County Diary
GETTY IMAGESRichard Gibson sni s out stories from all 18 counties
DERBYSHIRE
Ben Cotton has the
opportunity to emulate
the achievements of Richard
Gleeson and Ben Sanderson by
turning Northamptonshire’s
incentivised summer contract
into a permanent one.
Cotton departed Derby in February
with a season remaining on his
contract and has been playing
2nd XI cricket with Northants as
England Lions paceman Gleeson
and Sanderson did before picking
up longer-term commitments at
Wantage Road. The 24-year-old
made his competitive debut in June
against Yorkshire in Leeds.
“Ben’s been trialling with us for a
while, impressed us with his skills
last winter and although we initially
looked at him as a white-ball bowler
he has a lot more to add we think,”
said Northants captain Alex Wakely.
“He was unfortunate to get
released at Derby and if we were a
more wealthy club we would have
signed him. As things stand, he
trains with us and he has the kit so
as far as we are concerned he is aNorthants player at the moment.”
Meanwhile, another ex-Derbyshire
player, Shiv Thakor, became
available again in June following
his ECB-imposed ban for sexually
exposing himself to two women.DURHAM
Jack Burnham, whose
12-month drug suspension
rules him out of involvement until
September, has been playing North
East Premier League cricket for
Hetton Lyons and developing his
seam bowling.
The 21-year-old was viewed as
one of the country’s hot properties
with the bat as a teenager, and
justifi ed the hype by fi nishing as the
competition’s leading run-scorer
with 420 at the 2016 Under-19
World Cup.
However, he also possessed pace
in his bowling during his youth
and has been putting the hours in
as part of a bid to develop into a
fi rst-class allrounder if and when he
returns to the professional ranks.
In addition to playing club cricketat weekends and in the NEPL’s
midweek Twenty20 competition,
Burnham has been working as a
labourer during his year out for
testing positive for cocaine.ESSEX
Australia international
Adam Zampa is hoping
to be a major infl uence on Essex’s
quest for Vitality Blast success
this summer despite the perils of
being a leg-spin bowler on postage
stamp grounds.
One of the fi rst things that struck
the 26-year-old – one of the Eagles’
two overseas signings, along
with New Zealand fast bowler
Neil Wagner – when he arrived at
Chelmsford this month was the
length of the boundaries.
“I have just seen the size of some
of them and so you need someone
who can spin the ball both ways,”
Zampa said. “Hopefully I can do a
decent job.”
Essex’s interest in his recruitment
was instigated by club captain Ryan
ten Doeschate, a former team-mate
at Adelaide Strikers. Zampa also has
experience at the IPL alongside Ben
Stokes at Rising Pune Supergiants,
plus the Caribbean Premier League.
Having experienced the shortest
format of cricket all round the
world, the 44-cap Australian says
he thinks spinners are no longer
on a hiding to nothing that was
anticipated when T20 was in its
infancy.
“I reckon that’s what we originally
thought would happen to wrist spin
bowling in Twenty20 cricket.
“But I don’t think that’s the way
it’s going. We have just seen recently
with the IPL that wrist-spin does
play a huge role.”
Reigning county champions Essex
have plenty of improvement in them
in T20 after fi nishing next to bottom
in the South Group in 2017, having
claimed the same number of points
as bottom club Gloucestershire.
Ten Doeschate, meanwhile, has
received a two-match suspension
for repeated ECB disciplinary
breaches.GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Richard Dawson has been recognised
for his work in Bristol by being named
part of the ECB’s new scouting network.
Dawson is one of two head coaches appointed
to work under the new national selector Ed Smith- Lancashire’s Glen Chapple is the other – with the
others two recent Nottinghamshire retirees James
Taylor and Chris Read, plus veteran Somerset
batsman Marcus Trescothick.
Steve Rhodes, who left Worcestershire last
winter, was also in the six-man team before taking
the national coaching job with Bangladesh.
“They are guys in and around the county game,
with real credibility,” said Andrew Strauss, the
ECB’s director of England cricket. “They will be
scouting people who aren’t in their team, with
a real focus on England’s needs both at home
and away from home, and assessing players
relative to that.”
Dawson has forged an excellent reputation,
fi rst as Yorkshire’s 2nd XI coach, and then at
Gloucestershire where he oversaw Royal London
Cup success in 2015.
Gloucestershire
head coach
Richard Dawson | thecricketer.com