Moeen Ali steers Worcestershire into Royal London Semis

The Royal London Cup knockout qualification places went all the way to the wire this week and there were mixed fortunes for the so-called white-ball specialists.

In the North division, holders Nottinghamshire needed to beat Derbyshire in the ‘A52 derby’ at Trent Bridge to progress and they did so courtesy of a dreadful batting performance by the visitors. The Derby skipper Billy Godleman had amassed more than five hundred runs during the tournament but he could add only four more as Jake Ball (4-29) and spinner Matthew Carter (3-19) helped bowl them out for a paltry 110. With run rates coming into the equation, Riki Wessels clumped four sixes in one Qadri over and the rout was completed inside twelve overs. The aggressive chase was successful, too, in that Notts did finish second to secure a home play-off tie. It didn't matter that Alex Hales could muster only 38 runs from three innings.

Yorkshire also progress thanks to victories over Roses rivals Lancashire and Northamptonshire. Adam Lyth struck a second century in a week and, while Kohler-Cadmore and Pujara suffered rare failures, England limited-overs international David Willey stepped up to the plate with a rumbustious 131 and, across his two games, seven wickets. However, it was Jonny Tattersall’s maiden 50 which saw them sneak home on the final day.

Warwickshire beat Durham by five wickets in a match featuring no fewer than four centurions. Richardson and Smith reached three figures for Durham but their visitors, needing 300 to win, duly made them thanks to vintage batting from former international partners Jonathan Trott (100) and Iain Bell (143 not out). In the concluding day-nighter at Edgbaston, the final place was decided by a straight shootout between Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The winner would top the group and get a bye into the semi-finals while the loser would depart the competition. After a duck in the preceding game, Moeen Ali rediscovered his form at the right time, especially given Joe Clarke’s first-ball dismissal and Callum Ferguson bowled by Stone for seven. Ali followed his admirable 3-40 with an excellent 114, including five sixes. Supported by Ben Cox (80), he put Worcester into a winning position. However, a flurry of wickets left them on 288-9, with plenty of overs but still five runs short. Fortunately Ed Barnard was at the crease and able to hit the winning boundary.

In the South, Hampshire went into the final fixture already assured of progressing but it was all very tight behind them. Surrey beat Middlesex in the all-London tie but, two days earlier, had suffered a second massacre in the tournament when Kent demolished them at Beckenham by 220 runs. Heino Kuhn struck 117, then Darren Stevens’ 6-25 meant there was no way back. Glamorgan managed a consolation victory over Sussex at Cardiff, with captain Colin Ingram’s runs the only bright light in a woeful campaign.

Paul Stirling’s third cup century lifted Middlesex spirits against Gloucestershire, whose Royal London Cup hopes were ruined by three ‘no-results’. On the final evening, Somerset went after Hampshire’s formidable score of 356-9 knowing that it would be in vain should Essex beat Kent at Chelmsford. Oh, for another Kuhn century and Stevens five-for. Instead it was David Lawrence – not known for his white ball batting – and Ravi Bopara who made hundreds, while Jamie Porter’s return netted 4-37. Therefore, by the time Craig Overton sneaked a winning boundary from the very last ball, after Peter Trego’s 100 had done the hard work, Somerset knew they had narrowly missed out. It hadn’t been a great day for England’s new hero of sorts, Dom Bess, whose three overs went for 34. However, Hampshire’s more illustrious last-minute signing, Dale Steyn, got clouted for eighty. At least he wasn’t injured again.

So next week’s ‘quarter-finals’ will see Notts hosting Kent and Yorkshire making the trip to Essex, with Worcestershire and Hampshire awaiting the winners the following weekend. I wouldn’t mind betting Notts will be in another final but I can’t predict their opponents.

Team of the Week:

Moeen Ali (Wor), Kuhn (Ken), Godleman (Der), Trott (War), Willey (Yor), Foakes (Sur +), Richardson (Dur), Stevens (Ken), Carter (Not), Crane (Ham), Ball (Not)

Glamorgan on the Glory Trail

While the endless stream of sixes sailed into the stands in the England v NZ ODIs, runs were harder to come by in the County Championship and Nat West Blast.

In Division One, Durham owed much to Gordon Muchall for their defeat of Sussex. He contributed almost 200 runs while most of the top order struggled. Chris Rushworth took 6-49 in the first innings then, following Muchall’s lead, Hastings and Coughlin weighed in with valuable late runs to make Sussex’s job even harder. Luke Wells reached three figures, but it wasn’t enough.

Warwickshire kept in touch with Durham by slamming neighbours Worcestershire by an innings. Ian Bell enjoyed a rare run-out for his county, hitting 111, while Keith Barker combined an unbeaten 50 with seven wickets. At Taunton, Somerset looked down and out yet again after conceding a 200-run first innings deficit to Nottinghamshire. Surrounded by a ridiculously ageing team (what is going on in the new regime?), Tom Abell looked the most mature batsman of all while Abdur Rehman’s spin was completely outclassed by Notts’ 19 year-old debutant Matthew Carter who took 7-56. That’s the best first innings haul by a first-time slow bowler for eighty-odd years! Sadly for him, it was all in vain – as was Brendan Taylor’s opening 152 - as Somerset at last showed some resolve. Trescothick, Abell, Myburgh, Trego and Allenby each scored half-centuries to reach the 402 target with two wickets to spare. Phew! Had we lost that one, we really would be checking out the route to Leicester next year!

Lancashire continued their promotion procession with an innings defeat of Leicestershire at Old Trafford. Ashwell Prince added his fourth hundred of the season and Kyle Jarvis was the pick of a solid attack. Leicester spinner Jigar Naik claimed 8-179. Behind Lancashire, Glamorgan closed the gap on Surrey with a seven-wicket victory at leafy Guildford. The horrific T20 fielding collision which hospitalised Burns and Henriques allowed Arun Harinath to be promoted from the Surrey Seconds. He grasped his opportunity pretty well by scoring a century in each innings. Nevertheless, despite being useless at T20, Glammie bowler Graeme Wagg took 4-64 then struck 11 sixes in a score of 200, by far his best with the bat. He and Michael Hogan shared a century stand for the tenth wicket before Hoges produced another five-for to speed the Welsh club to their third win of the campaign. Alongside their two T20 wins, it’s been a good week for Glamorgan and their results are finally reflecting the quality of their squad.

Their was another innings triumph in Division Two, this time for bottom-placed Essex. Well, they’re up to sixth now after hammering Derbyshire. Alastair Cook top-scored with 80 while young James Porter helped himself to six cheap wickets. In his short first-class career he has taken 32 at barely 20 apiece!

In last weekend’s T20 fixtures, Gloucestershire’s Michael Klinger made identical three-figure scores – 104 – against Essex and Glamorgan while in the latter match, Jacques Rudolph also thrashed a ton. In Hampshire’s defeat of Kent, James Vince was stranded on 99 not out and they are now at the top of the South group with Kent.

Team of the Week: Harinath (Sur), Klinger (Glo), B Taylor (Not), Bell (War), Prince (Lan), Muchall (Dur), Wallace (Gla +), Wagg (Gla), Carter (Not), Naik (Lei), Hogan (Gla).