Northants off the mark, Glamorgan on the charge

The greatest surprise of the week was not Ollie Pope’s selection for England’s Test team but Northamptonshire’s seven-wicket defeat of Derbyshire, their first T20 victory of the season. Josh Cobb’s 73 not out was the key contribution, following his maiden T20 century three days earlier against Birmingham Bears.

Callum Ferguson also struck his first hundred in this format, 102 not out in 56 balls, in Worcestershire’s straightforward despatch of Nottinghamshire. He was in the runs again at Grace Road but, when he was run out on 69, the chase fizzled out and Leicestershire claimed their first home win so far. It also prevented Worcester going top. That accolade goes to Durham, who beat Lancashire at Old Trafford. A brisk Alex Davies start had the home side cruising towards the target but an inexplicable batting implosion against spinner Trevaskis cost them the game. They met again next week.

A few days later, they didn’t repeat the errors at Headingley, and the subsequent 37-run success over the Bears promoted them to third place in the North division.

In the South, Somerset recorded another 100% week, beating Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex. Johann Myburgh announced his impending retirement this week and Somerset will miss his T20 runs. Jamie Overton’s 4-24 at Taunton yesterday afternoon was the latest in a series of fine white-ball performances.

Glamorgan’s season has suddenly caught fire. They defeated the three weakest sides, Hampshire, Essex and Middlesex, Colin Ingram marking his return from illness with more than 200 runs. The Welsh were also given a helping hand by a Scotsman Ruaidhri Smith. He ripped out the Middlesex top four, three of them bowled, and took 4-6 in total. Not bad!

Top innings of the week was Gloucestershire’s 242-4, the hapless Middlesex their victims. Ian Cockbain scored 123 of them, consisting of 12 fours and 8 sixes. They now sit two behind leaders Somerset with a game in hand. The western counties are currently sitting pretty, thanks in part to Kent and Sussex experiencing more abandonments. Last month’s clash between the neighbours was ruined by rain and yesterday’s return match at Hove was a complete washout.

If Canterbury has further downpours next Thursday, Somerset won’t complain, as this would hand them the single point needed to qualify for the knockout stage. Glamorgan’s final fixture against Surrey at Cardiff could be a tasty one and a large Friday night crowd is anticipated. Lancashire travel to Edgbaston hoping to confirm a place in the quarters while Durham will also probably make sure by beating Derbyshire at Chester-le-Street.

Meanwhile, the Western Storm have been continuing to light up the area in and around Bristol, winning two more fixtures to lead the Kia Super League. Their top three batters have been in superb form, and Mandhana and skipper Knight in particular. Lancashire Thunder were also defeated by Surrey Stars, for whom South African opener Lizelle Lee starred with the bat. Three games to go but it’s looking good for the Storm to make another final.

Team of the Week: 

Lee (Stars), Ferguson (Wor), Cockbain (Glo), Cobb (Nor), Ingram (Gla), Moores (Not +), Clarke (Sur), Trevaskis (Lan), Parnell (Wor), J Overton (Som), Smith (Gla)

Worcestershire achieve record-breaking one-day chase

It was a week of ‘No Results’ and big hundreds amidst heatwaves and thunderstorms. In the South division, Hampshire suffered a couple of defeats but still lead the rest by a point. It could have been three had Joe Weatherly added a couple more runs to his century at Southampton against Kent, who now sit in second place. It was a great week for their all-rounder Joe Denly. Against Glamorgan he combined an unbeaten 150 with a useful 4-56, and finished the week more than 200 runs richer.

However, when it comes to hefty scoring, nobody could hold a candle to Essex opener Varun Chopra. He aggregated 319 from three innings, more than half of them taken from the Somerset attack, including six sixes and nine fours. Paul Stirling also reached three figures for Middlesex, but Glamorgan remain pointless.

Up north, Worcestershire are in pole position after two memorable run chases at New Road. Last weekend, a steady Daryl Mitchell hundred steered them to victory over Lancashire from the penultimate ball but the best of all was saved for two days later. Leicestershire set off at a gallop, four players reaching 70 en route to a county List A record against first-class opposition, 376-4. When Moeen Ali fell in he second over, Worcestershire could have buckled, but they didn’t. Callum Ferguson, drafted in at  the last minute for the departing Aussie Travis Head, saw the opportunity to make an immediate impact. He put on 140 with Joe Clarke, then 88 in ten overs alongside Mitchell and 137 in alliance with Brett D’Oliveira.  The job was almost done when he was finally caught behind for 192, a county List A record. When D’Oliveira and Whitely struck ten more in four balls, they had achieved Worcester’s best ever score, and here were still sixteen balls remaining.

Yorkshire’s top order continued to rack up the runs, too. Tom Kohler-Cadmore made another two half-centuries but Adam Lyth’s 132 not out was the match-winner against Leicestershire. It was a tougher task against Derbyshire in a match restricted by rain to 24 overs a side. Ravi Rampaul had claimed five wickets and the White Roses needed 24 off ten balls. Thanks to a late blitz from young bowler Matt Fisher, they succeeded.

Leicestershire prop up the table despite having four matches in which to grab points. I feel sorry for Mark Cosgrove who made scores of 70, 84, 13 and 52 to no avail. Next week could see a few counties making decisive breaks while Lord’s and Old Trafford will hope for clear weather and bumper crowds expected for the London and Roses derbies.

Team of the Week:

Chopra (Ess), Stirling (Mid), Lyth (Yor), Ferguson (Wor), Cosgrove (Lei), Denly (Ken), Simpson (Mid +), Rampaul (Der), Carter (Not), Porter (Ess), Parkinson (Lan)