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• Essex’s slim hopes of winning County Championship dented by Northamptonshire

  Essex’s lingering hopes of winning the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One title were dealt a huge blow by Ben Sanderson’s bowling for Northamptonshire.

  Essex need at least 400 but Sanderson claimed three for 15 with the wickets of Alastair Cook, Nick Browne and Dan Lawrence in a devastating nine-over spell, conceding just 14 runs.

  They were 125 for four by close of play, still trailing by 244 runs but their slight hopes are still alive following Surrey’s collapse at the Ageas Bowl.

  Liam Dawson claimed his fourth five-wicket haul of the season for Hampshire to make Surrey suffer, but the visitors only need a draw to seal top spot.

  Left-arm spinner Dawson moved to 45 wickets for the season and his five for 44 kept Surrey, who needed to post 300 for the title, waiting.

  Joe Denly smashed an unbeaten century to help relegation-threatened Kent to 345 for four on day two against Lancashire at Canterbury.

  Kent were in pursuit of 327 and Ben Compton anchored their innings but fell five short of a century.

  Denly then played a more flamboyant 105 not out, from 149 balls with 11 fours and a six, to record his first red-ball century of the season as Kent closed with two potentially crucial batting points and a lead of 18.

  Neil Wagner registered a career-best 72 for Somerset but weather played spoilsport once again in their meeting with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

  There were 35 overs lost on day one and another 36 were wiped out on day two, which ended with Warwickshire on 112 for three in reply to the visitors’ 215.

  Ryan Higgins became only Middlesex’s second player to make a County Championship century to give the relegation threatened side a chance of victory against Nottinghamshire.

  Higgins held Middlesex’s first innings together with 137 – his first hundred for the county and shared partnerships of 61 with Stevie Eskinazi (58) and 108 with Jayant Yadav (56).

  Middlesex claimed three batting bonus points with 366, but Nottinghamshire responded with 92 for two, with Ben Slater on 49 not out.

  Worcestershire have secured promotion back to Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship.

  The Pears secured second spot in Division Two, behind champions Durham, after they reached 300 for a second batting bonus point during the early stages of a weather-interrupted second day against Yorkshire at Headingley.

  Worcestershire started this fixture needing a maximum of two points to seal top-flight cricket for 2024 and were 280 for five overnight.

  Captain Brett D’Oliveira reached a century before he fell lbw to Matt Milnes to leave the score 299 for six and Worcestershire were stuck on 299 for 10 balls before Baker pushed Milnes through the covers for two at 10.55am – 25 minutes into day two – as celebrations erupted on the players’ balcony.

  Durham batter David Bedingham passed 1,000 runs for the season before team-mates Ben Raine and Vishwa Fernando did the damage with the ball on day two.

  In a rain affected day, Division Two champions Durham looked to secure maximum batting points and declare with rain heavily on the radar and Bedingham passed his landmark and went on to make 156 as Durham declared on 457 for eight in Chester-le-Street.

  Bowler Raine dismissed the visitors’ top four in the hour before lunch and Fernando picked up his first two wickets for Durham before rain arrived at 1.45pm with Leicestershire 96 for six.

  Derbyshire’s Luis Reece became the first batter to be given out by a female umpire in 123 seasons of county cricket as they totalled 450 on day two over Glamorgan.

  Reece had reached his century but Redfern lifted her finger in the 100th over of the Derbyshire first innings when he was caught behind by Chris Cooke off Jamie McIlroy for 139.

  Glamorgan have a big total to chase but play was cut short by bad light with Zain ul-Hassan and Eddie Byrom unbeaten at 22 without loss from 11 overs.

• CWI president congratulates Vice-President Bassarath and former player Badree on prestigious award

   

   Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Dr. Kishore Shallow hasnextended his warmest congratulations to Vice-President Azim Bassarath and former West Indies spinner and double T20 World Cup winner Samuel Badree on their remarkable achievement of receiving the prestigious Hummingbird Medal (HBM) Gold Award at the 2023 National Awards of Trinidad & Tobago.

  The awards ceremony took place on Sunday, 24 September, at the historic President's House in St Ann's, Port-of-Spain.

   The Hummingbird Medal Gold Award is one of Trinidad & Tobago's highest honors, recognizing exceptional contributions and achievements in various fields. Vice President Bassarath's and Badree’s outstanding dedication and contributions to the sport of cricket have earned them this well-deserved recognition in the highest grade of the HBM.

   President Shallow expressed his pride in Vice President Bassarath’s accomplishments, saying, "I am delighted to congratulate Vice President Azim Bassarath on receiving the Hummingbird Medal Gold award. His commitment to cricket and his tireless efforts in promoting the sport have been instrumental in our pursuit of excellence at CWI. This recognition is a testament to his unwavering passion and dedication to the game not only in Trinidad & Tobago but at a regional level."

  "Since his election in March 2023, Vice President Azim Bassarath has been an integral part of the CWI leadership team, playing a pivotal role in the development of cricket. Over the years, he has been a champion of Women’s cricket, ensuring a robust development programme exists in Trinidad and Tobago."

  The CWI President continued: "Samuel Badree has etched his name on the pages of history as a member of the victorious T20 World Cup squads in 2012 and 2016. No doubt, he continues to make an invaluable contribution to the sport through his academy, coaching, and commentary, inspiring a new generation of players.

  "Badree founded and operates the Badree’s Academy of Sports Education (BASE), which facilitates over 100 children in Trinidad and Tobago. He continues to be an ambassador for his country as a commentator in global events such as World Cups, CPL, IPL and for West Indies Home Internationals. Badree is a level three coach and works as a mentor to West Indies spinners. The Hummingbird Medal Gold Award of Trinidad & Tobago is a fitting tribute to Vice President Bassarath and Badree’s remarkable achievements and their dedication to cricket. It serves as an inspiration to all cricket enthusiasts and showcases the profound impact that cricket has on the Caribbean community.

  " CWI extends its heartfelt congratulations to Vice President Azim Bassarath and Samuel Badree on this prestigious accolade and looks forward to their continued contributions to the development and success of West Indies cricket."

• Matthew Mott: Jofra Archer ‘desperate to play but realistic’ ahead of World Cup

  Jofra Archer may be England’s only travelling reserve to India for the World Cup but Matthew Mott is aware another misstep with the fast bowler’s fitness could have “serious ramifications”.

  The recurrence of a stress fracture in Archer’s right elbow sidelined him for the summer and ultimately kept him out of England’s 15-man squad for the defence of their title, which gets under way next week.

  Archer is part of the touring party as cover and a tantalising option if injury strikes, even if it is anticipated he will not be ready to make his return until the tournament is close to a conclusion.

  Given the repeated setbacks he has had since a breakout 2019, when he was entrusted with bowling the super over that led to England being crowned world champions, Mott will not take any risks with the 28-year-old.

  “Jofra is not fit to play until the latter stages of the tournament,” England’s white-ball head coach said. “A lot of where he’s coming from is to get some intensive work with our medical staff.

  “We have been very big on not rushing him back and that message has been clear to him.

  “He understands – he’s desperate to play but he’s also realistic that if this thing happens again it could have serious ramifications.

  “We’ll take him over there, work with him and if something happens at the back end, he’s someone who could come in.”

  England, who head to India on Wednesday night, are not flying out any more supplementary options, with Mott set to act only if and when injury does occur and bring in a like-for-like alternative.

  Jason Roy, having been culled from the squad in favour of Harry Brook, has made himself available for reserve duty, while Mott has urged everyone who was part of the shadow England side that beat Ireland in a rain-affected ODI series – where Will Jacks and Ben Duckett impressed – to stay on their toes.

  “We don’t need to declare where that’s at and we certainly don’t really want to speculate on it,” Mott said. “Everyone in this group here, and everyone on the periphery, should be maintaining their fitness.

  “The flight to India is not that bad and the reality is (if) someone gets called up they are not going to get called straight into the XI. So they’ll have time to adjust and that’s where we arrived.

  “Pulling people around India for eight weeks is not going to get the best out of them. Every player should be ready to go.”

  Mott revealed Adil Rashid and Mark Wood are both “fine” following niggles, adding he has a “rough idea” of England’s preferred XI ahead of the tournament opener against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5.

  England selected 12 players during their 2019 triumph but Mott envisages making more use of his squad given the variety of Indian pitches and conditions, with the defending champions also facing an extensive travel schedule as their nine group-stage matches will be played in eight cities.

  “We don’t have any expectations,” Mott said. “A lot of teams are going to contest and expect to do well. We are one of them but I don’t look at it as defending champions.

  “We go in with the same points as everyone else. India will be favourites in the minds of many people because of home advantage, but they can go either way as well.”

  England’s summer programme finishing on Tuesday brings to an end former captain Andrew Flintoff’s stint, having joined the backroom staff for their ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland.

  Flintoff returned to the public eye for the first time since a serious car accident while filming for Top Gear last December and Mott would welcome back the 45-year-old with open arms going forwards.

  “He’s definitely going to join us again in future, we’ve loved having him around,” Mott added.

  “He’s revered, he’s got an aura about him, he’s very special and what he’s gone through recently, the humility he’s displayed and the life experiences he can share have been immense.

  “Even the seasoned Test veterans, they grew up idolising him and to see him in the flesh offering so much has been very special.”