Yorkshire stand atop the North division thanks to more fine batting performances, especially by their wicket-keepers. In the six-wicket victory over Durham, for which Stephen Cook and Michael Richardson both reached three figures, it took a special innings from Jonny Bairstow to power to their tough target with two overs to spare. In a rare outing for his county, the England man plundered 174 in just 113 balls. He was assisted by Aussie Peter Handscomb, who helped himself to a superb 140 himself against Derbyshire, and almost 300 across the week. Even in defeat against Worcestershire, his 88 did at least keep the White Roses in contention for a while.
Nottinghamshire won three out of three, taking them to third place. Samit Patel had a decent week but the star solo performance came from Billy Root, who made 107 not out against Warwickshire. And he isn’t even the best batsman in his family! Elsewhere, Leicestershire opener Mark Pettini followed a magnificent 159 with a duck, and Stephen Croft’s rapid 127 for Lancashire against Warwickshire included a 34-run over off poor Oliver Hannon-Dalby.
Bowlers found life hard again this week, but Durham’s novice medium-pacer James Weighell maintained his excellent start to his 50-over season, adding another 8 wickets to his tally. His 4-34 against Leicestershire was the stand-out statistic.
Further South, Somerset held on to their 100% record. The Taunton crowd last Tuesday enjoyed 706 runs and when Daniel Bell-Drummond (106) and Alex Blake (116 in 58 balls) set a massive target, things looked gloomy for the home side. That left the stage for a Peter Trego special. He doesn’t bowl these days, but he can still whack the ball around. His 135, backed by half-centuries from Elgar and Hildreth, took them almost all the way before van der Merwe and Gregory applied the final boundaries. Somerset smashed well over 300 again at Cardiff, where Jim Allenby chose the fixture with his previous county to produce a special innings. His 144 not out was the highest score but partners Dean Elgar and James Hildreth provided the fireworks.
Glamorgan did at least win a match for a change, clinching a nail-biter at Sophia Gardens versus Essex by just one run. Colin Ingram struck a brilliant 142 and, when the visitors lost their first two wickets for two, the Welsh side looked firmly in control. However, two century partnerships involving Varun Chopra took Essex to just seven runs from victory in the final over. Unfortunately for them, Harmer, Porter and Wagner couldn’t find the all-important boundary.
At least Essex did find themselves on the right side of an extremely close contest at the Oval. Surrey paceman James Dernbach took 4-31 but Simon Harmer did last the distance this time, guiding Essex to the finishing line with four balls remaining.
However, it was Sussex who enjoyed three consecutive successes during the week. New signing Laurie Evans stole the show against Kent with an 86-ball 134 not out, and the momentum could take them to the knockout stage. Amidst all these hundreds, credit to Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones for accumulating combined stats of 8-81, including 4-10 against Hampshire.
Next week’s Essex encounters with Sussex and Somerset could be thrilling, while Friday’s West Midlands derby involving Warwickshire and Worcestershire looks particularly tasty.
Team of the Week: Bell-Drummond (Ken), Bairstow )Yor +), Richardson (Dur), Handscomb (Yor), Madsen (Der), Bopara (Ess), Blake (Ken), T Wells (Lei), Roland-Jones (Mid), Weighell (Dur), Dernbach (Sur)
Showing posts with label James Allenby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Allenby. Show all posts
Thursday, 11 May 2017
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Team of the Week ending 6th June: All Hales to - er - Mankad?
It was a week of the IPL final, prolific opening batsmen and a controversial run-out. Yorkshire's openers Adam Lyth and Alex Lees put on 375 in the Championship and, with the former's astonishing acrobatic catch 'assist' in the T20 win over Lancashire accompanying his 230, Lyth is a shoo-in for my first position. Lees doesn't join him, and neither does Durham's Mark Stoneman (187) because Alex Hales produced a couple of peaches. Given carte blanche to go for his shots by Notts skipper Chris Read, Hales thumped 167 in 133 balls in a first-class game, followed by a more familiar T20 blast against Derbyshire.
Stoneman's partner and occasional England leg-spinner option, Scott Borthwick almost hit a 'double' in the rain-truncated Middlesex draw, and is my number three. At four I was even tempted to include Vinoo Mankad. His name was mentioned more often than just about any other cricketer this week, as the alleged originator of the bowler-runs-out-non-striker dismissal in the 1940s. However, he misses out only because he has been dead for nearly 36 years. He is eclipsed by my wicket-keeper selection. No, not Jos Buttler. His brilliant ODI 121 for England took him close but his failure to heed two warnings of excessive backing up by Senanayake let him down. Instead, Wriddhiman Saha's IPL final heroic innings of 115 in 55 balls merits recognition. No winners' medal but he can look back proudly on his place in my Team of the Week!
Samit Patel keeps on scoring runs and taking wickets for Nottinghamshire, and this week was no exception. Yet he still can't get anywhere near the England set-up. His 156 was narrowly overtaken by Ed Joyce's unbeaten 164 for Sussex in the same match, and both players keep out other high run-makers in Moeen Ali and Alviro Petersen.
Like Saha and Buttler, Darren Christian's blistering short-form innings with Middlesex was in a losing cause. His T20 assault of 129 in 57 deliveries included twelve fours and no fewer than ten sixes. He even added a pair of wickets, too. Two other all-rounders were in fine form for their respective counties. Glamorgan's Jim Allenby contributed almost a hundred runs in the Championship then blitzed 96 not out at Taunton in a classic T20 encounter. They won despite a typical Trego onslaught, as Peter plundered 94 in a run chase which fell just a few runs short. His 3-37 and 3-25 in the four-day game versus Lancashire showed he is more than just a limited-overs specialist. But then we Somerset fans have known that for years!
My team bats well down the order this week but my final two are bowling specialists. Danny Briggs has played T20 for England but his Championship 5-50 and 2-22 for Hampshire against Derbyshire make him the top spinner of the past seven days. Palladino and Shantry had their moments but Reece Topley made it a return from injury to remember. He claimed ten wickets for Essex against Glamorgan, including a first innings 6-41. In my view, he is a left-armer with more potential than Gurney.
To summarise: Lyth (York), Hales (Nott), Borthwick (Dur), Saha (Kings, +), Patel (Nott), Joyce (Sus, *), Christian (Mid), Allenby (Gla), Trego (Som), Briggs (Ham), Topley (Ess). Twelfth man: Mankad (Ind)....
Stoneman's partner and occasional England leg-spinner option, Scott Borthwick almost hit a 'double' in the rain-truncated Middlesex draw, and is my number three. At four I was even tempted to include Vinoo Mankad. His name was mentioned more often than just about any other cricketer this week, as the alleged originator of the bowler-runs-out-non-striker dismissal in the 1940s. However, he misses out only because he has been dead for nearly 36 years. He is eclipsed by my wicket-keeper selection. No, not Jos Buttler. His brilliant ODI 121 for England took him close but his failure to heed two warnings of excessive backing up by Senanayake let him down. Instead, Wriddhiman Saha's IPL final heroic innings of 115 in 55 balls merits recognition. No winners' medal but he can look back proudly on his place in my Team of the Week!
Samit Patel keeps on scoring runs and taking wickets for Nottinghamshire, and this week was no exception. Yet he still can't get anywhere near the England set-up. His 156 was narrowly overtaken by Ed Joyce's unbeaten 164 for Sussex in the same match, and both players keep out other high run-makers in Moeen Ali and Alviro Petersen.
Like Saha and Buttler, Darren Christian's blistering short-form innings with Middlesex was in a losing cause. His T20 assault of 129 in 57 deliveries included twelve fours and no fewer than ten sixes. He even added a pair of wickets, too. Two other all-rounders were in fine form for their respective counties. Glamorgan's Jim Allenby contributed almost a hundred runs in the Championship then blitzed 96 not out at Taunton in a classic T20 encounter. They won despite a typical Trego onslaught, as Peter plundered 94 in a run chase which fell just a few runs short. His 3-37 and 3-25 in the four-day game versus Lancashire showed he is more than just a limited-overs specialist. But then we Somerset fans have known that for years!
My team bats well down the order this week but my final two are bowling specialists. Danny Briggs has played T20 for England but his Championship 5-50 and 2-22 for Hampshire against Derbyshire make him the top spinner of the past seven days. Palladino and Shantry had their moments but Reece Topley made it a return from injury to remember. He claimed ten wickets for Essex against Glamorgan, including a first innings 6-41. In my view, he is a left-armer with more potential than Gurney.
To summarise: Lyth (York), Hales (Nott), Borthwick (Dur), Saha (Kings, +), Patel (Nott), Joyce (Sus, *), Christian (Mid), Allenby (Gla), Trego (Som), Briggs (Ham), Topley (Ess). Twelfth man: Mankad (Ind)....
Thursday, 3 October 2013
County Players of the 2013 Season
The likes of Ian Bell, Joe Root and James Anderson may have win the plaudits on the international scene but the men who play week in and week out for their counties deserve recognition, too.
Selecting a county XI is fraught with mental anguish and especially when combining all three formats I've been tearing out what remains of my hair. It has been a mixed summer for overseas signings. OK, so the likes of Azhar Mahmood, Richard Levi and David Hussey sparkled briefly during the T20 tournament but there were no consistent performances amongst the recognised stars of Test cricket. Shiv Chanderpaul did his best to bolster Derbyshire's feeble middle-order and Ricky Ponting enjoyed a spectacular first-class swansong, averaging more than 123 in his six innings with Surrey. Had he been available for longer, I doubt the county would have been relegated - and he was signed only when Graeme Smith got injured early on.
South Africans Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla shone at opposite ends of the season, and Simon Katich and Ashwell Prince did much to boost Lancashire's promotin campaign but Thilan Samaraweera accumulated a mere 702 Championship runs for Worcestershire, completely dominated by one of his less illustrious team-mates, of whom more later. Australians were always in the headlines this year but it was some without the green baggy who caught the eye in domestic cricket. So what about my county team of the year?
Opening batsmen didn't figure much in the runs or averages, with the honourable exception of Wayne Madsen. As skipper and leading run-scorer, he was unfortunate to win various individual awards whie his side tumbled straight back to Division Two. Aussie Michael Klinger arrived at Gloucestershire under the radar but he was brilliant in all formats, especially in one-dayers. Michael Carberry will be flying Down Under for the Ashes but only on the back of some useful T20 runs and scratchy ODI innings. His mediocre Championship contribution for Hamsphire let him down badly. Robert Key struck five hundreds for Kent but too often got out cheaply, not unlike Virun Chopra and Sam Robson. Chris Rogers might have made it to my team had his early season form for Middlesex not brought him into the Ashes squad.
There's some fierce competition, however, for middle-order places. The promotion up the order for Ned Eckersley and Scott Borthwick reaped pleasant surprises for Leicestershire and Durham, respectively in the Championship. James Vince starred for Hampshire ahead of Carberry, Adams and McKenzie, while Ed Joyce led the Sussex batting with style. However, two men are automatic choices: Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance. The former was denied a 'wild card' place in the winter tour party by the latter, but if anything the Worcestershire strokemaker was the outstanding batsman in the county season. He contributed more than 2000 runs in total and fifty-odd wickets, too. His spin bowling probably edges Samit Patel out of my side, but he shouldn't see a vendetta or fatt-ist attitude in my decision! Ballance finally came of age with Yorkshire, in the absence of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, and could yet form an effective alliance with Root in the Test set-up.
All-rounders seemed to be oozing from the woodwork in 2013. Last year's Most Valuable Player, Peter Trego flayed attacks in the YB40 but failed to reproduce his first-class batting or bowling this time. However, three men force their way into my Eleven. James Allenby was one of the few genuine all-rounders who were superb with bat and ball throughout the summer and in all formats. It's a mystery to me why Glamorgan could finish no higher than eighth in Division Two when they boasted three of the best individual players in the competition. Alongside him stands 37 year-old Darren Stevens, better known for his one-day exploits but in 2013 was a towering batting presence for Kent in the four-day game. Ben Stokes remained a dangerous batsman but added near-90mph bowling to his CV, taking more than 50 first-class wickets for the champions Durham.
It wasn't a vintage season for wicketkeepers. James Foster was not his usual prolific self with the bat, and Chris Read had a disaster. Craig Kieswetter did OK for Somerset, especially in T20, but Steven Davies gets the nod, scoring more than 1500 runs along with tidy 'keeping for Surrey.
That leaves me just three places to complete the full compliment. Alan Richardson claimed more Championship wickets than almost anyone else - again - but two other masters of seam and swing beat him to my fantasy team. Graeme Onions was once more irresistable for Durham nabbing 70 wickets at under 19 apiece, yet is clearly too short at 6 feet 1 to make the England team. Crazy! Michael Hogan excelled for Glamorgan, heading the T20 wicket league and taking 67 Championship wickets at just over 20. Jeetan Patel was the best spinner of the summer and Sussex's Chris Jordan makes a compelling case for inclusion but my final pick is David Willey who seemed to epitomise Northamptonshire's new-found team spirit. His blistering batting and match-winning hat-trick won the county the T20 crown, and he wasn't bad in proper cricket, either. Oh, and being a left-armer clinches the deal.
In summary: Madsen (Derby, *), Klinger (Gloucs), Moeen Ali (Worcs), Ballance (Yorks), Stevens (Kent), Stokes (Durham), Allenby (GLamorgan), Davies (Surrey +), Willey (Northants), Hogan (Glamorgan), Onions (Durham). Subs; S Patel (Notts), J Patel (Warks)
Selecting a county XI is fraught with mental anguish and especially when combining all three formats I've been tearing out what remains of my hair. It has been a mixed summer for overseas signings. OK, so the likes of Azhar Mahmood, Richard Levi and David Hussey sparkled briefly during the T20 tournament but there were no consistent performances amongst the recognised stars of Test cricket. Shiv Chanderpaul did his best to bolster Derbyshire's feeble middle-order and Ricky Ponting enjoyed a spectacular first-class swansong, averaging more than 123 in his six innings with Surrey. Had he been available for longer, I doubt the county would have been relegated - and he was signed only when Graeme Smith got injured early on.
South Africans Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla shone at opposite ends of the season, and Simon Katich and Ashwell Prince did much to boost Lancashire's promotin campaign but Thilan Samaraweera accumulated a mere 702 Championship runs for Worcestershire, completely dominated by one of his less illustrious team-mates, of whom more later. Australians were always in the headlines this year but it was some without the green baggy who caught the eye in domestic cricket. So what about my county team of the year?
Opening batsmen didn't figure much in the runs or averages, with the honourable exception of Wayne Madsen. As skipper and leading run-scorer, he was unfortunate to win various individual awards whie his side tumbled straight back to Division Two. Aussie Michael Klinger arrived at Gloucestershire under the radar but he was brilliant in all formats, especially in one-dayers. Michael Carberry will be flying Down Under for the Ashes but only on the back of some useful T20 runs and scratchy ODI innings. His mediocre Championship contribution for Hamsphire let him down badly. Robert Key struck five hundreds for Kent but too often got out cheaply, not unlike Virun Chopra and Sam Robson. Chris Rogers might have made it to my team had his early season form for Middlesex not brought him into the Ashes squad.
There's some fierce competition, however, for middle-order places. The promotion up the order for Ned Eckersley and Scott Borthwick reaped pleasant surprises for Leicestershire and Durham, respectively in the Championship. James Vince starred for Hampshire ahead of Carberry, Adams and McKenzie, while Ed Joyce led the Sussex batting with style. However, two men are automatic choices: Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance. The former was denied a 'wild card' place in the winter tour party by the latter, but if anything the Worcestershire strokemaker was the outstanding batsman in the county season. He contributed more than 2000 runs in total and fifty-odd wickets, too. His spin bowling probably edges Samit Patel out of my side, but he shouldn't see a vendetta or fatt-ist attitude in my decision! Ballance finally came of age with Yorkshire, in the absence of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, and could yet form an effective alliance with Root in the Test set-up.
All-rounders seemed to be oozing from the woodwork in 2013. Last year's Most Valuable Player, Peter Trego flayed attacks in the YB40 but failed to reproduce his first-class batting or bowling this time. However, three men force their way into my Eleven. James Allenby was one of the few genuine all-rounders who were superb with bat and ball throughout the summer and in all formats. It's a mystery to me why Glamorgan could finish no higher than eighth in Division Two when they boasted three of the best individual players in the competition. Alongside him stands 37 year-old Darren Stevens, better known for his one-day exploits but in 2013 was a towering batting presence for Kent in the four-day game. Ben Stokes remained a dangerous batsman but added near-90mph bowling to his CV, taking more than 50 first-class wickets for the champions Durham.
It wasn't a vintage season for wicketkeepers. James Foster was not his usual prolific self with the bat, and Chris Read had a disaster. Craig Kieswetter did OK for Somerset, especially in T20, but Steven Davies gets the nod, scoring more than 1500 runs along with tidy 'keeping for Surrey.
That leaves me just three places to complete the full compliment. Alan Richardson claimed more Championship wickets than almost anyone else - again - but two other masters of seam and swing beat him to my fantasy team. Graeme Onions was once more irresistable for Durham nabbing 70 wickets at under 19 apiece, yet is clearly too short at 6 feet 1 to make the England team. Crazy! Michael Hogan excelled for Glamorgan, heading the T20 wicket league and taking 67 Championship wickets at just over 20. Jeetan Patel was the best spinner of the summer and Sussex's Chris Jordan makes a compelling case for inclusion but my final pick is David Willey who seemed to epitomise Northamptonshire's new-found team spirit. His blistering batting and match-winning hat-trick won the county the T20 crown, and he wasn't bad in proper cricket, either. Oh, and being a left-armer clinches the deal.
In summary: Madsen (Derby, *), Klinger (Gloucs), Moeen Ali (Worcs), Ballance (Yorks), Stevens (Kent), Stokes (Durham), Allenby (GLamorgan), Davies (Surrey +), Willey (Northants), Hogan (Glamorgan), Onions (Durham). Subs; S Patel (Notts), J Patel (Warks)
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