The County Scene - Week 3: Featherbeds make a man of Finn

We at Beyond the Cliche have struggled for continuity during our brief existence - Graeme's ever-changing predictions being a case in point! All that we have established so far is that I worry about Donovan McNabb and ex-Livingston players too much and Graeme thinks about things other than the World Cup! But this will change, and The County Scene is where we begin. After much thought about how to make this blog accessible to the average sports fan (i.e. someone who couldn't give a toss about county cricket), I have decided to hand out a "Lad of the week Award". From this I can report the matches while detailing the exploits of the 3 nominees at the same time. You'll get the idea - seeing as I can now watch highlights online, it should be more informed than I previously anticipated! In order to keep up with the IPL, I have sought out sponsorship for this section, something that captures quintessential English cricket. So, without further ado, here are my first nominations for the Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week Award:

Robin Martin-Jenkins (Sussex) - Sussex defeated Glamorgan by 201 runs at Cardiff and RMJ (as he will now be called) was a key reason for this victory, performing key duties with bat and ball. Not the most technically gifted batsman, he played a patient hand in the first innings, lifting his side from 153-6 to 284 all out, making the top score of 65, as James Harris ran riot through the top order with some high class swing bowling. MJ then collected 3-34, including the key wicket of Mike Powell, as Glamorgan failed to collect any bonus points with 191. A free-swinging 33* was followed up with key strikes late on the 3rd day to leave the opposition 51/3, needing 405 to win. They failed to make their target by some distance, despite a 6th wicket partnership of 113 between Ben Wright and Jim Allenby.

RMJ is lesser known than his father Christopher, a much loved commentator for Test Match Special but has still been a consistent performer for Sussex for 15 years, if not quite reaching his early promise as an international all-rounder. He averages around 30 with bat and ball, which does the job. Often underrated, it is hoped that this nomination helps him step out of his father's shadow.

Chris Rogers (Derbyshire) - Literally as I write this, Rogers' Derbyshire have just finished off Surrey to win by 208 runs at The Oval. He is their captain and overseas player. It takes a shrewd skipper to force victory on a lifeless Oval pitch (still rectangular but its at the Oval, just to clarify), juggling what is in truth a pretty average bowling attack, spearheaded by South African spinner Robin Peterson. But it is for his batting that Rogers is nominated. He hit the first 100 of the summer and made it big, reaching 200 before swiping across the line to Gareth Batty, plumb lbw. His driving down the ground and through the covers was especially eye-catching, as was the way he accelerated his innings as he progressed. Greg Smith chipped in with 66 as Derbyshire made 451. Surrey replied with a passable 352, aided by the evergreen Mark Ramprakash and century no. 109 for his career. Rogers then made 140* out of 274/6 declared, again punishing pretty impotent Surrey bowling. Surrey were blown away and folded for 165, as Peterson claimed 3-32 on his debut.

Rogers is an Australian of great experience - this 200 was his 3rd in 4 championship matches and his 42nd first-class century in all. He played 1 test for Australia back in 2008, replacing an injured Matthew Hayden, although accomplished nothing much, save for a blinding catch to dismiss Anil Kumble - he follows in the great tradition of players like Darren Pattinson and Wriddhiman Saha to play one test, lose and never get picked again. Shame on the Australian selectors - look at him now with his Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week Award nomination!

Steven Finn (Middlesex) - Having spent a winter toiling for little reward in Bangladesh, where a bowling average of 44 reflects more on Alistair Cook's conservative field placings and Finn's luck rather than his quality, the boy has become a man. However, astounding match figures of 14-106 were not enough as Middlesex were defeated by 111 runs by Worcestershire at New Road. A first-innings 85 from Daryl Mitchell proved crucial, as Dawid Malan was the only other player to pass 50 in the match, and that was in a lost cause. Finn moved the ball both ways to claim 5-69 first time around, but his team-mates folded for just 126 in reply. Finn then produced the spell of his life, pitching the ball up on his way to 9-37. The only batsman he didn't get, Phil Jaques, was dropped by Andrew Strauss off Finn's bowling - Kiwi Iain O'Brien then spoiled the party, Strauss making no mistake this time. Middlesex fell short of their target of 281. Richard Jones and Alan Richardson also had great games, with match figures of 8-105 and 7-76 respectively.

I first saw Finn at Taunton three years ago, where he was an erratic but effective quick bowler. His 6ft 8 frame allowed him to hit the deck hard and cause a quality Somerset batting line-up real problems. He has since added accuracy and patience to his game and has a big future in the England setup after a reasonable start in the winter.

The winner - Chris Rogers. For outstanding leadership on a flat wicket and cashing in on said pitch with the bat against opposition who will still be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. LAD

In other news, Yorkshire claimed victory over Warwickshire by 4 wickets in a close-fought encounter at Edgbaston. Both Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott made runs for the Bears but Oliver Hannon-Dalby became the first Yorkshireman with a double-barrelled name to claim a 5fer for the county (apparently!) with 5-68 in the 2nd innings, leaving his side a simple chase, where keeper Jon Bairstow excelled with 81. Matthew Hoggard's tenure as Leicestershire captain got off to a winning start, as they eased to a 6 wicket victory over Northants, mainly thanks to Claude Henderson's 6 wicket haul in the 1st innings. Hampshire collapsed dramatically late on in a 62 run defeat to new boys Essex in the final over of the match. That man Ryan ten Doeschate was the main wrecker with 5-13, when a draw looked certain at 170/4. This effort eclipsed the patient innings of Jimmy Adams (not the West Indian one), who made 169 in a first innings-marathon.

The 3 uni games featured two sides, Nottinghamshire and Kent, racking up 500 plus in the first innings against mediocre bowling attacks before playing out a draw. My Somerset boys did things a bit differently though! A shocking batting performance led to 246 in the 1st innings, while Cardiff Uni reached 113/1 at close on Day 1. Then the real Sabres turned up, bowling them out for 160 before racking up the runs to secure a 385 run hammering.

So 6 matches, 6 results. Who said this shit was boring?
RM