The County Scene: Week 27 - The End

Yes, sadly we have reached the end of another cricketing summer. Yet again we have experienced the delights of bad weather, scandal and tense finishes. Such is the effervescent nature of the sport. I think it is only fitting that I start with my county team of the season

Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) - brilliant leader and ultra-aggressive opener in every form of the game
Adam Lyth (Yorkshire) - came from virtually nowhere to be the brightest light in the Tykes' young squad
Mark Ramprakash (Surrey) - the man just cannot stop scoring runs
Andrew Gale (Yorkshire - captain) - took over the reins of an unfancied side and fared brilliantly, scoring a bucketload of runs on the side
James Hildreth (Somerset) - never let the side down, scoring hundred after hundred to end with the highest average of the season
Murray Goodwin (Sussex) - another perennial run scorer, firing his side straight back up to the top division
Chris Read (Nottinghamshire - keeper) - how can you ignore the Championship winning skipper, who continues to make runs and keep superbly without recognition
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) - runs, wickets, no Ashes spot. Life's not fair for everyone's favourite leggy who isn't Shane Warne
Andre Adams (Nottinghamshire) - so many wickets, including those crucial strikes against Lancashire on the final day. There's life in the old Kiwi yet.
Alfonso Thomas (Somerset) - Mr Death Bowling in limited overs and consistently brilliant in first class cricket as well
Chris Tremlett (Surrey) - to average around 20 playing your home matches at the Oval takes real class and mental fortitude, which Tremlett displayed for the first time in his life

12th man - Murali Kartik (Somerset) - it would just be biased to have 4 Somerset players, but Kartik is a) a left-arm spinner (more bias) and b) the reason that Taunton has become such a fortress this season

And finally, the conclusion of the Pakistan tour. The less said about it the better I think, so I'll keep it brief:

4th ODI (Lord's) - Pakistan 265-7 (50 overs) (Mohammad Hafeez 64 off 100, Swann 10-0-37-4) beat England 227 (46.1 overs) (Strauss 68 off 72, Umar Gul 8.1-0-32-4). Once again England did not look up for this game and who could blame them? They had after all just been accused of match-fixing by PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, who is essentially an idiot with power. Having failed to restrict their opponents with the new ball, it was once again left to Graeme Swann to keep the runs down, although even then there was still an onslaught at the end as Abdul Razzaq smacked 44* off 20 at the death, taking the game away from England who had to chase under lights. Razzaq is one of the few game changers still around in international cricket and remains a joy to watch. Shahid Afridi also fired in quick runs as Tim Bresnan's bowling under pressure was left woefully exposed. England's heart was never in the run chase after that, with no one there to support the excellent start given to them by Strauss and Steve Davies (49 off 61). To be fair, Gul and Shoaib Akhtar (10-0-59-3) bowled with real fire and movement, which, when your focus is elsewhere, will always prove too much.

5th ODI (Rose Bowl) - England 256-6 (50 overs) (Morgan 107* off 101) beat Pakistan 135 (37 overs) by 121 runs and win the series 3-2. This was how to bounce back. Yet again, Eoin Morgan plays an innings of flair and authority to seal the series. You simply cannot overstate how amazing his range of shots is and the cool head required to play them. The fact is that once again, one man alone had held England's batting together, although he did receive support of a kind from a clearly out of form and unwell Paul Collingwood (47 off 71 with no boundaries - a brave effort given the migraines he was suffering from). After an expensive first ten overs, there was nothing to write home about in the response. England's best bowlers in this series have been Swann and Stuart Broad and they reaped their rewards with three cheap wickets apiece here. Well done to Luke Wright as well, who took his opportunity in the absence of Michael Yardy to demonstrate that he potentially has a role to play as an all-rounder on the subcontinent (6-0-16-1) here.

I'll be back for the Ashes tour
RM