Renshaw runs lift Somerset to the top

Excuse me while I attempt to bring my feet fluttering back to earth but it has been a giddy day or two on the cricketing fields of England and Scotland. First there were the pictures of stony-faced Root, Hales, Ali, Rashid et al having been dealt a maiden ODI defeat by the likes of Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, Mark Watt and George Munsey in front of 6,000 disbelieving fans in Edinburgh. England may well go on to defeat Australia but the Scots can always boast of beating the world’s number one 50-over cricket nation. Next was the sight of Sarah Taylor adding another century to her effortless wicketkeeping for England against South Africa. Now the best of all: Somerset going top of the County Championship!

We’ve done it before, of course. Somerset’s problem for 120 years is never being in that position at the end of the season. With injuries and England call-ups, we ought to be at the opposite end of the table but I shall enjoy the moment while I can. Having forced the previous leading side Nottinghamshire to follow on, Tom Abell’s side must have contemplated wrapping things up inside three days. However, the Notts batting was far more resilient second time around and, with Tom Moores completing his first Championship century, they ended up setting Somerset a tricky 248 to win on the final day. I needn’t have worried. Matt Renshaw took his match aggregate to 167 and Stephen Davies and Abell compiled one of their useful fifth-wicket stands to clinch victory.

They lead the table by a single point from Surrey, who pounded Hampshire by an innings at Southampton. Rory Burns top-scored with 151 before his attack bowled the home side out twice. Rikki Clarke claimed a five-for while Morne Morkel’s debut featured two typically miserly blasts with the ball. It doesn’t get easier for Somerset because they now face a trip to The Oval and a potential dive down the table should Essex beat Notts.

The champions advanced to third having dealt Lancashire a five-wicket defeat at Old Trafford. Last year’s stars Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer were again in fine fettle, garnering seven wickets apiece. Essex may be missing captain Ryan Ten Doeschate next week after he was punished for another disciplinary indiscretion with a one-match ban.

In Division Two, Ian Bell became the first Warwickshire player to score two hundreds in a match since – er – he last did it in 2004. Strange to think he hadn’t reached three figures in red-ball cricket for two years then does it twice in a few days. Helped by Jonathan Trott and solid bowling support, Warwickshire outclassed Glamorgan to more twenty-four points clear. Kent remain second but, having amassed almost 600 in the first innings and Matt Henry proceeding to take 6-58, they must be disappointed not to have taken maximum points at Bristol. Instead, Gloucestershire fought back with Dent and van Buuren and secured a draw.

Leicestershire must be feeling dizzy in third place but they were worthy winners over Northamptonshire who can’t seem to score runs. Zak Chappell’s first-innings 6-44 and an excellent performance from medium-pacer Ben Raine, eclipsing his opening partner Mohammed Abbas, helped set up a six-wicket success. 

At Chester-le-Street, Durham contrived to beat Derbyshire despite being skittled for 96 on the opening morning, when Duanne Olivier nabbed 5-20. The inexperienced Gareth Harte’s 114 started to reverse fortunes while the very experienced Chris Rushworth completed the comeback with 5-46. 

As in Division One, next week sees first playing second so, if Warwickshire defeat Kent, Durham could enter the promotion zone should they overcome Sussex at Arundel. With no money and their best batsmen pilfered by the big boys, Durham will be relieved and proud of such an improvement. Northants will host Gloucestershire and harbour hopes of securing a first Championship triumph of 2018.

Team of the Week: 

Renshaw (Som), Burns (Sur), Bell (War), Denly (Ken), Khawaja (Gla), Davies (Som +), van Buuren (Glo), Raine (Lei), Harmer (Ess), Olivier (Der), Rushworth (Dur)

Notts and Somerset beat the Rain

The last weekend of April was a miserable one across the country. Northampton saw a complete washout and many other sessions were lost to the weather, be it rain, waterlogged pitches or bad light. Runs were in such short supply that Matt Renshaw’s 112 at Taunton, amassed with indecent haste before lunch on the second day, was the only three-figure score of the entire round of fixtures.

In that game, with the ball seaming and swinging, even Tom Abell was able to take a few wickets as Yorkshire’s batting failed twice. Jack Leaning offered some resistance on the final morning but he was last out, to Craig Overton, on 68. Somerset – amazingly – have won both their opening matches, something they haven’t managed for 25 years. Before we Somerset fans become too carried away with optimism of that elusive title, it’s worth noting that we finished that season in fifth place.  Never mind, it’s a huge step towards avoiding the relegation I believed to be a near-certainty!

Interestingly, three of the four counties who finished above us in 1993 now languish in the Second Division. The other side, Worcestershire, could well be heading back in that direction after a third successive defeat. After all that effort to ensure that the flooded New Road ground was suitable for cricket, Worcester’s team twice surrendered meekly to Nottinghamshire. Ross Taylor’s 50 was the only half-century of the game while Jake Ball and Luke Fletcher each captured seven wickets, eclipsing Stuart Broad who nonetheless chipped in with a few of his own.

Fewer than two innings were completed at Southampton, where Hampshire’s Jimmy Adams top-scored with 87 and Alastair Cook re-established some early-season form for Essex with a fluent knock of 84. At Old Trafford, Lancashire outplayed Surrey, enforcing the follow-on thanks to an abundance of late-order runs and useful bowling by Tom Bailey and Graeme Onions. That the visitors survived the final two sessions owed everything to Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope who are really earning their Surrey spurs so far this season.

Division Two suffered even more at the hands of the weather gods; no positive results were possible. The fourth day at Hove did at least offer a prospect of a close finish. Gloucestershire needed only 59 runs and Sussex four wickets, but bad light meant the players stayed in the pavilion and a draw was inevitable. The game did at least deliver some good bowling performances by Ryan Higgins (5-21 and 3-63) and Sussex’s David Wiese (a first-innings 5-48).

The Leicestershire-Derbyshire derby was reduced to a bonus-point maximisation exercise after the first seven sessions were lost. At Lord’s, Middlesex and Glamorgan didn’t even approach such a promising situation; only 58 overs were sent down in total. The home team’s Stevie Eskinazi struck 94 quick runs, while Michael Hogan (5-49) and Tim Murtagh (4-12) did their already healthy career averages no harm at all, but that’s about all the positives anyone can take from the four days.

The weather forecast for next weekend is slightly better. Warwickshire and Derbyshire steal a march on their second tier opponents by playing on Thursday, and each can open up a healthy lead by winning at Edgbaston. Meanwhile, in the upper echelons, Somerset will be really up against it against Lancashire, Nottinghamshire will also face a strong challenge from Hampshire, and Worcestershire need to find runs from somewhere if they aren’t to gift Surrey a second success of the summer. May the sun shine on them all!

Team of the Week:

Renshaw (Som), Adams (Ham), Eskinazi (Mid), Ackermann (Lei), Abell (Som), Foakes (Sur +), Clark (Lan), Bailey (Lan), Higgins (Glo), Brooks (Yor), Fletcher (Not)

Smith and Warner lead Aussies to another Pakistan Whitewash

In Test cricket, fortunes can change quickly. Last winter, Australia beat the West Indies and New Zealand before coming a cropper at home to South Africa in November. Meanwhile, Pakistan briefly topped the ICC rankings after the England tour, maintained the momentum with a 2-1 series success over the Windies in the desert but lost it all again in New Zealand.

So there was a lot at stake in the Australia-Pakistan encounters over the past month or so. Would the Aussie pacemen make the most of quick pitches or could the Pakistani veteran batsmen galvanise the tourists? The answer was neither. It was very much a series for the batsmen. In the three matches, there were ten centuries and no fewer than eight individuals averaged more than 50. With the ball, only Josh Hazelwood averaged under 25, while his 15-wicket aggregate took him past the century for his career so far.

The series caught light on the last day of the Brisbane opener. After Steve Smith declared 489 ahead, a crushing defeat for Pakistan was the likely outcome. However, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan weren’t to be cowed, then Asad Shafiq brilliantly shepherded the tail past 300, past 400,… Could a new world record be achieved? Not on this occasion, but the amazing effort took Pakistan to 450, just 39 short.

Only two sides had ever scored more in the fourth innings, and all sorts of records were broken at The Gabba. One which did hold was Australia’s long unbeaten sequence, now extended to 28.

At the MCG, Pakistan again passed 400, helped by an unbeaten 205 from opener Azhar Ali. However, David Warner’s run-a-ball 144, Steve Smith’s third consecutive Boxing Day Test century, Khawaja’s 97 and a late blast from Mitchell Starc established another handsome first innings lead. There was to be no repeat of the Gabba fightback as Starc and spinner Nathan Lyon nabbed seven cheap wickets to pull off an innings victory.

On to Sydney at the start of 2017. And what a star it was for David Warner. His century before lunch on day one was the first in Test cricket for more than 30 years, even outshining Matt Renshaw’s substantial debut hundred and Peter Handscomb’s second in three games. In response, Younis Khan’s 175 not out was his 34th three-figure score, keeping Pakistan in with a shout. A fourth day batting blitz set up another huge target and, despite a series-best 38 from skipper Misbah and a quick 72 not out from Sarfraz, it proved far too much.

And so Australia could enjoy a fourth successive 3-0 whitewash at home to Pakistan. Question marks have been raised against Misbah’s captaincy. Understandable given the series result and his own mediocre form. Nevertheless, he has been magnificent for his country in recent years. If he chooses to retire at 42, nobody would blame him. On the other hand, it would be unfair to hound him out based on one lost series in a land where they haven’t won for decades.

The Aussies can reflect proudly on a great all-round display, with runs down the order and wickets well distributed across the attack. Smith and Warner are at the top of their game, and it was an encouraging series for new boys Renshaw and Handscomb. If they can hang on to their bowlers longer than South Africa, they may yet in the next 18 months challenge India for the ceremonial mace.