Category: Cricket

Cricket World Cup Matches 2, 3 and 4

The 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup is well and truly underway. This post looks at the two completed matches that I have been able to follow, and the game currently in progress.

NETHERLANDS V PAKISTAN

The Netherlands had done well to qualify for the tournament with it being limited to ten teams, whereas Pakistan are among the leading contenders for the title. Adherents of the ‘closed shop’ mentality that led to the reduction of the number of sides in this edition of the world cup would doubtless have used a totally one sided game here to push their agenda harder. Fortunately for those who believe in growing the game although the final margin was comfortable there were times when it looked anything but comfortable for Pakistan – at one stage they were 38-3 before recovering, and the Netherlands were still in it even at the three-quarter way stage. This match saw an example of over-obsession with the notion that the Player of the Match must come from the winning side. This was a clear case for an exception to what is a decent general rule – Bas de Leede’s four wicket haul with the ball and 68 with the bat should have got him the award even though his side lost. In achieving this all round performance de Leede set a new record, because he had scored a century and taken five wickets against Scotland in his previous ODI – no one had ever previously had two successive 50+ scores and two successive four+ wicket hauls.

AFGHANISTAN V BANGLADESH

This was a great disappointment. Afghanistan started decently, reaching 112-2 at the high water mark of their innings. Even by then though metaphorical clouds were gathering – Afghanistan number four Hashmatullah Shahidi wasn’t middling the ball and wasn’t managing to rotate the strike. Frustration set in, and first he (18 off 38) and then Rahmanullah Gurbaz (47 off 62, having at one point been 45 off 54) perished playing poor shots. Several recent big Afghan scores have been built on the back of major innings from Gurbaz, and his dismissal, leaving the middle and lower order to attempt to get the side to a defensible total unaided, completely deflated Afghanistan. They never looked like reaching a defensible total, and they lost wickets with great regularity. In the end, with the last three wickets crashing at the same score Afghanistan were all out for paltry 156. In a 50 over a side game that kind of total should never be defended, and a fairly experienced Bangladesh line up handled the menial task of knocking these runs off with utter professionalism, getting home with over 15 overs to spare. The highlight was an aggressive half century from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had earlier claimed three wickets with his off spin.

SOUTH AFRICA V SRI LANKA

A blistering batting performance from South Africa saw them record the highest team total in world cup history – 428-5 from their 50 overs. Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen scored fine centuries to get South Africa going, and then Aiden Markram became the third centurion of the innings, getting there in the fewest balls in world cup history – a mere 49. There were also smaller explosive contributions from Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who as regular participants in T20 franchise leagues around the world relished being in in the closing overs of the innings with big runs already on the board. Sri Lanka’s reply threatened briefly, with Kusal Mendis scoring 76 off 42 balls, but they have lost momentum since his dismissal, and a failure for Charith Asalanka means that after 17 overs they are 123-4, needing 306 from 33 overs at 9.27 per over. SA scored quicker than this in the latter stages of their innings, but they were 210-1 after 30 overs, and it is easier to really pound the accelerator pedal when you are facing what is basically a T20 innings (yes, one wicket down already and no power play overs, but as against that two set batters at the crease together and plenty of firepower to come). Sri Lanka, four down already, will need to try to force the pace while knowing that if it goes wrong they could fall in a heap and lose by a truly massive margin (significant because net run rate could come into play at the end of the group stage, and a massive loss early in the tournament is hard to recover from in NRR terms).

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs: ODI From Before the ODI Era

The Men’s ODI World Cup is now underway (I did not get to catch any of the opener between England and New Zealand yesterday – between 9:30AM when I set out on an extended walk to the bus stop to get the bus to Fakenham before work and 8:25PM when I got home from an evening talk at The Globe Hotel in central King’s Lynn I was at home for less than 20 minutes, in between the two events, though the evidence is pretty conclusive that England either batted badly, bowled badly, or weren’t good enough in either department), with The Netherlands giving a decent account of themselves against Pakistan today. I am marking the start of the tournament with an ODI XI made up exclusively of players who played before ODIs were a thing (I have slightly cheated with one player, who made a duck in his only ODI appearance).

A FURTHER OUTLINE OF THE BRIEF

ODIs are different from T20Is and other very short form games. While the emphasis is still on fast scoring it is also necessary to be able score genuinely big runs to do well in ODIs, whereas a collection of lightning fast 20s, 30s and 40s will do very nicely in T20. Thus, at least at the top of the order one cannot simply select super fast scorers with no regard for the size of their scores.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Bert Sutcliffe (New Zealand, left handed opening batter). The possessor of the two highest FC innings ever played in New Zealand (385 and 355), and noted for the speed of his scoring – that 385 came in a total of 500 all out, and the opponents, Canterbury, managed only 382 off the bat in their two innings combined. One account I have read of that innings said that he “dominated the Canterbury bowlers and dominated his partners”.
  2. Victor Trumper (Australia, right handed opening batter). At Old Trafford in 1902, knowing that Bill Lockwood would be dangerous once the pitch and the run up area had dried sufficiently for him to be risked, Trumper scored a hundred before lunch on the opening day, by which time Australia were 173-1. Lockwood was indeed difficult after lunch, and even with Joe Darling smashing a rapid half century by way of a counter Australia only managed 299. They won the match by three runs, after England had reached 92-3 in pursuit of 124 in the final innings and then collapsed, and with that victory secured retention of The Ashes.
  3. Charles Macartney (Australia, right handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). Against Nottinghamshire in 1921 he scored 345 in less than four hours at the crease, still the highest score by a member of an Australian touring party in England. Five years later at Headingley, after Warren Bardsley fell to the first ball of the match, he emulated Trumper’s 1902 feat of having a century on the board by lunch on the first day of a test match. His bowling feats included a ten-wicket match haul in a test match.
  4. Graeme Pollock (South Africa, left handed batter). One of the greatest batters ever to play the game, and known for seriously rapid scoring.
  5. Garry Sobers (Nottinghamshire, West Indies, left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket). The most complete player ever to player to play the game.
  6. +Les Ames (Kent, England, right handed batter, wicket keeper). Over 1,100 FC dismissals, including an all time record 418 stumpings, and over 100 FC hundreds, 75 of which were scored while in possession of the gauntlets (at the start of his career he had to wait for John Hubble to retire before getting the keeping gig, and lumbago in the later stages of his career meant that he had to yield the gloves to a young Godfrey Evans. He twice won the Lawrence trophy for the fastest FC century and once when Kent were set 219 to win in 90 minutes Frank Woolley was asked if they could do it and replied “yes, if Les fires”. Les did fire on that occasion, and with Woolley himself also contributing handsomely Kent achieved their outlandish chase.
  7. *Gilbert Jessop (Gloucestershire, England, right handed batter, right arm fast bowler, captain). The holder of the record for the fastest test century ever scored for England, a record he has held since 1902 (it has been challenged a couple of times recently, but stands for the moment). In FC cricket he scored the second and third fastest hundreds ever made against serious bowling (i.e not bowlers who were giving runs away in an effort to induce a declaration), in 40 and 42 minutes respectively. The latter became the fastest ever FC 150 (63 minutes) as well, and ended in a score of 191 in 90 minutes. He was also a useful fast bowler, habitually taking the new ball for his county, and a gun fielder.
  8. Alan Davidson (Australia, left arm fast bowler, occasional left arm orthodox spin bowler, left handed batter). 186 test wickets at 20.53, a test match HS of 80 (in test cricket’s first ever tie – his four contributions being 5-135, 44, 6-87, 80). He was also a brilliant fielder, nicknamed ‘the claw’ on account of his ability to hold barely believable catches.
  9. Billy Bates (Yorkshire, England, off spinner, right handed batter). A superb all rounder, the first ever to score a 50 and take a 10 wicket haul in the same test match. He was also extremely economical as a bowler, on one occasion bowling a spell of 17 (four ball) overs from which just eight runs accrued.
  10. Alfred Shaw (Nottinghamshire, Sussex, England, right arm medium, right arm slow bowler, right handed batter). Possibly the most economical bowler ever to play the game – he bowled more FC overs than he conceded runs. He took just over 2,000 FC wickets at 12 a piece, including 186 at 8.54 in his best season.
  11. Sydney Barnes (Warwickshire, Lancashire, England, right arm fast medoiujm bowler, right handed batter). 189 wickets in just 27 test matches at 16.43. Although he fared a lot better against South Africa, who were often fairly hapless with the bat than he did against Australia, his record against the latter was still mighty fine – 106 wickets in 20 appearances, 77 of those wickets in 13 matches down under. Although his position at number 11 is justified he did once produce a crucial 38* in a test match, helping the last wickets to score the 73 needed for England to win.

This side has massive batting depth – even Barnes at number 11 was far from being a bunny, while there are seven top line batters, and two bowling all rounders at eight and nine. The bowling, with Barnes, Davidson, Shaw, Bates, Jessop, Macartney and Sobers is similarly replete with both depth and variety.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

There are far too many of these for a full listing, and many would fully justify places in this XI. I particularly regretted not being able to accommodate leg spinning all rounder Percy Fender. I look forward to seeing reader suggestions.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The next few pictures were taken inside The Globe Hotel.

All Time XIs – England Not The Best In Their Own Family

In this post I select an all time England XI who were not the best players in their own families. Some of my choices are undoubtedly controversial but I believe I can defend them all.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. EM Grace (Gloucestershire, England, right handed opening batter, lob bowler). In the early 1860s, before WG, seven years his junior, overtook him he was the acknowledged cricketing marvel of the age. His sole England appearance came in the first test on English soil in 1880, and even then, at the age of 39 and long past his best he was able to contribute to an opening stand of 91 with WG in the first innings. The test that led to the creation of The Ashes may well have gone the other way had he been in the team instead of AN ‘Monkey’ Hornby – WG would have undoubtedly captained the side better than did Hornby, whose tinkering with the batting order in the final innings contributed to England’s defeat, and EM, even at 41, would probably have been better value with the bat than Hornby, who was never comfortable against Spofforth. I have explained in previous posts how under arm could be relegalized without danger of a repeat of the Trevor Chappell incident – simply rule that a ball that rolls (or is rolled) along the deck has bounced an infinite number of times and call it ‘no ball’.
  2. Chris Broad (Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire, England). His England career ended when he decamped on the last ever rebel tour of apartheid South Africa in 1989, but while nowhere near on a par with son Stuart he had a very respectable England career, including an away Ashes series in which he scored 487 runs at 69 including three successive centuries.
  3. Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, England, right handed batter). Although at a casual glimpse his test record reads the best of the three members of his family to have played at that level (he is related to Johnny and Ernest Tyldesley of Lancashire and England many years ago), I have noted that Johnny Tyldesley’s record was better than it looked due to him playing the vast majority of his cricket before WWI, generally on wickets that favoured bowlers, while Ernest got surprisingly few England caps for so prolific a county scorer, so I have (with Neville Cardus doubtless backing me from beyond the grave) opted to rate Johnny the best of the three and therefore select Michael Vaughan and Ernest Tyldesley in this XI.
  4. Ernest Tyldesley (Lancashire, England, right handed batter). The only Lancastrian ever to score 100 FC hundreds. See my comments re Vaughan for the justification of his inclusion.
  5. KS Ranjitsinhji (Sussex, England, right handed batter). One of two members of the ruling family of Nawanagar to play for Sussex and England, and I have decided that the other, his nephew KS Duleepsinhji, outranks him and so included him in this XI.
  6. Richard Hutton (Yorkshire, England, right handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler). Good enough to be selected for England as an all rounder, but unquestionably outranked by his father Leonard.
  7. *David Bairstow (Yorkshire, England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). The best wicket keeper in the Bairstow family, but outranked overall by his son due to the latter’s batting.
  8. Maurice Tremlett (Somerset, England, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). The most talented of his family, but was sadly messed up by well meaning coaches, meaning that he was outachieved by his grandson Chris.
  9. Tim Tremlett (Hampshire, right arm medium pace bowler, right handed batter). Never selected for England, but 450 FC wickets at 23.99 each shows that he was a good county bowler, and he also managed a first class hundred.
  10. *James Lillywhite junior (Sussex, England, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed lower order batter, captain). The fact that his uncle William Lillywhite, “The Nonpareil” was regarded as the greatest bowler of his era, a distinction never conferred on the nephew, enables to me to include England’s first ever captain in this XI. His two tests, the first two such games ever played, yielded him 8 wickets at 15.75. In first class cricket, where the sample size is much larger, he took 1,210 wickets at 15.23, including 96 five wicket innings hauls and 22 ten wicket match hauls. His best innings figures were 10-129. He also scored 5,530 runs at 14.30 with a best of 126*.
  11. Dean Headley (Kent, Middlesex, England, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). His grandfather George was one the game’s all time greats, which enables me to select him in this team (his father Ron also played test cricket). In 15 test matches he managed a very respectable 60 wickets at 27.85, while in all first class cricket he took 466 wickets at 28.52.

This team has a powerful top five, a genuine all rounder at six, a keeper who can bat, and four high quality front line bowlers. The spin bowling is a bit light, with only Lillywhite a front liner in that department. For all that none of these players were on my reckoning the best in their own families I would expect this combination to give a good account of itself.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

GF Grace might have had to slot I gave to Richard Hutton, but I preferred to accommodate an extra family. The Cowdrey and D’Oliveira families missed out because in each case the principal cricketer in that family was the only one worthy of inclusion (picking Brett D’Oliveira as an opening batter would also have given me a leg spin option, but in truth he is not good enough in either department). John Langridge was a contender for the right handed openers slot I gave to Chris Broad, being definitely outranked as a player by James Langridge, but still very fine. While there is reasonable evidence to support the view that Gubby Allen was actually the son of Plum Warner and not of Walter Allen I could not accommodate Plum in this XI, and while Gubby Allen’s extra pace would have been welcome he has to outrank his alleged father as a cricketer and was thus ineligible. A possible leg spin option was Archie Lenham of Sussex, currently definitely outranked by father Neil and possibly by grandfather Les, but more than likely to eclipse both before he is done. Claude Woolley (Northamptonshire) was undoubtedly outranked by brother Frank, but was IMO not good enough to warrant selection in this XI. Second choice keeper for this XI would be Leslie Compton (Middlesex), outranked in cricketing terms by brother Denis, and possibly by two of Denis’ grandsons, Nick and Ben. In football, Denis and Leslie both played for Arsenal, and it would be Denis in that sport who would rate as not the best in his own family.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have a huge photo gallery to share with you…

A green bug on a green leaf.

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