Essex Edge the Trophy final

 If I may, I’d like to start with the end. I shall return to the Vitality Blast but for me the main event was the five-day final of 2020’s Bob Willis Trophy. The coronavirus crisis prevented any professional cricket until August but the ECB’s hastily-organised Championship substitute has proved a surprise hit. 

With fans absent, counties invested in superior camera angles for streaming and supporters have responded enthusiastically. On the pitch, as last year, Essex and Somerset dominated the first-class game and once more met to decide the direction of the premier trophy. Given Somerset’s recent record, it was inevitable that they again finished as runners-up, albeit without actually losing. 

It was strange to see a batting line-up lacking Trescothick, Hildreth and Trego but Ed Byrom (aged 23) and Tom Lammonby (20) delivered well-crafted centuries. However, it was the rather more experienced Sir Alastair Cook whose 172 essentially won the competition by means of a narrow first-innings lead at Lord’s. On the final day, Jack Leach got amongst the top-order so Ryan Ten Doeschate gave up the run chase and helped dig in to secure the draw Essex needed. 

Essex are also the reigning Vitality Blast champions but they have been way off the pace this rump of a summer. The South group was topped by Surrey’s band of internationals, joined in the quarter-final line-up by Sussex (who beat Essex in the final round) and Kent. For all the contributions of Roy, Billings, Harmer, Topley et al, the week’s stars from this group were probably Laurie Evans and George Garton. The former struck two 70+ scores for the leaders, while the latter claimed four wickets in each match bolstered by some lusty late hitting. Hampshire were never really in the hunt but Shaheen Shah Afridi stole the show by bowling out Middlesex with the final four deliveries of the contest, ending with 6-19! 

The Central group was quite a tight affair. Come the final weekend, Gloucestershire were home and dry but Somerset could sneak into the quarters with victory at Bristol. They very nearly made it but Tom Smith hit the very last ball to the boundary to end their hopes. That meant that winners of Northamptonshire v Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston would progress. Adam Hose’s brilliant 119 looked likely to be decisive only for Tom Taylor to reach his maiden fifty in the penultimate over and snatch a three-wicket victory. 

Nottinghamshire easily held on to first place in the North group thanks partly to Ben Duckett’s half-centuries and Steve Mullaney’s typical mix of wickets and cameo innings. Lancashire finished second despite losing heavily to Durham and falling tamely to Leicestershire. Nevertheless their seven-run Roses success at Old Trafford earlier in the week was enough to qualify on twelve points. Joe Root again made a desperate pitch for an England T20 recall by scoring two 60s and taking three cheap wickets. 

And so the domestic T20 tourney heads towards a climax in the autumn gloom of October. The students may be spreading Covid like the leaves of a chestnut tree but hopefully this truncated cricket season may yet give us cricket fans something else to savour. At least it won’t be Somerset coming second…. 

Team of the Week: A. Cook (Ess), Rutherford (Wor), Lammonby (Som), Evans (Sur), Root (Yor), Duckett (Not), Moores (Not +), Gregory (Som), Garton (Sus), Trevaskis (Dur), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Ham)

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)