County cricket – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2014/sep/25/county-cricket-live

Version 0 of 1.

1.10pm BST13:10

There is a golden rule in this job and it warns not to get too far ahead of yourself, says a cautious Mike Selvey. It is a mistake we all make. So just when it looked as if Graham Napier’s five wicket burst had destined Worcestershire to be on the road home before lunch, along came Brett D’Oliveira and, wouldn’t you know it, Jack Shantry, who have so far added 74 for the ninth wicket in a manner that might be described as carefree. Until they came together the morning belonged to Napier, who bounded in to bowl and at one stage took 5 wickets for 11 runs in 26 balls, including two in his first over and three in four balls in another, D’Oliveira avoiding a hat trick by the thinnest inside edge. It was simple but effective bowling: skiddy rapid reverse swing, generally to a full length.Only Moeen Ali had any answer, and he took his overnight score from 70 to 98 before he became Napier’s fifth victim, attempting to pull a short ball and top edging a gentle catch to square leg.

12.12pm BST12:12

We’re all drawing breath at Old Trafford, after the most quirkily dramatic session of the season, which has led to calls for the knighting of Glen Chapple on the Manchester Evening News live blog, writes a clearly overcome Andy Wilson. The brief summary is that they secured the bonus point they needed to maintain a hope of avoiding relegation with one wicket and four balls to spare, after Chapple pulled Toby Roland-Jones for surely the most improbable and important six of his long career. So now Middlesex are batting again; Lancashire having declared on 302 for eight, with a lead of 88.

So how did it come to this? Lancashire, you may remember, started on 259 for six off 96 overs, needing to score 41 from 14 without losing more than two wickets. They started slowly, and then suffered a major blow from an umpiring howler, not the first of the innings alas. This time it was Nick Cook, the former England left arm spinner - known as The Beast, so this could be a risky sentence - who gave Luke Procter lbw to Tim Murtagh when the ball had clearly pitched outside leg stump.

That was 269 for seven, and when Simon Kerrigan walked in front of his stumps to gift another wicket to the excellent Murtagh - no doubt about this decision from umpire Cook - Lancashire had lost their wriggle room, and were still 29 runs short.

The new batsman was Tom Bailey, a tall 21-year-old seamer from Preston who showed enough capability in the recent Roses match to suggest he should have come in ahead of Kerrigan, anyway. But the pressure was on now, and the Middlesex captain Chris Rogers played his hand cleverly, allowing Chapple to take a single off the first ball of almost every over and then inviting Murtagh and Roland-Jones to test out young Bailey. He passed with flying colours, getting off the mark with a top-edged pull but then playing a couple of authentic drives to move into double figures. But the overs were ticking down too, and at the end of the 109th Lancashire were still seven short.

That was when Chapple made his move, defying the ring of fielders on the boundary by launching a short ball from Roland-Jones between midwicket and long on. The job still wasn’t done yet - Lancashire were 299 for eight, and plenty of experienced Red Rose watchers had been tipping all day that they would fall one run short. But after Rogers brought the field in to deny Chapple a single, he punched behind square for three, and then trotted off the field with Bailey, to a rousing reception from their team-mates on the balcony.

Rogers gesticulated to the umpires, presumably raising questions about the legitimacy of the declaration, which was clearly made to deny Middlesex the opportunity of taking the wicket that would still have sent Lancashire down. But this possibility had been explored, and cleared, behind the scenes with David Capel, who is here representing the ECB to ensure no foul play.

Lancashire had even been given permission to declare on 250 for five yesterday had Steven Croft not fallen victim to another questionable decision.So now Rogers and Sam Robson are batting in the gloom, and it’s down to Chapple and the rest of the Lancashire bowlers to press home their advantage.

Updated at 12.13pm BST

11.04am BST11:04

There is money at stake as well as points, writes Mike Selvey. If Hampshire beat Glamorgan and Worcestershire lose to Essex, they will top the second division which means they will take £78,000 in prize money and the county will also benefit to the tune of £33000. Second place gets £43000 and the county only £8000. So worth fighting for.It will be a long haul for Worcestershire though. Essex had established a formidable first innings lead and they now have the advantage of an early morning start. Key to it all could be Moeen Ali, who was 70 not out overnight and has advanced, a little streakily it must be said, to 84 against David Masters and Jesse Ryder. But Worcester have already lost a wicket at the other end with Tom Fell bowled by Masters, leaving them 136 for 3.

10.22am BST10:22

It’s the penultimate day of the season, writes Andy Wilson, and the situation in this relegation battle is pretty simple, as I was explaining this morning to my two youngest, one aged eight and the other wearing the Darth Vader costume he received for his sixth birthday yesterday.

Lancashire came into the game 19 points behind Middlesex, meaning they had to win, for 16 points, and to take three more bonus points than the visitors, who would then be relegated because with the teams level on number of wins and losses, Lancashire would have taken more points from the two fixtures between them.

Middlesex scored 214 in the first innings which meant they took one batting point for passing 200, and Lancashire claimed the maximum three bowling points for taking nine wickets. At the close of the second day Lancashire had battled to 259 for six, meaning they have added two batting points and Middlesex two bowling points. So Lancashire need to score another 41 runs to reach 300 for their third batting point without losing another three wickets that would hand Middlesex another bowling point, all within the next 14 overs because points can only be earned in the first 110 overs of the first innings. Clear? They should really produce a County Championship bonus point version of those teatowels that explain cricket to foreigners. “But dad,” the kids might have asked. “Why does it say in this Division One table that Middlesex were docked two points from their first match of the season against Sussex at Hove in April?” Again, perfectly simple. Their over-rate was deemed unacceptably slow. Middlesex are the only team to have lost points for sluggishness in either division all season. It’s the sort of thing that does make you wonder what is destined to happen here in the next couple of days.

There’s even more exciting news. First, a couple of piles of warm croissants and pastries appeared beside the coffee machine in the media centre, for the first time this season, at least in a Championship match. Second, the budgerigar that was found flying around E Stand on the first day of the game has been reclaimed. I promise I’m not making this up – Ken Grime, a proper Lancashire stalwart who now acts as match manager among many other roles, informed us that the bird was rescued on Tuesday and had been living happily in the lodge where the car park attendants used to sit at the main entrance of the ground on Talbot Road. The RSPCA were informed – Lancashire should really have tweeted, Chris Ostick of the Manchester Evening News suggests, with a worrying lack of ornithological knowledge (budgies chirp) – and a grateful owner called in yesterday to take the bird back home.

The skies are grey, but there’s no sign of rain at the moment, and there appears a 50-50 chance that we might get away with another full day’s play. Lancashire could be relegated by 11am, but for the moment hope springs eternal.

Of the other live Championship issues coming into this round, Warwickshire have secured second place which carries more than £200,000 in prize money, but will still be keen to press for victory against Durham – which would also be good news for Nottinghamshire, currently third, and Sussex, who could still overtake them by beating Northamptonshire.

Yorkshire seem to be suffering a title-winning hangover at Headingley, although perhaps that does not give enough credit to Somerset. Mike Selvey is on the case in the Division Two promotion race, but it’s not looking good for Leicestershire in their quest to become the first team for almost 80 years to go through two consecutive seasons without a win. Derbyshire are already 310 ahead with only one second innings wicket down, and young Ben Slater on course for his second century of the match.