County Cricket: No Thain, No Gain

After week 1 of the One Day Cup, Middlesex were looking the strongest outfit in Group B, but a trip to Worcester upset their 100% start. Josh de Caires achieved another career-best, this time a maiden century of 130, but the experienced Jake Libby led the successful run chase with an unbeaten 109. A few days later, he repeated the score against Essex but this time in vain.

It was a strange week for Essex. In their three fixtures, they racked up more than a thousand runs, passing three hundred on each occasion, yet emerged with only four points. Young Noah Thain was in sparkling form, striking successive tons against Sussex and Hampshire, and team-mates Tom Westley and Matt Critchley also filled their boots, each reaching three figures in the week’s highest total of 376-5. 

Middlesex, Yorkshire and Durham all have four wins to their names, and they had to play each other. Halifax-born Benjamin Cliff’s medium pace scuppered Durham’s innings at York before Wharton and Whiteman saw the home side home by seven wickets. However, Yorkshire’s bid to top the table was undone by Middlesex at Lord’s. Cliff, again, took 4-39 but, despite a modest target of 247, their batting wilted against Zafar Gohar’s spin and Noah Cornwell’s pace and they succumbed to a 35-run defeat. 

Durham had earlier beaten Glamorgan in a high-scoring thriller thanks to Will Rhodes’ 148 not out and two wickets and finished the week with a resounding walloping of Hampshire by nine wickets. Emilio Gay (remember him?) rediscovered that early-season form by notching an unbeaten 104. 

Leicestershire Foxes lead Group A. Recovering from last Tuesday’s poor showing against Nottinghamshire, they proceeded to humble Northants by eight wickets and Somerset by a hefty 164 runs. The Outlaws remain second although they suffered losses to Lancashire and Kent. The latter clash went to the final over but Chris Benjamin’s rapid half-century proved decisive. Daniel Bell-Drummond must be one of the finest batsmen in recent years not to have been capped by England but he accumulated two hundred runs this week to keep Kent in the hunt. 

Other notable performances include Ed Barnard’s dominant 140 in Warwickshire’s victory over Surrey and Jack Morley’s 5-28 for Derbyshire in the 188-run demolition of Sussex. 

The next week’s games include Leicestershire v Kent at Beckenham and Derbyshire’s opportunity to disrupt both Group B leaders, Yorkshire and Middlesex. Durham also host Middlesex at Gosforth. 

Team of the Week: Thain (Ess), Bell-Drummond (Ken), De Caires (Mid), Barnard (War), Libby (Wor), Verreynne (Not +), Rhodes (Dur), Critchley (Ess), Potts (Der), Morley (Der), Cliff (Yor)

County Cricket: Surrey surge but Somerset Still Top

Most of this week’s Vitality Blast action focussed on the South group where Somerset had been unbeaten. After almost three weeks without an individual century, we witnessed two, both scored by Kent openers albeit in different fixtures. 

Indeed, it was Kent who spoiled Somerset’s 100% record. Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 49-ball hundred dominated a 158-run opening stand with Tawanda Muyeye (70) as the Spitfires racked up 228-5. The Westcountrymen aren’t fazed by a challenging chase, and Toms Banton and Kohler-Cadmore set about the task in typical fashion. Joey Evison strangled the middle-order and, although Dickson and Green tried their best, and Craig Overton launched the last ball for six, Somerset fell four runs short. 

Kent again topped 200 on Friday, this time at Chelmsford. It was Muyeye’s turn to score exactly 100 but, with only Simon Harmer’s seven sixes to cheer the home crowd, Matt Parkinson’s 5-23 hastened Essex’s seventh defeat of the campaign. Meanwhile, Somerset did bounce back with victories over Hampshire and Glamorgan. Riley Meredith was the pick of the bowlers, taking eight across the three games. 

Surrey surged into second place thanks to a trio of wins, each achieved easily after batting first. With an international top six, they could hardly fail, and it was Will Jacks who stole the show, including a 56-dellivery 97 against a miserable Middlesex. Sussex lie third, falling to Surrey but beating Glamorgan in Cardiff. Interestingly, all fifteen wickets to fall were either caught or stumped. Pakistan international spinner Imad Wasim may be Swansea-born but only this week did he make his Glamorgan T20 debut, finishing the week with five cheap wickets. 

There were three particularly exciting tight finishes. Needing ten from the final over bowled by Tom Helm, Essex could nick only eight, Noah Thain failing to find the crucial boundary. In the North Group, the Bears were involved in not one but two real nail-biters. At Edgbaston, Nottinghamshire needed seventeen off the concluding over. Daniel Sams whacked a couple of sixes, leaving the scores level with one ball remaining. Notts ‘keeper Tom Moores thought ‘what the hell’ and cleared the boundary to win by six wickets. At the same ground a few days later, neighbours Worcestershire popped over the border to contest a desperately close, low-scoring affair. Dan Mousley took 4-19 and the home team required only 135 to win. However, wickets fell regularly and it was left to Sam Hain to shepherd the tail to the finishing line. But could he do it? At 132-9 after nineteen overs, they required three while Matthew Waite scented blood. The Bears didn’t suffer another last-minute defeat as Hain struck the decisive single off the third ball.   

Northamptonshire retained their position at the top despite losing to Notts and there are now three teams queuing up behind them just four points adrift. Durham are one of them, picking up consecutive successes against Yorkshire. Last Sunday, Matthew Potts (5-17) starred at York while the Chester-le-Street encounter featured a genuine team effort, the winning margin being 63 runs. 

Still plenty to play for, but players must curb their crazy ramps and cow-corner heaves for the next few weeks. The Championship is back (hooray!), and leaders Notts welcome back red-ball specialists like Hameed, Slater and Abbas for the visit of Yorkshire. Surrey travel to lowly Worcestershire, Sussex to Durham, while Somerset and Warwickshire meet for the opportunity to go second or third. Essex hope to begin rescuing their sticky summer at home to Hampshire. 

In the second flight, surprise package Leicestershire look to extend their lead by beating Glamorgan, who themselves were in good form before the June hiatus. Basement clubs Kent and Lancashire come together at the Blackpool seaside. 

Team of the Week:- Muyeye (Ken), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Jacks (Sur), Smeed (Som), Rehan Ahmed (Lei), S Curran (Sur), Moores (Not +), Potts (Dur), Evison (Ken), Singh Dale (Glo), M Parkinson (Ken)

County Cricket: Somerset and Middlesex fight back to win

Since the Tom Banton show a month ago, Somerset’s batting has deteriorated steadily and, after three days against Essex at Taunton, another defeat looked probable. It wasn’t a slaughter. Jack Leach’s mean spin and Migael Pretorius took advantage of Jordan Cox’s injury having scored 103, to induce an Essex second-innings collapse. However, at 78-5, Somerset were still 243 adrift. Luckily for them, Gregory and Overton each passed fifty and James Rew (116) became the youngest batsman to reach ten first-class hundreds since Denis Compton! More importantly, Somerset notched their first victory of the campaign and beating recent close rivals Essex made it even sweeter. 

Warwickshire advanced to second place behind Notts by defeating Yorkshire by five wickets at Headingley. It was a close encounter but, despite the home side boasting a middle-order line-up reading Root, Brook and Bairstow, it was Warwickshire’s new recruit Ethan Bamber and Ed Barnard who stole the show with the ball. 

In the other Division One fixture, superior batting and final day rain ensured Hampshire and Durham finished with honours even. Graham Clark’s 160 for the latter was countered by Hamp[shire skipper Ben Brown’s 162, while only Matthew Potts of the bowlers emerged with half-decent figures (4-84). 

The Championship’s lower rung is headed by perennial strugglers Leicestershire and Derbyshire, which is promising for an interesting four-day cricketing summer. At Leicester, Rishi Patel’s opening 105 was by far the highest individual score, then the bowlers scrapped for supremacy. For Northamptonshire, Ben Sanderson and Harry Conway garnered seventeen wickets between them, but Leicester’s attack was more democratic, although Ben Green was again on song with an overall 5-46 and 71 valuable runs. 

The tightest finish of the week was fought at Lord’s. Toby Roland-Jones (5-29) reduced Kent to 129 all out, then Middlesex opened up a 109-run lead. Kent responded magnificently, captain Daniel Bell-Drummond leading from the front by plundering 223, giving Middlesex a formidable target of 365. That they succeeded was largely due to Luke Hollman’s maiden century and some solid tail-end defiance, resulting in an exciting win by just two wickets. 

The other double-century of the week flowed from the bat of Gloucestershire’s Oliver Price at Old Trafford. Lancashire had started well, compiling 450, featuring 167 from Marcus Harris and a 212-run stand with Matty Hurst. However, Gloucestershire dashed any hopes of a home victory thanks primarily to Price’s unbeaten 253, eventually declaring on 589-8. Second time out, Lancashire wickets fell steadily, the ball usually ending in the hands of Bancroft and ‘keeper Bracey, but the draw was inevitable. 

Amongst the Aussies descending upon the county circuit for practice before the World Test Championship Final, Marcus Labuschagne will be welcomed with open arms by Glamorgan, who remain bottom of the pile. Nonetheless, the county did exceed 400 in their first innings at Cardiff, Colin Ingram top-scoring with 81. Derbyshire were not far behind but only just managed to avoid losing, as a Ben Kellaway five-for swing things back Glamorgan’s way. The injured Luis Reece was forced to don his pads to help number eleven Blair Tickner cling on for the last few overs and save a game they had that morning looked like winning. 

Derbyshire travel next to Manchester, while leaders Leicestershire head south to meet Middlesex. In Division One, the top four play each other. Warwickshire host Surrey and Nottinghamshire welcome Hampshire. Worcestershire will be hoping to make rare runs at Hove if they have any hope of attaining a first triumph of 2025.

Team of the Week:-  Patel (Lei), Bell-Drummond (Ken), M Harris (Lan), Hollman (Mid), O Price (Glo), Rew (Som +), Barnard (War), Green (Lei), Bamber (War), Sanderson (Nor), Conway (Nor)

County Cricket: Surrey Crippled, Bell-Drummond Tripled

This week’s County Championships fixtures produced a satisfying mixture of shocks, record performances and heart-pounding finishes. Before this week, both Surrey and Lancashire were unbeaten and, at The Oval, you’d expect the former to retain that sequence against the latter. Thanks to a last-wicket stand of 130 between Sean Abbott and Dan Worrall, a first-innings lead was duly established. On day three, the Surrey seamers picked up regular wickets, leaving their batters a comfortable target of 208. However, Tom Bailey ran through the formidable top-order, including Tom Latham first ball, and Will Williams finished the job. 

With the counties behind them also lacking consistency, Surrey are still looking good to retain their title. Essex advanced to second at the expense of Warwickshire at Chelmsford. Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence put on 227 for the third wicket before bowlers Porter and Harmer left the opponents facing the follow-on. Late flurries from Bess and Lintott forced the Essex openers to bat again but victory was achieved inside sixteen overs. 

Hampshire made short work of Middlesex at Southampton, where Liam Dawson became the first Hampshire all-rounder to score a century and take ten wickets in the same match. The Londoners have only one batting bonus point on the board all season, a disturbing state of affairs. Kent also won by an innings, at the expense of bottom side Northamptonshire. Last week, Daniel Bell-Drummond was by far the leading T20 run scorer and this time he repeated the feat in red-ball cricket. He joined the select few Kent batsmen to strike a triple-century, moments before his tail-end partner was last man out. 

At Taunton, Somerset made a dreadful start to their fixture against Nottinghamshire, for whom Brett Hutton took 5-34. However, Matt Henry began the turnaround with 6-59, his work continued by George Bartlett and teen sensation James Rew whose tons took the second innings total beyond 500. Notts had well over a day to compile 492 to win but they failed to survive even a few hours. Somerset’s pace attack was ruthless, Josh Davey’s 4-17 the most eye-catching figures. The enormous winning margin of 399 runs was Somerset’s second largest runs victory in their Championship history.

 

In Division Two, leaders Durham were frustrated in their push for a fifth triumph of the season. Their contest at Leicestershire yielded six centuries, two of them from the Durham opener Alex Lees but the most crucial turned out to come from Leicester’s Aussie Peter Handscomb. While all around him floundered, he avoided the temptation to dig in, instead peppering the boundary twenty-one times on the way to an unbeaten 136 and dominating a match-saving ninth wicket partnership lasting twenty overs.

Leicester’s superior batting bonus points helped them leapfrog Sussex, who also required a desperate rearguard action to avoid defeat at the hands of Glamorgan. With nine wickets down, Oli Carter and Henry Shipley somehow managed to last more than twenty-one overs, the latter making only two scoring shots (both boundaries) from the 56 deliveries faced. 

Bowlers struggled, too, at Headingley. The first-innings totals surpassed a thousand runs, including centuries by Bean, Hill and Revis (Yorkshire) and Oliver Price (Gloucestershire) and a draw was inevitable. It was the same outcome at Worcester, where winless Derbyshire looked likely to break their duck after skipper Luis Du Plooy shared partnerships of over 250 with each of Wayne Madsen and Anuj Dal. However, their bowlers were less successful, as Garth Roderick (123) and Ed Pollock (56 in almost four hours) anchored a dogged last-day dig-in to attain a draw. 

Back to T20 mode now, where Worcestershire have much more chance of silverware… 

Team of the Week:- Muyeye (Ken), Lees (Dur), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Du Plooy (Der), Robinson (Dur +), Handscomb (Lei), Dawson (Ham), Abbott (Sur), McAndrew (Sus), Williams (Lan), Henry (Som)

Somerset and Bears Blast into the Knockouts

 It has been a busy week or so for the Twenty20 squads, with some counties shoehorning five matches into the diary. Remarkably, Kent Spitfires won all five, lifting them from oblivion to the very heart of the quarter-final qualifying places. For that, they ought to thank Daniel Bell-Drummond, who plundered more than 300 runs, including a 58-ball 111 against Middlesex. 

At least by this time Middlesex had broken their embarrassing tournament duck, and they did so in a style so at odds with the rest of their T20 season. In front of 20,000 fortunate fans at the Oval, Surrey amassed another huge score. Will Jacks smashed Luke Hollman for five sixes in an over but misdirected a full-toss when aiming for number six. Uncharacteristically, Middlesex paced their chase – a Blast record 254 – to perfection. Eskinazi and Holden, who already had a century to his name this week, led the charge but it was young Jack Davies whose last over boundaries sealed their solitary success. 

It was a mixed week for Surrey, who had temporarily deposed Somerset from the top spot by beating their rivals at Taunton. However, they were taken apart by Hampshire at home. The South Coasters also boosted their quarter-final credentials by edging past Essex in a tight finish. Meanwhile, Somerset got their title push back on track with victories against Essex, Glamorgan and, less easily, Gloucestershire in the local derby. 

In the North division, the Birmingham Bears ensured a top-four finish by defeating Derbyshire at Old Trafford. In a rain-restricted tie, Livingstone and Buttler peppered the roof of the ground’s new hotel and the ‘keeper’s 83 off 36 balls propelled him past 10,000 career runs in T20 cricket, only the ninth man to do so. With Damen D’Oliveira in fine form, Worcestershire need to beat Durham and Derbyshire to proceed, and the Roses encounter in Manchester takes on an extra edge with both counties vying for a place in the quarters. 

Nottinghamshire are still very much in the hunt, but their batting has been very inconsistent. Not so, Alex Hales. His last three scores of 0, 5 and a first-ball 0 have been the model of consistency. Am I wrong to snigger at his misfortune? 

Team of the Week:- D’Oliveira (Wor), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Jacks (Sur), Buttler (Lan +), Holden (Mid), S Curran (Sur), Jordan (Sur), Van der Gugten (Gla), Sams (Ess), T Taylor (Nor), Zaman Khan (Der)

Surrey Double eclipses Mr Bean

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kent Spitfires shoot them all down

First of all I have to proffer my grudging congratulations to Kent for winning the T20 Blast, consigning Somerset to their customary runners-up spot. Their Finals Day victories while batting first (also against Sussex) demonstrated their all-round abilities, from the batting of Bell-Drummond and Cox to the bowling of Milnes and Klaasen. However, it was that man Darren Stevens whose unbeaten 47 from 28 balls was instrumental in reaching the final. Kent don’t win many trophies these days so it was nice to see the 45 year-old get to hold aloft some silverware before retirement, whenever that might be, if ever. 

He was rested for the preceding Championship fixture against Derbyshire which they also won. Daneil Bell-Drummond supplied another two half-centuries while the majority of wickets went the way of Grant Stewart and Nathan Gilchrist. The home county’s batters never looked likely to surmount the declaration target of 341 and were duly dismissed for 210. That’s three out of three so far for Kent, a feat matched by Middlesex who beat Worcestershire at Lord’s by 101 runs. Charlie Morris’ 6-52 looked set to spoil the party only for Ethan Bamber (4-28) and Martin Andersson (3-22) to wrap things up on the fourth day. 

In the other Group 3 match, Sussex capitulated in their second innings to hand Leicestershire a comprehensive victory at Grace Road. Hassan Azad (152) and Lewis Hill (145) notched career-best scores then four-wicket hauls by Ben Mike and spinner Callum Parkinson applied the final blows. 

In Group 1, Hampshire moved into pole position by removing nine Nottinghamshire batsmen in the final session at Southampton. The losers were inevitably critical of the pitch as spinners Liam Dawson and Felix Organ wreaked havoc. The weather looked likely to ruin everything before play resumed at 1pm but the meagre crowd were rewarded for their patience. Warwickshire advanced to second, returning from Headingley with the spoils. Here, too, the bowlers were in charge, notably the visiting seamers Woakes, Norwell and Miles but special mention should go to Tim Bresnan. Playing against his old county of Yorkshire, he snaffled no fewer than six slip catches in the second innings, one short of the Championship record, besides taking 4-36 in the first innings. 

Meanwhile Somerset limbered up for their T20 day in the sun by suffering another trouncing, this time at the hands of Lancashire. That they avoided a third successive innings defeat owed much to a battling 100 by Tom Lammonby but there was little to cheer the Taunton faithful in the competition that really counts. Luke Wells and Tom Bailey shone for the Red Roses but there were six wickets for the previously unheralded Jack Blatherwick. His name suggests a background of club cricket in the Irwell valley but the 23 year-old was born in Nottingham. 

In Group 2, Essex remain top despite being held to a draw by Surrey. Reports of a problematic drinking culture affecting performances this summer may or may not be true but the veteran knight Alastair Cook delivered the highest score of the week, with 165. Gloucestershire are on their heels after taking 22 points from Cardiff. Glamorgan surrendered meekly to the orthodox spin of Zafar Gohar His sole Test outing for Pakistan left him with stats of 0-159 but the figures which mattered this week were 6-43. 

Things were more exciting at Northampton where there were some topsy-turvy scorecards. Durham achieved maximum batting points and a handsome first innings lead thanks to a ninth-wicket stand of 159 between Liam Trevaskis and Matty Potts. Having lost the third day to rain they had plenty of work to do with the ball as Northants battled to survive until stumps. In the event, they managed to do by the skin of their teeth. James Sales struck a maiden fifty and Simon Kerrigan stuck around for nearly three hours for his 28 not out and Durham couldn’t prise out him or last man White. 

And so to the Championship climax. The way Somerset have been playing, Warwickshire should take maximum points at Edgbaston but Nottinghamshire can still produce an extraordinary turnaround in fortunes by beating Yorkshire. However, the pennant will fly over the Ageas Bowl for the first time in 48 years should Hampshire overcome Lancashire at Liverpool and I wouldn’t bet against them, provided the fickle North West weather plays ball. 

Team of the Week: Bell-Drummond (Ken), A. Cook (Ess), Hassan Azad (Lei), Hill (Lei), Brown (Sus), Swindells (Lei +), Bresnan (War), Barker (Ham), Bamber (Mid), Potts (Dur), Norwell (War)

Northants having a Blast

The past ten days or so have seen the Vitality T20 Blast take centre stage in the domestic season. With international travel restricted and cricket’s schedules so fluid and last-minute, there are few overseas stars on show this year so it’s been a chance for more home-grown players, excluding those on England duty, to strut their stuff. 

With all counties having played five games, we’re at the halfway stage of the group stage and already the holders Essex are struggling. In 2019 they were nigh-on unbeatable but in 2020 they have yet to record a single victory. In the South division, it’s Kent who lead the way, but the margins have been narrow. They tied at Lord’s and sneaked a one-run win at Hove but consistent opening partnerships between Test hero Zak Crawley and the big-hitting skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond have helped set strong targets. 

Stevie Eskinazi is the competition’s top-scorer, the Middlesex man thumping three half-centuries, while his opening partner Max Holden registered his maiden T20 ton against Essex, even though rain prevented a result. One-time England star Steve Finn has been bowling well, too. 

In the Central group, Northamptonshire won four and lost none, the most impressive record of any county so far. Paul Stirling got them off to a cracking start, and Ben Sanderson has been the pick of the attack. Somerset promised to finished second (as usual) only to slip up against the Bears on D/L. Poor Ian Bell was out for a duck, perhaps hastening his decision to retire next month. Instead, it’s Gloucestershire pushing hard Ian Cockbain’s explosive 35-ball 84 and Ben Smith’s 5-16 against the Bears at Edgbaston being the highlights. Their only defeat came at home to Glamorgan, for whom Chris Cooke continued to keep the county’s weak batting afloat. 

In the North section, Nottinghamshire and Lancashire have dominated proceedings. Unfortunately their meeting at Liverpool was abandoned, a common refrain in this group. Indeed, three of Leicestershire’s five fixtures were No Results.  For Notts, Jake Ball was in good form with the ball while Joe Clarke finished with a four and six to reach a century and beat Durham . Lancashire opening pair Keaton Jennings and Alex Davies were both on song, the former’s 108 proving decisive against Durham in the first match, and Tom Bailey’s 5-17 against Leicestershire counting for nothing thanks to the weather. Yorkshire’s batsmen deserved more success, with Lyth, Kohler-Cadmore and England’s T20 squad reject Joe Root all contributing, but their attack was less successful. 

Back to proper cricket next week… 

Team of the Week: Bell-Drummond (Ken), Jennings (Lan), Eskinazi (Mid), Root (Yor), Cooke (Gla +), Wiese (Sus), Higgins (Glo), Bailey (Lan), B Smith (Glo), Finn (Mid), Sanderson (Nor)

Notts and Gloucester sneak in to the Blast quarters

The T20 Blast reached the end of its group stage with a flurry of sixes. Northamptonshire Steelbacks forged a bit of metal with their second victory of the summer, against Leicestershire but Middlesex slumped to their twelfth defeat, a miserable return for one of the richest counties who count England’s Malan and Morgan amongst their number. I feel sorry for opener Paul Stirling who aggregated 164 runs in the week but finished on the losing side each time.

At the other end of the tables, Worcestershire and Somerset held on to their respective top spots. Moeen Ali struck the only century of the week, 115 in 56 balls against his Birmingham neighbours, while Somerset’s Corey Anderson plundered a 30-ball 72 off Glamorgan, including six sixes. Glamorgan’s recent surge hit a brick wall and they suffered a disastrous final week. Their last-day showdown at home to Surrey might have been a crucial qualification clash but by the time the rain had cleared from Cardiff and Aaron Finch smashed boundaries in the five overs allotted, the result was purely academic.

Sussex finished strongly, thanks largely to Salt’s two sixties and Rashid Khan’s typical economy. Gloucestershire just about hung on in fourth place despite a winless week, while Kent cemented second place, and a home quarter-final by completing a thrilling victory against leaders Somerset on Thursday. Billings and Bell-Drummond led the charge to 231-5 at Canterbury. Needing 70 to win from the last 21 deliveries, Luke Gregory crashed Haggett and Claydon to all corners of the ground but ended the innings an agonising five runs short.

Next week, Somerset will face champions Nottinghamshire, who defeated both Worcestershire and close rivals Yorkshire yesterday en route to the top four position they craved. Alex Hales anchored their run chase and Tom Moores provided the fireworks as the Outlaws clinched it by eight wickets with an over to spare.

Last weekend, Lancashire bowled out Durham for a paltry 78, with all six bowlers employed chipping in. That meant they could afford to get hammered by the Bears at Edgbaston and still finished third and bag a trip to Kent in the last eight. Sussex will travel to Durham and Worcestershire host Gloucestershire. I fancy the Sharks, Lightning, Rapids and Outlaws to participate in Finals Day.

In the meantime, there’s a full round of Championship fixtures to keep us occupied. Somerset require a victory over Essex to keep Surrey within range but a Lancashire victory at the Oval might keep things interesting in Division One. In the second flight, the Vitality Blast wooden-spooners Middlesex and Northants meet at Wantage Road, but in red ball cricket I’d expect the Londoners to have the upper hand. They need some success to keep their season alive, poor dears.

Team of the Week:

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Salt (Sus), Ali (Wor, Willey (Yor), Billings (Ken +), Howell (Glo), Anderson (Som), Gregory (Som), Brown (Wor), Rashid Khan (Sus), Waller (Som)

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)

Sussex and Notts find one-day form at last

Yorkshire stand atop the North division thanks to more fine batting performances, especially by their wicket-keepers. In the six-wicket victory over Durham, for which Stephen Cook and Michael Richardson both reached three figures, it took a special innings from Jonny Bairstow to power to their tough target with two overs to spare. In a rare outing for his county, the England man plundered 174 in just 113 balls. He was assisted by Aussie Peter Handscomb, who helped himself to a superb 140 himself against Derbyshire, and almost 300 across the week. Even in defeat against Worcestershire, his 88 did at least keep the White Roses in contention for a while.

Nottinghamshire won three out of three, taking them to third place. Samit Patel had a decent week but the star solo performance came from Billy Root, who made 107 not out against Warwickshire. And he isn’t even the best batsman in his family! Elsewhere, Leicestershire opener Mark Pettini followed a magnificent 159 with a duck, and Stephen Croft’s rapid 127 for Lancashire against Warwickshire included a 34-run over off poor Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

Bowlers found life hard again this week, but Durham’s novice medium-pacer James Weighell maintained his excellent start to his 50-over season, adding another 8 wickets to his tally. His 4-34 against Leicestershire was the stand-out statistic.

Further South, Somerset held on to their 100% record. The Taunton crowd last Tuesday enjoyed 706 runs and when Daniel Bell-Drummond (106) and Alex Blake (116 in 58 balls) set a massive target, things looked gloomy for the home side. That left the stage for a Peter Trego special. He doesn’t bowl these days, but he can still whack the ball around. His 135, backed by half-centuries from Elgar and Hildreth, took them almost all the way before van der Merwe and Gregory applied the final boundaries. Somerset smashed well over 300 again at Cardiff, where Jim Allenby chose the fixture with his previous county to produce a special innings. His 144 not out was the highest score but partners Dean Elgar and James Hildreth provided the fireworks.

Glamorgan did at least win a match for a change, clinching a nail-biter at Sophia Gardens versus Essex by just one run. Colin Ingram struck a brilliant 142 and, when the visitors lost their first two wickets for two, the Welsh side looked firmly in control. However, two century partnerships involving Varun Chopra took Essex to just seven runs from victory in the final over. Unfortunately for them, Harmer, Porter and Wagner couldn’t find the all-important boundary.

At least Essex did find themselves on the right side of an extremely close contest at the Oval. Surrey paceman James Dernbach took 4-31 but Simon Harmer did last the distance this time, guiding Essex to the finishing line with four balls remaining.

However, it was Sussex who enjoyed three consecutive successes during the week. New signing Laurie Evans stole the show against Kent with an 86-ball 134 not out, and the momentum could take them to the knockout stage. Amidst all these hundreds, credit to Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones for accumulating combined stats of 8-81, including 4-10 against Hampshire.

Next week’s Essex encounters with Sussex and Somerset could be thrilling, while Friday’s West Midlands derby involving Warwickshire and Worcestershire looks particularly tasty.

Team of the Week: Bell-Drummond (Ken), Bairstow )Yor +), Richardson (Dur), Handscomb (Yor), Madsen (Der), Bopara (Ess), Blake (Ken), T Wells (Lei), Roland-Jones (Mid), Weighell (Dur), Dernbach (Sur)