From B-Mac to K-Will, New Zealand's newest superstar

Despite being only sixth in the Test rankings, fourth in ODIs and eighth in T20s, New Zealand seem to be the most interesting nation in cricket right now. We all know about Australia, India and South Africa but 2015 has seen the Black Caps became everybody’s second-favourite team. Yet it’s not out of love of the underdog; they’re actually entertaining to watch. Much of that is down to Brendon McCullum.

The NZ skipper, record six-hitter and one-time wicketkeeper has instilled his side with some genuine confidence and self-belief in all forms of cricket. Last summer, the English season was supposed to be all about the Ashes. Yet in my opinion, the hors d’oeuvres served up by the England-NZ series was much more entertaining.

During the whole year, McCullum’s Test side have beaten Sri Lanka three times, England once and given the Aussies some healthy competition without actually beating them. In ODIs they have won 19 out of 29, including a ten-match run of unbroken success en route to the World Cup Final.

It therefore seems a shame to hear Brendon’s announcement of his imminent retirement from all international cricket. So he didn’t enjoy a great year in Tests, and his only T20i innings was a 15-ball 35. However, an ODI strike rate of 148 across 22 games is pretty impressive. At 34, and with his hundredth Test scheduled for this winter series against the Aussies, I can understand why he might call it a day at this stage.

Another reason, of course, is the arrival as a genuine world-class batsman of Kane Williamson. The 25 year-old has already skippered New Zealand in limited-overs matches, while making eye-catching innings with remarkable consistency just about everywhere. Like AB De Villiers, he seems to score runs in any situation, including times when all about him are struggling.

I recall seeing a young Williamson doing his bit for the Bristol community on regional TV while learning his trade at Gloucestershire, but there was no obvious sign that he would become the world number one in Tests and three in ODIs within three or four seasons. Like England’s Joe Root and Aussie Steve Smith, he seems a likeable bloke. Not an extravagant celebrity, but someone who does his job extremely well while entertaining cricket fans around the globe.

In the last five Tests, he has racked up almost 700 runs. In the eight played in the calendar year, Kane has aggregated 1,172 with an impressive average of 90. The tally includes a career-best 242 not out against Sri Lanka. Like Smith, he seems good at converting fifties to centuries. Nobody has scored more ODI runs than he has, either. With the T20 World Cup approaching, it would be appropriate if he could lift a global trophy to top the lot, but that competition is a complete lottery. Even the West Indies could win it!

When McCullum and Martin Crowe talk of Williamson being not only the finest batsmen in New Zealand history but an all-time world great, you have to listen. Of course, every player has his good years and bad years. Even Tendulkar, Cook and Kallis. Yet let’s just enjoy watching a young batsman at the top of his game. Farewell Sangakkara, McCullum et al; welcome Smith, Root and Williamson. The baton of greatness has been passed.

Essex and Durham make the Royal London running

With the County Championship on a midsummer break, it was all about limited overs. Most of the last group fixtures in the NatWest T20 Blast were rained off. However, the weather left some of the Division Two teams in the running for silverware. As a Somerset fan I'm well aware of the disappointment that failure can bring and we have lost far more one-dayers than we've won in 2015. Kent are having a poor run in the four-day game but, with the likes of Darren Stevens, Sam Billings and Sam Northeast, they boast a formidable batting line-up and look the side to beat in T20.

Warwickshire headed the North group, ahead of Worcestershire, Northants and Lancashire, with Sussex, Hampshire and Essex completing the quarter-final line-up. Meanwhile, the new 50-over tournament has launched with five washouts then a host of hundreds through the week. Essex are looking useful in this competition, the Royal London Cup, too. Openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley each scored centuries in one fixture, and Ravi Bopara has been a reliable all-rounder.

Yorkshire's Glenn Maxwell has had a mediocre NatWest Blast, but rounded off a fine week with a 76-ball 111 to beat Worcestershire, and Gary Ballance has rediscovered the knack of scoring fifties while Steven Patterson has shone with the ball. Mark Stoneman, Phil Mustard and John Hastings have contributed to Durham's two wins, but captain Paul Collingwood hit the highest individual score of the week, 132.

Familiar big-hitters Jason Roy and Alex Hales each made three-figure innings but possibly the match of the week was Kent v Glamorgan. Stevens led the way with 110 from 66 balls but the response from South Africans Colin Ingram 109 then Chris Cooke (94 not out) was fabulous, and clinched victory with two balls left.

Things are just getting interesting, so the next week will let patterns emerge. I wonder whether the T20 frontrunners will be doing the same in the Royal London.

Team of the Week: Pettini (Ess), Mustard (Dur +), Madsen (Der), Maxwell (Yor), Collingwood (Dur, *), Cooke (Gla), Bopara (Ess), Hastings (Dur), Patterson (Yor), Anderson (Eng), Finn (Eng/Mid)

Glamorgan on the Glory Trail

While the endless stream of sixes sailed into the stands in the England v NZ ODIs, runs were harder to come by in the County Championship and Nat West Blast.

In Division One, Durham owed much to Gordon Muchall for their defeat of Sussex. He contributed almost 200 runs while most of the top order struggled. Chris Rushworth took 6-49 in the first innings then, following Muchall’s lead, Hastings and Coughlin weighed in with valuable late runs to make Sussex’s job even harder. Luke Wells reached three figures, but it wasn’t enough.

Warwickshire kept in touch with Durham by slamming neighbours Worcestershire by an innings. Ian Bell enjoyed a rare run-out for his county, hitting 111, while Keith Barker combined an unbeaten 50 with seven wickets. At Taunton, Somerset looked down and out yet again after conceding a 200-run first innings deficit to Nottinghamshire. Surrounded by a ridiculously ageing team (what is going on in the new regime?), Tom Abell looked the most mature batsman of all while Abdur Rehman’s spin was completely outclassed by Notts’ 19 year-old debutant Matthew Carter who took 7-56. That’s the best first innings haul by a first-time slow bowler for eighty-odd years! Sadly for him, it was all in vain – as was Brendan Taylor’s opening 152 - as Somerset at last showed some resolve. Trescothick, Abell, Myburgh, Trego and Allenby each scored half-centuries to reach the 402 target with two wickets to spare. Phew! Had we lost that one, we really would be checking out the route to Leicester next year!

Lancashire continued their promotion procession with an innings defeat of Leicestershire at Old Trafford. Ashwell Prince added his fourth hundred of the season and Kyle Jarvis was the pick of a solid attack. Leicester spinner Jigar Naik claimed 8-179. Behind Lancashire, Glamorgan closed the gap on Surrey with a seven-wicket victory at leafy Guildford. The horrific T20 fielding collision which hospitalised Burns and Henriques allowed Arun Harinath to be promoted from the Surrey Seconds. He grasped his opportunity pretty well by scoring a century in each innings. Nevertheless, despite being useless at T20, Glammie bowler Graeme Wagg took 4-64 then struck 11 sixes in a score of 200, by far his best with the bat. He and Michael Hogan shared a century stand for the tenth wicket before Hoges produced another five-for to speed the Welsh club to their third win of the campaign. Alongside their two T20 wins, it’s been a good week for Glamorgan and their results are finally reflecting the quality of their squad.

Their was another innings triumph in Division Two, this time for bottom-placed Essex. Well, they’re up to sixth now after hammering Derbyshire. Alastair Cook top-scored with 80 while young James Porter helped himself to six cheap wickets. In his short first-class career he has taken 32 at barely 20 apiece!

In last weekend’s T20 fixtures, Gloucestershire’s Michael Klinger made identical three-figure scores – 104 – against Essex and Glamorgan while in the latter match, Jacques Rudolph also thrashed a ton. In Hampshire’s defeat of Kent, James Vince was stranded on 99 not out and they are now at the top of the South group with Kent.

Team of the Week: Harinath (Sur), Klinger (Glo), B Taylor (Not), Bell (War), Prince (Lan), Muchall (Dur), Wallace (Gla +), Wagg (Gla), Carter (Not), Naik (Lei), Hogan (Gla).

Ajmal Shahzad - Last of England's Asian new wave?

It was sad to read today that Yorkshire have suddenly agreed to release Ajmal Shahzad from his contract. I don't know what prompted the fast bowler to request such a move but he has been through some tough times since making his international debut two years ago against Bangladesh. There have been severe injuries, a fine for deliberately scuffing the pitch last September and a reputation for being a bit of a trouble-maker. I can't say whether that is truly justified but it does seem a strange decision so soon after apparently welcoming the arrival at the county of bowling coach Jason Gillespie. At only 26, with one Test and 11 ODIs to his name, there is time to rebuild his career and maybe return to the top table once again. However, there have been many young cricketers with an Asian heritage who have risen to the top only to falter and fall. After having to battle racism for so many years several players in the last decade, most born in England, shone in the county game to earn an opportunity for their national side. Vikram Solanki, though born in Pakistan, played more than 50 ODIs for England in the early 'noughties' without really playing to his free-flowing potential. In 2003, Kabir Ali burst onto the scene, taking five Test wickets on his debut against South Africa. That proved to be his last Test, too, and has made only fitful appearances for Hampshire in the past few years due to injury. Then in 2006 and 2007, the floodgates opened and England seemed blessed with a number of promising young Asian players. Owais Shah, another man born in Pakistan, played 71 one-dayers and six Tests before slipping out of contention and becoming more a T20 specialist, one of the few England players commanding respect and the occasional appearance in the IPL. Two bowlers also made their debuts in 2006. Sajid Mahmood (Bolton) and Monty Panesar (Bedford) took wickets galore for Lancashire and Northants respectively and when injuries struck the Ashes-winning quartet hey got their chance. Saj still strides purposefully in for his side with little chance of an international recall but Monty to his credit has once again warmed the selectors' and fans' cockles, even if his batting and fielding will surely preclude his playing in T20 matches. One-day games require more all-round options, and these are often provided by Leicester's Samit Patel and Londoner Ravi Bopara, who debuted in 2008 and 2007, respectively. If you include Shahzad, Yorkshire currently boast five squad players with Asian ethnicity. One of them is Adil Rashid, someoneI have often championed in this blog. As a teenager he seemed such an exciting prospect, a leg-spinner who could score centuries. It took a few more years before he finally got his chance in ODIs and T20Is but he blew his chance on the big stage and has disappointed somewhat since. I hope he soon rediscovers his zest and form because there aren't many leg-spinning all-rounders in the English game. Amjad Khan made his single Test appearance in Trinidad three years ago, received a bit of a pasting from the Windies batsmen, and has retreated to the shadows, although he remains an able performer for Sussex. At least he can say he is the only Danish international to also play for England! All the above would make a useful international XI - if only there had been a wicketkeeper to join them! So are there any others likely to follow Shahzad and co into the England team in the foreseeable future? True, there are few vacancies at the moment but, as in 2006-7, injuries could leave the door open. A sudden Compton-esque shower of runs could assist the likes of Arul Suppiah (born in Malaysia but Somerset-educated), Virun Chopra or Moeen Ali, who had a great season for Worcestershire last year. Jigar Naik is a promising off-spinner/batsman for Leicestershire, and Naqaash Tahir is hoping his move to Lancashire will boost his chances of getting noticed. The announcement today of a longer qualification period for over-18s seeking to play for England will probably have little effect on Asian players who may have been tempted to try their luck over here. On the other hand, the passion for cricket in areas of strong Asian communities such as West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Birmingham and Leicester will hopefully generate future stars from these communities