Kiwi County Tour: County Championship #12
The Kiwi County Tour is all done for 2018, with Jeetan Patel getting the back seat of the KCT bus via a win over Matt Henry to claim the Division Two title. Henry wasn't all that fussed considering he still finished as the leading wicket-taker and scored a few runs in that last game, plus we also had Matt Quinn snare a couple of wickets for Essex as well as another meh game from Jeet Raval for Yorkshire.
Matt Henry - Kent vs Warwickshire
Although Henry could have done a wee bit better than 1w @ 3.75rpo in 20 overs for Kent, his Kent comrades didn't show up with the bat in their loss to Warwickshire. Kent were all out for 167 in their first innings and Henry top-scored with 32* off 48 balls, thus taking his total runs in 11 games for Kent up to 303 @ 21.64 with two half-centuries this season.
Henry's lone wicket came in the 101st over, dismissing one of Warwickshire's openers after both openers had hit centuries as the Bears were eventually dismissed for 380. Warwickshire then rolled Kent for less than 200 again, 179 all out with Henry stranded on 0* and Warwickshire snatching the Div Two championship off Kent with an innings to spare.
Two not-out innings for Henry and a wicket, which almost saw him lose his spot on top of the Div Two wicket-taking rankings. Henry finished with 75w in 11 games @ 15.48avg and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson stormed home with 7w in their last game vs Northants to finish with 74w. Robinson nearly did the unthinkable in surpassing Henry, however Robinson played 14 games and bowled 100 overs more than Henry which should put Henry's achievements this winter in some context.
A low key statistical note; Henry averaged less than 20 with the ball and more than 20 with the bat.
Usually, averaging under 30 with the ball and over 20 with the bat is a mark of a quality all-rounder. Henry blew that apart and as someone who has long appreciated Henry's ability with the willow, it's funky to note that Henry has averaged 45 (2016) and 21.64 (2018) with the bat in his last two County seasons.
Here's Henry's final KCT stats...
Ball: 11 games, 21inns, 382.4ov, 75w @ 15.48avg/3.03rpo, 5 x 5w, 3 x 10w.
Bat: 11 games, 17inns, 3 not outs, 303 runs @ 21.64avg, 81hs, 2 x 50.
Jeetan Patel - Warwickshire vs Kent
Warwickshire were too slick with the ball for Kent, yet Jeetz barely featured as the Bears skipper instead leaned on his seamers to get the job done. Jeetz bowled 9ov @ 4.22rpo without a wicket in the first innings, then hit 32 off 47 batting #10 in Warwickshire's only batting innings and did manage a wicket in the second innings, finishing with 1w @ 2.77rpo off 9ov.
That 32 was Jeetz's highest score of the season and this was a low key dip in the run-scoring shenanigans on Jeetz as he only averaged 11.50 this season. Jeetz did put himself lower down the order and Warwickshire didn't rely on his batting as much as they have done in the past; Jeetz has averaged over 20 in six of his last seven seasons of County cricket. Which coincides with Jeetz taking 50+ wickets in six of his last seven seasons in England.
Jeetz finished with 56w @ 22.78avg/2.95rpo and was Warwickshire's leading wicket-taker as they gained promotion (along with Kent) to Div One, having been relegated the season prior. Jeetz took four 5w bags and had two 10w performances, bowling the second-most overs of Div Two bowlers with more than 50w. Jeetz bowled 431.4 overs and only Robinson's 485 overs was greater.
Jeet Raval - Yorkshire vs Worcestershire
I went into more depth about Jeet Raval's KCT woes here, so read this for the run down of Raval's slump. He had his best game for Yorkshire, scoring 21 and 13 in their win over Worcestershire.
Matt Quinn - Essex vs Surrey
KCT opportunities haven't been in abundance for Quinn this winter for Essex, he has finished strong though in the last two games of the season. Quinn took 2w @ 1.66rpo in 6ov as Essex dismissed Surrey for just 67 and Quin n then went on to hit 4* off 6 balls batting #11 as Essex responded with 477/8dec.
Quinn again took 2w (@ 4.10rpo) in the second innings, as Surrey put up a far better 541 all out as Quinn had Jason Roy caught (after hitting a hundy) and got the wicket of fringe England wicket-keeper Ben Foakes for the second time in the game. Essex had to chase 132 for victory and did so with a wicket in hand as Quinn held down his end, not scoring a run but remaining not out after 6 balls while Ryan ten Doeschate sealed the win with 53*.
It seems as though this was another injury plagued winter for Quinn, well the first half any way. Quinn bounced back to play in a bunch of T20 games and after taking 8w in two 2nd XI games for Essex, Quinn was promoted to the 1st XI and took 7w in two wins for Essex; not only did Quinn finish strong, Essex did as well.
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Peace and love 27.