Morkel and Trott ride to the front

Surrey ensured they remained at the top of the pile by beating Yorkshire at Scarborough, but they had to come from behind to do so. The home side enjoyed a 75-run first innings lead but after Morne Morkel (5-39) and Jade Dernbach (3-34) ripped through them on the third day, skipper Rory Burns led the charge to the target.

Neither Nottinghamshire nor Somerset could keep up with the leaders. At Trent Bridge, the Notts openers were in fine form. Chris Nash and Jake Libby each made centuries then, with Stuart Broad leading the attack, declared with the expectation of bowling Worcestershire out in just over a day. They failed. The England seamer had an ankle niggle and Joe Clarke had a point to prove. He was still there on 177 at the very end as the bottom side avoided defeat.

When Essex roared to 517-5, Somerset’s chance of winning shrank to almost zero. Ravi Bopara and the returning Ryan Ten Doeschate shared a 284-run partnership but in reply Somerset managed to accumulate more than 400. On the final afternoon, Essex set an ambitious target of 319 and credit to the visitors for seeming intent on accepting the challenge. However, when the top four fell cheaply, the shutters came down and Abell and Gregory dug in for the draw.

There were neither winners nor losers at Old Trafford either. Batsmen were in charge, and no fewer than five reached three figures. Lancashire’s current ‘keeper Dane Vilas top-scored with 134 but Hampshire opener Joe Weatherley showed admirable patience to survive the whole of day four to attain his maiden hundred.

Both Warwickshire and Kent each achieved their fifth victories of the season in Division Two. Ian Bell’s run of form was halted but his ex-England colleague Jonathan Trott racked up more than 200 in the leaders’ visit to Durham. Jeetan Patel’s nine wickets and Tim Ambrose’s ten catches did the rest. Meanwhile at Canterbury Kent flattened Middlesex by 342 runs. Grant Stewart’s 6-22 helped bowl out Malan’s men for 56 first time out, with Eskinazi the only one reaching double figures. Batting at ten, Stewart proceeded to crash a 74-ball century before Middlesex struggled again. When Tim Murtagh top-scores you know you have big problems!

Leicestershire advanced to third, defeating Derbyshire with thanks to Mohammad Abbas’ decisive 6-54, and Northamptonshire leapt from the bottom by putting Glamorgan to the sword. The Welsh, despite the best efforts of Usman Khawaja, are having a nightmare summer so far, so must hope Colin Ingram can resurrect some pride in the T20 Blast which starts next week. If not, 2018 will be a long, agonising road.   

Team of the Week: 

Nash (Not), Libby (Not), Clarke (Wor), Trott (War), Bopara (Ess), Ten Doeschate (Ess), Ambrose (War +), Patel (War), Podmore (Ken), Stewart (Ken), Mohammad Abbas (Lei)

County Week: Wickets tumble to Ball and Stone

It proved fitting that the 2018 County Championship commenced on Friday the 13^th because it was certainly unlucky for all players and spectators. In contrast to the warm sunshine of last year’s launch, it was virtually a  complete washout. In fact, conditions at Headingley were so bad that Yorkshire’s eagerly-awaited encounter with reigning champs Essex was abandoned without a single ball bowled.

When play did start elsewhere, it was woefully one-sided. The only century scored in five matches came from David Wiese, batting at number nine for Sussex. The highest score by any opening batsman was Daniel Bell-Drummond’s second innings 61. In short, England was a seamer’s paradise.

One of the few specialist batsman to make runs was James Vince, whose swift 75 for Hampshire helped set up a 196-run victory over promoted Worcestershire. Visiting captain Joe Leach nabbed seven wickets, as did Kyle Abbott, although it was his Hampshire team-mates Fidel Edwards and Liam Dawson who polished off the tail to go top of the table.

At Old Trafford, the final morning witnessed a crazy avalanche of wickets, with twelve tumbling in only fifteen overs. Aussie Joe Mennie ripped out the Notts top three in his first two overs but the damage to Lancashire had already been inflicted over the weekend and Steven Mullaney’s men needed only ten to win! In total, one-time England internationals Jake Ball and Harry Gurney hoovered up seventeen wickets for only 100 runs. Crazy stuff!

It was a similar situation in Division Two. At Canterbury, Gloucestershire became the first side to win a Championship fixture without scoring more than 110 in an innings since 1982. Amidst the carnage caused by the pacier men like Matt Taylor and Kent’s Kiwi import Matt Henry, it was the young spinner Ryan Higgins, brought in from Middlesex, who boasted the best single return of 5-22, albeit in a losing cause.

Middlesex seemed to operate perfectly well without him, though, as James Harris (9-48 in the match) and Tim Murtagh (8-63) flattened Northamptonshire within eight rain-hit sessions. Harris also contributed the game’s highest individual score: 46 not out. He usually starts the season strongly so let’s hope in 2018 he doesn’t succumb to his customary injuries. Even lacking key batsmen, the lads from Lord’s were straightforward winners and even at this early stage must surely be odds-on favourites to bounce back from the second tier.

Edgbaston saw the only match to finish as a draw, although the wet outfield didn’t allow very much play. The three top scores of the entire week were all achieved here, led by the aforementioned Wiese’s run-a-ball 106 and his captain Ben Brown’s 91. Their eighth wicket stand of 155 was a Sussex record against Warwickshire and came in spite of Olly Stone’s highly commendable 8-80 and a fine all-round performance by the home side’s Tim Ambrose. The former Sussex ‘keeper compiled 81 and took six catches in the first innings.

I can only hope the weather is kinder next week, so that batsmen can at last get runs under their belts in a full fixture list. Middlesex must fancy their chances at Derby while in Division One, Essex and Yorkshire get a second chance of playing, against Lancashire and Notts, respectively. Surrey’s big names enter the fray at home to Hampshire while Somerset host Worcestershire.

My Team of the Week is inevitably bowler-heavy. For the first time since I’ve compiled such lists, I have been able to fill the top five slots with only two specialist batsmen. Mad! Hopefully normal service will be restored next week.

Bell-Drummond (Ken), Vince (Ham), Brown (Sus), Ambrose (War, +), Berg (Ham), Harris (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Wiese (Sus), Stone (War), Ball (Not), Gurney (Not)

County Cricket Team of 2016

It was all change for the domestic trophies in 2016. Yorkshire relinquished the Championship pennant to Middlesex, albeit only after an incredibly close winner-takes-all final afternoon. Earlier, the 50-over competition was won by Ian Bell’s Warwickshire, and the T20 Blast by Northamptonshire, proving once again that the shortest format is the most unpredictable of them all.

For England, Joe Root’s all-round batting quality shone through, and it was wonderful to watch Chris Woakes finally make the step up from top-notch county stalwart to the international stage. Of course, playing for England deprives the domestic game of the best players for much of the season. It was nice to see Alastair Cook and Jonny Bairstow make some runs for Essex and Yorkshire before the ECB called them back for England duty, but they weren’t available for long enough to justify places in my county team of the year.
As before, this is based partly on my Teams of the Week and partly on the end-of-season statistics.

Openers:
In contrast to 2015, it was a fine year for opening batsmen. Marcus Trescothick, free from captaincy responsibilities and limited-overs cricket, enjoyed a fine 25th season for Somerset, Nick Gubbins’ runs were vital in Middlesex’s Championship success, and Mark Stoneman demonstrated why Surrey have prised him away from Durham. However, my places go to Adam Lyth and Keaton Jennings. The Yorkshireman may have been discarded by England, but he made runs in all competitions in 2016. The same is not true of Durham’s Keaton Jennings. Suddenly the Jo’burg-born left-hander found form of which I’d never dreamed him capable, doubling his career tally of first-class centuries in just one summer. He may not ‘do’ the one-day stuff but his dominance of the Championship run table (1,548 and 7 centuries), plus his record six Team of the Week appearances, earn him a spot in my Eleven.

Middle Order
It was a shock when James Taylor was forced to retire from cricket just as his international career was beginning to bloom. He left a big hole in the England middle-order which James Vince could not amply fill this summer. Steve Borthwick and Wayne Madsen were consistent performers but none could match Ben Duckett. The 21 year-old Northamptonshire man amassed well over 2,000 runs in all competitions. Hardly surprising then that he scooped both individual PCA awards and a place in the Bangladesh tour party. He is joined in my 2016 XI by Tom Westley of Essex and Kent’s Sam Northeast. They may have plied their trade in Division Two of the Championship but I wonder how long it will be before they also get their chance for England. Essex, in particular, have an encouraging talent pool of young batsmen.

All-rounders
Genuine all-rounders are a bit thin on the ground in the county game. Darren Stevens wasn’t his usual prolific self for Kent, while Samit Patel was unable to prevent Nottinghamshire from relegation. Somerset’s Peter Trego doesn’t bowl so much these days, helped by his county having the services of the Overton twins and Lewis Gregory. Nevertheless, he broke the 1,000 Championship run barrier in 2016 and struck a career best 154 not out against Lancashire. Now in his thirties, Tim Bresnan is carving quite a niche as a Yorkshire all-rounder these days. Besides supporting the likes of Sidebottom, Brooks and Patterson with the ball, Pontefract’s finest contributed essential runs in the lower order, culminating in his unbeaten 142 against Middlesex which almost clinched the third consecutive title.

Wicketkeepers
Ben Foakes (Surrey), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Ben Brown (Sussex), James Foster (Essex) and John Simpson (Middlesex) each performed well with bat and gloves, but Tim Ambrose nicks it for me. He claimed more Championship victim than anyone else (57) and averaged a creditable 40 at the crease.

Bowlers
The reliable seamers Graeme Onions, Jack Brooks, Steve Magoffin, Clint McKay and Keith Barker each grabbed more than 50 Championship wickets as usual. Jamie Porter was promoted to new-ball duty for Essex and seemed to relish the responsibility. However, it was his 38 year-old team-mate Graham Napier, in his final season, who stole the glory. For so often he has taken the headlines for his six-hitting but in 2016 it was his wickets which did so much for Essex’s promotion challenge. Toby Roland-Jones seemed to enjoy match-winning performances at crucial times, none more so than the hat-trick which wrapped up the Championship on the very last afternoon. However, I have omitted him in favour of Worcestershire’s Joe Leach. He topped the Division Two table of wicket-takers (65), contributed another 20 in the T20 Blast and scored almost 600 runs in the four-day game.

The change in the toss rules was designed to benefit spinners and the jury’s out. I don’t suppose it made any difference to Jeetan Patel who underlined his reputation as the most consistent wicket-taker in county cricket. Ollie Rayner claimed 51 for Middlesex but the surprise name on the list was Somerset’s Jack Leach. The locally-born 24 year-old benefited from the county’s end-of-season turning track strategy and took his season’s tally of Championship wickets to 65, identical to his Worcestershire namesake.

It was encouraging to see so many different players emerging on the county scene. And I haven’t even mentioned Glamorgan’s Dutch-Aussie Timm van der Gugten, Nottinghamshire’s Jake Ball or Lancashire teenager Haseeb Hameed! How many will kick on in 2017 and will there be more promising newcomers filling the void left by England call-ups? I can’t wait to find out.

In summary, my County Team of 2016 is:-

Lyth (Yor), Jennings (Dur), Duckett (Nor), Northeast (Ken, *), Westley (Ess), Ambrose (War, +), Trego (Som), Bresnan (Yor), Joe Leach (Wor), Napier (Ess), Patel (War)

12th Man: Roland-Jones (Mid)

Lancashire and Petersen Push ahead

The British weather certainly didn’t play ball last week. All the Championship matches endured at last one day’s washout and, consequently, all were drawn. Lancashire were thwarted in their bid to open up a healthy lead at the top of Division One as only fifteen wickets fell at Lord’s. Alviro Petersen’s 191helped them to a 500+ score but Stevie Eskenazi’s maiden first-class hundred and Sam Gubbins’ first ‘double’ helped Middlesex to maximum batting points and denied Lancashire’s attack much joy for a day and a half.

In contrast, Somerset were all over bottom-side Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.. After the Overton twins captured eight wickets on day one, Johann Myburgh and James Hildreth each reached three figures. With on eye on the gloomy weather forecast, they stepped up the run rate and even teenage ‘keeper Ryan Davies thumped three sixes in his first fifty before the declaration. Sadly for us, the home side’s batsmen stuck to their task and lost only five wickets before the rain ended proceedings in mid-afternoon on the third day.

Only 190 overs were bowled at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire had the better of what play there was. Clarke, Rankin and Patel each took three Nottinghamshire wickets in the first innings, while Tim Ambrose collected five catches and a stumping. He and Clarke each scored 70+ in reply, but Jake Ball again impressed with the ball.

This week, Middlesex travel north for the Scarborough festival fixture, where Yorkshire need to win to maintain the Championship challenge with Lancashire, who visit Nottinghamshire. Hampshire face an awkward trip to Durham, while Surrey, seemingly hellbent on cherrypicking any decent player from other counties, host Warwickshire.

The race for promotion remains open after Kent could muster a mere ten points at home to Derbyshire. In their first innings, Sam Northeast scored more than half the side’s 379 runs but Derbyshire mustered well over 500, including centuries by in-form Wayne Madsen and Shiv Thakor. With naughty boy Matt Coles again missing, the Kent attack toiled with little success.

In the other Division Two fixture, a paltry twelve wickets were taken at Leicester as the rains dominated. Mind you, despite Neil Dexter’s first day 136, Gloucestershire’s batsmen were in charge. Chris Dent (165) contributed to a couple of big partnerships especially for the second wicket with Graeme van Buuren (121 not out).

The top two next meet at Chelmsford, with Essex just four points adrift and a game in hand. Glamorgan may be impress in the T20 Blast but they prop up the rest in four-day cricket. They play another disappointing side, Sussex, at Hove.

Only a few T20 games finished this week, but amongst them was Yorkshire’s narrow Roses victory over Lancashire. Elsewhere Michael Klinger racked up an unbeaten 101 to defeat a feeble Gayle-less Somerset in the West Country derby at Taunton, while Ravi Bopara struck a 43-ball 81 not out for Essex against Kent. How the Chelmsford outfit would love to beat their neighbours in this week’s red-ball encounter!

Team of the Week: Klinger (Glo), Gubbins (Mid), Petersen (Lan), Northeast (Ken), Madsen (Der), Ambrose (War +), Clarke (War), Thakor (Der), J Overton (Som), Mills (Sus), M Taylor (Glo)

Bairstow Breaks Durham Hearts

Last week the bowlers were in command but this time, the County Championship was extraordinarily kind to the batsmen, and wicketkeepers in particular. Even the Aussies got in on the act, making hay in the Kent and Essex sunshine in a week which saw those in the London area experience their hottest July weather on record.

The first v second battle in Division One proved surprisingly one-sided. Once Jonny Bairstow achieved a career-best 219 not out, and shared with Tim Bresnan a 366-run seventh wicket partnership – the third highest in all first-class cricket and a Championship record – Durham’s pretensions to the title looked distinctly feeble. Bresnan then added three wickets of his own to make the home county follow on. Mark Stoneman capped a good personal week with a solid 131 but all in vain.

At the other end of the table, Nottinghamshire lifted themselves to seventh by beating fellow strugglers Worcestershire in a relatively low-scoring affair at Trent Bridge. Riki Wessels (Notts) and Tom Fell (Worcester) each made two half-centuries, and Richard Oliver fell on 99, but the star bowler was the under-rated medium-pacer Jack Shantry. In the Notts second innings the recorded Murali-esque figures of 35.4-13-48-5. And still ended up on the losing side!

Hampshire are now back at the bottom following a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Middlesex. The Hants top order again failed, and James Harris helped himself to eight wickets. Meanwhile, at Edgbaston, only twelve wickets fell across all four days! Warwickshire and Sussex each declared on more than 600 with six centurions and another triple-hundred stand. Laurie Evans and ex-England ‘keeper Tim Ambrose piled on 327 for the sixth wicket as Sussex resorted to giving all eleven a bowl. A shame that ‘keeper Ben Brown couldn’t add a wicket to his unbeaten 119 from his eight tidy overs!

Next up, Yorkshire could put real distance between themselves and the rest by beating Warwickshire, while Worcestershire face another relegation battle, this time against Hampshire. Somerset go for a third consecutive success at home to Sussex, but somehow I can’t see it happening. Consistency is sorely lacking but then so is quality of the opposition bowling in recent weeks.

There were only two Second Division fixtures, but the promotion battle looks more interesting as a result. Leaders Lancashire could only draw with Northants, for whom young Ben Duckett contributed more than 200 runs. However, Surrey scorched Gloucestershire by an innings before the heatwave really took hold in London. Ben Foakes top-scored for the home team before Tom Curran (7-20) and Zafar Ansari (6-30) ripped through the vulnerable visitors on days two and three.

Next week, Glamorgan can catch up with one of their two games in hand (playing Derbyshire) but Lancashire can restore some momentum by beating Essex. Leicestershire and Kent will badly want to achieve the win which would consign the other to last place.

Team of the Week: Stoneman (Dur), Ansari (Sur), Duckett (Nor), Evans (War), Wright (Sus), M Marsh (Aus), Bairstow (Yor, +), Bresnan (Yor), T Curran (Sur), Harris (Mid), Shantry (Wor)

Team of the Week 9th May: AB, PJ and DM get A*

A good spread of top performances this week, with wicketkeepers and slow bowlers to the fore. First name on my team sheet is Worcestershire captain and opener, Daryl Mitchell. This is his tenth summer with his home county, and it must be one of his best starts to a first-class season. I once saw him fall two runs short of a triple-century at Taunton but when set he is one of the best county openers around. Against Glamorgan, he was last man out for 109, then unbeaten on 151 in the second innings, taking his career average close to 40 and season average well into three figures. Durham's Mark Stoneman has been around almost as long, but with less success. However, his 131 did much to keep Durham in the match against Yorkshire and certainly eclipsed debutant Kumar Sangakkara, whose first outing for his new county lasted only two balls. Good practice for the Sri Lanka tour then!

Mike Yardy showed the way for Sussex with a first innings century against Lancashire but I've gone for Kent's Brendan Nash at number three. He shared a 197-run partnership with Rob Key, scoring the same number of runs (126) but at a much brisker rate. The Aussie-born West Indian international is proving to be one of Kent's best signings of recent years.

It doesn't matter where AB De Villiers plays; he'll produce the goods on any pitch, in any country, in any format. As the IPL shifted from the UAE back to India, the Bangalore number five took advantage and smashed an 89 and 53. He's still way behind the current leading scorer in he tournament, Glen Maxwell, though. Shane Watson has flattered to deceive in recent years but it was with his bowling that he made the headlines his week, including a hat-trick against Kolkata and taking another three wickets against the Sunrisers.

Back in Blighty, another Aussie, Phil Jaques, outscored his fellow Notts batsmen in the draw against Somerset. However, team-mate Samit Patel made 132 arguably when it mattered most, on the opening day. He took a couple of wickets, too. The same wicketkeepers always seem to appear in contention. Chris Read hammered 17 boundaries in 96, alongside the aforementioned Jaques and Patel, James Foster propped up the Essex batting, and Tim Ambrose delivered a fine 167 for Warwickshire. He pipped Ned Eckersley to a place in my team of the week; the Leicestershire batsman donned the gloves in O'Brien's absence and also struck 110 runs.

On the bowling front, spinners took the plaudits, and not only in the IPL where Pravin Tambe was once more Mr Economical for the Royals. He doesn't quite make it this week, displaced by a couple of slowies in the Championship. Kent's young Alex Riley (4-77 and 5-78) and Glamorgan's nothing-like-as-young Dean Cosker (5-39 and 4-94) deserve the selections at a time of year when seamers usually hoover up the wickets. The final bowling spot goes to Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad. His 4-14 against the Royals was his best in a T20 contest, and in the 2014 tournament so far has conceded fewer than 6 an over across eight games, and nobody has taken more wickets. Not bad for a fast-medium pacer!

To re-cap: Daryl Mitchell (Worcs), Mark Stoneman (Dur), Brendan Nash (Kent), Phil Jaques (Notts), AB De Villers (Banga), Samit Patel (Notts), Shane Watson (Rajas), Tim Ambrose (Warks, +), Adam Riley (Kent), Bhuvi Kumar (Hyder), Dean Cosker (Glam)

Ambrose and Patel take Warwickshire top

Most Championship games this week were drawn but Warwickshire stirred things up by mashing Middlesex in under three days at Edgbaston. Chris Rogers must have regretted his decision to bat first as Chris Wright and co left the visitors ailing at 66-8. Things could have got even more embarrassing but for a last-wicket stand of 61 between Roland-Jones and Finn! Tim Ambrose proceeded to match Middlesex's total of 167 all by himself and, with Jeetan Patel reaching three figures for only the second time, Warwickshire racked up a lead big enough to ensure an innings victory. Patel again took 4-78 to crown a great all-round performance, and the Midlanders are now in pole position.

Sussex lurk just one point behind after a tame draw against Lancashire. Mike Yardy ended a miserable run with the bat by compiling 139, Steve Magoffin claimed 4-36 and Chris Nash made a welcome return after injury. Somerset are third after a tough four days for bowlers at Taunton. Samit Patel and Phil Jacques each scored more than 200 runs in the match, although Peter Trego's pre-declaration blast of 86 in 71 balls brought the contest to life briefly on day three.

It was another run-fest at Chester-le-Street. Yorkshire made the game safe by accumulating almost 600 in their first innings. Gale and Lyth each scored hundreds, while Bairstow and Williamson were dismissed in the 90s. Stoneman and Richards also made centuries for Durham and Jennings' 54 not out prevented any chance of an unlikely last day win for Yorkshire. Northants and Durham are the only Division One counties yet to win and look unlikely to change that next week as they travel to Notts and Sussex, respectively.

In the second flight, Kent leapt to fifth by beating Surrey by eight wickets. In two innings, only Jason Roy passed 50 for Graeme Smith's outfit, while Rob Key and Brendan Nash each fell for 126 in the Kent cause. 22 year-old spinner Adam Riley captured nine wickets and Doug Bollinger strangled the Surrey run rate.

Worcestershire remain top, running out of hours in which to snaffle the final three Glamorgan wickets at Cardiff. Wagg and Cosker bowled well for the Welsh side but two centuries from Daryl Mitchell - taking his season average into three figures - and excellent bowling by Gareth Andrew and Saeed Ajmal kept Worcs in the driving seat for most of the match. The Essex-Leicestershire fixture petered out into a draw. Ned Eckersley kept wicket and contributed 110 for Leicester against an Essex attack lacking both Masters and Napier. Monty Panesar's 6-111 in 50 overs stemmed the flow of runs but there was never a chance of a home success.

Next week, Hampshire have an excellent chance of leading the division, hosting Glamorgan. Surrey will sink to the bottom if they lose to Gloucestershire and Derbyshire overcome Kent. How I will laugh....

Team of the Week 25th April 2014: Cook and Maxwell in prime form

For my first Team of the Week of the 2014 'summer', there's a good mix of the familiar, the new and the forgotten. In England, it was a good week for opening batsmen. Greg Smith (Leicestershire) and Derbyshire's recruit from Lancashire, Stephen Moore, each made hundreds, but they are edged out by Essex's Alastair Cook and Lancashire's Sydney-born Paul Horton. Cook picked up 166 runs in a draw, presumably happy to let James Foster do the skippering. Meanwhile, Horton scored one run more, Mr Consistent with 83 and 84. He ended the 2013 season with three hundreds and two ducks in the final four first-class matches, and the Red Roses will be relying heavily on him for runs this year.

Nick Compton (100 not out) and Gary Ballance (174) each reminded England selectors of their middle-order Test credentials, even if they were both born in Africa. The Yorkshire batsman will probably have the edge once Sri Lanka come to town next month. Much as I'd like to, I can't ignore the IPL. Glenn Maxwell added another two big scores, 89 and 95, to his opening blast for Kings XI Punjab. Oddly, he's never made a T20 hundred in 65 innings but he came very close this week.

My wicketkeeper of the week is Tim Ambrose. Several yeara ago, he was the England number one, scoring runs for fun, but then Matt Prior and, later on, depression, got the better of him. Last year he seemed rejuvenated at Warwickshire and this week, he not only contributed a useful cameo with the bat, he claimed six catches in the first innings. Facing seamers of the quality of Woakes and Barker, he should pouch many more.

Peter Trego was welcomed back to Somerset's starting XI and inevitably enjoyed a decent performance in the draw at Durham. However, Gloucestershire's Will Gidman gets the nod as all-rounder. A late developer, cricket-wise, he has eclipsed his older brother and county captain Alex, albeit more as a bowler than batsman. His 3-43 and 6-50 against Glamorgan bolstered his impressive career stats to 169 first-class wickets at under 21 apiece. Even allowing for the fact that they've mostly come in the Championship's second flight, that's pretty good going.

Jack Brooks is another who didn't make the county grade until his mid-20s but he excelled for Yorkshire this week, taking eight Northants wickets. He of the distinctive white headband was accompanied by he of the flowing dark ginger curlilocks, Ryan Sidebottom. The left-armer claimed 7-50 in the match, which was won by an innings. My final two earned their 'call-ups' in Cardiff and the UAE. Mohit Sharma played three times in the IPL this week, taking six for only 44 runs in total. His 4-14 against Mumbai was the pick of the bunch. Back in the Championship, Dean Cosker peered out of the shadow of the retired Robert Croft to capture 5-46 for Glamorgan. Now aged 36, his left-arm spin has earned him over 550 first-class wickets. They haven't come cheap but he does sterling work for the Welsh side.

So there you have it. Take a bow: Cook, Horton, Compton, Ballance, Maxwell, Ambrose (+), W Gidman, Sidebottom, Brooks, M Sharma, Cosker.