What a finish and how disappointing for Somerset to be the bridesmaids in each of the three domestic competitions. In a season where so much was wrong: the alleged corruption, the elongated FP Twenty 20 tournament and the sidelining of the county championship, the ECB were fortunate that each of its three competitions had a dramatic conclusion.
So with the prizes handed out, it is now time to pick our team of the season, which is based on the championship only given that we didn't really follow the CB 40 until the latter stages and the FP T20 until the finals day.
1. Marcus Trescothick (Captain) (1397 runs at 58.20) - So near but yet so far in his first season as captain as Tresco again showed that he is still the best England qualified batsman in the country in all formats bar none.
2. Adam Lyth (1509 runs at 52.03) - The 22 year old finished as the leading run scorer in Division 1 and particularly in the first half of the season regularly propelled the White Rose county's batting. Just pips Michael Carberry as Trescothick's opening partner.
3. Mark Ramprakash (1595 runs at 61.34) - Just like a vintage Chateau Lafitte, Ramps keeps getting better with age. Once again finished as the leading run scorer in the championship and this wasn't even one of his better seasons with only the five hundreds this time.
4. Jacques Rudolph (1375 runs at 50.92) - South Africa's loss continues to be Yorkshire's gain as Rudolph keeps plundering the runs. Gets into our XI ahead of his county captain Andrew Gale.
5. James Hildreth (1440 runs at 65.45) - A stellar season for the batsman once described by Justin Langer as an "extraordinary talent" with seven hundreds. Must be close to England selection and is likely to tour with the Academy this winter.
6. Chris Read (916 runs at 45.80, 59 catches & 4 stumpings) - Gets the nod ahead of Stephen Davies who also had a good year. Read is still arguably the best keeper in the championship and can always be relied upon for runs. The fact that he managed to successfully captain Notts to the title is testament to his multi-tasking skills.
7. Adil Rashid (732 runs at 45.75, 57 wickets at 31.29) - Took some time to get into the groove with the ball, but then consistently took wickets. His batting continues to impress and surely he can't be ignored by the England selectors for much longer?
8. Chris Woakes (54 wickets at 21.57, 431 runs at 23.94) - A burgeoning all-rounder who had a strong start and end to the season. Could well find himself on the Academy tour this winter.
9. Chris Tremlett (48 wickets at 20.18) - Seemed rejuvenated by his move to The Oval and most importantly stayed injury free. Deserves to be in the Ashes squad where his height, bounce and accuracy could prove a potent weapon.
10. Andre Adams (68 wickets at 22.17) - The leading wicket-taker in the country was one of the prime reasons why Notts scraped their way to the title. A strike rate of 40.2 is phenomenal. Gets in ahead of Gemaal Hussain and James Harris.
11. Monty Panesar (52 wickets at 25.69) - Like Tremlett, Monty was reinvigorated by a change of county and seems to have rediscovered his mojo at Hove. Should be picked for the Ashes squad ahead of Rashid and Tredwell.
Good side this and no quibbles really. Possibly Davies for Read but its very close so no problems there.
Really hope that Hildreth gets a look in for England and he is a brilliant player and seems to have found some consistency at last. Lyth too looks good.
Love the fact that England have some serious talent coming through.
Posted by: Bradders | Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 09:22
Disagree with Read being the best keeper. To me James Foster is comfortably better with the gloves than any of the competitors. And I really don't like Essex.
But can't argue with the selection, I too would like to see Hildreth get a chance, fabulous season for him.
As a Kent fan I hope to see Northeast play a season as an opener next time round.
Posted by: MartDawg | Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 19:42
Foster is a very good keeper agreed. Not much to choose between him and Read IMO. Northeast was one of my players to watch this season, but he had a difficult season. That said so did Key and Denly, so he was in good company!
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 10:33
Thks Bradders. Yes, Hildreth has been knocking around for a while but really went into orbit this season. I reckon that come the end of the Ashes, a few openings in the England middle order may appear so he may not have to wait too much longer for an opportunity.
Posted by: The Reverse Sweep | Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 10:35
Watch him again next season Mr Sweep, he won't let you down a second time! At least I hope not.
Posted by: MartDawg | Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 13:12