County Cricket: Worcestershire and Hampshire Fly into the Final

Despite most of the group stages being dominated by Gloucestershire and Yorkshire, the One Day Cup Final at the end of September will be contested instead by Hampshire and Worcestershire. 

When it really mattered, Gloucester’s wheels well and truly came off in Group A. Having lost their 100% record against Essex, their eight-pointer on Tuesday versus Hampshire also ended in defeat, by five wickets. James Bracey blazed his way to another century, but a rapid opening stand of 112 between Orr and Gubbins set the scene for a successful run chase. At the same time, Worcestershire cruised to a six-wicket win, grateful for Kashif Alli’s 58-ball 80. That meant Gloucestershire dropped from first to third while Jake Libby’s side sailed direct to the semis. 

Group B leaders Yorkshire held their nerve to defeat Kent at Canterbury. James Wharton top-scored with 118 then, once Jayden Denly had been caught for 79 off Dom Bess, the home side struggled to make headway against spin. Bess ended on 4-43 but the coup-de-grace was applied by debutant seamer Matthew Firbank. Sussex’s Archie Lenham claimed 5-48 to end Warwickshire’s participation in the competition, but Somerset made no mistake against Northamptonshire, aided by Archie Vaughan’s maiden List A century. The other county in the hunt for progressing, Middlesex, had to work much harder to reach the top three. Chasing Lancashire’s 291 at Old Trafford, Harry Singh reduced them to 127-6 but the partnership of 126 between Morgan and Fernandes turned things around. The latter was caught in the final over with eight runs still required and the last pair at the crease. However, from the penultimate delivery, Noah Cornwell scored the winning runs and carried Middlesex into the quarter-finals. 

That effort earned Middlesex a home tie against Hampshire and things looked positive when, in spite of Ali Orr’s 108, they restricted them to just 229-9. It didn’t last. The veteran Hants bowlers Kyle Abbott (2-38) and Liam Dawson (4-33) were instrumental in stemming the runs and taking wickets, eventually ending the innings 42 runs short. At Taunton, Gloucestershire were battered in their derby encounter with Somerset. Jake Ball bowled Bracey second ball and left their rivals all out for 159 with the wicket of Miles. The Rew brothers took charge of Somerset’s chase, which succeeded with eighteen overs to spare. 

Even lacking several one-day experts, Somerset’s white-ball reputation made them favourites against Worcestershire but it all went horribly wrong. Ben Green and Jack Leach bowled well and the target of 266 wasn’t notably daunting. Enter Khurram Shahzad with the ball. He had four of the top order caught, and the rest of the batsmen fell regularly, sliding to a pathetic 141.

Yorkshire’s group stage supremacy also counted for nothing against Hampshire at Scarborough. Liam Dawson struck the week’s highest individual score (142), surpassing Harry Came’s 139 for Derbyshire, helping his county post a decent 304-6. When rain forced a reduction of nine overs, The White Roses must have fancied their chances, especially as Imam -ul-Haq in such imperious form. Indeed, he made 105 off 97 balls, his fourth ton of the tournament, but nobody else passed thirty, and they finished eighteen runs behind. 

Next up for the men’s county outfits are the Blast quarter-finals and the return of the County Championship whose summer break has made me forget what the hell was happening. I look forward to having my memory jolted. 

Team of the Week:- Orr (Ham), Came (Der), Imam-ul-Haq (Yor), Tribe (Gla), Lammonby (Som), J Rew (Som +), Dawson (Ham), B Green (Som), Khurram Shahzad (Wor), Lenham (Sus), Leach (Som)

Orr-some Sussex Rack up the Runs

In the week when Bazball lost some of its shine at Lord’s, thanks to some old-fashioned quality pace bowling by South Africa’s Rabada and Nortje, there were plenty of examples of effective 50-over batting in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

In the final fixtures of Group B, Hampshire didn’t exactly tear up any trees but they cruised straight into the semi-finals, three points ahead of the rest, thanks to a 72-run success against Yorkshire at Scarborough. However, their 100% record was spoilt by Glamorgan in Neath, where young opener Tom Bevan bounced back from his duck against Lancashire to smash an excellent 134. A month after he ripped up the Welsh County Championship record books, Sam Northeast was at it again, tonking the Warwickshire attack for an unbeaten 177 in 148 deliveries, Glamorgan’s highest individual score in List A cricket. His stand of 245 with Billy Root was also the county’s best fourth wicket partnership in one-day cricket.

With Wells, Jennings and 21 year-old George Balderson’s maiden century propelling Lancashire into the knockouts, it was a very tight race for the third qualifying spot. Kent eclipsed Glamorgan by beating Lancashire in the last match by two wickets with only a ball to spare. Worcestershire finished bottom but did at least notch their first two victories of the campaign.

In Group A, Somerset also broke their miserable duck, a 14-run win at Edgbaston proving scant consolation in a wretched run through the competition they won in 2019. Durham finished below them after losing all three contests this week. Their batting never truly fired on all cylinders but a special mention goes to 18 year-old spinner Stanley McAlindon, and not just for his name which conjures an image of a bewhiskered Scottish bank clerk in the Victorian era. Against Leicestershire, he registered not only a first 50 of his fledgling career but also a very useful 4-29, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a two-wicket defeat.

The week saw plenty of centuries scattered around the country, while all-rounders Wiaan Mulder and James Taylor continued their consistent summer form. Nottinghamshire’s Brett Hutton claimed a remarkable 7-25 against local rivals Leicester during a game which also featured 6-35 from veteran seamer Chris Wright.

However, if it’s runs you want, then simply follow the Sussex team bus. Cheteshwar Pujara took his tournament tally to 614, bettered only by Steve Eskinazi, with a 90-ball 132 containing only a couple of sixes. Tom Alsop hit an unbeaten 189 in a total of 400-4, the first ‘quadruple’ in the county’s List A history. They plundered 249 from the last twenty overs which would have been fantastic in a T20 fixture let alone a 50-over affair. Just a few days earlier, they’d fallen a mere three runs short of the 400 against Somerset, in which Ali Orr cracked eleven sixes in a double-hundred blitz, four of them off poor teenage medium-pacer Alfie Ogborne. Whoever meets Sussex in next Tuesday’s semi-final at Hove will need to steal their bats.

Team of the Week: Alsop (Sus), Orr (Sus), Jennings (Lan), Northeast (Gla), Pujara (Sus), Mulder (Lei), J Taylor (Glo), McManus (Nor +), Waite (Yor), Wright (Ham), Hutton (Not)

Surrey Double eclipses Mr Bean

It’s been a great week for two Yorkshiremen, although neither played in the County Championship or the T20 Blast. Jonny Bairstow whacked England to an unlikely 3-0 Test whitewash of New Zealand, then today 20-year-old Finlay Bean ripped the record books apart, accumulating an all-time Second XI best 441 against Notts. Perhaps the two could be batting together in the not-so-distant future?

The county game featured both four-day and twenty-over formats and, although failing to register a victory this week, Surrey top both tables. In the Blast, they were defeated by Essex and Sussex but remain three points clear of Somerset, who were undone by Hampshire’s James Vince, who thumped an unbeaten 129 against them. It’s much closer in the North division, where the Bears, Lancashire and Derbyshire are level on sixteen points. Adam Hose’s 110 not out was instrumental in Birmingham’s 144-run rout of neighbours Worcestershire while Shan Masood and Wayne Madsen fuelled Derby’s home win against their Lightning rivals.

In the first-class game, no fewer than four players reached three figures in Surrey’s 673-7 declared. Amongst them, Sam Curran finally converted a fifty into a ton, while Hashim Amla and Epsom-born Ben Geddes were each dismissed for 124. The former is almost twice the age of the latter! Kent batted out a draw, with Daniel Bell-Drummond scoring a century in each innings.

The only decisive result in Division One came at Chelmsford where spinners were very much in control. Liam Dawson’s second-innings 7-68 reduced Hampshire’s victory target to 299 but Simon Harmer bowled 33 overs unbroken, adding seven wickets to his eight on Sunday and Monday, to deliver Essex a 12-run triumph and deny the visitors a chance to join Surrey at the head of the table.

At Northampton and Bristol, however, the batsmen were in charge. Luke Procter made a career-best 144 not out, putting on 226 with South African Ryan Rickelton to keep Warwickshire at bay. Opener Dom Sibley struck 102, as his 2023 switch back to Surrey was announced. His Warwickshire colleague, ‘keeper Michael Burgess, enjoyed an interesting all-round match. Besides hitting 77 runs and taking five catches behind the stumps, he claimed his first-ever wicket, that of first-innings centurion Richard Keogh!

In the second tier, the pace-setters Nottinghamshire and Middlesex played out a high-scoring draw at Trent Bridge. With Hameed and Lyndon James hitting hundreds, the hosts forced Middlesex to follow on, but Robson and Stoneman shared an opening partnership of 201 to keep Notts’ margin to eleven points. Glamorgan fought back from adversity to eke out a three-wicket success over Worcestershire at Cardiff. Warwickshire’s new signing Ed Barnard forced 131, and Joe Leach took 6-44, leaving the Welsh side in deep trouble. Enter the overseas seam pair Michael Neser and Michael Hogan, who took seven wickets between them, but Glamorgan still needed 332 to win. Colin Ingram (102) and Billy Root (99 not out) ensured they succeeded.

At Hove, Sussex also came from behind to beat Derbyshire by five wickets. Wayne Madsen and Anuj Dal contributed more than half of Derby’s first-innings total of 551-8 declared. Second time around, Jack Brooks had them in a mess but declaring overnight to set Sussex a 344 target still looked a reasonable decision. Oh, until you realise that the opposition feature Ali Orr and Mohammed Rizwan in their line-up. Despite early rain, and assisted by some useful cameos, the chase was completed with seventeen balls to spare, presenting Sussex with a first Championship in front of their home supporters for almost three years. Their next fixture pits them against bottom side Leicestershire while Notts visit Glamorgan.

In the interim, the Vitality Blast group stage will be completed, and the quarter-finals take place over four days. Surrey are pretty much there already, and Somerset may need to beat them on the last day to join them in the knockouts.

Team of the Week: Stoneman (Mid), Orr (Sus), Rizwan (Sus), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Madsen (Der), Keogh (Nor), S Curran (Sur), Burgess (War +), Dawson (Ham), Harmer (Ess), Neser (Gla)