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

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County Championship of the week #7

Paul Horton (Lancashire) - Seven and a half hour vigil saved Lancashire from defeat at Edgbaston. It was his first hundred in the Championship for two years and could prove a turning point in the champions faltering defence of their title.

Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire) - The skipper struck his second ton of the season as Division 2's surprise packet beat Glamorgan to extend their lead at the top of the table.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (Leicestershire) - Whilst the West Indies top order struggled at Lord's the man with 15 Test tons made hay at Grace Road with innings of 117 and 98 against Essex.

Simon Katich (Hampshire) - Australia's loss, Hampshire's gain and Yorkshire's pain as Michael Clarke's favourite ex-team mate stroked 196 and 61 not out at Headingley.

James Hildreth (Somerset) - High-class hundred gave Somerset the early initiative in a highly competitive and entertaining draw at The Oval. 

Michael Bates (Hampshire) - Purists have raved about his high-quality keeping, but could he improve with the bat? A maiden hundred at Headingley suggests he can - see also Our County XI to watch in 2012.

Rikki Clarke (Warwickshire) - No wickets in the draw with Lancashire, but his fine year with the bat continued with a second championship ton of the season at Edgbaston. 

David Wainwright (Derbyshire) - Took a five wicket second innings haul at Derby to put his side into a winning position against Glamorgan.

Stuart Meaker (Surrey) - Brought his side storming back into the match at The Oval with a second innings haul of eight for 52 and grabbed 11 in the match.

David Masters (Essex) - Last season's leading wicket taker grabbed six first innings Leicestershire wickets in the draw at Grace Road. 

Monty Panesar (Sussex) - Took five wickets and probably deserved more in 37 probing overs at New Road.

Where next?

Our County Championship predictions - Thank God for Yorkshire

Hedley Verity - a proper hero with 'no breaking point'

Read our previous County Championship weekly XIs

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #5

Matthew Boyce (Leicestershire) – Hit a defiant near six hour ton as his side followed on against Yorkshire but was ultimately unable to prevent an innings defeat at Headingley.

Alviro Petersen (Essex) – Made a triumphant return to Cardiff with 145 out of a first innings total of 259, although rain denied him victory over his former team mates.

Joe Denly (Middlesex) – His promising start at Middlesex continued with 134 to help set up a win over Worcestershire at Lord’s – see also Our County XI to watch in 2012

Ian Bell (Warwickshire) – 2012 had thus far been an annus horribilis, but his 120 on a difficult Edgbaston pitch where the next best score was 45 not only helped his side win again but proved the old adage true of form being temporary and class being permanent.

Kane Williamson (Gloucestershire) – The overseas star saved his side from defeat with a patient and classy 128 after his side had followed on at Derby.

Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) – Helped the Yorkshire faithful forget Ajmal Shahzad with 182 brisk runs to set up the win at Headingley and underline his credentials as a candidate for the number six spot in the Test side should the selectors choose to look beyond Ravi Bopara.

Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire) – Made an impressive start to his reinvention as an all-rounder batting down the order with an innings of 90 and four for 21 to help enforce the follow-on against Leicestershire.

Keith Barker (Warwickshire) – Took his maiden ten wicket haul as Durham were thumped at Edgbaston to set the early pace in the running for the Most Improved Player of the Season award.

Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire) – Broad, Swann and Anderson were all on show at Old Trafford, but Adams upstaged them all with a first innings seven for 32 to wrest the initiative from the title holders and then three more to wrap things up and continue Nottinghamshire’s and his flying start to the season.

David Willey (Northamptonshire) – Brought his side’s depressing start to the season to an end with eight wickets as Hampshire were put to the sword at Northampton.

Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire) – His side may have made a disastrous start to the defence of their crown but the left arm spinner continues to impress and his seven wickets in the defeat to Notts suggests he at least will enjoy the move back to Old Trafford.

Where next?

Read our previous County Championship XIs

The mystery of Ajmal Shazad's sacking solved

An XI of cricketers who also played in the FA Cup Final

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County Championship XI of the week #4

We doubt whether this much rain fell in the first four days of the flood that followed Noah's inaugural launching of the Ark. At this rate, Noah may have to find some room for cricketers to go in two by two also.

As such, picking an XI this week, has proved somewhat challenging, but here goes: 

Varun Chopra (Warwickshire) - The man who started last season at warp speed with double hundreds in each of his first two matches has started a bit slower this time - but a good hundred at Hove means he must have been close to Lions selection.

Michael Carberry (Hampshire) - Made his way to a classy unbeaten 84 at the Rose Bowl before being left stranded by the deluge.

Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire) - Made up for the fact that his appearances in the Warwickshire line-up will be rarer than him hitting a six, with a 400 minute 178 at Hove - that was a full 178 runs more than managed by his England colleague Ian Bell.

Steven Croft (Lancashire) - They may have won the title last season, but hundreds were a bit of a rarity for Lancashire with only seven being recorded. Croft's 113 at Taunton was the Red Rose's first of 2012.

Brendan Nash (Kent) - Whilst his former West Indies team mates - the redoubtable Shivnarine Chanderpaul aside - struggled against Australia's bowlers, Kent's overseas import has made an immediate impact and made his way to an unbeaten 132 against Yorkshire before the rain.

Liam Dawson (Hampshire) - Originally a promising left-arm spinner, before moving up to open last season. Could figures of five for 29 against Leicestershire have rekindled his reputation as a twirler?   All-rounder status may well await.

Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire) - Forgotten England keeper - yes, he really does have 10 Test caps to his name - scored 75 against his former county as Warwickshire piled on the runs at Hove.

Mat Coles (Kent) - A hugely impressive start to the season with bat and ball continued with four for 70 against Yorkshire at Canterbury and has resulted in a call-up for the Lions and his third appearance in our XI of the season.

Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire) - Yet another five wicket haul for Notts' main weapon with the ball as he targets 60 championship wickets for the third successive season.

Jack Brooks (Northamptonshire) - Only 27 overs were possible in the match, but Brooks still had enough time to impress with four for 22 to put Essex on the rack at Chelmsford.  

Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire) - Robin Hood used to rob from the rich to give to the poor - Nottinghamshire rob repeatedly from Grace Road and Gurney's four for 40 at New Road, suggests that he could prove yet another good steal.

Where next?

A mention in Wisden? Surely not...

County Championship XI of the week #3

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship XI of the week #1

Martin Guptill (Derbyshire) - With his side just 22 runs ahead on 1st innings, the New Zealander struck a brisk 137 to help set up a win and prove there is more to him than the safe pair of hands that probably helped end the Test career of Phil Hughes.

Billy Godleman (Essex) - Equalled his career best score with a patient 130 to put Essex in charge against a weak Gloucestershire side at Chelmsford. 

Luke Wells (Sussex) - The 21 year old's fourth first-class hundred may have been in vain at The Oval, but Mark Ramprakash was so impressed that not only did he compare Wells to Alastair Cook, but added that Wells was "possibly better technically".

Riki Wessels (Nottinghamshire) - The budding web site entrepreneur showed he can bat a bit too by striking his first Championship hundred for Notts as his side recovered to beat Worcestershire after being bowled out on the opening day for 118. The extra publicity should do his flourishing business the world of good - perhaps Alan Sugar should consider donning the pads too?

Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire) - He may not be the finished article with the gloves, but his brilliant hundred at Headingley not only helped save Yorkshire against Kent but confirmed he is a real contender for the number six spot in England's Test side.

Tom Maynard (Surrey) - Revived Surrey's 1st innings with a brisk 86 not out and then added a crucial 136 with Rory Hamilton-Brown in the 2nd innings to give his side a decisive advantage. A good start to the season for one of our XI to watch. 

Mat Coles (Kent) - Doesn't get in for his supposed strongest suit with the ball, but for his maiden first-class hundred from number nine at Headingley. His all-round aspirations appear to be well-founded. 

David Wainwright (Derbyshire) - Starred in his first game since moving from Headingley by bowling his side to victory over Northants with figures of six for 33.  

Vernon Philander (Somerset) - It was hardly surprising that the man who takes wickets for fun at Test level opened his Somerset account with a five wicket haul at Taunton. Ended up with match figures of seven for 81 from 38 overs. 

Robbie Joesph (Leicestershire) - Took 12 wickets on his debut for the County as Leicestershire recovered from losing wickets to the first two balls of the match at Grace Road and equal the number of championship wins they managed in the entire season last year.

George Dockrell (Somerset) - Only appeared once last season, but an immaculate exhibition of spin bowling, which saw him take six for 27 in 20.1 overs and eight wickets in the match against Middlesex at Taunton means we will see much more of the talented Irishman in 2012.

Where next?

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

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

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Championship 2012 Preview: Division 2 - Leicestershire

The Nottinghamshire Youth Development Squad had a dreadful season in Division 2 in 2011, finishing bottom by 61 points, winning only one match. However, they did manage to win the Friends Life T20.

Strengths

Difficult. Talking up the Foxes chances in four day cricket is like trying to sound confident about England winning a Test match in Asia. Nevertheless, we can offer that Will Jefferson is a decent batsman, captain Matthew Hoggard will give it his all, new ball partner Nathan Buck is a promising cricketer and Ramnaresh Sarwan is an interesting choice as overseas player.

Weaknesses

The squad actually appears weaker than the one that finished bottom by 61 points in 2011. Their best batsman James Taylor has been whisked off to Trent Bridge - as has Harry Gurney - and the effervescent Paul Nixon has retired. It's high time the county stopped being a feeder club to the greedy harlots residing at Trent Bridge.

Main man

Sarwan certainly has the talent but does he have the appetite any more? So we'll go with Nathan Buck. 2011 saw a disappointing return of 24 championship wickets at 46.50 for the talented youngster, but he looks to have enough about him to get the Nottinghamshire scouts salivating.

Look out for

Scouts and representatives from Nottinghamshire outnumbering the locals at Grace Road.

Prediction

9th - but maybe not as distant a last as last year.

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

County Championship 2011 Preview - Leicestershire  

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

Predicting the County Championship and a bucket load of rotten tomatoes

Back at the outset of the 2011 County Cricket season, we made what has turned out to have been a disastrous set of predictions (see links at the bottom of this piece), which at the weekend (as the picture above depicts) resulted in public humilation and more rotten tomatoes coming our way than the Yorkshire squad has had from its irate members and chairman.

What we got right

Not much actually. We did correctly predict that Middlesex and Surrey would challenge for promotion to Division 1, but there again we tipped Kent to go up as Champions, so we can hardly sing from the rooftops about that one.

What we got wrong

Pretty much everything else actually. We predicted that Warwickshire and Lancashire would be embroiled in a relegation battle and that the former and Worcestershire would be the two to go down.

We also prophesised that perennial bridesmaids Somerset would emerge as Champions with Durham, Yorkshire and Hampshire (in that order) making up the rest of the top four – it’s not just Colin Graves who thinks that Yorkshire’s performances this season were disgraceful.

Supporters of Northamptonshire and Derbyshire amongst others will also doubtless be happy to remind us of our woeful predictions for their team’s fortunes too.

What does this say?

Apart from  the fact that we are clearly the most dreadful of tipsters, it also highlights how open the County Championship is – a fact that we believe makes it the best league competition in the world in any sport. Well that’s our excuse anyway.

Now where’s that cilice gone...

Where next?

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

County Cricket 2011 Heroes: Michael Carberry

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

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 XI of the week #11: Division 2 Half-Term XI

 
Yesterday we named our County Championship Division 1 Half-Term XI. Today we turn our attention to Division 2 and an XI that seems to be comprised of a number of unsung heroes:

Will Jefferson (Leicestershire): 609 runs at 46.84 – Division 2’s leading runs scorer thus far was once talked about as a possible England player when he was at Essex. Those times have long since gone, but the 31 year old has scored freely in a struggling side.

Chris Rogers (Middlesex): 479 runs at 47.90 – It remains a mystery why the Victorian has played just the one Test, but Australia’s loss has proved to be Derbyshire’s and now Middlesex’s gain. Pips Glamorgan pair Gareth Rees and Alviro Petersen, as well as former team mate Wayne Madsen for his spot.

James Taylor (Leicestershire): 461 runs at 46.10 – Others have scored more runs, but has anyone showed their mettle and had their technigue and bottle tested as much as Taylor did when facing down a fearsome Surrey attack on a rare Oval greentop? Taylor’s innings that day proved once and for all that a long Test career awaits.

Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey, Captain): 587 runs at 48.91 - One of our ten to watch in 2011. Despite the distraction of the captaincy and having volunteered to open, Hamilton-Brown has shone with the bat, is Division 2’s second highest run scorer and has a Sehwagesque strike rate of 78. That Surrey appear to have woken from their slumber and are challenging for promotion makes it a doubly good first half of the season for the young skipper.

Tom Maynard (Surrey): 560 runs at 56.00 – After his explosive departure from Glamorgan, Maynard has really sparkled in his first season at The Oval and had the pleasure of serving his revenge cold by scoring his maiden first-class hundred against his former county at of all places Cardiff.

Niall O’Brien (Northamptonshire): 417 runs at 83.40 – Ireland’s wicketkeeper has ably demonstrated that there is more than one cricketer in the O’Brien family and pips the likes of John Simpson, James Foster and Mark Wallace to wear the gloves in this XI.

James Harris (Glamorgan): 26 wickets at 21.96, 224 runs at 37.33 – Another of our ten to watch in 2011, Harris is developing into a useful bowling all-rounder. Would have more wickets but for injury restricting him to just five Championship matches and pips Will Gidman and Andrew Hall given he is by far the best bowler of the three.

Claude Henderson (Leicestershire): 26 wickets at 28.26, 321 runs at 40.12 – A slightly contentious pick as Glamorgan’s Dean Cosker has taken more wickets to put his side in the promotion shake-up, but Henderson has done well in a struggling side and offers the added bonus of runs in an XI with an otherwise long tail.

Stuart Meaker (Surrey): 23 wickets at 18.78 - Another contentious pick as many would probably go with the old warhorse Chaminda Vaas. But Meaker’s wickets have come in only four games and his phenomenal strike rate of a wicket every 32.4 balls is just too good to ignore.

Jack Brooks (Northamptonshire): 30 wickets at 22.03 – The benefit of opening the bowling with Vaas has been all too clear for Brooks who is having a glorious season thus far to help inspire his side to the top of the table.

David Masters (Essex): 40 wickets at 20.77 – The leading wicket taker in either division, the experienced opening bowler has once again been the model of consistency despite a faltering return to Division 2 for Essex.

Where next?

Geoffrey Boycott apologises to Michael Yardy

County Championship XI of the week #10: Division 1 Half-Term XI

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

Read our previous 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

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

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

County XI of the week (Round 1)

After what seemed a never-ending World Cup filled with pyjamas, agricultural slogging, a few admittedly good matches and Mr Cliche himself - Ravi Shastri, it was wondrous to behold the start of the County Championship last Friday.

White clothes, proper cricket and even beautiful weather. 

Several players impressed during the first round of matches. Here is what we hope (probably in vain) will be a regular feature selecting our County XI of the week:   

Will Jefferson - set up Leicestershire's win over Glamorgan with a patient second innings knock of 112.

Jimmy Adams - composed hundred ensured that Hampshire comfortably batted through the final day for a draw against Durham.

Sam Northeast - struggled in 2010 (when we selected him as one to watch), but the promising Old Harrovian recorded the first ton of this championship season at Chelmsford.

Dale Benkenstein - Durham's Mr Reliability with the bat hit a first innings hundred and an unbeaten second innings fifty to put his side into a strong position at the Rose Bowl.

Ben Stokes - One of our 10 to watch in 2011 made an impressive start to the season with a career best six for 68 before stroking an unbeaten 135 featuring five sixes in one over.

Gerald Brophy - may have lost the gloves to Jonathan Bairstow, but his unbeaten 177 turned a likely first innings deficit into a decisive lead for Yorkshire at New Road.

Darren Stevens - the veteran may be better known for his pugnacious batting, but it was as a bowler that he starred at Chelmsford. He opened the bowling for Kent and was rewarded with nine wickets including a career best six for 60 in the first innings.

James Foster - his side may have ultimately lost to Kent, but Foster's classy unbeaten first innings 88 at least made a game of it.

Adil Rashid - another of our 10 to watch in 2011 made a barnstorming start to the season with match figures of 11 for 114 as Yorkshire thrashed Worcestershire.

Glen Chapple - proved how absolutely key he will be to Lancashire's fortunes this season with match figures of nine for 117 as Sussex were put to the sword at Liverpool.

Reece Topley - seventeen year old left arm Essex seamer showed he is one to watch with a maiden five wicket haul in only his second first-class match.

Where next?

Adil Rashid makes a quiet start to the new County Championship season

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

An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

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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County Championship Preview - Division 2: Leicestershire

 
Like Glamorgan, Leicestershire have had 12 months of upheaval. Can they shake this off and challenge for promotion to Division 1?

Strengths

James Taylor is one of the best young batsmen in the game and is a good bet for Test honours in the coming years. Skipper Matthew Hoggard may be past his peak but can still be relied upon for wickets and is the perfect mentor for young Nathan Buck who impressed last season. Andrew McDonald is a good choice as overseas player.

Weaknesses

Taylor apart, the batting is woefully inconsistent - despite the presence of a crop of talented youngsters, which means that the strong positions an impressive bowling attack is likely to forge may be frittered away too frequently.

Main man

Buck looks a decent prospect but it has to be James Taylor – he may be behind the likes of Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara and James Hildreth for Paul Collingwood’s old Test place, but a good season may even get him a squad place next winter.

Look out for…

Smiles. These weren’t much in evidence last summer with the much publicised shenanigans at the club, but 2011 should be a much happier and relaxed summer.

Prediction

5th – A possible surprise packet in the promotion stakes if the youngsters flourish, but we expect them to fall short eventually due to the batting.

Where next?

County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent

County Championship Previews - Division 1:  Yorkshire,  Worcestershire,  Warwickshire, Sussex,  Somerset,  Nottinghamshire,  Lancashire,  Hampshire,  Durham

2010 County XI of the season

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County Championship - Division 2 preview: A quick return for Sussex?

Yesterday, we predicted that Durham will secure a third Division 1 crown in a row. Well it was supposed to be yesterday, but IT problems meant the delay of this the second part of our divisional preview. So today our attention moves to Division 2 where we look at the runners and riders and make our probably woefully wrong predictions of how the nine counties will fare this season.

 

Derbyshire (Prediction – 8^th)

Before the arrival of Fernando Torres, critics used to accuse Liverpool of being a one man team completely reliant on Steven Gerrard. They still managed to win trophies though, which Derbyshire won’t this season, despite the efforts of their one man team that is Chris Rogers.

 

Glamorgan (Prediction – 9^th)

James Harris is a talented youngster, but apart from him, Mark Wallace, Jamie Dalrymple and Mark Cosgrove, there’s not much to get excited about here. One of the many counties in Division 2 that show a visible gulf from their Division 1 counterparts.

 

Gloucestershire (Prediction – 3^rd)

John Bracewell has done well at Bristol before and with a canny captain in Alex Gidman, Gloucestershire are certainly well led. James Franklin, Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby should provide the wickets and Gidman, Jon Batty and Hamish Marshall the runs to sustain a promotion challenge.

 

Leicestershire (Prediction – 5^th)

It will be intriguing to see how Matthew Hoggard fares as captain. His natural exuberance could be just what is needed for the Foxes talented youngsters. Much will be expected of James Taylor, but he seems to have the talent and temperament to take it in his stride. The under-rated Andrew McDonald is an interesting choice as overseas player.

 

Middlesex (Prediction – 4^th)

Look good for a strong promotion challenge with Owais Shah, Eoin Morgan, Dawid Malan and Scott Newman all likely to provide runs. Middlesex will also benefit from six weeks of Andrew Strauss at the start of the season. England’s gain could be Middlesex’s loss in terms of Steven Finn, but Iain O’Brien is a shrewd acquisition and captain Shaun Udal is always good for a few wickets.

 

Northamptonshire (Prediction – 7^th)

Hopes for a good season cannot be high at Wantage Road. Deprived of Kolpak players Johann van der Wath and Riki Wessels and having lost Monty Panesar, the cupboard looks a bit bare. Mal Loye and David Sales will need to have run-laden seasons and overseas player Elton Chigumbura will have to surprise everyone if Northants are to have any chance of challenging for promotion.

 

Surrey (Prediction – runners-up, promoted)

It’s been a winter of upheaval at the Oval with Chris Adams operating more like a football manager in terms of the amount of new faces he has signed. Gareth Batty, Chris Tremlett and Steven Davies are all shrewd acquisitions and the choice of Rory Hamilton-Brown as skipper is a brave one. If the young captain starts well and if Mark Ramprakash produces his usual well of runs, then promotion beckons.

 

Sussex – (Prediction – Champions)

Champions three times in the last decade, it came as some surprise when Sussex were relegated last season. Monty Panesar will be looking to follow in Mushtaq Ahmed’s footsteps and promising youngsters like Joe Gatting, Olly Rayner and Will Beer will hope to earn their spurs. With runs likely from the reliable Murray Goodwin, Ed Joyce and Mike Yardy, this Sussex supporting writer predicts a quick return to Division 1.

 

Worcestershire (Prediction – 6^th)

The hole left by the losses of Batty, Davies and Kabir Ali will be hard to fill, but the incoming Shakib ul-Hasan is perhaps the most exciting choice of overseas player of any county. At least Shakib is used to playing in a struggling side because this is Worcestershire’s likely fate.