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 Climax: Yorkshire and Lancashire Swap Divisions

Not surprisingly for late September, the weather put a downer on proceedings right across the UK, affecting both the England-Australia ODI decider and the conclusion of the County Championship. For some, the damp squib meant extra tea and computer games in the pavilion followed by batting practice wearing thermals. On the other hand, there were relegation and promotion issues to be decided. 

With so many days lost to rain, only two results ere possible. At Taunton, wickets tumbled like dominoes, with Hampshire coming out on top by five wickets. For Somerset, Jack Leach enjoyed a good finish to the summer but Kyle Abbott’s reliable pace yielded figures of 9-74, enabling Hampshire to displace Somerset in the runners-up position. I suppose it’s better than ending the year with our traditional trio of second-places, having already lost both domestic finals. 

Essex and serial champions Surrey played out a tame draw at Chelmsford. Four batsmen helped themselves to centuries, the biggest (182) from the blade of Dean Elgar, who in the process swept past the 1000-run mark. Further north, the Durham-Kent contest was limited to two days, sufficient only for both counties to rack up three batting bonus points, a rare achievement for Kent in 2024. Alex Lees top-scored with 144. 

The week began with Nottinghamshire requiring batting bonus points and Lancashire to fail in order to stay up and consign the latter to Division Two. The Red Roses duly crumbled to 177 against Worcestershire while centuries from Freddie McCann and South African ‘keeper Kyle Verreynne took Notts past 350 and safety. Verryenne played only four innings but signed off with an average of 248! Opponents Warwickshire had not been out of the woods but Sam Hain’s unbeaten 153 completed the rescue mission. Lancashire’s woeful first-innings batting this season cost them dear. As for Worcestershire, Joe Leach retired having contributed to his side’s highest finish since 2011. 

Sussex bowed out as Division Two champions but it was heartbreak for their visitors Middlesex. Losing the first two days’ play,  Sam Robson led the way with a lightning 113 but James Coles and Jack Carson ripped through the rest of the card. Sussex closed the door on their promotion ambitions on the final day, Coles and captain John Simpson sharing an unbeaten stand of 226 to deliver a draw. Meanwhile, Yorkshire celebrated the knowledge of their rivals’ misery by racking up a total of 726-7 declared, almost 600 ahead of Northants’ paltry effort. Huddersfield-born James Wharton’s second first-class ton was a biggie: 285 in 319 balls, including ten sixes. As a result, the two Roses counties swapped places for 2025! 

Derbyshire finished bottom, despite Wayne Madsen crunching another 105 runs, his sixth career century against the Foxes. The Severn derby hsd little riding on the result so credit to the skippers of Glamorgan and Gloucestershire to embrace the opportunity to make a game of it in the likely two days possible. Innings forfeits made it a single-innings shoot-out. The Welsh batted first, declaring at 381-4 upon Chris Cooke reaching three figures but Gloucester capitulated tamely, Andy Gorvin and Ben Kellaway each taking three wickets. Both teams will be hoping for an improved four-day campaign next year but at least Glamorgan have the Blast trophy to build on. 

Look out for my county review and Team of the Year shortly…. 

Team of the Week:- Lees (Dur), Elgar (Ess), Wharton (Yor), Westley (Ess), Hain (War), Cooke (Gla +), Coles (Sus), Gregory (Som), Gregory (Som), Abbott (Ham), Leach (Som), Phillip (Lan)

Tom Latham - Carrying his bat

When the statisticians flung out the figures following Tom Latham’s record-breaking 264 not out, I was amazed that he was only the 56^th man to bat throughout a completed Test innings without being dismissed. In a year when  only Mushfiqur Rahim had reached 200 in Tests, it was also remarkable that the New Zealander’s score was the highest ever by a player ‘carrying his bat’.

He eclipsed the previous best, achieved by Alastair Cook only a year ago in Melbourne. However, remarkably, one man has carried his bat twice this year: Dean Elgar. At Jo’burg in January he ran out of partners in a losing chase against India then, two months later, his unbeaten 141 laid the foundation for a thumping victory over Australia, a game unfortunately remembered more for Steve Smith Cameron Bancroft and David Warner coming a cropper for cheating.

Latham is typical of a traditional bat-carrier: an old-school blocker, the guy you need in a Test side to anchor an innings while others make the strokes. He spent more than eleven hours at the crease, facing 489 balls, representing a strike rate not too shabby, even by modern standards. Mind you, he didn’t start to push on until joined by the Black Cap tail, and only 90 of his runs came in boundaries. But of course that doesn’t matter when you have colleagues like Williamson, Taylor and de Grandhomme at the other end upsetting the Sri Lankan attack.

Two players have carried their bat in Tests three times: Elgar and the great West Indian from the '80s and '90s, Desmond Haynes. The latter was no slouch but, when compared with his long-time opening partner Gordon Greenidge and the likes of Viv Richards, Carl Hooper and Brian Lara, he was a stonewaller. These three occasions were in a mixed trio of circumstances, the matches resulting in a draw defeat and victory.

There are some familiar obdurate openers on the list, from Atherton to Lawry, Gavaskar to Dravid, Kirsten to Turner, but also some of the most flamboyant cricketers of modern times. In 2009, Chris Gayle struck 165 out of a second innings 317 at Adelaide which effectively prevented defeat against the Aussies.

One of the most memorable displays of bat-carrying came at Hobart seven years ago. In a very low-scoring game against New Zealand, Australia needed 244 to win. Up to then, only two players had passed 40 and the Aussie batsmen were maintaining that grim record – all except David Warner. While Bracewell was causing carnage at the other end, he produced a brilliant innings of 123 which took his side to within seven of the target before Lyon was bowled.

However, perhaps the greatest effort happened in 2008 at Galle. As all around him lost their wickets at an alarming rate, Virender Sehwag just stuck to his normal game and flayed 201in 231 balls out of a first innings total of 329. He added 50 on his second outing and India went on to win decisively.

I wouldn’t mind betting that Geoff Boycott would have relished carrying his bat. Even if he scored only one not out. But if there was one thing the Yorkshire legend loved even more, it was scoring centuries. Therefore, he must have been fuming when, in Perth almost four decades ago, whilst endeavouring to stave off almost certain defeat, he was left high and dry on 99 not out. Coincidentally, the Aussie Kim Hughes had earlier been dismissed on 99 while Boycott’s 20-ball first innings facing Lillee and Dymock had yielded precisely nothing.

In the end, carrying the bat is a feat nobody aims for. It may boost your average but, more often than not, it’s indicative of a poor team performance overly reliant on one batsman. Tom Latham’s case is an exception: he just kept on going and showed why old-fashioned values of knowing when to play and when to leave can reap dividends in what is likely to be a winning cause.

2017 Cricket Team of the Year

2017 ended with all three cricketing formats intact following some memorable competitions and team performances. There was even some favourable headlines when Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry was to marry Morne Morkel – or didn’t I hear that correctly?!

Despite chucking out coach and national legend Anil Kumble, India remain the most consistent nation, ranked in the top three across all red- and whiteball format. However, their domination of Test cricket was the most notable, even if it was predicated on home series. Home advantage in the five-day game seems more evident than ever, and India’s only victory abroad came in neighbouring Sri Lanka back in the summer. In six matches between the two countries, India racked up at least 600 in their first innings, as skipper Virat Kohli, Dhawan, Pujara et al filled their boots. The forthcoming three-match rubber in South Africa will prove a more formidable challenge.

England advanced to third in the list, also on the back of summer wins on their swing-friendly pitches. The thumping they are currently receiving in Australia his winter proves that there is work to do before any consideration of regaining the ICC mace. Keeping Ben Stokes away from drinking establishments would be a start.

In ODIs, I enjoyed watching Pakistan and Bangladesh playing well in the Champions Trophy in Cardiff, before the former overcame India to win the final and a rare piece of silverware. However, South Africa displaced the Aussies at the top of the rankings despite losing again in England. New Zealand topped and tailed the year with satisfying series wins against the Aussies and West Indies. The highlights of Sri Lanka’s 2017 were probably their T20 successes in South Africa and Australia although Pakistan top the rankings.

In county cricket, newly-promoted Essex romped home to claim the Championship thanks largely to a shedload of wickets from Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter. Nottinghamshire, Perth Scorchers and the Mumbai Indians triumphed in the T20 Blast, Big Bash and IPL, respectively.

But who were the individuals who shone most brightly throughout the year? First: the batsmen. Nobody scored more first-class runs than South African Dean Elgar, who contributed valuable runs to Somerset’s early campaign as well as his country’s. Cheteshwar Pujara was the only other man to accumulate more than 2,000 runs with the red ball and averaged 67 in Tests. Kumar Sangakkara may have retired from Tests but he proved that age is just a number by stroking eight centuries for Surrey, ending his summer with a stupendous average of 106.50. 

In T20, the usual suspects Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and Kieron Pollard outscored the rest but in List A games, that man Kohli ruled the roost once more, adding 1,460 runs to his already formidable tally. He and his team-mate Rohit Sharma each notched six one-day hundreds with strike rates a smidgeon under 100. Pakistan’s Babar Azam scored four, but his strike rate was a relatively mediocre 79. Dhawan, Bairstow, Warner and, in a relatively leisurely year, AB De Villiers were the only high scorers taking more than a run a ball across the whole year.

After accepting the England Test captaincy, Joe Root wasn’t his usual self with the bat but, in addition to Kohli, the proven class of Hashim Amla, David Warner and Steve Smith was again demonstrated in spades across all cricket. The Aussie skipper has now averaged more than 70 in four consecutive calendar years and is no slouch in the fifty-over stuff, although he didn’t play an awful lot of it this year. He makes my Eleven for the third year in succession. Amla aggregated more than 3,000 runs in all cricket, which I don’t think anyone else could approach.

It wasn’t a vintage year for all-rounders. The evergreen spinner Jeetan Patel took more than 100 wickets in total but his batting was weaker than in previous years. T20 specialist Sunil Narine improved with the willow, adding 760 runs to his 62 wickets in 64 games. India’s Hardik Pandya is perhaps one for the future but, when it comes to the international stage, I have to select Shakib al-Hasan for my Team of the Year.

In 2016, England’s Bairstow took more catches behind the stumps than any other Test ‘keeper. Last year, he was a distant second behind South Africa’s Quintin de Kock, who also dismissed 25 in ODIs. MS Dhoni may have greyer hairs these days but he was still more than useful as a keeper-batsman in limited-overs cricket. His India Test successor Saha made 61 first-class dismissals and young West Indian Shai Hope had a breakthrough twelve months. Unlike most of his countrymen, he looks to be better suited to the longer formats and may well be one to watch in the coming years. De Villiers may still have the edge in T20 but De Kock has been the star stumpie of 2017.

Now for the bowlers:

It seems to me that bowlers, even more than the batsmen, are becoming increasingly specialised. For example, Malinda Pushpakumara has long been a prolific wicket-taker in Sri Lankan domestic cricket and in 2017 claimed a barely credible 115 first-class victims at only 15.50 apiece. However, he made little impact with the white ball. Similarly for Essex’s top bowlers Harmer and Porter, Australian Test spinner Nathan Lyon, Ravi Ashwin and England’s number one-ranked swing king James Anderson.

Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph, the 21 year-old Antiguan seamer, played several Tests with little distinction, no T20s whatsoever, yet had a decent ODI return of 19 at 30.63. Hasan Ali enjoyed a storming Champions Trophy for Pakistan and ended the year with 91 wickets in ODIs and Twenty20. He was the top wicket-taker in 50-over internationals but Indian medium-pacer Jasprit Bumrah boasted a superior total in all List A games, with 52.

One of last year’s picks, Kagiso Rabada, proved that 2016 was no flash in the pan. Last year he collected a round hundred wickets, including 57 in Tests for South Africa. He is making Steyn’s absence as attack leader less problematic. Another paceman, Marchant de Lange, hasn’t played for the Proteas for five years but was in excellent form for his various teams around the world. Mitchell Starc had injury problems so made little impact. However, that presented Josh Hazlewood with an opportunity to make a mark in Tests and ODIs. He certainly played his part in the Ashes clincher at Perth the other week.

My last pick for the 2017 XI is only 19 years old and, because he’s from Afghanistan, doesn’t play Test cricket – yet. Nonetheless he had a storming twelve months with the white ball. Rashid Khan was by some margin the supreme wicket-taker in T20, with 80, and his economy rate of 5.53 was just as extraordinary. While most of his 43 ODI victims were representing Associate nations he is a great talent and I hope he is allowed the chance to do his stuff against the leading teams in five-day cricket. Afghanistan have finally had Test status bestowed upon them but the likes of India and South Africa have yet to schedule matches against them, even over four days. Perhaps they’re too scared of Rashid!

In summary, here is my 2017 Team of the Year:-

Elgar (SA), Dhawan (Ind), Amla (SA), Kohli (Ind), Smith (Aus), De Kock (SA, +), Shakib al-Hasan (Ban), Hasan Ali (Pak), Rabada (SA), Bumrah (Ind), Rashid Khan (Afg).

My ‘squad replacements’ would be Warner (Aus), Sangakkara (SL), Jeetan Patel (NZ) and Anderson (Eng).

Stokes, Ali and England's Golden Trio Triumph

This summer’s Test series has been a topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride so far. On paper, England and South Africa look well-matched, but each match has been very one-sided. After their Trent Bridge drubbing, Joe Root’s men turned the tables again to record a 239-run victory back in London and ensure they can’t lose the series.

While Cook, Root and Bairstow helped themselves to fifties, Ben Stokes at last demonstrated that he can apply himself to proper Test cricket batting, and Moeen Ali incredibly clinched the game with his first ever hat-trick, much of the talk will be about the debutants.

I can’t remember when England last presented first caps to three players in the same match. I’m not convinced by Dawid Malan’s credentials as a Test batsman but of course he plays for one of the London counties, which undeniably helps. Like team-mate Eoin Morgan, he is more suited to limited-overs cricket. However, his performances for the Lions can’t be ignored and so probably deserved an opportunity.

Tom Westley has in the past few years excelled in an Essex side brimming with young talent battling to follow in Alastair Cook’s footsteps. At the age of 28, he has had to bide his time. Like Malan, he averages around 37-38 and owes his call-up to a century in the Lions cause, in his case an unbeaten 106 against the South Africans a month ago. An assured Test debut including 84 runs should mean he keeps the likes of Ballance and Compton out of the team for a bit longer.

Toby Roland-Jones, of course, made a name for himself in Middlesex’s march to the Championship last summer, and in particular that final-day hat-trick to deprive Somerset of their rightful title. Naturally, he received the nod from the friendly Lord’s selectors but it’s taken another year to finally get on the pitch, thank to Mark Wood’s injury. His late-order batting is solid enough, but his career tally of 347 first-class wickets at only 25 is impossible to ignore any longer. And how he stood up to be counted! His first-innings five-for, including a top-four featuring Amla and De Kock, finished South Africa’s chances of competing effectively in this Third Test. Should either Anderson or Broad pack in any time soon, on this evidence, TR-J can perform the role of swing and seamer admirably. The only problem is that he is not far short of 30 himself.

But back to The Oval. Moeen Ali becoming the first England spinner to claim a hat-trick since 1938 wasn’t in the script. That Ben Stokes should heave four Maharaj deliveries into the stands was less surprising. The stats say that the Durham all-rounder became the first English player to strike three consecutive sixes since Wally Hammond in the 1930s. Hammond?! He is a genuine all-time great but not renowned for six-hitting in Test matches, what with having to bat with a plank of wood and boundaries defined by the position of spectators’ seats not sponsors’ adverts.

People have rightly questioned the ability of Stokes, Ali, Bairstow et al to bat to the situation and not merely play their natural attacking game. Bearded Ben answered his critics in fine style, even holding back those sixes until his century was in sight and nine wickets were down. Now those same criticisms are being made of the South Africans. At the very least, Faf du Plessis needs to learn when not to shoulder arms! At least we know Dean Elgar has the strength and ability to make runs in the second innings. The prolific pre-series practice for Somerset has reaped dividends.

England should now progress to winning the D’Oliveira Trophy, but if they lose the toss and bowl first, their recent record is very poor. If Joe Root can be as consistently good at guessing the side of the coin correctly as he is at accumulating runs, England will do very well indeed.

Hampshire Hustle to the Top

As the Champions Trophy launched at The Oval, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens, there were only 6 County Championship fixtures played this week. Only one was sufficient to see newly-promoted Hampshire hand bottom club Warwickshire a drubbing by an innings and 94 runs at the Rose Bowl. Southampton stalwarts Jimmy Adams and Sean Ervine found rare form and made big centuries in a huge partnership of 367. Ervine proceeded to 203 before young Sukhjt Singh bowled him, one of six victims in only his third first-class match. Despite a century stand by Trott and Barker, Warwickshire had to follow on with over a day remaining. Leading wicket-taker Kyle Abbott duly claimed 4-32 and Ervine polished off the tail.

Headingley hosted the second Roses game in a few weeks but this time Yorkshire came out with the victor’s 16 points, beating Lancashire by ten wickets inside three days. In only his second first-class outing of 2017, Ryan Sidebottom was his usual miserly self and young gun Ben Coad made another major mark by taking 6-25 on the first day. Adam Lyth was the only man to pass 50 in the whole match, advancing to three figures for the first time this season. Meanwhile, his opposite number Haseeb Hameed continued to struggle, making his return to the Test Eleven look somewhat doubtful.

If Dean Elgar was British, or at least had not already represented the Proteas, he’d be a shoo-in to replace the Lancastrian. He scored another century for Somerset, as did all-rounder Luke Gregory, but the weather at Lord’s ensured there was to be no win for either side. At least another 2017 struggler, Tom Abell, enjoyed some fourth day batting practice, albeit against the likes of Compton, Gubbins and wicket-keeper Simpson! His side now face Yorkshire in a bid to register a first Division One victory of the summer, while Essex and Surrey meet for a chance to displace Hampshire at the top.

In the second rung, Nottinghamshire opened up a thirteen-point lead over Kent despite failing to beat Derbyshire at Trent Bridge. Missing Pattinson, Broad and Ball, their makeshift seam attack failed to bowl out their visitors twice. Billy Godleman top-scored with 121 for Derbyshire. Meanwhile, Worcestershire’s 100% record was destroyed by Sussex at Hove. Whilst the home team were earlier rocked by Luke Wright’s sudden resignation as captain, it didn’t prevent them marching to an innings defeat of a Worcester team unhealthily reliant on the runs of Daryl Mitchell. So much so that he has now been in my last three Teams of the Week! Luke Wells scored 158 while Wiese and Philander collected ten wickets between them.  

In the remaining fixture, Durham suffered another loss and still can’t boast a positive figure in the points column. It didn’t help that their bowling line-up had a very unfamiliar look. Extra kudos then to the inexperienced Paul Coughlin, whose ten wickets in the match made him the most successful bowler of the week, even in defeat. It was a very close-run thing, though, because Northants were running out of steam and the rain was falling steadily at Chester-le-Street before they crossed the line with a ball to spare.

Durham now face an arduous challenge in Kent, and it falls to Gloucestershire to halt Notts’ seemingly straightforward path to an instant return to the top flight.

Team of the Week: Mitchell (Wor), Elgar (Som), Steel (Dur), Wells (Sus), Ervine (Ham), Rossington (Nor +), Gregory (Som), Philander (Sus), Buck (Nor), Coad (Yor), Coughlin (Dur).

Van der Merwe brings Somerset to Life

The opening fixtures of the Royal London Cup produced some memorable batting performances, especially by South Africans, with bowlers struggling to make a mark.

In the North division, Yorkshire and Worcestershire each won both of their matches. The former enjoyed easy victories over Nottinghamshire (helped by Bresnan’s bowling and Joe Root’s unbeaten 75) and Lancashire, who were undone by a 143-run stand between Handscomb and Ballance, and the spin of Rashid and Rafiq. Worcester’s successes, against Notts and Leicestershire, owed more to the whole team.

The most exciting climax was witnessed by the Old Trafford crowd on Friday evening. A strong start from Hameed (on his List A debut) and a late flurry of boundaries by Joe Clark took Lancashire to 314-8. An over was lost to the weather, leaving Leicestershire a D/L target of 309. Mark Pettini and South African Cameron Delport shared a first-wicket century stand, but it was Zak Chappell’s cameo which clinched the three-wicket triumph with four balls to spare.

In the South group, Somerset are the only side with two wins out of two. Against old rivals Surrey, they found themselves in dire straits at 22-5. Enter Roelof van der Merwe. Supported by fellow Saffer Dean Elgar, he clumped 22 fours and a six en route to a career-best 165 not out, leading to victory in under 44 overs. A few days later, Elgar reached three figures himself at Hove. In a rain-affected match, Craig Overton’s 3-20 restricted Sussex to just 155-9 in their 20 overs. After two Championship defeats, Somerset needed this boost to their season!

Elsewhere, Durham skipper Keaton Jennings was in superb form. He followed his 79 in the Derbyshire ‘no result’ with a commanding century against Warwickshire. 23 year-old James Weighell weighed in with a decisive 5-57, too. Glamorgan opener Jacques Rudolph crunched 121 not out off the Gloucestershire attack and 57 versus Surrey. Team-mate Colin Ingram also enjoyed all-round success during the week.

Craig Norwell (5-36) and Benny Howell (86 not out and 3-40) were instrumental in Gloucestershire’s trumping of Middlesex, while Neil Wagner’s 4-41 was the most eye-catching contribution to Essex’s success in their only match played so far. I reckon the Chelmsford outfit will have plenty more this season, with the likes of Ten Doeschate, Westley and Ashar Zaidi on form, and then there’s Alastair Cook who’s no fool in the 50-over format.

In the coming week, three of the most interesting fixtures are Kent’s trip to Taunton, Surrey’s hosting of Essex and Yorkshire’s trip to Worcester. And then there’s the potentially popular London derby on 5th May. Middlesex won’t want to lose to Surrey at Lord’s!

Team of the Week: Rudolph (Gla), Jennings (Dur), Elgar (Som), Thakor (Nor), Ingram (Gla), van der Merwe (Som), Foakes (+, Sur), Howell (Glo), Norwell (Glo), C Overton (Som), Weighell (Dur).