The Hundred: 30 to 21

30: Anya Shrubsole

As a child, I was aware of Rachel Hayhoe-Flint and her fellow posh girls in skirts but it was only about ten years ago when women’s cricket broke through and turned pro. One of the biggest names to emerge from England’s youthful set-up was Anya Shrubsole, I suppose I was especially interested because she’s from Somerset but her medium-pace bowling was famed for its economy, especially in limited-overs, and she took 4-11 in the Ashes T20 finale  I watched in Cardiff five years ago. Her 6-46 effectively won England the World Cup in 2017.

29: Hashim Amla

There’s something almost supernatural watching a batsman oozing elegance, compiling runs by means of technical excellence, timing, finding the gaps, knowing when to play and when to leave. For several years, Hashim Amla seemed to epitomise such cricketing wizardry. He was close to international retirement when I saw him struggle for fluency against Afghanistan in last year’s World Cup at Cardiff but several years earlier he was probably the finest ODI and Test batsman in the world. I also found it immensely satisfying watching a devout Muslim succeeding in South Africa, a nation which for so long treated such people as 2nd-class citizens. 

28: John Snow

In the early 1970s, genuinely quick bowlers with attitude were usually associated with Australia or the West Indies. However, England had its own fiery fast man in John Snow. He was constantly in trouble with umpires and authorities and I remember in 1971 disliking him intensely for deliberately barging Gavaskar to the ground and slinging his bat towards him. However, in time I came to appreciate his bowling and in the back garden I would copy his bowling action more than anyone’s.

27: Craig Overton

Pace bowlers have traditionally struggled on the flat Taunton pitches but in the early Noughties along came not one but two extremely promising teenagers from North Devon: Craig and Jamie Overton. As twins they were pretty much indistinguishable and, based on the names printed on their shirts, I dubbed them ‘Coverton’ and ‘Joverton’. The former has proved himself the most consistent, in form and fitness, and so gets the nod over his twin, although both have been superb so far this year. Unlike Jamie, Craig has thankfully signed a new contract with Somerset. 

26: Malcolm Marshall

However, when it comes to high-class quicks, surely none can measure up to Malcolm Marshall. Like Snow, he was sub-six feet tall but could generate fearsome pace off even a short curving run-up, delivering perfect bouncers, yorkers, seam or swing apparently at will. His first-class career bowling average was an extraordinary 19.10 and barely 20 in Tests where he often bowled first-change for the West Indies. He also took over a thousand wickets for Hampshire and, 21 years after his tragic death from cancer, he is remembered as one of the greatest fast bowlers - ever. 

25: Zaheer Abbas

In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the bespectacled Pakistani was probably the most prolific batsman in county cricket, and that includes the likes of Boycott, Richards and Lloyd. Glancing at the weekly averages in the newspaper, Zaheer Abbas would inevitably appear near the top, with few others able to beat his aggregate of runs and centuries. I saw him play for Gloucestershire only once, making just 8 in a 1981 Sunday League clash, but I’d love to have witnessed him in his Championship or Test pomp. With the red ball, I’d rate him above Miandad and Inzamam any day. 

24: Mike Procter

Coincidentally, Mike Procter also played in that 40-over game at Bath, top-scoring with 91, but he was a different kind of Gloucestershire legend. Robbed of international cricket throughout the ‘70s, the South African bestrode the county game like a colossus, definitely one of the best all-rounders of his generation. He struck 48 first-class hundreds and claimed well over 1,000 wickets, with a mix of off-spin and whirlwind pace delivered with a distinctive ‘wrong-foot’ chest-on action. I also loved his easy-going attitude at a time when the game was going through major changes. 

23: Geoff Boycott

When it comes to love-hate characters in cricket, Boycott was possibly the most Marmite of them all – and still is. He played up to the forthright, bloody-minded Yorkshire stereotype as player and commentator but on the pitch his prolific run-scoring simply had to be admired. His career aggregate of 48,426 first-class runs, most of them for his county, will surely never again be surpassed. I remember vividly when at Leeds in ’77 for England he struck that boundary through mid-on to register his 100^th ton, an emotional moment, and not just for Boycott himself. 

22: Saeed Anwar

One of the finest innings I remember witnessing live was the 102 completed by Saeed Anwar for the Pakistan tourists against Essex one warm August afternoon in 1996. The left-handed opener reeled off a series of crisp drives, cuts and pulls  to delight purists like me, and his strokeplay proved easy on the eye in countless Tests and ODIs during the Nineties, notably in his 146-ball 194 against India in ’97. He was also unusual in that his Test record is better outside Pakistan than at home. 

21: Aravinda de Silva

When Sri Lanka announced themselves as a major force on cricket’s global stage by winning the 1996 World Cup, Aravinda De Silva was the undisputed Man of the Match in the final, taking 3-42 and steering his side to victory with an unbeaten 107. I saw him score an unremarkable 42 at Lord’s in a one-off Test in 1991 but I always enjoyed watching him bat. I hadn’t realised he was shorter than me - after all, most of the Sri Lankan side back then were vertically-challenged – but it was Aravinda’s carefree approach to batting and ready smile which were his most endearing traits.

Ashes First Test - Smith and Bancroft keep their heads down

After all the fuss about Ben Stokes and now Johnny Bairstow’s peculiar mode of greeting friends and rivals, Australia can point to a statistic which simply reads Played 1, Won 1.

Their undefeated Gabba sequence now extends back a remarkable 29 years to 1988 when Viv Richards’ all-conquering West Indies made mincemeat of Allan Border’s side. England’s last win at Brisbane was two years previously, featuring a century by Ian Botham, a name so redolent of a bygone age that he now resorts to advertising a circulation-boosting device.

Much of the 2017 version was played in an Eighties vein, too; all short-ball strategies and scoring rates below three runs an over. For the first three days, there wasn’t a great deal between the sides. After England decided to bat, relative Test newcomers Stoneman, Vince and Malan each passed fifty and at 246-4 seemed fairly comfortable on day two. However, three wickets promptly  fell in three overs and Joe Root’s team could barely reach the 300 mark.

Australia endured a worse start but the mighty Steve Smith held the innings together with an excellent unbeaten 141, with vital support from the recalled Shaun Marsh and Pat Cummins. The skipper’s Test average has crept to a stunning 61 and has converted half his 50s into hundreds. For all Root’s undoubted world class, the Yorkshireman’s stat is only just above one in four. When England batted again, he succumbed in typical style, advancing to 51 before falling leg-before to Hazlewood. Nevertheless, he was still the top scorer, and the four-man Aussie attack this time restricted the batsmen to a mere 195.

When David Warner and debutant Cameron Bancroft, sensibly wearing his helmet while Bairstow kept wicket, safely saw their side to stumps on day four, any hope of an England revival was dashed. To rub it in, the openers then took their partnership to 173 and inflict a ten-wicket drubbing. 

So can we learn anything from this result? While Jake Ball is not certain of keeping his place, basically it boils down to England dismissing Steve Smith early on and relying on Anderson and Broad to bowl diligently and cannily. No shit, Sherlock! Could be worse; they could be bowling to Virat Kohli’s Indian centurions. Seeing that Anya Shrubsole is the only cricketer to make the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, maybe we should give the Somerset medium-pacer a chance in the Adelaide game instead of Ball and another Taunton favourite, Craig Overton? Perhaps not, but great to see her World Cup-winning performance rewarded in this way.

England Clinch Women’s World Cup

England and India served up a rollercoaster final at Lord’s to round off an excellent World Cup tournament, but it was Heather Knight’s side who held their nerve to win the trophy they last held aloft in 2009.

It was a cagey but solid start for England. Openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont added 47 before Gayakwad bowled the former round her legs. Beaumont was the competition’s highest run scorer but she fell to Poonam Yadav for just 23 and when the same bowler trapped skipper Knight lbw for a single, the home team were looking shaky. Enter Nat Sciver to join forces with Sarah Taylor. Their stand of 83 in 16 overs steadied the ship but the veteran medium-pacer Jhulan Goswani produced excellent figures of 3-23 to turn things back in India’s favour. The late order couldn’t quite strike the boundaries they wanted but Brunt and Gunn managed to nudge the total to an acceptable 228-7.

Anya Shubsole struck an early blow in the second over, swinging in a beauty to send Mandhana’s middle stump flying. Raj and Raut played sensibly, but when Harmanpreet Kaur began to punish the bad ball with a couple of sixes, I reckon India fancied their chances. After all, they had dealt England a blow in their first group match and their confidence must have been high following the surprise thumping of Australia in the semis. Kaur had peppered the deep mid-wicket boundary in her incredible 171 not out but she fell just after reaching her third successive fifty.

Krishnamurthy joined Raut and found the gaps to maintain the required run rate. At 191-3 with more than 7 overs remaining, Hartley and Shrubsole were beginning to falter. However, in ten crazy minutes, the same pair turned the match on its head, capturing four wickets in 13 balls. And yet, on 201-7, there were still only 19 runs needed. There was the added issue of the weather. Rain clouds were hovering menacingly, with some light drizzle, and India were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis.

Pandey was athletically run out by the ever-brilliant ‘keeper Taylor, then Sharma, who had plundered 14 from twelve deliveries, mistimed a hoik and Nat Sciver completed a second skying catch. Eleven to win, eleven balls  and one wicket left, and Shrubsole already with five wickets. A few balls later, Gayakwad could only scoop Anya tamely to mid-off Gunn – who promptly dropped it! Had she dropped the World Cup? The Somerset legend ran in again and this time hit the stumps! England had won an enthralling final!

It had been an eye-opening tournament throughout. I’d never seen such high scores. Not only Kaur’s semi-final masterpiece but also Sarah Taylor’s 147 in 104 balls against Pakistan and Beaumont’s 148 in the same innings. Their stand of 275 was the second highest in women’s ODI history. Sri Lanka and Australia had produced another high-scoring group fixture at Bristol, where Chamara Atapattu’s 178 not out was eventually trumped by Meg Lanning’s superb 152 not out.

The whole tournament had been another great advert for women’s cricket. Compared with the men’s game, the boundaries may be shorter, the bowling slower and batting less muscular. However, there is just as much skill, commitment and excitement. And instead of the snarling, sniping aggression that has become a staple of men’s cricket, you have the winning smile and on-field exuberance of Sarah Taylor. What’s not to love?! Her twelve-month rest from the sport has been bad for England, and her return has been as important in their run to the World Cup triumph as any other factor. Let’s hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the game, and England will be looking to take title number five next time around.

Lancashire and Surrey Up, Somerset Heading Down?

Last week began with Finals Day of the Nat West T20 Blast, in which the spin bowlers dominated the batsmen. Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley were particularly effective as Lancashire took the title.

Bank Holiday Monday saw the T20 double-header at Cardiff. I was there to witness two excellent and contrasting victories for England against Australia. Anya Shrubsole ripped out the first four Aussie women then Natalie Sciver took four wickets of her own before adding 47 decisive runs to earn that consolation win at the end of the Women’s Ashes series. Stars of the men’s game were Moeen Ali and Eoin Morgan for England, although Steve Smith threatened to take his side to victory. Sadly for him, he fell for 90, and Australia’s run chase went with him.

I’ll start my County Championship review in Division Two. As expected, both Surrey and Lancashire clinched promotion with two matches to spare. Surrey went top for the first time with an innings defeat of Derbyshire. Zafar Ansari did his international credentials no harm with a century and five wickets, but it was skipper Gareth Batty who concluded the win with a hat-trick.

Rain hit the other three games but Lancashire weren’t robbed of success. In fact, Kent forced them to follow on thanks to hundreds from Robert Key and his young successor as captain, Sam Northeast. At Chelmsford, Essex had the best of proceedings against Northamptonshire but a draw was inevitable. The result also hastened the sacking of the home coach Paul Grayson, paying the price for the county’s consistent under-achievement. Let’s hope the new crop of batsmen restore good times in Essex before the wealthy competitors lure them away. Leicestershire and Gloucestershire also played out an unremarkable draw.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire produced another devastating performance, twice bowling Somerset out for under 200. Ballance and Bairstow each passed 90, while Brooks and Sidebottom were the pick of the reliable seam bowling unit. Somerset were dragged back into the relegation fight as both Sussex and Hampshire enjoyed vital victories.

At Chester-le-Street, Durham succumbed to Hampshire inside three days. Ryan McLaren and Fidel Edwards each claimed seven wickets and Chris Rushworth took just two for Durham. Ryan Pringle (99 for Durham) and James Vince (16 fours in 76 not out) were the only players to make 50.

There were more runs at Worcester, where the home side were well beaten by a rampant Sussex. Luke Wright’s 226 was by far the top score of the week, and he was ably supported by Ben Brown and Chris Nash. Chris Jordan enjoyed a return to form with the ball, too. There was something for Worcestershire to savour; teenager Joe Clarke scored an unbeaten 104, his first Championship century. The loss of the first day meant Warwickshire’s contest with Middlesex was something of a damp squib.

While Worcestershire’s fate is far from sealed, just seven points from safety, they really need to win both remaining games. Somerset’s escape is in their own hands, facing both Sussex and Hampshire in the coming weeks. Yorkshire’s coronation as champions again should come this week at Lord’s. Just five bonus points will be enough to put both Middlesex and Nottinghamshire mathematically out of reach.

Team of the Week: Burns (Sur), Key (Ken), Smith (Aus), Sciver (Eng W), Wright (Sus), Northeast (Ken), Brown (Sus +), Ansari (Sur), Brooks (Yor), Parry (Lan), Shrubsole (Eng W)

Women’s Cricket Deserves Centre Stage

There were many reasons why August Bank Holiday in Cardiff was so enjoyable. Firstly, it actually refrained from raining between 10am and 6pm. Secondly, the T20 double-header provided twice the entertainment value that I expected.

I rarely glean much satisfaction from watching a Twenty20 match. Too much biff-bang, little finesse and despite the paucity of balls bowled, there’s no guarantee of an exciting finish. However, if there’s an opportunity of watching two matches in succession, I can be persuaded!

Monday was just such an occasion. The headlines focussed on the men’s game. They enjoyed the full house, the patriotic, vociferous support (maybe not from the few Welsh locals, of whom I am an honourable member!) and the enthralling climax. There were Eoin Morgan’s seven sixes, a beautiful innings from Moeen Ali, Steve Smith’s excellently paced 90 and the thrilling catch by Ben Stokes which turned the game England’s way. There was also the unfortunate dismissal of Shane Watson which not only stirred the derision of the crowd but also hilarity of his own bench upon the repeat showing on the big screen later on. I know because I was sitting close to the Aussies. Even Darren Lehmann was laughing heartily!

However, to concentrate on the men’s one-off fixture would do the women’s game a gross injustice. I hadn’t bought my ticket just to see Hales, Watson, Buttler, Starc and co. I was intrigued by the prospect of watching first-hand the newly-professionalised Women’s teams doing battle for their version of the Ashes. While a batting collapse at Hove a few days earlier had rendered the Cardiff tie redundant as an Ashes decider, there was still much to play for.

I’d familiarised myself with the leading players with a few snippets of gams in the past year or two so I was keenly awaiting the chance to see global stars such as England’s skipper Charlotte Edwards, her Aussie counterpart Meg Lanning, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry and our own wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, my new favourite cricketer!

It was interesting to compare the two games. Of course the men’s game provided more power, pace and sixes. However, the opener featured no less skill and was played in great spirit. One reason I like watching Sarah Taylor is her enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of playing. Something the men should remember from time to time.

Two performances stood out. Anya Shrubsole ripped out the first four Aussie wickets, including the ever-dangerous Lanning and newcomer Jess Jonassen. Perry stuck around for 16 before becoming one of Natalie Scriver’s four victims. Grace Harris struck a few sixes but 111 didn’t look a formidable total. Nevertheless, England had failed to reach even 90 in the previous T20, so anything was possible, especially when Edwards, Wyatt and Taylor were all gone by the fourth over.

Enter Scriver once more. She steadied the ship, put on 55 with Katherine Brunt and was run out with only six needed. Lydia Greenway did the rest and victory came in the nineteenth over. A wonderful all-round display from Sciver but I was mightily impressed by all the bowlers and in particular the fielding, every bit as smart as the men’s.

The awards and celebrations were a bit muted. Maybe it was because the Aussies had done most of their champagne cork-popping at Hove. However, most of the players on both sides were happy to sign autographs and pose for selfies afterwards. These weren’t the big strapping selfish sports stars we have become familiar with. They were young ‘normal’ athletes keen to build a rapport with the fans, and they seemed genuinely pleased to do so.

I sincerely hope that women’s cricket continues to grow and attract not only TV audiences but also youngsters willing to pick up a ball and bat. From what I experienced at Cardiff on and off the field, they are going about it in the right way. Those who couldn’t be bothered to turn up in the morning at the SSE Swalec missed a real treat.