The Cricketer goes around the grounds across the County Championship on the second day of the second round of matches
Nottinghamshire 263 & 25/2; Somerset 403
Centuries from George Bartlett and Tom Abell steered Somerset into a commanding position on the second day against Nottinghamshire.
Bartlett scored a career best 133 from 223 deliveries, with 17 fours, before shouldering arms and losing his off stump to Luke Fletcher, who took 3-66 as chief support for Stuart Broad.
Broad, bowling with good pace and rhythm throughout, had taken two wickets on the first evening and polished off the Somerset tail to close with 5-73.
Abell, who took a hat-trick in this fixture last season, played a starring role with the bat this time, making 101 after adding 223 for the fourth wicket with Bartlett, a county record against Notts, as the visitors reached 403, having built up a first innings lead of 140.
Lewis Gregory, who took 6-68 on the opening day, backed up his all-rounder credentials with a punchy innings of 50 that included three sixes.
Batting for a second time, the home county lost Ben Duckett and Chris Nash before closing on 25-2.
Yorkshire 554/7d; Hampshire 74/3
Opening bowlers Duanne Olivier and Ben Coad continued Yorkshire's dominance at Hampshire - after Gary Ballance had top scored with 148.
Hampshire's James Vince and Joe Weatherley both departed inside the first six overs to leave Hampshire 11 for 2, after Yorkshire had declared having scored a mammoth 554.
Hampshire had been given 26 overs to starve out Coad, Olivier and co, but struggled against good quality seam movement.
Having watched their Hampshire counterparts labour on a very slow pancake of a wicket, Coad and Olivier extracted more out of the surface.
Firstly, Vince, who has promoted himself to the top of the innings with the hope of earning an Ashes spot, was caught by Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip while attempting a block in the fifth over.
An over later and Weatherley was on the receiving end of South African fast bowler Olivier’s fierce chest-high bouncer – with the academy graduate guiding an edge behind.
Aiden Markram and Sam Northeast steadied the ship in gloomy conditions, but the South African international fell after an enterprising 45 to the part-time off-spin of Jack Leaning when he picked out Ballance at deep mid-wicket - leaving Hampshire 74 for 3 at stumps.
Broad was as potent as ever
Kent 504-9/d; Warwickshire 136-3
Kent continue to prosper at Edgbaston as Ollie Robinson became their second home-grown youngster in successive days to score a century against Warwickshire.
After Bromley-born 21-year-old Zak Crawley scored a fluent 108 on the first day, Robinson, a 20-year-old son of Sidcup, followed up on the second with his maiden first-class ton.
In only his eighth first-class innings, Robinson's composed 143 (228 balls, 22 fours) eclipsed the 95 runs he had collected in the previous seven and lifted his side to an imposing 504 for nine declared.
It was a very impressive response from Kent to the disappointment of defeat plucked from the jaws of victory in their opening game at Somerset last week. They then made strong progress towards turning that hefty total into a victory when, on an excellent batting track, they reduced Warwickshire to 84 for 3.
The home side closed the second day on 136 for 3, still 229 short of the follow-on figure, and have plenty of batting to do if they are to avoid defeat in their first game back in the top division.
Glamorgan 570/8d; Northamptonshire 234/0
After Glamorgan’s run fest on the opening day, their bowlers then toiled as the Sophia Gardens pitch continued to offer them little, if any assistance with the Northants openers sharing an unbroken partnership of 234, with Ricardo Vasconelos 126 not out and Rob Newton 85.
At the close the visitors still required a further 187 runs to avoid the follow on, but on the evidence of the first two days play, there is little prospect of a positive outcome on such an unresponsive strip.
Rampaul could not break through and was expensive
Durham 224 & 31/1
Sussex's Luke Wells scored an unbeaten 98 to defy Durham on day two at Emirates Riverside.
The home side appeared to have taken control of the contest after James Weighell and Chris Rushworth combined to reduce Sussex to 71-7.
However, Wells led a rearguard action with the tail, adding 131 for the final three wickets to frustrate Durham, although he fell agonisingly short of a deserved century.
Ollie Robinson struck early in Durham's second innings, but Alex Lees and Cameron Bancroft were unbeaten at the close, leaving the north-east outfit 53 runs ahead going into day three.
Durham began the day on 210-8, but were quickly dismissed after adding only 14 to their overnight total.
Worcestershire 553/6d; Leicestershire 180/4
Acting captain Ben Cox became the third centurion of the innings as Worcestershire built a formidable first innings score before declaring on the second day against Leicestershire.
The visitors then picked up four wickets, including the vital one of Mark Cosgrove, leaving the Foxes still needing another 224 runs to avoid the follow-on with six wickets in hand at the close of play.
Resuming on 348-4, the visitors quickly lost Hamish Rutherford, the New Zealander adding only seven runs to his overnight score of 116 before driving at a delivery from Tom Taylor and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Lewis Hill.
Taylor, who had two chances dropped off his bowling on the first day, saw another spilled when Will Davis could not hold a Ross Whitely drive chest-high in the covers.
Whitely, on 18 at the time, went on to 49 before an in-swinging yorker from Ben Mike both knocked the left-hander off his feet and dismissed him leg before wicket, but Cox, in company with Ed Barnard, took full toll of a tiring Leicestershire attack.
The pair added 145 for the seventh wicket, with Cox reaching his hundred off 133 balls to join Rutherford and Daryl Mitchell in going to three figures before declaring.
Higgins added some handy runs for Gloucestershire
Derbyshire 291; Gloucestershire 202-5
James Bracey hit a stylish 65 to lead a solid Gloucestershire reply to Derbyshire’s first innings total of 291 on the second day at Bristol.
By the close the hosts had reached 202 for 5, skipper Chris Dent contributing 33, Gareth Roderick (33 not out) and Ryan Higgins (33 not out). Luis Reece claimed 2-33 from 16 overs.
Left-hander Bracey faced 120 balls, hitting 12 fours, before falling to a stunning catch at point by Anuj Dal off Tony Palladino. The 21-year-old Bristol-born batsman looks set to build on an impressive first full season of county cricket last year.
Earlier, Derbyshire had added 35 to their overnight total of 256 for 7 before being dismissed nine short of a third batting point. Higgins and Matt Taylor finished with three wickets each.
Reports courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network
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