Somerset Challenge thwarted by Dramatic Tie

What a weird week in the County Championship! It experienced its first tied match for fifteen years, no fewer than six bowlers took ten wickets and only four centuries were scored in the nine fixtures played.

Surrey romped to a ten-wicket victory over Essex at Chelmsford, that man Rikki Clarke combining a half-century with eight cheap wickets. He’s the Darren Stevens of 2018! Their only feasible challengers for the title, Somerset, were involved in a low-scoring spin-fest against Lancashire at Taunton. Jack Leach had captured twelve wickets to leave the home side needing only 78 to win. However, on the second afternoon, fellow left-arm slowie Keshav Maharaj carried on where Leach left off, and the wickets tumbled. Somerset scrambled their way to 77, needing one to win with two wickets remaining. Dom Bess went for glory and was duly stumped. Jamie Overton and Leach played it cool for ten whole deliveries but then Leach was caught by Bailey and it was all over, scores level: a tie!

Hampshire defeated bottom club Worcestershire by 114 runs, who at least took the match into a third day. As at Taunton, neither side managed an innings of 200. Worcester all-rounder Ed Barnard took 6-50 on the first day but bagged a pair as Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn ripped through the home county’s batting in under 42 overs.

Three of the four hundreds scored this week came at Trent Bridge, the only place where bowlers struggled. While other teams were being bowled out inside a couple of sessions, Nottinghamshire openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Ben Slater were putting on 182 for the first wicket alone. In reply, Ballance and Kohler-Cadmore ground out centuries as the pitch and weather ensured a draw.

Surrey now sit 43 points clear and facing the less-than-arduous trip to Worcester, while Somerset travel to Hampshire. The Roses match at Headingley is but a sideshow in comparison.

The Division Two promotion battle remains an exciting three-horse race. Warwickshire’s lead was sliced to a mere seven points having been held to a draw by Durham. Olly Stone starred with the ball but on the final afternoon, Poynter and Salisbury held on for the last six overs, defying the bowlers and claustrophobia, surrounded by close fielders, and avoided defeat.

Kent are still in second place, the returning Matt Henry back in the wickets (11-114 for the match) as they dealt with Northamptonshire quite easily. Meanwhile at Hove, Sussex rediscovered their mojo. After their reverse against Middlesex, Chris Jordan (68 and 54) and Ollie Robinson (5-24 and 5-43) starred in a 274-run thrashing of Leicestershire. Credit, though, to the opposing Ben Mike. The 20 year-old debutant aggregated 9-94 with his medium pace, deserving a better result for his efforts.

It was nice to see a Hammond making three figures for Gloucestershire again, almost a century after namesake Wally first played at Bristol. This time it was former under-19 international Miles who struck an unbeaten 123 in the second innings. Nevertheless, the game with Middlesex ended in a draw. As for Glamorgan, their disastrous batting record continued, Derbyshire the lucky beneficiaries, especially Tony Palladino who finished with 10-81.

Next week, Warwickshire, Sussex and Kent are all on the road, while Gloucestershire will lick their lips at a drive across the Severn Bridge to Cardiff. Can Glamorgan garner any batting points, let alone a victory? Don’t bet on it. They’ve acquired only nine batting bonuses all summer.

Team of the Week: 

Slater (Not), Hammond (Glo), Denly (Ken), Ballance (Yor), Billings (Ken +), Clarke (Sur), Jordan (Sus), Henry (Ken), Stone (War), Robinson (Sus), Leach (Som)

County Week: Wickets tumble to Ball and Stone

It proved fitting that the 2018 County Championship commenced on Friday the 13^th because it was certainly unlucky for all players and spectators. In contrast to the warm sunshine of last year’s launch, it was virtually a  complete washout. In fact, conditions at Headingley were so bad that Yorkshire’s eagerly-awaited encounter with reigning champs Essex was abandoned without a single ball bowled.

When play did start elsewhere, it was woefully one-sided. The only century scored in five matches came from David Wiese, batting at number nine for Sussex. The highest score by any opening batsman was Daniel Bell-Drummond’s second innings 61. In short, England was a seamer’s paradise.

One of the few specialist batsman to make runs was James Vince, whose swift 75 for Hampshire helped set up a 196-run victory over promoted Worcestershire. Visiting captain Joe Leach nabbed seven wickets, as did Kyle Abbott, although it was his Hampshire team-mates Fidel Edwards and Liam Dawson who polished off the tail to go top of the table.

At Old Trafford, the final morning witnessed a crazy avalanche of wickets, with twelve tumbling in only fifteen overs. Aussie Joe Mennie ripped out the Notts top three in his first two overs but the damage to Lancashire had already been inflicted over the weekend and Steven Mullaney’s men needed only ten to win! In total, one-time England internationals Jake Ball and Harry Gurney hoovered up seventeen wickets for only 100 runs. Crazy stuff!

It was a similar situation in Division Two. At Canterbury, Gloucestershire became the first side to win a Championship fixture without scoring more than 110 in an innings since 1982. Amidst the carnage caused by the pacier men like Matt Taylor and Kent’s Kiwi import Matt Henry, it was the young spinner Ryan Higgins, brought in from Middlesex, who boasted the best single return of 5-22, albeit in a losing cause.

Middlesex seemed to operate perfectly well without him, though, as James Harris (9-48 in the match) and Tim Murtagh (8-63) flattened Northamptonshire within eight rain-hit sessions. Harris also contributed the game’s highest individual score: 46 not out. He usually starts the season strongly so let’s hope in 2018 he doesn’t succumb to his customary injuries. Even lacking key batsmen, the lads from Lord’s were straightforward winners and even at this early stage must surely be odds-on favourites to bounce back from the second tier.

Edgbaston saw the only match to finish as a draw, although the wet outfield didn’t allow very much play. The three top scores of the entire week were all achieved here, led by the aforementioned Wiese’s run-a-ball 106 and his captain Ben Brown’s 91. Their eighth wicket stand of 155 was a Sussex record against Warwickshire and came in spite of Olly Stone’s highly commendable 8-80 and a fine all-round performance by the home side’s Tim Ambrose. The former Sussex ‘keeper compiled 81 and took six catches in the first innings.

I can only hope the weather is kinder next week, so that batsmen can at last get runs under their belts in a full fixture list. Middlesex must fancy their chances at Derby while in Division One, Essex and Yorkshire get a second chance of playing, against Lancashire and Notts, respectively. Surrey’s big names enter the fray at home to Hampshire while Somerset host Worcestershire.

My Team of the Week is inevitably bowler-heavy. For the first time since I’ve compiled such lists, I have been able to fill the top five slots with only two specialist batsmen. Mad! Hopefully normal service will be restored next week.

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Vince (Ham), Brown (Sus), Ambrose (War, +), Berg (Ham), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Wiese (Sus), Stone (War), Ball (Not), Gurney (Not)