We are within striking distance of the finish line, but there is still time for one final slip in the mud. For once, however, the Spin arrives early, filled with awards for the finest, worst, and most memorable Championship events of 2022.
This Championship could be in its final form of two divisions with promotion and relegation by the spring of 2048, depending on how the counties vote on the Strauss report and when the November fixtures are published. Thus, there is much to rejoice about. Without further ado, please join your hands for…
The Micky Stewart award for the season’s best team goes to Surrey, a cut above the competition. Rory Burns led a team of 22 committed players, 10 of whom were homegrown, to a 16-point lead in September and no slip-ups. Notably, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes were eager to return to play for their team in the penultimate match of the year and assist secure the championship. A superb performance.
The Kwasi Kwarteng award for incompetent proclamations The ECB for releasing the final results of the High-Performance Review on the day that Surrey won the title. This meant that players were shunted to the side of their own story and questioned about Strauss’s fine print immediately after completing a victory lap around the Oval.
The Joe Root award for outstanding excellence with the bat goes to Harry Brook, who dominated the first half of the season before being called up by England and was head and shoulders above other young English candidates. In September, his absence left a gaping hole in Yorkshire’s batting lineup as they battled to avoid relegation.
Are we there yet? Award The Cricket Disciplinary Committee’s inquiry into the Azeem Rafiq scandal at Yorkshire lingers. Interviews are scheduled for this fall, with a final report anticipated before the holidays. Avoid holding your breath.
The canary in the coal mine warning was issued on 19 July 2022, the hottest day on record in the United Kingdom, when temperatures on the grounds approached 40 degrees Celsius. The majority of fans stayed at home with their curtains shut, but county cricketers had nowhere to hide.
Hampshire and Gloucestershire, as well as Lancashire and Northants, accepted the ECB’s offer to reduce the playing length per session to 90 minutes with additional drink breaks. According to the experts, this summer will be the coldest for the remainder of your life.
The Steve Waugh award for brotherly affection goes to Surrey’s Jamie Overton, who bowled a bouncer to brother Craig that sent him to the ground in Taunton. Jamie glared and walked away as others crowded around him. Soon later, a delighted Craig presented Jamie with his maiden Test cap.
Moment of insanity award for dropping the ball by Hampshire, whose chances of winning their first title since 1973 vanished in the blink of an eye after being bowled out for 57 runs at home against the most improbable opponent, Kent.
The Hyderabad prize for creative pitches Chelmsford, in the last round of the season, where 26 wickets fell on the first day and 14 on the second, as Essex failed to chase 98 and the match was over before lunch on the second day. Even though the pitch at Taunton was rated as poor and there were reports of unforeseen holes, no points were deducted because it could not be shown that Essex did so on purpose.
The Jordan Clark award for the season’s best hat-trick There were three in 2022: Gloucestershire’s Tom Price versus Kent, Hampshire’s Kyle Abbot versus Gloucestershire, and Lancashire’s 21-year-old George Balderson, who defeated Essex in the final run chase at Chelmsford.
India and Pakistan had not played bilateral cricket since 2012-13, but the sight of Mohammad Rizwan and Cheteshwar Pujara batting together for Sussex was a welcome sight.
The award for worst product introduction goes to New Coke The 2022 Dukes ball, which for unknown reasons — hides? the dye? – exhibited irregular behavior, rarely surviving 80 overs. At the Riverside, there were five unscheduled ball changes in a single day, and the picture of unhappy players watching an umpire push a ball through his calipers became one of the season’s most iconic images.
Ben Stokes, who scored 161 off 88 balls against Worcestershire in his first match for Durham as England captain, was awarded the Ben Stokes Award for Making an Entrance. Later that evening, Stokes contacted 18-year-old left-arm spinner Josh Baker, whom he had hit for five sixes in a single over, a note of condolence.
Hasan Ali and Jimmy Anderson are the recipients of the John Emburey and Graham Gooch award for bromance. At the beginning of the season, Hasan grabbed 25 wickets in five games for Lancashire and cited “Jimmy-Bhai” as his motivation for moving to Manchester and residing in the Hilton hotel at Old Trafford with his wife and infant daughter. As he presented Hasan with his Lancashire hat in front of the pavilion, Anderson quipped, “I know you were hoping for a bit more grass – maybe next time.”
The Rahul Dravid award for a beautiful farewell goes to Kent, who designated September 27 Stevo Day to commemorate the retirement of the iconic Darren Stevens by retiring his No. 3 jersey and giving him a lap of honor at lunch.
The Muttiah Muralitharan Award for the Best International Signing is Almost tough to predict after the first portion of the season, which was bolstered by the invasion of high-caliber players from Pakistan who were unable to participate in the IPL, with bowlers as outstanding as Shaheen Shah Afridi having their turn to smack the Dukes ball.
Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar labored for struggling Gloucestershire, but the award is shared by Cheteshwar Pujara of Sussex and Shan Masood of Derbyshire, who all scored over 1,000 runs for their respective counties and were prominent figures.
The storefront award for winter tour merchandising. Keaton Jennings and Sam Cook share this. Before Jamie Overton trapped him lbw for 199 runs, Jennings was on track to join Frank Watson as the only player in Championship history to record a triple and two double centuries in the same summer.
Sam Cook, the dependable seamer from Essex, played for the England Lions against South Africa and inched closer to an England cap. His Essex captain, Tom Westley, referred to him as Jimmy Anderson’s natural successor. Matthew Potts of Durham, who captured England’s attention this summer, is the model to emulate.
The award for Ashes recovery Haseeb Hameed quietly had an outstanding season despite presenting a pitiful appearance in Australia, as he scored only 28 runs in his last six Ashes innings. He increased his scoring rate, amassing four centuries and more than 1,000 runs, and assisted Nottinghamshire in returning to Division One.
The Sterling Award for rapid fall To last year’s winners, Warwickshire, who had a terrible summer, hampered by injuries and loss of form, and who – with two days remaining – are very certain to join Gloucestershire in Division Two in 2023. They will follow in the footsteps of previous champions Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and Middlesex, who were all relegated the following season.
