G&C 256
GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 256
April 2024
Spot the Ball
Out and About with the Professor
The Professor grapples with his annual attempt to select the Wisden 5
April 18th is the publication date for the little yellow house-brick and, apart from the interest in reading the editor’s views on the state of the game and all the other 1600 pages of content, there is the matter of this years’ Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year.
Over the past twenty years or so we have had various attempts at guessing the names (with varying success) and so it might be time for another go – with the stark recognition that one will look a fool in about two weeks’ time.
In truth, the task has become much harder over the years. Time was when the five were drawn from the preceding domestic cricket season: Tests and the County Championship. Not so these days. To start with there are three different forms of international cricket and four different forms of county (sic) cricket; then, in 2009, the importance of women’s cricket was recognised with the inclusion of Claire Taylor as the first woman recipient. That inclusion brings another three forms of international cricket and a similar number of competitions for county players: the Hayhoe-Flint Trophy, Charlotte Edwards Cup, etc. Presumably the inclusion of disabled cricketers will follow at some time. Now why all these are undoubtedly welcome developments, it does make picking a rather more challenging task…for this “selector”, if for no one else. Add to all that, there are the “rules”: the focus is largely (but not always exclusively) on the domestic summer performances (including, of course, those of players from visiting teams); no one can win it twice (there have been a couple of pre-War – even pre-both Wars – exceptions); and there can be only five (2011 gave us four, when the then Wisden editor wanted the fifth to be a Pakistan opening bowler who was in jail for cheating at the time of going to press …which was rather too much for the publishers).
And…finally…the task is not to pick five cricketers of the year - it is to pick the five that the Wisden editor, Lawrence Booth, will pick.So, if it’s so difficult, why bother? Well, then again…why not?
The summer was, of course, dominated by the Ashes and I would happily give one place to Crawley for that extra cover drive off Cummins’ first ball of the series – but Crawley has won it before (2021). Indeed, out of all the “regulars” in the England team (if there is such a thing) only Pope and Harry Brook are really in contention. Brook scored 50+ in every Test and must be a very strong contender, while, by comparison Pope didn’t have the greatest of series, playing only two matches for a total of 90 runs.... although a double hundred against Ireland might catch the Editor’s eye (and the 190 odd against India in January; although not of course in the summer, nor in England and nor even in the right year). Wood had a couple of incisive spells (and may have got a wicket or two at the other end), as did Woakes (2017), and Broad’s choreographed exit (last ball six, last ball wicket) was the highlight of the Oval match. Broad was a winner in 2010. By comparison, the two star performers for the Australians: Khawaja and Starc, are strong candidates. Starc topped the bowling with 23 (even more impressive given that he was left out of the First Test) and Khawaja the batting with 496. He also batted on all five days of the First Test…annoyingly.
I was surprised that Lyon had never won the award but he also only played in two Tests (taking 9 wickets), so it seems unlikely that this will be his year. I somehow think that Lawrence Booth is unlikely to include Carey for his wicket keeping skills or his services to Long Room blood pressures. (It was informative, parenthetically, to read the Australian journalist Gideon Haigh on this incident. His, possibly less than entirely objective, report is of: “puce-faced, dimwit snobs picking fights with a placid, softly spoken Muslim”. What Khawaja’s religion has to do with it, I have no idea. He then goes on to justify the stumping on the grounds that W G Grace did something similar in 1882. Setting aside tit-for-tat as the vacuous moral precept that it is….1882? Really? Same old Aussies, always whinging. The dust jacket on Haigh’s book, by the way, refers to him as: “the world’s greatest living cricket writer”).
The ODIs and T20s against New Zealand were successful for Livingstone and the reliable Malan, the latter going past 50 in three out of four of the ODIs (and past 100 in the last). I suppose the less said about the World Cup the better (not in the UK, of course, nor in the season) but Malan made the biggest score by an English player.
The leading run scorers in the county championship were Lees (1,347 @70) and Bohannon (1,257 @60). Might Bohannon’s runs be thought of more highly for having been scored in Div 1.? Time was when the weight of runs in county matches would put a player in contention for Test matches, but it is difficult to see Lees forcing his way back into the team – Bazball he ain’t. Leading the bowling stats were Bret Hutton (62@21) and (inevitably) Harmer (61@29) who won in 2020. Porter’s 57 @ 19 is also decidedly worth a mention.
The Blast was won by Somerset; James Vince was the leading run scorer with 670@61 and Matt Henry the top wicket-taker with [email protected]. Leicester won the 50 over competition with Harry Swindells getting 117* in the final, while the “Invincibles” beat the “Originals” (am I talking about cricket here?) in The Hundred final, with Tom Curran top scoring. Buttler topped The Hundred batting with 391 (given the award in 2019) and Tymal Mills the bowling with 16 wickets.
The Women’s Ashes Test was a high scoring affair - at least in the first innings, with Tammy Beaumont (already a winner, 2019) scoring 208 – but the player of the match was the Australian Ashleigh Gardner taking 8-66 in the second innings, and 12 in the match. A third possible Australian candidate. Nat Sciver-Blunt scored consecutive hundreds in the ODIs but she was a winner in 2018 under her unmarried name. Danielle Wyatt was the leading run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup while the Southern Vipers won the Hayhoe-Flint Trophy at a canter; Lauren Winfield-Hill scored a decidedly handy 663 runs in the competition.
So…where are we with all this? Given the prominence of the Ashes I should have thought that three players might make it from that series: Brook, Starc and Khwaja. I seemed to be reading Bohannan’s name every week during the summer and Malan must be in the frame as one of England’s most reliable limited-overs players, and, at one time, the No.1 batter in the world. Gardner might be the leading contender from women’s cricket, with Alyssa Healy as the successful Australian stand-in captain. (Heather Knights got the award in 2018.) I feel sure I must have missed someone (perhaps rather more than one) out.
So, the five are: Brook, Starc, Khawaja, Malan and Bohannon….I’ll be happy with three.
This & That
The IPL has commenced and by far the biggest and most welcome news was the return of Rishabh Pant following his horrific car accident in 2022. He is captaining the Delhi Capitals.
In match 3 at Eden Gardens Pat Cummins, who is captaining the Sunrisers Hyderabad, won the toss and invited the Kolkata Knight Riders to bat. Phil Salt slapped it around in typical style but lost partners until Rinky Dink hung around but when they were both dismissed the score was a worrying 119 for 6. However, nowadays there are some serious big hitters around including Andre Russell who on this occasion made 64 not out from 25 balls with 7 sixes and 3 fours. This took KKR to what had earlier seemed an unlikely 208 for 7.
One of the problems of the concept of the big hitting finisher is when he gets in and how many balls he will get to face when he eventually does. The Sunrisers top order of Agarwal, Abhishek, Tripathi and Markram are all fine players who score at an acceptable rate but in a chase everyone is waiting for Klaasen to join the fray. Klaasen played for the Sunrisers in the SA20 which they won back in January and his exploits have already been noted in these pages. He came in with the score on 107 for 3 with eight overs to go. He was out on the penultimate ball of the match having scored 63 from 29 balls with 8 sixes. He didn’t bother with any fours. But his side were four runs short of their target.
But all this was mere bagatelle compared to what happened a few days later in Match 8. Hardik Pandya, the new captain of the Mumbai Indians, won the toss and put the Sunrisers in. Travis Head had not been selected for the Sunrisers first match but opened in this match and laid into the young South African seamer, Maphaka. He raced to his 50 from just 18 balls the fastest in the history of the franchise. At the other end Agarwal went cheaply but Abhishek batted beautifully, and he reached his fifty in 16 balls and so Head’s record hadn’t lasted long. Abhishek was dismissed with the score on 161 after 11 overs. For a while it seemed that 300 was possible but Markram and Klaasen spent a few balls settling in before launching an assault that yielded 75 from the last five overs. Klaasen finished on 80 not out from 34 balls with 7 sixes.
The Sunrisers final total of 277 for 3 beat the previous IPL record, Royal Challengers Bangalore's 263-5 in 2013. It also became the highest in any T20 franchise competition, beating Melbourne Stars' 273-2 against Hobart Hurricanes in the Australian Big Bash in 2022.
In reply, Ish Kish and Rohit made an electric start and Ish Kish was out after 20 balls with the score on 56. Rohit, Dhir, Varma, David and Pandya all made contributions and with the score on 165 for 3 with 8 overs remaining an unlikely historic win was still on the cards. But the bowlers Cummins, Markande and Unadkat performed magnificently, and Mumbai were held to a laudable 246 for 5.
The match aggregate of 523 runs was the highest in T20 history and the first aggregate over 500. Sunrisers hit 18 sixes in their innings to which Mumbai added a further 20 in theirs. This aggregate of 38 beat the previous record of 33.
The IPL runs through April until early May. I wouldn’t bet against some of these new records being beaten along the way. We might at least see a change in the modern fad for putting your opponents in when you win the toss. Oh and by the way, don’t take up an offer to bowl at Heinrick Klaasen…
Kohli is worshipped in the IPL not just by the crowds but also by the commentators, who seem to ignore any negative aspect of his play. When RCB played KKR and batted first Kohli opened as usual and batted through the innings for 83 not out from 59 balls (half of the 20 overs). If you double his contribution the total would be 166. RCB actually reached 182 for 6 thanks to a typical cameo from Dinesh Kartik who hit three sixes in the eight balls he was at the wicket. In reply KKR made light work of their task and won by the extraordinary margin of three overs to spare. Even then the commentators were claiming that Kohli had played the outstanding innings of the match. Maybe it’s just me.
Earlier in the CSA T20 Challenge in a match reduced to 14 overs a side at Centurion the Titans put the Dolphins in to bat. Bryce Parsons opened and reached 102 not out from 48 balls including 7 sixes as his side made a huge 183 for 1 from their 14 overs. In reply, the Dolphins could only muster 152 for 5.
Thompson Matters
Steve has been risking all by going to the Bat and Ball CC Annual Dinner
It was a simple enough mistake to have made; well, simple for Mike the Landlord. After all he couldn’t have known that the Kevin Pietersen website he had visited in order to book the after dinner speaker at the club’s Annual Cricket Dinner was not THE Kevin Pietersen, cricket commentator, conservationist and former England international but Kevin Pietersen the local entomologist. The audience’s response to his twenty-minute talk on the cricket was a lot kinder than the barrage of sarcastic abuse aimed at Mike. Inevitably Virat led the charge.
It fell to me to review the season and say a few words about our esteemed landlord. I began, ‘Very few realise that Mike was educated at Cambridge, on a Tuesday, where he read Law and other long words. He would have got a blue but he was snookered behind the pink.’ ‘The old ones are always the best.’ remarked Sachin.
I went on to thank Mike for all his work both on and off the field which led to a further volley of expletives from Virat who had been dismissed Obstructing the Field on three occasions which was, not coincidentally, precisely the number of times Mike had umpired last season. To be fair Mike had been instrumental in our narrowest of victories over local rivals, The Nobody Inn CC. Needing four to win off the last ball with one wicket in hand the tie looked certain as their number 11 narrowly but clearly made his ground for a third run. A frustrated Brian went through the motions of a half-hearted appeal whilst removing the bails only for Mike to exclaim from a very deep square leg, ‘That’s out, one short, we win.’
It was inevitable that repercussions would follow in the return fixture. Mike probably should have listened to reason and withdrawn his offer to stand but instead he was carried from the field having had his shoulder all but dislocated by Nobody’s 6ft 3 inch opening bowler who Colin Crofted him as he delivered the first ball of the game. Still in his white coat on arrival at A & E it was left to Sachin to explain to the queuing hoards that Mike was not actually the doctor. Sachin left Mike to return to the match and had scored 105 and taken 5-27 before Mike had made it beyond the first corridor.
As to the night’s meal, Brian was disappointed that Mike wouldn't allow his mum’s goat curry recipe onto this year’s menu but having invited last year’s Quiz champions, the herders, “Stop the Goats”, Mike said it would have been in poor taste.
Nevertheless, Virat’s Mum came up trumps as usual with a wonderful meal. The menu, testament to her sense of humour, if not her proofreading skills.
Openers
Koli three ways
The Middle Order
Bugger Chicken with Chive Rice
The Tail
Eton Mess
(An homage to 14 years)
Mike finally bowed to pressure and for the very first time allowed ladies to attend the dinner. This did result in a dramatic walk-out by all four members of Rags to Rishis the family recycling company who were now regulars at quiz nights and hitherto a large sponsor of the dinner but who left shouting abuse at Mike who, they screamed, had, ‘Caved into the Wokerati!’ Virat sarcastically suggested an impromptu toast to absent friends before it was left to me to welcome and thank the lady golfers and club scorers Mavis and Thelma from “No Balls Left” for their continuing work on the books and the board.
The Awards were almost as predictable as ever.
Player of the Year: Sachin.
Most Promising Player: Sachin's’ younger brother.
Shits’ XI nomination: Virat
Clubman of the Year: Virat’s mum.
Mike’s point-blank refusal to rename the award Club Person of the Year, was completely expected as was his impromptu somewhat self-congratulatory speech just before the raffle. It was good to see Virat’s mum win the first prize - a gallon of Mike’s English Prosecco. Virat made it a family double picking up second prize: two gallons of Mike’s Prosecco.
I closed with best wishes to everyone for a successful season. Even Virat.
India Revisited
Following England’s trouncing in India Andy Zaltzman, the statistician and Chairman of the News Quiz, reviews the series in numbers
One of the eternal fascinations of Test cricket, especially in these Bazballistic times, is that there are almost infinite ways for interpreting what has happened. In losing 4-1 in India, did England just get thrashed, and end the series utterly dominated? Did they give the Ravichandran Ashwin-Ravindra Jadeja-era India one of the toughest challenges they have faced in a home series? Did their hyper-aggressive approach discombobulate their opponents, or themselves? Was that approach England's best strategy for achieving victory, or an inevitable route to defeat? You could reasonably answer yes and/or no to all of those questions, and offer statistical evidence to support your answers.
In the end, the numbers showed a similar defeat to England's previous two tours of India:
1.An excellent first Test performance (wins in 2023-24 and 2020-21, the better of a draw in 2016-17) followed by losing all the remaining matches.
2.By the end of the series, England averaged 25.6 runs per wicket with the bat, and 39.7 with the ball.
3.As a ratio - England's runs-per-wicket batting was 64.5% of their runs-per-wicket bowling - it was slightly inferior to the previous two series, and England's second worst in a series in India, behind their 3-0 drubbing in 1992-93.
4.England's fifth-Test subsidence shunted the numbers further towards the impression of a totally comprehensive defeat, but deep into day two of the fourth Test, the tourists were well-placed to make it 2-2 in the series.
5.Nonetheless, India ended with the top five players in both the batting averages (three innings minimum) and the bowling averages (10 overs minimum).
6.The 25.6 runs per wicket batting figure was England's second lowest in a series in India. Only the 2020-21 series (19.8) was worse. They lost a wicket every 42 balls three years ago; this time, they lost one every 40 balls, on far more fair and friendly pitches.
7.The major difference was in runs per over, with the 3.83 Ben Stokes' side managed this time being the first instance of England scoring at more than three per over in a series in India, and comfortably the highest run rate any visiting side has achieved in India.
To help interpret the events of these five fascinating Tests, here are my four stats that explain the series...
1.England's unconverted starts
Jonny Bairstow's highest score of 39 came in the final match of the series - his 100th Test appearance.
England batters had 35 scores of 25 or more but converted only 10 of those into fifty-plus innings (28%).
In all series of five or more Tests (of which there have been more than 170), only six teams have ever had a worse conversion rate of quarter-centuries to half-centuries.
Jonny Bairstow became only the second player in Test history to reach 25 seven times in a series without posting a fifty. He goes to the top of the list by virtue of the fact that the other player with seven unconverted 25s in a series, Vernon Ransford of Australia in 1911-12, had a not out in one of his innings.
Bairstow also set a new record for most runs in a Test series without reaching 40 - 238, which also puts him third on the all-time list of most runs in a Test series without reaching 50. Ben Foakes' 205 runs, with a highest of 47, also made the top 20 of that list.
They were the first players to make 200 runs without a half-century in a Test series since Mark Ramprakash, who in a heroic 1991 debut rubber against an all-time great West Indies pace attack made 19 or more in eight of his nine innings, batted a total of 737 balls, but didn't reach 30.
Zak Crawley played strikingly well for most of the series, combining his always majestic stroke play with defensive skill, patience and judgement, notably against Jasprit Bumrah (77 runs for one dismissal). However, his 407 runs constituted the second most in a Test series without a score of 80, behind Pakistan great Javed Miandad, who made 421 in India in 1979-80 with a top score of 76.
2. England's failure to bat as a team
But for Joe Root's final innings 84, England would have been the first team since 1959 to play a five-Test series and not have at least two players with two or more 50-plus scores.
Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett became the eighth and ninth names on a select list of England players with a 150-plus score but no other half-centuries in a Test series (eight innings minimum). Pope's 196 in the first Test is also the fifth-highest score by a player who has also been out for nought in both innings of a Test in the same series.
In none of the 10 innings in the series did two of England's top eight reach 50. It is only the second time England have had a sequence of 10 consecutive Test innings without two top-eight fifties - the other was back in 1905-06.
3. India's spinners shine in final three Tests.
India spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin tormented England in the final Test. Playing India in their own country over the past 11 years has been, statistically, as difficult a challenge as any in Test history. England's almost absurdly inexperienced spin attack began magnificently. After two Tests, they had taken 33 wickets at an average of 33.9. India's had 23 wickets at 38.3. Even in defeat in the second Test, when Bumrah's genius was decisive, England's spinners returned a lower runs-per-wicket figure than their opponents.
However, the final three Tests saw the experience, quality, craft and mesmerising variety of Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav demolish England's batting, with 46 wickets at 18.1. England's spinners managed 27 at 45.5 against an Indian batting line-up improved by the addition of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel.
4. Bumrah's brilliance
India fast bowler Bumrah took 19 wickets at an average of 16.8. All other seamers combined took 25 wickets at 45.8 - an average 2.7 times higher. That earns the magic-fingered India pacer the much-coveted award for biggest difference in average between the leading seamer and all other seamers in a Test series of at least five matches (in which the lowest-averaging seamer played at least half the Tests).
County News
The English season has already started and to help you work out who is playing for who here are the results of the close season’s transfer window, courtesy of the BBC website.
DERBYSHIRE
Overseas players: Blair Tickner (New Zealand, start of season until early July), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan, final six T20 group games)
In
Out
David Lloyd (Glamorgan)
Leus du Plooy (Middlesex)
Pat Brown (Worcestershire)
George Scrimshaw (Northamptonshire)
Aneurin Donald (Hampshire)
Billy Godleman (REL)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Mark Watt (REL)
Ross Whiteley (Hampshire)
Tom Wood (REL)
Jack Morley (Lancashire, season-long loan)
Archie Harrison (REL)
Mattie McKiernan (RET)
Other news: New signings Lloyd and Patel replace Du Plooy as Championship and T20 captains, with Patel replacing Brooke Guest as One-Day Cup skipper. Ben Smith has been appointed batting coach, replacing Ian Bell who had held role in a consultancy capacity for the last two seasons.
DURHAM
Overseas players 2024: David Bedingham (South Africa), Scott Boland (Australia, until end of July)
In
Out
Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire)
Liam Trevaskis (Leicestershire)
Callum Parkinson (Leicestershire)
Harry Crawshaw (REL)
Luke Doneathy (REL)
Ross Whitfield (REL)
Tom Mackintosh (RET)
Full Durham squad list
Latest Durham news
Other news: Graham Onions has rejoined the club from Lancashire, taking the role of lead bowling coach.
ESSEX
Overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Dean Elgar (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20)
In
Out
Jordan Cox (Kent)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Will Buttleman (REL)
Eshun Kalley (REL)
Josh Rymell (REL)
Aron Nijjar (REL)
Alastair Cook (RET)
Beau Webster (Gloucestershire)
GLAMORGAN
Overseas players: Marnus Labuschagne (Australia), Colin Ingram (South Africa), Mir Hamza (Pakistan, until 27 May)
In
Out
Henry Hurle (YTH)
David Lloyd (Derbyshire)
Asa Tribe (YTH)
Andrew Salter (RET)
Mason Crane (Hampshire, season-long loan)
Callum Taylor (REL)
Michael Neser (Hampshire)
Other news: The departing Lloyd has been replaced by Sam Northeast as County Championship captain, with One-Day Cup skipper Kiran Carlson taking over the T20 side as well. Grant Bradburn has joined as head coach for all formats, replacing the split coaching roles of Matthew Maynard and Mark Alleyne.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), Zafar Gohar (Pakistan), Beau Webster (Australia, for T20 plus two Championship games in June)
In
Out
Archie Bailey (YTH)
Tom Lace (REL)
Tommy Boorman (YTH)
Will Naish (REL)
Ahmed Syed (YTH)
Paul van Meekeren (REL)
Cameron Bancroft (Somerset)
Jared Warner (REL)
Beau Webster (Essex)
Others news: Head coach Dale Benkenstein and bowling coach Robbie Joseph have left for the same roles at Lancashire and Kent respectively - with ex-captain Mark Alleyne returning for a second spell as head coach. Assistant coach William Porterfield has followed Benkenstein to Lancashire. Jack Taylor has been appointed white ball captain, returning to the T20 leadership after stepping down mid-way through last season and replacing Graeme van Buuren in the One-Day Cup.
HAMPSHIRE
Overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), Michael Neser (Australia, for T20), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan, final six T20 group matches), Ben McDermott (Australia, for T20)
In
Out
Ali Orr (Sussex)
Aneurin Donald (Derbyshire)
Michael Neser (Glamorgan)
Jack Campbell (REL)
Harry Petrie (REL)
Ross Whiteley (Derbyshire)
Scott Currie (Leicestershire, season-long loan)
Mason Crane (Glamorgan, season-long loan)
KENT
Overseas players: Wes Agar (Australia, until end of July), Xavier Bartlett (Australia, first half of season)
In
Out
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
George Garrett (Warwickshire)
Alex Blake (REL)
Michael Cohen (ex-Derbyshire)
James Logan (REL)
Michael Hogan (RET)
Ben Lister (Nottinghamshire)
Other news: Director of cricket Paul Downton stepped down at the end of the 2023 season and was replaced by bowling coach Simon Cook, while batting coach Alex Gidman has left to become assistant coach of the England women's team. They have been replaced by Robbie Joseph, who joins from Gloucestershire, and Toby Radford respectively. Club captain Sam Billings has stepped down, having already relinquished the Championship and One-Day Cup leadership in 2023, but will continue as T20 skipper. Daniel Bell-Drummond succeeds Jack Leaning as Championship captain, with a One-Day Cup skipper to be named in 2024, after Joe Denly led the 50-over side last season. Leaning becomes vice-captain.
LANCASHIRE
Overseas players: Nathan Lyon (Australia, seven of first nine Championship matches), Tom Bruce (New Zealand)
In
Out
Mitchell Stanley (Worcestershire)
Matt Parkinson (Kent)
Danny Lamb (Sussex)
Rob Jones (Worcestershire)
Richard Gleeson (Warwickshire)
Jack Morley (Derbyshire, season-long loan)
Other news: Head coach Glen Chapple has departed and has been replaced by Dale Benkenstein, who leaves the same position at Gloucestershire. Bowling coach Graham Onions has also left to join Durham and has been replaced by Craig White, who moves from a position at women's regional side Thunder. Assistant coach Carl Crowe has been replaced by ex-Ireland captain William Porterfield, who has also left Gloucestershire, while former captain Steven Croft has joined the coaching staff but will remain available for T20 cricket as a player.
LEICESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Wiaan Mulder (South Africa), Peter Handscomb (Australia)
In
Out
Liam Trevaskis (Durham)
Colin Ackermann (Durham)
Ben Cox (Worcestershire)
Callum Parkinson (Durham)
Ben Mike (Yorkshire)
Will Davis (REL)
Scott Currie (Hampshire, season-long loan)
Ed Barnes (REL)
Nick Welch (REL)
Scott Steel (REL)
Arron Lilley (REL)
Michael Finan (REL)
Other news: Last season's interim head coaches Alfonso Thomas and James Taylor have been appointed as head and assistant coach respectively. Seamer Chris Wright's announced move to Sussex was cancelled for family reasons, while Australia batter Will Pucovski's overseas stint with Leicestershire was cancelled after he suffered a concussion.
MIDDLESEX
Overseas players: TBC
In
Out
Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire)
Tim Murtagh (RET)
Noah Cornwell (YTH)
John Simpson (Sussex)
Henry Brookes (Warwickshire)
Other news: Murtagh has become a coach following his retirement.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Overseas players: Prithvi Shaw (India, from June), Chris Tremain (Australia, until 29 April), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe, for T20), Karun Nair (India, for first seven Championship games)
In
Out
George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire)
Tom Taylor (Worcestershire)
George Bartlett (Somerset)
Gareth Berg (RET)
Ravi Bopara (ex-Sussex, for T20)
Simon Kerrigan (RET)
Hassan Azad (REL)
Harry Gouldstone (REL)
Ollie Sale (RET)
Josh Cobb (Worcestershire)
Other news: Batting coach Ben Smith left the club at the end of October and has been replaced by Greg Smith, while bowling coach Chris Liddle has also departed to take up a similar role with the England women's team.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Overseas players: Dane Paterson (South Africa), Will Young (New Zealand, from 19 April for County Championship & T20), Ben Lister (New Zealand, for T20, 30 May-21 June), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan, for T20, 5-19 July)
In
Out
Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire)
Samit Patel (Derbyshire)
Josh Tongue (Worcestershire)
Jake Ball (Somerset)
Jack Haynes (Worcestershire)
Freddie McCann (YTH)
Ben Lister (Kent)
Other news: Steven Mullaney has stepped down as captain and has been replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who had already been leading the One-Day Cup team, in the Championship and Joe Clarke in the T20 Blast. Mullaney has taken up a player-coach role, will lead the second XI and remains available for first-team selection when required.
SOMERSET
Overseas players: Matt Renshaw (Australia, until 27 May)
In
Out
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
George Bartlett (Northamptonshire)
Steven Davies (RET)
Jack Brooks (REL)
Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)
Other news: T20 captain Lewis Gregory has replaced Tom Abell as County Championship captain, with a One-Day Cup skipper yet to be named. Steve Kirby has returned for a second spell as bowling coach, following a stint with Zimbabwe. Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland has pulled out of an overseas stint after sustaining an injury.
SURREY
Overseas players: Kemar Roach (West Indies, first seven County Championship games), Sean Abbott (Australia, May-June)
In
Out
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Dan Moriarty (Yorkshire)
Other news: Australia cancelled all-rounder Aaron Hardie's planned overseas stint.
SUSSEX
Overseas players: Jayden Seales (West Indies, until 8 June), Nathan McAndrew (Australia, 1 June-31 July), Cheteshwar Pujara (India, until 27 May), Daniel Hughes (Australia, from 31 May), Jaydev Unadkat (India, from mid-August)
In
Out
Danny Lamb (Lancashire)
George Garton (Warwickshire)
John Simpson (Middlesex)
Ali Orr (Hampshire)
Henry Rogers (YTH)
Jamie Atkins (RET)
Full Sussex squad list
Latest Sussex news
Other news: Chief executive Rob Andrew left in October 2023 for a role at the ECB. New signing Simpson has been named County Championship captain for the first seven games, replacing Tom Haines, while Tymal Mills will captain the T20 side (replacing the released Ravi Bopara) if he is not picked by England for the T20 World Cup.
WARWICKSHIRE
Overseas players: Hassan Ali (Pakistan, until end of July)
In
Out
George Garton (Sussex)
Ethan Brookes (Worcestershire)
Richard Gleeson (Lancashire)
George Garrett (Kent)
Manraj Johal (REL)
Henry Brookes (Middlesex)
Other news: Will Rhodes has stepped down as captain, having led the county in the Championship and One-Day Cup.
WORCESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Usama Mir (Pakistan, for T20), Nathan Smith (New Zealand)
In
Out
Rob Jones (Lancashire)
Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire)
Ethan Brookes (Warwickshire)
Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
Tom Taylor (Northamptonshire)
Jack Haynes (Nottinghamshire)
Yadvinder Singh (South Asian Cricket Academy)
Pat Brown (Derbyshire)
Josh Cobb (Northamptonshire)
Ben Cox (Leicestershire)
Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire)
Taylor Cornall (REL)
YORKSHIRE
Overseas players: Shan Masood (Pakistan), Donovan Ferreira (South Africa, for T20)
In
Out
Dan Moriarty (Surrey)
Will Fraine (REL)
Jack Shutt (REL)
Ben Mike (Leicestershire)
Barnet Matters
The World Cup winner, Alexis McCallister has opted for a short back and sides look with a low parting all held in place by generous helpings of brilliantine. He looks like a spiv out of a 1950s B movie.
It looked like Wolves had sent on a pretty little girl as a sub in their match at Aston Villa complete with an angelic face and her hair in ringlets hanging around her head. It was though actually number 62, Tawanda Chirewa.
Old Danes Gathering
The Next Old Danes Gathering will be held at Shepherds Bush CC on Friday 26 July. The event will be held during the afternoon and all Old Danes, their wives and friends will be welcome.
Googlies Website
All the back editions of Googlies can be found on the G&C website. There are also many photographs most of which have never appeared in Googlies.
www.googliesandchinamen.com
Googlies and Chinamen
is produced by
James Sharp
Broad Lee House
Combs
High Peak
SK23 9XA
[email protected]
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 256
April 2024
Spot the Ball
Out and About with the Professor
The Professor grapples with his annual attempt to select the Wisden 5
April 18th is the publication date for the little yellow house-brick and, apart from the interest in reading the editor’s views on the state of the game and all the other 1600 pages of content, there is the matter of this years’ Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year.
Over the past twenty years or so we have had various attempts at guessing the names (with varying success) and so it might be time for another go – with the stark recognition that one will look a fool in about two weeks’ time.
In truth, the task has become much harder over the years. Time was when the five were drawn from the preceding domestic cricket season: Tests and the County Championship. Not so these days. To start with there are three different forms of international cricket and four different forms of county (sic) cricket; then, in 2009, the importance of women’s cricket was recognised with the inclusion of Claire Taylor as the first woman recipient. That inclusion brings another three forms of international cricket and a similar number of competitions for county players: the Hayhoe-Flint Trophy, Charlotte Edwards Cup, etc. Presumably the inclusion of disabled cricketers will follow at some time. Now why all these are undoubtedly welcome developments, it does make picking a rather more challenging task…for this “selector”, if for no one else. Add to all that, there are the “rules”: the focus is largely (but not always exclusively) on the domestic summer performances (including, of course, those of players from visiting teams); no one can win it twice (there have been a couple of pre-War – even pre-both Wars – exceptions); and there can be only five (2011 gave us four, when the then Wisden editor wanted the fifth to be a Pakistan opening bowler who was in jail for cheating at the time of going to press …which was rather too much for the publishers).
And…finally…the task is not to pick five cricketers of the year - it is to pick the five that the Wisden editor, Lawrence Booth, will pick.So, if it’s so difficult, why bother? Well, then again…why not?
The summer was, of course, dominated by the Ashes and I would happily give one place to Crawley for that extra cover drive off Cummins’ first ball of the series – but Crawley has won it before (2021). Indeed, out of all the “regulars” in the England team (if there is such a thing) only Pope and Harry Brook are really in contention. Brook scored 50+ in every Test and must be a very strong contender, while, by comparison Pope didn’t have the greatest of series, playing only two matches for a total of 90 runs.... although a double hundred against Ireland might catch the Editor’s eye (and the 190 odd against India in January; although not of course in the summer, nor in England and nor even in the right year). Wood had a couple of incisive spells (and may have got a wicket or two at the other end), as did Woakes (2017), and Broad’s choreographed exit (last ball six, last ball wicket) was the highlight of the Oval match. Broad was a winner in 2010. By comparison, the two star performers for the Australians: Khawaja and Starc, are strong candidates. Starc topped the bowling with 23 (even more impressive given that he was left out of the First Test) and Khawaja the batting with 496. He also batted on all five days of the First Test…annoyingly.
I was surprised that Lyon had never won the award but he also only played in two Tests (taking 9 wickets), so it seems unlikely that this will be his year. I somehow think that Lawrence Booth is unlikely to include Carey for his wicket keeping skills or his services to Long Room blood pressures. (It was informative, parenthetically, to read the Australian journalist Gideon Haigh on this incident. His, possibly less than entirely objective, report is of: “puce-faced, dimwit snobs picking fights with a placid, softly spoken Muslim”. What Khawaja’s religion has to do with it, I have no idea. He then goes on to justify the stumping on the grounds that W G Grace did something similar in 1882. Setting aside tit-for-tat as the vacuous moral precept that it is….1882? Really? Same old Aussies, always whinging. The dust jacket on Haigh’s book, by the way, refers to him as: “the world’s greatest living cricket writer”).
The ODIs and T20s against New Zealand were successful for Livingstone and the reliable Malan, the latter going past 50 in three out of four of the ODIs (and past 100 in the last). I suppose the less said about the World Cup the better (not in the UK, of course, nor in the season) but Malan made the biggest score by an English player.
The leading run scorers in the county championship were Lees (1,347 @70) and Bohannon (1,257 @60). Might Bohannon’s runs be thought of more highly for having been scored in Div 1.? Time was when the weight of runs in county matches would put a player in contention for Test matches, but it is difficult to see Lees forcing his way back into the team – Bazball he ain’t. Leading the bowling stats were Bret Hutton (62@21) and (inevitably) Harmer (61@29) who won in 2020. Porter’s 57 @ 19 is also decidedly worth a mention.
The Blast was won by Somerset; James Vince was the leading run scorer with 670@61 and Matt Henry the top wicket-taker with [email protected]. Leicester won the 50 over competition with Harry Swindells getting 117* in the final, while the “Invincibles” beat the “Originals” (am I talking about cricket here?) in The Hundred final, with Tom Curran top scoring. Buttler topped The Hundred batting with 391 (given the award in 2019) and Tymal Mills the bowling with 16 wickets.
The Women’s Ashes Test was a high scoring affair - at least in the first innings, with Tammy Beaumont (already a winner, 2019) scoring 208 – but the player of the match was the Australian Ashleigh Gardner taking 8-66 in the second innings, and 12 in the match. A third possible Australian candidate. Nat Sciver-Blunt scored consecutive hundreds in the ODIs but she was a winner in 2018 under her unmarried name. Danielle Wyatt was the leading run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup while the Southern Vipers won the Hayhoe-Flint Trophy at a canter; Lauren Winfield-Hill scored a decidedly handy 663 runs in the competition.
So…where are we with all this? Given the prominence of the Ashes I should have thought that three players might make it from that series: Brook, Starc and Khwaja. I seemed to be reading Bohannan’s name every week during the summer and Malan must be in the frame as one of England’s most reliable limited-overs players, and, at one time, the No.1 batter in the world. Gardner might be the leading contender from women’s cricket, with Alyssa Healy as the successful Australian stand-in captain. (Heather Knights got the award in 2018.) I feel sure I must have missed someone (perhaps rather more than one) out.
So, the five are: Brook, Starc, Khawaja, Malan and Bohannon….I’ll be happy with three.
This & That
The IPL has commenced and by far the biggest and most welcome news was the return of Rishabh Pant following his horrific car accident in 2022. He is captaining the Delhi Capitals.
In match 3 at Eden Gardens Pat Cummins, who is captaining the Sunrisers Hyderabad, won the toss and invited the Kolkata Knight Riders to bat. Phil Salt slapped it around in typical style but lost partners until Rinky Dink hung around but when they were both dismissed the score was a worrying 119 for 6. However, nowadays there are some serious big hitters around including Andre Russell who on this occasion made 64 not out from 25 balls with 7 sixes and 3 fours. This took KKR to what had earlier seemed an unlikely 208 for 7.
One of the problems of the concept of the big hitting finisher is when he gets in and how many balls he will get to face when he eventually does. The Sunrisers top order of Agarwal, Abhishek, Tripathi and Markram are all fine players who score at an acceptable rate but in a chase everyone is waiting for Klaasen to join the fray. Klaasen played for the Sunrisers in the SA20 which they won back in January and his exploits have already been noted in these pages. He came in with the score on 107 for 3 with eight overs to go. He was out on the penultimate ball of the match having scored 63 from 29 balls with 8 sixes. He didn’t bother with any fours. But his side were four runs short of their target.
But all this was mere bagatelle compared to what happened a few days later in Match 8. Hardik Pandya, the new captain of the Mumbai Indians, won the toss and put the Sunrisers in. Travis Head had not been selected for the Sunrisers first match but opened in this match and laid into the young South African seamer, Maphaka. He raced to his 50 from just 18 balls the fastest in the history of the franchise. At the other end Agarwal went cheaply but Abhishek batted beautifully, and he reached his fifty in 16 balls and so Head’s record hadn’t lasted long. Abhishek was dismissed with the score on 161 after 11 overs. For a while it seemed that 300 was possible but Markram and Klaasen spent a few balls settling in before launching an assault that yielded 75 from the last five overs. Klaasen finished on 80 not out from 34 balls with 7 sixes.
The Sunrisers final total of 277 for 3 beat the previous IPL record, Royal Challengers Bangalore's 263-5 in 2013. It also became the highest in any T20 franchise competition, beating Melbourne Stars' 273-2 against Hobart Hurricanes in the Australian Big Bash in 2022.
In reply, Ish Kish and Rohit made an electric start and Ish Kish was out after 20 balls with the score on 56. Rohit, Dhir, Varma, David and Pandya all made contributions and with the score on 165 for 3 with 8 overs remaining an unlikely historic win was still on the cards. But the bowlers Cummins, Markande and Unadkat performed magnificently, and Mumbai were held to a laudable 246 for 5.
The match aggregate of 523 runs was the highest in T20 history and the first aggregate over 500. Sunrisers hit 18 sixes in their innings to which Mumbai added a further 20 in theirs. This aggregate of 38 beat the previous record of 33.
The IPL runs through April until early May. I wouldn’t bet against some of these new records being beaten along the way. We might at least see a change in the modern fad for putting your opponents in when you win the toss. Oh and by the way, don’t take up an offer to bowl at Heinrick Klaasen…
Kohli is worshipped in the IPL not just by the crowds but also by the commentators, who seem to ignore any negative aspect of his play. When RCB played KKR and batted first Kohli opened as usual and batted through the innings for 83 not out from 59 balls (half of the 20 overs). If you double his contribution the total would be 166. RCB actually reached 182 for 6 thanks to a typical cameo from Dinesh Kartik who hit three sixes in the eight balls he was at the wicket. In reply KKR made light work of their task and won by the extraordinary margin of three overs to spare. Even then the commentators were claiming that Kohli had played the outstanding innings of the match. Maybe it’s just me.
Earlier in the CSA T20 Challenge in a match reduced to 14 overs a side at Centurion the Titans put the Dolphins in to bat. Bryce Parsons opened and reached 102 not out from 48 balls including 7 sixes as his side made a huge 183 for 1 from their 14 overs. In reply, the Dolphins could only muster 152 for 5.
Thompson Matters
Steve has been risking all by going to the Bat and Ball CC Annual Dinner
It was a simple enough mistake to have made; well, simple for Mike the Landlord. After all he couldn’t have known that the Kevin Pietersen website he had visited in order to book the after dinner speaker at the club’s Annual Cricket Dinner was not THE Kevin Pietersen, cricket commentator, conservationist and former England international but Kevin Pietersen the local entomologist. The audience’s response to his twenty-minute talk on the cricket was a lot kinder than the barrage of sarcastic abuse aimed at Mike. Inevitably Virat led the charge.
It fell to me to review the season and say a few words about our esteemed landlord. I began, ‘Very few realise that Mike was educated at Cambridge, on a Tuesday, where he read Law and other long words. He would have got a blue but he was snookered behind the pink.’ ‘The old ones are always the best.’ remarked Sachin.
I went on to thank Mike for all his work both on and off the field which led to a further volley of expletives from Virat who had been dismissed Obstructing the Field on three occasions which was, not coincidentally, precisely the number of times Mike had umpired last season. To be fair Mike had been instrumental in our narrowest of victories over local rivals, The Nobody Inn CC. Needing four to win off the last ball with one wicket in hand the tie looked certain as their number 11 narrowly but clearly made his ground for a third run. A frustrated Brian went through the motions of a half-hearted appeal whilst removing the bails only for Mike to exclaim from a very deep square leg, ‘That’s out, one short, we win.’
It was inevitable that repercussions would follow in the return fixture. Mike probably should have listened to reason and withdrawn his offer to stand but instead he was carried from the field having had his shoulder all but dislocated by Nobody’s 6ft 3 inch opening bowler who Colin Crofted him as he delivered the first ball of the game. Still in his white coat on arrival at A & E it was left to Sachin to explain to the queuing hoards that Mike was not actually the doctor. Sachin left Mike to return to the match and had scored 105 and taken 5-27 before Mike had made it beyond the first corridor.
As to the night’s meal, Brian was disappointed that Mike wouldn't allow his mum’s goat curry recipe onto this year’s menu but having invited last year’s Quiz champions, the herders, “Stop the Goats”, Mike said it would have been in poor taste.
Nevertheless, Virat’s Mum came up trumps as usual with a wonderful meal. The menu, testament to her sense of humour, if not her proofreading skills.
Openers
Koli three ways
The Middle Order
Bugger Chicken with Chive Rice
The Tail
Eton Mess
(An homage to 14 years)
Mike finally bowed to pressure and for the very first time allowed ladies to attend the dinner. This did result in a dramatic walk-out by all four members of Rags to Rishis the family recycling company who were now regulars at quiz nights and hitherto a large sponsor of the dinner but who left shouting abuse at Mike who, they screamed, had, ‘Caved into the Wokerati!’ Virat sarcastically suggested an impromptu toast to absent friends before it was left to me to welcome and thank the lady golfers and club scorers Mavis and Thelma from “No Balls Left” for their continuing work on the books and the board.
The Awards were almost as predictable as ever.
Player of the Year: Sachin.
Most Promising Player: Sachin's’ younger brother.
Shits’ XI nomination: Virat
Clubman of the Year: Virat’s mum.
Mike’s point-blank refusal to rename the award Club Person of the Year, was completely expected as was his impromptu somewhat self-congratulatory speech just before the raffle. It was good to see Virat’s mum win the first prize - a gallon of Mike’s English Prosecco. Virat made it a family double picking up second prize: two gallons of Mike’s Prosecco.
I closed with best wishes to everyone for a successful season. Even Virat.
India Revisited
Following England’s trouncing in India Andy Zaltzman, the statistician and Chairman of the News Quiz, reviews the series in numbers
One of the eternal fascinations of Test cricket, especially in these Bazballistic times, is that there are almost infinite ways for interpreting what has happened. In losing 4-1 in India, did England just get thrashed, and end the series utterly dominated? Did they give the Ravichandran Ashwin-Ravindra Jadeja-era India one of the toughest challenges they have faced in a home series? Did their hyper-aggressive approach discombobulate their opponents, or themselves? Was that approach England's best strategy for achieving victory, or an inevitable route to defeat? You could reasonably answer yes and/or no to all of those questions, and offer statistical evidence to support your answers.
In the end, the numbers showed a similar defeat to England's previous two tours of India:
1.An excellent first Test performance (wins in 2023-24 and 2020-21, the better of a draw in 2016-17) followed by losing all the remaining matches.
2.By the end of the series, England averaged 25.6 runs per wicket with the bat, and 39.7 with the ball.
3.As a ratio - England's runs-per-wicket batting was 64.5% of their runs-per-wicket bowling - it was slightly inferior to the previous two series, and England's second worst in a series in India, behind their 3-0 drubbing in 1992-93.
4.England's fifth-Test subsidence shunted the numbers further towards the impression of a totally comprehensive defeat, but deep into day two of the fourth Test, the tourists were well-placed to make it 2-2 in the series.
5.Nonetheless, India ended with the top five players in both the batting averages (three innings minimum) and the bowling averages (10 overs minimum).
6.The 25.6 runs per wicket batting figure was England's second lowest in a series in India. Only the 2020-21 series (19.8) was worse. They lost a wicket every 42 balls three years ago; this time, they lost one every 40 balls, on far more fair and friendly pitches.
7.The major difference was in runs per over, with the 3.83 Ben Stokes' side managed this time being the first instance of England scoring at more than three per over in a series in India, and comfortably the highest run rate any visiting side has achieved in India.
To help interpret the events of these five fascinating Tests, here are my four stats that explain the series...
1.England's unconverted starts
Jonny Bairstow's highest score of 39 came in the final match of the series - his 100th Test appearance.
England batters had 35 scores of 25 or more but converted only 10 of those into fifty-plus innings (28%).
In all series of five or more Tests (of which there have been more than 170), only six teams have ever had a worse conversion rate of quarter-centuries to half-centuries.
Jonny Bairstow became only the second player in Test history to reach 25 seven times in a series without posting a fifty. He goes to the top of the list by virtue of the fact that the other player with seven unconverted 25s in a series, Vernon Ransford of Australia in 1911-12, had a not out in one of his innings.
Bairstow also set a new record for most runs in a Test series without reaching 40 - 238, which also puts him third on the all-time list of most runs in a Test series without reaching 50. Ben Foakes' 205 runs, with a highest of 47, also made the top 20 of that list.
They were the first players to make 200 runs without a half-century in a Test series since Mark Ramprakash, who in a heroic 1991 debut rubber against an all-time great West Indies pace attack made 19 or more in eight of his nine innings, batted a total of 737 balls, but didn't reach 30.
Zak Crawley played strikingly well for most of the series, combining his always majestic stroke play with defensive skill, patience and judgement, notably against Jasprit Bumrah (77 runs for one dismissal). However, his 407 runs constituted the second most in a Test series without a score of 80, behind Pakistan great Javed Miandad, who made 421 in India in 1979-80 with a top score of 76.
2. England's failure to bat as a team
But for Joe Root's final innings 84, England would have been the first team since 1959 to play a five-Test series and not have at least two players with two or more 50-plus scores.
Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett became the eighth and ninth names on a select list of England players with a 150-plus score but no other half-centuries in a Test series (eight innings minimum). Pope's 196 in the first Test is also the fifth-highest score by a player who has also been out for nought in both innings of a Test in the same series.
In none of the 10 innings in the series did two of England's top eight reach 50. It is only the second time England have had a sequence of 10 consecutive Test innings without two top-eight fifties - the other was back in 1905-06.
3. India's spinners shine in final three Tests.
India spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin tormented England in the final Test. Playing India in their own country over the past 11 years has been, statistically, as difficult a challenge as any in Test history. England's almost absurdly inexperienced spin attack began magnificently. After two Tests, they had taken 33 wickets at an average of 33.9. India's had 23 wickets at 38.3. Even in defeat in the second Test, when Bumrah's genius was decisive, England's spinners returned a lower runs-per-wicket figure than their opponents.
However, the final three Tests saw the experience, quality, craft and mesmerising variety of Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav demolish England's batting, with 46 wickets at 18.1. England's spinners managed 27 at 45.5 against an Indian batting line-up improved by the addition of Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel.
4. Bumrah's brilliance
India fast bowler Bumrah took 19 wickets at an average of 16.8. All other seamers combined took 25 wickets at 45.8 - an average 2.7 times higher. That earns the magic-fingered India pacer the much-coveted award for biggest difference in average between the leading seamer and all other seamers in a Test series of at least five matches (in which the lowest-averaging seamer played at least half the Tests).
County News
The English season has already started and to help you work out who is playing for who here are the results of the close season’s transfer window, courtesy of the BBC website.
DERBYSHIRE
Overseas players: Blair Tickner (New Zealand, start of season until early July), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan, final six T20 group games)
In
Out
David Lloyd (Glamorgan)
Leus du Plooy (Middlesex)
Pat Brown (Worcestershire)
George Scrimshaw (Northamptonshire)
Aneurin Donald (Hampshire)
Billy Godleman (REL)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Mark Watt (REL)
Ross Whiteley (Hampshire)
Tom Wood (REL)
Jack Morley (Lancashire, season-long loan)
Archie Harrison (REL)
Mattie McKiernan (RET)
Other news: New signings Lloyd and Patel replace Du Plooy as Championship and T20 captains, with Patel replacing Brooke Guest as One-Day Cup skipper. Ben Smith has been appointed batting coach, replacing Ian Bell who had held role in a consultancy capacity for the last two seasons.
DURHAM
Overseas players 2024: David Bedingham (South Africa), Scott Boland (Australia, until end of July)
In
Out
Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire)
Liam Trevaskis (Leicestershire)
Callum Parkinson (Leicestershire)
Harry Crawshaw (REL)
Luke Doneathy (REL)
Ross Whitfield (REL)
Tom Mackintosh (RET)
Full Durham squad list
Latest Durham news
Other news: Graham Onions has rejoined the club from Lancashire, taking the role of lead bowling coach.
ESSEX
Overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Dean Elgar (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20)
In
Out
Jordan Cox (Kent)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Will Buttleman (REL)
Eshun Kalley (REL)
Josh Rymell (REL)
Aron Nijjar (REL)
Alastair Cook (RET)
Beau Webster (Gloucestershire)
GLAMORGAN
Overseas players: Marnus Labuschagne (Australia), Colin Ingram (South Africa), Mir Hamza (Pakistan, until 27 May)
In
Out
Henry Hurle (YTH)
David Lloyd (Derbyshire)
Asa Tribe (YTH)
Andrew Salter (RET)
Mason Crane (Hampshire, season-long loan)
Callum Taylor (REL)
Michael Neser (Hampshire)
Other news: The departing Lloyd has been replaced by Sam Northeast as County Championship captain, with One-Day Cup skipper Kiran Carlson taking over the T20 side as well. Grant Bradburn has joined as head coach for all formats, replacing the split coaching roles of Matthew Maynard and Mark Alleyne.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), Zafar Gohar (Pakistan), Beau Webster (Australia, for T20 plus two Championship games in June)
In
Out
Archie Bailey (YTH)
Tom Lace (REL)
Tommy Boorman (YTH)
Will Naish (REL)
Ahmed Syed (YTH)
Paul van Meekeren (REL)
Cameron Bancroft (Somerset)
Jared Warner (REL)
Beau Webster (Essex)
Others news: Head coach Dale Benkenstein and bowling coach Robbie Joseph have left for the same roles at Lancashire and Kent respectively - with ex-captain Mark Alleyne returning for a second spell as head coach. Assistant coach William Porterfield has followed Benkenstein to Lancashire. Jack Taylor has been appointed white ball captain, returning to the T20 leadership after stepping down mid-way through last season and replacing Graeme van Buuren in the One-Day Cup.
HAMPSHIRE
Overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), Michael Neser (Australia, for T20), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan, final six T20 group matches), Ben McDermott (Australia, for T20)
In
Out
Ali Orr (Sussex)
Aneurin Donald (Derbyshire)
Michael Neser (Glamorgan)
Jack Campbell (REL)
Harry Petrie (REL)
Ross Whiteley (Derbyshire)
Scott Currie (Leicestershire, season-long loan)
Mason Crane (Glamorgan, season-long loan)
KENT
Overseas players: Wes Agar (Australia, until end of July), Xavier Bartlett (Australia, first half of season)
In
Out
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
Jordan Cox (Essex)
George Garrett (Warwickshire)
Alex Blake (REL)
Michael Cohen (ex-Derbyshire)
James Logan (REL)
Michael Hogan (RET)
Ben Lister (Nottinghamshire)
Other news: Director of cricket Paul Downton stepped down at the end of the 2023 season and was replaced by bowling coach Simon Cook, while batting coach Alex Gidman has left to become assistant coach of the England women's team. They have been replaced by Robbie Joseph, who joins from Gloucestershire, and Toby Radford respectively. Club captain Sam Billings has stepped down, having already relinquished the Championship and One-Day Cup leadership in 2023, but will continue as T20 skipper. Daniel Bell-Drummond succeeds Jack Leaning as Championship captain, with a One-Day Cup skipper to be named in 2024, after Joe Denly led the 50-over side last season. Leaning becomes vice-captain.
LANCASHIRE
Overseas players: Nathan Lyon (Australia, seven of first nine Championship matches), Tom Bruce (New Zealand)
In
Out
Mitchell Stanley (Worcestershire)
Matt Parkinson (Kent)
Danny Lamb (Sussex)
Rob Jones (Worcestershire)
Richard Gleeson (Warwickshire)
Jack Morley (Derbyshire, season-long loan)
Other news: Head coach Glen Chapple has departed and has been replaced by Dale Benkenstein, who leaves the same position at Gloucestershire. Bowling coach Graham Onions has also left to join Durham and has been replaced by Craig White, who moves from a position at women's regional side Thunder. Assistant coach Carl Crowe has been replaced by ex-Ireland captain William Porterfield, who has also left Gloucestershire, while former captain Steven Croft has joined the coaching staff but will remain available for T20 cricket as a player.
LEICESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Wiaan Mulder (South Africa), Peter Handscomb (Australia)
In
Out
Liam Trevaskis (Durham)
Colin Ackermann (Durham)
Ben Cox (Worcestershire)
Callum Parkinson (Durham)
Ben Mike (Yorkshire)
Will Davis (REL)
Scott Currie (Hampshire, season-long loan)
Ed Barnes (REL)
Nick Welch (REL)
Scott Steel (REL)
Arron Lilley (REL)
Michael Finan (REL)
Other news: Last season's interim head coaches Alfonso Thomas and James Taylor have been appointed as head and assistant coach respectively. Seamer Chris Wright's announced move to Sussex was cancelled for family reasons, while Australia batter Will Pucovski's overseas stint with Leicestershire was cancelled after he suffered a concussion.
MIDDLESEX
Overseas players: TBC
In
Out
Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire)
Tim Murtagh (RET)
Noah Cornwell (YTH)
John Simpson (Sussex)
Henry Brookes (Warwickshire)
Other news: Murtagh has become a coach following his retirement.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Overseas players: Prithvi Shaw (India, from June), Chris Tremain (Australia, until 29 April), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe, for T20), Karun Nair (India, for first seven Championship games)
In
Out
George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire)
Tom Taylor (Worcestershire)
George Bartlett (Somerset)
Gareth Berg (RET)
Ravi Bopara (ex-Sussex, for T20)
Simon Kerrigan (RET)
Hassan Azad (REL)
Harry Gouldstone (REL)
Ollie Sale (RET)
Josh Cobb (Worcestershire)
Other news: Batting coach Ben Smith left the club at the end of October and has been replaced by Greg Smith, while bowling coach Chris Liddle has also departed to take up a similar role with the England women's team.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Overseas players: Dane Paterson (South Africa), Will Young (New Zealand, from 19 April for County Championship & T20), Ben Lister (New Zealand, for T20, 30 May-21 June), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan, for T20, 5-19 July)
In
Out
Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire)
Samit Patel (Derbyshire)
Josh Tongue (Worcestershire)
Jake Ball (Somerset)
Jack Haynes (Worcestershire)
Freddie McCann (YTH)
Ben Lister (Kent)
Other news: Steven Mullaney has stepped down as captain and has been replaced by Haseeb Hameed, who had already been leading the One-Day Cup team, in the Championship and Joe Clarke in the T20 Blast. Mullaney has taken up a player-coach role, will lead the second XI and remains available for first-team selection when required.
SOMERSET
Overseas players: Matt Renshaw (Australia, until 27 May)
In
Out
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
George Bartlett (Northamptonshire)
Steven Davies (RET)
Jack Brooks (REL)
Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)
Other news: T20 captain Lewis Gregory has replaced Tom Abell as County Championship captain, with a One-Day Cup skipper yet to be named. Steve Kirby has returned for a second spell as bowling coach, following a stint with Zimbabwe. Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland has pulled out of an overseas stint after sustaining an injury.
SURREY
Overseas players: Kemar Roach (West Indies, first seven County Championship games), Sean Abbott (Australia, May-June)
In
Out
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Dan Moriarty (Yorkshire)
Other news: Australia cancelled all-rounder Aaron Hardie's planned overseas stint.
SUSSEX
Overseas players: Jayden Seales (West Indies, until 8 June), Nathan McAndrew (Australia, 1 June-31 July), Cheteshwar Pujara (India, until 27 May), Daniel Hughes (Australia, from 31 May), Jaydev Unadkat (India, from mid-August)
In
Out
Danny Lamb (Lancashire)
George Garton (Warwickshire)
John Simpson (Middlesex)
Ali Orr (Hampshire)
Henry Rogers (YTH)
Jamie Atkins (RET)
Full Sussex squad list
Latest Sussex news
Other news: Chief executive Rob Andrew left in October 2023 for a role at the ECB. New signing Simpson has been named County Championship captain for the first seven games, replacing Tom Haines, while Tymal Mills will captain the T20 side (replacing the released Ravi Bopara) if he is not picked by England for the T20 World Cup.
WARWICKSHIRE
Overseas players: Hassan Ali (Pakistan, until end of July)
In
Out
George Garton (Sussex)
Ethan Brookes (Worcestershire)
Richard Gleeson (Lancashire)
George Garrett (Kent)
Manraj Johal (REL)
Henry Brookes (Middlesex)
Other news: Will Rhodes has stepped down as captain, having led the county in the Championship and One-Day Cup.
WORCESTERSHIRE
Overseas players: Usama Mir (Pakistan, for T20), Nathan Smith (New Zealand)
In
Out
Rob Jones (Lancashire)
Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire)
Ethan Brookes (Warwickshire)
Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
Tom Taylor (Northamptonshire)
Jack Haynes (Nottinghamshire)
Yadvinder Singh (South Asian Cricket Academy)
Pat Brown (Derbyshire)
Josh Cobb (Northamptonshire)
Ben Cox (Leicestershire)
Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire)
Taylor Cornall (REL)
YORKSHIRE
Overseas players: Shan Masood (Pakistan), Donovan Ferreira (South Africa, for T20)
In
Out
Dan Moriarty (Surrey)
Will Fraine (REL)
Jack Shutt (REL)
Ben Mike (Leicestershire)
Barnet Matters
The World Cup winner, Alexis McCallister has opted for a short back and sides look with a low parting all held in place by generous helpings of brilliantine. He looks like a spiv out of a 1950s B movie.
It looked like Wolves had sent on a pretty little girl as a sub in their match at Aston Villa complete with an angelic face and her hair in ringlets hanging around her head. It was though actually number 62, Tawanda Chirewa.
Old Danes Gathering
The Next Old Danes Gathering will be held at Shepherds Bush CC on Friday 26 July. The event will be held during the afternoon and all Old Danes, their wives and friends will be welcome.
Googlies Website
All the back editions of Googlies can be found on the G&C website. There are also many photographs most of which have never appeared in Googlies.
www.googliesandchinamen.com
Googlies and Chinamen
is produced by
James Sharp
Broad Lee House
Combs
High Peak
SK23 9XA
[email protected]
