365 Sporting Days

With the rugby union season fast approaching my season ticket for my team, Saracens in bought at a cost of £755 for 16 home fixtures, I thought I’d have a look at prices for County Cricket ,memberships in 2022. I haven’t been able to find all Division 1 prices or show direct comparisons, but I think you’ll agree this game is great value!

• Essex – £216.70 (No T20)
• Kent – £250 (Incl T20)
• Gloucestershire – £250 (Incl T20)
• Hampshire – £260 (Incl T20)
• Lancashire – £158 (Incl T20)
• Northamptonshire – £265 (Incl T20)
• Somerset – £194 (No T20)
• Surrey – £164 – (No T20)
• Warwickshire – £245 (Incl T20)
• Yorkshire – No info available

There were 7 matches in this round and amazingly c onsidering record temperatures last week at least one was rain affected. I’m starting this on Day 1 and only 1 teaming each division was bowled out, that being Gloucestershire in Division 1 and Derbyshire in Division 2. On to the stats and facts, I’ll try not to leave out Essex’s century maker this week! Make that 8! Another appeared on Day 2.

Division 1

Essex v Somerset – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Match Drawn

Essex 505 for 9 dec & 30 for 1, Somerset 605 for 6

Before this match started Essex only had 14 batting points, getting runs and in the 110 overs hasn’t been too successful to date. On Day 1 of this match Essex finished on 281 for 3 in 96 overs, so, 2 bonus points down and 14 overs to get at least another. An opening partnership of 105 helped, Alastair Cook was out for 44 in the 41st over, his opening partner finished the day on 129* from 272 balls. He and Paul Walter sharing a partnership of 115 with Walter on 57* from 106 balls. Nick Browne went on to score 234 from 454 balls, he hadn’t had the best of summers up to this point, carrying his bat will have done wonders for his average, by the end of this match he’d amassed 670 runs at an average of 41.87. Walter scored 86 from 173 balls. Essex batted for 163 overs and scored 505 for 9. of the 7 bowlers used 4 took wickets.

In reply Somerset had 3 century makers as they built a massive score, had Tom Abell not retired hurt on 90 he may well have been a 4th. Matthew Renshaw, opening scored 146 from 313 balls as he and Abell enjoyed the flat wicket. Lewis Godlsworthy also retired hurt, with concussion, that saw Tom Banton replace him, he became the first concussion substitute too score a century. With 2 retirements it’s hard to judge partnerships, but keeper James Rew, in at 6 scored a leisurely 101 from 210 balls and Banton in at 7 a somewhat quicker 126 from §120 balls. The Somerset innings lasted for 176.5 overs as the game slid towards a draw, they scored 695 for 6.

Essex batted for just 17 overs before the draw was declared. Browne’s fate was rather different, he was out for a 5 ball Duck as Essex reached 30 for 1. Plenty of batting practice in this one!

Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire – The College Ground, Cheltenham. Graeme van Buuren won the toss for Gloucs and elected to bat. Northamptonshire won by 2 wickets

Gloucestershire 317 All Out & 363 for 9 dec, Northants 479 All Out & 205 for 8

Gloucs lost Marcus Harris in the 4th over and were 11 for 1, but they had 3 innings of 50 and over, with the other opener Chris Dent scoring 54 from 96 balls, Keeper James Bracey in at 5 scored 79 from 137 balls and Ryan Higgins batting at 7 50 from 79 balls. They scored 317 in just 81.2 overs, looks like there was some Bazball going on in Cheltenham! 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Northants innings lasted 144.1 overs, a tad longer than Gloucs! There were 4 innings of 50 and over, plus 50 extras, that included 15 No Balls. Will Young, opening scored 61 from 123 balls, Ryan Rickelton 95 from 173 balls, Luke Proctor 78 from 170 balls and James Sales, in at 7 71 from 150 balls as Northants built to 479. Zafar Zohar took 5 for 134 in his 42 overs.

Gloucs went about things a bit more calmly in their 2nd innings; although Marcus Harris’s 62 from 85 was quickish, Graeme van Buureen was not out 127 from 187 balls. Tom Taylor took 5 for 49 in his 15 overs. Gloucs declared on 363 for 9.

A brave declaration was to no avail as Rickelton was again in the runs, he scored 68 from 47 balls, that took him to 539 at an average of 77 for the season so far. Not a single No Ball in this innings, but just like buses, a 2nd win came along for Northants in quick succession. They now sit 5th in the table with only 10 games played to some others 11.

Lancashire v Kent – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Sam Billings won the toss for Kent and put Lancashire in to bat. Lancashire won by 2 wickets.

Lancashire 145 All Out & 436 for 9 dec, Kent 270 All Out & 127 All Out

It will be no surprise to know this was one of the rain delayed matches (sorry Manchester!) Only 34.2 overs were bowled and in that time Kent took 4 wickets for 97 runs. With Indian bowler Navdeep Saini carrying on with his good start by taking 3 for 43 in his 11 overs. Saini took another wicket but it was Kiwi bowler Matt Henry who took 5 for 45 in his 18 overs as Lancs were bowled out for 145 in his 45.2 overs.

Kent fell to 12 for 3 in the 10th over as both openers Ben Compton and Zac Crawley were out for Ducks. Joe Denly with 59 from 134 and Jack Leaning put on 106 for the 4th wicket. Leaning went on to score 90 from 209 balls. Grant Stewart in at 8 scored 64 fro 91 balls as another 4 batter were out fort single figures. Extras were the 4th highest scorer with 26 as Kent were bowled out in 87 overs. Tom Bailey took 6 for 64 in his 23 overs.

Lancs opener Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon put on 117 for the 2nd wicket after Keaton Jennings was out for 14. Wells scored a tantalising 98 from 139 balls and Bohannon went on to score 134 from 239 balls, Rob Jones, in at 5 scored 65 from 100 balls as Lancs built to 436 for 9 when Steven Croft declared after 118 overs. Bohannon now has 760 runs at 50.66

Kent’s 2nd innings wasn’t the best, they were 10 for 3 in the 6th over. Daniel Bell Drummond scored 69* from 151 balls as 8 betters were out for 0 or single figures. Tom Bailey took another 5 wickets for 46 this time as Lancashire bowled themselves to a win!

Surrey v Warwickshire – The Oval, London. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Warwickshire in to bat. Surrey won by 6 wickets.

Warwickshire 53 All Out & 310 All Out, Surrey 316 All Out & 252 for 4

The decision at the toss proved too be a good one, with 10 matches played Surrey top the table with 187 points, with Hampshire in 2nd place with 173, at the business end of the season these matches are going to be key in deciding who wins the County Championship. Dom Sibley top scored on Day 1 with 43 from 136 balls (No Bazball there), And of the 6 bowlers used 4 have taken wickets as Warwicks finished the day on 240 for 8 in 95.5 overs. The final 2 wickets fell with the addition of just 13 runs, of the 6 bowlers, 5 took wickets in the 104.4 overs bowled.

With 4 innings in the 30’s Surrey built their innings well, Ollie Pope top scored with 65 from 73 balls as Surrey made 316 in 80.1 overs, with the exception of Conor McKerr who scored 37 from 102 balls the Surrey batters weren’t hanging about.

Warwicks had 7 batters in single figures, but 96 from 200 balls for Sam Hain and 74 from 112 balls for Will Rhodes sae their score rise to 310 in 102.5 overs. Kemar Roach took 5 for 72 in his 26 overs.

Surrey who seems to have found the wining habit took just 60.4 overs to score the runs required. Rory Burns scored 61 from 128 balls, he now has 722 runs at 45.12 for the season. Hashim Amla scored 80 from 113 balls and Ollie Pope 52 from 54 balls. That took Pope to 564 runs at an average of 62.66 for the season so far. Surrey sit at the top pf the table ahead of Hampshire by 16 points.

Yorkshire v Hampshire – North Marine Road, Scarborough. Steven Patterson won the toss and elected to bat.

Yorkshire 159 All Out & 272 All Out, Hampshire 218 All Out & 214 for 3.

On the face of it the decision at the toss wasn’t a good plan, Yorkshire lost 8 wickets and were 33 for 6 in the 21st over. Of the 9 batters at the crease, 6 of them were dismissed for single figures. Will Fraine scored 53 from 138 balls and Dom Bess 67 from 105 balls. In the 54.2 overs bowled (Another rain affected game?) Kyle Abbot took 4 for 36 in his 11.2 overs and Yorkshire finished the day on 158 for 8. Yorkshire only added a single run for the remaining 2 wickets which Abbot took, he finished on 6 for 36 in his 12.1 overs. A total of 56.12 overs bowled.

Hampshire fared better than Yorkshire thanks to a 7th wicket stand of 88 between keeper Ben Brown and and Keith Barker. Brown scored 53 from 86 balls and Barker 53 from 52 balls. Hants were bowled out in 51.2 overs, Jordan Thompson took 5 for 60 in his 15.2 overs.

Adam Lyth opening for Yorkshire scored 59 from 177 balls after his opening partner George Hill fell for his 2nd Duck of the game, he won’t forget Scarborough! Keeper Jonathan Tattersall scored 63 from 140 balls, this innings lasted 111.1 overs and Kyle Abbot took another 4 wickets for 77 runs in his 27 overs.

Keeping the pressure on Surrey at the top Hants got the runs required in 59.4 overs. An opening stand of 135 certainly helped. Felix Organ scored 72 from 127 balls and Ian Holland 71 from 119 balls, that largely got the job done.

Division 2

Durham v Middlesex – Seat Unique Riverside Stadium, Chester-le-Street, Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middlesex and put Durham in to bat. Match Drawn.

Durham 421 for 7 & 142 for 3, Middlesex 455 All Out

Looks like the North of the country suffered the rain we had where I was in Scotland, there were only 44.5 overs bowled in the day. The Durham openers had the best of those overs and finished the day with Alex Lees on 46* from 125 balls and Michael Jones on 78* from 144 balls. Tom Helm who had a good week last week has conceded 53 runs from his 9 overs. Lees was out without adding another run, but Jones went on to score 206 from 381 balls, he and Scott Borthwick added 107 for the 2nd wicket. Borthwick scored 55 from 109 balls. David Bedingham scored 62 from 87 balls. Borthwick declared with the score on 421 for 7 after 126.3 overs. Toby Roland-Jones took 4 for 67 in his 28.3 overs. Kyle Abbot has overtaken him wit 49 wickets but Roland-Jones now has 48 at 20.39. A decent 2022!

Middlesex had their own century maker, Keeper John Simpson scored 132 from 195 balls, batting at 6, Tom Helm in at 9 scored 51 from 103 balls. Middlesex batted for 128.1 overs and 5 of the 7 bowlers took wickets.

Durham batted for 55 overs before the Draw was declared, another double century in the round in a match ending in a Draw.

Worcestershire v Derbyshire – New Road, `Worcester – Jake Libby won the toss for Worcestershire and put Derbyshire in to bat. Derbyshire won by 98 runs.

Derbyshire 130 All Out & 343 All Out , Worcestershire 185 All Out & 190 All Out

The Derbyshire scorecard makes for interesting reading, 0, 1, 2, 0, 38, 0, 55, 0, 24, 4, 0 – one player at least there seemed to be playing on a different wicket! The 55 was scored by Anuj Dal from 112 balls as Derbyshire were despatched in 51.1 overs for 130. Dillon Pennington took 4 for 35 in his 11.1 overs.

Worcs fell to 23 for 3 in the 5th over before Jack Haynes and Kashif Ali put on 97 for the 4th wicket. Haynes scored 48 from 55 balls and Ali 52 from 74. Ed Barnard scored 39 from 60 balls with his 7 added in the 2nd innings he now has 780 runs at an average of 65. Worcs were bowled out in 64.1 overs.

This was Anuj Dal’s match! He scored 112* from 217 balls batting at 7, Wayne Madsen scored 69 from 114 balls and Matti McKiernan 71 fro 108 balls, he and Dal shareda 7th wicket partnership of 140. 4 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets, th linings lasted for 104.5 overs.

Anuj Dal was the star of this innings too, he took 5 wickets for 40 in his 15 overs. Keeper Gareth Roderick top scored with 53 from 126 balls, Worcs were bowled out in 64.2 overs, 98 runs short.

Nottinghamshire v Sussex – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Cheteshwar Pujara won the toss and put Notts in to bat. Nottinghamshire won by 256 runs.

Nottinghamshire 2490 All Out & 301 All Out, Sussex 143 All Out & 142 All Out.

This was the ‘added bonus’ game, starting a day later than the others, it finished within 3 days. Opener Ben Slater scored 55 from 108 balls as the wickets fell around him, Notts fell to 75 for 4. Captain Steven Mullaney in at 6 scored 70 from 109 balls in an innings with 7 scores of 11 and under. Ollie Robinson back at it took 4 for 44 in his 16 overs as Notts were bowled out in 61.4 overs.

In spite of 49 from Pujara who top scored Sussex were bowled out in just 45.2 overs. This is one I’m going to have to be careful about, James Pattinson took 5 for 56 and Dane Paterson 5 for 43. Notts also has Liam Patterson-White!

Haseeb Hammed who was out for 5 in the 1st innings scored 94 from 115 balls in tech 2nd, that took him to 912 runs at an average of 57. Lyndon James in at 5 shared a partnership of 138 with Hameed, he scored 56 from 113 balls. Notts scored 301 in 84.1 overs. Ollie Robinson took 5 for 60 in his 20.1 overs.

Pujara again top scored for Sussex with 46 from 75 balls, there were 4 Ducks in the innings as Sussex were bowled out in 47.3 overs. All 3 PAT’s bowled Pattinson took 3 for 47 and Paterson 3 for 14. Patterson-White went without a wicket.

Century Makers – Not quite as many this week, but, 2 Doubles in drawn matches!

• Nick Browne – Essex – 234* from 454 Balls
• Matt Renshaw – Somerset – 146 from 313 Balls
• James Rew – Somerset – 101 from 210 Balls
• Tom Banton – Somerset – 126 from 120 Balls
• Graeme van Buuren – Gloucs – 127 from 187 Balls
• Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 134 from 239 Balls
• Michael Jones – Durham – 206 from 381 Balls
• John Simpson – Middlesex – 132 from 195 Balls
• Anuj Dal – Derbys – 112* from 217 Balls