Domestic Team Of The Year

[engssmoothcriminal]

Well the close finish to the county championship somewhat masked what was thanks to the weather a pretty dismal summer of cricket (particularly if you were a Warwickshire fan ). However in spite of acts of god and Greatbatch there were some outstanding individual performances and my domestic team of the year would be (feel free to dissagree; max 2 O/S players);

Rob Key – Despite Kent’s lowly championship position throughout the season his captaincy continued to impress and whilst the technical deficiency’s that will keep him out of the test arena are still very much there at this level there are few better English batsmen on the county scene. It was however in the one day format particularly 20/20 that he really surprised people and successfully reinvented himself as one of the more innovative batsmen out there.

Michael Di Venuto – The unsung Aussie of the county game had yet another outstanding (and explosive) season for Durham at the top of the order that amongst all Durham’s success seemed to go almost completely unnoticed. The Mustard/di Venuto one day opening partnership certainly is the most exciting combo going.

Mark Ramprakash – His previous seasons exploits had been written off in some quarters as cheap runs against substandard div 2 bowlers on a flat track. Well the Oval pitch is still ludicrously flat but Ramps scored his runs against the so called crème of English cricket in a side that offered him precious little in the way of support. Now only the 3 tons away from joining fellow county bully/test failure Hick in the 100 100’s club and Hick has still to win Strictly Come Dancing.

Michael Carberry – Continued his trend of hundreds against Warwickshire with a sublime 190 in a superbly judged run chase but this year was far more consistent against the other counties and topped Hampshire’s averages. The Rosebowl pitch has flattened out somewhat but averaging 50 there still means a hell of a lot.

Dale Benkenstein- Kolpak is something of a dirty word in English cricket but if one man bucks that trend it’s Benkenstein who’s proved an excellent role model to all the young English talent at Durham and it was fitting he lead Durham to there first trophy. Not a particularly enthralling batsmen to watch but I always enjoy watching players who make the most of their talent grind out their runs.

Tim Ambrose – The one shining beacon in a horrendous summer down at Edgebaston. Free of the back injury that hampered him last season he was near faultless with the bat and gloves in the championship (until some half wit gave him the captaincy in the final few games) and a revelation in the one day format where his hitting for such a small man was astonishing to behold.

Robin Martin Jenkins – The unsung hero of Sussex’s championship win. His returns may not have been earth shattering in volume of runs and wickets but whenever Sussex needed the lower order to dig them out of a hole or a threatening partnership broken then RMJ seemed to step up and produce the goods.

Glenn Chapple- The best bowler of his era never to have played for England (in a meaningful context) continued to keep taking the wickets and was still the pick of Lancashire’s many pretty decent English seamers.

Otis Gibson – In a season of sterling displays by the senior citizens of the game Otis’s efforts were head and shoulders above the competition. Taking all 10 against Hampshire has to be the individal highlight of the season (although the 2 in 2 start to the Hants C&G final run chase was up there) but there were countless others and his exploits in all three departments, in all formats were truly outstanding. Though looking ahead to this winter it is perhaps a tad worrying having a bowling coach who could probably do a better job than most of the guys he’s working with .

Mushtaq Ahmed – In a year where pitches for the second half of the summer have hardly been conducive to the spinners 90 wickets at 25 is a phenomenal return. If ever a bowler was designed for county cricket then it’s Mushy and his almost inhuman work ethic and despite Rana Naved’s more than useful efforts for Sussex over recent years it was something of a no brainer that he got the nod for the O/S berth next year.

Darren Gough – Played far more games than most would have anticipated and proved a surprisingly good captain and his boundless enthusiasm turned a shambolic pre-season into a concerted challenge for the title. His bowling (once the mindless England ODI obsession died) also seemed to have rediscovered some of the joie de vivre of old.

(Oh and given I will be taking far more interest in this league next season than I would like my div 2 side would be Ed Smith, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Wagh, Cameron White, David Sales, Chris Read, Ian Blackwell, Graeme Wagg, Andy Caddick, Danesh Kaneria, Tom Lungley)

[adamberry]

I really can't argue with that side. Honourable mentions though should also be going to Denly and Godleman, who I think would be challenging for the openers spots with Key and Di Venuto.

[feverpitch]

Good side.

The one I came up with for my blog was:
Dream Championship XI (both divisions, based on first-class form only):
Justin Langer (captain)
Michael Di Venuto
Mark Ramprakash
Stuart Law
David Hussey
Cameron White
Tim Ambrose (wicket-keeper)
Andy Bichel
Otis Gibson
Mushtaq Ahmed
Andy Caddick

[Moss]

It's quite telling Feverpitch that very few of those players were actually born in England.
Are we stuffing our counties with non-qualified players at the expense of the England set up, or do they enhance county cricket?

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by engssmoothcriminal

Rob Key – Despite Kent’s lowly championship position throughout the season his captaincy continued to impress and whilst the technical deficiency’s that will keep him out of the test arena are still very much there at this level there are few better English batsmen on the county scene.

There are few better batsmen in the England team - IMO Key has never been given a fair run, or got the rub of the green like Bell - who got his place back due to injury.

Originally Posted by engssmoothcriminal

Mark Ramprakash – His previous seasons exploits had been written off in some quarters as cheap runs against substandard div 2 bowlers on a flat track.

Well that's more than most of the current England batsmen can do, another player who was always under pressure.

Originally Posted by engssmoothcriminal

Glen Chapple The best bowler of his era never to have played for England (in a meaningful context) continued to keep taking the wickets and was still the pick of Lancashire’s many pretty decent English seamers.

He should have been in the England side years ago - he also can hold a bat better than some of the England specialist batsmen.

Originally Posted by engssmoothcriminal

(Oh and given I will be taking far more interest in this league next season

I think this has been one of the best county seasons ever - I listen to Radio London who carry Surrey and Middelsex matches, and got a treat when Surrey just beat Lanc's this weekend - better than the 20/20 WC IMO.

[adamberry]

Originally Posted by Ernest

I think this has been one of the best county seasons ever - I listen to Radio London who carry Surrey and Middelsex matches, and got a treat when Surrey just beat Lanc's this weekend - better than the 20/20 WC IMO.

Quite agree on both counts there Ern. The commentator on Surrey's matches (Mark Church) is one of those blokes that I could listen to all day, even if he does occasionally repeat the same fact about three or four times. The Middlesex commentator is one I wouldn't miss if I never heard him again, however.

[greg]

Rudolph and Law should be in the team of the year,had higher averages than Carberry and Benkenstein.

As for picking Gough,i find that amazing as he didn't even get 40 wickets.Kabir Ali taking wickets in a poor side that got relegated deserves more credit.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Ernest

got a treat when Surrey just beat Lanc's this weekend - better than the 20/20 WC IMO.

You got a treat when Lancs lost? Ern not supporting the Lancastrians? What is the world coming to!

[Tyler]

I Think David Sales should be in the side.Mst of the time he's hitting good scores and it defies beief that he has never played for England

[greg]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I Think David Sales should be in the side.Mst of the time he's hitting good scores and it defies beief that he has never played for England

He plays for the wrong county,had he played for Surrey,Lancashire or Yorkshire he would have been given a chance.