County Cricket: Notts and Leicester extend their leads

Unlike last week, runs were harder to come by, and wicketkeepers struggled with the bat. Somerset and Glamorgan each notched their third wins in succession, while Division One is looking very tight. 

Following their reverse against Durham, Nottinghamshire bounced back with a 163-run triumph against Yorkshire, their first at Headingley for fourteen years. They didn’t have it all their own way. New Lions recruit George Hill took 5-40 for the home side, before Mohammad Abbas swung things back with a commanding 6-45. Joe Clarke’s second half-century of the match helped Notts set a difficult target of 464 which they rarely looked like approaching. Five wickets from Dillon Pennington and six catches by ‘keeper Kyle Verryenne ended the resistance to deliver nineteen points to the leaders. 

Surrey remain in second place despite failing to beat Essex at The Oval. In fact, rain on the final day may well have saved them from defeat. Centuries by Paul Walter and Charlie Allison had left Surrey chasing over 400 to win on the last day. Michael Pepper stumped both openers off Harmer’s spin, then Jamie Porter claimed five more wickets, including that of Sam Curran, whose return from the IPL yielded two 70+ scores. Another England white-ball specialist, Jason Roy, bagged a sorry pair but the match ended with three Surrey wickets intact. 

Sussex are third, defeating Hampshire by nine wickets inside three days. The only batting partnership of note was the 173 shared by Sussex skipper John Simpson (106 not out) and Fynn Hudson-Prentice, while the off-spinner Jack Carson inflicted much of the damage to Hampshire’s second innings, ending on 5-26. Bowlers were also on top at Durham, where Somerset’s third win on the bounce came against the odds. Mitchell Killeen’s 5-38 on debut placed Durham on the driving seat then, although the visiting seamers restored some balance, Somerset still faced a tricky chase of 265. Thanks to Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell, they succeeded, making runs look almost easy. 

Despite this winning streak, Somerset are only fifth, one point adrift of Warwickshire, whose bid to go second was wrecked by the Worcester rain. Sam Hain found some form at last, twice passing eighty, but it was a welcome return, too, for Chris Woakes and Chris Rushworth. The latter claimed 4-37 and 3-30 as Warwickshire pushed to bowl out their neighbours. However, Waite, Brooks and Taylor proved stubborn, and the weather ended proceedings with Worcestershire on 181-8. 

Leicestershire maintained their unexpected grip on Division Two, thumping Lancashire by an innings and reaching the halfway stage fifty-one points clear at the summit. Test spinner Rehan Ahmed is still only twenty and is now making his mark in the county game as an all-rounder. Batting at three, he compiled an assured 136, putting on 256 with Lewis Hill, then dismissed the Lancs tail-enders to polish off the second innings. Keaton Jennings’ 112 was his side’s only score above 40 and not even Marcus Harris could lift them. 

They are not the basement county, though. Kent’s appalling run has dropped them to an ignominious eighth after a crushing loss to Derbyshire. At least Ben Compton could hold his head high, adding 205 runs to his season’s tally, but Derbyshire’s total of 587-5 declared proved insurmountable. 41-year-old Wayne Madsen notched another ton, but star of the show was opener, Caleb Jewell. The Tasmanian left-hander struck a career-best 232 spanning almost nine hours. 

Like Somerset, Glamorgan made it three in a row, advancing to third in the table by taking Middlesex to the Cardiff cleaners. Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson each achieved three figures before their attack took twenty wickets, something they rarely managed last year. No Kellaway this week, but left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann popped up from Australia to win the match with 6-53. 

At Northampton, another classy Aussie, Cameron Green, struck his third hundred in five matches for Gloucestershire in a more old-fashioned contest between bat and ball at Wantage Road. Northamptonshire, for whom Saif Zaib accumulated 215 runs, tended to dominate and were putting severe pressure on their visitors until rain took control on the fourth afternoon. With Bracey, Green and Hammond back in the pavilion, Gloucestershire would have been the most relieved. 

So that is it for the County Championship for four weeks. It hands over the spotlight to the Vitality Blast, in which anything can happen. No doubt some big overseas names will dip in and out with mixed results, while homegrown stars will shake things up. Champions Gloucestershire begin their defence at home to Kent while runners-up (grrr) Somerset face former nemesis county Surrey. 

Team of the Week:- Compton (Ken), Jewell (Der), Rehan Ahmed (Lei), Lammonby (Som), Hain (War), Saif Zaib (Nor), Verreynne (Not +), Carson (Sus), Mohammad Abbas (Not), Kuhnemann (Gla), Rushworth (War)  

Essex and Leicestershire achieve landmark victories

Amidst all the Easter eggs and bunnies, the County Championship launched its 2023 season with some fascinating contests up and down the land. Anticipating a serious outbreak of Bazball, batting sides now have to score more heavily to secure bonus points and there is less incentive to settle for a draw. Is it working? 

Well, in Division One, not a single side secured the maximum batting points! Essex achieved a rare victory at Lord’s but it was a rollercoaster affair. Dan Lawrence’s hundred eased Essex to 199-3 before Toby Roland-Jones ripped through the lower order with 7-61. In reply, each of Middlesex’s top four were dismissed for ducks and 127 out of a total of 170 came solely from the Higgins/Simpson partnership. Jamie Porter and Sam Cook ensured the home team fell well short of their second-innings target. 

It was another low-scoring affair at Canterbury, where Northamptonshire needed a Rob Keogh century to take the game into a fourth day and an outside chance of victory. It was not to be; Ben Compton’s 114 not out eased Kent to a seven-wicket triumph. Hampshire’s margin over Nottinghamshire was even greater (8 wickets) at Southampton, Mohammad Abbas claiming nine wickets. 

The other two fixtures were drawn. After a day one washout, Somerset struggled at home against Warwickshire, whose tons by Alex Davies and Sam Hain ensured a healthy lead. However, their attack failed to capture more than six wickets on the final day. Surrey also had the upper hand in Lancashire, led by batters Cameron Steel and Ben Foakes. Set a 444 target, Josh Bohannon’s 108 and a gritty 56 from Steven Croft frustrated the Surrey bowlers and even Ollie Pope was given an (expensive) over. 

After their last-gasp relegation in 2022, Yorkshire began their new campaign with defeat to Leicestershire. At least there were plenty of runs. Finlay Bean and Dawid Malan reached three figures to take their first innings total beyond 500 and the home county felt confident enough to set Leicester 389 to win in less than a day. They regretted it. Rishi Patel’s maiden ton (125), another strong performance by Peter Handscomb and a late flurry of Chris Wright boundaries saw Leicestershire to an historic win with just seven balls to spare. It was their first Championship success at Headigley since 1910! 

It was an even tighter affair at Hove, where Sussex eked out a two-wicket victory over Durham. Skipper Pujara’s first-innings 115 and Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 4-27 ultimately proved the difference. Worcestershire were more decisive at Derby, winning by eight wickets, all-rounder Matthew Waite the star. At Cardiff, Timm van der Gugten’s 5-26 and centuries from Carlsen and Root put Glamorgan in a commanding position only for Marcus Harris (148) and Graeme van Buuren (110 not out) to turn the tables leaving a draw the only outcome, even if it only came with a five-point reward! 

Team of the Week:-  Harris (Glo), Libby (Wor), Pujara (Sus), Steel (Sur), B Root (Gla), Handscomb (Lei +), Waite (Wor), Roland-Jones (Mid), Z Chappell (Lei), Mohammad Abbas (Ham), Porter (Ess)

County Week: Stokes Six Blitz but Surrey storm ahead

There were no double-centuries this week but Ben Stokes marked his first Durham appearance in the Championship for ten months with an innings to match the new England captain’s larger-than-life personality. His first-innings knock had a typically charmed start but once he started swinging his bat, the records began to fall. He smashed 17 sixes from 88 balls, the highest ever in the competition, before another leg-side hoik was snaffled in the deep when on 161. Pity poor teenage spinner Josh Baker. He was clubbed for five successive sixes, and it could have been a full set had Stokes’ next club over mid-wicket bounced a few metres short of the boundary. 

In the match context, Stokes wasn’t even the top scorer. That accolade went to the opener Sean Dickson who struck two centuries, including a declaration-chasing 73-ball 105. Thanks to Jack Haynes’ maiden ton, Worcestershire easily avoided defeat on the final day. Stokes as bowled but ended wicketless from thirty overs. Will he play for the county again before England’s Test series begins? Who knows? 

Also in Division Two, Chetneshwar Pujara also outscored the Durham all-rounder, thanks to a second-innings 170 not out for Sussex at Hove. Middlesex were challenged to reach 370 in under three sessions and, anchored by Sam Robson’s 149 and accelerated by Max Holden and Martin Andersson, they succeeded. 

Middlesex now to the table, and Glamorgan also leapfrogged Nottinghamshire into second by defeating Leicestershire in Cardiff. Most players contributed, including ‘keeper Chris Cooke, Sam Northeast and the Aussie pacemen Neser and Hogan. 

In the top tier, there were centuries from four former England openers. Warwickshire’s Dom Sibley and Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings, in his first game in 2022, were the batting stars although the game limped to a draw. At Chelmsford, Alastair Cook emulated Sean Dickson by reaching three figures twice, surprisingly something he’d ever achieved before. However, the second innings of 102 not out was played out with little pressure as the match petered out into batting practice for Cook and opening partner Nick Browne. Special mention, too, for Yorkshire’s Harry Brook. His 123 was his sixth score of 50+ in six innings. That’s what you call consistent cracking form. 

Surrey notched a third win of the season, this time against Northamptonshire. Rory Burns’ 107 led the way to a total of 401, which was beyond Northants in two attempts. Colin de Grandhomme and Dan Worrall took ten wickets between them, and ‘keeper Ben Foakes claimed seven catches. 

Hampshire also enjoyed a home victory, clinching an 87-run margin over Gloucestershire. The latter’s Mohammad Amir was in ominous form but his Pakistan ex-colleague Mohammad Abbas had the edge, thanks to a first-innings 6-45. 

Hampshire sit it out this coming week, so Surrey can open up a sizeable lead by beating table-proppers Kent in the Beckenham derby. Talking of derbies, Yorkshire and Lancashire provide the year’s first Roses battle and neighbours Somerset and Gloucestershire also face off in Bristol. In Division Two, Nottinghamshire travel to Lord’s for the chance to reclaim the summit, although a draw could let in Glamorgan who head north to Durham and hope to avoid another Stokes special.  

Team of the Week: Sibley (War), Cook (Ess), Dickson (Dur), Pujara (Sus), Holden (Mid), Cooke (Gla +), Stokes (Dur), De Grandhomme (Sur), Mohammad Abbas (Ham), Mohammad Amir (Glo), Potts (Dur)

Somerset Slump Again in Championship

It’s been a week when we’ve witnessed the best and worst of international cricket. From a fabulous contest at The Oval to a farcical cancellation at Old Trafford, it’s signified a rapid switch from glorious advertisement for five-day Test matches to the supremacy of IPL. Covid precautions, my arse! 

Right now, we Somerset fans would love to cheer our team through four or five days, but the county seems mysteriously unable to last even two. Having eased into Division One, they’ve now been thrashed by an innings twice, Yorkshire doing the business this week at Scarborough. Since the restart, Somerset have failed to reach 200, and it was Matt Fisher who wreaked most of the havoc this time, closely followed by the visitors’ own batters. Harry Brook, on the other hand, seemed to revel in the sea air, scoring 118. 

Nottinghamshire made it two wins from two, defeating Lancashire at Trent Bridge. Tom Bailey and Danny Lamb each performed well with bat and ball but most of their colleagues let them down, especially in the first innings. Notts keeper Tom Moores stroked eighteen boundaries in his top-scoring 97. 

In the other top tier fixture, Hampshire returned from Edgbaston with a sixty-run triumph but they made an inauspicious start, bowled out for 89 on the first morning, Warwickshire all-rounder Will Rhodes taking 5-23.  However, Mohammad Abbas and Keith Barker struck back immediately with five-fors of their own. Barker also weighed in with 75 to give him and the rest of the attack enough to defend. Yates and England reject Sibley ground out 99 for the opening stand but they could survive only until mid-afternoon on the final day before the last four wickets tumbled in three overs. 

In Division Two, the virus wiped out Durham v Surrey but Essex made short work of Gloucestershire at Chelmsford to remain top. Cook and Porter took seven first-innings wickets but spinner Simon Harmer finished with seven victims and Essex with 21 points. It was a much tighter affair at Northampton, where Northants had to break their Championship record chase of 322 against Surrey to win. Jordan Clark’s pace yielded five wickets but Rob Keogh’s 99 and Luke Procter’s dogged 57 laid the foundation for a two-wicket win. 

Records tumbled at Hove, too. Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman – fresh from hs ‘pair’ last week – racked up 376 for the first wicket as Middlesex raced to a massive 676-5 declared. Sussex skipper Tom Haines led from the front, aggregating 243 over both innings but all to no avail. 20 year-old leggie Luke Hollman nabbed ten wickets in all to snuff out any hopes Sussex harboured of saving the match. Kent also won their second game in succession, defeating Worcestershire inside three days thanks in part to eight wickets by young Zimbabwean seamer Nathan Gilchrist. 

At Derby, Leicestershire piled on over 500, Lewis Hill top-scoring with 113. A 227 stand between centurions Brook Guest and Anuj Dal wasn’t enough to save Derbyshire’s follow-on but Godleman’s unbeaten 100 and Matt Critchley saw them through to a draw. The other contest, in Division Two, saw Durham deal Glamorgan a big blow. Paul Coughlin (4-11 and 5-64) never gave the opposing batsmen a chance.

Now the England-India decider is off, the hottest cricket ticket is at Southampton where top tier leaders Hampshire and Warwickshire fight it out. 

Team of the Week: S Robson (Mid), Stoneman (Mid), Haines (Sus), Hill (Lei), J Smith (Sur +), Guest (Der), Coughlin (Dur), Hollman (Mid), Fisher (Yor), Gilchrist (Ken), Abbas (Ham)

Lucky 13 for Robinson and Pope blessed at The Oval

 The sun shone all week and, unless you actually stood on a cricket field in the chill morning air, you could be forgiven for believing it was August. The Surrey batsmen certainly made hay in the sunshine. Ollie Pope led the way with a stirring 245 but even a first innings total of 672-8 declared was insufficient to win the match. On day 4, Leicestershire opener Hassan Azad withstood everything the home side could throw at him, ending the day unbeaten on 144 to secure the draw. 

Meanwhile, Hampshire and Gloucestershire maintained their 100% records in this year’s Championship Group 2. Over three innings, Hampshire and Middlesex were even-stevens but it’s a game of four, and on the second day the visitors were skittled for a mere 79, Mohammad Abbas taking 6-11. Ian Holland and Sam Northeast racked up the runs, too. Gloucestershire sit just two points behind having beaten Somerset at Taunton for the first time this millennium. Wicketkeeper James Bracey followed his day two 118 with an assured 83 not out to see his side home by eight wickets. 

In Group 1, champions Essex were unusually under the cosh at home to Durham, for whom Brydon Carse claimed eight wickets. However, perennial winner Simon Harmer achieved his second five-for to edge the contest by 44 runs. Warwickshire returned from Trent Bridge with a three-wicket victory despite losing Dom Sibley to injury early on. Instead it was a rearguard effort by veteran Tim Bresnan which won them the extra sixteen points. 

Derbyshire’s all-rounder Matt Critchley produced another superb performance, comprising 193 runs and eight wickets and Harvey Hosein aggregated 138 runs without being dismissed, but Ben Cox’s 60 not out was critical in Worcestershire avoiding defeat on the final afternoon. 

In Group 3, I feel sorry for Glamorgan’s Kiran Carlsen. He struck a century in each innings at Cardiff yet managed to finish on the losing side. All Sussex batsmen chipped in, Van Zyl top-scoring with 113, but Ollie Robinson plugged away for 9-78 to accompany his first day 4-50 and even a half-century to boost his bid for an England place this summer. Meanwhile the national captain Joe Root scored a rare Championship century at Canterbury, Adam Lyth maintained excellent April form and David Willey took 5-61 to see off Kent. 

Next week, the leading pairs in Groups 1 and 2 face each other. Warwickshire entertain Essex while Gloucestershire travel to Southampton where Hampshire are looking particularly strong right now. The leading Group 3 encounter could be Sussex at home to Yorkshire but at this stage there’s plenty for all to play for. 

Team of the Week: Lyth (Yor), Hassan Azad (Lei), Holland (Ham), Pope (Sur), Carlsen (Gla), Bracey (Glo, +), Critchley (Der), Harmer (Ess), Carse (Dur), Mohammad Abbas (Ham), Robinson (Sus)

Worcestershire Up…. Then Down

It all started so well for Worcestershire. Last weekend, a combination of Ben Cox’s new-found finishing skills, Pat Brown’s mega-mean spin and Moeen Ali’s allroundership propelled the Royals to their first T20 Blast title. However, they knew that their stay in the Championship’s top flight was tenuous at best. Needing to beat Essex at Chelmsford, it all went pear-shaped straightaway as Jamie Porter ripped through them before lunch. Ravi Bopara then starred as Essex established a 380-run first-innings lead. There was no coming back from that. When asked a direct question, Daryl Mitchell had professed a preference for the Finals Day success even if his side were relegated so at least he and his mates will have to live off the Edgbaston euphoria.

Champions-elect Surrey were thwarted in their effort to make it ten consecutive wins by the impact of Storm Bronagh. Gales and torrential rain combined to render the Taunton pitch unplayable on day four, with Somerset struggling to avoid an innings defeat. Surrey’s top four had piled on well over 300 runs before the home team were bowled out for a mediocre 146. His hopes of a Championship already dashed poor Marcus Trescothick bagged a pathetic ‘pair’. I hope his Taunton career doesn’t end in such a manner.

The weather messed things up at Headingley where Adam Lyth had reached three figures in the Championship for the first time in over a year. Tim Bresnan also rolled back the years, taking 5-28 but a final day washout gave Hampshire the draw they needed to preserve Division One status. The White Roses are almost certainly safe and need just five points from their final fixture against Worcestershire to be 100% sure. Lancashire must win at Southampton to stand a chance of relegating Nottinghamshire who host Somerset.

The Division Two promotion places were confirmed when Kent annihilated Glamorgan with five sessions to spare. They notched their tenth victory and the Welsh side their tenth defeat, which says it all. Matt Henry and Darren Stevens took nine second-innings wickets while 20 year-old Zak Crawley completed a maiden century. With Warwickshire and Sussex playing out a high-scoring draw – a rarity this month – Sussex saw their fading hopes evaporate completely.

If Glamorgan thought they had it bad, Durham suffered the ignominy of being bowled out twice by Leicestershire for under 70 inside 52 second day overs. Mohammad Abbas achieved a couple of five-fors, including five clean-bowleds en route for a fifth win of the summer.

Middlesex beat Derbyshire despite a Matt Critchley century and, in a last day rearguard action, Billy Godleman carrying his bat for 105. The Gloucestershire-Northants action was severely curtailed by the weather. There’s not a lot to play for next week so expect a few first-class debuts around the country and maybe the launch of future stellar careers.

Team of the Week:

Robson (Mid), Crawley (Ken), Godleman (Der), Trott (War), Hain (War), Cox (Wor +), Critchley (Der), Stevens (Ken), Henry (Ken), Mohammad Abbas (Lei), Porter (Ess)

Pakistan deal England another blow

Pakistan don’t get many opportunities to play Test cricket these days. However, they must wish they played England twice a year every year because they seem to have our measure, to put it mildly. Two years ago, Misbah’s team drew 2-2 but could be said to have won on points after the ten-wicket massacre in the Oval finale. Now at Lord’s they have dealt England a First Test defeat for the first time since a West Indies team boasting Walsh, Ambrose, Lara et al won by the same margin, again on the fourth day. 

On the plus side, England fought back to draw that particular six-match series and it is not unfeasible they can salvage something from this truncated rubber in 2018. However, this week the gulf was somewhat embarrassing. Even Joe Root had to confess his side had been second best in all three disciplines: with the bat, ball and in the field. If England could blame unfamiliar conditions prepared by Johnny Foreigner for their winter travails, they can hardly use the same excuse for the pitch at HQ in May, ideal for Anderson and Broad to exploit, and Root’s top six to show the visitors how to bat on a Bank Holiday weekend. Oops!

It went wrong right from the first session on Thursday. Stoneman, Root and Malan were back in the pavilion inside sixteen overs. All that criticism of Alastair Cook – too old, too slow, too out of form, should be at three – and yet the ex-captain was he only man to show any stickability, easily the top scorer in the first innings, with 70. I’m sure Jos Buttler wasn’t selected as a specialist batsman at seven to come in and shore up the lower order midway through the second session, and of course he failed.

Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali aren’t usually touted as frightening pacemen but they skilfully showed up England’s deficiencies and bowled them out for 184. In reply, no fewer than four Pakistani batsman passed 50, and who knows how many Babar Azam might have scored had he not had his forearm broken by a rising ball from Ben Stokes when well placed on 68. Nobody bowled particularly badly; they just weren’t effective enough and Pakistan established a healthy lead of 179.

The obvious team talk would have been to exhort all batsmen to knuckle down, play each ball on its merits, blah-blah-blah. However, when Cook was LBW to an Abbas beauty in the second over to stunned silence in St John’s Wood, the warnings were there one more. Poor Mark Stoneman failed again while Joe Root did at least produce another useful 60-odd. When he was sixth out at 110, a three-day rout looked probable. But from such barren ground, the recalled Buttler and debutant Dom Bess – in his first ever first-class match at Lord’s – bore fruit, developing a 125 partnership which lasted to stumps.

Could the pair – Somerset past and present – maintain the stand and help set Pakistan a challenging target? Whaddya think?! Jos had added just a single before Abbas trapped him leg-before. Seventeen balls later, England had collapsed to 242 all out. Pakistan can be jittery when faced with an apparently straightforward chase but, despite Azhar Ali succumbing to an Anderson gem for 4, there were no major alarms and the job was done with some glorious strokes, including a clubbed six by Haris Sohail off a Bess full-toss.

There’s less than a week to regroup, reconsider and revive England’s fortunes. As for changes, Stoneman’s axe was inevitable and his former Durham team-mate Keaton Jennings has been in sufficiently fine early season for Lancashire to warrant a recall as Cook’s partner. Dom Bess took no wickets but, with his West Country colleague Jack Leach still out of action, should be in the frame again, if only because of his useful batting. At just 20, we Somerset faithful were hoping he would get a few good seasons to learn his craft so I hope the experience doesn’t dent his confidence. Fortunately, it is hardly a Kerrigan-esque situation.

In a way I can see why Ed Smith and co opted to bring back the IPL sloggers to try something more exciting but to me it smacks of desperation. I cannot understand why some suggest Bairstow hands the gloves to Buttler and swap roles. It would mean no change in personnel and arguably weakening the ‘keeping. Crazy! Maybe it’s time for the new chief selector Smith to venture outside Middlesex for a change and see who else is out there in county cricket other than Malan, Morgan and Finn, languishing in the second division. He may be in for a pleasant surprise. Meanwhile, Pakistan will be licking their lips, a well-drilled outfit of excellent young bowlers, able batsmen and enthusiastic fielders hoping to seal a series victory at Headingley next week. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility.