Four days that gave us everything

NICK FRIEND: It will be gone before we know it. But enjoy it while it’s here – the players certainly will. A few more rounds of similar quality and drama, and – given the context of these times – no one will have any complaints

When August 1 finally arrived, the thrill came simply from having scorecards to check and video clips to watch.

One of the summer’s first signs has always been the scour through April teamsheets, searching for new names, baying for standout performances among the university students – perhaps even picking out an occasional upset.

This time, there were no MCCU fixtures to track, nor any evidence that the months of April and May ever even took place. In decades to come, fans will look back with confusion on the missing weeks of 2020.

Instead, this was the start of something new: a rare five-week block of red-ball county cricket in conditions that were always likely to breed excellence and excitement.

There were some question marks over what to expect. How would the bodies of bowlers hold up? How would batsmen cope with returning to the mindset of run-scoring? How would the smaller counties fare, without the same means for rotation as some of their wealthier cousins? How would the older frames stand up to the exertion of fielding for 90 overs in a day? What would success look like? How would the next generation find life up against more seasoned campaigners?

Some of those thoughts remain unanswered – we will know more, for example, about the fitness of seamers once they are in action for the second time in a fortnight. Likewise, we will learn more about counties’ intentions from how widely they look to rotate their stock.

Nevertheless, this was an intriguing start packed full of fine displays – both from less likely sources and from those for whom dominating the county circuit comes almost as second nature.

There was a 500th first-class wicket for Chris Rushworth and a 160th for Ollie Robinson since the start of 2018, but also a first for Ben Aitchison, Joey Evison, Mattie McKiernan, Tom Price, Jack White, Tom Hartley, George Balderson, Marcus O’Riordan, Dan Moriarty, Thilan Walallawita, Ajeet Dale and Jack Carson.

These are days they will remember forever: beyond the names, each has their own story. Balderson has captained England Under-19s; Moriarty only signed a professional deal in October; Walallawita, Sri Lanka-born, survived the 2004 tsunami as a child; Aitchison was only signed by Derbyshire on the back of a fine winter in grade cricket; White, 28, has come to professional cricket comparatively late and spent last year injured on the sidelines wondering whether this might ever transpire.

^{Dan Moriarty collected a five-wicket haul on his Surrey debut}

In a normal campaign, these games – in some cases, debuts – would have been played out in the grey damp of late spring on green, soft surfaces and lush, trying outfields. But these times are anything but routine.

Speaking to The Cricketer from a spinner’s perspective ahead of Hampshire’s first game of the season against Sussex, in which he took six wickets, Mason Crane explained: “It’s very different. Normally everyone pre-seasons and then I give myself a couple more weeks after it, thinking that I’m not going to be involved and I’m just going to be carrying drinks.

“It’s nice to be heavily involved, it’s nice to be in and around the guys and not just being given a few token overs. It’s been nice. Finally, we’ve got some championship games in August, which hasn’t happened for quite a while, I don’t think. Hopefully it stays dry and I get a good long bowl.”

His experience was representative of a wider trend. This was the same but different. There were still wickets for the usual suspects – Tim Murtagh ran through Surrey, Ben Coad through Durham, but conditions and temporary regulations made for a more intriguing outlook.

There were 14 players making their first-class bows, and across nine games, 637.4 overs of spin were bowled – a consequence, as Crane suggested, of a more appropriate, encouraging climate – not only in terms of the weekend heat and the wicket itself, but also the decision to introduce a new ball once every 90 overs and a consciousness among captains not to overbear their seamers with a crippling burden.

The return of the toss – following four years as an uncontested offering to away teams – has brought its own quirks. When, before Saturday, was the last time that Durham voluntarily batted first at Emirates Riverside? Ned Eckersley was one of seven captains to make that choice. And while it all makes sense given the circumstances of this year, it makes for a marked difference from the early weeks of seasons gone by.

The declaration rule, too, made for some fascinating finishes; teams were left with little option but to move the game on more quickly and daringly perhaps than they otherwise might have done. Take Worcestershire: well aware that they had just ten overs left to run in their first innings against Gloucestershire, Ben Cox and Brett D’Oliveira added 96 runs between the 110th and 120th over, taking their total from 332 to 428.

Likewise, the format of this truncated competition may well have played its part. The one-off lack of relegation has undoubtedly allowed sides to remove the mental handbrake, accentuated by a need for wins in a five-game season to reach – the two group-winners with the most points will advance to the Lord’s final.

^{Derbyshire pulled off a fine chase to beat Nottinghamshire}

It’s early days, of course; and at this point, there is little sense in calling for a radical change to the format of the County Championship. Given how cricket-starved we have been for so long, whatever was served up might have felt like a treat when it finally presented itself.

That Leicestershire and Derbyshire pulled off miraculous wins only added to the thrill of having our game back – a reminder of how quickly the game can change. Lancashire went through 2019 unbeaten, while Leicestershire won just once – the pair ended with 126 points between them. And yet, led by the ever-impressive Hassan Azad and loan signing Ben Slater, Paul Nixon’s Foxes outplayed their Division One opponents, who fielded a young, inexperienced bowling attack.

A shoutout as well to those behind the significantly upgraded live-streams for producing something so eminently watchable at a time when the general craving of the cricketing public is at its most fervent.

There were so many fine performances to analyse. Northamptonshire’s two-day rear-guard was arguably the pinnacle. On the back of a limited pre-season and even less in the way of middle practice, Adam Rossington’s side – 227 behind on first innings – battled for 175 overs to secure a draw. There were hundreds for Rossington himself, who faced 399 balls in almost eight hours at the crease, and for Luke Procter, who joined him after 23-year-old Charlie Thurston had come within four runs of a maiden first-class century.

All in all, a terrific week that whetted the appetite for what is to come. It remains a strange summer, no doubt. For, it will be gone before we know it. But enjoy it while it’s here – the players certainly will. A few more rounds of similar quality and drama, and – given the context of these times – no one will have any complaints.

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