The week ending 29th August was one bereft of first-class cricket but there were important limted-overs matches played, from ODIs to the Royal London quarter-finals and the Nat West T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston. Despite the lack of innings played, there were easily sufficient performances worthy of gracing any of my Teams of the Week.
I'll start with England's skipper. No, not that one; the ever-reliable Charlotte Edwards. Her 108 was her ninth ODI century and helped secure a win against India's Women. On the other side of the world, Aaron Finch produced his own hundred for Australia against South Africa in the Triangular tournament.
With England's middle-order stuggling against India at Cardiff, James Taylor's magnificent unbeaten 146 in 154 balls for Nottinghamshire was a timely advertisement for his growing reputation as a one-day batsman par excellence as well as a consistent run-maker in the four-day game. AB De Villiers has seen it and done it for SOuth Africa but this week he did it again. This time, Australia were on the end of a 111-ball 136 in a game where Faf DuPlessis also reached three figures.
There was an even bigger partnership in the West Indies' third ODI against Bangladesh. The outstanding contributor was wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, plundering 169 from only 121 deliveries. And I can't ignore Suresh Raina's 100 in 75 balls here in Cardiff, where England were a distant second best. I also note that Glen Maxwell enjoyed an easy ride against Zimbabwe last week, too, whacking 93 in 46 balls, but it's not enough to make my team.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan were locking swords in an ODI series, and the former's captain Angelo Mathews continued his recent form. He served up scores of 89 and 93, allied to a few useful wickets. His seamer team-mate Thisara Perera is also becoming a star all-rounder. A 36-ball 65 and 3-19 were the highlights of his week.
My final three selections are all spinners. 'Ooh, Ravi Jadeja' was the frequent cry from the India fans at Sophia Gardens, whether he was taking wickets, fielding or facing his 'handbags' opponent Jimmy Anderson. 4-28 in an ODI victory does indeed merit a few 'oohs'. Warwickshire (aka Birmingham) may have won the T20 Blast but I rate Lancashire's Steven Croft as the player of the day. In the semi, he hit 22 in 12 balls and took 2-11 in three overs. His 1-17 in four was the most economical bowling statistic even if he ended up a runner-up. Then there's another loser in my XI. Zimbabwe may have been defeated by SA but the intriguingly monikered Prosper Utsaya lived up to his name by capturing five wickets.
A one-day-dominated week thus yields the following star Eleven: Edwards (Eng W, *), Finch (Aus), Taylor (Not), De Villiers (SA), Raina (Ind), Ramdin (WI, +), Mathews (SL), Croft (Lan), Jadeja (Ind), Perera (SL), Utseya (Zim)
