The cricketing summer of 1993 will always be associated with Shane Warne’s spectacular Ashes debut, and that outrageous opening delivery to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford. Happy Birthday @ShaneWarne!We'll certainly never forget this ball...https://t.co/HwrSFzXwK9 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 13, 2016 But it also produced some much fonder memories for Gatting – a couple of months after he had been dumbfounded in Manchester, he was leading Middlesex to the County Championship title. It was their seventh Championship - including one shared with Kent in 1977 - in an 18-year period during which they also won seven one-day competitions. And they romped home, winning 11 of their 17 matches and ending 36 points clear of second-placed Worcestershire despite suffering an innings...
Half centuries from Jimmy Adams, Will Smith, James Vince and Sean Ervine ensured Hampshire had the perfect opening day of their survival clash with Durham. The quartet all scored runs quickly, without converting to tons, to pick up important bonus points, with Hampshire knowing a win will guarantee them another year in Division One, while a draw could still be enough. Smith and Vince were the pick of the batsmen, but both departed in the nervous nineties after craftsman-like innings. Under heavy clouds, which cloaked the view of the Meon Valley to the north of the ground, Paul Collingwood elected not to toss – looking up rather than down at a dry track, which looks destined to turn later in...
Lancashire's bowlers piled the pressure on Warwickshire on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship relegation battle at Edgbaston. With Hampshire making strong progress at The Ageas Bowl, it looks increasingly likely that whichever side loses this match will go down. And Warwickshire are looking vulnerable after they were bowled out for 219, taking just a single batting point. They are far from out of the game - the ball has swung and there is some assistance for the spinners. But Lancashire completed their solid day's work by reaching 14 without loss at the close and three days after the euphoria of their Royal London One-Day Cup triumph at Lord's, Warwickshire's supporters were left anxious by another patchy day's...
James Hildreth hit the most remarkable century of his prolific career to boost Somerset’s title hopes on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match with Nottinghamshire at Taunton. But Notts seamer Jake Ball also had a day to remember, finishing with six for 47 as five wickets fell for no runs in the space of 22 balls at the end of the day, leaving Somerset 322 for nine. Hildreth hit an heroic 135, having been struck a painful blow on an ankle by a delivery from Ball when on only seven. Despite struggling to walk and batting with a runner for most of his innings, the 32-year-old faced 233 balls, hitting 17 fours and a six, and shared...
James Hildreth batted through the pain to get Somerset off to a flier while Nick Gubbins thwarted Yorkshire on Day One of the final round... DIVISION ONEHampshire 370-6 v Durham Middlesex 208-5 v YorkshireSomerset 322-9 v NottsWarks 219 v Lancs 14-0 DIVISION TWOGloucs 201-7 v SussexKent v Essex (abandoned)Leics 96 & 78-0 v Glamorgan 199Worcs 255-6 v Derbyshire THE PERMUTATIONS! Find out who needs what to win the title GUB A DUB DUBMiddlesex needed someone to step up having been inserted under thick cloud cover at Lord’s and falling to 57-3. Nick Gubbins was that man. Second only to Keaton Jennings in the run charts, he struck a quite brilliant century, underlying his stone cold temperament, and leading Middlesex past 200 before bad...
