2005 English cricket season (1-16 July)

"See also: 2005 English cricket season"

The period of the 2005 English cricket season from 1 to 16 July started with nine Twenty20 Cup games on1 July. Two were rained off, and indeed many games were shortened, but in the dark weather Worcestershire beat Warwickshire by a solitary run yet again, while Lancashire won the Roses battle with Yorkshire by 110 runs. On the following day, a Saturday, England and Australia battled it out for the NatWest Series trophy - which was ultimately shared, as the English pulled off a remarkable recovery, coming back from 33 for 5 to tie the match with a final score of 196 for 9. In weekend matches in the Twenty20 Cup, Northamptonshire and Lancashire recorded wins to stay on course for the quarter-finals.

On 4 July, Warwickshire took an important victory over Somerset, to close the gap to the quarter-final spots, while Lancashire qualified with a win over Derbyshire Phantoms. The following day, Essex beat Surrey in a five-over-game to keep their hopes alive, but Surrey remained on top of the table after five wins in their first six games to qualify for the knock-out stages. Northamptonshire joined them with a no-result on the same day.

The final round of the group stage of the Twenty20 Cup was played on 6 July. Essex were knocked out, thanks to a five-run loss to Kent, while both Middlesex and Surrey made it through despite losses - their conquerors, Sussex and Hampshire, were both knocked out. Warwickshire and Somerset qualified from the Midlands/Wales/West Division thanks to wins over Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire respectively, while Derbyshire sneaked through from the North Division after a win over Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire defeated Yorkshire to join them.

England won the first match of the three-ODI NatWest Challenge with Australia, chasing 220 with ease to win by nine wickets, but followed up with a seven-wicket loss three days later to leave the series hanging in the balance before the 12 July final game at The Oval. Meanwhile, Essex cruised to their seventh victory in the totesport League to increase their lead over Middlesex to four points, all while County Championship matches were being played from 8 July to 11 July.

Nottinghamshire enjoyed the lead in the Championship's Division One for a couple of days after beating Glamorgan by ten wickets - Glamorgan's eighth loss - but Kent, whose match started on 10 July took the lead back despite losing to Sussex, the six bonus points being enough to top the table. Middlesex beat Hampshire to keep themselves out of the relegation zone, while Surrey played out their fifth draw of the season with Gloucestershire. In Division Two, Durham's lead was slashed from 21 points to 11 after losing to Lancashire by an innings and 228 runs - the highest margin in the County Championship all season - but Worcestershire, the team second before this match, failed to take advantage as they went down to Yorkshire by three wickets, thus falling to third - Yorkshire were fourth, trailing by one and a half points, and Essex fifth after beating Northamptonshire.

On 12 July, the third and final match of the NatWest Challenge was played, and England were well and truly outplayed by Australia to lose 1–2 in the series. On the following day, Surrey got off the last place in Division Two of the totesport League thanks to a three-run victory over Yorkshire, but they were knocked out of the C&G Trophy on 15 July - Hampshire, Lancashire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire reached the semi-final stage.

Twenty20 Cup, matchday six

outh Division

Middlesex v Essex (1 July)

"Middlesex (2pts) beat Essex (0pts) by 31 runs"

Middlesex Crusaders defeated Essex Eagles despite missing Irish batsman Ed Joyce, who had gone off to play in the 2005 ICC Trophy. An opening partnership between Owais Shah and Ed Smith for 100 built the platform, Shah eventually making 79, and despite three wickets from Essex off-spinner James Middlebrook, Irfan Pathan smashed two sixes in his 21 to lift Middlesex to 185 for 6. Then Pathan took three quick wickets, those of Alistair Cook, Ronnie Irani and Ravinder Bopara, as Essex crashed to 45 for 5. James Foster made 62 not out to rescue Essex' honour somewhat, but the final score - 154 for 7 - was well short. Pathan got another wicket near the end to finish with four for 27. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/MIDDX_ESSEX_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

urrey v Kent (1 July)

"Surrey (2pts) beat Kent (0pts) by 23 runs (D/L method)"

Kent Spitfires suffered another loss, this time at the Oval against Surrey Lions. In a rain-hit game shortened by five overs, Surrey scored freely, hitting at nearly 11 runs an over - Ali Brown with 29 and Scott Newman with 52 not out off 27 balls doing the brunt of the damage. Kent made an attempt at chasing 168, with Michael Carberry taking 23 runs off nine balls in his innings from number three, but Surrey spinner Nayan Doshi took four wickets for 27 to set them back to 123 for 6. With economical bowling from Azhar Mahmood as well, Kent only managed 144 for 8. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/SURREY_KENT_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

ussex v Hampshire (1 July)

"Sussex (2pts) beat Hampshire (0pts) by 10 runs"

A twelve-over game at Hove was won by Sussex Sharks, though the rain threatened to destroy it all. Ian Ward and Matt Prior opened the batting for Sussex, who had been sent in to bat by Hampshire Hawks' captain Shaun Udal, and they made good use of it, sending Sussex to 53 for 0. Two quick wickets from Sean Ervine slowed the Sharks' progression, as they slumped to 88 for 5, but Michael Yardy hit 10 in four balls in an unbeaten 11-run sixth-wicket stand with Carl Hopkinson. Chasing, Hampshire never quite kept up with the required run rate, as Mushtaq Ahmed took three for 19 in his three overs to be the main cause of the Hawks' demise, and Hampshire finished on 89 for 6. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/SUSSEX_HANTS_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Midlands/Wales/West Division

Glamorgan v Northamptonshire (1 July)

"Match abandoned without a ball bowled; Glamorgan (1pt), Northamptonshire (1pt)"

The weather at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff prevented a match from getting underway between Glamorgan Dragons and Northamptonshire Steelbacks. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/GLAM_NORTHANTS_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Gloucestershire v Somerset (1 July)

"No result; Gloucestershire (1pt), Somerset (1pt)"

Only thirteen overs of play was possible at The County Ground, Bristol. By that time, two Somerset Sabres batsmen had departed for golden ducks - Graeme Smith and James Hildreth - and Somerset were 61 for 7. Gloucestershire Gladiators would have fancied their chances, but rain intervened to spoil the party. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/GLOUCS_SOMERSET_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard]

Warwickshire v Worcestershire (1 July)

"Worcestershire (2pts) beat Warwickshire (0pts) by one run"

Worcestershire Royals took their second successive one-run victory over Warwickshire Bears, to the agony of home fans at Edgbaston. After Heath Streak took two early wickets, Neil Carter entered the scene as the sixth bowler to be used. He took five wickets inside four overs, for 19 runs, as Worcestershire were all out for 141 with seven balls to spare. In reply, two run-outs and wickets from Gareth Batty and Zander de Bruyn left Warwickshire trailing by 60 with one wicket in hand, with Heath Streak and James Anyon at the crease. Streak rotated the strike well, facing most of the balls and hitting most of the runs, and brought the score to 140 for 9 with a ball to spare. Then - setting off for the last run that would tie the scores (and win the match for Warwickshire on fewer wickets lost) - Streak was run out for 59, off 32 balls, and Warwickshire's quarter-final hopes were dented, but not wiped out. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/WARWICKS_WORCS_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

North Division

Durham v Leicestershire (1 July)

"Leicestershire (2pts) beat Durham (0pts) by 32 runs"

Last year's champions Leicestershire Foxes were back on track for the quarter-finals thanks to 73 from John Sadler at the Riverside Ground. Sadler's 72-run second-wicket partnership with skipper HD Ackerman lifted the visitors to 154 for 7. Durham Dynamos yet again showed their inability to hit at anything significantly above 6 an over, Nicky Peng's top-score of 37 being off 41 balls. Despite captain Dale Benkenstein hitting 33 not out off 16 deliveries, it didn't help, as Leicestershire smothered them to 122 for 7. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/DURHAM_LEICS_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Lancashire v Yorkshire (1 July)

"Lancashire (2pts) beat Yorkshire (0pts) by 110 runs"

Lancashire Lightning recorded the most emphatic victory by runs in the 2005 Twenty20 season, as they had fun with the Yorkshire Phoenix bowlers. After being put in to bat, Mal Loye and Stuart Law put on 106 for the first wicket, and when Loye departed for 47 Brad Hodge followed up with a 17-ball 33, a partnership of 77 with Law. Despite Ian Harvey digging into them with two wickets, the early run-rate ensured that Lancashire set a target of 208, Law recording the second Twenty20 century this season - in 56 balls. Ian Harvey, the man responsible for the first of those centuries, was out early for 1, and wickets fell to everyone as Yorkshire were out for 97 - Dominic Cork taking three for 10, Muttiah Muralitharan three for 17, and James Anderson two for 26. Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan recorded the highest partnership for Yorkshire, with 22 for the tenth wicket. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/LANCS_YORKS_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire (1 July)

"Derbyshire (2pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by four wickets"

Derbyshire Phantoms needed to win to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals - and did it, in a thriller finish. Nottinghamshire Outlaws batted first, and Will Smith and Chris Read made 51 and 44 not out respectively. The pair where the only two Nottinghamshire batsmen to pass 20, their contributions lifted the hosts to 147 for 8. Michael di Venuto and Luke Sutton took Derbyshire to 92 for 1 before economical bowling chipped away at Derbyshire's batting. However, captain Sutton kept a cool head, anchoring the chase with 61 not out in 54 balls as Derbyshire won with two balls to spare. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/TWENTY-20/SCORECARDS/01JUL2005/NOTTS_DERBY_TWENTY-20_01JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

NatWest Series, Final

England v Australia (2 July)

Ricky Ponting, Australia's captain, had so far had a difficult series against the English. In five innings this summer, his highest score was 34, in the no-result at Edgbaston, and his batting average was a meagre 16.40. However, on a Lord's track that suited the batsmen, he was back into his old magnificent form, guiding Australia back on track to victory, and levelling the NatWest Challenge.

It started well for Australia, too. Including Michael Kasprowicz in the squad and gambling on winning the toss and subbing one of their bowlers off, they won it - and Kasprowicz got immediate reward. After the English openers had survived the opening overs of McGrath and Lee to be 25 for 0 after eight overs, Kasprowicz was brought on, and Strauss chopped an inside edge onto his own stumps. Nine balls and three runs later, captain Michael Vaughan was hit on the pads by an inswinging delivery from Glenn McGrath and was out for 1. Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen soon followed to the pavilion, and England were - yet again - staring down the barrel at 45 for 4.

However, England weren't undone that easily. Waiting for Jason Gillespie, who had been conceding many runs all series, Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood paired up for a calm 103 in a little over 20 overs, before Collingwood became Brett Lee's second victim of the day, luring Collingwood to attempt a cut shot off a fast, short ball and edging to keeper Adam Gilchrist. England's resistance didn't end, however, and despite Lee ripping out wickets - ending with five for 41 - the lower-order combined, eking out 30 from the last 21 balls to lift England to a somewhat defensible total of 223 for 8.

And, when Andrew Flintoff was brought on as the fourth bowler to be used in six overs, and removed Gilchrist with his second ball of the day, things looked hopeful for England, but that was as good as it ever got. Ricky Ponting smashed fourteen fours and a six on his way to 111, making a century off 105 balls, Michael Vaughan was forced to wait with the power play overs, Simon Katich, Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds played well-paced innings, and England found themselves unable to contain the Australians. The end was always in sight, eventually coming with 34 balls remaining, Darren Gough bowling a no-ball - his third of the day - to gift the game to Australia. It was symptomatic of Gough's poor series, and indeed, he had Gilchrist bowled off a no-ball in the very first over. His bowling analysis for the game read 6.2-0-43-1. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/NWC/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_NWC_ODI2_10JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

England v Australia (12 July)

This match was eerily similar to the one two days earlier - except that Jason Gillespie actually got rewards with the ball, and the batsman to play himself into form was Adam Gilchrist - however, both England and Australia picked batsmen as their supersubs, just like on the 10th of July. Australia won the toss, chose to field to gain an extra batsman, and had England on the rack.

The game was won in the first few overs. The pitch, as Surrey and Hampshire showed in a game played three days later, had a par score well in excess of 300. However, Glenn McGrath's first four overs were maidens, and his fifth over only failed to be because Jason Gillespie dropped a skier, much to the amusement of the crowd. With Brett Lee bowling well and picking up the early wicket of Marcus Trescothick for a duck, England were well behind on the run rate from the start.

They never recovered. Despite another skier being dropped, this time by Adam Gilchrist, and the crowd enjoying Gillespie dropping more catches whilst practising in the field, Australia's dominance and fine fielding on the ground saw more England wickets fall. In 27.5 overs, they only mustered 93 runs - for the loss of six wickets, with Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood and Geraint Jones all out. A desperate situation meant England had to use their substitute, putting on Vikram Solanki for bowler Simon Jones - and Solanki helped save England to some respectability, along with Kevin Pietersen. Solanki made an unbeaten 53 and Pietersen 74 as England posted 228 for 7.

On a flat, unresponsive pitch, England's bowlers (now without the subbed-off Jones) were helpless. Gilchrist smashed an 81-ball ton, with an array of shots all around the ground, and eventually ended on 121 not out. Three of the English bowlers conceded more than six an over - Steve Harmison, with 81 runs off 9.5 overs, Darren Gough, with 37 off four, and Ashley Giles with 64 off ten. The two wickets the English got - Matthew Hayden caught behind for 31 and Ricky Ponting stumped for 44 - were largely pointless.

In all, it was a comprehensive victory for Australia, probably one of their easiest on the entire tour - possibly excluding the 19-over demolition of Bangladesh in game six of the group stage, with the biggest excitement being when the officials and players were presented to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh in the break. The Duke was at the ground to officially open the new OCS stand at the Oval. He took the opportunity to lead the trubutes to umpire David Shepherd, on his retirement from international umpiring. Former British prime minister Sir John Major and current Australian prime minister John Howard also sent tributes to Shepherd. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/NWC/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_NWC_ODI3_12JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

totesport League - midweek game

Division two

Yorkshire v Surrey (13 July)

"Surrey (4pts) beat Yorkshire (0pts) by three runs"

Yorkshire Phoenix failed to convert a good position against Surrey Lions, who moved off last place in the table with a win. Having initially been placed in the field by Surrey's captain Mark Ramprakash, they conceded 111 for the first wicket, James Benning and Jonathan Batty making 72 and 41 respectively. A burst of three wickets from Richard Dawson's off-spin sent Surrey struggling at 127 for 4, but Ramprakash paired up with Rikki Clarke to recover, and Clarke then unleashed a late cameo off Ian Harvey to end with 90 not out off 71 balls to see Surrey to a final total of 264 for 7. In reply, Yorkshire looked confident at 222 for 2, recovering from the early shock of losing Matthew Wood for a golden duck. However, a couple of run-outs and a wicket from Tim Murtagh saw Tim Bresnan face the last ball with Yorkshire needing four to win - he was bowled by Nayan Doshi, and Surrey won by three runs, despite conceding 15 wides. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/NLS/SCORECARDS/08-13JUL2005/YORKS_SURREY_NLS_13JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Tour match

Leicestershire v Australians (15-17 July)

"Match drawn"

Australia were having difficulty choosing between an out-of-form Jason Gillespie (8 wickets at a bowling average of 50.37 in the ODIs) and an almost equally out-of-form Michael Kasprowicz (7 wickets at 34.29), and thus this match with Leicestershire was a fight between the two to keep the place in the Test team. But the two almost exclusively failed to take wickets, with only Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill taking more than two for the match. Lee opened the game by removing Darren Robinson lbw for a golden duck, and Leicestershire eventually subsided for 217 - Australian Chris Rogers top-scoring with 56, Lee taking four for 53. Australia then amassed 582 for 7 over the next day and a half, Justin Langer (115), Ricky Ponting (119) and Damien Martyn with an unbeaten 154 all making centuries. However, it was Rogers who was to make the highest score of the match, as he added with Robinson for 247 for the first wicket - and went on to make a career highest score of 209, right in front of the Australian selectors. When the fifth Leicestershire wicket fell with the Leicestershire score on 363, both teams agreed to a draw. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_LEICS_15-17JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

C&G Trophy Quarter-Finals

Lancashire v Sussex (15 July)

"Lancashire beat Sussex by 35 runs to progress to the Semi-Finals of the C&G Trophy"

Andrew Symonds scored 101 and took two wickets for 46 to be the difference between the sides at Old Trafford. Having been sent in to bat, Lancashire owed much of their success to a partnership of 118 between Symonds and Marcus North, and good lower-order hitting took the total to 249 for 8, despite three wickets each from Sussex' Pakistanis, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mushtaq Ahmed. The Sussex chase looked on when they were 112 for 1 with Matthew Prior and Chris Adams at the crease, as they were just waiting for opportunities to up the run-rate, but instead Symonds and England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff ran through them with the ball, and Robin Martin-Jenkins and Ahmed eventually had to consolidate to 214 for 8, losing by 35 runs. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/C+G/SCORECARDS/KNOCK-OUTS/LANCS_SUSSEX_C+G_15JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

urrey v Hampshire (15 July)

"Hampshire beat Surrey by two wickets to progress to the Semi-Finals of the C&G Trophy"

Despite an unbeaten 158 from Jonathan Batty, Surrey still lost their quarter-final game at The Oval, having first batted to make 358 for 6 in 50 overs. James Benning with 73, and Graeme Thorpe with 60, also contributed, as Hampshire used seven bowlers who all failed to keep their conceded runs below six an over. In reply, Azhar Mahmood served up a wicket maiden over in the first over of Hampshire's innings, leaving Hampshire 359 to win with nine wickets in hand, but Shane Watson and Craig McMillan put the visitors from the south back on track with a partnership of 81 for the fourth wicket. When McMillan was run out, Hampshire were 200 for 4, but Watson powered on to make 132, his highest career List A cricket score to boost Hampshire to 342 for 8 when Tim Murtagh broke through his defences. By then, it was too late, as Shaun Udal completed his 44 not out, having added 63 with Watson for the eighth wicket earlier, and Hampshire made it to the target with thirteen balls to spare - although they had been gifted eleven extra balls due to no-balls and wides. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/C+G/SCORECARDS/KNOCK-OUTS/SURREY_HANTS_C+G_15JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Warwickshire v Kent (15 July)

"Warwickshire beat Kent by five wickets to progress to the Semi-Finals of the C&G Trophy"

Andrew Hall and Robert Key gave Kent some hope of winning the match at Edgbaston with their opening partnership of 120 runs, but spinners Ashley Giles and Alex Loudon broke through twice each to limit the final score to 259 for 6. Warwickshire's reply centred on former England ODI player Nic Knight, who made fourteen fours in his 27th one-day century. Three wickets from Justin Kemp had earlier set Warwickshire back to 118 for 3, but Knight and Trevor Penney who made 50 not out off 43 balls, guided Warwickshire to the target with nearly four overs to spare. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/C+G/SCORECARDS/KNOCK-OUTS/WARWICKS_KENT_C+G_15JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Yorkshire v Northamptonshire (16 July)

"Yorkshire beat Northamptonshire by 33 runs to progress to the Semi-Final of the C&G Trophy"

Michael Lumb with 89 and Ian Harvey with 74 lifted Yorkshire to 270 all out at Headingley in the fourth quarter-final of the C&G Trophy. It was a bit of an implosion from 227 for 3, but runs came thick and fast in that period, so Yorkshire wouldn't be too disappointed with losing their wickets. Northamptonshire started well, getting to 163 for 2 after all their top four got starts, but two wickets from England Test bowler Matthew Hoggard started to turn the match. From then on, the Northamptonshire effort just stopped dead, as they lost five wickets for 24 runs to fall to 216 for 9. Steffan Jones and Jason Brown paired up for 21 for the last wicket, but it was too little, too late. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/C+G/SCORECARDS/KNOCK-OUTS/YORKS_NORTHANTS_C+G_16JUL2005.html]