County Cricket: Leicestershire Promoted at Last

The latest report covers both ends of the county cricket spectrum. The week began with the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, Serial Finals Day participants Somerset and Hampshire progressed again. Hampshire easily outscored Durham but it took a scintillating unbeaten 71 from 26 balls by soon-to-depart Sean Dickson to swing the tie against the Bears with one delivery to spare. 

Liam Livingstone delivered a fine all-round performance for Lancashire to defeat Kent by three wickets. With Tom Hartley, he kept the lid on the opposition batting before crunching 85 not out. Surrey fielded a stellar line-up of internationals but, surprisingly, were undone by a 40-year-old blast from the past. In a game reduced to fourteen overs, Northamptonshire lost both openers in the first over, only for Ravi Bopara to produce only his third T20 century in almost five hundred matches. Pope and Sam Curran did their best but Surrey fell seven runs short and so miss out on another trophy. 

In the County Championship, Surrey’s seemingly smooth route to the title hit an unexpected barrier. With nationwide rain preventing results almost everywhere, second-placed Nottinghamshire scrambled their way to a three-wicket win at Worcestershire. Lyndon James (5-35) and Josh Tongue (4-52) left their side a target of only 136. Haseeb Hameed bagged a pair and wickets fell regularly but James and Tongue combined again to complete the victory which narrows the gap behind Surrey to a single point. 

After the first innings, at The Oval, there was barely a bail’s width between the leaders and Warwickshire, then Sibley and Pope steered the home team to 391-8 declared. On day four, Alex Davies’ team safely negotiated the final afternoon. Somerset clung on to third spot in their draw versus Yorkshire. Their first innings spanned almost three days, during which Tom Abell compiled a patient 130. A draw seemed inevitable but, when Yorkshire crumbled to 60-7, an extraordinary result was on the cards. However, Jordan Thompson blasted a rapid half-century to prevent an embarrassment. 

At Chelmsford, Essex had the better of their encounter with Durham, with Elgar and Critchley striking tons, but at Hove the bowlers were in control. Day three was washed out but there was no time for Hampshire to bowl Sussex out a second time. Hampshire’s week ended with another setback when they were docked eight points for preparing a substandard pitch back in May against the same opposition. To make matters worse, they lost that game! 

The ECB verdict pulls Hampshire down to within six points of Durham who occupy one of the relegation places with Worcestershire who are all but doomed. None of the bottom six are safe. Next week, the bottom two face up, as do the top pair. Should Surrey defeat Notts, the Championship pennant will continue to flutter over The Oval for yet another year. 

The big news from Division Two was Leicestershire gaining enough bonus points to ensure their first promotion to the top division since the two-tier structure was introduced. Having been wooden-spooners so often, their avoidance of defeat to Gloucestershire put them out of reach of the chasing pack. Glamorgan could yet displace them as top dogs but it would require something miraculous but with young Asa Tribe in such sensational form – 206 in his first outing against Northants following three List A centuries in four innings – who knows?! 

At Lord’s, rain ruined the contest between Middlesex and Derbyshire, in which Toby Roland-Jones took 6-77, while Lancashire and Kent were evenly matched at Canterbury. In only his second first-class appearance, Lancashire seamer Mitchell Stanley claimed an impressive eleven wickets. 

Next week’s Division Two highlight should be Glamorgan v Derbyshire, but the weather forecast doesn’t look great. The same goes for the T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston. No seven-over thrashes, please! 

Team of the Week:- Elgar (Ess), Tribe (Gla), McKinney (Dur), Bopara (Nor), Livingstone (Lan), Abell (Som), Roderick (Wor +), Saif Zaib (Nor), James (Not), Roland-Jones (Mid), Stanley (Lan)

Smith and Mills give the Blast a Lift-off

Across the Atlantic, the Twenty20 World \Cup began with some fanfare but, until the USA shocked Pakistan, the action on then pitch has been underwhelming. Wonderful to see the likes of Oman, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, though. Back in Blighty, the Vitality Blast has launched well below the radar. Competing with the World Cup, this year’s tournament robs counties of the world’s big names but gives regulars and experienced biff-bang merchants the opportunity to make headlines. 

The first week threw up only a handful of 200-plus scores, two of them by Surrey, the only side with three consecutive victories. Despite the arrival of Jason Roy and Tom Curran, it was Jamie Smith who starred with the bat, crunching 87 and 76 against Somerset and Glamorgan, respectively. Glamorgan skipper Sam Northeast was the only other player to strike two fifties and Essex’s Michael Pepper the sole centurion, thumping a 44-ball 101 to defeat Middlesex at Chelmsford. His other innings were 7 and a golden duck, but that’s T20 for you! 

Middlesex, Nottinghamshire and Durham are the dunces of the week, losing all their fixtures. The latter have been bowled out twice for a combined total of 176, with Michael Jones’ 29 against the Bears their highest individual score. Former England star Alex Hales hasn’t exactly set Trent Bridge alight, but Sussex paceman Tymal Mills has delivered a couple of four-wicket performances and 39-year-old Ravi Bopara has once again been an inspirational all-rounder for Northamptonshire. 

It has been seven years since Mason Crane made his two T20 international appearances against South Africa but this week his leg-spin has been consistently on the money for Glamorgan., claiming six scalps without being thumped all around the grounds. 

On a personal note, my highlight of the Blast to date was Somerset replicating the 2023 Final success against Essex at Taunton. Fine strokeplay by Smeed, Abell and Lewis Gregory ensured the target was reached in the final over, Craig Overton applying the coup de grace with a boundary 

Team of the Week:- Wells (Lan), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Northeast (Gla), Pepper (Ess), Cox (Ess), J Smith (Sur), Bopara (Nor), Cooke (Gla +), Mike (Lei), Crane (Gla), Mills (Sus)

Moeen rockets Rapids to Finals Day

After the exciting climax to the Third Ashes Test match, it is perhaps a little ironic that the format designed to serve up thrilling games inside three hours should produce mostly one-sided quarter-finals in the Blast.

North group winners Lancashire were denied their home advantage by the primacy of the Ashes. Instead of Old Trafford or the floodlight-less Liverpool, they were forced to play Essex the other side of the Pennines at Chester-le-Street. Mind you, I think that T20 is such a lottery that it removes much advantage of batting on a familiar track, and two of the other three fixtures were won by the visiting county.

Lancashire’s innings was anchored by Alex Davies, who was still there at the end of their innings on 80. Essex’s target of 160 was far from straightforward and it required Ten Doeschate and Bopara to raise their strike rate considerably in the last five overs. The experienced duo succeeded, as Vilas  switched his seven bowlers in desperation. The ex-England man rounded off an excellent all-round performance with 2-28 and an 18-ball 39.

On Wednesday evening, another rapid fifty by Eoin Morgan proved in vain. The Trent Bridge faithful were treated to a fine display of hitting as Middlesex failed to capture a single wicket, dropping three catches along the way. Chris Nash made his first Blast outing of the season, showing Joe Clarke how ‘tis done, striking twos and fours with pleasing regularity. At the other end Alex Hales heaved seven balls into the crowd, the last of them bringing up the ten-wicket victory in the seventeenth over.

The third quarter-final was hosted by Hove but, facing Worcestershire, South table-toppers Sussex were undone first by the crucial bowling of Ed Barnard then the brilliant batting of Moeen Ali. He thumped an awe-inspiring career-best 121 not out to follow a mean 1-21 bowling spell.

In contrast, runs were in short supply at Bristol where Derbyshire restricted Gloucestershire to only 135-7. Four bowlers conceded fewer than seven an over with off-spinner Matt Critchley perhaps the pick of the pack. The county duly booked their first Finals Day trip thanks largely to Wayne Madsen keeping the scoreboard ticking merrily for 47 until he became Tye’s second victim. Too little, too late, and captain Godleman and coach Dominic Cork could celebrate the achievement. They may not have the dosh or the big names of their opponents but underestimate Derbyshire in T20 at your peril.

Last weekend, the women had their own Finals Day in Sussex. The last KSL action before it’s ditched for the horrible Hundred saw the Southern Vipers overpower Loughborough Lightning with an over to spare in the semi. Western Storm have bossed the group stages with nine wins out of ten, and they duly made it a double-figure tally in a six-wicket triumph. Competition top scorer Dani Wyatt had given the Vipers an excellent start but England skipper Heather Knight (78 not out) and Deepti Sharma (39 off 22 deliveries) saw the hot favourites home. After the England women suffered such a drubbing in their own Ashes, Knight could final lift a trophy. We’ll know shortly whether Joe Root could do the same.

Team of the Week: Davies (Lan), Moeen Ali (Wor), Hales (Not), Wyatt (Vip), Knight (WS), Bopara (Ess), Cox (Wor +), Barnard (Wor), Critchley (Der), Hudson-Prentice (Der), Carter (Not)

Essex, Derbyshire and Eoin Morgan storm into the last eight

The Vitality Blast group stage provided an exciting climax, especially in the South Group where the quarter-finalists weren’t decided ‘til the last evening. Sussex and Gloucestershire had done enough to qualify by the Thursday night. Michael Klinger may be in his 40^th year but the 8^th T20 century of his career, together with Ryan Higgins’ three wickets, ensured a five-run defeat of Kent at Canterbury. The top two met on the final day and a Van Buuren six from the last delivery meant Gloucestershire could book their Bristol home for the knockouts.

Come Friday evening, former leaders Kent were still in the hunt for one of the other places, along with Somerset, Hampshire, Middlesex and Essex. The Eagles looked down and out last week but pulled off a fabulous week which consisted of a tie with Hampshire and two close wins against Surrey and Sussex, before ending Kent’s hopes with a ten-run victory at Chelmsford. Ravi Bopara capped a fine individual week by striking 47 not out and taking 2-27. Mohammad Amir also bowled consistently well, conceding fewer than 30 runs in each of the four fixtures. They’ll need his pace and guile if they are to reach the semis.

At Taunton, it was a winner-takes-all clash between Middlesex and Somerset. Tom Abell’s improvement in white-ball batting looked complete when he reached a maiden T20 century off the last ball to set Middlesex a massive 227. That would prove impossible for most opponents but this side boasted a formidable top-order of Stirling, Malan, Hafeez, De Villiers and Morgan. They raced to 50 inside three overs and never really took the foot of the pedal. Every time I switched channels to watch, AB or Eoin Morgan seemed to be swiping sixes, and it was the England captain’s 29-ball 83 which swept the pink princes to victory with three overs still remaining.

Elsewhere, Hampshire’s chances were extinguished at Cardiff where Glamorgan finally registered a two-point result in fourteen attempts. When the sides met earlier in the month, the Welsh were dismissed for 84. This time they amassed 216-5, including thirteen sixes, which proved beyond even Vince and Northeast. 

In the North group, the top four had already broken away by Friday, and Lancashire held onto the top spot with a five-wicket defeat of Leicestershire. Aided by the return of Alex Hales, Nottinghamshire finished second despite losing to Durham, but it was Derbyshire who finished stronger than anyone in the country. They smashed Northants and Leicestershire each by nine-wicket margins, before overcoming the table-topping Lightning courtesy of Wayne Madsen’s 69 and Ravi Rampaul’s 3-19, propelling them into third.

Moeen Ali’s unintended stint with Worcestershire yielded plenty of runs this week, just about keeping the chasing pack at bay. Yorkshire were just one victory over Notts from stopping them. Their opening pair of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Adam Lyth did everything you could hope for, not just for their runs but also Lyth’s ten wickets, but the rest of the attack let them down a bit.

And so the quarter-finals beckon later this week. Old Trafford is otherwise engaged with some Test match or other, so Lancashire’s home tie against Essex has been shifted cross-country to Chester-le-Street. I’d rate the ‘home’ side narrow favourites. Nottinghamshire v Middlesex is closer to call. Neither have shone particularly brightly but if AB can turn out for Middlesex, they will have the edge. Sussex’s array of spinners could well stifle Worcestershire at Hove next Friday, while in the concluding match, Derbyshire’s squad look particularly useful in the Blast and may well edge Gloucestershire for a place in Finals Day in three weeks’ time.

Team of the Week: Kohler-Cadmore (Yor), Lyth (Yor), Klinger (Glo), Moeen Ali (Wor), Morgan (Mid), Bopara (Ess), Carey (Sus +), Abbott (Ham), Shutt (Yor), Batty (Sur), Mohammad Amir (Ess)

Sadness for Sussex, Heaven for Hampshire

When rain swept the nation early in the week, I feared the worst: that the weather would decide the Division One relegation battle and the county season would fizzle out in a damp squib. How wrong I was; there were fireworks a-plenty, and a brilliant climax!

Not only did the battle to avoid the drop go right to the wire, but there were also great performances with bat and ball in all eight fixtures played.

Personally, my relief came a day early. At Taunton, a combination of James Hildreth’s century and spinner Jack Leach’s wickets were enough to guarantee Somerset’s safety regardless of what happened at Trent Bridge or Headingley. Jeetan Patel’s 7-34 left Warwickshire needing only 225 to win on the final day, but Leach and the unlikely figure of Tom Cooper claimed nine of the ten wickets to fall, giving Somerset victory and a sixth place finish. That’s the second successive season when we’ve pulled it out of the fire in late September!

Sussex merely needed to avoid defeat to Yorkshire to remain in Division One. However, the champions weren’t happy to sip champagne and play their reserves. Most of their England stars were on the pitch, but Jack Brooks and Tim Bresnan were the pick of the Eleven. In his last game, Michael Yardy did his best, but Sussex’s batting, Ben Brown and Luke Wright apart, has been woeful for much of the summer, restricting their bonus point tally. They lost by 100 runs.

Meanwhile, the first innings scores in Nottingham were fairly even, but then Hampshire grasped the initiative on day three, West Indian seamer Fidel Edwards completing a ten-for in the match as the Notts batting collapsed. Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry kept their heads and Hampshire had won the one that really mattered. Sussex were relegated by just two points!

Worcestershire’s demise had already been set in concrete so it was a huge surprise that they gave second-placed Middlesex a trouncing by an innings and 128 runs. The two Toms, Fell and Kohler-Cadmore each struck hundreds. In the latter’s case, it was his first in the championship.

By contrast, all four Division Two matches were drawn. It was a cracker at Derby where the home side were set a target of 341 in under a day by Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove, whose 156 had made his side narrow favourites. At 285-2, things looked promising as Chesney Hughes reached three figures. However, once he and Madsen were out, it also became a race against the clock. There were two run-outs and in an exciting finale, Derbyshire closed on 331-8. Mark Footitt took another ten wickets on probably his last appearance for the county. He would be badly missed.

Surrey ended the season as second tier champions, but Northants gave them a rollercoaster ride at the end. Another silky century from Kumar Sangakkara and ten wickets for the young Curran brothers left the Londoners 300 runs ahead. However, the visitors fought back with three centurions of their own and time was against even Jason Roy et al in the final session to deny them victory.

Having lost the first day to bad weather, Lancashire and Essex couldn’t conjure up a positive result either. James Anderson and Alastair Cook faced each other for a change and it was the bowler who was most definitely on top, with match figures of 8-90. The England captain aggregated a mere eight runs in two innings, lbw to, then caught by Anderson! Ravi Bopara and Jesse Ryder scored most of Essex’s runs. Ashwell Prince’s career finished with another half-century while 41 year-old Glenn Chapple could take only three more wickets. He is now cruelly 15 short of the thousand in first-class cricket. Will he be back for more next year?!

In the other game, it was a runfest at Bristol. An unbeaten 180 stand between Ingram and Cooke for Glamorgan on the final day was impressive but was completely eclipsed by Gloucester opener Chris Dent. A mediocre season was turned on its head when he spent more than eight hours at the crease compiling a career-best 268. Few have score more in the Championship al summer!

And so the 2015 summer comes to an end. England won the Ashes, domestic silverware went to Yorkshire, Lancashire and Gloucestershire, and the same old questions were being asked about the demise of four- and five-day cricket, 50-over cricket and basically all cricket other than the IPL. Pathetic! There’s room for all formats; it’s just a matter of finding compromises to fit them in the calendar. However, that’s harder than it sounds!

I’ll be reviewing the domestic season’s star performers shortly but, in the mean time, here’s my final County Team of the Week:

Dent (Glo), Duckett (Nor), Sangakkara (Sur), Fell (Wor), Madsen (Der), Bopara (Ess), Cooke (Gla, +), Edwards (Ham), Leach (Som), Anderson (Lan), Footitt (Der)

Essex and Durham make the Royal London running

With the County Championship on a midsummer break, it was all about limited overs. Most of the last group fixtures in the NatWest T20 Blast were rained off. However, the weather left some of the Division Two teams in the running for silverware. As a Somerset fan I'm well aware of the disappointment that failure can bring and we have lost far more one-dayers than we've won in 2015. Kent are having a poor run in the four-day game but, with the likes of Darren Stevens, Sam Billings and Sam Northeast, they boast a formidable batting line-up and look the side to beat in T20.

Warwickshire headed the North group, ahead of Worcestershire, Northants and Lancashire, with Sussex, Hampshire and Essex completing the quarter-final line-up. Meanwhile, the new 50-over tournament has launched with five washouts then a host of hundreds through the week. Essex are looking useful in this competition, the Royal London Cup, too. Openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley each scored centuries in one fixture, and Ravi Bopara has been a reliable all-rounder.

Yorkshire's Glenn Maxwell has had a mediocre NatWest Blast, but rounded off a fine week with a 76-ball 111 to beat Worcestershire, and Gary Ballance has rediscovered the knack of scoring fifties while Steven Patterson has shone with the ball. Mark Stoneman, Phil Mustard and John Hastings have contributed to Durham's two wins, but captain Paul Collingwood hit the highest individual score of the week, 132.

Familiar big-hitters Jason Roy and Alex Hales each made three-figure innings but possibly the match of the week was Kent v Glamorgan. Stevens led the way with 110 from 66 balls but the response from South Africans Colin Ingram 109 then Chris Cooke (94 not out) was fabulous, and clinched victory with two balls left.

Things are just getting interesting, so the next week will let patterns emerge. I wonder whether the T20 frontrunners will be doing the same in the Royal London.

Team of the Week: Pettini (Ess), Mustard (Dur +), Madsen (Der), Maxwell (Yor), Collingwood (Dur, *), Cooke (Gla), Bopara (Ess), Hastings (Dur), Patterson (Yor), Anderson (Eng), Finn (Eng/Mid)

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)

It's Australia's day on Australia Day

With only a few end-of-term slog-and-hopes to come, England's proper tour of Australia has finally concluded with yet another defeat. At least the ODIs have seen some closer contests than the Tests, and Alastair Cook can also cling to the Perth victory for some comfort. That, and the bowling performance which almost clinched another consolation triumph today in Adelaide.

Even Darren Lehmann voiced the opinion that it looked a 240-250 run pitch, crediting both sides' bowlers for making it such a hard-fought encounter of a 220 target. Broad, Jordan and Stokes put the brakes on the home team, forcing several batsmen to throw away their wickets in an attempt to escalate the scoring rate. George Bailey was the only man to pass 50 although some late blows from Faulkner gave him and his fellow seamers something to aim at.

Following Shane Watson, Ben Stokes became the second number three to fall for a duck. Bell made little impression, Cook scraped 39 but the dependable Eoin Morgan and Joe Root shared a valuable fourth wicket stand of 64 to keep hopes strong. Both departed in quick succession but when Buttler and Bresnan failed to stick around it was left to Ravi Bopara to steer England to the 24 runs needed at only a run a ball. That he was eventually declared to have been stumped by a Matthew Wade fumble may add to the conspiracy theories but it may not have cost England the game. Even in ultra-slow motion, the comparative positions of Bopara's toe and the temporarily-dislodged bail are so difficult to assess. Almost certainly the verdict would have gone the batsman's way in England but he was unlucky not to get the benefit of the doubt in Adelaide. Unfortunate but not 'robbed'!

So it's a 4-1 result, but had Ravi or any of the tail-enders struck a couple of boundaries today and James Faulkner found a fielder in the deep during his Brisbane blitz, England could well have been celebrating a series win, deflecting a lot of the criticism of Cook's captaincy and of the overall administration. As it happened, neither came to pass. On such ifs and buts can whole series depend, and that's what makes 50-over matches so entertaining. India and Australia may lead the ODI rankings but neither will have an easy ride in next year's World Cup. Remember, too, that Australia could afford to rotate their squad; only Finch, Bailey, Faulkner and Coulter-Nile played in all five.

So what have England learned about their players? Eoin Morgan and Stuart Broad may have emerged with reputations enhanced while Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler did enough to keep their places. Root, Bell and captain Cook were so-so and can probably just look forward to a rest without the axe hovering. As for Tim Bresnan, Ravi Bopara, Boyd Rankin and Chris Jordan, they need to produce some consistent performances if they are to be World Cup squad members. Jordan has some fans in the media but I'm yet to be convinced. The aforementioned quartet are in the T20 squad but a few good T20 sessions in the next week won't be enough for me, I'm afraid.

Australia have named a few unknown (to me) faces in their T20 XIV. It'll be interesting to see whether the names of Ben Cutting, Chris Lynn and James Muirhead can appear in bright lights alongside those of Faulkner, Clarke, Johnson, Haddin, Harris and Finch from the previous two months.

The Luck of the Irish - er - English - er- Irish English?

While wickets were a-falling in the morning dew across England, it was the run-makers making late summer hay in two of cricket's British Isles outposts. North of the border, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh helped themselves to useful centuries as Australia's one-day team demolished Scotland by 200 runs. However, the major action was taking place across the Irish Sea.

An incredible crowd of almost 10,000 flocked to the new stadium in Dublin to cheer the men in green against England's second-string ODI Eleven. Much was made beforehand of the nation-switching players and almost inevitably they were the ones making the headlines. Dublin-born Eoin Morgan struck 99 on his ODI debut for Ireland against the Scots seven years ago but today he was the captain of England. Boyd Rankin, son of Londonderry, began his international career for Ireland versus Bermuda but he, too, was representing the old enemy across the water in this contest. Even more complications were provided by Ed Joyce, once of Ireland, then England and then Ireland once more!

Much to the local fans' irritation, it was Rankin and Morgan who essentially won the game for the visitors. Ravi Bopara's 101 not out was another excellent contribution as he shared a record England fifth wicket partnership with Morgan. However, England didn't have it all their own way. Will Porterfield's name has been a reassuring one at the top of the Irish scorecard for several years, and has not disgraced himself as Rankin's team-mate at Warwickshire either. This afternoon, the home skipper produced a beautifully crafted century, number six in a 65-game career, to boost Ireland's total to a creditable 269-7. Then, with the estimable Tim Murtagh (born in London) and Trent Johnston (New South Wales) ripping through the top order inside fifteen overs, an upset really looked on the cards.

England debutants Michael Carberry and Gary Ballance failed to take their chances, the latter caught behind for a second-ball duck. Then Morgan found an ally in Bopara first to steady the ship then steer it home at such a rate of knots that the target was reached with seven overs in hand.

So what have we learnt? Ireland do have a useful squad, especially now that Middlesex's Murtagh has used his ancestry to represent the land of his grandparents. They still have the capacity to cause upsets, as they did so memorably in the World Cup. But will they be Test material by 2020? Not if they can't retain talent like Morgan or Rankin, they won't be. As for England, I certainly wouldn't discard Carberry and Ballance on the basis of one match. Indeed, I'd rather keep the Hampshire opener than Luke Wright in the 50-over set-up, although Bell, Cook and Pietersen should remain first picks when available. Tredwell performed well as prime spinner, but Steve Finn was again disappointing with the new ball. Anderson, Bresnan, Broad and even Rankin need not be too concerned in the future. Australia won't be too traumatised either at facing the reserve attack in the coming fortnight.

To B or not to B, Ravi's the question

The name Bopara loomed large in the list released by the ECB in respect of the England Champions Trophy squad. The decision to include the Essex man seems to have divided cricket fans and I must admit to sitting on the fence.

There's no denying he has endured a poor start to the County Championship but he is not being picked for a first-class series. On the other hand, selectors have little to go on when it comes to the 50-over format; Ravi hasn't played that type of cricket since his two-ball duck for England against South Africa last September. Mind you, Eoin Morgan suffered exactly the same fate in that match but at least he had a chance to redeem himself in New Zealand earlier this year. His KKR bursts in the IPL should count for little and, let's face it, Bopara has been picked as an all-rounder, not specialist batsman. He has played well before so he deserves a place. The imminent NZ ODIs should allow selectors to observe Bopara, Joe Root, Tim Bresnan and Chris Woakes and pick their men accordingly. The first two are better with bat, the latter with ball, and Morgan may yet keep his place to strengthen the KP-less middle-order.

I would certainly pick Bopara ahead of Luke Wright and, despite his recent Championship displays, Graham Napier but he really does have to perform if he is not to sink into domestic obscurity. It seems reminiscent of the '90s when it was Graeme Hick who was in and out of the England set-up. However, Hick was a far better batsman than Bopara, even if he never quite did himself justice on international duty.

Most of the squad picks itself. Cook, Anderson, Bell, Finn, Swann (if he can curb his childish temper), Broad (ditto) and Trott are undroppable at the moment. Jos Buttler can cement a place in the ODI squad in addition the T20 but Jonny Bairstow is ready to pounce should the Wedmore wonder fail. James Tredwell gets the nod over Danny Briggs or Simon Kerrigan, presumably thanks to his experience and superior batsmanship as much as his spin ability.

Can England win the Champions Trophy? Of course they can, especially on home soil (apart from Cardiff!) However, so can any of the others apart, perhaps, from New Zealand. I'll preview the tournament in more detail nearer the start, and hopefully Ravi Bopara will have played himself in with an opportunity to prove his detractors wrong.

Man of the Moment: James Taylor

I was cheered by the news of James Taylor's elevation to the England Test squad. Two years too late, but the best things come to those who wait, as someone - probably my Mum! - once said. As another fully paid-up member of the sub- 5ft 6 club, I take even greater pleasure at seeing a shorty make the grade. These days every athlete seems to be at least 6 feet tall, an image enhanced by watching the Olympics this past week. It'll be the gymnasts next.

Taylor debuted for Leicestershire four years ago as a promising under-19 international and the following year enjoyed a prolific season in the Championship. He was promoted to the Lions squad under James Hildreth's captaincy but, while the Somerset batsman immediately lost form in the domestic game, Taylor continued to plough a lone furrow in Leicestershire's feeble batting line-up and won the prestigious Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year award. He thus followed in the famous footsteps of stars such as Boycott (yes, even he was young once!), Atherton, Flintoff, Broad, Cook and even Andrew Symonds before he opted for the 'baggy green'.

In 2010, I advocated his selection for the full England side to face Pakistan but predictably Miller and co went for the safe option by nipping down to Lord's and recalling Eoin Morgan at number six. To the latter's credit, he scored a century but has since shown he is not a natural at first-class cricket. After trying his hardest at Leicester, the diminutive batsman understandably accepted a move up the M1 to title contenders Nottinghamshire. However, until last week's 163 not out against Sussex he had shown little form in the four-day format while, ironically, excelling in the Pro40 competition.

With England enjoying huge success, he needed to be patient. Still only 22, Taylor's fortune has come at the expense of Jonny Bairstow (Young Player of the Year, 2011) and Ravi Bopara (ditto, 2008) and it is especially sad that the Essex man has pulled out for personal, non-cricketing reasons. If Taylor succeeds this week at Headingley, it could be a while before Bopara gets another chance. However, cricket can be fickle. After all, the world was Ravi's oyster after his three successive Test centuries a few seasons back, but then came his fall from the summit.

In the past thirty years or so, only Paul Franks and Adil Rashid has won the YPOTY accolade without progressing to win a Test cap so it was always likely that James Taylor would get the nod eventually. His batting average is nigh on 50. Even allowing for the fact that many of his 5,244 runs have come in the second tier of domestic cricket, that is still an impressive statistic. His List A average is almost as good, although he has yet to create a truly memorable innings in Twenty 20. The number six berth is a difficult one. With good players ahead of you, it can be difficult to stay focussed in the pavilion and there are few opportunities to forge a major score. With Steyn, Morkel and Philander champing at the bit, he will surely face a barrage of top-class fast bowling but Taylor is nothing if not a calm character at the crease. I hope he rises to the challenge.

Dravid and Bopara back in business

So the England selectors have stuck with who they know and picked Ravi Bopara as cover for Jonathan Trott in the forthcoming Third Test. The Essex man's Lions captain, James Taylor may feel slightly unfortunate to have been overlooked but I reckon that even had he struck two stunning double-centuries, he would have lost out to Bopara.

Taylor's time may well come a few years down the line and meanwhile Ravi's ten-Test career has certainly been a rollercoaster one. A mediocre start in Sri Lanka at the end of 2007 followed by three successive centuries against the Windies and just 105 runs in seven Ashes innings two summers ago. If the cycle continues India had better watch out!
Whether he plays or not will depend on whether England go for a five-man bowling attack. The ability of Prior, Bresnan, Broad and even Swann to make lower-order runs may go against Bopara but on the other hand he can bowl some medium-pacers to give the big boys an occasional rest. I think he'll get the nod at number six.

Bopara is still only 26 but at the other end of the age scale, Rahul Dravid has also been recalled - to India's ODI squad - at 38. In recent years he may not be the ideal man for a quick run chase or panther-like fielding when slips are surplus to requirements but if you want someone to keep the scoreboard ticking, you could do a lot worse. Like Tendulkar, form is temporary but class is permanent, and he has amassed more than 10,000 ODI runs in he past fifteen years. However, India do need some good young players in the team, too, or they will look a bit creaky, World champions or not. Hopefully Raina, Kohli and the Sharmas can provide the athleticism that will be missing from the veterans. Let's face it. Dravid is only in the squad because of Yuvraj Singh's broken finger but Yuvraj was never the greatest of fielders.

Where Dravid can make the real difference is at Edgbaston next week. He has been the only one to really demonstrate the temperament and tenacity needed in a gruelling five-day match. Most of the rest are playing like they still think they are at the World Cup or IPL. I find this inexplicable because there are too many wise experienced heads in that squad. MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher should instil more patience and application in the team so they can show why they are - just!- the world's best Test nation. However England, with or without Bopara in the team, are in the driving seat with results and confidence in their favour. Some years ago, they would have gone with the new man, the one in form. However, like India, they've preferred experience over potential, and that to me speaks volumes for England's determination not only to win at Edgbaston but to push for a decisive 4-0 result in the whole series.

England Lions roaring in the wings

While the senior team are currently conquering all before them, the new pride of England Lions are just about honours even in their one-off four-day match against Sri Lanka 'A' at Scarborough. With such success on the Test scene, there aren't too many vacancies in the 1st XI right now, unless Jonathan Trott doesn't recover from his shoulder injury in time for Edgbaston. However, a good display in an 'unofficial Test' will catch the eye of selectors better than a month of centuries and wickets in the County Championship.

On the Caribbean tour, James Hildreth looked the part as he skippered a classy side. Unfortunately, his form has dipped with Somerset this summer and he has been dropped, along with Adam Lyth and Jimmy Adams. Leicestershire's James Taylor has been promoted to captain what is by and large a very young set of players. The exception is Ravi Bopara and, if Trott is unfit next week and selectors don't want to lose a batsman, his place surely has the Essex number three's name on it. However, if Taylor stakes a major claim for the Lions, why not give him a go at the top table? A former Young Player of the Year, his first-class average is not far short of 50 and he shown more consistency over the past three years than the likes of Lyth, Adams and others.

Taylor got off to a good start today, top scoring with 76, while Bopara made only 19. A few weeks ago, he thumped a big hundred against the same team, so he clearly knows his away around medium pacers and spin. My recent Player of the Week Alex Hales scored 50 today, while Jonny Bairstow and Samit Patel also weighed in with half-centuries. Yorkshire's 20 year-old Joe Root and Craig Kieswetter, an international veteran at 23 (!) fared less well.

Now it will be the bowlers' opportunity to shine. I'm a fan of Glamorgan's James Harris but Surrey duo Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker have fans in high places. Spinner Scott Borthwick hasn't played much first-class cricket in recent weeks, taking few wickets, but a maiden century for Durham against, yes, Sri Lanka A last week may have helped him clinch a place with the Lions ahead of Rashid and Briggs.

None of these players are seriously threatening the places of Anderson, Broad, Bresnan, Tremlett or Swann but if injury or mysterious food poisoning should strike, Geoff Miller and Andy Flower need to know there are talented bowlers waiting in the wings. Dernbach and Patel have already been tried in ODIs so they are in pole position. However, if it were my choice I'd give Chris Woakes the nod.

Anyway, let's see what the next three days bring in Yorkshire, and whether some of the Lions roar loud enough to keep England's Test heroes on their toes.

Player of the Week: David Masters

A mixed bag of double-centurions and multiple wicket-takers this week. At the time of writing, England look as if they are heading for another Test victory thanks largely to Stuart Broad and Ian Bell, but the domestic fixtures have produced some stirring performances.

Anyone hitting 200 is always worthy of praise but when Marcus Trescothick does it we barely raise an eyebrow, just mutter once again how he'd walk into any international side if only... He set up another fighting victory for Somerset over Worcestershire with 203 while further west at Swansea, former Essex opener struck a career-best 222 for Northamptonshire in their draw against Glamorgan.

Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson claimed eighteen wickets between them in Nottinghamshire's low-scoring battle against title-chasing Lancashire. New Zealander Adams took ten scalps, but neither bowler took part in today's CB40 win over Glamorgan. Ravi Bopara's 178 for Essex was remarkable given that only one other man made a half-century in the Championship match against bottom club Leicestershire at Southend. However, while that game did bring us my Player of the Week, it's not the in-out England batsman.

The match ended in dramatic fashion. Following Bopara guiding Essex into a position of setting the visitors 315 to win on a tricky pitch, opening bowler David Masters bowled unchanged for 7.4 overs finish with fantastic figures of 8-10 as Leicester slumped to 34 all out. Having already scored 14 more than this total on his own in Essex's second innings, he takes the honours this week.

Masters could be described as the archetypal journeyman pro. However, if you have read my previous blogs you will know that I do not mean this as criticism. The 33 year-old has served Kent, Leicestershire and now Essex with distinction over the past twelve seasons. Not the quickest of openers, he has nonetheless taken 437 first-class wickets at only 27 apiece. His one-day record is less impressive but still pretty good, and he has a first-class century to his name. However, his haul at Southend took his season's total to 61 already, with only fellow unsung hero Tim Murtagh aggregating more than 50 wickets in either Championship division.

For all his consistent performances, David Masters will never get international recognition, especially with so many top-class English seamers on the scene. However, he can be proud of his career to date and Player of the Week accolade!