The post-Anderson era began at Trent Bridge, where the West Indies were desperate to improve on their efforts at Lord’s – in truth, it would have been hard for them to do worse. Unsurprisingly, England made only one change to their line-up, with Mark Wood coming in for Jimmy Anderson – it was the first home Test since 2012 that neither Anderson nor Stuart Broad had played (though the latter had the honour of the Pavilion End being named after him at his home ground). For the West Indies, Kevin Sinclair replaced Gudakesh Motie, who was unwell, and when Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss he chose t ..read more

England’s home summer of cricket began with the first Rothesay Test at Lord’s, with the West Indies looking to overturn a winless run at the Home of Cricket dating back to 1988. For the home side, there were two debutants, as Jamie Smith of Surrey was chosen as wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Smith’s county team-mate Ben Foakes. Ironically, Foakes is Surrey’s first-choice keeper, but it is Smith’s prolific form with the bat, and the speed at which he scores, that gave him the edge in the selectors’ eyes. The other debutant was also from Surrey: fast bowler Gus Atkinson, aged 2 ..read more

After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was probably just the tonic they needed, and when they were asked to bat they took full advantage, though not before skipper Rory Burns was dismissed in the first over. Dan Lawrence, with a career-best 175, was the focal point of an innings of 490 all out, despite the best efforts of loanee Shoaib Bashir, the England spinner toiling away for 38 overs. When the pair encountered each other on the second day, L ..read more

As the Vitality County Championship reached its midway point before the end of May, Surrey went into their fixture at the Rose Bowl full of confidence off the back of four consecutive wins (including an innings win over these same opponents last month), looking to reinforce their stranglehold on the title. With a top six who were all England internationals it was no surprise that they chose to bat first, but they found Kyle Abbott in irresistible form as he took five for 25 to help dismiss the visitors for just 127. In reply, opener Toby Albert was yet to make a Championship fifty, but he mad ..read more

For the sixth round of the Vitality County Championship, attention inevitably focused on Canterbury, where Worcestershire were the visitors, still rocked by the tragically early death of Josh Baker. In tribute, the Worcestershire shirts now carry the number 33 (Baker’s squad number) under the county badge. At all matches this week, there was a minute’s silence held in Baker’s memory before the action commenced.   Brett D’Oliveira chose to bat first and his side went on to make full use of the pitch, scoring a mammoth 618 for seven declared, their highest score against Kent since 1905. Ga ..read more

Events on the pitch this week were completely overshadowed by the sad news from Worcestershire that their spin bowler Josh Baker had died, just a few days short of his 21st birthday. Baker, who last season scored the runs that secured his team promotion back to Division One, was a popular figure within the camp and the news left followers of the game stunned. He’d been playing for the county second XI at Bromsgrove, and on his final day of action had picked up the wickets of Thomas Rew, Josh Thomas and Jack Leach. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, team-mates, friends and all those ..read more

With the Dukes ball available to their bowlers, Essex had no hesitation in asking Lancashire to bat at Chelmsford. The only side to have won a match in the first two rounds immediately showed why they will be formidable challengers for the title this summer. Only a quickfire 32 not out from Will Williams helped the visitors up to a meagre total of 146, with Shane Snater doing most of the early damage, picking up four for 42. Noah Thain took his first Championship wicket (Tom Bailey). Feroze Khushi replied with a 33-ball 53 to give Essex early momentum, and they ended up 377 all out and in tot ..read more

The second round of the Vitality County Championship saw some heavy scoring, as the batters made the most of facing the Kookaburra ball. Sadly, on the final day, the weather turned and some intriguingly balanced matches petered out in draws. Essex were the only side to win in the first round of fixtures, and they welcomed Kent to Chelmsford and chose to bat. Dean Elgar made his maiden century for his new county before Matt Critchley produced a career-best 151 not out as the hosts piled up a hefty 530 for seven declared in just 112 overs. Making his debut, Jaydn Denly (nephew of Joe) took the ..read more

After one of the wettest winters on record, it was no surprise that four of the nine Vitality County Championship fixtures failed to yield any play on the first day, but at least the competition could welcome a new sponsor, replacing London Victoria. One game that did get underway soon enough was at Trent Bridge, where Essex were put in to bat. Dane Paterson picked up the first five-wicket haul of the season as the visitors were dismissed for 253, despite a solid 80 from new signing Dean Elgar and 84 from another of the club’s new recruits, Jordan Cox. If only the established players had been ..read more

Terms & Conditions This is a prize draw to win a Liberty London Hera Scented Candle To enter, please upload your proof of purchase of Jennifer Saint’s Hera, publishing 23rd May, 2024, together with your name and contact details and from a retailer of your choice. The winner will be selected at random from the entries received in accordance with these terms and conditions by a member of the Headline Publishing Group Limited marketing team, whose decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. A purchase is necessary to enter: please purchase a copy of Hera by Jennifer Sa ..read more