Team of the Week 9th May: AB, PJ and DM get A*

A good spread of top performances this week, with wicketkeepers and slow bowlers to the fore. First name on my team sheet is Worcestershire captain and opener, Daryl Mitchell. This is his tenth summer with his home county, and it must be one of his best starts to a first-class season. I once saw him fall two runs short of a triple-century at Taunton but when set he is one of the best county openers around. Against Glamorgan, he was last man out for 109, then unbeaten on 151 in the second innings, taking his career average close to 40 and season average well into three figures. Durham's Mark Stoneman has been around almost as long, but with less success. However, his 131 did much to keep Durham in the match against Yorkshire and certainly eclipsed debutant Kumar Sangakkara, whose first outing for his new county lasted only two balls. Good practice for the Sri Lanka tour then!

Mike Yardy showed the way for Sussex with a first innings century against Lancashire but I've gone for Kent's Brendan Nash at number three. He shared a 197-run partnership with Rob Key, scoring the same number of runs (126) but at a much brisker rate. The Aussie-born West Indian international is proving to be one of Kent's best signings of recent years.

It doesn't matter where AB De Villiers plays; he'll produce the goods on any pitch, in any country, in any format. As the IPL shifted from the UAE back to India, the Bangalore number five took advantage and smashed an 89 and 53. He's still way behind the current leading scorer in he tournament, Glen Maxwell, though. Shane Watson has flattered to deceive in recent years but it was with his bowling that he made the headlines his week, including a hat-trick against Kolkata and taking another three wickets against the Sunrisers.

Back in Blighty, another Aussie, Phil Jaques, outscored his fellow Notts batsmen in the draw against Somerset. However, team-mate Samit Patel made 132 arguably when it mattered most, on the opening day. He took a couple of wickets, too. The same wicketkeepers always seem to appear in contention. Chris Read hammered 17 boundaries in 96, alongside the aforementioned Jaques and Patel, James Foster propped up the Essex batting, and Tim Ambrose delivered a fine 167 for Warwickshire. He pipped Ned Eckersley to a place in my team of the week; the Leicestershire batsman donned the gloves in O'Brien's absence and also struck 110 runs.

On the bowling front, spinners took the plaudits, and not only in the IPL where Pravin Tambe was once more Mr Economical for the Royals. He doesn't quite make it this week, displaced by a couple of slowies in the Championship. Kent's young Alex Riley (4-77 and 5-78) and Glamorgan's nothing-like-as-young Dean Cosker (5-39 and 4-94) deserve the selections at a time of year when seamers usually hoover up the wickets. The final bowling spot goes to Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad. His 4-14 against the Royals was his best in a T20 contest, and in the 2014 tournament so far has conceded fewer than 6 an over across eight games, and nobody has taken more wickets. Not bad for a fast-medium pacer!

To re-cap: Daryl Mitchell (Worcs), Mark Stoneman (Dur), Brendan Nash (Kent), Phil Jaques (Notts), AB De Villers (Banga), Samit Patel (Notts), Shane Watson (Rajas), Tim Ambrose (Warks, +), Adam Riley (Kent), Bhuvi Kumar (Hyder), Dean Cosker (Glam)

Team of the Week 25th April 2014: Cook and Maxwell in prime form

For my first Team of the Week of the 2014 'summer', there's a good mix of the familiar, the new and the forgotten. In England, it was a good week for opening batsmen. Greg Smith (Leicestershire) and Derbyshire's recruit from Lancashire, Stephen Moore, each made hundreds, but they are edged out by Essex's Alastair Cook and Lancashire's Sydney-born Paul Horton. Cook picked up 166 runs in a draw, presumably happy to let James Foster do the skippering. Meanwhile, Horton scored one run more, Mr Consistent with 83 and 84. He ended the 2013 season with three hundreds and two ducks in the final four first-class matches, and the Red Roses will be relying heavily on him for runs this year.

Nick Compton (100 not out) and Gary Ballance (174) each reminded England selectors of their middle-order Test credentials, even if they were both born in Africa. The Yorkshire batsman will probably have the edge once Sri Lanka come to town next month. Much as I'd like to, I can't ignore the IPL. Glenn Maxwell added another two big scores, 89 and 95, to his opening blast for Kings XI Punjab. Oddly, he's never made a T20 hundred in 65 innings but he came very close this week.

My wicketkeeper of the week is Tim Ambrose. Several yeara ago, he was the England number one, scoring runs for fun, but then Matt Prior and, later on, depression, got the better of him. Last year he seemed rejuvenated at Warwickshire and this week, he not only contributed a useful cameo with the bat, he claimed six catches in the first innings. Facing seamers of the quality of Woakes and Barker, he should pouch many more.

Peter Trego was welcomed back to Somerset's starting XI and inevitably enjoyed a decent performance in the draw at Durham. However, Gloucestershire's Will Gidman gets the nod as all-rounder. A late developer, cricket-wise, he has eclipsed his older brother and county captain Alex, albeit more as a bowler than batsman. His 3-43 and 6-50 against Glamorgan bolstered his impressive career stats to 169 first-class wickets at under 21 apiece. Even allowing for the fact that they've mostly come in the Championship's second flight, that's pretty good going.

Jack Brooks is another who didn't make the county grade until his mid-20s but he excelled for Yorkshire this week, taking eight Northants wickets. He of the distinctive white headband was accompanied by he of the flowing dark ginger curlilocks, Ryan Sidebottom. The left-armer claimed 7-50 in the match, which was won by an innings. My final two earned their 'call-ups' in Cardiff and the UAE. Mohit Sharma played three times in the IPL this week, taking six for only 44 runs in total. His 4-14 against Mumbai was the pick of the bunch. Back in the Championship, Dean Cosker peered out of the shadow of the retired Robert Croft to capture 5-46 for Glamorgan. Now aged 36, his left-arm spin has earned him over 550 first-class wickets. They haven't come cheap but he does sterling work for the Welsh side.

So there you have it. Take a bow: Cook, Horton, Compton, Ballance, Maxwell, Ambrose (+), W Gidman, Sidebottom, Brooks, M Sharma, Cosker.