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: Leicestershire Promoted at Last

The latest report covers both ends of the county cricket spectrum. The week began with the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, Serial Finals Day participants Somerset and Hampshire progressed again. Hampshire easily outscored Durham but it took a scintillating unbeaten 71 from 26 balls by soon-to-depart Sean Dickson to swing the tie against the Bears with one delivery to spare. 

Liam Livingstone delivered a fine all-round performance for Lancashire to defeat Kent by three wickets. With Tom Hartley, he kept the lid on the opposition batting before crunching 85 not out. Surrey fielded a stellar line-up of internationals but, surprisingly, were undone by a 40-year-old blast from the past. In a game reduced to fourteen overs, Northamptonshire lost both openers in the first over, only for Ravi Bopara to produce only his third T20 century in almost five hundred matches. Pope and Sam Curran did their best but Surrey fell seven runs short and so miss out on another trophy. 

In the County Championship, Surrey’s seemingly smooth route to the title hit an unexpected barrier. With nationwide rain preventing results almost everywhere, second-placed Nottinghamshire scrambled their way to a three-wicket win at Worcestershire. Lyndon James (5-35) and Josh Tongue (4-52) left their side a target of only 136. Haseeb Hameed bagged a pair and wickets fell regularly but James and Tongue combined again to complete the victory which narrows the gap behind Surrey to a single point. 

After the first innings, at The Oval, there was barely a bail’s width between the leaders and Warwickshire, then Sibley and Pope steered the home team to 391-8 declared. On day four, Alex Davies’ team safely negotiated the final afternoon. Somerset clung on to third spot in their draw versus Yorkshire. Their first innings spanned almost three days, during which Tom Abell compiled a patient 130. A draw seemed inevitable but, when Yorkshire crumbled to 60-7, an extraordinary result was on the cards. However, Jordan Thompson blasted a rapid half-century to prevent an embarrassment. 

At Chelmsford, Essex had the better of their encounter with Durham, with Elgar and Critchley striking tons, but at Hove the bowlers were in control. Day three was washed out but there was no time for Hampshire to bowl Sussex out a second time. Hampshire’s week ended with another setback when they were docked eight points for preparing a substandard pitch back in May against the same opposition. To make matters worse, they lost that game! 

The ECB verdict pulls Hampshire down to within six points of Durham who occupy one of the relegation places with Worcestershire who are all but doomed. None of the bottom six are safe. Next week, the bottom two face up, as do the top pair. Should Surrey defeat Notts, the Championship pennant will continue to flutter over The Oval for yet another year. 

The big news from Division Two was Leicestershire gaining enough bonus points to ensure their first promotion to the top division since the two-tier structure was introduced. Having been wooden-spooners so often, their avoidance of defeat to Gloucestershire put them out of reach of the chasing pack. Glamorgan could yet displace them as top dogs but it would require something miraculous but with young Asa Tribe in such sensational form – 206 in his first outing against Northants following three List A centuries in four innings – who knows?! 

At Lord’s, rain ruined the contest between Middlesex and Derbyshire, in which Toby Roland-Jones took 6-77, while Lancashire and Kent were evenly matched at Canterbury. In only his second first-class appearance, Lancashire seamer Mitchell Stanley claimed an impressive eleven wickets. 

Next week’s Division Two highlight should be Glamorgan v Derbyshire, but the weather forecast doesn’t look great. The same goes for the T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston. No seven-over thrashes, please! 

Team of the Week:- Elgar (Ess), Tribe (Gla), McKinney (Dur), Bopara (Nor), Livingstone (Lan), Abell (Som), Roderick (Wor +), Saif Zaib (Nor), James (Not), Roland-Jones (Mid), Stanley (Lan)

County Cricket: Lightning Light up the North

It was all change at England this week, although Joe Root rescued his nation with another splendid Test century to deliver an early blow against New Zealand. In the Blast’s North division, the Birmingham Bears stuttered while Lancashire Lightning won all three fixtures. Northants Steelbacks are hot on their heels and could easily have been top of the table. Their clash at Old Trafford went down to the penultimate ball, when the otherwise admirable Jimmy Neesham bowled a wide and no-ball to hand the hosts a two-wicket victory. 

Two days earlier, against Leicestershire, the Kiwi had smashed six sixes in an unbeaten 75, along with Aussie Chris Lynn’s 106 not out to reach the week’s highest score of 227-1. Josh Cobb and bowler Tom Taylor also performed consistently for the Steelbacks. Lancashire’s rise to the lead has been more of an all-round effort. Runs and wickets have come from the entire team, and Liam Livingstone has exemplified this effort. 

I feel sorry for the Worcestershire captain Brett D’Oliveira. Like Livingstone, he has made top-order runs and spun effectively with the ball only, unlike the Lancs man, victories are proving more difficult to come by. Their only win to date was Friday’s thumping of the Bears. The Birmingham outfit’s only points this week resulted from an eight-over thrash against Nottinghamshire. This match was more memorable for two batters, Brathwaite (Bears) and Patel (Outlaws), making tactical retirements in a bid to herald someone more successful against leg-spin or with faster legs. Notts ended up losing by a solitary run. 

In the South, Surrey and Somerset are looking string at the moment, although these things can turn in a few key overs. Sam Curran and West Indian Sunil Narine turned on the style with bat and ball. The former took 5-30 against Hampshire while the leg-spinner lived up to his global reputation by conceding hardly any boundaries and scoring plenty himself. Somerset lost their first T20 of the summer against Sussex, for whom another Windies man Obed McCoy took a career-best 5-33. With Somerset ramping up the chase, he and Tymal Mills (4-32) captured five wickets for two runs in eleven frantic balls to win by 47. At least Somerset bounced back with a resounding defeat of Glamorgan. 

The highest individual score was Joe Denly’s 110 for Kent at home to Middlesex. However, the biggest blitz was hammered by Alex Hales against Derbyshire. He crashed five sixes and a dozen fours, dominating an opening stand of 115 with Joe Clarke. He fared less well against Yorkshire; David Willey bowled him first ball! A final shout-out to Leicestershire’s Naveen-ul-Huq. The Afghan paceman’s 5-11 did for Worcestershire and took him to the head of the wicket-taking table. 

In the coming days, a welter of local derbies are scheduled. The Roses, London and Avon contests in particular could deliver some interesting cricket.

Team of the Week: Lynn (Nor), D’Oliveira (Wor), McDermott (Ham), Seifert (Sus +), Hales (Not), Livingstone (Lan), S Curran (Sur), Narine (Sur), Naveen-ul-Huq (Lei), T Taylor (Nor), McCoy (Sus)

Ian Bell rings, Fuller's full of wickets

Most of the Vitality Blast action took place in the northern half of England this week. Worcestershire’s 100% record came to a crashing end, with defeats at the hands of Yorkshire and Durham. The Jets won all three of their matches, with strong starts to each innings. Captain Tom Latham and Cumbrian Graham Clark were consistent openers, Callum MacLeod weighed in with a century and a rare Ben Stokes appearance delivered a 43 and 4-16 in that Worcester fixture.

However, Lancashire top the group following three victories of their own. Last night’s thrilling one-run success over their White Rose rivals was the big one, and there was no ‘bat drop’ celebration for Joe Root, who couldn’t find the last-ball boundary Yorkshire needed. Liam Livingstone added to his considerable run tally for the season but Toby Lester’s excellent start – 4-25 against Derbyshire – couldn’t be maintained. Root and Bresnan took him to the cleaners in the exciting run chase at Old Trafford.

Even more cliffhanging was Friday’s game at Edgbaston. After suffering five successive defeats, Northamptonshire must have sensed success against Birmingham Bears once Richard Levi’s unbeaten 95 had anchored a score of 231-5. However, Ian Bell, once derided for his inability to score quickly enough for England, produced a magnificent 131, including seven sixes. He was dismissed by Buck in the last over with ten needed, then de Grandhomme fell with two to win. Unfortunately for the Bears, Aaron Thomason could only muster a single from the final ball and we had a tie. At least Northants had secured a point.

In the South division, Kent and Gloucestershire share the lead, but both were prevented from adding two to their points total by rain (yes, rain!). At Cheltenham, the weather closed in before the home team could bat, and the same thing happened at The Oval, where the Kent attack was hammered for 250-6. Inevitably, Aaron Finch led the way with a 38-ball 83.

I’m delighted that Somerset are back in the hunt. Their trips to Lord’s and Cardiff resulted in much needed triumphs, Max Waller’s leg-spin being particularly mean at the start of the innings. However, when it comes to taking wickets, James Fuller topped the bill this week. The eighth bowler used by Middlesex against Hampshire, he claimed an impressive 6-28. Nevertheless, they still contrived to lose the game and hand Hampshire a first win of the 2018 Blast.

They meet again next week, but the Kent-Sussex and Birmingham-Yorkshire clashes are the picks of the fixture list. The T20 block is also interrupted briefly by some Championship matches, including another Roses encounter and leaders Surrey travelling to Nottinghamshire. If Finch plays, it could be over in two days.

Team of the Week: 

Latham (Dur), Bell (War), Levi (Nor), Livingstone (Lan), MacLeod (Dur), Stokes (Dur), Brown (Sus +), Archer (Sus), Imran Tahir (Dur), Waller (Som), Fuller (Mid)

Porter carries Essex to the brink of the title

The County Championship entered its final phase with the respective division leaders strengthening their grip on the top spots. With rain interruptions, most matches extended into the fourth day, providing some lively conclusions, but sadly one which was more disturbing.

In Division One, leading pair Essex and Lancashire were in action against the bottom two, and results went to form, much to my chagrin. Runs were in typical short supply at Chelmsford but Somerset were at least in the hunt up to the final morning, thanks largely to the wickets of Craig Overton but no thanks to the batsmen who are collectively having a nightmare season. But Essex romped home, Jamie Porter wrapping up a seventh win of the summer with 7-55 to follow his first-innings 5-40. He and team-mate Steve Harmer now each boast over 50 Championship wickets, more than anyone else.

At Old Trafford, Lancashire clung onto Essex’s coat-tails by defeating Warwickshire by eight wickets. The dye was cast on day one, when Ryan McLaren and Kyle Jarvis captured all ten between them. Liam Livingstone proceeded to outscore the opposition on his own, creaming the attack for 224, including four sixes. The venerable Shiv Chanderpaul just missed out on another century. Warwickshire ‘keeper Tim Ambrose did reach three figures as they succeeded in making Lancashire bat again, but only for 44 balls.

The other fixture ended in more ugly fashion. Middlesex and Surrey were heading towards a certain draw at The Oval when play was suspended. A lethal-looking crossbow arrow had landed on the outfield not far from Surrey players and, with no guarantee the assailant wouldn’t fire again, the match was abandoned. While John Simpson may be a little peeved at missing out on a hundred, the authorities made the correct decision I just hope the scum who shot the arrow is caught before he kills someone.

Back to the cricket…. Nottinghamshire now lead the second tier by thirty-two points after beating Northamptonshire by 163 runs. Riki Wessels top-scored in both innings, culminating in a typically entertaining 116 off 88 balls as they looked to make a declaration. Only Rob Newton passed 50 in the second Northants effort, before Samit Patel polished off the final pair.

I am no fan of the guidelines that no Division Two batsmen can be considered for England selection, although I note that this was not enforced until Alastair Cook’s Essex were promoted last season! It’s not as if the counties battling for promotion all have rubbish bowlers. Think Broad, Onions, Jordan, Patel, Hogan et al. Add to that list Worcestershire’s new signing who happens to be the world’s best spinner, Ravi Ashwin. He played a major part in his county’s victory over Gloucestershire, along with the opening batsmen Mitchell and D’Oliveira and all-runder Ed Barnard. With Ashwin in the attack, Worcester must now be favourites to join Notts in Division One next year.

Sussex are also making a late bid for promotion. They travelled to Colwyn Bay to face a weakened Glamorgan side who were resting their stars in advance of the T20 Finals Day. Credit to the Welsh side that they gave Sussex a real alarm and it was only due to Ollie Robinson’s brave 41 not out that they avoided a humiliating defeat. With last man Briggs at the other end, Robinson knew he had to rescue the team on his own and he duly delivered with a second six off Rhuadri Smith.

Durham recorded their third victory of the season, overcoming dismal Derbyshire at Chester-le-Street. Their star performers were veterans Paul Collingwood (177) and Graeme Onions (4-44 and 3-88) but they really need the younger players, including England reject Keaton Jennings, to step up and get Durham back into the top flight and into the black.

In the other game, another 40-something, Kent’s Darren Stevens, took 8-75 in the first Leicestershire innings but was frustrated by the final pair of Callum Parkinson and Lewis Hill who shared a tenth wicket partnership of 122. The match petered out into a soggy draw leaving Leicester still winless and Kent rueing another which got away.

Next week, all eyes will be on the Essex-Lancashire clash. Win that one and Essex will be almost home and dry. Lose, and Lancashire could yet pull off a totally unexpected Championship success. Over to you, guys…

Team of the Week: Mitchell (Wor), D’Oliveira (Wor), Livingstone (Lan), Collingwood (Dur), Wessels (Not), Stevens (Ken), Simpson (Mid +), Jordan (Sus), C Overton (Som), Robinson (Sus), Porter (Ess)

Ballance saves Yorkshire, Livingstone Lifts Lancs

Yorkshire fans travelling to the Rose Bowl must have been drooling at a rare opportunity to see their England stars Root and Bairstow appearing with the white rose badge. However, the internationals managed a mere 18 runs between them as Hampshire made them follow on. Instead, it was the Test reject Gary Ballance who shone with the bat. The new captain followed his first innings 108 with a match-saving 203 not out in a game where his opposite number James Vince (147) also reminded us what he is capable of.

The only First Division county to win was Lancashire. For the second successive week, their opponents Somerset threw away an early lead, as Alex Davies and captain Liam Livingstone set up a 164-run victory. Unfortunately, the good form enjoyed by team leaders did not extend to Somerset’s young Tom Abell. His first four Championship innings in charge have yielded a pathetic two runs, and I don’t know how many more chances he can be afforded by Mathew Maynard.

Surrey remain top of the table despite failing to beat struggling Warwickshire at Edgbaston. The home team had Ian Westwood largely to thank for grinding out a draw, after his 205 run aggregate, after first innings centuries by Mark Stoneman and Kumar Sangakkara.

There were plenty of runs from Middlesex’s top three, too. Stewart Robson, Ed Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi each scored hundreds in the first innings and fifties in the second. However, helped by bad light, Essex kept Finn, Roland-Jones et al at bay throughout the fourth day as the champions failed to capture the final two wickets.

In Division Two, Nottinghamshire and Kent made it three wins out of three. The former side lead the way courtesy of their maximum points at Trent Bridge, where they crushed Sussex by an innings inside two days. The home side must have had a prior engagement on Sunday because they blazed to 447 before day one was completed. Unsurprisingly, it was Riki Wessels who led the assault, slamming seven sixes and 22 fours in a maiden double-century. James Pattinson and Stuart Broad did much of the damage with the ball on the Saturday.

At Canterbury it was that man Darren Stevens who stole the honours yet again, with a peerless all-round performance, featuring 107 runs and nine wickets. It was a good, too, for stand-in ‘keeper Adam Rouse who narrowly missed out on his first Championship hundred and took five catches. It was another very short match at Worcester, too, in which the home team eked out a tight 20-run winning margin against Derbyshire. Moeen Ali’s first-day 50 proved to be the highest score of the game, while captain Joe Leach picked up a couple of five-fors.

There was little to choose between the counties at Grace Road, either, but runs flowed fluently on all four days. Both Leicestershire and Glamorgan reached 420 in their first innings, then a Mark Pettini century set up a pointless declaration on the last afternoon. After an early scare, Aneurin Donald’s 66 not out ensured there was to be no repeat of last week’s batting collapses for the Welsh.

In the other fixture, Paul Collingwood contributed 101 runs, two wickets and five catches for Durham at Bristol. However, Gloucestershire opener Chris Dent’s patient six-hour 101 meant there was insufficient time for the visitors to ram home their advantage, and a draw ensued.

We now have a four-week break in the Championship to allow the sadly-unloved Royal London Cup a run in what I hope will be the late Spring sunshine.

Team of the Week:
Robson (Mid), Westwood (War), Vince (Ham), Ballance (Yor), Wessels (Not), Livingstone (Lan), Stevens (Ken), Leach (Wor), Rouse (Ken +), Broad (Not), Pattinson (Not)