Northamptonshire 171 for six (Nair 51*, Azad 48, Lawes 3-47) vs Surrey

Northamptonshire closed on 171 for the lack of 6, Lawes’ nagging, surprisingly brisk seamers answerable for half of them. A easy equation is 2 wins give Surrey the title, which is all they care about. The wonderful print for the remainder of us is that victory with three bonus factors places the onus on second-place Essex to win to maintain the County Championship alive. Across a bitty 63.4 overs, when the normally dependable senior figures had been a bit off with the ball, Lawes’ 3 for 47 has not solely helped bag two of these bonus factors however moved the sport together with rain set to play its unwelcome half for the remainder of the week.

Rory Burns gained his first toss in 5, inserting the guests in as grim situations as attainable with out being unhealthy sufficient to forestall play from beginning on time. The skies had been overcast sufficient to require the floodlights at full beam at 10:30am. And the sharp winds that endured all through the day had been fierce sufficient for the flags sitting atop the Micky Stewart Pavilion to be introduced down.

At one other time, Burns would have wanted to bolster his hairband earlier than heading out onto the sector. Alas, the flowing 14-inch locks are not any extra, shorn for a superb trigger to make a pure wig for The Little Princess Trust, a charity which offers actual hair wigs, freed from cost, to youngsters and younger individuals who have misplaced their very own hair via most cancers therapy or to different situations.

At 29 for no loss, each left-handed openers would have been glad with their early work. But Surrey should not the place they’re due to the work of simply two bowlers. Enter Jordan Clark, who wanted simply 4 deliveries to maneuver to the highest of the membership’s wicket-taking charts with a forty seventh dismissal of the season as Gay flicked down the leg facet to Ben Foakes.

There was a whiff of basic unhappiness when Azad fell, short-arming Worrall behind with an apologetic pull, cautious of the person lurking across the nook at leg gully. Not for the primary time this season, the short-ball did for him, two shy of a second half-century of the season.

Nair, in the meantime, was capable of convey up his personal in 108 deliveries, and can recommence his innings on Tuesday. That is more likely to be extra stop-start than day one, which featured only one bathe stopping play for 2 hours from 1:30pm.

Nevertheless, a comparatively irritating day for Surrey carried cheer past the wickets. Jamie Overton pulled up 5 deliveries into his second over with what regarded like a twinge to his left groin. In the immediacy, their depth lined for the loss as he walked off and Burns introduced himself on to ship the ultimate supply down the leg facet. Lawes plugged the hole from the Vauxhall End, ultimately prising out Luke Procter with a size supply that lifted and left the visiting skipper.

By then, Overton had returned to the sector, taking a regulation catch at second slip. And simply to reiterate his bloody-mindedness, he was again bowling by the 57th over, rapping Saif Zaib on the hand earlier than nicking him off two deliveries later with a full ball that arched away late.

It was the second of three dismissals in 25 deliveries, sandwiched between Lawes eradicating Keogh — one other catch for Overton — and yorking Lewis McManus. Overton ought to have had a 3rd when Justin Broad fended some further bounce behind, which Foakes might solely tip over the bar.

At 5:22pm, unhealthy mild stopped play and little question Surrey had been rueing what regarded set to be a procession of the remaining Northants wickets to make up for the early, Zaib-led resistance as they walked off. Remarkably, the clouds had parted sufficient to permit via what remained of the solar to present us a 5:38pm restart, with an optimistic 12 overs remaining.

Six minutes later, again got here the clouds and off went the gamers. The solely play of observe was a ninth boundary to Nair, pushed via further cowl, to take him to a second half-century for Northants.