Having been accused on Twitter of being a liar by Alviro Petersen, it's time to get back to more mundane posts such as naming our County Championship XI of the week. Suffice, to say that Petersen is not amongst its number:
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - Looked to be captain of a sinking ship when his pre-season favourites were hammered by an innings in their first two matches, which makes his 227 at The Rose Bowl all the more impressive. The start of a Somerset resurgence?
Liam Dawson (Hampshire) - His side may have lost in the end to Somerset, but the makeshift opener sweated blood to prevent it from happening. A 1st innings 91 was followed up with a career best 169 as he battled alone to keep Somerset at bay on the final day. Alas, for Dawson his heroics proved in vain.
Ed Joyce(Sussex) - Sussex were deep in the mire after following on 300 runs behind Lancashire at Hove, but Joyce batted 98 overs for his 140 and painstakingly built the escape tunnel from which Naved Arif led an impressive Sussex breakout.
Ravi Bopara(Essex) - Whilst Eoin Morgan flops in the IPL, Ravi Bopara is making a concerted attempt to deprive him of the vacancy in the England Test XI caused by Paul Collingwood's retirement. A battling 1st innings knock of 61 and 39 tidy overs with the ball was good enough, before Bopara applied the coup de grace with an unbeaten 136 as Essex chased down 360 against Glamorgan.
Neil Dexter (Middlesex) - His 145 on day 1 against Surrey was a real captain's innings coming as it did when his side were in early trouble at Lord's. In the end his 254 run partnership with John Simpson saw his side trounce the opposition and win their third game on the trot.
Ian Blackwell(Durham) - Came to the crease with his side five wickets down and still over 200 runs behind Warwickshire's first innings total. By the time he departed for 125 carefully constructed runs, Durham had the narrow lead from which they turned the rest of the match into a rout.
John Simpson(Middlesex) - In a good week for wicketkeeper-batsmen, it is Simpson who takes the honours over Lancashire's Gareth Cross for his magnificent and stylish 143 at Lord's against Surrey. England seem to have a very long list of talented young wicketkeeper-batsmen and Simpson would appear to be amongst their number.
Scott Borthwick (Durham) - the young leggie was one of our 12 to watch in 2010, and his quickfire three wicket burst on the third evening against Warwickshire turned a tight match irrefutably Durham's way. Borthwick then opened the batting and scored 48 not out to help his side to the win.
Andre Adams(Nottinghamshire) - Last year's leading wicket taker in Division 1 has started well again and took match figures of seven for 140 as the reigning champions won their third successive match in defence of their crown.
Alan Richardson (Worcestershire) - The grizzled old pro took nine wickets to help his side make a real game of it at Trent Bridge. Alas for Worcestershire fans, it wasn't quite enough.
Graham Onions (Durham) - Onions' comeback from a serious back injury continues to be impressive, with his four second innings wickets against Warwickshire proving just as vital to Borthwick's four in turning likely draw into easy victory at Chester-le-Street.
Where next?
County Championship XI of the week #3
County Championship XI of the week #2
County Championship XI of the week #1
Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid
County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Surrey
County Championship Previews - Division 1: Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Hampshire, Durham
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