The final round of the Vitality County Championship still had a few things to settle, but the weather meant that some of the potential drama ebbed away. To stay up, Lancashire needed to win and hope that they could overhaul Nottinghamshire. Only 26 overs of play were possible in the first two days at Worcester, where the home side were put in to bat. Worcestershire were reduced to 56 for seven, but recovered to 180 all out, despite Anderson Phillip taking five for 65. Lancashire needed to pil...| Hachette UK
By the final day of the penultimate round, all attention was focused on Old Trafford, where defeat for Somerset would hand the title to Surrey, while defeat for Lancashire would mean relegation to the Second Division – an ultimate high-stakes match. Lancashire, put in to bat, had folded to 140 all out in just 40 overs on the first day, but then struck back with similar force to dismiss the visitors for only 146, and there was still time for a first second-innings wicket to fall before the e...| Hachette UK
The top-of-the-table clash between champions Surrey and Somerset at Taunton more than lived up to its billing in a dramatic match that left all to play for with two games remaining in the Vitality County Championship. Surrey had a comfortable lead in the title race and a weather forecast that suggested it might be tricky to get a full four days of play, so they knew a draw would suit them perfectly. To reinforce their chances, they brought in Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan to make his...| Hachette UK
For the third Test, at The Oval, England looked to complete a clean sweep for the summer, winning six out of six Tests. They made just one change from Lord’s giving a debut to 6’7” Josh Hull of Leicestershire, who came in for Matthew Potts. Since the start of last summer, the left-arm paceman has played just nine Championship games for his county, taking 11 wickets at an average of 84.54, picking up only two wickets in three matches this summer. So this felt very much an intuitive pick ...| Hachette UK
After a three-week break to accommodate The Hundred, England returned to Test cricket, with Sri Lanka the new opposition at Old Trafford. In their warm-up game against an inexperienced England Lions side featuring two players making their first-class debuts, the tourists had lost by seven wickets, which did not bode well for their chances. However, England were missing two key players through injury. Zak Crawley’s finger injury in the last Test meant he was replaced at the top of the order ...| Hachette UK
After a gap dating back to 3 July, the Vitality County Championship returned, to the relief of many who felt that a seven-week pause at the height of the summer was too long. But the break in the season had done nothing to slow down Surrey’s relentless march towards a third successive champions’ pennant. If they achieve the hat-trick, they will become the first side to do this since Yorkshire in 1966-68, as they evolve into the cricketing equivalent of Manchester City. Struggling Lanca...| Hachette UK
After England’s series-clinching win at Trent Bridge, the selectors went for an unchanged side at Edgbaston, though some felt it might have been an opportunity to give Dillon Pennington a run-out. West Indies, on the other hand, made one change to their side, leaving out Kevin Sinclair (with a fractured forearm) and bringing back Gudakesh Motie, after he recovered being unwell for the second Test. Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat on what looked like a good batting day. Bra...| Hachette UK
The post-Anderson era began at Trent Bridge, where the West Indies were desperate to improve on their efforts at Lord’s – in truth, it would have been hard for them to do worse. Unsurprisingly, England made only one change to their line-up, with Mark Wood coming in for Jimmy Anderson – it was the first home Test since 2012 that neither Anderson nor Stuart Broad had played (though the latter had the honour of the Pavilion End being named after him at his home ground). For the West Indies...| Hachette UK
England’s home summer of cricket began with the first Rothesay Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies looking to overturn a winless run at the Home of Cricket dating back to 1988. For the home side, there were two debutants, as Jamie Smith of Surrey was chosen as wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Smith’s county team-mate Ben Foakes. Ironically, Foakes is Surrey’s first-choice keeper, but it is Smith’s prolific form with the bat, and the speed at which he scores, that gav...| Hachette UK
The Day County Championship Cricket Proved Unbeatable There was little doubt which ground was the centre of attention for most – and it wasn’t the one that saw the top two face each other for the first time this summer. Instead it was the usually unheralded Trafalgar Road in Southport, where Jimmy Anderson made his first appearance of the summer, after it was announced earlier in the season that next week’s Test at Lord’s would be his last. Haseeb Hameed made the fans wait by choos...| Hachette UK
After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was probably just the tonic they needed, and when they were asked to bat they took full advantage, though not before skipper Rory Burns was dismissed in the first over. Dan Lawrence, with a career-best 175, was the focal point of an innings of 490 all out, despite the best efforts of loanee Shoaib Bashir, th...| Hachette UK
As the Vitality County Championship reached its midway point before the end of May, Surrey went into their fixture at the Rose Bowl full of confidence off the back of four consecutive wins (including an innings win over these same opponents last month), looking to reinforce their stranglehold on the title. With a top six who were all England internationals it was no surprise that they chose to bat first, but they found Kyle Abbott in irresistible form as he took five for 25 to help dismiss th...| Hachette UK
While the seventh round of the Vitality County Championship may have produced many close-fought, tense outcomes, that was not the case at The Oval, where Worcestershire chose to field first and quickfire 84 from Dan Lawrence was vital to see Surrey up to a total of 213. It proved more than enough as Dan Worrall took Championship-best figures of six for 22 to dismiss the visitors for 128. With a lead of 85 to give them comfort, many of the home batters chipped in during their second innings, w...| Hachette UK
For the sixth round of the Vitality County Championship, attention inevitably focused on Canterbury, where Worcestershire were the visitors, still rocked by the tragically early death of Josh Baker. In tribute, the Worcestershire shirts now carry the number 33 (Baker’s squad number) under the county badge. At all matches this week, there was a minute’s silence held in Baker’s memory before the action commenced. Brett D’Oliveira chose to bat first and his side went on to make full u...| Hachette UK
There were just seven fixtures scheduled for the fourth round of the Vitality County Championship, and again the weather played a considerable role in many of the games – this April has certainly raised more questions than usual about starting the season this early. As recently as 2018, the first Championship game did not start until 13 April, but 30 years ago it was as late as 28 April. But it would be a mistake to draw too many conclusions from one wet start to the season. Champions Su...| Hachette UK
Events on the pitch this week were completely overshadowed by the sad news from Worcestershire that their spin bowler Josh Baker had died, just a few days short of his 21st birthday. Baker, who last season scored the runs that secured his team promotion back to Division One, was a popular figure within the camp and the news left followers of the game stunned. He’d been playing for the county second XI at Bromsgrove, and on his final day of action had picked up the wickets of Thomas Rew, Jos...| Hachette UK
With the Dukes ball available to their bowlers, Essex had no hesitation in asking Lancashire to bat at Chelmsford. The only side to have won a match in the first two rounds immediately showed why they will be formidable challengers for the title this summer. Only a quickfire 32 not out from Will Williams helped the visitors up to a meagre total of 146, with Shane Snater doing most of the early damage, picking up four for 42. Noah Thain took his first Championship wicket (Tom Bailey). Feroze K...| Hachette UK
The second round of the Vitality County Championship saw some heavy scoring, as the batters made the most of facing the Kookaburra ball. Sadly, on the final day, the weather turned and some intriguingly balanced matches petered out in draws. Essex were the only side to win in the first round of fixtures, and they welcomed Kent to Chelmsford and chose to bat. Dean Elgar made his maiden century for his new county before Matt Critchley produced a career-best 151 not out as the hosts piled up a h...| Hachette UK
After one of the wettest winters on record, it was no surprise that four of the nine Vitality County Championship fixtures failed to yield any play on the first day, but at least the competition could welcome a new sponsor, replacing London Victoria. One game that did get underway soon enough was at Trent Bridge, where Essex were put in to bat. Dane Paterson picked up the first five-wicket haul of the season as the visitors were dismissed for 253, despite a solid 80 from new signing Dean Elga...| Hachette UK
In this year’s Foreword, I commented that bowlers seemed to have bowled fewer maidens in 2023 than in 2022 – without fully checking that the facts supported my assertion. But now I can confirm that this was correct, at least as far as Division One went. So why might this have been? Tallying up the bowling figures for the eight counties that played in both seasons, so we’re comparing like with like, we find a few noticeable changes. First of all, there were just 2907 maidens bowled be...| Hachette UK
For title contenders Essex and Surrey, the season did not end on the pitch as either would have hoped, yet it was favourites and holders Surrey who emerged triumphant in the end, finishing 20 points clear of their nearest rivals. Essex knew they had to win to stand a chance of snatching the pennant, and a visit to already-relegated Northampton seemed to be the easiest of opportunities to pile on the pressure. They chose to field first, only to find Rob Keogh in excellent form, as he smashed 1...| Hachette UK
The Indian summer had to come to an end at some time, and the penultimate round of Championship fixtures were marred by poor weather, which made it difficult for teams to achieve conclusive results. At The Oval, title-chasing Surrey chose to field first against bottom side Northamptonshire. Karun Nair hit 150 to help the visitors up to an impressive total of 357, adding 114 for the eighth wicket with Tom Taylor, who made his eighth fifty (66). Twenty-year-old Tom Lawes finally dismissed Nair ...| Hachette UK
With title-chasing Surrey and Essex both without a fixture, attention focused instead on the relegation battle in Division One, with the bottom three all in action. At Edgbaston, Warwickshire chose to field first and Northamptonshire’s overseas recruit Karun Nair delivered the runs he’d been brought in for, top scoring with 78 on his Championship debut. But his side could manage only a relatively modest total of 250, because Oliver Hannon-Dalby took a career-best seven for 46. With shorte...| Hachette UK
Surrey took another big step towards retaining their hold on the Championship pennant after a crushing victory over Warwickshire inside three days at The Oval. Put in to bat, they were grateful to Ben Foakes, who top-scored with 125 to help his team up to 396 all out; it was his third century of the season. Meanwhile, Ed Barnard took five for 66. In reply, the visitors, who were joined by West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite (16), were dismissed for just 161, with fellow West Indian Kemar Roa...| Hachette UK
The final round of the Vitality County Championship still had a few things to settle, but the weather meant that some of the potential drama ebbed away. To stay up, Lancashire needed to win and hope that they could overhaul Nottinghamshire. Only 26 overs of play were possible in the first two days at Worcester, where the home side were put in to bat. Worcestershire were reduced to 56 for seven, but recovered to 180 all out, despite Anderson Phillip taking five for 65. Lancashire needed to pil...| Hachette UK
By the final day of the penultimate round, all attention was focused on Old Trafford, where defeat for Somerset would hand the title to Surrey, while defeat for Lancashire would mean relegation to the Second Division – an ultimate high-stakes match. Lancashire, put in to bat, had folded to 140 all out in just 40 overs on the first day, but then struck back with similar force to dismiss the visitors for only 146, and there was still time for a first second-innings wicket to fall before the e...| Hachette UK
The top-of-the-table clash between champions Surrey and Somerset at Taunton more than lived up to its billing in a dramatic match that left all to play for with two games remaining in the Vitality County Championship. Surrey had a comfortable lead in the title race and a weather forecast that suggested it might be tricky to get a full four days of play, so they knew a draw would suit them perfectly. To reinforce their chances, they brought in Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan to make his...| Hachette UK
For the third Test, at The Oval, England looked to complete a clean sweep for the summer, winning six out of six Tests. They made just one change from Lord’s giving a debut to 6’7” Josh Hull of Leicestershire, who came in for Matthew Potts. Since the start of last summer, the left-arm paceman has played just nine Championship games for his county, taking 11 wickets at an average of 84.54, picking up only two wickets in three matches this summer. So this felt very much an intuitive pick ...| Hachette UK
After a three-week break to accommodate The Hundred, England returned to Test cricket, with Sri Lanka the new opposition at Old Trafford. In their warm-up game against an inexperienced England Lions side featuring two players making their first-class debuts, the tourists had lost by seven wickets, which did not bode well for their chances. However, England were missing two key players through injury. Zak Crawley’s finger injury in the last Test meant he was replaced at the top of the order ...| Hachette UK
After a gap dating back to 3 July, the Vitality County Championship returned, to the relief of many who felt that a seven-week pause at the height of the summer was too long. But the break in the season had done nothing to slow down Surrey’s relentless march towards a third successive champions’ pennant. If they achieve the hat-trick, they will become the first side to do this since Yorkshire in 1966-68, as they evolve into the cricketing equivalent of Manchester City. Struggling Lanca...| Hachette UK
After England’s series-clinching win at Trent Bridge, the selectors went for an unchanged side at Edgbaston, though some felt it might have been an opportunity to give Dillon Pennington a run-out. West Indies, on the other hand, made one change to their side, leaving out Kevin Sinclair (with a fractured forearm) and bringing back Gudakesh Motie, after he recovered being unwell for the second Test. Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat on what looked like a good batting day. Bra...| Hachette UK
The post-Anderson era began at Trent Bridge, where the West Indies were desperate to improve on their efforts at Lord’s – in truth, it would have been hard for them to do worse. Unsurprisingly, England made only one change to their line-up, with Mark Wood coming in for Jimmy Anderson – it was the first home Test since 2012 that neither Anderson nor Stuart Broad had played (though the latter had the honour of the Pavilion End being named after him at his home ground). For the West Indies...| Hachette UK
England’s home summer of cricket began with the first Rothesay Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies looking to overturn a winless run at the Home of Cricket dating back to 1988. For the home side, there were two debutants, as Jamie Smith of Surrey was chosen as wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Smith’s county team-mate Ben Foakes. Ironically, Foakes is Surrey’s first-choice keeper, but it is Smith’s prolific form with the bat, and the speed at which he scores, that gav...| Hachette UK
The Day County Championship Cricket Proved Unbeatable There was little doubt which ground was the centre of attention for most – and it wasn’t the one that saw the top two face each other for the first time this summer. Instead it was the usually unheralded Trafalgar Road in Southport, where Jimmy Anderson made his first appearance of the summer, after it was announced earlier in the season that next week’s Test at Lord’s would be his last. Haseeb Hameed made the fans wait by choos...| Hachette UK
After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was probably just the tonic they needed, and when they were asked to bat they took full advantage, though not before skipper Rory Burns was dismissed in the first over. Dan Lawrence, with a career-best 175, was the focal point of an innings of 490 all out, despite the best efforts of loanee Shoaib Bashir, th...| Hachette UK
As the Vitality County Championship reached its midway point before the end of May, Surrey went into their fixture at the Rose Bowl full of confidence off the back of four consecutive wins (including an innings win over these same opponents last month), looking to reinforce their stranglehold on the title. With a top six who were all England internationals it was no surprise that they chose to bat first, but they found Kyle Abbott in irresistible form as he took five for 25 to help dismiss th...| Hachette UK
While the seventh round of the Vitality County Championship may have produced many close-fought, tense outcomes, that was not the case at The Oval, where Worcestershire chose to field first and quickfire 84 from Dan Lawrence was vital to see Surrey up to a total of 213. It proved more than enough as Dan Worrall took Championship-best figures of six for 22 to dismiss the visitors for 128. With a lead of 85 to give them comfort, many of the home batters chipped in during their second innings, w...| Hachette UK
For the sixth round of the Vitality County Championship, attention inevitably focused on Canterbury, where Worcestershire were the visitors, still rocked by the tragically early death of Josh Baker. In tribute, the Worcestershire shirts now carry the number 33 (Baker’s squad number) under the county badge. At all matches this week, there was a minute’s silence held in Baker’s memory before the action commenced. Brett D’Oliveira chose to bat first and his side went on to make full u...| Hachette UK
There were just seven fixtures scheduled for the fourth round of the Vitality County Championship, and again the weather played a considerable role in many of the games – this April has certainly raised more questions than usual about starting the season this early. As recently as 2018, the first Championship game did not start until 13 April, but 30 years ago it was as late as 28 April. But it would be a mistake to draw too many conclusions from one wet start to the season. Champions Su...| Hachette UK
Events on the pitch this week were completely overshadowed by the sad news from Worcestershire that their spin bowler Josh Baker had died, just a few days short of his 21st birthday. Baker, who last season scored the runs that secured his team promotion back to Division One, was a popular figure within the camp and the news left followers of the game stunned. He’d been playing for the county second XI at Bromsgrove, and on his final day of action had picked up the wickets of Thomas Rew, Jos...| Hachette UK
With the Dukes ball available to their bowlers, Essex had no hesitation in asking Lancashire to bat at Chelmsford. The only side to have won a match in the first two rounds immediately showed why they will be formidable challengers for the title this summer. Only a quickfire 32 not out from Will Williams helped the visitors up to a meagre total of 146, with Shane Snater doing most of the early damage, picking up four for 42. Noah Thain took his first Championship wicket (Tom Bailey). Feroze K...| Hachette UK
The second round of the Vitality County Championship saw some heavy scoring, as the batters made the most of facing the Kookaburra ball. Sadly, on the final day, the weather turned and some intriguingly balanced matches petered out in draws. Essex were the only side to win in the first round of fixtures, and they welcomed Kent to Chelmsford and chose to bat. Dean Elgar made his maiden century for his new county before Matt Critchley produced a career-best 151 not out as the hosts piled up a h...| Hachette UK
After one of the wettest winters on record, it was no surprise that four of the nine Vitality County Championship fixtures failed to yield any play on the first day, but at least the competition could welcome a new sponsor, replacing London Victoria. One game that did get underway soon enough was at Trent Bridge, where Essex were put in to bat. Dane Paterson picked up the first five-wicket haul of the season as the visitors were dismissed for 253, despite a solid 80 from new signing Dean Elga...| Hachette UK
In this year’s Foreword, I commented that bowlers seemed to have bowled fewer maidens in 2023 than in 2022 – without fully checking that the facts supported my assertion. But now I can confirm that this was correct, at least as far as Division One went. So why might this have been? Tallying up the bowling figures for the eight counties that played in both seasons, so we’re comparing like with like, we find a few noticeable changes. First of all, there were just 2907 maidens bowled be...| Hachette UK
For title contenders Essex and Surrey, the season did not end on the pitch as either would have hoped, yet it was favourites and holders Surrey who emerged triumphant in the end, finishing 20 points clear of their nearest rivals. Essex knew they had to win to stand a chance of snatching the pennant, and a visit to already-relegated Northampton seemed to be the easiest of opportunities to pile on the pressure. They chose to field first, only to find Rob Keogh in excellent form, as he smashed 1...| Hachette UK
The Indian summer had to come to an end at some time, and the penultimate round of Championship fixtures were marred by poor weather, which made it difficult for teams to achieve conclusive results. At The Oval, title-chasing Surrey chose to field first against bottom side Northamptonshire. Karun Nair hit 150 to help the visitors up to an impressive total of 357, adding 114 for the eighth wicket with Tom Taylor, who made his eighth fifty (66). Twenty-year-old Tom Lawes finally dismissed Nair ...| Hachette UK
With title-chasing Surrey and Essex both without a fixture, attention focused instead on the relegation battle in Division One, with the bottom three all in action. At Edgbaston, Warwickshire chose to field first and Northamptonshire’s overseas recruit Karun Nair delivered the runs he’d been brought in for, top scoring with 78 on his Championship debut. But his side could manage only a relatively modest total of 250, because Oliver Hannon-Dalby took a career-best seven for 46. With shorte...| Hachette UK
The final round of the Vitality County Championship still had a few things to settle, but the weather meant that some of the potential drama ebbed away. To stay up, Lancashire needed to win and hope that they could overhaul Nottinghamshire. Only 26 overs of play were possible in the first two days at Worcester, where the home side were put in to bat. Worcestershire were reduced to 56 for seven, but recovered to 180 all out, despite Anderson Phillip taking five for 65. Lancashire needed to pil...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
By the final day of the penultimate round, all attention was focused on Old Trafford, where defeat for Somerset would hand the title to Surrey, while defeat for Lancashire would mean relegation to the Second Division – an ultimate high-stakes match. Lancashire, put in to bat, had folded to 140 all out in just 40 overs on the first day, but then struck back with similar force to dismiss the visitors for only 146, and there was still time for a first second-innings wicket to fall before the e...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The top-of-the-table clash between champions Surrey and Somerset at Taunton more than lived up to its billing in a dramatic match that left all to play for with two games remaining in the Vitality County Championship. Surrey had a comfortable lead in the title race and a weather forecast that suggested it might be tricky to get a full four days of play, so they knew a draw would suit them perfectly. To reinforce their chances, they brought in Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan to make his...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
For the third Test, at The Oval, England looked to complete a clean sweep for the summer, winning six out of six Tests. They made just one change from Lord’s giving a debut to 6’7” Josh Hull of Leicestershire, who came in for Matthew Potts. Since the start of last summer, the left-arm paceman has played just nine Championship games for his county, taking 11 wickets at an average of 84.54, picking up only two wickets in three matches this summer. So this felt very much an intuitive pick ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After a three-week break to accommodate The Hundred, England returned to Test cricket, with Sri Lanka the new opposition at Old Trafford. In their warm-up game against an inexperienced England Lions side featuring two players making their first-class debuts, the tourists had lost by seven wickets, which did not bode well for their chances. However, England were missing two key players through injury. Zak Crawley’s finger injury in the last Test meant he was replaced at the top of the order ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After England’s series-clinching win at Trent Bridge, the selectors went for an unchanged side at Edgbaston, though some felt it might have been an opportunity to give Dillon Pennington a run-out. West Indies, on the other hand, made one change to their side, leaving out Kevin Sinclair (with a fractured forearm) and bringing back Gudakesh Motie, after he recovered being unwell for the second Test. Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat on what looked like a good batting day. Bra...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The post-Anderson era began at Trent Bridge, where the West Indies were desperate to improve on their efforts at Lord’s – in truth, it would have been hard for them to do worse. Unsurprisingly, England made only one change to their line-up, with Mark Wood coming in for Jimmy Anderson – it was the first home Test since 2012 that neither Anderson nor Stuart Broad had played (though the latter had the honour of the Pavilion End being named after him at his home ground). For the West Indies...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
England’s home summer of cricket began with the first Rothesay Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies looking to overturn a winless run at the Home of Cricket dating back to 1988. For the home side, there were two debutants, as Jamie Smith of Surrey was chosen as wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Smith’s county team-mate Ben Foakes. Ironically, Foakes is Surrey’s first-choice keeper, but it is Smith’s prolific form with the bat, and the speed at which he scores, that gav...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The Day County Championship Cricket Proved Unbeatable There was little doubt which ground was the centre of attention for most – and it wasn’t the one that saw the top two face each other for the first time this summer. Instead it was the usually unheralded Trafalgar Road in Southport, where Jimmy Anderson made his first appearance of the summer, after it was announced earlier in the season that next week’s Test at Lord’s would be his last. Haseeb Hameed made the fans wait by choos...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was probably just the tonic they needed, and when they were asked to bat they took full advantage, though not before skipper Rory Burns was dismissed in the first over. Dan Lawrence, with a career-best 175, was the focal point of an innings of 490 all out, despite the best efforts of loanee Shoaib Bashir, th...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
As the Vitality County Championship reached its midway point before the end of May, Surrey went into their fixture at the Rose Bowl full of confidence off the back of four consecutive wins (including an innings win over these same opponents last month), looking to reinforce their stranglehold on the title. With a top six who were all England internationals it was no surprise that they chose to bat first, but they found Kyle Abbott in irresistible form as he took five for 25 to help dismiss th...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
While the seventh round of the Vitality County Championship may have produced many close-fought, tense outcomes, that was not the case at The Oval, where Worcestershire chose to field first and quickfire 84 from Dan Lawrence was vital to see Surrey up to a total of 213. It proved more than enough as Dan Worrall took Championship-best figures of six for 22 to dismiss the visitors for 128. With a lead of 85 to give them comfort, many of the home batters chipped in during their second innings, w...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
For the sixth round of the Vitality County Championship, attention inevitably focused on Canterbury, where Worcestershire were the visitors, still rocked by the tragically early death of Josh Baker. In tribute, the Worcestershire shirts now carry the number 33 (Baker’s squad number) under the county badge. At all matches this week, there was a minute’s silence held in Baker’s memory before the action commenced. Brett D’Oliveira chose to bat first and his side went on to make full u...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
There were just seven fixtures scheduled for the fourth round of the Vitality County Championship, and again the weather played a considerable role in many of the games – this April has certainly raised more questions than usual about starting the season this early. As recently as 2018, the first Championship game did not start until 13 April, but 30 years ago it was as late as 28 April. But it would be a mistake to draw too many conclusions from one wet start to the season. Champions Su...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Events on the pitch this week were completely overshadowed by the sad news from Worcestershire that their spin bowler Josh Baker had died, just a few days short of his 21st birthday. Baker, who last season scored the runs that secured his team promotion back to Division One, was a popular figure within the camp and the news left followers of the game stunned. He’d been playing for the county second XI at Bromsgrove, and on his final day of action had picked up the wickets of Thomas Rew, Jos...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
With the Dukes ball available to their bowlers, Essex had no hesitation in asking Lancashire to bat at Chelmsford. The only side to have won a match in the first two rounds immediately showed why they will be formidable challengers for the title this summer. Only a quickfire 32 not out from Will Williams helped the visitors up to a meagre total of 146, with Shane Snater doing most of the early damage, picking up four for 42. Noah Thain took his first Championship wicket (Tom Bailey). Feroze K...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The second round of the Vitality County Championship saw some heavy scoring, as the batters made the most of facing the Kookaburra ball. Sadly, on the final day, the weather turned and some intriguingly balanced matches petered out in draws. Essex were the only side to win in the first round of fixtures, and they welcomed Kent to Chelmsford and chose to bat. Dean Elgar made his maiden century for his new county before Matt Critchley produced a career-best 151 not out as the hosts piled up a h...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After one of the wettest winters on record, it was no surprise that four of the nine Vitality County Championship fixtures failed to yield any play on the first day, but at least the competition could welcome a new sponsor, replacing London Victoria. One game that did get underway soon enough was at Trent Bridge, where Essex were put in to bat. Dane Paterson picked up the first five-wicket haul of the season as the visitors were dismissed for 253, despite a solid 80 from new signing Dean Elga...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
In this year’s Foreword, I commented that bowlers seemed to have bowled fewer maidens in 2023 than in 2022 – without fully checking that the facts supported my assertion. But now I can confirm that this was correct, at least as far as Division One went. So why might this have been? Tallying up the bowling figures for the eight counties that played in both seasons, so we’re comparing like with like, we find a few noticeable changes. First of all, there were just 2907 maidens bowled be...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
For title contenders Essex and Surrey, the season did not end on the pitch as either would have hoped, yet it was favourites and holders Surrey who emerged triumphant in the end, finishing 20 points clear of their nearest rivals. Essex knew they had to win to stand a chance of snatching the pennant, and a visit to already-relegated Northampton seemed to be the easiest of opportunities to pile on the pressure. They chose to field first, only to find Rob Keogh in excellent form, as he smashed 1...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The Indian summer had to come to an end at some time, and the penultimate round of Championship fixtures were marred by poor weather, which made it difficult for teams to achieve conclusive results. At The Oval, title-chasing Surrey chose to field first against bottom side Northamptonshire. Karun Nair hit 150 to help the visitors up to an impressive total of 357, adding 114 for the eighth wicket with Tom Taylor, who made his eighth fifty (66). Twenty-year-old Tom Lawes finally dismissed Nair ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
With title-chasing Surrey and Essex both without a fixture, attention focused instead on the relegation battle in Division One, with the bottom three all in action. At Edgbaston, Warwickshire chose to field first and Northamptonshire’s overseas recruit Karun Nair delivered the runs he’d been brought in for, top scoring with 78 on his Championship debut. But his side could manage only a relatively modest total of 250, because Oliver Hannon-Dalby took a career-best seven for 46. With shorte...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Surrey took another big step towards retaining their hold on the Championship pennant after a crushing victory over Warwickshire inside three days at The Oval. Put in to bat, they were grateful to Ben Foakes, who top-scored with 125 to help his team up to 396 all out; it was his third century of the season. Meanwhile, Ed Barnard took five for 66. In reply, the visitors, who were joined by West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite (16), were dismissed for just 161, with fellow West Indian Kemar Roa...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After the frustrations of Old Trafford, the two sides headed south to The Oval for the final Test of a truly compelling series, with Australia having retained the Ashes but knowing that a win or a draw would give them their first series victory in England since 2001. Despite Jimmy Anderson’s very modest return this series, he was retained in an unchanged side. Australia decided to bring in Todd Murphy to give them a spin option, meaning that Cameron Green lost out to Mitchell Marsh for the ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Title contenders Essex wrapped up their victory over Hampshire at Southampton inside three days after they put the hosts in to bat. Jamie Porter did all the damage, taking five for 37 as the home side was rattled out for 120. Essex’s reply of 169 meant they had a solid lead in a low-scoring match, but when Porter worked his magic a second time, taking five for 46 to give him match figures of ten for 83, to bowl out Hampshire for 131, it was pretty much game over. Chasing 83, Essex lost four...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The two sides crossed the Pennines, knowing that the destination of the Ashes was still up for grabs. Australia made two changes, with Cameron Green returning after a hamstring problem for spinner Todd Murphy (Mitchell Marsh’s century at Headingley ensured he had to keep his place); in the other change, Josh Hazlewood came back for Scott Boland. For England, Jimmy Anderson returned to the side for Ollie Robinson. There was a general sense, after a rather disappointing series, that this migh...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
In the London derby at Lord’s, Surrey were put in to bat and Jamie Smith hit 138 to set the visitors on their way to a total of 433. Tom Helm finished with career-best figures of six for 110, but it’s been Middlesex’s batting that has been their problem this summer, and so it proved again as they were all out for 238 in reply. Following on, a career-best 46 not out from Ethan Bamber pushed his side past an innings defeat, but a target of 78 runs was achieved for the loss of two wickets ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After all the drama of Edgbaston, the two sides moved down to Lord’s gearing up for the next instalment of the Ashes. Australia made just one change to their line-up, Mitchell Starc coming in for Scott Boland, who had disappointed in the first Test. England’s dilemmas were increased by the injury to Moeen Ali’s spinning finger, and he hadn’t recovered sufficiently to be picked. Given how few wickets England spinners have taken at Lord’s recently, it was no surprise when Rehan Ahmed,...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
After their defeat against Lancashire, Surrey looked to get back to winning ways against Nottinghamshire at The Oval. Batting first, they made 355, with Jordan Clark top-scoring (107). Lyndon James was the main threat, taking a career-best six for 74, while Tom Moores took six catches behind the stumps. For Nottinghamshire, Kiwi Test star Will Young made his debut for the county, and became the 13th player to make a century (145) for them in his maiden game. He helped the visitors up to 399 i...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
There was a surprise outcome at The Oval as runaway league leaders Surrey were pegged back by Lancashire, who recorded their second win in succession. The hosts chose to field first and will have been satisfied with their work to dismiss the away side for 274, with Jordan Clark and Sean Abbott both taking four wickets. In reply, Surrey relied on a mammoth tenth-wicket partnership of 130 between Abbott, whose 87 not out was his highest score for the county, and Daniel Worrall, who made a caree...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Cummins Grit Sees Australia Home in Edgbaston Thriller Rarely can the Ashes have been contested between two sides in such good form, with Australia recently crowned world champions and England having won 11 of their previous 13 Tests. There was a huge sense of anticipation before the game started, and not just at a packed Edgbaston. For both teams the main selection question was over their pace line-up. Australia needed to decide who would accompany their skipper Pat Cummins between Scott ...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
501 Up as Surrey Go for Double Top The Spitfire Ground in Canterbury hosted one of the most remarkable matches in its long history this week. Kent chose to bat first but stumbled to 41 for five before Jordan Cox led a fightback with a fine innings of 133, adding 100 for the ninth wicket with Wes Agar (whose 51 was his highest score for the county), to help his side up to a respectable 301 all out. It proved more than enough for Surrey, who crumbled to 145 in reply. When the hosts posted 34...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Surrey moved 25 points clear at the top after a ten-wicket win over neighbours Kent at The Oval inside three days. The away side was asked to bat first and they relied on an unbeaten 77 from Joey Evison and a Kent-best 43 from Michael Hogan to see them up to 278 all out. It was Surrey’s lower order that gave them a first-innings lead, with Sean Abbott making 78, his highest score for Surrey, and Gus Atkinson hitting 55 not out to take them to 362 all out. For Kent, Dhaka-born Arafat Bhuiyan...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Lancashire Rue Rew’s Fine Form Nottinghamshire cruised to victory by an innings inside three days at Northampton after they chose to field first. Ricardo Vasconcelos (62) provided lone resistance as the hosts were bowled out for 158, with Brett Hutton taking five for 37 (his third five-wicket haul of the summer). Joe Clarke (76) made the top score of the match, as Nottinghamshire replied with 255. James Sales took a career-best four for 24, while Vasconcelos picked up four catches. The h...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Hampshire were well and truly outplayed at the Ageas Bowl by Warwickshire, who won by an innings and 84 runs. The hosts chose to bat first and relied on skipper James Vince’s unbeaten 75 to see them up to 229. The away side responded by making 410 for eight declared, with half-centuries from four players, Ed Barnard top-scoring with 95, his highest score since joining the county. Hampshire’s batting was ripped to shreds by Chris Rushworth, who took seven for 38 to finish with match figure...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Murtagh Still a Lethal Weapon There were only two matches in the First Division and both were completed inside three days. At Edgbaston, Surrey chose to field and were handsomely rewarded as Warwickshire tumbled to 150 all out. Jamie Smith made the highest score of the match, 88, to guide Surrey up to 281 in reply. That lead of 131 proved too much, as the home side fell away again, all out for 141, with Kemar Roach taking five for 34. A target of 11 was achieved for the loss of one wicket,...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Unique Price Offers Joy for Fans The weather once again had an impact on the third round of County Championship fixtures as the summer resolutely refuses to put in much of an appearance, but despite this there were some real highlights –especially from some stars of the future, as the competition continues to develop some excellent young cricketers. At Taunton, Lancashire chose to field first and soon had Somerset in trouble, before a fifth-wicket partnership of 244 between skipper To...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Pope Blesses The Oval With Two Fine Innings Hampshire chose to bat first at The Oval and made a moderate score of 254, with Ben Brown top-scoring with 95, while Tom Lawes took four for 58. The main surprise in Surrey’s reply was when Ollie Pope was dismissed for 91, as this is a ground where the centuries usually flow for him. Sean Abbott’s quick-fire 52 not out was his highest score for the county and saw Surrey up to a reply of 270. For the second match in a row, Mohammad Abbas finis...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
Leicestershire Snatch Rare Win at Headingley Having finished the 2022 season at Old Trafford, champions Surrey made an immediate return to Manchester at the start of 2023, with the county captains having assessed the two sides as the joint favourites to win the pennant in the new campaign. New home captain Keaton Jennings chose to field first, but the visitors made 442, with Cameron Steel hitting 141 not out, his best score for Surrey. Lancashire’s reply of 291 left them fighting to save...| W&N - Ground-breaking, award-winning, thought-provoking books since 1949
The final round of the Vitality County Championship still had a few things to settle, but the weather meant that some of the potential drama ebbed away. To stay up, Lancashire needed to win and hope that they could overhaul Nottinghamshire. Only 26 overs of play were possible in the first two days at Worcester, where the home side were put in to bat. Worcestershire were reduced to 56 for seven, but recovered to 180 all out, despite Anderson Phillip taking five for 65. Lancashire needed to pil...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
By the final day of the penultimate round, all attention was focused on Old Trafford, where defeat for Somerset would hand the title to Surrey, while defeat for Lancashire would mean relegation to the Second Division – an ultimate high-stakes match. Lancashire, put in to bat, had folded to 140 all out in just 40 overs on the first day, but then struck back with similar force to dismiss the visitors for only 146, and there was still time for a first second-innings wicket to fall before the e...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
The top-of-the-table clash between champions Surrey and Somerset at Taunton more than lived up to its billing in a dramatic match that left all to play for with two games remaining in the Vitality County Championship. Surrey had a comfortable lead in the title race and a weather forecast that suggested it might be tricky to get a full four days of play, so they knew a draw would suit them perfectly. To reinforce their chances, they brought in Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan to make his...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
For the third Test, at The Oval, England looked to complete a clean sweep for the summer, winning six out of six Tests. They made just one change from Lord’s giving a debut to 6’7” Josh Hull of Leicestershire, who came in for Matthew Potts. Since the start of last summer, the left-arm paceman has played just nine Championship games for his county, taking 11 wickets at an average of 84.54, picking up only two wickets in three matches this summer. So this felt very much an intuitive pick ...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
After a three-week break to accommodate The Hundred, England returned to Test cricket, with Sri Lanka the new opposition at Old Trafford. In their warm-up game against an inexperienced England Lions side featuring two players making their first-class debuts, the tourists had lost by seven wickets, which did not bode well for their chances. However, England were missing two key players through injury. Zak Crawley’s finger injury in the last Test meant he was replaced at the top of the order ...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
After a gap dating back to 3 July, the Vitality County Championship returned, to the relief of many who felt that a seven-week pause at the height of the summer was too long. But the break in the s…| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
The post-Anderson era began at Trent Bridge, where the West Indies were desperate to improve on their efforts at Lord’s – in truth, it would have been hard for them to do worse. Unsurprisingly, England made only one change to their line-up, with Mark Wood coming in for Jimmy Anderson – it was the first home Test since 2012 that neither Anderson nor Stuart Broad had played (though the latter had the honour of the Pavilion End being named after him at his home ground). For the West Indies...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
England’s home summer of cricket began with the first Rothesay Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies looking to overturn a winless run at the Home of Cricket dating back to 1988. For the home side, there were two debutants, as Jamie Smith of Surrey was chosen as wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Smith’s county team-mate Ben Foakes. Ironically, Foakes is Surrey’s first-choice keeper, but it is Smith’s prolific form with the bat, and the speed at which he scores, that gav...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
The Day County Championship Cricket Proved Unbeatable There was little doubt which ground was the centre of attention for most – and it wasn’t the one that saw the top two face each other for the first time this summer. Instead it was the usually unheralded Trafalgar Road in Southport, where Jimmy Anderson made his first appearance of the summer, after it was announced earlier in the season that next week’s Test at Lord’s would be his last. Haseeb Hameed made the fans wait by choos...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was proba…| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
As the Vitality County Championship reached its midway point before the end of May, Surrey went into their fixture at the Rose Bowl full of confidence off the back of four consecutive wins (including an innings win over these same opponents last month), looking to reinforce their stranglehold on the title. With a top six who were all England internationals it was no surprise that they chose to bat first, but they found Kyle Abbott in irresistible form as he took five for 25 to help dismiss th...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
While the seventh round of the Vitality County Championship may have produced many close-fought, tense outcomes, that was not the case at The Oval, where Worcestershire chose to field first and qui…| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
For the sixth round of the Vitality County Championship, attention inevitably focused on Canterbury, where Worcestershire were the visitors, still rocked by the tragically early death of Josh Baker. In tribute, the Worcestershire shirts now carry the number 33 (Baker’s squad number) under the county badge. At all matches this week, there was a minute’s silence held in Baker’s memory before the action commenced. Brett D’Oliveira chose to bat first and his side went on to make full u...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...
There were just seven fixtures scheduled for the fourth round of the Vitality County Championship, and again the weather played a considerable role in many of the games – this April has certainly raised more questions than usual about starting the season this early. As recently as 2018, the first Championship game did not start until 13 April, but 30 years ago it was as late as 28 April. But it would be a mistake to draw too many conclusions from one wet start to the season. Champions Su...| Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books ...