English Counties high points of the season – 2013

Derbyshire

County Championship: 8^th (Div 1)

YB40: 6^th (Group B)

FLt20: 5^th (North Group)

High points: Despite being relegated from the first division of the County Championship, Captain Wayne Madsen scored 1,221 Championship runs in 2013 and as a result was rewarded with the Cricket Writers’ Club County Championship Player of the Year award. Chesney Hughes’ was another batsman who shone, with his 270 versus Yorkshire a particular highlight.

 

Durham

County Championship: 1^st (Div 1)

YB40: 4^th (Group B)

FLt20: Quarter-finals

High points: Winning the County Championship Division One. An eight-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in their penultimate fixture gave Durham an unassailable lead over nearest title-rivals Yorkshire, as they claimed their first Championship success since winning back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. Graham Onions led the way with 70 Championship wickets, whilst Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman both made over 1,000 Championship runs.

 

Essex

County Championship: 3^rd (Div 2)

YB40: 2^nd (Group B)

FLt20: Semi-finals

High points: Success on all fronts, but the bowling of Graham Napier was a particular highlight for the Eagles.

 

Glamorgan

County Championship: 8^th (Div 2)

YB40: Runners-up

FLt20: 3^rd (Midlands, Wales & West Group)

High points: Getting to the Yorkshire Bank 40 final against Lord’s was a testament to the progress Glamorgan are making, especially as a one-day outfield. Australian overseas fast bowler Michael Hogan took 67 Championship wickets and 103 in all competitions, whilst Jim Allenby scored 1,925 runs in total across all three formats. one-day form and also took 40 wickets.

 

Gloucestershire

County Championship: 6^th (Div 2)

YB40: 4^th (Group C)

FLt20: 6^th (Midlands, Wales & West Group)

High points: Will Gidman’s remarkable performance against Leicestershire.

 

Hampshire

County Championship: 4^th (Div 2)

YB40: Semi-finals

FLt20: Semi-finals

High points: Michael Carberry’s runs.

 

Kent

County Championship: 7^th (Div 2)

YB40: 4^th (Group A)

FLt20: 5^th (South Group)

High points: In an otherwise disappointing season, it was a year of dramatic run chases for Kent. The Spitfires broke a 40-over cricket world record when they chased down the Sussex Shark’s score of 336-5 in their YB40 group stage match at Canterbury. Darren Stevens 44-ball-ton was the fastest century of the entire summer and it was his efforts, along with Sam Northeast’s maiden List A hundred, that led the Spitfires to an unlikely victory.

 

Lancashire

County Championship: 1^st (Div 2)

YB40: 3^rd (Group B)

FLt20: Quarter-finals

High points: Winning Division Two of the County Championship. The Lightning almost went the whole summer without losing a match in the domestic four-day competition, only to be undone in their final game by an incredible Darren Stevens knock (205*) as Kent chased down a mammoth 418 to end the streak. But this defeat was not enough to dampen a hugely impressive season for Lancashire in the competition.

 

Leicestershire

County Championship: 9^th (Div 2)

YB40: 5^th (Group C)

FLt20: 4^th (North Group)

High points: The form of batsman Ned Eckersley. In his most prolific season to date, the former wicket-keeper-turned-batter made 1,275 runs including four centuries and four fifties.

 

Middlesex

County Championship: 5^th (Div 1)

YB40: 3^rd (Group C)

FLt20: 4^th (South Group)

High points: Their Australian batsmen.

 

Northamptonshire

County Championship: 2^nd (Div 2)

YB40: 2^nd (Group A)

FLt20: Winners

High points: Winning the Friends Life Twenty20 competition and gaining promotion to Division One in the County Championship. David Willey’s blistering 60 from just 27 balls got the Steelbacks off to a flyer at Edgbaston against Surrey, before one-day captain Alex Wakely (59*) and overseas-Aussie Cameron White (54*) steered their team to a formidable total of 194-2. David Willey’s hat-trick sealed the deal as Northants bowled Surrey out for just 92 to claim their first domestic t20 title.

 

Nottinghamshire

County Championship: 7^th (Div 1)

YB40: Winners

FLt20: Quarter-finals

High points: Winning the Yorkshire Bank 40-over competition. Having topped Group A with an impressive record of nine wins and three losses, the Outlaws blew away Somerset’s batsmen in the semi-final, bowling Marcus Trescothick’s men out for just 119. In the final, Glamorgan put up a significantly better fight, however, Notts conquered thanks to a 99-run fifth-wicket partnership between veteran skipper Chris Read and experienced overseas David Hussey. The Outlaws total of 244-8 proved to be too many for Glamorgan, who were bowled out for 157, with Samit Patel, Stuart Broad and Ajmal Shahzad taking three wickets apiece.

 

Somerset

County Championship: 6^th (Div 1)

YB40: Semi-finals

FLt20: Quarter-finals

High points: The performances of their young Englishman.

 

Surrey

County Championship: 9^th (Div 1)

YB40: 5^th (Group B)

FLt20: Runners-up

High points: Reaching the Friends Life Twenty20 final was a fantastic achievement for Surrey, although everyone connected with the club will have been largely disappointed with the overall outcome of the season. In a season in which Surrey almost had more overseas players than victories, the Oval-boys won just one Championship match all summer and were subsequently relegated. Thus, their t20 performances, plus eighteen-year-old Dom Sibley’s outstanding 242 in their final game, shows there is hope for the future.

 

Sussex

County Championship: 3^rd (Div 1)

YB40: 3^rd (Group A)

FLt20: 6^th (South Group)

High points: Their County Championship season.

 

Warwickshire

County Championship: 4^th (Div 1)

YB40: 7^th (Group A)

FLt20: 4^th (Midlands, Wales & West Group)

High points: The emergence of their home-grown talent.

 

Worcestershire

County Championship: 5^th (Div 2)

YB40: 5^th (Group A)

FLt20: 5^th (Midlands, Wales & West Group)

High points: The efforts of two men: Moeen Ali and Alan Richardson. Ali scored more runs than any player in Division Two of the County Championship (1,375) and amassed over 2,000 runs in all forms of cricket. He also chipped in with 55 wickets and has subsequently been called up to the England Performance Squad for their winter tour of Australia. As for Richardson, the 38-year-old seamer took 68 Championship wickets at 19.83, including career-best figures of 8-37 against Gloucestershire.

 

Yorkshire

County Championship: 2^nd (Div 1)

YB40: 6^th (Group C)

FLt20: 6^th (North Group)

High points: Scoring a mountain of runs to finish a deserved second in the County Championship Division One. Remarkably eight different Yorkshire batsman made Championship hundreds in 2013 (plus, Kiwi-overseas Kane Williamson fell just short, making 97 against Sussex) with three of those batters (Joe Root, Alex Lees and Andrew Gale) made double-centuries. Root, Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance have all since been selected in the touring party for the Ashes Down Under this winter, whilst Lees will also travel with the Performance squad.