It was a positive weekend for Kent, who trounced Staffordshire and then comfortably beat Surrey; for Yorkshire who beat Berkshire and also then thumped poor old Staffs; and for Sussex who comfortably overcame a depleted Middlesex side to win their only game of the weekend.
In the bun fight at the bottom of the league Staffs already look destined for Div 2 cricket again next year, but it is a question of who will be the two teams to join them. Somerset gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a 15 run win over Berkshire, although the fact that they cannot replay their game against Staffs, which was abandoned after two overs, must be a considerable handicap. Surrey lost both their games of the weekend and still have only one win to their names with just three games to play. Middlesex and Berkshire have both got two wins under their belts, but Middlesex have a game in hand over their relegation rivals.
Of the five teams in contention for the three relegation slots it seems that Berkshire have by far the more difficult run in to the end of the season, with both Sussex and Kent still to play. Here are the games left for the bottom five :-
The Berks v Middlesex clash on 12th June is a must-win game for both sides, although Middlesex will still have Staffs to play, amongst others. Surrey must be targeting wins against Somerset and Staffs, which would give them three wins too. If they were to slip up against Somerset they would be in trouble and Somerset might just believe they can pick up a potentially vital third win, although they have already missed out on 16 bonus points, which may come back to haunt them at the end of the season.
In Division Two Lancashire remain unbeaten after an 8 wicket win over Worcestershire, but they have only played two games so far this season. Wales were the big winners of the weekend battering previous high-fliers Devon by 9 wickets after bowling them out for 80 and then hanging on to beat Hampshire by just 6 runs. Notts slipped up against Hampshire on Sunday losing by 4 wickets, before getting back on track against Essex on Monday. Essex and Leicestershire remain rooted to the bottom of the league without a win between them so far this season.
The next round of games is due to be played on Sunday 12th June.
For full results, scorecards, league tables and averages check out http://ecbwcountychampionship.play-cricket.com/website/web_pages/173349
MD
31/V/16
If Warks beat Staffs and take 18 points and prevent Staffs getting full bonus points then they will only need 2 further results to go their way (Sussex beating Surrey and in the next round of matches Surrey beating Somerset) to be safe from relegation. Not a bad position for team that would have been one of the favorites for relegation if only 2 were going down let alone 3.
ReplyDeleteWith 18 more points, Warks reach 71 and not getting any more points still leaves them on an average of 71/7 = 10.142
Surrey would only be able to reach 80 points giving an average of 80/8 = 10
Somerset would only be able to reach 70 points, giving an average of 70/7 = 10
Staffs would only be able to reach 70 points, giving an average of 70/7 = 10
(The above assumes that the Yorks/Warks match is not replayed – a reasonable assumption is history is anything to go by).