County Week: Stokes Six Blitz but Surrey storm ahead

There were no double-centuries this week but Ben Stokes marked his first Durham appearance in the Championship for ten months with an innings to match the new England captain’s larger-than-life personality. His first-innings knock had a typically charmed start but once he started swinging his bat, the records began to fall. He smashed 17 sixes from 88 balls, the highest ever in the competition, before another leg-side hoik was snaffled in the deep when on 161. Pity poor teenage spinner Josh Baker. He was clubbed for five successive sixes, and it could have been a full set had Stokes’ next club over mid-wicket bounced a few metres short of the boundary. 

In the match context, Stokes wasn’t even the top scorer. That accolade went to the opener Sean Dickson who struck two centuries, including a declaration-chasing 73-ball 105. Thanks to Jack Haynes’ maiden ton, Worcestershire easily avoided defeat on the final day. Stokes as bowled but ended wicketless from thirty overs. Will he play for the county again before England’s Test series begins? Who knows? 

Also in Division Two, Chetneshwar Pujara also outscored the Durham all-rounder, thanks to a second-innings 170 not out for Sussex at Hove. Middlesex were challenged to reach 370 in under three sessions and, anchored by Sam Robson’s 149 and accelerated by Max Holden and Martin Andersson, they succeeded. 

Middlesex now to the table, and Glamorgan also leapfrogged Nottinghamshire into second by defeating Leicestershire in Cardiff. Most players contributed, including ‘keeper Chris Cooke, Sam Northeast and the Aussie pacemen Neser and Hogan. 

In the top tier, there were centuries from four former England openers. Warwickshire’s Dom Sibley and Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings, in his first game in 2022, were the batting stars although the game limped to a draw. At Chelmsford, Alastair Cook emulated Sean Dickson by reaching three figures twice, surprisingly something he’d ever achieved before. However, the second innings of 102 not out was played out with little pressure as the match petered out into batting practice for Cook and opening partner Nick Browne. Special mention, too, for Yorkshire’s Harry Brook. His 123 was his sixth score of 50+ in six innings. That’s what you call consistent cracking form. 

Surrey notched a third win of the season, this time against Northamptonshire. Rory Burns’ 107 led the way to a total of 401, which was beyond Northants in two attempts. Colin de Grandhomme and Dan Worrall took ten wickets between them, and ‘keeper Ben Foakes claimed seven catches. 

Hampshire also enjoyed a home victory, clinching an 87-run margin over Gloucestershire. The latter’s Mohammad Amir was in ominous form but his Pakistan ex-colleague Mohammad Abbas had the edge, thanks to a first-innings 6-45. 

Hampshire sit it out this coming week, so Surrey can open up a sizeable lead by beating table-proppers Kent in the Beckenham derby. Talking of derbies, Yorkshire and Lancashire provide the year’s first Roses battle and neighbours Somerset and Gloucestershire also face off in Bristol. In Division Two, Nottinghamshire travel to Lord’s for the chance to reclaim the summit, although a draw could let in Glamorgan who head north to Durham and hope to avoid another Stokes special.  

Team of the Week: Sibley (War), Cook (Ess), Dickson (Dur), Pujara (Sus), Holden (Mid), Cooke (Gla +), Stokes (Dur), De Grandhomme (Sur), Mohammad Abbas (Ham), Mohammad Amir (Glo), Potts (Dur)

Snater and Westley send Essex clear

This week’s One-Day Cup was one of mixed fortunes for all, and rain also throwing a spanner in the works. Group 2 leaders Essex are the only county to have won more than three games. They thrashed Kent by nine wickets, with Alastair Cook and Tom Westley in charge, but at Bristol left it to the last ball to edge past Gloucestershire by two wickets. Aussie medium-pacer Shane Snater took his wicket tally to thirteen, comfortably ahead of anyone else so far. It was a tough week for Gloucestershire, especially as Jack Taylor struck three half-centuries, Ben Charlesworth aggregated 160 runs (including a 99 not out) and Graeme Van Buuren took six wickets. 

Durham are hard on their heels after Sean Dickson’s 76-ball 103 and a fine all-round performance by teenager Luke Doneathy helped stall Lancashire’s charge. Batsman Rob Jones and seamer Tom Bailey did their best for the Red Roses but another defeat, to Midlesex, could cost them dearly. 

In Group 1, Somerset are the only unbeaten county in the competition and could have ended the week with a 100% record had they not had two fixtures curtailed by the weather. They sit level on points with Glamorgan, who slaughtered Surrey, featuring a typically miserly ten-over spell by Michael Hogan (1-18). Nigel Selman’s 140 against Leicestershire was the top score around the country but sadly it proved in vain as their opponents were prevented from completing their reply by rain. 

They probably wouldn’t have reached the target, having been put to the sword at Welbeck by Nottinghamshire who triumphed with thirty overs remaining. Neighbours Derbyshire achieved their first victory in the tournament, also against Notts. Tom Wood’s 109 off only 59 balls was the outstanding innings, and wasn’t the product of hit-and-hope slogs; there were only three sixes but 14 fours. All-rounder Finn Hudson-Prentice continued his good form and yet they are languishing near the bottom of Group 1. 

Next week sees the final league fixtures and it really is all to play for. Almost anyone can sneak into the top four placings in each group. Essex meet their closest rivals Durham and Lancashire so I’d expect at least two of these three to qualify for the quarter-finals. I expect Gloucestershire to be in the mix, too. 

Somerset probably need two wins from last three matches, but it could go down to their trip to Warwickshire next Thursday. Glamorgan close with two home ties, but Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire are tough opponents who also fancy their chances of progression. 

Team of the Week: Charlesworth (Glo), Eskinazi (Mid), Selman (Gla), Westley (Ess), Burgess (Not +), T Wood (Der), Taylor (Glo), Hudson-Prentice (Der), Van Buuren (Glo), Bailey (Lan), Snater (Ess)

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)

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)

Jarvis and Woakes make it a brill week for the bowlers

Hurrah! The last week in May and finally the bowlers have something to celebrate. With five counties collecting their 16-point win bonus, there were some major shifts in league positions, too, with Lancashire surging to the top of Division One, and non-playing Yorkshire slumping to mid-table.

For once, there was considerable competition for places in my Team of the Week, too. I can’t count the performances of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad but, while England were hammering another nail in the coffin of the five-day game, any number of counties were promoting the four-day format in all its glory.

Perhaps the best match was at the Rose Bowl, where Hampshire overcame Nottinghamshire by 69 runs. It probably didn’t help the visitors to lose star bowler Jake Ball to an England call-up mid-game, nor Chris Read to injury. However, despite nine wickets from Harry Gurney, it was the whirlwind sex machine, aka Tino Best, who did most to propel the hosts to victory on day four. Strangely the highest individual score was a mere 72!

Lancashire made short work of Surrey, with Alviro Petersen’s first hundred of the campaign and Kyle Jarvis capturing eleven wickets. Durham are just ten points behind them after despatching Warwickshire. Chris Woakes finished on the losing side despite claiming a magnificent 9-36. However, in mitigation he followed Jake Ball to the England camp before the second innings could begin. Instead, the final day bowling honours went to Durham’s James Weighell, although his own nine-wicket haul came at the expense of 130 runs.

At Lord’s, Middlesex and Somerset shook hands on each side’s sixth successive draw. Chris Rogers and Nick Gubbins swapped centuries, while James Hildreth and Peter Trego again stabilised Somerset’s batting. Trego seems to bowl less these days but two more fifties make him an invaluable asset at six or seven, especially as our new wicket-keeper can’t bat to save his life.

In the second tier, it was the bad old Leicestershire who turned up to Grace Road and face Worcestershire. Matt Henry and Joe Leach cut through their second innings batting like a hot knife through butter, dismissing them for 43 and leaving their own top-order a meagre total to chase, which they did for the loss of only three wickets.

At Derby, Shiv Thakor’s fine century and five-for were in vain, as Kent wrapped up another seven-wicket success. Sean Dickson ended a miserable run by amassing the week’s only double-century, and James Tredwell justified his four-day place with six scalps.

Gloucestershire must be licking their lips now that Michael Klinger has arrived at Bristol. He racked up 140 on his season debut, but it wasn’t enough to beat Northants, for whom Steven Crook found some form with the bat. Glamorgan kept leaders Essex at bay, thanks largely to Will Bragg, who followed a first-innings duck with a career-best 161 not out.

Next week, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that Somerset can break their duck at home to Surrey. I just hope Mr Sangakkara doesn’t take a liking for the Taunton wicket! However, the Bank Holiday weekend heralds the War of the Roses at Headingley. Can Lancashire widen the gap over the champions?
In the promotion hunt, Essex travel to Northampton while Kent entertain Leicestershire, whose new-look batting line-up needs to forget this week’s second-innings horror show.


Team of the Week:
Dickson (Ken), Jennings (Dur), Bragg (Gla), Klinger (Glo), Davies (Lan +), Thakor (Der), Crook (Nor), Woakes (War), Jarvis (Lan), Weighell (Dur), Gurney (Not)