ST. LAWRENCE LAND. Zach Crawley was out as Kent won on an overcast rainy day for the opening of the season at St. Lawrence Stadium. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he imitated his captain, Sam Billings, by throwing punches into the air.
Under slate-grey skies and after a three-hour delay due to morning rain, Billings made the right call and decided to play first in Northamptonshire – a logical decision if there ever was one.
Early April has never been a good time to be a first hitter, especially if, like Crowley, you’re out of shape. In doing so, the 25-year-old has avoided at least the start of his first inning of a season that will likely require big runs to secure a place in the English team The Ashes in worse conditions.
For now, he needs all the help he can get as he picked up form in New Zealand’s latest Test series in which he scored 58 at 14:40. Overall, Crowley averaged 25.86 in Test cricket last year, scoring three 50-odds and 11 single figures in a total of 23 innings.
England manager Brandon McCallum had his full backing when asked if he felt confident in the first game in Kent immediately after England’s loss to New Zealand in Wellington in February. “Of course,” was the answer.
However, the player himself will certainly be looking to rack up some important points ahead of the Summer Test against Ireland on June 1st at Lord’s Stadium.
Others, whose seats need to be safer, are also hoping for a positive mood by the start of Ashes this summer.
However, Crawley’s England teammates did not get much joy on the first day of this County Championship season as Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett and young spinner Rehan Ahmed got off to a disappointing start.
Pope, currently Vice-Captain for England’s Ben Stokes, only lasted 21 goals before Lancashire’s Tom Bailey scored 13 at Old Trafford. His dismissal came as defending champion Surrey fell to 77-4 against last year’s First Division runners-up.
At least Surrey has been rebuilt thanks to another Englishman, wicket-taker Ben Fawkes, whose test field is under threat from a fit Johnny Bairstow, who has hit 76 in a very unbasted 149 balls.
Duckett, Crowley’s first England teammate, scored just 24 points for Nottinghamshire against Hampshire in the Ageas Bowl before being sacked by former Pakistani sailor Mohammad Abbas who scored 6 points out of 49 as newly promoted visitors were combined to 185 .
It was a cathartic opening of the season for teenage spinner Ahmed of Headingley. Ahmed made a memorable Test debut for England in Pakistan last December when he conceded seven wickets in Karachi to seal a 3-0 lead for the Stokes.
First day stump county championship results
department 1
- Surrey (340/7) – Lancashire
- Nottinghamshire (185) – Hampshire (119/3)
- Northamptonshire (89/7) – Kent
- Essex 162/3 vs. Middlesex
- Somerset vs Warwickshire, no game
department 2
- Gloucestershire (165) – Glamorgan (4/0)
- Derbyshire (300/8) v Worcestershire
- Yorkshire (285/3) v Leicestershire
- Durham (352/6) v Sussex
After only three games in the top flight, Leicestershire manager Paul Nixon promised Ahmed a point in the squad. This saw the leg spinner enter the fight in the second division in Yorkshire. But the 18-year-old had a nightmare as his first over, including several wild full throws, brought in 22 runs.
There was good news for England at Headingley, however, when Bairstow came on to score into the net at lunchtime.
The 33-year-old has been out for seven months after breaking his left leg while playing golf last September. But he plans to play two league games for Yorkshire in May and will of course be available when the Ashes start in Edgbaston on 16 June.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.