Thrilling in the rain
Andrew McGlashan reviews England's 2007 domestic season
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A coming-of-age season for Durham who won the Friends Provident Trophy in convincing style against Hampshire, topped Division Two of the Pro40 and, for a short while during the final round of the Championship, sat top of the table and dreamt of the title. Geoff Cook, who took over as coach from Martyn Moxon, has built a strong squad with a mixture of seasoned professionals, Kolpak signings and, best of all, talented young English players. Phil Mustard, the wicketkeeper, became the fourth Durham player to earn an England call-up when he joined the squad in Sri Lanka. This year will be a landmark in Durham's history books, but it should only be the start of an exciting era in the North East.
It's a predictable choice, but Ramprakash continues to tower head and shoulders above other county batsmen. Back where his talent belongs, in Division One, his hunger for runs remains undiminished. Despite a rain-interrupted season, he still ended with 2026 at 101.03 in the Championship alone, the first time a batsman has passed both marks in consecutive seasons.
It was a good season for the more senior players as the likes of Ramprakash, Darren Gough and Andy Caddick also excelled, but Gibson's tale takes some beating. In July he became the first Durham bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings, against Hampshire at Chester-le-Street, and then went on to rip through teams in the Championship to finish with 80 wickets at 20. If that wasn't enough he was Man of the Match in the Friends Provident final against Hampshire after striking in the first two balls of the run-chase and later adding the prized scalp of Kevin Pietersen. He will be working as a bowling coach with England over the winter. Are his bowling boots handy?
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Justin Langer has worked wonders at Taunton after the club finished bottom of the Championship last year. Now promoted as champions, and comfortably at that, there is a feeling that the barren years may be over.
Another depressing summer for Simon Jones, who despite at last managing to get onto the playing field didn't last very long at any one moment. One wicket in four Championship matches was scant reward as England's Ashes attack continued to disintegrate. Jones seems set to leave Glamorgan and his future remains bleak.
Signs were not good early when Heath Streak stepped aside as captain to be replaced by Darren Maddy. But results remained promising until the rot set-in mid-season and they never recovered. After briefly being top of the Championship in May, they made a steady dive southwards and were relegated during their final match against Lancashire. A few days later Greatbach, who hadn't enjoyed overwhelming support for some time, was released from his contract to be replaced by Ashley Giles.
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The destination of the trophy was decided by the final stroke in the final session of the final match when Dominic Cork was bowled with Lancashire 24 runs short in what would have been a heroic and record run-chase at The Oval, handing the title to Sussex.
No one expects a British summer to be wall-to-wall sunshine, but the weather in 2007 was extreme and made a significant impact on the cricket season. The main casualty was Worcestershire: New Road was flooded twice in a matter of weeks, but the knock-on effect of some short-sightedness from the club meant Kent were also dragged into the equation after being denied the chance to play a Championship match. Fortunately Kent battled to safety, otherwise the fight for extra points could have ended in court.
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Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer on Cricinfo