Meta tags:
description=Considered Cricket Analysis From Beyond the Boundary;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, of, final, over, 2026, week, in, county, cricket, july, day, england, vs, new, zealand, june, august, third, rothesay, test, 99, 94, 11, 28, 20, 14, report, cards, grading, every, player, after, crowe, thorpe, trophy, series, second, 26, first, 25, 23, categories, recent, posts, reaction, writers, blogroll, archives, around, cricketing, world, courtesy, cricinfo, com, email, pages, meta,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (856), and (313), that (165), for (143), his (126), but (120), with (113), cricket (102), ball (94), was (76), over (74), one (69), their (58), have (57), 2026 (57), runs (57), england (56), not (56), #county (54), they (53), out (52), two (51), final (50), from (48), day (47), three (47), wickets (45), more (43), will (43), all (42), off (40), #august (39), first (39), july (38), match (37), had (37), week (35), there (35), who (34), were (34), last (33), four (33), very (33), much (33), june (32), grade (32), test (31), new (31), you (31), this (30), may (30), after (30), can (30), just (29), when (29), six (28), group (28), like (27), down (27), back (27), get (26), bat (26), are (26), home (26), has (26), innings (25), been (25), second (24), time (24), into (24), top (24), than (24), five (23), team (23), posted (22), another (22), both (22), season (22), what (22), overs (22), too (22), side (21), only (21), durham (20), zealand (20), ben (20), him (20), win (20), captain (20), april (19), september (19), series (19), might (19), matches (19), december (18), old (18), long (18), best (18), joe (18), game (18), still (18), its (18), wicket (18), way (17), got (17), catches (17), somerset (16), big (16), some (16), did (16), come (16), against (16), other (15), hampshire (15), yorkshire (15), surrey (15), 2011 (15), third (15), tootingtrumpet (15), through (15), century (15), hard (15), them (15), far (15), players (15), play (15), well (14), south (14), many (14), often (14), enough (14), hand (14), those (14), would (14), eight (14), which (14), away (14), half (14), about (13), march (13), little (13), under (13), stokes (13), better (13), seven (13), order (13), then (13), bit (13), most (13), needed (13), middlesex (12), november (12), 2009 (12), 2010 (12), tooting (12), trumpet (12), end (12), points (12), made (12), score (12), something (12), teams (12), run (12), chance (12), any (12), form (12), good (12), years (12), now (11), essex (11), 2012 (11), 2013 (11), 2014 (11), 2022 (11), player (11), again (11), set (11), late (11), need (11), white (11), should (11), see (11), always (11), even (11), because (11), indeed (11), before (11), catch (11), pitch (11), though (11), batters (11), batter (11), quite (11), where (11), october (10), january (10), 2016 (10), 2017 (10), right (10), man (10), balls (10), lead (10), bowler (10), job (10), done (10), looked (10), didn (10), plenty (10), root (10), leicestershire (10), next (10), bowling (10), taking (10), smith (10), lord (10), kind (10), playing (10), played (10), stage (10), required (9), comments (9), kent (9), nottinghamshire (9), northamptonshire (9), 2015 (9), 2018 (9), 2021 (9), 2023 (9), 2024 (9), cup (9), t20 (9), your (9), fine (9), lost (9), visitors (9), counties (9), tom (9), tight (9), won (9), perhaps (9), especially (9), own (9), going (9), crease (9), partnership (9), field (9), work (9), fans (9), how (9), having (9), find (9), worcestershire (8), sussex (8), 2008 (8), 2019 (8), boundary (8), tests (8), being (8), went (8), rather (8), oval (8), batting (8), put (8), year (8), each (8), less (8), chase (8), notts (8), once (8), left (8), bad (8), while (8), start (8), wins (8), never (8), caught (8), place (8), worked (8), could (8), such (8), bowl (8), career (8), quarter (8), derbyshire (7), 2020 (7), 2025 (7), summer (7), rothesay (7), every (7), trophy (7), class (7), led (7), usually (7), despite (7), attack (7), don (7), these (7), until (7), take (7), middle (7), jack (7), themselves (7), leave (7), coming (7), lot (7), rounder (7), figures (7), rate (7), yet (7), pace (7), nobody (7), between (7), really (7), sometimes (7), doing (7), hit (7), call (7), behind (7), 100 (7), james (7), rew (7), full (7), target (7), blast (7), finals (7), competition (7), sign (6), gloucestershire (6), february (6), sport (6), short (6), india (6), africa (6), seen (6), mark (6), fourth (6), west (6), stop (6), favourites (6), making (6), saw (6), least (6), case (6), bowlers (6), took (6), showed (6), turned (6), pretty (6), round (6), return (6), proved (6), almost (6), championship (6), archer (6), few (6), days (6), bethell (6), jacob (6), allowed (6), also (6), line (6), trent (6), bridge (6), pro (6), vince (6), getting (6), knockout (6), format (6), delivered (6), com (5), around (5), world (5), length (5), action (5), soon (5), zafar (5), gohar (5), young (5), needs (5), matt (5), strong (5), maiden (5), does (5), story (5), ground (5), northants (5), whom (5), want (5), since (5), table (5), glamorgan (5), scored (5), close (5), expect (5), liam (5), same (5), victory (5), mitchell (5), earlier (5), bashir (5), wasn (5), looks (5), opening (5), real (5), certainly (5), thing (5), asking (5), point (5), bowled (5), coach (5), problems (5), sports (5), anyone (5), make (5), international (5), experience (5), longer (5), early (5), probably (5), english (5), boundaries (5), domestic (5), critchley (5), semi (5), goldsworthy (5), started (4), wordpress (4), name (4), comment (4), collapse (4), already (4), warwickshire (4), straight (4), sun (4), edge (4), part (4), future (4), life (4), champions (4), effort (4), slot (4), news (4), winning (4), feels (4), happy (4), stand (4), perfect (4), giving (4), quick (4), arm (4), problem (4), face (4), poor (4), hour (4), kept (4), low (4), scoring (4), balance (4), shot (4), tykes (4), grace (4), born (4), couple (4), give (4), baker (4), things (4), atkinson (4), ton (4), winners (4), course (4), rourke (4), toss (4), henry (4), spent (4), strategy (4), happens (4), flat (4), list (4), keep (4), halfway (4), jofra (4), told (4), said (4), hundred (4), look (4), maybe (4), became (4), duckett (4), know (4), neither (4), fast (4), seems (4), high (4), fielding (4), deep (4), times (4), matter (4), critical (4), standing (4), himself (4), comes (4), mind (4), talent (4), different (4), room (4), extraordinary (4), country (4), sunday (4), let (4), cricketer (4), chipped (4), isn (4), exactly (4), ten (4), above (4), whether (4), pressure (4), looking (4), handy (4), without (4), likely (4), formats (4), ali (4), slow (4), couldn (4), edgbaston (4), knockouts (4), experienced (4), taunton (4), momentum (4), dawson (4), enjoy (4), progress (4), rhodes (4), albert (4), bar (3), report (3), log (3), subscribe (3), account (3), create (3), lancashire (3), think (3), pakistan (3), club (3), analysis (3), eye (3), clear (3), ipl (3), crowe (3), thorpe (3), posts (3), ashes (3), trouble (3), solid (3), cue (3), african (3), chris (3), fivefer (3), reward (3), dog (3), nevertheless (3), division (3), canterbury (3), tons (3), amongst (3), sent (3), ricardo (3), vasconcelos (3), box (3), resistance (3), street (3), witnessed (3), beat (3), lose (3), leading (3), kyle (3), knocking (3), 121 (3), hants (3), whose (3), road (3), losing (3), blair (3), across (3), sonny (3), nous (3), nine (3), burns (3), called (3), gus (3), lower (3), spin (3), route (3), weeks (3), chelmsford (3), spot (3), daryl (3), step (3), head (3), remarkable (3), strike (3), doesn (3), moment (3), everyone (3), attacking (3), evening (3), given (3), jamie (3), ever (3), read (3), flip (3), flops (3), latham (3), conway (3), available (3), near (3), hot (3), cliche (3), fact (3), shoaib (3), barely (3), night (3), company (3), showing (3), doubt (3), ago (3), somewhat (3), blundell (3), stumps (3), nathan (3), deliveries (3), simple (3), instead (3), why (3), bias (3), wonder (3), easy (3), partly (3), taylor (3), media (3), she (3), prior (3), keeping (3), shown (3), continue (3), heat (3), brook (3), twice (3), retirement (3), belief (3), position (3), albeit (3), thought (3), pick (3), appearances (3), found (3), ensure (3), star (3), stumped (3), question (3), dressing (3), knock (3), hopes (3), number (3), debut (3), numbers (3), bounce (3), fair (3), pros (3), josh (3), tricky (3), surely (3), ran (3), turning (3), 101 (3), tide (3), defence (3), winter (3), whilst (3), credit (3), crowd (3), leadership (3), captains (3), makes (3), say (3), centuries (3), lyth (3), north (3), huge (3), clarke (3), george (3), allocation (3), central (3), loss (3), phase (3), value (3), steelbacks (3), hawks (3), wednesday (3), running (3), groups (3), successful (3), grounds (3), sixes (3), heart (3), nousiest (3), cricketers (3), watching (3), cheer (3), leach (3), daniel (3), result (3), needing (3), willey (3), chasing (3), matters (3), men (3), overton (3), lewis (3), delight (3), singh (3), bears (3), level (3), today (3), beyond (3), seventh (3), denly (3), bell (3), drummond (3), hill (3), site (2), email (2), write (2), loading (2), view (2), subscribed (2), join (2), 296 (2), blog (2), feed (2), authors (2), super (2), women (2), leeds (2), 309 (2), 317 (2), canada (2), 282 (2), cricketing (2), courtesy (2), green (2), outside (2), review (2), bash (2), wearing (2), daddypig (2), ojathome (2), cards (2), grading (2), odi (2), league (2), australia (2), secured (2), card (2), stager (2), knocked (2), openers (2), enjoying (2), consistent (2), scores (2), standout (2), bites (2), fought (2), david (2), colin (2), respectively (2), pair (2), suited (2), 189 (2), matthew (2), hours (2), deficit (2), chester (2), tremendous (2), show (2), promising (2), quickly (2), hosts (2), scalps (2), pacer (2), dismissing (2), gone (2), unexpected (2), fortunes (2), flew (2), hove (2), foxes (2), chances (2), ahmed (2), spinner (2), key (2), clearly (2), picked (2), feel (2), senior (2), learn (2), impressive (2), ingram (2), invited (2), rory (2), notching (2), joining (2), cashing (2), largely (2), matched (2), contributions (2), 279 (2), cooke (2), threatening (2), terms (2), neill (2), leaves (2), welcome (2), spring (2), undefeated (2), anchored (2), haseeb (2), hameed (2), fergus (2), others (2), below (2), patterson (2), 105 (2), graeme (2), crushing (2), midsummer (2), guard (2), tomorrow (2), morning (2), nicholls (2), shaken (2), minutes (2), suddenly (2), rachin (2), ravindra (2), add (2), sessions (2), mitigation (2), legside (2), worth (2), reading (2), date (2), means (2), tea (2), kiwis (2), heads (2), dropping (2), post (2), session (2), bouncer (2), cannot (2), aside (2), errors (2), count (2), anti (2), send (2), wants (2), repeated (2), strip (2), proper (2), reach (2), devon (2), failed (2), worthy (2), positive (2), development (2), drone (2), developed (2), looming (2), slightly (2), presence (2), volley (2), concern (2), either (2), building (2), stroke (2), non (2), 113 (2), 179 (2), impact (2), conjure (2), inevitable (2), here (2), consequence (2), use (2), phrase (2), thin (2), opposition (2), maligned (2), cause (2), criticism (2), seeing (2), press (2), confirmation (2), prepare (2), follows (2), drop (2), gives (2), later (2), bashed (2), options (2), wanted (2), leg (2), tactic (2), option (2), complicated (2), within (2), public (2), actually (2), drink (2), bringing (2), none (2), her (2), suit (2), tried (2), tickner (2), teenage (2), seldom (2), cracks (2), mean (2), plays (2), foulkes (2), lines (2), lengths (2), saying (2), ready (2), certain (2), zak (2), followers (2), nor (2), whole (2), phillips (2), expected (2), qualities (2), veteran (2), nearly (2), 300 (2), weight (2), wholehearted (2), trier (2), elite (2), execution (2), alex (2), 123 (2), arrived (2), continually (2), received (2), improved (2), finding (2), pitches (2), throughout (2), age (2), double (2), reached (2), kane (2), backed (2), 200 (2), unit (2), deal (2), leaving (2), accept (2), asset (2), lift (2), australian (2), saturday (2), allows (2), propensity (2), sides (2), wake (2), keeps (2), hitting (2), shows (2), asked (2), explosive (2), product (2), ollie (2), appeal (2), false (2), describe (2), plan (2), keeper (2), nervous (2), eventually (2), sit (2), knack (2), rare (2), harry (2), front (2), significant (2), hey (2), flow (2), drive (2), fifth (2), hold (2), standard (2), emilio (2), gay (2), hope (2), knocks (2), captaincy (2), loves (2), great (2), character (2), turns (2), jaffa (2), deserved (2), recently (2), air (2), goes (2), retired (2), enjoyed (2), defeat (2), provide (2), opportunity (2), franchise (2), difference (2), utilita (2), people (2), golden (2), setting (2), hasan (2), adam (2), progressing (2), topping (2), squeeze (2), clarity (2), consecutive (2), opponents (2), t20s (2), highly (2), came (2), tariq (2), school (2), imagine (2), results (2), reverse (2), defeats (2), defend (2), thomas (2), brother (2), squad (2), hunt (2), note (2), finalists (2), tuning (2), 2027 (2), comprising (2), cross (2), bring (2), donald (2), injury (2), duck (2), heatwave (2), harmer (2), performance (2), thanks (2), word (2), together (2), throw (2), caps (2), smeed (2), powerplay (2), headingley (2), chased (2), birmingham (2), booked (2), holders (2), games (2), procter (2), weatherley (2), seal (2), talk (2), faces (2), qualify (2), rounders (2), okay (2), clichés (2), true (2), share (2), risk (2), opener (2), classy (2), affairs (2), relay (2), craig (2), felt (2), tournament (2), finish (2), prove (2), partner (2), raised (2), jake (2), libby (2), change (2), caires (2), must (2), promise (2), flown (2), fixtures (2), circumstances (2), unlikely (2), names (2), garton (2), category (2), sitting (2), record (2), westley (2), fell (2), rocky (2), general (2), admission (2), knew (2), knows (2), elsewhere (2), handing (2), tough (2), clubs (2), charlie (2), tear (2), notched (2), sat (2), minimum (2), joined (2), douthwaite (2), van (2), professional (2), patel (2), valedictory (2), toby (2), orr (2), skipper (2), legspinner (2), parkinson (2), vacant (2), gorvin (2), situation (2), delighted (2), contracted (2), brookes (2), considered (2), design, website, manage, subscriptions, reader, content, privacy, subscribers, entries, meta, jul, pages, contact, manchester, giants, 125, sunrisers, 166, 291, 214, 354, 262, 151, 155, 263, 176, 298, 299, 269, 443, 308, 185, united, arab, emirates, cricinfo, archives, pitched, googly, sound, prindiville, camp, batsman, couch, corridor, rider, baggy, sofa, supporters, boutiques, snickometer, smoke, signals, rising, paddle, sweep, opinions, naked, mtjag, maidenbowling, whine, kridaya, knotted, paths, king, karachi, khatmal, iain, brien, goodlines, freehit, fly, slip, ducking, beamers, doosra, redux, dirk, nannes, crucket, cricsis, art, watcher, journal, musings, minded, files, cricindian, cosmic, brett, blogs, bcci, agb, adwait, stuff, dabble, blogroll, preview, unexplained, eyewitness, agony, ecstasy, rajeshkannan, murder, rapiers, afraid, goosequills, killed, bambi, ultimate, cultural, illustration, nestaquin, father, special, circle, dementhorizon, writers, reaction, recent, zimbabwe, indies, trans, tasman, tasmania, sri, lanka, rajesh, kannan, polls, nesta, quin, kumar, pundita, hugh, fatt, barstad, frank, worrell, fiction, eric, hollies, medal, book, dvd, reviews, related, bangladesh, categories, older, severe, max, holden, stood, firm, 182, slim, 19s, naavya, sharma, lacked, defining, milnes, haul, defying, promotion, 400, benjamin, morale, sebastian, morgan, doldrums, extent, thriller, bitter, lawrence, tale, 107, bedingham, ackermann, africans, unbroken, wholly, admirable, potts, usual, task, recipe, exciting, withdrew, hotchpotch, 187, seats, posting, 450, inspired, limited, wrestle, spare, resilience, resumption, gunning, pennant, unravel, sods, delano, potgieter, felix, organ, fightback, 253, horrendous, abbott, added, eddie, chief, accomplice, 191, dawned, securing, falling, bats, diverged, angry, seagulls, coast, slugfest, genteel, pants, staying, depend, availability, doubling, frontline, averaging, closed, arrears, rehan, nick, kelly, charge, awaited, wrapped, sparing, blushes, pasting, yield, flight, tony, prime, minister, began, degree, safety, marooned, relegation, slots, sleeping, easily, flag, rose, selectors, abergavenny, norton, rout, dig, raw, suggest, kiran, carlson, wise, owls, sean, dickson, 195, follow, fist, delayed, figure, lawes, bound, rest, tiring, slump, varied, fellow, mason, crane, walloping, football, labelled, crisis, burn, completing, contract, secure, 285, suspect, victorian, warm, claimed, haynes, reply, 273, ignored, lions, dismantled, controlling, swann, reigning, break, merry, jig, bookmark, page, delivers, thrills, magnificent, funny, 361, obviously, importantly, coin, roars, clonk, condemn, scrappy, comprehensively, outplayed, gutses, save, spirits, lifted, unexpectedly, hoys, pouches, owns, blame, shared, connected, iteration, due, conditions, error, claim, grinding, wilting, flayed, sunshine, hideous, hop, gloved, regulation, holding, shit, reflecting, scoreboard, 213, partnerships, trust, process, toil, ice, bath, swan, earned, succeed, observation, stokesy, faux, pas, obvious, docile, kitten, snarling, wildcat, upstairs, reds, subsequently, illuminated, yakka, gruesome, spectacle, deteriorate, achieved, past, lunch, interval, combined, featherbed, sends, sleep, viewers, thinking, following, guided, marketing, guys, ideas, intrusive, darting, balearics, reflected, sunlight, effect, floating, islands, retina, worse, engineering, miracle, spidercam, sinister, teatime, scorecards, broad, brimmed, richie, richardson, hats, ubiquitous, technology, droning, considerable, awareness, revealing, caution, overriding, 215, countrymen, doomsayers, eat, words, mood, aggressor, retreating, shell, reassuring, tighter, disrupted, rhythm, defeated, tired, crooked, departed, realising, changed, punch, feet, regime, brendon, mccullum, irritate, performances, rear, window, anything, weakened, tentatively, places, bazbash, benbash, injudicious, dismissals, infractions, laissez, faire, french, reason, consequences, instinct, particular, evasive, measures, factor, outweighs, rawness, barb, fling, teamsheet, armchair, keyboard, warriors, trying, committing, trundling, cranking, unfounded, stick, explain, hits, recall, arrows, consciously, subconsciously, crew, drops, accepts, attempt, redemption, universal, human, crops, uncannily, scary, blooms, proves, schoolboy, telegraphing, stubborn, array, slips, hoick, crude, fiendishly, stupid, thinks, sight, proactive, pre, interview, talking, speak, shade, energy, understandably, drills, inevitably, wait, crucial, sarah, equipment, bashing, stratosphere, circled, skiers, yards, coached, teaching, ears, cuts, cloth, clients, centurion, brute, lifter, vindicate, mayhem, excellent, blokeishness, returning, finger, sears, bravely, concussive, blow, wisely, withdrawn, average, owning, features, alastair, cook, choirboy, contemporaries, smile, presumably, archetype, needn, bother, histrionics, height, stepped, stricken, quirky, concussed, somebody, takes, self, concussion, substitute, hors, combat, spasm, callow, bowls, spell, grandmaster, craftsman, rebuke, claims, 84mph, slogging, disappointing, oram, protecting, deck, caused, jamieson, revelation, quicker, bits, pieces, imaginary, handkerchief, skill, ally, technically, presentation, seam, surfaces, grabbed, skidded, fitness, flagging, fday, award, rusty, answering, belt, pull, threadbare, santner, description, backhanded, compliment, unsaid, working, minefield, excellence, glenn, 181, skilful, regardless, discombobulated, carey, volume, immaculate, threat, paralysed, bazballers, blundball, 135, painfully, replacement, treatment, 372, definitely, crawled, towards, technique, spicy, previously, 235, comically, inept, steadily, brilliant, deteriorating, surface, tire, strokeless, bruiseless, periods, 218, effected, extinguish, harboured, nil, replacing, colleagues, answered, completely, 197, generation, icon, failures, unworthy, exemplar, yourself, supreme, style, williamson, substance, deliver, deciding, known, quantity, lends, balanced, serious, opposite, 224, effective, leader, demands, limelight, demonstrated, truism, gritty, kiwi, decider, helped, 319, effectively, shock, predecessor, chaos, engulfing, numerous, injuries, functional, walking, wounded, nottingham, valuable, cost, excessive, economy, pushing, remaining, stubbornly, discomforts, engaging, debutant, promoted, firsts, invitational, friendlies, 000, practice, hypothesis, understand, vogue, 900, undercooked, edges, drses, release, clock, arrow, jump, justified, conceded, cons, outweighed, 161, 150, draw, tongue, prodigy, clamouring, retention, tells, fisher, support, considerably, escape, trigger, movements, 90mph, knowing, land, control, likes, substitutes, discretion, heard, pure, robinson, eleven, rugger, buggers, dodgy, stream, jackass, movie, lined, uber, lacks, office, speedster, temperament, leads, underrated, disciplined, finds, starts, experimental, frankenstein, extra, speaks, returns, fold, jordan, cox, graham, gooch, debuted, trailed, naive, frenetic, grabby, gloves, blooding, victim, bore, contributory, negligence, retrospect, wiser, paternity, rediscover, missed, reveal, unshowy, awkward, competence, punctuated, relatively, profile, springfield, decided, monorail, vocal, lobby, foakes, grow, indisputable, reasoned, debate, staunchest, defenders, wildly, approach, accepting, accurately, putting, teammates, sky, solve, fear, growing, flibbertigibbet, wisp, clown, 217, pad, ruthlessly

Text of the page (random words):
ddlesex have flown out of the blocks in group b with a couple of huge wins contributing to a three out of three start it was as a friend of mine remarked quite the day out for josh de caires at the utilita bowl at 24 now he really must start turning promise into performance and resist finding a fielder on 20 something and bowling two four balls in an over no such problems in the match against hampshire where he made a career best 75 as an opener which is clearly where he should bat and backed it up with 6 35 both career bests his team needs those kinds of outputs through the back end of the season and he has always had it in him classy at the crease and giving the ball as big a rip as any fingerspinner some might say that he is a finally emerging cricketer ball six singh on song for champions durham who have a handy all rounder in their xi stokes his name and worcestershire also enjoy spotless records albeit from two rather than three matches both worcestershire s wins were quite close in a competition that hasn t delivered its fair share of nailbiters just yet the champions opened their defence with the kind of bumsqueakingly tight match that low scoring affairs so often produce jake libby asked derbyshire to bat and the visitors will have been happy with their progress 84 1 in the 21st over that s when third change fateh singh a slow left armer who has a happy knack of taking wickets got amongst them and 84 1 became 138 all out six of those wickets his derbyshire will have told themselves that if they can be bowled out for a low score they can do the same to their hosts it s a cliche but also a delight that you never know a pitch s true character until both teams have batted on it at 113 7 with 26 still needed and the crowd nervous derbyshire were favourites but gareth roderick was old schooling at number three anchoring the chase and not partying like it s 1999 he needed a partner and eventually found one in another south african raised cricketer beyers swanepoel who bashed a few boundaries and the game was done 7 comments posted in county cricket cricket the tooting trumpet posted by tootingtrumpet july 20 2026 the final over of the week in county cricket 20 july 2026 northamptonshire prove deserving winners of the blast a star team rather than a team of stars shines on finals day rounding off a consistent t20 season ball one overton s overdrive continues momentum the street slang for confirmation bias matters in sport and the inertia that clings to it makes it tricky to reverse the first innings of the first semi final showed its influence somerset enjoyed a strong finish to the t20 season getting up late for a quarter final spot and then bringing the élan of craig overton s extraordinary rescue act at headingley to edgbaston his first ball may have been clipped for four by ricardo vasconcelos but that proved a false dawn and the wind was very much in lewis gregory s men s sails as they appeared to conjure a wicket pretty much at will for the next 19 1 overs as northamptonshire limped to 143 all out in contrast northants had done their best work in the early season and had lost twice to somerset late in the group stage their innings never established any momentum too many shots caught well inside the ropes indicative of a failure to commit fully to the shot the holders had a very good chance to progress to the final and they didn t have to do too much to earn it ball two willey comes to the party sometimes you can analyse the tactics investigate the psychological states of the players and explore the data in granular detail and sometimes a moment of inspiration turns a match a semi final maybe a tournament practising boundary relay catches is commonplace before play and they re not quite the kind of stop the press events they were in the early days of t20 cricket but when craig overton launched ben sanderson back over his head it felt like somerset s gamechanger was changing the game david willey thought otherwise at 36 in his 385th t20 match he ran flat out round the boundary flew all but horizontally at the ball released it whilst in midair with all his momentum going away from the boundary and saif zaib concentrating as a pro should but many do not caught the relay low down it didn t seal the victory on its own as northants had been punching back from their first ball in the field but there is a tide in the affairs of men and that was the point it turned somerset will rue a chance spurned having needed 75 runs three down at the halfway stage ball three a captain s knock in more senses than one james vince is as classy a white ball batter as there is in the domestic game and he showed that in leading really leading hampshire to a strong score pitch reading in most cricket is akin to asking the augurers to set the agenda for the day to come but the teams playing in the second semi final enjoy 40 overs to study the pitch assess a par score and plan the risk reward strategy to get there better still if your most experienced and wisest tactician is in the middle fine tuning matters as the innings progresses as opener vince can do that and did he played as though he had a target of 180 in mind and that allowed joe wetherley hands very fast indeed to tee off at the other end his captain there to reassure him that he was doing the right thing their partnership of 126 comprised much the most fluent strokeplay of the day of course had nottinghamshire caught their fair share of catches things would have been different but when is that not so credit hampshire for that too because they put fielders under pressure from ball one ball four clarke fails to write a winning script even in cricket s shortest format okay it s 120 balls not 100 and therefore its most formulaic the clichés do not always hold true at 102 2 in the 13th over nottinghamshire were behind the rate required to get up to the 188 they needed to qualify for the final but you can always catch up with wickets in hand cue a very bad time for joe clarke cruising on 64 off 42 to get out caught in the deep that exposed notts phalanx of all rounders numbers four to 11 boasting just two white ball centuries between them above 12 an over against the experience of hampshire s trio of 36 year old bowlers chris wood liam dawson and james fuller proved unsurprisingly too big an ask and hampshire had an hour or so to prepare for the final ball five baker cooks up a chance sent in to bat northamptonshire lost both their gun australian batters before eight overs were through but a tight knit team the best through the group stage which is well led can usually find someone who will stand up to the challenge ricardo vasconcelos as solid a county pro as you ll find did exactly that facing just under half the deliveries in making 88 well over half his team s total of 169 that it wasn t more was largely thanks to sonny baker who charged in full of enthusiasm and bowled fast and unpredictably not a bad combination for t20 unlike a lot of cricketers who talk about the grind of the county season with long faces he loves every second of it compared to the ipl almost a different sport these days a target of 170 appears thin but not at edgbaston chasing with a trophy on the line the steelbacks would certainly have settled for asking the hawks to soar that high before a ball was bowled ball six dawson opens up one end joe weatherley enjoying a super day out comprising two half centuries and liam dawson were taking the game away from northants both set with 41 required from the last four overs they d get over that line four times out of five from there needing a wicket willey tossed the ball to luke procter the veteran who had been hammered for a chastening six boundaries in an over earlier in the day he went 2 6 1 and the steelbacks spines needed stiffening as the game slid further away off his fourth ball as so often happens in pressure situations a run out turned the match 360 degrees procter fielding off his own bowling and throwing down the stumps at the non striker s end to maroon dawson weatherley was still there but running out of partners as a clatter of wickets saw northamptonshire seal the victory by 14 runs worthy winners indeed leave a comment posted in county cricket cricket the tooting trumpet posted by tootingtrumpet july 14 2026 the final over of the week in county cricket 14 july 2026 wednesday is shaping up to be quite a day four quarter finals and a semi final for fans of our summer and winter games ball one holders claw their way through with northamptonshire s remarkable consistency ensuring that they had booked a home quarter final long ago interest in the central and west group focused on whether somerset could engineer the chance to defend their title in the knockout stages so they might have expected northants to be doing cricket s equivalent of wearing their flip flops perhaps playing birmingham s own black sabbath playlists when they arrived at taunton the result mattering rather more to the home side than to the visitors the job still needed to be done and with a rocket start to the chase from will smeed and thomas rew 163 was chased down with five overs in hand easy pickings so far the last match in a very tight group indeed was again at taunton and though worcestershire were in decent form the momentum was with the home team as it can only be at a few grounds in this country smeed and rew again demolished the powerplay but worcestershire were right in the chase until jack leach and daniel sams induced a middle order collapse and somerset were through to face yorkshire at headingley ball two yorkshiremen with caps cap off a successful group stage how much did yorkshire want that home quarter final well against the already guaranteed table toppers nottinghamshire they fielded some very big guns indeed at three four and five joe root jonny bairstow and moeen ali could throw 972 england caps on the dressing room table should they so wish but it was that man adam lyth who again led the way with the bat the visitors set 194 for a win they didn t really need notts lost wickets at bad times another way of saying that they couldn t find a partnership as six tykes chipped in with at least one wicket it ll be quite a night in leeds on wednesday with a 4 30pm start giving fans time to cheer on their respective cricket teams before coming together to cheer on their footballers ball three essex boys are sharp thinkers is nousiest a word perhaps it should be because essex have been just about the nousiest county around for most of my cricket watching life simon harmer s team needed wins over both hampshire and surrey quarter finalists themselves to squeeze into the knockouts as one of the best two third placed teams thanks to one of their nousiest cricketers of all all rounder matt critchley they did exactly that to set up a raucous afternoon at the utilta bowl critchley will be looking to repeat his performance against hants in the penultimate group game in which he punched the heart out of the hawks middle order with 4 16 his leg breaks repeated the feat against surrey at the oval essex bowling out the home side for 123 critchley bagging three scalps with the heatwave set to continue harmer and critchley will likely bowl their full allocations of spin and that s quite the weapon to have in the quiver ball four it s donald duck batter of the blast it s a surprise to read that aneurin donald is still in his 20s so he is only at the midpoint in his career he ll be hoping for a better second half as he has been unduly hampered by injury and losses of form over the last ten years or so what s never been in doubt is his talent now at the disposal of derbyshire whom he captains he couldn t quite get them out of the group stage but nearly 500 runs at a strike rate of 230 including 37 sixes is an extraordinary effort bowler of the blast if you re an overseas bowler with a new ball in hand your job is to take wickets and nobody has delivered that brief better than hasan ali the experienced pakistani international pacer who keeps getting batters out his 25 wickets have propelled yorkshire into the last eight and no batter will relish the prospect of the wily seamer skidding the ball on to the pads in knockout cricket ball five teething problems for new format the blast has been re jigged this year 12 group matches instead of 14 and the last eight knockouts and finals day coming hard on the heels of the conclusion of the group phase it s hard to make an argument against that compression from the perspective of fans players or administrators with the counties cash cow competition to sell the two cross group matches required to be played by each county to bring the fixture count up to 12 from groups of six have been rather less successful in terms of the clarity of the three tables and in balancing jeopardy whilst it allowed counties to be matched for the first time in many years and no doubt friendships to be renewed in rivalry on away grounds the groups became very skewed all six counties in the central and west won at least half their matches while the north and the south comprising many teams who had lost their cross group matches saw half their members out of the running far too early as it happened the best eight sides probably did come through but perhaps some fine tuning might be required to ensure that more counties have something to play for in more matches come 2027 ball six the quarter finals on wednesday 15 july have shaken out as follows hampshire hawks vs essex nottinghamshire outlaws vs surrey yorkshire vs somerset northampton steelbacks vs gloucestershire predicting t20 matches is a fool s errand so i shall merely note that the bookies have surrey as marginal favourites and gloucestershire as outsiders for me essex looks the value bet perhaps more interesting is to note that only half of the eight quarter finalists host a hundred franchise money certainly talks in domestic cricket but not as loudly as it does in some other sports at least not yet finals day is on 18 july at edgbaston leave a comment posted in county cricket cricket the tooting trumpet posted by tootingtrumpet july 7 2026 the final over of the week in county cricket 7 july 2026 the blast is bubbling up in the heat with the knockout phase scheduled for next week plenty of counties are still in the hunt ball one after rew no after rew you can t win em all might be the oldest cliché in sport timing one s defeats is talked of rather less nevertheless it s a very useful habit to form northamptonshire lost their first match in the group stage having won eight in a row to ensure qualification for the knockouts next week and as is often the case after such a run the loss was a big one going down by 105 runs at home to somerset we witnessed another installment in the fraternal battle for supremacy of rew vs rew which sounds a bit dr seuss this time thomas bested his elder brother james 57 30 and with ano...