Once again the last round of the Division One championship was disfigured by the disordered nature of the season. Once again the England squad was called away for practice before the West Indies series begins on Thursday.
This time round it had no effect upon the top positions; Kent had already secured first place with their narrow win over Lancashire last week. Just as well for them, because they were put to the sword by Sussex at Canterbury – a loss by a mammoth 160 runs! And Sussex were deprived of four key players.
Rain interfered in parts of the country. This meant that Lancashire needed to score only 58 off 10 overs to beat luckless Warwickshire. They achieved this at the cost of a single wicket.
Notts too fell foul of the weather. After putting up a decent total of 198-7, they couldn’t prevent Yorkshire posting an increased total of 209-6 to win by 2 wickets. And this after a magnificent opening stand of 165 by the losing side (Odedra 72, Bryce 65).
Down south there was another one-sided game. Hampshire saw off neighbours Surrey by a monstrous 192 runs.
No wonder England’s head coach, Mark Robinson, can’t see adjustments to fundamental structures coming too soon. The current set-up isn’t a sufficient testing-ground for potential England players. With only eight counties competing at the elite level, it leaves outstanding players in Division Two not being sufficiently challenged. Heather Knight and Anya Shrubsole, both of Berkshire this season, are two obvious cases. Next season would see Amy Jones of Warwickshire similarly reduced.
But this end-of-championship clash with England’s needs is indefensible.
Results
Hampshire 273-9 beat Surrey 81 by 192 runs
Sussex 268-6 beat Kent 108 by 160 runs
Yorkshire 209-8 beat Notts 198-7 by 2 wickets (revised target)
Lancashire 58-1 beat Warwickshire 148-4 by 9 wickets (revised target)
Individual highlights
72 Odedra
67 Collis
65* Fackrell
65 Adams
60 Bryce
59 Armitage
53 Elwiss
52 Dean
50 Kendall
Munro 4-48
Final Table
|
Team |
W |
L |
Bonus |
Pts |
|
Kent |
6 |
1 |
46 |
106 |
|
Yorkshire |
5 |
2 |
43 |
93 |
|
Sussex |
4 |
3 |
45 |
85 |
|
Lancashire |
4 |
3 |
42 |
82 |
|
Hampshire |
3 |
4 |
50 |
80 |
|
Notts |
3 |
4 |
45 |
75 |
|
Surrey |
2 |
5 |
39 |
59 |
|
Warwick |
1 |
6 |
40 |
50 |
Surrey and Warwickshire are relegated
International Fixture
ENGLAND v WEST INDIES
Grace Road, Leicester
Thursday 6 June 14.00
