Darren Stevens Gives the Fans a Treat

If anything this week’s weather was even worse than last week’s. There were plenty of excellent seam bowling performances and hopeful batting thrashes but only one produced a victory. The nationwide sweeps of rain make Nottinghamshire’s long-forgotten ability to win even more remarkable. 

They returned to the pinnacle of Group 1 with a resounding innings victory at Trent Bridge. First, Ben Duckett (177 not out) and skipper Steve Mullaney (88) flayed the Worcestershire attack to achieve maximum batting bonus points, then the bowlers twice dismissed the opposition with ease. For the second successive match, Luke Fletcher achieved his career best figures, taking 7-37 and 3-20. In Essex’s draw with Warwickshire, Peter Siddle starred with 6-38 while in the Durham-Derbyshire clash, veteran Chris Rushworth and 21 year-old Ben Aitchison swapped six-fors. 

In Group 2, only 115 overs were possible in the one-two challenge in Bristol. A brilliant 132 not out by Tom Abell, ably supported by Lewis Gregory, took them to 300, then in what time was available on Sunday Craig Overton grabbed four cheap Gloucestershire wickets to back his England recall. The draw was inevitable but Somerset edged the bonus point battle to cut Gloucestershire’s margin at the top by three. Generous innings forfeits by Hampshire and Leicestershire proved ultimately in vain at Southampton, but Kyle Abbott did shine with 6-47. 

At The Oval, Surrey and Middlesex came creditably close to producing an exciting conclusion. In-form Surrey opener Rory Burns scored a further 168 runs and team-mate Kemar Roach claimed nine wickets as the visitors’ run chase ran out of time despite an 173-run stand between Nick Gubbins and Peter Handscomb. 

In Group 3, barely 34 overs were possible at Northampton, although Lancashire’s Alex Davies made a patient half-century. However, the star performance of the week was created by that modern marvel of county cricket, Darren Stevens. With his Kent side bottom of the table, struggling on 128-8 and well aware that rain would prevent any chance of beating Glamorgan, the 45 year-old thought he had nothing to lose. He’s been in terrible form with the bat but suddenly the stars were aligned, the fans were back in Canterbury and the boundaries flowed: his total of fifteen sixes is the second highest number ever struck in a Championship innings. In a perfectly executed study of how to use the wind and farm the strike, in his ninth wicket stand of 166, partner Miguel Cummins contributed precisely just a single! Stevens had made 190 from 147 balls when Marnus Labuschagne, having already dropped him, induced a catch to long-on. ‘Bilbo’ gained revenge on the Aussie in Glamorgan’s brief reply, trapping him lbw for 11. 

He’ll relish the rest next week as Kent don’t have a fixture, but the Bank Holiday weekend will witness the Roses match at Old Trafford to decide the leadership of Group 3. In Group 2, Gloucestershire travel to Surrey with a chance to establish a substantial advantage, and Nottinghamshire can do the same in Group 1 by defeating Warwickshire at Edgbaston. However, should they lose, Essex and Derbyshire are waiting to pounce should they beat Durham and Worcestershire, respectively. 

Team of the Week: Burns (Som), Stoneman (Som), Duckett (Not), Abell (Som), Simpson (Mid +), Mullaney (Not), Stevens (Ken), Abbott (Ham), Fletcher (Not), Roach (Sur), Aitchison (Der)

Surrey make it Eight wins from Ten

Gutted! Somerset deliver yet another brilliant victory, only for Surrey – yet again – to do the same. It’s turning out to be a right battle royal for the Championship but it’s definitely Surrey’s to lose. At least I’m confident Somerset won’t be in a relegation battle this year.

At the Oval, Nottinghamshire asked the home side to bat and allowed Mark Stoneman to reach three figures for the first time this season. After being bowled out for 375 on day two, they proceeded to dismiss Notts twice in under 92 overs. With brother Sam on England duty, Tom Curran took 5-32 in the first innings, while 20 year-old Conor McKerr weighed in with match figures of 7-47.

A day later Somerset completed a 224-run victory over Yorkshire, Jamie Overton wrapped up four of the last five wickets on the final afternoon after a fine 132 by Tom Abell and a second rapid half-century by Lewis Gregory set up the declaration. The in-form Gregory also took six wickets while leading the seam attack.

Champions Essex advanced to third after hammering Hampshire by an innings at Chelmsford. David Lawrence top-scored with 124 but Tom Alsop’s second innings 51 was the highest a Hants player could manage. Peter Siddle was the pick of the Essex bowlers, ending the match with 7-70. At Southport, Lancashire came from behind to beat bottom-club Worcestershire by four wickets. Dane Vilas and Bolton lad Josh Bohannon shared a stand of 139 to push Lancs over the line.

This week Surrey face a trip up the A12 to Essex while Somerset host Lancashire at Taunton. If Surrey win their next two games they can probably afford to lose to their rivals and still take the title.

In Division Two, Sussex lost ground in the promotion chase after losing a close encounter with Middlesex. Runs were in short supply at Lord’s, so Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Ollie Robinson helped themselves to eighteen wickets between them. Warwickshire remain top after Glamorgan crumbled to another innings defeat. At least they passed 200 twice, but Ian Bell also did so all on his own. The ex-England star is enjoying a renaissance this summer. and his 2014 was his 56^th first-class century of a 20-year career. Jeetan Patel’s spin did most of the damage with the ball, taking ten wickets.

Kent leapfrogged Sussex into second following a six-wicket triumph at Derby. Crawley and Denly put on 170 for the second wicket, then Grant Stewart and Matt Henry beefed up the tail to record a total of 561. Spin twins Adam Riley and an unwell Joe Denly restricted Derbyshire to 270 second time around and the match was as good as won.

At the other end of the table, Gloucestershire easily outscored Leicestershire at Bristol. Skipper Chris Dent’s second innings 214 not out was the critical difference between the teams. Northamptonshire had already despatched Durham inside two days, registering only their third win of the Championship. The ever-reliable Ben Sanderson took 4-34 to leave his batsmen a simple target of 65.

The top three counties each now play at home, Kent’s tie against Northants looking the easiest on paper, although the Sussex seamers must fancy the opportunity to get stuck into the Leicester batsmen.

Team of the Week: 

Stoneman (Sur), Dent (Glo), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Abell (Som), Vilas (Lan +), Gregory (Som), Patel (War), Siddle (Ess), Sanderson (Nor), McKerr (Sur)

5th Ashes Test: Clarke’s final victory but Cook’s Ashes

It has certainly been an extraordinary Ashes series. Not for the final result, but for the sequence of five one-sided encounters. Also, surely there has never been so few days of cricket played in a five-Test rubber, especially given the favourable weather most of the summer. Mind you, England fans were praying for a bit more rain on this Sunday afternoon with just two wickets remaining and well short of the follow-on target. However, the clouds parted long enough for Peter Siddle to mop up the tail-enders and give Michael Clarke a modicum of comfort after an awkward few months.

4-1 would have been a travesty, and even 3-2 was perhaps slightly flattering to England. Joe Root remains a beacon of talent for the home side but both Chris Rogers and Steve Smith outscored him across the series. Stuart Broad was the only Englishman to take more than 12 wickets while no fewer than four Aussies did so, led by Mitchell Starc with 18

The real difference between the sides was the pathetic performances by Australia’s middle -order. Michael Clark has been a magnificent run machine and adventurous captain, but he aggregated a paltry 132 from nine innings. Shane Watson was dropped after the Cardiff defeat, neither Marsh brother produced any score of note, Adam Voges managed a couple of 50s and little else, and there were no Brad Haddin heroics this time around.

Then there were the big match-winning bowling dramatics by England’s pacemen. Sometimes it takes just one big performance by one man to swing a game, and Jimmy Anderson, Steve Finn and Ben Stokes each delivered. And then there was Stuart Broad. Every year he seems so ordinary then produces one devastating spell. In 2015 it was that amazing 8-15 on the first morning at Trent Bridge. Matt Wood showed promise, Ian Bell saved his bacon at Edgbaston and Alastair Cook occasionally showed his charges how to bat in a Test match.

However, it was not the greatest summer for Gary Ballance (discarded after the Lord’s defeat), Jos Buttler and Adam Lyth. Following the New Zealand encounters, the Yorkshireman deserved his chance to last the Ashes series but he didn’t really convince as Cook’s long-term opening partner. Perhaps he should stay for the Pakistan series, if only because there are no other credible alternatives.

As for Australia, Clarke will be bitterly disappointed to lose the Ashes. Again! Nevertheless he will be missed. Smith’s arrival as the middle-order saviour must come as a relief, but who should occupy berths four to six? Chris Rogers has been a rock at the top since his rebirth for the Test team two years ago and now he has also called it a day, aged 37. He and David Warner looked an excellent partnership, their contrasting styles not harming their facility to get an innings off to a good start. Trent Bridge excepted, of course! Perhaps Michael Klinger could become the latest thirty-something to earn a green baggy?!

Mitchells Starc and Johnson still demonstrated the value of left-arm pace and swing, and the latter passed the landmark of 300 Test wickets. Josh Hazelwood took 16 wickets at 26, Nathan Lyon was a constant thorn in the side and Peter Siddle was almost impossible to score off at The Oval. I still don’t know why he wasn’t selected for the fourth Test but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He wouldn’t have made a difference in that crazy first innings at Nottingham, though.

Despite all these plus points, Australia contrived to lose overall and English cricket is enjoying the feelgood factor once more. Can they regain the number one position again? Well, South Africa may have something to say about that, and before that there is the small matter of the UAE, where Pakistan humbled England a few years ago.

Anyway, for a few months more, Cook and co can bask in the warm glow of Ashes success. ODI defeats probably won’t matter too much although given the ferocious criticism at the start of the summer, perhaps they should! Farewell, Clarke and Rogers. You’ll be hard to replace.

Record Whitewash for India

With the plethora of Test series these days, and bearing in mind India's recent spell as world number ones, it is perhaps surprising that this is the first time they have ever won a rubber 4-0. To do so against Australia must be particularly pleasing to Dhoni and co coming barely a year after the same opposition achieved the same result against them Down Under.

In 2012, it was Michael Clarke - supported by the now-retired Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey - who simply dominated the Indian bowling attack. In the last month, spin has mostly been king on the Asian pitches, and the new-look Aussie battig line-up has come up distinctly second-best. Nathan Lyon has had his moments but it has been Ravi Ashwin's turn to shine, taking 29 wickets to claim the Man of the Series award. Ravi Jadeja picked up 24 in all, and was notably successful in nullifying the threat of Clarke in the first three Tests. His 5-57 this weekend helped set up the run chase which Pujara led convincingly to secure the fourth win out of four.

It wasn't just with the ball that India dominated. Murali Vijay top-scored with 430 runs, Cheteshwar Pujara and even MS Dhoni notched double-centuries and Shikhar Dhawan stepped into the side and thrashed one of the highest innings by a debutant in Test cricket history. Should Sachin Tendulkar take this opportunity to retire with dignity and after a thrashing of the Aussies, he will leave the Indian top order looking more solid than it did last year. Rahane failed on his debut but has the ability to merit another chancPerhaps we need to see how they fare overseas before delivering a final verdict. We know Ashwin, Ojha and Jadeja can do the business on spin-friendly tracks but they were thumped in Australia last year and will always struggle in England and South Africa. Kumar and Sharma are hardly world-class seamers although Ishant was pumped up - too much! - on what proved to be the final day of this series.

As for the Aussies, they will surely bounce back. 'Homework-gate' should be forgotten. That only became an issue because heads were down following a battering. Few players like to analyse their own performance in defeat but in private surely everyone needs to diagnose their own weaknesses in order to improve their game. Australia certainly miss Ponting and Hussey and their tail looked embarrassingly long in the Fourth Test when Steve Smith replaced then injured skipper and Shane Watson was recalled to number four. Peter Siddle, though, outscored them all, becoming the first number nine ever to score fifties in both innings of a Test. Maybe he needs to swap places with Phil Hughes?!

Congratulations to India on their wonderful series victory, their biggest since crushing England twenty years ago. They must hope to take this new-found confidence and turn it into another assault on South Africa's current dominance of Test cricket.