The opening fixtures of the Royal London Cup produced some memorable batting performances, especially by South Africans, with bowlers struggling to make a mark.
In the North division, Yorkshire and Worcestershire each won both of their matches. The former enjoyed easy victories over Nottinghamshire (helped by Bresnan’s bowling and Joe Root’s unbeaten 75) and Lancashire, who were undone by a 143-run stand between Handscomb and Ballance, and the spin of Rashid and Rafiq. Worcester’s successes, against Notts and Leicestershire, owed more to the whole team.
The most exciting climax was witnessed by the Old Trafford crowd on Friday evening. A strong start from Hameed (on his List A debut) and a late flurry of boundaries by Joe Clark took Lancashire to 314-8. An over was lost to the weather, leaving Leicestershire a D/L target of 309. Mark Pettini and South African Cameron Delport shared a first-wicket century stand, but it was Zak Chappell’s cameo which clinched the three-wicket triumph with four balls to spare.
In the South group, Somerset are the only side with two wins out of two. Against old rivals Surrey, they found themselves in dire straits at 22-5. Enter Roelof van der Merwe. Supported by fellow Saffer Dean Elgar, he clumped 22 fours and a six en route to a career-best 165 not out, leading to victory in under 44 overs. A few days later, Elgar reached three figures himself at Hove. In a rain-affected match, Craig Overton’s 3-20 restricted Sussex to just 155-9 in their 20 overs. After two Championship defeats, Somerset needed this boost to their season!
Elsewhere, Durham skipper Keaton Jennings was in superb form. He followed his 79 in the Derbyshire ‘no result’ with a commanding century against Warwickshire. 23 year-old James Weighell weighed in with a decisive 5-57, too. Glamorgan opener Jacques Rudolph crunched 121 not out off the Gloucestershire attack and 57 versus Surrey. Team-mate Colin Ingram also enjoyed all-round success during the week.
Craig Norwell (5-36) and Benny Howell (86 not out and 3-40) were instrumental in Gloucestershire’s trumping of Middlesex, while Neil Wagner’s 4-41 was the most eye-catching contribution to Essex’s success in their only match played so far. I reckon the Chelmsford outfit will have plenty more this season, with the likes of Ten Doeschate, Westley and Ashar Zaidi on form, and then there’s Alastair Cook who’s no fool in the 50-over format.
In the coming week, three of the most interesting fixtures are Kent’s trip to Taunton, Surrey’s hosting of Essex and Yorkshire’s trip to Worcester. And then there’s the potentially popular London derby on 5th May. Middlesex won’t want to lose to Surrey at Lord’s!
Team of the Week: Rudolph (Gla), Jennings (Dur), Elgar (Som), Thakor (Nor), Ingram (Gla), van der Merwe (Som), Foakes (+, Sur), Howell (Glo), Norwell (Glo), C Overton (Som), Weighell (Dur).
Showing posts with label Shiv Thakor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shiv Thakor. Show all posts
Monday, 1 May 2017
Friday, 10 June 2016
Lumb and Wessels on Fire!
As the County Championship took its first week off this summer, the 50-over One-Day Cup kicked off alongside the continuing T20 Blast. Gloucestershire have made a terrible start to their title defence, losing all three fixtures so far. Mind you, they should have beaten Somerset in their first match, but Jamie Overton and Tim Groenewald produced a tenth wicket stand of 65 to clinch an unlikely win with three balls to spare.
Somerset top the South Group with Essex and Glamorgan but all eyes this week have been on Nottinghamshire and their opening partnership of Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels. All three of their stands reached three figures, including an astonishing 342 against Northants. It broke the old Dravid/Ganguly List A record in England, while the county total of 445-8 is the second highest anywhere in the world. Even more remarkable was that Northants fell only 20 runs short, and the aggregate of 870 was a mere two behind the world record. Lumb made 184, Wessels 146 but perhaps both were outdone by the opponents’ Rory Kleinveldt. Having to bat with a runner, he had to go for boundaries. Thumping ten 4s and nine 6s, he amassed 128 from 63 balls before falling five overs from home.
Lumb made 133 in the Warwickshire game, and both he and Wessels made fifties in their twenty-over match for good measure. For all the runs racked up by Notts, their net run rate is inferior to Derbyshire’s. Ben Slater (against Durham) and Hamish Rutherford (vs Worcestershire) scored centuries while Shiv Thakor, deprived of batting opportunites, has again been amongst the wickets.
Elsewhere, Hain, Bell and Trott were in the runs for Warwickshire, and Johann Myburgh (Somerset), Kevin O’Brien (Leicestershire) and Jesse Ryder (Essex) were also consistently high in their scoring. It certainly wasn’t a week for bowlers, but then modern one-day cricket is fundamentally designed for batsmen: all fielding restrictions, big blades and short boundaries.
Twenty20 is even worse, but at least there were opportunities for experienced Aussie seamers Clint McKay and Michael Hogan to work their magic. Northants currently boast the only 100% record in this year’s Blast while Yorkshire are in the unenviable position of losing all three games played to date. While the big signings like Gayle, Bravo, McCullum, Afridi, Jayawardene et al undoubtedly shift tickets, the top performers on the pitch thus far are home-growners like Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent, Joe Leach from Worcestershire and Leicestershire’s Ben Raine. Time will tell whether the picture changes as the competition progresses.
Team of the Week: Lumb (Not), Wessels (Not), K O’Brien (Lei), Westley (Ess), Hain (War), Buttler (Lan +), Thakor (Der), Dawson (Ham), Howell (Glo), McKay (Lei), Hogan (Gla)
Somerset top the South Group with Essex and Glamorgan but all eyes this week have been on Nottinghamshire and their opening partnership of Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels. All three of their stands reached three figures, including an astonishing 342 against Northants. It broke the old Dravid/Ganguly List A record in England, while the county total of 445-8 is the second highest anywhere in the world. Even more remarkable was that Northants fell only 20 runs short, and the aggregate of 870 was a mere two behind the world record. Lumb made 184, Wessels 146 but perhaps both were outdone by the opponents’ Rory Kleinveldt. Having to bat with a runner, he had to go for boundaries. Thumping ten 4s and nine 6s, he amassed 128 from 63 balls before falling five overs from home.
Lumb made 133 in the Warwickshire game, and both he and Wessels made fifties in their twenty-over match for good measure. For all the runs racked up by Notts, their net run rate is inferior to Derbyshire’s. Ben Slater (against Durham) and Hamish Rutherford (vs Worcestershire) scored centuries while Shiv Thakor, deprived of batting opportunites, has again been amongst the wickets.
Elsewhere, Hain, Bell and Trott were in the runs for Warwickshire, and Johann Myburgh (Somerset), Kevin O’Brien (Leicestershire) and Jesse Ryder (Essex) were also consistently high in their scoring. It certainly wasn’t a week for bowlers, but then modern one-day cricket is fundamentally designed for batsmen: all fielding restrictions, big blades and short boundaries.
Twenty20 is even worse, but at least there were opportunities for experienced Aussie seamers Clint McKay and Michael Hogan to work their magic. Northants currently boast the only 100% record in this year’s Blast while Yorkshire are in the unenviable position of losing all three games played to date. While the big signings like Gayle, Bravo, McCullum, Afridi, Jayawardene et al undoubtedly shift tickets, the top performers on the pitch thus far are home-growners like Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent, Joe Leach from Worcestershire and Leicestershire’s Ben Raine. Time will tell whether the picture changes as the competition progresses.
Team of the Week: Lumb (Not), Wessels (Not), K O’Brien (Lei), Westley (Ess), Hain (War), Buttler (Lan +), Thakor (Der), Dawson (Ham), Howell (Glo), McKay (Lei), Hogan (Gla)
Thursday, 26 May 2016
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)
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)
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