While the big names have been diverted to the Hundred the One-Day Cup has given some of the lesser lights of the county circuit to showcase their skills. Worcestershire are the only side to have won their first three fixtures, thanks to last night’s rout of Essex by 182 runs. Jack Haynes and Brett D’Oliveira shared a county record opening stand of 243, and the latter also chipped in with three cheap wickets, as did Joe Leach. The impressive Haynes accumulated almost 300 across the week.
Warwickshire’s Rob Yates passed fifty three times, team-mate Matt Lamb struck his maiden List A century and there were similar achievements from Leicestershire’s Rishi Patel, Surrey’s Ryan Patel (ten sixes in his 131) and Yorkshire’s teenager Harry Duke.
Somerset enjoyed two victories, including an exciting one-run nail-biter against Glamorgan. Earlier in the week, it was veterans James Hildreth and Steven Davies who starred with the bat but in their Severn Estuary derby clash it was young captain Ben Green (87 and 2-32) and rookie seamers Sonny Baker and Kasey Aldridge who just about did enough. A devastating early spell by Michael Hogan, old enough to be their dad, had given the Welsh a chance but Andy Gorvin could only strike a four not six from the final ball.
Perhaps the best match of the week came at Scarborough. Graham Clark’s second ton in three games helped Durham to a challenging 335-4 but Bracey and Charlesworth kept Gloucestershire in the hunt at the death. Nevertheless they still needed 16 off the final over, from the redoubtable Chris Rushworth, but two sixes and a four by Jack Taylor gave the West Countrymen their first win. All-round performance of the past seven days must be that of Hampshire’s Nick Gubbins. In a comfortable defeat of Sussex at Southampton, he produced an unbeaten 131 then his part-time leg-spin yielded an excellent 4-38.
Next week, the juiciest ties include Worcestershire’s hosting of Middlesex, Lancashire’s trip to Durham and the Surrey-Somerset encounter next Thursday, by which time the One-Day Cup will be warming up nicely.
Team of the
Week: Haynes (Wor), G Clark (Dur), Yates (War), R Patel (Sur), Gubbins (Ham),
Cullen (Gla +), D Lamb (Lan), Hudson-Prentice (Der), Leach (Wor), Aldridge
(Som), Hogan (Gla)
