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Rothesay County Championship 2025 – Live Cricket Streaming and Match Reports for Round 4 Day 3: Divisions One and Two
Rothesay County Championship 2025 – Live Cricket Streaming and Match Reports for Round 4 Day 3: Divisions One and Two
©ECB NetworkDay 3 of Round 4 in the Rothesay County Championship 2025 delivers exciting clashes across Division One and Division Two.
Fans can enjoy live cricket streaming, real-time scores, comprehensive match reports, key highlights, and detailed team updates
Rothesay County Championship 2025 Division One
Nottinghamshire vs Sussex, Rothesay County Championship 2025
Day 3: Sussex 169 & 278, Nottinghamshire 300 & 149-1
Nottinghamshire (21pts) beat Sussex (5pts) by nine wickets
Division One leaders Nottinghamshire eased to a nine-wicket win inside three days after outplaying Sussex in their Rothesay County Championship clash at Trent Bridge.
Needing 148 to win after Sussex were bowled out for 278 in their second innings, Nottinghamshire were home and dry in 25.5 overs after unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Haseen Hameed (62) and England’s Ben Duckett (59), earning 21 points from their second victory of the campaign.
A doughty 74 from Sussex captain John Simpson, backed up by off-spinning all-rounder Jack Carson’s 43, kept the home side in the field until lunchtime, but Nottinghamshire looked as it they were no mood to be still playing at tea, completing the job in good time to watch their neighbours from Nottingham Forest take on Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final later.
Farhan Ahmed, their 17-year-old off-spinner, delivered another stand-out display with the ball, taking four for 54, with Australian seamer Fergus O’Neill signing off with three for 74 in his last match for the county.
With an overnight lead of 64, much depended not just on the experience and know-how of Simpson but also on the ability of the three remaining batters to stick with him as Sussex sought to make Nottinghamshire work for their victory.
In the event, the 36-year-old left-hander found a doughty and productive ally in his overnight partner, 24-year-old Carson. He and the skipper frustrated the home attack for 96 minutes, extending their partnership to 87 runs before, facing the second new ball, the younger man clipped Brett Hutton straight to midwicket, where sub fielder Freddie McCann had been moved from slip moments earlier.
Carson batted for two hours and 18 minutes for his 43, which contained five fours.
With an important obstacle removed, the Sussex innings fell away quickly. Ahmed, called into the attack with the new ball only 12 overs old, needed just one delivery with it to have Ollie Robinson caught behind.
Left to eke out what he could, Simpson perished in Ahmed’s next over, caught by Josh Tongue in a failed attempt to clear the long-on boundary.
The Nottinghamshire target was heading towards the territory that Sussex felt might have been ‘tricky’ in the overcast conditions of Saturday, but Hameed quickly made it look much less daunting as warm sunshine presented the best batting conditions of the match.
It did not help Sussex’s cause that Jayden Seales, who played his part in reducing Nottinghamshire from 167 for three to 210 for eight on the second morning, slipped back into his wayward ways of Friday evening, handing Hameed plenty of opportunities to give himself a flying start, which he eagerly snapped up.
In his opening two overs from the Stuart Broad End he conceded four boundaries to Hameed, coming back for a third at the Radcliffe Road End to see Ben Slater hammer him for six and four. Little wonder, when Slater pulled him to be caught at deep square leg in his fourth over, he declined to celebrate.
Nottinghamshire had polished off 67 of their required runs in 14.2 overs with Slater’s dismissal, which only ushered in Duckett, looking to make amends after falling in single figures in the first innings of one of his nowadays rare appearances in the Championship.
Five fours and four sixes - all off the unfortunate Carson – as he raced to a half-century in 23 balls confirmed that impression. Hameed’s 50 from 71 balls, though beautiful to watch, looked pedestrian by comparison. And it was Hameed who hit the winning run with the result wrapped up at 3.27pm.
After 21 wickets in four matches, the end of O’Neill’s stint at Trent Bridge will leave a hole in the Nottinghamshire attack, although his replacement, Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas, arrives in time for their next fixture, against his former county, Hampshire, on May 9.
Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed said:
“We knew it was a big game for us, a top-of-table clash, so it’s really pleasing to come out with a win.
The way we bowled in that first innings was outstanding. To bowl a team out for 170 is always a good effort regardless of how the pitch is playing.
“And then the way the lower order fought to get us to 300 was massive as well after we had lost a few wickets yesterday morning. For Liam Patterson-White to come in for his first game back was outstanding, with both bat and ball throughout the game.
“We had to work hard for those last wickets even today, when the ball wasn’t doing as much with the sun out. But the way the boys stuck at it was amazing, we didn’t get anywhere really until that new ball was taken and we got our rewards later on.
We spoke before the season about needing to start well, and to come out and execute our plans the way we wanted to has been great. But we are very aware that it is just the start, there are a lot of games still to play and we are keen to keep doing the right things.”
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said:
“Notts have played very well but we are disappointed with the way we have lost the game.
“The first morning the ball did a lot before lunch and we lost wickets but in the afternoon we had a chance to play better and score some runs and we didn’t take advantage of that. Probably it was a 250-260 wicket, so straight away you are looking at a 70-80 run gap. And then, apart from Ollie Robinson, we didn’t bowl very well with the new ball and they probably scored 50 or 60 runs more than they should have done.
“We then bowled so well on the Saturday morning and caught brilliantly we got ourselves back into the game. But batting in the second innings, we went from 89 for none to 110 for four and we went a bit timid, looking to survive rather than score runs and we got stuck in a bit of a rut.
“Carter and Simpson batted with a lot of courage this morning and gave ourselves something to bowl at, but again unfortunately we again didn’t bowl well with the new ball and Ben Duckett has come in and taken the game away from us.”
Surrey vs Somerset, Rothesay County Championship 2025
Rothesay County Championship 2025 Division Two
Derbyshire vs Middlesex, Rothesay County Championship 2025 Division Two
Day 3 Derbyshire 472. Middlesex 315 and 60 for 1.
Nigel Gardner, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay.
Zak Chappell tightened Derbyshire’s grip on the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match as Middlesex were forced to follow on at Derby.
The fast bowler took 4 for 55 with the visitors bowled out for 315, eight short of the follow-on target, despite half-centuries from Leus du Plooy, Ben Geddes and Jack Davies.
Middlesex then lost Nathan Fernandes to the first ball of their second innings before closing on 60 for 1, still 97 behind.
Derbyshire’s mood going into the third day matched the glorious weather and the outlook got even brighter for the hosts when Ryan Higgins went in the third over of the morning.
He clipped Chappell firmly but in the air to mid-wicket where Alex Thomson dived full length to his left to take a stunning one handed catch.
Thomson was mobbed by jubilant team mates and not just for the quality of the fielding because Higgins represented a big wicket in the context of the game.
But that was to be the only success for some time as nightwatchman Blake Cullen and Leus du Plooy dug in to lift the spirits of the visitors.
After retiring hurt with a foot injury the previous day, du Plooy was able to resume his innings with Max Holden as a runner and although restricted, the former Derbyshire man played soundly to bat through to lunch.
Cullen also shaped well although he was reprieved on 16 when he edged Chappell to first slip where Caleb Jewell got a hand to it but could not hold on.
He took advantage and passed his previous highest score of 34 by clipping Luis Reece to the mmid-wicket boundary but missed out on a maiden 50 when he aimed a big drive at the all-rounder and was caught behind.
But Cullen had done a good job for his team, batting 95 minutes in the morning and sharing a stand of 60 from 118 balls with du Plooy who was put down at short leg on 35 off Jack Morley.
Du Plooy completed his 50 from 133 balls but then edged Chappell to second slip with Middlesex still 117 runs short of avoiding the follow on.
Geddes and Davies played sensibly to reduce that by 55 but the spinners were finding some turn and Thomson broke the stand with a ball that spun sharply.
Geddes had launched the off-spinner over long on for six but when he reached out to drive the next ball, he was bowled through the gate.
Chappell returned to have Zafar Gohar and Toby Roland-Jones caught behind but Davies pulled and drove him for two sixes to reach 50.
With eight needed to avoid the follow-on, Davies tried to launch Thomson for another maximum but failed to clear long off and Derbyshire immediately sent Middlesex back in.
They were rewarded with the first ball as Nathan Fernandes sliced a drive at Reece into the hands of gully.but in his next over, he pulled up with a problem in his right leg and had to leave the field although he was back on before the close.
Stephen Eskinazi and Holden batted through to stumps in relative comfort but Middlesex have a lot of work to do to avoid defeat.
Middlesex batter Ben Geddes said: "I'm pleased to get a fifty but it's a shame I couldn't keep going and get the boys out of the follow on and make them bat again.
"It's pretty clear what we've got to do tomorrow, we've got a day to bat, try to get past them, play our normal game and see where we're at.
"It was a good wicket for batting when the seamers were on and then with the wear and tear there was a bit of spin later in the afternoon and into the evening but it feels like a good batting track."
Derbyshire fast bowler Zak Chappell said: “The boys have put in a lot of hard work and we deserve days like that. It’s hard yakka, no doubt about that but that’s what professional sport is.
“It is going to be tough but we know if we put the ball in the right areas it’s not the easiest pitch to score quickly on so hopefully if things do happen and the score goes nowhere, we keep picking wickets up and then maybe have a little chase to hopefully win the game.
“I’ve been a bit frustrated lately with the lack of wickets. I feel I’ve been bowling well so on a personal level I’m happy and we just need to finish the job tomorrow.”
Gloucestershire vs Leicestershire, Rothesay County Championship 2025
Day 3: Gloucestershire 252 & 151, Leicestershire 262 & 146 for 8
Leicestershire (20 pts) beat Gloucestershire (4 pts) by 2 wickets
A nigh-on perfect morning’s bowling from Leicestershire’s in-form seamers on day three of the Rothesay County Championship Second Division match against Gloucestershire at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol saw the visitors record an ultimately nerve-shredding win and strengthen their position at the top of the table as they stumbled over the line amid high tension in their chase of 143.
A ruinous period of play for Gloucestershire, starting on Saturday evening with the wicket of Ollie Price and continuing into Sunday morning, saw them lose seven wickets for just 31 runs, the home side’s vertiginous fall starting at 87 for 1 and ending with them in dire straits at 118 for 8 after little more than an hour of day three. A mini-recovery then took them to 152 all out, leaving Leicestershire 143 to win.
Gloucestershire lost nightwatch Dom Goodman for a duck in the first over of the day, bowled by the impressive Ian Holland. The former Hampshire man thus extended his lead at the top of the division two wicket-takers’ charts with his 19th scalp of the season, later wrapping up the innings to take his tally to a round 20.
After that early dismissal, there were a couple of close calls against Cam Bancroft before he fell lbw to the persevering van Beek for a joint innings-high 43, and the very next ball Miles Hammond was caught at second slip by Louis Kimber off Ben Green.
Two more key wickets came and went in the blink of an eye, first innings star James Bracey chipping van Beek to Holland at mid-on and then Cam Green beautifully caught off an inside edge by fellow countryman Pete Handscomb diving away to his left behind the stumps.
Some agricultural hitting from Zaman Akhter saw Gloucestershire stage a recovery of sorts, but Hull yorked him to limit the damage and Holland returned to wrap things up, leaving the Foxes’ batters to face one over before lunch.
That was enough time for Dom Goodman to trap Rishi Patel in front off the third ball of the innings, the opener having returned to action after recovering from a thumb injury sustained when fielding in just the third over of the first match of the season. Patel did not much enjoy his return on an untypically lively Gloucester pitch, scoring just one run across his two innings and his dismissal meant nine wickets had fallen for 64 runs before lunch.
Life was no easier for the batters after lunch, when Dom Goodman, fresh from five in the first innings, rattled through the Foxes’ top order, including reducing them to 0 for 2 after the first over as Rehan Ahmed was caught at cover by Cam Green after a three-ball innings that comprised a play-and-miss, a near run out and a wicket.
Lewis Hill and Sol Budinger nudged the score up to 26 before ‘Lenny’ struck again, Bracey snaffling Hill’s feathered edge. And it was 35 for 4 when Price held onto a cracker low down in the slips to see the back of Budinger. Ian Holland, seven wickets and a fifty in the match, could not hang around long, falling in Josh Shaw’s first over to leave the innings in tatters at 42 for 5 and 101 still needed.
Skipper Handscomb and keeper Ben Cox, who had been hit in the chest and taken to hospital for a scan on Saturday, steadied the ship as the sun appeared and the pitch eased. Ball by ball, run by run, they advanced, although not without their fair share of scares. They had reached 100 when Singh Dale breached Handscomb’s defences to revive the home side’s fortunes and van Beek hung around with Ben Cox to add another 18 before he went the same way.
Tea was taken with 22 runs needed and three wickets in hand, Cox holding things together on 41. The two Bens showed real composure on the resumption, steadily ticking off the runs until, with eight needed, Cox was caught behind, also off Singh Dale.
Consecutive maidens ratcheted up the tension but Green rounded off a good personal game by hitting the winning runs to complete a hard-fought victory, meaning Gloucestershire have still not won at Bristol since September 2022, a run that now stretches to 13 games.
Gloucestershire captain Cameron Bancroft
"A pretty unbelievable day. Both teams went to and fro over the three days and sadly it wasn't us on the winning end, but we gave it our all. I can’t fault our efforts.
"They bowled extremely well in the second innings; we fought really hard but it was challenging. 50 extra runs would have made a real difference but even with the score we had on the board we knew that if we bowled as well as we have done this season, we were going to give ourselves a chance.
“Dom [Goodman] is one of the favourites of the change rooms. He has had to wait for an opportunity to play and he bowled beautifully. He was such a big part of us getting as close as we did. We’re keen to keep playing well and give ourselves a chance next week up at Lancashire."
© Cricket World 2025
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