for Derbyshire, dismissing three Northamptonshire batsmen were dismissed in single figures. Graeme Welch chipped in with economical bowling, conceding only 21 runs in ten overs and claiming three scalps. Steve Stubbings and Michael di Venuto then made batting look easy with an opening partnership of 81, but two wickets from Johann Louw evened out the game somewhat, and Monty Panesar wrapped up Derbyshire's innings with three wickets on the second day, as Derbyshire were all out for 219.

After Welch's bowling had yielded two early catches to see Northamptonshire to 43 for 2, Australian Martin Love took centre stage. He slashed 34 fours to end the second day unbeaten on 159, an innings higher than the entire Northamptonshire first innings total, and the hosts closed the second day's play on 311 for 3, Usman Afzaal having added 59 from number four as well. Love added only 18 before he was lbw to Mohamed Sheikh, but half-centuries from David Sales and Riki Wessels, ensured that Northamptonshire could declare with a lead of 388, giving themselves five sessions to win the game. The weather forecast for the final day, however, had predicted rain, so Northamptonshire wanted to get in early. Spinners Jason Brown and Monty Panesar shared nine wickets, as Derbyshire battled out the third day to 204 for 9, but Australian Damien Wright wrapped up the innings by having Hunter bowled two balls into the fourth morning. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Yorkshire (10-13 August)

Somerset (12pts) drew with Yorkshire (11pts)

Yorkshire and Somerset fought out a high-scoring draw at Taunton. Having opted to bat first, the visitors lost Joe Sayers for a duck, but Phil Jaques and Michael Lumb made centuries to see Yorkshire to 368 for 4. Then, Charl Langeveldt took the wickets of Craig White and Lumb, and Deon Kruis edged Andy Caddick behind for a duck to leave Yorkshire 377 for 7 overnight. Caddick wrapped up the innings on the second morning, finishing with six for 96, before Somerset opener Michael Wood started notching up boundaries. He made 35 fours and one six in a nine-hour cameo which yielded a total of 297 - before he was caught by Tim Bresnan 14 short of Somerset's highest innings for the season. With help from Ian Blackwell, who made 62, and Keith Parsons' 94, Somerset amassed 581 in a day and a half. Andy Caddick got an early breakthrough for Somerset, but Sayers and Anthony McGrath defied them, with a 119-run partnership for the second wicket. Only six overs of play was possible on day four before rain set in to ensure a drawn game. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Durham v Leicestershire (12-15 August)

Leicestershire (12pts) drew with Durham (10pts)

Rain intervened on both the first two days at Riverside, limiting play to 56.1 overs, compared to the expected 200 on fine days, and that was probably a major cause of the drawn game. Durham ground their way to 260 for 3 amid the rain, however, Michael Hussey smashing five sixes in his third Championship century of the season, for 146 runs. David Masters was the star of the third day, though, completing a six-wicket-haul as Durham lost their last seven wickets for 55 runs to end with a first-innings total of 315. In reply, Liam Plunkett took two early wickets, but Dinesh Mongia's unbeaten 77 saw Leicestershire to stumps on day three - still trailing by 98 runs with seven wickets in hand. Leicestershire batted on for 50 overs on day four, Gareth Breese taking five for 91 as Leicestershire were bowled out for 443, while Mongia notched up 29 boundaries in his only first-class century of the season, finishing with 164 before he was stumped off Breese. With 50 overs remaining and one innings to go for both sides, Durham just took their time at the crease as batting practice, Hussey boosting his batting average with 61 not out. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 15 August

County Championship - Division Two at 15 August 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	13	6	5	2	0	37	37	178
2	Yorkshire	11	5	6	0	0.5	31	28	152.5
3	Lancashire	11	5	5	1	0	28	32	150
4	Essex	12	4	6	2	0	36	30	146
5	Worcestershire	11	4	1	6	3.5	34	33	123.5
6	Somerset	12	3	4	5	0	33	31	122
7	Northamptonshire	11	3	5	3	0	26	32	120
8	Leicestershire	12	2	4	6	0.5	30	33	106.5
9	Derbyshire	11	0	4	7	0	19	31	66

[edit] Round sixteen

[edit] Derbyshire v Essex (16-19 August)

Essex (19pts) beat Derbyshire (6pts) by five wickets

Essex came back from a 120-run first innings deficit, after Derbyshire had used a day and a half for their first innings at The County Ground, Derby. Derbyshire weren't overly keen on hitting runs, though four batsmen made fifties, and especially Luke Sutton took his time at the crease. His 88 took five hours, and he faced 241 deliveries. However, Derbyshire's tactic of attrition seemed to work - after amassing 426, all while Danish Kaneria was bowling (the Pakistani leg spinner bowled 60.1 overs, taking six for 111), Derbyshire immediately got breakthroughs with the ball. Essex crashed to 18 for 3 before the Flower brothers - Grant and Andy - put on 60 for the fourth wicket to help close the gap. By stumps, they were 113 for 4 from 50 overs.

After the relatively slow proceedings on the first two days, the third day gave the spectators nearly 400 runs while eighteen wickets fell. Graeme Welch took two wickets in consecutive deliveries in the early stages, as Essex crashed to 128 for 6, but Ronnie Irani made a four-hour 99 and was well supported by James Middlebrook and Darren Gough - the latter registering 51 off just 38 deliveries. Welch finished with figures of five for 68, his second five-for of the season, as Essex finished on 306. Then, Essex's bowlers suddenly found some form, Ravinder Bopara getting two early wickets to see Derbyshire to 34 for 4. Another rearguard effort from Luke Sutton and a fine 74 from Jon Moss saw Derbyshire to stumps with a lead of 314 with eight down - Sutton still not out with 38. A further 22 runs were added on the second day, while Danish dismissed Jake Needham to complete his second five-for of the match - Sutton was left stranded on 46 not out, setting Essex 337 to win. As Alastair Cook, Grant Flower and Bopara fell in quick succession, Essex were reeling on 82 for 3, but William Jefferson made 83 to set them back on track, and a 177-run partnership between Andy Flower and Ronnie Irani set Essex on the course for victory. They made it with five wickets to spare, and Derbyshire's winless drought continued. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Yorkshire (16-19 August)

Lancashire (11pts) drew with Yorkshire (11pts)

Craig White and Matthew Wood gave Yorkshire control of the first day of the Roses clash against Lancashire. Wood made 86 and White 110 not out, while the Lancashire captain Mark Chilton was stumped for options and had to turn to part-time spinner Marcus North for seven overs of bowling - which yielded the wicket of Ismail Dawood. Thanks to hard hitting from Deon Kruis, who finished with 35, Yorkshire ended their innings on 417 after 125 overs, James Anderson taking the number 10 and 11 to end with three wickets, the same number as Glen Chapple. Lancashire set about chasing the total with a massive opening partnership between Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe - the pair added 223 and battered Chris Silverwood out of the attack, as the opening bowler was left with 13 of Yorkshire's 157.1 overs.

Sutcliffe was eventually dismissed seven runs short of a century, caught by wicket-keeper Dawood off Tim Bresnan's bowling, and Bresnan got another wicket when he trapped Mal Loye lbw. Bresnan and Deon Kruis were Yorkshire's best bowlers, sharing nine of the ten wickets, and starting with Sutcliffe's dismissal, Lancashire lost five wickets for 27 runs to Bresnan and Kruis. However, 146 from Andrew Symonds, and half-centuries from Dominic Cork and Warren Hegg gave Lancashire a 120-run lead. Yorkshire batted to stumps on day three without loss, and survived 89 overs on the fourth day with ease. Craig White, Anthony McGrath and Matthew Wood all made fifties for Yorkshire, while no Lancashire bowler got more than one wicket. Yorkshire remained 2.5 points ahead of Lancashire in the Championship table, but were third following Essex' victory over Derbyshire. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Somerset (16-19 August)

Worcestershire (22pts) beat Somerset (4pts) by an innings and 56 runs

Somerset were bowled out for 318 on the first day at New Road, but for the efforts of Malaysian Arul Suppiah (who made 72), wicket-keeper Carl Gazzard (74) and the 18-year-old debutant from Taunton, Robert Woodman (46 not out), it would have been far worse. The Worcestershire bowlers shared out the wickets, and Somerset were in real trouble at 57 for 5, but Suppiah stayed calm and the lower order made good contributions. Nadeem Malik got the best figures for Worcestershire, with three for 63.

However, Somerset's bowling left something to be desired. After an opening stand of 51, Worcestershire powered onwards, with number three Zander de Bruyn smashing 28 fours in a four-hour 161. Ben Smith and Steve Davies also got centuries, as Worcestershire at one point were 618 for 3. Three wickets from Keith Parsons set them back, but Worcestershire could still declaration and forfeiture declare on 696 for 8. Suppiah started well once again, making 34 in a 110-run partnership with Matthew Wood as Somerset made their way to 138 for 1. Then spinners Ray Price and Gareth Batty shared the next seven wickets for 70 runs, and Somerset imploded to 209 for 8 while still needing 169 to avoid the innings defeat. A good rearguard from number eight Carl Gazzard, and his partners Andy Caddick and Simon Francis saw Somerset first past 250 and then past 300. They looked to make Worcestershire bat again when Kabir Ali had Francis bowled - his only wicket of the innings, as he finished with expensive figures of 8.5-0-50-1. Batty and Price bowled 87 of Worcestershire's total of 108.5 overs, and Price's 44 overs included 21 maidens. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 19 August

County Championship - Division Two at 19 August 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	13	6	5	2	0	37	37	178
2	Essex	13	5	6	2	0	39	32	165
3	Yorkshire	12	5	7	0	0.5	36	30	163.5
4	Lancashire	12	5	6	1	0	32	35	161
5	Worcestershire	12	5	1	6	3.5	39	36	145.5
6	Somerset	13	3	4	6	0	36	32	126
7	Northamptonshire	11	3	5	3	0	26	32	120
8	Leicestershire	12	2	4	6	0.5	30	33	106.5
9	Derbyshire	12	0	4	8	0	22	34	72

[edit] Round seventeen

[edit] Essex v Somerset (24-27 August)

Somerset (16pts) beat Essex (5pts) by five wickets

Somerset exploited Essex' declarations to take their fourth win of the Championship season despite rain curtailing play by nearly 33% at Colchester. After the first day was over with only three overs bowled and Alastair Cook dismissed for a duck, Somerset's overseas player Charl Langeveldt dug out Grant Flower on the second morning, but double-digit contributions from the rest of the batting line-up - William Jefferson top-scoring with 93 - gave Essex a relatively comfortable 220 for 5 by stumps on day two. They made their way to 400 and the five batting points before declaring, losing only one wicket while James Foster added 87 to his overnight score to end with 107 not out. When Somerset were asked to bat, Andre Nel whipped out two Somerset wickets with the first three balls of the game, but no Essex bowler could get any more wickets as James Hildreth scored twelve boundaries for an unbeaten 76 at the close of day three to see Somerset to 112 for 2. Overnight, the two captains agreed to a mutual forfeiture of innings, so that Essex would not have to bat again. Hence, Somerset would have to chase 289 in a day to win, while Essex would have to bowl them out. Andre Nel removed Michael Wood for a duck again, but Arul Suppiah added 29 at more than a run a ball, and former England Under-19 player Hildreth settled in well. He made his second unbeaten score of the match, this time worth 125, guiding Somerset past the winning target in 66.1 overs with five wickets to spare. Danish Kaneria bowled 24 of Essex' 66 overs, but to little effect, ending with one wicket for 80 runs, while Nel got William Durston for a duck to end with four wickets for the match - all ducks. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Northamptonshire (24-27 August)

Leicestershire (12pts) drew with Northamptonshire (8pts)

Leicestershire's first innings lasted three days, in which time they scored 390 runs for the loss of six wickets. The rain meant that only 119 overs were possible in three days. Leicestershire declared 22 balls into the fourth morning after getting 400, and spent the rest of the last day bowling Northamptonshire out for 261, Claude Henderson taking a season-best five for 63. With only one completed innings for each side, the match ended in a draw. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Durham (24-27 August)

Yorkshire (12pts) drew with Durham (11pts)

Michael Hussey and Paul Collingwood led Durham to a healthy total against the Yorkshire bowlers in the 40 overs possible on the first day at Scarborough. Hussey ended the day on 85 not out as Durham made their way to 140 for 1. Deon Kruis and Tim Bresnan got one wicket each in the morning, but Durham fought back with Gordon Muchall and Dale Benkenstein adding 157 for the fourth wicket. Durham were eventually bowled out midway through day three, having made a total of 414. Kruis took five wickets and Bresnan four, but they both conceded more than 100 runs in the process. Yorkshire opted for batting practice, batting out the last day and a half to make 475 for 6, with Paul Jaques scoring 172. Paul Collingwood took three for 56 for Durham, but could not help them to an extra bowling point, and with no possibility of taking the third extra point Durham's captain Hussey agreed to a draw after Yorkshire's 129th over. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Lancashire v Worcestershire (25-28 August)

Lancashire (22pts) beat Worcestershire (6pts) by an innings and 73 runs

Lancashire recorded an innings victory at Stanley Park in Blackpool against Worcestershire to go second in the Division Two table of the County Championship. Mal Loye and Stuart Law made centuries in the first innings, which became a very difficult one for the Worcestershire bowlers. On the second day, Worcestershire finally got some breakthroughs, as Loye was dismissed for 187 and North for 60, and Lancashire could declare with a total of 562 for 8. Chris Gayle played an innings in typical fashion, hitting eight fours from 25 deliveries before he was bowled by Dominic Cork for 43. Cork also got Graeme Hick for a duck, as Worcestershire closed the second day on 111 for 3. Ben Smith and Vikram Solanki fought back, however, pairing up for 140 for the fourth wicket, and Worcestershire looked confident of avoiding the follow-on with the score on 330 for 4. However, two wickets from Andrew Symonds and three from James Anderson ended the Worcestershire effort for 376, still trailing by 186.

Mark Chilton enforced the follow on, and things went from bad to worse for the visitors. No batsman passed 25, Glen Chapple got four wickets for Lancashire, and by the close Worcestershire were 112 for 9 - needing 72 to avoid an innings defeat. However, with the tenth ball of the fourth day Chapple dismissed Kabir Ali to end with five for 32, and Warwickshire were all out for 113. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 28 August

County Championship - Division Two at 28 August 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	14	6	6	2	0	42	39	189
2	Lancashire	13	6	6	1	0	37	38	183
3	Yorkshire	13	5	8	0	0.5	41	33	175.5
4	Essex	14	5	6	3	0	44	32	170
5	Worcestershire	13	5	1	7	3.5	43	38	151.5
6	Somerset	14	4	4	6	0	36	34	142
7	Northamptonshire	12	3	6	3	0	28	34	128
8	Leicestershire	13	2	5	6	0.5	35	36	118.5
9	Derbyshire	12	0	4	8	0	22	34	72

[edit] Round eighteen

[edit] Durham v Derbyshire (30 August-2 September)

Derbyshire (10pts) drew with Durham (8pts)

Derbyshire medium pacer Ian Hunter, formerly of Durham, got career-best bowling figures of five for 63 as Derbyshire - the only winless team in the Championship so far this season - nearly managed to record a win at Riverside Ground against the table-toppers from Durham. Nine batsmen reached double figures, yet only two passed 30, and no one made it to fifty, as Dale Benkenstein top-scoring with 49. Liam Plunkett dug out one wicket in the first evening and one on the second morning, as Derbyshire crashed to 64 for 4, but a grinding 231-minute partnership between Jon Moss (92 runs) and Chris Bassano (87) yielded 148 runs to turn the game around. Luke Sutton hit an uncharacteristically quick 55 off 119 balls, as Derbyshire ground their way to 326.

Australian opener Jimmy Maher recorded his second successive single-figure score in his first match for Durham, as the hosts crawled to 59 for 3, but centuries from Paul Collingwood and Dale Benkenstein sent them back on track. The pair added 206 runs together before Collingwood was out for 112 - his sixth first-class century in twelve matches - while Benkenstein continued to 162 not out, adding 80 valuable runs with Gareth Breese and 21 for the ninth wicket with Brad Williams before declaring. The declaration set Derbyshire 280 to win in 66 overs, and after Michael di Venuto and Steve Stubbings put on 91 for the first wicket Derbyshire eyed their first win for three years. However, despite 101 from Stubbings, the rest of the batting order could not quite hit quite quickly enough, and they finished on an agonising 277 for 6 - three runs short of victory. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Northamptonshire v Lancashire (30 August-2 September)

Northamptonshire (19pts) beat Lancashire (6pts) by 285 runs

Northamptonshire recorded their fourth win of the season thanks to their top order batting and their spin bowling. They had won the toss and batted, placing themselves well at 224 for 4, but the last six wickets yielded only 63 runs, and Lancashire seamer Dominic Cork could take three late wickets to end with four for 27. Northamptonshire were bowled out early on the second morning for 289, but immediately hit back, Damien Wright dismissing Lancashire's captain Mark Chilton for 0. In a bowling effort dominated by spinners - Jason Brown and Monty Panesar sharing 68 of the 94 overs bowled - Northamptonshire tugged away, and but for Stuart Law's 111, the hosts might have got a first innings lead. However, it was Lancashire who got a lead of 12, with Brown taking five for 113 from 36.3 overs.

James Anderson then took two early wickets, leading to a long bowling effort for him - he bowled 28 overs, but could not add to his wicket tally, while Usman Afzaal ran away to 147, adding 183 with Bilal Shafayat. Northamptonshire declared eight overs into the last day, with the score 400 for 6 to unleash their spinners on Lancashire's batting line-up - and they did so very successfully. Brown got his second five-for of the match, ending with match figures of ten for 135, and Monty Panesar also got three wickets as Lancashire collapsed in a heap for 103 - with only Chilton passing 20, in a reversal of fortunes from the first innings. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Leicestershire (30 August-2 September)

Leicestershire (12pts) drew with Worcestershire (9pts)

Opener John Maunders batted for four hours for his first century of the first class season, and a further two hours to make a total of 148, which helped Leicestershire to a solid total of 407 at New Road - yet the slow nature of his batting meant there was little time to force a victory. Paul Nixon also hit a three-hour fifty for Leicestershire, while Kabir Ali got the best bowling figures with four for 95, including nine no-balls and one wide. Spinners Ray Price and Chris Gayle took a total of five wickets in their 32.1 overs, while both Shoaib Akhtar and Gareth Batty went wicketless. Worcestershire's batsmen all got starts, but not much more, and David Masters dug out both openers to end with three for 49 as Worcestershire were all out for 290 - Claude Henderson taking care of the last four wickets with nine balls, to end with four for 72 in the innings.

Leicestershire lost both openers to Kabir Ali who took three wickets at a cost of more than five runs an over as Aftab Habib and Tom New hit plenty of runs off him. Habib made 90, as Leicestershire declared on 255 for 5, setting Worcestershire 371 in five hours, but the chase was halted by bad light. When it finally got underway, Worcestershire crashed to 87 for 4 after two wickets from Charl Willoughby, but fifties from Ben Smith and Gareth Batty saved the draw for Worcestershire. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 2 September

County Championship - Division Two at 2 September 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Durham	15	6	7	2	0	43	42	197
2	Lancashire	14	6	6	2	0	40	41	189
3	Yorkshire	13	5	8	0	0.5	41	33	175.5
4	Essex	14	5	6	3	0	44	32	170
5	Worcestershire	14	5	2	7	3.5	45	41	160.5
6	Northamptonshire	13	4	6	3	0	30	37	147
7	Somerset	14	4	4	6	0	36	34	142
8	Leicestershire	14	2	6	6	0.5	40	39	130.5
9	Derbyshire	13	0	5	8	0	25	37	82

[edit] Round nineteen

[edit] Somerset v Northamptonshire (7-10 September)

Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Somerset (10pts)

Ian Blackwell and Arul Suppiah made scores of 98 and 91 respectively, as Somerset made their way to 396 batting first at Taunton, although the lower order struggled against the spin of Monty Panesar - who dug out Richard Johnson and Charl Langeveldt for ducks. Matthew Wood set the pace, adding 63 with James Francis in an opening partnership where Francis only contributed 8 before he was lbw to Steven Crook, who had changed counties from Lancashire to Northamptonshire. That was Crook's only wicket of the match, however, as he finished with match figures of 25-2-107-1.

Northamptonshire got off to a bad start, losing the first three wickets for 76 runs, but centuries from Usman Afzaal, who made 112, and David Sales, ending on 154 before being caught and bowled by Richard Johnson, lifted them back with a 175-run stand for the fourth wicket. Fifties from all-rounders Damien Wright (who added 131 with Sales for the sixth wicket), Simon Crook and Johann Louw lifted Northamptonshire to 574. Then, Wright took two wickets and Somerset fell to four runs for two wickets. Francis made his second half-century and James Hildreth also scored 50, however, leaving Somerset at 163 for 4 at stumps on day three. The match was intriguingly poised, but rain ruined a potentially interesting finish, as no play was possible on day four and the match was drawn. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Yorkshire v Worcestershire (7-10 September)

Yorkshire (10pts) drew with Worcestershire (8pts)

Rain wrecked the match at Headingley, a match which would probably have ended in a result if the normal 400 overs of play were possible instead of the 221.4 actually available. Although no batsman passed 50, Worcestershire accumulated 308 in 85 overs. Tim Bresnan took three wickets for 45 with his pace, while Australian Mark Cleary, playing in his first game for Yorkshire after a season with Leicestershire in 2004, had to be content with one man - Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar - while conceding 70. Anthony McGrath batted almost without support in Yorkshire's first innings, but his five-hour unbeaten 173 sent Yorkshire to a total of 317, despite struggling at 190 for 7 before Richard Dawson stepped in to make 49. Kabir Ali took four for 79 for Worcestershire, Nadeem Malik got three and Gareth Batty two, but they couldn't prevent the hosts racking up a nine-run lead.

Worcestershire were then shaken by South African Deon Kruis who took the first three wickets in a frantic last session. Worcestershire hit at nearly a run a ball, ending the day with 126 off 24 overs, but lost four wickets in the process. Only 40 overs of play were possible on the third day, as Australians Cleary and Ian Harvey bowled Worcestershire out for 211. Yorkshire set about chasing 203 at a rapid pace, losing Matthew Wood and Joe Sayers but still making 125 for 2 in 25 overs before rain set in, shortening the day's play to five overs and ruining Yorkshire's chances as they needed 78 more with 8 wickets in hand. Worcestershire were later deducted two points for a slow over rate. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Leicestershire v Derbyshire (8-11 September)

Leicestershire (12pts) drew with Derbyshire (5pts)

Derbyshire pacer Ian Hunter continued on his good form from the last Championship match, where he took five for 63 against Durham, as he removed Leicestershire opener John Maunders for 0 in the second over of the match at Grace Road. That was as good as it got for Hunter and Durham, though, as Darren Robinson and Tom New pounded their bowlers 217 in four and a half hours, as Leicestershire turned the match from the difficult position of 4 for 1. Nevertheless, one and a half days prevented them from forcing a victory. HD Ackerman, Dinesh Mongia and Paul Nixon also passed fifty, as Leicestershire declared having made 552 for 6. Derbyshire then crashed to 62 for 3 at the close of play on day two, but were saved by rain, as the third day's play was cancelled. In 50 overs on day four, Charl Willoughby and Stuart Broad took two wickets each as Derbyshire were all out for 190, but there was no time for another innings and the match was declared a draw. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Essex v Lancashire (9-11 September)

Lancashire (20pts) beat Essex (5pts) by eight wickets

Lancashire's Indian spinner Murali Kartik got match figures of ten for 168 at The County Ground, Chelmsford, helping them to promotion in Division Two of the County Championship with two weeks to spare. Essex won the toss and chose to bat first, and were bowled out for 267, Kartik taking five and James Anderson three wickets. They struggled to 145 for 7, despite Alastair Cook's 64, but James Middlebrook and Andre Adams rescued them to two batting points in the first innings. Iain Sutcliffe and Mark Chilton added 94 for the first wicket, but Adams and Danish Kaneria fought back with two wickets each, as Lancashire ended on 139 for 4. On the second day, Andrew Symonds and Glen Chapple both made fifties, sharing a 136-run stand with sent Lancashire to 340 - before spinners Middlebrook and Danish Kaneria removed the last four wickets for no further score.

In the last session of the second day, Kartik took four wickets, and despite six double-digit scores Essex completed the day on 134 for 6, only leading by 61 runs. Sajid Mahmood then took two on the third day to finish Essex off for 227, setting Lancashire 155 to win, and a 106-run opening stand between Mark Chilton and Sutcliffe brought them to the brink. Two wickets from Kaneria did not stop them, as Law hit an unbeaten 13 to power on to an eight-wicket victory, Sutcliffe ending with 80 not out as Lancashire won by eight wickets. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 12 September

County Championship - Division Two at 12 September 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Lancashire	15	7	6	2	0	43	44	209
2	Durham	15	6	7	2	0	43	42	197
3	Yorkshire	14	5	9	0	0.5	44	36	185.5
4	Essex	15	5	6	4	0	46	35	175
5	Worcestershire	15	5	3	7	5.5	48	44	168.5
6	Northamptonshire	14	4	7	3	0	35	40	159
7	Somerset	15	4	5	6	0	40	36	152
8	Leicestershire	15	2	7	6	0.5	45	42	142.5
9	Derbyshire	14	0	6	8	0	25	38	87

[edit] Round twenty

[edit] Durham v Northamptonshire (14-17 September)

Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Durham (8pts)

Durham needed a draw in this match to secure promotion from Division Two of the County Championship, and the weather handed it to them, as only 222 overs of play were possible over four days. Northamptonshire went for the victory, declaring both their innings closed, but Durham hung on and escaped with eight points. Centuries from Usman Afzaal and Riki Wessels, along with 84 from Robert White lifted the visitors to 414 for 7 on the first day, despite Durham pacer Liam Plunkett grabbing five for 84 and after the second day was washed out they declared.

Northamptonshire broke through immediately, Damien Wright dismissing Jimmy Maher lbw for 0, and Wright got a further three wickets as Durham were 115 for 6 at one point. Gareth Breese and Plunkett saw out the remainder of the day, though, but Durham still needed 93 to avoid the follow on. Andrew Crook eventually broke the partnership, as Durham lost three wickets for 15 runs to go to 224 for 9, but resistance from Brad Williams saw him add 56 from number 11 with Breese to take Durham six runs past the follow-on target of 264. Northamptonshire set about making quick runs, and lost a bucketful of wickets, Callum Thorp taking three for ten as the visitors declared on 101 for 7 after 21 overs. Northamptonshire set Durham 246 to win, and got a good start when Damien Wright had Jimmy Maher bowled for 2, but Durham battled out 15 overs before rain set in and forced the game into a draw. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Derbyshire v Yorkshire (16-19 September)

Yorkshire (12pts) drew with Derbyshire (7pts)

Yorkshire, a team chasing points in their attempt to promote from Division Two of the County Championship, racked up a 304-run lead on first innings against Derbyshire, yet failed to win. However, the 12 points earned gave them promotion from Division Two. Winning the toss and batting first, Yorkshire relied on Australians Mark Cleary and Ian Harvey to take wickets, as Cleary ended with three for 46 and Harvey with five for 40. Harvey got his first five-for of the season as Derbyshire were bowled out for 216, while Steve Stubbings was the only batsman to pass 30. Matthew Wood and Joe Sayers then added 113 for the first wicket to put Yorkshire just 103 behind with all wickets intact at the end of the first day's play. On the second morning, Durham got four wickets for 101 before Anthony McGrath and Ian Harvey smacked centuries in a two-and-a-half-hour partnership worth 156. Yorkshire were eventually bowled out at stumps on day two, having made their way to a lead of 304, despite Ant Botha wrapping up the tail to take four for 90.

Steve Stubbings gave Derbyshire a good start with a four-and-a-half-hour 91, leading Derbyshire to 216 for 4, but Mark Lawson set Derbyshire back with his leg spin, which reduced Derbyshire from 216 for 4 to 233 for 7. However, Botha and Tim Lungley added 133 for the seventh wicket, Botha recording his highest career score as his four hours at the crease yielded an unbeaten score of 156. Lawson wrapped up the Derbyshire innings, ending with five for 155 as Derbyshire were bowled out for 523, having added 290 for the last three wickets. Still, Yorkshire only required 220 in 59 overs, but Botha tied them down - in a marathon 23-over spell after coming on as first change bowler, Botha only conceded 20 runs and took two wickets - helping as Yorkshire lost their first six wickets for 82. Joe Sayers and Simon Guy then batted for three quarters of an hour to save the draw for Yorkshire. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Table at 19 September

County Championship - Division Two at 19 September 2005
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Lancashire	15	7	6	2	0	43	44	209
2	Durham	16	6	8	2	0	45	44	205
3	Yorkshire	15	5	10	0	0.5	49	39	197.5
4	Essex	15	5	6	4	0	46	35	175
5	Northamptonshire	15	4	8	3	0	40	43	171
6	Worcestershire	15	5	3	7	5.5	48	44	168.5
7	Somerset	15	4	5	6	0	40	36	152
8	Leicestershire	15	2	7	6	0.5	45	42	142.5
9	Derbyshire	15	0	7	8	0	26	40	94

[edit] Round twenty-one

[edit] Lancashire v Leicestershire (21-23 September)

Leicestershire (17pts) beat Lancashire (3pts) by four runs

Leicestershire prevailed in a match at Old Trafford where 726 runs were scored in four completed innings and Leicestershire's young bowler Stuart Broad and captain HD Ackerman starred. Leicestershire chose to bat after winning the toss, and were taken apart by Glen Chapple and Murali Kartik, who shared nine wickets, while the highest partnership for Leicestershire was worth 53. The lack of veteran bowler Dominic Cork did not seem to bother Lancashire unduly, as Chapple got five wickets for 22 runs and Kartik four for 43. Only Jon Maunders and HD Ackerman passed 20 for the visitors, and they were all out for 165. Lancashire accumulated runs slowly, and their score was 61 for 2 at the close of play on the first day. With Mal Loye out with an injury, Lancashire posted 191, Maunders taking four for 28 and Stuart Broad three for 57 to limit Lancashire's lead to 26 runs. An opening partnership of 63 saw Leicestershire take the lead, but spinners Murali Kartik and Andrew Symonds took two wickets each, while the three seamers Chapple, Sajid Mahmood and Anderson took one each to round off the day. Ackerman was left overnight on 37 - 11 short of the highest score in the match so far.

Ackerman added 30 to his overnight score, but was eventually bowled by Anderson, who took three wickets on the third day to end with innings figures of four for 45. Lancashire were set 175 to win, and at one point needed 102 with nine wickets in hand. However, England Under-19 prodigy Stuart Broad removed three men for five runs with his seam bowling, and wickets fell regularly after that - Dinesh Mongia and Charl Willoughby taking two each. Lancashire eventually needed 18 for the last wicket to win, and Mal Loye stepped in to bat despite an injury - he battled for half an hour, scoring three runs, but his batting partner Anderson was caught by David Robinson, leaving Lancashire all out for 170, five runs short of victory. However, despite the loss, Lancashire were almost assured of the Division Two victory, as their main competitors Yorkshire were still trailing in their match with Northamptonshire. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Northamptonshire v Yorkshire (21-24 September)

Northamptonshire (21pts) beat Yorkshire (3pts) by an innings and 21 runs

Northamptonshire spinners Jason Brown and Monty Panesar shared all ten Yorkshire wickets on the first day at Northampton. Yorkshire had won the toss and recorded a 66-run opening stand when the spinners first broke through, Panesar having Matthew Wood caught by Robin White. The rest was one of classic spin bowling - few runs and the occasional wicket - Panesar conceded just over one run an over (ending with figures of 27.5-11-32-5), and the average run rate for the innings was just above two. Former England all-rounder Craig White added 51 as Yorkshire were bowled out for 177. Early wickets from Deon Kruis reduced Northamptonshire to 34 for 2, but a three-hour stand of 220 across two days between Martin Love and Usman Afzaal took Northamptonshire to a lead of 77 with seven wickets in hand when Love fell for 95. Afzaal pushed on, making 157 before being dismissed by Kruis - who took five for 75 - and a 76-run partnership between Simon Crook and Panesar took Northamptonshire to 476 for 9 before the declaration came. Crook fell three short of a maiden first-class century, while Yorkshire leg spinner Mark Lawson was taken for 150 in 30 overs.

Yorkshire's scoring rate was, again, slow, and their second innings yielded 278 runs in nearly nine hours - though it was also frequently interrupted by rain. Panesar took the first five wickets, and despite partnerships of 50 for the seventh and eight wicket, Brown ended Yorkshire's innings with five of his own. The two spinners bowled 96.5 overs out of a total of 109.5 overs served up by Northamptonshire bowlers in the second innings, and ended with uncannily similar second-innings bowling analyses: Brown 50.5-14-95-5, Panesar 46-15-96-5. Brown and Panesar also split the 20 wickets equally between them - the second time in the history of the first-class game that this feat had occurred, and the first in 100 years. [1] (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Somerset v Derbyshire (21-24 September)

Derbyshire (22pts) beat Somerset (3pts) by an innings and 18 runs

Half-centuries from James Hildreth and James Francis took Somerset to 259 in 64.5 overs at their home ground at Taunton. Hildreth's 84 included 15 fours, while Francis hit ten fours in his 54. For Derbyshire, all-rounder Graeme Welch took three early wickets for 42, while 19-year-old Wayne White, who had made his first class debut with match figures of one for 123 a week earlier against Yorkshire, ended with four wickets for 77 in just under 13 overs. Chris Bassano and Steve Stubbings then added 87 for the first wicket, and Derbyshire closed on 126 for 1. On the second day, Stubbings continued with Hassan Adnan, and both earned career best scores - Stubbings with 151 and Adnan with 191 not out. Gareth Andrew was the only Somerset bowler to take more than one wicket, ending with four for 134, but Derbyshire made 707 for 7 - a county record [2] - declaring when Luke Sutton fell for 53, leaving Graeme Welch stranded on 99 not out.

Francis then hit a 125-ball century as Somerset battled to save the draw and avoid becoming the first team to lose to Derbyshire for 14 months. But Francis went early on the last morning, the last man out in a collapse that started with 173 for 2 in the morning (Arul Suppiah had been dismissed with the score 172 for 1) and ended on 174 for 5. Somerset captain Ian Blackwell took seventeen fours and two sixes off Derbyshire's bowling in a 67-ball ton, but Welch came back, taking the last three wickets as Derbyshire broke their duck of 21 matches without a win and completed their Championship win since July 2004. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Worcestershire v Essex (21-24 September)

Worcestershire (11pts) drew with Essex (10pts)

A total of 19 wickets fell in four days at New Road, despite only half a day being lost to rain. Batting first, Essex made 574 despite Stuart Wedge taking five for 112 in his second first class game, getting Ravinder Bopara as his first wicket. Essex got two early wickets; first class debutant Jahid Ahmed got his first wicket by removing 21-year-old Daryl Mitchell for 6, and Andre Adams bowled Graeme Hick, but Worcestershire's third-wicket partnership added 333, with Stephen Moore hitting 152 out of his 191 runs in boundaries. However, Worcestershire declared overnight on 424 for 3, and Essex scored 201 for one wicket in 36 overs, Alastair Cook rounding off his first season as an Essex regular with an unbeaten 117. Worcestershire were set 352 in 60 overs to win, and despite an 84-ball ton from Graeme Hick Worcestershire finished four runs short of the ten extra points a win would have given. (Cricinfo scorecard)

[edit] Final table

2005 County Championship - Division Two
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pen	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Lancashire	16	7	6	3	0	43	47	212
2	Durham	16	6	8	2	0	45	44	205
3	Yorkshire	16	5	10	1	0.5	49	42	200.5
4	Northamptonshire	16	5	8	3	0	45	46	193
5	Essex	16	5	7	4	0	51	36	185
6	Worcestershire	16	5	4	7	5.5	53	46	179.5
7	Leicestershire	16	3	7	6	0.5	45	45	159.5
8	Somerset	16	4	5	7	0	42	37	155
9	Derbyshire	16	1	7	8	0	31	43	116

[edit] Links to detailed coverage of the 2005 English cricket season

2005 English cricket season

County Championship Division 1 | County Championship Division 2 | National League Division 1 | National League Division 2 | Universities |

C&G | Twenty20 | Bangladeshis | Aussies | Ashes | Tests | ODIs | Bangladesh A | Sri Lanka U-19s | Aussie Women | Int'l Twenty20 Club Cup |

2005 English cricket season

Derbyshire | Durham | Essex | Glamorgan | Gloucestershire | Hampshire | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Middlesex

Northamptonshire | Nottinghamshire | Somerset | Surrey | Sussex | Warwickshire | Worcestershire | Yorkshire

MCC | Scotland | Leeds/Bradford UCCE | Cambridge UCCE | Cardiff/Glamorgan UCCE | Durham UCCE | Loughborough UCCE | Oxford UCCE