End of day report
Yorkshire suffered more weather frustration as the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Somerset at Taunton was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Rain fell through the majority of the day at the Cooper Associates County Ground, with puddles forming at various places on the outfield.
The weather relented briefly between 1-2pm, with umpires Mike Burns and Alex Wharf opting to have another inspection at 3pm with the hope of some play after tea.
However, that was not possible, with Yorkshire’s eighth abandoned day out of 12 to start the summer confirmed at 2.45pm following more rain.
2.45pm Play has been abandoned for the day here at Taunton, following the same calls at Old Trafford, Worcester, Leicester and Northampton. Yorkshire’s eighth in 12 abandoned day already this summer.
2.35pm The run is coming down quite heavy again. Some mopping up had been done ahead of the 3pm inspection, but it looks like we’re back to square one.
The man behind Brooksy’s runs?
????????????????
mandhcricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/d0SGkVc7C7">pic.twitter.com/d0SGkVc7C7</a></p>— Jack Brooks (BrooksyFerret) April 27, 2018
1.45pm There will be a further inspection at 3pm here. It has stopped raining, and the ground staff are about to start the mopping up.
12.55pm It had actually stopped raining ever so briefly, but now it has returned. The umpires are due to inspect in around 45 minutes.
Maybe no Scarbados for Virat after all…
Reports from India that the BCCI will ask Virat Kohli to play the one-off Test with Afghanistan in June and thus would be unavailable for a short stint in county cricket (Surrey having been the club floated)
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) April 27, 2018
11.45am It is raining very hard at Taunton now, unfortunately. Probably harder than when I first arrived at the ground. There is a growing feeling amongst the local scribes that we won’t see anything today.
11.30am Play in just one match in Division One, Hampshire against Essex at the Ageas Bowl, where the hosts are batting following an uncontested toss. Just a couple of overs in. In Division Two, they started at Lord’s but are off for rain. Playing at Sussex, though.
While we await play at Taunton, it’s all happening in the press box
No more stirring coffee with a fork in the Taunton press box as a batch of spoons finally arrive.
‘A load of spoons went missing in the last match,’ reveals one scribe.#spoongate— Chris Waters (@CWatersYPSport) April 27, 2018
11.15am Lunch Report
There was no play possible before lunch on day one of Yorkshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Somerset at Taunton due to rain.
Heavy overnight and morning rain meant puddles had formed on parts of the outfield at the Cooper Associates County Ground, leaving umpires Mike Burns and Alex Wharf to make the call of no play before lunch at 10.35am.
The rain has eased since, but the prospects of play for the rest of the day are not great.
If there is not a ball bowled today, it would be Yorkshire’s eighth abandoned day in 12 to start the summer.
10.35am The umpires, Mike Burns and Alex Wharf, have decided there will be no play before lunch. The good news is that the heavy rain has eased.
10.15am Whilst we are waiting for the rain to stop, here’s a brief preview of today’s match from the ECB.
Division One
Lancashire v Surrey (Old Trafford)
Jimmy Anderson will return to action for Lancashire against Somerset next week but tomorrow his team-mates will be looking to respond after defeat to champions Essex. Alex Davies, Jordan Clark and Joe Mennie all scored half-centuries at Chelmsford but Lancashire have yet to post a Championship hundred this season. Surrey, who beat Hampshire in their opener, are expected to be unchanged. 20-year-old Ollie Pope has made two hundreds and a fifty in his last five Championship games.
Somerset v Yorkshire (Taunton)
Two sides who enjoyed good victories in the last round meet at Taunton. Yorkshire have seam bowlers Steve Patterson and Matthew Fisher available after injury and left-arm spinner Karl Carver has been added to their squad. The hosts are still without Jamie Overton, who is recovering from a side strain, and will probably name the side which beat Worcestershire in their opener.
Hampshire v Essex (Ageas Bowl)
England opener Alistair Cook plays his first Championship match of the season as champions Essex look to build on last week’s victory over Lancashire at a venue where they won in 2017 despite following on. Hampshire are looking to bounce back from defeat to Surrey when Sam Northeast’s 129, his first century for his new county, was the highlight. Two players with pretensions to England’s No.3 berth, Tom Westley and James Vince, go head to head.
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire (New Road)
Stuart Broad gets his first run-out for the visitors in a game where both sides will be looking to bounce back from defeats in last week’s round. Coach Peter Moores said: “I think we’ve got them at a good time and Stuart coming back into the side is a real boost for everybody.”
New Road was under water less than three weeks ago but hard work by Worcestershire staff has got the ground fit. “It’s been an incredible effort by everyone,” said Chief Executive Matt Rawnsley. The hosts have lost their first two but are likely to be unchanged.
Division Two
Sussex v Gloucestershire (Hove)
After two draws pre-season promotion favourites Sussex will be anxious to claim their first win. Stuart Whittingham may be preferred to leg-spinner Will Beer to boost the seam attack but Head Coach Jason Gillespie will keep changes to a minimum. Gloucestershire won their opener against Kent but lost to Glamorgan last week. Last season’s leading-wicket taker Liam Norwell misses out after suffering a recurrence of his hamstring injury and new-ball partner David Payne is still sidelined after ankle surgery.
Northamptonshire v Durham (Northampton)
Northants have lost their first two games and Head Coach David Ripley has identified the need to improve their first-innings batting after it lasted just 21.2 overs against Middlesex and 48.4 against Warwickshire.
Durham lost in two days in their opening fixture against Kent but James Weighell made a career-best 84 to add to his three wickets in only his tenth first-class match.
Leicestershire v Derbyshire (Grace Road)
Derbyshire arrive at Grace Road in high spirits after defeating Middlesex last week. South African Duanne Olivier will want to carry on where he left off after taking 8-108 against the 2016 champions, the best bowling by a Derbyshire debutant since 1900.
Leicestershire, who drew their opening match against Sussex, are likely to be unchanged. South African Colin Ackermann will be hoping to build on his seven-hour 186 against Sussex.
Middlesex v Glamorgan (Lord’s)
Toby Roland-Jones has been ruled out for the season with the recurrence of a stress fracture but England batsman Dawid Malan makes his first county appearance of the season and will take over captaincy duties from Sam Robson. Glamorgan may bring in Timm Van Der Gugten to boost their seam attack in place of off-spinner Andrew Salter.
9.40am Jack Brooks has taken over our Instagram account (yorkshireccc) to give you a behind the scenes look at what happens on the road with the squad. Take a look.
Good morning from Taunton, where it’s raining heavily I’m afraid. Puddles have formed around the edges of the square, and we won’t be starting on time.
There is a concern that this weather will stay with us well into the afternoon, meaning a decent chance that we will not see a ball bowled.
Yorkshire arrive at Taunton, or the Cooper Associates County Ground if you prefer, top of Division One with a draw and a win under the belts, the latter being the dominant success at home against Nottinghamshire last weekend.
Elsewhere in Division One, Worcestershire host Nottinghamshire at New Road, it’s Lancashire v Surrey at Old Trafford and Hampshire against Essex at Southampton.
