Bears Blast to the Top

Everybody knows that Twenty20 is such an unpr4dictable form of cricket. Matches can turn upon a few wickets or a couple of sixes. Tjis has a knock-on effect on the league tables, too. It can also produce genuine nail-biters. 

In this week’s Blast, there were two tied matches: Northants v Leicestershire and Gloucestershire v Surrey. Durham fans, in particular, enjoyed a few cliffhangers, edging Lancashire by two runs and Yorkshire by three. The Roses derby itself at Headingley ended in a tight seven-run margin in favour of the home team, for whom spinner Dom Bess was consistently economical. 

In the North division, the Birmingham Bears stormed to the top on the back of a four-match streak The main impetus came from the spinning all-rounders. Danny Briggs conceded no more than 26 in any of his four games and young Dan Mousley again showed why he is one of the most promising T20 performers in the country. His 20-year-old colleague Jacob Bethell let fly with the most dramatic half-century of the week, a blistering 16-ball unbeaten 56 against Northants, including seven sixes. 

One Rishi may be tottering towards the end of an undistinguished innings at Westminster but another, Rishi Patel, produced the only ton of the past eight days. The Essex-born Leicestershire opener devastated the Northants attack with 104 in 45 balls, and has now not been dismissed for under thirty for seven matches. A special mention, too, for South African Matthew Breetzke, who accumulate more than 200 runs for Northants this week. 

In the South, Surrey reman top, but the key result was their 54-run triumph over second-placed Sussex at Hove. The latest fixtures included two five-fors, amazingly both in the same game. Luke Hollman’s 5-16 was Middlesex’s only bright spot in Surrey’s innings at Lord’s, then the visiting seamer Sean Abbott took 5-18! Middlesex now have a solitary win out of eight. 

Other impressive bowling feats were Roloef van der Merwe’s two wickets with his only two balls in Somerset’s 108-run rout of Glamorgan and Timm van Gugten’s 2-8 in four overs against Gloucestershire. Not quite Lockie Ferguson’s clutch of World Cup maidens but pretty nifty, nonetheless. 

Gloucestershire dragged themselves back into knockout contention with three successes against Somerset, Glamorgan and Kent. Batsman Miles Hammond and paceman Matt Taylor were the star individuals. Essex sit in third, bolstered by runs from Dean Elgar and local boy Michael Pepper. 

Now it’s the return of proper cricket for a few weeks before the T20 group stage concludes in July. 

Team of the Week:- R Patel (Lei), Hammond (Glo), Breetzke (Nor), J Smith (Sur +), Pepper (Ess), Mousley (War), Bethell (War), S Abbott (Sur), M Taylor (Glo), Briggs (War), Bess (Yor)

Somerset's Record-breaking Blast

I wouldn’t normally go overboard on Twenty20 but after Somerset converted a Finals Day appearance into the Blast trophy for the first time since 2007, I am willing to set aside my contempt for the format and celebrate my county’s success. The other three counties at Edgbaston last weekend had all proved troublesome in recent years, not only in the Blast but also in the all-important Championship, so it was especially cheering to clinch the title by defeating both Surrey and Essex. Indeed, they did so by bowling both of them out. 

James Vince may have topped the runs table but nobody took more wickets than seamers Matt Henry and Ben Green and Craig Overton’s twenty catches in the outfield set a new record. Somerset also surpassed the tournament record of victories, losing just two out of sixteen matches. While the bowlers clearly did their job, the strategy of frontloading the batting order with white-ball specialists Banton and Smeed, plus new recruit, Tom Kohler-Cadmore. 

Unfortunately, the elusive Championship pennant is already out of reach in 2023. That familiar trio of Surrey Essex and Hampshire all won their four-day fixtures this week to occupy the leading places in Division One, with only Warwickshire preventing Somerset joining the top four as in the Blast semis. With rain forecast for the fourth day, a good deal of accelerated scoring was required to secure the sixteen points for winning.

 At Chelmsford, Essex needed only thirty to beat Kent, but needed to embark on a three-over thrash to beat the weather, too. Three wickets tumbled, and Matt Critchley followed his first-innings century with a first-ball duck but Paul Walter was there to reach the target. Surrey also had an easy ride against neighbours Middlesex. Sean Abbott and Jamie Smith starred with seven wickets and a century, respectively. 

Somerset’s fine week was completed by a straightforward nine-wicket triumph at Northampton. Their first-choice seam attack of Henry, Overton, Aldridge and Gregory were utterly dominant against the bottom side. At Trent Bridge, fifteen wickets crumbled on the first day, before Ian Holland, Liam Dawson and James Fuller set the scene for a likely third-day denouement. Tom Moores’ 81 merely delayed the inevitable as Fuller’s 4-59 and Mohammad Abbas’ 3-48 wrapped up victory by 116 runs. The Birmingham rain prevented a positive result, although Lancashire’s George Balderson struck his maiden ton. 

In Division Two, three of the four fixtures were draw, including runaway leaders Durham’s run-fest against Derbyshire. The home team’s wicketkeeper, Brooke Guest, enjoyed a career-best 197 but the in-form Alex Lees and David Bedingfield more than compensated with hundreds of their own. Lees’ old opening partner at Yorkshire, Adam Lyth also reached three figures at Headingley against Sussex. White Rose paceman Ben Coad was as economical as ever. For someone with a career average under 20, it is remarkable that he hasn’t really entered the England conversation. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have the all-out pace of a Tongue or Potts. The Cheltenham crowd were frustrated by a lack of action, as Gloucestershire and Glamorgan played out what was essentially a single-innings draw. 

The only win came at Oakham where Worcestershire had the better of a low-scoring encounter with Leicestershire. Forty wickets fell in just over two days, with Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington making the difference between the counties. 

In the last round of matches before the One-Day Cup and Horrible Hundred take over for the school holidays, Division One sees those four southern stars paired off again. The Blast semi-finals are replicated with the red ball – Hampshire v Essex and Somerset v Surrey – which will have a major bearing of where the pennant is heading in September. 

Team of the Week:- Holland (Ham), Lees (Dur), J Smith (Sur), Bedingham (Dur), Guest (Der +), Critchley (Ess), Balderson (Lan), S Abbott (Sur), C Overton (Som), Henry (Som), Pennington (Wor)

Somerset Blast off in style!

The Blast is back! Scorecards are littered with county spinners you thought had retired and Pakistanis who missed out on the IPL action, while the players who actually catch the eye are those who play week in, week out with the red ball. 

It kicked off with an Edgbaston double-header, and Lancashire were the first to register a victory in the 2023 competition, defeating Derbyshire, who sacrificed one of their lucrative home ties for the demands of TV. The Birmingham Bears made their home advantage count against Yorkshire, who ended the week with three losses, maintaining their dreadful Championship form. On the other hand, Lancashire opened their campaign with three straight wins before the Bears spinners Briggs and Mousley dealt them a crushing Bank Holiday blow. 

Neighbours Worcestershire have a 100% record, too. Their star man has been Pakistan’s leg-spinner Usama Mir, who has taken five cheap wickets and thumped rapid runs for the cause. 

The South group has so far been dominated by perennial bridesmaids Somerset. Ironically, T20 specialists Tom Banton and Will Smeed have been eclipsed by bowler Craig Overton who, until this summer, has shunned the biff-bash format. Overton has also taken more catches (eight) than anyone else. Somerset’s most satisfying success came in the demolition of bete-noires Hampshire who last year ended their hopes in another semi-final. The Hawks needn’t worry just yet. After all, they lost their first four fixtures last year and ended up winning the trophy. 

The highest score of the week was achieved by Surrey, whose 223-5 at The Oval proved too much for Kent. The top knock also came in that match, but from an unlikely source. Aussie all-rounder Sean Abbott had never previously made a T20 fifty but in just 52 minutes, he plundered an incredible 110 not out, including a 34-ball century, equalling the record in England. Who needs Roy, Jacks or the Curran brothers? Graham Clark’s first two innings consisted of a hundred and first-ball duck while Mr Consistent, Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen, reached fifty in each of his three outings. He also thumped 89 for the Second XI in between. Not bad for a 39 year-old. 

Team of the Week:- Banton (Som +), Clark (Dur), Hain (Bears), Madsen (Der), Mitchell (Lan), Bopara (Sus), S Abbott (Sur), Usama Mir (Wor), C Overton (Som), Briggs (Bears), Wood (Lan)

Phillip Hughes and Sean Abbott - Both victims of a freak accident

It really is so hard to come to terms with the appalling news of Phillip Hughes' death as a result of being struck by a bouncer at the SCG. There have been previous high-profile incidents of severe head injuries resulting from short-pitched balls delivered in top-level cricket matches but this must be unprecedented. I recall the news of New Zealand tail-ender Ewen Chatfield being hit on his temple, swallowing his tongue and actually dying at the crease on his international debut against England almost forty years ago. Fortunately he was revived and went on to resume a promising career bowling alongside Sir Richard Hadlee.

No helmets in those days but, with pace bowlers like Lillee, Roberts, Holding, Daniel and Clarke becoming dominant, the Chatfield incident led to greater protection being routine in World Series Cricket and then, quite quickly, in all forms of the game. The helmet evolved from just a hard hat with temple guards to the fully-grilled equipment de rigeur in 2014. But even the ball which almost killed Chatfield was not an out-and-out bouncer; it had glanced up off the glove.

A decade on, and West Indian opener Phil Simmons also received a sickening blow in a county match at Bristol which briefly stopped his heart and prompted emergency brain surgery to save not only his fledgling career but also his life. Even in 1988, Simmons wasn't wearing a helmet despite facing David Lawrence in fading light, but that was common amongst top West Indians at the time. Viv Richards always wore his cap, confident in his ability to either evade the short ball or hook it to the boundary. Of course, not everybody has the sharp eye and reactions of a Viv Richards.

Lawrence said later that he was immeasurably comforted by Simmons telling him a few days later at a hospital visit that it wasn't the bowler's fault. Of course it wasn't, just as the delivery from Sean Abbott wasn't intended to kill his opponent. Yet the NSW paceman is only human and it's only natural for him to wonder if Hughes would still be alive if the ball had been slower, or fuller. Yes, he probably would - but this is cricket and what happened was a cruel twist of incredibly bad luck. Well set in his innings, Hughes had defended well against some short-pitched stuff then, for once, appeared to change his mind mid-shot and turned away only for the ball to strike his head just below the helmet. As soon after he crashed face first into the pitch it must have been a nightmare to have been one of those fellow players or spectators. Yet who could have thought that in this day and age, a top-class batsman like Phillip Hughes, popular around the world, would never speak again.

So what should be done to prevent a repeat? Ian O'Brien's excellent article on ESPN cricinfo, was written a day before Hughes' death was announced. However, his delving into the psychology of a fast bowler and his use of the bouncer, remains valid. The short ball must remain part of the game, no question. There may be calls for its ban, but to turn cricket into the equivalent of a summer beach game with a tennis ball would destroy cricket as a world sport. Golf goes on despite the occasional tragic death of a spectator by an errant drive or a player by lightning strike. Rugby hasn't been emasculated despite career-ending broken necks and even deaths of amateur players.

Unforeseen accidents afflict all walks of life, whether in sport or walking down the street. Mark Boucher must have stood up to thousands of deliveries before a bail decided to leap into his eye before he had time to blink. Such incidents can happen to anyone and mercifully they are rare. If anything there could be further developments in the design of protective headgear, which would be applauded.

Cricketers the world over must read the news of Phillip Hughes and think "There by the grace of God..." and for a while there will inevitably be reluctance by fast bowlers to dig one in, or indeed for a tendency for batsmen's hearts to more readily skip a beat at the sight of a ball leaving the bowler's hand a few milliseconds late, spearing into the pitch and rearing up towards head height. In particular, Sean Abbott will be more psychologically scarred by this incident than anyone else. At 22, and only recently elevated to the Aussie ODI and T20I sides, he has his whole career ahead of him. Phillip Hughes would almost certainly have played again for his country, too. Had he had the chance to do so, I'm sure he would have shaken Abbott's hand and forgiven him. That's sport. I just hope that, as we remember the life and career of the man from Macksville, we also support Sean Abbott, avoid knee-jerk reactions and allow cricket to recover.