In the wake of two fabulous Ashes series, it was time to take a deep breath, reflect and recalibrate cricket expectations to 50-over county fixtures and the Horrid Hundred. Rain rampaged across the country last week but there was plenty of action in the One-Day Cup.
Amidst a rash of total washouts and abandonments, Leicestershire and Warwickshire emerged from the wreckage with two wins out of two in Groups A and B, respectively. Obviously, many of the biggest names in white-ball cricket were missing, lured by the Hundred franchises. Nobody was impacted more than Surrey, and they lost their only completed match, by five wickets to Leicestershire. The East Midlanders also travelled to Beckenham where they gave Kent an almighty hiding – by 264 runs. Wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb top-scored with 87 and took five catches, while young Welsh seamer Roman Walker weighed in with 6-43 as Kent’s response never really got going.
Also in Group A, pity poor Yorkshire, who didn’t get a chance either to bat or bowl. Their Roses tie with Lancashire was rained off, and the Red Roses also suffered a No Result with Kent. Another potentially popular local derby, Middlesex v Surrey, also fell foul of the weather.
Most of the notable performances came in Group B where Warwickshire easily overhauled targets set by Gloucestershire and Somerset. Ed Barnard’s elevation to opener reaped dividends, while Hannon-Dalby and Lintott were the pick of the bowlers. Durham’s whopping 427-9 at Hove proved far too much for Sussex. Alex Lees and David Bedingham forged yet another huge partnership – 194 at ten an over – and Liam Trevaskis took 3-38.
Gloucestershire played three matches, winning the first couple against Northants and Derbyshire. Oliver and Tom Price were in fine form, with Jack Taylor twice passing 50. The weakest batting performance of the week came from Essex at Chelmsford. Facing a moderate Nottinghamshire target of 238, they were ripped apart by Championship stars Brett Hutton and Dane Paterson and bowled out for a paltry 69.
Across both groups, there were numerous centuries. Wicketkeepers Ben Foakes (Surrey) and James Rew (Somerset) demonstrated that red-ball experts can also up the tempo when required and reach 100. Kent’s Joey Evison scored a rapid 136, then a third-ball duck, but Glamorgan veteran Colin Ingram led a perfectly-paced run chase to defeat Derbyshire who are bottom of the table alongside Sussex, for whom Pujara’s unbeaten 106 wasn’t enough to prevent defeat to Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Team of the Week:- Lees (Dur), Barnard (War), Bedingham (Dur),
Haider Ali (Der), Handscomb (Lei +), Mulder (Lei), T Taylor (Nor), T Price
(Glo), Trevaskis (Dur), Walker (Lei), Hannon-Dalby (War)
