First-Class Counties Second Eleven Annual 2018

5 99 Z J Chappell (Leicestershire) MCC YC High Wycombe Championship 99* WA T Beer (Sussex) Glamorgan Blackstone Trophy 99 A O Wiffen (Worcestershire) Northamptonshire Northampton T20 As usual, all new records set in 2017 are indicated in bold italic script and there are several performance to which attention should be drawn. Paul Horton’s innings of 277* for Leicestershire against Warwickshire was the equal eighth-highest individual total ever made in the Championship. Tom Latham also went large with 241 for Durham against the MCC Young Cricketers. A new fifth wicket record was established by George Scott and Rob White for Middlesex against the MCC Universities at Radlett as the pair added 389 in an unbroken stand. Such statistics may or may not have contributed to the Universities’ decision to drop out of the Second XI Championship in 2018. In the Trophy, Northamptonshire’s score of 431/7 against Leicestershire at Northampton was the second highest team total in the competition, just seven runs away from beating Essex’s record of 437/5, set in 2010 at the Oval. A new ninth wicket record was established by Tom Sole and Chad Barrett for Northamptonshire against Derbyshire at Denby. In the T20 competition, Angus Robson of Sussex established a new season’s best aggregate with his 471 runs. Ollie Robinson (Sussex) took 20 wickets and equalled the best return for a T20 season. New wicket partnerships were established for the second wicket when Zak Crawley and Jimmy Neesham of Kent added 195 (unbroken) against Middlesex at Polo Farm in Canterbury. It was also the highest partnership for any wicket in 2017. At the other end of the scale, Yorkshire’s Karl Carver and Jack Shutt added 48 (again unbroken) for the tenth wicket as Yorkshire completed the great escape against Worcestershire at Flagge Meadow, the home of Worcester RGS. Yorkshire had been 27/8 in their innings but the tail wagged (and how!) and a final total of 137/9 proved to be too many for Worcestershire as their efforts closed on 129/9. Individual performances to note were as follows. In the Championship, Robert Jones (Lancashire) scored three centuries in his 775 runs and ended with an average of 77.50. Stuart Whittingham (Sussex) had the season’s best return with the ball as he claimed 30 wickets. Similar performances in the Trophy saw Brooke Guest (Lancashire) score 270 runs at an average of 103.50 and Dom Bess (Somerset) had 14 wickets, a total equalled by Matthew McKiernan for various teams. As previously stated, Angus Robson led the way with the bat in then T20 competition and his team-mate at Hove, Ollie Robinson, took 20 wickets. As some of you already be aware, it is all change at Surrey CCC as far as their scorers are concerned. Both Keith and Jennifer Booth have retired from their posts of first and second eleven Scorers respectively and we wish them well in their retirement. Debbie Beesley takes over the reins at the second eleven and we welcome