The County Scene - Week 17: A chance to draw breath

OK, so there may not be a lot going on this week in the cricketing world, but last week was certainly exciting enough to warrant a good-length entry! Especially as it finally seems to be having some impact on Graeme, who managed to recognise Michael Yardy of all people in an issue of All Out Cricket he just "happened to pick up". So, with a renewed sense of vigour, let's start with Bangladesh:

3rd ODI (Edgbaston) - England 347-7 (50 overs) (Strauss 154 off 140, Trott 110 off 121) beat Bangladesh 203 (45 overs) (Bopara 10-1-38-4) by 144 runs. After all their hard fight in Bristol, this was a real let-down from the Tigers and gave further ammunition to the argument that they cannot sustain high-level performances at international level. The bowlers, having pinned England back previously, were all over the place, bowling to the strengths of both Strauss and Trott, who looked so comfortable at the crease, boosting their batting averages and recording career best scores. To see Andrew Strauss wallop five big sixes in an innings is testament to the way that he has adapted his conservative first-class style to the shorter forms, changing nothing more than the power with which he hits the strokes. He was allowed to pull and cut far too frequently, as only Mashrafe Mortaza showed any control in friendly bowling conditions (10-2-31-3). Uninhibited by a target and falling wickets, Trott also looked in the form that saw him hit a double ton in May. After an agonising 94 in Bristol he got to his first ODI ton in style, celebrating a la Nasser Hussain at the Oval with a raised fist to the selectors (although stopped short of the V-Sign and "Fuck You" message that Hussain brought out). He clearly feels aggreived at having made the team via the back door but will need to continue scoring fluently and appear less wrapped up in his own world while at the crease if he is to nail down a long-term spot. The surprise star for me was Ravi Bopara, who benefitted from Ian Bell's injury and the platform provided by Strauss and Trott to hit a breathtaking 45* off 16, taking 28 off the last over from the hapless Shafiul Islam. It's obvious that Bopara performs best when the pressure is off, much like the early days of Bell himself, but he is still young and his time will come again. He impressed with the ball, putting the ball in good areas at medium pace, allowing the batsmen to get themselves out. Which they did. Ajmal Shahzad again looked good in a fiery new ball burst (4-1-24-2) and Broad continued to show dominance over Bangladesh (10-1-27-1). Broad has looked a more mature bowler since his "strengthening programme" earlier in the summer and will be a crucial part of the Ashes defence. Not a lot to say about Bangladesh's batting - they never looked like they thought they were going to chase 348 down. Only Mahmudullah got runs (42 off 81) although the rate suggests a man playing for his average rather than the target.

Bangladesh then moved onto Belfast for a 2-match series against Ireland. Reports that riots broke out as many locals attempted to get a glimpse of the stars at the airport remain unconfirmed. It could have just been the Orange marches...

1st ODI - Ireland 235-3 (45 overs) (Porterfield 108 off 116, Stirling 52 off 57) beat Bangladesh 234-9 (50 overs) (Junaid Siddique 100 off 123, Shakib Al Hasan 50 off 78) by 7 wickets with 30 balls remaining

2nd ODI - Bangladesh 191-4 (Tamim Iqbal 74 off 91) beat Ireland 189-9 (46 overs) (Wilson 60 off 64, Shafiul Islam 10-0-59-4) by 6 wickets with 50 balls remaining (D/L method)

With a disappointing 1-1 series draw, the Tigers now move onto Glasgow for matches against Scotland and the Netherlands. Given the weather reports I have received from the West coast, I can't see a lot of action taking place!

So now, we move onto the FP t20, which has finally reached the end of the group stages, after 16 matches each! The ECB have been puzzled by the dwindling crowds this year, as usual failing to spot the blindingly obvious. There have simply been too many matches - if people can't get to one game, there will be another one just around the corner. An evening at the t20 is no longer as special as it was. As a football fan, you can look forward to a home league game every fortnight. It wouldn't be quite as fun if you had one every few days (although this is a reality in the Scottish lower leagues in March when catching up on the weather affected matches from Christmas). They have tried competing with the IPL whilst forgetting one key fact - the IPL has 8 teams (soon to be 10), the county circuit has 18. There is no need to play home and away - keep the group stage to 8 games each and spread them out over the same time period so that all matches can be played at a time suitable for all i.e. weeknights at 7pm or weekends. Rant over, let's look at the best performers from the group stages:

Highest run scorer - Jimmy Adams (Hampshire) - 582 runs @ 41.57 SR 133.18

Most wickets - Alfonso Thomas (Somerset) - 31 wickets @ 12.67 Economy 6.35

Highest score - Matt Prior (Sussex) - 117 off 55 vs Glamorgan

Most consistent striker - Kieron Pollard (Somerset) SR 174.57 Qualifying - minimum 10 innings including at least 1 50. Pollard also holds the record for most sixes with 27

Best bowling figures - Andrew McDonald (Leicestershire) - 4-0-13-5 vs Notts

Most economical bowler - Michael Yardy (Sussex) - Economy 5.48 rpo. Minimum 25 overs bowled to qualify.

I think all of these guys deserve LAD status. The quarter-finals draw is as follows: Warwickshire vs Hampshire, Notts vs Sussex, Somerset vs Northants, Essex vs Lancashire
RM