Cricket: County Championship 2011

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Ok we're back with the Championship full on now with the T20 finishing on Friday other than the knockout stages. Quick update on my bets 3 weeks ago. Durham won, Middlesex drew and Sussex lost. It all meant a +0.55pt week although Durham's win made it worth a lot more than that. -9.61 overall. Never an easy week to get to grips with this one with the change in formats tricky but I'll go with one for Sunday. 5pts Essex to beat Leicestershire 8/13 Blue Square In many ways pride is the only thing at stake here but the last time Essex were promoted from this division they came home with a wet sail so all might not be lost for them yet as they sit in 5th place. Leicestershire will need a wet sail, a tornado behind them and be going downhill to peg their deficit back. They definitely can't get promoted this season even with 8 matches left. Leicestershire could be without Matthew Hoggard for this match which wouldn't help them. He's missed the last couple of T20's with injury and mentioned on twitter that he needs a taxi for a couple of weeks so I would imagine he's not going to play anytime soon, especially with a T20 QF on the horizon. Andrew McDonald will take over the captaincy but how many of their T20 side Leicestershire will risk, especially as they can still top their group on Friday night, remains to be seen. Essex have named their strongest side. The only absentees are Graham Napier and Reece Topley. David Masters does play and as the leading wicket taker in the division that's a positive. Ravi Bopara is named in the squad while James Foster returns from suspension. Alastair Cook misses out as he hasn't been released by England yet. Leicestershire's priorities lie elsewhere, as shown when they were skittled out for 48 by Northamptonshire in their match in this competition in between the T20. Essex then walloped leaders Northants the following week which shows that they are still more than interested in the tournament. Even forgetting motivation and all that I'd fancy Essex here but with the injuries and questionable motivation in the hosts it's very much Essex for me at a skinny but still nicely valuable price.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 2 for Monday's matches. 4pts Somerset to beat Nottinghamshire Evs Skybet If either of these two are to catch Durham they simply have to win this match. Nottinghamshire come into the match in 6th place in the table while Somerset are 4th but both are a fairly long way behind the runaway leaders. With Nottinghamshire through in the T20 and Somerset having played all their matches both can concentrate fully on 4 day cricket. Nottinghamshire will have Stuart Broad in their side for this match but the way he's bowled this summer I'll leave others to decide if that's a boost or not. Samit Patel returns having been on England duty but one of Fletcher, Pattinson, Shreck or Adams will have to miss out in order to fit Broad into the seam attack. Somerset have Craig Kieswetter back here after his stint with England. That will boost their batting line up. Alfonso Thomas remains sidelined with the ball but Willoughby, Gregory, Hussain and Kirby are a good enough seam attack in helpful conditions at Trent Bridge. Murali Kartik will play his second 4 day match of the summer and Somerset will hope he really begins to deliver. I'm still nowhere near happy with Nottinghamshire's batting line up. It's too weak for this level and the absence of Hussey does nothing to help it even if Voges has been retained for the rest of the season. Somerset are strong with the bat and have individuals capable of taking clutches of wickets with the ball. If they come together I think Somerset will officially end Notts' title defence here. 4pts Worcestershire to beat Yorkshire 6/5 Bet365 This is a massive game in the relegation shake up with 7th placed Yorkshire hosting 8th placed Worcestershire in a match we could look back at in a few months time and say that's when x's fate was decided. Worcestershire have surprised me this season while Yorkshire were always going to struggle to match last year's efforts. Yorkshire's batting line up remains a worry here. Jacques Rudolph won't arrive in time for this match so they will go with what they've had all summer. It's a young line up and it's at least one batsman light. Tim Bresnan could be given permission to return after his England stint but Azeem Rafiq is out for the season so David Wainwright would offer a second spin option. Worcestershire could well have Saeed Ajmal making his four day debut for the club here which will be important especially on this club ground at Scarborough. Their batting line up has got the job done for them in recent matches and with Ajmal's addition to the likes of Shantry, Andrew and Richardson they look a lot more solid with the ball. Worcestershire have won their last two matches and look a big price against a Yorkshire side who haven't won since the opening week of the season. Confidence can't be particularly high in the land of the white rose and at 6/5 with momentum behind them courtesy of two wins in this competition and a solid if slightly short when it matters T20 campaign, I'm happy enough to take the Royals here when if you'd told me I'd be backing them at the start of the season I'd have said you were barking :lol. Visitors for me.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

Wednesday 20 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Hampshire v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)	2.5	1.66	100.00 %
	Warwickshire v Sussex (11:00 BST)	1.86	2.1	101.38 %
	Yorkshire v Lancashire (11:00 BST)	2.25	1.85	98.50 %
	Thursday 21 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Somerset v Durham (11:00 BST)	2.18	1.83	100.42 %

Wednesday 20 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Gloucestershire v Kent (11:00 BST)	1.87	2.25	97.92 %
	Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (11:00 BST)	1.61	2.5	102.11 %
	Surrey v Middlesex (11:00 BST)	2	2	100.00 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 0.95pt loss last week. -10.56 overall now. Going with four for Wednesday's matches. Quite late so no huge write ups. Will do them in 2 posts. One for each division. 3pts Hampshire to beat Nottinghamshire 6/4 VC It's do or die for Hampshire now and they've produced a pitch accordingly. Nottinghamshire always have problems against Imran Tahir and he and Danny Briggs can be a real handful on a turning wicket like this. Hampshire's better players all play here and that means Neil McKenzie is back too. Stuart Broad misses out for Notts after he was called up by England and Samit Patel looks like their only genuine spin option. Nottinghamshire's batting hasn't been great this season and although Hampshire's hasn't either the return of Michael Carberry should see them improve in that area. With the spin twins on Hampshire's side likely to be the hardest bowlers to face I'll take Hampshire to pick up their first win of the season here at a big price with conditions to suit them perfectly. 3pts Yorkshire to beat Lancashire 5/4 VC Yorkshire are unbeaten in three Championship matches now and have Jacques Rudolph returning for this match. Tim Bresnan misses out with England but Ajmal Shahzad and Ryan Sidebottom do both play which is key for Yorkshire. It's been with the bat they've been misfiring this season though so Rudolph's return will be vital. Lancashire don't bat all the way down either so if Yorkshire can get stuck into this top order early they could expose a long middle/lower order. Lancashire's bowling attack is their strength but with Yorkshire's batting suitably bolstered I think they could be a decent price in this Roses clash particularly with Lancashire just starting to lose some momentum in four day cricket and under massive pressure to win to keep up with Durham who are threatening to run away.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 4pts Gloucestershire to beat Kent 5/6 Skybet Gloucestershire are one of these sides locked in this fascinating promotion battle in division two and they have their skipper returning for this match which is a big boost. Kent are the opposite. Rob Key has picked up a wrist injury and he misses this game so Martin van Jaarsveld skippers the side. Azhar Mahmood misses out too as does Wahab Riaz as Kent have their priorities elsewhere it seems. Kent were edged out at Surrey last week but they face a Gloucestershire side in good form in this competition this week and if Gloucestershire's bowling attack can keep the likes of Stevens and van Jaarsveld in check then their batting is good enough to lead them to victory against this weak looking Kent attack. 4pts Derbyshire to beat Northants 6/4 Stan James Northamptonshire's season is on the verge of exploding if they are not careful. Admittedly injuries are really biting at the minute and Chaminda Vaas looks set to miss out again here as will Mal Loye and David Sales. Their top order has looked light all season and if the likes of Hall and Middlebrook don't chip in with good runs then with the safety valve of Vaas out Northants struggle. Derbyshire are in good form. Their bowlers are going well and the likes of Madsen, Guptill, Durston and Hughes are all in good touch with the bat. Northants have been skittled for 40 odd in a T20 game and lost to Scotland in the last week while Essex beat them convincingly in this competition not so long ago so this isn't the Northants that was playing the opening half of the season confidence wise. Derbyshire are in 6th but they are only 6pts behind 2nd and a win here shoots them right into the mix. I think at 6/4 they have to be taken to pile more doubt into Northants' fragile looking confidence.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Thought about taking Durham but the odds aren't quite there so I'll leave it as a win could send them so much closer to the outright coming in anyway.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

	Tuesday 26 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)	1.71	2.37	100.58 %
	Worcestershire v Somerset (11:00 BST)	3.25	1.44	100.00 %

Wednesday 27 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Glamorgan v Northamptonshire (11:00 BST)	2.5	1.66	100.00 %
	Gloucestershire v Surrey (11:00 BST)	1.9	2.1	100.00 %
	Essex v Leicestershire (12:00 BST)	1.5	3	100.00 %
	Friday 29 July 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Middlesex v Derbyshire (11:00 BST)	1.5	2.62	104.76 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Searching for a really good week. Annoyingly Derbyshire and Hampshire couldn't force home winning positions last week so only a 0.33 gain for the round so still -10.23 overall. Nothing catches my eye in the Division 1 games on Tuesday so I'll keep my powder dry but hope that Nottinghamshire can do some damage to Lancashire for the Durham cause.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Two for me on Wednesday. As good as the race for the title in Division One is, the race for promotion in Division 2 is equally as good. 5pts Glamorgan to beat Northamptonshire 6/4 Victor Chandler This is a massive match for Northants with their season imploding around them. They still lead Division 2 but a poor result for them this week and a good one for Middlesex at Lords on Friday would see the two swap places so the pressure is really on. Glamorgan have fallen away a little bit in recent weeks but they are capable of putting a run together and having a say in the promotion race. Importantly for Glamorgan, James Harris plays in this match and he's looking for his 200th first class wicket which would be an excellent achievement for someone so young. Robert Croft has been added to the squad with the conditions in Swansea very much spin friendly. He and Dean Cosker will have big parts to play. Alviro Petersen leads the way with the batting which is starting to look a decent line up for the second division with the improvement in the likes of Rees and Walters. Northants will be without Jack Brooks for this match as he's being rested prior to England Lions duty. Lee Daggett is out with injury as well so that's 75 Championship wickets out of action here. That leaves a massive responsibility on Chaminda Vaas with the ball. With the bat opener Ben Howgego is injured so Mal Loye will open alongside Stephen Peters. David Sales remains out. It seems like I'm taking Northants on blindly at the minute and I guess in many ways I am as bookies haven't reacted to the fact that their form has totally gone in the second half of the season. They only salvaged a draw with Derbyshire thanks to rain taking out half a day last week and they were murdered by Essex before that. Glamorgan's 4 day form has been nothing to write home about but conditions here should suit them and with the visitors in a bit of a slump it's very much the hosts for me here. 4pts Surrey to beat Gloucestershire 11/10 Stan James Surrey are just starting to fall away from the promotion places after last week's defeat to Middlesex but with Gloucestershire in reach of them in third place this is a chance to get right back in the mix. For Gloucestershire they'll have seen Northants' form and realised there's not only the chance of promotion here but also the title so this will be a competitive four days cricket at Cheltenham. Gloucestershire will hope Hamish Marshall has recovered from illness to take his place in this side after he missed Tuesday's CB40 win. Alex Gidman returned last week and he'll carry on skippering the side. Jon Lewis continues to lead a young attack which has totally exceeded my expectations but I still feel Gloucestershire will fall away in the closing two months of the season. Surrey have both Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker available for this match before they join England Lions next week. Chris Tremlett is away with England though. Mark Ramprakash returns for the four day cricket while the likes of Tom Maynard and Zander de Bruyn could barely be in better form at the minute. Yasir Arafat took 5 wickets in the CB40 at the weekend and Surrey will be hoping that's started a run of good form from their overseas man. Conditions at Cheltenham should suit this Surrey pace attack perfectly. If it does nibble about a bit they have the grafters with the bat to get through it and then set their pacemen on the Gladiators. Surrey have only lost 3 matches in the Championship this season, twice to Middlesex who I think will run away with this division still and to Gloucestershire with a weakened side in the middle of the T20 matches. I expect Surrey to reverse that defeat and pick up the win in favourable conditions at Cheltenham this week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Surrey won and Glamorgan managed to hold out for a draw so +4.40 for the week and back to -5.83 overall now. Been a very good week for the outrights too with Middlesex needing 91 against Derbyshire tomorrow to close right up to within 4pts of Northants with a game in hand. Masters' terrific 8/10 keeps him in control of the top bowler in that division and Stephen Peters' 222 has pushed him up on the fringes of a place. Both divisions really interesting at the minute so it promises to be an excellent last 7 weeks of the season.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

	Monday 1 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Lancashire v Warwickshire (11:00 BST)	1.67	2.25	104.32 %
	Tuesday 2 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Durham v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)	1.61	2.5	101.90 %
	Hampshire v Yorkshire (11:00 BST)	2.1	1.9	100.00 %
	Somerset v Sussex (11:00 BST)	1.57	2.5	103.64 %

Tuesday 2 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Glamorgan v Essex (11:00 BST)	2.1	1.8	103.17 %
	Leicestershire v Kent (11:00 BST)	2.1	1.8	103.17 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Prices look about right for Monday's match. Warwickshire looked a bit tempting but I'll give Chanderpaul enough time to bed in before I get involved with them. I'm hoping Lancashire's falling away began last week and we'll find out for sure this week so that's a watching brief for me. I have got eyes on some of Tuesday's matches, team news dependent. I'll come back with anything tomorrow.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 3 for me for Tuesday. 6pts Durham to beat Nottinghamshire 8/13 Blue Square This price just about sneaks into the range where I will bet at and I'm pleased it does because I think it's a cracking bet. As I've said throughout this thread I'm convinced Durham will win this County Championship, as I have been right from day one and I am every bit as convinced now, especially with Warwickshire's start against Lancashire on Monday. Nottinghamshire won't want to roll over and give Durham the title but they are missing their two highest runscorers in four day cricket this season as they are with the England Lions. When you consider Alex Hales, their leading scorer, missed 3 matches with injury earlier in the season you can see how much he's going to be missed. This isn't a particularly strong Nottinghamshire line up at the best of times so take Hales and Patel out and it looks uber weak. Patel's spin bowling could come into play with the forecast temperatures too. Durham have no England Lions call up's to worry about really because although Scott Borthwick is away with them Gareth Breese is plenty experienced enough to take his place. Durham will be without Stephen Harmison who is injured but Graham Onions was passed over for the Lions and he plays here which is a boost. Durham have been the best county in four day cricket this season. Only Somerset match them for first innings runs and they play half their matches on a road while nobody has more bowling points than Durham either. Nottinghamshire only have 22 batting points from a possible 55 this season and that's clearly where their problems lie. Take out the two main men and it's a bigger problem for them and one which will give Durham a huge advantage in this one to go along with home soil. Durham for me. 3pts Hampshire to beat Yorkshire 11/10 Bet365 Yorkshire are another side who are struggling for runs at the minute and they're not going to be helped in any way by Jonathan Bairstow and Joe Root being away with the England Lions. Jacques Rudolph is back now but he's carrying a lot of pressure on his shoulders with this Yorkshire batting line up in such poor nick. To make matters worse for the Yorkshire side they've just been rolled over for 125 in Holland in a CB40 match. Hampshire surprisingly have no England Lions call ups and although they will be without long term injury victims Nic Pothas and Michael Lumb, this will be the regular 4 day side. Dominic Cork's absence continues as a family member continues to be seriously ill. Michael Carberry continues his comeback in this game while Danny Briggs and Imran Tahir are likely to be key men in this match. Yorkshire have the bowling attack to do some damage but Sean Ervine and Neil McKenzie scored runs in the CB40 at the weekend while Liam Dawson, Jimmy Adams and James Bruce have all had good knocks in recent weeks. I really don't like this potential Yorkshire batting line up so at odds against I'll take Hampshire in a shit or bust match for them. 5pts Kent to beat Leicestershire 10/11 Blue Square Make sure you choose the County Championship if following this bet as the two are also priced up for their T20 quarter final on Saturday. I was going to take Leicestershire on with anyone this week after they were rolled over for 34 against Essex last week but as luck would have it they are playing someone good this week so it's not the risk it might've been. Leicestershire have been woeful in four day cricket this season and I'm amazed Blue Square can't split these two. Last week's collapse at Southend summed Leicestershire's season up. To make matters worse here James Taylor, their star batsman, is away captaining the England Lions. Matthew Hoggard remains injured as does Harry Gurney while I believe Andrew McDonald is still out of the country. With only the T20 to play for I wouldn't be surprised if a few more were rested by Leicestershire here as their big match is on Saturday. Kent have named a very strong squad for this match which has fit again Rob Key back skippering the side. Martin van Jaarsveld scored a ton at Worcestershire on Sunday so he's in good nick while Wahab Riaz will play a four day game here. I really expect Kent to win this game especially after Leicestershire's 'performance' last week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Annoyingly they were all rain affected draws but all 3 had good chances of winning had the rain stayed away :sad. Always a plus side though and Neil McKenzie's part in that record Hampshire partnership has put him in an excellent position to be top Hampshire batsman while David Masters continues to nail the wickets.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

	Wednesday 10 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Durham v Hampshire (11:00 BST)	1.4	3.5	100.00 %
	Sussex v Worcestershire (11:00 BST)	1.5	2.87	101.45 %

Wednesday 10 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Derbyshire v Gloucestershire (11:00 BST)	2.2	1.8	101.01 %
	Kent v Surrey (11:00 BST)	2.62	1.57	101.73 %
	Thursday 11 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Middlesex v Northamptonshire (11:00 BST)	1.67	2.25	104.32 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Couple of important matches for my two division outrights this week. I'm going with 2 for Wednesday. Unless team news throws something important up it's likely to be my only 2 with a Middlesex win pretty much being part of my outright so I'm likely to avoid betting on that match. 3pts Worcestershire to beat Sussex 15/8 Boylesports I'm never a fan of taking Worcestershire at the best of times but I think they are slightly overpriced here. Well not slightly, very much overpriced really. Sussex are missing some key batsmen this week with Matt Prior with England, Luke Wright injured, Chris Nash with the England Lions and Murray Goodwin highly likely to be injured after splitting his webbing in Sussex's T20 defeat to Lancashire on Monday night. Worcestershire don't have any selection problems. You could argue they are always a batsman light and I wouldn't disagree with you but two things level that out - the Sussex absentees and the Saeed Ajmal effect on a club wicket at Horsham. Both work in Worcestershire's favour and although they are rightly second favourites I'm not so sure they should be this big so at 15/8 I'll have a small punt. 5pts Gloucestershire to beat Derbyshire 4/5 Betfred With the top two meeting this week this is an ideal chance for Gloucestershire to throw their hat into the promotion ring again. On a club wicket at Chesterfield I think they will go well. They've got a good seam attack and Kane Williamson to bowl any spin if it's required, which isn't often the case at Chesterfield. It's their batting I like the most though. With Will Gidman batting at 7 the batting line up is perfectly long enough especially with Lewis capable of cameos down the order. Derbyshire always rely too much on their top 4 for my liking, especially with someone like Jon Lewis around and their bowling attack isn't the best and will have to work hard to get through this Gloucestershire batting line up. With the ball behaving like it does in this division teams really need to be batting down to about 9. Gloucestershire do, Derbyshire don't so it's the vistors for me.

[WhiteSnake]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 What about Middlesex vs Northamptonshire ?

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

What about Middlesex vs Northamptonshire ?

I think Kev is leaving it because he has Middlesex outright for the league, so in theory is already backing them for the win :ok

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Worcestershire did do the business but Gloucestershire were never in the hunt. Still searching for that real big week :(. +0.63 for the week so -5.20 overall although not a good week for the outrights with Durham losing and Middlesex needing something special to avoid defeat.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

Wednesday 17 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Lancashire v Worcestershire (11:00 BST)	1.51	3	99.56 %
	Somerset v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)	1.57	2.98	97.19 %
	Yorkshire v Sussex (11:00 BST)	2.2	1.85	99.51 %
	Thursday 18 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Warwickshire v Hampshire (11:00 BST)	1.63	2.5	101.35 %

Wednesday 17 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Derbyshire v Northamptonshire (11:00 BST)	2.2	1.8	101.01 %
	Essex v Gloucestershire (11:00 BST)	1.9	2	102.38 %
	Glamorgan v Leicestershire (11:00 BST)	1.66	2.37	102.11 %
	Kent v Middlesex (11:00 BST)	2.75	1.59	99.26 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Still searching for that elusive big week in this but having bounced back to form in the T20 and then the CB40 hopefully I'll follow suit here. I'm going with 4 this week and might come back with another for Thursday if team news is nice. 4pts Yorkshire to beat Sussex 6/5 Bet365 This is an important match for both sides with the relegation scenario taking another twist last week. At the moment Yorkshire are chasing Worcestershire but a win here will bring Sussex right back into the mix while Sussex know a win here will pretty much see them safe so Scarborough hosts a very important game this week. It's a game where Yorkshire will be without their captain Andrew Gale who is out for the remainder of the season. Ryan Sidebottom and Ajmal Shahzad return for the game as do Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow who've been on England Lions duty. Tim Bresnan is away with England as is Matt Prior for Sussex. Sussex welcome Chris Nash back but Luke Wright remains injured. Anthony McGrath has regained his form for Yorkshire and that's key because he makes up a large part of the shortfall they had with the bat. With a decent bowling attack if Yorkshire put runs on the board they won't be easy to beat and with Sussex having lost at home to Worcestershire last week their confidence might be fragile so I'll take Yorkshire here. 3pts Nottinghamshire to beat Somerset 6/4 Skybet Nottinghamshire probably can't win the title now unlike Somerset but they will still want to win here to completely wipe out the threat of relegation. They welcome Alex Hales back to their batting line up and with Darren Bravo settling in nicely I expect Nottinghamshire to put up some runs for their excellent bowling attack, led by Andre Adams, to defend. Somerset themselves have an excellent batting line up but they will be missing Murali Kartik with the ball and that is certainly not ideal at this time of the year as his spin could be very fruitful. George Dockrell hasn't played too much at this level so if he replaces Kartik he could be found wanting a wee bit. I think the defending champions are a big price here so long as the returning Hales can propel their batting line up to a couple of decent scores.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 And now division 2. 4pts Northants to beat Derbyshire 4/5 Skybet This is a key match for both sides. Northants will want to win to pull away from their nearest promotion rivals Middlesex and indeed Derbyshire who are also chasing them while Derbyshire need to win in order to stay in with a chance of promotion so Chesterfield should see a competitive game of cricket here. My main concern with Derbyshire is their bowling attack and the fact is it's not the best and it takes on a Northants batting line up which continues to perform above itself in four day cricket. With key players Vaas, Loye and Peters rested and Brooks coming back into the side if he's recovered from his injury then Northants have their side in good condition. They dominated their match against Middlesex last week and couldn't finish the job off on a good Lords wicket but if they dominate this week then this wicket should be perfectly adequate for them to get the job done on. 5pts Essex to beat Gloucestershire 10/11 Stan James This is a big game for these two sides as well with both dangling by a thread in the promotion hunt but with a win here both could just reignite those hopes with results likely to benefit them. The two sides come into the match with differing form though. Essex are unbeaten in 10 matches in this competition while Gloucestershire have lost their last two matches as the pace appears to have got a bit too strong for their young side. Essex are experienced in coming from miles back to gain promotion and although they will be without Bopara here, Napier and ten Doeschate are available and they also have David Masters who is the leading wicket taker in the division so they have enough firepower and runs in their side to see off a flagging Gloucestershire outfit at Colchester.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Still the big week eludes me with rain depriving me of at least 2 winners and maybe even 3. Northants won but the other 3 could only draw from winning positions so +3.2 for the week and back to -2 overall now.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

Tuesday 23 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Hampshire v Worcestershire (11:00 BST)	1.72	2.37	100.00 %
	Yorkshire v Warwickshire (11:00 BST)	2.2	1.75	102.60 %

Tuesday 23 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Essex v Derbyshire (11:00 BST)	1.9	2.14	99.11 %
	Leicestershire v Surrey (11:00 BST)	2.5	1.6	102.50 %
	Northamptonshire v Middlesex (11:00 BST)	1.9	2	102.38 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Missed the start of the Notts/Durham game in this thread which I apologise for. I wasn't going to take anything in it anyway with my outright already needing the win. In fact I'm not going to take anything this week as the forecast looks rotten and we're at the stage of the season where chases might be arranged and I don't want to be on the wrong side of them. I think we'll see a lot of rain affected draws this week so rather than tie money up for 4 days and have the risk that I might fall on the wrong end of an arranged chase I'll just leave this week, hope there's enough good weather for Durham and Middlesex to get the jobs done and come back next week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011

Wednesday 31 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Somerset v Hampshire (11:00 BST)	1.53	2.62	103.31 %
	Sussex v Durham (11:00 BST)	2.3	1.83	98.02 %
	Warwickshire v Yorkshire (11:00 BST)	1.53	2.75	101.58 %
	Worcestershire v Lancashire (11:00 BST)	2.87	1.5	101.45 %

Tuesday 30 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Middlesex v Leicestershire (11:00 BST)	1.38	3.75	99.13 %
	Wednesday 31 August 2011	Home	Away	BPP
	Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (11:00 BST)	1.83	2.2	100.00 %
	Kent v Essex (11:00 BST)	2	1.9	102.38 %
	Northamptonshire v Surrey (11:00 BST)	1.9	2.1	100.00 %

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Having turned around fortunes in the one day competitions I'm hoping to do the same in the County Championship in the remaining few weeks. I'm leaving Tuesday's game alone though as I'm on Middlesex outright but may well come back with a few for Wednesday, depending on team news.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Perfect start for Middlesex. 3 for me on Wednesday. 5pts Durham to beat Sussex 8/11 VC Sussex look to be limping over the line at the end of what has been a tough season for all at Hove with a stack of injuries and then the illness to Michael Yardy and although they have the CB40 semi finals to play for the wheels have fallen off in that competition and they've stuttered recently in this one too. Durham still have an outside chance of winning the title here and if they are to do that they have to win this and win it big. They are well balanced with the bat and the return of Graham Onions gives them some extra pep with the ball. Borthwick and Blackwell can cover the spin options if this wicket turns and with a far superior batting line up and bowling attack Durham should win this. 4pts Essex to beat Kent 10/11 Blue Square Essex themselves have the outsidest of outside chances of promotion and for that to happen they need to win big here but they take on a Kent side without their skipper Rob Key and without a bowling attack really with Wahab Riaz off with Pakistan now. There's no Azhar Mahmood this week which weakens them with bat and ball and they are back to the young bowling attack which they started the season with and struggled with. Essex are without Bopara here but they have Shah back in and he along with Foster, ten Doeschate and Mickleburgh can put up sufficient runs for the likes of David Masters to defend. Essex still haven't lost since April and I think they'll win this week. 3pts Surrey to beat Northamptonshire 11/10 Stan James Northamptonshire come into this match knowing that two solid point hauls from this one and the Gloucestershire match will see them promoted but their resources are getting quite stretched at the minute and they face a Surrey side here who are finishing the season with a wet sail. They are in the CB40 semi finals and can close the gap on the front two if they win this one and with a win here and a game in hand of Northants to come Surrey certainly aren't out of the promotion shake up. Both sides miss a key bowler in Brooks for Northants and Dernbach for Surrey but I just feel Surrey are the stronger coming in here. They absolutely murdered Northants in a CB40 match on this ground a few weeks ago and I think they can win the CC battle too.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2011 Durham and Surrey both win easily. Essex lost just as easily so +2.95pts this week which puts me +0.95pts overall but more importantly this week the results in Division One have put Durham right back in the mix while Middlesex are in a fantastic position needing just 22pts from their last two matches to win Division Two.

[Spooner]

Kent's game with Glamorgan will be played as a day/night match next week using a pink ball, interesting!