Morkel and Leach keep it a two-horse race

A busy week and a bit ended with the T20 quarter-finals throwing up few shocks. Unless, that is, you count Somerset reaching their first Finals Day for several years. Lewis Gregory maintained his recent white-ball form, thrashing five sixes in a 24-ball 60 not out before Jamie Overton claimed five wickets (three caught by Max Waller) to strangle the Outlaws’ run chase. The previous three ties were unusually short on runs but the Rapids must be delighted to make the semis for the first time ever after defeating Gloucestershire at New Road.

It was an impressive week for Worcestershire. They also moved off the bottom of the Championship Division One with an innings thrashing of Yorkshire at Scarborough, where for some reason the home side always seem to struggle. Moeen Ali struck 219 and Daryl Mitchell 178, comfortably the highest individual scores of the week. Moeen also weighed in with eight wickets.

On the fourth afternoon, my eyes rarely strayed from the online score updates as Somerset and Surrey battled to bowl out their respective opposition. At Taunton, the home team clinched victory against Essex in mid-afternoon. Jack Leach twirled unchanged for 32 overs and finished on 8-85, easily out-bowling his England spin colleague Dom Bess. Sadly for me and the Westcountrymen, Lancashire couldn’t quite hold on against a rampant Morne Morkel. Surrey edged it by a paltry six runs and must be odds-on to win, consigning Somerset to another bloody runners-up spot. Lancs’ loss leaves them bottom.

In the other game Hampshire attained a vital victory over third-placed Nottinghamshire. James Vince timed his 74 and 147 to perfection given the England Test squad announcement, while overseas pacemen Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards did most of the bowling damage.

In Division Two, it’s a much tighter situation at the top. Warwickshire despatched Gloucestershire inside two days. Rhodes and Sibley shared a 165-run stand while the visitors’ batsmen struggled horribly, not the first time this summer. Meanwhile at Hove, Sussex stayed within four points of the leaders with a 243-run success against Derbyshire, while Kent achieved their sixth win of the season at Leicester with major contributions by Sean Dickson and paceman Ivan Thomas.

Glamorgan’s dismal disarray continued, suffering another humbling innings defeat, this time at the hands of Durham. Had it not been for rain, the misery would have been complete inside two days. Captain Hogan and coach Croft can’t take all the blame; the batting has been awful recently. The Welsh side are now 14 points adrift at the foot of the table, behind Northamptonshire, who lost to Middlesex despite a maiden century by young ‘keeper Ricardo Vasconcelos.

It’s back to first-class cricket later this week. Surrey will surely notch victory number eight at home to Notts, while Somerset head to Headingley to keep in touch. Lancashire’s fixture against Worcestershire has a relegation battle writ large over the Southport sands. Warwickshire also travel to the seaside, facing a despondent Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay while close rivals Sussex nip up the M23 to Lord’s for some late-August fun in the sun.

Team of the Week: 

Mitchell (Wor), Dickson (Ken), Moeen Ali (Wor), Vince (Ham), Vasconselos (Nor +), Gregory (Som), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Leach (Som), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur)

Notts and Gloucester sneak in to the Blast quarters

The T20 Blast reached the end of its group stage with a flurry of sixes. Northamptonshire Steelbacks forged a bit of metal with their second victory of the summer, against Leicestershire but Middlesex slumped to their twelfth defeat, a miserable return for one of the richest counties who count England’s Malan and Morgan amongst their number. I feel sorry for opener Paul Stirling who aggregated 164 runs in the week but finished on the losing side each time.

At the other end of the tables, Worcestershire and Somerset held on to their respective top spots. Moeen Ali struck the only century of the week, 115 in 56 balls against his Birmingham neighbours, while Somerset’s Corey Anderson plundered a 30-ball 72 off Glamorgan, including six sixes. Glamorgan’s recent surge hit a brick wall and they suffered a disastrous final week. Their last-day showdown at home to Surrey might have been a crucial qualification clash but by the time the rain had cleared from Cardiff and Aaron Finch smashed boundaries in the five overs allotted, the result was purely academic.

Sussex finished strongly, thanks largely to Salt’s two sixties and Rashid Khan’s typical economy. Gloucestershire just about hung on in fourth place despite a winless week, while Kent cemented second place, and a home quarter-final by completing a thrilling victory against leaders Somerset on Thursday. Billings and Bell-Drummond led the charge to 231-5 at Canterbury. Needing 70 to win from the last 21 deliveries, Luke Gregory crashed Haggett and Claydon to all corners of the ground but ended the innings an agonising five runs short.

Next week, Somerset will face champions Nottinghamshire, who defeated both Worcestershire and close rivals Yorkshire yesterday en route to the top four position they craved. Alex Hales anchored their run chase and Tom Moores provided the fireworks as the Outlaws clinched it by eight wickets with an over to spare.

Last weekend, Lancashire bowled out Durham for a paltry 78, with all six bowlers employed chipping in. That meant they could afford to get hammered by the Bears at Edgbaston and still finished third and bag a trip to Kent in the last eight. Sussex will travel to Durham and Worcestershire host Gloucestershire. I fancy the Sharks, Lightning, Rapids and Outlaws to participate in Finals Day.

In the meantime, there’s a full round of Championship fixtures to keep us occupied. Somerset require a victory over Essex to keep Surrey within range but a Lancashire victory at the Oval might keep things interesting in Division One. In the second flight, the Vitality Blast wooden-spooners Middlesex and Northants meet at Wantage Road, but in red ball cricket I’d expect the Londoners to have the upper hand. They need some success to keep their season alive, poor dears.

Team of the Week:

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Salt (Sus), Ali (Wor, Willey (Yor), Billings (Ken +), Howell (Glo), Anderson (Som), Gregory (Som), Brown (Wor), Rashid Khan (Sus), Waller (Som)

Hampshire Hustle to the Top

As the Champions Trophy launched at The Oval, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens, there were only 6 County Championship fixtures played this week. Only one was sufficient to see newly-promoted Hampshire hand bottom club Warwickshire a drubbing by an innings and 94 runs at the Rose Bowl. Southampton stalwarts Jimmy Adams and Sean Ervine found rare form and made big centuries in a huge partnership of 367. Ervine proceeded to 203 before young Sukhjt Singh bowled him, one of six victims in only his third first-class match. Despite a century stand by Trott and Barker, Warwickshire had to follow on with over a day remaining. Leading wicket-taker Kyle Abbott duly claimed 4-32 and Ervine polished off the tail.

Headingley hosted the second Roses game in a few weeks but this time Yorkshire came out with the victor’s 16 points, beating Lancashire by ten wickets inside three days. In only his second first-class outing of 2017, Ryan Sidebottom was his usual miserly self and young gun Ben Coad made another major mark by taking 6-25 on the first day. Adam Lyth was the only man to pass 50 in the whole match, advancing to three figures for the first time this season. Meanwhile, his opposite number Haseeb Hameed continued to struggle, making his return to the Test Eleven look somewhat doubtful.

If Dean Elgar was British, or at least had not already represented the Proteas, he’d be a shoo-in to replace the Lancastrian. He scored another century for Somerset, as did all-rounder Luke Gregory, but the weather at Lord’s ensured there was to be no win for either side. At least another 2017 struggler, Tom Abell, enjoyed some fourth day batting practice, albeit against the likes of Compton, Gubbins and wicket-keeper Simpson! His side now face Yorkshire in a bid to register a first Division One victory of the summer, while Essex and Surrey meet for a chance to displace Hampshire at the top.

In the second rung, Nottinghamshire opened up a thirteen-point lead over Kent despite failing to beat Derbyshire at Trent Bridge. Missing Pattinson, Broad and Ball, their makeshift seam attack failed to bowl out their visitors twice. Billy Godleman top-scored with 121 for Derbyshire. Meanwhile, Worcestershire’s 100% record was destroyed by Sussex at Hove. Whilst the home team were earlier rocked by Luke Wright’s sudden resignation as captain, it didn’t prevent them marching to an innings defeat of a Worcester team unhealthily reliant on the runs of Daryl Mitchell. So much so that he has now been in my last three Teams of the Week! Luke Wells scored 158 while Wiese and Philander collected ten wickets between them.  

In the remaining fixture, Durham suffered another loss and still can’t boast a positive figure in the points column. It didn’t help that their bowling line-up had a very unfamiliar look. Extra kudos then to the inexperienced Paul Coughlin, whose ten wickets in the match made him the most successful bowler of the week, even in defeat. It was a very close-run thing, though, because Northants were running out of steam and the rain was falling steadily at Chester-le-Street before they crossed the line with a ball to spare.

Durham now face an arduous challenge in Kent, and it falls to Gloucestershire to halt Notts’ seemingly straightforward path to an instant return to the top flight.

Team of the Week: Mitchell (Wor), Elgar (Som), Steel (Dur), Wells (Sus), Ervine (Ham), Rossington (Nor +), Gregory (Som), Philander (Sus), Buck (Nor), Coad (Yor), Coughlin (Dur).

Chris Rogers prompts a Middlesex great escape

When Ryan Sidebottom and co dismissed Middlesex for just 123 in the first innings, it looked as if Yorkshire were heading for top spot in the County Championship. However, a superb double-century from Chris Rogers, ably assisted by Robson and Dexter, ensured the home side reached their immense target of 472 for the loss of only three wickets, one of the highest fourth innings winning scores in Championship history. Earlier Gary Ballance had struck another hundred for the White Roses but Rogers' chanceless 241 made it 1-0 to the Aussies!

Of course, this run chase was nowhere near as incredible as the 479 made against Yorkshire by Somerset five seasons ago. What made that one so special was that it was achieved inside a day! Somerset were again in winning form today, beating Sussex by an innings at Hove. Players and fans were delighted at Marcus Trescothick's first century for yonks but every bit as encouraging was Luke Gregory's second excellent performance in successive matches. Match figures of 9-97 and a brisk 47 with the bat confirmed the Devonian seamer is back after anm injury-racked 2013. Sussex remain top of the table, but by only three points from Middlesex.

Northants lost their third game on the trot. In a low-scoring contest, 240 wasn't an impossible target for Lancashire, and while James Middlebrook was at the crease, there was a chance. However, James Anderson recorded his second five-for, Kabir Ali chipped in with 3-17 and the rest of the Northampton batsmen capitulated leaving them 70 runs short. Coach, captain and number two fast bowler Glen Chapple will be happy with this result, although his side will face stiffer competition than this, and without Anderson too when England resume action next month.

Warwickshire's victory over Nottinghamshire lasted barely two days, prompting a special inspection of the Trent Bridge pitch. No penalty was issued but if the home groundstaff had been instructed to help Siddle, Fletcher et al it backfired. The returning Chris Wright and in-form Chris Woakes were the pick of the bowlers, and only Ian Bell showed how batting should be done, producing twenty boundaries in his 122 out of 263 on the way to Warwicks' 98-run success.

In Division Two, Worcestershire went top, their innings defeat of Derbyshire giving them a second triumph of the season so far. As last year, skipper Wayne Madsen held the visitors' batting together, top-scoring in both innings. However, Worcester's 432-9 declared was simply too much. Moeen Ali was unfortunate to be caught on 99 but Alexei Kervezee struck a rare hundred, although perhaps the major difference between the two sides was Saeed Ajmal. Returning to New Road, the Pakistan superstar made a mockery of the seam-friendly conditions to capture eight wickets in all.

Southampton fared badly with the weather, and so Hampshire experienced another draw, this time against Surrey. James Vince's 159 did at least offer something to relish for the hardy souls who popped along to the Rose Bowl. The showers were also prevalent at Bristol where Essex dominated the early stages against Gloucestershire but missed the chance to go second. Ben Foakes struck an excellent 132 and David Masters took 6-48 but an unbeaten double-century partnership from Will Tavare and Alex Gidman staved off defeat on the last day.

There was far more cricket played at Leicester. Niall O'Brien's rapid 133 led the way for the home team in the first innings but Glamorgan managed to pass 350 in reply. Greg Smith was run out for 97 on the last morning and Leicester scraped enough runs to make a fairly safe declaration on 179-8. Needing 320 in around 70 overs, the departures of Rudolph and Goodwin prompted the Welsh to shut up shop and play for a draw.

Pick of the fixtures next week in Division Two is probably Worcestershire's visit to Cardiff while the close state of the top tier makes all the games potentially interesting. Leaders Sussex travel north to Lancashire while Middlesex travel to Warwickshire. Durham could be back in the mix if they overcome Yorkshire, and Somerset return to their Taunton home to host Notts.