Rain Reigns Supreme

The Essex Perspective

Essex's troubles with overseas signings continued as Peter Siddle was ruled out of the Twenty20 campaign this summer. Siddle was set to join Essex as an overseas player in 2011, but a deal couldn't be reached. Now, the back injury which saw him sent home from Australia's tour of the West Indies has forced him to pull out of the deal in 2012. Whilst Siddle isn't exactly known as a Twenty20 player, having only played 16 in his entire career, the prospect of seeing a fired up Siddle running in from the Hayes Close End would have been an entertaining one.

Essex's recent history of overseas signings doesn't make for pretty reading. Chris Martin was signed in 2010, but his coming to Chelmsford was delayed by the Icelandic volcano. 2011 saw Siddle and Tim Southee lined up, but unable to strike a deal, leaving Essex with the utter shipwreck of a deal with Lonwabo Tsotsobe. He left the club after seemingly not understanding that standing at fine leg looking disinterested with your hands in your pockets was an image that the club weren't really looking for. Southee later joined up for the Twenty20, along with Scott Styris. Dwayne Bravo was an expensive mistake for 2010 Twenty20 Finals Day and the less said about Danish Kaneria, the better.

After rumours of signing Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor proved futile, Essex revealed that they had signed the New Zealand all-rounder of James Franklin. With the Siddle injury, Essex will now begin their search for an overseas bowler to take up the second overseas player spot in their Twenty20 squad.

Meanwhile on the pitch, or pool as it turned out to be, Essex welcomed Northamptonshire to Chelmsford. Play was delayed on the first day, prompting Charl Willougby, Greg Smith and Mark Pettini to head off into the city centre and post tweets that contained puns so dreadful that you'd have thought I was responsible for them. Eventually after a mid-afternoon inspection, play was abandoned on the first day, prompting more Twitter hijinks, this time from Greg Smith:

Image courtesy of Greg Smith's Twitter feed.

To spare everyone's sanity, play finally began at The County Ground after tea on day 2. Tim Phillips, who picked up a back injury against Yorkshire, and Maurice Chambers made way for Mark Pettini and Charl Willoughby, who was making his Essex debut. 

Like up in Yorkshire, Essex struggled in the conditions and against good bowling. It was a good toss to win for Northamptonshire, as it meant they could unleash their fairly experienced bowling attack in very bowler friendly conditions. Northants had started the season poorly, with heavy losses against both Derbyshire and Kent, and the last time they came to Chelmsford they'd been bowled out for 99. Jack Brooks, having been called up to the England Lions squad again, celebrated by taking 4 wickets. This included the big wicket of Ravi Bopara who, after the early losses, Essex would've been looking at in the hope that he could repeat his heroics in the Headingley first innings.

Essex reached 15-0, then proceeded to lose 4 wickets for only a single run. Westley and Wheater both picked up ducks, again, whilst Alviro Petersen made 6. He was caught behind after flirting outside the off stump. It's not been the best of starts for the South African: after four innings, his average currently stands at 10.00. Greg Smith also continued his disappointing start to the season as he was out for 5, bowled by the 22 year old David Willey.

Mark Pettini, returning from a broken finger, was the only Essex batsmen to reach double figures. He was 16 not out at the close on day 2. Captain James Foster was at the other end on 8, leaving Essex hoping that if play did start again, these two could build a good partnership and put Essex out of trouble. 

Luckily for the Eagles, a deluge of rain decided to sit itself over the drought-ridden East Anglia. In the end, the match was declared a draw with no further play. Northants picked up 2 quick bowling points, meaning they leave Chelmsford with 5 points. Essex leave with 3 for the draw and now head down to the SWALEC for their match against Glamorgan, which starts on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the outfield at Chelmsford had been turned into a pond, meaning in comfort to Tom Westley and Adam Wheater, it really was nice weather for ducks:

Picture courtesy of Graham Napier's Twitter feed.

Eagle of the Match: It's difficult to choose someone when the only play of the match came in an evening session on day 2 and Essex found themselves 54-6, so my Eagle of the Match is a bit different this week. I'm going for Charl Willoughby, because his awful pun picture tweets from the streets of Chelmsford and Essex dressing room did help keep fans updated in a far more entertaining way. Anyone who posts a picture of the former skipper and the latest signing underneath a duvet set probably meant for a little girl is a worthy winner for me.

The Yorkshire Perspective

Rumours sprung up from last week that Yorkshire's problems with bowling out the tail were to be solved with the arrival of Mitch Starc at Headingley. Starc is currently playing for Australia in the West Indies, and Yorkshire have still not made any official announcements, but it seems probable that county cricket's worst kept secret will be arriving some time in the next month. Hopefully he packs his thermals.

Yorkshire made a trip darn Sarf for the four day game against Kent. The scheduling of this was bizarre; having opened the season against Kent, and both sides being tipped to push for promotion, playing their two games within the space of three weeks seemed short-sighted. With Bresnan returning after winning his eleventh test match, getting married and being named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year (not a bad month for the big lad, all in all), McGrath was sent to watch the rain fall in Harrogate as part of the second XI. McGrath comes in for criticism far more often than the rest of the team, but the truth is, his batting has looked under par this season - his feet aren't moving, leaving him trapped on the crease and a sitting duck to an LBW.

With Bressy lad the only change in the team, Gale lost the toss and was sent out to bat on a difficult looking pitch in breezy conditions. The first hour was tough going for Root and Sayers, with the bowlers getting plenty of movement off the seam and the batsmen unable to push the ball through the gaps. The first boundary didn't arrive until the 14th over, courtesy of a lovely pull from Sayers, before he left a delivery from Cole that straightened and removed his bails. Root, after jumping on anything wide and dispatching it in typical elegant fashion, then fell LBW, leaving Yorkshire at 52/2 at lunch.

The Tykes played the way they were most comfortable; Jaques got off the mark as quickly as ever and rotated the strike well with Gale. Bairstow, Bresnan and Ballance struck when the deliveries fell loose or dropped too wide. It is early in the season but Ballance, top scoring in this innings with 38, seems to be progressing the most under the new management. His spell in Zimbabwe, and the time spent with Dizzy over there, seems to have done his stroke play the world of good. It was tough going out there, and Coles and Shreck bowled as well as they did in the first game of the season. Despite the middle order quickening the scoring rate up, Yorkshire ended the first innings at 247, three short of the second batting point.

On the second day, each of the seamers pitched in with a wicket, but on a relatively decent batting track, Kent capitalised on Yorkshire's struggles with the ball. Brendan Nash made 100 and he was well supported by Geraint Jones. It's easy to be over-critical of the Tykes' bowling attack, which on paper is one of the strongest in the division, but they are increasingly taking a wicket and then letting the impetus slide. Kent made starts, but were then dismissed in the thirties; this pattern repeated itself along the scorecard until Nash arrived at the crease. Yorkshire have an incredibly good pace attack, particularly with the new ball pair of Sidebottom and Bresnan, but they must start turning the advantage their way when a wicket falls.

The third day started much better for the Tykes; Kent added seventeen runs before Bresnan pulled a double wicket maiden out of nowhere. After a frustrating second day, the big lad made the overcast conditions work in his favour. On a hat-trick at one point, Bresnan forced the batsmen to play, resulting in nicks to the slips and the keeper respectively. Rashid, whose terrible slide in form last season has resulted in a new run up and delivery action, picked up his first wicket of the season the next over. Rain curtailed the rest of the day, and the dangerous Nash was still there, but Yorkshire ramped up the pressure to give them a chance at pushing for a result.

Unsurprisingly, rain won the game. It was called off early on the fourth morning, as monsoon season continued to spread southward. Yorkshire take 7 points, Kent 10 - and we're left to rue what could have been an exciting finish.

Image courtesy of Scot McAllister's Twitter feed.

Yes, this is Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and top bowler, Tim Bresnan, wearing his tracksuit bottoms as a hoodie. You're welcome.

Tyke of the Match: It's difficult to be objective, given the shortness of the game, but I'll plump for Bresnan, whose tricks with the old ball put Yorkshire back into the game. Well, until the rain intervened. Gary Ballance also deserves credit for the way he went about his batting.

Around the County

The England Lions squad was announced this week, with Nick Compton's three centuries in as many games being recognised by the selectors. The main issue is that the game against West Indies interrupts many of the selected's county fixtures - only time will tell how much of an effect this will have on the overall table placings.

Rain won out across the country. The majority of games were called off early on the fourth day; a single ball wasn't bowled during the Surrey v. Durham game at the Oval. After a rocky start to the season, Lancashire finally found their batting groove at Taunton against Somerset. Steven Croft made 113 before Somerset's star signing Vernon Philander took 5 wickets. Somerset were left stranded on 87/3.

Warwickshire v. Sussex saw the Bears reach a massive 545 in their first innings, largely thanks to Jonathan Trott's 178 (which came from 314 deliveries. Which is lightning quick in Trott terms). Sussex were precariously balanced on 80/5, with England keeper Prior going for a duck. 

Nottinghamshire gained their first batting point of the season against Worcestershire. Richard Jones took 76/4 for Worcestershire, who then underwent a batting collapse to end the first innings on 157 all out. Notts were 88/2 in reply before the weather arrived.

In Division Two, Gloucestershire v. Glamorgan was abandoned without any play, as was Derbyshire v. Cardiff MCCU. Leicestershire continued a good start to the season by making 234 in tricky batting conditions at Hampshire. The hosts looked to be cruising to a good first innings lead, however, as Michael Carberry, initially having to use a runner, made 84*.

Springtime in Britain. Always a joy.

Around Cricket

Shivnarine Chanderpaul reached his 10,000th Test match run in the final Test against Australia in Dominica. The West Indies lost the third Test by 75 runs meaning that Australia took the three match series 2-0. The series will surely provide a steep learning curve to this young West Indies side, led by their honey-loving captain Darren Sammy, who bested his highest Test score with his 61 in Roseau.

Sticking with the West Indies, they've announced their Test squad for the tour of England next month. After disappointing in the Australia series, there is no place for 19 year old Kraigg Brathwaite and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh. Denesh Ramdin has been brought back behind the stumps and Marlon Samuels, whose action has once again been reported, returns to try and provide a boost to the middle order. 

Meanwhile in India, Sachin Tendulkar has been had his nomination to the upper house of Indian parliament approved. It means the much revered, world record breaking batsman becomes an MP and an active member of parliament. We look forward to the day Tim Bresnan becomes a member of the Foreign Office. 

Yorkshire v Essex: The Battle of the Collapsing Heavyweights

The Yorkshire Perspective

If Yorkshire, or rather the President, thought it would be a stroll in the park to get back into Division One, then the game against Kent must have brought them back down to Earth with a bump. The second match of the season was against the Leeds-Bradford MCCU, and gave Yorkshire a chance to test out some of their young bowlers.

Given all the debate surrounding universities and their first class status - I'm all for it. There's nothing more character building than having your soul crushed by people double your age and who are increasingly growing into the embittered Yorkie stereotype - Leeds-Bradford put up a sterling fight. Yorkshire once again failed to break the last wicket partnerships, and when the wickets fell, they fell in clusters, leaving the scorecard teetering. There was impressive bowling from Patterson and Hannon-Dalby, and despite coming in for his fortnightly criticism, McGrath's bowling seemed much improved on last season.

Yorkshire escaped the game with a draw, thanks to some fine British weather. Root and Sayers seem relatively settled at the top of the order, although Root fell for 8 and 0 in the match. Root's Vaughan-like elegance is combined with a Cook-like patience that should bode well for the rest of the season. Bairstow and Gale have shown their class with knocks in 2011, and Sayers has been around long enough now to bat out those early overs and get dug in.

And so, to Headingley, for Yorkshire v. Essex. Having spent much of last season complaining about our sides respective batting frailties, we knew that this would be a clash of the collapsers. And neither side disappointed. Root departed for 2 off the 3rd delivery, which brought Honorary (and now ECB approved) Yorkshireman Jaques to the crease. Last time Jaques was here, he helped Yorkshire back into Division One, and on arriving back in Leeds he made in clear that he wanted to do it again.

Put simply, he was a joy to watch. He had his luck; a few plays and misses as he hit the 80's and an early "quick single" that left Sayers sprawled on the ground as the return inched past the stumps. But he played himself in, something Yorkshire haven't done an awful lot recently. He saw off Master's nagging consistency and Mills' early, if slightly misguided, fireworks and picked off the weaker part of Essex's bowling attack. The highlight was an early on drive off Chambers and three successive boundaries from Masters as he was brought back in to stilt the attack. He formed good partnerships with Gale and Sayers, who managed to replicate the first half of Jaques' masterclass by digging themselves in, but then both fell to cheap shots that left them stranded in the thirties.

Jaques was aggressive, but he was intelligent with it. His drives were intended to divide the fielders; his pull stroke took advantage of Foster's overly defensive fields. The same can't be said for the rest of the batsmen. Jaques scored 126 of Yorkshire's 246 - just over half their runs. Yorkshire's middle order is still brittle, and are in danger of consistently throwing away their strong positions. Maybe it is the presence of three right-handers in the middle order; if the ball is swinging into them, it makes a collapse easy. Bairstow and Ballance both departed in the midst of some frighteningly quick bowling from Mills, who once he adjusts his radar, will be as complete a county bowler as one could hope for. McGrath went to an awful bit of cricket, which was overshone moments later by Rashid and Shahzad's abysmal attempts at hooking and pulling respectively.

The bowling, however, was a different story. Sidebottom and Shahzad steamed in full of aggression and intent; Shahzad, in particular, looked miles away from the bowler he was last year. He consistently asked questions of Petersen, who looked like a fish out of water as he failed to pick up every other delivery. The two built pressure well, and whilst Shahzad was unlucky not to claim a wicket, Sidebottom struck twice with an LBW and an edge to Bairstow to leave Essex teetering on 24/2.

Patterson, as second change, had the spell of the day. It was consistent, it was fast, and it shook Essex up, who couldn't get their bat down in time or get any real power behind their shots. For someone who has been so in and out of the side, it is to his credit the way he attacked the batsmen. It was perfect bowling for a Headingley pitch. Bopara and Foster tried to dig in but they constantly played and missed. Foster, however, struck Patterson for two gorgeous cover drives as Bopara did what Bopara does - prodded around and hoped for the best.

Ravi went on to score 100, something I'm sure Hannah will be gloating about, as Yorkshire's struggles against the tail continued. It's difficult to pinpoint what the problem is. Shahzad, looking so threatening on Friday evening, tailed away and lost his line completely, whilst McGrath and Patterson just looked ordinary. Sidebottom took a five wicket haul, a worthy reward for career best figures of 5/30 from 24 overs, but he was the only bowler who stayed on the mark throughout the game.

After polishing Essex off for 199, a good 50 or so more than they should have achieved, Root arrived at the crease and displayed the cover drives, reverse sweeps and elegant wrist work that has many pencilling him in as the next England opener. He was unlucky to fall for 62, even more unlucky to fall to Smith, but the foundations were laid. Sayers, although his stubbornness is useful when Yorkshire are batting to win, was not necessarily what the Tykes needed to accelerate. After he fell first ball of the third day, Gale and Bairstow were at the crease. The two played their shots well; Gale smashed two huge sixes and Bairstow's pulls and late cuts were as strong as ever. The running between the two was also hugely impressive, converting singles into two's and capitalising on some poor Essex fielding.

Rain ultimately ruined the match, which is a shame considering Gale's gutsy declaration. He clearly fancied the bowlers on the Headingley pitch, and was rewarded as Shahzad found his aggression again and sent two thunderingly fast deliveries plumb into the pads of the Essex openers. The problems are still there for Yorkshire, but the intent, aggression and determination we were promised at the start of the season is beginning to ring true...

Tyke of the match: Sidebottom. As beautifully impressive as Jaques innings was, it could all have been in vain if it wasn't for the bowling of the big man.

The Essex Perspective

After the victory over Gloucestershire in the first week of the season, Essex had a week off in which they handed out jam near London Liverpool Street in the name of Graham Napier's benefit, had James Foster on the phones in the Essex membership office and ended up playing a one-day warm up match against the Unicorns.

In very chilly conditions, Essex beat the Unicorns side by 124 runs (D/L). They, like against Gloucestershire, had piled on the runs, reaching 300-7 off their allocated overs. Tom Westley was top scorer as he hit 105 off 93 runs, and captain James Foster hit 42 off 21 deliveries. In reply, the Unicorns could not reach their revised target and Tymal Mills was the only Essex bowler not to pick up a wicket. Napier picked up 3 for 13, Masters 2 for 19 and spinner Tim Phillips chipped in with 2-21.

England's under-19s managed to win their play-off for third place against New Zealand, and were helped in the run chase by an Essex youngster, Ben Foakes. Foakes, who finished third leading run scorer of the quadrangular series, scored 105* and, in an unbroken partnership of 109 with captain Adam Ball, managed to see England home by 6 wickets. Bowler Reece Topley was also in Australia. In the 4 matches he played, he claimed 4 wickets at 30.50. He did finish with a better economy than Aussie quick Patrick Cummins though...

Speaking of Essex youngsters, we move on to Headingley, where Essex began their first away game of the season. With a first day washout, Essex returned to Headingley to find a blow to their bowling attack, as Graham Napier had been ruled out with a calf strain. Essex brought in the left arm spinner of Tim Phillips, but Napier's injury meant that David Masters would, once again, have to lead a fairly inexperienced attack containing the 19 year old Tymal Mills and Maurice Chambers, who fluctuates between the First and Second XI.

Having been made to field by Yorkshire, Masters provided the early breakthrough as he got Root caught at short leg by Billy Godleman. Phil Jaques, who I remember doing this and this against England in 2006, joined Joe Sayers at the crease and set about laying the foundations for a huge first innings total. Just before lunch, Tymal Mills was brought on for a quick burst and he managed to get the breakthrough, strangling Sayers down the leg side.

The Essex bowling, with the exception of Masters, was expensive. Mills, Maurice Chambers and Greg Smith kept feeding Phil Jaques and Andrew Gale with short and wide half volleys for them to send to the boundary with ease. Chambers provided Jaques with a wide delivery outside off and that was off to the boundary for a four, meaning that Jaques had a century on his return to the county.

Essex were facing conceding an enormous first innings total and in desperation, and with Tim Phillips mysteriously off the field, Foster brought on the part-time off-spin of Tom Westley. With the partnership between Andrew Gale and Jaques growing, it was a surprise that Westley was the one to provide the breakthrough. Gale managed to turn one off his pads straight into the waiting hands of Billy Godleman at short leg.

Mills, now bowling from what he deemed his preferred end given that the Rugby Stand End was "all mud", was brought back on to replace Chambers and so began a very quick spell. If you're a bit of a cricket romantic, you should really read into Mills' rise from club cricketer in Suffolk to bowling against Sangakkara to bowling for the England Lions in the space of just 6 months because it is absolutely remarkable. Here, he managed to get Bairstow to fend a short, well directed and fast delivery straight to Alviro Petersen, who actually had his hands out of his pockets long enough to take the catch. Ballance then fell into the trap of trying to hook Mills, but only ended up seeing it fly straight into the hands of Charl Willoughby, who was on the field to replace Tim Phillips. Anthony McGrath then decided to leave one and he was gone LBW. Mills had 4 wickets and left those at the ground wondering what the future might hold for the 19 year old.

Yorkshire's tail crumbled and, having looked like they were on their way to an enormous total, like Kent had got during the first game of the season, they found themselves all out for 246, four short of another bonus batting point. However, for anyone who watches Essex regularly, you will know that Essex's top order is just as brittle and here, it did not disappoint.

Yorkshire's accurate bowling once again exposed Essex's batting frailties. Billy Godleman was first to go, out LBW to Ryan Sidebottom. Godleman was unhappy with the decision, perhaps feeling as though he'd been struck outside the line. However, he had to go and Essex had once again lost an early wicket. At the start of Sidebottom's next over, Tom Westley was gone LBW, out for a golden duck. It brought to the crease Ravi Bopara, who finally had an Essex helmet rather than the tragic sight of his England one with a piece of sticky tape covering up the England badge.

Bopara survived two hat-trick deliveries in his innings, one off Sidebottom and the other off Steve Patterson, who managed to get a three wicket maiden. Petersen had another failure, Wheater went for a duck and Smith was gone for a golden on his 29th birthday. It was up to James Foster and Bopara to try and steady the ship, but with a long tail, it looked like Essex would be lucky to reach 150.

Luckily for Essex, Yorkshire have problems finishing off the tail and they allowed Bopara to reach first his half century and then his century on the morning of day 3. Foster, the second highest scorer with 25, had gone early. Masters had been bowled by Shahzad and Tim Phillips came in with a runner. Usually, he can bat a bit and would come in before Masters, but he was clearly struggling with a back injury and was unable to move his feet at all. Sidebottom picked up his 5fer as he managed to get Chambers out LBW.

Bopara was looking likely to be stranded as, from what we've seen so far of Mills, it's clear he's not the best with the bat. However, Bopara farmed the strike well and, thanks to some generous bowling from Shahzad, brought up a very well worked ton. He had, somehow, survived the previous evening, but now he was in and playing a mature innings, like at Southend against Leicestershire last year, to help his team out of a very deep hole. Had he not run Mills out, who had got 2 off 41, Essex would have reached a batting bonus point, something that seemed a pipe dream with the side having been 42-5.

In Yorkshire's second innings, Greg Smith bowled slightly better and did pick up two wickets. Root was caught down the leg side and Bairstow went in search of quick runs but instead found Wheater in the deep. Chambers was still as expensive and inaccurate, so question marks will surely hang over his place in the squad for the upcoming match against Northants. Masters was as carthorse-esque as ever, racking up the overs and bowling economically. Mills, whilst he did not take a wicket, bowled far, far more accurately, with just as much pace and was far more economical.

Had the rain not come along, although credit to Essex's rain dance for ensuring that it did, Essex were facing an incredibly tricky run chase after a very positive declaration from the Yorkshire skipper. Petersen struggled with Shahzad in both innings and Essex will be hoping that he can find some form soon. Essex will hope that this batting performance at Headingley is just a one off, but the batting frailties of last season do still appear to be there. With Bopara expected to be on England duty, Petersen, despite looking out of touch, only here until June and Alastair Cook now seemingly doing everything for England, the top order will remain a concern over this season.

Eagle of the match: It was a close run thing with Tymal Mills, but I'm going for Ravi Bopara. To anchor one end, finish not out and score over half the runs as the team around you crumbles will provide Bopara with great confidence and he is, after all, one of those "confidence players".

Around the Country

Rained ruined the majority of the matches around the country, but it didn't stop Hampshire winning by 2 wickets against a Glamorgan side who have now lost all three of their County Championship matches. There was a positive for Glamorgan though, as their second innings was the first time they've made a score of 200+ this season. The other matches in Division Two saw Kent and Gloucestershire draw at Canterbury. Kent had been chasing 363 for victory, but Gloucestershire had them 98-2. At the County Ground in Derby, Leicestershire had piled on the runs in the first innings and had set Derbyshire 314 for victory. Derbyshire were 91-0 when play was abandoned.

In Division One, Somerset will be thoroughly disappointed as the weather meant they couldn't romp home to victory at Trent Bridge. Peter Trego took only his second first-class five wicket haul and may well have ended up with 10 wickets in the match had rain not cut short play. Somerset also leave Trent Bridge with injury concerns over captain Marcus Trescothick (ankle) and Steve Kirby. Over at Lord's, Middlesex were made to cry by Graham Onions, who picked up the first 10 wicket haul of his career. Awful puns aside, Onions claimed the wicket of England captain Andrew Strauss twice, bowling him for a second ball duck in the first innings and for only 6 in the second. Thanks to some lower order hitting from Tim Murtagh and John Simpson, Durham were set a total of 130. By the time rain forced play to be abandoned, Durham were 82-6 in their pursuit of victory.

Division One Champions Lancashire's poor start to the season continued, as they were beaten by Warwickshire at Liverpool. Centuries from Darren Maddy and Rikki Clarke allowed the Bears to post a lead and 5 wicket hauls from Jeetan Patel and Keith Barker meant that they were only chasing 70 for victory. After a bit of a wobble, Warwickshire reached their target with 5 wickets in hand. At The Oval, Surrey's problems with batting the April pitches continued. Stuart Meaker claimed career best figures of 6-39 in Worcestershire's poor first innings total of 119 all out. In their chase of 246, Worcestershire were 94-1 when rain stopped play.

Around Cricket

KP took time out of his busy IPL schedule to tell us that we're all jealous of the IPL. I know I am; what I wouldn't give to watch Dan Christian bowl full toss after full toss to someone in a fluorescent kit that looks like my Nan's pyjamas. KP then shut everyone up from talking about this by getting his first 100 in T20's against Deccan - now that, I'm jealous of.

The second West Indies v. Australia test was hit by technical difficulties as Australia left the field after discovering no DRS was in use. After all, DRS has been around since the dawn of cricketing time. Or maybe Simon Katich had been tampering with the electricity.....

International cricket will have to wait to return to Pakistan as a proposed Bangladesh tour is banned by court order. This is disappointing for anyone who saw the intensity of the Pakistan v. Bangladesh game in recent weeks, but this makes it clear that safety comes first for the cricketing boards.

And to end on a positive note, Twitter came to the rescue this week after Adam Hollioake, brother of Ben, tweeted that his late brother's England kit had been stolen from their parents' home in Perth. Following Twitter calls for help from the international cricketing community, some of the kit was returned to the Hollioake family. Lovely!

Introduction

With England's winter trial by spin drawn to a close and the county season well under way, it seems an appropriate time to welcome you to Around the Wicket. After many conversations trying to come up with a witty blog title, we settled on Around the Wicket because it accurately describes what we're spending our summer doing, namely following wickets around the country.

Unfortunately the Daily Mail decided to show just how hilarious we are by naming their county cricket blog the same thing.

However, we plough on. The aim of this blog is to provide you with an insight into life in the stands at domestic and international cricket matches, to give you a flavour of what it's like watching modern cricket as two young women and also combine this with analysis and opinions on what has taken place, both at the ground we've been sat at and in the wider cricketing world. We are likely to be found mostly at matches involving England and the counties we support, but don't be surprised to find us watching a match like Derbyshire v Leicestershire at some point this season.

That's the formalities over. To kick off the blog, here's a summary of what the first couple of weeks of the county season has offered our respective counties.

The Essex Perspective

It’s been a fairly turbulent off season for Essex after an incredibly disappointing 2011. The imprisonment of Mervyn Westfield and silence over the spot-fixing case from the club has dominated headlines in the close season. The signing of Alviro Petersen has also seen Essex have the limelight, as Glamorgan, and some in the media, were not too happy with the acquirement. With all this going on behind the scenes, it would be easy to forget that there was actually cricket to be played.

But cricket there was. Unlike previous seasons, Essex decided to stay on British shores for their pre-season warm ups. In balmy March conditions, Essex played three warm-up matches at Chelmsford, ending in two draws and a defeat. They also drew with the Cambridge MCCU side at Fenner’s, but not before Greg Smith,James Foster and Graham Napier had had a bit of a slog against the young Cambridge attack.

The season began on 5^th April and Essex managed to rack up 364 against Gloucestershire, thanks to a career best 130 from Billy Godleman. It was then over to the bowling “unit” who managed to condemn poor Gloucestershire batting to an innings defeat. Had it not been for bad light, Essex may well have finished them off in two days. Dave Masters started where he left off last season and finished with six in the match and Graham Napier picked up 5-58 in Gloucestershire’s second innings as he played his first match in his benefit year.

It was a good start for Essex, especially compared to the poor start last season, but with stronger sides coming up we should not get ahead of ourselves, even with the weird sense of optimism that seems to be floating around the ground.

The Yorkshire Perspective

After the telling off of a lifetime from chairman Colin Graves following relegation, Yorkshire went into this season with a lot to prove. Reshuffling came in the form of Jason Gillespie as first team coach, Phil Jaques as an overseas player and a shy and retiring fellow by the name of Boycott as club president.

The pre-season in Barbados saw Yorkshire win possibly the ugliest trophy in the county game so far. The signs were good. Yorkshire's main issue last season was never really firing as a unit. Batting wise, there were hundreds for Gale and Jonny Bairstow, and good signs from Anthony McGrath. Ryan Sidebottom was as consistent as ever, and there were hints of Adil Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad finding their form after a turbulent 2011.

So, to the first game of the season, against Kent. Yorkshire must have felt positive after the pre-season, but they were made to toil. The bowling unit was off colour on the first morning, and allowed the Kent openers to amass a huge total. Lower order biffing also stopped Yorkshire from bowling Kent out. There were increasingly good signs for Bairstow as he blasted his third first class hundred - remarkable, considering he began 2011 with none - and Root showed the class that has many pencilling his name in as the next England opener. Rashid's change in approach also paid off as he took four wickets in Kent's innings.

The game petered out to a draw, mostly thanks to bad light and typical Yorkshire weather. Yorkshire are a proud club, and the President has already made it clear that nothing but instant promotion will be acceptable. They have a good reserve of young players in the second XI, and it will be interesting to see if they can push their way back into Division One in time for their 150th anniversary.