County Championship 2023

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The 123rd iteration of the County Championship. Guildford remembers them all...

This year it is sponsored by Bazball, as McCullum and Stokes are urging counties to replicate England's bold new approach.

The ECB seem to be right behind this, as they've instituted some rule changes. Points for a draw have been reduced from 8 to 5; batting bonus points now kick in from 250 runs, up to 450 runs, rather than the old method of between 200 and 400; pitches are expected to be flatter; and the Kookaburra ball will be used in rounds nine and ten.

On the flip side, the Dukes balls are expected to be more potent for the bowlers, so it could be carnage if the batsmen take it on.

The structure for the season remains the same as last year, with a top division of ten and a second division of eight. Two go up, two go down, and it's a straight league format with no play-offs or finals. And it looks as though this structure will remain for the foreseeable future, after the counties didn't buy into Strauss' reforms.

Surrey are the defending champions after, dare I say, a somewhat unexpected victory last year, and have been installed as the bookmakers' favourites to win it again. However, Hampshire, Essex and Lancashire are all expected to be well in the hunt, along with newly-promoted Nottinghamshire. Middlesex and Northants are the current favourites for the drop.

In Division Two, Yorkshire, blighted by off the field scandal and financial strife, are nonetheless strong favourites to bounce straight back up to the top flight, with Sussex second favourites (despite only winning once last season) and Glamorgan just behind.

So, will Somerset finally end all those years of hurt? Will Dom Sibley blast a 50-ball ton? Will someone break Lara's 501? And, most importantly, will Leicestershire actually win a game of cricket?

Surrey's game with Notts is a draw. Nottinghamshire not taking wickets quickly enough this morning to set up an exciting conclusion.

Dawson with a tidy, probably game-saving half-century, in partnership with Gubbins who has survived over 200 balls, to get Hampshire to safety.

Lancashire and Essex might still go to the wire. 86 needed off 88 balls, four wickets remaining, Rob Jones still there on 81.

Agonising for Lancashire, bowled out for 383, just 10 balls short of a draw. Centurion Jones the last man to fall.

Also have Middlesex and Derbyshire closing in on big chases.

Middlesex's pursuit of 323 ends up in a draw with the scores tied. Robson with an unbeaten 126.

Derbyshire needing 21 off 11 balls to beat Sussex, just two wickets left and no established batsman remaining. Derbyshire end up playing out the draw, just 19 short of chasing down 380.

Been quite a day in the County Championship. Lancashire losing to Essex in a brave pursuit of 430; Middlesex drawing in a chase of 323; Hampshire just surviving v Somerset; and Derbyshire making a real fist of chasing down 380, and only narrowly falling short, but still managing the draw.

Duty281 wrote:Middlesex's pursuit of 323 ends up in a draw with the scores tied. Robson with an unbeaten 126.

Derbyshire needing 21 off 11 balls to beat Sussex, just two wickets left and no established batsman remaining. Derbyshire end up playing out the draw, just 19 short of chasing down 380.

Been quite a day in the County Championship. Lancashire losing to Essex in a brave pursuit of 430; Middlesex drawing in a chase of 323; Hampshire just surviving v Somerset; and Derbyshire making a real fist of chasing down 380, and only narrowly falling short, but still managing the draw.

Middlesex actually ended up on the same number of runs as Northants! Remarkable game. Incredible knock from Robson to get them that close.

I had no idea this was a rule - courtesy of Nick Friend on Twitter:

Playing Condition 16.2.4 -: Middlesex get three extra points for scores being level in the fourth innings, so come away with eight (plus bonus points). Northants get five for the draw, plus bonuses.

Duty281 wrote:Surrey's game with Notts is a draw. Nottinghamshire not taking wickets quickly enough this morning to set up an exciting conclusion.

Dawson with a tidy, probably game-saving half-century, in partnership with Gubbins who has survived over 200 balls, to get Hampshire to safety.

Lancashire and Essex might still go to the wire. 86 needed off 88 balls, four wickets remaining, Rob Jones still there on 81.

Also fair to say that Surrey bumbled along all morning never getting out of third gear and so failed to set Notts an attractive target with enough overs left to bowl 'em out.

Do you know anything about this guy Dawson?

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Surrey's game with Notts is a draw. Nottinghamshire not taking wickets quickly enough this morning to set up an exciting conclusion.

Dawson with a tidy, probably game-saving half-century, in partnership with Gubbins who has survived over 200 balls, to get Hampshire to safety.

Lancashire and Essex might still go to the wire. 86 needed off 88 balls, four wickets remaining, Rob Jones still there on 81.

Also fair to say that Surrey bumbled along all morning never getting out of third gear and so failed to set Notts an attractive target with enough overs left to bowl 'em out.

Do you know anything about this guy Dawson?

Yes, he was the one who passed the ball to Wilkinson for the famous drop-kick in 2003.

21 wickets so far today at Edgbaston, and not even 80 overs in. Two matches that managed to get all their overs in by quarter past 6 too, including at Old Trafford...

Some interesting games brewing if the weather allows.

Hampshire leading by 73 over Essex in the third innings, but already six wickets down. However, the pitch is an absolute minefield, so a chase of 150+ could be problematic. Gubbins' score of 44* in the current innings is the highest individual score of the match thus far, which I think says it all. Safe to say Hampshire need a win to keep their title ambitions alive.

Lancashire 121/1 in response to Northants' 342ao, on a turning pitch. Northants trying desperately to stay in Division One. Warwickshire leading by 50 over Middlesex in the third innings, with four wickets down. Good fightback from Warwickshire after being bowled out for 60 in the first innings. And Surrey looking likely to extend their lead at the top, provided the rain stays away from Taunton.

In Division Two the notable game is Yorkshire/Durham. Yorkshire bowled out for 340 and Durham 106/1 in reply, Lees with yet another half-century. He's got over 1,000 runs in Division Two this year @ an average of 72. Durham are cruising to the Division Two crown, but Yorkshire really need a win here for their promotion prospects.

Yorkshire have been deducted 48 points, so here endeth any chance of promotion.

County Championship resumes tomorrow. Four rounds of fixtures left before the end of the season. The British weather continuing to be strange: after a lot of rain and not much relative warmth through June/July/August, the first week of September is seeing bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid to high 20s. Hopefully that continues.

Surrey have a 17 point lead over Essex in the race for the Division One title, with third-placed Hampshire (48 points behind Surrey) likely to be too far back to make a challenge. Fourth-placed Warwickshire have a game in hand, though are 56 points adrift of Surrey, so might still have an outside chance. Warwickshire will play Surrey in the first game of September, so it's must win for them.

Northants already look relegated, and Middlesex and Kent are locked on 81 points for the final relegation place, with Middlesex having a game in hand.

Durham have already got top spot in Division Two locked down. The race for the final promotion spot is compelling - Worcestershire 134 points, Glamorgan 120, Sussex 113 (one game in hand on those above) and Leicestershire 111 (also one game in hand on Worcs/Glamorgan).

It would be quite something if the often derided Leicestershire got promoted, especially with their off-field trouble. Sussex and Glamorgan both have curious records, as both counties have only won once all season, but have managed to draw every other game.

Dawson having another beautiful game for Hampshire. He scored 115 in the first innings (no one else made a half century), then followed up with 3/61. A 40 batting average and 19 bowling average for Dawson this season.

Elsewhere, Surrey destroying Warwickshire, and the title looks very close to over; while Leicestershire are closing in on a win that would make the promotion dream appear realistic.

Amazing game between Leicestershire and Sussex. Leicestershire were set 499 to win, and a fourth wicket partnership of 180 and a seventh wicket partnership of 120 seemed to be taking them close to victory.

At 453/6 they were favourites, but three wickets in a couple of overs, after great pressure from Unadkat (6/94) and Hudson-Prentice, left them firmly flattened at 456/9. Still, Wright launched a couple and took Leicestershire even closer, before Unadkat bowled him with 16 runs to get.

Important win for Sussex in their promotion hunt.

Also, in Division One, seeing Warwickshire reeling at 134/8 chasing 176 after a very aggressive declaration from Northants, who essentially need to win every game that's left.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sussex-docked-12-points-cheteshwar-pujara-suspended-fourth-disciplinary-charge-1399027

The Sussex v Leicestershire game mentioned above actually boiled over quite severely. Pujara has been suspended for a game , while Sussex have stood down three players, including the promising English player Carson, as they look into the behaviour exhibited.

Plus Sussex have been hit with a 12 point deduction which has done massive harm to their promotion chances. In fact, nearly ended their promotion hopes.

My mate is sat at Chelmsford, absolutely fuming, as its bone dry but no play because of "bad light".

I often wonder if umpires actually want to play cricket or not...

Duty281 wrote:https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sussex-docked-12-points-cheteshwar-pujara-suspended-fourth-disciplinary-charge-1399027

The Sussex v Leicestershire game mentioned above actually boiled over quite severely. Pujara has been suspended for a game , while Sussex have stood down three players, including the promising English player Carson, as they look into the behaviour exhibited.

Plus Sussex have been hit with a 12 point deduction which has done massive harm to their promotion chances. In fact, nearly ended their promotion hopes.

The Cricketer reporting that Ari Karvelas is being investigated by ECB after allegedly saying, "Send him back to the village he came from", to Pakistan batter Umar Amin.

Carson's less serious but incredibly dumb indiscretion is apparently that he stuck a foot out and tried to trip Ben Cox over as he ran two. He's apologised for it. Carson is rated by the England coaches as Duty says and had been tipped by some journalists as a bowler that might travel with the squad to India for experience bowling to England's Test batters in those conditions. If not to actually play the Tests.

I've not seen anything on what Tom Haines has been stood down for.

Apparently one of the penalties earlier in the season for Pujara was knocking his stumps over with his bat after getting out. Which doesn't seem inline with his usually calm demeanour at all!

Oh, that's not good.

I did catch the tail end of the game, and the commentators were remarking at the end how it was a relief to see everyone shaking hands after a bad-tempered match, which is quite unusual in a county game!

I'd not really picked up on it but the Sussex squad who will have actually been there all season is very young and/or inexperienced.

There are more experienced overseas players. But they will mostly have come and gone. Pujara, Smith, Unadkat, McAndrew, Shipley. Then two T20 only players in Bopara and Mills that are experienced but again wont have been constants around the squad. Whilst Robinson and Jofra are both Sussex players but will be around Hove very little these days.

From the guys who will have spent a full season on "the circuit" so to speak you're probably looking at Tom Alsop (27) and Tom Haines (24) as the elder statesmen. Hudson-Prentice (27) and Ari Karvelas (29) are a bit older in age but hardly experienced as cricketers.

Orr 22
Clark 22
Coles 19
Carter 21
Carson 21
Crocombe 22
Ibrahim 19

Those are all guys getting significant CC opportunities this season. Great in terms of talent development. There are some really well considered young cricketers in the list. I can certainly see how things might have bubbled over for them on more than one occasion though given the inexperience.

I absolutely adore Pujara as a player and bloke (his recent interview on The Final Word podcast with Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon is a really great listen) it is worth noting he's not really had a sniff of captaincy or vice roles with India during that long and illustrious Test career either.

That's more with regards to the smaller indiscretions which there are now suggestions have gone on previously in the season from that group. Just frankly dumb but unwanted things like knocking the stumps over, going a bit too far with verbal's, dissent to umpires, etc that should be punished as now seen. The Karvelas situation is a different one entirely and should be dealt with differently.

Surrey were clearly the outstanding side. Time and again the team dug themselves out of a hole. Any side that makes 500 to win in the 4th innings has to be reckoned with.

Middx finally found some fight at the death to take the relegation issue down to the wire. But their batting overall was abysmal and they really didn't deserve to stay up.

I think the main difference between the two divisions is the bowling (as Middx found out only too well).

Once again administrators got away with the ridiculous scheduling of the County Championship. Playing until the end of September is always a bit of a risk but thankfully the weather mainly held up.

Ironically, some of the worst weather was in early August when no CC matches were scheduled.

At least next year there's a Test in August to keep redball-starved fans happy.

Congratulations indeed to Surrey : reckon their performance left no doubts that they were the outstanding team again. Less said about poor Middlesex the better