In the week when former Surrey and England batsman Graham Thorpe died, Surrey’s woes in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup continued. The County Championship is already all but won but, with their biggest stars involved in The Hundred, the second string has struggled. I suspect that Thorpe would have excelled in the 50-over tournament, just as his successor Dominic Sibley seems to be doing. He has racked up more than 300 runs in the last three matches, including 105 in their first victory of the season, against Leicestershire at Kibworth.
Only Sussex are below them In Group B, losing all six so far. They made a commendable attempt to overhaul Leicester’s mammoth 363-7, thanks to a brisk 129 from Tom Haines. At the top end of the table, Glamorgan and Warwickshire were enjoying unbeaten runs, leading up to a showdown at Edgbaston. What a shame, therefore, that rain wrecked any chance of a result. At least they both remain unbeaten going into the final fixtures.
In Group A, nobody seems able to take control. Derbyshire looked good, and achieved a significant one-wicket triumph over rivals Somerset at Taunton. They had a blistering cameo from Harry Moore to thank for that one, but the county’s challenge seemed to falter, suffering a thumping by Hampshire, for whom teenager Dominic Kelly took 5-19, including a hat-trick.
Both Jack Leach and Kasey Aldridge claimed six-wicket hauls for Somerset against Durham and Lancashire, respectively, keeping them in pole position on net run rate. However, Hampshire and Worcestershire have a game in hand, meeting each other on Sunday afternoon. Pears opener Garth Roderick and skipper Jake Libby were in the runs.
Across the week, Ben Slater struck the highest individual score, 164 against Surrey’s depleted attack, while Yorkshire seamer Ben Coad was the model of consistency, harvesting eleven wickets at a miserly average. Sol Budinger of Leicestershire was another heavy scorer and heads the run-making table with just a few group fixtures remaining.
As for the quarter-finals, Somerset should sail through Group A by beating Worcestershire and Middlesex but you can’t take anything for granted. Group B looks less open. With Hammond and Bancroft forming a fruitful opening partnership and Ajeet Singh Dale leading the attack, watch out for Gloucestershire sneaking up in the outside lane. A gold medal could yet be theirs.
Team of the Week:- Roderick (Wor +), Sibley (Sur), Budinger (Lei),
Barnard (War), Libby (Wor), Ingram (Gla), Saif Zaib (Nor), Kelly (Ham),
Snater (Ess), Coad (Yor), Leach (Som)
