2023 Kiwi County Tour: Henry Shipley & Tom Latham Appear
Henry Shipley and Tom Latham played their first County Championship games of the winter as the Kiwi County Tour rolls along, now taking a wee break for T20 Blast cricket. Playing for Sussex in their draw with Worcestershire, Shipley quickly showcased his all-round talents with 41 runs in the first innings followed by 3w @ 4.35rpo.
Sussex then required quick runs in their second batting effort and Shipley played that role nicely, whacking 28* @ 175sr to help Sussex set a target of 386. Shipley didn't take any wickets and conceded 3.93rpo as both teams went close to grabbing a win with Worcs ending the game on 381/8.
Shipley may pop up in T20 Blast games over the next week for Sussex, especially given his swift impact. How Shipley performs with the ball in upcoming games will be interesting as he was more expensive than usual but he has the tools to adapt to conditions and the style of bowling required on the KCT and T20 Blast.
Latham is playing for Surrey and they defeated Matt Quinn's Kent. In his first outing with the bat, Latham scored just 3 runs and was dismissed by Quinn before responding with 58 runs in the second innings. Latham's knock helped Surrey chase down a target of 501 along with three centuries from Surrey's batting line up.
Quinn took 3w @ 1.83rpo in his first stint and then whacked 37 runs @ 168sr down the order to help Kent muster a competitive total. Unfortunately Quinn didn't take a wicket in the second innings (2.34rpo) and Surrey worked their way to victory. The Aucklander is one of Kent's best bowlers this season though with 12w @ 24.4avg/2.75rpo and he is pushing for T20 Blast selection after three games of 2nd 11 T20 action.
Ajaz Patel has also played a couple 2nd 11 T20 games for Durham prior to his County Championship game against Glamorgan which ended in a draw. Apart from scoring 31 runs down the order in Durham's hefty innings of 630, Patel didn't take a wicket in either innings while conceding 3.68rpo and 2.47rpo.
This is an intriguing pocket of bowling for Patel as the last KCT update featured his 10w game against Gloucestershire, yet Patel has six innings without a wicket in England either side of that performance. Patel took no wickets in his first County Championship game, then he took 5w in both innings against Gloucestershire and then he didn't take a wicket in either 2nd 11 T20 game before this most recent outing.
All 10 of Patel's wickets came in one game and he's currently sitting on 10w @ 44.6avg/3.19rpo. In the 2nd 11 T20 stuff Patel has bowled 6 overs @ 8rpo.
Canterbury's Daryl Mitchell and Will Williams rolled out regular mahi in Lancashire's win over Hampshire. Williams took 3w @ 0.93rpo as Lancashire dismissed Hampshire for just 142 in the first innings with Mitchell bowling 7ov @ 4.28rpo. Mitchell then scored 68 runs as Lancashire took a lead and with Williams taking just 1w @ 2.34rpo in Hampshire's second batting innings, Mitchell snared 2w @ 0.61rpo including the key wicket of James Vince on 87.
Lancashire only needed 140 for victory and Mitchell scored 14 as Lancs cruised to victory. Mitchell has already established himself as a sneaky excellent cricketer for Aotearoa and this is once again on display in England as his County Championship record of 187 runs @ 62.33avg is backed up by 275 runs @ 55avg/172sr in T20 Blast.
Williams has 19w @ 21.84avg/2.42rpo in County Championship which is in the same zone as James Anderson's 16w @ 20.3avg/2.53rpo for Lancashire this season. While Williams is a staple of Lancashire's County team and their best bowler right now, he is grinding away in 2nd 11 T20 cricket. Williams has been typically efficient in 2nd 11 T20 stuff with 9w @ 17.22avg/7.38rpo, although he is unlikely to be called up to T20 Blast action.
Matt Henry didn't have his best KCT outing in Somerset's loss to Essex. Henry didn't take a wicket in his first bowling stint and conceded 3.45rpo, then he got a first-ball duck and could only manage 1w @ 2.18rpo in his second bowling stint. Needing 466 to win, Henry scored 3 runs and Somerset were all out for 269.
Like Mitchell, Henry has had a fabulous start to T20 Blast with 11w @ 15avg/7.85rpo and he has taken at least a wicket in every game. Henry's T20 mahi also features 11 runs @ 157sr and his lack of County Championship runs against Essex has seen his KCT batting dip down to 31avg/117.7sr.
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