County Cricket: Worrall and Clark Sweep Hampshire Aside

While the continuing dreadful weather forced most counties to adopt the Plan B of simply maximising their batting bonus points, Surrey proceeded to claim a second successive innings victory, this time against neighbours and rivals Hampshire. With Essex failing to prevail over Durham, after four fixtures, the Chelmsford outfit stand dead level with the champions. 

A steady century from Rory Burns and a blistering unbeaten 106 from Jordan Clark helped Surrey to a healthy lead on day two, but Dan Worrall’s five-for, spread over three days, finished the job without the need to bat again. At Chester-le-Street, Nick Browne marked his first Championship outing of the season by scoring 184, taking Essex to 488, eclipsing Durham’s Ackermann-assisted total of 358. Following a Sunday washout, Lees and Bedingham made the game safe against the spinners. 

At Edgbaston, Ben Duckett helped himself to a double-hundred for Nottinghamshire. In response, Warwickshire openers Yates and Davies suffered a rare joint failure, although they were rescued by the lower order.  A draw was inevitable, as was the case at Kidderminster. With rain forecast, Somerset declared after reaching 300, then Libby and Roderick put on 194 for Worcestershire en route to achieving a fifth batting point.  

Four weeks and still just a single result in Division Two. Leaders Leicestershire and Northamptonshire swapped scores of 450-ish, although George Bartlett was the only centurion. Poor Peter Handscomb was run out on 99. At Headingley, too, it was all about reaching 450 before the rain arrived. With England’s former opener Adam Lyth scoring 97 and current middle-order duo Joe Root and Harry Brook hitting three figures, Yorkshire made the target but, despite Wayne Madsen’s patient 105, Derbyshire fell three runs short. 

At least the good folk of Bristol had more cricket to enjoy. Gloucestershire’s Marchant de Lange struck a blow for the bowlers by taking 6-49 and restricting Middlesex to 203. Second time around, Max Holden (111) and the redoubtable Ryan Higgins (155) turned the tables, switching the pressure onto the home side. The weather closed in, but – hey! – the match did extend into a fourth innings, the only one this week to do so. 

It's a relatively quiet Bank Holiday weekend for the County Championship but, with Surrey not playing, Essex will reclaim the lead whatever happens in Somerset. Speaking of which, I note that my former local club Bridgwater have signed former West Indies captain and Ben Stokes’ T20 nemesis Carlos Brathwaite. The residents of Park Road had better install higher fences and reinforced windows….

Team of the Week:- Burns (Sur), Duckett (Not), Root (Yor), Brook (Yor), Browne (Ess), Higgins (Mid), Roderick (Wor +), J Clark (Sur),  de Lange (Glo), Worrall (Sur), Hannon-Dalby (War)

Somerset reign by beating the rain

Last week it was Storm Ellen, this one, Storm Francis. Both wreaked havoc across the UK, but each affected the cricket schedule in different ways. 

Essex, beneficiaries of some fourth-day sunshine a week ago, failed to even complete a single innings against Hampshire at Arundel, although Sir Alastair Cook passed 24,000 first-class career runs with a 66^th century. Kent advanced to second in the South table by dealing Surrey their fourth successive defeat, but it was a close-run thing. Ben Foakes’ first ton of the summer restricted Surrey's deficit to 64 before Rikki Clarke (5-20) and Sam Curran  (4-39) gave their batsmen a fairly easy target of 192. Enter the venerable Darren Stevens. He ripped out three top-order batsmen in his first spell and Matt Milnes wrapped things up with the home side an agonising 17 runs short. 

At Radlett, another evergreen seamer, Tim Murtagh, maintained his 2020 form taking a second-innings 5-34 to set up Middlesex’s five-wicket triumph over Sussex. 

In the Central group, Somerset seemed once more destined to fall victim to the weather with their opponents on the ropes eight wickets down and 300+ behind. Fortunately the rain abated and the outfield dried sufficiently to hand Craig Overton and Jack Brooks the opportunity to finish the job. ‘Coverton’ and Josh Davey claimed sixteen wickets between them as Gloucestershire were skittled twice for sub-100 scores. So much for their first four-dayer against their local rivals for donkeys’ years! The Cidermen have yet to concede a single batting bonus point, a remarkable achievement, and yet online viewers were also treated to Bartlett, Abell and Tom Lammonby each reaching three figures. It was the latter’s maiden century in only his fourth match. 

Worcestershire remain only six points adrift after their draw at home to neighbours Warwickshire. Daryl Mitchell has been around for ages but his 110 was remarkably his first ever red-ball ton against Warwicks, for whom Will Rhodes struck an impressive 207. A draw was inevitable and now Worcester host leaders Somerset, the winners destined for a place in the Bob Willis final. 

Debutant Callum Taylor showed his fellow Glamorgan batsman how to score runs, making 106 against Northamptonshire. However, he blended in well second time around with a duck, before tail-ender Marchant De Lange went wild, blazing a 78-ball 113, in the process surpassing the county record for the fastest hundred. However, it was too little, too late, and Charlie Thurston saw Northants home with a rapid 64 not out. 

The weather was unkind to northern England, with no positive outcomes possible. The Roses encounter at Headingley proved a sterile encounter with batsmen broadly in charge. Adam Lyth top-scored with 103 then two ex-Tyke umpires had no option but to halt proceedings on the final morning. Leaders Derbyshire were also hamstrung at Chester-le-Street, but Luis Reece had time to add 122 runs to his two wickets. 

Leicestershire entertained Nottinghamshire but it was the visitors’ ex-Somerset legend Peter Trego who rolled back the years with the ball. Ackermann and Swindells ensured Leicester didn’t suffer a final day humiliation but neither have a chance of reaching the final. After the week’s break for T20 action, Leicester can instead extinguish any hopes harboured by Yorkshire but Derbyshire have an excellent chance of qualifying at Lancashire. Essex are in pole position in the South group but, as ever, it’ll be the performance of cold fronts and shower clouds which are likely to decide the leading two points scorers. 

Team of the Week: Rhodes (War), Reece (Der), Abell (Som), Thurston (Nor), Foakes (Sur +), Taylor (Gla), Stevens (Ken), De Lange (Gla), C Overton (Som), White (Nor), Davey (Som)

Lancashire Upset the Leaders and Leicestershire finally win

In the final round of Championship matches before the first summer break, Lancashire and Surrey blew the race for the pennant wide open. The former went to Trent Bridge and came away with an innings victory over the leaders inside seven sessions. With Keaton Jennings scoring the runs and Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Onions taking the lion’s share of Nottinghamshire wickets, it was a surprisingly easy victory. Stuart Broad took a commendable 4-41 for the home team but Test hopeful Jake Ball blotted his copybook with 2-101 at more than five an over.

At the Oval, Surrey enjoyed a similarly decisive success over Yorkshire. First of all, back-up ‘keeper Ollie Pope maintained his excellent form with the bat, striking 27 boundaries in an innings of 158, ably supported by Dean Elgar and Rikki Clarke. Sam Curran then snapped up ten wickets in two days, taking his first-class tally into three figures while still a teenager. Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance was missing and it has now been revealed he is taking a break “for personal reasons”. A shame, because his county needs him, especially when Jonny Bairstow return to England duty.

Essex were also winners, but were made to work hard by Worcestershire in a low-scoring game at New Road. Joe Clarke’s second successive century and nine wickets for Josh Tongue deserved more but, needing only 215 to win, Worcester were bowled out for 182, thanks to five-fors from both Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer. The Aussie seamer leaves Essex with a lot of wickets and even more goodwill, but the return of Neil Wagner should keep the county’s seam attack in fine fettle.

In the other Division One fixture, the batsmen were very much in control at Taunton. Somerset established a huge first innings lead thanks to James Hildreth’s 184 and late-order runs from internationals past and future, Craig Overton and Dom Bess. However, Hampshire made sure they didn’t fail again, as Hashim Amla (107) and James Vince (201 not out) saved the game. Vince’s double-hundred has also probably saved his Test career.

In Division Two, Leicestershire’s latest head coach, Paul Nixon was celebrating a first Championship win for two years. It was a nail-biting finish, though. Hunting 251 on the third day, Glamorgan subsided to 139-8 and all looked lost. Marchant de Lange decided that he may as well go out in a blaze of glory and instead took his side to the brink of an unlikely triumph. He had plundered eight sixes in a 45-ball 90 when he hoisted a full-toss high for the winning hit only to be caught on the boundary. The result leaves the Welsh side second from bottom, above only Northamptonshire, who were trounced by leaders Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Olly Stone was the pick of the bowlers but it was Will Rhodes’ first career century which anchored the second innings chase.

Kent overtook neighbours Sussex by beating them in a short and sweet encounter at Canterbury. Matt Henry was again the star of the show, ending any Sussex resistance with 6-53, taking his Championship tally to 37 in only four matches.  I’m not sure what Kent will do without him.

Derbyshire’s clash with Durham easily went the distance but finished as a tame draw. Stuart Poynter (170) and Michael Richardson (115) put on 275 for Durham’s sixth wicket, then Mark Wood’s fine 6-46 hurt Derby’s batting on the final day but it was all too late to secure a result after the home team’s 427 on the first few days. They meet again when the Championship resumes in four weeks.

Middlesex’s bid to bounce back into the top tier was dealt another blow when their bowlers couldn’t hammer home the follow-on advantage over Gloucestershire. Even Eoin Morgan scored 76 red-ball runs alongside Dawid Malan in the first innings but 21 year-old Bristolian James Bracey led the fourth day resistance with an unbeaten 125.

So now it’s off to the Royal London Cup. While some players are off to play against Pakistan and others head across the world after serving their short-term contracts, the 50-over competition offers a stage for those remaining and for whom four-day cricket is too onerous or simply cramps their style. Over to you, Messrs Rashid, Hales et al….

Team of the Week:

Jennings (Lan), Bracey (Glo), Vince (Ham), Hildreth (Som), Pope (Sur), Poynter (Dur +), Henry (Ken), S Curran (Sur), De Lange (Gla), Tongue (Wor), Onions (Lan)

Bell and Cook Reel Back the Years

Four counties ensured their progress to the Royal London Cup quarter-finals with a game to spare. Worcestershire lead the North division despite suffering a heavy defeat to Lancashire at Old Trafford. Yorkshire slipped to second after a surprise 5-wicket loss to Warwickshire, for whom Ian Bell was in superb form all week. He passed 90 in each of his three matches, including his first century for a year. Coventry-born Grant Thornton weighed in with seven wickets but the county’s normally formidable attack has looked rather threadbare, and they could well finish bottom of their group.

Yorkshire skipper Gary Ballance thumped 152 in 118 balls against struggling Northamptonshire while Alex Hales reached three figures in Nottinghamshire’s lost game against Durham. Victory over Northants will see them safely through to the knockout stages. Despite being docked a point pre-season, Durham may yet join them, and they will have local academy product Graham Clark to thank. Opening with Jennings, he notched up scores of 93 and 114 this week.

In the South group, Somerset ceded the lead to Essex when Ten Doeschate’s men enjoyed a fruitful trip to Taunton on Sunday. Tom Westley (100) and Ravi Bopara (92 not out) dominated in that match but across the week, it was the steady influence of Alastair Cook which caught the eye. He followed a century against Sussex with 60+ scores in the next two fixtures.

He wasn’t exactly hammering sixes. That was left to Darren Stevens, who struck fourteen of them in his brutal innings of 147 for Kent against Glamorgan. And yet he finished on the losing side! Chasing a testing target of 357, he was out with seventeen overs remaining, and the tail couldn’t quite finish what he started. Credit to the Welsh side, for whom Chris Cooke took five catches and the in-form South African Colin Ingram contributed eight sixes and his second successive century. Glamorgan have an outside chance of reaching the last eight, with David Lloyd and paceman Marchant de Lange also shining.

Gloucestershire’s Chris Liddle claimed a couple of five-fors, including 5-52 against his old mates at Sussex, and left-arm seamer Paul Walter took 4-37 for Essex against Middlesex. In only his second List A appearance, the 22 year-old who went to school in my old town of Billericay removed Compton Voges, Simpson and Franklin in a decisive victory.

Elsewhere, the pick of the batting performances must be the 138-ball 178 produced by Hampshire captain James Vince at the Rose Bowl versus Glamorgan. This eclipsed the previous Hampshire limited-overs best by Gordon Greenidge but, like Stevens’ incredible blitz for Kent, was in a losing cause as that man Ingram cleared the boundary a further seven times en route to 115. It was probably the most exciting encounter of the week, as Cooke steered the Glammies to a 3-wicket win off the penultimate ball.

Surrey will progress if they beat Gloucestershire at Bristol while other contenders Sussex and Hampshire meet at Southampton on Wednesday.


Team of the Week: Clark (Dur), Cook (Ess), Bell (War), Vince (Ham), Ingram (Gla), Thakor (Der), Cooke (Gla +), J Overton (Som), Walter (Ess), Liddle (Glo), de Lange (Gla)