With a full set of IPL matches, a round of County Championship fixtures and a few ODIs, there was plenty of cricketing action to monitor and individual performances to admire over the past week.
In England, the shock result was Warwickshire's demolition of favourites Somerset. In response to pre-season questions on whether the county could turn second places into trophies, Marcus Trescothick had said that they had been working on a few things over the winter. Well, putting in the opposition on a Taunton belter of a pitch and getting bowled out twice in a day aren't my idea of a winning strategy, Tres! No, he isn't my Player of the Week! Leading candidates from the domestic circuit include Dale Benkenstein, whose 150 for Durham in their win over Yorkshire was his second century of the campaign so far. Derbyshire enjoyed a rare innings win, against neighbouring Leicestershire, with Tim Groenewald claiming a match analysis of 8-97 along with an unbeaten 60 with the bat. Last season's leading wicket-taker, Andre Adams this week staked his claim for a repeat performance with 5-54 and 6-31 in Nottinghamshire's nine-wicket hammering of Hampshire.
Back at Taunton, Warwickshire opener Varun Chopra struck only his third first-class hundred, and it was a 'double', which set his side on their way to that memorable innings and 382 run victory. However, even his 210 was eclipsed by young England bowler Chris Woakes. He was my first Player of the Week in 2010 and did it again back in January, but his all-round performance just about earned him a third accolade. His run-a-ball 129 took the Bears past 600, then took 9-91 in the two Somerset innings. For someone who bats at eight or nine, it is perhaps incredible that he has a first-class batting average of 32, better than Chopra, and a bowling average of under 25. That's world-class statistics but he can't get a place in the England team. Huh??!
On the international scene, Indian and Aussie batsmen have taken the glory this week. In the IPL, young T20 specialist Paul Valthaty has eclipsed everybody with his striking for Kings XI Punjab. His brilliant 120 not out against the Super Kings was followed by 75 against the Deccan Chargers, putting even Adam Gilchrist in the shade. Mike Hussey has also enjoyed a good week, both with Australia and in India, while veteran Shane Warne showed he can still be a mean bowler, conceding a miserly 63 runs from his twelve overs this week. Other contenders must include Gautam Gambhir and some bloke called Tendulkar who scored another hundred. Apparently he does that quite often...
However, even Sachin has to play second fiddle because my International Player of the Week is Shane Watson. In the last two ODIs against Bangladesh, he plundered an astonishing 185 not out in 96 balls, including a record 15 sixes and 15 fours. Even more remarkable was that his runs came out of an innings total of just 232! Not only that but in the following game, he contributed a further 72 in 40 balls. Nice preparation for his stint at the IPL, although he has yet to reach such heights in the shorter format.His ODI average has now risen above 43 at a strike rate of almost 90. Oh, and he can bowl a bit, too. Wih these kind of performance he can expect more MikesSpinOnCricket Player of the Week awards, too.
