His half-century came in 64 balls and was his sixth of the season. No-one in the country has passed fifty more than Critchley in the Championship - although he has only converted to three figures once.

Capped several times at both under-23 and inter-league level he made his full Scotland debut in a friendly against the reigning World Champions Brazil including the great Pele, in a friendly at Hampden in 1966 and did his reputation no harm. Andy Umeed also contributed 49 as Somerset added 190 to their overnight 214-2 in an extended morning comprising 32.4 overs. One explained: 'We had a player [who] used to play constantly through injuries, and they would get worse and worse. He'd be injured one week and two weeks later he'd have the injury again. When you get a dead leg, if you start running on it in the first 24 hours, you've got no chance, it can get worse... but he'd play through to show the management that he had a fantastic attitude. He was constantly injured. Constantly injured.' Things did not improve after lunch with George Bartlett lbw to Porter with the first ball on resumption, having previously survived some close calls while stepping across his stumps.After two overs from the River End, the leg spinner switched to the Hayes Close End and two balls later influenced an edge from Bartlett which was well caught at first slip. We passed Celtic off the park that day," Cropley remembers. "My God, the skill we had in that Hibs team. We won 2-1 with Celtic getting a late consolation goal through Kenny Dalglish. We were miles better, there was no way we were going to lose." Essex only won two Championship matches at home last season and have recently gone unbeaten at Chelmsford between September 2018 and September 2022.

Banton and Smeed raced to 45-0 from four overs with Smeed hitting three consecutive sixes off Shane Snater, whose two overs went for 42. Aldridge took the lead past 400 with a cover-driven boundary off Brett Hutton before Rew brought up the fifth first-class hundred of his short career off 172 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes. Everton –Lawson, Robinson, Darracott, Lyons, Mc Naught, King, Hamilton, Dobson, Latchford, Pearson, Goodlass Nightwatch Allison was bowled by Craig Overton with the third delivery of the morning before Matt Critchley was run out for 121 when attempting to complete a fourth run.Earlier, Essex returned on day two searching for a fourth batting point. They eventually missed out by three runs despite needing 40 runs in 14 overs. How they find a way to play again depends at least as much on their mind as their body. Britt Tajet- Foxell was for many years the principal physiotherapist to the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She came to realise that recovery from serious injury among dancers was not principally about physical conditioning, it was often nearly all mental. Tajet- Foxell added cognitive psychology to her armoury and is now a consultant to an elite group of athletes through the British Olympic Association, as well as to several international footballers. He moved on to Aston Villa two years later, lifting the League Cup in 1977, but another leg break meant he fell out of the side and briefly headed out on loan to Newcastle United. Critchley had shown impetus, as he had during his 121 in the first innings, to push the lead to 450 - the loose plan to bring about a declaration.

Born in Aldershot Alex Cropley made history when he became one of the first players born outside the country to represent Scotland. She said: “He was the most charming, fabulous guy. When you think of some of the footballers nowadays who are puffed up and spend money like there’s no tomorrow...” Such as the wonderful Alex Cropley: a wiry, lithe midfielder who was only 5ft 8in tall but was a tenacious and skilful footballer. Cropley's career effectively ended one tragic afternoon in 1977 while playing for Aston Villa but by then he had already produced enough evidence of how good he was.Fisher, James (15 August 2015). Aston Villa Greatest Games. Durrington: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78531-037-9. OCLC 933444712. George Bartlett, unbeaten on 109 overnight, fell for 134, just three short of his career-best score, while Kasey Aldridge weighed in with 50. Matt Critchley took an equally great catch at leg slip when Overton turned Harmer around the corner. Three weeks later at Tynecastle on New Year’s Day his exciting play helped his side to a famous 7-0 victory.