The Reverse Sweep

County Championship XI of the week #9

Paul Horton (Lancashire) - Whilst Joe Root's hundred at Northampton was a more classy knock, Horton carried his bat in a 225 minute rearguard for 49 not out, enabled others to play around him and secured his side a lead that finally led to the reigning champions breaking their duck for the season.

Michael Thornely (Leicestershire) - Overcame the disappointment of missing his maiden first-class ton by three runs in the 1st innings to secure it second time around to frustrate Glamorgan at Cardiff.

Nick Compton (Somerset) - The weather may have prevented him from reaching the Holy Grail of 1,000 first-class runs by the end of May, but achieving the milestone just one day late with his fourth ton of the season was still a mightily impressive feat for the grandson of the Brylcreem Boy.

Marcus North (Glamorgan) - Sublime hundred helped Glamorgan - the Australian's sixth county - top 550 at Cardiff even if it did provide an impressive template for Thornely and Eckersley to emulate shortly after.

Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire) - The captain stroked 129 as high-flying Derbyshire were surprisingly downed at Bristol.

Ben Stokes (Durham) - A first championship ton of the season set up a tremendous match at Chester-le-Street and demonstrated that the talented youngster's star is going in the other direction from that of his rapidly fading bottom of the table side.

Ned Eckersley (Leicestershire) - A career best 137 not out saw the keeper add 245 in 88 overs with Thornely and earn his side a draw at Cardiff.

Will Gidman (Gloucestershire) - Why settle for one Gidman brother in the XI when you can have two? Will took four for 29 to skittle Derbyshire for 95 and then after Alex's hundred followed up with four more in the 2nd innings at Bristol.

Luke Proctor (Lancashire) - A maiden first-class five for saw Durham shot out for just 102 in the basement battle at Chester-le-Street. Three more when the home side batted for the second time helped the champions finally record a first win of the campaign.

Kyle Hogg (Lancashire) - Grabbed four wickets as the support act to Proctor and as he did several times last season added vital runs with the bat - 33 in the 1st innings to earn a decent lead and a quickfire 13 not out to beat Onions and the clock in the nick of time as the match came to a tumultuous end.

Graham Onions (Durham) - A career best eleven for 95 was still not enough to foil Lancashire, but his season record of 34 wickets at 12.61 and a strike rate of 29.7 plus the fact he is a more like-for-like replacement for the rested Anderson means he could earn his first Test cap for two and a half years at Edgbaston later this week.

Where next?

The Holy Grail, Nick Compton, Indiana Jones and the dastardly Graeme Hick

Read our previous County Championship weekly XIs

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northants and Yorkshire

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 1 - Lancashire

Champions after a positively biblical 77 year long famine - can Lancashire repeat the trick in 2012?

Strengths

In 2011 shrewd management and an impressive never-say-die spirit helped an unusually starless Lancashire side be far greater than the sum of its parts. Talismanic skipper Glen Chapple, Kyle Hogg, Sajid Mahmood and the odd cameo from James Anderson are a mighty fine seam quartet. This is backed up by old stager Gary Keedy and new hand Simon Kerrigan in the spin department. The acquisition of Ashwell Prince for the whole season (notwithstanding the possibility of a call-up to the South African squad touring England this summer) could prove crucial in the final reckoning.

Weaknesses

Whilst the likes of Stephen Moore, Paul Horton, Karl Brown and Stephen Croft are dependable enough with the bat only the first two topped 1,000 Championship runs in 2011 (and then only by 13 and 40 runs respectively), so the Champions appear to lack heavy scorers. Perhaps more pertinent is that retaining the Championship is extremely difficult. 

Main man

It will be interesting to see how Prince shapes up and the extent of Kerrigan's development as a potential England bowler, but it is the redoubtable Glen Chapple that has to take centre stage - he was inspirational as leader of the 2011 side and has taken 231 championship wickets at 21.16 in the last five seasons. If he can stay fit (and that is a big 'if') then a repeat of last season's triumph can not be ruled out.   

Look out for

How a return to their Old Trafford home affects their chances. How many times will Lancashire be foiled by the notoriously poor Manchester weather or a benign pitch?

Prediction

2nd - Will go close to retaining their crown, but will fall just a little bit short in the final reckoning.

Where next?

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northants and Yorkshire

2011 County Cricket Review: including Heroes of the Season, Best and Worst XIs, and a whole host of other nonsense

10 reasons why neutrals should be glad Lancashire won the County Championship

County Cricket 2011 Heroes: Glen Chapple

County Championship 2011 Preview - Lancashire 

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Cricket memories of 2011: Lancashire win the County Championship

The famine had lasted  apositively biblical 77 years. 

The last time that Lancashire had won the County Championship outright was 1934. That was the year some bloke with a Charlie Chaplin comedy moustache was made Führer of Germany and enacted the Night of the Long Knives, blonde bombshell Brigitte Bardot was born and England relinquished the Ashes they had won in the Bodyline series just 18 months before.

In short, it had been a bloody long time.

Confidence cannot have been high at Old Trafford at the outset of the season, but an unfancied bunch of local lads defied the odds and did what their illustrious predecessors who had worn the Red Rose for several generations couldn’t to take the title in a thrilling final-day climax at Taunton.

Victory was all the sweeter because renovations at Old Trafford had forced them to play their home matches at outgrounds – mostly Aigburth – and best of all their triumph coincided with the relegation of bitter rivals Yorkshire.

One of the features of Lancashire’s success was the fact that it was a team effort, but the coaching of Peter Moores, runs of Stephen Moore, the spin combination of Keedy and Kerrigan and the wickets of Kyle Hogg warrant special mention. Most of all though it was the captain Glen Chapple who best epitomised the team’s spirit with his 55 wickets at under 20 and useful runs coming despite him effectively having one leg thanks to continual injury problems.

Links to some of our stories about Lancashire’s remarkable triumph follow and if you want to relive the season, you could do a lot worse than purchasing  “Champions... About Bloomin' Time”, which celebrates their glorious season.

Where next?

10 reasons why neutrals should be glad Lancashire won the County Championship

County Cricket 2011 Heroes: Glen Chapple

The Reverse Sweep's County Cricket 2011 Awards

County Championship Division 1 XI of the season

A Year To Forget: County Championship Flops XI of the season

Predicting the County Championship and a bucket load of rotten tomatoes

Read all of our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The Reverse Sweep's County Cricket 2011 Awards

 
The last post of our 2011 County Cricket Review sees the prizes (and wooden spoons) handed out:

Best Team

Surrey won promotion to Division 1 and lifted the CB40, whilst Worcestershire defied the odds and the loss of their first six games to stay up - ditching the yo-yo tag into the process, but Lancashire have to take this for finally breaking their 77 year duck. They may have not had the strongest side on paper, but they did where it counted - on the pitch.

See also: 10 reasons why neutrals should be glad Lancashire won the County Championship

Worst Team

Leicestershire may have finished bottom of Division 2 by some distance, but they did give Paul Nixon a fitting send-off by lifting the FLt20, so this award has to go to Yorkshire, who in the words of their own chairman were 'a bloody disgrace'.

See also: Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves gets straight to the point

Best Player

With due deference to Glen Chapple and Marcus Trescothick, this award has to go to the unheralded Will Gidman for becoming the first English qualified player since David Capel in 1989 to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 50 wickets. So why didn't he receive a call-up to any of England's winter performance squads? No, we don't know either.  

Best Batsman

Marcus Trescothick, who scored nearly 300 Championship runs more than any other batsman despite missing his side's last three matches. Tres ought to almost receive a handicap such is his total dominance of county bowlers.

See also County Cricket 2011 Heroes: Marcus Trescothick

Best Bowler

93 Championship wickets is impossible to argue with even with the supposed advantage of having a Tiflex cricket ball in your hand, so David Masters pips Alan Richardson (Worcestershire's saviour), Chapple, Kyle Hogg and Tim Murtagh for this honour.

Best Spinner

Gary Keedy may not have received as many plaudits as old Long John Silver himself, Glen Chapple, but his contribution of 61 wickets at under 24 was just as crucial to Lancashire's title success, and enables him to pip Monty Panesar and team-mate Simon Kerrigan for this prize.

Best Cameo

Shivnarine Chanderpaul looked to have this one sown up until Warwickshire failed to secure victory at the Rose Bowl on the final day, so Pragyan Ojha steals this prize for a stunning four match cameo with Surrey. Four wins, 24 wickets at 13 and promotion back to Division 2. And the Indian selectors picked Amit Mishra above him?

Worst Player

South African bowlers didn't exactly cover themselves in glory with Friedel de Wet and Wayne Parnell struggling for Hampshire and Sussex respectively, but Lonwabo Tsotsobe took the biscuit here. Five wickets in three first-clas matches at 77 and a broadside via Twitter prompted Essex coach Paul Grayson to describe him as 'downright rude'. Thanks to @ianashworth for reminding us about this one.

Best Temporary Home

Unquestionably Aigburth. How many times have Lancashire been foiled by the Manchester weather and Old Trafford pitch? A temporary move along the M62 to the sunshine coast of Liverpool and voila, a first title for 77 years. Liverpool 1 Manchester 0.

Let them catch the next bouquet

Surely it's time perenniel bridesmaids Somerset got hitched? Runners-up finishes in the FLt20 and CB40 meant it five second places out of the last six domestic prizes to be awarded leads one to speculate that Somerset would probably finish second in a one horse race.

The Devon Loch honorary Award

At one time it looked like this would go to one of the four title chasing protagonists in Division 1, but by the end of the season there was only one candidate for this award. Northamptonshire looked absolute certainties for promotion to Division 1, but only managed to win one of their last seven matches. They fared no better in the CB40 where despite winning their first five matches, they failed to reach the semi-finals. Did Andrew Hall's South African background obviously had an unexpected choking effect on his charges?

Best Youngster

Mentions to Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes and Alex Hales, but this one has to go to Jonathan Bairstow. He stood tall in the manure that was Yorkshire's season and his blistering one day debut innings was the delicious cherry on the top.

Best Resurrection

Only one possible winner here - Michael Carberry, whose return from a debilitating illness was the most uplifting story of the summer.

See County Cricket 2011 Heroes: Michael Carberry

Biggest Moan

The demise of the Tiflex was disappointing, but the ridiculous fixture schedule has to take the wooden spoon here. For example, Leicestershire finished a championship match on the Thursday, won the FLt20 on the Saturday, played the Indian tourists on the Monday and then started another Championship game against Middlesex on the Tuesday. It is hardly surprising that Middlesex ended the first day on 370 for 1.

Biggest Anti-Climax

Sachin Tendulkar's hundredth international hundred anyone?

Where next?

A Year To Forget: County Championship Flops XI of the season

County Cricket 2011 Heroes: The Tiflex cricket ball

County Championship Division 1 XI of the season

County Championship Division 2 XI of the season

Read all of our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the season

Picking the best XI players from what has been another thrilling County Championship season is no easy thing, hence our naming separate teams for Division 1 and Division 2 earlier in the week.

But in our column this week for All Out Cricket, we've taken the plunge and bravely picked our composite XI for the season - check out First XI Amongst Equals to see if you agree (or more likely vehementally disagree) with us.

Where next?

10 reasons why neutrals should be glad Lancashire won the County Championship

Ten to watch in 2011: Half-Term report - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

County Championship XI of the week: Division 1 Half-Term XI

County Championship XI of the week: Division 2 Half-Term XI

Read our 2011 County Championship XIs of the week

Read all our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship Division 1 XI of the season

 
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - 1673 runs at 79.66: Scored 300 runs more than any other batsman despite missing his side's last three games and has once and for all usurped Mark Ramprakash as the premier batsman in domestic cricket. Agonisingly fell just 22 runs short of achieving the Holy Grail of a 1,000 runs before the end of May. Smashed six hundreds including one in each innings against Yorkshire in May.

Stephen Moore (Lancashire) - 1013 runs at 40.52: Others scored more runs (principally Alex Hales with 1023 runs at 51.15 from just 12 Championship matches), but Moore's knack of making vital contributions at critical times played a leading role in Lancashire's title success. His unbeaten 124 anchored his side in a stiff run chase at Trent Bridge, his 169 not out against Hampshire set up a crucial last gasp win in the penultimate round of matches and the former Worcestershire batsman finished off with 71 from 55 to spur the charge to victory on a tumultuous final day at Taunton.

Michael Carberry (Hampshire) - 793 runs at 56.64: His successful comeback from a life-threatening debilitating illness was one of the feelgood stories of the summer. Three splendid hundreds in nine games included a career best 300 not out against Yorkshire and a hundred on the final day of the season to help deny Warwickshire the title. Carberry's return coincided with Hampshire's revival but came too late to save them from relegation.

Murray Goodwin (Sussex) - 1372 runs at 52.76: Zimbabwe's loss was yet again Sussex's gain as Goodwin anchored a steady return to Division 1 for the county he helped inspire to three titles in the noughties. Four hundreds were topped by his 274 against Division 1 whipping boys Yorkshire. Gets into our XI ahead of Vikram Solanki (1148 runs at 42.51) who performed a similar role as Worcestershire defied the odds to stay up with Sussex. 

Dale Benkenstein (Durham) - 1353 runs at 61.50: Durham's title charge may have spluttered, but Benkenstein was consistency personified with 13 scores of 50 (including four hundreds) or more from 26 innings to once again prove that he is definitely not a mercenary.

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) - 1015 runs at 46.13: Having finally removed the monkey from his back in reaching his maiden ton in his 59th first-class innings (and promptly turning it into a double), the sublime Bairstow didn't look back. An impressive season culminated in a stunning ODI debut at Cardiff and Bairstow should clearly be exonerated from the ire heaped on his team-mates by Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves after their ignominious relegation. Scores his runs quickly as a Championship strike rate of a touch under 70 ably demonstrates and looks to have the talent and nerve to forge an international career as a specialist batsman. 

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) - 56 wickets at 21.78; 579 runs at 48.25: Injury may have restricted him to 11 matches, but that did not lessen the impact he made with both bat and ball, as well as the huge influence he had on Warwickshire's title challenge. His performance with the ball was particularly telling and a strike rate of 43.5 is indicative of the regularity with which he struck. Pips team-mate Rikki Clarke as well as Samit Patel, Ben Stokes and Ian Blackwell to the all-rounder's spot in our XI.

Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire) - 67 wickets at 22.61; 551 runs at 23.95: Last year's champions may have faltered badly in their attempt to retain their crown, but that wasn't down to 2010's leading wicket-taker Adams who was once again outstanding and pips Alan Richardson (the leading wicket-taker in Division 1 with 73 wickets at 24.42), Boyd Rankin and Ryan Sidebottom as the third seamer in our XI. Adams also added vital ballast to the lower order with five fifties and a strike rate of 100.

Glen Chapple (Lancashire, Captain) - 55 wickets at 19.81; 365 runs at 19.21: Despite battling leg problems all season, the lion-hearted Chapple battled on to inspire his troops and write his name in Lancashire folklore. Delivered time and time again with the ball - no more so than in the final game at Taunton where he took three 2nd innings wickets despite a bad hamstring tear - and also added useful late order runs. Clearly, a man you would want in the trenches with you, Chapple epitomised the spirit and togetherness that took Lancashire to the promised land after 77 long years in the Championship wilderness. And Yorkshire fans, he was born in Skipton...

Kyle Hogg (Lancashire) - 50 wickets at 18.80; 365 runs at 21.47: Started the season late but immediately made up for lost time with an 11 wicket haul at the Rose Bowl and ended up with a half-century of wickets at a phenomenal strike rate of a wicket every 37 balls - the best by far of anyone with more than 10 wickets. Also contributed several useful cameos with the bat.

Gary Keedy (Lancashire) - 61 wickets at 23.63: With Chapple and Hogg plundering wickets at one end, the experienced Keedy waded in at the other with 61 priceless wickets. His success rubbed off on his spin twin and likely successor Simon Kerrigan. Keedy is the slow bowling option in our XI ahead of Monty Panesar who may have taken more wickets (69), but did so at a higher average and ten balls more per wicket.

Where next?

10 reasons why neutrals should be glad Lancashire won the County Championship

Ten to watch in 2011: Half-Term report - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

County Championship XI of the week: Division 1 Half-Term XI

County Championship XI of the week: Division 2 Half-Term XI

Read our 2011 County Championship XIs of the week

Read all our County Cricket coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The County Championship casserole is coming along very nicely

Yesterday we declared that the County Championship was the most exciting league competition in the world - not that you would think so from the Sky Sports schedule.

The first day's play of the penultimate round of matches the 2011 season certainly lived up to our rather bold statement.

Not for the first time this season, Lancashire's bowlers dug their batsmen out of a hole after Hampshire made early inroads at Liverpool - only Sussex and Hampshire have scored less than Lancashire's 28 batting bonus points.

By the close of play, a 99 runs partnership between skipper Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg had lifted the Red Rose county to 337 for seven: the 77 long year quest for an outright Championship win may yet prove successful.

Meanwhile at Edgbaston, the big news was that Shivnarine Chanderpaul DIDN'T SCORE A CENTURY, although Ian Westwood did as Warwickshire made a steady start against Nottinghamshire.

The other big news was that we started our County Championship casserole yesterday, putting all the ingredients into our pot. The aim is that we will leave it to simmer and watch it slowly come to the boil over the next week, so that it is ready simultaneously with the tumultuous conclusion of the title race. It's certainly coming along nicely so far...

Where next?

Our Top 20 Cricket Blogs

Cricket XIs: Cricketing Criminals

Read all our County Cricket coverage

See if you agree with our other County Championship XIs of the week

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

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

 

County Championship XI of the week #15

Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) – Fifth Championship ton of the season set his side on the way to victory against leaders Durham to blow the title race wide open. Has now usurped Mark Ramprakash as County Cricket’s run plunderer extraordinaire.

Will Smith (Durham) – Carried his side’s batting at Taunton with 74 and then 114 when Durham followed on. Alas for Smith, his heroics were in vain.

Neil McKenzie (Hampshire) – On a pitch where Adam Voges was the only other batsman to reach 50, McKenzie’s 235 ball 97 not out was a mighty impressive knock.

Chris Taylor (Gloucestershire) – Fluent 196 against Kent helped his side to a big victory and enhanced their promotion prospects.

Tom Maynard (Surrey) – Blistering 141 off just 101 balls helped Surrey at least set a target after following on against Middlesex.

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire) – Took a career best seven for 68 and match figures of 11 for 111 on a controversial spin-friendly Rose Bowl pitch. 

Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire) – In a week where few keepers shone with the bat, it was Ambrose’s 73 against his former county that stood out.

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) – Continued his fine season with bat and ball by scoring 74 and taking six wickets in the win over Sussex. His all-round performance gets him the nod ahead of Rick Pyrah, whose remarkable hundred transformed the Roses match into a truly gripping contest.

Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) – Put Sussex in a spin at Edgbaston with match figures of 10 for 168 after scoring a quickfire 65 - a victory which has put Warwickshire firmly in the title mix-up

Kyle Hogg (Lancashire) – Reduced Yorkshire to 42 for eight in their 1st innings with five wickets and then after a stunning fightback by the home team revived his side by top scoring with 52 in their 2nd innings before picking up two further wickets.

Tim Murtagh (Middlesex) – The veteran seamer sent Surrey packing at Guildford with a ten wicket match haul to keep his side in the hunt for promotion.

Where next?

Read all our County Cricket coverage

See if you agree with our other County Championship XIs of the week

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

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

 

County Championship XI of the week #8

 
Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) – Hundreds in each innings against Yorkshire, and his brutal 2nd innings knock of 151 (off just 131 balls) led Somerset’s charge to victory. Narrowly failed to reach cricket’s Holy Grail.

Alviro Petersen (Glamorgan) – When we made-up with the Glamorgan captain after our spat on Twitter, we implored him to score a double hundred. He did just that at The Oval in what by all accounts was a wonderful innings. Good on you, Alviro.

Will Smith (Durham) – A sad tale with a happy ending. Smith abruptly resigned the Durham captaincy halfway through 2010 and didn’t play again last summer. But he is back now and his 179 set up an innings victory against Warwickshire.

Karl Brown (Lancashire) – The likes of Dale Benkenstein, Usman Khawaja and Sam Robson may have scored tons, but Brown’s anchoring innings of 96 on a tricky Rose Bowl pitch gets him the nod for this XI.

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) – His golden summer continued with 136 and 80 in the defeat at Taunton. A good long-term bet to eventually replace Matt Prior in the Test side.

Andrew McDonald (Leicestershire) – The game with the Division 2 leaders may have petered out to a draw, but not before McDonald had exhibited his all-round abilities with 164 and 51 not out with the bat and three wickets in Northamptonshire’s only innings.

Ben Stokes (Durham) – Normally more of a batting all-rounder, but starred with the ball at Edgbaston taking seven wickets as Warwickshire were trounced by an innings. One of our ten to watch in 2011.

Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) – In a poor week for spinners, Rashid bagged four first innings wickets and then an unbeaten 51 at Taunton. However, his is a fortunate selection given that he went for 88 in 10.1 wicketless overs in the second innings as he was punished severely by Trescothick.

Kyle Hogg (Lancashire) – Took a stunning 11 for 59 as the leaders cruised to victory at the Rose Bowl including a first innings seven for 28. Not bad for his first Championship outing of the season.

Tim Murtagh (Middlesex) – Eight wickets in the match to nearly help Middlesex to victory at Chelmsford.

Ashley Shaw (Kent) – The 20 year old bagged a five-fer on Championship debut at Canterbury.

Where next?

Marcus Trescothick so close to cricket's Holy Grail

County Championship XI of the week #7

County Championship XI of the week #6

County Championship XI of the week #5

County Championship XI of the week #4

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

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep