County Cricket: Notts and Leicester extend their leads

Unlike last week, runs were harder to come by, and wicketkeepers struggled with the bat. Somerset and Glamorgan each notched their third wins in succession, while Division One is looking very tight. 

Following their reverse against Durham, Nottinghamshire bounced back with a 163-run triumph against Yorkshire, their first at Headingley for fourteen years. They didn’t have it all their own way. New Lions recruit George Hill took 5-40 for the home side, before Mohammad Abbas swung things back with a commanding 6-45. Joe Clarke’s second half-century of the match helped Notts set a difficult target of 464 which they rarely looked like approaching. Five wickets from Dillon Pennington and six catches by ‘keeper Kyle Verryenne ended the resistance to deliver nineteen points to the leaders. 

Surrey remain in second place despite failing to beat Essex at The Oval. In fact, rain on the final day may well have saved them from defeat. Centuries by Paul Walter and Charlie Allison had left Surrey chasing over 400 to win on the last day. Michael Pepper stumped both openers off Harmer’s spin, then Jamie Porter claimed five more wickets, including that of Sam Curran, whose return from the IPL yielded two 70+ scores. Another England white-ball specialist, Jason Roy, bagged a sorry pair but the match ended with three Surrey wickets intact. 

Sussex are third, defeating Hampshire by nine wickets inside three days. The only batting partnership of note was the 173 shared by Sussex skipper John Simpson (106 not out) and Fynn Hudson-Prentice, while the off-spinner Jack Carson inflicted much of the damage to Hampshire’s second innings, ending on 5-26. Bowlers were also on top at Durham, where Somerset’s third win on the bounce came against the odds. Mitchell Killeen’s 5-38 on debut placed Durham on the driving seat then, although the visiting seamers restored some balance, Somerset still faced a tricky chase of 265. Thanks to Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell, they succeeded, making runs look almost easy. 

Despite this winning streak, Somerset are only fifth, one point adrift of Warwickshire, whose bid to go second was wrecked by the Worcester rain. Sam Hain found some form at last, twice passing eighty, but it was a welcome return, too, for Chris Woakes and Chris Rushworth. The latter claimed 4-37 and 3-30 as Warwickshire pushed to bowl out their neighbours. However, Waite, Brooks and Taylor proved stubborn, and the weather ended proceedings with Worcestershire on 181-8. 

Leicestershire maintained their unexpected grip on Division Two, thumping Lancashire by an innings and reaching the halfway stage fifty-one points clear at the summit. Test spinner Rehan Ahmed is still only twenty and is now making his mark in the county game as an all-rounder. Batting at three, he compiled an assured 136, putting on 256 with Lewis Hill, then dismissed the Lancs tail-enders to polish off the second innings. Keaton Jennings’ 112 was his side’s only score above 40 and not even Marcus Harris could lift them. 

They are not the basement county, though. Kent’s appalling run has dropped them to an ignominious eighth after a crushing loss to Derbyshire. At least Ben Compton could hold his head high, adding 205 runs to his season’s tally, but Derbyshire’s total of 587-5 declared proved insurmountable. 41-year-old Wayne Madsen notched another ton, but star of the show was opener, Caleb Jewell. The Tasmanian left-hander struck a career-best 232 spanning almost nine hours. 

Like Somerset, Glamorgan made it three in a row, advancing to third in the table by taking Middlesex to the Cardiff cleaners. Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson each achieved three figures before their attack took twenty wickets, something they rarely managed last year. No Kellaway this week, but left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann popped up from Australia to win the match with 6-53. 

At Northampton, another classy Aussie, Cameron Green, struck his third hundred in five matches for Gloucestershire in a more old-fashioned contest between bat and ball at Wantage Road. Northamptonshire, for whom Saif Zaib accumulated 215 runs, tended to dominate and were putting severe pressure on their visitors until rain took control on the fourth afternoon. With Bracey, Green and Hammond back in the pavilion, Gloucestershire would have been the most relieved. 

So that is it for the County Championship for four weeks. It hands over the spotlight to the Vitality Blast, in which anything can happen. No doubt some big overseas names will dip in and out with mixed results, while homegrown stars will shake things up. Champions Gloucestershire begin their defence at home to Kent while runners-up (grrr) Somerset face former nemesis county Surrey. 

Team of the Week:- Compton (Ken), Jewell (Der), Rehan Ahmed (Lei), Lammonby (Som), Hain (War), Saif Zaib (Nor), Verreynne (Not +), Carson (Sus), Mohammad Abbas (Not), Kuhnemann (Gla), Rushworth (War)  

Surrey Owe it to Foakes, Rew at the Double

 The top two Championship contenders both won, but Surrey’s decisive nine-wicket victory at Lord’s earned them a 3 bonus-point advantage over Warwickshire, who picked up a 4-wicket triumph in three days against Essex. 

Ben Foakes claimed six second-innings catches and all the Surrey bowlers chipped in, although the best partnership of the match was the 152 by Middlesex batsmen Robson and Malan, out of a first-innings total of 209. At Edgbaston, it was a low-scoring, rain-affected affair. The home team’s seam trio of Rushworth, Hannon-Dalby and Hasan Ali claimed all but one of the twenty Essex wickets to fall. 

At Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire crushed Northamptonshire by an innings in a match of just 169 overs. They certainly didn’t miss Stuart Broad as Brett Hutton and Dane Paterson each achieved ‘five-fors’ against a mediocre Northants line-up. In contrast, there were plenty of runs – too many, you could argue – at Old Trafford where Tom Abell came under fire for not declaring Somerset’s second innings to give Lancashire a chance of a rapid run chase. That would have been suicidal given the lack of time available and Lancashire’s T20 credentials. Somerset’s teenager, James Rew, won’t complain as he completed his second ton of the game and is now the competition’s leading run scorer. Lancashire have now drawn all five fixtures while Middlesex have drawn none. 

Kent and Hampshire also drew this week. James Fuller’s 5-21 was instrumental in Kent’s first day collapse, but Leaning and Cox in particular dug in to avoid defeat on the final day. Kent now travel up the A2 to face Surrey, leaving Warwickshire out of action until after the four-day tournament takes a month’s break for some one-day action. 

In Division Two, Durham maintained their position at the top, but it was desperately tight. Indeed, there was barely a bail’s breadth between them and Yorkshire throughout, but it was all-rounder Ben Raine’s cool half-century which saw Durham to a nail-biting one-wicket success. Glamorgan’s defeat of Worcestershire at Cardiff was relatively cut and dried. Timm van der Gugten was the pick of the bowlers in the ten-wicket demolition. 

Eyes were once again on Steve Smith in the Sussex shirt and, as last week, he was easily eclipsed by a team-mate. His batting practice lasted a mere fourteen deliveries, in which he scored three. Around him, Pujara and Coles each reached 70 but Tom Alsop achieved a career-best 182 not out. Leicestershire were forced to follow on, but Rishi Patel and Wiaan Mulder hundreds occupied the last day and a stalemate by stumps. 

Next week, Durham go to Gloucestershire, Sussex host Glamorgan and Leicestershire will hope to notch victory number two at Worcester. 

Team of the Week:- Came (Der), Patel (Lei), Alsop (Sus), Mulder (Lei), Foakes (Not +), Rew (Som), Mitchell (Lan), Raine (Dur), Van der Gugten (Gla), Hutton (Not), Rushworth (War)

Chris Rushworth in a Rush

Warwickshire must have travelled down to Hampshire anticipating a real scrap but came away celebrating an innings over the former league leaders. It seems plain wrong to write about Ed Barnard and Chris Rushworth as Warwickshire players but both played important roles in this success. James Vince easily top-scored in both Hampshire innings and he was a lone wolf watching the carnage at the other end as Rushworth took 7-38. 

There were other examples of extremely doughty day-four defence, this time preventing probable defeat. At Trent Bridge, Lancashire were heading for their first win of the summer, setting Nottinghamshire 295 in 67 overs and reducing them to 55-6, three of the wickets falling to George Balderson. In a match allowing England veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad some competitive bowling practice, it was Balderson and Brett Hutton whole stole the bowling honours. However, it was Broad’s unbeaten three in just under an hour which ultimately denied Lancashire that much-needed victory, building upon Hutton’s 23 in 141 balls. Who needs Baz-ball to generate excitement? 

Leaders Surrey had to battle for a draw at Chelmsford, too, despite Gus Atkinson’s eight Essex wickets. With Sibley, Burns, Pope and Jacks back in then pavilion, and Simon Harmer twirling away, batsman Jamie Smith stonewalled superbly for more than 2 ½ hours, leaving Essex three wickets short. At the bottom, the order is unchanged as Somerset failed to hammer home a rare advantage over Northamptonshire at Taunton. Tom Kohler-Cadmore upped the tempo for the home side, smashing 130 at more than a run a ball but opposing skipper Sam Whiteman wisely opted for a more cautious approach, batting throughout the final day, also for 130, to prevent Somerset batting again.

Next week, Surrey welcome Middlesex across the Thames to The Oval and Warwickshire’s game against Essex promises to be a cracker.

 

In Division Two, all three fixtures were drawn. While Joe Root sits in an IPL dugout counting his cash, Jonny Bairstow had a rare outing for Yorkshire with bat and ‘keeper’s gloves watching Glamorgan’s Billy Root from behind. Glamorgan were generally on top, thanks to Michael Neser’s first-innings 7-32 and Marnus Labuschagne’s devastating170 not out to set Yorkshire an unlikely 492 target. The Aussie run machine even dared to catch Bairstow for a duck, but ex-England opener Adam Lyth showed it should be done crafting an excellent 174 from the front. However, defeat looked inevitable as the wickets tumbled but – hang on – Jordan Thompson was taking a leaf out of Bairstow’s book, punctuating defensive blocks with eleven fours and a six to end on 55, and the White Roses hanging on with the last pair at the crease. 

At Worcester, all eyes were in another Australian warm-up performer, as Steve Smith made his Sussex debut. He scored 30 but his captain Cheteshwar Pujara eased his way to another ton. A third-day washout meant that a result was virtually impossible, especially when another Asian veteran, Azhar Ali, ground out an unbeaten 103. For all these runs, it was an English seamer who produced the week’s outstanding bowling performance. Not Anderson, not Broad, nor Woakes, but Ollie Robinson. The Sussex quick took seven wickets in each innings, a career-best match aggregate of 14-117. 

He could well claim more victims in the next round, against Leicestershire, who struggled against Derbyshire in this week’s remaining game. Bowler Henry Brookes’ 6-20 was the most eye-catching turn. Derbyshire will be gunning for Gloucestershire next weekend while table-toppers Durham meet neighbours Yorkshire. 

Team of the Week:- Lyth (Yor), Balderson (Lan), Whiteman (Nor), Pujara (Sus), Vince (Ham), Labuschagne (Gla), Burgess (War +), Brookes (Der), Atkinson (Sur), Robinson (Sus), Rushworth (War)

Hampshire’s remarkable turnaround to win Blast

A week ago, I felt that momentum was with Somerset but, after struggling to contain Lancashire in the Championship then being strangled by Hampshire in the T20 semi-final at Edgbaston, all that evaporated. Instead, it was Hampshire who proved to be on the roll which really mattered.

Incredibly, they lost their opening four group fixtures but fought back to qualify for the knockouts. In the Final against Lancashire, despite a below-par total of 152-8, Matt Parkinson's four wickets, a brief opening blitz by Phil Salt and a few tumbling ramp shots from Keaton Jennings, James Vince’s men showed admirable patience and belief in their ability. Dane Vilas’ strategy of a solid Powerplay and thereafter minimising risk to reach the modest target seemed sensible but, as against Somerset a few hours earlier, Liam Dawson’s consistently mean spin and Nathan Ellis’ brilliant execution of the slower ball turned things around in remarkable fashion – then it could all have gone ridiculously awry. Lightning had to score a boundary from the final ball but Richard Gleeson was bowled. Cue pitch invasion, fireworks, the usual Sky razzmatazz. Until umpire Graham Lloyd was spotted signalling a no-ball: Ellis had overstepped! Once the pyrotechnic smoke had dispersed, Ellis and Gleeson had to take breath again only this time the target had been reduced by two, and it was a free hit. Could the Hawks have blown all that good work? No, Gleeson swung and missed and Hampshire had won – again.

Phew! I could get to like Twenty20 after all.

Earlier in the week, there had been some remarkable performances in the four-day format. Amidst an orgy of runs around the country, Keaton Jennings struck the first Championship triple-century for five seasons against Somerset, for whom only Lewis Goldsworthy possessed the determination to prevent a sixth defeat of the summer.

At Scarborough, Yorkshire and Surrey fought a real ding-dong of a game. Both counties passed 500 in their first innings. Opener Adam Lyth and ‘keeper Jonny Tattersall, in his first Championship appearance of 2022, put on 305 for the sixth wicket, and the latter took three stumpings and two catches off spinner Dom Bess as Surrey went for their shots. With a draw looking the most likely outcome, Jamie Overton’s 6-61 gave the leaders a chance of a last-afternoon victory. The batters timed the chase perfectly, Foakes and debutant Hardie finished the job with just three balls to spare.

Therefore, Surrey remain in the driving seat but those Hampshire boys don’t know when they’re beaten. They made relatively short work of Warwickshire with a side very different from the one which succeeded in the Blast. In particular, veteran seamers Barker and Abbott were back in form.

Essex thrashed Gloucestershire by nine wickets, thanks to a century from Alastair Cook and one of those vintage Simon Harmer one-man bowling shows; he ended with match analyses of 13-156. Northamptonshire spinners Keogh and Kerrigan took all ten Kent wickets on the final day to claim a 203-run triumph at Canterbury. South African Ryan Rickelton supplied a fair chunk of those runs.

Two other Saffers were accumulating plenty for Leicestershire at Hove. There were batting records galore, as only fifteen wickets fell for 1,564 runs. Tom Alsop top-scored with 150 as Sussex piled on 588, but this total was eclipsed easily by the visitors. The reply had an inauspicious start, as Hazad fell first-ball. However, most of the rest filled their boots. In particular, Colin Ackermann and Wiaan Mulder each made double-hundreds, sharing an unbeaten county record partnership of 477 as the county declared on 756-4, easily their best-ever in the competition.

Also in Division Two, another South African, Leus du Plooy, scored a century in each innings for Derbyshire at Chester-le-Street. However, Chris Rushworth celebrated his 36h birthday with the fifth ten-for of his long career to keep Durham n the match. Meanwhile, Worcestershire were surprise winners over Middlesex and Glamorgan matched leaders Nottinghamshire all the way at Cardiff. Michael Hogan’s 4-47 and centuries from Byrom and Northeast provided an opportunity to win, only for Clarke and James to ensure a draw. No records, no fireworks, no men in giraffe costumes. Just another day in the office.

Team of the Week: Lyth (Yor), Jennings (Lan), Alsop (Sus), Ackermann (Lei), Du Plooy (Der), Mulder (Lei), Tattersall (Yor +), J Overton (Sur), Harmer (Ess), M Parkinson (Lan), Rushworth (Dur)

County Cricket Stars of 2021

First of all, I have to say it was great to see a full cricket season again, even if the ongoing pandemic entailed crowd restrictions early on. It was probably too full, thanks to the ECB’s insistence in launching their pointless, ego-boosting city franchise format The Hundred to create a chaotic summer of four domestic competitions, plus England’s various international commitments. 

The Hundred was considered a huge success – by those financially or politically involved in it, probably because the BBC was allowed to broadcast some matches live, automatically boosting TV ratings which would have languished in the mere tens of thousands on the usual Sky channels surrounded by Extreme Tiddlywinks and World Husky Racing. Who won The Hundred? I don’t care. I believe the Pom Bears won the Men’s version and KP Nuts the women. My only regret about ignoring the new summer holiday tourney is that I neglected the women’s cricket at a time when it enjoyed the rare privilege of taking equal billing, and money, which is huge progress. 

So what else happened? There was Devon Conway’s 200 on debut for New Zealand, Joe Root’s prolific scoring against India, for whom they sported a rare world-class seam attack, and then that dreadfully disappointing cancellation/postponement of the Test series decider in case it interfered with IPL commitments – sorry, I meant to write ‘because of a few positive Covid cases in the visitors’ squad’. 

On the domestic scene, Somerset were utterly dominant in the first phase of the County Championship, then completely useless for the September climax. Warwickshire nicked it on the very last day. Kent won the T20 Blast, leaving Somerset with a customary runner-up badge, while Glamorgan somehow fielded a balanced side capable of capturing the One-Day Cup. It was missing many established stars raking in the Hundred cash but did introduce me to a raft of new names, including Tim David (Surrey), Feroze Khushi (Essex), Joe Cooke (Glamorgan’s top wicket-taker) and Lancashire’s Jack Morley, who could well break into the big time next season. 

So who makes my end-of-season County Team of the Year? As ever it spans all three county formats so probably wouldn’t be a world-beater in any one of them. Apart from one or two shoo-ins, I found it harder than usual. However, based on the stats and appearances in my weekly XIs, here are my selections. 

Openers:

Sussex’s Tom Haines was the top scorer with the red ball, while Warwickshire’s Rob Yates finished the season strongly. Mark Stoneman struggled with Surrey but, after crossing the Thames to Middlesex and making a ‘pair’ on his debut, he rediscovered some first-class form. Alex Lees and Graham Clark were prolific together in the Royal London Cup and Haseeb Hameed showed enough in a couple of Nottinghamshire games to earn an unexpected England recall. However, I’ve plumped for Worcestershire’s Jake Libby, also my choice in 2020, who aggregated more runs (1,629) than anybody, and Northamptonshire’s Ricardo Vasconselos who showed commendable consistency with red and white balls and can also keep wicket if required. 

Middle-order:

Like Stoneman, Hashim Amla suffered a few ducks but when he reached three figures he tended to go big. Another Surrey player, Ollie Pope also seemed to relish batting at The Oval, striking two double-hundreds. His 274 against Glamorgan in the season finale was the highest Championship innings of 2021 but even I might have hung around (for 0) on that batsman’s paradise! Ben Brown of Sussex batted well without the responsibility of keeping wicket, while Lancashire’s Josh Bohannon averaged over 50 and both Essex skipper Tom Westley and the ever-dependable Sam Hain also came into the equation. David Bedingham was a new name to me but the 27 year-old South African made a huge impact for Durham. As well as passing 1000 Championship runs at more than 60, his 50-over strike rate was a massive 140. Lewis Hill had what must have been his best season yet for Leicestershire and young Cardiffian Kiran Carlson showed his more senior colleagues how to make runs on sometimes difficult wickets. 

All-Rounders:

Aged 25, Worcestershire’s Ed Barnard has already taken more than 200 first-class wickets but in 2021 he seemed to transform into a batting, not bowling all-rounder, averaging 50 and 42, respectively. It wouldn’t be an annual review without mentioning Darren Stevens. Even at 45, he snared 39 Championship wickets at only 18.58 while two explosive innings for Kent made the headlines. His semi-final blitz was instrumental in the Spitfires going on to win the T20 Blast and in May he smashed 15 sixes and 15 fours out of 190 in a rain-hit game against Glamorgan. This was very nearly more than anyone else managed in the same match – combined! Nevertheless I have plumped for Derbyshire’s Matt Critchley. As a leg-spinner he ought to be a valuable T20 performer but 2021 was his breakthrough season with a bat. He passed fifty nine times and was one of only five players to reach the 1,000-run milestone in the Championship. 

Wicket-keeper:

Lots of candidates for this one, and it was too close to call. Ollie Robinson, Harry Swindells, James Bracey (now an improbable England international), John Simpson, the very inconsistent Glamorgan batsman and skipper Chris Cooke and Notts gloveman Tom Moores all pushed hard but Michael Burgess  of champions Warwickshire edged it for his ability in all three formats. 

Bowlers:- 

Before England came a-calling, Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson were in fine fettle. Redoubtable fellow seamers Chris Rushworth and 40 year-olds Tim Murtagh and Michael Hogan continued to serve their counties with distinction. Even in the RL Cup, the latter conceded fewer than three an over, strangling the opposition on Glamorgan’s march towards success. Tom Bailey carried much of the Lancashire attack while South African Dane Paterson also claimed more than 50 first-class wickets at under 20 apiece. Sam Cook finished very strongly for Essex, his 10-41 aggregate against Northants leaving his season average below 15. Jimmy Anderson took 7-19 in a rare outing for Lancashire and Liam Norwell took his opportunities well as Warwickshire closed in on the title but it was Nottinghamshire’s giant Luke Fletcher who easily topped the Championship wicket table with 66. He was on fire in May.

The Parkinson spin twins enjoyed solid summers, Leicestershire’s Callum beating Matt in the wicket department, but yet again it was Essex’s Simon Harmer who was the domestic game’s outstanding versatile bowler. He was amongst the most prolific in all three competitions, totalling 90. His career tally is now pushing 900 and who would bet against him passing the 1000 mark by the close of 2022? 

To summarise, my County Eleven of 2021 is as follows:- 

Libby (Wor), Vasconselos (Nor), Bedingham (Dur), Hill (Lei), Carlson (Gla), Critchley (Der), Burgess (War), Harmer (Ess), Fletcher (Not), S Cook (Ess), Rushworth. 12^th man: Stevens (Ken)

Glamorgan triumph at last

Congratulations to Glamorgan for winning their first silverware for 17 years and their first ever one-day final. Having tipped Surrey or Essex to win last week, it was probably inevitable that neither would make the Trent Bridge Royal London One-Day Cup showpiece. 

At least they did win their respective quarter-finals with ease. Essex made short work of Yorkshire, with 20 year-old Josh Rymell demonstrating his potential as an opener scoring 121 and Simon Harmer showing what we already knew with a 13-ball 31 not out and two cheap wickets. Tim David smashed another century for Surrey as Gloucestershire‘s attack suffered. 

A few days later, it was Surrey’s turn to lose by five wickets. In what looks set to be his final innings for the county before crossing the Thames to Middlesex, Mark Stoneman at last found some form, striking a fine century, but Chris Rushworth’s three quick wickets and that solid top order saw Durham over the line and into the final. 

Glamorgan beat Essex by the same margin at Cardiff. Following an excellent start by Hamish Rutherford, Nigel Selman also passed fifty, but it was Joe Cooke’s all-round contribution of 66 not out and five wickets which took the game away from Essex. 

And so to Nottingham, where Glamorgan set Durham a challenging target of 298. Captain Kiran Carlson had endured a difficult tournament but came good when it mattered, firing 82 from 59 balls and leading the side with aplomb. In reply, Durham never settled to any rhythm, but that’s 40 year-old Michael Hogan’s forte. It’s quite remarkable for a seamer to end a limited-overs competition with an economy rate below 3 an over but that’s what he achieved. 

It’s a crying shame that our once premier one-day contest was downgraded to little more than a run-out for the reserves while the big names raked it in before large crowds at The Hundred. However, it was a chance for youngsters like Rymell, Khushi, Jamie Smith (Surrey’s skipper at 21!) and Lenham, plus little–known second-eleveners such as David, Clark and Haines to demonstrate their qualities. Old heads including Hogan, Sir Alastair Cook, Steve Borthwick and Chris Rushworth also proved that they can excel in white ball cricket as well as red. I do hope we haven’t seen the last of domestic 50-over matches but fear the worst next year. 

Team of the Week: Rymell (Ess), Stoneman (Sur), David (Sur), Carlson (Gla), Bancroft (Dur +), J Smith (Sur), J Cooke (Gla), Harmer (Ess), Salter (Gla), Hogan (Gla), Rushworth (Dur)

Essex Bounce Back and Rushworth breaks Record

My comments last week about Gloucestershire benefitting from sitting out a potentially wet week proved prescient. Only 68 overs were possible at Taunton, time only for Surrey opener Rory Burns to score another fifty and Lewis Gregory to register his 300^th first-class wicket. So Gloucester remain top of Group 2 but Hampshire made up lost ground by beating Middlesex at Lord’s by 7 wickets. Although he came in for a pounding from Keith Barker in the second innings, Tim Murtagh was on good form but it was Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott who starred, taking eleven cheap wickets. 

In a very tight Group 1, Essex leapfrogged from fifth to first by trouncing Derbyshire by an innings and 15. An inexperienced attack was taken apart by the champions’ top four, including a 221-run stand by Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence, who clubbed an unbeaten 152, including a century in boundaries alone. Lawrence then had Godleman caught by Ten Doeschate which proved significant given that Simon Harmer proceeded to take all the other first-innings wickets. Derby made a better fist of their second attempt but the seamers chipped in to beat both their opponents and the weather on the final day. 

Durham advance to third after dealing Worcestershire their first defeat of the season, and a comprehensive performance it was, too. Will Young and Jack Burnham made hundreds but it was Chris Rushworth who deserved the headlines. His 9-108 match analysis was impressive enough but he was really emotional after removing Haynes to become his county’s record first-class wicket-taker surpassing Graeme Onions’ career tally of 527. 

Yorkshire edged in front in Group 3 with a draw against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens. Following the near-nationwide washout on day one, a result was never a realistic proposition. Joe Root was bowled by Douthwaite just one short of his ton as the White Roses established a first-innings lead despite Michael Neser’s 5-39. There was a similar situation at Hove, where Kent were easily dismissed on day one, losing two wickets to England international Jofra Archer before he succumbed to injury again. The Sussex attack was more toothless later on as Crawley, Robinson and centurion Jack Leaning ensured there was no chance of losing. 

The next round of fixtures includes a couple of eye-catchers from Group 2. There’s the ever-intriguing London derby, although neither Surrey nor Middlesex seem especially keen on winning the Championship this year. Meanwhile the West Country clash between Gloucestershire and Somerset should decide who leads after week seven, although Hampshire could prove a fly in the ointment with a 24-point victory over Leicestershire. Essex seek to consolidate their Group 1 lead at home to Warwickshire, and Lancashire should return to the pinnacle of Group 3 provided they avoid heavy defeat at Northampton. 

Team of the Week: Lees (Dur), Young (Dur), Leaning (Ken), Westley (Ess), Lawrence (Ess), Robinson (Ken +), Abbott (Ham), Harmer (Ess), Neser (Gla), S Patterson (Yor), Rushworth (Dur)

Spinners the winners as Essex move ahead

While Eoin Morgan and his men celebrated their astonishingly close World Cup success over New Zealand, the County Championship approached another break, this time for the T20 Blast. The global 50-over tournament wasn’t a vintage one for spinners but it was the slow bowlers who delivered the best performances this week.

Leaders Somerset suffered an embarrassing innings defeat at Headingley where Keshav Maharaj took ten wickets, one of five bowlers to achieve the feat. Three Yorkshire batsmen also scored centuries as Somerset struggled throughout, missing Gregory and Leach on England Lions duty. Meanwhile Essex held their nerve to beat Warwickshire by 187 runs and knock Somerset off their perch for the first time. Alastair Cook struck a couple of eighties, but the greatest damage was inflicted by Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer with the ball.

Nottinghamshire were dealt another blow at home to Surrey despite two six-fors from Ravi Ashwin. The Indian star was outdone by the homegrown talent that is 20 year-old Sikh Amar Virdi. Yet to play a single one-dayer for his county, he finished with impressive match stats of 14-139.

At Southampton Hampshire and Kent played out a high-scoring draw. Felix Organ struck a maiden ton and Riley Rossouw was also in the runs, but the visitors’ Joe Denly produced the game’s highest individual score, 154. Darren Stvens rolled back the years with a trademark 60 and seven wickets. It will be interesting to see how his body deals with a T20 campaign, this time with Derbyshire!

All Second division counties were also in action, and Lancashire pulled away from the pack thanks to an innings victory over Sussex, whose recent meltdown has seen them plunge from third to eighth. Skipper Dane Vilas hit an unbeaten 132 and caught five Sussex batsmen, while Matt Parkinson took ten wickets. At least the Old Trafford visitors rallied a bit in the second innings, led by Delray Rawlins’ first ever hundred, but it was too little too late.

Glamorgan slipped up at home to Middlesex. Skipper Dawid Malan’s 166 was easily the best score of the county week, and Toby Roland-Jones maintained last week’s good all-round form proving that it wasn’t essential to be a slow bowler to succeed. Chris Rushworth was another example of a seamer who mixed it with the spinners. He claimed ten Worcestershire victims in Durham’s 109-run victory at Chester-Le-Street.

Northamptonshire advanced to third spot despite their win against Derbyshire being only their second of the summer. Thomas Bavuma top-scored with 132 and Ben Sanderson took seven wickets. In the final pre-Blast fixture to finish today, Gloucestershire finished off bottom-placed Leicestershire. Jack Taylor had been bowled one short of a century but his captain’s first-innings 125 set up the six-wicket success.

The promotion race behind Lancashire is now wide open but we must wait another month to find out whether Glamorgan can hang on. Middlesex are beginning to look ominous challengers at last, while Worcestershire and Sussex have probably put themselves out of reach. At least all eighteen counties have a chance of winning the Blast. Let’s hope the World Cup has inspired greater numbers to pour through the turnstiles from Canterbury to Cardiff, Lord’s to Leicester, Chelmsford to Chester-le-Street, and that the players keep them royally entertained.

Team of the Week: Cook (Ess), Robson (Mid), Denly (Ken), Bavuma (Nor), Malan (Mid), Vilas (Lan +), Roland-Jones (Mid), Maharaj (Yor), Ashwin (Not), Virdi (Sur), Rushworth (Dur)

County Cricket Team of 2018

2018 will long be remembered for its long, hot, dry summer across much of Britain. I suspect this may have been a factor in the dramatic reduction in the number of drawn matches in the Championship from 45 to 25. Perhaps pitch preparation also came into the equation as first inning batting bonus points were as rare as a downpour in July. Across both divisions, there was little to choose between all counties with regard to bowling points but Surrey and Warwickshire really made their batting strength count in their respective campaigns.

There were stark contrasts between white and red ball formats. For all Surrey’s dominance in the four-day game, they were mediocre in limited-overs cricket. Worcestershire wasted little time in being relegated back to Division Two but were able to celebrate success in the T20 Blast that same week. Their 20 year-old medium-pacer Pat Brown proved to be a revelation in the 20-over stuff but barely featured in the Championship. Meanwhile, Glamorgan endued a year to forget but  Somerset confounded my worst fears with another runners-up finish and surge to the Blast semi-finals. So near, yet so far, yet again. Will Marcus Trescothick finally give up on waiting and give his creaking body a well-earned retirement? 

Sadly he didn’t feature in any of my County Teams of the Week but who were the men (or women) who contributed most to domestic cricket across all three formats?

Openers:

Last year it was Mark Stoneman but in 2018 his Surrey colleague and captain Rory Burns dominated the Championship run table, accumulating 1,359 at 64.71. Lancashire’s Alex Davies was promoted to specialist opener with considerable success, especially in T20, Daryl Mitchell was predictably consistent in four-dayers but I’ve gone for Kent’s Joe Denly. The only survivor from my 2017 XI, he usually batted at three in the Championship but was probably the best all-rounder in domestic cricket, adding 57 wickets to a notable haul of 1,729 runs. Could he get back in England’s ODI set-up after a nine-year absence?

Middle-order:

Champions Surrey didn’t miss the retired Sangakkara and there were no truly dominant middle-order strokemakers this summer. Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes were prolific early on, before the former was granted a Test debut against India in July. At 36, Ian Bell who truly rolled back the years for Warwickshire. Several years ago he was criticised by England for slow scoring but now he is reborn as a heavy-scoring T20 Blaster. Only two men surpassed his 580 runs, at a decent rate of 139, to accompany his 1,027 in the Championship. James Vince may not have nailed down an England spot but he can still do the business for Hampshire, as does James Hildreth for Somerset. His hopes of international recognition are long gone but Hildy was brilliant for us in all competitions this year. Indeed, he was the all-round top scorer in domestic cricket. 

With Denly available as a spinner, I am also including his Kent team-mate Heino Kuhn. I confess I’d never previously heard of him but the 34 year-old South African racked up the hundreds in the Royal London One-Day Cup and took the gloves when Sam Billings was absent.

All-Rounder:

As ever, Darren Stevens is in contention but he was never going to replicate his 2017 achievements. Ed Barnard enjoyed another fine season despite Worcestershire’s relegation and Somerset’s Lewis Gregory had probably his best year yet, assuming the onerous roles of opening bowler and late-order six-hitter. Messrs Raine, Higgins and Harris had their moments but my primary all-rounder slot goes to another veteran Surrey man, Rikki Clarke. Aged 36, he snaffled 47 Championship wickets at 21.53 and scored 500 valuable runs. Never write him off!

Wicket-keeper:

Ben Cox’s batting has come on leaps and bounds for Worcestershire, Tom Moores looked a reasonable replacement for the retired Chris Read at Notts and Ben Foakes made excellent contributions to Surrey’s title chase. I’ve already mentioned Alex Davies but for most matches he ceded the Lancashire gloves to South African import Dane Vilas. He proceeded to take more Championship dismissals than anyone else and struck Division One’s highest individual score, 235 not out.

Bowlers:-

The evergreen Jimmy Anderson may have continued breaking records for England but the county game was the stage for some lesser-known bowlers. Essex duo James Porter and Simon Harmer were again quite prolific in first-class cricket; ditto for Tom Bailey and Graham Onions of Lancashire. Tim Murtagh seamed away in his usual mean style for Middlesex and Ollie Robinson’s 74 wickets took Sussex very close to Division Two promotion. However, Kent beat their neighbours to it, thanks in no small way to their New Zealand paceman Matt Henry. He was superb in the first half of the season and came back to give the county vital impetus. Another import, Morne Morkel was also superb, grabbing 59 wickets at 14.32 in only ten Division One fixtures. Finally, another thirty-something, Chris Rushworth was a rare jewel in a drab Durham season, accumulating 80 wickets across all three formats.

In summary, based on stats and my Teams of the Week, my County Team of 2018 is:-

Burns (Sur *), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Vince (Ham), Hildreth (Som), Kuhn (Ken), Vilas (Lan +), Clarke (Sur), Henry (Ken), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur); 12^th Man: A Davies (Lan)

Surrey County Champions!

If last week was a haven for spinners, this one was definitely one for the pacemen. The outcome was the same: wickets tumbled and you were lucky indeed for games to stretch into a fourth day. Only seven centuries were scored from the nine Championship fixtures but it was significant that the highest aggregate by an individual player was the 188 attained by Rory Burns, whose Surrey side win yet again to clinch the Championship pennant for the first time since 2002.

They had to survive a spirited challenge from Worcestershire, notably by opener Tom Fell, but it was fitting that Morne Morkel and Rikki Clarke were at the crease to wrap up the three-wicket triumph which propelled them to an unassailable 62-point lead at the top. In a dismal week for county wicketkeeper-batsmen, Ollie Pope picked up a couple of near-50s but Burns’ first-outing 122 and Morkel’s second innings 5-24 were the crucial contributions. Surrey may have enormous resources but they had by far the best blend of youth and experience, sufficient to withstand various international call-ups for the Curran brothers and Pope and, like Essex in 2017, had a trouble-free cruise to the title. Strange that they were so useless in the one-dayers!

Surrey’s only obvious rivals in Division One were – amazingly – Somerset. However, having escaped censure for last week’s spinners’ wicket at Taunton, we were hammered inside two days at the Rose Bowl, where South African seamers Kyle Abbott (5-31 and 6-40) and Dale Steyn ran riot through the Somerset batting, for whom only Marcus Trescothick reached double-figures twice. With his county destined to be runners-up yet again, I wonder if Tres will now relinquish any smidgeon of hope of winning the elusive crown and call it a day.

Essex leap-frogged Nottinghamshire into third place, defeating their rivals by eight wickets at Trent Bridge. An opening stand of 204 by Tom Westley and India’s reject Murali Vijay finished things off. It seems odd that the Headingley Roses clash should be such a 32-pointer, as it were. Had Lancashire won, they would have left Yorkshire in deep do-do. However, it was the White Rose blooming proudly as Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s runs then Ben Coad’s wickets helped secure a 95-run victory. Jack Brooks’ Leeds farewell resulted in nine more wickets. The ‘Headband Warrior’ may be 34 but hopefully he can do a great job for Somerset, too, next season.

If Yorkshire beat Hampshire next week, Lancashire and possibly Worcestershire will be doomed. If Somerset can end Surrey’s spectacular sequence of successes, they’ll be confirmed as runners-up: an unwanted consolation prize.

The Division Two promotion race saw Sussex stumble on as they approached the finishing straight. They were well-beaten at Chester-le-Street by Durham, for whom Cameron Steel struck the county week’s highest score (160) and Chris Rushworth claimed the best wicket haul (12-100). Skipper Paul Collingwood subsequently announced his retirement at the end of the month. He has bowled infrequently this year although still capable of some decent innings.

Elsewhere, Warwickshire beat Leicestershire by an innings, Keith Barker starring with the ball, and Kent recorded their ninth victory of the summer, ending Middlesex’s hopes of a sift return to the top flight. Darren Stevens showed he’s not yet ready to slip over the horizon, taking seven cheap wickets and striking a 64. They now sit 21 ahead of Sussex with two games to go.

Derbyshire had a gutsy Harvey Hosein half-century to thank for their exciting one-wicket triumph at Northampton, while at Cardiff Glamorgan sank to another innings defeat, Gloucestershire this week’s beneficiaries. The Welsh side’s batting woes show no sign of ending, as it was their tail-enders doing most of the scoring. Robert Croft has a real job on his hands to get Sophia Gardens singing again in four-day cricket. They will struggle next week to beat Kent, for whom victory will ensure a long-awaited return to Division One.

Team of the Week: 

Steel (Dur), Burns (Sur), Fell (Wor), Kohler-Cadmore (Yor), Taylor (Glo), Stevens (Ken), Hosein (Der +), Barker (War), Abbott (Ham), Brooks (Yor), Rushworth (Dur)

Harmer Hammers Warwickshire

In a week when much of England and Wales sweltered in record June temperatures, four counties rediscovered the knack of racking up a commanding score then bowling the opposition out twice. Indeed, all three Division One fixtures resulted in innings defeats.

Essex extended their lead at the top after thrashing Warwickshire at Chelmsford. The long-serving duo of Ravi Bopara and wicketkeeper James Foster each struck centuries in an innings of 542-9 declared before South African spinner Simon Harmer produced career-best match figures of 14-128 to consign their visitors to bottom place for another week.

Lancashire leapt to second with a comfortable win over former leaders Hampshire at Old Trafford. It wasn’t all plain sailing. George Bailey (127) and Kyle Abbott (97 not out) took Hants to the verge of 400 but the Red Roses response included no fewer than three centurions: Alex Davies, Ryan McLaren and Dane Vilas. The latter ended up on 244 from only 275 balls and bossed a 231-run stand with fellow countryman McLaren, who then, wth Anderson and Jarvis, ran through the Hampshire line-up inside 57 overs to clinch maximum points.

At Lord’s Middlesex claimed their first victory of the summer, handing Yorkshire a rare hiding. Sam Robson made 159 and Paul Stirling took his chance in the first XI with 111. With Ireland handed Test status for the first time, he must be a shoo-in for his country’s first-ever five-day squad, whenever that might be! Anyway, all the Middlesex bowlers chipped in, Ollie Rayner’s second-innings 4-35 being the pick of the performances.

Division Two still has a four-horse race look about it. Nottinghamshire notched up win number five, cleaning up against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge. In terms of runs, Samit Patel almost outscored the opposition on his own, striking a second double-hundred in succession. After his 247, he left muh of the bowling to the seamers, the pick of whom was neither Ball nor Broad but James Pattinson.

At New Road, Worcestershire stole a march on rivals Kent in a much closer encounter of swinging fortunes. Kent struggled early on but only Joe Clarke, with his first three-figure score of the season, made much impact for Worcestershire in reply. It was in the second half of the match when the runs began to flow. Joe Denly’s 227 helped Kent to a lead of 398 but on the final day, Daryl Mitchell and Clarke again struck tons, ably assisted by Moeen Ali’s swift 63, and Kent subsided in the sun by four wickets.

Further north, where the weather was less fierce, Durham finally entered the black with their first Championship success of 2017. They prevented Glamorgan from achieving a third consecutive victory thanks largely to Chris Rushworth’s eight wickets and a 185-run partnership on the second day between Graham Clark and the ageless Paul Collingwood.

Now for the groundbreaking set of day-night matches! Let’s hope they pull in some badly-needed crowds to enjoy proper first-class cricket. Pick of the fixtures must be Kent’s trip to Nottinghamshire and Essex’s hosting of Middlesex. I will be hoping that Somerset enjoy a rare celebration in Hampshire but I don’t hold out much hope, especially with half their team on England Lions duty!

Team of the Week: Davies (Lan +), Mitchell (Wor), Denly (Ken), Clarke (Wor), Patel (Not), Vilas (Lan), McLaren (Lan), Leach (Wor), Harmer (Ess), Pattinson (Not), Rushworth (Dur)

2015 County Cricket Team of the Year

So 2015 ended with Ashes success for England, a second Championship crown for Yorkshire, limited-overs trophies for Lancashire and Gloucestershire and a miserable finale for Sussex. But who were the individual stars of the summer? I’ve compiled my Team of the Year based partly on my Teams of the Week and partly on the end-of-season statistics.

Openers:
It wasn’t a vintage year for openers in first-class cricket, although Michael Carberry, Mark Stoneman and, in a September flurry, Marcus Trescothick each passed 1000 runs. However, there were some memorable summers for one-day pinch-hitters. Jason Roy and Steven Davies were superb for Surrey but for consistency I’ve gone for Michael Klinger and Alex Hales. The veteran Aussie arrived late but produced a devastating deluge of centuries in limited overs competitions, playing a major role Gloucestershire’s T20 Blast triumph. He also appeared in no fewer than five Teams of the Week in this blog. Hales chose to spend some time as a gun for hire overseas but when he put his mind to it, he scored heavily in all formats for Nottinghamshire. But will he get to partner Cook for England against Pakistan?

Middle Order
So many options here! James Vince outscored everyone in T20 but was unusually mediocre in proper cricket. James Taylor started poorly but gained ground to win back his international place in ODIs. Luke Wright was a ray of shining light in an otherwise dismal summer for Sussex, and James Hildreth likewise for Somerset. Indeed he was top scorer in Division One but was surprisingly short of runs in the one-day stuff.

My choice begins at Durham with Steve Borthwick. He still bowls some leg-spin in T20 but is more of a specialist batsman these days. He scored few centuries but chipped in regularly at number three. Kent’s young captain Sam Northeast also saved his best innings for Twenty20, and it was his hundred which thwarted Somerset in the match where Chris Gayle struck his 150.

The season’s greatest run machine was Ashwell Prince. The veteran South African delayed his retirement for just one season and how Lancashire must have been grateful for that decision. He was also part of that record-breaking 500+ stand with Alviro Pietersen. Niall O’Brien claimed the most dismissals, Ben Brown more runs but my wicketkeeper-batsman is Jonny Bairstow. He produced five three-figure scores for Yorkshire before he was brought in to replace Gary Ballance for England. His Championship average was a tidy 100-odd so who knows what he might have achieved with his county had his team-mate not lost form in Test cricket?

Amongst all-rounders, the evergreen Darren Stevens and Peter Trego were typically in the frame but I’ve gone for Samit Patel for his mixture of vital innings and handy wickets. Notts didn’t have a great year with the ball, so his off-spin rescued the side more than once.

Bowlers
Chris Rushworth made only one Team of the Week but he was the most prolific wicket-taker in first-class cricket, with 88. He rarely played in limited-overs fixtures but he has to be in this Eleven. Joining him as seamers are Surrey’s Tom Curran, James Harris of Middlesex and Yorkshire’s Jack Brooks.

Curran, helped by his 17 year-old brother Sam, was instrumental in hauling Surrey up to the Division Two title, while Harris’s Championship wickets and late-order runs gave Middlesex the impetus to be runners-up. It was hard to pick the final man in the Team of the Season.

Yorkshire’s success was built primarily on their attack. Twelve victories generally means bowling sides out twice, and the White Roses had strength in depth. Ryan Sidebottom missed some games through injury yet he claimed more than 40 wickets at under 18 apiece. Tim Bresnan, Steve Pattinson, Graeme Onions and Adil Rashid all contributed but the main man was Jack Brooks. If he wasn’t the wrong side of 30, the bandana man would have been in the England squad by now instead of Mark Wood.

The likes of Footitt, Rushworth and Brooks may have to content themselves with notching up hundreds of wickets in county cricket instead of the England kit, and their respective clubs will be grateful. Meanwhile, for all the talk of overseas stars, the only foreigners in my XI are Prince and Klinger. As far as England are concerned, I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of Curran, Northeast or Hales.

In short, my County Team of 2015 is:-

Klinger (Glo), Hales (Not), Borthwick (Dur), Northeast (Ken), Prince (Lan), Bairstow (Yor/Eng +), Patel (Not), Harris (Mid), T Curran (Sur), Brooks (Yor), Rushworth (Dur).

AP x 2 = 501 for Lancashire

This really was a week for batsmen. Four scored double-centuries, two of them sharing a 500 partnership, yet one (Steve Smith) couldn’t even squeeze into my Team of the Week!

The White and Red Roses were again in full bloom, as Yorkshire and Lancashire cemented their positions atop Divisions One and Two. The chasing packs must be getting cricked necks gazing up at the distant summits.

Andrew Gale led his side from the front at Scarborough, piling up 164 but it was Jonny Bairstow’s scintillating form making all the headlines. A brisk 139 pushed him into the England squad at Gary Ballance’s expense, then he struck the winning runs in the second innings, too. Worcestershire did at least take the game into a fourth day.

Durham did their best to hold on to second place but Hampshire’s defiance and some final afternoon rain scuppered their hopes. Gordon Muchall’s 145 and nine more wickets for Chris Rushworth were all in vain after 20 year-old ‘keeper Lewis McManus defied the Durham attack for almost three hours. Meanwhile Warwickshire found themselves in the runners-up spot after despatching Somerset by seven wickets. Sam Hain composed another unbeaten century and Jeetan Patel claimed nine victims, although the losers’ Craig Overton took 6-74 and kept his name in the England frame in case the selectors need fresh blood.

Following a disappointing first half of the season, James Taylor rediscovered his appetite for runs, falling just nine short of a triple-century in Nottinghamshire’s innings defeat of Sussex. Chris Read’s 121 and seven catches were also noteworthy, while Harry Gurney’s left arm seam and swing also did a lot of damage to the South Coast side for whom Matt Machan top-scored with 108.

The Colwyn Bay sea air worked wonders for the South African duo of Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen. Both passed 250 as they smashed the Lancashire partnership record and accumulated the 13th highest stand for any wicket in first-class cricket history! Facing an overall target of almost 700, Glamorgan unsurprisingly fell short, although a robust first innings tail did its best to frustrate the visitors. Number eleven Michael Hogan even had time to score a career best 57! Nevertheless, Sean Kerrigan and Arron Lilley polished off Welsh resistance in the end.

Kent took the Thames estuary bragging rights, thumping Essex by an innings and 207. Ben Harmison and Sam Billings each reached three figures while Callum Haggett and the evergreen Darren Stevens picked up twelve wickets between them.

Derbyshire beat Northamptonshire in the other Division Two fixture. Mark Footitt collected another five-for, and young all-rounder Alex Hughes achieved his debut hundred. For the visitors, opener Ben Duckett had mixed fortunes. A duck was followed by 154 but the Chesterfield fans enjoyed a seven-wicket triumph.

While the runs piled up in the Championship and Lord’s Test, there weren’t many big scores in last weekend’s T20 Blast. Nevertheless, Jason Roy’s blistering 122 consigned Somerset to another heavy defeat. The County Championship now takes a two-week break as the T20 Group stage ends and the Royal London Cup begins.

Some excellent performances couldn’t get into my Team of the Week: Rogers (Aus), Duckett (Nor), Petersen (Lan), Prince (Lan), Taylor (Not), A Hughes (Der), Read (Not, * +), Patel (Not), C Overton (Som), Gurney (Not), Rushworth (Dur)

Team of the week: Will Smith is the fresh prince of Hampshire

Often it's hard to find two outstanding performances by openi batsmen but this time there was an embarrassment of riches from which to pick. Thus I had to omit Chris Rogers (Middlesex, 203 not out), Jake Libby (Notts, 108 in only his third first-class match), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent, 153) and Kane Williamson (two fine T20 innings for Northern Districts). In their place come Sussex's Chris Nash and Hampshire's Will Smith. Nash aggregated 263 runs in the victory over Nottinghamshire, including his first century of the summer. Smith's contributions were 11 and 142 not out, but that second innings score was the difference between draw and a defeat which would have left the county even more vulnerable to Essex in the promotion chase. In the context of Hampshire's whole season, that was superb.

Ed Joyce has enjoyed a great summer and in the penultimate round of Championship games, his second knock of 149, at almost a run a ball, set up what at the halfway stage had seemed an unlikely victory. James Hildreth has been a disappointment for Somerset in 2014 but he crafted a valuable 182 at Taunton against Middlesex. In the Test against Bangladesh, Shivnarine Chanderpaul boosted his career average even further with unbeaten scores of 84 and 101, but you can't accuse him of Boycott-esque greed this time; it was all in the cause of a routine win.

Ben Stokes contributed no weight of runs or clutch of wickets but he did OK in Durham's win against Northants and his 2-25 and 38 saw his side home to success in the Royal London Cup Final. My other all-rounder is the considerably less well-known Ben Raine. No, me neither! However, in the final of the Second Eleven competition at Chelmsford, the 23 year-old representing Leicestershire scored 208 and took 3-37 on the way to victory. The way the first XI have played this season and with their best players lured away by the big boys, watch out for him in the first-class arena in 2015.

In a week of excellent performances, Harvey Hosein's must be up there with the best, not only this week but the whole summer. At The Oval, the 18 year-old wicketkeeper claimed no fewer than eleven catches for Derbyshire - on his debut! Nobody has ever come near that, and only Bob Taylor has ever taken as much as seven in an innings for the county in their history. And he played for them for more than twenty years!

Derbyshire's Mark Footitt was the beneficiary of five of those dismissals, and he added nine wickets to his already impressive haul, more than anyone else in the Championship. However, my two remaining bowlers stand out; each took fifteen wickets in a single match. Chris Rushworth has plugged away all summer for Durham but nobody was expecting his 9-52 and 6-43 in the trouncing of Northants. He also contributed a useful 2-24 in today's cup final. Saqlain Sajib is another unsung hero, whose spin claimed 9-82 and 6-50 for Bangladesh versus Zimbabwe in an A international.

Congratulations, one and all:- Nash (Sus), Smith (Ham), Joyce (Sus, *), Hildreth (Som), Chanderpaul (WI), Stokes (Dur), Raine (Lei 2nds), Hosein (Der, +), Sajib (Ban A), Rushworth (Dur), Footitt (Der).

Sussex Re-Joyce and Durham in a Rush-worth

In the penultimate round of Championship fixtures, neither of the top two played, but Nottinghamshire failed to make an impression in their last match. They were roundly beaten by Sussex who bounded up to fourth place with a superb final two days. Chris Nash produced his first century of the summer, but a maiden hundred from Jake Libby and an eighteenth by James Taylor gave Notts a slender first innings lead. Sussex then went for broke, passing 400 at almost a run a ball, with skipper Ed Joyce leading by example, before Steve Magoffin claimed 4-51 to ensure a dismal conclusion for the home team.

Durham simply steamrollered sorry Northants at Chester-le-Street. Borthwick and Collingwood each outscored the opposition on their own - twice! - while Chris Rushworth snatched 15 wickets for 95. James Middlebrook led the side but they looked demoralised from the start, and Northants' two innings combined lasted barely 40 overs! At Taunton, Somerset racked up 523-9 thanks largely to James Hildreth's 182 and Peter Trego's 91. Great to see Craig Kieswetter back after his horrific facial injury earlier in the year. He scored a useful 69, too. That Middlesex recovered from 64-7 to 223 owed much to a century stand by Morgan and Roland-Jones. A fine unbeaten 203 by Chris Rogers staved off defeat and means his team should avoid relegatin provided they avoid a heavy defeat by Lancashire next week.

In Division Two, Essex turned the screw on Hampshire by notching a fourth consecutive victory, this time against a Leicestershire side who capitulated inside two days! James Foster made 132, while David Masters and Jesse Ryder claimed thirteen wickets between them Josh Cobb's men now face the ignominy of failing to record a single win in two full Championship seasons. I don't think that has happened since WW2, although they used to play more games in those days.

Hampshire were forced by Kent to follow on at the Rose Bowl, with only Sean Ervine's 121 preventing an even greater first innings deficit. Will Smith then almost single-handedly rescued the home team by carrying his bat for 142. Tomlinson's 26-ball 2 not out at the other end kept Riley and Tredwell at bay before time was called. Those extra points for a draw could prove critical as they lead Essex by ten going into the final week. A win at Glamorgan will be enough.

In the other game, Derbyshire were surprisingly good value against lacklustre Surrey. Apart from Billy Godleman's partnership with Pujara in the fourth day run chase, it was a game for the bowlers, notably Mark Footitt, who extended his wicket tally for the season beyond 70, including a 6-60. Nevertheless, the star of the show was an 18 year-old debutant Harvey Hosein. The lad from Chesterfield's haul of eleven catches was a record for a 'keeper on his first-class debut. Meanwhile, Surrey could slip to sixth if Kent and Derbyshire win their fairly easy fixtures. I'll try not to laugh too loudly.....