Kiwi County Tour #12 (County Championship Update)
Still reckon Waggy's should have been in the Champions Trophy.
The joy of sport sits within the ups and downs, the rollercoaster. Aotearoa's Warriors certainly aren't the only kiwi sports team or individuals who enjoy this rollercoaster ride; basically anyone who isn't an All Black gets the luxury of rollercoaster life. This is no different on the Kiwi County Tour and this week wasn't quite as glorious as recent weeks.
Kieran Noema-Barnett
Gloucestershire vs Nottinghamshire
We were graced with another appearance by Kieran Noema-Barnnett and after hitting 35 batting at No.8 to help Gloucs reach 303 all out, Noema-Barnett opened the bowling! The Central Districts all-rounder bowled 27 overs, 1/82 @ 3.03rpo but that Noema-Barnett opened the bowling kinda tells you all you need to know as he's not going to steam through a batting line up.
Notts reached 535/8dec with sometimes English international Samit Patel hitting 257* and Indian Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara dismissed on 67, caught by Noema-Barnett. The kiwi's only wicket was Notts wicket-keeper/No.9 batsman Chris Read and Noema-Barnett skittled his stumps for 40.
This game finished with a draw and Noema-Barnett was left in the sheds as the next batsman, as Gloucs were stranded on 254/5 in reply. Prior to this game, Noema-Barnett featured for Gloucs 2nd XI in a 3-day game against Essex 2nd XI and took 7/22 which is probably why he was given the new-ball in this game. Noema-Barnett opened the bowling for Gloucs 2nd XI and took his 7/22 off 12 overs @ 1.83rpo, sending Essex's first six batsmen back to the sheds.
Also playing in this game, alongside Noema-Barnett for Gloucs 2nd XI was Olly Pringle who had featured for Northern Districts' 2nd XI during the kiwi summer. Pringle was playing for Glamorgan 2nd XI and had taken 3/30 and 3/74, before apparently moving to Gloucs where he's played two 2nd XI games and is yet to take a wicket in three innings.
Neil Wagner/Matt Quinn
Surrey vs Essex
Contributing to the sombre vibes on the KCT this week was a back injury to Matt Quinn, which came in the first innings. Quinn and Neil Wagner were back facing Kumar Sangakkara's Surrey and Quinn managed 9.5 overs before taking no further part in that innings, leaving Wagner as a lone soldier.
Surrey reached 399 all out and Wagner did just fine as the lone kiwi soldier, taking 3/110 off 26 overs @ 4.23rpo. Wagner then hit 34 batting at No.9 as Essex took a lead, all out for 435 and of Wagner's 34 runs, 28 of them came via boundaries. Quinn did have a bat and was staunch in his 17-ball duck.
Wagner was called up to open the bowling for Essex and while he didn't take wickets early, he did ensure that Surrey's tail didn't wag too much. Wagner finished with 2/96 @ 3.74rpo and including a run out, Wagner contributed to dismissing Surrey's last three batsmen. Surrey were all out for 288 and that left Essex with 253 to chase, which they did losing just 2 wickets.
With Franklin struggling and Quinn battling to be fit for Essex's Royal London One-Day Cup finals campaign, Wagner is the dominant force on the KCT. Tied for 5th in Division One wickets with 20 wickets @ 41.90avg/3.72rpo, Wagner's average is so high because he's bowled 225 overs which is considerably more than the five bowlers with 20 or more wickets. Former South African seamer Kyle Abbott leads with 35 wickets @ 15.42avg/2.53rpo and he's had the closest workload to Wagner via 213 overs.
James Franklin
Lancashire vs Middlesex
Middlesex were rolled on their away trip to Lancashire, with skipper James Franklin going back to back in being bowled by 20-year-old Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood for 1 and 0. Franklin was bowled for 1 as Middlesex were dismissed for 180 and didn't need to bowl as his Middlesex bowlers did the trick in dismissing Lancs for 309, although much of the damage was done.
Franklin's 7-ball duck did little to help Middlesex set Lancashire any sort of challenging target, especially as Franklin (No.7) and wicket-keeper John Simpson (No.6) were both dismissed for ducks. Middlesex were dismissed for 236 and Lancashire only had to chase 108, which they did losing only 2 wickets and Franklin saved himself the effort of bowling.
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