This week, I’ll start with news that we may have seen the last of two great stalwarts of the county game. James Hildreth is one of the most prolific batsmen in Somerset’s history, and hugely popular in and around Taunton. In both 2005 and 2019 he struck the winning runs in the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup, respectively but in the past few seasons has struggled. Last week, he announced his retirement at the end of the summer but another injury, after a score of 12 versus Durham, has forced him to bring it forward. He never played for England, and neither did Darren Stevens who, at 45, will be released by Kent. He has enjoyed some of his best seasons in the Championship since passing 40 but has been used sparingly in 2022. Unlike Hildy, he wants to keep going, but who would take a punt on someone of his age? I think it’s best to retire gracefully and stay in the game as a coach, and be remembered as a brutal batsman and consistently nagging medium-pacer par excellence.
In
this week’s RL 50-over fixtures, Somerset slumped to another three defeats, as
did Glamorgan in Group B. At least the former pushed Middlesex almost all the
way at Taunton, the last pair getting the Group A leaders across the line with
four balls remaining. Middlesex skipper Steve Eskinazi made it three
consecutive centuries, including 182 in 136 deliveries in the London derby.
Surrey also took a pasting at Hove, where Sussex crushed them by 216 runs. Captain
Cheteshwar Pujara plundered twenty fours and five sixes in his 174, one of two
tons this week. Who’d have thought the dour Test batsman could be such a
wonderful one-day strokeplayer?
Another
captain, Essex’s Tom Westley, also made it two sets of three figures during the
last seven days, including 109 against Kent, and seventeen year-old leg-spinner
Luc Benkenstein, son of the former Durham all-rounder Dale, claimed 6-42 in the
win over Glamorgan.
However,
it’s Hampshire who lead Group B with an unblemished record so far. It wasn’t a smooth
run. They squeezed past Derbyshire and close rivals Lancashire by just two
wickets, and have 21 year-old bowler John Turner and the even younger batsman Toby Albert to
thank. The latter steered them home each time with well-judged unbeaten
half-centuries. Definitely two to watch in a week when two veterans seemed at
the end of their careers.
Team
of the Week: Eskinazi (Mid), Patel (Sur), Westley (Ess), Pujara (Sus), Kimber
(Lei), Bracey (Glo +), Albert (Ham), Trevaskis (Dur), Karvelas (Sus),
Benkenstein (Ess), Turner (Ham)
