Hampshire off to a Flying Start

In the first round of County Championship fixtures, Hampshire made April fools of Essex at Southampton. They taught my picks for title contenders an early-season lesson with victory by an innings and 87 runs, collecting maximum points en route. Sam Northeast’s 169 led the run charge before bowlers Kyle Abbott and 37 year-old Fidel Edwards carried on where they left off in 2018. Ravi Bopara (107) showed some second innings resistance but there was too much to do.

Somerset sit second (just for a change!) after clawing their way back to beat Kent on the final afternoon. Somerset’s George Bartlett struck the game’s only half-century, then Lewis Gregory nabbed Dickson first ball and the visitors crumbled to 131 all out.

The other first division match saw Joe Root face Stuart Broad and receive an ego-denting whack on the helmet for his troubles. Nottinghamshire’s new-look batting line-up took control, especially Joe Clarke, who came within three runs of securing two centuries on his county debut. I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t playing alongside his Yorkshire opposite number for England in the not-too-distant future. Root and Gary Ballance each reached three figures as Yorkshire easily avoided defeat.

Two of the Division 2 promotion favourites slipped at the first hurdle. Sussex were well beaten by Leicestershire at Hove. Ollie Robinson took six wickets but the victors’ Tom Taylor starred with the ball, his first innings 6-47 doing the most serious damage. Middlesex were also playing catch-up at Northampton despite Tim Murtagh’s splendid efforts. Nathan Buck captured 5-54 to force the follow-on but Dawid Malan’s rearguard century rescued the situation.

Elsewhere, Derbyshire survived the shock of losing two wickets in the first three balls of the season to defeat Durham by 125 runs. ‘Keeper Harvey Hosein top-scored in each innings then Alex Lees’ side were eventually ground down by Rampaul, Critchley et al on a tough final day.

Next week Middlesex get another opportunity at home to rivals Lancashire, while Leicestershire can make it two wins from two against Worcestershire. In the top flight, Hampshire will probably in pole position throughout the month-long Championship break should they beat Yorkshire. Somerset face a tricky trip to Trent Bridge while champions Surrey launch their defence at The Oval against Essex, surely eager to make amends for their thumping at the hands of Hants at the weekend.

First 2019 Team of the Week: Lyth (Yor), Duckett (Not), Clarke (Not), Root (Yor), Malan (Mid), Bopara (Ess), Hosein (Der, +), Gregory (Som), Edwards (Ham), T. Taylor (Lei), Claydon (Ken)

County Team of the Year 2014 - the batsmen

My twenty-odd Teams of the Week consisted of more than 160 individuals, each of whom produced something special at some point, whether in a Test, County Championship, women's cricket, one-dayers or any number of T20 knockabouts. Nobody appeared five times but several were mentioned on four occasions. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Gary Ballance owed much to their performances on the international stage, three make my Team of the Year and Luke Wright narrowly missed out.

It was a summer when number nines broke all sorts of batting records, from Kumar's two half-centuries in a Test to Jack Shantry's ten wickets and century. Alfonso Thomas claimed four wickets in four balls for Somerset against Sussex but was strangely ineffective in the short formats, traditionally his strength. Club player Richard Oliver epitomised the rags to riches story. He was plucked from Reigate Priory and Worcestershire Seconds obscurity to play T20 before striking a maiden First-class hundred and earning a contract through 2015 for good measure. September saw Derbyshire's eighteen year-old wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein take no fewer than eleven catches on his debut, a world record.

So what about those whose consistency throughout a hectic domestic season merits inclusion in the all-important Mike's Spin on Cricket County Team of 2014?

My openers are Alex Hales and Adam Lyth. Last year the Nottinghamshire batsman was earning plaudits for his T20 strokeplay but dropped by his county in first-class cricket. In 2014, he stepped up not only to the England ODI side but also to the Notts first XI. He passed 1,000 runs in the longer format and reached four figures in List A and T20 combined. He looked a more confident player but by no means a Test opener. Not yet, anyway. Adam Lyth scored more first-class runs than anybody else (1,619) including eight centuries. His partnership with Alex Lees played no small part in Yorkshire's march to the title and he also took more catches than any non-'keeper in the county game. Honourable mentions go to Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Chris Rogers (Middlesex), Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire) and, for their one-day exploits, Jason Roy (Surrey) and Jacques Rudolph (Glamorgan).

Like Roy, Luke Wright has a fearsome reputation in twenty-over cricket, and his 153 in 66 balls at Chelmsford in July was the highlight of the Nat West Blast. He averaged 52 in the first-class game, too, but he doesn't make my team! The Irish-English-Irish star Ed Joyce enjoyed a productive start and end to the season for Sussex, accumulating 1501 Championship runs. With Steve Magoffin's wickets, he was the main reason for Sussex's third place in Division One. Hampshire's young James Vince was also knocking on the England selectors' door with some fine knocks in all competitions and he edges out fellow contender James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Dawid Malan (Middlesex), Sam Northeast (Kent) and Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire).

Wicketkeepers often hang around at the top for years but, boy, thhey have to work hard for it! Chris Read, Tim Ambrose and Mark Wallace are all consistent catchers and scorers, but two players stood out for me. Sam Billings seems to have finished Geraint Jones' Kent career with his batting exploits in the Royal London Cup, and he had 59 Championship victims behind the stumps, too. Nevertheless the evergreen James Foster wins my place for his glovework and vital runs for Essex which took them remarkably close to promotion.

Next time I'll review the all-rounders and bowlers who lit up the domestic season in 2014. And there were some crackers!

Team of the week: Will Smith is the fresh prince of Hampshire

Often it's hard to find two outstanding performances by openi batsmen but this time there was an embarrassment of riches from which to pick. Thus I had to omit Chris Rogers (Middlesex, 203 not out), Jake Libby (Notts, 108 in only his third first-class match), Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent, 153) and Kane Williamson (two fine T20 innings for Northern Districts). In their place come Sussex's Chris Nash and Hampshire's Will Smith. Nash aggregated 263 runs in the victory over Nottinghamshire, including his first century of the summer. Smith's contributions were 11 and 142 not out, but that second innings score was the difference between draw and a defeat which would have left the county even more vulnerable to Essex in the promotion chase. In the context of Hampshire's whole season, that was superb.

Ed Joyce has enjoyed a great summer and in the penultimate round of Championship games, his second knock of 149, at almost a run a ball, set up what at the halfway stage had seemed an unlikely victory. James Hildreth has been a disappointment for Somerset in 2014 but he crafted a valuable 182 at Taunton against Middlesex. In the Test against Bangladesh, Shivnarine Chanderpaul boosted his career average even further with unbeaten scores of 84 and 101, but you can't accuse him of Boycott-esque greed this time; it was all in the cause of a routine win.

Ben Stokes contributed no weight of runs or clutch of wickets but he did OK in Durham's win against Northants and his 2-25 and 38 saw his side home to success in the Royal London Cup Final. My other all-rounder is the considerably less well-known Ben Raine. No, me neither! However, in the final of the Second Eleven competition at Chelmsford, the 23 year-old representing Leicestershire scored 208 and took 3-37 on the way to victory. The way the first XI have played this season and with their best players lured away by the big boys, watch out for him in the first-class arena in 2015.

In a week of excellent performances, Harvey Hosein's must be up there with the best, not only this week but the whole summer. At The Oval, the 18 year-old wicketkeeper claimed no fewer than eleven catches for Derbyshire - on his debut! Nobody has ever come near that, and only Bob Taylor has ever taken as much as seven in an innings for the county in their history. And he played for them for more than twenty years!

Derbyshire's Mark Footitt was the beneficiary of five of those dismissals, and he added nine wickets to his already impressive haul, more than anyone else in the Championship. However, my two remaining bowlers stand out; each took fifteen wickets in a single match. Chris Rushworth has plugged away all summer for Durham but nobody was expecting his 9-52 and 6-43 in the trouncing of Northants. He also contributed a useful 2-24 in today's cup final. Saqlain Sajib is another unsung hero, whose spin claimed 9-82 and 6-50 for Bangladesh versus Zimbabwe in an A international.

Congratulations, one and all:- Nash (Sus), Smith (Ham), Joyce (Sus, *), Hildreth (Som), Chanderpaul (WI), Stokes (Dur), Raine (Lei 2nds), Hosein (Der, +), Sajib (Ban A), Rushworth (Dur), Footitt (Der).

Sussex Re-Joyce and Durham in a Rush-worth

In the penultimate round of Championship fixtures, neither of the top two played, but Nottinghamshire failed to make an impression in their last match. They were roundly beaten by Sussex who bounded up to fourth place with a superb final two days. Chris Nash produced his first century of the summer, but a maiden hundred from Jake Libby and an eighteenth by James Taylor gave Notts a slender first innings lead. Sussex then went for broke, passing 400 at almost a run a ball, with skipper Ed Joyce leading by example, before Steve Magoffin claimed 4-51 to ensure a dismal conclusion for the home team.

Durham simply steamrollered sorry Northants at Chester-le-Street. Borthwick and Collingwood each outscored the opposition on their own - twice! - while Chris Rushworth snatched 15 wickets for 95. James Middlebrook led the side but they looked demoralised from the start, and Northants' two innings combined lasted barely 40 overs! At Taunton, Somerset racked up 523-9 thanks largely to James Hildreth's 182 and Peter Trego's 91. Great to see Craig Kieswetter back after his horrific facial injury earlier in the year. He scored a useful 69, too. That Middlesex recovered from 64-7 to 223 owed much to a century stand by Morgan and Roland-Jones. A fine unbeaten 203 by Chris Rogers staved off defeat and means his team should avoid relegatin provided they avoid a heavy defeat by Lancashire next week.

In Division Two, Essex turned the screw on Hampshire by notching a fourth consecutive victory, this time against a Leicestershire side who capitulated inside two days! James Foster made 132, while David Masters and Jesse Ryder claimed thirteen wickets between them Josh Cobb's men now face the ignominy of failing to record a single win in two full Championship seasons. I don't think that has happened since WW2, although they used to play more games in those days.

Hampshire were forced by Kent to follow on at the Rose Bowl, with only Sean Ervine's 121 preventing an even greater first innings deficit. Will Smith then almost single-handedly rescued the home team by carrying his bat for 142. Tomlinson's 26-ball 2 not out at the other end kept Riley and Tredwell at bay before time was called. Those extra points for a draw could prove critical as they lead Essex by ten going into the final week. A win at Glamorgan will be enough.

In the other game, Derbyshire were surprisingly good value against lacklustre Surrey. Apart from Billy Godleman's partnership with Pujara in the fourth day run chase, it was a game for the bowlers, notably Mark Footitt, who extended his wicket tally for the season beyond 70, including a 6-60. Nevertheless, the star of the show was an 18 year-old debutant Harvey Hosein. The lad from Chesterfield's haul of eleven catches was a record for a 'keeper on his first-class debut. Meanwhile, Surrey could slip to sixth if Kent and Derbyshire win their fairly easy fixtures. I'll try not to laugh too loudly.....