Double Delight for Somerset

Setting aside a few World Cup warm-ups, last week was all about Somerset and Hampshire. First-class victories left them occupying the top spots in the Championship, neatly setting up their clash at Lord’s in the Royal London One-Day Cup final.

The tournament has been depressingly downgraded by the ECB, squeezed into the schedule before the big-bucks World Cup and the Ashes. The once hugely popular county competition has been treated like a toddler being told she can watch one more episode of Peppa Pig before the grown-ups regain control of the remote. Anyway, tell that to the Zummerzet boys on Saturday who cheered Tom Abell’s side to a comprehensive and thorough thrashing of an admittedly depleted Hampshire. Any trophy for the perennial runners-up is mightily welcome, believe you me!

Earlier in the week, Somerset had edged a low-scoring game at Taunton against Warwickshire to stay top of the table. Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s 5-18 and Liam Norwell’s second innings 7-41 maybe deserved better, but the leaders boasted a superior collective attack, including the reliable Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory and won by 49 runs.

Newport has been in the new a lot lately. The Welsh football club were at Wembley for a play-off final and the old Spytty Park ground hosted its first Championship game for over fifty years. This week, its Isle of Wight namesake was also granted a rare first-class fixture, and spectators were treated to a 244-run triumph for Hampshire. Sam Northeast and new recruit Ajinkya Rahane shared a brisk 257 second-wicket stand to set up a declaration and the formidable seam attack of Abbott, Edwards and Barker did the rest, each claiming six wickets in the match.

Beckenham is a regular outlier on the county circuit and this summer it welcomed neighbouring Surrey to the Kent town. It produced an entertaining contest of runs a-plenty and a close finish. Sam Dickson contributed 219 in total for the home side but, with Scott Borthwick twice passing fifty and Rikki Clarke in fine all-round form, the champions were pushing for victory on the final afternoon only for young Wiaan Mulder to hold them up, just two wickets short when time ran out.

In Division Two, Lancashire beat their close rivals Worcestershire at Old Trafford by six wickets. For the visitors, Wayne Parnell fought hard but the combination of James Anderson and Richard Gleeson, with his third five-four in successive matches, held sway over three days.

Glamorgan enjoyed a rare away victory, overcoming Derbyshire by two wickets. The home side’s all-rounder Luis Reece struck a century and took four wickets but the Welsh lower order, including Tom Cullen and Daniel Douthwaite (OK, so neither are actually Welsh) got stuck in and finished the job.

At Chester-le-Street Durham lost yet again, this time handing Gloucestershire nineteen points with more than a day to spare, while batsmen were more to the fore at Northampton, where the home side played a high-scoring draw with Sussex. The most notable performances came from skipper Ben Brown (156) and Chris Jordan (166) who delivered a triple-century stand on day one.

I’d expect Sussex to come out on top next week against Glamorgan, and Lancashire should beat Gloucestershire to remain top. In the higher tier, Somerset sit it out and celebrate their cup win, so Hampshire will almost certainly overtake them, even if they only draw against third place Yorkshire. Warwickshire have little chance of arresting their decline with a home tie against Surrey who seem barely weakened by England’s World Cup selections.

Team of the Week: Dickson (Ken), Reece (Der), Borthwick (Sur), Northeast (Ham), Hain (War), Brown (Sus +), Clarke (Sur), Jordan (Sus), Parnell (Wor), Norwell (War), Anderson (Lan)

County Cricket Team of 2018

2018 will long be remembered for its long, hot, dry summer across much of Britain. I suspect this may have been a factor in the dramatic reduction in the number of drawn matches in the Championship from 45 to 25. Perhaps pitch preparation also came into the equation as first inning batting bonus points were as rare as a downpour in July. Across both divisions, there was little to choose between all counties with regard to bowling points but Surrey and Warwickshire really made their batting strength count in their respective campaigns.

There were stark contrasts between white and red ball formats. For all Surrey’s dominance in the four-day game, they were mediocre in limited-overs cricket. Worcestershire wasted little time in being relegated back to Division Two but were able to celebrate success in the T20 Blast that same week. Their 20 year-old medium-pacer Pat Brown proved to be a revelation in the 20-over stuff but barely featured in the Championship. Meanwhile, Glamorgan endued a year to forget but  Somerset confounded my worst fears with another runners-up finish and surge to the Blast semi-finals. So near, yet so far, yet again. Will Marcus Trescothick finally give up on waiting and give his creaking body a well-earned retirement? 

Sadly he didn’t feature in any of my County Teams of the Week but who were the men (or women) who contributed most to domestic cricket across all three formats?

Openers:

Last year it was Mark Stoneman but in 2018 his Surrey colleague and captain Rory Burns dominated the Championship run table, accumulating 1,359 at 64.71. Lancashire’s Alex Davies was promoted to specialist opener with considerable success, especially in T20, Daryl Mitchell was predictably consistent in four-dayers but I’ve gone for Kent’s Joe Denly. The only survivor from my 2017 XI, he usually batted at three in the Championship but was probably the best all-rounder in domestic cricket, adding 57 wickets to a notable haul of 1,729 runs. Could he get back in England’s ODI set-up after a nine-year absence?

Middle-order:

Champions Surrey didn’t miss the retired Sangakkara and there were no truly dominant middle-order strokemakers this summer. Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes were prolific early on, before the former was granted a Test debut against India in July. At 36, Ian Bell who truly rolled back the years for Warwickshire. Several years ago he was criticised by England for slow scoring but now he is reborn as a heavy-scoring T20 Blaster. Only two men surpassed his 580 runs, at a decent rate of 139, to accompany his 1,027 in the Championship. James Vince may not have nailed down an England spot but he can still do the business for Hampshire, as does James Hildreth for Somerset. His hopes of international recognition are long gone but Hildy was brilliant for us in all competitions this year. Indeed, he was the all-round top scorer in domestic cricket. 

With Denly available as a spinner, I am also including his Kent team-mate Heino Kuhn. I confess I’d never previously heard of him but the 34 year-old South African racked up the hundreds in the Royal London One-Day Cup and took the gloves when Sam Billings was absent.

All-Rounder:

As ever, Darren Stevens is in contention but he was never going to replicate his 2017 achievements. Ed Barnard enjoyed another fine season despite Worcestershire’s relegation and Somerset’s Lewis Gregory had probably his best year yet, assuming the onerous roles of opening bowler and late-order six-hitter. Messrs Raine, Higgins and Harris had their moments but my primary all-rounder slot goes to another veteran Surrey man, Rikki Clarke. Aged 36, he snaffled 47 Championship wickets at 21.53 and scored 500 valuable runs. Never write him off!

Wicket-keeper:

Ben Cox’s batting has come on leaps and bounds for Worcestershire, Tom Moores looked a reasonable replacement for the retired Chris Read at Notts and Ben Foakes made excellent contributions to Surrey’s title chase. I’ve already mentioned Alex Davies but for most matches he ceded the Lancashire gloves to South African import Dane Vilas. He proceeded to take more Championship dismissals than anyone else and struck Division One’s highest individual score, 235 not out.

Bowlers:-

The evergreen Jimmy Anderson may have continued breaking records for England but the county game was the stage for some lesser-known bowlers. Essex duo James Porter and Simon Harmer were again quite prolific in first-class cricket; ditto for Tom Bailey and Graham Onions of Lancashire. Tim Murtagh seamed away in his usual mean style for Middlesex and Ollie Robinson’s 74 wickets took Sussex very close to Division Two promotion. However, Kent beat their neighbours to it, thanks in no small way to their New Zealand paceman Matt Henry. He was superb in the first half of the season and came back to give the county vital impetus. Another import, Morne Morkel was also superb, grabbing 59 wickets at 14.32 in only ten Division One fixtures. Finally, another thirty-something, Chris Rushworth was a rare jewel in a drab Durham season, accumulating 80 wickets across all three formats.

In summary, based on stats and my Teams of the Week, my County Team of 2018 is:-

Burns (Sur *), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Vince (Ham), Hildreth (Som), Kuhn (Ken), Vilas (Lan +), Clarke (Sur), Henry (Ken), Morkel (Sur), Rushworth (Dur); 12^th Man: A Davies (Lan)

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)

Kent Serve up a Festival Feast

Ah, the first week of July! Not only does it bring Wimbledon tennis and my own birthday but also the arrival of that dying tradition of festival cricket when the counties decamp to the leafy backwaters.

Probably the most famous is at Scarborough, nestled behind the townhouses which overlook the beach of North Bay. Last week I wrote that this fixture against Yorkshire was Somerset’s best chance of “nicking that elusive victory”. Lo and behold, they actually did it! Poor weather meant the game only really got going on the final few days. Seamers Liam Plunkett and Craig Overton starred in the first innings before James Hildreth seized the initiative, making three figures before the declaration. Unlike other occasions this summer, this week Somerset made the advantage count as Overton again, with spinner Jack Leach ripping through the makeshift Yorkshire line-up.

Fellow relegation-zoners Warwickshire came within a whisker of opening their Championship account, too. At Edgbaston, both the home side and Middlesex made 334 in their first innings, although the Londoners relied heavily on Steve Eskinazi’s 179. The second efforts were similarly well-matched but, despite a typical doughty all-round performance from Rikki Clarke, Middlesex somehow managed to hang on to win by a single wicket.

There was no Sangakkara to boost Surrey’s middle-order at The Oval but he wasn’t missed too much. On the first few days, Hampshire racked up 648-7 declared, including centuries by Adams, Vince and Bailey. Surrey opener Rory Burns responded with a double-hundred but even this was insufficient to prevent the follow-on. He then contributed another 68 on the final afternoon to see his side through to a draw which sees them in sixth place but 30 points ahead of Somerset.

Division Two was all about the festival grounds. The Beckenham groundsman clearly hadn’t taken any chances, and it was an absolute gift to the batsmen. Kent took full advantage and the records tumbled! In a first innings total of 701 (their second best ever), Sean Dickson struck the highest score by a Kent batsman on home soil. His 318 in nearly nine hours beat anything compiled by the Woollers, Faggs, Cowdreys and Luckhursts of days gone by, and in the town of his mum’s birth. Along the way his second wicket partnership with Joe Denly was a county best for any wicket. The Northants reply included three centuries, led by 19 year-old Max Holden’s 153, and so a tame draw resulted.

By way of contrast, the Cheltenham pitch offered little help to the batters. Credit to Gloucestershire and Glamorgan for extending the match to the sixth session! Liam Norwell’s 6-38 was the best bowling performance but, in the end, Bancroft and Dent showed it was after all possible to bat, and their 137-run opening stand saw Gloucester home and dry with two days to spare.

Up at Chesterfield, Durham enjoyed a six-wicket victory over Derbyshire. Alex Hughes kept Rushworth et al at bay with a courageous 108 but Jake Burnham and Ryan Pringle led Durham to the target on day four. At picturesque Arundel, Sussex found their feet in the second innings, taking the Leicestershire attack for 443-6 before declaring. Stiaan van Zyl top-scored with 166 not out, then Jofra Archer (4-30) and colleagues finished the job.

Apart from Gloucestershire’s contest with Worcestershire, the next month is all about the Nat West T20 Blast. The opening encounters were notable for some fine performances by Adam Lyth, Jos Buttler and Shahid Afridi. It was also encouraging to note Championship strugglers Derbyshire and Warwickshire being the only teams winning two out of two. Will they still be at the top of the North group come August? I wonder.

Team of the Week: Burns (Sur), Dickson (Ken), Denly (Ken), van Zyl (Sus), Hildreth (Som), Rossington (Nor +), Clarke (War), C Overton (Som), Archer (Sus), Holland (Ham), Norwell Glo)

Clarke takes Warwickshire top

After the month's break for T20 and, here in the West, possibly the coolest, wettest summer period in living memory, the County Championship returned. And - guess what? - every match was ruined by the rain. No teams were able to complete two innings, so it was a matter of securing as many bonus points as possible in the inevitable draws.

Warwickshire were fortunate in that their game against Sussex started a day later than elsewhere and so had the luxury of a dry finale. This enabled them to press on to reach 400 before bowling their opponents out to take the maximum eleven points, taking them one ahead of rivals Nottinghamshire who had claimed two fewer against Middlesex the day before. Rikki Clarke's blistering 110 not out was followed by a 3-16 as Sussex declined to 191 all out. At Uxbridge, rain affected each day, with Saturday a complete washout. Andre Adams had set them on their way with 6-32 as Middlesex were skittled for 98, more than half scored by Andrew Strauss. An Adam Voges century gave the then leaders an impressive lead before Strauss compiled an unbeaten 127 and the weather did the rest to prevent a potential victory. Middlesex did garner six points, enough to overtake Somerset, who didn't play, into third place.

The bottom four played each other. Lancashire and Surrey swapped innings of 400+. Steven Croft's impressive 154 not out was soon forgotten when Kevin Pietersen's rare foray into Championship cricket yielded 234 runs in only 190 balls. Imran Tahir may need to worry most because spinner Simon Kerrigan was really given the KP treatment.
It was a lower-scoring affair at Worcester, with neither the home county nor Durham able to break the 250 barrier. Only Phil Hughes looked comfortable with bat in hand, scoring 87 and Durham's Scott Borthwick took 4-37, including the Aussie's wicket. Both sides therefore remain winless so far in the competition.

In Division Two, even less cricket was possible. Only 100 overs were played at Cheltenham, during which Gloucestershire's very short-term signing Ed Cowan scored 103. He will almost certainly have the best average for the season as it's his only scheduled first-class match! Essex could take only four wickets and remain third from bottom. At the Rose Bowl - or whatever it's now called - the overs tally wasn't much higher: 106. Yorkshire's Joe Root was probably the only man to enjoy the match, striking a career-best 222 not out, and reminding England selectors of his future opening credentials when Strauss calls it a day. The 21 year-old has the fourth highest aggregate in Division Two to date, and his county now stand second in the table behind Derbyshire who they now meet this week.

In Division One, Warwickshire travel to Taunton where rain will almost certainly intervene. Notts meet Surrey, while Worcestershire and Durham hope to break their Championship ducks at Lancashire and Sussex, respectively. KP and Strauss will not be reproducing their form for their counties, hoping instead to inflict it on Messrs Steyn, Morkel and co.

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!