2017 Kiwi County Tour #1
Typical
Welcome to the Kiwi County Tour where we follow the kiwi lads playing County cricket over in England. As is always the case, it would be great to see many more kiwis learning their craft in the hectic County schedule and this year's KCT starts slow with only Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) and Neil Wagner (Essex) in action.
More kiwis will play T20 cricket in England's T20 Blast, however we don't care about that.
Lord Jeetz as he is affectionately know on the tour bus is a KCT deity. Jeetz and I had to start the tour with a beer and some honest words as I reminded Jeetz that while I don't exactly see he him having much of a Blackcaps future, I love his County work. Jeetz is nothing less than a County cricket legend and any conversation about England's lack of spinners usually includes something about Patel's achievements in recent years; Patel has consistently been the best spinner in England, hence he earned a Blackcaps recall.
Patel is now a Warwickshire stalwart, while Wagner has moved from Lancashire to Essex for this season. Alongside Patel in Warwickshire's team for the opening fixture were Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, while Patel's opponents Surrey enjoy the services of Kumar Sangakkara. Wagner came up against his old County Lancashire, with Shiv Chanderpaul and James Anderson both in Lancashire's team while Zimbabwean Kyle Jarvis and South African Ryan McLaren also bolster Lancs.
Wagner joins Ryan ten Douschate and Ravi Bopara at Essex, while former Auckland seamer Matt Quinn is also part of the Essex squad but didn't play the opener.
Jeetan Patel - Warwickshire vs Surrey
Lord Jeetz took 2/92 @ 2.30rpo in a mammoth 40-over stint for Warwickshire in their first innings with the ball, which did little to slow Surrey down and they were dismissed for 454. Patel's wickets were both lower-order batsmen and while Patel was economical, the rest of Warwickshire's bowling attack all conceded over 3rpo.
Warwickshire were then forced to follow on as they were dismissed for 91 in just 36.2 overs. Jeetz hit 8 off 11 balls and that's a mighty effort when you consider that the six batsmen above Jeetz combined for just 6 runs. Even with 151 from Trott and 64 from Bell, Warwickshire couldn't salvage a result and were dismissed for 362 in their follow on innings and Jeetz again chipped in with a few runs (29) as Surrey grabbed the win.
Consider this a standard game for Jeetz as he is used to bowl plenty of overs and his consistency allows him to build pressure.
Warwickshire coach Jim Troughton had some kind words to say about Lord Jeetz:
"Jeets is having a brilliant Indian Summer to his career and fully deserves it," he said. "At Warwickshire we have known for years what he is capable of. You are not the MVP for two years out of three for no reason. So to get him back again for 2017 is great.
"We will try to freshen him up as much as we can before Friday's game at The Oval because he has had a heavy workload and a lot of cricket. But he has been going from season to season in New Zealand and England for the last six or seven years so he is used to it.
"Speaking to him on the phone during the winter it's been great to hear how much he was looking forward to getting back among the Bears again. He is a true Bear - and brilliant for us on and off the field."
If you like our thoughts then donate (only costs a second of your time) to the cause by hitting one of the ads yo.
Neil Wagner - Essex vs Lancashire
Also taking first innings wickets was Wagner and these wickets were also lower order wickets. Wagner took 3/100 off 23.1 overs @ 4.31rpo and dismissed McLaren at No.7, Stephen Perry at No.9 and Jarvis at No.10, plus only one of those wickets came via a short-ball. Lancashire were all out for 319.
Wagner then hit 2* as Essex were dismissed for 159 and Lancashire were back in to set Essex a target. Wagner went wicket-less in the second dig, conceding 3.17rpo off his 17 overs and Lancs reached 317/3dec to set Essex a target of 478 to win. Wagner wasn't required to bat as a gritty batting display saw Essex hang on for a draw, finishing up of 316/6.
Speaking to local media, Wagner said:
“The weather is not too dissimilar here (to New Zealand), I will have to adapt to the ball change and the different conditions – the wickets might be a bit slower and I might have to bowl different lengths, but it’s part of the process.
“I don’t make targets, I used to, but that puts a lot of pressure on an individual and I don’t want to be worrying or focusing on my own personal performance too much. It’s what I can bring to the team and contribute to the team.
“You might get a day where you get no wickets and contribute no runs but your playing well for the guy at the other end, and the same thing could happen to me and I get the rewards.
“It’s about creating that relationship with your mate at the other end and hopefully getting that ultimate result.”
Ahead of tomorrow’s game against his former side, Wagner reflected on the season ahead and what Specsavers County Championship First Division is likely to offer,
“It’s always going to be tough, it’s quality cricket all year round over here, but if I look at the team and the group, there is a wealth of experience, and youth coming through. It’s a good place to be and there is a healthy balance,”