The good ship county championship 2019 came into dock for the last time at Taunton on Thursday. There's often something poignant about the end of a cricket season and this year the sense of loss was heightened by doubts over the county championship's future. George Dobell and Tanya Aldred both capture the end of term tristesse.
Normally their defence of championship cricket would have me nodding along and certainly when sat in a good size crowd at York CC watching Warwickshire beat Yorkshire it felt like there was plenty of life left in the old girl. Conversely sometimes, watching at Edgbaston with a crowd of less than 500 in a stadium that holds more than 20,000, with two umpires taking them off for "bad light" with the floodlights blazing away like a thousand suns, I have wondered, how long can this go on for?
Still there was much to enjoy in 2019, they'll be a championship of sorts (but increasingly mucked about with) in 2020, we'll just have to manage decline as best we can.
And on that optimistic note my composite championship side for 2019.
1. Dominic Sibley, Warwickshire - 1,324 runs @ 69.68
Whether he can make it as a test player remains to be seen. But in 2019 he had a season for the ages.
2. Hassan Azad, Leicestershire - 1,189 runs @ 54.05
I don't know much about Hassan, 25 years old but this seems to be his first, first class season. Alastair Cook would be a good alternative here and plenty of people (Ed Smith included) have seen a touch of class in Kent's Zak Crawley.
3. Marnus Labuschange, Glamorgan - 1,114 runs @ 65.53
Any talk of 2nd division runs overwhelmed by his ashes performance. A shue in as overseas pro.
4. Sam Northeast, Hampshire - 969 runs @ 51.00
This was the slot I had problems with. Lots of candidates, and Northeast just pips Warwickshire's Sam Hain.
5. Ollie Pope, Surrey - 561 runs @ 80.14
You could argue against his inclusion on the basis he only played 5 games, but he had a pretty exceptional record. Looks the business.
6. Ryan Higgins, Gloucestershire 958 runs @ 59.88 & 50 wickets @ 23.64
2019 was the year of the all rounder. Higgins gets into the side of the year for his batting so 50 wickets at a good average is a bonus. Always thought he was a handy player at Middlesex. Not making my team, Darren Stevens; 597 runs @ 33.17 & 52 wickets @ 17.58. (Sack the selector) Rikki Clarke had another good year.
7. Dane Vilas, Lancashsire 1036 runs @ 79.69
One of my highlights of the year was watching Kent's Ollie Robinson keep. But Vilas' stats demand a place in the team and as wicket keeper and captain.
8. Lewis Gregory Kent 465 runs @ 29.06 & 51 wickets @ 15.76
Just pips Darren Stevens.
9. Simon Harmer Essex 83 wickets @ 18.29
The guvnor. Lovely to watch, quite slow through the air the day I saw him.
10. Kyle Abbott, Hampshire 71 wickets @ 15.73
I really shouldn't like Kyle Abbott, a Kolpak playing for Hampshire. But one the joys of county cricket and perhaps growing older is finding something admirable in your natural enemies. Physically Abbot is a mess, held together by tubular bandages and strength of mind. As he rumbles in to bowl you half expect a leg or an arm to come flying off. But it never does and along with his determination, is a lot of skill and intelligence.
11. Jimmy Anderson Lancashire 30 wickets @ 9.37
I didn't see any of his 6 championship performances but I did see him bowl in the Royal London and God was he good. With his short, rhythmical, lovely run up he's the antithesis of Kyle Abbott, he bowled at a lively pace and, on the basis of the amount of groping for the ball, swung it away from the right hand batsmen and got the lefties snicking the ones that ran across them. Even on a cold day it was heart warming.
And that's my 11. Take Jack Leach, Somerset to replace county colleague Lewis Gregory if the pitch is going to turn. A pretty strong side. With one overseas player, three kolpaks and no genuinely quick bowler it reflects the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the county game. Would it beat either of the England or Australia sides who played in this year's ashes? Er probably not, almost definitely not on true pitches, but give em a cloudy day at Chelmsford, with a touch of rain the air ...
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