County Cricket: My Team of 2025

While I must admit that the highlight of the domestic cricket season was the sterling five-Test contest between England and India, the county season threw up a few welcome surprises. Surrey’s stellar squad failed to win anything, last season’s strugglers Nottinghamshire pipped them for the title at the death, my Somerset boys converted white-ball talent into Blast success and Worcestershire combined Championship relegation with victory in the One-Day Cup. Oh, and Jimmy Anderson tried – with mixed results – to reinvent himself as a supreme Twenty20 exponent. The IPL franchises were unimpressed but Lancashire were more obliging.

Now for my annual review of the stand-out performers on the county circuit. The Hundred doesn’t count, obviously. In arriving at my final Eleven, I looked at consistency across formats while prioritising the Championship ahead of the Blast and then the 50-over competition which was bereft of the one-day aces who preferred to spend their August earning larger salaries in The Hundred. 

Openers 

Ben Compton’s 1,386 runs at an average of 60 were the rare jewels in Kent’s miserable summer. Talking of which, Derbyshire’s Caleb Jewell was the top scorer across all three county competitions. He made only one of my Teams of the Week but accumulated his runs efficiently and consistemtly. Dom Sibley and Haseeb Hameed may have been discarded by Engand selectors years ago, but they were the outstanding openers in Division One. Sibley reached a triple-century out of a massive 820-9 against Durham but in the same match, Alex Lees scored a ton in each innings. Lees just failed to notch 1,000 runs in the four-dayers but had a fruitful T20 campaign. Tom Banton astonished everyone by cracking 371 against Worcestershire at the start of April but couldn’t maintain that throughout Somerset’s season.

Middle Order

Old favourites Wayne Madsen and Colin Ingram showed no signs of slowing down. The 41-year-old Derbyshire stalwart averaged 57 in Division Two adding 431 in the short stuff. Ingram’s Glamorgan colleague Kiran Carlson had an excellent 2024 but was even better this year, especially as the county achieved its first promotion in yonks. Northamptonshire had a rotten time, but nobody scored more Championship runs than their 27-year-old left-hander, Saif Zaib. Max Holden had a few golden moments for Middlesex, James Coles of Sussex made plenty of runs, as did Essex’s Tom Westley, while Hampshire’s Toby Albert topped the batting charts in the Blast, and his counterpart Nick Gubbins did the same in the One-Day Cup. However, my next member of the team of 2025 is Jack Haynes of county champs Notts. He struck four first-class hundreds and boasted a healthy strike rate in one-day cricket, too. 

All Rounders 

Ryan Higgins and Liam Dawson weren’t quite up to their traditional levels but there was no shortage of quality batting all-rounders on the circuit. Notitnghamshire’s Lyndon James included a double-century in his 2025 CV while Tom Lammonby of Somerset saved his best performances for when they really mattered. Lewis Gregory continued to deserve Somerset fans’ adoration, particularly when he whacked the winning six in the Blast final. Ben Kellaway and Rehan Ahmed added considerable runs to their customary spin bowling, and young Ethan Brookes of Worcestershire looked a useful player in both red and white-ball formats. However, my pick is Warwickshire’s Ed Barnard, mostly for his runs in a year when Hain, Davies and Yates didn’t often deliver.

Wicket-Keeper 

Lewis McManus claimed more victims (20 than anyone else in the Blast, while Garth Roderick topped the charts in the Championship, but their batting wasn’t quite up to scratch. James Rew of Somerset looked back to his best and even enjoyed some useful middle-order partnerships with younger brother Thomas. However, like last year, the wicketkeeping slot comes down to a fight between James Bracey (Gloucs) and John Simpson (Sussex). A third of Bracey’s runs came in the One-Day Cup but the South Coast skipper contributed everywhere, excelling in first-class cricket, both with gloves and willow, averaging 60 in his side’s push for fourth place.

Bowlers

Five men took at least fifty Championship wickets, and three of them make my XI. It wasn’t an easy decision. Ben Sanderson (Northants) and Riley Meredith (Somerset) were the most prolific in T20, Ben Allison (Worcs) in the One-Day Cup, while Ben Green (Leics) picked them up in all three competitions.

The evergreen Kyle Abbott ended the Championship season with almost identical figures to those of 2024 and is an automatic selection. Ben Raine’s seam bowling bailed Durham out of a few holes, also contributing useful lower-order runs. George Hill (Yorks) and Luis Reece (Derbys) achieved the half-century with eye-catching sub-20 averages. Spin wasn’t really to the fore this summer. Even Simon Harmer struggled so, for a second consecutive year, I am delighted to induct Somerset’s Jack Leach into the 2025 Eleven. He rarely featured in limited-overs but in the long-form the ex-England left-armer worked hard all season. Surprise bowler of the season must be Tom Taylor. Before April was out, Worcestershire looked doomed, but the 30-year-old plugged away throughout. Nobody took more wickets – 78 in total, including fifteen in the Blast. 

Like the whole country, players and fans alike, I have no idea what the hell is happening to county cricket next year. However, here is my hotly-awaited County XI of 2025;- 

Jewell (Der), Lees (Dur), Haynes (Not), Carlson (Gla), Barnard (War), Zaib (Nor), Simpson (Sus +), Abbott (Ham), Raine (Dur), Taylor (Wor), Leach (Som)

Just missed out: Brookes (Wor), Madsen (Der), Bracey (Glo +), B Green (Lei)

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)

County Cricket: The Surrey and Somerset Show

 It was business as usual for Somerset, who booked a T20 Finals Day clash with Surrey before meeting their old rivals in a blockbuster Championship encounter, and what an extraordinary finale they served up. 

The sides were neck-and-neck at the halfway stage, with Somerset’s Tom Banton the stand-out batsman, striking 132. Second time out, he was virtually wheeled out after the ninth wicket fell, a twisted ankle in the warm-up rendering him almost immobile. The gamble paid off. Alongside Craig Overton, he eked out another 46, setting the runaway leaders just 221 to win. However, Surrey made no effort to win, knowing that a draw against their main challengers would probably be sufficient to seal a third successive title. Batting long and deep, chock full of strokemakers, they instead chose top block as much as possible. Dom Sibley’s 67 had taken Surrey to the T20 semis and now crawled his way to another 50. With rain never far away, Somerset’s hopes on the final afternoon were fading fast. Yet spinners Jack Leach and teenager Archie Vaughan plugged away, and once the thirty-over Sibley-Foakes partnership was broken by Leach, the rest crumbled. With just minutes left, Worrell was trapped LBW and the spin duo completed another clean sweep of wickets. More importantly, Somerset could celebrate an incredible victory, reducing the gap to just eight points. Now the two counties meet again on Saturday…. 

At Canterbury, a combination of Tom Prest’s century and Kyle Abbott’s 5-46 meant Hampshire enforcing the follow-on against Kent but the home team didn’t make the same mistake. Jack Leaning (100) and Harry Finch (79) ate up the deficit and Hampshire had only nine overs at most to whack the 143 required, but Vince’s departure in the third over signalled an agreed draw. 

Essex made short work of Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford. Tons by Tom Westley and Michael Pepper were backed by the old Porter-Harmer axis but the victors were deprived of third place by a twelve-point deduction ordered because Feroze Khushi’s bat in an April fixture was deemed too wide.

 

Kent were already pretty much doomed and Lancashire loo favourites to join them in Division Two next year after being crushed by an innings at Chester-le-Street. David Bedingham achieved Durham’s highest individual score in the county’s short history, making a brilliant 279. His 424-run partnership with Colin Ackermann (186) was another record. England’s recalled paceman Matthew Potts finished the job, taking 9-68.

 

In the rain-hit West Midlands derby, Worcestershire were in charge before Warwickshire’s Will Rhodes frustrated the opposition’s attempts to press on to a welcome win. The resulting draw makes both sides almost certainly safe from the drop. Nottinghamshire need to beat Kent and hope Lancashire lose to Somerset to breathe easily.

In Division Two, Sussex are almost assured of promotion after demolishing Glamorgan at Hove by an innings. A thin bowling attack enabled both Tom Clark and captain John Simpson to reach three figures with the Sussex bowlers sharing the glory. Simpson may be a veteran of 36 but 2024 has turned into a vintage year for his batting. 

His old club Middlesex slipped out of the top two after losing a tense game at Lord’s. Gloucestershire moved into the ascendancy thanks to young debutant Archie Bailey’s 4-30, then a solid stand between Miles Hammond and James Bracey steered them to a four-wicket triumph. Bracey also stood out by claiming no fewer than eleven catches behind the stumps. 

By thrashing Leicestershire at Grace Road, Yorkshire leapfrogged Middlesex and hold a thirteen-point advantage with two fixtures remaining. On the first morning, Coad and Fisher had their hosts squirming at 21-7. They recovered to 98 all out thanks to Ben Cox throwing his willow around but the game was always out of reach. Skipper Jonathan Tattersall reeled off an excellent 126, Fisher struck a career-best 88 then George Hill’s medium pace completed then rout. 

Northamptonshire enjoyed their first success of the summer, overcoming bottom-placed Derbyshire by 133 runs. Spinners Rob Keogh and Yuzvendra Chahal did the damage, sharing seventeen wickets between them. Next week, Derby host promotion-chasing Middlesex while Yorkshire travel to Glamorgan. Both should win but bonus points could be crucial. So far, Middlesex have struggled in the first innings so need to put plenty of runs on the board. 

Team of the Week:- Davies (War), Vaughan (Som), Rhodes (War), Bedingham (Dur), Banton (Som), Tattersall (Yor), Bracey (Glo +), Abbott (Ham), Potts (Dur), Taylor (Wor), Chahal (Nor)

County cricket: Abell and Leach Boost Somerset Challenge

The onset of September serves as a reminder that, like summer itself, the County Championship is coming to a close. Surrey have led the table almost from day one in April and when skipper Rory Burns’ 161 set his side on the way to a first-innings 525 at Trent Bridge, a third successive title looked inevitable. However, Nottinghamshire didn’t roll over. Two teenagers, Freddie McCann (aged 19) and Farhan Ahmed (just 16!) shone in only their second matches, striking 154 and taking ten wickets, respectively, to frustrate the reigning champions. 

Behind them, Somerset narrowed the gap to twenty-four points by crushing Durham. Spin was king at Taunton. Building on batting foundations led by Tom Abell and James Rew, Jack Leach opened the bowling in the visitors’ second effort and continued unchanged for more than thirty overs to take 7-50. Michael Vaughan’s son Archie accompanied him, finishing with a commendable 2-40 as Somerset triumphed by 293 runs and earning maximum points. The next round of fixtures puts the top two counties up against each other. Should Somerset gain an improbable victory, it could make the final weeks very interesting indeed. Can’t see that happening, though. 

Worcestershire made it two on the trot, coming from behind to defeat Essex at Chelmsford by only 43 runs. Michael Pepper had contributed to a solid Essex lead but, set a target of just 184 on the final morning, they tumbled to 140, Dutch seamer Logan van Beek starring with 4-23. Hampshire overtook Essex in third place with a thumping innings win over lacklustre Lancashire. Gus Atkinson’s rare Test achievement of a century and five-fer was eclipsed by Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson. Not only did he strike an unbeaten 104 and take 5-47 but he also added another five scalps on Saturday to finish the match a day early. 

Kent suffered another drubbing, this time against Warwickshire who did their hopes of avoiding relegation a world of good. Will Rhodes set them on their way with 201 but it was Oliver Hannon-Dalby who added the coup-de-grace with a clinching 6-43. Whoever wins the West Midlands derby next week should be safe for another year but Kent absolutely must beat Hampshire to survive. 

Sussex still look favourites to go up, rediscovering winning ways against bottom side Derbyshire at Hove. Daniel Hughes and John Simpson hit tons but Jack Carson also caught the eye. The off-spinner followed a career-best 97 with figures of 5-90 and 6-67. Without Wayne Madsen’s match aggregate of 215 runs, Derby’s margin of defeat would have been even heftier.

Closest rivals to Sussex, Yorkshire and Middlesex, produced a run-fest stalemate at Headingley. For the White Roses, Jonny Bairstow and George Hill each broke 160, then Sam Robson and Ryan Higgins responded with centuries of their own. The spinner toiled for hours after hour but a draw was agreed on the final afternoon. 

Unusually, the Gloucestershire-Northants fixture was abandoned after day one, the umpires ruling that the Bristol pitch was too dangerous following Justin Broad’s 7-37. Only 241 runs were scored, while over in Cardiff, Colin Ingram beat that all on his own. The veteran South African amassed a personal best of 257 not out for Glamorgan against Leicestershire but any hopes of his side doubling their meagre total of one victory were dashed by a second successful partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb, who each made three figures to secure a draw. 

Glamorgan now face Sussex while Middlesex play Gloucestershire. If Leicestershire can tame Yorkshire at home, they could still sneak into the promotion places. 

Team of the Week:- Burns (Sur), Hughes (Sus), Rhodes (War), Abell (Som), Ingram (Gla), Madsen (Der), Handscomb (Lei +), Dawson (Ham), Carson (Sus), Leach (Som), Hannon-Dalby (War)

County Batters run riot

At the end of last week, all four Division One counties batting first racked up scores well in excess of 500. Pity the spinners twirling away for hours with no reward: Danny Briggs and Simon Kerrigan ended with figures of 1-166 and 0-177, respectively. The opening run blitz almost guaranteed there being no results. 

Bristol hosted the exception. Tom Abell’s 142 and a run-a-ball 89 from Lewis Gregory helped Somerset to 591-7 declared, a total Severn derby rivals Gloucestershire failed to match in two attempts. For the first time this season, Somerset’s line-up looked as strong as in 2021 and Jack Leach led the march to victory, taking 8-90. 

At Beckenham, Surrey set a remarkable new world record for first-class cricket. Their 671-9 was the highest total to include no centuries! Pope, Overton and Foakes each passed 90 but none pushed on to three figures. Jamie then chipped in with 3-37 as Kent slipped to 230, but rain ensured league leaders Surrey couldn’t press home their advantage. 

The Roses fixtures always make headlines, and Joe Root’s 147 was, surprisingly, his first against Lancashire in the County Championship. However, James Anderson dismissed him for four in the second innings. The former England captain notwithstanding, Lancashire dominated the game from the off, as Keaton Jennings followed last week’s 110 with an even more impressive  238. Meanwhile, at Edgbaston, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire served up a rather dreary draw to suck the life out of bowlers. There were 1,165 runs but only ten wickets. Vasconcelos and Young shared an opening stand of 287 for the visitors then, in response, Sam Hain and Matt Lamb extended their partnership to 254 as the game petered out. Luke Procter also made 100 not out but Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes missed out, dismissed for 99. 

This week, Surrey aren’t playing so Lancashire could overtake them by beating Essex at Old Trafford. I’ll cheer Somerset against Hampshire as they aim to complete a trio of triumphs following the previous three drubbings. 

In Division Two, bowlers had slightly more success. Durham and Glamorgan went as far as producing an exciting contest which could have swung either way on the fourth day. Despite another poor start, Glamorgan established a first-innings lead then Michael Neser and Marnus Labuschagne bowled them into an even stronger position. However, defending only 195, the home team regained the advantage as Matt Potts seamed his way through the line-up, taking 7-40, easily the best county figures of the week. 

At Derby, Shan Masood maintained his remarkable form with another century, and his 113 was eclipsed by number seven, Anuj Dal, who reached 114 when Godleman declared the innings at 565-8. Worcestershire avoided defeat thanks to day four stonewalling by centurion Jake Libby, Azhar Ali and first-innings ton-maker Jack Haynes. At Lord’s, leaders Middlesex kept Nottinghamshire at bay despite the latter’s dominance throughout. Notts skipper Steven Mullaney accelerated his declaration decision by launching a T20-style second-innings assault. He struck eight sixes en route to a hundred, but Sam Robson played a patient 101 not out, assisted by Max Holden’s 18 which spanned almost three hours. Struggling Leicestershire were spared another defeat, this time against Sussex, who themselves had not won for eighteen games. At 209-7 on Sunday morning, an innings defeat was on the cards, but a combination of rain showers and sturdy defence by Harry Swindells, and bowler Callum Parkinson gobbled up the overs needed by Sussex to complete the victory. 

In the last round of fixtures before Twenty20 blasts off at the Bank Holiday weekend, Middlesex entertain Durham while Nottinghamshire wait to pounce should they beat neighbours Derbyshire. Glamorgan have played a game more but, should they win and Middlesex lose, they could enter the Championship break in pole position. 

Team of the Week: Vasconcelos (Nor), Jennings (Lan), Hain (War), Root (Yor), Foakes (Sur +), Lamb (War), Mullaney (Not), Neser (Gla), Pattinson (Not), Leach (Som), Potts (Dur).

Championship Top 6 decided

While England were polishing off a 3-0 series win against Pakistan, the county circuit was mostly concerned with finalising the initial ‘conference’ stage of the 2021 Championship. The week got off to a miserable start. The English government’s response to the rampant Covid Delta variant may be to abandon all safety precautions but the virus made its presence felt from the start. 

Kent’s entire First XI was forced to isolate before the start of their Group 3 match against Sussex. Their makeshift side managed to avoid defeat against their neighbours who themselves fielded an unfamiliar line-up. 20 year-old opener Ali Orr and 19 year-old seamer Jamie Atkins put Sussex in the driving seat but Kent’s Hastings-born Harry Finch responded with a gutsy 115 to earn a draw. 

In Group 1, Essex and Derbyshire had already begun play at Derby when a positive test wiped out the home side and forced the abandonment. It seemed tough on Essex who needed victory to have a chance of defending their title. Fortunately it wasn’t Covid which ultimately thwarted them but Warwickshire, whose draw at Worcester ensured that not even a maximum-point win would have handed them a top-two place. The West Mids derby was quite high-scoring in a generally wet week. Daryl Mitchell and Ed Barnard struck tons for the home county but South African Pieter Malan scored 141 and 77 not out for Warwickshire in what has been a weak season for their batting. 

Nottinghamshire consolidated their position as leaders with a draw at Durham. Losing the second day to rain made a result less likely, despite Joey Evison’s impressive first-innings 5-21, and Durham managed to bat out the final two sessions. 

In Group 2, Sam Robson’s 154 and seven wickets for Tim Murtagh propelled Middlesex to their second triumph of the summer, beating Leicestershire by 121 runs. However, given they have lost seven out of the previous nine, they still finished last. The battle at Cheltenham to decide which of Gloucestershire and Hampshire advanced to the top group went the way of the visitors. New recruit Nick Gubbins struck an unbeaten 137 and Colin de Grandhomme took 4-31 to establish a huge lead. Tom Lace responded with an excellent 118 but none of his colleagues reached 30, leaving Hampshire to knock off the required 54 with the loss of three wickets. 

However, it was Somerset who remained at the summit despite a rollercoaster ride at The Oval. Stand-in skipper James Hildreth made 107 and Jack Leach twirled his way to 6-43, leaving Surrey in trouble at the start of day four. Following their opening gambit of 429, Somerset then tumbled to just 69 at the hands of spinners R Ashwin (6-27) and Dan Moriarty (4-20), giving Surrey a glimmer of victory hope. At 25-2, Somerset must have fancied their chances of a similar skittling but a draw was eventually agreed. 

In Group 3, Yorkshire and Lancashire were already guaranteed Division One status but Keaton Jennings led a high-scoring Lancashire top four until the weather, and a dangerously unfit Headingley outfield brought the clash to a premature conclusion. In Cardiff, Glamorgan’s fifth wicket pairing of Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke put on a mighty 307 against Northamptonshire but their bowlers couldn’t finish the job on the final day. Both will play in Division Two when the Championship resumes after The Hundred weaves its spell. 

Team of the Week: Robson (Mid), Jennings (Lan), P Malan (War), Gubbins (Ham), Carlson (Gla), Cooke (Gla +), D’Oliveira (Wor), Evison (Not), W Davis (Lei), Leach (Som), Murtagh (Mid)

Spin It to Win It!

In these Covid crisis times, any Test cricket with spectators is worth celebrating, and if there is some genuine excitement to be had, so much the better. After three games in India, we’ve run the whole gamut from England’s run glut to a superb home side response then a crazy two-day-one-nighter. We’ve experienced everything bar a tie or a five-day washout. Who, apart from any Ahmedabad ticketholders for days three to five, could ask for more? 

The Root and Anderson show in Chennai three weeks ago seemed to herald a new era of England dominance on Asian soil. Serve up a turning pitch? No problem: Joe Root is one of the best players of spin in the world, Sibley (and the absent Crawley) are learning and the rest can just get out of trouble by hitting Ashwin et al out of the ground. In any case, we’ve Leach, Bess and Moeen Ali so World Test Championship final, here we come! 

Then came the Chennai replay, and such ECB optimism took a mighty blow. Ollie Stone didn’t disgrace himself with the ball and Moeen can always look back on the dismissal which not even run-less Virat Kohli could accept as reality. But that’s as good as it got. Rohit Sharma plundered 161 then England’s batsmen couldn’t cope with debutant Axar Patel and the wily Ravichandran Ashwin who rubbed it in further by contributing a second-innings ton of his own. The winning margin of 317 runs told the story but the 1-1 scoreline set up an intriguing day-night encounter in the spanking new stadium of Ahmedabad. 

As things turned out, it very nearly was just that: a single day-nighter. Apart from Ishant Sharma celebrating his 100^th Test with Sibley’s scoreless wicket and a solitary Archer effort, the Third Test was all about spin. Whilst England looked vulnerable picking only Jack Leach as a specialist, it was the part-time off-breaks of Joe Root which sparked a glimmer of hope on the second morning, taking 5-8, but the partnership of Ashwin and Patel was merciless. If they didn’t turn the ball off an edge they simply bowled it straight onto the pads. Batting looked impossible but of course much of the damage had been done in the mind. 

The whole match was wrapped up in a mere 140 overs, barely lasting into the sixth session. Incredibly this was the quickest Test victory by any side since 1935 and England’s first two-day defeat for well over a century. Of course this will probably go down as an extraordinary one-off and the final fixture will provide a more even contest between bat and ball. However, India must be buzzing. Ashwin has reached the 400-wicket mark in near-record time and Patel will make opponents pay extra attention to his fingers and flight in the future. Also England cannot now win the series, but there remains some pride to fight for.

2019 – England’s Rollercoaster Year

For ages we had been bludgeoned by articles and interviews detailing how England were focussing on the World Cup and how we would convert number one ranking status into silverware. Even while we were being thumped by the West Indies Test team last winter, it was written off as an aberration, a mere blip en route for the inevitable 50-over success in July.

Remarkably, it proved correct. That amazing evening of July 19^th, it wasn’t just Jofra Archer’s pace, Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, Jos Buttler’s cool head or Ben Stokes’ hot head which overcame Kane Williamson’s Black Caps after a tied match and tied Super Over; it was slice after slice of astonishing good fortune.

That luck kept on coming during the Ashes series. OK, so Jimmy Anderson’s injury ruled him out and the Aussies depended heavily on runs from the brilliant Steve Smith. But the entire series swung on that glaring run-out failure by Nathan Lyon at Headingley and Jack Leach’s glasses, the assiduous wiping of which wasted so much time that England survived for a draw.  The Ashes could not be prised from the Aussies’ grasp but the victory at The Oval in September did at least tie the series 2-2.

Across the year, England won 14 out of 20 completed ODIs and 6 out of 9 T20 internationals, along with yet another tied contest with New Zealand. However, it was in Tests that we struggled. Excluding the inaugural one-off against Ireland, which England so nearly contrived to lose, we failed to win a single series, defeated in the Caribbean, New Zealand and, this week in the First Test, South Africa.  

Almost inevitably the focus on the World Cup was to the detriment of the Test squad, of whom only Joe Root, Stuart Broad and, arguably, because of his advancing years, Jimmy Anderson are world class. The fast-tracked Bajan Jeffrey – sorry - Jofra Archer proved to be first among equals not only in the five-day arena but also at the global 50-over tourney, where judicious use of the fast bouncer proved decisive in a host of fixtures. 

Ben Stokes’ bowling remains fierce if expensive, but when the spotlight shins brightest he’s a match-winner (or saver) with the bat. Jos Buttler has tried to tone down his T20-style strokeplay with limited success and Jonny Bairstow also has his moments. Elsewhere, consistency is somewhat lacking. Chris Woakes is under-used, Mark Wood is injury-prone, the Curran brothers too up themselves and Moeen Ali desperately short of form. At least his T20 Blast heroics for Worcestershire must have restored some self-confidence.

Popular as he is down in Somerset, Jack Leach isn’t quite the finished article while colleague Dom Bess can’t even hold down a county place. Surrey’s Rory Burns is doing his darnedest to replace Alastair Cook, but Joe Denly still looks like a so-so stopgap until either Crawley, Pope, Sibley or even Malan consistently step up to the plate. Nevertheless this set of players gave Australia a good run for their money last summer and may yet turn the tables on South Africa in the New Year.

However, 2020 sees the return of the Men’s Twenty 20 World Cup and launch of the accursed Hundred so I fear the ECB will be encouraging hoiks over cow corner and hordes of young leggies. Great in the biff-bang formats but a rapid 30 and bowling figures of 4-0-29-0 don’t hold much sway in Test cricket. India may be well ahead in the ICC rankings and favourites for the World Test Championship yet England could advance to second place by defeating Pakistan and West Indies, ranked seven and eight, respectively next summer. Pakistan’s strength is in the T20s and the Windies are currently dreadful in any format. Whoever England field I wouldn’t risk booking an advance ticket for days four or five…

I sincerely hope there is a World Cup ‘bounce’ to entice more youngsters into the sport but I fear that once the Ashes were over, the big-money inducements of Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea were always going to send the pendulum swinging back to football. Ben Stokes may have won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award but how many boys today know that previous winner Andrew Flintoff was a cricketer, rather than a bloke who prats around with cars or on comedy quiz shows? England need to get off the rollercoaster, dispense with the lows and reach consistently.

Next on the agenda is my review of the best players of 2019 but for now I wish you all a very happy New Year and a happy, healthy and exciting 2020!

Ashes 2019 – England’s luck finally runs out

Last week I wrote that England looked set to build on that incredible Stokes-led fightback  at Headingley and surely seize the Ashes as they did in 2005. Well, how wrong I was. Yet England’s new-found back-to-the-wall resilience produced a second Test classic in succession even if they had evidently exhausted their huge reserves of good fortune in the previous match.

As in the 3^rd Test, Australia bossed much of the game. Or should I say Steve Smith did. Apart from Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine, the visitors’ batting has been abysmal. At Old Trafford, Stuart Broad’s opening spells twice accounted for openers Harris and Warner for the total of just 19 runs, the latter bagging a pair. 

Twice, Smith has strode onto the pitch with the innings under eighth overs old and twice he has flummoxed England’s attack with his mix of quirky mannerisms, mutterings and manic walkabouts, interspersed with coruscating cricket shots, piercing the field brilliantly. In the first innings he punctured Stokes’ puffed-up chest superbly, and Jofra Archer went wicketless for 97 as the former Aussie captain executed his third Ashes double-century.

On Friday, I watched incredulously as Rory Burns somehow avoided not only getting an edge to the pacemen but also dislocating every joint in his body as part of his peculiar batting stance, but he and Joe Root put on a stubborn 141 for the third wicket to keep the match very much alive. When Josh Hazlewood’s seamers did for both men in successive overs, England’s white-ball specialists couldn’t keep it going and only a belligerent extra-cover drive by Buttler prevented the follow-on.

Broad and Archer did give the Lancashire crowd something to roar about on Saturday afternoon but that man Smith steadied the ship, reaching 82 – his lowest score so far! – before skying Leach into the hands of Stokes. The declaration wasn’t long in coming, and Paine set the home nation the challenge of scoring 383 or surviving three-and-a-bit sessions for a draw.

England did neither, but it was mighty close. It didn’t look that way at stumps, Pat Cummins’ third ball inducing a Burns leading edge followed by the perfect delivery to bowl Root. And so the fifth day was all about the Dunkirk spirit. Wickets fell regularly and, apart from Joe Denly, nobody got anywhere near 50. That didn’t matter. It was all about eating up the overs and, once Somerset heroes Overton and Leach found themselves together in the middle, wasting as much time as possible. They must have used every spare pair of gloves in Manchester and Leach’s lenses were wiped so often that the glass would have been wafer thin. The boozed-up spectators cheered each defensive stroke, every lengthy pause, but the frustrating tactics proved insufficient in the face of superb bowling by Cummins and Hazlewood especially. When the latter finally trapped Overton lbw to end his near-three-hour resistance for 21, the review was purely cosmetic. It was plumb, and Australia had not only won the match but also ensured England could not wrest the Ashes back from their clutches. 

You have to say the Aussies have deserved it. England have shown faith in their World Cup-winning stars but, apart from Stokes and Archer, they haven’t really demonstrated their red-ball credentials. The winners also clearly have their own problems. Sooner or later, Smith will be out cheaply, leaving the weight on someone else’s shoulders. He only lost his wicket in this match to an audacious reverse sweep off Root and a mistimed slog when well set. David Warner finds himself in an uncharacteristic slump and neither Bancroft, Harris or Khawaja have fared much better. 

Will The Oval witness wholesale changes? In the week when the cricket world bade farewell to the Pakistani pioneer of 1990s leg-spin, Abdul Qadir, perhaps Joe Denly will open the bowling. As the home side, England could call up a whole raft of young replacements. I just hope they leave Somerset players alone and draft half of the Essex team so we have a chance of success in the County Championship! Whatever. Another exciting Test match  finish would do very nicely.

Ben Stokes creates Ashes history

Well, who needs Twenty20? England and Australia dished up one of the greatest sporting dramas since, oh, last month’s World Cup Final, demonstrating yet again why Test cricket must be savoured and protested for future generations of fans.

As a turnabout in fortunes it didn’t quite match the Headingley Test of 1981 – Botham, Willis and all that – but for overcoming home supporters’ low expectations in adversity, Headingley 2019 was just as remarkable. 38 years ago, it was a revitalised Ian Botham who, after a terrible start to his Ashes summer, rediscovered his mojo to drag England back from the brink. This time it’s Ben Stokes, although his rehabilitation from drunken thug to cricketing hero began in spectacular style at Lord’s when his innings and Super Over striking did so much to end the nation’s long wait for World Cup success.

I’m no fan of Stokes the person but there’s no denying his bravura talent on the biggest stages, at least with a bat in his hand. And yet, that unbeaten 135 notwithstanding, the Durham all-rounder was not the only man responsible for England’s victory. In the post-match euphoria amid the Stokes-centric headlines, it is easy to forget Jofra Archer’s first innings 6-45 and Saturday afternoon’s heroic resistance of the two Joes, Root and Denly.

On Friday, England were swatted away inside 28 overs for a paltry 67. Hazlewood and Cummins had bowled intelligently but the home team seemed to be batting in T20 self-destruct mode, nicking everything to Warner or Paine behind the stumps. They’d come close to winning the previous week at a rain-affected Lord’s but this dismal performance brought back the usual comments about the lost art of grinding out a score, knowing when to leave alone, when to defend and when to launch an offensive. 

Australia weren’t a whole heap better. Steve Smith’s injury replacement, Marnus Labuschagne, was the only one in a green helmet looking comfortable against the opposition attack. But when he and Lyon were last men out, England’s target of 359 looked challenging enough.

Normally such a fourth innings total would be beyond any side, but England had two and a half days in which to make them. Easy, huh? The portents were not good, especially when Roy and Burns succumbed meekly to the new ball. Root and Denly sensibly saw the side to stumps on Saturday evening but there was still plenty to do. A draw was out of the question; this was all about eight more wickets versus an additional 203 runs.

At 245-4, England looked to be cruising in the Bank Holiday heat but five wickets for 41 run left Australia in the driving seat. Ben Stokes and Jack Leach were on the rack. The Somerset spinner is no mug with the bat, as his 92 against Ireland demonstrated, but Stokes knew he’d have to play to his strength, and that’s to whack the ball as hard as he could. With 73 still required, he had nothing to lose.

Up to that point, he’d played with impressive restraint. Now was the time to display the Stokes of old. The sixes flew, but it was every dot ball faced by Leach which received cheers just as hearty from the Leeds crowd. Stokes was obviously pumped up, unable to even watch as his partner faced the fifth or sixth deliveries of overs by Cummins or Lyon. There was no intention of running quick singles; he merely squatted on his haunches, bat in both hands like a war-weary medieval knight clutching his sword, eyes focussed on his boots.

When on strike, my, how Stokes rode his luck. Aiming for the stands, three times he narrowly avoided outstretched hands, with a few very difficult diving catches spilled. The desperate LBW review for a ball clearly pitching and striking  outside leg stump cost the Aussies the match when a few overs later the umpire failed to spot a blatant leg-before; the ball would have hit middle. Justin Langer’s expression told the story. My thoughts strayed to Edgbaston, 2005 when the Aussies, featuring Langer, had been in a similar position yet were robbed just three runs from victory. With it, went that amazing series.

Nevertheless, in August 2019, all Stokes’ heroic hitting looked in vain when, with 2 needed, Stokes reverse swept to backward point then turned his back on Leach. His windmilling arms indicated that his partner had to run back to the crease. It wasn’t the greatest throw but all Nathan Lyon needed to do was catch the ball and calmly whip off the bails. With Leach stranded metres from safety, the bowler had plenty of time. He fumbled it, the chance had gone and with it the match and, in all likelihood, the Ashes.

The coup-de-grace followed shortly and one of the greatest of all Ashes Test matches was over. Just a few days after registering their lowest home Ashes total, England had achieved their highest ever fourth innings run chase. The series score reads 1-1 but I have no doubt that England will now proceed to build on their amazing good fortune and Stokes’ inspirational innings and regain the Ashes which, as the ball was lobbed to Lyon, looked certain to be Australia’s. I don’t think even the return of Steve Smith will prevent England’s sensational summer script becoming fact.

Murtagh and Ireland give England a Brief Scare

Last summer I wrote about the retirement of the Ireland/England batsman Ed Joyce. A few weeks ago another Irish England player won the World Cup, a tournament for which the country of his birth failed to qualify. This week, both countries met at last in a Test match.

As a prelude to the Ashes, it was ever likely to be a meaningful challenge, was it? England would simply stack up 500-odd and bowl out the visitors twice inside a day. Happy days! However, it didn’t work out quite so smoothly. OK, so Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad admirably demonstrated the art of top-class seam bowling to demolish Will Porterfield’s side this afternoon, but when another thirty-something paceman is able to remove Burns, Roy, Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Woakes for a handful of runs, alarm bells should be ringing in the England camp.

Full credit to Tim Murtagh, backed by Mark Adair and Boyd Rankin, for embarrassing Root et al and staking his place on the Lord’s honours board. It shouldn’t be a surprise. Prior to this Test, the London-born bowler had precisely 800 first-class wickets to his name so taking several more on his home county pitch was not unexpected. The bald, bare facts state that England beat Ireland by 143 runs inside three days but the home nation had more problems from the Test cricket newbies than the draining heatwave which weighed heavily on South East England. Why?

Murtagh was the only regular Ireland representative currently playing regular county cricket. Middlesex colleague Paul Stirling remains a dangerous one-day opener, but Gary Wilson, Will Porterfield, Boyd Rankin and Kevin O’Brien have all seen their Championship days put behind them. All are in their thirties, with Murtagh rapidly approaching his 38^th birthday.  Perhaps players of the calibre of Wilson can stimulate the development of new stars in Ireland’s fledgling professional structure. If the shamrock-bearers are to achieve a Test victory, this is essential.

As for England, this was probably just a hangover from the World Cup and a case of underestimating the opposition. It will probably prove to be a mere hiccup en route to an Ashes triumph over Australia later in the summer. The batting failures – relying on nightwatchman Jack Leach for their second-innings runs – will quickly be forgotten when Buttler and Stokes return. I think Rory Burns will retain his place but not Joe Denly. If fit, Anderson and WC-winner Jofra Archer must surely be in the first Ashes Test XI unless Bayliss and co can persuade a certain 38 year-old Londoner to switch his national allegiance!

Leach spins Somerset to the top

At Trent Bridge it was not so much a game of two halves as one of three thirds. After inserting Nottinghamshire on the opening morning, Somerset let the seamers do some damage, with Lewis Gregory (6-68) in particular maintaining his April form. The visitors could have suffered the same fate were it not for a double-century partnership between Tom Abell and George Bartlett before Broad polished off the tail. On the third day, new signing Jack Brooks chipped in with 4-22 but it was spinner Jack Leach whose six-for wrapped up a maximum-point victory, hoisting Somerset to the summit of Division One., just as the month break for the One-Day Cup kicks in. Ho-hum…

Last week’s leaders Hampshire returned to Earth with a brutal bump. They were beaten by an innings on home turf by Yorkshire, for whom Gary Ballance and Joe Root were again in the runs. Leaning and Tattersall extended the total to an impressive 554-7 declared. In reply, Sam Northeast fell one short of a second successive century and Liam Dawson followed his 60-over bowling stint with two fifties but Patterson and Coad wrecked Hampshire’s attempt at rescuing the match.

Kent also racked up 500+ and enforced the follow-on against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Zak Crawley and 20 year-old stand-in ‘keeper Ollie Robinson each reached three figures, as did the home side’s opener Dominic Sibley whose 132 was his fifth hundred in consecutive first-class fixtures. The second innings was heading for a disaster until Tim Ambrose and teenager Henry Brookes put on 141 for the eighth wicket and forced Kent to bat again to clinch the win.

The last two champions, Surrey and Essex, played out an evenly-matched draw at The Oval. The Londoners’ big guns all garnered some runs but Essex relied heavily on Dan Lawrence and skipper Ryan Ten Doeschate to compete in the first innings.

In Division Two, Worcestershire opened their account with a handsome victory at Leicester. Mitchell, Rutherford and Cox all scored centuries in a total of 553-6 but Leicestershire found it tough to emulate them. Charlie Morris claimed a career-best 7-45 and applied the coup-de-grace on the final morning with Paul Horton’s men still eighteen adrift.

Meanwhile, Sussex consigned Durham to a second successive defeat in a low-scoring contest at Chester-le-Street. All was fairly even-Stevens until Stiaan van Zyl held his nerve in the second innings, just managing to make a century as Sussex won by six wickets. Two of the favourites for promotion met at Lord’s and it was Lancashire who prevailed easily. After two miserable seasons, Haseeb Hameed finally struck a first-class hundred, but it was Glenn Maxwell’s off-breaks which proved decisive on day four.

The Cardiff pitch came in for justified criticism as it was a terribly one-sided affair. Batsmen filled their boots – six striking tons – and Northamptonshire piled on 750, the highest score ever seen at Sophia Gardens, spanning 227 tedious overs. Northants opener Ricardo Vasconcelos top-scored with 184 while for Glamorgan Billy Root achieved his maiden hundred for his new county, out-performing his brother Joe for a change. Mind you my dear departed grandmother could probably have driven a few boundaries on such a batting track!

To be honest, there weren’t many more wickets falling at Bristol although there were no records broken. The final day saw Derbyshire aggregate almost 300 runs for the loss of just one wicket, as Wayne Madsen cruised to a double, and Alex Hughes 109 not out. The result with Gloucestershire may have been a tame draw but it does place Derbyshire top of the table as we head into one-day territory. Enjoy it while it lasts, lads!

Team of the Week: Vasconcelos (Nor), Hameed (Lan), Ballance (Yor), Madsen (Der), Van Zyl (Sus), Robinson (Ken +), Gregory (Som), Wiese (Sus), Morris (Wor), Murtagh (Mid), Leach (Som)

Somerset Challenge thwarted by Dramatic Tie

What a weird week in the County Championship! It experienced its first tied match for fifteen years, no fewer than six bowlers took ten wickets and only four centuries were scored in the nine fixtures played.

Surrey romped to a ten-wicket victory over Essex at Chelmsford, that man Rikki Clarke combining a half-century with eight cheap wickets. He’s the Darren Stevens of 2018! Their only feasible challengers for the title, Somerset, were involved in a low-scoring spin-fest against Lancashire at Taunton. Jack Leach had captured twelve wickets to leave the home side needing only 78 to win. However, on the second afternoon, fellow left-arm slowie Keshav Maharaj carried on where Leach left off, and the wickets tumbled. Somerset scrambled their way to 77, needing one to win with two wickets remaining. Dom Bess went for glory and was duly stumped. Jamie Overton and Leach played it cool for ten whole deliveries but then Leach was caught by Bailey and it was all over, scores level: a tie!

Hampshire defeated bottom club Worcestershire by 114 runs, who at least took the match into a third day. As at Taunton, neither side managed an innings of 200. Worcester all-rounder Ed Barnard took 6-50 on the first day but bagged a pair as Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn ripped through the home county’s batting in under 42 overs.

Three of the four hundreds scored this week came at Trent Bridge, the only place where bowlers struggled. While other teams were being bowled out inside a couple of sessions, Nottinghamshire openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Ben Slater were putting on 182 for the first wicket alone. In reply, Ballance and Kohler-Cadmore ground out centuries as the pitch and weather ensured a draw.

Surrey now sit 43 points clear and facing the less-than-arduous trip to Worcester, while Somerset travel to Hampshire. The Roses match at Headingley is but a sideshow in comparison.

The Division Two promotion battle remains an exciting three-horse race. Warwickshire’s lead was sliced to a mere seven points having been held to a draw by Durham. Olly Stone starred with the ball but on the final afternoon, Poynter and Salisbury held on for the last six overs, defying the bowlers and claustrophobia, surrounded by close fielders, and avoided defeat.

Kent are still in second place, the returning Matt Henry back in the wickets (11-114 for the match) as they dealt with Northamptonshire quite easily. Meanwhile at Hove, Sussex rediscovered their mojo. After their reverse against Middlesex, Chris Jordan (68 and 54) and Ollie Robinson (5-24 and 5-43) starred in a 274-run thrashing of Leicestershire. Credit, though, to the opposing Ben Mike. The 20 year-old debutant aggregated 9-94 with his medium pace, deserving a better result for his efforts.

It was nice to see a Hammond making three figures for Gloucestershire again, almost a century after namesake Wally first played at Bristol. This time it was former under-19 international Miles who struck an unbeaten 123 in the second innings. Nevertheless, the game with Middlesex ended in a draw. As for Glamorgan, their disastrous batting record continued, Derbyshire the lucky beneficiaries, especially Tony Palladino who finished with 10-81.

Next week, Warwickshire, Sussex and Kent are all on the road, while Gloucestershire will lick their lips at a drive across the Severn Bridge to Cardiff. Can Glamorgan garner any batting points, let alone a victory? Don’t bet on it. They’ve acquired only nine batting bonuses all summer.

Team of the Week: 

Slater (Not), Hammond (Glo), Denly (Ken), Ballance (Yor), Billings (Ken +), Clarke (Sur), Jordan (Sus), Henry (Ken), Stone (War), Robinson (Sus), Leach (Som)

Morkel and Leach keep it a two-horse race

A busy week and a bit ended with the T20 quarter-finals throwing up few shocks. Unless, that is, you count Somerset reaching their first Finals Day for several years. Lewis Gregory maintained his recent white-ball form, thrashing five sixes in a 24-ball 60 not out before Jamie Overton claimed five wickets (three caught by Max Waller) to strangle the Outlaws’ run chase. The previous three ties were unusually short on runs but the Rapids must be delighted to make the semis for the first time ever after defeating Gloucestershire at New Road.

It was an impressive week for Worcestershire. They also moved off the bottom of the Championship Division One with an innings thrashing of Yorkshire at Scarborough, where for some reason the home side always seem to struggle. Moeen Ali struck 219 and Daryl Mitchell 178, comfortably the highest individual scores of the week. Moeen also weighed in with eight wickets.

On the fourth afternoon, my eyes rarely strayed from the online score updates as Somerset and Surrey battled to bowl out their respective opposition. At Taunton, the home team clinched victory against Essex in mid-afternoon. Jack Leach twirled unchanged for 32 overs and finished on 8-85, easily out-bowling his England spin colleague Dom Bess. Sadly for me and the Westcountrymen, Lancashire couldn’t quite hold on against a rampant Morne Morkel. Surrey edged it by a paltry six runs and must be odds-on to win, consigning Somerset to another bloody runners-up spot. Lancs’ loss leaves them bottom.

In the other game Hampshire attained a vital victory over third-placed Nottinghamshire. James Vince timed his 74 and 147 to perfection given the England Test squad announcement, while overseas pacemen Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards did most of the bowling damage.

In Division Two, it’s a much tighter situation at the top. Warwickshire despatched Gloucestershire inside two days. Rhodes and Sibley shared a 165-run stand while the visitors’ batsmen struggled horribly, not the first time this summer. Meanwhile at Hove, Sussex stayed within four points of the leaders with a 243-run success against Derbyshire, while Kent achieved their sixth win of the season at Leicester with major contributions by Sean Dickson and paceman Ivan Thomas.

Glamorgan’s dismal disarray continued, suffering another humbling innings defeat, this time at the hands of Durham. Had it not been for rain, the misery would have been complete inside two days. Captain Hogan and coach Croft can’t take all the blame; the batting has been awful recently. The Welsh side are now 14 points adrift at the foot of the table, behind Northamptonshire, who lost to Middlesex despite a maiden century by young ‘keeper Ricardo Vasconcelos.

It’s back to first-class cricket later this week. Surrey will surely notch victory number eight at home to Notts, while Somerset head to Headingley to keep in touch. Lancashire’s fixture against Worcestershire has a relegation battle writ large over the Southport sands. Warwickshire also travel to the seaside, facing a despondent Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay while close rivals Sussex nip up the M23 to Lord’s for some late-August fun in the sun.

Team of the Week: 

Mitchell (Wor), Dickson (Ken), Moeen Ali (Wor), Vince (Ham), Vasconselos (Nor +), Gregory (Som), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Leach (Som), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur)

New Zealand hang on for memorable series win

After the embarrassment of Auckland, England bounced back impressively in the Second Test. However it wasn’t quite enough to level the series. The grassy slopes of Christchurch always look so beautiful and bucolic, even - dare I say it – English. It was a great place for the Barmy Army to witness a winning finale to a five-month tour Down Under, and for four days everyone seemed to be following the script. The Black Caps had narrowly missed out last time and a repeat performance looked likely when Joe Root declared with almost four sessions remaining. 

The first skirmishes were fairly even-stevens. Trent Boult and Tim Southee continued where they left off, grabbing all ten first innings wickets. However, Jonny Bairstow’s 101 and Mark Wood’s unexpectedly classy 52 kept the home side at bay for an extra hour or so. I’d doubted the wisdom of replacing Craig Overton with Wood as much for the former’s useful late-order batting as the latter’s faster bowling. Shows how little I know!

NZ made a terrible start to their response. For Boult and Southee, read Anderson and Broad. The England new-ball veterans ripped out the top five for just 36 runs and a massacre looked a distinct possibility. Enter BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme, who rescued matters with a 142-run stand. Southee then emulated Wood with a run-a-ball fifty to reduce the deficit to just 29.

Alastair Cook’s terrible run continued, edging Boult to the ‘keeper for 14, but this time the next four batsmen each notched half-centuries, even if Joe Root was perhaps disappointed that, yet again, he failed to convert a promising half-century into three figures. Stoneman, Vince and Malan desperately needed good scores to prolong their Test careers into the English summer. This they achieved, but it remains to be seen who is in form after the first five County Championship fixtures. Root indicated that Cook will be opening regardless, which could be a tad premature, although back at Chelmsford, the former skipper is normally prolific.

As for England’s failure to bowl out the home team, that was largely down to, not Williamson or Taylor, but a gritty 83 from opener Tom Latham and a dogged 56 from Ish Sodhi. He defied short stuff from Wood and claustrophobic field settings for spinners Leach and Root for more than three hours. Just as valuable were the seven runs amassed by Neil Wagner. He defended and defied for 103 balls, knowing that the last man, Southee, was unwell and available only in an emergency. In the event he wasn’t needed and somehow the rearguard action was successful. New Zealand had occupied the crease for 124 overs losing only eight wickets. They had drawn the match but achieved their first series victory over England since 1999 and the first at home since the days of Hadlee and Crowe in 1983-4. 

It’s a shame that New Zealand don’t get more opportunities in Test matches. Like England, they are a match for anybody on home soil even though, again like England, they struggle overseas. In Williamson, Boult and Southee, they have three world-class operators who deserve more exposure to Test cricket.

As for England, they still need to find a way of winning Tests abroad. They edged the limited overs contests but seemed to lack the nous to score enough runs or take twenty wickets when it matters. Anderson and Broad are currently irreplaceable and any injuries to either could be disastrous to the country’s chances later this year. Root apart, the middle-order remains patchy, as is the bowling support. Much as it pains me as a Somerset supporter to lose our best bowler in the Championship, I predict Jack Leach keeping his place as specialist spinner It’s up to Moeen Ali to rediscover his mojo, not only in Tests but also in ODIs and T20s. Malan will stay, if only because he plays for Middlesex, and Stoneman’s Surrey connection may yet save him, too. I look forward to the return of county cricket to see who shines brightest.

Middlesex lose the four-way relegation battle

In a dramatic final week of County Championship action, the battle to avoid the drop went to the wire. In 2016, Yorkshire, Somerset and Middlesex went into the final day of the season with a chance of the title. This year, all were at the other end of the table playing for their Division One lives.

At Chelmsford, the White Roses scraped a mere three bowling bonus points and couldn’t even muster 200 runs in total as champions Essex were merciless with the ball. Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter each claimed five victims and ended as the division’s top wicket takers, while their county ended the season unbeaten and with twice as many wins as their nearest rivals. You can’t say Essex didn’t deserve to be champions!

So, with a day remaining, Yorkshire were stuck on 148 points. Somerset were in the driving seat against Middlesex but unable to top 147, while Hampshire were facing defeat at relegated Warwickshire. As a Somerset fan I was mightily relieved when a combination of a rare James Hildreth century and brilliant bowling by Jack Leach dealt Middlesex a fatal blow. We were safe, finishing a single point ahead of the Lords brigade. All Middlesex could do was anxiously track Hampshire’s second innings travails at Edgbaston. In the end, they managed to block and nudge throughout the day to secure the draw they needed, reach 148 points and consign the champions to Division Two status next summer. Phew!

In the other game, Lancashire inflicted only the second defeat of the summer on Surrey. Incredibly the latter finished third despite winning only twice. The reason was the mountain of runs provided by Kumar Sangakkara, Mark Stoneman and Rory Burns but for some reason they frequently failed to bowl sides out twice.

In Division Two, Worcestershire beat Durham by 137 runs to top the table. Daryl Mitchell produced his seventh century of the summer then Ravi Ashwin rounded off his brief spell at New Road with a five-for to take the title. Predictably, Northamptonshire came back from Leicester with a ninth victory. Sanderson and Gleeson nabbed fifteen wickets between them, and opener Luke Procter accumulated 176 runs – more than anyone else this week – but still it wasn’t enough to overhaul second-placed Nottinghamshire.

Hove was the only venue this week where batsmen were mainly on top. Sussex plundered 565 first innings runs and Notts replied with 477. Michael Burgess’ inaugural three-figure score and Chris Jordan’s 147 led the way for the home team, but Billy Root and Chris Read – in his last ever match – responded with centuries of their own. Neither county could win from that situation and so the ever-popular Read could retire with a promotion and a five-point cushion. It was a bitter-sweet outcome for Northants whose five-point deduction for a slow over-rate in the recent contest with (ironically) Notts ultimately cost them dear. Northamptonshire’s poor batting also let them down.

Elsewhere, Michael Hogan finished the season impressively with ten wickets, taking him above 500  in a long first-class career, in Glamorgan’s triumph over Kent at Canterbury. Derbyshire also made hay on their travels, beating an unfamiliar Gloucestershire outfit by five wickets. They needed centuries by Madsen and Hughes and some declaration bowling, but a win’s a win.

And, to summarise, final congratulations to skipper Ryan Ten Doeschate and coach Chris Silverwood for steering Essex to such an impressive Championship campaign. Nottinghamshire enjoyed a fruitful summer, too. As for my predictions back in April, they were mostly wildly adrift as usual. Only my tip for Worcestershire to go up proved correct and, fortunately, my pessimism for Somerset’s prospects proved unfounded, but it was touch and go. Watch out for my forthcoming County Team of The Year review!

Final Team of the Week: Wells (Sus), Procter (Nor), Denly (Ken), Hildreth (Som), W Root (Not), Burgess (Sus +), Jordan (Sus), R Patel (Mid), Harmer (Ess), Leach (Som), Hogan (Gla)

Sadness for Sussex, Heaven for Hampshire

When rain swept the nation early in the week, I feared the worst: that the weather would decide the Division One relegation battle and the county season would fizzle out in a damp squib. How wrong I was; there were fireworks a-plenty, and a brilliant climax!

Not only did the battle to avoid the drop go right to the wire, but there were also great performances with bat and ball in all eight fixtures played.

Personally, my relief came a day early. At Taunton, a combination of James Hildreth’s century and spinner Jack Leach’s wickets were enough to guarantee Somerset’s safety regardless of what happened at Trent Bridge or Headingley. Jeetan Patel’s 7-34 left Warwickshire needing only 225 to win on the final day, but Leach and the unlikely figure of Tom Cooper claimed nine of the ten wickets to fall, giving Somerset victory and a sixth place finish. That’s the second successive season when we’ve pulled it out of the fire in late September!

Sussex merely needed to avoid defeat to Yorkshire to remain in Division One. However, the champions weren’t happy to sip champagne and play their reserves. Most of their England stars were on the pitch, but Jack Brooks and Tim Bresnan were the pick of the Eleven. In his last game, Michael Yardy did his best, but Sussex’s batting, Ben Brown and Luke Wright apart, has been woeful for much of the summer, restricting their bonus point tally. They lost by 100 runs.

Meanwhile, the first innings scores in Nottingham were fairly even, but then Hampshire grasped the initiative on day three, West Indian seamer Fidel Edwards completing a ten-for in the match as the Notts batting collapsed. Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry kept their heads and Hampshire had won the one that really mattered. Sussex were relegated by just two points!

Worcestershire’s demise had already been set in concrete so it was a huge surprise that they gave second-placed Middlesex a trouncing by an innings and 128 runs. The two Toms, Fell and Kohler-Cadmore each struck hundreds. In the latter’s case, it was his first in the championship.

By contrast, all four Division Two matches were drawn. It was a cracker at Derby where the home side were set a target of 341 in under a day by Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove, whose 156 had made his side narrow favourites. At 285-2, things looked promising as Chesney Hughes reached three figures. However, once he and Madsen were out, it also became a race against the clock. There were two run-outs and in an exciting finale, Derbyshire closed on 331-8. Mark Footitt took another ten wickets on probably his last appearance for the county. He would be badly missed.

Surrey ended the season as second tier champions, but Northants gave them a rollercoaster ride at the end. Another silky century from Kumar Sangakkara and ten wickets for the young Curran brothers left the Londoners 300 runs ahead. However, the visitors fought back with three centurions of their own and time was against even Jason Roy et al in the final session to deny them victory.

Having lost the first day to bad weather, Lancashire and Essex couldn’t conjure up a positive result either. James Anderson and Alastair Cook faced each other for a change and it was the bowler who was most definitely on top, with match figures of 8-90. The England captain aggregated a mere eight runs in two innings, lbw to, then caught by Anderson! Ravi Bopara and Jesse Ryder scored most of Essex’s runs. Ashwell Prince’s career finished with another half-century while 41 year-old Glenn Chapple could take only three more wickets. He is now cruelly 15 short of the thousand in first-class cricket. Will he be back for more next year?!

In the other game, it was a runfest at Bristol. An unbeaten 180 stand between Ingram and Cooke for Glamorgan on the final day was impressive but was completely eclipsed by Gloucester opener Chris Dent. A mediocre season was turned on its head when he spent more than eight hours at the crease compiling a career-best 268. Few have score more in the Championship al summer!

And so the 2015 summer comes to an end. England won the Ashes, domestic silverware went to Yorkshire, Lancashire and Gloucestershire, and the same old questions were being asked about the demise of four- and five-day cricket, 50-over cricket and basically all cricket other than the IPL. Pathetic! There’s room for all formats; it’s just a matter of finding compromises to fit them in the calendar. However, that’s harder than it sounds!

I’ll be reviewing the domestic season’s star performers shortly but, in the mean time, here’s my final County Team of the Week:

Dent (Glo), Duckett (Nor), Sangakkara (Sur), Fell (Wor), Madsen (Der), Bopara (Ess), Cooke (Gla, +), Edwards (Ham), Leach (Som), Anderson (Lan), Footitt (Der)