Championship Roundup: Winners, Losers, Irritants

This time of year is, frankly, a very confusing time for the modern cricket fan. As the IPL gets into full swing – with million-pound man Stokes swinging like a 1920’s speakeasy and Tymal Millions steaming in like a locomotive – it’s easy to conclude that this is cricket’s new soul.

And yet, in (normally) damp old England, pockets of dangerously obsessed, statistic-adoring sporting misfits rub their hands together, optimistically pop open the suncream, and blow the dust from their wide-brimmed hats.

Yep, the County Championship is back, and with it come the surprises, skill, patience, occasional boredom, despair and ecstasy that only First Class cricket can serve up. And after a stunning finish to last season, the start of the 2017 edition did not disappoint.

So without further ado, here’s a recap of the winners, losers and I’m-not-really-sure-whats of the opening matches.

 Kent’s forgotten men

Just delicious. Can you imagine a 40-year-old in football or rugby serving up the sort of performances that Darren Stevens conjures up every week (especially early in the season)? Here he was in fine fettle, creaming the bowlers to the boundary and making crucial middle order runs before bowling a typically brilliant spell that sent stumps splattering in all directions – a bit like that horrible stuff that comes out of the Ketchup bottle if you don’t shake it well enough.

And up the other end James Harris – once with designs on an England spot, but now cast aside by Middlesex – was reminding everyone what he’s capable of with a virtuoso bowling display and his own important cameo with the bat. Long live the forgotten men.

 Nottinghamshire’s international class

As much as we like to champion players that don’t always receive the adulation they deserve, there’s no shying away from just how formidable Notts look in division two. Stuart Broad and James Pattinson put on a superb batting display and then totally annihilated Leicestershire’s batting with 12 wickets between them in the match.

Get used to this for the rest of the season – Notts are just too good for this division.

If you’re good enough, you’re old enough (or so the cliché goes)

You never really appreciate Paul Collingwood until you are older than 21. At least that’s my theory. It’s only when you’re watching England fold like a pack of cards for the millionth time (exciting cricket blah blah blah) that you appreciate what you once had. Colly was brilliant at saving games. 

Well, 19-year-old Dan Lawrence might just be the answer to our prayers. He batted out the entire last day against a Lancashire attack including England’s record wicket-taker Jimmy Anderson for a spectacular 141 not out. This lad looks the real deal.

Fortunately for Lancs they have their own batting prodigy. And I don’t mean Haseeb Hameed (who made two starts but fell in the 40’s) but young wicket-keeper batsman Alex Davies, who creamed 21 fours in a brilliant second innings of 140 not out.

Super Stoneman and Fearsome Footitt

Look, nobody likes a know-it-all. But did I put Stoneman and Footitt in my list of players that were unlucky not to be in the England frame just a few weeks ago? Yes, I did. So there (just call me jammy).

Stoneman is surely going to pile up the runs on The Oval tarmac this year, while Footitt is that rare breed that is so dangerous: left-armed and express pace. Surrey look very good…

Gutless Glamorgan

I bet Jacques Rudolph wakes up screaming every night thinking about the times his team play Northants. They put them to the sword every time they play. And this occasion was no different.

Northants’ bowling line up is disciplined and savvy (as shown by their consistent overachievement in the T20 Blast). Glamorgan’s batting, on the other hand, looks incredibly weak on this showing. Hopefully Aneurin Donald perks up quickly.

Hamp squib for Yorkshire

Hampshire are a funny team. A lot of fans dislike them for surviving relegation last year (poor old Durham) and then there’s their irksome decision to hire Kolpak players like they’re going out of fashion (though I suppose with an impending Brexit they literally might be going out of fashion).

Still, whatever one thinks of Rod Bransgrove and Co it was an astonishing effort to chase down 320-odd in the fourth innings against a somewhat depleted but still more than useful Yorkshire side. Kyle Abbott might be a kolpak import but he’s always looked a cracking bowler. He suits English conditions rather nicely.

Rest of season predictions

Notts and Kent to breeze Division Two. Although Kent will pummel Notts by an innings and 300 runs to clinch the title at some point (not that I’m biased at all).

Yorkshire to crash to a shock relegation. Hampshire to win the thing just to piss everyone off.

Peter Jackson Eastwood

@BarryEastwood10

11 comments

  • Oi !! Hampshire winning it wouldn’t piss me off ! Especially as I was 8 when we last won !

  • Hampshire good for victory at Headingley. Unseasonably warm (until last hour Sunday) and a benign pitch plus a weakened Yorkshire attack all helped. Real difference was Kyle Abbott who very good on Saturday afternoon and forced Yorkshire out much quicker than ideal. Pitch seemed to play very fair and Yorkshire batsmen will need to improve as a group. Gary Ballance played well and hopefully set fair for a better season. Would not be putting too much money on Yorkshire to be relegated if I was you.

    For Yorkshire supporters would agree that Surrey look like providing a challenge for the Championship this season.

    • Brilliant to hear that a million people listened to the county coverage on BBC. Imagine how many would watch on television ;-)

  • It was a good win for Hampshire, and you can’t say they haven’t been able to bring quality to the competition.

    Yorkshire have been left behind in the arms race their valuable talents have been taken by England and the club are not in a postion to add the kind of quality that Hampshire have. Hampshire were able to leave out an out of form Tom Alsop and loan a top order batsmen to play for Kent. Yorkshire batting is thin, Jack Leaning is a talented player and maybe being forced to stick with him will be best in the long term but if you look beyond him there isn’t much choice.

    Personally I don’t think Counties are well enough compensated for England players, which adds to the attraction of Kolpaks. In the last financial year Yorkshire recived £177,000 ECB’s Player Missed Match compensation for Root, Bairstow, Plunkett, Rashid and Willey. How many Kolpaks does that buy? Not 3 players worth which is about the number of matches they missed between them.

    • The maths doesn’t seem to work out, does it. My understanding is that the ECB are going to introduce financial incentives for fielding more English qualified players next year.

      • Would be a step in the right direction, although I suppose it might take some time for the intended effects to work through.

        Two stats: English qualified players in England about 3/4 this year, drops to around a 1/3 for those who have come through state schools and who don’t happen to have a relative who either has or is playing the game professionally.

        The game needs the ECB to keep working on the financial incentives!

        • I guess Yorkshire would get more money on top for fielding English qualified players on top of the money they are getting for the players who aren’t there.

          The likes of Root and Bairstow have Test Contracts which look like the old full central contract so Yorkshire don’t pay them. So when they play they are free so it opens up space in the wage structure for other signings, Yorkshire just don’t have any spare money to replace those players.

          Its a bit more complicated for the White ball contracts as they seem closer to the old incrementals so it will be interesting to see how much someone like Rashid is available during the summer.

          I will find it amusing if England Lineup at the CT with Four Yorkshire players and Two Durham players.

  • Wonderful to learn from you of Alex Davies’ success. After a great T20 cup final in 2015, and a glimpse of ‘the heights’, Al, had to sit out last season after knee surgery. This might have entirely screwed up many another 21 year old. Al is one of those players who lives for and through cricket.

    • Is Jos Buttler now Lancashire’s second best keeper batsman? ;-)

      On a serious note it’s an interesting point. If England actually wanted Jos to get some first class cricket under his belt at some point (plus some first class keeping experience) how exactly would he get it if Davies keeps playing so well?

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