Soggy Week keeps the Lightning on Strike

Where’s my brolly? Writing this on a very wet Friday evening in Cardiff, it’s hard to muster enthusiasm for cricket given the shortage of action in Britain this past week. Indeed, in the Vitality Blast there have been more total wash-outs than matches played and tonight all eight fixtures were called off without a ball bowled. Potentially lucrative local derbies at Canterbury, Taunton, Leeds, Northampton, Nottingham and Southampton were wiped out, to the certain chagrin of county treasurers across the land.

Essex and Nottinghamshire were unable to get onto the pitch at all but there was some play earlier in the week. On Thursday at The Oval, Surrey handed Sussex their first T20 defeat of the campaign when Tom Curran, Dernbach and Imran Tahir prevented the South table toppers from getting anywhere near the 164 target.

High scores were rare, and Derbyshire’s 207-5 at Headingley and Somerset’s winning 206-8 last Saturday against their perennial T20 bête-noires Kent were easily the best of the bunch. Another half-century by Tom Abell and a brilliant 100 from opener Tom Banton turned the tables on acting skipper Sam Billings’ side after eleven successive defeats and, fleetingly, propelled Somerset into the top four. It’s all too close to call, but one certainty is that Glamorgan won’t reach the knockouts. They remain winless after ten matches.

In the North division, Lancashire are well clear of the rest after beating the Birmingham Bears by 15 runs at Edgbaston and Derbyshire more emphatically by eight wickets. It was a weird week for the Falcons. After two thumping victories, helped by the top four batsmen and the bowling of Van Beek, they collapsed to a paltry 94 all out at home to Leicestershire for whom Colin Ackermann took 3-9 in his four overs.

The tightest contest was witnessed at Chester-le-Street. Worcestershire failed to match their Rapids name, struggling to 117-7, but Durham found the pitch even less forgiving. Championship opening batsman and T20 opening bowler Daryl Mitchell starred with 2-17 while fellow spinner Paul Brown conceded only five off the final over to claim victory by three runs. Worcestershire now sit in second place with four games remaining. Overcome Lancashire and Notts, and a quarter-final slot is surely theirs.

But first there is a bizarre return to first-class cricket for one week only, with all eighteen counties participating. On T20 form, Glamorgan v Lancashire would be a colossal mismatch but in the Championship, this could be a promotion-defining tussle at Colwyn Bay. The Welsh will be without star batsman Labuschagne, though. Division One’s leading pair Essex and Somerset visit Kent and Warwickshire, respectively.

Team of the Week: Banton (Som), Malan (Mid), Bracey (Glo +), Maxwell (Lan), Madsen (Der), Ackermann (Lei), T Curran (Sur), Mitchell (Wor), Green (War), Van Beek (Der), Finn (Mid)