Team of the Week ending 13th June: Rory, Ravi and Roy rip it up!

No double-centuries in the County Championship this week, but 23 year-old opener Rory Burns came pretty close. He was one of three Surrey centurions in the drawn game against Gloucestershire but, one short of a first-ever 'double', Alex Gidman caught him off Liam Norwell's bowling. Michael Klinger also reached three figures in the home side's response but my other opener of the week is Michael Carberry. Dropped by England for the Sri Lanka Test series, the Hampshire man struck 125 in the top-of-the-table clash with Worcestershire, adding a 25-ball 38 in the T20 a few days later.

Ravi Bopara was also back on county duty, thumping runs for fun in both formats. His brilliant 162 for Essex preceded two brutal 20-over blasts - 81 against Kent and 66 off the Gloucestershire attack. Ed Joyce has been in fine form for Sussex all summer and he added another century in Sussex's defeat to Somerset. He also demonstrated that he is not a one-trick pony by knocking 45 in 32 balls in the biff-bash Surrey game.

I've already mentioned the Burns 199 but his team-mate Jason Roy also achieved a career best for Surrey. In the same innings, he destroyed the weak bowling with 121 in 71 balls, and took 3-9 for good measure. In the T20 clash with Sussex, his unbeaten 81 from 43 balls helped his side to a ten-wicket triumph. Jesse Ryder normally earns plaudits for his beefy batsmanship but his bowling stats were radically improved by a double five-wicket haul for Essex in the Championship. His T20 cameos may not have been in the Bopara class but nonetheless wins him a place in the week's XI.

Darren Stevens is never far from contention and the Kent all-rounder was his county's outstanding performer yet again. His 105 in the first-class draw with Essex was followed by 3-22 and a 39-ball blitz to smash Kent back in the game with Glamorgan and snatch a tie. Another top-notch piece of multi-tasking was delivered by Derbyshire's David Wainwright. Best known as a slow left-arm spinner, his batting has improved in recent years. Both skills were to the fore as his 109 and second-innings 5-54 were instrumental in beating Division Two wooden spoon rivals Leicestershire.

The latter's only bright spot was wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien's scores of 89 and 71. The Irishman's batting just edges out Tim Ambrose and Worcestershire's Ben Cox, despite the latter's long-awaited debut hundred. Cox's colleague Saeed Ajmal produced another spin masterclass - a 7-63 against Hampshire while the final seamer spot was a race between David Masters (for his economy in rare T20 outings), Steve Magoffin for his 6-60 at Taunton and Alfonso Thomas (5-40) in the same contest. However, not even the Sussex match could achieve the rare feat of capturing four wickets in four balls, as the Fons did in Somerset's victory.

In short:- Burns (Sur), Carberry (Ham), Bopara (Ess), Joyce (Sus), Roy (Sur), Ryder (Ess), Stevens (Kent), O'Brien (Lei, +), Thomas (Som), Wainwright (Der), Saeed Ajmal (Wor)

Monty at the Crossroads, Matt and Michael in the fast lane

So Sussex have released Monty Panesar, still considered by England as one of the two top left-arm spinners in the country. This would be considered a ludicrous decision in cricketing terms, even though Monty is having one of his bad runs. However, getting pissed and urinating on bouncers at a club is not the behaviour of a cricketing role model and he deserves punishment. Being allowed to leave for second division county smacks not of punishment but exasperation. I suspect the well-publicised boozing incident cannot be not an isolated incident, in which case popular Panesar has only himself to blame. Surely what should concern Sussex more is the curse of Hamilton-Brown. Where he hoes boozing, trouble seems to follow. At least Panesar lives on to play another match. Hopefully the new surroundings of Essex prove conducive to his rehabilitation.

Elsewhere, the start of Premier League football has brought Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker to the fore once more. No mean cricketer himself, the legend of Leicester (not to mention Everton, Spurs and Barcelona) must cede number one Lineker cricketing status to 28 year-old Matt (no relation). He made a duck on his first-class debut for Derbyshire two years ago this week and played his last exactly one year ago this week. Losing his contract took Lineker to Lincolnshire and made him available for the Unicorns in this summer's YB40 competition. Suddenly he has struck form. Last week, his run-a-ball 107 took the fight to Yorkshire and this weekend he flayed the Leicestershire attack for 132, two centuries in only six List A matches. Sadly he can't complete a 'hat-trick' as that was the Unicorns' last fixture in top-class domestic cricket. maybe a county contract will come his way for 2014. Perhaps he should take up left-arm spin.....

England's T20 squad for the Australia game has been announced and no surprise to see Michael Carberry's name on the list. His performances for Hampshire in the summer's Friends Life tournament made him a shoo-in for the side, but if picked for the first XI, who should he replace? I'd have picked the other in-form opener, Craig Kieswetter, drop Jos Buttler (so he can play for Somerset!) and drop both Lumb and Hales. Having seen David Willey's all-round talent on show on Finals Day, why couldn't the Northants man be given an opportunity to prove himself at this level? The rest of the side hardly looks a scary proposition!

Batty Batty gets what he deserved

Some fascinating Friends Life T20 Cup quarter-finals were somewhat overshadowed by the appalling behaviour of Surrey captain Gareth Batty. In the first match against Somerset, the veteran spinner bowled Peter Trego then, as the batsman headed back to the boundary, Batty clearly barged Trego and you didn't need lip-reading lessons to see that his accompanying comments were not of the 'bad luck, old chap' variety.

Surrey skippers haven't exactly covered themselves with glory in the past couple of years but it was at least refreshingly decisive of the ECB to punish Batty within a week and ban him from Finals Day. His county will naturally contest the punishment but he really has no defence against the allegations and no amount of silicon on his reputation should cause a reversal of the original decision on referral. That Surrey outplayed Somerset to qualify will be forgotten. Hey, if Surrey take their complaint all the way and lose, could they be thrown out of the competition to be replaced by Somerset? We might actually won this time!

The competition's top scorers Craig Kieswetter and Michael Carberry were again in the runs, with the latter's century proving just enough to advance champions Hampshire into the semis where the cricketing world ought to cheer them against Surrey. The opener's 66-ball 100 not out took Hants above the 200 mark and Lancashire fell just one run short.

The other two semi-final places are filled by other second division sides. Cameron White's rapid half-century and Lee Daggett's miserly bowling helped Northamptonshire to a comfortable victory over Durham. Wantage Road rarely enjoys a large crowd so it was encouraging that one of the unfancied Midlands counties progressing to the big stage.

Nottinghamshire had looked ominously good in the group stages, their side awash with T20 specialist batsmen and some useful bowlers. Nevertheless, Ryan Ten Doeschate's 82 off 44 balls spoiled the recent good figures of Patel and White before the home team collapsed in reply. David Hussey did his best but a four-wicket over from Shaun Tait wiped out his support and their chances of taking the trophy. Essex needed that fillip, too. Could be an interesting finale at Edgbaston.

FL T20 Cup enjoys a vintage season so far

What a difference a year makes. In 2012, the group stages of the T20 Cup were plagued by persistent rain so that some teams lost half their matches to the weather. Come 2013 and mercifully there has been just the one 'no result', between Hampshire and Essex back in June. That means the eight qualifiers have made it through their cricket. Champions Hampshire look ominously good, losing just the one game, at home to Kent. With Michael Carberry back amongst the runs, supported by Vince, Adams, McKenzie, Ervine, Mascarenhas et al, they are rightly heavily fancied to reach the final, and ought to see off Lancashire in the quarter-finals.

North division winners Nottinghamshire are many people's favourites despite losing three on the trot in mid-competition. T20 specialists Alex Hales and Michael Lumb have each contributed more than 300 runs to the cause, and Samit Patel has been the leading bowler. They have been drawn at home to Essex, who scraped through yesterday despite being humbled by Surrey. Without Napier, Topley and Ten Doeschate they would be in a right pickle.

Northants were the leading county of the Midlands/Wales/West bunch. Richard Levi struck one of only two centuries in the competition to date but the bowling as been their major strength. Pakistani-turned-league cricket star Azharullah is the competition's leading wicket-taker with 23, 8 of which came against Glamorgan! David Willey is another who has combined stike rate, economy and a few runs to boot. Meanwhile, Graeme White has the unusual distinction of helping two sides through to the knockouts, with wickets for both Northants and Notts!

Durham are Northants' next opponents and I wouldn't bet against Mustard, Onions, Stokes and co upsetting the T20 form book. The fourth quarter-final will involve Surrey and Somerset. The latter have had a topsy-turvy season but their narrow defeat of Warwickshire this week proved decisive as they finished second in their group ahead of the Bears and Dragons. Normally, the absence of Marcus Trescothick would be considered a disaster but the great man has been in shocking form this summer and an injury enabled Craig Kieswetter and Chris Jones to step up to the mark. The former England one-day 'keeper has aggregated 447 runs in his ten innings, while last-minute import Yasir Arafat has bee the pick of their bowlers. Five consecutive knockout stages is an amazing achievement for Somerset but this their weakest squad of them all. Having blown so many finals in recent years perhaps it's inevitable they'll go one better in 2013 and actually win the blooming thing!

One interesting observation: the top teams in the County Championships all performed badly. Sussex had a disastrous T20 campaign, winning just one fixture. Yorkshire also finished bottom of their division while Middlesex just missed out on a last-eight place. Notts are chock full of great one-day players and when they all click, few can match them. Hampshire also have some pedigree and I watched them claim the title in grand style in Cardiff last year. But this is T20 and surprises are inevitable. Don't expect all the home sides to progress, but I predict Surrey to go all the way to the final.

Hampshire undisputed one-day Kings!

AFter losing that last-ball thriller at Lord's, Jim Troughton and Warwickshire can at least look back on the season with huge fondness. They won the one that mattered, the County Championship, although a league and cup double sounds even more impressive. Meanwhile, Hampshire have shown how to win cup finals yet again, and twice within three weeks, too.

On the face of it, they are the stand-out side in short-form cricket, yet they weren't the most impressive in either CB40 or T20 group stages. However, they deserved to triumph at the Cardiff Finals Day, when Dmitri Mascarenhas, Neil McKenzie, Sean Ervine and Chris Wood led the troops to victories over Somerset and Yorkshire.

In the 40-over competition, they smashed highly-fancied Sussex in the semis but it was always going to be a tight match today, especially as Jimmy Adams had neither Mascarenhas or spinner Danny Briggs to call upon with the ball. On paper, Hampshire definitely had a squad to return to Division One of the Championship, but the btasmen scored too few runs and the bowling was too inconsistent. In knockout cricket, consistency is less important; you just need a few match-winners. And Hampshire have so many who could put in a good performance, from Carberry and Vince to Katich and McKenzie, Dawson and Briggs. The former pair both finished amongst the most prolific batsmen in the CB40 season, while the bowling spoils were more evenly shared.

Sean Ervine admitted that the controversial tied final with Somerset in 2010, the one Marcus Trescothick confesses still haunts him (and me!), was even tighter but the pressure imposed by Jimmy Adams and Kabir Ali proved too much for Neil Carter to get the touch needed to win for Warwickshire. Two trophies, but they really need to escape Division Two in 2013 to prove they're not just a useful one-day outfit. Of ourse, the cash from a successful Champions League T20 run would come in very handy, and if Hampshire could put one over the favoured IPL franchises it would be a big boost to the whole county game.

Player of the Week: Michael Carberry

Several candidates this week, and I've already written about some exceptional performances in a previous blog. In the County Championship, Warwickshire's Rikki Clarke equalled the world record for catches in an innings by a non-'keeper, with seven taken from second slip. At the start of the week, Tim Bresnan hastened the India second innings collapse in the Trent Bridge Test while at the end, Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor scored his maiden Test century against Bangladesh.

Best bowling figures of the week came from Alfonso Thomas, with 10 for 88 in Somerset's Championship victory over Sussex, and Hampshire's Danny Briggs, claiming 5-19 in the T20 Cup quarter-final demolition of Durham. His county may be struggling in the four-day game but they are making a good fist of defending their short-form title.

The T20 quarters also witnessed some murderous hitting by Azhar Mahmood and Martin van Jaarsveld for Kent, but they finished on the losing side against Leicestershire. Their Championship fixture had proved somewhat less dramatic! 20 year-old Jos Buttler reminded us all of his immense potential as a wicketkeeper-batsman when he came in at 54-5 with Monty Panesar ripping through Somerset's top order. He struck his first ball faced for six and proceeded to smash an 112-ball hundred which turned the game. He also matched Kieron Pollard blow for blow in a match-winning T20 partnership against Notts today, blasting 34 in just 14 balls!

However, my Player of the Week gets the award not just for striking the first triple-hundred of the season but for the way he came back from serious illness and some recent poor run of scores. In only his third match since a nine-month layoff, Michael Carberry compiled a mesmerising 300 not out and, alongside Neil McKenzie (237), produced the third highest stand ever in the Championship. The 523 is also ranked ninth in all first-class cricket.

The Hampshire player is maybe unlikely to have played just one Test for England, in Bangladesh, but he was presented with his opportunity only in the absence of Andrew Strauss. 'Carbs' has been a late developer, only really making a name for himself in 2007 after moving to Hampshire. Now 30, he boasts a first-class average of almost 45, including 24 hundreds. He may not be so successful in one-dayers but if he adds a few more to that century tally, Carberry could be another rival, with Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell, for Jonathan Trott's number three slot in he national Test side. At least his name will always be listed in the ranks of 500+ partnerships in world cricket, and in the Mike'sSpinonCricket hall of fame.

Carberry and Clarke into the record books

Although three of the four Division One fixtures this week were drawn, it has made the table that much closer. It looks like a genuine four-horse race for the County Championship pennant after Somerset continued their recovery with a third successive victory, this time over Sussex at Taunton. Alfonso Thomas starred with ten wickets but the home supporters also had young Jos Buttler to thank. Monty Panesar had reduced Somerset's first innings to 93-7 before the 'keeper opened his account with a six and went on to reach 100.

At Liverpool, Lancashire again failed to topple Durham from the top, this time falling two wickets short of beating Warwickshire. Steven Croft scored a rare hundred for Lancashire, Neil Carter took a season's best 6-30 but the main talk was of a fielding achievement. When someone takes seven catches in an innings, you'd normally congratulate the man behind the stumps but in the second innings, Warwickshire's Rikki Clarke proved he's even more of an all-rounder by pouching seven catches at second slip. This equalled the world record for an outfielder! His team stand fourth but by winning their game in hand they could yet snatch the title.

Durham remain in pole position by six points despite drawing with Nottinghamshire. They had the better of the game but rain intervened on day 3. Michael di Venuto struck his 60th first-class century as Durham established a first innings lead but Notts batted to safety on the final day.

At the other end of the table, there was no chance of a result as big scores and bad weather dominated the Hampshire v Yorkshire encounter at the Rose Bowl. No chance of the pitch inspectors demanding a points deduction as only thirteen wickets fell in four days! However, things remained exciting on the last because Michael Carberry and Neil McKenzie took their third wicket partnership to an incredible 523, one of the ten highest in history! One Test wonder Carberry reached 300 before captain Cork declared. Good to see the Hampshire batsman back on form after serious illness threatened not only his career but also his life. The run-fest came as a particular surprise as his previous four innings had yielded a mere 12 runs in total! Despite all this excitement, Hants are still winless and 50 points short of safety.

In Division Two, Middlesex gained ground on leaders Northants by beating Derbyshire by seven wickets. A Dawid Malan century and good seam bowling by Tim Murtagh and Steven Finn gave the Lord's faithful plenty to cheer about. London neighbours Surrey advanced two places after taking maximum points against third placed Gloucestershire last weekend. Jon Lewis shone against what will be his new county in 2012 but Mark Ramprakash showed his ageless talent (and not his ill-discipline!) and Yasir Arafat enjoyed a productive all-round performance in the two-wicket win.

Essex and Glamorgan played out a draw in Cardiff, in which Owais Shah and Alviro Petersen swapped centuries and David Masters took only six wickets, to follow last week's 8 for 10. The battle to avoid the ignominy of last place hotted up, or should I say cooled down, as Leicestershire and Kent played out a dull draw. Rob Key scored 0 and 98 while Foxes off-spinner Jigar Naik claimed 5-34 but that's about it. For the record, Leicester are now 14 points adrift of the team I thought would be promoted!

Next week, the top two in Division Two, Northants and Middlesex play each other while in the top tier, it's first v last at The Riverside and Sussex meet Worcestershire at Horsham in a game the visitors desperately need to win to avoid likely relegation.
A little magic dust from Messrs Thomas, Clarke and Carberry would not come amiss!