County cricket: Lancashire v Yorkshire, Kent v Essex – live! | County Championship

The county championship unfolded itself from the linen basket and sprung back into service, the start of a full-on, four-week September run, which will decide the winner and sieve out the promotion and relegation candidates (should that process happen, all still being, in classic English cricket style, up in the air).

To Old Trafford for the Roses match, where Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings became the first player in the long history of the rivalry to make four centuries in successive innings, pulling away from three-in-a-row Herbert Sutcliffe and Geoff Pullar. Jennings’ astonishing run – 114, 132 and 238 – was topped off by 119 against a Yorkshire attack that looked washed out on a flat pitch.

But from 231 for one, Lancashire lost seven wickets in the evening session, collapsing to 272 for eight, as 21-year-old George Hill took five for five in 41 balls (six for 26 in total) – his first five-fer for Yorkshire in his first bowl since breaking his toe in July. Ben Coad grabbed two wickets in two balls in the penultimate over and suddenly the relegation candidates were eyeing up the title chasers.

Hampshire, the only team other than Lancashire capable of catching Surrey, were thwarted by rain that reduced the day to 62 overs. Felix Organ top-scored with 71, as Liam Dawson and Aneurin Donald added a pretty, unbeaten 62. At Canterbury Kent chose to bowl under grizzly skies but Alastair Cook plugged away for 78 and after a wobble, Matthew Critchley and Feroze Khushi carried Essex through to the close.

In the relegation battle at Taunton, Marcus Harris tormented Somerset with a 159 that lasted from the first to the penultimate over when he edged Jack Brooks to slip. There were also fifties for Gloucestershire’s Ben Charlesworth and Ollie Price.

In Division Two, 20 wickets fell at a capricious Trent Bridge as Nottinghamshire were dismissed for 201 by Leicestershire, only for the visitors to crash and burn for 93. Luke Fletcher grabbed four for 23 and Sam Evans carried his bat for 50, the only Leicestershire man to make double figures.

Derbyshire were dismissed for 306 by Durham, while at Sophia Gardens, Gareth Roderick and Ed Barnard gave Worcestershire’s batting some welcome solidity with a partnership of 127 against Glamorgan.

Division One

Rose Bowl: Hampshire 229-5 v Northants

Canterbury: Kent v Essex 327-4

Old Trafford: Lancashire 272-8 v Yorkshire

Taunton: Somerset v Gloucestershire 320-6

Division Two

Derby: Derbyshire 306 all out v Durham

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan v Worcestershire 285-7

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 201 and 15-0 v Leicestershire 93

Good morning from a damp Manchester, where the honeysuckle berries sag and autumn is touchable. It’s day two of the first September round of the County Championship, with seven games in play, weather permitting. The outlook is “unsettled”.

Two things to mull over with your cornflakes, one is the leaked Andrew Strauss HPR plan in today’s Telegraph, the other is today’s Guardian editorial on the Hundred.

Strauss’s plan in brief:

A six-team Premier Division of the Championship with two feeder leagues of six underneath.

Teams to play each other home and away, with a possible playoff to decide the winner and a playoff between the winner of the two feeder leagues to decide which is promoted. It will be one up, one down.

All counties to play at least 10 four-day games

50-over competition in April, Blast in May, Hundred in August, Championship in June, July and September.

Three slots of four-day games (not the Championship) in August – akin to festivals – so counties can still play 14 red ball games, if they make a playoff. This would run alongside the Hundred giving Test players and the rest some red-ball cricket. Potential to invite overseas teams to take part, eg Zimbabwe, Afghanistan ad Scotland.

Right, that’s it for now, hopping on my bike – back shortly!