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

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).
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.
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.
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.
+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”).
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.
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.
*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.
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.
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.
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 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…

All Time XIs – The Game’s Old Testament

An XI picked from cricket’s early history and a huge photo gallery.

This exercise looks as the title suggests at cricket’s early history. I have allowed myself one cricketer who played test cricket but otherwise these players are all of pre-test vintage.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

*WG Grace (right handed batter, right arm bowler of various types, excellent close catcher, captain). The sole test cricketer in the XI, but although he played test cricket over a period spanning almost 19 years he was past his absolute prime by the time he debuted in that format in the first test on English soil in 1880.
John Small (right handed batter). John Nyren in his book about Hambledon (his father Richard was closely involved with the club) waxes lyrical about Small. Small’s most remarkable effort was a 138* that was spread over three days play.
James Aylward (left handed batter). Only eight years after John Minshull scored the first recorded century in any cricket match this man set the Hambledon all time record with an innings of 167.
Nicholas Wanostrocht aka Felix (right handed batter). He played his cricket (for Kent among others) under the assumed name ‘Felix’ because he worked as a schoolmaster and felt it would damage his professional reputation to play under his own name. He was also author of ‘Felix on the Bat’.
Fuller Pilch (right handed batter). Recognized as the best batter of the 1830s and 1840s. He used a bat with a long blade and a comparatively short handle.
Vyell Walker (right handed batter, slow bowler). One of seven brothers from Southgate – the cricket ground there is still known as Walker’s Ground. A Middlesex regular, and along with Grace one of only two players to have scored a century and taken all ten wickets in an innings in the same first class match.
+Tom Box (wicket keeper, right handed batter). He played every Sussex game from 1832 to 1856 inclusive, a remarkable achievement. He often batted in the top half of the order for them, and was clearly an excellent keeper.
William Clarke (right arm leg spin bowler, right handed batter). An extraordinary wicket taker, and not the worst batter. He also created the All England XI, a professional touring XI who played all round the country. Over the next 30 years a number of other such teams were created, but in the end a potential schism was averted when WG Grace threw his lot in with the MCC. ‘Old Clarke’ has left the modern game one great legacy – it was he who bought the Trent Bridge Inn, enclosed some adjoining fields and turned them into a cricket ground.
James Broadbridge (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One half of cricket’s first acknowledged great bowling partnership, along with…
William Lillywhite (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). ‘The Nonpareil’, regular bowling partner of Broadbridge.
David Harris (right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). The first authentically great bowler, his method is splendidly described by Nyren in his book.

This XI has a good batting line up and a strong, varied bowling attack – three great pacers, two great and contrasting spinners and Grace as sixth bowling option. It also has an excellent captain and a great keeper.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The nearest overseas player to making the cut was Gideon Elliott, the Victoria fast bowler whose handful of first class matches yielded 48 wickets at less than five a piece. I picked Walker for the all rounders slot over Alfred Mynn, ‘the Lion of Kent’ for reasons of balance, which also ruled out either Osbaldeston or Lambert. I regretted not being able to find a place for John Wisden, the diminutive fast bowler who created Wisden’s Almanac. Julius Caesar, the remarkably named Surrey batter who toured Australia in 1863-4 deserves a mention, and also Heathfield Harman Stephenson, performer of the original hat trick, in a match at Hyde Park, Sheffield – the name coming about because someone in the crowd passed their hat around to collect money which was presented to Stephenson in honour of his feat. Two early Yorkshire greats, Ephraim Lockwood and Louis Hall might have their advocates. Three fast bowlers who I have not yet mentioned who had fine achievements to their credit were Sam Redgate, John Jackson and George Tarrant. George Freeman of Yorkshire was also close to selection.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The sun was exactly in the wrong position for this shot, and it took a lot of editing to render it usable.

Autism, Work and Links

The launch of a new facebook page with NAS West Norfolk connections, a bit about yesterday at work and some very interesting links.

INTRODUCTION

For the benefit of new readers it is worth reminding people that I am both NAS West Norfolk branch secretary and #actuallyautistic. Although the the National Autistic Society (NAS) has some paid staff at its London HQ branches are run by volunteers and branch money comes exclusively from fund-raising. This post therefore starts with some news from NAS West Norfolk that I consider worth sharing before continuing with a bit about yesterday at work which will include pictures and ending with some interesting links.

THE LAUNCH OF A NEW FACEBOOK PAGE

NAS West Norfolk’s Sports Co-ordinator, Grant Cotton, creator of the Autism Awareness Cup, has created a new facebook page to link all his activities. It can be viewed by clicking the image below:

YESTERDAY AT JAMES AND SONS

Yesterday was devoted to imaging as many of those lots for the March auction that were not yet images as possible (a catalogue for this auction, taking place on the 27th, 28th and 29th of March, can be viewed here). Most of the imaging I was doing yesterday was of coin lots. Here some pictures…

248-a — This is lot 248 – a seven image gallery for you to look at

120 — From here until lot 124 we are looking at hi-res scans. Although I produced my usual three-image galleries for these coins with on exception I am sharing only the main image.

The exception – this New Zealand florin from 1934, where I choose to show the close-ups as well.

Lot 108 – the packaging indicated that three of these coins were special, so I did close ups as well as the main images

Lot 107 – this time the packaging suggested that two of the coins deserved special attention, so they got it.

Lot 223. This horrible plastic tub did not have a lid, so I rehoused the lot in a nice wooden box with a fully functioning lid (I did a ‘meringue’ style test on it, turning it upside down with the coins inside, making sure that it was not too high above a flat, clear surface when I did so).

LINKS

Most of these links are science related, so to clear the decks I shall start with the exception. This comes courtesy of Skwawkbox, and is a devastating indictment of Theresa May and her ‘sweetheart deal’ with Surrey County Council. I agree with the Skwawkbox assessment that this should be considered as resignation matter. As another blogger, Mike Sivier, put it when commenting on this same issue: “a turd by any other name would smell as faecal and this one sgtinks of big fat lie”. To read the Skwawbox piece click here.

SCIENCE 1: FROM LIVESCIENCE

Two very different pieces from the same source here. The first deals with small things (specifically spiders), the second with something very large (a nebula).

Wolf spiders having threesomes (yes, you read that right). Female wolf spiders are noted for eating their mates after copulation, and it may be that if two males tackle the same female there is more chance of one of them not being cannibalised. For the full story please click on the image below:
This piece is about the discovery of a huge new nebula and the attendant mystery of what its light source might be. For the full story click on the image below:

SCIENCE 2: WEIT (WITH AN ASSIST FROM YOU TUBE)

It is no great secret that I am a huge fan both of Jerry Coyne’s books (Why Evolution is True and Faith Versus Fact) and of the associated blog, whyevolutionistrue. Thus I am delighted to share with you the fact that a video series on chapter one of Why Evolution Is True is now being created. Episodes 1-3 are available to watch (and highly recommended by this blogger!), and according to WEIT’s own piece about the series there are two more episodes to come (yay!). I have embedded the videos below (they run in sequence) – enjoy!

Musical Keys

An illustrated account of yesterdays Musical Keys session at the Scout Hut, Beulah Street.

INTRODUCTION

Yesterday was a Musical Keys day for me and others associated with the NAS West Norfolk branch. Attendances were somewhat affected by the fact that an autism friendly event was also taking place at Norwich Castle. This post briefly covers the session I attended, from 4PM to 5PM (as usual there had been an earlier session for the younger ones).

GETTING THERE

I left my flat a little earlier than usual, opting for the Bawsey Drain route. I was carrying a guitar with me to donate to the group always assuming that it could be restored to usable condition (it was a long time since it had last been used). I picked up a few pictures along the way…

THE SESSION ITSELF

John who runs the sessions confirmed that he could make the guitar usable again (it would need new strings but was still capable of generating good sound). Once the session started I found myself using a computer program called Scratch to generate notes. Each note is assigned a numerical value by the program, and you the operator then assign each of these numerical values to a button on the keyboard…

dscn9265 — My screen once I had assigned one octave worth of notes to various keys – this works on the ‘click and drag’ principle – the orange tabs at the top describe events, and the purple tabs describe sounds.

dscn9266 — The full list of numerical note values.

The default instrument is a piano, but there is a range of some 25 instruments available – I eventually settled on clarinet as my instrument of choice. There are then a whole range of other options available, such as programming the cat to move while you are playing notes and even it draw lines as it moves. Here are a few more pictures.

I very much enjoyed this session, and I think this makes an excellent addition to real instruments. Although it was dark by the time I walked back, just before leaving I spotted an eight-legged friend…

dscn9273 — I got three images of this spider…

Chris Packham and the Foxhunters

An account with links to the three source pieces of the vile abuse of Chris Packham by the pro-hunting lobby and his dignified response to it.

INTRODUCTION

I live with Asperger’s Syndrome, have previously had mental health issues including depression and am a nature lover. Chris Packham presents nature programs on TV, has Asperger’s Syndrome and has had mental health problems. Mr Packham has recently gone public about his Asperger’s and depression, and this is where the story starts…

A TWEET AND RETWEET

Yesterday morning Hunting Solutions put out the following tweet, quoted in his own piece immediately after it had happened by Miles King on anewnatureblog:

This tweet was retweeted by Nicholas Soames, a politician whose own party leader has spoken of the need to end the stigma attached to mental health. As Miles King points out, given the hysterical reaction to Naz Shah having liked an offensive facebook post before she became an MP, you might think that this could cause more trouble for the party concerned. When Miles King challenged Soames about the retweet, rather than attempting to defend himself Soames blocked King. Please follow the link I provided near the top of this section and read that post in full before proceeding.

PACKHAM’S OWN RESPONSE

Chris Packham provided what was in the circumstances a remarkably restrained response in the form of an interview that was published on Huffington Post, which I urge you to read in full.

THE FOLLOW UP THIS MORNING

Miles King on anewnatureblog returned to the fray this morning because Hunting Solutions had provided a response of sorts. As this image, taken from the Miles King piece, which I urge to read in full shows it was exactly what we might expect from these people:

This is classic victim blaming of the sort that Tories specialize in. I will conclude this section with my own comments on Miles King’s posts which I once more urge you to read in full:

As someone with Asperger’s Syndrome and who has experience of depression I am in no doubt that the both the original tweet and Soames’ retweet were bang out of order, and in the continuing absence of an apology there is no doubt to give these people the benefit of. The use of the word “nutjob” in the context Mr Packham having recently gone public about his Asperger’s and depression is reminiscent of the the prolonged series of smears that functioned (thankfully and deservedly very badly) as Zac Goldsmith’s London Mayoral campaign.

And Miles’ response to that comment:

thanks Thomas – a good analogy. The hunting community, feeling threatened, are resorting to a smear campaign against high profile people like Chris Packham.

My comment on the second post:

Excellent follow up piece. I would take your reasoning re the comments about foxhunting being psychopathic a small step further and say that for true equivalence between the remarks Packham would have to labelled not just foxhunters as a group (which as you point out he did not) but an individual named foxhunter as a psychopath. As for the ‘if he hadn’t criticised us we would not have said it’ “defense”, that is simply another example of a favourite tactic of these kind of people – victim blaming.

I conclude this post with some photos…

Gibraltar £1 — I noticed something about this £1 coin that caused me to examine it closely – just as well I did, as it is Gibraltarian and would probably not have been accepted by the bus driver!

Summer is Here and Other Stuff

A mention of politics, cricket and summer being here. Some good photographs as well.

INTRODUCTION

I have various things to cover, and of course pictures to share. I will work up to the pictures, covering everything else first…

LOCAL AND REGIONAL ELECTIONS

The only vote I was able to take part in was for Norfolk Police & Crime Commissioner, and although disappointed that it went the way of the Tory (by a small margin from Labour) I was pleased to see the incumbent, Mr Bett, finish a humiliating fourth.

THE LONDON MAYORAL ELECTIONS

The news from these was nearly all good. Sadiq Khan won with a record vote for any candidate in any London Mayoral election. This has probably had the added beneficial effect of ensuring that no further campaigns will be conducted under the malign influence of Sir Lizard of Oz (yes, even as the latest effort to be besmirched by his dirty pawprints was unravelling in spectacular fashion Mr Cameron was orchestrating a knighthood for him) aka Linton Crosby. Sian Berry was rewarded for the excellence of her own campaign with third place, a record vote for a Green candidate and election to the Greater London Assembly along with Caroline Russell, while Shahrar Ali just missed out on becoming a third Green GLA member.

THE OVERALL PICTURE

In the first set of elections since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader his party won 47% of the council seats contested while also succeeding in in two mayoral elections (Bristol as well as London) and two by-elections. For comparison during the first set of elections contested after the election as leader of Anthony B Liar Labout won 46% of the council seats contested, while in those days there were no mayoral elections.

CRICKET

The English cricket season is well under way, with some heavy scoring going on all over the country. May 9th 1895 was the day on which W G Grace played his first first class innings of that season, and just 21 days later he reached 1,000 runs for the season, the first time that feat had been achieved in May (the strict 1,000 in May has since been emulated only by Wally Hammond and Charlie Hallows, although Tom Hayward, Don Bradman (twice), Bill Edrich, Glenn Turner and Graeme Hick all reached 1,000 for the English season before June, having played some innings in April).

SUMMER IS HERE

After a somewhat patchy spring, summer appears to have started early. For the second straight day I am in shorts and t-shirt. Here are some summery photographs to end the post (in tiled mosic form – click on an individual to view at full size)…

These planes flying in chevron formation were tough to capture, and shooting upwards from ground level I probably have not done the spectacle full justice, but I was glad to have managed this much.

This was on a wall near my flat.

Website Sorted

INTRODUCTION

As well as the title piece, I have some good pictures from in and around King’s Lynn to share. These date from Monday, when I attended an NAS West Norfolk coffee morning.

HOME PAGE CLEAN

I have modified the home page on www.londontu.be so that the original stuff that came with the Hathor Theme that I selected is no longer on show, replaced with my own stuff.

PICTURES

With a bit of moisture to highlight the silk, Monday was an excellent today for photographing spiders webs – and King’s Lynn rivals Mirkwood for quantity of spider webs if not for size or scariness of occupants thereof…

This was the first of many - and only just outside my door. — This was the first of many – and only just outside my door.

Partway down the first of two flights of stairs between my flat and the street.

The remaining webs were all alongside Bawsey drain.

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Neither were the birds at all put off by the weather…

DSCN6892 DSCN6893 DSCN6894 DSCN6916 DSCN6918 River Birds

A Bloggers Bazaar

I will be starting as usual by sharing some important links, before moving on to some other stuff…

LINKS

To start with, a reminder that the autistic community is still awaiting an apology from Katie Hopkins. On this topic, a prominent supporter of our campaign is Lucy Hawking, daughter of Stephen and mother of an autistic child – check out this piece.

Next comes some information about bumble bees.

My penultimate link is to a list of demands to the next government on behalf of disabled people.

Last of all, courtesy of the Anti-bulliying Alliance comes a suggested anti-bullying charter for use in schools.

PICTORIAL INTERLUDE

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MIDDLESEX SECOND INNINGS WOES

Middlesex demonstrated in their match against Durham that batting again rather than enforcing the follow-on is no guarantee against a disastrous collapse. Middlesex reached their eventual 2nd innings total of 83 only because Tim Murtagh, batting at no 11 and suffering with a hamstring strain top scored. Chris Rushworth and John Hastings each took five wickets in this remarkable display.

I was sitting outside listening to the commentary on this and periodically enhancing my collection of photos…

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My best aeroplane shot yet... — My best aeroplane shot yet…

...with this one a decent second — …with this one a decent second

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	Thomas on World T20 Cup Underway
	Anna on World T20 Cup Underway
	London Underground t… on Project Piccadilly
	Thomas on All Time XIs – Detective…
	Anna on All Time XIs – Detective…