CHAMPIONSHIP CHINWAG: Jimmy Anderson at his best and a lovely spot of bat-carrying

NICK FRIEND looks back on a wet round of County Championship action with reflections on some of the key talking points from around the grounds

Beware the old-stager…
Oh Jimmy, Jimmy. Nine wickets in the match for James Anderson. Eight wickets in the match for Graham Onions.

The cumulative cost of those 17 wickets? Just the measly sum of 94 runs. Beat that if you can.

The selection of Leus du Plooy, a specialist batsman, down at number eight suggested that all at Derbyshire knew what might be coming their way after Lancashire opted not to contest the toss.

Quite simply, why would you dare when armed with a posse of seamers so strong that neither Richard Gleeson nor Tom Bailey can get on the park?

It wasn’t all bleak for Derbyshire, however. Luis Reece – once of Lancashire – had a red-letter day of his own. He opened the batting and then the bowling, taking a six-wicket haul home with him. Certainly worth the match fee.

In truth, though, this was all about Anderson. The England legend has 28 Championship wickets at an average of 8.64. Division Two batsmen can’t wait for the Ashes…

Anderson has taken 28 Championship wickets so far this season

Round numbers

If you love round numbers and cricketing silliness, you will love the manufactured conclusion to Leicestershire’s draw with Gloucestershire.

Two hundreds – one each for Hasan Azad and Paul Horton, both ending slap bang on 100 after Azad had already made a far more important first-innings ton before the game had died a drawn death.

The game ended there and then. Lovely scenes. If you like this kind of thing – this particular writer loves such events, we even had 10 bowlers for pedants to get their heads into.

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An absolute treat of a County Championship encounter. Round numbers everywhere. Two scores of 100, zero wickets on the board, 10 bowlers used, all coming after Ryan Higgins had succumbed to Chris Wright on 199 – one short of another great round figure.

An honorary shout-out to Gareth Roderick, the only man denied a bowl – granted, he had the gloves on – by captain Chris Dent.

^{Hasan Azad hit his first and second Leicestershire hundreds in the same game last week, while Paul Horton also made a ton}

A knight in shining Harmer
Sir Alastair Cook is not alone in this Essex side as cricketing royalty. Simon Harmer might just be his county’s prized asset.

Twelve wickets in a day and a half for the South African off-spinner. That mammoth haul came at the fairly absurd price of just 61 runs. Beat that for extreme competence.

After Jamie Porter’s early double-salvo left Hampshire five for two in their second innings, the finger-spinner took over, reducing Hants to 32 for seven inside 14 overs.

Spare a thought for Joe Weatherley, who carried his bat for 29 not out. His effort was just three runs too many to challenge Test cricket’s lowest ever bat-carrying effort: Bernard Tancred made an unbeaten 26 in 1889 against England. Carrying your bat in defeat – every club cricketer’s selfish dream…

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