County cricket: Surrey v Somerset, Notts v Sussex, and more on day two – live

10 hours ago 10

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

The loan system is one of the great innovations of the last few years. Here is Jake Ball of Somerset, Durham’s five-wicket hero yesterday:

That couldn’t have gone much better for me. I was down in Somerset struggling to get a game and I snapped up the opportunity to play for Durham. I just wanted to get out there and it was nice to confirm the fact that I was bowling quite well.

I think this has been a happy hunting ground for me. It’s a good pitch to bowl on, there’s a bit of nip but you’ve still got to put the ball in the right area.

It’s one of those pitches where, if you put the ball in the right place, something’s going to happen. There were periods where it went a little bit flatter but all in all, it’s nipped all day and as long as we can get ourselves a little lead, we can hope fully bowl them out again.

They’re a great set of lads. I’ve never been out on loan before but you want to respect everything that these guys are doing. You want to play for the badge and make sure you give 110% and that’s what I did today to get the wickets.

Durham incidentally have lost Blatherwick and Rhodes already this morning- and at 58 for six, are 104 behind in a game that looks over and out by tomorrow.

Jayden Seales picks up the first wicket of the day – it’s at Trent Bridge, but it’s not HH. Jack Haynes caught behind for 34. Sussex will have to get a wriggle on if they want to keep Notts in check, they have a lead already, with six wickets in hand.

Four fistfuls of people in the Mickey Stewart pavilion, a good handful in the stands at The Oval, as Burns and Sibley make their way to the middle. Josh Davey has the ball at the Vauxhall End, a hazy sun stretching into position. Burns’ bat makes a beautiful clonk.

It was a good day for potential England bowlers yesterday. Here is Nottinghamshire’s Josh Tongue:

“I feel like I’m getting better each time I’m bowling. I had a very good winter going into this season. Getting the overs into me, getting that robustness in the body to bowl long spells, is what I’m aiming for.

“The pace is there and it is just now about getting that consistency into my lines and lengths and it feels like the more times I’m bowling, the more I’m getting that.”

Preamble

Good morning from London, where the runners are out, so many runners, plane trees hang heavy over the Thames and eager tourists perch on the steps of Tate Britain.

It’s day two of this fourth round, with five games in play. Lots to look out for – with Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire eager to press their advantage, and a chance to see what this big bad Surrey batting line up can do at The Oval.

Play starts at 11am, do join us.

Friday's roundup

Gus Atkinson had the Surrey faithful purring on the day he was given his county cap. With his tiptoeing, tightrope approach and tightly knit hands, he made the ball spit like an overheated wok against Somerset. In his first over he hit Sean Dickson on the hand, who retired hurt, and later removed a softened-up Archie Vaughan, did James Rew for pace and greeted Kasey Aldridge with a missile at his neck. Jordan Clark, all muscle to Atkinson’s venom, did most of the rest, picking up five wickets, including two in two balls. Some oomplah from Lewis Gregory took Somerset to a first batting point and beyond.

A series of injuries had left Durham looking behind the fridge for fast bowlers. But their makeshift seam attack made mincemeat of Worcestershire, who were whistled out for 162. Jake Ball, arriving on a two-match loan from Somerset, celebrated with five for 47, while quickfire South African Codi Yusuf (signed on the recommendation of David Bedingham) ran in at full pelt, picked up two wickets, and worried a few more. Durham then lost four quick wickets of their own.

Josh Tongue fizzed like magnesium at Trent Bridge. Regularly hitting the high 80s, with a gravelly yorker, he pocketed five wickets, three of them in one over, as Sussex were dismissed for 169. It was his second five-fer of the season; Brett Hutton grabbed four for 53. Captain Haseeb Hameed ticked along to 67 not out in Nottinghamshire’s reply.

There was another hulking England hopeful in action at Bristol, where Leicestershire’s Josh Hull pinned big Cameron Green lbw, but Gloucestershire were mainly undone by five wickets from Ben Green, another Somerset loanee. James Bracey’s unbeaten 93 took Leicestershire past 250, before Gloucestershire encountered batting problems of their own.

David Lloyd (93) and Harry Came (73) ensured that Derbyshire had a relatively serene day against Middlesex.