It was all change for the domestic trophies in 2016. Yorkshire relinquished the Championship pennant to Middlesex, albeit only after an incredibly close winner-takes-all final afternoon. Earlier, the 50-over competition was won by Ian Bell’s Warwickshire, and the T20 Blast by Northamptonshire, proving once again that the shortest format is the most unpredictable of them all.
For England, Joe Root’s all-round batting quality shone through, and it was wonderful to watch Chris Woakes finally make the step up from top-notch county stalwart to the international stage. Of course, playing for England deprives the domestic game of the best players for much of the season. It was nice to see Alastair Cook and Jonny Bairstow make some runs for Essex and Yorkshire before the ECB called them back for England duty, but they weren’t available for long enough to justify places in my county team of the year.
As before, this is based partly on my Teams of the Week and partly on the end-of-season statistics.
Openers:
In contrast to 2015, it was a fine year for opening batsmen. Marcus Trescothick, free from captaincy responsibilities and limited-overs cricket, enjoyed a fine 25th season for Somerset, Nick Gubbins’ runs were vital in Middlesex’s Championship success, and Mark Stoneman demonstrated why Surrey have prised him away from Durham. However, my places go to Adam Lyth and Keaton Jennings. The Yorkshireman may have been discarded by England, but he made runs in all competitions in 2016. The same is not true of Durham’s Keaton Jennings. Suddenly the Jo’burg-born left-hander found form of which I’d never dreamed him capable, doubling his career tally of first-class centuries in just one summer. He may not ‘do’ the one-day stuff but his dominance of the Championship run table (1,548 and 7 centuries), plus his record six Team of the Week appearances, earn him a spot in my Eleven.
Middle Order
It was a shock when James Taylor was forced to retire from cricket just as his international career was beginning to bloom. He left a big hole in the England middle-order which James Vince could not amply fill this summer. Steve Borthwick and Wayne Madsen were consistent performers but none could match Ben Duckett. The 21 year-old Northamptonshire man amassed well over 2,000 runs in all competitions. Hardly surprising then that he scooped both individual PCA awards and a place in the Bangladesh tour party. He is joined in my 2016 XI by Tom Westley of Essex and Kent’s Sam Northeast. They may have plied their trade in Division Two of the Championship but I wonder how long it will be before they also get their chance for England. Essex, in particular, have an encouraging talent pool of young batsmen.
All-rounders
Genuine all-rounders are a bit thin on the ground in the county game. Darren Stevens wasn’t his usual prolific self for Kent, while Samit Patel was unable to prevent Nottinghamshire from relegation. Somerset’s Peter Trego doesn’t bowl so much these days, helped by his county having the services of the Overton twins and Lewis Gregory. Nevertheless, he broke the 1,000 Championship run barrier in 2016 and struck a career best 154 not out against Lancashire. Now in his thirties, Tim Bresnan is carving quite a niche as a Yorkshire all-rounder these days. Besides supporting the likes of Sidebottom, Brooks and Patterson with the ball, Pontefract’s finest contributed essential runs in the lower order, culminating in his unbeaten 142 against Middlesex which almost clinched the third consecutive title.
Wicketkeepers
Ben Foakes (Surrey), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Ben Brown (Sussex), James Foster (Essex) and John Simpson (Middlesex) each performed well with bat and gloves, but Tim Ambrose nicks it for me. He claimed more Championship victim than anyone else (57) and averaged a creditable 40 at the crease.
Bowlers
The reliable seamers Graeme Onions, Jack Brooks, Steve Magoffin, Clint McKay and Keith Barker each grabbed more than 50 Championship wickets as usual. Jamie Porter was promoted to new-ball duty for Essex and seemed to relish the responsibility. However, it was his 38 year-old team-mate Graham Napier, in his final season, who stole the glory. For so often he has taken the headlines for his six-hitting but in 2016 it was his wickets which did so much for Essex’s promotion challenge. Toby Roland-Jones seemed to enjoy match-winning performances at crucial times, none more so than the hat-trick which wrapped up the Championship on the very last afternoon. However, I have omitted him in favour of Worcestershire’s Joe Leach. He topped the Division Two table of wicket-takers (65), contributed another 20 in the T20 Blast and scored almost 600 runs in the four-day game.
The change in the toss rules was designed to benefit spinners and the jury’s out. I don’t suppose it made any difference to Jeetan Patel who underlined his reputation as the most consistent wicket-taker in county cricket. Ollie Rayner claimed 51 for Middlesex but the surprise name on the list was Somerset’s Jack Leach. The locally-born 24 year-old benefited from the county’s end-of-season turning track strategy and took his season’s tally of Championship wickets to 65, identical to his Worcestershire namesake.
It was encouraging to see so many different players emerging on the county scene. And I haven’t even mentioned Glamorgan’s Dutch-Aussie Timm van der Gugten, Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball or Lancashire teenager Haseeb Hameed! How many will kick on in 2017 and will there be more promising newcomers filling the void left by England call-ups? I can’t wait to find out.
In summary, my County Team of 2016 is:-
Lyth (Yor), Jennings (Dur), Duckett (Nor), Northeast (Ken, *), Westley (Ess), Ambrose (War, +), Trego (Som), Bresnan (Yor), Joe Leach (Wor), Napier (Ess), Patel (War)
12th Man: Roland-Jones (Mid)
Showing posts with label Graham Napier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graham Napier. Show all posts
Saturday, 1 October 2016
Friday, 19 August 2016
Great week for Middlesex and Surrey
The open nature of the County Championship was again much in evidence after the latest round of matches. Non-playing Somerset slipped to fifth but aren’t out of the running. Nor, it can be said, are Hampshire, in eighth place!
However, Middlesex’s crushing defeat of Durham, only their fourth of the season, extended their lead at the top to 26 points. Nicks Gubbins and Compton shared a second-wicket stand of 247, then Ollie Rayner was the star bowler (4-17 and 5-85) as the visitors crumbled twice. No Durham batsmen managed even a half-century.
Yorkshire have a game in hand but failed to beat their Roses rivals at Old Trafford in a high-scoring match. Alex Lees scored 199 runs for the away team but Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed is on a hot streak right now. He picked up a couple of centuries, ably supported by Tom Smith, leaving Yorkshire, bolstered by Root and Bairstow, no time to meet the formidable target.
Surrey are also flying right now, leaping to third after seeing off Warwickshire by 226 runs with a solid all-round performance. Sam Curran’s 62 and match stats of 6-76 were probably the key contributions, along with Kumar Sangakkara’s 135 runs.
Hampshire won the battle of the bottom two by 176 runs, leaving Nottinghamshire in serious trouble. Wheater struck 102 early on but Scottish teenager Brad Wheal’s second innings 6-51 proved decisive.
In Division Two, Essex also collected win number four, making mincemeat of Derbyshire who have yet to record a single Championship success. Nick Browne pursued his penchant for big scores, making an unbeaten 229, before Ravi Bopara and Graham Napier led the way with the ball. The home team’s ex-Essex opener, now Derby captain, Ben Godleman did manage a hundred but all in vain.
At Northampton, Ned Eckersley scored his third successive century, and team-mates Cosgrove and Pettini also reached three figures for Leicestershire. However, Rob Newton was instrumental in depriving the opposition of a crucial victory, aggregating 224 without losing his wicket.
Sussex collected maximum points in their demolition of Gloucestershire at Hove. Luke Wells and Ben Brown stroked hundreds for the home side but Michael Klinger couldn’t follow his first-innings 129 with another big score and they failed to make Sussex bat again. Worcestershire’s promotion challenge faltered at home to Glamorgan, who delighted in a rare win. Bragg and Morgan scored the all-important runs and Mark Wallace bagged nine catches behind the stumps. A shame for Worcester’s Joe Leach, who was the stand-out all-rounder on display.
It wasn’t Worcestershire’s day, either, in the Royal London Cup quarter-finals. Somerset massacred them by nine wickets with several overs to spare at Taunton. Mahela Jayawardene rewarded his county’s patience with a beautifully-judged 117 not out. They will now take a trip to Edgbaston, after Warwickshire beat Essex by 70 runs. Jonathan Trott’s 101 set them on their way before his spinners finished the job.
It was a closer finish in the Yorkshire-Kent encounter at Canterbury, but the England trio of Willey, Plunkett and Adil Rashid wiped out the tail when Kent looked set for victory in their chase. However, you couldn’t have witnessed a more exciting climax than the one served up by Surrey at Northants. The home side had Surrey nine men down with 14 balls remaining and 27 required. That they succeeded was almost entirely down to the brilliance of Sangakkara, who farmed the strike, hitting a six and four in the final over. Had he not been dropped on seven, things may have been rather different!
Team of the Week: Browne (Ess), Newton (Nor), Hameed (Lan), Sangakkara (Sur), Bragg (Gla), Brown (Sus +), Franklin (Mid), Leach (Wor), Napier (Ess), Rayner (Mid), Wheal (Ham)
However, Middlesex’s crushing defeat of Durham, only their fourth of the season, extended their lead at the top to 26 points. Nicks Gubbins and Compton shared a second-wicket stand of 247, then Ollie Rayner was the star bowler (4-17 and 5-85) as the visitors crumbled twice. No Durham batsmen managed even a half-century.
Yorkshire have a game in hand but failed to beat their Roses rivals at Old Trafford in a high-scoring match. Alex Lees scored 199 runs for the away team but Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed is on a hot streak right now. He picked up a couple of centuries, ably supported by Tom Smith, leaving Yorkshire, bolstered by Root and Bairstow, no time to meet the formidable target.
Surrey are also flying right now, leaping to third after seeing off Warwickshire by 226 runs with a solid all-round performance. Sam Curran’s 62 and match stats of 6-76 were probably the key contributions, along with Kumar Sangakkara’s 135 runs.
Hampshire won the battle of the bottom two by 176 runs, leaving Nottinghamshire in serious trouble. Wheater struck 102 early on but Scottish teenager Brad Wheal’s second innings 6-51 proved decisive.
In Division Two, Essex also collected win number four, making mincemeat of Derbyshire who have yet to record a single Championship success. Nick Browne pursued his penchant for big scores, making an unbeaten 229, before Ravi Bopara and Graham Napier led the way with the ball. The home team’s ex-Essex opener, now Derby captain, Ben Godleman did manage a hundred but all in vain.
At Northampton, Ned Eckersley scored his third successive century, and team-mates Cosgrove and Pettini also reached three figures for Leicestershire. However, Rob Newton was instrumental in depriving the opposition of a crucial victory, aggregating 224 without losing his wicket.
Sussex collected maximum points in their demolition of Gloucestershire at Hove. Luke Wells and Ben Brown stroked hundreds for the home side but Michael Klinger couldn’t follow his first-innings 129 with another big score and they failed to make Sussex bat again. Worcestershire’s promotion challenge faltered at home to Glamorgan, who delighted in a rare win. Bragg and Morgan scored the all-important runs and Mark Wallace bagged nine catches behind the stumps. A shame for Worcester’s Joe Leach, who was the stand-out all-rounder on display.
It wasn’t Worcestershire’s day, either, in the Royal London Cup quarter-finals. Somerset massacred them by nine wickets with several overs to spare at Taunton. Mahela Jayawardene rewarded his county’s patience with a beautifully-judged 117 not out. They will now take a trip to Edgbaston, after Warwickshire beat Essex by 70 runs. Jonathan Trott’s 101 set them on their way before his spinners finished the job.
It was a closer finish in the Yorkshire-Kent encounter at Canterbury, but the England trio of Willey, Plunkett and Adil Rashid wiped out the tail when Kent looked set for victory in their chase. However, you couldn’t have witnessed a more exciting climax than the one served up by Surrey at Northants. The home side had Surrey nine men down with 14 balls remaining and 27 required. That they succeeded was almost entirely down to the brilliance of Sangakkara, who farmed the strike, hitting a six and four in the final over. Had he not been dropped on seven, things may have been rather different!
Team of the Week: Browne (Ess), Newton (Nor), Hameed (Lan), Sangakkara (Sur), Bragg (Gla), Brown (Sus +), Franklin (Mid), Leach (Wor), Napier (Ess), Rayner (Mid), Wheal (Ham)
Friday, 22 April 2016
Wagner Runs Rings Around Notts
Week 2 of the domestic season brought decent weather. Instead it was batting dominance which produced just two results out of six. Runs flowed particularly freely at the top of the order.
In Division One, Stuart Robson broke a Middlesex record with his match aggregate of 337 runs. However, Jonathan Trott’s unbeaten 219 and a fine all-round performance by the redoubtable Keith Barker were instrumental in negating Robson’s total. Warwickshire ‘keeper Tim Ambrose will also remember the game, not for catches or runs, but for his maiden first-class wicket as the game petered out into a draw.
There were big scores in Yorkshire’s first Championship fixture of the season, too. In the first innings, no fewer than three players reached three figures. Adam Lyth made 111, then Jonny Bairstow struck a brilliant 246 and even Liam Plunkett weighed in with a rapid-fire 126. Ryan Sidebottom’s victims included his thousandth in senior cricket! Hampshire were not to be out-done, though. In reply, James Vince and Sean Ervine also hit hundreds and a draw was inevitable. Hants came out worst, however, as yet another fast bowler was afflicted by injury. Fidel Edwards contrived to break an ankle in a mid-match warm-up, unfortunate in the extreme.
Last week’s winners Nottinghamshire came a cropper against newly-promoted Lancashire. While Anderson and Broad were unusually on opposite sides of a first-class game, it was New Zealander Neil Wagner who stole the headlines. He claimed an eye-catchingly symmetrical 11-111, and the Notts batting fell apart.
In Division Two, Leicestershire enjoyed a rare victory on their first appearance in 2016 destroying Glamorgan at Cardiff. Wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien top-scored with 93 and claimed 8 catches, New recruit Paul Horton opened with two half-centuries and Clint McKay contributed eight wickets, leaving Robert Croft aghast.
Nevertheless Essex head the table despite failing to beat Sussex at Hove. Alastair Cook compiled a patient second innings century but I can’t help think he should have been a bit bolder as his team failed to attack a reachable target of 329 on the final day. Veteran all-rounder Graham Napier was in fine form, but the home side’s opener aggregated 211 runs in the match..
It was even more of a batting paradise at Bristol where only 22 wickets fell. Even Gloucestershire’s nightwatchman Liam Norwell scored 102, mostly in the company of Chris Dent. However, Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes helped themselves to more than 400 runs between them.
Let’s hope for more even contests between bat and ball next week when County Championship highlights include Leicestershire challenging Kent, now lacking their retired hero Robert Key, Durham hosting Middlesex and Yorkshire visiting Warwickshire.
Team of the Week:
S.Robson (Mid), Nash (Sus), Hughes (Der), Trott (War), Bairstow (Yor), Ervine (Ham), N O’Brien (Lei +), Napier (Ess), Plunkett (Yor), McKay (Lei), Wagner (Lan)
In Division One, Stuart Robson broke a Middlesex record with his match aggregate of 337 runs. However, Jonathan Trott’s unbeaten 219 and a fine all-round performance by the redoubtable Keith Barker were instrumental in negating Robson’s total. Warwickshire ‘keeper Tim Ambrose will also remember the game, not for catches or runs, but for his maiden first-class wicket as the game petered out into a draw.
There were big scores in Yorkshire’s first Championship fixture of the season, too. In the first innings, no fewer than three players reached three figures. Adam Lyth made 111, then Jonny Bairstow struck a brilliant 246 and even Liam Plunkett weighed in with a rapid-fire 126. Ryan Sidebottom’s victims included his thousandth in senior cricket! Hampshire were not to be out-done, though. In reply, James Vince and Sean Ervine also hit hundreds and a draw was inevitable. Hants came out worst, however, as yet another fast bowler was afflicted by injury. Fidel Edwards contrived to break an ankle in a mid-match warm-up, unfortunate in the extreme.
Last week’s winners Nottinghamshire came a cropper against newly-promoted Lancashire. While Anderson and Broad were unusually on opposite sides of a first-class game, it was New Zealander Neil Wagner who stole the headlines. He claimed an eye-catchingly symmetrical 11-111, and the Notts batting fell apart.
In Division Two, Leicestershire enjoyed a rare victory on their first appearance in 2016 destroying Glamorgan at Cardiff. Wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien top-scored with 93 and claimed 8 catches, New recruit Paul Horton opened with two half-centuries and Clint McKay contributed eight wickets, leaving Robert Croft aghast.
Nevertheless Essex head the table despite failing to beat Sussex at Hove. Alastair Cook compiled a patient second innings century but I can’t help think he should have been a bit bolder as his team failed to attack a reachable target of 329 on the final day. Veteran all-rounder Graham Napier was in fine form, but the home side’s opener aggregated 211 runs in the match..
It was even more of a batting paradise at Bristol where only 22 wickets fell. Even Gloucestershire’s nightwatchman Liam Norwell scored 102, mostly in the company of Chris Dent. However, Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes helped themselves to more than 400 runs between them.
Let’s hope for more even contests between bat and ball next week when County Championship highlights include Leicestershire challenging Kent, now lacking their retired hero Robert Key, Durham hosting Middlesex and Yorkshire visiting Warwickshire.
Team of the Week:
S.Robson (Mid), Nash (Sus), Hughes (Der), Trott (War), Bairstow (Yor), Ervine (Ham), N O’Brien (Lei +), Napier (Ess), Plunkett (Yor), McKay (Lei), Wagner (Lan)
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Player of the Week: Graham Napier
Just one Player of the Week this time, although there were plenty of strong candidates. In the IPL, Aussies Adam Gilchrist and Shane Watson shone for their respective sides, and Amit Mishra was again at his deadliest for the Chargers, but none will make further appearances in the tournament because they failed to reach the last four. In England, Eoin Morgan was also on the losing side, playing for the Lions against the Sri Lankans, but his 193 was clearly enough to persuade selectors that his innings had earned him a chance to repeat the feat against the same opposition in the First Test next week. A pity in a way as he had put the IPL cash ahead of playing real cricket but the change of scene hadn't done him much harm! Chris Nash scored a couple of centuries for Sussex in both four- and one-day competitions, while Rory Hamilton-Brown, James Harris, Niall O'Brien, Alex Gidman, Ben Stokes and Gordon Muchall each btted or bowled themselves into contention. However, my winner this week is Graham Napier.
The Essex all-rounder made his name three years ago with a barely credible 152 in a Twenty20 match against Sussex although he had been selected for the ECB Academy in 2004 without pushing on for higher honours. That single T20 innings got him into the England World Cup squad and the IPL but it proved to be a false dawn. Following a back injury last summer, his first-class appearances have been few and far between and indeed in List A cricket he boasts a superior record with the ball than with the bat, and That Innings remains his only limited-over century of any kind.
The 16 sixes he scored in the single innings in 2008 was a world best but now he can add another record to his achievements: equalling Andrew Symonds' feat of smashing sixteen sixes in a single first-class innings! Against Surrey on Wednesday he plundered 196 in 130 balls, adding 19 fours to the huge number of boundaries which cleared the ropes. Like Morgan, the break from batting against good opposition evidently worked in his favour as his previous innings (11) came against the Unicorns and the two before that were for the Second XI in April.
At 31, Napier should be in his prime but increasingly looks merely like a good medium pacer who can take wickets in one-dayers, with the occasional foray into the County Championship. I don't think England will be fooled into believing that one incredible innings is a sign of a genuine world superstar but if he can entertain crowds with such amazing displays of strokeplay, even only once every three years, he should retain his county contract. Perhaps the only man who regrets Napier's return to form is Gareth Batty, who bore the brunt of the Essex man's brute force last week! Symonds' record for most sixes in a first-class match remains intact but Graham Napier can sleep easier knowing he also has my Player of the Week accolade on his cricketing CV!
The Essex all-rounder made his name three years ago with a barely credible 152 in a Twenty20 match against Sussex although he had been selected for the ECB Academy in 2004 without pushing on for higher honours. That single T20 innings got him into the England World Cup squad and the IPL but it proved to be a false dawn. Following a back injury last summer, his first-class appearances have been few and far between and indeed in List A cricket he boasts a superior record with the ball than with the bat, and That Innings remains his only limited-over century of any kind.
The 16 sixes he scored in the single innings in 2008 was a world best but now he can add another record to his achievements: equalling Andrew Symonds' feat of smashing sixteen sixes in a single first-class innings! Against Surrey on Wednesday he plundered 196 in 130 balls, adding 19 fours to the huge number of boundaries which cleared the ropes. Like Morgan, the break from batting against good opposition evidently worked in his favour as his previous innings (11) came against the Unicorns and the two before that were for the Second XI in April.
At 31, Napier should be in his prime but increasingly looks merely like a good medium pacer who can take wickets in one-dayers, with the occasional foray into the County Championship. I don't think England will be fooled into believing that one incredible innings is a sign of a genuine world superstar but if he can entertain crowds with such amazing displays of strokeplay, even only once every three years, he should retain his county contract. Perhaps the only man who regrets Napier's return to form is Gareth Batty, who bore the brunt of the Essex man's brute force last week! Symonds' record for most sixes in a first-class match remains intact but Graham Napier can sleep easier knowing he also has my Player of the Week accolade on his cricketing CV!
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