Bob Willis Trophy

Been a while since i posted on here, hope everyone is well.

Firstly RIP Bob Willis, a proper legend.


With cricket getting underway in 2 days time i suppose i should start the thread!

Great to see first-class county cricket coming back. Here's the format:

NORTH GROUP: Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire.

CENTRAL GROUP: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Worcestershire.

SOUTH GROUP: Essex, Kent, Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex.

All teams will play their group opponents just the once. The two group winners with the most points will progress to the five-day final at Lord's - I think this benefits Somerset hugely as they're in, arguably, the weakest group so should comfortably make the final (presumably why they've been made favourites at 5/1, a good price).

A few rule changes include:

There will be a reduction to a minimum of 90 overs in a day’s play
Each county’s first innings of a match can last no longer than 120 overs
The follow-on will increase from 150 to 200 runs
The new ball will be available after 90 overs rather than 80 overs
Points for a draw will increase from five to eight

Really nice touch from the ECB to name this competition after Bob Willis.  

Cheers for explaining Duty, i didn't even attempt it

Somerset's 12 point penalty from last season's game against Essex has been rolled over to 2021, so it won't affect this year's competition.

Couple of good escapes on the opening day. Kent recovered from 23/3 to finish up 344/6, and Somerset went from 149/8, and 189/9, to 296 all out. Jack Brooks at 11 for Somerset scored 72 off 58 balls.

Nice to see Hameed top scoring with 68 for Nottinghamshire; hopefully the start of a revival for him.

Hi folks - thanks for setting up the thread, Jimbo, and thanks for helping to clarify matters, Duty.

One other thing which is a change from recent years (although it was intended to come in anyway for this year's County Championship) is that the away side no longer have the right to elect to bowl. In other words, there will always be a toss. Quite right too. The home side shouldn't automatically be put at a disadvantage because the weather is grey and overcast favouring bowling. If the home side are looking to seek an advantage by producing an unfit track, then the authorities should come down hard on them.

As regards day one of this Trophy competition - only two centuries and both in the Southern group. However, both batsmen went went big and are still there. Heino Kuhn on 140 for Kent v Essex and Nick Gubbins on 150 for Middlesex v Surrey.

Bowling wise yesterday - fourfers were the best individual honours and just two of those as well. Ben Coad with 4/23 for Yorks v Durham and Olly Stone (good to see him back) with 4/39 for Warks v Northants. In the probable realisation that bowlers will soon have a relatively heavy workload in a confined period of time, the bowling seemed to be spread out yesterday by most sides. Only two bowlers bowled more than 20 overs. Make of this what you will will but both, Matt Quinn and Simon Harmer, were playing for Essex and both went wicketless!

Got some great conclusions coming up for the first round of games, with only Sussex's comfortable win over Hampshire reaching an end so far. Should promise more drama, provided the weather stays fair, than the England game tomorrow.

In the north group, Derbyshire were set an unlikely 365 to win by Nottinghamshire, but they've reached stumps at 129/1. Enough to worry Notts slightly. Yorkshire need another 68 with seven wickets left to defeat Durham; a drop of Dawid Malan likely proving crucial. This one is probably over, but if Durham get a quick couple tomorrow morning...who knows? Lancashire are battling to save a game against usual strugglers Leicestershire - Lancs are just nine ahead in the second innings with three wickets already lost.

In the central group, Gloucestershire are in a similar position to Lancs - 26 behind in the second innings with three wickets down. A gallant recovery from the first innings where they faced a large deficit of 161. Glamorgan are practically already beaten by formidable Somerset - the Welsh county need another 330 to win with only five wickets remaining. Warwickshire/Northamptonshire is arguably the most interesting. Following-on after a poor first innings, Northants are now 90 ahead with four wickets left. Great potential to set a tricky chase for Warwickshire and possibly win after following-on.

In the south group, Essex and Kent is very well poised. Essex need 202 to win with all ten wickets in hand, having only batted one over this evening. They sent out a nightwatchman, rather than a knight of the realm, to bat out that over - some here may not appreciate that! And Surrey are battling hard to save their game against Middlesex after a disappointing third day...well covered on here already.

Have to say, I've enjoyed the addition of the 'maximum 120 overs to bat in the first innings' rule, which has added a new layer of strategy and made positive results more likely.

The Ollie Robinson hype train shows no signs of slowing down as he takes 8/65 in the match vs Hampshire. An impressive start to the season.

Duty - that's an excellent end of Day 3 / Moving Day summary for the first round of games, many thanks. I'll consider further and give my predictions / kisses of death later.

Btw, yep, the maximum 120 overs has added a new and interesting layer of strategy. I doubt I would favour it in more 'normal' years for Championship matches but it seems to fit in well for this Trophy competition with less overs per day being bowled than usual.

As Duty said, some great conclusions coming up tomorrow with several that could go either way.

Tipping wins for - and probably jinxing them in the process - Notts, Yorks, Worcs, Somerset, Warks, Essex and Middlesex with a draw in the Lancs v Leics match.

Think I'll go for Notts, Yorks, Leics, Somerset, Northants and Kent to win. Surrey and Gloucs to escape with draws.

Only game being heavily threatened with the weather is Durham/Yorkshire, but they only need an hour or so to reach an ending.

Absolutely amazing finish between Derbyshire/Notts.

Derbyshire need 20 more to win off 24 balls with just three wickets remaining.

Yep, Derbyshire get over the line with just one ball to spare. They've chased down an incredible 365 in 121 overs to defeat Nottinghamshire by three wickets. Amazingly, not one batsman scored a century in that 365, it was a real team effort.

Meanwhile, Leicestershire took the last four wickets of Lancashire's innings for a cost of a mere 30 runs. It allowed Leics to have an unlikely tilt at 150 to win in 17 overs. Led by an inspired 73* off 41 balls by Ackermann, they won with eight balls to spare.

Another great game today was Essex against Kent. Essex needed 202 to win and got home by two wickets, with Sir Alastair Cook top scoring with 66. Things looked very dicey for Essex at 61/4 and 171/8, but an unbeaten ninth wicket stand worth 31 saw them to victory.

Something else that caught my attention was Warwickshire/Northamptonshire. After following-on, Northants were 148/5 in their second innings and still trailing by 79. They scored a further 359 runs for just the loss of one more wicket to finish 507/6 declared. Warks didn't take a single wicket today.

Sam Robson also took a double wicket maiden for Middlesex as Surrey collapsed to defeat.

Other than that, it was an uneventful round of fixtures. Yorkshire, Somerset, Worcestershire all completed comfortable victories.

Quite the chase by Derbyshire ! Saw the score but didn't realise it was done on the penultimate delivery. Way to start the season...

Somerset and Middlesex both won so my teams are doing well

guildfordbat wrote:As Duty said, some great conclusions coming up tomorrow with several that could go either way.

Tipping wins for - and probably jinxing them in the process -  Notts, Yorks, Worcs, Somerset, Warks, Essex and Middlesex with a draw in the Lancs v Leics match.

Some cracking finishes going to the wire. Probably helps that a team has to top its group to even have a chance of getting to the final - thus teams playing for the win wherever possible rather than the main aim being not to lose.

My apologies to Derbys and Leics who overcame Notts and Lancs respectively. Apologies also for jinxing Warks who couldn't bowl out Northants and ended up drawing.

Looks like Somerset/Northamptonshire had quite an interesting first day. Somerset bowled out for 166, again Jack Brooks at 11 making a telling contribution, followed by Northants rolled out for 67, where ten of their eleven batters only made single figures and nos. 8-11 all got ducks, and Somerset ended the day 15/1.

21 wickets in just under 90 overs of play.

Northants were 46-1! And before Olly gets in there, that is at Northampton not Taunton too!

I'm guessing it must be an unplayable minefield at Northants, because Somerset have already lost three more wickets inside thirty minutes today!

Unsurprisingly, all over within two days at Northants as a further 19 wickets fell today. Somerset slumped to 53/6 in their second innings, but excellent T20-style innings from the Overton twins propelled them to a double nelson score, setting Northants 322 to win.

Northants were doing OK in their victory pursuit at 148/4, then they lost the last six wickets in a mere 24 balls. Carnage.

Looking like bad news about Liam Dawson, a serious looking injury where he was stretched off whilst batting. A massive player for us would be a big loss

Kent currently 527-1 vs Sussex. A partnership of 420 between Leaning and 19 year old Jordan Cox, both of whom have reached 200. Incredible!

Some chap named Bairstow currently 58* for the Yorkies too...

Yes, Brisbane 2010 esque from Kent, ending up with 530/1. Sussex crumbled under the scoreboard pressure meaning Kent won by an innings (Darren Stevens 5/50). Derbyshire made it an unlikely two wins out of two by hammering Leicestershire, and Lancashire beat Durham by an innings.

Got a couple of close finishes lined up for day four. Yorkshire lead Notts by 168 with three wickets left in the second innings (Bairstow finished on 75), and Gloucs lead Warwickshire by 160 with four wickets remaining in the second innings.

Hampshire need just 98 more to win with eight wickets in hand against Middlesex, while Surrey need a considerable 310 more to defeat Essex and are currently one down.

Duty281 wrote:Yes, Brisbane 2010 esque from Kent, ending up with 530/1. Sussex crumbled under the scoreboard pressure meaning Kent won by an innings (Darren Stevens 5/50). Derbyshire made it an unlikely two wins out of two by hammering Leicestershire, and Lancashire beat Durham by an innings.

Got a couple of close finishes lined up for day four. Yorkshire lead Notts by 168 with three wickets left in the second innings (Bairstow finished on 75), and Gloucs lead Warwickshire by 160 with four wickets remaining in the second innings.

Hampshire need just 98 more to win with eight wickets in hand against Middlesex, while Surrey need a considerable 310 more to defeat Essex and are currently one down.

Hi Duty - as you flag, a couple of games hotting up which could go either way. If Yorks can extend their lead to over 200, they might be in business against Notts. If Warks don't face more than a 220 target against Gloucs, I would fancy them to get the runs.

If Middlesex could get a couple of early Hants wickets, they might just turn things around although I doubt it. Whilst Hants have already lost 2 wickets, they are effectively 3 down with Dawson crocked and probably unable to even get to the crease. That might give Middlesex some hope; however, it still looks too much for them to do.

Essex seem sure to defeat Surrey. Only question being how many sessions it will take for Harmer to run through them.

Middlesex have a chance of turning it right round. Five wickets in that session means Hampshire still need 27 to win from a position of, effectively, eight down with Dawson unable to bat. Very similar to Kent/Essex last week.

Yorkshire/Notts is right in the balance with Dawid Malan taking a spectacular catch just before the interval - Notts 46/3 still requiring another 142 to win.

Hampshire got over the line without further wickets falling. Opener Weatherley carried his bat for an unbeaten 64*, complementing his 98 in the first innings, and scored the winning runs for his side. Top effort.

Notts look done at 74/6 with Yorkshire bowler Thompson just knocking two stumps out of the ground. Can't fathom Worcestershire's tactics - they led by around 300 at lunch against Glamorgan. Rather than declaring and giving themselves an immediate shot at bowling the opposition out, they've decided to bat on for a further 40 minutes before declaring, which has surely guaranteed the draw.

Duty281 wrote:Hampshire got over the line without further wickets falling. Opener Weatherley carried his bat for an unbeaten 64*, complementing his 98 in the first innings, and scored the winning runs for his side. Top effort.

Notts look done at 74/6 with Yorkshire bowler Thompson just knocking two stumps out of the ground. Can't fathom Worcestershire's tactics - they led by around 300 at lunch against Glamorgan. Rather than declaring and giving themselves an immediate shot at bowling the opposition out, they've decided to bat on for a further 40 minutes before declaring, which has surely guaranteed the draw.

A word of praise as well for Hants' evergreen 'Ronnie' Barker. 28 not out and putting on an unbroken 53 for the 8th wicket with Weatherley. Wholehearted performer who always gives his best.

I saw Thompson make his debut for Yorks at Guildford a couple of years ago. He contributed usefully then and has done so again with bat and ball in this match. Yorks well in the hunt.

Neither one thing or the other from Worcs, as Duty suggests. If they thought they couldn't bowl Glamorgan out in 2 full sessions and didn't fancy fielding in the heat, why not just bat on for the draw rather than belatedly declare when they did.

Yes you're right Guildford,your man Barker has been great for us.
Really good win for us considering injuries and missing players. No Vince, Donald, Abbott , Edwards not returning, Roussow no longer playing red ball cricket. Youngsters have needed to step up and a couple of them have! Weatherley this game showing real promise.

As duty and Guildford have said above, bizarre declaration from Worcestershire.

I see Notts bottled it against Yorkshire.. Remarkably they haven't won a red ball game since 2018. Some of the talent they have too, amazing!

Gloucestershire forced victory over Warwickshire with Higgins taking career best figures of 7/43. The last stand for Warks, which lasted 12 overs, took them to within 29 balls of a draw, but not to be.

Worcs fell three wickets short of victory. Their foolish declaration cost them victory and a top of the table place, as another 40 minutes at Glamorgan would have surely yielded three wickets.

Got four 100% teams in the trophy at the moment, with three games left. Somerset, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Essex. As things stand it's a Derbyshire v Essex final, though I'm sure that will change by the end!

Teenage double centurion Jordan Cox will have to miss Kent’s next game in the Bob Willis Trophy after he broke social distancing regulations and had a photo to close to some fans.

Seems very harsh as imagine most players would have done the same, but such is the new world we live in. In the unlikely event he did catch it, it could derail the whole season for Kent so has to be enforced rigourously.

JDizzle wrote:Teenage double centurion Jordan Cox will have to miss Kent’s next game in the Bob Willis Trophy after he broke social distancing regulations and had a photo to close to some fans.

That is one hell of a way to be brought back down to earth.

you'd never see any Leicestershire players doing that

...and apparently Hafeez did the same thing on the golf course at the Ageas Bowl and could be forced to sit out the next test.

Forum favourite Darren Stevens made his 800th first class wicket. Rain at the test mean BBC radio are interviewing just about anyone whos ever met him, even bigger tribute than Dohni. Didnt realise he was old enough to have played alongside Agnew.  He was in his 5th season before Anderson made his senior county debut. Talk is he will stay on another season.

One of my favourite stats is Stevens has taken all 26 of his first class five fers after the age of 35!

Somerset are set for victory of Warwickshire. A 92 ball 120 from number 10, and Surrey bound, JOverton rather overshadowed an excellent Steve Davies ton. But Somerset only need 4 wickets tomorrow so should only be a matter of time.

Northants-Worcs is well poised - Worcs are 184 ahead with 4 wickets left in their second dig. The highest score in the game is 219, so Worcs will be aiming to set that or higher.

5-26 for George Garton vs Essex too, including messrs Cook and Lawrence. Last time I saw him bowl he couldn’t land it on the cut strip, but left arm and quick - you hope he keeps it together.

Somerset's lower order batting this season has been incredible. Ninth wicket stand of 140 today, tenth wicket stand of 52 and a seventh wicket partnership of 67 in their last match, and a tenth wicket stand worth 107 in their opening match.

If they get over the line tomorrow, weather permitting, it'll be three wins out of three and one foot in the final.

Shaping up nicely in some games at lunch on Day 4:
Somerset 3 wickets from a comprehensive innings victory: just need the weather to hold out.
Leicestershire need 232 to win with 9 wickets standing in a one innings game v Durham
Northants 235 to win with all 10 wickets left
Sussex leading by 174 with 3 wickets left v Essex.
Other games most likely draws - hurts Yorkshire who are well ahead of Derbyshire but badly weather affected today.

Got three positive results in the end. Worcestershire bowled Northants out in 40 overs - interestingly Northants went after the total of 250-odd which was a brave but ultimately foolish expedition. Dan Lawrence hit a half-century to guide Essex to their target of 199 - cruising at 142/3, they wobbled dangerously to 172/7 before getting home. Another tight chase completed for them, aided firstly by more excellent bowling from Porter and Harmer. And Surrey had a horrible collapse to continue a horrible season. Somerset couldn't get over the line falling two wickets short of victory.

Three games down, two to go. Worcs are in 1st place in the central group with 57 points, Somerset in 2nd with 56. The other four teams are effectively out of final contention. Derbyshire (!) still lead the north group with 57 points, Yorkshire just behind on 55, everyone else out of the running really. Essex (only team in the country with a 100% record) comfortably leading in the south group with 61 points, 16 ahead of Hampshire.

Bloody Essex - they always find a way to win these close games. Last year and this. The mark of champions.

Somerset will be gutted, although makes things tasty for the game vs Worcs in the final round if they can both win their next game.

Penultimate round of fixtures starts today. Unfortunately, with the weather set as it is, the draw will be the favourite in the majority of the games. Key games:

Derbyshire v Durham
Yorkshire v Lancashire
Somerset v Gloucestershire
Worcestershire v Warwickshire
Hampshire v Essex (any hope of Essex being overhauled relies on Hampshire beating them)

Duty281 wrote:Somerset's lower order batting this season has been incredible. Ninth wicket stand of 140 today, tenth wicket stand of 52 and a seventh wicket partnership of 67 in their last match, and a tenth wicket stand worth 107 in their opening match.

If they get over the line tomorrow, weather permitting, it'll be three wins out of three and one foot in the final.

Only 67 for the last wicket today. Standards are slipping.

I see Somerset reduced Gloucestershire to 13/4 at stumps, so once again their bowling has bailed out a below-par batting score. Will still be tough to force a result with all the rain predicted for Taunton, though.

Some close games

Middlesex vs Sussex. Middlesex need another 105 to win, Sussex need 7 wickets. Sussex bowled out for 102 in their 2nd innings.

Kent leading Surrey by 166 with 3 wickets remaining. Could be an interesting chase for Surrey, should Kent set around 200ish.

Notts need 8 wickets against Leicestershire to get their first win in red ball cricket in a long long time!

Performance of the day goes to Glamorgan's no.10 batsman Marchant de Lange. He smashed 113 off 78 balls, nine sixes included, which meant opponents Northants had a tricky target of 189 to win, instead of an easy two digit number. It was his first FC hundred, too. Northants are 62/1 at stumps, so will still probably win if the weather holds, but it was a tremendous counter-attacking rearguard.

Looks like the weather will win most of the games. Somerset need just two more wickets to beat Gloucestershire and give their hopes of reaching the final a tremendous boost.

jimbohammers wrote:Some close games

Middlesex vs Sussex. Middlesex need another 105 to win, Sussex need 7 wickets. Sussex bowled out for 102 in their 2nd innings.

Kent leading Surrey by 166 with 3 wickets remaining. Could be an interesting chase for Surrey, should Kent set around 200ish.

Notts need 8 wickets against Leicestershire to get their first win in red ball cricket in a long long time!

One plus from having a shortened season. I particularly like all the rounds of Bob Willis Trophy matches this year starting and (assuming they go the distance) finishing at the same time. The playing of Championship matches in recent years has been very random.

Only Somerset of the final-chasing pack managed to win their game, the rest were draws. Though Kent's victory over Surrey has pushed them into contention. Somerset bowled out Gloucs for 76 and 70, another strong bowling effort. With the T20 Blast starting this week, the final round of group fixtures aren't until Sunday 6th September.

In the central group, Somerset lead with 76 points and Worcestershire are on 70 (Worcs' foolish declaration against Glamorgan a few weeks ago dearly costing them). Derbyshire lead the north group with 71 points and Yorkshire are trailing on 66. Essex are on 70 points, with Kent's narrow win over Surrey keeping them interested on 64.

So as things stand, it'll be a Somerset/Derbyshire final, but it's nowhere near set in stone.

The Somerset v Worcestershire final round game looms as a big one. Fancy the winner of that - if there is one - will be in...

Ian Bell, in his final first-class match, brings up 50 with most of his Warwickshire team-mates falling cheaply around him.

Most of the final-chasers have made a good start to their games, with the exception of Worcestershire who are facing Somerset. Somerset currently 120/2.

Darren Stevens takes his 29th career 'five-for'
44 years old and still taking a lot of wickets!