The County Bazball Debate continues

 

27/04

Broad on the Aussies and Bazball

25/04

County matters: Nottinghamshire's decision to go on the attack against Middlesex did not work on this occasion but was good for the sport

WILL MACPHERSON 24 April

For most of Sunday, it appeared that Middlesex’s meeting with Nottinghamshire was headed for a draw, just like five of the other six games in this rainy round of County Championship action. It rarely came down heavily, but there was enough rain to keep the covers on, teasing players and the few hardy spectators alike. The usual drill would have been to call stumps, shake hands and move on.

In the nick of time, though, the clouds lifted and across a few fun hours, something happened that made Nottinghamshire fans wince – or worse – but, you sense, would have drawn a smile from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Rather than accept a draw in a game they had dominated from the first session, Nottinghamshire decided to push for a win. By offering a chase of 249 in 40 overs, they gave Middlesex an opportunity to pull off a heist, which they duly did, with four wickets and one over to spare. After a torrid start to life back in Division One, they could scarcely believe their luck.

Stokes and McCullum addressed the counties at the start of this year about the cricket the England set-up want to see played at county level and, since, the captain has doubled down on his draws-are-the-devil attitude. It has led to the remarkable one-run defeat in Wellington, and some lofty statements about the Ashes. Asked by Sky if he would dangle a carrot to Australia when 2-1 up in the final Ashes Test, Stokes said: “I’d declare. You can hold me to it… Every game that I play this summer in this Ashes will be to produce a result.”

There has been much debate – including in these pages – about how Bazball would manifest itself in the championship, which even at 14 games is a marathon, not a sprint, where points are hard-fought and relegation is a threat. Aggressive batting? Adventurous captaincy? Now we see a very bold declaration, which might in part be down to the fact that a draw is worth just five measly points now.

Word on the street is that Durham are the county team most committed to Bazball, and that is little surprise. They are Stokes’ team, of course, and Scott Borthwick, their captain, is his best mate. Opener Alex Lees is a Bazball convert and, with two Australians, Ryan Campbell and Marcus North, in charge they are always going to look to take the game on. It has resulted in defeat when they should have won against Sussex at Hove, a brilliant victory against Worcestershire, and they came close to beating Glamorgan despite awful weather.

It is no great surprise that Nottinghamshire are on board, too. Stuart Broad is one of Stokes’ most trusted lieutenants, and Ben Duckett leads the charge for England. Stokes wants these guys to spread the word.

Notts, in truth, did probably not expect to see Middlesex take the game on in the way they did. They had a horrible start to the summer. In their first innings of the season, the entire top four registered ducks. None of the top five made even 40 across the first two matches. There was some pedigree there, but little confidence.

But, with a very short boundary towards the grandstand that would be desperately difficult to defend, there was always a chance. Stevie Eskinazi, one of the most consistent white-ball batsmen in the country, was promoted to open, and Sam Robson – who eventually hit the winning runs – held back until No8, when things got tight. But after the start Eskinazi and Mark Stoneman gave them, Middlesex always felt in control if the light did not intervene. It did not, and by the end it was Notts playing the clock. The likes of Pieter Malan and Max Holden even had the chance to play themselves into form.

Peter Moores, the Notts coach, was unrepentant, even as fans made their displeasure known on social media. “We took a chance that meant the game didn't peter away into nothing,” he said. “We had two choices: to bat and kill the game or make a game of it. We decided that the thing to do was to make a game of it. It felt like the right thing to do for us.”

Moores mentioned that having all four results on the table late in the day was “great entertainment for the crowd”. There were not many in, but thousands watched, listened and followed online. A few of those followers might choose to be attendees next time. So credit to Notts for opening the game up, and to Middlesex for accepting the invitation. “We have lived something,” Moores said. They did, and it was certainly better than packing up and going home.

Talking points

• The only other result of the round came at Wantage Road, where Northamptonshire were brutalised by a clinical showing from Hampshire. Northants have been deeply inconsistent this season: losing to a limited Kent attack, thrashing Middlesex, and now this.
• Northants remain as charming as ever. Their attack contains two late-blooming seamers (Ben Sanderson and Jack White), a slightly random Australian (Chris Tremain), Italy’s 42-year-old head coach (Gareth Berg), and a bowler who bowls off the wrong foot (Luke Procter), which gives them an endearing club-cricket feel. Is it enough to keep them up? Possibly not, sadly.
• There were no runs of note for Marnus Labuschagne against Durham, but he took career-best bowling figures of four for 81. Generally, he seemed to be bowling off-spin, as opposed to the leggies – or even medium-pace – that have brought him success in the past. An Ashes curveball?
• Labuschagne’s bowling was a reminder that while county cricket’s brilliant free streaming services have been good for just about everyone, umpires might be the exception. Plenty was made online about Labuschagne’s lbw of Michael Jones, which clearly pitched outside leg stump. Umpiring is very hard and every county decision is now available for scrutiny but, unlike with DRS at international level, there is no second chance. Let’s bear that in mind when judging them.

Performance of the week

Easy. On Thursday, Tom Price completed what is thought to be a double unique in first-class cricket, scoring an entire century and taking a hat-trick in the same day. What’s more, the hundred started when he came in at No9 with Gloucestershire 45 for seven, and the hat-trick started with the wicket of 97-Test Pakistan veteran Azhar Ali. It was not quite enough to force a result.

Match of the week

We got an excellent finish at Lord’s, but the best game came down at Hove, where it was a great shame that a washed-out Sunday prevented a natural conclusion. Sussex – whose young side are stirring – made the early running, picking up a first-innings lead of 63, before the game turned on Saturday. Sussex were bowled out for 137 second time round, and Adam Lyth took Yorkshire to within sight of victory when the rain came, and stayed. There was controversy, too, with Sussex left furious that Yorkshire’s Shai Hope was not given run out with the chase in the balance.

This continued Yorkshire’s horrible start to the season, after a narrow defeat by Leicestershire and a washout in Bristol. They have a bye this week, so will have to wait until next month for another crack at a win. They should, at least, have Jonny Bairstow back by then.

Quote of the week

“It’s definitely not bad luck. It’s sloppy backing up. He should definitely be able to get back in his crease, and if it’s the third time happening it’s just stupid. It’s just basic backing up. It’s professional cricket, and there’s no excuse for it. The guy is a good player, he’s learning all the time and he’s still young. But it’s costing him first-class dismissals and costing us as a team.”

Our quote of the week is about being run out backing up. No, not the mankad, but the extraordinary fact that Sussex’s Ali Orr has been run out by a deflection off the bowler’s fingertips in three of his past five championship innings, when his opening partner Tom Haines has driven down the ground. Based on this quote, there is little sympathy from Orr’s batting coach, Grant Flower, after it happened against Yorkshire. Stay in your crease, kids.