The English Game: Lancashire & Northamptonshire

by Ben Roberts

Lancashire

The Australian test team have been defeated in three of the four past Ashes series due in no small part to two modern day Lancashire heroes. Andrew Flintoff proved his strength in England’s 2005 and 2009 victories. His charismatic presence with bat and ball, and indeed in the field in 2009, lifted the English regularly in both northern summers. James Anderson, somewhat dismissed by opponents in his earlier career, provided Australian cricketers, and cricket watchers alike with a lesson in swing bowling during the recent series in Australia.

Lancashire has had two periods of sustained success in the championship, at the turn of 20^th century and the golden era of the 1920′s and 1930′s. The most recent success came with sharing the 1950 championship with Surrey although they did win division 2 in 2005 to regain promotion. Lancashire have been the most successful limited overs team of all counties, despite not being able to win the T20 championship as yet.

Lancashire have always been another strong provider of personnel to English cricket. Batsmen of the quality of Cyril Washbrook and Eddie Paynter were champions for both club and country during the Lancashire glory years of the 1920s and 1930s, Paynter finishing his career with a test batting average of over 59. In an earlier part of this era, the Tyldesley brothers, Ernest and Johnny, forged cricket careers that led them both to represent their country and remain to this day the highest and second highest run scorers for Lancashire.

Brian Statham holds the record for the most wickets in the county’s history, 1,816, and too represented England, forming a lethal bowling combination with Yorkshireman Fred Trueman during the 1950s. There is a great deal of irony in this bowling partnership as Lancashire versus Yorkshire, the ‘Red Rose’ versus the ‘White Rose’, potentially has been the greatest rivalry in cricket history. That you should elect to refer to a match in terms of a 15^th century war speaks of the desperation to perform.

During the golden era, Australian test cricketer EA “Ted” McDonald was part of the Lancashire team. McDonald’s 198 wickets in a single season is still the record haul for a Lancashire bowler. Forgotten Australian cricketer Stuart Law played for the county from 2002 until 2008, and captained the county also. Andrew Symonds is another modern Australian cricketer to have worn the ‘Red Rose’, but Australians, and indeed numerous other international players, have a greater affinity with Lancashire cricket outside of the county.

The Lancashire League is famed for its competitiveness and highly remunerated professional positions. A combination of both qualities, along with quotas on international players in county teams, led to a consistently strong flow of high quality cricketers making their way to Lancashire from early times. The league was very often the first port of call for emigrating internationals before being recruited by a county. Australian and West Indian cricketers have always been a favourite recruiting target of the Lancashire clubs.

Northamptonshire

In the late 1990s and early 2000s Northamptonshire was a home to a group of Australian cricketers playing under the banner of being good enough for any test team in the world, except of course Australia. We may lament, ‘Oh for Australia to have that ‘problem’ now’. Matthew Hayden, who captained Northants prior to becoming a regular test team member, Phillip Jacques and Martin Love all played for a period at the club. The most successful Australian at this time however was clearly Michael Hussey.

Hussey during his time at Northants remained an enigma of first-class cricket, with huge run scoring feats for both the county and Western Australia not being enough for many years for him to gain national selection. Hussey holds the record for the highest individual score for the county (and indeed the second highest score); as well he holds the record for the most runs for Northants in a championship season.

Northants have also seen great Australian bowlers turn out for them. In the 1950s George Tribe followed the well worn path of Lancashire League cricket to become a champion for Northants, holding a number of records to this day. In the late 1980s and prior to Australia’s revival as a cricket team, Dennis Lillee was sounded out to make a comeback. After playing for Tasmania during the 1987-88 Australian summer, Lillee signed on for Northants for the 1988 English summer. Injury truncated Lillee’s stint at Northants to 8 matches, and his comeback attempt went no further.

But what of Northamptonshire as a county club. They have never won the County Championship, having come second four times. They share this ignominy with Gloucestershire and Somerset. Up until the Second World War they were one of the county championships perennial strugglers. From May 1935 until May 1939 the county recorded no victory in the County Championship. In a somewhat mirrored history to Somerset, Northants embarked on a post war recruiting drive.

Frank Tyson probably the most noted from those recruited. The express paceman served both Northants and England well, and for both it was a great loss when he emigrated to Australia in the prime of his career. The county has been criticised for the high number of international imports (primarily South African) that they have recruited over the years. Many South African cricketers took advantage during the apartheid ban of the Northant welcome. Alan Lamb, also later of the England test team, was the most successful with over 20,000 runs for the county.

The English Game: Somerset & Middlesex

by Balanced Sports columnist Ben Roberts.

Somerset

The early history of Somerset County Cricket Club was less than successful and this perhaps helped set the tone for the county until today. Post the Second World War Somerset began to recruit heavily as the strategy for success on the field. Fearful of failure, Somerset have continued to be a heavy recruiter of both English and International talent up until the present day. Some limited over trophies have been won by Somerset, but the County Championship remains conspicuously absent from the county's honours.

In the 1950s Somerset followed the trend of most county's in dispensing of its policy of only appointing amateur players to captain. Maurice Tremlett (grandfather of current English fast bowler Chris) was the first professional to captain the county. At the same time they recruited former Australian test player Colin McCool from Lancashire league cricket. McCool had emigrated to England after being unable to get back into the Australian team. Ironically when McCool was selected in 1948 to tour England it forced the unselected Bruce Dooland to make the same decision, Dooland ending up a Nottinghamshire champion.

From the 1950s onwards the list of players to have represented Somerset reads like a 'Who's Who' of cricket history. Probably the greatest group of players collected together was in the early 1980s when Ian Botham was joined by the West Indian pair Joel Garner and Vivian Richards. So great were Richards performances for the West Indies and the county that he later went on to become Sir Vivian, and the gates at Somerset's home in Taunton bear his name. All three departed the county in acrimony, yet one of the replacements was another fluent stroke maker in Martin Crowe.

McCool is one of the noted Australians to have played for the county but he is not alone with many of his fellow countrymen having become residents of the West Country for a period. The earliest was Sammy Woods who having played test cricket for both Australia and England went onto lead the county as captain for 13 seasons at the turn of the 20^th century. In recent times current Australian selector and former Tasmanian batsmen, Jamie Cox, led the county for 3 years, and Justin Langer upon his retirement from international cricket also took on the captaincy of Somerset for the same length of time. Current Australian T20 captain Cameron White has set county records as well in the shorter forms of the game during the past few seasons.

Despite the cavalcade of great players to have taken the field for Somerset, they are yet to break through and win thecounty's first championship. Potentially the regular desire to recruit high profile players has led the county to continue to field teams of champions, and not the cliché of a champion team.

Middlesex

That Middlesex finished the 2010 County Championship in 8^th position in division 2 and Somerset 2^nd in division 1 is an opposing reflection to the relative success of each county. Where Somerset are yet to win their first championship, Middlesex have won 12. Maybe it is because the county's home is at Lords, the home of cricket, but Middlesex have always produced leaders of the English game.

Present captain Andrew Strauss is a former captain of the county, and still calls it home when not playing for England. In the earlier years of last century, Pelham 'Plum' Warner was captain of Middlesex and England before later becoming president of the Marylebone Cricket Club. In between these two figures many have captained both county and country. In the most successful period for the club during the 1970s and 1980s Mike Brearley followed by Mike Gatting (both English captains as well) led the county to 7 championships.

Again to make comparison to Somerset, unlike them Middlesex do not have a history bursting with individual champions of the game. That is not to say they have not had great players, most of whom have been home grown talent rather than recruited. That the historic county of Middlesex includes regions of and nearby to the densely populated London maybe is a primary reason for not having the need to recruit from elsewhere. England representative Fred Titmus was a long time stalwart of the county. 30 years after his retirement he still leads the county in wickets taken. Titmus finished his career with over 2,300 wickets for Middlesex.

Justin Langer, again mentioned above for his time at Somerset, also spent three seasons at Middlesex. This included captaining the county also, in 2000. Langer at this time was still yet to become a regular in the Australian test team having been in and out of the national side since 1993. Langer and Gatting combined for an opening partnership record of 372 in 1998, Langer's first season with the county.

More recently the county has not experienced great on-field success. Since their last county championship in 1993 and the split of the championship at the conclusion of the 1999 season, Middlesex have been transient between divisions, spending more time in division 2 than what would be expected of a county with such a successful history.

The English Game: Introduction & the Marylebone Cricket Club

"As a precursor to a series in the new year looking at the history of each County Championship team, Balanced Sports columnist Ben Roberts introduces us to the romanticism of the English Game and looks at the most famous cricket club of all."

During winter months gone by, after having read every newspaper article on the football season, occasionally I would chance upon a snippet of cricket just prior to the classifieds. In these snippets often I'd find tales of record-breaking performances by players in the English County Championship. I still recall reading of Brian Lara's (still) world record first-class score of 501 not out made in under a day and a half of cricket, while playing for Warwickshire, and being amazed that such a feat was possible.

Domestic cricket in England is a feast for those endeared to statistical analysis. The extensive amount of cricket played and the longevity of players produces first-class records that are incomparable to those plying their trade solely in Australia's Sheffield Shield. Batsmen scoring not thousands of runs, but tens of thousands; bowlers taking thousands of wickets – astonishing figures.

In the years prior to exorbitant contracts with hastily formed franchise cricket teams, Australian cricketers travelled during the southern hemisphere winter to mine wickets, runs and riches for county teams. Such sojourns were thought of as a must for the first-class cricketer aiming for higher honours. For others, resigned to being unable to hold down full time employment as supplement to their meagre cricketing income, it allowed them to be truly professional cricketers.

Adding to the charm of the county game is that each of the counties is in fact a cricket club as opposed to the representative team of a cricketing association. These clubs are steeped in history and tradition, and while history and tradition are still evident for cricketing associations, there is something maybe more lasting and tangible for cricket clubs. You represent associations whereas you are a member of a club.

The club tradition also has extended to international cricket. Of great curiosity to me as a young cricket fan was why the English test teams would wear navy blue caps, yet the trim on their sweaters was red and yellow. I learned that this indeed was not 'red and yellow', but the 'egg and bacon' combination of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

From 1903 until 1996 the England cricket team was administered by the most famous cricket club of all. In test matches the team was always to be referred to as England; but up to and including the 1976-77 tour of Australia the players represented the MCC in all other first-class matches.

Its home at Lord's, the MCC remains an active cricket club, playing over 500 matches a year at various levels. This includes the traditional opening first-class fixture of the English summer against the county champions of the previous season. The MCC is responsible for the upkeep and development of Lord's and are the copywright owners of the Laws of Cricket.

Of interest to me always when reading county news or scores was the performances of Australian cricketers. With creative licence, the MCC is not immune from antipodean participitation. Five cricketers in history - Albert Trott, Sammy Woods, John Ferris, Billy Murdoch and Billy Midwinter - played test cricket for both Australia and England, all of whom represented Australia first and then England. All had test careers prior to the turn of the 20^th century (therefore prior to MCC administration). At this point in history it appears easy to have changed teams: Midwinter later returned to play again for Australia; and Murdoch had indeed captained the Australian team on 16 occasions prior to switching allegiances. In a somewhat sadistic twist of fate Trott, Murdoch, Midwinter, and Ferris all lost their lives prematurely in tragic circumstances not long after their cricketing careers had finished.

The English game is subjected to praise and criticism depending on national fortunes. When the national team struggles, the County Championship will be labelled as weak, rewarding of mediocrity and too cumbersome. Contrasted to this, at times of national sucess the competitiveness will be lauded. Indeed, cricketing nomads from many nations have always flocked to English shores to compete regardless of the strength of competition.

To me there is a romanticism attached to the English game, and its clubs, that has largely been forgotten in the past 15 years. Such romanticism and tradition, often opined as being problematic and antithetical to the development of the game, remains one well where a cricketing purest can continue to dip their cup.