A week ago, I felt that momentum was with Somerset but, after struggling to contain Lancashire in the Championship then being strangled by Hampshire in the T20 semi-final at Edgbaston, all that evaporated. Instead, it was Hampshire who proved to be on the roll which really mattered.
Incredibly,
they lost their opening four group fixtures but fought back to qualify for the
knockouts. In the Final against Lancashire, despite a below-par total of 152-8, Matt Parkinson's four wickets, a brief opening blitz by Phil Salt and a few tumbling ramp shots from Keaton
Jennings, James Vince’s men showed admirable patience and belief in their
ability. Dane Vilas’ strategy of a solid Powerplay and thereafter minimising
risk to reach the modest target seemed sensible but, as against Somerset a few
hours earlier, Liam Dawson’s consistently mean spin and Nathan Ellis’ brilliant
execution of the slower ball turned things around in remarkable fashion – then
it could all have gone ridiculously awry. Lightning had to score a boundary
from the final ball but Richard Gleeson was bowled. Cue pitch invasion,
fireworks, the usual Sky razzmatazz. Until umpire Graham Lloyd was spotted signalling
a no-ball: Ellis had overstepped! Once the pyrotechnic smoke had dispersed,
Ellis and Gleeson had to take breath again only this time the target had been
reduced by two, and it was a free hit. Could the Hawks have blown all that good
work? No, Gleeson swung and missed and Hampshire had won – again.
Phew!
I could get to like Twenty20 after all.
Earlier
in the week, there had been some remarkable performances in the four-day
format. Amidst an orgy of runs around the country, Keaton Jennings struck the
first Championship triple-century for five seasons against Somerset, for whom
only Lewis Goldsworthy possessed the determination to prevent a sixth defeat of
the summer.
At
Scarborough, Yorkshire and Surrey fought a real ding-dong of a game. Both
counties passed 500 in their first innings. Opener Adam Lyth and ‘keeper Jonny
Tattersall, in his first Championship appearance of 2022, put on 305 for the sixth
wicket, and the latter took three stumpings and two catches off spinner Dom
Bess as Surrey went for their shots. With a draw looking the most likely
outcome, Jamie Overton’s 6-61 gave the leaders a chance of a last-afternoon
victory. The batters timed the chase perfectly, Foakes and debutant Hardie finished
the job with just three balls to spare.
Therefore,
Surrey remain in the driving seat but those Hampshire boys don’t know when
they’re beaten. They made relatively short work of Warwickshire with a side
very different from the one which succeeded in the Blast. In particular, veteran
seamers Barker and Abbott were back in form.
Essex
thrashed Gloucestershire by nine wickets, thanks to a century from Alastair
Cook and one of those vintage Simon Harmer one-man bowling shows; he ended with
match analyses of 13-156. Northamptonshire spinners Keogh and Kerrigan took all
ten Kent wickets on the final day to claim a 203-run triumph at Canterbury. South
African Ryan Rickelton supplied a fair chunk of those runs.
Two
other Saffers were accumulating plenty for Leicestershire at Hove. There were batting
records galore, as only fifteen wickets fell for 1,564 runs. Tom Alsop
top-scored with 150 as Sussex piled on 588, but this total was eclipsed easily
by the visitors. The reply had an inauspicious start, as Hazad fell first-ball.
However, most of the rest filled their boots. In particular, Colin Ackermann
and Wiaan Mulder each made double-hundreds, sharing an unbeaten county record
partnership of 477 as the county declared on 756-4, easily their best-ever in
the competition.
Also
in Division Two, another South African, Leus du Plooy, scored a century in each
innings for Derbyshire at Chester-le-Street. However, Chris Rushworth
celebrated his 36h birthday with the fifth ten-for of his long career to keep
Durham n the match. Meanwhile, Worcestershire were surprise winners over
Middlesex and Glamorgan matched leaders Nottinghamshire all the way at Cardiff.
Michael Hogan’s 4-47 and centuries from Byrom and Northeast provided an
opportunity to win, only for Clarke and James to ensure a draw. No records, no
fireworks, no men in giraffe costumes. Just another day in the office.
Team
of the Week: Lyth (Yor), Jennings (Lan), Alsop (Sus), Ackermann (Lei), Du Plooy
(Der), Mulder (Lei), Tattersall (Yor +), J Overton (Sur), Harmer (Ess), M
Parkinson (Lan), Rushworth (Dur)
