County Cricket: No Thain, No Gain

After week 1 of the One Day Cup, Middlesex were looking the strongest outfit in Group B, but a trip to Worcester upset their 100% start. Josh de Caires achieved another career-best, this time a maiden century of 130, but the experienced Jake Libby led the successful run chase with an unbeaten 109. A few days later, he repeated the score against Essex but this time in vain.

It was a strange week for Essex. In their three fixtures, they racked up more than a thousand runs, passing three hundred on each occasion, yet emerged with only four points. Young Noah Thain was in sparkling form, striking successive tons against Sussex and Hampshire, and team-mates Tom Westley and Matt Critchley also filled their boots, each reaching three figures in the week’s highest total of 376-5. 

Middlesex, Yorkshire and Durham all have four wins to their names, and they had to play each other. Halifax-born Benjamin Cliff’s medium pace scuppered Durham’s innings at York before Wharton and Whiteman saw the home side home by seven wickets. However, Yorkshire’s bid to top the table was undone by Middlesex at Lord’s. Cliff, again, took 4-39 but, despite a modest target of 247, their batting wilted against Zafar Gohar’s spin and Noah Cornwell’s pace and they succumbed to a 35-run defeat. 

Durham had earlier beaten Glamorgan in a high-scoring thriller thanks to Will Rhodes’ 148 not out and two wickets and finished the week with a resounding walloping of Hampshire by nine wickets. Emilio Gay (remember him?) rediscovered that early-season form by notching an unbeaten 104. 

Leicestershire Foxes lead Group A. Recovering from last Tuesday’s poor showing against Nottinghamshire, they proceeded to humble Northants by eight wickets and Somerset by a hefty 164 runs. The Outlaws remain second although they suffered losses to Lancashire and Kent. The latter clash went to the final over but Chris Benjamin’s rapid half-century proved decisive. Daniel Bell-Drummond must be one of the finest batsmen in recent years not to have been capped by England but he accumulated two hundred runs this week to keep Kent in the hunt. 

Other notable performances include Ed Barnard’s dominant 140 in Warwickshire’s victory over Surrey and Jack Morley’s 5-28 for Derbyshire in the 188-run demolition of Sussex. 

The next week’s games include Leicestershire v Kent at Beckenham and Derbyshire’s opportunity to disrupt both Group B leaders, Yorkshire and Middlesex. Durham also host Middlesex at Gosforth. 

Team of the Week: Thain (Ess), Bell-Drummond (Ken), De Caires (Mid), Barnard (War), Libby (Wor), Verreynne (Not +), Rhodes (Dur), Critchley (Ess), Potts (Der), Morley (Der), Cliff (Yor)

County Cricket: Gloucester Gallop but Rhodes Makes One-Day Hay

The 2025 Royal London One-Day Cup launched this week without the Hundred’s hullabaloo but threw the spotlight on some of the less lauded counties and individuals more often seen plying their trade in the Seconds. 

With few players lost to the more lucrative competition, Gloucestershire would be expected to thrive in the 50-over cup and they duly won all three opening fixtures, racking up plenty of runs in the process. They swept aside Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Surrey, the latter fielding a host of unknowns and little-knowns. Ben Charlesworth, Oliver Price and James Taylor enjoyed their time at the crease, and James Bracey was one of several wicketkeepers to shine during the past week and a half. 

Welbeck CC’s ground at Sookholme played host to Nottinghamshire’s home fixtures, including a high-scoring tie with Worcestershire. Tom Moores thrashed 140 off 93 balls, following it up with a golden duck! Jake Libby and Kashif Ali each reached three figures in the nailbiting Notts defeat. Somerset’s Rew brothers enjoyed a couple of big partnerships but failed in a two-wicket surrender to Lancashire. 

Somerset’s victims included Durham, who nonetheless had easy wins over Sussex and Kent. In the first match, Ollie Robinson claimed the rare distinction of making a hundred and taking six catches. Yet even his performance was eclipsed by team-mate Will Rhodes who ended the week as both the tournament’s highest run-scorer and wicket-taker. In that same Sussex encounter, he fashioned 96 then took 5-30 with his seamers. 

The highest score of the week was Imam ul-Haq’s 159 in Yorkshire’s 202-run massacre of Northants. The county are the only one in Group B with two wins from two, which also owed much to young Ben Cliff’s seven wickets, including 5-46 at Northampton. Other five-fors were achieved by the likes of Alfie Ogborne (Somerset) and Leicestershire’s teenage quick, Alex Green, who took five not once but twice in his two games. 

I should also mention a couple of players who excelled in a losing cause. Essex suffered a run of three defeats despite Tom Westley’s sterling efforts with bat and ball. At Neath, Glamorgan’s only completed match was notable for two substantial individual innings. Hampshire’s skipper Nick Gubbins stroked an unbeaten 144, before his opposite number Kiran Carlson reacted to the steady fall of wickets at the other end (all caught) by lashing ten sixes in a 92-ball 135. The home side’s innings lasted only five balls later, still 72 adrift. 

The next batch of fixtures includes the Roses tie at York, Glamorgan’s trip over the Severn Bridge to Gloucestershire, whose position atop Group A will be matched by Hampshire should they overcome Worcestershire and Leicestershire. In Group B, the Yorkshire-Somerset clash could be critical, but Lancashire need to make up for lost time and their Sedburgh washout with a successful South Coast jaunt to Sussex and Kent. 

Team of the Week:- Imam ul-Huq (Yor), Bracey (Glo +), Libby (Wor), Rhodes (Dur), Carlson (Gla), Kashif Ali (Wor), Westley (Ess), Ogborne (Som), Zaman Akhtar (Glo), A Green (Lei), Cliff (Yor)

County cricket: Abell and Leach Boost Somerset Challenge

The onset of September serves as a reminder that, like summer itself, the County Championship is coming to a close. Surrey have led the table almost from day one in April and when skipper Rory Burns’ 161 set his side on the way to a first-innings 525 at Trent Bridge, a third successive title looked inevitable. However, Nottinghamshire didn’t roll over. Two teenagers, Freddie McCann (aged 19) and Farhan Ahmed (just 16!) shone in only their second matches, striking 154 and taking ten wickets, respectively, to frustrate the reigning champions. 

Behind them, Somerset narrowed the gap to twenty-four points by crushing Durham. Spin was king at Taunton. Building on batting foundations led by Tom Abell and James Rew, Jack Leach opened the bowling in the visitors’ second effort and continued unchanged for more than thirty overs to take 7-50. Michael Vaughan’s son Archie accompanied him, finishing with a commendable 2-40 as Somerset triumphed by 293 runs and earning maximum points. The next round of fixtures puts the top two counties up against each other. Should Somerset gain an improbable victory, it could make the final weeks very interesting indeed. Can’t see that happening, though. 

Worcestershire made it two on the trot, coming from behind to defeat Essex at Chelmsford by only 43 runs. Michael Pepper had contributed to a solid Essex lead but, set a target of just 184 on the final morning, they tumbled to 140, Dutch seamer Logan van Beek starring with 4-23. Hampshire overtook Essex in third place with a thumping innings win over lacklustre Lancashire. Gus Atkinson’s rare Test achievement of a century and five-fer was eclipsed by Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson. Not only did he strike an unbeaten 104 and take 5-47 but he also added another five scalps on Saturday to finish the match a day early. 

Kent suffered another drubbing, this time against Warwickshire who did their hopes of avoiding relegation a world of good. Will Rhodes set them on their way with 201 but it was Oliver Hannon-Dalby who added the coup-de-grace with a clinching 6-43. Whoever wins the West Midlands derby next week should be safe for another year but Kent absolutely must beat Hampshire to survive. 

Sussex still look favourites to go up, rediscovering winning ways against bottom side Derbyshire at Hove. Daniel Hughes and John Simpson hit tons but Jack Carson also caught the eye. The off-spinner followed a career-best 97 with figures of 5-90 and 6-67. Without Wayne Madsen’s match aggregate of 215 runs, Derby’s margin of defeat would have been even heftier.

Closest rivals to Sussex, Yorkshire and Middlesex, produced a run-fest stalemate at Headingley. For the White Roses, Jonny Bairstow and George Hill each broke 160, then Sam Robson and Ryan Higgins responded with centuries of their own. The spinner toiled for hours after hour but a draw was agreed on the final afternoon. 

Unusually, the Gloucestershire-Northants fixture was abandoned after day one, the umpires ruling that the Bristol pitch was too dangerous following Justin Broad’s 7-37. Only 241 runs were scored, while over in Cardiff, Colin Ingram beat that all on his own. The veteran South African amassed a personal best of 257 not out for Glamorgan against Leicestershire but any hopes of his side doubling their meagre total of one victory were dashed by a second successful partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb, who each made three figures to secure a draw. 

Glamorgan now face Sussex while Middlesex play Gloucestershire. If Leicestershire can tame Yorkshire at home, they could still sneak into the promotion places. 

Team of the Week:- Burns (Sur), Hughes (Sus), Rhodes (War), Abell (Som), Ingram (Gla), Madsen (Der), Handscomb (Lei +), Dawson (Ham), Carson (Sus), Leach (Som), Hannon-Dalby (War)

Red Roses Race ahead but Gloucestershire red-faced

Following that rotten week of rain, May decided to perk up at the end, and consequently all seven Championship fixtures produced a result. Lancashire extended their lead in Group 3 after a comprehensive drubbing of old foes Yorkshire at Old Trafford. Seamer Tom Bailey was at his meanest and Saqib Mahmood emerged with a second innings 5-47, while centuries from Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon helped rack up an unbeatable 509-9. Northamptonshire sit just six points behind Yorkshire thanks to a seven-wicket triumph over Sussex at Hove. Ben Sanderson’s 5-45 gave them a solid start but with Tom Haines (103) and skipper Ben Brown (95) giving their bowlers something to aim at, Sussex did at least take the game into a fourth day. 

It was topsy-turvy time in Group 2. New England Test recruit James Bracey was absent from Gloucestershire’s much improved side only for the county to suffer an innings defeat at the hands of Surrey. Hashim Amla’s brilliant 173 plus useful late-order runs from Rikki Clarke and Jamie Overton took the home team to a challenging 473, which Gloucester never looked like reaching in two attempts. Novice spinner Dan Moriarty impressed with a first-innings 6-60. 

Bottom side Leicestershire picked up a maiden victory for 2021 and in the process leapfrogged their Middlesex victims. In retrospect Peter Handscomb may regret not enforcing the follow-on because Leicestershire not only batted for the last day and a bit but somehow managed to record one of their largest ever run chases. A marvellously measured third wicket partnership of 243 between Aussie Marcus Harris (185) and captain Colin Ackermann (126 not out) was instrumental in this unlikely recovery. 

In Group 1, Worcestershire also finally got off the mark, defeating Derbyshire by an innings and 23. Two successive career-bests by 22 year-old pacer Dillon Pennington stood out, while Jack Haynes and Ed Barnard each struck scores of 90+.  Nottinghamshire’s recent good form was reversed at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire outscored them in each innings. Haseeb Hameed showed little to support his Test recall. He was outscored again by his opening partner Ben Slater but it was the home skipper Will Rhodes who looked the most accomplished run-maker. Danny Briggs’ fourth day 4-36 proved decisive at the conclusion. 

With both these counties snapping at their heels, Essex needed to take the sixteen-point win bonus at Chester-le-Street. This they achieved comfortably inside three days. Chris Rushworth and Ben Raine performed admirably for Durham but it was the Essex seamers Jamie Porter, Peter Siddle and Sam Cook, whose collective effort netted nineteen wickets, who stole the show. 

The champs meet second-place Notts this week for Group 1 bragging rights before the four-week Championship break while Somerset and Gloucestershire will consolidate their ‘top two’ status in Group 2 if they overcome Hampshire and Leicestershire, respectively. The Group 3 trio at the top, Lancs, Yorks and Northants must facy their chances against Glamorgan, Sussex and Kent but the results of the past week demonstrate that nothing can be taken for granted. 

Team of the Week: Rhodes (War), Haines (Sus), Amla (Sur), Bohannon (Lan), Harris (Lei), Ackermann(Lei), Brown (Sus +), Raine (Dur), Briggs (War), Pennington (Wor), Porter (Ess)

Somerset reign by beating the rain

Last week it was Storm Ellen, this one, Storm Francis. Both wreaked havoc across the UK, but each affected the cricket schedule in different ways. 

Essex, beneficiaries of some fourth-day sunshine a week ago, failed to even complete a single innings against Hampshire at Arundel, although Sir Alastair Cook passed 24,000 first-class career runs with a 66^th century. Kent advanced to second in the South table by dealing Surrey their fourth successive defeat, but it was a close-run thing. Ben Foakes’ first ton of the summer restricted Surrey's deficit to 64 before Rikki Clarke (5-20) and Sam Curran  (4-39) gave their batsmen a fairly easy target of 192. Enter the venerable Darren Stevens. He ripped out three top-order batsmen in his first spell and Matt Milnes wrapped things up with the home side an agonising 17 runs short. 

At Radlett, another evergreen seamer, Tim Murtagh, maintained his 2020 form taking a second-innings 5-34 to set up Middlesex’s five-wicket triumph over Sussex. 

In the Central group, Somerset seemed once more destined to fall victim to the weather with their opponents on the ropes eight wickets down and 300+ behind. Fortunately the rain abated and the outfield dried sufficiently to hand Craig Overton and Jack Brooks the opportunity to finish the job. ‘Coverton’ and Josh Davey claimed sixteen wickets between them as Gloucestershire were skittled twice for sub-100 scores. So much for their first four-dayer against their local rivals for donkeys’ years! The Cidermen have yet to concede a single batting bonus point, a remarkable achievement, and yet online viewers were also treated to Bartlett, Abell and Tom Lammonby each reaching three figures. It was the latter’s maiden century in only his fourth match. 

Worcestershire remain only six points adrift after their draw at home to neighbours Warwickshire. Daryl Mitchell has been around for ages but his 110 was remarkably his first ever red-ball ton against Warwicks, for whom Will Rhodes struck an impressive 207. A draw was inevitable and now Worcester host leaders Somerset, the winners destined for a place in the Bob Willis final. 

Debutant Callum Taylor showed his fellow Glamorgan batsman how to score runs, making 106 against Northamptonshire. However, he blended in well second time around with a duck, before tail-ender Marchant De Lange went wild, blazing a 78-ball 113, in the process surpassing the county record for the fastest hundred. However, it was too little, too late, and Charlie Thurston saw Northants home with a rapid 64 not out. 

The weather was unkind to northern England, with no positive outcomes possible. The Roses encounter at Headingley proved a sterile encounter with batsmen broadly in charge. Adam Lyth top-scored with 103 then two ex-Tyke umpires had no option but to halt proceedings on the final morning. Leaders Derbyshire were also hamstrung at Chester-le-Street, but Luis Reece had time to add 122 runs to his two wickets. 

Leicestershire entertained Nottinghamshire but it was the visitors’ ex-Somerset legend Peter Trego who rolled back the years with the ball. Ackermann and Swindells ensured Leicester didn’t suffer a final day humiliation but neither have a chance of reaching the final. After the week’s break for T20 action, Leicester can instead extinguish any hopes harboured by Yorkshire but Derbyshire have an excellent chance of qualifying at Lancashire. Essex are in pole position in the South group but, as ever, it’ll be the performance of cold fronts and shower clouds which are likely to decide the leading two points scorers. 

Team of the Week: Rhodes (War), Reece (Der), Abell (Som), Thurston (Nor), Foakes (Sur +), Taylor (Gla), Stevens (Ken), De Lange (Gla), C Overton (Som), White (Nor), Davey (Som)