County Cricket: Critchley and Rew off to Another Flier

Luckily for the cricketing fraternity, Storm Dave subsided just in time for the new County Championship season, even if Chester-le-Street required some residual tidy-up, causing a delay in Durham’s opener against Kent. 

This time last year, I confidently predicted success for Surrey and Lancashire and naturally I was wrong. I’ll stick with them for topping their respective divisions in 2026. Mind you, Surrey’s bowling is currently nowhere near as star-studded as their batting. They struggled early on against Warwickshire, for whom Dan Mousley top-scored with 144. Only Ben Foakes’ 128 kept Surrey in the game on day one, but Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence held their nerves to lodge tons of their own and see out the draw. 

Champions Nottinghamshire didn’t have it all their way, either, ceding the initiative to their hosts, Somerset. Toms Abell and Kohler-Cadmore, plus James Rew were in fine form with the bat and the latter, at barely 22, already boasts twelve first-class hundreds. He opened the 2025 campaign in similar fashion. Captain Craig Overton delayed the fourth-day declaration for far too long to stand any chance of winning. 

Essex all-rounder Matt Critchley was another who, as last year, was quick out of the blocks. He tonked Hampshire’s attack for 173 before destroying their second innings efforts with a return of 5-9. Leicestershire’s surprise return to Division One resulted in a heavy defeat at home to Sussex. Tom Clark was the game’s only centurion, but the star performer was the county’s academy graduate Henry Crocombe, whose pace netted him a match aggregate of 9-69. After a twelve-point deduction, Sussex will be relieved to have a positive number on the board. 

The other promoted side, in the top tier for the first time since 2005, more than held their own. Glamorgan brought Division One cricket back to Cardiff and it was 40-year-old Colin Ingram who showed the way in each innings against Yorkshire, for whom Dom Bess took seven wickets. The home side’s Mason Crane went one better, including a five-fer. Jonny Bairstow was one of the first players to be replaced under the competition’s experimental substitution rule after he injured a finger early on. 

In Division Two, Middlesex trounced Gloucestershire by an innings. Skipper Leus du Plooy racked up 182 before unleashing his bowlers. Veteran Toby Roland-Jones took 5-37 then, with Gloucester following on, it was Ryan Higgins and teenager Sebastian Morgan who inflicted the damage. 

It was an excellent week for anyone called Anderson or Andersson. At 43, James rolled back the years for Lancashire, claiming eight Northants victims. The Red Roses were heading for a surefire victory, but on the final day, George Bartlett marshalled the tail brilliantly to avoid defeat, even if it left him high and dry on 95 not out. Credit, too, to team-mates McManus and Sanderson for digging in so effectively in the closing stages. Emilio Gay was 2026’s first ton-maker in Durham’s draw against Kent, while Derbyshire’s Martin Andersson notched the opening double-hundred. He put on 273 for the fifth wicket with Luis Reece as the county declared on 625-8. Kent passed 300 on both occasions but needed the solid batting of Brookes, Waite and Taylor to secure the draw. 

Team of the Week:-  L. Wells (Lan), Lategan (Wor), Du Plooy (Mid), Mousley (War), J Rew (Som +), Ingram (Gla), Critchley (Ess), Andersson (Der), Roland-Jones (Mid), Crocombe (Sus), Anderson (Lan)

County Cricket: Batsmen Fill Their Boots!

“Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree….” I remember singing this at school, a ‘round’ involving the choir singing different lines simultaneously. “Laugh, kookaburra, laugh…” it went, but it was the batsmen who had the last laugh facing the Kookaburra ball in this week’s County Championship fixtures. There were no fewer than 26 centuries in the full programme of nine matches. 

The Headingley Test proved that cricket can deliver an exciting contest spanning five days with runs a-plenty and produce a result. If only the Championship games had been allocated an extra day because seven of them ended in a draw, with bowlers unable to assert much authority on proceedings. 

Last week, Surrey surged to second in the Blast and they maintained that momentum into the red-ball competition. In fact, they needed only three days to despatch a weak Worcestershire by nine wickets. Contrary to the situations elsewhere, both sets of bowlers were on top. Ben Allison and Tom Taylor performed well for the home side, but ultimately it was the Surrey seam pair of Nathan Smith (6-38) and Matthew Fisher (4-47) who wiped out Worcester’s second innings and secured the victory. 

With Nottinghamshire failing to beat Yorkshire, the champions advanced ominously to within two points of the leaders. Notts opener Ben Slater made his fifth and sixth consecutive half-centuries, and even bowlers Dillon Pennington (61) and Liam Patterson-White (87) got in on the act in the first innings. In reply, Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth first-ball but Finlay Bean went on to rack up 224. Teenager Farhan Ahmed and Patterson-White toiled for 112 overs between them. Not since 1929 has a Notts bowlers sent down more balls in a single innings than NL-P’s 372, and he had just three wickets to show for it. 

Jofra Archer’s first-class comeback for Sussex after more than four years’ absence netted him the solitary wicket of Emilio Gay. He sent down eighteen overs, which might have landed him back in hospital but instead earned him an England Test recall. As for the match, it ended up as batting practice for Sussex, yielding centuries for Coles and Ibrahim. 

At Edgbaston, Somerset had the better of Warwickshire, but Latham and Hain dug deep to thwart the opposing attack on the final afternoon. The visitors had amassed 498 in the opening five sessions, including tons for Toms Kohler-Cadmore and Lammonby, but Warwickshire’s run rate was consistently below three an over. OK for five days, but they always seemed to be playing for the draw even if it meant Somerset swapping positions with them in the table. 

In the bottom half, Essex and Hampshire also played out a draw at Chelmsford. Kyle Abbott’s latest five-for put Hants in the driving seat, albeit frustrated by Charlie Allison’s 101. In response, Liam Dawson (139) and India’s Tilak Varma each made three figures, too. Varma is known as a white-ball specialist but he has a habit of making tons in the few first-class games he has played. At 131-5 second time around, Essex were heading for defeat, but a double-century stand between Tom Westley and the expansive Michael Pepper saved the day. 

In Division Two, front-runners Leicestershire couldn’t fashion another triumph despite compiling a massive 576-7 declared. Asa Tribe (107) had anchored a decent 353 for Glamorgan but Sol Budinger and Rehan Ahmed led a strong batting display to establish a healthy lead. However, not for the first time, the experienced duo of Northeast and Ingram rescued the Welsh side from 36-3 to earn the draw. 

It was a topsy-turvy affair at Bristol where Gloucestershire reversed a 211-run deficit to come within two wickets of bating Derbyshire on the final evening. Cameron Bancroft (176) and Graeme van Buuren (175) helped set Derby a stiff target of 316 in about five hours. To their credit, they accepted the gauntlet. Harry Caleb and Caleb Jewell galloped to 177-0 but once they fell, so did the run rate, and time was called twenty runs short. 

The scoreboard also ticked over rapidly at Blackpool. Lancashire topped 600, fuelled by hundreds from Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Ashton Turner, the latter’s 154 coming at more than a run a ball. James Anderson’s side had Kent’s second innings in deep trouble at 116-7 but Grant Stewart decided to risk an all-or-nothing approach. His luck was in, and he cracked nine sixes in a score of 130, leaving the Red Roses no time to wangle a win. 

The only victory occurred at Northampton where the home team edged Middlesex in a tight encounter providing almost 1,500 runs. Little-known Aussie quick, Liam Guthrie, took 7-94 while his colleagues enjoyed little success against Middlesex, for whom ‘keeper Joe Cracknell scored a maiden hundred. In the end, Northants won the match by four wickets. Captain Luke Procter (107) and James Sales (108) had to crack on at five an over to reach the target. 

This weekend, Leicestershire meet Middlesex while in the top flight, Surrey welcome Durham to The Oval and Notts visit Somerset requiring a victory to keep Surrey at bay.

Team of the Week:- Bancroft (Glo), Bean (Yor), Came (Der), Lammonby (Som), Coles (Sus), Ingram (Gla), Pepper (Ess +), Van Buuren (Glo), Abbott (Ham), N Smith (Sur), Guthrie (Nor)

County Cricket Team of 2024

I find the increasingly random series of Tests, ODIs and T20 internationals in England difficult to follow and be enthused by. Jimmy Anderson’s farewell was a key moment and it was curious to see how McCullum and co went about the business of scouring the counties on search of a potential long-term replacement for the legendary swinger and also the injury-prone Matt Wood. In the old days, it just took a five-for at Lord’s to earn a call-up. These days, it’s a nasty delivery to Buttler in The Hundred or just being a six-foot-seven leftie, even one with an average of sixty-odd! 

But I digress. This is all about the county cricket scene and the most successful performers across the summer, including all three major formats. My statistical trawl ignores a bowler’s height or bat width, but does incorporate the number of Team pf the Week appearances made. There is a bias towards County Championship players, partly the result of biff-baff merchants missing the One Day Cup in favour of The Hundred, a competition omitted from my thoughts because it neither involve counties nor counts as proper cricket…. 

Openers 

Surrey’s inevitable progress to a third successive Championship was anchored by their openers. Discarded by Bazball-era England, Rory Burns and Dom Sibley formed the best opening partnership in the country, and the latter also released his adventurous streak in the Blast. Adam Lyth (Yorkshire) and Alex Lees (Durham) were solid as ever, and it will be welcome to see the former back in the Championship’s top tier next season. Runs from Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater kept Nottinghamshire in Division One and Dean Elgar ground out 1,144 runs the old-fashioned way (just a solitary six!) for Essex. April wasn’t even halfway through when Warwickshire’s Alex Davies harvested 257 from Carse, Potts and the rest of Durham’s attack Gloucestershire won the Blast but tore up few trees in Division Two. Nonetheless, Cameron Bancroft was a star at the top for them. 

Middle Order 

Bancroft’s colleague Miles Hammond enjoyed arguably his best summer to date, culminating in a match-winning 58 not out in the Blast Final. One-Day Cup victors Glamorgan boasted a prolific middle-order, featuring Kiran Carlson and Sam Northeast, a third of whose first-class total came in just one innings, an unbeaten 335 against Middlesex in the very first game of the season. Another veteran at Cardiff, Colin Ingram, also scored a century in that drawn fixture, and went on to add four more at an average of 90. Across all three domestic competitions, he aggregated 2,001 runs, miles ahead of anybody else. Leicestershire’s Peter Handscomb was the highest scorer in the One-Day Cup, Ryan Higgins thumped five tons for Middlesex, Sam Hain’s 569 runs for the Bears was beaten only by Sussex’s Dan Hughes and Michael Pepper (Essex) produced two of the seven T20 centuries scored. However, nobody in Division One outscored Durham’s David Bedingham, who breezes back into my Team of the Season. 

All Rounders 

Last year, Ed Barnard proved a vital cog in the Warwickshire wheel and, along with Will Rhodes, was a major part of their red-ball engine room. With the ball, he was also the joint highest wicket-taker in the 50-over tournament. Ryan Higgins’ bowling wasn’t at the same level as his early-summer batting and so Liam Dawson is a no-brainer for the 2024 all-rounder slot. Usually, it’s his off-spin which catches the eye but in 2024, he notched almost a thousand runs in Hampshire’s Championship campaign, not too shabby for a number six. 

Wicket-Keeper 

This time last year, I hoped that James Rew wouldn’t be a one-summer wonder for Somerset. Well, he wasn’t quite as prolific in the four-day stuff, but he added se promising vim and vigour to his one-day CV as the county reached both finals. John Simpson led from the front as Sussex achieved a long-delayed promotion from Division Two. Aged 36, he enjoyed his best ever Championship season, breaking the 1000-run barrier at almost 75, with 44 victims behind the stumps. However, Gloucestershire’s James Bracey was supreme with bat and gloves and gets my vote for 2024. 

Bowlers 

2024 was momentous because, after five consecutive appearances in my yearly XI, Simon Harmer acquired only 45 first-class wickets for Essex, dropping him out of contention. Jack Carson’s off-breaks proved invaluable in Sussex’s red-ball season but I have plumped for Jack Leach who finished the season very strongly. Sadly for me, the rest of his side didn’t. 

It was very much a year for seamers. Even the top T20 wicket-taker was not a spinner but the left-arm paceman David Payne of Gloucestershire. Jamie Porter and Kyle Abbott were the leading wicket-takers in Division One, averaging below 20, while Porter’s colleague Sam Cook was similarly mean. Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Zak Chappell and Ben Sanderson were all in the mix, while Ben Coad’s 68 victims in the Championship and One Day Cup placed him top of the heap. Surrey may have lost Gus Atkinson to England, where he looked very much at home, but the county’s attack tended to share out the honours. Dan Worrall was the pick of the bunch, taking 50 at barely 16 apiece.

 

Before revealing my overall selection, I must mention Leicestershire’s Louis Kimber. To be honest, he didn’t have the most productive of seasons but on one amazing afternoon at Hove, he wrote his name in the record books. Needing a miracle to reach the target set by Sussex, batting at eight, he launched an incredible assault and just kept going and going. One over by international Ollie Robinson went for a ludicrous 43 and he was eventually dismissed for 243, including an unprecedented 21 sixes and a hundred-ball double-century. Respect! 

Lyth (Yor), Elgar (Ess), Bedingham (Dur), Hammond (Glo), Ingram (Gla), Bracey (Glo, wkt), Dawson (Ham), Abbott (Ham), Coad (Yor), Leach (Som), Porter (Ess) 

Also in the squad: Barnard (War), Simpson (Sus +), Worrall (Sur)

County cricket: Abell and Leach Boost Somerset Challenge

The onset of September serves as a reminder that, like summer itself, the County Championship is coming to a close. Surrey have led the table almost from day one in April and when skipper Rory Burns’ 161 set his side on the way to a first-innings 525 at Trent Bridge, a third successive title looked inevitable. However, Nottinghamshire didn’t roll over. Two teenagers, Freddie McCann (aged 19) and Farhan Ahmed (just 16!) shone in only their second matches, striking 154 and taking ten wickets, respectively, to frustrate the reigning champions. 

Behind them, Somerset narrowed the gap to twenty-four points by crushing Durham. Spin was king at Taunton. Building on batting foundations led by Tom Abell and James Rew, Jack Leach opened the bowling in the visitors’ second effort and continued unchanged for more than thirty overs to take 7-50. Michael Vaughan’s son Archie accompanied him, finishing with a commendable 2-40 as Somerset triumphed by 293 runs and earning maximum points. The next round of fixtures puts the top two counties up against each other. Should Somerset gain an improbable victory, it could make the final weeks very interesting indeed. Can’t see that happening, though. 

Worcestershire made it two on the trot, coming from behind to defeat Essex at Chelmsford by only 43 runs. Michael Pepper had contributed to a solid Essex lead but, set a target of just 184 on the final morning, they tumbled to 140, Dutch seamer Logan van Beek starring with 4-23. Hampshire overtook Essex in third place with a thumping innings win over lacklustre Lancashire. Gus Atkinson’s rare Test achievement of a century and five-fer was eclipsed by Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson. Not only did he strike an unbeaten 104 and take 5-47 but he also added another five scalps on Saturday to finish the match a day early. 

Kent suffered another drubbing, this time against Warwickshire who did their hopes of avoiding relegation a world of good. Will Rhodes set them on their way with 201 but it was Oliver Hannon-Dalby who added the coup-de-grace with a clinching 6-43. Whoever wins the West Midlands derby next week should be safe for another year but Kent absolutely must beat Hampshire to survive. 

Sussex still look favourites to go up, rediscovering winning ways against bottom side Derbyshire at Hove. Daniel Hughes and John Simpson hit tons but Jack Carson also caught the eye. The off-spinner followed a career-best 97 with figures of 5-90 and 6-67. Without Wayne Madsen’s match aggregate of 215 runs, Derby’s margin of defeat would have been even heftier.

Closest rivals to Sussex, Yorkshire and Middlesex, produced a run-fest stalemate at Headingley. For the White Roses, Jonny Bairstow and George Hill each broke 160, then Sam Robson and Ryan Higgins responded with centuries of their own. The spinner toiled for hours after hour but a draw was agreed on the final afternoon. 

Unusually, the Gloucestershire-Northants fixture was abandoned after day one, the umpires ruling that the Bristol pitch was too dangerous following Justin Broad’s 7-37. Only 241 runs were scored, while over in Cardiff, Colin Ingram beat that all on his own. The veteran South African amassed a personal best of 257 not out for Glamorgan against Leicestershire but any hopes of his side doubling their meagre total of one victory were dashed by a second successful partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb, who each made three figures to secure a draw. 

Glamorgan now face Sussex while Middlesex play Gloucestershire. If Leicestershire can tame Yorkshire at home, they could still sneak into the promotion places. 

Team of the Week:- Burns (Sur), Hughes (Sus), Rhodes (War), Abell (Som), Ingram (Gla), Madsen (Der), Handscomb (Lei +), Dawson (Ham), Carson (Sus), Leach (Som), Hannon-Dalby (War)

Brexit – the End of Kolpak Cricketers?

I know we’re all fed up with Brexit. The lies, the chaos, the uncertainty, It seems endless. While our MPs and civil servants wrestle with what will happen to trade deals, supplies of medicine, customs, migration and employee rights in the European Union, they seem to have ignored the biggest issue of them all: what does pulling up the drawbridge mean for Kolpak cricketers?!

As far as I can work out, the loophole which allows cricketers and other sportsmen from particular nations to work in the UK as non-overseas players will no longer exist when we leave the EU. What’s your view on that one, Boris?

The Kolpak issue has divided cricket fans ever since 2004 when the likes of Claud Henderson and Greg Smith led a mainly South African migration into the county game. They were mostly ex-internationals with talent and experience but little hope of breaking into the Proteas’ squad, and many felt they were mercenaries depriving locals from work opportunities and probably stealing our women, too. 

However, they were frequently filling gaps left by the central contact system. When the ECB in their wisdom ruled that England stars could represent their counties only with the big cheeses’ express permission, supporters had fewer reasons to attend matches at their local ground. However, it was the smaller, Division Two clubs like Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset who were quickest to take advantage.

While the new breed of foreign imports didn’t exactly set the domestic game alight like a Warne or Jayasuriya, many became popular county servants and influential captains in all formats. Andrew Hall and Nicky Boje were excellent for Northants, Charl Willoughby and Alfonso Thomas took shedloads of wickets for Somerset and Martin van Jaarsveld was a leading run scorer over several seasons in Division One. 

Jacques Rudolph proved so reliable for Yorkshire, he relinquished his Kolpak status to play for his country, and this also happened to others. Nevertheless Kolpakers from SA and the West Indies have made significant contribution to Championship successes in recent years. It was under Dale Benkenstein's captaincy that Durham won their first ever pennant.  Ashwell Prince, Alviro Petersen and Kyle Jarvis were superb for Lancashire, while Simon Harmer’s spin was crucial for Essex’s title challenge. Colin Ingram has kept Glamorgan afloat many a time, while Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards currently form one of the top new-ball pairings in Division One.

It’s great to see young players emerge from the age-group county cricket or club system but the number of Kolpakers in recent years has hardly been excessive. Also if youngsters benefit from advice and coaching of the experienced imports then it has to be a positive. What will be the result of a ‘No Deal Brexit’? Will such players be sent packing or could there be a backstop which even the DUP can support? If the Kolpak contingent is removed, will they be missed? Of course, but county cricket will go on.

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)

County Cricket Team of 2017

The County Championship structure was adjusted this year to reduce the fixtures played by the top tier, and presumably the strain placed upon those men likely to be playing for England. However, with the international summer dragging on until the end of September, it was even harder for counties to play their stars for more than a few games all season anyway.

From my team of 2016, Keaton Jennings and Ben Duckett were tried and discarded, while Tom Westley just about did enough against the West Indies to justify selection for the Ashes tour. As for the 2017 county competitions, newly-promoted Essex became champions by a country mile while their predecessors Middlesex were relegated alongside a woeful Warwickshire outfit. Worcestershire replaced them, as did Nottinghamshire, who also grabbed both limited-overs trophies in Chris Read’s final season. With only eight teams in Division One, by mid-September most of them were still at risk of relegation. Not sure if that’s a healthy thing but it certainly concentrated the mind, especially at Somerset’s final match at home to Middlesex.

Anyway, who were the men who contributed most to domestic cricket across all three formats?

Openers:

In terms of first-class cricket, there were few consistent run-scorers.at the very top of the order. Alastair Cook helped Essex to a fine start to the summer, averaging 67 in all and, perhaps improbably, was the most prolific player in the Royal London Cup. However, my top two pretty much pick themselves. Alongside Rory Burns, Mark Stoneman made 1,156 Championship runs at 60.84 and 456 in the 50-over tournament for Surrey, and Daryl Mitchell’s seven centuries for Division Two champions Worcestershire were critical.

Middle-order:

Let’s deal first with the no-brainer. Kumar Sangakkara was utterly magnificent. In only 16 innings he reached three figures eight times, five of them consecutive. He stroked runs in either innings and, with the openers, ensured Surrey attained more batting bonus points than anybody else by a mile. If only their bowlers had been any good, they may have given Essex a run for their money. In all competitions the retiring Sri Lankan legend scored 2,156 for his county. Fabulous! Kent’s Joe Denly was the second highest scorer overall. With Sam Northeast, he often held their batting together in Division Two and tonked almost 600 runs in the T20 Blast.

When considering Nottinghamshire batsmen, many don’t get further than Alex Hales. However, the duo of Samit Patel and Riki Wessels were far more influential with the bat, Wessels particularly effective in the T20, often doubling as wicketkeeper. Patel crunched two double-centuries and his spin was typically miserly in the short stuff, too. I should also mention Mark Cosgrove’s consistency amidst the misery that was Leicestershire’s batting line-up. Nevertheless, my number five slot goes to South African Colin Ingram. He scored over a thousand limited overs runs in all, helping Glamorgan to a rare Finals Day appearance with bat and ball.

All-Rounder:

As ever, top-class batsmen-bowlers were thin on the ground. While Ben Stokes was doing his thing for England and outside Bristol clubs, Peter Trego unusually quiet in Taunton, Samit Patel focussing on his batting and Chris Woakes out of county action, the stage was set for a couple of doughty county old-stagers. Steven Mullaney is often written off as a dibbly-dobbler medium-pacer who can bat a bit. However, I bet most counties would love to have a Mullaney in their squad: he has the sound technique to open in the four-dayers, provide valuable late-order swishes in the 50-overs and keep the runs down in Twenty20. Yet he is eclipsed by my old favourite, Darren Stevens. It speak volumes for Kent’s thin attack that a 41 year-old opens their bowling but he finished the season on a record 60 Championship wickets at barely 18 apiece, while notching 707 runs at over 41, and that ignores almost 400 in the one-dayers. His age suggests retirement can’t be far away but at the moment he s simply irreplaceable for Kent.

Wicket-keeper:

Much attention was paid to the progress of Lancashire’s Alex Davies, promoted to open in the Championship. He made a good start, too, while their other young opener Habeeb struggled. At 31, his namesake Steven Davies took time to find his feet at Somerset but then so did the rest of the side. It was his runs and stumpings which did so much to rescue the county from relegation and he seemed to perform best against his old Surrey team mates. Ha-ha, Mr Batty! Surrey’s Ben Foakes also improved his batting but Ollie Pope tended to man the stumps in the Blast. I ought to mention James Foster’s fine second half of the season for Essex but my selection goes, narrowly to Middlesex’s John Simpson. Too often his runs at six or seven held them together and nobody claimed more dismissals on the county circuit.

Bowlers:-

While the likes of Anderson, Broad, Ball and Finn were restricted in their conty appearances, it was left to 24 year-old Essex seamer Jamie Porter to reprise last year’s Division Two success at the higher level. His return of 75 wickets at only 16.82 was phenomenal and makes him the obvious choice, besides Sangakkara, for my Eleven. Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach was also rock steady with the new ball, Ben Coad was a real find for Yorkshire, Liam Norwell did great work for Gloucestershire and, unlike Surrey’s Curran brothers, Craig Overton seemed to progress for Somerset on unhelpful pitches. But my other two seam spots are reserved for Kyle Abbott and Jofra Archer. The 30 year-old South African nicked 60 cheap first-class wickets for Hampshire as well as adding useful runs at eight or nine. At 22, Archer blew out of nowhere for Sussex with his fast bowling. The Bajan’s batting was also strong enough for him to end the Championship summer averaging a very healthy 45.56. Definitely one to watch at home and overseas.

In terms of spin, Jack Leach enjoyed a fruitful September for Somerset, but the normally reliable Jeetan Patel’s season went like much of Warwickshire’s cricket, downhill fast. It is therefore a simple decision to pick Simon Harmer in my XI. I admit my ignorance of the Pretorian before 2017 but his aggressive offbreaks despatched 90 batsmen in all competitions and did so much to carry Essex to the title. What a shrewd Kolpak signing he turned out to be.

In summary, based on stats and my Teams of the Week, my County Team of 2017 is:-

Stoneman (Sur), Mitchell (Wor), Denly (Ken), Sangakkara (Sur), Ingram (Gla), Stevens (Ken), Simpson (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Archer (Sus), Harmer (Ess), Porter (Ess)

12^th Man: S Patel (Not)

It’s a Blast for Boom-Boom

Kent keep the T20 runs flowing

The second week of the Nat West T20 Blast offered no real insight as to how the competition might pan out. The North division table shows Northamptonshire and Yorkshire leading the way but they have played twice as many games as the rest. Indeed, Yorkshire have won only one of their four games with one tied and one abandoned.

Leicestershire and Derbyshire have 100% records from their two fixtures. The former owe a massive debt to batsman Colin Ackermann and bowler Clint McKay. The Aussie bowler’s 5-11 against Worcestershire was even more impressive given that he had been ill. It was a good week for the Worcester ‘keeper Ben Cox. His batting has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years and he combined a Championship hundred against Gloucestershire and a T20 half-century.

In the South group, both Kent and Hampshire nabbed two victories, the latter the only county so far with three wins from three. Openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly harvested plenty of runs across the week, Denly’s unbeaten 116 from 63 being the highlight. Sussex’s Luke Wright and Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram each struck 101 in the same match at Arundel, but when the South African captured the wickets of Ross Taylor and Ben Brown, it left Wright too much to do and the home team fell 18 short.

He biggest crowd of the week was crammed into Lord’s for the Middlesex-Surrey derby. That man Kumar Sangakkara top-scored yet again, striking 70 in 42 deliveries, but the seamers Helm, Stirling and Southee clattered the stumps regularly. None of the home batsmen really got going and Gareth Batty’s 4-14 seemed to have won the match until, with the last pair at the crease, Steven Finn swung Rampaul for the winning boundary.

Next week, Hampshire have a good chance of extending their winning run to five matches by beating Essex and Sussex and regaining their T20 mojo.

Team of the Week: Bell-Drummond (Ken), Dent (Glo), Denly (Ken), Wright (Sus), Ingram (Gla), Ackermann (Lei), Cox (Wor +), Howell (Glo), McKay (Lei), Harmer (Ess), Batty (Sur)

Cook and Porter steer Essex into Pole position

In a week when the Mumbai Indians fashioned an unlikely one-run triumph in the IPL final it was Essex who made longer-form cricket appear relatively easy in England.

Not only did they top their Royal London Cup group, thus advancing directly to the semi-finals, but their innings victory over Hampshire also took them to the top of the County Championship. Alastair Cook scored another century, while Jamie Porter’s 5-24 wrecked Hampshire’s first innings, from which they couldn’t recover. The newly-promoted side are beginning to look like potential 2017 champions, although the real test will come when Cook is absent later in the summer.

The Roses clash ended as a draw, with Handscomb, Leaning and Chanderpaul trading hundreds. Jack Brooks was a more unlikely centurion, doubling his previous best score, but he took only one wicket. Jimmy Anderson’s injury scare not only blunted Lancashire’s attack but also could weaken England’s cause in the forthcoming Test series.

The other local derby, Surrey’s trip across the Thames to Middlesex, was also inconclusive. The home team’s James Franklin was in cracking all-round form, but Kumar Sangakkara produced centuries in each innings, taking his first-class career tally to sixty. It seems a shame that the Sri Lankan legend has since announced his retirement from the red-ball game when he is stroking the leather around as fluently as ever.

Marcus Trescothick is two years older, but he signalled his determination to serve the Somerset four-day cause for a bit longer by scoring his sixtieth hundred for his county, taking him past Harold Gimblett’s long-standing record. Earlier in the week, he also passed the 25,000-run landmark in all first-class cricket, an achievement which I am sure will become extremely rare in the future. He was unable to help Somerset beat Warwickshire, though. Another ex-England star with a mental illness, Jonathan Trott, trumped him with a first-innings 175, and the Midlanders may well have taken the sixteen points for victory had the first two days at Taunton seen more play.

This weekend, eyes will focus on the clash between first and second, as Essex host Surrey at Chelmsford, which should be a cracker if the weather doesn’t break on Sunday.

Worcestershire made it three wins out of three in Division Two, giving Derbyshire a real hiding on their home turf. Daryl Mitchell and Brett D’Oliveira shared an opening stand of 243, but it was Joe Leach’s second-innings 5-32 which proved most decisive.

Nottinghamshire remain top of the table and could have opened up a significant lead had Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke not combined to thwart Broad, Patel et al throughout the entire final day. Indeed, the Cardiff outfit looked doomed when forced to follow on, but the in-form Ingram rose to the occasion yet again.

Another man who constantly delivers the goods for his county is Darren Stevens. After rain messed up days one and two, and Leicestershire racked up 420 all out, he thrashed a rapid 100 for Kent but there was insufficient time to find a way of generating a positive result, leaving Kent in second spot.

The highest scores of the week, both team and individual, were seen at Hove. Durham scrambled their way to 287 then on Saturday, Luke Wells and Stiaan van Zyl put on a whopping 376 for the third wicket. Wells alone scored a career-best 258, the highest score of the season to date, including 34 fours and seven sixes. Jofra Archer and Vernon Philander also enjoyed a powerful partnership, taking fourteen wickets between them, and Durham couldn’t quite bat out the final day.

All ten counties in Division Two are in action on Bank Holiday weekend. The most interesting may well be the traditional Tunbridge Wells encounter between Kent and Sussex, and Nottinghamshire versus Gloucestershire.

Team of the Week: Trescothick (Som), Mitchell (Wor), L Wells (Sus), Sangakkara (Sur), Ingram (Gla), Wessels (Not +), Franklin (Mid), Leach (Wor), Abbott (Ham), Archer (Sus), Porter (Ess)

Bell and Cook Reel Back the Years

Four counties ensured their progress to the Royal London Cup quarter-finals with a game to spare. Worcestershire lead the North division despite suffering a heavy defeat to Lancashire at Old Trafford. Yorkshire slipped to second after a surprise 5-wicket loss to Warwickshire, for whom Ian Bell was in superb form all week. He passed 90 in each of his three matches, including his first century for a year. Coventry-born Grant Thornton weighed in with seven wickets but the county’s normally formidable attack has looked rather threadbare, and they could well finish bottom of their group.

Yorkshire skipper Gary Ballance thumped 152 in 118 balls against struggling Northamptonshire while Alex Hales reached three figures in Nottinghamshire’s lost game against Durham. Victory over Northants will see them safely through to the knockout stages. Despite being docked a point pre-season, Durham may yet join them, and they will have local academy product Graham Clark to thank. Opening with Jennings, he notched up scores of 93 and 114 this week.

In the South group, Somerset ceded the lead to Essex when Ten Doeschate’s men enjoyed a fruitful trip to Taunton on Sunday. Tom Westley (100) and Ravi Bopara (92 not out) dominated in that match but across the week, it was the steady influence of Alastair Cook which caught the eye. He followed a century against Sussex with 60+ scores in the next two fixtures.

He wasn’t exactly hammering sixes. That was left to Darren Stevens, who struck fourteen of them in his brutal innings of 147 for Kent against Glamorgan. And yet he finished on the losing side! Chasing a testing target of 357, he was out with seventeen overs remaining, and the tail couldn’t quite finish what he started. Credit to the Welsh side, for whom Chris Cooke took five catches and the in-form South African Colin Ingram contributed eight sixes and his second successive century. Glamorgan have an outside chance of reaching the last eight, with David Lloyd and paceman Marchant de Lange also shining.

Gloucestershire’s Chris Liddle claimed a couple of five-fors, including 5-52 against his old mates at Sussex, and left-arm seamer Paul Walter took 4-37 for Essex against Middlesex. In only his second List A appearance, the 22 year-old who went to school in my old town of Billericay removed Compton Voges, Simpson and Franklin in a decisive victory.

Elsewhere, the pick of the batting performances must be the 138-ball 178 produced by Hampshire captain James Vince at the Rose Bowl versus Glamorgan. This eclipsed the previous Hampshire limited-overs best by Gordon Greenidge but, like Stevens’ incredible blitz for Kent, was in a losing cause as that man Ingram cleared the boundary a further seven times en route to 115. It was probably the most exciting encounter of the week, as Cooke steered the Glammies to a 3-wicket win off the penultimate ball.

Surrey will progress if they beat Gloucestershire at Bristol while other contenders Sussex and Hampshire meet at Southampton on Wednesday.


Team of the Week: Clark (Dur), Cook (Ess), Bell (War), Vince (Ham), Ingram (Gla), Thakor (Der), Cooke (Gla +), J Overton (Som), Walter (Ess), Liddle (Glo), de Lange (Gla)

Yorkshire surge a-Head

While England were giving Pakistan a hiding in Test cricket, the remaining county players were involved in a week of the white ball stuff. Most sides played a couple of Royal London Cup group fixtures before a Friday night of T20 Blast.

Yorkshire are top of the North group in the 50-over competition and heading for the Blast quarter-finals, too. Travis Head and Jack Leaning shared a county record stand of 274 against Leicestershire the young Aussie left-hander making 175 in 139 balls. Leaning also thrashed a 29-ball 64 against Northants later in the week. If the specialists didn’t make the runs, then the likes of Tim Bresnan stepped up to the mark.

Jesse Ryder starred with the bat for Essex, who lead the South division with Somerset. The latter won both their games, gaining revenge for recent defeats at the hands of Middlesex. Peter Trego doesn’t bowl much these days but against the Londoners, he followed a century with a useful 2-27. A shame Somerset are struggling so badly in the Blast. With no chance of qualifying for the knockouts, they fielded a very unfamiliar team against Hampshire and received a sound beating. Liam Dawson took 5-17.

Northants had a mixed week. Lying second in the Blast North division, they welcomed back Ben Duckett after his prolific one-day performances for the England Lions. He didn’t score any more centuries but contributed quite a few runs to the cause. Instead, Richard Keogh struck 134 in 110 balls in the win over Durham.

There were other ton-makers, too. Sam Hain also hit 107 for Warwickshire (against Durham again), while Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Worcs), Paul Stirling and, in a rare outing, Eoin Morgan for Middlesex, Riki Wessels (Notts) and Joe Denly (Kent) also got in the act. Surrey’s opener Jason Roy hit the highest T20 score of the week – a 62-ball 120 against Kent – but special plaudits go Colin Ingram’s way. He reached three figures in each format for Glamorgan, although sadly his 101 off the Essex attack was in vain. The Welsh side endured two no-results, although they were already guaranteed a place in the quarters.

Bowlers pitched in, too. In addition to Dawson, there were five-fors from Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke and the Northants pair Azharullah and Gleeson. Kent’s Matt Coles was recalled and nabbed six Hampshire wickets, albeit for 56 runs.

So what next in the Blast? For all Roy’s heroics this week, and Surrey’s encouragingly large crowds this summer, the county narrowly failed to qualify, edged out by Essex whose last game was abandoned thanks to rain. In a few weeks’ time, Essex now face a trip to Trent Bridge, where the Notts batsmen have been in fine form this year. Northants will host Middlesex, Gloucestershire play Durham, while Glamorgan will welcome Yorkshire to Sophia Gardens. That could be a real cracker, especially if Ingram and Head come – er - head to head.

Team of the Week: Roy (Sur), Hain (War), Head (Yor), Leaning (Yor), Ingram (Gla), Trego (Som), Ambrose (War +), McLaren (Ham), Bresnan (Yor), Coles (Ken), Gleeson (Nor)

2015 Cricket Team of the Year

The cricketing year produced its usual share of successes and disappointments, retirements and blossoming new talent. Australia won the World Cup but lost the Ashes. India and Sri Lanka lost momentum, New Zealand won a lot of new friends and respect, while Pakistan and England experienced maddening inconsistency. Bangladesh finally showed they are more than Shakib plus fillers, but the West Indies have many mountains to climb if they are to be once again competitive in the Test arena. Gayle, Pollard, Bravo and Russell may be amongst the principal T20 globetrotters but sadly their success seems to be diminishing their prospects at proper cricket.

So who have been the stars of 2015? Steve Smith, Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle were the leading scorers in each of the three international formats. Ravi Ashwin and Mitchell Starc topped the wickets tables in Tess and ODIs. AB De Villiers proved yet again how important he is to South Africa in all types of the sport, and now on top of all his batting and captaincy responsibilities he has taken the gloves in the Test series against England. No wonder he is looking for some time off in 2016. Yet, as his appearances were relatively few, he doesn’t even make my team of the year as it is intended to reflect performances across all forms, domestic and international.

For example, Steven Smith may be righty feted for his form in Tests, but his Aussie team-mate Adam Voges comfortably outscored him (and everybody else) when it came to all first-class cricket. He aggregated 2,547 in the twelve months, but yet even HE doesn’t make my team, as he wasn’t very active in limited overs cricket.

With the ball, Stuart Broad produced one incredible session for England, backed by other useful contributions alongside Jimmy Anderson. Jeetan Patel, Abdur Razzak and Nathan Lyon all added plenty to their career wicket tallies, but time out taken to remodel illegal actions has diminished the effectiveness of traditional spin stars such as Narine and Saeed Ajmal. Instead, there seems to have been a renaissance in left-arm seam and swing bowling.

So to my Eleven of 2015: Chris Gayle may be a T20 specialist (apart from a few World Cup 50-over outings) but his dominance can’t be ignored. His opening partner is Michael Klinger. Arriving at Gloucestershire from a successful domestic season Down Under, the Aussie clumped three T20 centuries in quick succession, before helping them to an unexpected 50-over cup triumph against Surrey. He also amassed 1,666 first-class runs in only 17 matches, making an all-format aggregate of 3,383!

Kumar Sangakkara bowed out of international cricket in 2015 but his form and class were maintained to the end, not only for Sri Lanka but Surrey, too. His overall run total was also comfortably above 3,000 and his glovework did enough to make him my wicketkeeper, too. A modern legend.

Steve Smith’s rise and rise from so-so leg-spinner to Aussie captaincy and leading Test scorer in 2015 is remarkable. His consistency eased the transition from the Michael Clarke era, although it was painful to watch ‘Pup’ struggle for runs in England, which eventually led him to call time on a wonderful career. Yet perhaps the most enjoyable growth in talent belonged to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Brendon McCullum’s aggressive yet sporting approach reaped benefits in all forms, but Williamson’s runs were just as important. It is to his great credit that I can find no room for the admirable Joe Root.

My number six is perhaps a little surprising. With a full season with Glamorgan as well as in South Africa, Colin Ingram was free to amass runs in all form of cricket. He could play carefully in the County Championship, yet explode into strokeplay in List A and T20. His strike rate in the latter was 146, right up there with Pollard and Pietersen. I appreciated his willingness to sign autographs for children at the Swalec Stadium boundary, too.

Genuine all-rounders seem to be in short supply at the moment. Dwayne Bravo came into my reckoning but as a T20 one-trick pony, I’ve passed him over in favour of Aussie James Faulkner. Still only 25, his left-arm seam bowling may be his greatest asset, yet in his batting career he averages more than 30 in first-class and List A cricket, and he boasts impressive strike rates. His 2015 performances nudge him into my XI of the year.

Ravi Ashwin was head and shoulders above not only his fellow Indian slow bowlers in height but also every other bowler in Test cricket. He scooped 62 wickets at a mere 17.0 apiece. With 35 ODI victims, too, he’s the first bowler on my team sheet.

Another bowler who can add useful late-order runs is John Hastings. Like Faulkner, a current one-Test wonder, yet a vital cog in the wheels of Durham and Victoria. He took 115 wickets across the year, but even that was eclipsed by the statistics of another Aussie quick. Mitchell Johnson may be the most recognisable of the Mitches, but Starc was the outstanding bowler of 2015. 63 first-class victims at 21, a world-leading 67 List A at a mere 14 apiece, and 21 T20 wickets at an admirable sub-7 economy rate speak for themselves. 100 mph deliveries, too! I just hope he can stay fit for 2016.

My final bowling position is a tough one. Tharindu Kaushal has made little impact on the international scene. However, the 22 year-old off-spinner from Galle amassed a remarkable 111 first-class wickets last year, primarily for the Nondescripts club. Trent Boult has blossomed for New Zealand, yet can I afford to include another left-arm seamer? Perhaps Broad’s right-arm status makes him a contender after all.

Anyway, it’s been an interesting year for cricket in lots of ways. For the record, here is my 2015 Team of the Year:-

Gayle (WI), Klinger (Aus), Sangakkara (SL +), Williamson (NZ), Smith (Aus *), Ingram (SA), Faulkner (Aus), Ashwin (Ind), Hastings (Aus), Starc (Aus), Kaushal (SL). My ‘squad’ also contains Alastair Cook (opener), Root (batsman), Broad and Boult.