Bancroft, Banton and Ballance bat to victory

While Britain bathed in the late Easter sunshine, the batsmen made hay in the heat. The first week of Royal London Cup fixtures threw up plenty of high scores. In particular, the Trent Bridge crowd on Good Friday enjoyed more than 800 runs and a narrow victory for the home side. Joe Clarke was again in fine fettle, putting aside his infamous list of sexual conquests to complete another century for Nottinghamshire. Dane Vilas’ club record 166 and Stephen Croft’s 110 bought Lancashire close but nineteen from the last two overs proved too onerous for the tailenders. Notts also beat Derbyshire and sit atop the North division alongside Durham, who had Cameron Bancroft’s two centuries and Jason Holder’s all-round performances to thank for their 100% record.

Lancashire fared better at Headingley on Monday but it was a nailbiting climax. With ‘keeper Jonathan Tattersall at the crease, Yorkshire looked set to overhaul the 311 target but run-outs from the last two deliveries left them one adrift. Yorkshire were involved in an even tighter contest on Friday, tieing with Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Tattersall and Tim Bresnan rescued the White Roses from a miserable start but Patterson and Pillans could only scramble a bye from the final ball to finish level.  A few days earlier, Matt Pillans had excelled with the ball and, with Gary Ballance striking 156, Yorkshire crushed Leicestershire by 213 runs.

In the South, four counties claimed two wins from two. Championship leaders Somerset maintained their momentum with a crushing 264-run defeat of Kent and a much closer encounter in Cardiff with Glamorgan. At Taunton, 20 year-old Tom Banton followed his 2^nd XI century with 107 from 79 balls then Craig Overton combined a sizzling 66 not out with 5-18 to complete the rout.

There was an even worse batting balls-up at Bristol, where the fancy dans of Surrey, boasting ten internationals past and present, were dismissed by Gloucestershire for 88 in 24 overs. My sides were splitting. They lost both their matches over the week and, although Tom Curran did his best with six cheap wickets, the batting let them down. At least they weren’t the worst county on display; Kent and Glamorgan contrived to lose all three.

Essex opener Varun Chopra notched a couple of tons but against a strong Middlesex batting line-up he was on the losing side at Chelmsford. Fourth-change leg-spinner Nathan Sowter claimed 6-62 in that one. Channel neighbours Hampshire and Sussex also enjoyed winning starts, with hundreds from Alsop, Northeast and Salt.

Next week, at least two 100% records must end, as Sussex meet both Somerset and Middlesex and the latter also travel to Hampshire. At the other end of the table, one of Kent and Glamorgan will, barring awful weather (not an unlikely scenario in South Wales), pick up a couple of badly-needed points.

Further north, Nottinghamshire face some tasty ties, hosting both Leicestershire and Yorkshire as well as nipping down to Brum for a date with Warwickshire. Cameron Bancroft is also spending a few days in the West Midlands, hoping to keep the runs flowing for Durham, especially as the rest of the top order are struggling for form.

Team of the Week: Chopra (Ess), Clarke (Not), Croft (Lan), Ballance (Yor), Bancroft (Dur), Vilas (Lan), Tattersall (Yor +), Holder (Dur), C Overton (Som), T Curran (Sur), Pillans (Yor)

‘Ordinary’ Windies Destroy England - Again!

Before this series started, Geoff Boycott described the West Indies side as ‘very ordinary, average cricketers’. In comparison with the Caribbean conquerors he faced in the Seventies, they probably are. The team languish a lowly eighth in the ICC Test rankings and ninth in the ODI list. Prior to Antigua, I had to scroll down to 33 before locating their highest ranked batsman, Jason Holder, and that followed his amazing double-century in the Barbados massacre.

After that humbling 381-run reverse, the consensus back home was that England had messed up by dropping Stuart Broad to fit in an extra spinner. For a side ranked in the top three, that hardly excuses such a dreadful batting display. Furthermore, since the tourists obviously learnt their lesson by reinstating Jimmy Anderson’s old partner for North Sound, how on earth did Joe Root’s team capitulate so meekly once more, this time inside three days?

Eighteen months ago, Holder’s men surprised everyone, myself included, by achieving a hefty run chase at Headingley. Hmm, maybe this lot aren’t so bad after all. And yet still the West Indies came into this home rubber without a series success against a top eight nation for seven years, and it’s only a matter of weeks since they lost to Bangladesh.

While the West Indies have resisted England at home for many years – and in 2009 they actually achieved a 1-0 victory – it’s not since 1988 that they inflicted a ten-wicket drubbing. That was the era of Viv Richards, Haynes, Hooper, Dujon, Marshall, Walsh and Ambrose, giants of the global game. With the best will in the world, the current crop don’t match up to the Eighties generation. However, with a series win already secured, Holder’s team should take a huge confidence boost. I feared that the T20 World Cup triumph would harm first-class cricket in the islands but the powers-that-be are gradually turning things around.

But what about England? They may well be licking their lips in anticipation of the ODI World Cup and Ashes, but they seem to have forgotten how to drop anchor when required. On most pitches, Root, Bairstow, Stokes and Buttler have managed to hit their way out of trouble and rely on Anderson and Broad to bowl out the opposition. Apart from Burns in the second innings at Bridgetown and Moeen Ali in the first at St John’s, nobody has lasted very long in the face of Kemar Roach and co. Compare and contrast with Kraigg Brathwaite, Shannon Gabriel and the recalled Darren Bravo, who toiled for almost six hours over his half-century last week. As Mr Punch would exclaim, that’s the way to do it! Respect, too, to Alzarri Joseph who persevered with the ball despite losing his mother the day before.

In the past few weeks England have been outplayed in every department and desperately need to grab a consolation victory in St Lucia to restore some pride. No doubt Australia at home will be a much easier prospect and for most cricket-aware people here, that’s the only contest which counts. However, all the best to the Windies: I really hope they can kick on and charge up the Test rankings. Roach is no Curtly Ambrose, Campbell no Gordon Greenidge and Holder no Richards, but if they inspire youngsters to follow in their footsteps, they can hold their heads high for the rest of their lives. Very ordinary and average? No longer.

Aussies Suffer, Windies Thrive

It’s been a refreshingly mixed week of Test cricket. First we had the West Indies gaining a consolation victory over Pakistan, and then the Aussies came a cropper at the WACA. After Bangladesh gave England a bloody nose last week, the sport is looking encouragingly open again.

In the UAE desert, Pakistan may have won the series, but Jason Holder’s visitors did at least show signs that they are not mere T20 biffers and bashers, but a team capable of competing with the world number ones over four or five days.

I can’t believe Devendra Bishoo is already 31 years old. The Guyanan leggie has had a topsy-turvy career, and this latest series was in the same vein. Abu Dhabi was a trial, but that second innings 8-49 in Dubai so early set up a brilliant victory. Two weeks later, another seven wickets did contribute to success in Sharjah.

Skipper Holder also played his part, but it was Kraigg Brathwaite who garnered the headlines. A Caribbean rarity, a batsman who has never played a single senior T20 match, he boosted his Test average considerably by carrying his bat for 142 then making an unbeaten 60 to help see his side home. I was amazed to discover that no other opener had ever finished both innings of a Test not out. How has that never happened before?!

When neither of your senior batsmen like Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels boast an average above 40, you know you have problems in the runs department. The pacemen aren’t exactly prolific in the wickets league either. Never mind, a win is a win. If only the Windies didn’t have the whole winter without a chance on building on the confidence this result should have given them.

Meanwhile, the tasty encounter between Australia and South Africa has served up a spicy first course in Perth, However, the home side must be feeling rather sick. After being stuffed 3-0 in India, now it’s the turn of a sub-par South Africa to extend the Aussies’ loss sequence to four.

There was nothing between them on first innings totals, yet neither reached 250. Faf du Plessis opted to bat, and SA slumped to 32-4. Only Bavuma and de Kock rescued them from a disaster. The Aussie reply was even more lop-sided. Openers Warner and Shaun Marsh put on 158, but the rest of the team collapsed for 86. The absent AB de Villiers wasn’t missed second time around as Elgar and Duminy shared a third-wicket partnership of 250 en route to a 500+ total. Even without the seriously injured Dale Steyn, South Africa couldn’t fail to dismiss Australia on the final day.

21 year-old quick Kagiso Rabada stepped up to the plate with a five-for, but the patient 40-over spin workload of Keshav Maharaj also kept up the pressure. Only Khawaja and Nevil passed 50 and South Africa’s third consecutive WACA win was duly achieved. Not since 1988 have the Aussies lost the first of their summer Tests and they have some work to do in Hobart.

Across the Tasman Sea, it will be interesting to see whether New Zealand can give Pakistan a challenge on pitches less conducive to spin. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are enjoying a predictably easy game against Zimbabwe and then there’s a small matter of England’s visit to India. I don’t think it’s going to be as straightforward for Kohli and co as the British media are making out.

England Fail and West Indies Rally

One-nil up with just Barbados to come and a series clinching win looked the most likely outcome for England. Even when faced with a modest target of 192, I fancied Anderson, Broad et al to skittle the West Indies batting on that third afternoon. Strike! 2-0!

But the Windies are showing some fight, some resilience, qualities somewhat lacking in Test cricket in their recent past. Well down the ICC rankings and without a win over England in eleven attempts, they had some work to do. It all started so well in Antigua.

Ian Bell, Gary Ballance, Joe Root and James Tredwell had set things up nicely but it took a splendid rearguard maiden century by Jason Holder to salvage a draw. Then on Grenada, that magnificent 182 not out from Root, two fifties from Cook produced a nine wicket victory. Six more victims for James Anderson saw him accelerate smoothly ahead of Botham and the rest at the top of England’s Test wicket table.

The final fixture seemed to be going England’s way when Alastair Cook reached three figures for the first time in more than 30 attempts and two years. However, Jerome Taylor and colleagues stuck to their task and restricted the opposition to 257. Anderson’s 6-42 would have defeated most teams but another counterpunching innings from Jermaine Blackwood at six kept the deficit down to 68.

Buoyed by that, the home attack performed admirably again, and only Ballance, Buttler and Stokes made double figures. Nevertheless, with wickets falling so rapidly on the first two and a bit days, England must have felt confident. The situation might also have been made for Shiv Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels to knuckle down and plod their way to success. However, this has been a terrible month for the veteran of 164 Tests, and it was Darren Bravo and that man Blackwood again who shared a century stand to win the game and level the series.

So what went wrong for England? The fine performances from Root, Ballance, Anderson and Cook masked deficiencies elsewhere. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing but the recall of Jonathan Trott to the side, especially as opener, proved disastrous. An almost unprecedented three ducks in six innings not only knocked his confidence but has since prefaced his complete retirement fron international cricket. Adam Lyth must surely get his opportunity against New Zealand at the start of an arduous summer on home soil.

Bell’s ‘pair’ at Bridgetown must surely a blip but there was real inconsistency in the batting. And no, I do NOT see Pietersen as the answer. He has barely scored any runs for Surrey in the Championship yet, so I would want James Taylor at perhaps six, unless Moeen Ali is preferred for his extra spin option.

Nevertheless, the overall result isn’t just about England. This recovery spoke volumes for the spirit of the young Caribbean talent. Blackwood, Brathwaite and Holder showed promise, and 30 year-old Jerome Taylor claimed eleven wickets in the two games in which he played. Next month they host Australia, themselves warming up for their own little encounter with England later in the year. Could be interesting…..