The English Game: Essex & Sussex

by columnist Ben Roberts

Essex

The current day Essex hero, Alastair Cook, returned home from his stellar 700 plus run Ashes tour to a heroes welcome. The Essex County Cricket Club has a long history of producing England representatives of the highest order. As well, Essex have also been a side described as providing entertaining and attractive cricket, but unfortunately lacking the depth of player resources in a smaller county.

With player resources, weather patterns and perhaps the moon and stars aligned, Essex have been able to produce historically noted performances. In 1948 they were the only county to dismiss the touring 'Invincible' Australians in under a day. Of course this was after they had totalled 721 runs!

The 1950s typified the Essex story. After finishing last in the 1950 season, Trevor Bailey and Barry Knight formed a bowling partnership that was as good as any in the country. Essex competed with all comers thanks to Bailey and Knight, but come the time of injury or national call up of these two the team was caught short of class players and could not sustain momentum.

Bailey was a fine all-rounder for Essex scoring over 20,000 runs and taking over 1,500 wickets. The 'Barnacle' was also a regular thorn in the side of England's opponents. Bailey was and still is an astute observer and student of the game, his play being thoughtful and his post playing career as a journalist and radio commentator likewise. Knight was a fast-bowler and attacking batsman who later emigrated to Sydney and set up one of the earlier indoor cricket coaching schools. The school, combined with Knight's wisdom, were to have a profound effect on future Australian captain Allan Border.

Border went on to be a high profile recruit during Essex's glory period in the mid 1980s. In the midst of a tumultuous and unsuccessful time in Australian cricket, Border, still relatively new to the position of Australian captain, took the opportunity to play with Essex during the southern hemisphere winter. Border was later to comment in his autobiography of the positive effect that this stint had on his career and captaincy.

The glorious 14 seasons from 1979 until 1992 yielded Essex the only County Championships in their history. They were led by Graham Gooch and Keith Fletcher, both now occupying 1^st and 2^nd positions in the list of all time run scorers for the county. In all, from 14 seasons Essex claimed six championships and also were able to provide the English team with a number of representatives, in some instances up to four at one time.

Sussex

Sussex are the oldest county cricket club of them all. Despite the significance of their heritage, history is not favourable in terms of success for them. Pre-1890 Sussex was only declared “Champion County” once, and this was a shared title; and it took 113 years after the formation of the County Championship for Sussex to finally collected their first.

The county did not waste much time in collecting their 2^nd and 3^rd championships. They came at a speed in comparison to their first, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The winning of these three championships plus some limited over trophies dictated Sussex as the leading team of the decade. The decades conclusion was not without drama as post 2007's success, Sussex were relegated to and then won Division 2, to be promoted again, all in the space of three seasons.

Former Zimbabwe test cricketer and long time Western Australia representative Murray Goodwin played throughout the decade for Sussex. He made the highest ever score (335 not out) in Sussex history during the 2003 season in helping the county to the inaugural championship. His score remained a record until he beat it in 2009 with 344 not out.

County Championship regulars Michael Bevan and Michael Di Venuto both spent time at Sussex. Victorian and Australian player Tony Dodemaide played three seasons with the county from 1989 until 1991. In the 1990 limited overs cup competition Dodemaide helped Sussex dismiss the Irish national team for 72, his figures were 6 for 9 from 11 overs. Having captained Australian teams on tours to England in 1880 and 1882, Billy Murdoch was considered to be enough of a gentleman to be invited to captain Sussex. Murdoch took up this offer and later went on to represent England.

In the early history of the county championship Fred Tate followed by his son Maurice Tate were the counties leading bowlers. Fred collected 1,306 wickets for Sussex during his career and Maurice remains the leading wicket taker for the county by almost 400 wickets finished with a tally of 2,211. Where Fred was an exponent of off-spin, Maurice became a fast bowler. Maurice also had a highly regarded test match career, his 39 test matches yielding 155 wickets, and his lower order batting valuable for county and country as well.

Sussex also produced another great in Ted Dexter. Though later maligned for his stint as chairman of selectors, he was a great all-rounder for the county. The 1970-71 Ashes series brought to fame, at least in Australian eyes, the volatile and dangerous Jon Snow. The sometime poet in addition to his cricketing career was a player for Sussex for 18 seasons during the 1960s and 1970s.

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: Yorkshire & Surrey

by Ben Roberts

Prelude

There would be few souls remaining with us today who, with the benefit of eye-witness, could explain the the great irony that these two counties have been paired together in this series. In the 1920s for English cricket fans it was a pairing of opening bats, one from Surrey and the other from Yorkshire, that brought the national team great success and the fans much joy. Jack Hobbs of Surrey and Herbert Sutcliffe of Yorkshire, remain to this day unarguably the greatest opening batting pair in the game’s history.

The famed television presenter, and Yorkshireman, Michael Parkinson once recounted the final moments he spent with his dying father. Parkinson senior expressed great pride at his sons achievements in life, but tempered this by noting that he had never played cricket for Yorkshire. To him, and to many residents of Yorkshire through history, to wear the white rose was something bordering on being deified.

Any proud Yorkshireman will gladly and strongly boast that their county has produced the greatest cricketers in England always. Truth be told, anyone would have a hard time arguing. The aforementioned Sutcliffe plus Wilfred Rhodes, Norman Yardley, Sir Leonard Hutton, Fred Trueman, Geoffrey Boycott and Darren Gough are just a brief list of the county’s fine history of cricketers.

With such a history of players, Yorkshire has won the county championship on 31 occasions; this is by far the greatest number of any county in the history of the championship. Not only is it the greatest number, but it is 12 more than the second most successful county Surrey. 30 of these championships were won by the conclusion of the 1968 season, the first 69 seasons of the championship producing a regular return of success. But from 1969 onwards Yorkshire endured a championship drought of 33 years.

Why did this consistently successful and proud county endure such a drought? While most other counties had been willing to widen their nets in order to attract talent, both within England and internationally, the fiercely staunch Yorkshire always refused not only to accept international talent, but anyone not born within the county itself. Such a strong and ultimately self-defeating stance was not altered until 1992. The, at that stage, exceptionally promising Sachin Tendulker became the first international player in the county’s history.

Given the county’s history, Australian player involvement is limited to more recent times. But in the past 18 years, eight Australians with international experience have played for Yorkshire: Greg Blewett, Michael Bevan, Matthew Elliott, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Simon Katich, Damien Martyn, and the unstoppable Darren Lehmann.

The South Australian Lehmann scored over 8,000 runs for Yorkshire in his career and his average of 68 is the highest in the county’s history. Lehmann also has the second highest score in Yorkshire history, 339. Lehmann was a key member of the drought-breaking team that won the county’s 31^st championship in 2001. Probably the only negative was that Lehmann captained Yorkshire in 2002, the county being relegated to division 2 just 12 months after championship glory.

Surrey

Surrey are joint tenants of London with Middlesex. Surrey’s home, famously, is in the shade of the imposing gasometer at The Oval. The county with the second highest number of county championships was also home to England’s finest batsman Jack Hobbs. Hobbs scored over 61,000 runs in his first class career and scored 199 centuries. Hobbs was named in Wisden almanac’s five cricketers of 20^th century, and holds numerous batting records that are unlikely to be ever bettered.

Hobbs totalled a then record 626 runs in the 1911-12 tour to Australia. Included in his feats was a 323-run partnership with Wilfred Rhodes at Melbourne. Rhodes was another Yorkshireman to partner Hobbs, forming potentially the second greatest opening pair behind Hobbs and Sutcliffe. In a continued theme, reviewing what Surrey and its cricketers have achieved on the field reads rather bleakly for Australians.

Potentially cricket’s greatest bowler, George Lohmann, was from Surrey. In the 19^th century Lohmann collected his test wickets at a cost of under 9 runs each. As well, cricket history’s most ruthless captain, Douglas Jardine, was a Surrey cricketer. Sir Alec Bedser, the great fast bowler and a gentleman of the game, played out his career for Surrey. His 236 career test wickets included many against Australians, and helped lead the nation’s cricket team out of the ravages of war into a period of sustained success.

Part also of this successful England team during the 1950s were Surrey finger spinners, Jim Laker and Tony Lock. Laker and Lock worked in tandem for both county and country in bamboozling batsmen. Lock later moved to Western Australia and continued his first-class career there while Laker is most famous for his match haul of 19 wickets against the Australians at Old Trafford in 1956. Only Anil Kumble of India has ever been able to match Laker’s remarkable feat of collecting all 10 wickets in a test match innings. What makes this feat even more astonishing is that it was the second time that season that Laker had completely bowled the Australians out. In May of 1956 Australia faced Laker’s Surrey whereupon they were bowled out in their entirety by the spinner.

The unofficial antipathy toward Australian teams and its cricketers also extends to there being few Australian players who have turned out for Surrey. Matthew Nicholson, who played one test for Australia in 1998, finished his first class career with the county; Andrew Symonds played his favoured form of the game, T20, for the county in 2010; and in 2011 Surrey will hope South Australian Shaun Tait remains fit and can deliver his thunderbolts also in the T20 competition.

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: Derbyshire

by Balanced Sports columnist, Ben Roberts

The history of Derbyshire County Cricket Club is reflected in their 2010 result, last place in Division 2. Unlike the aforementioned Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire has perennially been one of the weaker teams in the County Championship.

Derbyshire has won the championship only once in its history, 1936. The period around this victory was the only time in the county's history when they competed strongly for championship honours. Early in the 20^th century and for the most part post-1936 Derbyshire has not been identified as a threat for championship honours. The recruitment of international players at the club has also been limited, South African Eddie Barlow being the most high profile.

Despite a lack of success, the club has produced England representatives. The players gaining English selection have generally been serviceable cricketers, maybe great on their day. Fast bowlers Devon Malcolm and Dominic Cork are probably the most recognisable names from recent history.

Australia's Dean Jones captained the county in the 1997 season, including a great tussle with the touring Australian team. With both teams playing for a result it came down to Derbyshire requiring 370 in the final innings of the match for victory. The county team achieved this mammoth target with just one wicket remaining, Jones contributing a quick half-century. Despite the great result the match can also be noted for other reasons.

The Australian captain Mark Taylor was in the middle of a career threatening form slump. He had recently been dropped from the limited overs team, never to return, and his place in the test team was not at all certain. After failing in the first innings, early in the second innings Taylor edged to second slip where he was dropped. His second innings half century probably saved his place in the test team. Derbyshire's second slip fielder that day was Jones.

The English Game: Nottinghamshire

by Balanced Sports columnist Ben Roberts.

The 2010 division one champions have for the most part of their history been a strong performer in first-class cricket. Nottinghamshire have collected six county championships, the most recent being last season and 2005. Nottinghamshire have always had the benefit, and in the present day this means even more, of having a home ground where test cricket is played. The revenue generated and facility improvements made to the ground from test cricket benefit greatly the county club.

Throughout the 20^th century Nottinghamshire was serviced with players from coal mining families. The no nonsense approach to cricket that these hardened men brought also flowed onto English teams throughout the years. In the 1932-33 Ashes series the Australian batsmen faced Nottinghamshire's finest opening bowling pair in Harold Larwood and Bill Voce. Both Voce and Larwood throughout the 1920s and 1930s tore through many batsmen's defences for their native Nottinghamshire, both finishing careers with well over 1200 wickets each for the county.

In the 1977 centenary test match the man of the match was awarded to the Nottinghamshire batsman, and also a miners son, Derek Randall. Randall, best remembered in this match for doffing his cap to Dennis Lillee after having been hit by a Lillee bouncer, made 174 in the second innings. The innings was full of courage and fight, and nearly led the English to a remarkable victory.

Nottinghamshire have an exceptional list of non-British internationals who have played for them. Sir Garfield Sobers, Clive Rice, and Sir Richard Hadlee are three cricketers of international renown who have called Nottinghamshire home.

A county legend is a little known Australian test cricketer, leg-spinning all-rounder Bruce Dooland. Dooland played three test matches immediately post the second world war but found himself left out of the 1948 Ashes touring party. Dooland elected to emigrate to England to play professional Lancashire league cricket, and ultimately obtained residency. The combination of his residency status and exceptional league performances attracted Nottinghamshire to recruit the South Australian. In the only period where Nottinghamshire were less competitive Dooland was credited with holding the team together, including his still club record of 181 wickets in the 1954 season.

For the past seven championship seasons Nottinghamshire have enjoyed the services of David Hussey. Hussey has totalled thousands of runs during his time at Nottinghamshire. There was no slowing of his run making last season, when he totalled one of the county's highest individual scores of 251 not out (against Yorkshire). Hussey also captained the Nottinghamshire T20 team during the most recent season and had the services of his Victorian team mate Dirk Nannes.

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.