19 August 2010

Division 2 hotting up

Sussex are going along very nicely in their match against Derbyshire and look set to go back to the top of Division 2 unless the weather intervenes after all their top four all scored hundreds today. They'll go back to the top at the expense of Glamorgan who were fairly well beaten by Middlesex in the end - Middlesex have now beaten both the top 2 away having beaten Sussex earlier in the season, despite my assertions that Sussex were in a decent position after day 3. And to make matters worse Glamorgan have lost their skipper Jamie Dalrymple to a broken thumb.

Things are looking interesting given that Worcestershire won against Surrey and put themselves back in the hunt - they play Middlesex next and have Sussex last game of the season. And to ensure the race for promotion stays a lively one, Sussex's next match is at Hove v Glamorgan. You can see the Div 2 fixtures here. Gloucestershire may even feel that they are favourites given their run in.

The Gareth Batty incident v Worcestershire makes for interesting reading. The spectators who were abusing him had no right to, but why he reacted is difficult to understand. I can only imagine that he was really looking forward to returning to his old club, only to be given loads of grief from the spectators. And it must have hurt him even more that Stephen Davies didn't get the same stick. But if you take the money - even after many years trying your heart out for a small County, I guess you have to accept you might get some grief upon your return....

2 comments:

Muttley said...

I can easily see why he reacted in the way he did. Certainly more measured than Tim Bresnans response to abuse if I remember rightly.

On another note, Chris Adams is yet again having to make excuses for his Surrey players choking / bottling it. Time and again it is 'we are a young side'. I think he'll find that Yorkshire's lineup is very similar in age and experience (but not salary!) and they are still challenging for the Div 1 title. I think in the off season he should look a bit closer at whether his squad aren't just a bit soft.

Muttley said...

Forgot to add that I have it on good authority that Geoffrey Boycott's mum could do a better job of batting ;)