Keep 'em peeled for Onions

While lots of commentators have focussed on whether Steve Harmison has what it takes to get back into the England side, his Durham teammate Graham Onions has sneaked in under the radar to make an impact on the selectors. In the latest County Championship match, his 6-31 helped Durham to a massive first-innings lead of 474 against Somerset, while poor Steve had match figures of 1-129 in 35 over’s. I reckon the 26 year-old from Gateshead could well feature in the Lords Test this week.

OK, so he didn't win the match for his county. Dale Benkenstein's 181 was the top score in Durham's first innings but three Somerset centurions, Langer, Kieswetter (again!) and Trescothick rescued a draw for the home side. There were no results elsewhere either in the first division, with weather playing a role. Solanki scored a double-hundred for Worcestershire against Yorkshire, for whom Rudolph fell just two runs short. Matt Prior made some runs (140) at last for Sussex vs. Hampshire, as did Ashwell Prince for his new side Lancashire against Notts.

In the second tier, bowlers were on top as Gloucestershire overcame Northants, while Kent beat Essex at Chelmsford. Stevens and van Jaarsveld hit hundreds then Joseph took 6-55 to clinch a 192-run victory. Andrew Strauss hit a quick 150 and the young Aussie Hughes 139 for Middlesex against Leicestershire, and Glamorgan veteran Robert Croft claimed match stats of 6-51 in 29.5 over’s in the draw vs. Derbyshire.

The Bank Holiday weekend saw two sets of FP Trophy 50-over matches. Kent enjoyed two wins, against Middlesex (Tredwell a superb 6-27) and Scotland. Mark Ramprakash's 1st century of the season wasn't enough to beat Durham, as Surrey lost two wickets in the last two balls when needing only two runs to win! Ian Blackwell was the bowler. An unbeaten 177-run partnership between Benham and Pothas helped Hampshire to a win against Leicestershire and Lancashire opener Horton maintained his good form in beating Derbyshire.

Elliott and Schofield took seven cheap wickets in Surrey's win over Yorkshire, and Davies hit 82 in 59 balls to help Worcester to a rain-affected ten-wicket win against Notts. Napier returned to Essex from the IPL to take three wickets and score 28 in 15 balls in the win against Derbyshire, while an Ed Joyce century for Sussex did for Durham. Glamorgan's Cosker had a good all-round performance, taking 3-26 then a late-order unbeaten 50, but not enough to beat Northants in a match restricted to 39 over’s. Finally, after being skittled in the championship game last week, Somerset took revenge, with Middlesex the victims. Peter Trego's 4-17 was the main factor in bowling out the opposition for just 65 at Bath. That man Kieswetter again knocked off most of the required runs in only 21 balls.

The West Indies should be thankful he won't be joining Mr Onions in the England Test side...