Let us have a look at all the actions from Group 2 of the County Championship 2021/22.
Gloucestershire v Somerset, Bristol
Somerset 300/8 decl. (Abell 132*, Worrall 3-52) lead Gloucestershire 16/2 (Brathwaite 13*, Josh Davey 1-4) by 284 runs
Not a single over had been bowled on Day 2 at Bristol; and the weather forecast says the same for Day 4. In between, Tom Abell’s unbeaten century guided Somerset to 300/8 before two quick wickets reduced Gloucestershire to 16/2 by the stumps on Day 3. The match seems to meander towards a draw.
Abell added 116 runs for the eighth wicket with Lewis Gregory, who went on to complete his half-century before getting bowled by Matt Taylor. For Gloucs, Daniel Worrall picked up 3-52, while David Payne claimed 2-58.
Craig Overton and Josh Davey then picked a wicket apiece before Kraigg Brathwaite and Tom Smith survived the remaining overs.
Hampshire v Leicestershire, The Rose Bowl
Hampshire 233 (Holland 82; Barnes 4-61) and second innings forfeited drew with Leicestershire 84 (Patel 27; Abbott 6-47) and 26/1 (Evans 8; Abbott 1-6)
Resuming the final day on 28/5, Leicestershire could only add 56 more runs. They were bowled out for 84, avoiding the follow on by the thinnest of margins. For Hampshire, Kyle Abbott (6-47) and Mohammad Abbas (3-19) bowled in tandem, giving absolutely nothing away and sharing nine wickets between them.
Hampshire forfeited their second innings to push for an unlikely victory after rain washed out a significant portion of play. They set Leicestershire 150 for a win in 21 overs. But Leicestershire declined the challenge, and played out 17 overs of defensive cricket.
Surrey v Middlesex, The Oval
Surrey 190 (Burns 64; Andersson 3-30, Cullen 3-30) and 135/0 (Stoneman 74*) lead Middlesex 160 (Simpson 68; Clark 4-41, Roach 4-61) by 165 runs
Rory Burns and Mark Stoneman notched up their second century partnership as Surrey finished the day on 135 without loss, 30 ahead of Middlesex. This was the seventh fifty for Burns, who is yet to reach the triple-figure mark this season.
Burns and Stoneman had added 135 in the first innings as well. Stoneman’s innings was laced with glorious drives, while Burns largely dealt in cuts and pulls.
Earlier in the day, Kemar Roach and Jordan Clark picked four wickets apiece to bowl Middlesex out for 160. It could have been worse, had John Simpson (68) not lifted them from 60/5.