FP Trophy Weekly Round-up

The domestic limited overs season got off to a cold, miserable and pretty soggy start this weekend, not that the sides who emerged victorious will have minded! The elements did for Lancashire vs Derby, Leicestershire vs Northamptonshire and Warwickshire vs Nottinghamshire. There was though play elsewhere and a couple of entertaining matches.

Nowhere was there a closer match than at The Riverside, where Durham narrowly came out on top over Yorkshire. Put into bat, Durham were in trouble early on, with young seamer Ajmal Shahzad particularly impressive (1-30). Phil Mustard (25) was once again guilty of getting in and then out, courtesy of a leg side hack. He will need to go on more often if he is to stay in England’s ODI side. Despite the wickets of Shahzad, Tim Bresnan (3-51) and Deon Kruis (2-37), the Dynamos crept their way up to 220 all out with four balls remaining, recent overseas arrival, Neil McKenzie, top scoring with a well paced 77. It was a good total on what was a seamer friendly wicket and Yorkshire soon slipped to 57-5 and then 140-8 in reply, largely thanks to an impressive opening spell of 2-19 from 8 overs by Neil Killeen. However, the holders were given a scare by Shahzad (33), this time impressive with the bat and the ever improving Bresnan (55). The Dynamos closed out the game though, just, with Graham Onions (1-40) having Bresnan caught in the covers with 6 needed off of 2 balls. It was a wonderful advert for the game and as far as England player watch is concerned, Liam Plunkett bagged 1-32 and Steve Harmison 2-40. Adil Rashid meanwhile bowled just four overs and was run out for a duck.

Elsewhere, Essex and Kent served up a run feast at Canterbury. Essex were stuck into bat by Rob Key and the decision backfired spectacularly with the Eagles amassing 317-5 from their fifty overs, captain Mark Pettini (119) and Ravi Bopara (99) the standout performers. There were two wickets apiece for Yasir Arafat and Ryan McLaren, but the bowling figures were generally expensive and England hopeful James Tredwell returned a less than impressive 0-52 from ten overs. Kent got to 286-9 in reply, but Martin van Jaarsveld (124) was the only Spitfire to get beyond 30 odd. Meanwhile, Bopara pitched in with a wicket and there were two apiece again for Andre Nel, Chris Wright and James Middlebrook.

To The Oval and Surrey vs Middlesex. More runs aplenty here, with Middlesex registering 315-6, Andrew Strauss hitting a career best 163, ably supported by Ed Joyce (42) and Owais Shah (55). Chris Jordan and Jade Dernbach each took two wickets, but with economy rates of over six. In reply, Surrey made a good start with Scott Newman (65) and James Benning (47) giving the Brown Caps hope. However, youngster Danny Evans (3-36) and debutant Gareth Berg (4-50) were impressive and only Mark Butcher (46) offered any real further threat.

Somerset meanwhile opted to field first at Taunton against Hampshire and the Hawks struggled to 221 all out with four balls left and were indebted to Michael Lumb (47), Nic Pothas (55) and captain Dimi Mascarenhas (53), who were the only real contributors. The returning Ben Phillips (3-47) and wily Steffan Jones (2-29) were the standout bowlers. 221 was never enough at Taunton, even in April and although Somerset suffered an early scare, slipping to 91-4, with a run a ball rate need from the last 20 overs, Ian Blackwell (86*) and John Francis (48*) saw them home with 14 balls left, Blackwell particularly destructive, which will undoubtedly have registered on Peter Moores’ radar. Mascarenhas (1-26), Shane Bond (1-33) and Chris Tremlett (1-39) each took a wicket and ended with tidy figures, but the back up bowling just wasn’t there.

The final match of the day saw Gloucestershire canter to victory over Worcestershire at a lively Bristol. Put into bat, The Royals made 221-8, Ben Smith (75) and Daryl Mitchell (63) the main players. The pace bowling trio of Jon Lewis (2-48), Anthony Ireland (2-43) and Steve Kirby (2-19) exploited the conditions well. In reply, Kadeer Ali (63) and Hamish Marshall (57) laid the foundations, while Craig Spearman (64) finished off the game, Chris Whelan taking two uneconomical wickets for the Royals.

Player of the Week: For a career best 163 off 130 balls, with 23 fours and 4 sixes, it has to be the resurgent Andrew Strauss. Ian Blackwell gets an honourable mention as do Neil McKenzie and Tim Bresnan.

Test XI of 2007-2008

With a new domestic season fast approaching here in England, we take a brief look back on the last 12 months and the top performers at Test level, using those wonderful statistics...


Top 6 Test Openers (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

McKenzie (SAF) - ave 77.62
Sehwag (IND) - ave 73.11
Hayden (AUS) - ave 62.87
Jaques (AUS) - ave 56.10
Smith (SAF) - ave 55.35
Cook (ENG) - ave 43.72


Top 3 Number 3 Batsmen (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Sangakkara (SRL) - ave 96.63
Khan (PAK) - ave 58.33
Amla (SAF) - ave 51.57


Top 3 Number 4 Batsmen (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Jayawardene (SRL) - ave 84.92
Kallis (SAF) - ave 76.68
Hussey (AUS) - ave 73.87


Top 3 Number 5 Batsmen (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Chanderpaul (WIN) - ave 91.44
Misbah-ul-haq (PAK) - ave 78.71
Clarke (AUS) - ave 66.50


Top 3 Number 6 Batsmen (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Symonds (AUS) - ave 85.50
De Villiers (SAF) - ave 54.26
Laxman (IND) - ave 53.35


Top 3 Batting Wicketkeepers (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Akmal (PAK) - ave 42.30 (3 ct per match / 0.33 st)
Prior (ENG) - ave 40.14 (2.8 ct per match / 0 st)
Dhoni (IND) - ave 37.47 (1.93 ct per match / 0.36 st)


Top 3 Dismissal Wicketkeepers (Last 12 Months – Minimum 5 Games)

Gilchrist (AUS) - ave 31.00 - 5.83 dismissals per match (5.83 ct / 0 st)
McCullum (NZL) - ave 27.33 - 4.43 dismissals per match (4.43 ct / 0 st)
Ramdin (WIN) - ave 18.00 - 3.44 dismissals per match (3.33 ct / 0.11 st)


Come back for the bowling line up and comment...

2008 Season Preview: Durham

Continuing our series of county previews, Rob Dixon assesses Durham's chances in 2008.

2007 in a nutshell
What can you say…it was the year Durham came of age. An Ottis Gibson inspired team led them to both Friends Provident Trophy and Pro 40 Division Two success. They also finished second in County Championship Division One: a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ story for any Durham supporter.

2008 Prospects
It will be tough to repeat what happened in 2007, but they have kept the majority of the side that did so well last year. They have lost Otis Gibson to England management but have managed a major coup in re-signing Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Michael Di Venuto, the latter taking advantage of his Italian passport to qualify as a non-overseas player. Until Chanderpaul’s arrival in July, the club have signed Neil McKenzie to start the season and Albie Morkel will be at the club for the Twenty20 campaign in June.

Batting:
Despite being resigned to losing Collingwood for most of the season with England, the batting looks solid with Di Venuto likely to open the batting with McKenzie at the beginning of the season. Kyle Coetzer came on leaps and bounds last season and will hope to cement his place in the side. Hopefully this will take a bit of pressure of Dale Benkenstein whose runs have been invaluable over the last few years as well as his shrewd captaincy. Phil Mustard will hopefully translate his one-day form to the county game as he has the talent to reach 1000 championship runs

It will be a big year for a few of the other batsman attempting to get in the side. Gordon Muchall is getting to the time now where he has to deliver his undoubted promise. Will Smith and Garry Park are also young batsman hoping to take their chance and Mark Stoneman, who scored his maiden century against Sussex last season, will aim to be the next star of the flourishing Academy system at the Riverside.

Bowling:
Losing Gibson is a major blow but it has been softened by the fact that Durham might get a full season out of Steve Harmison, his wickets will be crucial for the club as he has quality back up with Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions, both of whom should be pushing for winter tour spots. Mark Davies and Callum Thorp have hopefully got over their injury worries of the past few years and add the ever reliable Neil Killeen and Mitchell Claydon to the mix and Durham have a rich seam of pace bowling options. One thing they do lack, as in recent years, is a quality spinner and should we get a hot summer then they may struggle with only the spin of Gareth Breese and Paul Wiseman

Probable sides:
Championship
Michael Di Venuto
Neil McKenzie / Mark Stoneman after July
Kyle Coetzer
Gordon Muchall / Shivnarine Chanderpaul after July
Dale Benkenstein (c)
Phil Mustard (wk)
Gareth Breese
Liam Plunkett
Graham Onions
Mark Davies
Steve Harmison

Pressing for places: Will Smith, Garry Park, Ben Harmison, Mitchell Claydon, Callum Thorp

One-day and Twenty20
Phil Mustard
Michael Di Venuto
Kyle Coetzer
Neil McKenzie / Chanderpaul
Dale Benkenstein
Gordon Muchall
Gareth Breese / Albie Morkel (Twenty20)
Liam Plunkett
Graham Onions
Neil Killeen
Steve Harmison

Key Man:
I’m going for Michael di Venuto. Good starts are invaluable if they are going to challenge for honours and the likeable Aussie (Italian!) will hopefully help that come to fruition. His county record is second to none and despite his advancing years, he will hopefully nurture the young batsmen at the club to better things, as well as continue his high standards.

Rising Star:
Kyle Coetzer showed last year that he is a quality young batsman. A former Scotland U19’s captain, he broke into the side in the middle of last season after a run of decent scores in the 2^nd XI. He also scored 61 in the Friends Provident Trophy Final looking accomplished against the spin of Shane Warne. He has the talent to score hundreds this season and maybe force himself into international reckoning.

Captain and Coach:
Geoff Cook had a fairytale first season as coach after taking the reins following Martyn Moxon’s move to Yorkshire at the start of last season. Dale Benkenstein continues as captain for his third season at the helm.

Outlook:
Surely it’s impossible to emulate the performances of last season…or is it? The Championship is the Holy Grail and I believe this team will go close; a lack of a quality spinner might just prove costly however.

One-day performances will hopefully continue to be strong, don’t rule out another Lords final and maybe just maybe we will get out of Twenty20 Cup north group after years of trying!