G&C 164
GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 164
August 2016
Good week for Cricket - 1
At Scarborough, during Yorkshire’s first innings, Middlesex looked a couple of times that they might dismiss them for less than 406 but some tail wagging got the home side to a substantial total. In reply, thanks primarily to Eskinazi’s 157 and Franklin’s 99, Middlesex looked like getting a small lead at 454 for 8 but then Roland-Jones and Murtagh added 123 in 13 overs which included 8 sixes and 10 fours. At 577 all out Middlesex had a commanding lead and when Yorkshire batted again no one reached fifty and Middlesex bowled them out for 167 to win by an innings and 4 runs. The Middlesex bowlers shared the wickets in both innings and once again Middlesex had defeated the County Champions.
A couple of days later Middlesex found themselves at the other end of England at Taunton. None of the successful seamers from Scarborough were selected and they were replaced by an innocuous looking attack of Harris, Fuller and Podmore. Innocuous on paper but on the field they did the job sharing all ten wickets and dismissing Somerset for 236. In reply Middlesex made a complete hash of batting and although Gubbins and Bailey made fifties when Bailey was dismissed Middlesex had slumped to 212 for 8. At this point Middlesex put together a telling ninth wicket stand with Harris (78) and Fuller (93) doing the business. Middlesex were all out for 381 a lead of 145. Hundreds from Trescothick and Trego precluded any possibility of another innings win for Middlesex and when Somerset declared on 446 for 9 Middlesex were left to score 302 in 46 overs. Middlesex were always up with the required rate but they kept losing wickets. In the thirty fourth over Franklin was dismissed and the score was 185 for 5. Fuller and Simpson then added 86 in the next 8 overs which set Simpson up to win the match which he did with a six in the final over.
A most satisfactory road trip for Middlesex.
Good Week for Cricket - 2
The following week I took up duty, courtesy of Sky, watching Northants, who were put in by Birmingham, rack up 200. The principal contributor to this total was Adam (Norman) Rossington who looked fluent and powerful in scoring 85. Wakely also looked good with 53 not out from 23 balls. Birmingham never threatened in reply. This Northants score was achieved without the missing Ben Duckett of whom more later.
The following night at Headingley Adam Lyth led the way with 87 as Yorkshire scored 223. The Australian Big Bash specialist, Travis Head made 34 from 24 balls but he was upstaged by Jack Leaning who made 32 from 11 balls. Of these two more later. In reply Durham never threatened to challenge this total and lost by the substantial margin of 48.
And so on to Lord’s on the Thursday where Surrey were the visitors. There can be no more daunting an opening pair in T20 cricket than Roy and Finch. They didn’t disappoint on this occasion and proceeded to take the Middlesex attack apart to the tune of 87 in the first seven overs at which point Roy tamely holed out to Franklin’s first ball which was a gentle half volley. None of the rest of the Surrey batting, with the exception of the muscular Morris, poses as much of a threat as the openers and the unlikely pairing of two apprentice spinners in the form of Sowter and Higgins tamed them and kept the final score to a relatively modest 196.
When Middlesex batted Stirling and Morgan made good progress but both were out after eleven overs with the score above the required rate at 120 for 3. Bailey and Simpson then added 67 in seven overs of which Simpson scored a sublime 43 from 26 balls. Higgins slogged and missed his first ball, took a single off the second and then audaciously reverse swept the first ball of the final over from Batty for four to win the match. Middlesex were comfortable winners with five wickets and five balls to spare.
The next night Middlesex were at the Rose Bowl and it was Bailey and Simpson again who put together the critical partnership. They came together at 40 for 3 and added 114 before Simpson was dismissed for 54. Bailey was out to the last ball of the twentieth over for 73 with the total on 181. None of the Hampshire batsmen could cope with the rampart Middlesex attack spearheaded by Fuller (3 for 24) and Higgins (5 for 13).
Two days later Middlesex were back at Lord’s for a RLC match against Kent who amassed a modest 238 from their fifty overs. Although Higgins and Gubbins were out cheaply Stirling and Morgan both scored hundreds and Middlesex coasted to victory with five overs to spare.
An extraordinary sequence of wins in all competitions for Middlesex which included a whole range of contributors with both bat and ball.
Out and About with the Professor
Last Sunday some two and a half thousands local residents ran past my house in something called the annual Harrogate “Fun Run”. It would be fair to say that the words “fun” and “run” have rarely been conflated in my own personal lexicon: I have always regarded pointless running and pointless walking as, well, pointless. I did of course used to run between the wickets, especially if I was batting with someone for whom the edge of the square represented the limit of their stroke playing ambition, and I used to run around in the outfield until I latched on to the obvious virtue of volunteering to captain the side and acquired the life-long location of first slip. But I don’t think I ever ran for “fun”.
I was musing on all this while watching the England team on the fourth (and in the event, final) day of the Old Trafford Test, go through their various warm-up routines which seem to involve lots of running and jumping. This was followed by the now compulsory game of football. I read that the England coaching staff think the football is an excellent means of warming up and “bonding” while, being non-competitive, is no danger to the players. If it is intended to be non-competitive then, from what I saw, no one has mentioned that to Gary Balance. Indeed “a non-competitive Zimbabwean” might be in line for the oxymoron of the week award.
I had got to the ground early to avoid the crush but, in truth, there wasn’t one, not so much as a jostle. Indeed when play began there were fewer than a couple of hundred people in the ground. Just think of that: an Old Trafford Test (the only one of the year), late July, schools on vacation, the weather set fair, England’s two finest batsmen at the crease (indeed, in all probability, two of England’s finest ever batsmen at the crease) and the very real possibility of an England victory in the day…and a couple of hundred people to watch. The people who gleefully grasped the Sky TV money have a heavy load on their collective consciences – they have done irreparable harm to the long term future of cricket in England.
The ground, by the way, looked pretty good I thought. Nobody seems to like the “Point” but it, and the other giant red box at the opposite end have given the ground a more compact enclosed feel and when the third monstrosity to the left of the pavilion is completed, replacing the old “hotel”, it will feel much more like an arena. Turning the square round has been an obvious success.
As for the game, I, like everyone else, didn’t understand the follow-on business but in the event Cook’s job was to win the Test and he did that with some ease. Given that they were one up, Pakistan played pretty poorly and after Day One never, or so it seemed to me, thought they could win the game. We learnt very little new about the England side, I think, (other than that Stokes might not have been fully fit): still problems with some batting positions, and the bowling, while very effective here, can look a bit “samey”. But this is a good England fielding side, indeed Cook’s dropped catch gave point to the observation that, generally, if you snick the ball against England you’re out.
I though Bairstow kept well standing up to Ali (which is not a thought I have had before) and was very interested in Balance’s technique at short leg. For some time I’ve been struck by the instinctive habit close fielders have of turning their back when all the protective gear is on their fronts. When Balance anticipates a heave to leg (not that rare when Ali is bowling) he stays down, helmeted head first, hands and arms tucked into the body ready, should there be a mishit, to take the catch. The only disadvantage of this (apart of course from having the courage to do it) is that the shoulders and top of the back are still exposed…and that is exactly where he was hit. I think we can anticipate padded epaulettes being added to the essentials of the cricket bag quite soon.
So all in all and very satisfying and enjoyable days cricket a memorable and crushing England victory: so sad that so few were there to witness it – fewer indeed than on the Harrogate “Fun Run”.
Rampant Lions
I was beginning to wonder who were the next generation of batsmen to follow Vince, Taylor, Roy, Stokes, Hales etc. The recent Lions matches have given more than clues as to who we should be focusing on. The Lions are currently engaged in a triangular tournament with Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A.
In the Lions first match at Cheltenham Pakistan made a fairly modest 244 despite 125 from Sharieel Khan who scored his runs from 101 balls with seven sixes and twelve fours. In reply the Lions lost their skipper, Dawid Malan cheaply but Ben Duckett then proceeded to score 163 not out from 104 balls with four sixes and twenty four fours. The Lions won by seven wickets with fourteen overs to spare.
Northampton was the venue for the Lions second match. They batted first and Malan scored 185 not out with eight sixes and sixteen fours. There were also fifties from Bell-Drummond, Duckett and Billings as the Lions accumulated 393. They won by 56 runs on the D/L method.
The Lions then moved to Canterbury and batted first. Sam Billings on his home ground scored 175 with four sixes and twenty one fours as the Lions scored 324 in their fifty overs. Pakistan could mange only 268 in reply.
In their fourth match, again at Canterbury, Malan went for 23 but his was the only wicket to fall as Bell-Drummond made 171 not out and Ben Duckett 220 not out. Between them they hit ten sixes and forty four fours in reaching an impressive 425 for 1. In reply Sri Lanka could only muster 285.
So the next generation seems to be led by Bell-Drummond (23), Duckett (21) and Billings (25). Malan (28), who of course is of an older generation, could yet get a run out in the test side if Vince doesn’t shape up soon. There are some more candidates who did not feature in the Lions matches but who have impressed in the various county competitions. These include Tom Westley (27) of Essex, Tom Abell (22) of Somerset, Chris Dent (25) of Gloucestershire, Sam Hain (21) of Warwickshire, Nick Gubbins (23) of Middlesex and Sam Northeast (26) the Kent captain. Sam Robson (27) and Adam Lyth (28) both currently England discards are also having good seasons.
You can also add to this list Jack Leaning (22) of Yorkshire, referred to above, and who this week added 274 with Travis Head in a RLC match with Travis Head at Grace Road. Head is a tonker of repute in the Big Bash. On this occasion he made 175 from 139 balls. Leaning, no less impressive, reached 131 not out from 110 balls with five sixes and seven fours.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan updates us
In the absence of Adam Voges (away preparing for Australian Test duty), George Bailey (not yet arrived after Australian ODI duty) and Nick Compton (taking a break from the game), Middlesex brought in Steve Eskinazi for his first match of the season for the County Championship game against Lancashire at Lord's starting on June 26. Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat first on a wicket that looked like an absolute belter with no resemblance to the bright green offerings of recent years. 21 year old opener Haseeb Hameed from Bolton began to bat soundly after the early loss of Tom Smith and shared a stand of 65 for the second wicket with the enterprising Luke Procter from Oldham (45 off 61 balls with 7 fours). Hameed was then joined by Alviro Petersen from Port Elizabeth, who has represented South Africa in all formats of the game and the pair shared a stand of 97 before Hameed departed for a valuable 89 off 221 balls with 11 fours and a six.
Captain and occasional keeper Steve Croft from Blackpool then joined Petersen in a stand of 128 for the fourth wicket until Croft fell for 46 from 111 balls. 22 year old Liam Livingstone from Barrow was probably the most impressive of Petersen's five partners as he hit an entertaining 58 from 58 balls including 10 fours in a sixth wicket partnership of 103. Soon afterwards, Petersen's long and accomplished innings came to a close on 191 off 285 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Lancashire then gently subsided to 513 all out with Ollie Rayner (4-120) and Toby Roland-Jones or Toby Roland-Smith as the announcer decided to rename him (4-122) the best of the home bowlers. Following his success at Merchant Taylors', James Fuller (born in South Africa, but brought up in New Zealand) did not take a wicket, but he did reveal a potent bouncer and took two excellent catches in the outfield... shame they got his initials wrong on the scorecard though. James Franklin took his second wicket of the season and brought his average right down to 148.5.
The announcer had several attempts at getting Sam Robson's name right (it's a tricky one, isn't it?), but probably Sam would not use this as an excuse for his dismissal on 21 following a promising opening stand of 59 with Nick Gubbins. Eskinazi (born in South Africa, but brought up in Western Australia) looked at home almost immediately and was soon matching Gubbins run for run during their long stand of 208 for the second wicket. Nick had recently recorded his maiden first class century in the home game against Somerset and now Steve emulated him as he reached his ton with a memorable and powerful flat six into the advertising boards at deep square leg. Soon he was gone, however, for a brilliant 106 from 186 balls with 13 fours and a six.
Dawid Malan briefly looked in good touch for his 24, but a more enduring partner for Gubbins soon emerged in the shape of skipper Franklin. I have sometimes had to be critical of James, but he was admirably fluent on this occasion as he contributed a very useful 41 off 51 balls with 7 fours to a fifth wicket stand of 95 with the stalwart Gubbins. Franklin fell just before tea on day 3 and there was just time after tea for Nick to complete a superb maiden double century (201* off 329 balls with 23 fours and 3 sixes) before the poor light caused the umpires to take the players off the field and that was the end of the match (with Middlesex on 419 for 5) because of plentiful rain on day 4.
It is always sad to lose a day and a third of a match, but it has to be said that there was little chance of a result anyway because the pitch was way too bland and the draw that had always looked certain became a fact: Middlesex 11 points, Lancashire 9. Middlesex’s Irish international Paul Stirling was awarded his county cap at lunch on day one.
Lord's followed the Oval by bringing in 5000 schoolbrats on day three of the Lancashire game (watch out for day three, it was the same day at the Oval), but somehow it was nowhere near as painful as at the Oval because i) they were largely confined to the Mound Stand; ii) even those who escaped for a while came nowhere near the top tier of the Compton; iii) they were quieter and altogether better behaved than the Oval mob; iv) and when they did make a noise it was at appropriate times: someone hitting a six, reaching 50, taking a wicket etc; and v) best of all, they went home early.
I am not complaining, particularly, about Franklin's captaincy, but it is daft to have a captain who is not worth his place in the side. His batting should not see him any higher than no 7 and the only value in his bowling is that it gives some of the other guys a rest. He is not a bad slip catcher. Voges is clearly a superior batsman, probably a better bowler and in my opinion is a better captain too: he does not let things drift and is always trying something different. Looking at their records last season:
bat bowl
Adam 56.38 22.0
James 27.79 54.43
it is clear that if Adam were available, we would not have to pick James at all, freeing up another place for a better batter or bowler. Voges is probably the best first slip we have (Ollie fields second slip, mainly), so there is no reason to retain James solely because he can catch. As for chopping and changing, this is clearly the policy of ARCF who appointed as captain Voges (Championship), Franklin (RLC) and Malan (T20). When Adam has been unavailable, James has filled in (and I hear that James may also fill in for Dawid in T20 when the latter is away), so they are not chopping and changing all that much and many counties now follow the plan of having a different skipper for each competition. However, ideally I would not necessarily have Franklin in the Championship side or the 50 over side, but unfortunately, JECF might have to stay in all three teams for his weak bowling because we have Bailey, Compton, Morgan and Voges to come into the side and one of those is mainly a batsman and the other three are solely batsmen. However, if Finn and Harris also return, we should have more flexibility and maybe we won't need Franky after all?
In the absence of Dawid Malan, Toby Roland-Jones (both on England Lions duty) and Brendon McCullum, Middlesex brought in Ryan Higgins, Steve Finn and George Bailey for the Royal London Cup tie versus Kent at Lord's on July 24th. Sam Northeast won the toss for the visitors and decided to bat. Two wickets went quickly with only 12 on the board, but Sean Dickson from Johannesburg and 40 year old Darren Stevens applied themselves admirably to restore Kent's fortunes with an excellent stand of 135. Stevens was the first to go for a very valuable 61 off 70 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes and Dickson went on to an outstanding 99 off 126 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes. After that, however, only ex-Leeds/Bradford man Alex Blake (23) and ex-Sussex 2s keeper Callum Jackson (28*) reached double figures and the Kent innings subsided to a rather below par 238-7 in their 50 overs. Most of the home bowlers turned in useful spells, but the pick of them were opening bowlers Tim Murtagh (2-28) and Finn (2-31).
Just like Kent, Middlesex also lost two quick wickets at the start of their innings, but Paul Stirling was already looking in good order and with Eoin Morgan carefully playing himself back into form after some disappointing scores, a formidable stand was developing. Paul had taken quite a lead over Eoin with some excellent strokeplay, but as Eoin's confidence returned, he began to match Paul boundary for boundary and the stand took them to the very brink of victory. Stirling passed his century before surprisingly falling before the win was achieved for a magnificent 112 off 133 balls with 13 fours and a six after a brilliant stand of 214 with Morgan. Paul's dismissal at least allowed me my first glimpse of Bailey in Middlesex kit, but it was an unsatisfying glimpse as he lasted only 4 balls. Eoin also reached his ton just before the victory was formalised and he finished on a superb 103 not out off 121 balls also with 13 fours and a six as the home team won by 6 wickets with more than 5 overs to spare. Middlesex are fourth in the south group table (but are only one point behind the leaders and have a better run rate than both of the top two).
Red Mist Matters
The strangest big hitting feat of the month comes from an almost unknown Welshman called Aneurin Henry Thomas Donald. In their annual match at Colwyn Bay Glamorgan batted first against Derbyshire and when skipper Jaques Rudolph was dismissed for 0 the score was 96 for 3. In walked the nineteen year old Donald who was dismissed 341 runs later for a staggering 234 from just 136 balls. This innings included fifteen sixes and twenty six fours. For the record Donald was dismissed for 0 in the second dig.
Batsmen don’t win Test matches
Alex Bowden writes
A few weeks ago, we spent a good long while discussing what time we should leave the County Ground in Bristol when we already knew the match was over. We stick around at the end of cricket matches. We certainly don’t leave early.
Today, England made the decision to bat again when most people didn’t think they needed to. A lot of people get very angry about this sort of thing. We don’t. But we do find it a bit boring.
When England came out for their second innings today, there was no saying that a single one of their runs would count towards the outcome of the game. There are arguments for taking some time to rest the fast bowlers and that sort of thing, but the runs themselves may well prove of no significance if Pakistan are later bowled out for less than 391.
Batsmen don’t win Test matches. Batsmen don’t move the game forwards. They are really just necessary impediments who slow the game down. These circumstances – England batting a second time despite an already gigantic lead – really brought these points home.
Whatever the merits of the decision from a ‘winning the match’ point of view, we were at Old Trafford today and for the first time in our life we went home before the end of play. It wasn’t just the may-or-may-not-be-of-consequence nature of the cricket – although that certainly contributed – it was also the atmosphere.
New Fun England, or however they’re branding themselves these days, left an awful lot of people in the ground having not very much fun at all and when you’re surrounded by people who are quite pissed off and can’t really see much point in what they’re watching, it’s hard to stay positive.
It was a good morning though. There were wickets.
Middlesex League Matters
I receive the weekly Middlesex League figures from Paul Smith and thought that the following was of interest
Last Saturday was quite a day for individual players dominating their matches.
In the Premier division North Middlesex’s Tom Nicol hit a run a ball 124, and followed that up taking 8-72.
In the second division Finchley’s Jake Milton took 7-76 and then scored a match winning 106*.
Coincidentally (or not) both Tom and Jake captain their sides.
These two stellar performances had me searching through my league records (2001 to date) to see how frequently a ton and 7 or 8 wickets performances occur.
I found the following performances:
Year
Div
Player
Club
Runs
Bowling
Catches
2010
Premier
Ahillen Beadle
Shepherds Bush
121
7-77
1
2004
Div 2
Keith Dutch
Brentham
106
7-55
2
2013
Div 3
Lesbourne Edwards
Edmonton
126
7-110
1
A ton and eight wickets had never been done before, but I did find the performances below which is the league’s best statistical performance to date:
Year
Div
Player
Club
Runs
Bowling
Catches
2011
Div 2
Matt Creese
Southgate
111*
9-65
2
In case anyone is interested, a ton and six wickets has occurred on three occasions – Keith Dutch (Brentham), Rahul Panta (Uxbridge) and Nish Patel (Uxbridge). Nish actually scored 162.
Surprisingly, to me at least, a ton and five wickets has only been scored on a further 6 occasion – Oliver Wilkin (Ealing), Tom Scollay (Eastcote), Paul Weekes (Hornsey), Duncan Cederman (Ickenham), Nish Patel (Uxbridge) and Alex Greig (Wembley).
England v Pakistan at Lord’s, Day One, 14 July 2016
Ged reports:
Simon Jacobs joined me at Lord's on the first day as a result of Charley "The Gent" Malloy's indisposition. I had secured the same front row of the Lower Compton seats for this day as I had on Day One of the Sri Lanka test a few weeks ago. I walked all the way, using my new "temporary rucksack" method strapping my picnic bags equally weighted on my back and got to Lord's nice and early. I chatted for a while with a gentleman neighbour who had similarly booked the same seats for both Thursdays.
Simon phoned me just before the game started to say that he was queuing outside and arrived at his seat having missed two overs, no runs and no wickets. I had prepared a similar picnic to the Sri Lanka test, including The Lord's Throdkin and drunken prawns. Also including wild Alaskan smoked salmon bagels, in honour of the absent Charley the Gent, whom we toasted at that bagel juncture.
At one point, I warned Simon that he would need a pseudonym for my King Cricket reporting and Ogblog purposes. I even offered him a chance to select his own pseudonym, but that point soon got lost in other conversation.
As always on these occasions, the day passed incredibly quickly. We discussed politics (Brexit, Corbyn) a lot. Also cricket and some more general catching up, following on, I suppose, from our dinner a few months before. Towards the end of the day, the conversation turned to Simon’s godson, who has recently moved to London to live and work, so Simon is now able to see a lot more of the young man.
“The only problem is the Generation Y language”, said Simon. “Example. I sent him a text arranging to take him out for a meal and the reply came back:
Awesome, Simo
...I’m not sure about my name being abbreviated to Simo and I am sure that the adjective ‘awesome’ is excessive for such a small matter.”
“Good point, Simo”, I said. “What adjective would the lad use if something genuinely awe-inspiring were to happen to him?”
“Exactly”, said Awesome Simo.
We then tried to banter a bit in young-person speak, but we were terrible at it. “Wicked”, “warped”, “sick”...it was a peculiar amalgam of yoof slang expressions from the 1990’s up to around 2010. We all-but admitted defeat...
...yet...
...it was just a few overs before stumps and Awesome Simo had to leave, so our conversation continued by text, at least in the matter of keeping Simo appraised on the match. A few minutes after he left, a text from me to Simo:
Wkt Woakes awesome Simo
A few minutes later, me to Simo again:
Final ball wkt Woakes again totes amazeballs
As I was walking home, a text from Awesome Simo to me:
Wow amazing thanks again for like totally the best day EVER
Old Danes Gathering
I have posted the attendance list and photos of the 2016 Old Danes Gathering on the Googlies website:
http://www.googliesandchinamen.com/old-danes-gathering-2016.html
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 164
August 2016
Good week for Cricket - 1
At Scarborough, during Yorkshire’s first innings, Middlesex looked a couple of times that they might dismiss them for less than 406 but some tail wagging got the home side to a substantial total. In reply, thanks primarily to Eskinazi’s 157 and Franklin’s 99, Middlesex looked like getting a small lead at 454 for 8 but then Roland-Jones and Murtagh added 123 in 13 overs which included 8 sixes and 10 fours. At 577 all out Middlesex had a commanding lead and when Yorkshire batted again no one reached fifty and Middlesex bowled them out for 167 to win by an innings and 4 runs. The Middlesex bowlers shared the wickets in both innings and once again Middlesex had defeated the County Champions.
A couple of days later Middlesex found themselves at the other end of England at Taunton. None of the successful seamers from Scarborough were selected and they were replaced by an innocuous looking attack of Harris, Fuller and Podmore. Innocuous on paper but on the field they did the job sharing all ten wickets and dismissing Somerset for 236. In reply Middlesex made a complete hash of batting and although Gubbins and Bailey made fifties when Bailey was dismissed Middlesex had slumped to 212 for 8. At this point Middlesex put together a telling ninth wicket stand with Harris (78) and Fuller (93) doing the business. Middlesex were all out for 381 a lead of 145. Hundreds from Trescothick and Trego precluded any possibility of another innings win for Middlesex and when Somerset declared on 446 for 9 Middlesex were left to score 302 in 46 overs. Middlesex were always up with the required rate but they kept losing wickets. In the thirty fourth over Franklin was dismissed and the score was 185 for 5. Fuller and Simpson then added 86 in the next 8 overs which set Simpson up to win the match which he did with a six in the final over.
A most satisfactory road trip for Middlesex.
Good Week for Cricket - 2
The following week I took up duty, courtesy of Sky, watching Northants, who were put in by Birmingham, rack up 200. The principal contributor to this total was Adam (Norman) Rossington who looked fluent and powerful in scoring 85. Wakely also looked good with 53 not out from 23 balls. Birmingham never threatened in reply. This Northants score was achieved without the missing Ben Duckett of whom more later.
The following night at Headingley Adam Lyth led the way with 87 as Yorkshire scored 223. The Australian Big Bash specialist, Travis Head made 34 from 24 balls but he was upstaged by Jack Leaning who made 32 from 11 balls. Of these two more later. In reply Durham never threatened to challenge this total and lost by the substantial margin of 48.
And so on to Lord’s on the Thursday where Surrey were the visitors. There can be no more daunting an opening pair in T20 cricket than Roy and Finch. They didn’t disappoint on this occasion and proceeded to take the Middlesex attack apart to the tune of 87 in the first seven overs at which point Roy tamely holed out to Franklin’s first ball which was a gentle half volley. None of the rest of the Surrey batting, with the exception of the muscular Morris, poses as much of a threat as the openers and the unlikely pairing of two apprentice spinners in the form of Sowter and Higgins tamed them and kept the final score to a relatively modest 196.
When Middlesex batted Stirling and Morgan made good progress but both were out after eleven overs with the score above the required rate at 120 for 3. Bailey and Simpson then added 67 in seven overs of which Simpson scored a sublime 43 from 26 balls. Higgins slogged and missed his first ball, took a single off the second and then audaciously reverse swept the first ball of the final over from Batty for four to win the match. Middlesex were comfortable winners with five wickets and five balls to spare.
The next night Middlesex were at the Rose Bowl and it was Bailey and Simpson again who put together the critical partnership. They came together at 40 for 3 and added 114 before Simpson was dismissed for 54. Bailey was out to the last ball of the twentieth over for 73 with the total on 181. None of the Hampshire batsmen could cope with the rampart Middlesex attack spearheaded by Fuller (3 for 24) and Higgins (5 for 13).
Two days later Middlesex were back at Lord’s for a RLC match against Kent who amassed a modest 238 from their fifty overs. Although Higgins and Gubbins were out cheaply Stirling and Morgan both scored hundreds and Middlesex coasted to victory with five overs to spare.
An extraordinary sequence of wins in all competitions for Middlesex which included a whole range of contributors with both bat and ball.
Out and About with the Professor
Last Sunday some two and a half thousands local residents ran past my house in something called the annual Harrogate “Fun Run”. It would be fair to say that the words “fun” and “run” have rarely been conflated in my own personal lexicon: I have always regarded pointless running and pointless walking as, well, pointless. I did of course used to run between the wickets, especially if I was batting with someone for whom the edge of the square represented the limit of their stroke playing ambition, and I used to run around in the outfield until I latched on to the obvious virtue of volunteering to captain the side and acquired the life-long location of first slip. But I don’t think I ever ran for “fun”.
I was musing on all this while watching the England team on the fourth (and in the event, final) day of the Old Trafford Test, go through their various warm-up routines which seem to involve lots of running and jumping. This was followed by the now compulsory game of football. I read that the England coaching staff think the football is an excellent means of warming up and “bonding” while, being non-competitive, is no danger to the players. If it is intended to be non-competitive then, from what I saw, no one has mentioned that to Gary Balance. Indeed “a non-competitive Zimbabwean” might be in line for the oxymoron of the week award.
I had got to the ground early to avoid the crush but, in truth, there wasn’t one, not so much as a jostle. Indeed when play began there were fewer than a couple of hundred people in the ground. Just think of that: an Old Trafford Test (the only one of the year), late July, schools on vacation, the weather set fair, England’s two finest batsmen at the crease (indeed, in all probability, two of England’s finest ever batsmen at the crease) and the very real possibility of an England victory in the day…and a couple of hundred people to watch. The people who gleefully grasped the Sky TV money have a heavy load on their collective consciences – they have done irreparable harm to the long term future of cricket in England.
The ground, by the way, looked pretty good I thought. Nobody seems to like the “Point” but it, and the other giant red box at the opposite end have given the ground a more compact enclosed feel and when the third monstrosity to the left of the pavilion is completed, replacing the old “hotel”, it will feel much more like an arena. Turning the square round has been an obvious success.
As for the game, I, like everyone else, didn’t understand the follow-on business but in the event Cook’s job was to win the Test and he did that with some ease. Given that they were one up, Pakistan played pretty poorly and after Day One never, or so it seemed to me, thought they could win the game. We learnt very little new about the England side, I think, (other than that Stokes might not have been fully fit): still problems with some batting positions, and the bowling, while very effective here, can look a bit “samey”. But this is a good England fielding side, indeed Cook’s dropped catch gave point to the observation that, generally, if you snick the ball against England you’re out.
I though Bairstow kept well standing up to Ali (which is not a thought I have had before) and was very interested in Balance’s technique at short leg. For some time I’ve been struck by the instinctive habit close fielders have of turning their back when all the protective gear is on their fronts. When Balance anticipates a heave to leg (not that rare when Ali is bowling) he stays down, helmeted head first, hands and arms tucked into the body ready, should there be a mishit, to take the catch. The only disadvantage of this (apart of course from having the courage to do it) is that the shoulders and top of the back are still exposed…and that is exactly where he was hit. I think we can anticipate padded epaulettes being added to the essentials of the cricket bag quite soon.
So all in all and very satisfying and enjoyable days cricket a memorable and crushing England victory: so sad that so few were there to witness it – fewer indeed than on the Harrogate “Fun Run”.
Rampant Lions
I was beginning to wonder who were the next generation of batsmen to follow Vince, Taylor, Roy, Stokes, Hales etc. The recent Lions matches have given more than clues as to who we should be focusing on. The Lions are currently engaged in a triangular tournament with Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A.
In the Lions first match at Cheltenham Pakistan made a fairly modest 244 despite 125 from Sharieel Khan who scored his runs from 101 balls with seven sixes and twelve fours. In reply the Lions lost their skipper, Dawid Malan cheaply but Ben Duckett then proceeded to score 163 not out from 104 balls with four sixes and twenty four fours. The Lions won by seven wickets with fourteen overs to spare.
Northampton was the venue for the Lions second match. They batted first and Malan scored 185 not out with eight sixes and sixteen fours. There were also fifties from Bell-Drummond, Duckett and Billings as the Lions accumulated 393. They won by 56 runs on the D/L method.
The Lions then moved to Canterbury and batted first. Sam Billings on his home ground scored 175 with four sixes and twenty one fours as the Lions scored 324 in their fifty overs. Pakistan could mange only 268 in reply.
In their fourth match, again at Canterbury, Malan went for 23 but his was the only wicket to fall as Bell-Drummond made 171 not out and Ben Duckett 220 not out. Between them they hit ten sixes and forty four fours in reaching an impressive 425 for 1. In reply Sri Lanka could only muster 285.
So the next generation seems to be led by Bell-Drummond (23), Duckett (21) and Billings (25). Malan (28), who of course is of an older generation, could yet get a run out in the test side if Vince doesn’t shape up soon. There are some more candidates who did not feature in the Lions matches but who have impressed in the various county competitions. These include Tom Westley (27) of Essex, Tom Abell (22) of Somerset, Chris Dent (25) of Gloucestershire, Sam Hain (21) of Warwickshire, Nick Gubbins (23) of Middlesex and Sam Northeast (26) the Kent captain. Sam Robson (27) and Adam Lyth (28) both currently England discards are also having good seasons.
You can also add to this list Jack Leaning (22) of Yorkshire, referred to above, and who this week added 274 with Travis Head in a RLC match with Travis Head at Grace Road. Head is a tonker of repute in the Big Bash. On this occasion he made 175 from 139 balls. Leaning, no less impressive, reached 131 not out from 110 balls with five sixes and seven fours.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan updates us
In the absence of Adam Voges (away preparing for Australian Test duty), George Bailey (not yet arrived after Australian ODI duty) and Nick Compton (taking a break from the game), Middlesex brought in Steve Eskinazi for his first match of the season for the County Championship game against Lancashire at Lord's starting on June 26. Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat first on a wicket that looked like an absolute belter with no resemblance to the bright green offerings of recent years. 21 year old opener Haseeb Hameed from Bolton began to bat soundly after the early loss of Tom Smith and shared a stand of 65 for the second wicket with the enterprising Luke Procter from Oldham (45 off 61 balls with 7 fours). Hameed was then joined by Alviro Petersen from Port Elizabeth, who has represented South Africa in all formats of the game and the pair shared a stand of 97 before Hameed departed for a valuable 89 off 221 balls with 11 fours and a six.
Captain and occasional keeper Steve Croft from Blackpool then joined Petersen in a stand of 128 for the fourth wicket until Croft fell for 46 from 111 balls. 22 year old Liam Livingstone from Barrow was probably the most impressive of Petersen's five partners as he hit an entertaining 58 from 58 balls including 10 fours in a sixth wicket partnership of 103. Soon afterwards, Petersen's long and accomplished innings came to a close on 191 off 285 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Lancashire then gently subsided to 513 all out with Ollie Rayner (4-120) and Toby Roland-Jones or Toby Roland-Smith as the announcer decided to rename him (4-122) the best of the home bowlers. Following his success at Merchant Taylors', James Fuller (born in South Africa, but brought up in New Zealand) did not take a wicket, but he did reveal a potent bouncer and took two excellent catches in the outfield... shame they got his initials wrong on the scorecard though. James Franklin took his second wicket of the season and brought his average right down to 148.5.
The announcer had several attempts at getting Sam Robson's name right (it's a tricky one, isn't it?), but probably Sam would not use this as an excuse for his dismissal on 21 following a promising opening stand of 59 with Nick Gubbins. Eskinazi (born in South Africa, but brought up in Western Australia) looked at home almost immediately and was soon matching Gubbins run for run during their long stand of 208 for the second wicket. Nick had recently recorded his maiden first class century in the home game against Somerset and now Steve emulated him as he reached his ton with a memorable and powerful flat six into the advertising boards at deep square leg. Soon he was gone, however, for a brilliant 106 from 186 balls with 13 fours and a six.
Dawid Malan briefly looked in good touch for his 24, but a more enduring partner for Gubbins soon emerged in the shape of skipper Franklin. I have sometimes had to be critical of James, but he was admirably fluent on this occasion as he contributed a very useful 41 off 51 balls with 7 fours to a fifth wicket stand of 95 with the stalwart Gubbins. Franklin fell just before tea on day 3 and there was just time after tea for Nick to complete a superb maiden double century (201* off 329 balls with 23 fours and 3 sixes) before the poor light caused the umpires to take the players off the field and that was the end of the match (with Middlesex on 419 for 5) because of plentiful rain on day 4.
It is always sad to lose a day and a third of a match, but it has to be said that there was little chance of a result anyway because the pitch was way too bland and the draw that had always looked certain became a fact: Middlesex 11 points, Lancashire 9. Middlesex’s Irish international Paul Stirling was awarded his county cap at lunch on day one.
Lord's followed the Oval by bringing in 5000 schoolbrats on day three of the Lancashire game (watch out for day three, it was the same day at the Oval), but somehow it was nowhere near as painful as at the Oval because i) they were largely confined to the Mound Stand; ii) even those who escaped for a while came nowhere near the top tier of the Compton; iii) they were quieter and altogether better behaved than the Oval mob; iv) and when they did make a noise it was at appropriate times: someone hitting a six, reaching 50, taking a wicket etc; and v) best of all, they went home early.
I am not complaining, particularly, about Franklin's captaincy, but it is daft to have a captain who is not worth his place in the side. His batting should not see him any higher than no 7 and the only value in his bowling is that it gives some of the other guys a rest. He is not a bad slip catcher. Voges is clearly a superior batsman, probably a better bowler and in my opinion is a better captain too: he does not let things drift and is always trying something different. Looking at their records last season:
bat bowl
Adam 56.38 22.0
James 27.79 54.43
it is clear that if Adam were available, we would not have to pick James at all, freeing up another place for a better batter or bowler. Voges is probably the best first slip we have (Ollie fields second slip, mainly), so there is no reason to retain James solely because he can catch. As for chopping and changing, this is clearly the policy of ARCF who appointed as captain Voges (Championship), Franklin (RLC) and Malan (T20). When Adam has been unavailable, James has filled in (and I hear that James may also fill in for Dawid in T20 when the latter is away), so they are not chopping and changing all that much and many counties now follow the plan of having a different skipper for each competition. However, ideally I would not necessarily have Franklin in the Championship side or the 50 over side, but unfortunately, JECF might have to stay in all three teams for his weak bowling because we have Bailey, Compton, Morgan and Voges to come into the side and one of those is mainly a batsman and the other three are solely batsmen. However, if Finn and Harris also return, we should have more flexibility and maybe we won't need Franky after all?
In the absence of Dawid Malan, Toby Roland-Jones (both on England Lions duty) and Brendon McCullum, Middlesex brought in Ryan Higgins, Steve Finn and George Bailey for the Royal London Cup tie versus Kent at Lord's on July 24th. Sam Northeast won the toss for the visitors and decided to bat. Two wickets went quickly with only 12 on the board, but Sean Dickson from Johannesburg and 40 year old Darren Stevens applied themselves admirably to restore Kent's fortunes with an excellent stand of 135. Stevens was the first to go for a very valuable 61 off 70 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes and Dickson went on to an outstanding 99 off 126 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes. After that, however, only ex-Leeds/Bradford man Alex Blake (23) and ex-Sussex 2s keeper Callum Jackson (28*) reached double figures and the Kent innings subsided to a rather below par 238-7 in their 50 overs. Most of the home bowlers turned in useful spells, but the pick of them were opening bowlers Tim Murtagh (2-28) and Finn (2-31).
Just like Kent, Middlesex also lost two quick wickets at the start of their innings, but Paul Stirling was already looking in good order and with Eoin Morgan carefully playing himself back into form after some disappointing scores, a formidable stand was developing. Paul had taken quite a lead over Eoin with some excellent strokeplay, but as Eoin's confidence returned, he began to match Paul boundary for boundary and the stand took them to the very brink of victory. Stirling passed his century before surprisingly falling before the win was achieved for a magnificent 112 off 133 balls with 13 fours and a six after a brilliant stand of 214 with Morgan. Paul's dismissal at least allowed me my first glimpse of Bailey in Middlesex kit, but it was an unsatisfying glimpse as he lasted only 4 balls. Eoin also reached his ton just before the victory was formalised and he finished on a superb 103 not out off 121 balls also with 13 fours and a six as the home team won by 6 wickets with more than 5 overs to spare. Middlesex are fourth in the south group table (but are only one point behind the leaders and have a better run rate than both of the top two).
Red Mist Matters
The strangest big hitting feat of the month comes from an almost unknown Welshman called Aneurin Henry Thomas Donald. In their annual match at Colwyn Bay Glamorgan batted first against Derbyshire and when skipper Jaques Rudolph was dismissed for 0 the score was 96 for 3. In walked the nineteen year old Donald who was dismissed 341 runs later for a staggering 234 from just 136 balls. This innings included fifteen sixes and twenty six fours. For the record Donald was dismissed for 0 in the second dig.
Batsmen don’t win Test matches
Alex Bowden writes
A few weeks ago, we spent a good long while discussing what time we should leave the County Ground in Bristol when we already knew the match was over. We stick around at the end of cricket matches. We certainly don’t leave early.
Today, England made the decision to bat again when most people didn’t think they needed to. A lot of people get very angry about this sort of thing. We don’t. But we do find it a bit boring.
When England came out for their second innings today, there was no saying that a single one of their runs would count towards the outcome of the game. There are arguments for taking some time to rest the fast bowlers and that sort of thing, but the runs themselves may well prove of no significance if Pakistan are later bowled out for less than 391.
Batsmen don’t win Test matches. Batsmen don’t move the game forwards. They are really just necessary impediments who slow the game down. These circumstances – England batting a second time despite an already gigantic lead – really brought these points home.
Whatever the merits of the decision from a ‘winning the match’ point of view, we were at Old Trafford today and for the first time in our life we went home before the end of play. It wasn’t just the may-or-may-not-be-of-consequence nature of the cricket – although that certainly contributed – it was also the atmosphere.
New Fun England, or however they’re branding themselves these days, left an awful lot of people in the ground having not very much fun at all and when you’re surrounded by people who are quite pissed off and can’t really see much point in what they’re watching, it’s hard to stay positive.
It was a good morning though. There were wickets.
Middlesex League Matters
I receive the weekly Middlesex League figures from Paul Smith and thought that the following was of interest
Last Saturday was quite a day for individual players dominating their matches.
In the Premier division North Middlesex’s Tom Nicol hit a run a ball 124, and followed that up taking 8-72.
In the second division Finchley’s Jake Milton took 7-76 and then scored a match winning 106*.
Coincidentally (or not) both Tom and Jake captain their sides.
These two stellar performances had me searching through my league records (2001 to date) to see how frequently a ton and 7 or 8 wickets performances occur.
I found the following performances:
Year
Div
Player
Club
Runs
Bowling
Catches
2010
Premier
Ahillen Beadle
Shepherds Bush
121
7-77
1
2004
Div 2
Keith Dutch
Brentham
106
7-55
2
2013
Div 3
Lesbourne Edwards
Edmonton
126
7-110
1
A ton and eight wickets had never been done before, but I did find the performances below which is the league’s best statistical performance to date:
Year
Div
Player
Club
Runs
Bowling
Catches
2011
Div 2
Matt Creese
Southgate
111*
9-65
2
In case anyone is interested, a ton and six wickets has occurred on three occasions – Keith Dutch (Brentham), Rahul Panta (Uxbridge) and Nish Patel (Uxbridge). Nish actually scored 162.
Surprisingly, to me at least, a ton and five wickets has only been scored on a further 6 occasion – Oliver Wilkin (Ealing), Tom Scollay (Eastcote), Paul Weekes (Hornsey), Duncan Cederman (Ickenham), Nish Patel (Uxbridge) and Alex Greig (Wembley).
England v Pakistan at Lord’s, Day One, 14 July 2016
Ged reports:
Simon Jacobs joined me at Lord's on the first day as a result of Charley "The Gent" Malloy's indisposition. I had secured the same front row of the Lower Compton seats for this day as I had on Day One of the Sri Lanka test a few weeks ago. I walked all the way, using my new "temporary rucksack" method strapping my picnic bags equally weighted on my back and got to Lord's nice and early. I chatted for a while with a gentleman neighbour who had similarly booked the same seats for both Thursdays.
Simon phoned me just before the game started to say that he was queuing outside and arrived at his seat having missed two overs, no runs and no wickets. I had prepared a similar picnic to the Sri Lanka test, including The Lord's Throdkin and drunken prawns. Also including wild Alaskan smoked salmon bagels, in honour of the absent Charley the Gent, whom we toasted at that bagel juncture.
At one point, I warned Simon that he would need a pseudonym for my King Cricket reporting and Ogblog purposes. I even offered him a chance to select his own pseudonym, but that point soon got lost in other conversation.
As always on these occasions, the day passed incredibly quickly. We discussed politics (Brexit, Corbyn) a lot. Also cricket and some more general catching up, following on, I suppose, from our dinner a few months before. Towards the end of the day, the conversation turned to Simon’s godson, who has recently moved to London to live and work, so Simon is now able to see a lot more of the young man.
“The only problem is the Generation Y language”, said Simon. “Example. I sent him a text arranging to take him out for a meal and the reply came back:
Awesome, Simo
...I’m not sure about my name being abbreviated to Simo and I am sure that the adjective ‘awesome’ is excessive for such a small matter.”
“Good point, Simo”, I said. “What adjective would the lad use if something genuinely awe-inspiring were to happen to him?”
“Exactly”, said Awesome Simo.
We then tried to banter a bit in young-person speak, but we were terrible at it. “Wicked”, “warped”, “sick”...it was a peculiar amalgam of yoof slang expressions from the 1990’s up to around 2010. We all-but admitted defeat...
...yet...
...it was just a few overs before stumps and Awesome Simo had to leave, so our conversation continued by text, at least in the matter of keeping Simo appraised on the match. A few minutes after he left, a text from me to Simo:
Wkt Woakes awesome Simo
A few minutes later, me to Simo again:
Final ball wkt Woakes again totes amazeballs
As I was walking home, a text from Awesome Simo to me:
Wow amazing thanks again for like totally the best day EVER
Old Danes Gathering
I have posted the attendance list and photos of the 2016 Old Danes Gathering on the Googlies website:
http://www.googliesandchinamen.com/old-danes-gathering-2016.html
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