County cricket - as it happened

4.12pm Re: the comments about teachers and cricket, writes Paul Weaver in Chelmsford , I remember going to school in the sixties and having this awful PE/games teacher who wouldn't touch cricket because he thought it somehow meant deferring to the establishment. Because of this a lot of boys lost interest. There were just four us who really wanted to play, which was never quite enough for a proper game! When we insisted teech gave us a broken slip-catching cradle, which was really quite deadly because of the way the ball flew off the broken bits. I think my teacher was on a par with the coach I had someone talking about on radio the other day, whose instructions were thus: "If you're facing a fast bowler, count one and swing. If it's a slow bowler, count two and swing." Yeah. Yorkshire are two down, 133 for two to be precise, and it is just after tea. Jacques Rudolph was caught at slip for 32 and Anthony McGrath, trying to clip one through square-leg, fell to a juggling catch at short leg. But the odd ball is keeping as low as Ronnie Corbett's shins so the Essex total of 399 might be useful. 3.45pm Cosker did disconcert the two right-handers more, writes Paul Rees in Swansea , but the ball the slow left armer caused most problems with, on the off-stump, tended to be bowled a fraction too short and missed the edge by some distance. Taylor's use of the feet against Croft yielded a six over long on 30 but the following over saw Cosker beat Du Toit's outside edge and have a loud leg before appeal turned down before Taylor top edged an attempted sweep into an unguarded area of mid-wicket. Croft twice needed treatment on the boundary after twisting his right ankle and he made way for Jamie Dalrymple shortly before tea. By then Du Toit and Taylor looked well set, although there was enough in the pitch to discourage comfort. Cosker, like Harris before him at the Mumbles Road end, appealed loudly and often but without success. Richard Illingworth remained unmoved. Who said former bowlers are more likely to give leg before decisions? Leicestershire went into tea at 154 for two off 69 overs, Du Toit reaching his half-century four balls from the break with a cut two of Allenby. It took him 122 balls, watching and waiting as the wicket demanded. 2.51pm Croft struck shortly after the resumption, writes Paul Rees in Swansea . Harris's second spell had been less economical than this first as Jacques Du Toit showed the first aggression of the innings, surviving a loud leg before shout after a delivery that jagged back into him but still looked menacing. He was having one of those days when the better he bowled, the less likely he seemed to get a wicket. Ian Botham had the profitable habit of striking with long hops and full tosses but Harris resembles Glenn McGrath in his accuracy. Du Toit showed little discomfort against Croft, but the left-handed Boyce was wary every time the ball pitched near his off-stump on a length. He played and missed a few times, one delivery rearing sharply, before falling on 38 when he pushed forward tentatively and edged the ball behind to Mark Wallace. It took Croft to 998 wickets for Glamorgan. The last player to score 10,000 runs for one country and bag 1,000 wickets was Peter Sainsbury back in 1972. James Taylor looked to dominate Croft from the off, dancing down the wicket, but he was more effective against Dean Cosker as Leicestershire moved to 107 for two. 2.45pm In the house of bedlam otherwise known as Edgbaston, the noise levels are growing as Warwickshire continue to take wickets against Nottinghamshire, but the noise has nothing to do with the roar of the crowd, writes David Hopps . The din from the rebuilding work is now permanent and of a level where you have to wonder how the umpires, Peter Hartley and Peter Willey, could ever hear a nick. The crane has also reappeared behind the bowlers' arm and at any moment could accidentally lift the sightscreen 100 feet into the air. Needs must, I suppose, but I cannot remember county cricket ever being played in such a din. The only advantage is it drowns out the shouts of "good areas" from the slips. I have just remarked that it is amazing the crowd are putting up with it at all. "Well they are mostly deaf," came the answer, "and one or two of them are dead." County cricket stereotyping: sigh. Since lunch - but can you hear all this above the noise or should I shout a little louder? SINCE LUNCH, BOYD RANKIN HAS TAKEN TWO WICKETS. THAT'S TWO WICKETS. Steven Mullaney was caught at the wicket and then Rankin summoned a bit of extra pace to bowl Ally Brown on the drive. At 155 for five, not quite halfway towards Warwickshire's 313, Nottinghamshire have quite a task to turn this one around. With Yorkshire also facing an Essex first-innings total of 399, suggestions that the championship is a two-horse race look premature. But as long as it keeps raining at Chester-le-Street, Durham and Lancashire are not about to take advantage. If Yorkshire do win the championship, and the entire county turns out to watch it, they might just about make up for the losses they are about to endure on the Pakistan Test. 2.31pm Australia were 88 all out – superb swing bowling from Asif and Aamir, writes Vic Marks at Headingley . The first two balls after lunch were gems from Aamir, which hit the stumps of Steve Smith and then Mitchell Johnson. The ball that dismissed Johnson, swinging late at pace and continuing on its way before knocking back the off-stump would surely have been enough for a Border or a Lara. Just brilliant. The crowd is disappointing, but it has built up as the Aussie wickets have started to fall - around 5,000 I would guess. This is not good news for Yorkshire's beleaguered finances nor, I suppose, is the prospect of a three-day match, though Raymond Illingworth has just come into the box and assured us that there will be rain tomorrow. Of course I bow to Illy's local knowledge and the encyclopaedic awareness of David Hopps on Tyke matters and the implications of such a modest turn-out. Illy also expressed surprise that Ponting had opted to bat. But Ponting always bats first. Ever since Edgbaston 2005 Ponting has never inserted the opposition according to Jim Maxwell. The scars from that match run deep. So can Bollinger and Johnson swing the ball as skilfully as Asif and Aamir? I doubt it... Pakistan 26-0. Ho hum.. at the moment Australia are being beaten by a team that is supposed to be a shambles. 2pm Australia 88 all out 1.50pm They obviously don't get much sunshine in these parts because the heat appears to have gone straight to the heads of the Essex batsmen, writes Paul Weaver in Chelmsford . We've had some bonkers batting from Essex this morning. Just when they should have been getting on with it they've been prodding about as if they're looking for a draw. They batted on for 21 overs this morning, after resuming on 353 for six, and in that time they added just 46 runs before being bowled out for 399, one run short of the fifth batting point they should have taken with their eyes shut. Grant Flower batted for 15 overs advancing his score from five to, er, five, before he drilled a delivery from Adil Rashid to mid-off. That was 368 for seven, which became 381 for eight when Tim Phillips prodded forward to another one from Rashid and was bowled. When Tino Best pitched one up to Maurice Chambers he bowled him for a duck; 386 for nine. Andy Carter then lifted Rashid for six and hit the next ball for two to take the score to 399. But with just one run needed for that maximum batting point he took another wild heave to the next ball and hold out to mid-on. Fast bowlers aren't getting any brighter. 1.12pm There were only two scoring shots off Harris's first 54 balls, both off the edge of Boyce's bat, writes Paul Rees in Swansea . His figures of 9-7-8-0 showed his accuracy and he had both Boyce and Will Jefferson playing and missing. The problem for Glamorgan was that there was little threat at the other end. David Harrison was expensive, Jim Allenby did not generate much swing and Mark Cosgrove's burst of medium pace looked designed to do no more than rough up the ball for the spinners. It was Allenby who made the breakthrough with the score on 57. The tall Jefferson half-heartedly pushed forward to a ball that left him and edged the ball to slip. The burly Cosgrove appeared top be moving the wrong way before suddenly diving to his left and catching the ball low down. Croft, who needs three wickets to become the fourth player to reach 1,000 for Glamorgan, was given a few overs before lunch, going into the break with three overs and three maidens having generated some sharp turn outside Boyce's off-stump. Wickets in St Helen's have not tended to last in recent years, breaking up long before the fourth day, and Leicestershire's interval score of 71 for one looked par. 1.11pm Lunch in Taunton, writes Mike Averis . Kent are batting and have rushed along to 29 without loss in four overs. It's best to report only what you know, rather than what you are told. 1.10pm Well, I'm invited to a wedding on Saturday and my apologies were sent but I'm starting to think I may be able to get there, writes Vic Marks at Headingley . The ball is hooping around. Mohammad Asif has bowled beautifully. Catch his over to Ricky Ponting if you can: three or four delicious outswingers followed by the in-ducker and the Australian captain almost walked for an lbw. At lunch the Australians are 73-6 and everything Salman Butt touches is turning to gold. He tossed the ball to Umar Amin, occasional seamer, just before lunch and he got a wicket. It's a good time to "walk-up" at Headingley. The new stand was eventually opened by the Duke of Gloucester, who appeared on TMS for long enough to establish that cricket is not really his game. It's my first sighting of the new building, which suggests that Pennine rivalry is still alive. Lancashire and Yorkshire appear to be taking part in a competition for the most bizarre erection at a cricket ground. I can't work out which building I like the best. They must be laughing at Edgbaston, which is currently a building site. By comparison to their northern peers, the most pragmatic of stadiums in Birmingham will suddenly look rather beautiful once their plans are completed. 12.34pm It has been a bad morning for the cricketing family Hussey, writes David Hopps at Edgbaston . At roughly the same time that Mike Hussey became the fifth Australian batsman to fall at Headingley this morning, David Hussey had a batting failure of his own against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. When Hussey edged Neil Carter to Darren Maddy at third slip, the Husseys had 13 runs between them and Carter, who struck 99 not out yesterday, had all three Notts wickets to fall. Alex Hales, aping Carter on the previous day, had played adventurously, striking 53 in as many balls before he edged to Rikki Clarke at second slip. He is a dominant batsman with an exciting future. At Galle, on my laptop, the sound is of barking crows and excited whistles. At Edgbaston it is the incessant sound of drills. One is a wonderful soundtrack. The other one grates permanently. Switching thoughts to Headingley it may have escaped attention that to coincide with the official opening of the Headingley Carnegie pavilion, Geoffrey Boycott has been given an honorary degree in sports science by Leeds Met university. There is no talk yet of him giving lectures. There again, it doesn't have to be official for Boycs to give you a lecture. 12.30pm The rain's arrived, writes Mike Averis in Taunton , but not before Somerset bagged their point – and off the unheralded bat of Charl Willoughby. The South African, who has just signed a two-year extension to his contract meaning he will be bowling for Somerset when he's 37, came to the wicket when De Bruyn fell six short of a half century, caught at second slip. Willoughby's first scoring shot was a five - a push to extra cover and a chaotic short single followed by four overthrows care of Mathew Coles - but the stroke which brought the bonus point was masterful. Standing as far away from the firing line as is decently possible, Willoughby just about made contact with the toe end of his bat. The ball skidded through the covers for four, but that was the end of the entertainment. Kent introduced the first spin of the game and four balls into his first over, James Tredwell found the edge of Kartik's bat to give Geraint Jones his fourth catch of the innings. Somerset are all out for 205 and an early lunch is being taken. 12.28pm Tch tch, writes Mike Selvey . I forgot to mention that it is the England women who dominate the ICC rankings. Kathy Brunt, Laura Marsh, Holly Colvin and Jenny Gunn are all in the top 10 bowlers, while Claire Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway, who made a really excellent 65 yesterday, are in the top ten batters. I say batters because that is what the rankings say, but it is still hard to know where pc ends and common sense begins. I asked Rachael Heyhoe-Flint yesterday what she thought it should be. We both agreed that batsman ought to suffice, that batter is what you make pancakes with, batswoman is creating a rod for your back ( third woman?) and that batperson is, well you know. On the subject of Jenny Gunn incidentally, I became horribly aware of the passing years when I read that her father is Bryn Gunn, the former Nottingham Forest defender (not Bryan the ex-Norwich goalkeeper). I'm pretty sure I taught him at school in Corby. 12.25pm Australia 60 for six at Headingley. Last year on the first morning England – post fire alarm, Matt Prior injury scare et al – made it to 72 before losing their sixth. 12.07pm While the staff have been out around the shires, writes Mike Selvey , I am in the process of reacquainting myself with cricket following a week at St Andrews of getting either soaked or buffetted or both simultaneously. I am at a loss to understand why people actually go to the Open to spectate. Unless they follow the lesser known players, it can be a shambles, and, wonderful course and "home of golf" it may be but there is none worse from this perspective than St Andrews. Journalists can get a better view by using an armband which permits them to walk inside the rope that keeps spectators at bay. But that is severely restricted as well, and involves a lot of kneeling down so spectators can see. So my preference is to stay outside, shuffle along with the punters, and use my periscope, purchased at the Brookline Ryder Cup a few years back and made, I notice, by the Mickelson Corporation. I think that is Phil's dad's organisation. Anyway it is all so much better on the television with the singe exception that there is absolutely no conception of quite how difficult are the humps, bumps, rolls and undulations of the greens, nor the sadistic pin placements. Anyway, yesterday I spent at Lord's watching the England women in their final ODI against New Zealand, a match in which, with the series already won, they were handsomely beaten by six wickets. There is evidence that after England's triumphs of the past few years, others, particularly Australia, have started to invest in the women's game and are closing the gap. The women are getting a profile now though, especially through playing their double-headed T20 games this summer and during the two World T20 championships. It is the fastest growing female sport in the country, and evidence of the money that ECB is spending on the grassroots, ie non first class game. Next winter, they will be playing T20 at the MCG and Sydney, either before or after the men. While they were playing, Kevin Pietersen, rebuffed by Hampshire in what was essentially a "piss-off-Kev" press release, was in the nets on the Nursery with Graham Gooch. 11.55am Actually Simon Lee and his team obviously knew nothing, but is just a cautious chap, writes Mike Averis in Taunton . Play started on time and we're in the middle of one of those segments of play that make county cricket delightful. Amjad Khan, fired by the wicket of Alfonso Thomas, is attempting to put the frighteners on Murali Kartik while Zander de Bruyn scoots along at the other end. Thomas didn't like the dismissal, presumably thinking he squeezed the ball into the ground before heading towards second slip, which set the tone for what was to come. Next delivery ricocheted to third man off Kartik's helmet, followed by a flowing cover drive. A mistimed pull, pushed over the boundary by Matthew Coles's dive followed and Kartik has just reached 15 - this time the driving Simon Cook through the covers. De Bruyn is on 43, the partnership has added 54, and Somerset are dangerously close to getting a batting bonus point. 11.47am It looks like being another hot one here at Chelmsford and the Yorkshire bowlers will want to get out of here as soon as possible and put their feet up on the dressing room balcony, writes Paul Weaver in Chelmsford . They feel they bowled badly as a unit yesterday but at the same time they think they got out of jail (Essex resumed this morning on 353 for six). It's a slow, low pitch here. "Thank goodness it swung a bit" is the message from the Yorkshire boys. But they were still reliant on Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Matt Walker all getting out to poor strokes. At the start of play the feeling in the Yorkshire dressing room was that if they could put Essex out for under 400, or even a shade above, it would be a result. That's why there was a real intent as they warmed up under the watchful eye of coach Martyn Moxon, who is 50 but looks about 35. He really is one of those cricket people with a portrait in his attic. I was in New Zealand in 1987-88 to watch Martyn score his highest score in his 10 Test matches. He made 99 and he was really unlucky. He played a sweep shot for three only for the umpire to give them as leg-byes. It was such an obvious mistake but at the time it didn't seem that important. Poor Martyn was 81 not out in the next Test in Wellington only for the last two days to be washed out by rain. Stuff like that would make some men bitter, mad even. But the easy going Moxo is not like that. 11.38am Ryan Sidebottom had an unrewarding day against Warwickshire yesterday but it was not quite as bad as the Edgbaston scorecard would have it, writes David Hopps at Edgbaston . Said the PA announcer before start of play: "There is a slight amendment to the scorecard. Ryan Sidebottom's analysis should read 1-81 not 1-841." Sidebottom, lurking in the dressing room, looked suitably aggrieved. There must have been times, though, as Neil Carter set about him, that it felt like 1-841. Nottinghamshire face a tricky day. They need a win here to put pressure on Yorkshire at the top of the table but today they just need to bat all day. They have already lost Samit Patel, who played on to Neil Carter for a single. If he does not open, he probably does not get in the side at the moment, but despite the attempts of Notts' coach Mick Newell to address it last winter, there remains an inbalance in Notts' order which is not doing Patel any favours. He looks like a middle-order batsman fulfilling a role more out of duty than conviction. Elsewhere, it is hard to take your eyes off the Tests. I wonder what Vic at Headingley makes of Yorkshire parochialism now? Headingley is pitifully empty, a sight that will make the powers-that-be despair. The traditional Yorkie fans won't turn out to watch Australia v Pakistan - it is hard enough to get them to turn out to watch England – and Yorkshire's Anglo-Pakistanis, it seems, will only watch one-day cricket. The result will be Yorkshire losses, and potential staff cutbacks - including the playing staff. By not supporting the Test, the parachial Yorkies have just damaged their chances of their young side developing into the most powerful in the land. Perhaps the love of cricket in Yorkshire is, to some extent, a myth? Or, at the very least, much narrower than one might suppose. At Galle, one imagines, there is greater excitement. Murali has five of the eight wickets he needs to become the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets. Kumar Sangakkara must be relieved beyong measure that India are following on because timing a declaration which (a) Ensured Sri Lanka did not risk losing to India and (b) Gave Murali timeto get to 800 would have been a terrible responsibility. We have even found a live feed . I have no idea if it is any good but I am about to have a listen. If you do the same watch out for the pop-up ads! 11.30am St Helen's used to be Glamorgan's preferred ground, but it is today an outpost, a crumbling reminder of what used to be, writes Paul Rees in Swansea . It now stages just five days of first-class cricket a year, and only then because the Welsh county is given a financial guarantee. It no longer hosts major rugby matches whereas it staged international games into the 1950s. The old wooden stand has gone, replaced by a flimsier looking construction, which lacks seats at either end. The media box had to be evacuated before the start of play, which was prompt despite very heavy overnight rain, or at least the bottom half of it. Batsmen had complained last year of inadequate sightscreens, leading to a new one being placed in front of the media's viewing area, some of whom had to decamp to the umpires' room. Leicestershire won the toss and batted. They were without the injured Andrew McDonald while Glamorgan included the veteran Robert Croft as part of a twin spin attack on a ground that invariably helps slow bowlers. James Harris opened the bowling for Glamorgan, troubling with left-handed Matthew Boyce with late movement in the air and off the pitch and in his second over had a strong leg before shout turned down. The 20-year old Harris is viewed as a potential England international but will he have to move counties to gain recognition. Three former Glamorgan players, Don Shepherd, Alan Jones and Peter Walker, who were part of the 1969 championship winning side, were being interviewed for a radio documentary this morning and debating why so few Glamorgan players had been capped. Jones and Shepherd scored more runs and took more wickets respectively than any other uncapped players. Playing for Glamorgan was said to be held against them, but Harris is part of a Test match county and was unlucky when a Boyce edge evaded the slips as Leicestershire reached 19 without loss off eight overs. 10.45am Just when it seems a fair bet that play will start on time, on come the covers, writes Mike Averis in Taunton . Simon Lee, who is running the ground staff, must know something more than the met office is telling. The local forecast is for rain this afternoon, much as happened yesterday when only 33 overs were possible. The flip side was that it gave time to see how cleverly Somerset have developed their ground. Somehow there are just enough gaps between the concrete and steel to let the outside world in, but it's pretty clear that business heads involved. The emphasis seems to have been on retaining a fan-friendly stadium, particularly with the winter's refurbishment of the Colin Atkinson stand as a pleasant, light restaurant where once it was dressing rooms over a darkly decorated bar. Even the block of flats on the West side seems to fit in and even though the majority appear to be still unsold, Somerset have, apparently got their money up front. 10.35am We're leading the website this morning with David Conn's story that the Ashes are staying on Sky . And here's David's background story on grassroots cricket . 10.30am Morning. A smorgasbord of action will be served up today. Yesterday's blog covered the first day at Chelmsford (where Essex have piled up 353 for six against the championship leaders Yorkshire), Edgbaston (Notts 18 without loss in reply to Warwickshire's 313) and Taunton (Somerset 122 for seven – S-E-V-E-N – before rain fell). We're back at all of the above today, and will also welcome Paul Rees at St Helen's in Swansea, where Glamorgan start against Leicestershire, and Vic Marks at Headingley, where Australia have won the toss and will bat first in the second Test against Pakistan. Vic will be in and out of the TMS box but should be able to supply whimsy in-between times. And, finally, we're keeping an eye on Galle, where Muttiah Muralitharan has crept up to 797 Test wickets, with India two wickets down following on on the fourth day against Sri Lanka . Busy day.