The domestic cricket season is set to get under way this week, with the 2024 Vitality County Championship rolling into town on Friday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the most compelling stories to keep tabs on as the action begins.
Three in a row for Stewart’s swansong?
It will be the end of an era when Alec Stewart takes his leave as Surrey’s director of cricket at the end of the year, with the former England captain already established as first among equals in the county’s modern history. After dominating the championship for the past two seasons, their hunger to see him off with a third successive title will now be even stronger than ever. “We’ll give it a red hot go,” he told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “I know the appetite is there from the players. Is it going to be harder again? Definitely, because every side wants to beat us.”
England’s spin conundrum
England’s Test coach Brendon McCullum teed up a new narrative during the recent tour of India when he claimed it would be “slightly mad” if the strides taken by rookie spinners Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed were stymied by a lack of overs early in the domestic campaign. But it is tough to be overly optimistic about their short-term prospects. After finishing his maiden series as England’s top wicket-taker, Hartley’s path at Lancashire is blocked by the signing of Nathan Lyon, who is still available for seven of the first nine rounds despite Cricket Australia’s workload intervention. At Taunton, Bashir could be reduced to running drinks once England number one Jack Leach is back to full fitness. Ahmed has a clearer road at Leicestershire following the departure of Callum Parkinson, but he is perhaps the least ready to step up as a front-line bowler in home conditions. As ever, county cricket’s distant relationship with spin could cause headaches.
Gloves up for grabs
There is sure to be plenty of speculation over the identity of England’s Test wicketkeeper over the course of the summer, with Jonny Bairstow’s long-term status uncertain and Ben Foakes’ impeccable handiwork in India undermined by modest returns with the bat. Like Bairstow, Phil Salt is away at the Indian Premier League at the start of the English season, leaving the door open for a host of up-and-comers to elbow their way to the front of a busy queue. Durham’s Ollie Robinson was first choice for the England Lions over the winter and plays an ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ style already. The same is true of Foakes’ Surrey team-mate Jamie Smith, while James Rew has been tipped for great things after a breakout 2023 season at Somerset. Let battle commence.
Stars to shine for Yorkshire?
Good news has been perilously thin on the ground for Yorkshire in recent times, with the fallout of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal casting a long shadow. Relegation to Division Two in 2022 was followed by an underwhelming promotion push last time out and Darren Gough has been shown the door as director of cricket. Fans expecting another miserable campaign have two good reasons for optimism: Harry Brook and Joe Root. Having stepped away from the IPL, two of the finest batters in the country will be available for five first-class games each in the first seven rounds, including four together. It is inconceivable they will not raise the standard dramatically and go a long way to positioning the White Rose for a top-flight return.
Durham back where they belong
There is a tangible feeling of righteous indignation when it comes to Durham’s re-emergence at the top table of English cricket. In the midst of grave financial problems in 2016, they were penalised not only with enforced relegation but also a draconian 48-point penalty for the following season. A talent drain followed and hopes of coming back up were further affected by coronavirus complications. Now they are back in a spot they never lost on sporting grounds, with a progressive coach in Ryan Campbell and a fearless squad powered by Test hopefuls Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Alex Lees and Ollie Robinson. Every point will taste sweet for fans who have rightly felt aggrieved for eight years.
Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out
Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.
Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.
Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.
However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.
"This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.
"Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.
"Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."
"It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.
"We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."
Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.
Australia's provisional squad:
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Johnson Charles' unbeaten ton powers Windies A to 76-run victory over Nepal
In a dazzling display of power hitting, Johnson Charles led the charge for West Indies A with a spectacular unbeaten 119 from just 61 balls, guiding his team to a commanding 76-run victory over Nepal and taking a 2-1 lead in the T20 series in Kirtipur.
Charles's explosive innings included 13 fours and seven sixes as he anchored the West Indies A innings, propelling them to a formidable total of 227-3 against the hosts. His half-century came in a blistering 24 balls, setting the stage for a dominant performance. Charles formed a crucial second-wicket partnership of 145 runs with Andre Fletcher (53), after Alick Athanaze was run out for 17.
Fletcher's innings featured four fours and three sixes before he departed in the 16th over. Contributions from Fabian Allen (19 from nine balls) and Keemo Paul (13 from seven) further bolstered the West Indies A total, which marked the highest score by the tourists in the series so far.
In response, Nepal faced an uphill battle chasing more than 11 runs per over for victory and struggled under scoreboard pressure, losing wickets at regular intervals. Opener Lokesh Bam and Karan both managed 28 runs, while Kushal Malla contributed 20. However, Nepal ultimately collapsed to 151 all out in 19.2 overs.
Hayden Walsh Jr led the bowling attack for West Indies A with impressive figures of 3-28, while Gudakesh Motie provided valuable support with 2-28. Fabian Allen, Matthew Forde, and Obed McCoy also chipped in with a wicket each as the West Indies comfortably secured a pivotal series lead.
Johnson Charles' heroic innings and the collective effort from the West Indies A bowlers have positioned the team favorably as they head towards the remaining matches of the series, aiming to clinch the series victory against Nepal.
Imlach puts Harpy Eagles’ West Indies Championship success down to togetherness- “We had different players stand up at different times”
Togetherness was the main reason for the Guyana Harpy Eagles successful defence of their West Indies Championship title according to skipper Tevin Imlach.
The Harpy Eagles recovered from a draw and a loss in their first two games to win their final five games on their way to winning their second straight title.
“We had different players stand up at different times which is very important,” Imlach said in an appearance on the Mason & Guest radio show on Tuesday.
“You never want to rely on one or two players. We have a lot of depth in our batting and we have three very good spinners that would’ve played for the West Indies already in Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul and Kevin Sinclair,” Imlach added.
Sinclair and Imlach finished third and sixth on the top run scorers list with 508 and 485 runs, respectively.
Sinclair made one hundred and two fifties and finished with an average of 63.50 in his seven games while Imlach, who missed the first two rounds of the tournament while on West Indies duty, made two hundreds and three fifties in his five games and finished with an average of 53.88.
The Harpy Eagles also had two more batsmen cross the 300-run mark in Kevlon Anderson (332) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (323). Kemol Savory narrowly missed out on joining this club after finishing with 289. Chanderpaul and Savory also both scored a century, each, this season.
It was also a collective effort with the ball for the champions. Permaul led the way with 29 wickets in seven games followed by pacer Nial Smith who finished with 20 wickets from four matches.
Motie and Isai Thorne followed with 19 wickets from five and six matches, respectively, while Kevin Sinclair took 13 wickets in seven games and Ronaldo Alimohamed took 12 wickets in six outings.
This season was also Imlach’s first captaining the Harpy Eagles in the four-day format after taking over from the retired Leon Johnson who led Guyana to six regional four-day titles.
“It was challenging,” Imlach said about filling Johnson’s shoes.
“Big shoes to fill obviously with Leon Johnson retiring but it was good. It is much different when you play with these guys and when you’re in a leadership position because you have to be the one making the calls that they may not necessarily always like. These players want the ball in their hands at all times and want to make a difference so sometimes it is difficult. It’s a good learning experience. I’m learning about them and they’re learning about me as well,” he added.
Imlach was also a member of the West Indies Test squad to Australia in December last year. He said that despite not getting a game, he took some things from his net sessions down under into this first-class season.
“It was very good. It was different to what we are accustomed to in the Caribbean. The pitches are a lot bouncier and the ball tends to seam around a bit more. I didn’t manage to play in the games but I spent some time in the nets and it was good. It was fruitful. I learned a lot that I took into this season,” he said.
Imlach's next assignment could be as part of the regional side to take on England in three Tests from July 10-30.
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