The Cricketer Magazine – June 2018

STAR MAN

COREY ANDERSON

PPI RANK: 

STAR MAN

AARON FINCH

PPI RANK: 

STAR MAN

RASHID KHAN

PPI RANK: 

59.6% 20.6% 44.6%

COMPETITION

WIN RATE BOUNDARY % DOT BALL %

New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson spoke
of the “unfi nished business” he has at the club
after agreeing to return to Taunton for 2018...
and Somerset will be hoping their overseas
signing’s words have substance. Anderson’s stint
in the south-west was cut short by injury in 2017
after a promising start, in which he scored 142
runs in four innings at an astonishing strike-rate
of 184.42. Given the County Ground’s slight
dimensions, the Kiwi could prove to be a potent
asset. Expect a balance of experience – Peter
Trego, Steven Davies, Tim Groenewald – and raw
power in the shape of the Overton twins,
batsman Tom Banton and, should he be given
a chance, big-hitting teenager Fin Trennouth,
who was with England Under-19s at the
World Cup over the winter. Lewis Gregory,
who takes over as captain from Tom Abell
for the Blast, believes 180 is a par score at
Taunton in the modern game, and has backed
his players to compete with the best the
competition has to o er. Somerset last won
the tournament in 2005 and have reached one
fi nal since – in 2009. SM

Everyone is talking about Ollie Pope. The man of

the moment was blooded in last year’s campaign.

With his astonishing progress in this summer’s

Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup,

he could be a sensation this time. Will Jacks, who

has been playing for the county since he was

nine, is another young gun who has excelled in

the 50-over competition with his clean hitting.

The young duo will learn plenty from batting with

Australian duo Aaron Finch and Nic Maddinson,

and with in-form Ben Foakes and then Jason

Roy back for the latter half of the campaign once

his England duty ends, Surrey will not be short

of fi repower. Feisty Jade Dernbach will have far

more than which slower ball he is going to deploy

this summer, as he is Surrey’s new Blast captain.

Last year, as stand-in skipper, he felt stung by

the regulations when Surrey incurred a 12-run

penalty for a slow over-rate against Somerset. He

will lead an attack that includes Morne Morkel

the e ervescent Curran brothers, rejuvenated

allrounder Rikki Clarke and wily Gareth Batty.

Scott Borthwick’s leg-spin also comes in handy

on occasions. HT

Is there a more potent T20 attack around than

Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and Afghan

sensation Rashid Khan? It would be a surprise...

certainly on the domestic front. Great things

are expected of Archer, the joint second highest

wicket-taker in last winter’s Big Bash. It took him

time to break into Rajasthan Royals’ line-up in this

year’s IPL, but when he did he made an instant

impression. He can bat too. Jordan is a canny

operator, and Mills looked seriously rapid at Lord’s

playing for the World XI against West Indies... until

he went o injured. Watching Rashid that night

was also a thrill. Sussex’s back-up bowlers are not

bad either – George Garton, Ollie Robinson, Will

Beer and Danny Briggs. With no worries about

the bowling, will the batting be good enough?

The uncertainty surrounding Stiaan van Zyl’s knee

injury is a blow, and explains why Sussex have signed

handy Kiwi batter Tom Bruce. Chris Nash will be

sorely missed, but Laurie Evans has been in cracking

form in the Royal London One-Day Cup, while Ben

Brown and David Wiese have been batting well in

the Championship, and Luke Wright usually wins

a couple of games o his own bat. HT

Somerset

Coach Jason Kerr
Captain Lewis Gregory
Overseas Corey Anderson (NZ)
Last season Quarter-fi nals

Surrey

Coach Michael Di Venuto

Captain Jade Dernbach

Overseas Mitchell Marsh (A), Aaron Finch (A)

Last season Quarter-fi nals

Sussex Sharks

Coach Jason Gillespie

Captain Luke Wright

Overseas Rashid Khan (Afg)

Last season Group stage

Johann Myburgh 292

Steven Davies 432

Corey Anderson 139

James Hildreth 419

Roelof van der Merwe 166

Peter Trego 391

Lewis Gregory 247

Josh Davey 625

Craig Overton 363

Paul van Meekeren 537

Max Waller 260

Aaron Finch 29

Jason Roy 61

Nic Maddinson 281

Scott Borthwick 423

Mark Stoneman 414

Sam Curran 203

Rikki Clarke 171

Tom Curran 126

Gareth Batty 374

Jade Dernbach 306

Morne Morkel 329

Luke Wright 156

Tom Bruce 177

Laurie Evans 417

David Wiese 175

Ben Brown 512

Jofra Archer 136

Rashid Khan 3

Chris Jordan 40

Danny Briggs 311

Will Beer 489

Tymal Mills 121

2017 run-rate 9.04 2017 economy 8.75 2017 run-rate 8.49 2017 economy 8.65 2017 run-rate 8.63 2017 economy 8.31

STRONGEST XI STRONGEST XI STRONGEST XI

Team rating

3,871

Team rating

2,717

Team rating

2,537

Prediction: Group stage Prediction: Semi-fi nal Prediction: Runners-up

thecricketer.com | 

T BLAST | PREVIEW