County Cricket: Dan's the Man!

Whether it was the Blast or the re-emergence of the County Championship, it was certainly a great week for Dan Lawrence. With the red ball, he dominated both Surrey’s innings, with a career-best 218, followed by a destructive 101 from only 64 balls. He took his liking for the Hampshire attack into the T20 by smearing it for an unbeaten 94 at two a ball. The strange thing is, Surrey won neither match. They failed to hammer home their advantage in the fourth day, delaying the declaration until after Lawrence’s century then running out of time to take ten wickets. They did at least advance to second in the table, but having played an extra game. Hampshire sit top of the Blast’s South division after beating their neighbours by just five runs. 

Lawrence’s old club Essex also had a profitable week, defeating Middlesex by sixty runs and Kent by three in a very tight encounter at Northwood. Charlie Allison aggregated 135 across the two fixtures. 

In the North league, Yorkshire remain four points ahead of Nottinghamshire, assisted by a 106-run demolition of Lancashire at Headingley. Jonny Bairstow top-scored with 73 and Moeen Ali fell to a second-ball duck. However, his 3-16 and T20 specialist, leg-spinner Jafer Chohan’s 4-17 destroyed any chance of a Red Rose run chase. Wickets tumbled, too, at Leicester, where Hasan Ali’s 4-18 could not prevent Yorkshire going down by twelve runs. 

Lancashire beat Durham in a ten-over thrash, but also slid to a final-ball defeat to Glamorgan. Another white-ball all-rounder, Liam Livingstone, was in fine fettle in all three ties, taking wickets and scoring more than two hundred runs. His 85 not out off 31 deliveries in the Durham game was the highlight. This form has prompted an SOS to make his first Championship appearance for the county in several years. A good performance against Worcestershire, and who knows? He may end up replacing banned boozer Ben Stokes as a Test all-rounder! 

My Team of the Week would give Messrs Farage, Tice and Lowe a collective fit, because another two bowlers in the Eleven are Sikander Raza and Mohammad Ali. The former excelled with bat and ball for Worcestershire, taking 4-17against Glamorgan and combining a miserly 4-17 with a gallant 47 in pursuit of Gloucestershire’s low target. Had he not been bowled by Jack Taylor, Worcestershire would almost certainly not have lost. Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire seamer Ali was instrumental in the triumphs over Warwickshire and Derbyshire, taking 3-27 and 3-25. 

Top score of the week was Beau Webster’s 112 for Warwickshire against Somerset, whose season continued to unravel. Sadly, their chances of reaching Finals Day yet again are already looking rather remote, desperately needing a post-hiatus recovery . 

Team of the Week:-  Bairstow (Yor +), Jacks (Sur), Webster (War), Lawrence (Sur), Livingstone (Lan), Allison (Ess), Sikander Raza (Wor), Hasan Ali (Yor), Mohammad Ali (Not), Jafer Chohan (Yor), Hunt (Sus).

County Cricket: Somerset Sweep into Blast Quarter-Finals

As Twenty20 returned to the county scene, Somerset maintained their domination of the South division. They beat Kent, Hampshire and Essex to establish a fourteen-point lead and ensure a home quarter-final in September. However, they didn’t end the week with a 100% record. Glamorgan edged a tight encounter at Taunton by just two runs. Ingram and Douthwaite knocked half-centuries but the visitors owed then most to former Somerset and Millfield School product, Ned Leonard. The 22-year-old seamer took 5-25 and the Somerset tail found sixteen runs off the final over too much. 

Despite fielding an international XI, Surrey came up short against bottom side Essex in a rain-affected affair at The Oval. Chasing 142 in twelve overs, Pepper and Walter galloped away for four overs before Adam Zampa broke the partnership and checked the run rate. However, Matt Critchley clinched the game with a last-ball boundary. Surrey remain second having seen off Gloucestershire and close rivals Glamorgan. 

Essex, Middlesex and Gloucester may have little or no chance of reaching the knockout stage but they each have players in my Team of the Week. Mohammad Amir’s four fixtures this week yielded eleven wickets for a mere (forgive the phrase!) 107 runs. Stephen Eskinazi’s highlight was a 48-ball 94 for Middlesex against Hampshire, albeit in a losing cause, while D’Arcy Short was Mr. Consistent for Gloucestershire. He struck three half-centuries, the best being 83 against Middlesex. 

Two players cracked incredible centuries. After Glamorgan set Surrey a formidable target of 223, Surrey were cut down to 16-3. In came Dan Lawrence and, supported by Tom Curran, he blasted an unbeaten 120 in 54 balls in the successful chase. Yorkshire were also in the runs, reaching at least 200 in all three matches. 236 came in Friday’s Roses clash at Old Trafford. Young William Luxton heaved seven sixes in his 90 not out, but that was eclipsed by his experienced team-mate Jonny Bairstow. Despite at one stage almost knocking himself out with an attempted over-the-shoulder upper-cut, he raced to 116, 92 of them in boundaries. Even with Salt and Buttler in their line-up, Lancashire were never in the hunt. 

They are, nonetheless, one of four counties leading the North group on 28 points. Durham and Northants are with them, but the Bears (aka Warwickshire) look notably strong. Mousley and Hain are the reliable rhythm section while Hasan Ali provides the electric solos with the ball. He accumulated twelve wickets this week, including a mean 4-22 in the comfortable victory over Leicestershire. Single-match bowling performance of tre past eight days must go to Sussex’s Danny Lamb, who ripped through the Kent batting for an impressive 5-15. 

In the concluding week of group fixtures, there are so many crucial contests. The Somerset-Surrey match-up is there for quarter-final bragging rights but Lancashire will have extra incentive to reverse their loss to Yorkshire. They also ace ‘eight-pointers’ against Durham and Notts, who are also very much in the mix. Durham’s last game against Northants could decide qualification for both teams. 

Team of the Week:- Bairstow (Yor +), Eskinazi (Mid), Short (Glo), Madsen (Der), Luxton (Yor), Lawrence (Sur), Ingram (Gla), Dwarshuis (Wor), Hasan Ali (Bea), Leonard (Gla), Amir (Ess)

County Cricket: Topsy-Turvy stuff in Division One

It was a strange week for County Championship results. As if the record Spring temperatures, sunshine levels and dried-up riverbeds and canals weren’t enough, both the top two counties in Division One came a cropper and the bottom team actually won by a country mile. The batsmen striking the highest individual scores by far did so in a losing cause and a host of wicketkeepers also reaped a harvest of runs. 

Nottinghamshire had been looking good at the top but, at Chester-le-Street, after Haseeb Hameed caried his bat for 206, their attack struggled to make headway against Durham. Gay, Clark and Ollie Robinson each reached three figures as the side lodged a new record high of 664 all out. Were it not for Joe Clarke’s sparkling 119, Notts would have lost by an innings and Durham still needed Colin Ackermann to deliver a quick fifty to achieve victory. 

There were no centuries at Edgbaston, but Warwickshire succumbed to Hampshire by 89 runs. Five-fors from Kyle Abbott and James Fuller were the decisive performances.  Warwickshire’s loss was Surrey’s gain, as the reigning champs whacked Yorkshire by an innings to close the gap behind Notts to just three points. Jonny Bairstow crashed 89 and 77 for the White Roses but his opposite number Ben Foakes also chipped in with 86 and some fine catches. Jordan Clark was the pick of Surrey’s bowlers, taking a combined 7-76. 

By the River Severn, Worcestershire earned not only their first batting bonus points of the season, but also their maiden triumph, defeating Essex with remarkable ease inside three days. Apart from day one, bowlers on both sides were dominant, but it was the victors’ Matthew Waite who stole the headlines with a first-innings 73 and a career-best 6-19 to complete Essex’s misery. Garth Roderick also deserves an honourable mention. The opener failed with the bat but contributed nine catches behind the stumps. 

Somerset made it back-to-back wins, but Sussex didn’t make it easy for them at Taunton. Following recent top-order batting woes, the home county gambled by promoting captain Luke Gregory and fast bowler Josh Davey to open. It seemed to work. Dropped to seven, Archie Vaughan duly scored 80 and, when three wickets tumbled in the hunt for a 150-run target, Gregory led from the front with an unbeaten 89, including the winning single.

 

The next round of fixtures includes a tricky outing to a Bairstow-less Yorkshire for Nottinghamshire, Surrey hosting a wounded Essex and the West Midlands derby in Worcester.

 

Leicestershire cemented the position at the head of Division Two by seeing off Middlesex by seven wickets. It was a low-scoring affair, Peter Handscomb’s 87 the sole half-century, and all Leicester’s bowlers chipped in with wickets. Ian Holland’s 5-35 got them off to a great start and they kept their noses on front thereafter.

 

Derbyshire remain in second place, but they had to fight hard to cling on for a draw against Lancashire at Old Trafford. Luke Wells put the home team firmly in the driving seat with scores of 141 and 50 then, with 42-year-old Jimmy Anderson his old mean self, Lancs had Derby on the rack at 216-8 with around ten overs remaining. However, new ball in hand, not even the former England star could break the ninth-wicket partnership of Anuj Dal and Jack Morley. The latter padded away the off-spin of Tom Hartley, surviving 36 balls for no runs, while Dal was similarly resilient under pressure. 

It was a tense finish at Bristol too, where Gloucestershire kept their heads to beat Kent by three wickets. Batting at eight, Kent’s Grant Stewart blasted a barely credible 182 to lift his side’s total to a decent 424 before Cameron Green (128) and James Bracey (127) shared a fifth-wicket stand of 222 out of 516. A draw was the most likely outcome but three quick wickets by Ben Charlesworth left Gloucester with a gettable target of 162. It was Green again who skilfully held the fort with an unbeaten 67b to seal the success. 

Meanwhile, Glamorgan’s second consecutive win has elevated them from bottom to third. Marnus Labuschagne’s arrival was not the greatest (marked by a seven-ball duck) but Ben Kellaway’ fine form with the bat continued, top-scoring in the first innings with 93. The Glammie seamers provided solid support and Northamptonshire were despatched by eight wickets, consigning them to the dreaded basement slot. 

However, it is all very tight from second to eighth, and positions can change in a week. For the Bank Holiday weekend, Glamorgan welcome Middlesex, Kent travel to Derby and Leicestershire hope to continue their winning ways at home to Lancashire. 

Team of the Week:- L Wells (Lan), Hameed (Not), Clarke (Not), Robinson (Dur +), Green (Glo), Bairstow (Yor), Holland (Lei), Stewart (Ken), J Clark (Sur), Waite (Wor), Abbott (Ham)

England Invincible!

When Zak Crawley nudged Jansen to the cover boundary, he did more than secure the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy. Apart from a satisfying return to personal form, he emphasised a new-found invincibility for England’s Test side, an incredible turnaround after a dreadful eighteen months. 

The clean sweep of people in new roles must have had an influence. I don’t know how much of the reversal of fortunes is down to current skipper Ben Stokes but I’m sure Brendon McCullum’s forceful personality and matching cricketing strategy is the key factor. Bizarrely, England’s ODI and T20 results have been poor while the transition to ‘Baz Ball’ in the Test arena has yielded incredible results. And the opposition nwas hardly weak and feeble, either. Since the defeats in Australia and the West Indies last winter, England polished off the strong New Zealand side, won the postponed decider against India then this month took the series against South Africa. 

Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope have thrived with the bat and whoever has been fit to bowl, from Matthew Potts to Ollie Robinson, has also done a great job. The Yorkshire batter just needs to stay off the golf course and focus instead on less dangerous leisure sports like tomb-stoning or helicopter skiing. 

Yes, Stokes’ insistence on trying to hit every ball for six has not always worked. His retirement from the 50-over game just means he adopts his ODI approach in first-class cricket. Why waste it?! Even without the captaincy, Joe Root is still Joe Root and then there are the timeless oldies, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad continually taking wickets and breaking records. 

In the past, viewers have become used to England throwing away opportunities or caving in under pressure. If the summer of 2022 is anything to go by, that’s all in the past. 

Concede 553 in the first innings? No problem: win by five wickets (vs NZ)

Bowled out for 141? No problem: win by five wickets (NZ)

First-innings deficit of 132? No problem: achieve highest ever run chase to win by seven wickets (India)

Lose first match of series by an innings? No problem: win the second by an innings

Lose two days to rain and royal death? No problem: polish off series-clinching triumph in two and a bit days and still have time for a few rounds of golf (not Bairstow, of course).

All quite extraordinary. But how will the switch to Twenty20 in Pakistan and Australia go? With mostly different players and captain, the Test side’s performances probably won’t affect things much too much, although a shared air of confidence may pervade the whole squad. If so, the rest of the world should again fear England at this winter’s World Cup.

England's Risky Renaissance

Quick! Dish out the knighthoods and earldoms to Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key. Invite them round to No.10 for a massive party. The resident loves a party, I’m told. Right now, he could do with a little success by proxy even if he doesn’t know his bail from a deep mid-wicket. Wall games are more his bag.

Yes, England have won all four Tests this summer, and against two of the best five-day outfits on the planet. Surely, it must all be down to the new regime? Yes, and no. There’s no avoiding the remarkable turnaround in the Test team’s fortunes, although I could never fathom the terrible run it endured last year. The absence of Anderson and Broad on the road didn’t help but I can understand the need to wrap these two legends in cotton wool to preserve them for the 2022 summer. Perhaps that could be justified. 

England have suffered from woefully inconsistent opening batters, middle-order batters and a supporting cast of seam bowlers who seem to injure themselves every time they arrive at a cricket ground. Joe Root plus ten others doesn’t make a world-beating side. Crawley, Lees, Malan and Pope still don’t possess the fear factor and neither do the Overton twins or Jack Leach. And yet England have just crushed world champions New Zealand and achieved their record run chase to overcome a top-class India. If nothing else, rivals will know that no fourth-innings target is safe. 400? 500? Pah! Easy-peasy.

I’ve whinged before about applying T20 batting strategies to the Test format. England are the current 50-over kings, featuring explosive strokemakers like Buttler, Roy, cokehead Hales and, before his hopeless loss of form, Morgan but, until the past month, failed utterly to translate the ability to make runs in one-dayers to five-dayers. Ben Stokes, of course, has previously managed to win matches without compromising his aggressive style but this summer even the new skipper has been eclipsed by Jonny Bairstow. Where has this form come from? You’d think that bowlers of the calibre of Boult, Southee, Bumrah and Shami would have the nous to find his weakness but they, too, have toiled against him. Meanwhile, Joe Root flows serenely on, by a country mile the best batter in the world and surely heading for Tendulkar-esque records. 

But England can’t win Tests without taking twenty wickets, or at least tempting the opposition into risky declarations. Enter Mattie Potts. He may be the only English fast bowler in the county game not on the physio’s table, but he has certainly delivered, not only with wickets but also the spirit engendered by his some-time Durham colleague. Let’s hope he doesn’t suffer a sudden catastrophic vulnerability to injury like Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, etc, etc and please, don’t let the England malaise condemn Somerset’s Craig Overton: we need him too badly! 

There’s no reason why England can’t replicate this form when the Test side re-groups for the South Africa, then there is the tricky trip to Pakistan and next year’s home Ashes series. The Aussies will prove awkward adversaries, of course, but confidence acquired from the past month’s triumphs and Joe Root’s genius could make 2022 a real turning point for the nation’s Test fortunes.  

Kent and Yorkshire take charge

Rain affected much of the past week’s Blast fixtures and, without the safety net of a reserve day – which came to the rescue of the World Test Championship Final at Southampton – there were ten washouts. Two of Somerset ‘s three matches were abandoned but they did at least gain revenge against Surrey hanks to solid bowling and a rare half-century from James Hildreth. 

However, they remain well off the pace in the South group. Instead it was Kent who seized the initiative. Despite losing to Gloucestershire they leapfrogged Sussex and Surrey to top the table. Runs and wickets came from various sources but opener Zak Crawley and bowler Matt Milnes – whose 5-22 against Essex included 2 caught-and-bowleds – were consistently strong. 

He may not have claimed a five-for but Nottinghamshire’s Samit Patel achieved the most impressive match figures of the week. He took 3-4 as Worcestershire struggled to 86-8 in their full 20-over allocation. He also contributed a match-winning 64 not out against Derbyshire, at a strike rate of 200. Had Notts scrambled two and not a single off their last ball in their away trip to Lancashire they’d be the North group leaders. They didn’t and the resulting tie means that it’s Yorkshire who opened up a 1-point margin. 

They wrapped up two easy victories over Worcestershire and one versus Durham. Jonny Bairstow’s 51-ball 112 last Thursday was the highest score of the week but it was an incredible sixth wicket stand of 141 in 55 balls between Harry Brook and Jordan Thompson which rescued a disastrous start when Worcester’s Dillon Pennington snaffled the top four – including Joe Root - in his first couple of overs. The only other centurion was Leicestershire opener Josh Inglis, whose 103 not out dealt bottom club Northants another blow. It was the Leeds-born Aussie’s maiden T20 ton. 

Next week’s highlights include Surrey’s clashes with Middlesex and Sussex and Yorkshire’s visit to the Birmingham Bears. 

Team of the Week: Bairstow (Yor), Crawley (Ken), Inglis (Lei +), Rhodes (War), Cockbain (Glo), Patel (Not), Brook (Yor), Douthwaite (Gla), Milnes (Ken), Finn (Mid), Cook (Ess)

T20 Blast off for Surrey, Sharks and Bears

The confusing melange of T20 Blast fixtures has been going for a week and a bit now and still I can’t really get a handle on it. Covid, CPL, injury and potentially greater Hundred rewards have robbed the competition of numerous international stars. Indeed I am familiar with only a small proportion of those who have signed contracts and a few of those, like the reliable big-hitter Paul Stirling of Middlesex, have already been and gone. 

In any case, the best performers of the early group exchanges have been of the home-grown variety or foreigners who were already involved in the Championship. In the North Group, reigning champs Nottinghamshire haven’t exactly set the tournament alight, despite Alex Hales’ 54-ball 96 not out against Durham and Joe Clarke’s stunning 136 to beat Northamptonshire, the highest score of the week which featured 11 sixes. 

Instead, Birmingham Bears and Lancashire Lightning are leading the way. The Warwickshire outfit have excelled with three half-centuries from Sam Hain and frugal spin bowling by Jake Lintott and Danny Briggs. Liam Livingstone’s all-round consistency and a few Jos Buttler cameos have driven the Red Roses, whose only defeat came against Worcestershire. Another England ‘keeper, Jonny Bairstow, has starred for Yorkshire, the only team so far to beat the Bears. Sadly the Leicestershire Foxes have been hunted to defeat in all their four matches. 

As of Tuesday night, the South division’s top three was identical to how it finished last season. Sussex and Surrey each enjoyed three comprehensive victories. The Sharks’ George Garton has eight chap wickets to his name but special mention should go to his slow bowling team-mate Archie Lenham. The son of a former Sussex favourite of mine, Neil, he captured three Hampshire wickets and is only sixteen! Their 100% records are on the line when they meet on Thursday. Something has to give. 

Kent Spitfires are hot on their tails, thanks in large part to Jack Leaning’s runs and Fred Klaasen’s wickets. They aren’t resting 45 year-old Darren Stevens either, and he hasn’t disappointed with the ball. Other notable performances in the first Blast week include a 5-32 against Kent by Middlesex import South African Chris Green – whose mum incidentally is Billericay-born tennis player Lisa Gould! – and three big scores from Marnus Labuschagne in Glamorgan’s colours. At this early stage he’s the Blast’s top scorer. 

Team of the Week: Clarke (Not), Livingstone (Lan), Bairstow (Yor +), Labuschagne (Gla), Hain (War), Howell (Glo), S Curran (Sur), Garton (Sus), Klaasen (Ken), Briggs (War), Lintott (War)

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.

Ashes 2017-18: Smith Three, Root Nil

When Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow were stroking the ball to all corners on Thursday afternoon, it genuinely looked like an England reversal of fortunes. 305-4 at stumps became 368, with the Yorkshireman joining his team-mate on three figures. However, once Malan was brilliantly caught by the sub fielder Handscomb, the walls came tumblin’ down. Moeen Ali went three balls later and the next four wickets fell within another eight overs.

Still, it’s not often England make 400 overseas these days, and the Malan-Bairstow partnership of 237 had somewhat incredibly broken the national record for the WACA. Good news, yes? Then you realise that this is Perth. In a recent Sheffield Shield contest, Western Australia had amassed more than five hundred and still lost! There was still a lot of hard work to do. Getting Steve Smith out would be a good start.

Oh, dear. Overton’s early strikes produced a smidgen of optimism but once Steve Smith put down his roots, normal service was resumed. Day three saw the Aussies pile on 346 runs with Shaun Marsh’s wicket the only loss. His brother Mitchell proceeded to hit his first Test century at long last, while the skipper cut, pulled, flicked and drove impeccably to a career-best 239. Even when Smith was adjudged LBW to Anderson after a review, the eighth and ninth wickets added more than 100 before a declaration at 662-9. From such early promise, England now faced a day and a half to bat and save not only the match but the entire series.

That was never going to happen, especially when the out-of-sorts Alastair Cook gave Josh Hazlewood a leading edge caught-and-bowled for just 14. Vince and Malan managed to make fifties but nobody else passed 22 as the procession duly unfolded. A mysterious wet patch on the wicket almost succeeded in wiping out the final day’s play (which member of the England squad sneaked out to the middle with a hose under cover of night?) but Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon managed to finish things off with minimum fuss.

I confess I hadn’t foreseen such a one-sided set of results, although there could yet be compensatory victories at Melbourne or Sydney. It would seem that, given no obvious superiority on paper, the planets were perfectly aligned for the Aussies. The Aussie bowling quartet have performed admirably, the quicks knowing when to bowl short, especially to the England tail, and Nathan Lyon’s spin option making Moeen look the part-time county twirler he was only a few years ago.

Pre-series, much was made of the battle between the world’s best Test batsmen, and opposing captains, Smith and Root. Well, there has been only one winner in that contest. Oddly, it has been the Ashes new boys who have been largely free from criticism. Stoneman, Malan, Vince and Overton have all contributed with a measure of consistency. However, Root, Cook, Broad and Moeen have so far failed to find any kind of form when it mattered. Mind you, take out Steve Smith’s 426 runs and the home team’s batting hasn’t been electric either.

While he and the squad can now celebrate Christmas with the urn already in the bag, what can Strauss and the coaching team do to prevent a whitewash? Well, you can’t expect the England fast bowlers to suddenly fire in 90mph bouncers with any regularity. The only Englishmen capable of doing so are either injured, too raw, too focussed on T20 riches or have had such strengths eliminated by coaches placing more emphasis on swing and control. It is also a bit much to expect things to improve as a result of the tail practising more against the short ball; the top order need to produce most of the runs. Cook and Root will surely come good before the series ends next month. There are no better openers waiting in the wings, either at home or in the Lions. It's also nothing to do with Ben Stokes' absence, Bairstow's butting or Duckett's water throwing. They are minor distractions, surely more in the minds of the media than the players.

The Ashes have been lost, so perhaps a little experimentation might be attempted. On the other hand, a more productive option might be to focus on existing strengths, hope for a bit more luck and prepare to win the trophy back on familiar slow pitches. I don’t have the answers. However, congratulations to the Aussies and we should sit back and admire Steve Smith’s superb batting and three fast bowlers close to the top of their game.

Second Ashes Test Sledging result

I was watching the news this evening, observing wintry scenes in North Wales and Scotland featuring children pulling sledges. Ah, sledging! Such an innocent pastime. If only the same could be said of the other meaning of the term, which seems to be applied only to the noble sport of cricket.

In the aftermath of England’s second successive defeat, Johnny Bairstow has said that if Aussie sledging “crosses the line” again, he would “take matters further”.  This statement bothers me for various reasons. I love the idea of opposing players exchanging jokes on the field but verbal abuse designed specifically to unsettle or upset batsmen is totally out of order.

When mentioning ‘crossing the line’, what does he mean? It seems to me that when it comes to sledging, there are no limits, no line. Secondly, for Bairstow and the English squad, they are hardly angels when it comes to the verbals. James Anderson is probably the worst of the current crop, but the likes of Hussain, Prior et al always gave as good as they got. And then there’s the barely veiled threat of reprisals. What does England’s current ‘keeper have in mind? Racing around the pitch swearing and head-butting everyone in a green baggie?

I’ve written before that if you don’t want things to get nasty, it would be very easy for umpires to stamp it out. Three bouts of abuse and you’re off the field with no substitute allowed. The issue of stump microphones is totally irrelevant; it’s what the abuse victim hears which matters, whether Bairstow, Smith or whoever. Some players, as in the wider population, will be better able to withstand abuse, but that doesn’t mean that those less able to do so are weaker individuals and consequently ‘fair game’. Bairstow’s dad committed suicide and so he must be painfully aware of the dangers of mental illness. Perhaps this is why he has made the comments; I don’t know. What would a bowler think if, as a result of persistent offensive ‘banter’, the batsman subsequently retired or did himself harm? I think this is a more dangerous activity than bowling deliveries meant to cause physical harm, and should be banned before something very serious takes place.

Rant over! As for the cricket in Adelaide, Australia opened up a 2-0 Ashes lead to give England palpitations. Joe Root was right to insist there wasn’t a great deal between the sides. Anderson and Woakes bowled well enough with the pink ball to bowl Australia out for 138 in the second innings but, despite Craig Overton’s debutant delight at dismissing Steve Smith first time out, the damage was done on the first two days. The decision to recall Shaun Marsh had been widely derided, yet his unbeaten 126 was by far the highest individual score in the match. The fact that Overton, batting at nine and after a sequence of ducks, top-scored in England’s first innings, must be a concern.

In the series so far, the four-man Aussie attack of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyons is looking more formidable than it ought. And now England move to Perth, where they haven’t won for forty years. The notoriously pacey WACA pitch will surely benefit the home pacemen rather than the cannier swing and seam merchants like Anderson, Broad, Woakes and Overton. Root’s poor record at converting fifties to centuries is an issue but at least he scores fifty more frequently than his colleagues. Cook and the supporting cast now need to step up a notch before the series is lost before Father Christmas arrives on his sleigh. That’s sleigh, not sledge. Sadly, cricket proves that you don’t need a snowy slope to participate in that particular pursuit.

Champions Trophy: Pakistan Punish Poor England

Following the excitement of last Friday’s triumph of Bangladesh over New Zealand, today’s trip to Sophia Gardens resulted in one of the most one-sided contests I have witnessed first-hand!

It all started so well. For once, warm sunshine was beaming down on Cardiff, and uninterrupted play was on the cards. The crowd was a healthy mix of England and Pakistan fans and I took my seat in the little Castle Stand beneath the scoreboard anticipating a great day’s cricket and probable win by Eoin Morgan’s men. That seemed more likely upon hearing the line-ups without the name of Mohammed Amir and with Jonny Bairstow replacing Roy.

With Sarfraz Ahmed inserting the home team, the scene was set for another blistering 300+ total. In the first few overs, the gods seemed to be English, too. Bairstow and Hales must consider themselves highly fortunate to survive LBW reviews. The Yorkshireman bristled with aggression as usual, and his partnership with Joe Root promised so much. However, it delivered few boundaries.

The bowlers were switched frequently and everyone stepped up to the mark. Junaid Khan, debutant Summan Raees and Hasan Ali generally kept to a good line and length, while the trio of spinners were also in a mean mood. Nevertheless, at 128-2 just after halfway, the situation demanded the customary acceleration we have come to expect from the likes of Morgan, Buttler and Stokes.

In actuality, the run rate slowed down. Not once in the second half of the England innings did they manage more than six an over. More startling was the dearth of fours or sixes. Stokes was strangled impressively and had produced not a single boundary in his 34 when he skied an attempted hook from the lively Hasan. There were spectacular catches and a few drops but respect to the Pakistan attack for persevering throughout and restricting England to a paltry 211 all out. The pitch may have been used before but surely this wasn’t a low-200s track?

In their reply, Pakistan’s openers knew they didn’t need to go mad, yet they didn’t hold back. Mark Wood’s first over went for 10, including four leg-side wides. Fakhar Zaman was the leading strokemaker while his right-handed partner Azhar Ali was more about finding the ones and twos. This was looking an easy task. They took their stand past the century mark and looked pretty invincible until Adil Rashid lured Fakhar out of his crease and Buttler removed the bails.

Was this the moment when Morgan put his foot on the neck? Er, no. Unlike England, Pakistan merely carried on as before. Babar Azam joined the six-hitter club. Azhar Ali was out attempting a weird hook, and merely deflecting the ball down onto his stumps, which brought the usually circumspect Mohammad Hafeez to the middle. By this stage, the England supporters were definitely disgruntled. Indeed, many were trailing out in search of an early train, and I found myself alone on my row.

Ben Stokes was just as bad with the ball as the bat. 2 million dollar man?? Even Hafeez flat-batted him for a straight six, the result of a free hit because Morgan had placed too many outside the circle. In the end, the field was brought in for Hafeez but these were desperate measures. The coup de grace was applied by the same batsman, pulling another short Stokes delivery to the mid-wicket boundary with a ‘mere’ 77 balls remaining.

What a sensational result! England had been put to the sword and maybe even India must be a little nervous at meeting again the side they beat earlier in the competition. Nevertheless, Bangladesh have proved they are no pushovers and CT17 may yet yield another surprise.

Sussex and Notts find one-day form at last

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)

Kohli, Ashwin and Bairstow lead the 2016 Team of the Year

2016 ended with no one nation able to claim domination of world cricket. In my mind, that’s a good thing. It means most of the top nations have something to boast about, to aspire to and keep the fans interested. All the above are vital if cricket is to remain a viable professional sport not only for TV viewers but those who shell out good money to support the team or the game they love.

England began the year in good spirit. A new aggressive approach to one-dayers yielded some spectacular performances yet only a modest ODI world ranking of five and T20 position of equal sixth. They even managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the World T20 final at Eden Gardens. This was the scene of probably the most incredible moment in the calendar. Fresh from his daredevil Test double-century, Ben Stokes served up four ‘death’ balls for Carlo Brathwaite to slam four successive sixes to take the trophy back to the West Indies, making a remarkable double to accompany the successful Women’s team.

Pakistan’s prolific press-up pumpers briefly held the ICC mace, but India remained unbeaten in Tests throughout 2016 to lead the rankings comfortably at the end of December. Australia have held off South Africa to top the ODI table while New Zealand are the stars of T20. It’s been a miserable year for Sri Lanka, no higher than sixth in any of the formats and dependant on 38 year-old Rangana Herath for their Test match wickets. His 28 in three summer games against Australia constitute a remarkable solo performance.

So who have been the stars of 2016? In the three international formats, Joe Root, David Warner and Virat Kohli were the leading run scorers while Ravi Ashwin, Adam Zampa and Jasprit Bumrah topped the wickets tables. Across all first-class cricket, Jonny Bairstow was the only man to break the 2,000 run barrier and the ever-dependable Jeetan Patel the sole 100-wicket taker, thanks largely to continued sterling work for Warwickshire. However, he doesn’t make my 2016 Team of the Year.

As opener, David Warner is a no-brainer, accumulating well over 3,000 runs in total, including seven ODI centuries. Alastair Cook had plenty of Tests in which to boost his career aggregate beyond 11,000 runs, but I’ve gone for South Africa’s 50-over opener Quinton de Kock for his consistency and reliable strike rate.

There are plenty of candidates for the middle –order. Azhar Ali, Pujara and Williamson have pressing claims but it’s impossible to leave out Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. The Englishman accumulated more than 2500 first-class and ODI runs, including numerous fifties even if centuries were in short supply. The India captain is in the form of his life, leading his country with distinction whilst averaging 76 in Tests and maintaining a 100+ strike rate across ten ODIs and 147 in his 31 twenty-over fixtures. Steve Smith didn’t quite hit the heights of 2015 but he remained a crucial part of Australia’s teams. Remarkably, his career Test average stands above 60, and his ability to reach three figures when it matters is better than anyone in the world.

Jonny Bairstow may not have taken the gloves in many one-dayers but his 70 Test dismissals easily outnumbered his rivals. Together with his runs, this gives him the edge over the likes of De Kock and Sarfraz Ahmed as my wicketkeeper.

Few genuine all-rounders have shone in the past twelve months. Shakib al- Hasan was as reliable as ever, Chris Woakes had his moments and Dwayne Bravo whacked and bowled with customary relish for his numerous employers in T20. Ben Stokes spat, snarled, swore and occasionally produced breathtaking innings and spells for England and, setting aside that final over in Kolkata, I reluctantly hand him a place at seven in my XI.

Ravichindra Ashwin was easily the star bowler in Test matches throughout 2016, taking 72 wickets in 12 matches at under 24 apiece. His lower-order runs have also elevated him to all-rounder status and, while he is not an obvious choice for ODIs, he remains an extremely economical T20 spinner, too. Young Aussie leggie Adam Zampa has a dreadful first-class record but his limited-overs stats last year were mighty impressive, propelling him into my team of 2016.

For the second consecutive year, Mitchell Starc walks tall into the team. He takes plenty of Test and ODI wickets while conceding few runs, and what else could you ask of a fast bowler in any form of cricket? As a new-ball partner, it’s between England’s Stuart Broad, New Zealander Neil Wagner and 21 year-old Kagiso Rabada. Broad played plenty of Tests but injury rest restricted his appearances elsewhere. Wagner was prolific for Lancashire, Otago and the Black Caps but my selection is right-armer Rabada. With Steyn often missing, the young quick from Jo’burg has been propelled into the frontline with considerable success, especially at home against England and, more recently, in Australia.

So, to sum up, here is my 2016 Team of the Year:-

Warner (Aus), De Kock (SA), Root (Eng), Kohli (Ind *), Smith (Aus), Bairstow (Eng +), Stokes (Eng), Ashwin (Ind), Starc (Aus), Rabada (SA), Zampa (Aus). My ‘squad replacements’ would be Cook, Azhar Ali and Wagner.

Can Smith, Ashwin and Starc make it three in a row this time next year? We’ll see!

Bairstow Keeps England on Top

The record books say England won 2-0. However, had the inclement London weather not intervened on the fifth day, it would very likely have finished 3-0, whatever Angelo Mathews may claim.

To their credit Sri Lanka did make a contest of the Lord’s Test. With England at 84-4 and 226-6, they had the upper hand, only for Jonny Bairstow to find solid company at the crease in Chris Woakes. Their stand of 144 restored England’s usual status as favourites.

It was reassuring to see the visitors’ openers finally compile a decent partnership, both Karanuratne and Silva making half-centuries. But then they all collapsed under the magic spell of England’s seamers, Woakes the best and fastest of them.

Alex Hales proceeded to 94 before again missing out on a maiden Test century, trapped lbw to Mathews’ medium pace, and England were able to declare safe in the knowledge that Sri Lanka would not achieve the 362-run target. The weather forecast backed them up and in the event the rain ruled out any chance of a positive result.

It wasn’t a great series for batsmen. Only four hundreds were scored, and Chandimal’s 126 at Chester-le-Street the sole ton for Sri Lanka. Half of those four came from the England wicketkeeper, who compensated for the occasional glaring lapse behind the stumps by dominating the series batting statistics. Only Alec Stewart has struck a higher score by an England ‘keeper, and it can only be a matter of time – perhaps a month or two – before the 25 year-old Yorkshireman breaks that particular record, too.

Neither Root, Compton nor Vince performed well at Lord’s and the latter two are vulnerable to replacement for the Pakistan series. It has to be said that while Sri Lanka inevitably miss the big three batting superstars, England are relying heavily on the experienced bowling pair Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. Finn remains an enigma, but Chris Woakes enhanced his reputation as more than just a decent county all-rounder and thoughtful one-day death bowler. Herath apart, it wasn’t a month for spinners, but that could change in the limited-overs competitions.

Chris Jordan hasn’t convinced me but has enjoyed a reasonable start to the 2016 season. Tymal Mills’ conversion from rough, ready and expensive paceman to part-time T20 specialist is complete after his selection for the Twenty20 international. That match doesn’t mean anything other than his potential England debut. The 50-over stuff is more intriguing, and offers England another opportunity to show what their younger, more exciting players can do. Let’s see if they succeed.

Roses Reign over the Rain

Unfortunately, my hopes for a week of results proved groundless. The early hot sunshine quickly gave way to two days of rain across most of the country. The exceptions were Old Trafford and Headingley, where both Yorkshire and Lancashire wrapped up welcome innings wins over Surrey and Hampshire, respectively.

Yet again, batsmen dominated the week. We had two triple-century partnerships, three double-century scores and two near-misses. Yorkshire’s victory was founded on a record Leeds stand of 372, involving England’s Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Davies scored more than half of Surrey’s runs but didn’t get the support.

The champions lead the table by one point, but Lancashire advanced to second, and have a game in hand. Procter, Hameed and Petersen racked up a big first innings lead of 347, leaving Hampshire more than two days to defend in between rain breaks. Jimmy Anderson and Simon Kerrigan boasted combined figures of 60-31-88-8 and the visitors couldn’t hang on for long enough. To make matters worse, they secured only a single bonus point and now prop up Division One.

Somerset were enjoying the best of their match at Warwickshire before the final day washout. Tom Abell’s patient 102 and a couple of quicker half-centuries from Peter Trego were supported by some useful bowling by the Overton twins but the home side were spared the chance to bat a day or attack a 300+ target.

The Middlesex-Nottinghamshire fixture lost two whole days, but not until Sam Robson had struck his third first-class hundred of the summer. However, the England selectors are persevering with one of his opponents, Alex Hales who did at least contribute a useful 73 in the cause.

In Division Two, it was four draws out of four, leaving Essex still on top. Ed Joyce (250) and Luke Wells (116) put on 310 for Sussex against Derbyshire, while colleague Lewis Hatchett’s 5-58 was the week’s best bowling performance in the Championship.

Elsewhere, Kent’s Sam Northeast delivered his highest First-class score of 189 against Gloucestershire, for who Hamish Marshall continued his sprightly early-season form. Young ‘keeper Adam Rouse claimed eight catches for Kent, too.

At Leicester, the cricket didn’t match up to the football, but the home county’s lofty position in the league is almost as surprising as the Foxes’! Neil Dexter scored 98 and took three cheap Northants wickets but the lack of play on Day 3 proved crucial. There wasn’t much play at Cardiff either, but enough for Brett d’Oliveira and Joe Clarke to fill their boots again. The Worcester pair shared a third-wicket partnership of 253 and the opener made an impressive ‘double’.

Next week, Lancashire’s bid for the top spot could be halted by Durham, while Yorkshire must be confident of a decent return from Taunton, weather-permitting. Leicester are giving the Sri Lankans some pre-Test practice, so Essex should extend their lead at home to Derbyshire.

Team of the Week:
D’Oliveira (Wor), Joyce (Sus), Root (Yor), Bairstow (+ Yor), Northeast (Ken), S Davies (Sur), Trego (Som), Roland-Jones (Mid), Haggett (Ken), Patterson (Yor), Anderson (Lan)

Wagner Runs Rings Around Notts

Week 2 of the domestic season brought decent weather. Instead it was batting dominance which produced just two results out of six. Runs flowed particularly freely at the top of the order.

In Division One, Stuart Robson broke a Middlesex record with his match aggregate of 337 runs. However, Jonathan Trott’s unbeaten 219 and a fine all-round performance by the redoubtable Keith Barker were instrumental in negating Robson’s total. Warwickshire ‘keeper Tim Ambrose will also remember the game, not for catches or runs, but for his maiden first-class wicket as the game petered out into a draw.

There were big scores in Yorkshire’s first Championship fixture of the season, too. In the first innings, no fewer than three players reached three figures. Adam Lyth made 111, then Jonny Bairstow struck a brilliant 246 and even Liam Plunkett weighed in with a rapid-fire 126. Ryan Sidebottom’s victims included his thousandth in senior cricket! Hampshire were not to be out-done, though. In reply, James Vince and Sean Ervine also hit hundreds and a draw was inevitable. Hants came out worst, however, as yet another fast bowler was afflicted by injury. Fidel Edwards contrived to break an ankle in a mid-match warm-up, unfortunate in the extreme.

Last week’s winners Nottinghamshire came a cropper against newly-promoted Lancashire. While Anderson and Broad were unusually on opposite sides of a first-class game, it was New Zealander Neil Wagner who stole the headlines. He claimed an eye-catchingly symmetrical 11-111, and the Notts batting fell apart.

In Division Two, Leicestershire enjoyed a rare victory on their first appearance in 2016 destroying Glamorgan at Cardiff. Wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien top-scored with 93 and claimed 8 catches, New recruit Paul Horton opened with two half-centuries and Clint McKay contributed eight wickets, leaving Robert Croft aghast.

Nevertheless Essex head the table despite failing to beat Sussex at Hove. Alastair Cook compiled a patient second innings century but I can’t help think he should have been a bit bolder as his team failed to attack a reachable target of 329 on the final day. Veteran all-rounder Graham Napier was in fine form, but the home side’s opener aggregated 211 runs in the match..

It was even more of a batting paradise at Bristol where only 22 wickets fell. Even Gloucestershire’s nightwatchman Liam Norwell scored 102, mostly in the company of Chris Dent. However, Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes helped themselves to more than 400 runs between them.

Let’s hope for more even contests between bat and ball next week when County Championship highlights include Leicestershire challenging Kent, now lacking their retired hero Robert Key, Durham hosting Middlesex and Yorkshire visiting Warwickshire.

Team of the Week:
S.Robson (Mid), Nash (Sus), Hughes (Der), Trott (War), Bairstow (Yor), Ervine (Ham), N O’Brien (Lei +), Napier (Ess), Plunkett (Yor), McKay (Lei), Wagner (Lan)

South Africa’s Consolation prize, but England’s Series

A fantastic series for England didn’t end in the way Trevor Baylis would have liked, in a 280-run defeat. One Cook cheerfully held aloft the Basil D’Oliviera Trophy while another marked his belated debut with a century. Nevertheless, it would have been a travesty had the tourists triumphed 3-0.

South Africa had been on a nine-match winless streak, including two draws in Bangladesh and that 3-0 hammering in India, so a first victory in over twelve months was especially welcome. Hashim Amla has rediscovered his mojo while, faced with an injury crisis, the selectors have polished some gems.

Thomas Bavuma played the whole series, notching his first Test century in the Cape Town runfest. Kagiso Rabada took more wickets than anybody, doubling his Test tally at Centurion alone. And Stephen Cook’s debut was rather more successful than his dad’s had been two decades ago. Somerset run machine Jimmy was out first ball when SA returned to the international fold, but his son clipped Anderson for a boundary en route for a well-deserved 115.

Yet we also learned that AB De Villiers is only human after all, collecting three consecutive ducks! Not an auspicious start to his Test captaincy, but it’s not deterring him from holding on to the role. It’s not like his opposite number has excelled; Alastair averaged a mediocre 23. Alex Hales was, as I suspected, a disaster as an opening partner, while I was disappointed at James Taylor’s failure to turn promising innings into hundreds.

Fortunately for England, runs flowed from the bats of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes. I am not convinced by the Durham hothead’s incredible onslaught at Newlands as a precursor of a Bothamesque career. He has flopped too often in the past. However, the legendary Sir Ian was hardly a master of consistency himself. It was nice to see the Yorkshire ‘keeper transferring his batting form into the Test arena, although his glovework still needs a bit of work. Joe Root, is just Joe Root, a phenomenon who can find runs on pitches which seem to defeat anybody else.

Whilst Rabada came good in the finale, ably supported by Morkel and Abbott, South Africa desperately missed Steyn and Philander. Instead, Stuart Broad produced his usual supreme spell from the stars to seal the series at Jo’burg and leave the home side floundering at 83 all out. Steven Finn did OK when fit, but Anderson, Moeen Ali and Woakes struggled.

So what comes next? South Africa welcome Australia next month, which could be an interesting contest. England must be very confident ahead of the visits of Sri Lanka in May, and Pakistan in July. I reckon the bowlers will improve in home conditions and - who knows? – a return to the top of the rankings is not beyond them. Eventually!

The Ginger Ninjas smash records in Cape Town

After England cruised to victory on a bowler-friendly pitch at Durban, could we really have anticipated such a run-fest at Newlands? 1,415 runs flowed, yet only 19 wickets fell across the whole five days. Reputations were forged or restored and new records were as relentless as the hot sunshine.

I’ve never been a fan of Ben Stokes. All that bristling aggression, often misplaced, doesn’t endear him to me. Thumping furniture, or anything else, should never be mistaken for ‘passion’. Nevertheless, not even I can be anything but awe-struck by his incredible innings of 258 in only 198 balls. As he said, when you feel in the zone, you may as well adopt the ‘see ball, hit ball’ approach. And, by golly, did he hit the ball. So many Test records fell by the wayside, not only national but global:-

• The highest innings by a number six
• The fastest 250 by anyone, even Sehwag or Gayle
• The most sixes by any Englishman (11)
• The fastest 150 and 200 by an English batsman

Pity poor Jonny Bairstow. He made a brilliant, unbeaten 150, his debut Test century, and nobody else will remember it. Fortunately the statistics won’t lie: he and Stokes now share the world best sixth wicket total of 399, and the second highest of any England partnership in history. Not only that, I have to delight in such an achievement by a pair of fellow redheads, the ‘ginger ninjas’!

Yet England didn’t win the match. Indeed, on the final afternoon, there was even a possibility that they could lose it. That South Africa came that close owes a huge amount to captain Hashim Amla. He’s been in such terrible form lately, so his patient double-hundred was simply perfect. De Villiers, Du Plessis, Morris (on his debut) and Temba Bavuma provided sterling support. The latter also smashed another welcome barrier, becoming the first black South African batsman to reach three figures. So much for quotas; he looked the real deal against fine bowlers like Anderson, Finn and Broad.

AB apart, the home team’s batting has been frail of late. However, it was their attack which looked more toothless this week, in the absence of Steyn, Philander and Abbott. Bring at least two of these three back from injury, and the series could yet be drawn, or even won. I doubt it, though. With Bairstow and Stokes on a high, and only Alex Hales looking out of place, it will take a lot to beat England once, let alone twice.

Will Amla’s resignation make a difference? Probably not, with the experience of AB stepping up for the remaining fixtures. Nevertheless, if the number three scores 201 and feels he can do better without the burden of captaincy, what sort of performance can SA expect from him at Jo’burg? If he dyes his hair ginger, too, Lara’s record must be in danger…..

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).

AP x 2 = 501 for Lancashire

This really was a week for batsmen. Four scored double-centuries, two of them sharing a 500 partnership, yet one (Steve Smith) couldn’t even squeeze into my Team of the Week!

The White and Red Roses were again in full bloom, as Yorkshire and Lancashire cemented their positions atop Divisions One and Two. The chasing packs must be getting cricked necks gazing up at the distant summits.

Andrew Gale led his side from the front at Scarborough, piling up 164 but it was Jonny Bairstow’s scintillating form making all the headlines. A brisk 139 pushed him into the England squad at Gary Ballance’s expense, then he struck the winning runs in the second innings, too. Worcestershire did at least take the game into a fourth day.

Durham did their best to hold on to second place but Hampshire’s defiance and some final afternoon rain scuppered their hopes. Gordon Muchall’s 145 and nine more wickets for Chris Rushworth were all in vain after 20 year-old ‘keeper Lewis McManus defied the Durham attack for almost three hours. Meanwhile Warwickshire found themselves in the runners-up spot after despatching Somerset by seven wickets. Sam Hain composed another unbeaten century and Jeetan Patel claimed nine victims, although the losers’ Craig Overton took 6-74 and kept his name in the England frame in case the selectors need fresh blood.

Following a disappointing first half of the season, James Taylor rediscovered his appetite for runs, falling just nine short of a triple-century in Nottinghamshire’s innings defeat of Sussex. Chris Read’s 121 and seven catches were also noteworthy, while Harry Gurney’s left arm seam and swing also did a lot of damage to the South Coast side for whom Matt Machan top-scored with 108.

The Colwyn Bay sea air worked wonders for the South African duo of Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen. Both passed 250 as they smashed the Lancashire partnership record and accumulated the 13th highest stand for any wicket in first-class cricket history! Facing an overall target of almost 700, Glamorgan unsurprisingly fell short, although a robust first innings tail did its best to frustrate the visitors. Number eleven Michael Hogan even had time to score a career best 57! Nevertheless, Sean Kerrigan and Arron Lilley polished off Welsh resistance in the end.

Kent took the Thames estuary bragging rights, thumping Essex by an innings and 207. Ben Harmison and Sam Billings each reached three figures while Callum Haggett and the evergreen Darren Stevens picked up twelve wickets between them.

Derbyshire beat Northamptonshire in the other Division Two fixture. Mark Footitt collected another five-for, and young all-rounder Alex Hughes achieved his debut hundred. For the visitors, opener Ben Duckett had mixed fortunes. A duck was followed by 154 but the Chesterfield fans enjoyed a seven-wicket triumph.

While the runs piled up in the Championship and Lord’s Test, there weren’t many big scores in last weekend’s T20 Blast. Nevertheless, Jason Roy’s blistering 122 consigned Somerset to another heavy defeat. The County Championship now takes a two-week break as the T20 Group stage ends and the Royal London Cup begins.

Some excellent performances couldn’t get into my Team of the Week: Rogers (Aus), Duckett (Nor), Petersen (Lan), Prince (Lan), Taylor (Not), A Hughes (Der), Read (Not, * +), Patel (Not), C Overton (Som), Gurney (Not), Rushworth (Dur)