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BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Pakistan bowler Abbas extends Nottinghamshire stay
County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire will have seamer Mohammad Abbas available for the whole summer after he agreed a mid-season Pakistan bowler, 35, was initially due to be unavailable for the county's four championship games in June and July before returning in an agreement has been reached for him to play the whole campaign."I'm very happy to be staying with Nottinghamshire for more games," Abbas told the club website., external"We have started the season really well, so I will be doing everything I can to make sure that carries on for the rest of the summer."Abbas has taken 16 wickets in his opening three games for Nottinghamshire, who are 10 points clear at the top of Division One.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
County cricket: Nottinghamshire flying in Division One at the break
Nottinghamshire bounced back from last week's defeat to go into the T20 Blast break with a handy 10-point lead at the top of the County Championship. Yorkshire, enduring a tricky return to the top flight, were their victims, the leaders simply too strong at Headingley. Ben Slater (52 and 78) and Joe Clarke (64 and 94) gave the bowlers something to work with, but it was the craft of Mohammad Abbas, with a first innings 6 for 45, and the hostility of Dillon Pennington, with a second-innings 5 for 106, supported by Liam Patterson-White's 3 for 40 in 30 parsimonious overs, that delivered the win. The Pakistani artist is only available for six matches, but Abbas is as close to a sure thing as you'll find in first-class cricket – ask fans of Hampshire, shorn of his services this season and languishing in seventh. Pennington has been in the England conversation for years, but is still only 26 and might finally be finding the core strength and consistency required to realise his potential. He'll need to be managed carefully if he is to lead the attack in Abbas's absence, but Haseeb Hameed knows all about how injury can destroy form, so I'm sure he will do the right thing. Notts finished one place above relegated Lancashire and Kent last season – those two counties are now propping up Division Two. It's a funny old game. It was a frustrating on-off day four at The Oval, although Essex would probably have felt more aggrieved as the clouds rolled in over Kennington. Surrey's late order had, yet again, propelled them into a first-innings lead of 62 with two and a half days to play and a familiar story looked likely to play out over the Bank Holiday weekend. But the Surrey pacers were blunted by a Bazballing Paul Walter, who made 118 at the top of the order, and 20-year-old Charlie Allison who improved his first-class best from 28 to 140, the kid taking the fight to some very experienced bowlers. Rory Burns and Dom Sibley would not have been daunted by a target of 418 at four or so an over – they've done it before – but whenever a partnership looked set to launch, the canny pair of Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter took a wicket or the groundstaff intervened. The draw keeps Surrey well in touch in second, but Essex could really have done with the win, their only success of the first half of the season coming against whipping boys Worcestershire. At least one Lancastrian is enjoying his cricket. Bury-born John Simpson was one my county cricketers of the year in 2024 and simply carried his form into Division One as if moving from a club's Saturday XI to its Sunday XI. A third century of the season, contributing to a match-defining 173-run stand for the sixth wicket with Finn Hudson-Prentice, set up Jack Carson's second-innings five-fer and a comfortable win for Sussex at Hampshire. It was 16 years before the wicketkeeper-batter took on captaincy responsibilities but, halfway through his third decade in the county game, Simpson is thriving. His team are third in the table and he is third on the run-scoring ladder, with 675 at 84. No team puts their fans through the mill like Somerset. They opened the season with two draws and two defeats then produced a hat-trick of wins. Nobody at Taunton needs to be reminded about what it is that kills. Lewis Gregory's men made the long trip to Chester-le-Street and it looked likely to be a wasted journey with the last pair at the crease still 149 runs behind on first innings. Cue a handy last-wicket stand and bring on Matt Henry, Josh Davey, Migael Pretorius and Craig Overton. That quartet has more than 400 first-class matches between them, in which they've taken more 1,400 wickets, and they soon got to work. If one batter makes a century, a target of 265 looks a lot easier and Tom Lammonby was that man, putting on an undefeated 139 with Tom Abell to cruise over the line. Lammonby, not yet 25, was one of my county cricketers of the year 2020, that strange Covid summer. With an average of 32 and just eight tons in 68 first-class matches, it's fair to say he hasn't kicked on as expected. At least not yet. Who expected Leicestershire to be team of the season at the halfway mark? Five wins and two draws from seven matches doesn't quite allow Peter Handscomb's team to freewheel through the midsummer and autumn matches, but they're sitting pretty and can be forgiven for a little preliminary reprogramming of the satnavs for 2026. Lancashire were the latest opponents to be swept aside inside three days by another irresistible team effort. There was only one wicket in the match for the hitherto unstoppable seamer Ian Holland, but that just opened the door for Logan van Beek to lead the attack with seven and Josh Hull to underline his return to full fitness with five wickets. The match turned on the third-wicket record partnership of 256 between Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill, both of whom plundered tons at better than four runs per over. It was the leg-spinner's second century of the season, both taken off Lancashire, as he morphs, ever more convincingly, into an all-rounder. Ahmed seems to enjoy batting against this attack – mind you, who doesn't? Another big middle-order partnership from two centurions proved the key as Glamorgan picked up a third win on the bounce to go third and into the Blast in great heart. Having lost Marnus Labuschagne with the scoreboard showing 52 for 3 and with the old pros Toby Roland-Jones and Ryan Higgins in the groove for Middlesex, the reliable Sam Northeast was joined by the mercurial Kiran Carlson and 228 runs were added in contrasting styles. Chris Cooke had time to make his sixth score of the season between 36 and 69, before Glamorgan were dismissed for 383, about 100 more than Roland-Jones intended when he invited them to bat at Sophia Gardens. Only Sam Robson offered much resistance to the home side's bowling as 20 Middlesex wickets fell in fewer overs than Glamorgan's 10, Australian Test bowler Matt Kuhnemann delivering on the slow left-armer's job description with six second-innings victims. Kuhnemann has returned strongly after having had his action cleared by assessors and was recently rewarded with a Cricket Australia central contract. He's behind Nathan Lyon in the pecking order for now, but he's nine years younger than the grizzled GOAT and may well be first choice come the 2027 Ashes. This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Abbas takes 6-45 as Notts dominate Yorkshire
Nottinghamshire are on course to pick up their fourth win in seven County Championship games [Getty Images] Rothesay County Championship Division One, Headingley (day two) Nottinghamshire 228 & 227-3: Slater 78, Clarke 73*; Revis 1-24 Yorkshire 159: Malan 64; Abbas 6-45 Notts (3 pts) lead Yorkshire (3 pts) by 296 runs Advertisement Match scorecard A superb six-wicket return from Mohammad Abbas and second half-centuries in the match for Ben Slater and Joe Clarke helped Division One leaders Nottinghamshire seize control of their County Championship game with Yorkshire on day two at Headingley. Pakistan seamer Abbas was the chief protagonist with 6-45 from 17.3 overs - four of his wickets coming either side of lunch to secure a 49th career first-class haul of five wickets or more - as Yorkshire were bowled out for 159 in reply to a first-innings 228. Former England batter Dawid Malan impressed with a counter-attacking 64 off 45 balls as second-bottom Yorkshire, who started the day on 10-2, lost regular wickets. Advertisement From early afternoon onwards, Nottinghamshire's pursuit of a fourth win gathered even more steam, with opener Slater top-scoring with 78 off 125 balls in 227 for three from 61 overs, a lead of 296. Clarke provided important support with a fluent unbeaten 72 not out off 92. Left-handed Slater bettered his opening day 52 and shared half-century partnerships with Haseeb Hameed and Clarke, who top-scored with 64 in the first innings. As 35-year-old Abbas claimed his second haul of five wickets or more in three matches for Notts this season, it meant Yorkshire have now only posted first-innings totals of 250 or more on three occasions in seven matches in 2025. They have a mountain to climb to avoid a fourth defeat in seven games this season. Advertisement Nottinghamshire captain Hameed shared 73 inside 16 overs for the first wicket with Slater in their second innings to more than double a commanding lead of 69. Hameed's 33 was confidently compiled on a largely gloomy Leeds day. Just as Yorkshire will have been frustrated with their efforts with the bat, they would have been with the ball too. Conditions remained helpful for the seamers, but they failed to apply any pressure. Hameed was caught behind off a beauty from Jordan Thompson which bounced and nipped away before Freddie McCann was unlucky to have been given caught behind off Ben Coad for 15 shortly before tea with the score on 113-2, a lead of 179. Advertisement But Slater, who was eye-catching on the drive, continued on. He reached a well-paced fifty off 68 balls and shared 70 for the third wicket with Clarke before edging behind one which nipped away from Matthew Revis' seam to make it 173-3. Clarke went on to reach his fifty off 55 balls and shared a day-ending unbroken 54 partnership for the fourth wicket with Jack Haynes, 13. Earlier, Yorkshire reached lunch at 119-7, with seamers Dillon Pennington and Brett Hutton striking twice apiece and Abbas once as Notts strengthened their grip. En-route, they had to survive a counter-attacking half-century from Malan, who played a series of eye-catching shots and made it look like he was batting on a featherbed pitch. Advertisement Malan drove imperiously and hoisted his quartet of sixes over the leg-side, reaching his fifty off only 34 balls upon his return to the side following three games out with a groin injury. After the early departure of James Wharton - caught at first slip off Pennington to leave them 15-4 - Malan shared 37 for the fifth wicket with nightwatchman Jack White, who chanced his arm for 18 before he also edged Pennington into the slips. Hutton had Harry Duke caught behind and Malan lbw playing to leg, and when Abbas claimed his first wicket of the day by rocking back George Hill's middle stump with one which kept low and jagged back, Yorkshire were 107-7 in the 34th over of the innings. After lunch, Abbas claimed his fourth and fifth wickets in successive balls as Yorkshire slipped to 124-9. Captain Dom Bess edged to fourth slip and Thompson to first. Advertisement Revis, with 27, and Coad shared 35 for the last wicket, but it was only brief respite as the former dragged on to Abbas, leaving the visitors with all but two sessions of batting to do through to close. ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Abbas takes 6-45 as Notts dominate Yorkshire
Rothesay County Championship Division One, Headingley (day two)Nottinghamshire 228 & 227-3: Slater 78, Clarke 73*; Revis 1-24Yorkshire 159: Malan 64; Abbas 6-45Notts (3 pts) lead Yorkshire (3 pts) by 296 runsMatch scorecard A superb six-wicket return from Mohammad Abbas and second half-centuries in the match for Ben Slater and Joe Clarke helped Division One leaders Nottinghamshire seize control of their County Championship game with Yorkshire on day two at seamer Abbas was the chief protagonist with 6-45 from 17.3 overs - four of his wickets coming either side of lunch to secure a 49th career first-class haul of five wickets or more - as Yorkshire were bowled out for 159 in reply to a first-innings England batter Dawid Malan impressed with a counter-attacking 64 off 45 balls as second-bottom Yorkshire, who started the day on 10-2, lost regular wickets. From early afternoon onwards, Nottinghamshire's pursuit of a fourth win gathered even more steam, with opener Slater top-scoring with 78 off 125 balls in 227 for three from 61 overs, a lead of 296. Clarke provided important support with a fluent unbeaten 72 not out off Slater bettered his opening day 52 and shared half-century partnerships with Haseeb Hameed and Clarke, who top-scored with 64 in the first 35-year-old Abbas claimed his second haul of five wickets or more in three matches for Notts this season, it meant Yorkshire have now only posted first-innings totals of 250 or more on three occasions in seven matches in have a mountain to climb to avoid a fourth defeat in seven games this captain Hameed shared 73 inside 16 overs for the first wicket with Slater in their second innings to more than double a commanding lead of 33 was confidently compiled on a largely gloomy Leeds as Yorkshire will have been frustrated with their efforts with the bat, they would have been with the ball too. Conditions remained helpful for the seamers, but they failed to apply any was caught behind off a beauty from Jordan Thompson which bounced and nipped away before Freddie McCann was unlucky to have been given caught behind off Ben Coad for 15 shortly before tea with the score on 113-2, a lead of Slater, who was eye-catching on the drive, continued reached a well-paced fifty off 68 balls and shared 70 for the third wicket with Clarke before edging behind one which nipped away from Matthew Revis' seam to make it went on to reach his fifty off 55 balls and shared a day-ending unbroken 54 partnership for the fourth wicket with Jack Haynes, Yorkshire reached lunch at 119-7, with seamers Dillon Pennington and Brett Hutton striking twice apiece and Abbas once as Notts strengthened their they had to survive a counter-attacking half-century from Malan, who played a series of eye-catching shots and made it look like he was batting on a featherbed drove imperiously and hoisted his quartet of sixes over the leg-side, reaching his fifty off only 34 balls upon his return to the side following three games out with a groin the early departure of James Wharton - caught at first slip off Pennington to leave them 15-4 - Malan shared 37 for the fifth wicket with nightwatchman Jack White, who chanced his arm for 18 before he also edged Pennington into the had Harry Duke caught behind and Malan lbw playing to leg, and when Abbas claimed his first wicket of the day by rocking back George Hill's middle stump with one which kept low and jagged back, Yorkshire were 107-7 in the 34th over of the lunch, Abbas claimed his fourth and fifth wickets in successive balls as Yorkshire slipped to 124-9. Captain Dom Bess edged to fourth slip and Thompson to with 27, and Coad shared 35 for the last wicket, but it was only brief respite as the former dragged on to Abbas, leaving the visitors with all but two sessions of batting to do through to Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
County cricket talking points: Notts soar higher as Lancashire sink lower
A second consecutive win – a 366-run evisceration of Hampshire – lifted Nottinghamshire 12 points clear at the top of Division One. Haseeb Hameed's team are clearly the outstanding team in the Championship with more than a third of the season already gone. Playing only his 10th first class match, Freddie McCann, who started the campaign as a teenager, was last man out for 138, his third career century. Kyle Abbott's five wickets had justified, to some extent, Ben Brown's decision to bowl – an increasingly popular option for captains. But Hampshire had no answer to a seam attack ideally suited to Trent Bridge conditions, Mohammad Abbas (five wickets), Brett Hutton (six) and Lyndon James (seven) rolling Mr Brown's Boys twice for 196 and 116. There was time in-between for Jack Haynes and Liam Patterson-White to notch what felt like decisive second-innings tons, but they proved merely icing on a considerable cake. Brett Hutton has been a consistent performer for years now and it's something of a surprise to learn that he's still only 32. He's only ever played representative cricket at Under-19 level, pigeonholed as lacking the pace to get Test batters out on Test strips. I suspect England would have said the same of his fellow opening bowler in this match, but Abbas has 100 Test wickets at 23, which rather rebuts that argument. After a bit of a mauling from the leaders last time out, Sussex defeated a spirited Worcestershire to go third in the table with the vanquished county in danger of being tailed off at the bottom. The crucial innings in a low-scoring match was played by Jack Carson, whose first innings 102 from No 8 improved the scoreboard from 88 for 6 to 284 all out. Finn Hudson-Prentice's 5 for 40 was enough to secure a 104-run first-innings lead and, despite a fighting 167 from Jake Libby, victory was secured by 47 runs. Carson, once a bowler who bats, is morphing into a batter who bowls, as his season averages, 42 and 67, stand in contrast to his career averages, 24 and 33. The County Armagh born off-spinner is England-qualified and, though he has some development to do before he's seriously mentioned in dispatches, at 24 he has time on his side. But runs in Spring and wickets in Autumn, is a very handy combination for a county pro to possess. How many is enough, was the question on Jonny Bairstow's mind, as he plundered 79 runs at better than a 100 strike rate having been given an armchair ride by Adam Lyth's latest big knock, 185. If 520 seemed excessive, even at Chelmsford, it didn't look like it mattered much as Essex, having chased leather for 116 overs, squandered four wickets on the third evening. But, as Scarlett O'Hara knew, tomorrow is another day and all-rounder Matt Critchley and wicketkeeper Michael Pepper came out with the intention of frustrating the bowlers and did so, batting through to the last ball before tea, each going at the Boycottian strike rate of 30. It was a herculean effort that Simon Harmer backed up with 37 overs of unbowed resistance of his own, superbly supported by a 32-ball duck from Shane Snater and 80 minutes split evenly between No 10 Kasun Rajitha and No 11 Jamie Porter. The draw didn't do either side much good in the table, but that home sextet had played cricket from a bygone age, demonstrating the patience and bloody-mindedness that, like a particularly rich tiramisu, is a delight, but not one to enjoy every week. As 665 for 5 declared played 504 and 15 for 0, Warwickshire drew with Surrey – and cricket lost. Praise for the home side's Tom Latham (184), Ed Barnard (177*), Zen Malik (105*) and Rob Yates (86 and 47 cruel overs of off breaks). And for the visitors' Ben Foakes (174* after five sessions of keeping) and Matt Fisher (nearly four hours batting at No 11 after 28 overs hard labour). If Beasley Street was a sociologists' paradise, Edgbaston was a statistician's paradise – and just about as attractive. How is it possible to retain a squad of top-flight veterans, add an overseas player who has hit nearly 150 runs more than any other batter in the County Championship and yet find yourself rock bottom of Division Two? Your correspondent is not the only Lancashire supporter asking those questions. After four draws, the Red Rose wilted to an ignominious defeat at Wantage Road. At 67 for 6 on the first morning, Lancashire had the home side exactly where they wanted them, but a spirited late-order fightback got Northamptonshire up to 238, representing a toehold in the match. Marcus Harris then did what he does and constructed a third ton in five matches to secure a useful 38-run lead on first innings. At 107 for five, Northamptonshire's top order had failed again and it looked like Lancashire's season would be getting off to a start at last. But the match turned on Ben Sanderson being dropped on four and then blitzing 65 off 28 balls from No 9, a first half century after 112 matches, setting a shell-shocked batting line-up 236 for the win. On-loan leg-spinner, Calvin Harrison, snared Harris to break a stand of 83 for the third wicket and the next seven couldn't muster 50 runs between them. Dale Benkenstein, Mark Chilton and Keaton Jennings have two more Championship matches before the break for the T20 Blast. The locals at Old Trafford will be informing them of exactly what's required come Friday's fixture against Derbyshire. Daniel Bell-Drummond had cause to reflect on how capricious the game of cricket can be having won the toss and sent Glamorgan in to bat at Canterbury. After Asa Tribe fell just short of a maiden first-class century, another 21-year-old came to the crease looking for a first ton, and only left it after the declaration came on 549 for 9, Ben Kellaway's share 181. Bell-Drummond must have believed that his own sequence of low scores had come to an end with his 223 at Lord's last time out – three and five suggested otherwise. Only Chris Benjamin, with 94 not out, offered much resistance as Kent went down by an innings and plenty, finding no answers to Glamorgan's experienced seam attack. Both sides remain in the logjam of five counties with points tallies in the 50s. Not for the first time, the division is producing too many draws and lacks shape. This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
