The first block of County Championship fixtures is over and after seven rounds of the competition, we have selected our team of the tournament so far.
Ben Compton – Kent
878 runs @ 109.75, 4 100s, 4 50s
Compton has had fairytale start to his county career. At 28 years old, he has been a late entrant to the professional game, but he started this season with three centuries in his first three innings and after the first block of fixtures the left-hander is the top run-scorer in the competition. His first-class averages stands at 69.38 after 16 matches.
Shan Masood – Derbyshire
844 runs @ 93.77, 3 100s, 3 50s
Another top-order run machine. The results have been phenomenal for the Pakistani opener – Masood scored back-to-back double centuries in his second and third games for the club.
Cheteshwar Pujara – Sussex
720 runs @ 120.00, 4 100s, 0 50s
Four games into his Sussex career and it was a case of so far, so perfect for Pujara. Each of the first four matches brought centuries in a superb start to life on the south coast. Pujara has also been rewarded for his form as he was recalled to the India Test squad for the one-off Test in England this July.
Ben Duckett – Nottinghamshire
582 runs @ 64.66, 1 100s, 5 50s
Duckett has been a top order enforcer for Notts this year, scoring his runs at a strike-rate of 68.07. He has made vital contributions in low-scoring affairs. Against Glamorgan he scored 122 and 95 and was the only member of the Nottinghamshire to pass 50.
Harry Brook – Yorkshire
840 runs @ 140.00, 3 100s, 5 50s
Brook has been in comical form this season. He has passed 50 in eight of his nine innings, with the only time he failed to do so being a knock of 44 of 32 balls against Lancashire. His dominant performances have led to his selection in the Test squad for the series against New Zealand as he leap frogged Dan Lawrence in the pecking order.
Luke Procter – Northamptonshire
432 runs @ 108.00, 2 100s, 2 50s; 8 wkts @ 39.00, Econ 2.68
A seasoned professional, 33-year-old Procter is in the form of his life, averaging over 100 with the bat and giving his Northamptonshire side flexibility with the ball with his medium pace. In their first season in Division One in seven years, Procter has been a vital component of the side.
Michael Burgess (wk) – Warwickshire
486 runs @ 69.42, 2 100s, 1 50
Burgess may have feared for his place when the Bears signed wicketkeeper-batter Alex Davies from Lancashire, but with Davies unavailable for the first game of the season, Burgess started with a career best 178 against Surrey and never looked back. The 27-year-old gloveman averages 37 in first-class cricket with the bat.
Keith Barker – Hampshire
27 wkts @ 16.74, 3 5WIs; 235 runs @ 29.37, 1 50
Barker has been one of the County Championships most consistent performers for years with this season being no different. Against Somerset in round seven, he took 6-27 in 13 unchanged overs to almost single-handedly bowl them out for 69 and give Hampshire victory.
Craig Overton – Somerset
26 wkts @ 16.26, 2 5WIs; 109 runs @ 15.57
Overton has become a slightly maligned figure of English cricket in recent years. An example of the nation’s over reliance and over production of right-arm seamers who operate below 85 mph. But, he has once again proved why he is increasingly the man England turn to as he has dominated the early stages of the season. Against Essex, he put in a staggering performance where he took 13-87 across both innings in a narrow defeat.
Toby Roland-Jones – Middlesex
30 wkts @ 17.30, 2 5WIs
In recent years Roland-Jones has been plagued by serious injuries. But this season he has stayed fit and been bowling fantastically. His standout performance was his six-wicket haul against Durham where his late burst on day three forced Middlesex into a position where they could win the game when the draw had seemed almost inevitable.
Matty Potts – Durham
35 wkts @ 18.57, 4 5WIs
This has been a breakout season for the Durham quick, who having not taken a first-class five-for in his career before this season, now has four. His performance of the season so far came against Glamorgan when he took 11 wickets in the match and 7-40 in the final innings to bowl Durham to victory. His reward has been a call-up to the England Test squad.
