CB40 group finale sums up rain-hit summer

By Andrew Hignell

A microcosm of the summer of 2012 in all its watery entirety was seen in the the last round of Clydesdale Bank 40 group games on Monday August 27. Eight of the nine games suffered weather interruptions, and the only match to escape the rain's interference was at Canterbury, where Kent lost to Sussex in what turned out to be a semi-final eliminator.

Elsewhere, six out of the nine scheduled games ended as a `No Result` with insufficient overs being bowled, while two others had to use the Duckworth-Lewis Method in order to determine a result.

In all, 330 overs were lost in the final round of group games, with the Bank Holiday Monday being the worst affected of days during this so-called summer in 40-over cricket – a competition which rarely sees a full compliment on each weekend as games are distributed throughout the week in order that a regular schedule of televised matches is possible,

However as August 27 was the final round of group games, all nine contests started at the same time, and with a mature depression and its rain-bearing fronts sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean and making its way from west to east across the country, each of these group matches were affected, almost in a domino effect.

Ironically, at Canterbury, Kent had topped their group table going into the final round of matches, but the defeat against Sussex knocked them out of the last four and left Rob Key’s side rueing the fact that three other matches earlier in the year had been lost to the weather.

But as the list below shows, Kent were not the worst affected of all the counties in the CB40 group stages. Sussex lost a total of 320 overs, equivalent to a third of all playing time, while Northants lost 284 overs, and Kent 255 overs - just ahead of Leicestershire and Middlesex who each lost more than a quarter of their playing time in the competition.

The total amount of overs lost by each county side in the CB40 group stages, in which a maximum of 960 overs were possible, is as follows:

Sussex Sharks                        320
Northants Steelbacks              284
Kent Spitfires                           255
Leicestershire Foxes               252
Middlesex Panthers                251
Welsh Dragons                       245
Surrey                                      215
Derbyshire Falcons                 182
Hampshire Royals                  169
Gloucestershire Gladiators     159
Essex Eagles                          155
Warwickshire Bears                152
Yorkshire Carnegie                136
Somerset                                 133
Worcestershire Royals            132
Lancashire Lightning             119
Durham Dynamos                  114
Nottinghamshire Outlaws         71

*Andrew Hignell is Glamorgan County Cricket Club's official scorer
 



Date: 29/08/2012 15:21:00 by Andrew Hignell
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