Forgive the post title but with Marcus TREscothick and Peter TREgo sharing a 159-run stand in 81 balls for Somerset in the YB40 competition, the headline kind of wrote itself! I know it was against the Unicorns but it was great to see Somerset find the winning touch for the first time last weekend. Worcestershire also broke the season's duck, thumping Sussex thanks to Daryl Mitchell's run-a-ball century. Also in Group A, James Taylor warmed up nicely for the Lions game against New Zealand alongside Samit Patel, as they combined to defeat Northants comfortably. Another Patel - Jeetan - struck his first List A 50 for Warwickshire but he was run out bidding to snatch a tie against Kent in a dramatic finish at Edgbaston.
Hampshire have had a busy few days starting the defence of their title. After a James Vince century saw off Essex and Scotland were summarily dispatched, they came a cropper against Surrey, for whom Steven Davies plundered 127 not out in 104 balls. Ex-England one-day internationals Phil Mustard and Paul Collingwood were amongst the runs as Durham defeated Lancashire by five wickets to make amends for losing to Essex the day before.
In Group C, Glamorgan won twice in consecutive days, with skipper Marcus North aggregating more than 200 runs against Yorkshire and Middlesex. They stand above Somerset in the table, who lead Leicestershire on run rate despite the latter thrashing Gloucestershire by 115 runs. Josh Cobb starred with 107 and 3-34, while fellow opener Niall O'Brien also reached three figures. At Wormsley, Gloucester recovered to complete a nine-wicket trouncing of the hapless Unicorns. Chris Dent polished things off with an 11-ball 29 not out.
This week, the Dutch enter the fray at home to Kent but potential matches to watch will be Surrey vs Durham on Thursday and Yorkshire against Somerset on Saturday following their Championship clash. No Bairstow or Root, but Adil Rashid looks back to his old form for the Tykes, so the Tre-mendous duo need to assert themselves once more to start a successful sequence.
