Tom Abell, Keith Barker, Keaton Jennings and Sam Robson all enjoyed a good week in the County Championship
This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
Continue reading...County cricket: Abell defies Hampshire’s fiery Baker to keep Somerset on high – as it happened
Former captain struck second hiscentury of season to light flames in West Country hearts while Warwickshire beat Essex
Three in the over for Barker! Charlie Allison, bowled by one that may have kept a bit low. Essex 16 for three...
Early wickets in sunny Brumbados, Keith Barker striking first ball from the Pavilion End as Dean Elgar is trapped lbw offering no shot. In comes Tall Paul to join Sam Cook, who spared him the hassle last night but has since squirted Barker’s third ball of the day to cover. That’s Barker’s 700th career wicket across formats. Essex 16 for two (need another 190) and an inauspicious start.
Continue reading...Hampshire v Somerset, Warwickshire v Essex, and more: county cricket – as it happened
Hampshire were frustrated by Somerset’s wagging tail, while Ethan Bamber and Keith Barker kept Warwickshire in the hunt at Edgbaston
At Southampton, Kyle Abbott is hustling with admirable vigour. Baker still running in from the other end, elbows horizontally churning. Rew (85) and Abell (41) have now put on a hundred for the fourth wicket. Somerset 175-3, 63 behind.
And three for Jimmy Anderson, two in an over, old teammate Will Williams lbw and Henry Brookes caught. Gloucestershire all out 136, and I predict a couple of days of toil in the field.
Continue reading...Lancashire to put matches behind paywall; Rew sparkles for Somerset on rain-hit day – as it happened
James Rew’s unbeaten 77 helped put Somerset in a strong position after bowling out Hampshire for 238, while Jamie Porter made inroads for Essex at Egbaston before the weather intervened
Bad news for Lancs at Bristol, where Ajeet Singh Dale seems to have done something nasty to his hamstring and has limped off. A real shame on his return to his old club. Glos 8-0.
A fascinating piece by Emma John, with a mention of Benny Howell of Hants, Glos and more.
Continue reading...County cricket talking points: the season is beginning to take shape
Two bowlers, who are very much not spring chickens, delivered wins for Lancashire and Hampshire
This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
Continue reading...Ben Stokes plays down talk of McCullum disagreement but plans ‘different’ path to success
Stokes: ‘Agreeing on every single thing, that’s impossible’
Pair will ‘work together in a slightly different way’
Ben Stokes has moved to play down suggestions of a disagreement between himself and Brendon McCullum, insisting he and the England head coach remain aligned despite an Ashes defeat that, at times, suggested otherwise.
In a video released by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday, the England Test captain stressed that he and McCullum agreeing with each other all the time would be “unhealthy”. They continue to share the same overall vision for the team, he added, but things will look “different” this summer.
Continue reading...‘Carelessly squandered’: Wisden scolds England’s tumultuous Ashes tour
Series defeat in Australia ‘a chance so blithely spurned’
Indian dominance and Starc’s sacrifice recognised
The latest edition of Wisden is unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.
Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards. Haseeb Hameed, captain of title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.
Continue reading...Surrey v Leicestershire, Essex v Somerset, and more: county cricket, day four – live
Updates from 11am BST start across the grounds
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And the third! Aitchison on a hat-trick. A huge smile at the top of his run gets huger as Bailey plays inside the line and loses his stumps. Lancs 147-8. Mitch Stanley comes out, dropping his helmet and generally getting dressed as he does.
Second ball does it! Coughlin trudging back after a corking ball from Aitchison has him edging behind. Lancs 147-7, the lead 124.
Continue reading...County cricket: earliest ever start to a season throws up some old truths
The first round showed us the benefits of bravery, the gap between the divisions and the unpredictability of cricket
This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
Continue reading...County cricket season begins: Somerset v Notts, Leicestershire v Sussex and more, day one – live
Updates from 11am BST across the grounds
Team-by-team guide | Email Tanya or comment BTL
A smattering/ripple/slurp of applause as the players take the field. Tom Haines and Daniel Hughes in the middle. A windswept Ian Holland with the ball, the umpire in gloves. Here we go…
Ali Martin spoke to Shoaib Bashir. I really hope he finds the pastures welcoming at Derby – must have been a topsy-turvy few years.
Continue reading...England interest rekindled and injury substitutes arrive as county cricket returns
County Championship kicks off on Good Friday
ECB and Ben Stokes say England places are up for grabs
With more of a sparkle in its eye than for years, the County Championship shimmies into life on Good Friday, coat done up, gloves fastened.
After years of wrangling, the schedule has been settled (for now), and the three-year Kookaburra ball trial, which had seam bowlers weeping into their Weetabix, dumped, but there is still place for a regulatory tweak, and it’s a substantial one. This year, the England and Wales Cricket Board is trialling substitutes, allowing a player to be replaced by a fully playing sub, rather than just a covering fielder. And the terms of reference have broadened too: the system will cover sickness and significant life events – such as the birth of a child or a family illness – as well as injury.
Continue reading...Tribe’s Lions heroics fuel Glamorgan’s belief on return to Championship elite
Bespectacled young batter shone on England duty in Australia and is primed to make a splash in Division One
The daffodils were in suitable bloom in Cardiff, swathes of them, creeping from under the trees in Bute Park, yolky heads bobbing in the spring sunshine. A few hundred metres up the road, Glamorgan’s players were gathering at Sophia Gardens before their biggest season in years, back in Division One of the County Championship for the first time since 2005.
Their campaign last year was a slow burner but blossomed, a close-knit side playing confidently. Alongside a thousand runs each from Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson were eye-catching performances from two talented then 21-year-olds, Ben Kellaway and Asa Tribe, who went on to be picked for the Lions tours in the winter. In their shellacking by Australia A in the unofficial Test, Tribe hit an unbeaten 129, which was enough to get him a namecheck from the England managing director, Rob Key, in pre-season media musings – the only non-capped player to be mentioned.
Continue reading...County Championship 2026: team-by-team guide to the new season
Surrey look well placed to reclaim the title after their runner-up finish last season while all eyes are on promotion for Lancashire
Continue reading...County season arrives with fresh hope of domestic displays paving path to international stage
Not everyone in the county game is optimistic but players should start the season believing performances will be noticed by the England setup
Peter Moores could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at England’s backing for Brendon McCullum after four years as head coach and that bleak Australian winter. Moores was afforded barely three across his two spells in the job, neither of which included an Ashes series.
But as his Nottinghamshire side begin the defence of their County Championship title away at Somerset this Friday, Moores is keen to look forwards. During his Ashes mea culpa, the England team director, Rob Key, said he wanted better communication with the counties on selection – music to the ears of the leading domestic coach.
Continue reading...‘I wanted the rollercoaster of being emotionally invested’: Ian Bell on coaching, England and the 2005 Ashes WhatsApp
Five-times Ashes winner has since had a varied coaching career and believes the red ball is still fundamental to the modern player
It’s a sunny spring afternoon, a new season looms, and just a short stroll down the road from Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club, Ian Bell is in his local stressing the importance of County Championship runs. One of the purest Test batters England has produced this century, Bell is also about to fly to the Indian Premier League for a spell of coaching.
Not that the two are necessarily a contradiction. Bell is excited to be joining Delhi Capitals as their new assistant coach before the IPL that starts on Saturday – a significant opportunity in his second career. But as much as T20 has transformed the sport, Bell insists that time batting against the red ball is still fundamental to the modern player.
Continue reading...