County Week: Wickets tumble to Ball and Stone

It proved fitting that the 2018 County Championship commenced on Friday the 13^th because it was certainly unlucky for all players and spectators. In contrast to the warm sunshine of last year’s launch, it was virtually a  complete washout. In fact, conditions at Headingley were so bad that Yorkshire’s eagerly-awaited encounter with reigning champs Essex was abandoned without a single ball bowled.

When play did start elsewhere, it was woefully one-sided. The only century scored in five matches came from David Wiese, batting at number nine for Sussex. The highest score by any opening batsman was Daniel Bell-Drummond’s second innings 61. In short, England was a seamer’s paradise.

One of the few specialist batsman to make runs was James Vince, whose swift 75 for Hampshire helped set up a 196-run victory over promoted Worcestershire. Visiting captain Joe Leach nabbed seven wickets, as did Kyle Abbott, although it was his Hampshire team-mates Fidel Edwards and Liam Dawson who polished off the tail to go top of the table.

At Old Trafford, the final morning witnessed a crazy avalanche of wickets, with twelve tumbling in only fifteen overs. Aussie Joe Mennie ripped out the Notts top three in his first two overs but the damage to Lancashire had already been inflicted over the weekend and Steven Mullaney’s men needed only ten to win! In total, one-time England internationals Jake Ball and Harry Gurney hoovered up seventeen wickets for only 100 runs. Crazy stuff!

It was a similar situation in Division Two. At Canterbury, Gloucestershire became the first side to win a Championship fixture without scoring more than 110 in an innings since 1982. Amidst the carnage caused by the pacier men like Matt Taylor and Kent’s Kiwi import Matt Henry, it was the young spinner Ryan Higgins, brought in from Middlesex, who boasted the best single return of 5-22, albeit in a losing cause.

Middlesex seemed to operate perfectly well without him, though, as James Harris (9-48 in the match) and Tim Murtagh (8-63) flattened Northamptonshire within eight rain-hit sessions. Harris also contributed the game’s highest individual score: 46 not out. He usually starts the season strongly so let’s hope in 2018 he doesn’t succumb to his customary injuries. Even lacking key batsmen, the lads from Lord’s were straightforward winners and even at this early stage must surely be odds-on favourites to bounce back from the second tier.

Edgbaston saw the only match to finish as a draw, although the wet outfield didn’t allow very much play. The three top scores of the entire week were all achieved here, led by the aforementioned Wiese’s run-a-ball 106 and his captain Ben Brown’s 91. Their eighth wicket stand of 155 was a Sussex record against Warwickshire and came in spite of Olly Stone’s highly commendable 8-80 and a fine all-round performance by the home side’s Tim Ambrose. The former Sussex ‘keeper compiled 81 and took six catches in the first innings.

I can only hope the weather is kinder next week, so that batsmen can at last get runs under their belts in a full fixture list. Middlesex must fancy their chances at Derby while in Division One, Essex and Yorkshire get a second chance of playing, against Lancashire and Notts, respectively. Surrey’s big names enter the fray at home to Hampshire while Somerset host Worcestershire.

My Team of the Week is inevitably bowler-heavy. For the first time since I’ve compiled such lists, I have been able to fill the top five slots with only two specialist batsmen. Mad! Hopefully normal service will be restored next week.

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Vince (Ham), Brown (Sus), Ambrose (War, +), Berg (Ham), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Wiese (Sus), Stone (War), Ball (Not), Gurney (Not)

2015 County Cricket Team of the Year

So 2015 ended with Ashes success for England, a second Championship crown for Yorkshire, limited-overs trophies for Lancashire and Gloucestershire and a miserable finale for Sussex. But who were the individual stars of the summer? I’ve compiled my Team of the Year based partly on my Teams of the Week and partly on the end-of-season statistics.

Openers:
It wasn’t a vintage year for openers in first-class cricket, although Michael Carberry, Mark Stoneman and, in a September flurry, Marcus Trescothick each passed 1000 runs. However, there were some memorable summers for one-day pinch-hitters. Jason Roy and Steven Davies were superb for Surrey but for consistency I’ve gone for Michael Klinger and Alex Hales. The veteran Aussie arrived late but produced a devastating deluge of centuries in limited overs competitions, playing a major role Gloucestershire’s T20 Blast triumph. He also appeared in no fewer than five Teams of the Week in this blog. Hales chose to spend some time as a gun for hire overseas but when he put his mind to it, he scored heavily in all formats for Nottinghamshire. But will he get to partner Cook for England against Pakistan?

Middle Order
So many options here! James Vince outscored everyone in T20 but was unusually mediocre in proper cricket. James Taylor started poorly but gained ground to win back his international place in ODIs. Luke Wright was a ray of shining light in an otherwise dismal summer for Sussex, and James Hildreth likewise for Somerset. Indeed he was top scorer in Division One but was surprisingly short of runs in the one-day stuff.

My choice begins at Durham with Steve Borthwick. He still bowls some leg-spin in T20 but is more of a specialist batsman these days. He scored few centuries but chipped in regularly at number three. Kent’s young captain Sam Northeast also saved his best innings for Twenty20, and it was his hundred which thwarted Somerset in the match where Chris Gayle struck his 150.

The season’s greatest run machine was Ashwell Prince. The veteran South African delayed his retirement for just one season and how Lancashire must have been grateful for that decision. He was also part of that record-breaking 500+ stand with Alviro Pietersen. Niall O’Brien claimed the most dismissals, Ben Brown more runs but my wicketkeeper-batsman is Jonny Bairstow. He produced five three-figure scores for Yorkshire before he was brought in to replace Gary Ballance for England. His Championship average was a tidy 100-odd so who knows what he might have achieved with his county had his team-mate not lost form in Test cricket?

Amongst all-rounders, the evergreen Darren Stevens and Peter Trego were typically in the frame but I’ve gone for Samit Patel for his mixture of vital innings and handy wickets. Notts didn’t have a great year with the ball, so his off-spin rescued the side more than once.

Bowlers
Chris Rushworth made only one Team of the Week but he was the most prolific wicket-taker in first-class cricket, with 88. He rarely played in limited-overs fixtures but he has to be in this Eleven. Joining him as seamers are Surrey’s Tom Curran, James Harris of Middlesex and Yorkshire’s Jack Brooks.

Curran, helped by his 17 year-old brother Sam, was instrumental in hauling Surrey up to the Division Two title, while Harris’s Championship wickets and late-order runs gave Middlesex the impetus to be runners-up. It was hard to pick the final man in the Team of the Season.

Yorkshire’s success was built primarily on their attack. Twelve victories generally means bowling sides out twice, and the White Roses had strength in depth. Ryan Sidebottom missed some games through injury yet he claimed more than 40 wickets at under 18 apiece. Tim Bresnan, Steve Pattinson, Graeme Onions and Adil Rashid all contributed but the main man was Jack Brooks. If he wasn’t the wrong side of 30, the bandana man would have been in the England squad by now instead of Mark Wood.

The likes of Footitt, Rushworth and Brooks may have to content themselves with notching up hundreds of wickets in county cricket instead of the England kit, and their respective clubs will be grateful. Meanwhile, for all the talk of overseas stars, the only foreigners in my XI are Prince and Klinger. As far as England are concerned, I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of Curran, Northeast or Hales.

In short, my County Team of 2015 is:-

Klinger (Glo), Hales (Not), Borthwick (Dur), Northeast (Ken), Prince (Lan), Bairstow (Yor/Eng +), Patel (Not), Harris (Mid), T Curran (Sur), Brooks (Yor), Rushworth (Dur).

Notts Advance at the Double

The British weather did its best to disrupt the county cricket schedule, but there was still plenty of excitement around the Championship and Royal London Cup.

Yorkshire can still be caught after only two full innings were possible at Hove. England discard Gary Balance struck 165 before Sussex responded with no fewer than three individual centuries. Ed Joyce, Mike Yardy and the relatively youthful Ben Brown reached three figures but a draw was already inevitable.

Middlesex closed the gap to thirty points by beating Durham at Chester-le-Street. Bowlers were generally in charge, notably Graeme Onions, who grabbed 7-68 on day one. In the second innings, the consistent Chris Rushworth claimed another five-for, yet both finished on the losing side. That had much to do with Neil Dexter’s runs and James Harris’s eight wickets.
Nottinghamshire also consolidated their third place, helped by Steven Mullaney’s 112 and one of those Alex Hales specials, an unbeaten 189 not out. Samit Patel’s 4-23 in 22 overs completed an innings defeat of Warwickshire.

At Taunton, Somerset compiled a huge score and had Worcestershire on the rack at 44-4 before the rain set in. The visitors kept going without losing another wicket but the unbeaten double-century stand between James Hildreth (220 not out) and Peter Trego (130 not out) was all in vain. At least we had the better of the two in terms of bonus points, which could be crucial in the relegation battle. Next week, Worcestershire face another battle at the bottom, this time versus Sussex, while Somerset face an awkward trip to Yorkshire.

All Division Two matches ended in damp squibs. Lancashire’s draw with Glamorgan meant that the Old Trafford side are almost certain to be promoted next month. Glen Chapple could add only two to his first-class tally of 980 wickets. Will he make the thousand by the end of the campaign?! A Ben Foakes century and Tom Curran’s 6-61 were the only performances to note in the truncated Surrey v Gloucestershire fixture.

Rain robbed Leicestershire of a probable triumph at Northampton. Skipper Mark Cosgrove struck a composed 110 and Niall O’Brien a more impatient 95 to establish a first innings lead, before Clint McKay and Will White left their batsmen a target of just 116. Sadly for the basement county, they could face fewer than seven overs before play was abandoned as a draw. The Derbyshire-Kent encounter was memorable only for Billy Godleman’s twin hundreds, making it three in row for the 26 year-old opener.

The Royal London One-Day Cup may not be given much of a future by the PCA, but it has provided four counties with a chance of silverware, none of them participating in this weekend’s T20 Blast Finals Day. Nottinghamshire capped a good week, knocking out holders Durham. Hales and Patel reprised their star turns in their fifty over quarter-final. Essex were booted out at the same stage for the fourth consecutive competition, this time by Yorkshire. Paul Grayson and James Foster must be scratching their heads over this but their young talent may yet flourish in the next season or two, unless England steal Reece Topley, that is!

That man Michael Klinger delivered another match-winning innings for Gloucestershire, handing Hampshire a rare one-day defeat. In the other tie, Surrey’s Curran twins were showing that the pace attack without the retired Chris Tremlett still has a promising future as they kept Kent’s top batsmen quiet. Jason Roy thumped a run-a-ball century but a blistering 100 from Matt Coles, including nine sixes, almost produced an incredible turnaround before he became the tenth man out seventeen runs short.

Next weekend, Gloucestershire hope that talisman Klinger will return from Oz to hit them into the Lord’s final and end Yorkshire hopes of a second trophy. Surrey host Notts in the other semi, which could be a cracker!

Team of the Week: Godleman (Der), Hales (Not), Ballance (Yor), Hildreth (Som), Dexter (Mid), Patel (Not), N O’Brien (Lei +), Harris (Mid), T Curran (Sur), McKay (Lei), Onions (Dur)

Bairstow Breaks Durham Hearts

Last week the bowlers were in command but this time, the County Championship was extraordinarily kind to the batsmen, and wicketkeepers in particular. Even the Aussies got in on the act, making hay in the Kent and Essex sunshine in a week which saw those in the London area experience their hottest July weather on record.

The first v second battle in Division One proved surprisingly one-sided. Once Jonny Bairstow achieved a career-best 219 not out, and shared with Tim Bresnan a 366-run seventh wicket partnership – the third highest in all first-class cricket and a Championship record – Durham’s pretensions to the title looked distinctly feeble. Bresnan then added three wickets of his own to make the home county follow on. Mark Stoneman capped a good personal week with a solid 131 but all in vain.

At the other end of the table, Nottinghamshire lifted themselves to seventh by beating fellow strugglers Worcestershire in a relatively low-scoring affair at Trent Bridge. Riki Wessels (Notts) and Tom Fell (Worcester) each made two half-centuries, and Richard Oliver fell on 99, but the star bowler was the under-rated medium-pacer Jack Shantry. In the Notts second innings the recorded Murali-esque figures of 35.4-13-48-5. And still ended up on the losing side!

Hampshire are now back at the bottom following a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Middlesex. The Hants top order again failed, and James Harris helped himself to eight wickets. Meanwhile, at Edgbaston, only twelve wickets fell across all four days! Warwickshire and Sussex each declared on more than 600 with six centurions and another triple-hundred stand. Laurie Evans and ex-England ‘keeper Tim Ambrose piled on 327 for the sixth wicket as Sussex resorted to giving all eleven a bowl. A shame that ‘keeper Ben Brown couldn’t add a wicket to his unbeaten 119 from his eight tidy overs!

Next up, Yorkshire could put real distance between themselves and the rest by beating Warwickshire, while Worcestershire face another relegation battle, this time against Hampshire. Somerset go for a third consecutive success at home to Sussex, but somehow I can’t see it happening. Consistency is sorely lacking but then so is quality of the opposition bowling in recent weeks.

There were only two Second Division fixtures, but the promotion battle looks more interesting as a result. Leaders Lancashire could only draw with Northants, for whom young Ben Duckett contributed more than 200 runs. However, Surrey scorched Gloucestershire by an innings before the heatwave really took hold in London. Ben Foakes top-scored for the home team before Tom Curran (7-20) and Zafar Ansari (6-30) ripped through the vulnerable visitors on days two and three.

Next week, Glamorgan can catch up with one of their two games in hand (playing Derbyshire) but Lancashire can restore some momentum by beating Essex. Leicestershire and Kent will badly want to achieve the win which would consign the other to last place.

Team of the Week: Stoneman (Dur), Ansari (Sur), Duckett (Nor), Evans (War), Wright (Sus), M Marsh (Aus), Bairstow (Yor, +), Bresnan (Yor), T Curran (Sur), Harris (Mid), Shantry (Wor)

Harris Hurries Middlesex to the Top

Middlesex flew past Durham to take a three-point lead at the top of the County Championship. England reject, Sam Robson, kicked things off nicely with 178, then England never-quite-selected, James Harris, wrapped up the win by plundering nine second innings wickets in a single spell. They didn’t have it all their own way after Chris Rushworth and John Hastings each claimed cheap five-fors, but the Middlesex attack were just too much overall. The leaders now travel to Hove for a top-of-the-table clash with Sussex while Durham host Nottinghamshire.

At the other end of the division, things are already looking grim for Somerset. The arrival of Matthew Maynard was supposed to galvanise a side in transition, but not even skipper Marcus Trescothick could recall a three-match losing streak like this one. Worcestershire should have been easy opponents yet a 178 seventh wicket stand by Ben Cox and Joe Leach followed by a third day skittling for 90 led to a humilating innings defeat at New Road. Tres talked about some ‘soul-searching’ and that’s putting it mildly!

In Division Two, a rare win for Gloucestershire elevated them to the dizzy heights of fourth after defeating Essex inside three days. Medium pacer Liam Norwell took ten wickets as the home side’s unfamiliar Eleven succumbed rather tamely. Lancashire extended their lead at the summit with their draw against closest rivals Northamptonshire. As in other parts of the country, rain affected the result, so all Northants could do on the final day was dig in and improve their batting averages. Ashwell Prince’s 153 was in vain, but it was the home team’s number eight, Steven Crook who top-scored in the whole match, adding an unbeaten 102 to his earlier 91.

Leicestershire must have enjoyed their first innings lead over Kent at Canterbury, but nerves must have been shredded as Rob Key’s men homed in on the 315 target. Daniel Bell-Drummond reached three figures but far too slowly, and with the dangerous Darren Stevens dismissed for 34, Kent finished 42 runs short. Only 155 overs were possible at Cardiff. The game was notable only for Scott Elstone’s maiden first-class century for Derbyshire.

All in all, it was a week for seam bowlers rather than spin or the bat. For my team of the week, the batsmen almost picked themselves but some good performers like Worcestershire’s young duo Joe Leach and Charlie Morris narrowly missed out. Here’s my XI:-
Robson (Mid), Peters (Nor), Cosgrove (Lei, *), Elstone (Der), Prince (Lan), Cox (Wor, +), Crook (Nor), McKay (Lei), Harris (Mid), Hastings (Dur), Norwell (Glo)