The Cricketer Magazine – June 2018

STAR MAN

RAVI BOPARA

PPI RANK: 

STAR MAN

USMAN KHAWAJA

PPI RANK: 

STAR MAN

BENNY HOWELL

PPI RANK: 

BOUNDARY % 11.9% BOUNDARY % 21.1% ECONOMY 6.65

SOUTH DIVISION

Last year was one of the most unsuccessful for
Essex in T20. They fi nished eighth in the South
Group, although their fi ve wins and seven defeats
in what was a tight group was not such a terrible
record. They are a county with a proud history in the
format having made it out of the group stages nine
times in 15 attempts, the last fi ve such occasions in
succession until last year. They will want to improve
this year; and without the imminent distraction
of a Championship title they are poised to do so
following a good showing in the Royal London Cup.
Their changes in the backroom sta are as pertinent
to those on the fi eld, with Dimitri Mascarenhas

• the club’s new assistant coach – bringing in a
  wealth of T20 experience, most recently as bowling
  coach for Big Bash side Melbourne Renegades.
  The Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa, one
  of the most e ective T20 bowlers in the middle
  overs, has been recruited as an overseas signing for
  the whole tournament. He will be complemented
  by Neil Wagner in July and Peter Siddle for August,
  who returns after a successful Championship stint
  in the early part of this season.
  Chris Smith

Steve James said last summer it was Glamorgan’s

most dangerous white-ball side ever. In the 2017

Blast they won the South Group, then thrashed

Leicestershire in the quarters. Their semi-fi nal

defeat to Birmingham Bears was a surprise. They

come in to this year’s tournament under a bit of

pressure, though, after an underwhelming Royal

London One-Day Cup campaign, in which they

lost seven out of eight games and fi nished bottom

of the South Group. Their batting should be

decent. White-ball maestro Colin Ingram, the new

T20 captain, had a strong 50-over tournament.

James calls him Glamorgan’s best-ever one-day

player. He will form a dynamic overseas unit

alongside Australian duo Usman Khawaja and

Shaun Marsh. David Lloyd has stepped up a level

this season in both Championship and 50-over,

so I predict a good tournament for him. Andrew

Salter, Aneurin Donald and Chris Cooke all had

their moments last season. Aussie veteran Michael

Hogan leads the attack, with Craig Meschede,

Marchant de Lange, Ingram and Graham Wagg all

well-versed T20 bowlers.

Huw Turbervill

Rock-bottom of the South Division last year,

things can only get better at the Brightside

County Ground. Richard Dawson had yet to

appoint a captain for the competition, with

Chris Dent having taken the fi rst-class and

50-over reins this term. With no Michael

Klinger in the side in 2018 – the Australian

batsman, who hit 281 runs at a strike-rate

of 137 in 2017, is taking an indefi nite break

from cricket to support his wife Lisa through

cancer treatment – run-scorers will be needed

from elsewhere. Can James Bracey, the

talented 20-year-old, take his fi ne County

Championship form into the shortest format?

Will Benny Howell, one of the country’s

most under-rated T20 allrounders, be able

to inspire his team? He made his case for

a national T20 call-up in the pages of The

Cricketer. Will Andrew Tye, the Aussie bowler

with more variations than a Mozart anthology,

benefi t from a month in English conditions

in the Australian one-day team prior to

the tournament getting under way? Lots of

questions. Time for answers. SM

Essex Eagles

Coach Anthony McGrath
Captain Ryan ten Doeschate
Overseas Neil Wagner (NZ), Adam Zampa (A),
Peter Siddle (A) • Last season Group stage

Glamorgan

Coach Robert Croft

Captain Colin Ingram

Overseas Usman Khawaja (A), Shaun Marsh (A)

Last season Semi-fi nals

Gloucestershire

Coach Richard Dawson

Captain TBC

Overseas Andrew Tye (A)

Last season Group stage

Varun Chopra 288

Adam Wheater 392

Tom Westley 350

Ravi Bopara 44

Dan Lawrence 301

Ryan ten Doeschate 229

Matt Coles 318

Ashar Zaidi 183

Peter Siddle 336

Adam Zampa 158

Paul Walter 421

Colin Ingram 39

Usman Khawaja 184

Aneurin Donald 364

Chris Cooke 382

Graham Wagg 278

Andrew Salter 529

David Lloyd 624

Craig Meschede 419

Timm van der Gugten 401

Marchant de Lange 242

Michael Hogan 186

Ian Cockbain 241

Benny Howell 51

Ryan Higgins 334

Graeme van Buuren 641

Kieran Noema-Barnett 612

Tom Smith 283

David Payne 388

Jack Taylor 385

Andrew Tye 20

Matt Taylor 497

Chris Liddle 653

2017 run-rate 8.69 2017 economy 8.59 2017 run-rate 8.82 2017 economy 8.50 2017 run-rate 7.53 2017 economy 7. 8 7

STRONGEST XI STRONGEST XI STRONGEST XI

Team rating

3,020

Team rating

3,648

Team rating

4,105

Prediction: Group stage Prediction: Group stage Prediction: Group stage

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