County Cricket; Rew and Andersson have a Blast

The launch of 2026’s Vitality Blast campaign coincided with record-breaking May temperatures across much of the country, but it wasn’t all about sun-baked featherbed strips. The preliminaries are arranged in three groups of six, but with a few matches crossing over just to confuse matters. 

The North group is led by Durham and Yorkshire, although each had a close finish. Durham had an easy ride against Leicestershire but pipped Derbyshire by only six runs. Derbyshire also pushed Yorkshire to the limit at Headingley. Martin Andersson’s unbeaten 81 pushed Derby to 194-4, then Morley, Potts and Montgomery clipped the Tykes to 139-8. However, Tye and Hasan Ali defied the bowlers and odds to win the match with four balls to spare. At the time of writing, Derbyshire and Leicestershire are the only counties to play three games, and their Wednesday clash finally delivered victory to the Falcons. Their 230-5 was easily the highest total of the week, including another Andersson half-century. He then entered his county’s record books by taking a remarkable 6-23, the final pair caught-and-bowled from successive deliveries. 

Surrey and Kent are unbeaten in the South division. Lancashire were comprehensively Curran-ed at The Oval, and Surrey claimed London bragging rights by defeating Middlesex by six wickets at Lord’s. Sam Curran was there at the end on 71. Middlesex also concede 200 runs against Kent, and Zak Crawley’s 75 not out from a total of 199 versus Sussex was instrumental in a seven-wicket success. Another England big-hitter, Sam Billings, crunched 84 not out at Lord’s, the week’s second-highest score. 

His innings was eclipsed only by the indomitable James Rew of Somerset, who cruised to a couple of seven-wicket triumphs. The 21-year-old dominated his side’s run chase against the Birmingham Bears, caught by Woakes just seven short of a century. Northamptonshire sit top of the Central/West group on net run rate, assisted by a 100-run thumping of Worcestershire ay New Road. Calvin Harrison’s leg breaks earned him figures of 4-17. 

In the same league, Gloucestershire also made it two from two. Left-arm seamer Duan Jansen took seven wickets altogether, including 4-25 against the Bears, who slumped to a miserable 74 all out at Bristol. They were also involved in the most exciting finish so far. Chasing 157 against Glamorgan, they were struggling. Requiring fifteen from the final over, Matt Taylor went for broke but it took a thick edge from the final delivery to take the four points. 

100% records are sure to suffer during the next seven days. Yorkshire meet both Durham and Gloucestershire, who also meet Northants. Surrey welcome Kent (and Middlesex in the return derby clash) to the Oval, and Somerset take on Glamorgan home and away. 

Team of the Week:-  Lees (Dur), Crawley (Ken), Andersson (Der), J Rew (Som), Billings (Ken +), Montgomery (Der), T Curran (Sur), Jansen (Glo), Harrison (Nor), Hartley (Lan), Currie (Ham)

Surrey Double eclipses Mr Bean

It’s been a great week for two Yorkshiremen, although neither played in the County Championship or the T20 Blast. Jonny Bairstow whacked England to an unlikely 3-0 Test whitewash of New Zealand, then today 20-year-old Finlay Bean ripped the record books apart, accumulating an all-time Second XI best 441 against Notts. Perhaps the two could be batting together in the not-so-distant future?

The county game featured both four-day and twenty-over formats and, although failing to register a victory this week, Surrey top both tables. In the Blast, they were defeated by Essex and Sussex but remain three points clear of Somerset, who were undone by Hampshire’s James Vince, who thumped an unbeaten 129 against them. It’s much closer in the North division, where the Bears, Lancashire and Derbyshire are level on sixteen points. Adam Hose’s 110 not out was instrumental in Birmingham’s 144-run rout of neighbours Worcestershire while Shan Masood and Wayne Madsen fuelled Derby’s home win against their Lightning rivals.

In the first-class game, no fewer than four players reached three figures in Surrey’s 673-7 declared. Amongst them, Sam Curran finally converted a fifty into a ton, while Hashim Amla and Epsom-born Ben Geddes were each dismissed for 124. The former is almost twice the age of the latter! Kent batted out a draw, with Daniel Bell-Drummond scoring a century in each innings.

The only decisive result in Division One came at Chelmsford where spinners were very much in control. Liam Dawson’s second-innings 7-68 reduced Hampshire’s victory target to 299 but Simon Harmer bowled 33 overs unbroken, adding seven wickets to his eight on Sunday and Monday, to deliver Essex a 12-run triumph and deny the visitors a chance to join Surrey at the head of the table.

At Northampton and Bristol, however, the batsmen were in charge. Luke Procter made a career-best 144 not out, putting on 226 with South African Ryan Rickelton to keep Warwickshire at bay. Opener Dom Sibley struck 102, as his 2023 switch back to Surrey was announced. His Warwickshire colleague, ‘keeper Michael Burgess, enjoyed an interesting all-round match. Besides hitting 77 runs and taking five catches behind the stumps, he claimed his first-ever wicket, that of first-innings centurion Richard Keogh!

In the second tier, the pace-setters Nottinghamshire and Middlesex played out a high-scoring draw at Trent Bridge. With Hameed and Lyndon James hitting hundreds, the hosts forced Middlesex to follow on, but Robson and Stoneman shared an opening partnership of 201 to keep Notts’ margin to eleven points. Glamorgan fought back from adversity to eke out a three-wicket success over Worcestershire at Cardiff. Warwickshire’s new signing Ed Barnard forced 131, and Joe Leach took 6-44, leaving the Welsh side in deep trouble. Enter the overseas seam pair Michael Neser and Michael Hogan, who took seven wickets between them, but Glamorgan still needed 332 to win. Colin Ingram (102) and Billy Root (99 not out) ensured they succeeded.

At Hove, Sussex also came from behind to beat Derbyshire by five wickets. Wayne Madsen and Anuj Dal contributed more than half of Derby’s first-innings total of 551-8 declared. Second time around, Jack Brooks had them in a mess but declaring overnight to set Sussex a 344 target still looked a reasonable decision. Oh, until you realise that the opposition feature Ali Orr and Mohammed Rizwan in their line-up. Despite early rain, and assisted by some useful cameos, the chase was completed with seventeen balls to spare, presenting Sussex with a first Championship in front of their home supporters for almost three years. Their next fixture pits them against bottom side Leicestershire while Notts visit Glamorgan.

In the interim, the Vitality Blast group stage will be completed, and the quarter-finals take place over four days. Surrey are pretty much there already, and Somerset may need to beat them on the last day to join them in the knockouts.

Team of the Week: Stoneman (Mid), Orr (Sus), Rizwan (Sus), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Madsen (Der), Keogh (Nor), S Curran (Sur), Burgess (War +), Dawson (Ham), Harmer (Ess), Neser (Gla)

England clinch 4-1 victory over India

In the end, England enjoyed another resounding series success over top-ranked India, by 4-1. Virat Kohli must have had both sets of fingers crossed behind his back when he said his side was not outclassed. Alternatively he was perhaps being modest given that for much of the series India’s batting rested heavily on his shoulders.

It may be true that there was no gaping chasm in quality between the two nations, but the statistics don’t lie. Kohli, Pandya and Bumrah delivered a rare victory at Trent Bridge, and it’s true that Edgbaston and Southampton witnessed two evenly-contested games. Had Alastair Cook not delivered two classic ‘Chef’ innings in his final international appearance, the Oval climax could have been another tight affair. All ifs and buts. 

It’s great that Kohli at last overcame his England hoodoo. Indeed, he scored far more runs (593) in the five-match series than anywhere else on either side, and of those playing more than two Tests, was the only man to average over 40. His majestic 149 out of the first innings total of 274 in the first Test was the highlight, demonstrating the technical changes he had made to counter the movement of Jimmy Anderson in particular, and that they worked extremely well.  The trouble is, most of his loyal lieutenants didn’t follow suit. Dhawan, Rahane, Vijay and, until the very last day – when the pressure was off - Lokesh Rahul, all performed badly. Cheteshwar Pujara struck a typically pugnacious 132 not out to give India a rare first-innings lead at Southampton but there were too many consistent batting failures to give India a chance of winning three matches and therefore the Pataudi Trophy. The skipper must be wondering why it took an Essex debut for Murali Vijay to score a first-class century this year, having garnered only 26 in four Test knocks.

The bowling wasn’t amazing either, although Ishant Sharma’s early-summer Sussex experience bore fruit, and Jasprit Bumrah reproduced his white ball qualities in the last three Tests.

And yet history will show England to have ruled the roost. Ben Stokes returned with some fire in his belly, after getting away with his shameful violent assault on passers-by last autumn in Bristol. Stuart Broad had his moments, while Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and newcomer Sam Curran each received Player of the Match awards for their all-round performances.

Alastair Cook’s miserable run will have been forgotten when, having announced his imminent retirement, he remembered why he is England’s highest run scorer and finished a magnificent career with a 147. Yet the home team achieved only three other hundreds in the whole series, including lower-order duo Woakes and a recalled Jos Buttler. Jennings’ hold on an opener spot looks extremely tenuous but he’s fortunate that there are few obvious contenders to replace him and Cook. Bairstow was out of sorts, young Ollie Pope couldn’t reproduce his Surrey form and Malan was rightly rejected early on.

However, this wasn’t merely a series for Cook and Kohli. Instead it was a tantalising triumph for 36 year-old Jimmy Anderson. His match figures of 9-43 at Lord’s were pivotal in England’s innings victory and then, with the last delivery of the entire series, the Burnley Bullet overtook Glenn McGrath to become the highest Test wicket-taker by any non-spinner. Blessed with top-notch fitness, it’s not impossible for Anderson to overhaul Kumble and Warne, although Muralitharan’s 800 is probably a record too far!

For all their top-order trials, England must surely take more positives than India from this concertina’d concerto of a tour. Some youth has been blooded successfully and newly-crowned county champions Surrey – always so popular with selectors - are chock full of players who could do a job for England. The Currans and Pope have been tried yet may not reach their peak for a while yet, while Stoneman and Burns are easily the best openers in the Championship and Ben Foakes is a more solid rival to the flamboyant Bairstow as ‘keeper-batsman. On the other hand I suspect the evergreen all-rounder Rikki Clarke will be considered too old to add to his two caps received fifteen years ago. Mind you, he’s only ten months older than J. Anderson, Esquire, and he’s not doing at all badly. Sri Lanka next month might not be Clarke’s cup of tea, so Woakes, Rashid and Moeen may be resting more easily.

As for India, Virat Kohli and co have a few problems when it comes to five-day cricket in England but they are not world number ones for nothing. I’m sure a home series against the West Indies will see them back to winning ways. I’d like to thank India for their contribution to a great summer of sport and I look forward to them returning in a few years’ time and not being outclassed again.

Lancashire Upset the Leaders and Leicestershire finally win

In the final round of Championship matches before the first summer break, Lancashire and Surrey blew the race for the pennant wide open. The former went to Trent Bridge and came away with an innings victory over the leaders inside seven sessions. With Keaton Jennings scoring the runs and Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Onions taking the lion’s share of Nottinghamshire wickets, it was a surprisingly easy victory. Stuart Broad took a commendable 4-41 for the home team but Test hopeful Jake Ball blotted his copybook with 2-101 at more than five an over.

At the Oval, Surrey enjoyed a similarly decisive success over Yorkshire. First of all, back-up ‘keeper Ollie Pope maintained his excellent form with the bat, striking 27 boundaries in an innings of 158, ably supported by Dean Elgar and Rikki Clarke. Sam Curran then snapped up ten wickets in two days, taking his first-class tally into three figures while still a teenager. Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance was missing and it has now been revealed he is taking a break “for personal reasons”. A shame, because his county needs him, especially when Jonny Bairstow return to England duty.

Essex were also winners, but were made to work hard by Worcestershire in a low-scoring game at New Road. Joe Clarke’s second successive century and nine wickets for Josh Tongue deserved more but, needing only 215 to win, Worcester were bowled out for 182, thanks to five-fors from both Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer. The Aussie seamer leaves Essex with a lot of wickets and even more goodwill, but the return of Neil Wagner should keep the county’s seam attack in fine fettle.

In the other Division One fixture, the batsmen were very much in control at Taunton. Somerset established a huge first innings lead thanks to James Hildreth’s 184 and late-order runs from internationals past and future, Craig Overton and Dom Bess. However, Hampshire made sure they didn’t fail again, as Hashim Amla (107) and James Vince (201 not out) saved the game. Vince’s double-hundred has also probably saved his Test career.

In Division Two, Leicestershire’s latest head coach, Paul Nixon was celebrating a first Championship win for two years. It was a nail-biting finish, though. Hunting 251 on the third day, Glamorgan subsided to 139-8 and all looked lost. Marchant de Lange decided that he may as well go out in a blaze of glory and instead took his side to the brink of an unlikely triumph. He had plundered eight sixes in a 45-ball 90 when he hoisted a full-toss high for the winning hit only to be caught on the boundary. The result leaves the Welsh side second from bottom, above only Northamptonshire, who were trounced by leaders Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Olly Stone was the pick of the bowlers but it was Will Rhodes’ first career century which anchored the second innings chase.

Kent overtook neighbours Sussex by beating them in a short and sweet encounter at Canterbury. Matt Henry was again the star of the show, ending any Sussex resistance with 6-53, taking his Championship tally to 37 in only four matches.  I’m not sure what Kent will do without him.

Derbyshire’s clash with Durham easily went the distance but finished as a tame draw. Stuart Poynter (170) and Michael Richardson (115) put on 275 for Durham’s sixth wicket, then Mark Wood’s fine 6-46 hurt Derby’s batting on the final day but it was all too late to secure a result after the home team’s 427 on the first few days. They meet again when the Championship resumes in four weeks.

Middlesex’s bid to bounce back into the top tier was dealt another blow when their bowlers couldn’t hammer home the follow-on advantage over Gloucestershire. Even Eoin Morgan scored 76 red-ball runs alongside Dawid Malan in the first innings but 21 year-old Bristolian James Bracey led the fourth day resistance with an unbeaten 125.

So now it’s off to the Royal London Cup. While some players are off to play against Pakistan and others head across the world after serving their short-term contracts, the 50-over competition offers a stage for those remaining and for whom four-day cricket is too onerous or simply cramps their style. Over to you, Messrs Rashid, Hales et al….

Team of the Week:

Jennings (Lan), Bracey (Glo), Vince (Ham), Hildreth (Som), Pope (Sur), Poynter (Dur +), Henry (Ken), S Curran (Sur), De Lange (Gla), Tongue (Wor), Onions (Lan)