Markram eases Hampshire's progress

Hampshire became the first county to guarantee qualification to the knockout stages, thanks to victories over Sussex, Surrey and Somerset. The former Meghan Markle may have grabbed the biggest headlines but Aiden Markram was in prolific form, peaking last Thursday at the Rose Bowl where he fired 130 in 87 balls and shared a 184-run stand with fellow centurion Tom Alsop. Another South African, David Wiese took Sussex close with a big-hitting one-day personal best of 171. However, his dismissal triggered a tail-end collapse. Successive missed heaves off Mason Crane gave Alsop two stumpings and Sussex fell nine short in an entertaining South Coast derby.

Somerset suffered two further heavy defeats to the sides which now lead the South division. Middlesex leapt to second courtesy of their 118-run triumph at Radlett (funny, I always thought it was in Hertfordshire!) and another win against Glamorgan. Most of the batsmen contributed, and Nathan Sowter nabbed seven more wickets.

On Tuesday Sussex were involved in another exciting climax, this time emerging on top. Having restricted Essex to 287, they were left reeling at 87-6, but Will Beer proved an unlikely high-scoring partner for Laurie Evans. However, when the ninth wicket fell, 24 were still needed from four remaining overs, only for Danny Briggs and Mir Hamza to sneak over the finishing line off the penultimate delivery.

Glamorgan passed 300 for the second time in two days, led by captain/’keeper Chris Cooke whose barnstorming 161 at Bristol, well supported by Billy Root, ensured a 74-run margin over Gloucestershire. Surrey’s campaign failed to improve, as fellow strugglers Kent bowled them out for a paltry 127. As for the qualifiers, tomorrow’s final round of fixtures could produce a myriad of possibilities. Middlesex should join Hampshire with a trip to Canterbury and Somerset require a return to last month’s form at home to Surrey. Net run rate will probably determine the top four.

Nottinghamshire retained their place at the summit in the North group despite losing to Worcestershire by five wickets. The latter also dealt Yorkshire a thumping, Wayne Parnell enjoying consecutive five-fors whilst conceding fewer than fifty runs in total. Lancashire’s three-wicket success against Durham put them in contention but they had to sit on the sidelines as fellow contenders battled for a place in Friday’s quarter-finals. 

Team of the Week: Robson (Mid), Markram (Ham), Gubbins (Mid), Cooke (Gla +), Root (Gla), Wiese (Sus), Dawson (Ham), J Taylor (Glo), Parnell (Wor), Sowter (Mid), A Thomson (War)

County Week: Wickets tumble to Ball and Stone

It proved fitting that the 2018 County Championship commenced on Friday the 13^th because it was certainly unlucky for all players and spectators. In contrast to the warm sunshine of last year’s launch, it was virtually a  complete washout. In fact, conditions at Headingley were so bad that Yorkshire’s eagerly-awaited encounter with reigning champs Essex was abandoned without a single ball bowled.

When play did start elsewhere, it was woefully one-sided. The only century scored in five matches came from David Wiese, batting at number nine for Sussex. The highest score by any opening batsman was Daniel Bell-Drummond’s second innings 61. In short, England was a seamer’s paradise.

One of the few specialist batsman to make runs was James Vince, whose swift 75 for Hampshire helped set up a 196-run victory over promoted Worcestershire. Visiting captain Joe Leach nabbed seven wickets, as did Kyle Abbott, although it was his Hampshire team-mates Fidel Edwards and Liam Dawson who polished off the tail to go top of the table.

At Old Trafford, the final morning witnessed a crazy avalanche of wickets, with twelve tumbling in only fifteen overs. Aussie Joe Mennie ripped out the Notts top three in his first two overs but the damage to Lancashire had already been inflicted over the weekend and Steven Mullaney’s men needed only ten to win! In total, one-time England internationals Jake Ball and Harry Gurney hoovered up seventeen wickets for only 100 runs. Crazy stuff!

It was a similar situation in Division Two. At Canterbury, Gloucestershire became the first side to win a Championship fixture without scoring more than 110 in an innings since 1982. Amidst the carnage caused by the pacier men like Matt Taylor and Kent’s Kiwi import Matt Henry, it was the young spinner Ryan Higgins, brought in from Middlesex, who boasted the best single return of 5-22, albeit in a losing cause.

Middlesex seemed to operate perfectly well without him, though, as James Harris (9-48 in the match) and Tim Murtagh (8-63) flattened Northamptonshire within eight rain-hit sessions. Harris also contributed the game’s highest individual score: 46 not out. He usually starts the season strongly so let’s hope in 2018 he doesn’t succumb to his customary injuries. Even lacking key batsmen, the lads from Lord’s were straightforward winners and even at this early stage must surely be odds-on favourites to bounce back from the second tier.

Edgbaston saw the only match to finish as a draw, although the wet outfield didn’t allow very much play. The three top scores of the entire week were all achieved here, led by the aforementioned Wiese’s run-a-ball 106 and his captain Ben Brown’s 91. Their eighth wicket stand of 155 was a Sussex record against Warwickshire and came in spite of Olly Stone’s highly commendable 8-80 and a fine all-round performance by the home side’s Tim Ambrose. The former Sussex ‘keeper compiled 81 and took six catches in the first innings.

I can only hope the weather is kinder next week, so that batsmen can at last get runs under their belts in a full fixture list. Middlesex must fancy their chances at Derby while in Division One, Essex and Yorkshire get a second chance of playing, against Lancashire and Notts, respectively. Surrey’s big names enter the fray at home to Hampshire while Somerset host Worcestershire.

My Team of the Week is inevitably bowler-heavy. For the first time since I’ve compiled such lists, I have been able to fill the top five slots with only two specialist batsmen. Mad! Hopefully normal service will be restored next week.

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Vince (Ham), Brown (Sus), Ambrose (War, +), Berg (Ham), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Wiese (Sus), Stone (War), Ball (Not), Gurney (Not)