England light on spinners in Aus Squad

England have named their squad(s) for the Australian Tour, who will be charged with attempting to retain the Ashes on Aussie soil. Fortunately they will be competing for them not over just one Test Match, but in the newly-formatted Ashes Series - One Test, three ODIs and three T20s, with 6 points available in each format.

The squad for the Test and the ODIs is Edwards, Brindle, Brunt, Cross, Elwiss, Greenway, Gunn, Hazell, Jones, Knight, Sciver, Shrubsole, Taylor, Winfield, Wyatt.

The squad for the T20s is Edwards, Brindle, Brunt, Elwiss, Farrant, Greenway, Gunn, Hazell, Jones, Knight, Sciver, Shrubsole, Taylor, Winfield, Wyatt

It is good to see Brunt, Knight and Shrubsole back after injury kept them out of the recent West Indies tour. Laura Marsh it seems has not made such a good recovery. England will be keeping their fingers crossed that all three of the returnees remain fit as they are key components of a strong England side.

However without Marsh and the "retired" Holly Colvin England are looking rather short in the spin bowling department. Dani Hazell has her good and her bad days, and Danni Wyatt bowled just three overs in the recent Caribbean crusade. No explanation was given for her lack of arm-twirling, and had Colvin or Marsh been available for Australia then her place on the tour may well have been in doubt. As it is England will be looking to these two to get through plenty of overs in the Test. Wyatt was not selected for the Test at Wormsley (behind Marsh and Hazell) and Hazell herself bowled 31 wicketless overs conceding 132 runs. Whilst the WACA is unlikely to be a raging bunsen, spinners will play an important part in a long game in a hot climate. 

Newcomers Kate Cross and Tash Farrant will both get to experience an Ashes abroad, with the former selected for the both the Test and ODI squads and the latter taking her place for the T20s. It seems a diplomatic solution as neither disappointed in the Windies. In reality it is unlikely either will play unless there are injuries or England win the Test and the first two ODIs.

Amy Jones is once again selected as the back-up keeper - a pretty thankless task behind the world's number one keeper in Sarah Taylor, but they have to have some cover in case of injury. This means that Tammy Beaumont misses out, but given that she has 49 ODI and T20 caps and is yet to make a 50 she has had plenty of opportunities to nail down a place in the team.

Charlotte Edwards will, of course, be skipper. England will be hoping she regains her form with the bat and that she and Knight can get England off to the starts they need in the longer formats of the game. It would not surprise me to see her relinquish the opener's role in the T20s, especially if England have the series wrapped up.

The Aussies are due to announce their squad later this week. There are unlikely to be too many surprises, but they have batsmen in form in Villani, Lanning, Bolton, Ebsary, Blackwell and Cameron. Their bowlers are not having quite such a good time of things at the moment, but they have games to play before England turn up. England will need to hit the ground running with 6 points immediately at stake for the Test which starts on 10th January.

MD
11/XII/13

New T20 Divisional Format for 2014

The Women's T20 2014 competition shifts from its former regional basis with a national final, to a divisional basis which follows the current Women's County Championship structure (ie 9 teams in each division) and the current team format (ie Div 1 teams will play in Div 1 of the T20). But from 2015 the two competitions will diverge as teams are relegated and promoted in the Women's County Championship and two teams are relegated and promoted in each division of the separate T20 format.

The 9 teams in each division are split into three T20 groups of three, who will each play each other twice over two days. The three winners of each group then play each other again (on a separate date) to decide first, second and third in that division. Those who finish second in their groups in the first phase play each other for fourth, fifth and sixth. Those who finish third play off for seventh, eighth and ninth - with the bottom two being relegated.

DIVISION 1
Group A                                              
Berkshire                                     
Middlesex                                               
Sussex
Group B                                                    
Essex                                                               
Kent                                                   
Surrey
Group C                                                   
Notts                                                           
Warwickshire                                      
Yorkshire                                                       

DIVISION 2
Group A
Staffordshire                                                                                             
Cheshire                                                                                              
Worcestershire
Group B                                                                                              
Durham                                                                                                
Lancashire
Ireland
Group C
Devon
Somerset
Wales

DIVISION 3
Group A
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Oxfordshire
Group B
Herts
Netherlands
Northants
Group C
Derbyshire
Leicestershire
Scotland

DIVISION 4 (becomes three groups of 4 in second round)
Group A
Bucks
Shropshire
Staffs
Group B
Cambridgeshire
Huntingdonshire
Norfolk
Group C
Cumbria
Lincolnshire
Northumberland
Group D
Cornwall
Dorset
Wiltshire

The first round of group games will be on Tues/Wed 22nd/23rd July.

The second round games will be played on Sun 29th June.

I can see Net Run Rate playing a big part - get your calculators ready!!


MD
10/XII/13

WCC14 - Full Div 1 & Div 2 Fixtures

The full fixture list for Divisions 1 and 2 of the Women's County Championship 2014 (WCC14) are below:-


Sunday 4th May
Division 1
Surrey v Warwickshire
Notts v Berkshire
Sussex v Essex
Kent v Yorkshire
Division 2
Somerset v Worcestershire
Durham v Wales
Lancashire v Ireland
Cheshire v Staffordshire

Monday 5th May
Division 1
Sussex v Warwickshire
Middlesex v Kent
Surrey v Yorkshire
Notts v Essex
Division 2
Somerset v Lancashire
Devon v Staffordshire
Worcestershire v Cheshire
Durham v Ireland

Sunday 25th May
Division 1
Essex v Surrey
Yorkshire v Middlesex
Kent v Warwickshire
Berkshire v Sussex
Division 2
Wales v Devon
Worcestershire v Lancashire
Staffordshire v Durham
Cheshire v Ireland

Monday 26th May
Division 1
Kent v Essex
Notts v Sussex
Berkshire v Surrey
Warwickshire v Middlesex
Division 2
Staffordshire v Ireland
Durham v Lancashire
Wales v Worcestershire
Devon v Somerset

Sunday 15th June
Division 1
Yorkshire v Sussex
Essex v Berkshire
Warwickshire v Notts
Middlesex v Surrey
Division 2
Lancashire v Cheshire
Wales v Ireland
Durham v Somerset
Devon v Worcestershire

Sunday 22nd June
Division 1
Notts v Middlesex
Essex v Warwickshire
Yorkshire v Berkshire
Sussex v Kent
Division 2
Cheshire v Durham
Worcestershire v Staffordshire
Lancashire v Devon
Wales v Somerset

Sunday 29th June
Division 1
Berkshire v Middlesex
Surrey v Sussex
Kent v Notts
Essex v Yorkshire
Division 2
Worcestershire v Ireland
Cheshire v Devon
Somerset v Staffordshire
Lancashire v Wales

Sunday 20th July
Division 1
Kent v Berkshire
Warwickshire v Yorkshire
Essex v Middlesex
Surrey v Notts
Division 2
Staffordshire v Wales
Cheshire v Somerset
Devon v Ireland
Durham v Worcestershire

Sunday 27th July 
Division 1
Yorkshire v Notts
Surrey v Kent
Middlesex v Sussex
Berkshire v Warwickshire
Division 2
Devon v Durham
Somerset v Ireland
Wales v Cheshire
Staffordshire v Lancashire

MD
10/XII/13

County Cricket in 2014

It looks like Somerset and Lancashire will have another season in Division 2 next year, as the fixtures for the 2014 season have been released to the counties, although I have yet to see them published anywhere in full.

Division 1 will again have the same nine teams as last season - Berkshire, Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire and the league fixtures will be all-but over by the end of June. There are two week gaps in mid-May and at the beginning of June, which could be for the Super 3s, and the first ywo weeks of July are clear of WCC games which would suggest a touring team could be in the country - no news on this yet.

We do however know that India will be in England in August which is being kept completely clear of all WCC games, although the T20 finals will be held on Sunday 3rd August 2014.

The only confirmed fixtures I have to date are for Berkshire and Sussex (email me if you have others - cricket@lawdox.co.uk)

Berkshire Fixtures

Sun 4th May Nottinghamshire v Berkshire

Sun 25th May Berkshire v Sussex at Wokingham CC

Mon 26th May Berkshire v Surrey at Wokingham CC

Sun 15th June Essex v Berkshire

Sun 22nd June Yorkshire v Berkshire

Sun 29th June Berkshire v Middlesex at Wokingham CC

Sun 20th July Kent v Berkshire

Sun 27th July Berkshire v Warwickshire at Wokingham CC

 

Sussex Fixtures
Sun 4th May - Sussex v Essex
Mon 5th May - Sussex v Warwickshire
Sun 25th May - Berkshire v Sussex at Wokingham CC
Mon 26th May - Sussex v Nottinghamshire
Sun 15th June - Yorkshire v Sussex
Sun 22nd June - Sussex v Kent
Sun 29th June - Surrey v Sussex
Sun 27th July - Middlesex v Sussex

T20
Tues/Wed 22nd/23rd July - T20 South Regional - Berkshire, Middlesex and Sussex (down to three from last year's four teams) at Wokingham CC - each play each other twice.

Sun 3rd August - T20 Finals

More news as it trickles in over the next few weeks/months.

MD
09/XII/14

Who is in form for the Southern Stars?

With the Aussie season having just about reached its half-way stage (each state only plays six WNCL 50 over games and 12 T20 matches) and with just over a month until the Ashes Series kicks off with the Test Match at the WACA (10th January) lets have a look at who in the Southern Stars squad has found some form.

Meg Lanning  is the top run scorer in WT20 cricket with 283 runs in eight knocks at an average of 47.17, including two 50s.

She is closely followed by Elyse Villani, who has notched up 259 runs in the same number of games at an average of 43.17, also including two 50s.

Left-hander Nicole Bolton (not currently in the Southern Stars squad) holds third spot, ahead of Jess Cameron, who has managed just one fifty in eight visits to the crease, during which time she has amassed 175 runs at an average of 35.00.

While the three Stars have hit their stride in the shorter format of the game runs have been harder to come by in the the longer format. In four innings Lanning has scored 133; Cameron 118; and Villani 154 runs (with 133 of those coming in one knock). Above these three in the 50 over format are Nicole Bolton (again), who is top run scorer with 187 runs; Jodie Fields 177 runs in just two innings (but has not kept wicket in a 50 over game yet) and Sarah Elliott 155 runs in four knocks, including two 50s.

In fact the 31 year old "Test Specialist" Sarah Elliott is having a good time with the ball too, spinning her way to ninth spot in the top 50 over wicket takers with 5 @ 19.20 and eighth in the T20 list with 7 @ 12.29. In fact none of the big names are above her in the T20 bowling list with Ellyse Perry languishing way-down with just two wickets in 18 overs of bowling and Holly Ferling not much better with just three in 20 overs. Erin Osborne and Jemma Barsby have six wickets each and Megan Schutt has four. Top T20 wicket-taker is veteran Kirsten Pike who has 13 wickets in 22 overs. One name that does appear in both the WT20 and the WNCL top wicket-taker list is Nicole Bolton, who has four wickets in WT20 and six in WNCL for the Western Fury. Together with her runs you would think the selectors will be watching her closely over the next few weeks.

In the 50 over game Erin Osborne heads the leading takers with eight wickets from just 21 overs at an average below 10. Ellyse Perry has six wickets (including four in one game) @ 13.00; Jemma Barsby also has six @ 21.67. Megan Schutt  has five; Rachael Haynes and Julie Hunter four and Holly Ferling  just three so far.

The next round of WNCL and double-header T20 fixtures take place this weekend with Vic Spirit v Tassie Roar; NSW v Queensland and ACT v SA. Vic Spirit  and NSW  head the field in both competitions and are likely  to remain on top after this round of fixtures. Tassie Roar are currently holding up the rest in the both the WT20 and WNCL, but Queensland could give NSW a run for their money in the short format, if not in the long, where they are only just above the Roar.

(with many thanks to Bronwyn Calver for providing all the stats)

MD
02/XII/13

Holly Colvin to take a break

Sussex and England are going to be without the services of their left arm spinner Holly Colvin for the foreseeable future, after the former World Cup winner recently announced that she is going to take an indefinite break from cricket to concentrate on her career.

It will be a big blow to Sussex, who won the County Championship last year, with Holly taking 3/23 in the final against Yorkshire. It will be an even bigger blow to England, who face the Aussies in Australia in January attempting to retain the Ashes, and then move on to the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in March. Colvin has been a mainstay of the England side since she first broke into the team as a 15 year old in 2005. She remains England's youngest ever Test player of either sex. To add to England's spinning woes Laura Marsh is still trying to come back from her second operation on her bowling shoulder and Danni Wyatt hardly bowled at all in the recent West Indies tour.

Colvin's summer this year was disrupted by a broken thumb sustained in a men's game early in the season. It meant she played only a handful of games for her county and looked generally out of salts for much of the Ashes Series. With her slow flighted spin there is very little margin for error. But it seemed in the West Indies that she had rediscovered her length (2/7 and 4/17 - her best ever ODI stats) and she helped England win the ODI series 2-0. 

In her eight year career with England the 24 year old has played in 5 Tests, 50 T20s and 72 ODIs. She has taken a total of 174 wickets (13, 63 and 98 respectively) and scored a total of 330 runs. Her 98 wickets in ODIs puts her just 8 behind England's top wicket-taker, Jenny Gunn, and she has played 43 less games). Initially she struggled with the bat, but she worked hard on her batting and has impressed in some recent performances - she and Anya Shrubsole so nearly got England over the line against Australia in the 2013 World Cup Super Six game adding 31 for the last wicket in a low-scoring game. It may trouble her that her highest score for England was just 29, but in truth she was given very few opportunities to show what she can do with the bat.

But England played her for her bowling and she rarely let them down. She was not a big spinner of the ball, but her slow looping deliveries meant it was down to the batsmen to get pace on the ball. Frequently they failed and although she may not have taken as many wickets as she would have liked, she frequently bowled miserly spells which induced mistakes at the other end.

There is no doubt that England will be a weaker team without her. Whether she will return to the game, as Sarah Taylor did after a break, seems doubtful. Her sudden departure left England with no left-arm spin option in the Senior squad. This has been swiftly rectified by the enhancement of Rebecca Grundy to the main squad from the Academy. No doubt England thought that Holly would be around for many years to come. But that, sadly, is not to be.

We wish her well in her career outside of cricket.

MD
17/XI/13

Young England defeat Windies

England duly wrapped up the ODI series with a second comprehensive victory over their West Indian hosts and will leave the Caribbean on a high. They should not, however, forget that they lost all three of their T20 games to the Windies, and that the T20 World Cup is just 5 months away.

But before that there is the small matter of the Ashes. Charlotte Edwards was desperate to win them in England and she will be even more fired up to retain them on Aussie soil. Once again the format will be one Test; three ODIs and and three T20s with 6 points again for the Test (being played at the WACA) and 2 points for each of the other games. Given the England men's recent game at the WACA you would have to say that a drawn Test looks extremely likely. Both teams have girls that can bat long and once in at the WACA you have to find ways to get yourself out. The series would then of course come down to the short format stuff.

The one really key point that has come out of the Windies tour is the fragility of the England batting. Only Sarah Taylor made over 50 in any of the seven completed games (55* and 100 in the two ODIs). But even she had a lean spell in the T20s and skipper Charlotte Edwards never quite found her touch in either format. Newcomers Nat Sciver and Lauren Winfield will have learnt more from the tour and have scope to improve, but the experienced Danni Wyatt, Tammy Beaumont, Lydia Greenway and Jenny Gunn failed to make an impact with the bat. That will be a concern. England will hope to add Heather Knight and Laura Marsh to their batting line-up for the Ashes trip, but they will both have been without outdoor cricket for four months, if fit. England will also hope that Sarah's sublime form which saw her score a magnificent century in the last ODI continues, but it only takes one good ball or one bad shot.

On the bowling front fast bowlers Kate Cross and Tash Farrant have shown they have the temperament for cricket at the top level. Farrant got some good shape on the ball and Cross good bounce and carry. Neither have the firepower of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, who England again will hope to be fit to face the Aussies. Holly Colvin's return to form will be much welcomed. Her slow loopy left-arm spin is a key weapon in the 50 over game, perhaps less so in the 20 over format. Fellow spinner Dani Hazell only claimed four wickets in 28 overs of bowling, and Danni Wyatt only bowled three overs in the six games she played. Jenny Gunn surprisingly was the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets, including five in one game. It is difficult to see her as much more than a stock bowler though. Nat Sciver picked up 10 wickets including a hat-trick, but she has a tendency to be a tad expensive. When it comes to Ashes selection you need to throw all-rounders Arran Brindle and Georgia Elwiss into the bowling mix too.

If all the girls are fit and available then it is going to be a bit of a scramble to get onto the plane to Perth in early January. Paul Shaw and his team will have some difficult decisions to make.

No sooner will they be back from Australia than they will be thinking about the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. They play their first game on 24 March against the Windies. Also in England's group are India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Beaten in the final by Australia in 2012 England will be out for revenge, but they will have to improve on their T20 showing in the Caribbean.

MD
04/XI/13