Player
of the year: Not a clear cut choice this year with no outstanding talent ruling
the whole of county cricket. Nick Compton was the principal figure in the
county championship comfortably outscoring anyone else but although Somerset
ended in 2nd they never challenged for the CC and Compton was only a
peripheral member of the shorter format teams. Varun Chopra was consistently
good over all formats for Warwickshire accumulating 1740 runs over 3 formats but
never completely dominated. In truth Warwickshire had a plethora of players who
would be worthy of the award as they really were the principal team in the 4
day game. Keith Barker, Rikki Clarke, Jeetan Patel, Tim Ambrose, Chris Woakes
were all outstanding but no-one more than Chris Wright encapsulated why
Warwickshire won the championship this year. Discarded by Essex at the end of
last season, Warwickshire initially on loan and then on a permanent basis
employed Wright and what a decision it proved to be. Fast and uncompromising in
his approach Wright teared in all season and was rewarded with 62 wickets @
24.06 in the Championship and 20 @20.80 in the CB40 to propel Warwickshire to
top of the county game.
Young player: At 24 I’m pushing it by calling Toby Roland-Jones
young but Roland-Jones is young in cricketing terms have only just reached 30
first class games and still being extremely inexperienced in the shorter
formats of the game but that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the most
consistent performers in county cricket this season. 61 wickets at 19.13 in the
first division is nothing short of exceptional and it’s good to see a player
bounce back from a tough second season of county cricket in 2011. Roland-Jones
bowling is more reminiscent of Fraser or McGrath than his teammate Steven Finn
in that it is rhythmical and far from express paced but more reliant on
accuracy and subtle movement of the wicket. He also excelled in the shorter
formats taking 11 wickets @ 11.36 in the CB40 and 11 wickets @ 20.72 in the T20
in a team that otherwise struggled. He’s likely to gain Lions recognition in
the near future and if he continues to develop in the current way he will soon
be mentioned in regards to the full England side; he is certainly a prospect to
be excited by. 
Coach: Graeme Welch as Warwickshire bowling coach has
seemingly revitalised the careers of some average looking cricketers and helped
build a platoon of bowlers to propel Warwickshire towards a Championship
victory. Chris Wright used sparingly at Essex has been turned into a snarling
beast. Keith Barker has learnt to swing the ball and with that ability also
came the capacity to take wickets. Jeetan Patel has been turned from a laughing
stock unable to get a game in first class cricket in New Zealand to New
Zealand’s main spinner. Rikki Clarke is bowling as consistently as he ever has.
Welch really has done marvellous things to turn these journeymen into genuine
quality performers.
England Cricketer: In a poor summer for English cricket in
general no-one of the current England setup shone too bright. So the honour
goes to Andrew Strauss who made two centuries vs the West Indies and more
importantly has contributed so hugely to England’s success since making his
debut in 2004. Dignified and respected, Strauss represented England so well on
and off the field. The admiration the press, fans and fellow players had for
him only show what a fantastic person he is and player he was.
Commitment to English Cricket: Possibly a strange award to
give to a journalist but George Dobell of Cricinfo is a dying breed of cricket
journalist who seems to dedicate as much passion in his coverage to county
cricket than he does to international cricket. I might not agree with
everything he writes but his commitment to documenting English cricket and in
particular the county game is outstanding. It is clear he takes great pride in
his work and has an enduring love of, and defends staunchly the English county
game.
Biggest Disappointment: The Durham batting was really,
really bad. Paul Collingwood was the only player to average above 30(33.19 to
be exact) and an ageing squad really struggled full stop until Collingwood took
over midseason. It’s true that conditions this summer were never particularly
good for batting and playing half your games at Chester-le-Street is a
disadvantage to the batsmen but still this was an abysmal season by the
batsmen. But my real disappointment came from two Durham bowlers who have both
represented England in the past. Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett played a
combined 4 championship games between them and convinced nobody of the talents
that once captured the imagination of the England selectors. Harmison has
struggled for a few years with injury and fitness problems but he now seems destined
to leave the game at a whimper. Somehow he seems to have swindled a benefit for
next season - you would have thought Durham would have tired of paying his big
contract giving the returns they’ve had on it in the last couple of years. Liam
Plunkett is a different case. Unlike Harmison he seems to take his fitness very
seriously but maybe his bowling action is a little too mechanical. Both
Plunkett and Harmison have one year left on their contracts; whereas Harmison
has been offered a benefit, Plunkett is being allowed to leave this year if he
can find a club. Hopefully Plunkett will
take this opportunity; he needs to move in a bid to reinvigorate a career that
may still flourish again – even if his drink driving ban will make any move
more complicated. Plunkett has since moved to Yorkshire- congrats to him. Harmison to my mind is finished. It’s a sad day when a player
who put in a number of brilliant performances for his country will now bow out
of the game with a barrage of injuries, clinging on for one last pay cheque.
Looks a Prospect: England were disappointing in the U19 CWC but there were
some reasons to be cheerful from an England supporters perspective. Ben Foakes
with the bat looked polished with the bat and Reece Topley looked ready to be a
first class regular. Jamie Overton on
the other hand was many things but polished was not one. He was erratic but in
bursts there were real moments of interest. His first spell of the World Cup
against Australia was electric. Bowling in the high 80’s (and touching 93mph at
his peak) he bowled a beautiful full length and just got the ball to swing away
towards the slips. Tall but sturdily built I am really excited that there are
some raw talents there that could be utilised into a very good cricketer. At
present he is still raw but with hopefully more first class cricket next year
with Somerset he may hone some of his technical and fitness problems although
let’s hope the raw ability he has at present isn’t coached out of him. His
brother, Craig, isn’t bad either.
Sad Moment: The death of Tom Maynard will be a massive blot
on the cricketing summer of 2012. An attacking batsman with a carefree attitude
to batting and life, Maynard obviously left a positive mark on the lives of
many people. His death should also act as a reminder to other sportsmen that they
are in a privileged position and that the money they receive can be
overwhelming.
Media: It’s a
terrific service that the BBC provide with their radio commentary service on
county cricket but the outstanding package comes from Surrey with Mark Church ably
supported by Jonny Barron at the
helm of an entertaining and informative broadcast. Their mirth and enthusiasm
are infectious and even in the sad times that the Surrey season encountered
they treated each situation with dignity but not without humour.
Merit Award: The ECB
takes a fair amount of stick like many big organisations with far reaching
powers. Everybody also seems to know what is best for English cricket or
English football in the case of the FA. They could have handled the KP
situation better but this was not the simple issue that many in the media were
making it out to be – there was no easy solution for a player that seems to
self destruct and then alienates a dressing room time after time. But I’ll be
damned if the ECB don’t get some credit for where the England cricket team is
today. This is the most successful England team since I’ve been alive and it
hasn’t been built on a team full of world class players. It has been built on
good plans, administration and a professionalism that is now at the forefront
of international cricket. So I doth my cap to the ECB because for all their
failings this is the most successful England team of my lifetime – they must be
doing something right.
So that's it. Until next season.
