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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kookaburra season in England has left one Aussie rapt
The Kookaburra cricket ball has been brought out to play in England's county cricket season - and one Australian quick bowler couldn't be happier. Liam Guthrie hadn't had the best of times with Northamptonshire so far this campaign, having not taken more than three wickets in any innings for Darren Lehmann's division two outfit all season. But that all changed at Northampton on Sunday when the Australian Kookaburra ball was introduced for the next few county games in place of the familiar English-produced Dukes ball - and Guthrie produced a six-wicket display against Middlesex, easily his best performance so far. 85.4 | Edged and gone. 🤝Guthrie collects his sixth as Zafar Gohar edges to Vasconcelos in the 344/ live 👉 — Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) June 22, 2025 Taking advantage of his expertise with the cherry he's more familiar with using, the 28-year-old ripped through the visitors' top-order taking three quick wickets to reduce Middlesex to 3-33. He also struck later in the day, getting rid of half-centurion Luke Hollman and ended with figures of 6-87 off 19 probing overs, with the battling unbeaten century from wicketkeeper-batter Joe Cracknell providing the main rearguard action as Middlesex battled back to finish on 8-397. "I play a fair bit with the Kook back home in Australia. It is a different skill to the Dukes. Guys who play with the Dukes over here obviously have skills that are different to what Australian seamers would have when they come over," said West Australian Guthrie, who has a UK passport and isn't considered an overseas player. "It's just about being clear with your plans and sort of hitting the deck hard, not sort of floating it when the Kookaburra's a bit softer." One more wicket tomorrow and Guthrie will go past his career-best first-class figures of 6-60 for Queensland against Victoria a couple of years ago. Elsewhere in the resumed county championship program, a couple of Aussie batters also seemed perfectly at home with the introduction of the Kookaburra, which is part of the English game's continued bid to give home players wider international experience. There were half-centuries for Gloucestershire captain Cameron Bancroft, who top-scored with 58 off 127 balls as they were skittled for 187 by Derbyshire at Bristol, and Sussex's Tasmanian opener Daniel Hughes, who made 60 off 110 balls against Durham at Chester-le-Street in their 9-322. Special words to welcome two new first-class debutants to the Red Rose this morning. ❤️🗣️@jimmy9 x Mitch Stanley 🤝@chrisgreen_93 x Ashton Turner 🇦🇺🌹 #RedRoseTogether — Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) June 22, 2025 It was a big day for debutant Ashton Turner at Blackpool as he was handed his Lancashire cap by his Australian teammate Chris Green, who took a wicket (1-63) on a rain-interrupted day as Kent finished the opening day on 3-213. Lancashire's captain for the first time in a county match was 42-year-old James Anderson, who was also the subject of a special presentation of his own as he received a bottle of champagne to mark his 300th first-class match. Anderson, who couldn't mark the latest landmark with a wicket (0-36), stepped in as skipper because Lancashire's Australian skipper Marcus Harris, the top-scorer in the county championship this season (825 runs), had flown home to attend the birth of his second child.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Cracknell ton helps Middlesex recover at Northants
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, County Ground, Northampton (day one)Middlesex 397-8: Cracknell 106*, Du Plooy 66, Hollman 51; Guthrie 6-87Northamptonshire: Yet to batMiddlesex 3pts, Northamptonshire 2ptsMatch scorecard Joe Cracknell scored an unbeaten 106, his maiden first-class century, while Leus du Plooy struck 66 as Middlesex staged a spirited fightback against Northamptonshire on day one of this County Championship match at Wantage Cracknell, whose previous best was just 33, having largely played white-ball cricket to date, played a superbly-paced innings, facing 164 balls and striking 11 fours and a six to take the visitors to 397-8 at stumps. It was Cracknell's third century of the week after tons in each innings of Middlesex's Second XI game against Glamorgan at bounced back after Liam Guthrie, who took 6-87 with the Kookaburra ball, his first five-wicket haul for Northamptonshire, had the Seaxes reeling on 33-3 inside the first half an hour, removing the visitors' top Du Plooy started to revive Middlesex's fortunes, sharing two 60-run stands, first with Ryan Higgins (25) and then with Ben Geddes (27). When they fell, Middlesex were still in a precarious position at 160-6 before Cracknell and Luke Hollman (51) combined to add 103 for the seventh was then joined by Zafar Gohar and Toby Roland-Jones in stands of 81 and 53 at the end of a satisfactory first day in charge for Middlesex's interim men's first-team coach Dane Vilas. Earlier, left-armer Guthrie struck in the second over, coming round the wicket. Josh de Caires fell into the legside trap as he worked one off his hip straight to leg Max Holden was trapped lbw by a Guthrie delivery that moved in and straightened. When Sam Robson became Guthrie's third wicket, edging low to Calvin Harrison at second slip, the visitors were in real Plooy and Higgins rebuilt positively, keeping the scoreboard ticking as they put on 62. Du Plooy garnered boundaries off backfoot punches off the seamers and played Guthrie down the legside for four to take Middlesex past 50 in the 12th over before driving him sweetly through was proactive, strong on the reverse sweep against the spinners, but was adjudged lbw to a Justin Broad delivery that looked a little high as he stepped down the wicket aiming to play to Plooy joined forces in another confident stand worth 60 with Geddes who started positively, Middlesex passing 100 in the 23rd over before powering Broad through extra Plooy, meanwhile, punched Guthrie off the backfoot through cover point and then pulled leg-spinner Harrison for four to reach his half-century just before flowed quickly against the seamers after the interval. Geddes punched Guthrie off the backfoot, while Du Plooy drove Luke Procter for four before coming down the wicket and pulling him dismissively through mid-on. He had a rush of blood though, attempting to repeat the shot, failing to control it and instead top-edging to long-on where Rob Keogh took an excellent diving catch running back. Geddes drove Procter handsomely through extra cover but departed soon afterwards, edging behind off a Broad delivery which held its brought together Cracknell and Hollman who started briskly, Cracknell pulling and driving Broad for consecutive fielded four spinners and both batters took a liking to them with the ball offering little turn. Hollman hit Harrison back over his head, smashed him through the covers and swept behind square. He swept Lloyd Pope to the boundary too and drove his next ball through cover also tucked into the spinners, muscling Keogh down the ground before dispatching his next ball, a half-tracker, over midwicket for six to go past his previous highest tea, both batters reached their fifties and brought up the 100 partnership, but were parted next over when Hollman skied an attempted hook off Guthrie, Pope taking a good catch at deep-backward square continued to locate the boundary, driving Broad through extra, pulling a Pope half-tracker through midwicket and pummelling Guthrie through extra (34) offered strong support as Cracknell neared three figures, taking consecutive boundaries off Procter with the new ball before Guthrie got one to lift, Gohar fending it to Ricardo Vasconcelos at smashed Guthrie through extra cover and then worked Broad into the off-side to take him to three figures and a well-deserved celebration before some Roland-Jones fireworks ensured Middlesex rounded off the day positively. Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay
