BOB WILLIS TROPHY TEAM OF THE WEEK: Ben Duckett and Dawid Malan are in, but who joins them?

NICK FRIEND & TEDDIE CASTERTON: On the back of the second round of Bob Willis Trophy action, The Cricketer puts forward those who performed best - a tough call after some memorable performances

Ben Slater (142)

It’s safe to say that Ben Slater has enjoyed the Bob Willis Trophy. Having joined Nottinghamshire ahead of the start of 2019, he struggled in his maiden campaign with the Trent Bridge county. In 14 first-class games, he made just 601 runs at an average of 25.04. Yet, five innings gone in 2020, and he is more than halfway to surpassing that tally.

A first hundred came during a weeklong loan at Leicestershire, before he added a second this week back in Nottinghamshire colours. Both centuries came against Lancashire, against whom he now finds himself 314 for 2 in this truncated season. His 178-run partnership with Ben Duckett built the foundations for a dominant display, with a victory charge only halted by the weather.

Ben Duckett (116)

In a disappointing 2019 for Nottinghamshire’s red-ball side, Duckett fared better than several others. Even so, he would have wanted more from himself. And having begun the Bob Willis Trophy with four low scores against Derbyshire and Yorkshire, he returned to form in fine style at Trent Bridge, making his maiden first-class hundred at the venue.

He made 116 from 156 deliveries and combined well with Slater – not for the first time. It feels like some time ago now, but when Duckett and Slater initially joined the club ahead of the 2019 campaign, the pair put on a 325-run opening stand in 58 overs against Cambridge MCCU.

Tom Fell (110*)

Tom Fell’s unbeaten 110 for Worcestershire was his first in first-class cricket since September 2015. A battle with testicular cancer and a subsequent struggle for runs followed. Then, he was a precociously talented 21-year-old; in 2015, he had recorded 1,127 red-ball runs at 42 apiece. This, therefore, represented something greater than solely a contribution towards a second victory in three games for Alex Gidman’s side.

It was a hugely popular hundred, celebrated both on the away side’s balcony and in equal measure on social media. In a game of four middling scores, Fell was one of only two men to pass fifty – Riki Wessels the other. And while Wessels’ was a counterattacking effort, Fell had faced 208 balls by the time Joe Leach called time.

^{Tom Fell hit a first-class century for the first time since 2015}

Dawid Malan (219)

In his first game at home for Yorkshire, the England batsman was in fine form for his new county, making 219 – the first double hundred of his career. In doing so, Malan became the first Yorkshire player to make their maiden ton for the club a double century since Jonny Bairstow in 2011.

He struck 32 boundaries, hitting 28 fours and four sixes. He and Jonny Tattersall put on a fifth-wicket stand of 200 to steer their side away from relative difficulty at 106 for 4.

Steven Davies (123*)

Somerset bowled Warwickshire out for 121 and followed up with a first innings score of 413, in which Steven Davies’ 123 played a key role. His innings lasted 182 balls, with much of it spent marshalling his side’s tail. Having come to the crease with his team 101 for 4, he watched Tom Abell, Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory and Roelof van der Merwe lose their wickets before Jamie Overton – soon to be of Surrey – came out to join him.

Together, the pair added 180, with Davies’ effort a fine, cultured display alongside the more brutal brushstrokes of Overton, whose 120 came from almost exactly half the number of deliveries.

^{James Fuller is chased by his teammates after completing a Bob Willis Trophy hat-trick}

Ian Holland (6-60)

Born in Wisconsin, Ian Holland’s journey is different. His big break came courtesy of an Australian reality television show, in which Allan Border was the head judge. Holland would soon make his first-class debut in the Sheffield Shield, representing Victoria alongside Peter Siddle, Peter Handscomb, James Pattinson and Cameron White.

And now, here he was, sewing the seeds for Hampshire’s win over Surrey at Arundel – to a considerable degree, courtesy of a fine individual performance from Holland, who had never taken a first-class five-wicket haul until this week. Figures of 6 for 60 soon changed that. They were good wickets too: Mark Stoneman, Ryan Patel, Scott Borthwick, Jason Roy, Laurie Evans and Gus Atkinson – the bulk of Surrey’s depleted batting line-up.

James Fuller (4-17)

Holland sewed the seeds but Fuller landed the knockout blows. The former Middlesex seamer became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the Bob Willis Trophy on a remarkable final day.

Laurie Evans was caught, before Gus Atkinson was trapped in front and Morne Morkel – in his first appearance of the campaign – shouldered arms to a ball that took his off-stump. Cue bedlam. A match-clinching spell from a man who, up until that point, hadn’t enjoyed a particularly distinguished game.

George Garton (5-26, 4-50)

“I can’t expect to walk into the team just because England like what they see and have fast-tracked me through the bowling programme,” George Garton told The Cricketer ahead of this season. “I have to earn my place; I want to earn the right to play for Sussex.”

Everything about the Sussex left-armer should excite English cricket: genuine pace, an ever-improving batsman and arguably the county circuit’s finest fielder. Albeit in a losing cause at Hove against Essex, he put up numbers to match his potential.

Match figures of 9 for 76, including the wickets of Sir Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence twice. In a normal year, given Sussex’s seam bowling resources, Garton might have found his red-ball opportunities limited. Almost a quarter of his career first-class wickets have come in the last week.

^{Garton dismissed Sir Alastair Cook twice as Sussex were beaten by Essex}

Jamie Overton (120)

What can we say? In his last season for Somerset, Overton is certainly leaving his mark on the club. This week, instead of dominating with the ball, he displayed the explosive potential of his batting.

Coming in at No.10, he hammered his first ton for the club, with Warwickshire on the end of a quite brutal 92-ball assault. He added 120 to his team’s first innings score of 413 before being caught behind off Tim Bresnan. The latest in a remarkable run of all-round form, adding to 68 against Northants and 5 for 48 in victory over Glamorgan.

Simon Harmer (3-48, 5-54)

It will surprise absolutely no one to learn that Simon Harmer has more Bob Willis Trophy wickets than anyone else. That tally now stands at 28 in three games – all at 13.50 apiece and averaging a wicket inside every six overs. To the 144 he plundered against Surrey last week, he added eight more this time around at Hove.

The 31-year-old South African off-spinner bowled 27 overs in the first innings, with 11 of those maidens, while taking three wickets, all at a frugal economy rate of 1.78. Then, as Essex rolled Sussex for 141, he added his now customary five-wicket haul.

David Payne (5-31, 3-30)

David Payne could not have done much more in railing against the Welsh weather. Match figures of 8 for 61 in 37 overs represent a job well done, even if Gloucestershire ran out of time to force a victory at Sophia Gardens.

After running through Glamorgan’s middle and lower order in the first innings to finish with figures of 5 for 31, he then knocked over Billy Root, Dan Douthwaite and fellow left-armer Graham Wagg whenthe hosts came to bat again.

Shoutouts also to those who have missed out: Robbie White (99), Miguel Cummins (5-62), Darren Stevens (5-79), Ed Barnard (4-46, 2-38, 48*), Riki Wessels (88), Amar Virdi (6-101), Jamie Porter (5-60, 3-28)

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