Month: September 2023

The 2023 Ryder Cup So Far

The Ryder Cup is a golf tournament played every two years between teams representing Europe and the USA (used to be GB & Ireland v USA). It features three match play formats: Foursomes, where the players hit alternate shots, fourballs, where each player plays their own ball and the hole is won the best score out of the four players, and singles, which is head to head between two players. This latter is the only format in which every player is guaranteed to play barring injuries. The first two days each see four foursomes matches in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon, while day three features the 12 singles matches.

YESTERDAY

I was too busy following the end of the County Championship cricket season to catch any of yesterday’s action, but Europe ended up with a commanding 6.5 – 1.5 lead (a win scores one point, and a half half a point).

THIS MORNING

Europe continued to dominate. Match two saw Hovland and Aberg for Europe set a new all time competition record when they hammered Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7 (nine holes up with only seven left to play), the biggest margin of victory in the history of the tournament (beating the 8 and 7 by which Paul Broadhurst once lost a singles match). Koepka could do nothing right, and by the end Scheffler, dragged down by his partner’s bad play and worse attitude, was also playing some very shoddy golf. McIlroy and Fleetwood in match one and Rahm and Hatton in match four each recorded 2&1 victories for Europe. Max Homa and Brian Harman saved some face for the USA by winning their match 4&2, but Europe were still 9.5 – 2.5 ahead.

THIS AFTERNOON SO FAR

The USA have finally found some form this afternoon. Hovland and Aberg, heroes of the morning for Europe, are on the brink of a heavy defeat at the hands of Burns and Morikawa, while Homa and Harman are poised to repeat their win of this morning. Match three is tied at the half way mark, and Europe are ahead in match four. If the USA can win this session 3.5 – 0.5 or 4-0 they will be in a position from which a comeback in the singles is not unprecedented (both USA and Europe have won from 6-10 down in the past, and USA as holders only need 14 points to retain the trophy, whereas Europe need 14.5 to win it). Anything less than a win by one of those two huge margins will leave USA needing a record breaking comeback in the singles.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

There was a full moon and a clear night sky last night – this picture and the four following it are captures thereof.

The Closing Stages of the County Championship Season

We are about to go into the final session of play of the County Championship season of 2023. Surrey are already confirmed as champions – although they lost a hard fought match against Hampshire their only rivals Essex had already crumbled to an innings defeat at the hands of already relegated Northamptonshire. Durham and Worcestershire are the promoted sides, which leaves only the question of whether Kent or Middlesex are the other side to go down.

DERBYSHIRE V GLAMORGAN

This match, the one I am currently listening to is between two sides who have both had poor seasons. Derbyshire are winless, and due to their craven cowardice in delaying their declaration today until the target stood at 384 in 70 overs, nowhere near a tempting enough carrot to lure Glamorgan, whose position is already settled, into going for the target, and thus almost certainly guaranteeing the draw. Derbyshire will finish at worst second from bottom, but that is only because Yorkshire were hit with a punitive points deduction, which has been enough to guarantee them last place in the table.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE V MIDDLESEX

Another match involving a declaration on the final day, but Middlesex, knowing that a draw was effectively valueless to them in their quest to stay up did dangle a carrot, and Nottinghamshire are making the chase look quite easy at present. Kent and Lancashire are pretty much certain to draw – Lancashire are still batting in their second innings and are 181 ahead of Kent, which means that unless Middlesex can scramble nine wickets from somewhere in less than a full session they will go down.

A NOTE ON OVERSEAS PLAYERS

Those who have studied my all time county XIs will have noted that on those occasions on which I named an overseas player (and I never picked more than one) I nearly always opted for a bowler. The use Surrey have made this season of Sean Abbott, Daniel Worrall and Kemar Roach underlines the value of high quality overseas bowlers. On the other side of the scale I would put Sussex, third in division two, in spite of losing only one match all season – they have had 10 draws in 14 matches. Their main overseas star has been Cheteshwar Pujara, a pure batter, and for a few matches, a side that was struggling to take 20 wickets was further skewed in favour of batting when they opted to allow Steve Smith to have some pre-Ashes batting practice. Pujara may have been justifiable, but signing a second overseas pure batter when struggling for wickets was on any reckoning misjudged.

A CLAIM FOR A PLACE ON THE INDIAN TOUR

England’s next test tour is to India, a place where spin bowling is important. The best specialist spinner in England is Jack Leach, and Rehan Ahmed is very promising young cricketer. In addition to these two I would draw attention to the man whose 800 runs and 40 wickets has helped Hampshire to third place in division one, Liam Dawson. If England go on a test tour of India without Dawson in the form he is currently enjoying their selectors will be guilty of dereliction of duty, as they will also be if anyone other than Foakes is named as keeper.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – All Rounders v Specialists

An ‘All Time XIs’ clash between a side of multi-skilled players and a side of specialists, plus two large photo galleries.

Today I set up a contest between an XI of great players known for being multi-talented and an XI of guys who would only ever have been picked for one particular skill. The latter side has the six batters, one keeper, four bowlers balance used by the West Indies under Clive Lloyd and Australia under the captaincies of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, each of which sides were the best test sides of their respective eras.

ALL BASES COVERED XI

  1. WG Grace (right handed opening batter, right arm bowler of various types through his career, excellent close catcher, vice-captain). In his best decade, the 1870s, he averaged 49 with the bat, while the next best were around the 25 mark. He was also a top of the range bowler.
  2. Frank Woolley (left handed batter, left arm orthodox spin bowler, ace close fielder). The only cricketer ever to achieve the career treble of 10,000 FC runs, 1,000 FC wickets and 1,000 FC catches, and the only non-wicket keeper to achieve the latter milestone.
  3. Wally Hammond (right handed batter, right arm medium-fast bowler, excellent fielder). One of the greatest batters ever to play the game, a regular new ball bowler for his county and a useful fill-in seamer at test level, and a superb catcher.
  4. Denis Compton (right handed batter, left arm wrist spinner). An all-rounder in more than just a cricketing sense – he and brother Leslie were important members of the Arsenal FC sides of their day, with Leslie a full international at that sport and Denis winning wartime international caps. Only one batter reached 100 FC hundreds in fewer than the 552 innings it took him – Don Bradman. He developed his bowling after being impressed by ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith.
  5. Garry Sobers (left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket, gun fielder). Cricketers don’t come more multi-skilled than this man was.
  6. Aubrey Faulkner (right handed batter, leg spinner). Arguably the most genuine all rounder in test history – he alone among takers of at least 50 test wickets finished his career with a batting average above 40 and a bowling average below 30.
  7. *Imran Khan (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter, captain). He had a spell when he played purely as a batter, but his overall career record is slightly tilted in favour of bowling – a batting average of 37.69 is very respectable but not outstanding, whereas a bowling average of 22.69 per wicket bears comparison with any of the specialist bowlers to play for Pakistan in his career and is ahead of most of them.
  8. Wasim Akram (left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). This slot was a toss up between him and Alan Davidson, a similar type of player though not quite as fast a bowler.
  9. Billy Bates (off spinner, right handed batter). A fine all rounder in his day, and the first England bowler to take a test match hat trick (part of a match performance in which he scored 55 and took 14 Australian wickets).
  10. Ray Lindwall (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A great fast bowler, and a handy lower order batter, scorer of two test tons in that capacity.
  11. +Alan Smith (wicket keeper, right handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). I have selected him for this role in this side because while many regular keepers have turned an arm over on occasion this man actually took 131 first class wickets at 23.46 a piece with a best of 5-32. On one occasion, in a game in which he was playing as keeper and captain and injury crisis led to him taking the new ball, and at one point in the innings in question his figures were 6-6-0-4 including a hat trick! 428 first class matches yielded him 715 catches and 61 stumpings, and also 11,027 runs at 20.92, including three first class tons. Who would stand in with the gloves if he were to have a bowl? Well, WG did the job twice in test matches, and Hammond and Sobers would both likely be capable of doing so as well.

This side has a deep batting line up and a dazzling array of bowling options at its disposal, with a fine keeper.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

I mentioned Alan Davidson in connection with Wasim Akram’s place in the line up. Keith Miller was a rival for Imran Khan’s slot, with Mike Procter also deserving a mention. The ‘Kirkheaton twins’, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst also have to be mentioned. Gilbert Jessop as an ‘X-factor player’ would have appealed to some. Three subcontinental all rounders whose bowling speciality was left arm spin must also be acknowledged: Mulvantrai ‘Vinoo’ Mankad, Ravindra Jadeja and Shakib Al Hasan. Sri Lankan leg spinning all rounder Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva has had most of his best moments in limited overs cricket. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

PHOTO GALLERY ONE

I have lots of photos to share, hence two galleries in this post…

THE SPECIALISTS XI

  1. Jack Hobbs (right handed opening batter). The Master, one half of test cricket’s greatest ever opening pair along with…
  2. Herbert Sutcliffe (right handed opening batter). The ultimate ‘big match’ player, as shown by the progression of his averages – 52.02 in FC cricket, 60.73 in test cricket, 66.85 in The Ashes.
  3. *Don Bradman (right handed batter, captain). In test cricket only a handful of the best of the rest to have played 20 or more matches are even within 40 runs an innings of his 99.94. He was also an excellent skipper.
  4. Brian Lara (left handed batter). The only player to have twice set the world test record score, and one of only two to simultaneously hold the individual scoring record in test and FC cricket (Bradman between 1930 and 1933 with 452* and 334 being the other). Left handers are supposed to be vulnerable to off spin, but he once scored 688 in a three match series in Sri Lanka with the latter’s bowling spearheaded by Muthiah Muralidaran.
  5. Sachin Tendulkar (right handed batter). Only one player has scored 100 international centuries, and only one player has scored as many as 50 test centuries – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
  6. Allan Border (left handed batter, vice captain). For much of his career he was carrying a very moderate batting line up, but a few years at the end he got to experience being part of a winning combination.
  7. +Adam Gilchrist (left handed batter, wicket keeper). A fine keeper, and one who altered expectations of what keepers could be expected to do with the bat (a questionable legacy given e.g. the shameful treatment of Ben Foakes by the England selectors).
  8. Malcolm Marshall (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). An all time great fast bowler.
  9. Shane Warne (leg spinner, right handed batter). The reviver of an almost forgotten art (save for Abdul Qadir the 1980s did not see a leg spinner of true test class).
  10. Bill Johnston (left arm fast medium bowler, left arm orthodox spin bowler, left handed tail end batter). Australia’s leading wicket taker in several series in the immediate post WWII era, it was not unknown for him to go straight from spinning the old ball to swinging the new one.
  11. Glenn McGrath (right arm fast medium bowler, right handed tail end batter). The fast bowling spearhead of Australia’s dominant test side of the 1990s and early 2000s.

This side has a powerful top seven batters, five front line bowling options, courtesy of big Bill Johnston being two types of bowler and a quality keeper.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS AND LIKELY OUTCOME

Steve Smith of Australia is probably the biggest batting miss, while Curtly Ambrose is probably the biggest bowling miss, although there were many candidates in both categories. My own feeling is that the multi-skilled XI would be favourites – although it is a daunting task to get through it there is a visible end to the specialists batting resources, whereas the multi-skilled team really does bat all the way down. Similarly, the specialists don’t have a vast number of bowling options, whereas the multi-skilled team will always have someone to turn to in any given situation.

PHOTO GALLERY TWO

We end with a second photo gallery…

The Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy Final

An account of the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy final which took place yesterday between Blaze and Vipers. Also a large photo gallery.

Yesterday saw the final of the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, between Vipers, in their fourth final out of four (2 won, one lost going into yesterday) and the newly formed Blaze (a move from Loughborough to Nottingham and a name change). Vipers won the toss, and with cloud cover around which was expected to dissipate later in the day they decided to out Blaze into bat. Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon claimed in response that she would have chosen to bat first anyway but my own suspicion is that not even she actually believed that, never mind anyone else.

THE BLAZE INNINGS

Batting was as difficult in the early stages as had been expected, and only the efforts of veteran opener Tammy Beaumont who fought her way to 76 before getting out trying to up the scoring rate at the death prevented Blaze fron sinking without trace. As it was only two other batters, both lower order players, topped 20 for the Blaze (extras, assisted by some indiscipline on the part of the Vipers bowlers, also did so). A late flurry took Blaze to exactly 200 from their rain-reduced 48 overs. Left arm spinner Linsey Smith was the pcik of the bowlers with 3-30 from her 10 overs.

THE VIPERS RESPONSE

The Vipers lost two very early wickets, before two Georgias, Adams and Elwiss, put on 96 together for the third wicket. Then young leg spinner Josie Groves claimed both set batters and Charlie Dean to reduce Vipers to 109-5. That brought Freya Kemp in to join Emily Windsor with 92 still required. Windsor and Kemp batted superbly, first averting the danger of a collapse, and then as the got settled in mounting an assault on a target that had never got remotely challenging in terms of required run rate. Windsor completed a fine half century, and then, living up to her billing

as ‘the finisher’ she made the winning hit, her ninth boundary in a final score of 57*. Kemp, busy but never flustered at the crease, had scored 32* (35) at the other end. Vipers were home by five wickets with 7.4 overs to spare, a comfortable victory, and yet another trophy as coach for Charlotte Edwards, whose second cricketing career is showing signs of outshining even her amazing playing career. This was Edwards’ third domestic trophy of 2023 alone, since she had coached Vipers to success and in the competition that bears her own name and had also been coach of the team that won The Hundred. The “keepers must be top line batters” brigade would do well to note that this trophy was lifted a team whose keeper, Rhianna Southby, was not required to bat, and who was officially scheduled to come in at number nine (she was impeccable behind the stumps for the record).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

England v Ireland So Far

A look at developments in the England v Ireland ODI so far and a large photo gallery.

The one-day series between England and Ireland should have started on Wednesday at Headingley, but not a single ball was bowled in that game. Today, officially the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere, is a much pleasanter day than Wednesday was, and the second scheduled match, at Trent Bridge, is proceeding with no weather related problems.

FOUR ENGLAND DEBUTANTS

England are not using any of their selected world cup players (tournament gets underway in early October, in India, with a replay of the 2019 final – England v New Zealand) in this series. The XI selected for this match includes four debutants, Sam Hain (batter, ridiculous given his domestic white ball record that he has waited this long), Jamie Smith (batter/ keeper, hugely talented youngster), George Scrimshaw (pace bowler, again very talented, though alsob very inexperienced, and the first Derbyshire player since Dominic Cork in 2002 to feature for England) and Tom Hartley (left arm spinner, decent limited overs record, but a surprise for me to see him in the side).

ENGLAND’S INNINGS

Ireland put England in, and Phil Salt and Will Jacks opened up for England. Salt made a rapid 28 before he and stand-in skipper Crawley fell in the space of three balls. Then Jacks and Duckett had an excellent stand before Duckett fell for 48. That brough debutant Sam Hain to the crease, and he and Jacks proceeded to share a superb partnership, ended only when Jacks holed out on the boundary trying to bring up his century with a six. Jacks’ 94 was still the third best ever score for England by someone with first two initials WG behind WG Grace’s two test tons – 152 on debut at The Oval in 1880 and 170 at the same ground six years later. Debutant number two, Smith, managed only nine but a fluent 32 from Carse at number seven maintained the tempo. The closing overs featured a race against the clock for Hain to reach a debut century, but four balls from the end he too holed out with the landmark just about in sight – 89 in his case, off 82 balls. England ended up with 334-8 from their 50 overs.

IRELAND’S REPLY TO DATE

George Scrimshaw was given the new ball, and he had a traumatic start as an international bowler, conceding a number of wides and no-balls. However, with the last ball of his second over he claimed the wicket of Andrew Balbirnie, and then Matt Potts got Stirling with the first ball of the next over. Scrimshaw’s third over was then a massive improvement, going for just a single – 2-0-35-1 becoming 3-0-36-1. Ireland are currently 53-2 in the seventh over, well and truly up with the rate, but already two wickets down.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off, courtesy of an evening walk yesterday and more importantly a long walk on the first autumn morning of the year today…

A ruddy darter at rest (two pics)

While I have been preparing this for publication the game has moved on. Potts has dismissed Campher to make it 69-3 in the ninth over.

County Championship Action

A look at goings on in the County Championship, where the current round of fixtures is into its final day.

The current round of County Championship fixtures, now into its final day, has been massively impacted by the weather, but two games which are hugely important to the outcome of the championship both have chances of outright results.

TOP V BOTTOM

Surrey would have expected their game against Northamptonshire to be an easy one given the positions of the two sides, but Northamptonshire have played very well. After scoring 357 they dismissed Surrey for 185, an advantage of 172. With the match into its final day and nothing less than a win good enough for Northamptonshire they enforced the follow on. Burns and Sibley are currently holding out for Surrey, with the score 52-0 in the 36th over of their second innings. Surrey will head the table going into the final round of games, the question being how much by.

ESSEX V HAMPSHIRE

Essex, Surrey’s only challengers, are locked in battle with Hampshire. Essex led by 113 on first innings, and launched an all out assault in their second innings, declaring at 153-8 to set Hampshire 267 to win. Hampshire are currently 29-3, Harmer two wickets and Sam Cook one. Hampshire are at liberty to approach this anyway they please – they will finish somewhere in the middle of the table whatever they do, while Essex have to keep pushing for wickets.

ONE CONFIRMED RESULT

The match at Old Trafford has been officially confirmed as a draw – Lancashire were 277-7 in the only innings that the weather allowed to happen.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A large black beetle (next pic is closer up).
I was an eyewitness to the making of the wheel tracks in this picture – a large flat bed lorry (empty) cut off a a significant portion of the corner at the junction of Raby Avenue, Columbia Way and Loke Road (turning from Raby Avenue into Columbia Way).

All Time XIs – Duplicated Initials

An all time XI of players whose first two initials are identical and a large photo gallery.

In this post I create an XI of players who each have two forenames that begin with the same letter of the alphabet. While CCC ‘Box’ Case (Somerset) did not do enough to qualify there is one completely alliterative player in the team. I have shown due regard for team balance, and as you will see a few serious players missed out.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Tamsin Tilley Beaumont (England Women, right handed opening batter). Tammy Beaumont as she is better known is an outstanding opening batter. Her double century in this year’s Women’s Ashes saw her join the club of players to have scored centuries in all three international formats. Also as a result of that innings she has 40+ averages in both Tests and ODIs.
  2. Conrad Cleophas Hunte (West Indies, right handed opening batter). His impressive test record looks better still when considered in light of the fact that he was never part of a settled opening pair.
  3. Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan (West Indies, right handed batter). Averaged 40 in test cricket at a time when WI as a whole were struggling.
  4. Walter William Read (England, right handed batter). An aggressive stroke maker, and good enough to be only the second English batter after WG Grace to score a first class triple century. He also had a test century, a remarkable 117, scored from number 10 in the order, with William Scotton stonewalling at the other end.
  5. *Warwick Windridge Armstrong (Australia, right handed batter, leg spinner, captain). In test cricket he scored 2,863 runs at 38.68 and took 87 wickets at 33.59, while at first class level his figures were 16,158 runs at 46.83 and 832 wickets at 19.71. He also averaged a catch a match in the field in spite of his considerable bulk. Added to this he was a shrewd and ruthless skipper, the first ever to lead a side to victory in every match of a five match series (the 1920-1 Ashes).
  6. Robert Richard Relf (Sussex, right handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). He was originally picked for his bowling, but an innings of 210* (he would add two further FC double centuries to that before the end of his career) as nightwatch earned him a permanent move up the order and his bowling took second place thereafter. His best innings bowling was 8-79. He never earned an England call up, but he did once score 73 for the Players against the Gentlemen.
  7. +Cyril Clairmonte Depeiaza (wicket keeper, right handed batter). He preferred his middle name Clairmonte to his first name Cyril. He had one of cricket’s more interesting nicknames, based on that surname “Leaning Tower”. His career was very brief, but his only FC century came in a test match (as part of a seventh wicket stand of 347 with Denis Atkinson, who made 219), and he averaged over two dismissal per game at that level (7 catches and four stumpings in five appearances), while he made 40 dismissals in his total FC career of 16 matches.
  8. George Gibson Macaulay (England, off spinner, right handed batter). Only eight test appearances, which yielded him 24 wickets at 27.58, and 112 runs at 18.66 with an HS of 76. In FC cricket he took 1,837 wickets at 17.65 with a best of 8-21 and scored 6,055 runs at 18.07 with an HS of 125* (one of three FC centuries). When he first came to the Yorkshire nets he bowled fast but he acted on advice from George Hirst to slow his pace and develop spin instead.
  9. Wesley Winfield Hall (West Indies, right arm fast bowler, right handed lower order batter). A great and lion hearted fast bowler.
  10. John James Ferris (Australia, England, left arm swing bowler, left handed lower order batter). Nine tests, one of them a game on a privately organized tour of South Africa elevated to test status in retrospect (his “England” appearance) yielded him 61 wickets at 12.70 each, while his 198 FC matches, including a spell at Gloucestershire, yielded 812 wickets at 17.54.
  11. Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah (right arm fast bowler, right handed lower order batter. One of the best contemporary pacers in the game, currently coming back from an injury layoff. He has already done enough to secure his place, including claiming membership in the select club of visiting pacers to have terrorized the Aussies on their own pitches (his test best came there, 6-27 at the MCG in 2018).

This side has a well equipped though not sensational batting line up, and a wonderful bowling attack. Bumrah, Hall and Ferris to bowl pace, swing and seam, with Relf as fourth seamer if needed, and a spin pairing of Macaulay and Armstrong, with the latter to captain them amounts to serious riches in that department. In other words this side is a bit like 1930s Yorkshire or 1950s Surrey – the batters will more than likely score enough for the bowling unit to capture 20 wickets.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

I have already mentioned the overall grand champion of alliterative initials, CCC ‘Box’ Case, and the fact that his record falls just short. Two early Aussie openers, HH Massie and JJ Lyons might have had Beaumont’s slot, though in each case the sample size is small. Both had one things going for them – they were very attacking in approach, which would make them a good contrast to Hunte. A side picked for limited overs would feature Moeen Munir Ali (England), attacking batter and useful off spinner, but his long form record does not justify selecting him, especially with Macaulay, a far superior off spinner, inked in for a slot. At least three classy pace options had to be overlooked – WW Davis and WW Daniel (both WI) and JJ Bridges (Somerset, 685 wickets at 25.71 in FC cricket). Readers may well have their own suggestions.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off – it has been unpleasant for much of today, but I got out early enough that I caught only the warning signs of unpleasantness to come, in the form of an ominously stiffening wind…

I am reasonably confident that this (two pics – next one a little closer up) is a Ruddy Darter.

A County Championship 2023 XI

With the penultimate round of fixtures in the 2023 County Championship starting tomorrow I have selected County Championship 2023 composite XI. Plus as usual, a photo gallery.

The penultimate round of fixtures in this year’s county championship gets underway tomorrow. In this post I pick a composite XI from this season’s competition.

THE GROUND RULES

I have focussed my attentions on division one. I have restricted myself to one overseas player, and the person concerned is an absolutely integral part of his county set up and has been such for many years.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Dom Sibley (Surrey, right handed opening batter). He has had a very good season for the team who are heavy favourites to claim this season’s title, including anchoring a successful chase of 500 (against Kent, and he was there unbeaten when Surrey secured the win).
  2. Sir Alastair Cook (Essex, left handed opening batter). His England days are well behind him, but at county level there is little sign of either the will or the ability failing just yet.
  3. Josh Bohannon (Lancashire, right handed batter, occasional right arm medium pacer). The Lancashire number three continues to impress in that role, and with his average in FC cricket close to 47 after 65 matches one would expect that an England call up could be on the agenda.
  4. Jamie Smith (Surrey, right handed batter, occasional wicket keeper). A phenomenally talented batter, it was his stroke play that began to turn the tide Surrey’s way in the 500 chase mentioned earlier.
  5. +Ben Foakes (Surrey, right handed batter, wicket keeper). For those asking why the wicket keeper is due to come in after only four specialist batters the answer is very simple – the team who are very likely to be champions have been taking this approach all season, and it has been Foakes coming in at number five. The best keeper in the competition, he has also been batting superbly, and his continued absence from the England set up can only be down to wilful blindness on the part of the England selectors (“There are none so blind as those who will not see”).
  6. James Rew (Somerset, right handed batter, occasional wicket keeper). When I posted my all time Rs XI I mentioned a then 18 year old who already had centuries to his name in both FC and list A cricket as a likely candidate a few years down the line. James Rew, for he it was, has made that line look like the words of a soothsayer, as he is currently the leading run scorer in the competition, with 1077 at 59.83 (Bohannon is number two, only a few runs in aggregate, but 3.5 per innings behind), a haul that includes a sensational 221, and he is still only 19 years old. I fully expect to see him playing test cricket in the not too distant future.
  7. Matt Critchley (Essex, right handed batter, leg spinner). Essex are Surrey’s last remaining challengers for the title and Critchley’s contributions, especially with the bat (over 700 runs including two centuries) , are a significant part of why Essex are doing so well this season.
  8. *Simon Harmer (South Africa, Essex, off spinner, right handed batter). The best spinner on the county circuit and a decent skipper. Currently on 51 wickets for the season, third leading wicket taker in the competition.
  9. Gus Atkinson (Surrey, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A combination of factors means that he has not played a championship game since July, but his FC record is good (averages 28 with the bat and 26 with the ball) and he has done splendidly for England in limited overs cricket since being given the opportunity. His ability to produce the 90mph+ ball gets him – neither of my other seam/ pace options have that in their locker, fine bowlers though they both are.
  10. Brett Hutton (Northamptonshire, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). His county are almost certain to be relegated, but he is the competition’s leading wicket taker with 54 wickets at 21.27 each.
  11. Jamie Porter (Essex, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). The second leading wicket taker in this year’s competition so far, with 53 scalps at a miserly 17.39 each.

This side has a strong batting line up, with major performers in that department down to Critchley at seven and only the number 11 Porter a genuine bunny. The bowling is excellent, with Porter, Hutton, Atkinson and Harmer a seriously good front four, Critchley a genuine fifth option and Bohannon capable of rolling an arm over if needed. All 11 players have been in good form this season, though I acknowledge that Atkinson could be seen as a controversial pick in a county championship XI, I have explained the reason for that choice.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

I would have liked to be able to accommodate Will Jacks, but with Harmer having an ironclad case for selection I wanted my batter who bowls spin not to be an off spinner. The alternative to Atkinson would have been Jamie Overton, but the latter has had his injury woes this season. Feel free to suggest your own alternatives, though bear in mind that a) I chose to exclude division two players and b) the presence of Sir Alastair not withstanding this exercise is mainly about 2023, so I want players who have done big things this season.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Leicestershire Win Nail Biting One Day Cup Final

A look back at Leicestershire’s amazing ODI Cup triumph yesterday and a photo gallery.

This post looks at the amazing denouement to the One Day Cup final between Leicestershire and Hampshire which took place at Trent Bridge yesterday. I covered the Leicestershire innings yesterday, so today’s post looks at Hampshire’s response.

HAMPSHIRE SEEMINGLY IN CONTROL

Although Leicestershire took regular wickets, and Hampshire were always behind the required rate the southerners seemed to be in control of the chase for much of its duration, with Prest, Weatherley and Dawson all making major contributions. With three overs to go the pendulum seemed to be swinging a little Leicestershire’s way, with Hampshire needing 25, and the last pair of batters who could be expected to do anything in that department together…

THREE OVERS OF SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS

These final three overs formed a story in their own right. The match seemed to have swung decisively back Hampshire’s way when Joshua Hull leaked 14 from the 48th over, meaning that Hampshire needed 11 off the last two overs, a walk in the park by modern limited overs standards. Chris Wright bowled the 49th over of the innings, and in it was a superb one. All Hampshire were able to accrue from it was three singles, leaving them eight to get off the last over. It has become something of an axiom of modern limited overs cricket that one wants to settle the issue before the final over, and what happened in the 50th over of this innings went some way to showing why this is so. Hull had been very expensive to this point, and Hampshire may still have fancied their chances at the start of the over, but things soon got very tight – the first three balls yielded singles meaning that the ask was now five off three balls. The fourth ball of the final over virtually settled the contest, Liam Dawson being caught by Wright off Hull to bring Scott Currie, a specialist bowler, in at the strikers end, with suddenly five needed off two balls. Currie scored a single, which did at least get Keith Barker, a genuinely competent batter, on strike, with four needed from the final ball. Hull kept his head, and Barker could do no better than a single giving Leicestershire victory by two runs, after the latter had been 19-4 and then 90-6 in their innings. Not quite “BY THE BAREST OF ALL MARGINS!!”, but an epic contest, which was alive right down to the 600th ball out of 600. Harry Swindells, whose extraordinary maiden list A century (117* off 96) had given Leicestershire a total that they could seriously think about defending was deservedly named Player of the Match. Leicestershire last won an equivalent of this trophy as long ago as 1985, and have largely been struggling on all fronts in recent years. Hampshire were possibly over casual in their handling of the chase, allowing the required rate to climb up over eight per over, clearly thinking “one big over will do it”. They got that big over in the 48th, but it did not do the job for them – Wright’s salvage operation in the 49th gave Hull something to defend in the 50th, and my impression listening in was Hampshire didn’t really try to do more than score singles off the first three balls of the final over, at which point Dawson panicked and got himself out, which virtually sealed things. All of Hampshire’s major scorers struck at well below 100 – Dawson 57 off 64, Prest 51 off 62, Weatherley 40 off 52 and Brown 33 off 43, while only Holland (16 off 13) and Barker (12* off 11) managed to score at over a run a ball. Full credit though to Leicestershire for hanging on at the death, even if Hampshire can be said to have contributed to their own downfall. A full scorecard can be viewed here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The red admirals were out in force this morning – there are at least four in this shot.

Leicestershire Recover From Awful Start

A look at the first innings of the One Day Cup final and a large photo gallery.

Today is the final of the One Day Cup. The match is happening at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, and the two teams to reach the final are Hampshire and Leicestershire. This post looks at developments in the first 50 overs.

A TERRIBLE START

Leicestershire won the toss and chose to bat first. They were soon reeling at 19-4 (I missed the start, due to an event at King’s Lynn library). Although they mounted a bit of a fightback, the dismissal of Lewis Hill for 42 made it 89-6, and Leicestershire’s cause still looked hopeless…

THE FIGHTBACK

…at this hopeless looking juncture Harry Swindells joined Sam Evans. While Evans fought hard and eventually recorded 60 (84), it was Swindells who really turned the tide. He completed a century at better than run a ball, and with Tom Scriven offering support after the dismissal of Evans, he eventually finished on 117* (96), and had guided has side from the ruins of 89-6 to a defensible 267-7. The Hampshire reply is just getting under way as I type, and it is not the formality they would at one stage have been expecting.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…