Three major tournaments to pore over this week, as the County Championship and IPL were joined by the inaugural round of Nat West T20 Blast matches. Despite that, there were few opening batsmen to really stand out. Finch and Sehwag enjoyed one good score each in the IPL but Lendl Simmons picked up 118 runs across the week for for Mumbai. Top of the lot was Graeme Smith, whose 103 laid the foundations for a final day rally by Surrey to clinch ther first Championship in for yonks.
David Warner was in the runs for Hyderabad, plundering an aggregate 111 runs in 63 balls, the best performance being his 31-ball 55 against the Indians. Sangakkara's 159 was compiled when the match was alreay drawn so I've gone for the hard-hitting Nottinghamshire batsman Riki Wessels at number four. Today he struck a cameo 25 in 18 in the T20 but his 156 in the Championship fixture against Northants was completed in a T20-esque 152 balls.
North and Styris excelled in today's Blast but in India Yuvraj Singh proved there's life in the old dog yet. After a miserable run, he produced a couple of stupendous innings for Bangalore, including sixteen sixes, plus a 4-35 to demonstrate his all-rounder credentials. For Sussex, Luke Wright (189) and wicket-keeper Ben Brown (163) shared a record sixth wicket county partnership, then a few days later, Wright added another rapid 56 in the T20 against Surrey. Both he and Brown stake their places in my Team of the Week with ease.
Neil Dexter and Darren Stevens came close but the best all-rounder candidate is Paul Collingwood. He followed a 74 in the first-class match versus Sussex with a rapid 62 and 3-29 in the 20-over stuff this evening. Not far behind is Colly's former Durham colleague, Liam Plunkett. Now at Yorkshire, the ex-England seamer produced not one but two excellent all-round performances this week, but his 75-ball 86 batting at number nine in the four-day victory against Notts was the most eye-catching.
Jack Brooks almost features in my XI again, while Ajmal Shahzad out-bowled even Peter Siddle for Notts earlier in the weeks. Nevertheless, the final two bowling spots go to Tim Murtagh and Chris Tremlett. They each took six cheap wickets for their counties to bring about last day victories.
So, no out-and-out spinners this time. Even Tambe failed to make the grade. So my Team of The Week reads: Smith (Sur), Simmons (Mum), Warner (Hyd), Wessels (Not), Yuvraj Singh (Bang), Wright (Sus), Collingwood (Dur), Brown (Sus +), Plunkett (Yor), Tremlett (Sur), Murtagh (Mid)
