County Championship Update

A look at happenings in the county championship as day three draws to a conclusion. A mathematical teaser and some photographs.

In this post I look at what has been going on around the grounds on day three of the county championship. Due to today being one of my fortnightly music therapy sessions I missed the entirety of the morning’s play, which as it turned out meant missing the denouement of the London derby. I am therefore tuned into Leicestershire v Somerset, which is also highly likely to finish today, with Somerset heading towards a convincing win. Elsewhere in the world Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are contesting a test match, but due to the state of the pitch that game has been rendered an utter irrelevance which even the batters who have been bolstering their averages are unlikely to remember beyond stumps being pulled up tomorrow on the stalest of stalemates.

SPINELESS SURREY’S SATURDAY SURRENDER

Surrey resumed this morning just behind Middlesex with seven second innings wickets standing. Those wickets went down in a heap, Surrey crashing to 130 all out, setting Middlesex just 16 to win, a target the latter achieved wtihout losing a wicket in their second innings. Burns made 54 for Surrey, while Roland-Jones (four wickets) and Bamber (three scalps) did most of the damage with the ball. The last seven Surrey wickets fell while 25 runs were scored, the sort of passage of play that deserves to doom a side to defeat as it did.

SOMERSET IN CONTROL

Leicestershire faced an 85 run deficit when they began their second innings in their home match against Somerset. Craig Overton (a remarkable 18-10-25-5) and Jack Leach (20-8-43-3) ensured that Somerset’s victory target would be modest, Leicestershire being restricted to 199 in their second innings, a lead of only 114. Overton has match figures of 8-64, and Leach 5-82, an excellent effort from an England possible and England’s #1 spinner (unless the selectors are going to try the ‘Ecclestone Experiment’). Lammonby, who came into this season with many calling for his elevation but has barely scored a run thus far is finally relocating some form, 32 not out in a score of 51-1. That innings, over two thirds of his season’s run tally, has boosted his FC record to 501 runs at 35.79, with scope for improvement – seeing Somerset home will count heavily in his favour if he manages it. However Hassan Azad had moved ahead of him in the pecking order, though he did not have a great match this time, and there has been another significant development.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Sussex v Yorkshire: Sussex are 59-1 in their second innings, needing a further 176 to beat Yorkshire. Yorkshire battled to 305 in their second innings to give Sussex a genuine target in the fourth innings. There were runs for former England batters Lyth and Ballance, an off spinner named Jack Carson took a five for, and Oliver Edward Robinson, widely expected to feature for England sooner rather than later, took three wickets.

Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire: Worcestershire 436 all out, Nottinghamshire 276 all out. Worcestershire should enforce the follow on, going for the win, but may well take the cautious option of batting again. Haseeb Hameed, whose budding test career was interrupted by injury, and who then lost form with Lancashire, scored a century in the Notts innings, a knock that prove of considerable significance to England. Charlie Morris took 3-30 for Worcestershire.

Essex v Warwickshire: Essex are 129-6 in their second innings, an overall lead of 140. The winners of three of the last four English FC trophies are not having things all their own way this time. Dan Lawrence is undefeated on 49, and Simon Harmer is supporting him. Craig Miles has three wickets, with the other three shared between Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Olly Stone.

Northamptonshire v Glamorgan: Glamorgan are 92-2 in their second innings, leading by 135 overall. Billy Root, younger brother of Joe, is batting decently there and he has Nick Selman for company.

Durham v Derbyshire: Durham 475, Derbyshire 267, Durham 48-1. Durham lead by 256, and a big final session could set them up for an overnight declaration (although I suspect that enforcing the follow on would have been a better call by them). The Durham second innings wicket has been claimed by Hudson-Prentice, who bowls right arm medium fast and is beginning to establish a decent reputation for himself. Chris Rushworth, a magnificent county bowler who has never caught the eyes of the England selectors, took 6-58 for Durham.

Kent v Lancashire: Lancashire 525, Kent 169 and 141-0. The large opening stand notwithstanding, Lancashire have done the right thing in sending Kent back in. Bell-Drummond in on 72 and Jordan Cox 62. Tom Bailey took four wickets in the Kent first innings, centurion Luke Wood three and leg spinner Matt Parkinson two. Bailey incidentally looks rather familiar as a line in a scorebook – his initials are TE, the same as Trevor Bailey, once of Essex.

Hampshire v Gloucestershire: Hampshire 470, Gloucestershire 283-5. Gloucestershire need 38 more to avoid the follow on, and if by some chance they fail to get them, then unquestionably Hampshire should enforce it – we are deep in to day three, and bowling Gloucs out a second time is the only route Hampshire have to victory. As I type the sixth Gloucs wicket has just gone at 283. Ryan Higgins, underlining his considerable all round credentials, is undefeated on 70, having already claimed four wickets in the Hampshire innings. Kraigg Brathwaite (WI) and James ‘Bobby’ Bracey (a good chance of playing for England) have both also scored significant runs for Gloucestershire.

Newsflash: Worcestershire have correctly enforced the follow on against Nottinghamshire. Somerset meanwhile have moved on to 72-1, just 43 short of victory over Leicestershire, Lammonby 37 not out.

A MATHEMATICAL TEASER

At the request of several of my twitter followers I am including a mathematical teaser, the solution to which I shall include in my next blog post. As usual it comes from www.brilliant.org.

Do not be overly intimidated by the four flames – it is not actually as difficult as the setters thought.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

As I reach the final prepublication stages of this post, Lammonby has completed a 50, and Somerset now need just 21 more, still with nine wickets standing. Lammonby now has 55 not out, which gives him 527 runs at 37.64 in FC cricket.

Robson’s Luck Runs Out At Last

A look at developments in the London derby, and a skate through the rest of the county championship action.

In this post I will bring you up to date with developments in the county championship I am following, and also provide a quick look at goings on elsewhere.

MIDDLESEX AHEAD IN LONDON DERBY

Middlesex are currently 63 ahead of Surrey with three first innings wickets standing. They owe this position to a combination of Sam Robson and absurd amounts of good fortune. Robson has just fallen for 95, having been dropped three times along the way and survived a few other close calls. Reece Topley snared him LBW. Between his 95 in this match and the 165 against Somerset in the first match Robson has surely used up a whole season’s allocation of good fortune. Middlesex are quite possibly some way from being done – Luke Hollman is making his FC debut at no9 and is officially recognized as an all rounder. Topley has four wickets, and if he has a good season and stays fit he may be in the Ashes tour party (the only other left armer of comparable pace and ability who England might think about is George Garton of Sussex).

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Sussex v Yorkshire: Sussex moved into a first innings lead with only three wickets down, but Yorkshire have come back and restricted their advantage to 71. Yorkshire are no 28-0 in their second innings. Duanne Olivier and Steven Patterson took four wickets each for Yorkshire, while young opener Tom Haines top scored for Sussex with 86.

Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire: Worcestershire are 430-9 in the 143rd over. Joe Leach is on 81. Libby made a century, and there have also been 50s for Mitchell, Barnard and Alzarri Joseph. Liam Patterson-White, the left arm spinner, has 3-114 from 41 overs.

Warwickshire v Essex: Essex were restricted to 295 in their first innings and Warwickshire are 119-4 in reply. Browne, Walter and ten Doeschate all scored 50s for Essex, while Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Olly Stone each took four wickets. Porter, Cook, Siddle and Harmer each have a wicket for Essex and no one has yet produced a significant score for Warwickshire.

Northamptonshire v Glamorgan: Glamorgan tallied 407 in their first innings, and Northamptonshire are struggling at 76-4 in reply. Chris Cooke scored 136 for Glamorgan, and Dan Douthwaite scored 44 at number eight. James Harris, James Weighell and David Lloyd (who scored 65 yesterday) have a wicket each for Glamorgan.

Durham v Derbyshire: Durham are 469-9 after 146 overs. David Bedingham scored 257 of these and Jack Burnham 75. Samuel Conners has four wickets. Bedingham is now averaging 45.83 in FC cricket with eight centuries in 67 innings at that level.

Kent v Lancashire: Lancashire are 438-8 after almost 150 overs. Danny Lamb is 86 not out, while Luke Wood made 119, and Josh Bohannon 87. Darren Stevens has fared best among Kent’s bowlers, with 2-44 from 26 overs.

Hampshire v Gloucestershire: Hampshire are 470-9. Tom Alsop made 149 and Ian Holland 114. England limited overs batter James Vince scored 52 and former England man Liam Dawson scored 65. Aussie Daniel Worrall has 4-75, and Ryan Higgins continues to press his England claims with 4-78.

Leicestershire v Somerset: Leicestershire made 233 in the first innings, Somerset are currently 252-6 in response. Lewis Hill scored 68 for Leicestershire, while Overton took 3-39, Jack Leach 2-23 and Lewis Gregory 2-39. Tom Abell made 88 and George Bartlett 48 for Somerset. Jack Leach as nightwatch scored 26, lasting 89 minutes in the course of which he faced 68 balls. Steven Davies and Craig Overton are currently batting together, Lewis Gregory is next in.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

As I prepare this post for publication Middlesex have moved on to 245-8.

Day One Of Round Three In The County Championship

A look at the action thus far one day one of round three of the county championship plus some photographs.

In this post I look at the first morning’s action in round three of this year’s County Championship. My particular focus is on the London derby, but commentaries on all games can be accessed by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/cricket and clicking on the live county cricket button and then selecting your commentary from the available list. Youtube and the county websites are making live streams available to watch free of charge, and extra detail can be obtained from www.cricinfo.com.

MIIDDLESEX V SURREY

I missed the start of play due to being out walking, but I witnessed most of the action, including all the wickets. Middlesex won the toss and put Surrey in to bat. They have included leg spinning all rounder Luke Hollman, who I look forward to hearing in action, but it has been all seam so far. Tim Murtagh, now 39, took a couple of early wickets, and the ‘Sunbury Shotgun’ aka Toby Roland-Jones (he hails from Sunbury and is double barrelled) dislodged Pope and Foakes with good deliveries. Stoneman produced a gritty performance, batting through at one end, and Jamie Smith was also unbeaten had lunch but had played a trifle streakily, including being on the receiving end of a “wasted on thee lad” moment when a delivery from Martin Andersson beat everything on its way through to the keeper. Since lunch Surrey have moved on to 103-4, and although they were ahead of the action at lunch Middlesex’s advantage was not huge – three down would have been a minimum morning’s work after putting the opposition in, so they were only one wicket better than par.

ELSEWHERE

Scores and brief mentions of noteworthy elements from elsewhere:

Sussex v Yorkshire: Yorkshire are 125-5, with keeper Jonathan Tattersall and Dom Bess, apparently reinventing himself as a genuine all rounder, batting together. Left arm pacer George Garton, who may be an outside shot for an England place, has three wickets, while Hunt and Rawlins each have one. The only Yorkshire batter to have reached 20 thus far is Adam Lyth who made 42.

Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire: Worcestershire 131-0, Libby 63, Mitchell 53 and 15 extras. No signs here of Nottinghamshire ending their long winless streak.

Warwickshire v Essex: Essex are batting first and have reached 88-3. Nick Brown on 21 and Paul Walter on 11 are the not out batters, while Sir Alastair Cook hooked a six earlier today. Former Gloucestershire medium pacer Craig Miles has two of the wickets.

Northamptonshire v Glamorgan: Glamorgan are batting first and have reached 117-4. Chris Cooke and Kiran Carlson, who is coming off the back of twin tons, are the current batters. Parnell and Berg have two wickets a piece, while David Lloyd scored 65.

Durham v Derbyshire: Durham are 94-2, Bedingham 54 not out and Lees 37 not out. Samuel Conners has both the wickets.

Kent v Lancashire: Lancashire are batting first and have reached 80-2, Luke Wells on 45 and Josh Bohannon on 14. The wickets have been claimed by Matt Milnes and Darren Stevens. It is a very long shot even with Stokes and Woakes both absent, but if selected Stevens would be England’s second oldest ever debutant after Southerton who played the inaugural test match at the age of 49.

Hampshire v Gloucestershire: The two teams with 100% records. Hampshire are 79-1, with Ian Holland, born in the USA and raised in Australia, 43 not out. Ryan Higgins has been very economical, bowling eight overs for 11, while the wicket has been claimed by Dom Goodman.

Leicestershire v Somerset: The home side, who have twice conceded scores of over 600 this season are batting and are currently 83-5. Hassan Azad scored 36, and new overseas player Marcus Harris 19. Lewis Gregory, another England possible, has two of the wickets, while Overton, de Lange and skipper Abell each have one. Azad’s 36 was enough to keep his average above 46 – his FC stats are now 2083 runs at 46.29, and in view of the lack of scoring by other contenders for an England opener’s slot he must be considered as well and truly in the frame.

While I was putting the above together Surrey have lost two further wickets, Smith and the adhesive Stoneman, one each to Murtagh and Roland-Jones, giving those worthies three scalps a piece in a score of 107-6. Jordan Clark has just gone to make it 107-7, and Murtagh has a fourth wicket. Rikki Clarke is the not out batter, and Reece Topley has just joined him.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Picking a Test Side Without Stokes or Woakes

A look at options for the England side for the first test and some photographs.

This post looks at the problems caused by the absences of Stokes (injured) and Woakes (at the IPL) for England. Another round of County Championship matches gets underway tomorrow and may provide more information.

FOUR BOWLERS OR FIVE?

Stokes and Woakes are the two best English all rounders currently playing, and without either the choice is between relying on four bowling options or accepting a weakened batting line up in order to have five bowling options. My choice, because one needs to take 20 wickets to win a test match is to have five bowling options.

BUILDING THE TEAM

There are doubts over whether Sibley will be fit for the first test match, and the only potential replacement who is doing enough at the moment in my book is Hassan Azad of Leicestershire. Burns and Crawley will round out the top three. Skipper Root will be at four, the slot he has made his own. Number five is choice between Pope and Lawrence, but Pope has underlined his quality with a huge score in the last round of championship matches, so I select him. As readers of this blog know I consider that Foakes should be a shoo-in for the test wicket keeping berth, and with five bowlers needed I put him at six. Personally I would select Ryan Higgins at seven – he is a cut above Overton, Gregory or S Curran with the bat, and an FC bowling average of 21 suggests he could do a job at the highest level. No8, where also batting skills are not entirely irrelevant is for me locked down – Oliver Edward Robinson who underlined his credentials with a nine wicket innings haul a few days ago gets the nod. Archer is at the IPL, and current form suggests that of the other two out and out speedsters Olly Stone should get the nod. Parkinson’s fine bowling against Northants not withstanding Jack Leach is clear as England’s #1 test spinner. James Anderson is missing Lancashire’s next game due to a tight calf, which suggests that Stuart Broad has to get the final placed. Thus my provisional line up, assuming that availability is as it seems is:

  1. Hassan Azad
  2. Rory Burns
  3. Zak Crawley
  4. *Joe Root
  5. Ollie Pope
  6. +Ben Foakes
  7. Ryan Higgins
  8. Oliver Edward Robinson
  9. Olly Stone
  10. Jack Leach
  11. Stuart Broad

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The County Championship After Two Rounds

A little look back at round two of the championship, including a correction to my previous post, a bonus feature on unorthodox bowling actions, a petition and some photographs.

I write this post while listening to commentary on today’s game in the IPL between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, but as a ‘legacy fan’ of cricket to borrow a phrase from those behind a development in another ball sport that makes The Hundred look like a picnic I feel it important to focus on non-franchise cricket. However, before getting into the main meat of my post I have a small piece of business to attend to:

A CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS POST

Yesterday I said that the hundred that Hassan Azad was approaching as I typed, and did duly complete would be his second of the match. This was incorrect – Leicestershire’s first innings century was scored by his opening partner Sam Evans, Azad making 55.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER TWO ROUNDS OF ACTION

Two teams, Gloucestershire and Hampshire, have won both of their games. They are in opposition in the next round which starts on Thursday. One team, Middlesex, have lost both their games. Nottinghamshire with a draw and a loss (beaten late yesterday by a Warwickshire side with only 10 fit players. Sibley being injured) are on a winless streak that dates back to 2018. Not the longest – Northamptonshire once went without a win from 1934 to 1939 (their next win after the 1939 one was in 1946, but that gap was not down to bad cricket on their part, it was down to there being no cricket at all), but a long time to go without a win.

Hassan Azad took Leicestershire to safety yesterday, reaching a new career best 144 not out, and boosting his career average to just over 46. With Sibley injured, Burns under scrutiny and Lammonby having had a horror start to the season which has seen his FC average drop from 51.00 to 35.69, Azad (31 FC matches) is putting himself firmly in the England frame. Also in the mix is James Bracey, and a big score against Hampshire, whose bowling is led by current Pakistan test start Mohammad Abbas and former SA test star Kyle Abbott would be a big boost to his credentials. Somerset, after their loss in the west country derby face Leicestershire who have decent batting but as evidenced by successive teams topping 650 against them a calamitous lack of bowling.

DISTINCTIVE BOWLING ACTIONS QUINTET

This section is a nod to the game I am following at the moment, which feature Riyan Parag, whose bowling action is extremely unusual – he basically brings his arm round the side rather than over the top as is conventional. His action is not illegal as the laws stand, and as some readers of this blog will be aware I believe that more types of bowling should be encouraged. The Greg/Trevor Chappell against NZ situation can be got round by way of the fact that nowadays balls that bounce more than once are called no-ball – simply add a footnote to the effect that a ball rolled along the ground is considered to have bounced an infinite number of times and shall be called no-ball. In that spirit I offer a bowling sextet who all had very distinctive actions (in T20 one generally needs six bowling options, so that you have cover in the event of someone having a nightmare day), four of whom played test cricket and a fifth may yet do so, the sixth was not quite good enough but as an all rounder has value in a T20 context:

  1. Lasith Malinga, aka Malinga the slinger, Right arm fast. Before the recent emergence of Parag he had the lowest bowling arm of any modern era bowler.
  2. Digby Jephson, right arm fast (under arm). He never got selected at international level, but was a Surrye regular for some years in the early 1900s.
  3. Doug Wright – leg spin. He had one of the most extraordinary run ups ever seen, bowled at above medium pace and achieved sharp turn. Often his good balls were too good and beat everything, but on his day he was utterly unplayable. He still holds the record for hat tricks in a first class career, having achieved the feat seven times at that level.
  4. Paul Adams – left arm wrist spin. Possibly the most unorthodox action ever possessed by any left arm bowler, once likened to a frog in a blender.
  5. George Simpson-Hayward – off spin (under arm). He came on the scene a few years after Jephson, and unlike the former did get selected for England and had a good series in South Africa. He was the last bowler of his type to play top level cricket.
  6. Riyan Parag – leg spin. One of two genuine all rounders in the sextet, Jephson being the other.

PETITION & PHOTOGRAPHS

Before getting to my photographs, while I have not mentioned it directly I think I have made my opinions of the proposed European Super League fairly clear in my introduction, and I now included a link to a petition calling for it to be stopped: http://chng.it/BhmYY6nMNp Now time for my usual sign off…

Championship Performances of Promise

A look at some of the more important success stories from this round of county championship games and a bumper crop of photographs.

As this round of county championship matches heads towards its conclusion (three are already settled – congratulations to Essex, Gloucestershire and Hampshire on their wins) I highlight several performances of potential interest to England.

While Ollie Pope dominated Surrey’s massive total against Leicestershire with his 245 there were also useful runs for Jamie Smith (119) and far more significantly for Ben Foakes (87), who should feature as England’s test wicket keeper.

For Leicestershire, Hassan Azad, mentioned as a candidate for an opening berth (Burns remains under some scrutiny after his winter, and Sibley is injured and may not be fit for the first test, while Lammonby is struggling horrendously after a fine start to his FC career) made a century in the first innings and is well on the way to doubling up. As things stand at the moment he is averaging 44.84 in FC cricket, while playing his 31st match at that level.

In the west country derby Ryan Higgins had a fine match, and with there being a possible vacancy for an all rounder with Stokes injured and Woakes playing in the IPL that could prove significant. Of more definite significance is the performance of James Bracey – a century and an 82 not out in the second innings. He has been part of the England set up but has yet to play a test match.

Finally, Matt Parkinson for Lancashire has produced a good bowling performance. He took 3-49 in the first innings, including a pretty good impression of the ‘Gatting ball’ and already has 2-23 in the second as Lancashire press for victory (Northamptonshire can do no better than a draw from here). His five wickets in this match have taken his bowling average in FC cricket below 25 (currently 67 wickets at 24.42). He remains #2 to Leach among current England spinners, although he is now paying less per wicket than Leach in FC cricket, because Leach has over 300 wickets to his credit at FC level and is faring respectably at test level, but he may well be earning himself a trip to Australia as an accredited member of the party rather than a ‘reserve’ as was over the winter just gone.

Oliver Edward Robinson of Sussex, definitely a candidate for elevation, has just recorded innings figures of 9-78, giving him 13-128 in the match. If England want five bowling options, Higgins at seven, Robinson at eight, one out and out speedster, Leach and one of Broad/ Anderson could work well, Higgins and Robinson have decent batting credentials.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have lots of photographs to share with you…

  • I put this montage together from butterfly pictures that feature earlier in this gallery (can you identify the particular pictures I used?)…
  • …and then introduced one final refinement to make the feature image that heads this post.

Somerset Struggling in West Country Derby

A look at goings on in the County Championship, with particular reference to Somerset and Gloucestershire.

This post looks at the action in the County Championship with particular reference to the game I am following, but a brief mention of some significant events in one of the other matches.

SOMERSET’S SECOND INNINGS WOES

Somerset took a slender first innings lead (three runs), as they took the last two Gloucetsershire wickets early this morning. However, they quickly lost nos 1,2,3 and 5 in the order to plummet to 37-4 in their second innings. The two most experienced members of the line up, James Hildreth and Steven Davies are currently together and have advanced the score to 55-4 as I write. Ryan Higgins, a crafty right arm medium pacer who is also a good middle order batter has 2-13 from seven overs in this innings. He currently has 1802 FC runs at 34.00 and 133 wickets at 21.37, from 39 matches, and though there are valid concerns about his pace at international level he may yet get his England chance. If Woakes’ IPL commitments prevent a return to England for the NZ test series then Higgins might be an option at no7 if England want to play five front line bowlers.

For Somerset’s top order there are several issues: Tom Banton is not looking, or at present scoring, like a natural opening batter and Tom Lammonby who started this season with 459 FC runs at 51.00 and three centuries has amassed five runs in four innings (including a pair in this game), meaning that his record now stands at 464 runs at an average of 35.69. It would be as premature to rule him out of future England consideration as it was premature of those who advocated his elevation on the strength of a good showing in six first class matches, but he has work to do to convince people that his good start at FC level wasn’t a flash in the pan. Only Abell of the three Toms at the top of the Somerset order has any current form to talk about. As I typed this last section Steven Davies has gone to make it 68-5, with Overton joining Hildreth.

NEWS FROM LONDON

Down at The Oval Surrey are in a commanding position against Leicestershire. Leicestershire scored 375 first up, but Surrey in reply are 391-4. Ollie Pope, looking to shore up his claim to a middle order slot in the England line up, is 172 not out, Ben Foakes has also made good runs, sharing a stand of 229 with Pope, and Jamie Smith who will don the gauntlets for Surrey if the England selectors do the right thing and select Foakes as their keeper is 32 not out.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Surrey have moved on past 400, and in the game I am listening to, that man Higgins has snagged a third wicket by clean bowling Overton to make it 71-6 and bring Gregory to the crease, Higgins 3-18. Now it is time for my usual sign off…

  • This is neither bee nor wasp – it is a species of fly which has evolved to mimic wasps.

Stokes Out For Three Months

A look at ways for England to cope with the enforced absence of Ben Stokes, a look at the cricket that is happening today, an answer to the teaser in my last post and some photographs.

This post looks at how England might cope without Ben Stokes, who will definitely be missing the first test series of the home summer against New Zealand, though he may be able to turn out against India later in the summer. There are also brief mentions of today’s cricket.

REPLACING STOKES

There is no such thing as a like for like replacement for Ben Stokes. The question is then whether you want five genuine bowling options or whether your primary concern is to deepen the batting. If you are worried about the batting then the logical approach based on current evidence is to play either Pope at five and Lawrence at six or vice versa, then rounding out the order with +Foakes, Woakes, one of Archer/Stone/Wood depending on form and fitness, Leach and one of Anderson/Broad depending on form and fitness. If you prefer five bowlers, then you pick one of Pope/ Lawrence to bat at five, gamble on +Foakes at six, have Woakes at seven and avoid a diplodocan tail by selecting one of Oliver Edward Robinson, Lewis Gregory or Craig Overton at eight, and then the 9/10/11 on the basis I have already explained. Two sample line ups using the different approaches are below:

Four Bowlers XIFive Bowlers XI
Dom SibleyDom Sibley
Rory BurnsRory Burns
Zak CrawleyZak Crawley
*Joe Root*Joe Root
Ollie PopeOllie Pope
Dan Lawrence+Ben Foakes
+Ben FoakesChris Woakes
Chris WoakesOliver E Robinson
Olly StoneOlly Stone
Jack LeachJack Leach
James AndersonJames Anderson
Sample England line ups (please read full post) – do you gamble on four bowlers being sufficient and aim for a strong batting line up, or do you insist on having five front line bowlers?

Feel free to comment on these ideas and make suggestions of your own.

TODAY’S CRICKET

It is day two of the second round of County Championship fixtures. Mohammad Abbas has obliterated the top half of the Middlesex batting order (at low water mark, facing a tally of just over 300 they were 14-5, Abbas 5-3) down at the Rose Bowl. In the game I am principally focussed on, the west country derby at Taunton, Gloucestershire are 113-3 in reply to Somerset’s 312, with Tom Lace the most recent casualty, to an entirely self inflicted dismissal. In South Africa the home side are going nicely in their T20I vs Pakistan, 64-1 after seven overs, while the IPL action for the day starts in just under an hour, and the question is will the mere kings (Punjab Kings) be able to get the better of the super kings (Chennai Super Kings)?

SOLUTION TO TEASER

In my previous post I set a teaser from brilliant.org. I now provide the answer.

The selection of these multiple choice options left a hack just waiting to be exploited, though as far as I am aware I am the only solver who actually admitted to having done so. The total area of the circle is 36pi, which is just over 113 units. No way are either 24 or 36 big enough to be the largest possible, while 144 is larger than the total available area and therefore clearly impossible. This leaves 72 as the only possible answer, and sure enough, it is the correct answer. Had one their largest available answer been 84 or 96 this hack would not have been available (note that 108 is too close to the total available area to be a really convincing alternative) and I would have had to actually work out a proper solution. I now share with you an authentic solution, published by David Vreken:

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Babar Azam’s Command Performance

A look at two contrasting T20s, one featuring Babar Azam and one featuring Virat Kohli, a mathematical teaser and a lot of photographs.

There was much wailing and gnashing of Indian teeth this morning as the new ODI batting rankings came out with Babar Azam promoted to no1, pushing Virat Kohli down to no2. Both were in T20 action today, Babar for Pakistan against South Africa and Virat for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Sunrisers Hyderabad. This post tells the story of the international match and where we are at so far in the IPL game.

RUNS GALORE AT JO’BURG

Johannesburg is no stranger to high scoring matches (just ask Ricky Ponting, who once failed to defend 434 in an ODI there!) but even so South Africa would have expected a tally of 203 from their 20 overs to be chased down with quite such ridiculous ease. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opened the batting together and for a long time it looked like they were leading their side to a ten wicket win. Babar Azam took just 49 balls to reach his 100, and Rizwan also topped 50 quite comfortably. So unfortunately for him did Beuran Hendricks with the ball – 4-0-55-0. Eventually Babar Azam fell to the fourth ball iof the 18th over to make it 197-1, his own share 122 off 59 balls. Fakhar Zaman came in to bat and clouted the last two balls of the 18th over for fours to settle the issue with nine wickets and two whole overs unused.

RCB V SRH

Kohli was named to no one’s surprise as captain and opening batter in the Royal Challengers Bangalore XI to face Sunrisers Hyderabad. Such is Kohli’s power in certain circles that an innings of 33 off 29 balls, in reality an awful performance in a T20, was described by at least one commentator as “An excellent cameo.” Only Maxwell, who came close to living up to his moniker of “The Big Show” with 59 not out off 41 balls, did anything significant with the bat and RCB were held to 149-8 from their 20 overs, a total that seems modest. Rashid Khan as so often in any game of which is part was well to the fore with the ball, finishing with 2-18 from his four overs, and outstanding effort in this form of cricket. Although Saha fell for just one in the reply David Warner and Manish Pandey seem to be in little trouble, with SRH now 32-1 off four overs and looking set for a comfortable win.

A MATHEMATICAL TEASER

This is today’s offering from brilliant.org, slightly modified as their setting gave multiple choice options for the answer, which opened up a hack that I availed myself of. Can you solve this in the intended way and work out the answer? My hack, and an authentic solution will appear in my next post. Click here for more.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off, with Warner and Pandey still going nicely, and Bairstow waiting to come in next…

PS as I publish, SRH are 75-1 in the tenth, well on course to chase down the modest target they have been set.

Somerset’s Comeback Triumph

A look back at the first round of the county championship, especially Middlesex v Somerset, plus some photographs.

This post looks back at an extraordinary turnaround in one of the only three fixtures in the opening round of the County Championship to have a definite result (Gloucs beating Surrey and Hants beating Leics were the other two).

SOMERSET RECOVERY

Somerset won the toss and put Middlesex in (see here for more on the early stages of the match). At low water mark Somerset were 89-9 facing a Middlesex total of 313. Marchant de Lange and Jack Leach, nos 10 and 11 for Somerset added 83 for the final wicket to save the follow on (there would have been no sensible case for Middlesex declining to enforce it). When Middlesex were 87-2 at the end of the second day they still looked firm favourites, but great bowling efforts from Overton, Davey and Leach restricted Middlesex to 143 in their second innings, leaving Somerset 285 to win. Three wickets went fairly early, but then Tom Abell and George Bartlett shared a good partnership before Abell was dislodged for 84. Steven Davies and Craig Overton both fell cheaply, and the target was still over 100 away when Lewis Gregory walked in to join Bartlett. Gregory, who had picked up a five-for in the first Middlesex innings came to the party for the second time in the match, and he and Bartlett were still together when the winning run was scored, Bartlett 76 not out, Gregory 62 not out. Appropriately, it was Gregory who sealed the win. Leach’s total match figures of 4-61, going at less than two an over, were huge news for England, since unless they are prepared to go seriously radical and drop Sophie Ecclestone a line there is no other serious specialist spin option for the test team at present – Matt Parkinson, with 62 wickets at 25 each in FC cricket ranks second to Leach, having a similar bowling average but only about a fifth of the number of wickets. Gregory has Woakes (definitely) and Oliver Edward Robinson (probably) ahead of him in the England pecking order. Abell and Bartlett may also be on the radar, and the runs they made in uphill circumstances will count heavily in their favour. On the debit side the other two Toms, Banton and Lammonby failed to do anything of note this time round. Ethan Bamber of Middlesex may have out himself on the radar with a fine bowling performance.

Elsewhere the most significant news from an England perspective were scores of 74 for Burns, the opener whose place is under scrutiny after a tough winter, and 133 for Foakes, who should be first choice keeper, and who must have improved his stocks with that effort.

PLAYER LINKS

Here are links to the cricinfo profiles of the players mentioned above in an England context:

PHOTOGRAPHY

My usual sign off…