Fixtures In Focus - 2023 LV= County Championship Round 13
TCCP Founder Aaron Viles previews two massive matches in the 13th Round of the 2023 LV= County Championship.
Grab the popcorn folks, Super September is upon us.
The days might be getting shorter and colder, but the Division One title race is well and truly heating up as Surrey and Essex vie for county cricket’s ultimate prize in a frantic fight to the finish. Meanwhile, in Division Two, the hunt for that second promotion place continues to get more dramatic by the week as the likes of Worcestershire, Glamorgan, Sussex and Leicestershire engage in a tantalising tussle for a spot in the promised land of the first division next season.
Regardless of what happens in both divisions, it’s safe to say that the conclusion of the 2023 LV= County Championship is going to be positively cinematic and we’ll be here to take you through it every step of the way, starting with a closer look at the 13th Round of matches.
The fixtures for the 13th Round of the LV= County Championship can be found below, with all matches being played from 3rd-6th September (unless stated otherwise) and beginning at a start time of 10:30 BST each morning:
Division One:
Essex vs Middlesex at The Cloud County Ground (4th-7th September)
Hampshire vs Somerset at The Ageas Bowl
Northamptonshire vs Lancashire at Wantage Road
Surrey vs Warwickshire at The Oval
Division Two:
Durham vs Sussex at The Riverside
Leicestershire vs Gloucestershire at Grace Road
Worcestershire vs Glamorgan at New Road
Yorkshire vs Derbyshire at North Marine Road
As you can see, it’s quite the round of fixtures on paper and with that in mind, let’s take a deeper dive into the two games that you should be paying extra close attention to over the course of the next few days, starting with a bonafide clash of the titans in the nation’s capital…
Division One Game Of The Week:
Surrey vs Warwickshire at The Kia Oval, 10:30 BST Start Time.
Position in the table:
Surrey – 1st (183 points after 11 matches)
Warwickshire – 4th (127 points after 10 matches)
Last 5 meetings:
3 Wins for Surrey (2023, 2022, 2019)
1 Win for Warwickshire (2019)
1 Draw (2022)
Squads:
Surrey – Rory Burns (C), Jordan Clark, Ben Foakes, Tom Lawes, Conor McKerr, Jamie Overton, Ryan Patel, Kemar Roach, Sai Sudharsan, Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith, Cam Steel, Dan Worrall
Warwickshire - Will Rhodes (C), Ed Barnard, Chris Benjamin, Kraigg Brathwaite, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Michael Burgess, Sam Hain, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Jake Lintott, Craig Miles, Dan Mousley, Chris Rushworth, Che Simmons
Background:
Surrey head into Super September as the Division One table toppers but will be without a number of key players in this particular fixture. Ollie Pope for example remains side-lined through injury, whilst the likes of Will Jacks, Sam Curran and Gus Atkinson are away on England duty. In more positive news though, the Brown Caps will be bolstered by the highly anticipated return of imperious West Indies seamer Kemar Roach (510 First-Class wickets at 26.80) as well as the arrival of 21-year-old Indian opener Sai Sudharsan who, with 598 runs at 42.71 to his name in 8 First-Class matches, could prove to be an extremely shrewd piece of business indeed.
Warwickshire on the other hand come into this fixture off the back of a thumping MBODC Semi-Final defeat to Hampshire and will be desperate to maintain their hopes of a County Championship title with a statement victory over the London outfit. In order to achieve this, the Bears have enlisted the services of West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite (13,020 FC runs at 39.33) to help bolster the top order and will also be buoyed by the return of veteran seamer Chris Rushworth, the 5th leading wicket taker in Division One so far this season. Whilst the visitors might be missing the likes of Alex Davies (injury), Liam Norwell (injury), Rob Yates (illness) and Chris Woakes (England duty) for this game, the opportunity to keep their title dreams alive, as well as the urge to make amends for their bitterly disappointing performance on Tuesday, should act as strong motivation for the Bears to go out there and chase the win.
Player to watch out for:
Kemar Roach – This was a difficult choice to make given the arrivals of Sai Sudharsan and Kraigg Brathwaite, but in the end I just couldn’t look past the return of the West Indies’ 5th leading Test wicket taker to South London. Over the course of 17 County Championship matches, Roach has taken 65 wickets at a shrewd average of 24.50 for the Brown Caps, 17 of which have come in 3 matches against the Bear and Ragged Staff of Warwickshire. Given the current state of the title race, Surrey need a victory on home soil to firmly consolidate their place at the top of the table and if they’re to achieve that goal this week, the brilliant Bajan seamer will be a key component behind any potential success that they taste.
The Verdict:
As much as I would love the Bears to win this one, it’s going to be a tremendously difficult feat to overcome a strong Surrey side who have turned The Oval into a near-impenetrable cricketing fortress over the past few years. In fact, since the start of 2021, only one team (Lancashire) have beaten the Brown Caps in a First-Class fixture at the venue, with the Bear and Ragged Staff themselves last emerging victorious there in a County Championship match back in 2012, so with the essence of objectivity in mind, I’m going to go with a Surrey victory in this one.
Records are made to be broken and streaks are made to be ended though, so please keep that in mind for me Warwickshire…
Division Two Game Of The Week:
Worcestershire vs Glamorgan at New Road, 10:30 BST Start Time.
Position in the table:
Worcestershire – 2nd (134 points after 11 matches)
Glamorgan – 3rd (120 points after 11 matches)
Last 5 Meetings:
2 wins for Glamorgan (2023, 2022)
1 win for Worcestershire (2019)
2 Draws (2020, 2022)
Squads:
Worcestershire - Brett D’Oliveira (C), Jake Libby, Gareth Roderick, Azhar Ali, Adam Hose, Kashif Ali, Jack Haynes, Logan van Beek, Joe Leach, Ben Allison, Josh Baker, Dillon Pennington, Ben Gibbon, Pat Brown
Glamorgan – Kiran Carlson (C), Billy Root, Ben Kellaway, James Harris, Andy Gorvin, Sam Northeast, Zain-ul-Hassan, Jamie McIlroy, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke, Timm van der Gugten, Eddie Byrom
Background:
Worcestershire are set to welcome 23-year-old Essex seamer Ben Allison into the fold for the first time as part of his 3-match loan spell for the remainder of the season. In addition to the arrival of Allison, the Pears are also set to welcome back the key trio of Adam Hose, Jack Haynes and Dillon Pennington to their red ball side as the West Midlands outfit look to take their good form from the Metro Bank One Day Cup into the LV= County Championship. Unfortunately, the hosts will be without the services of Matthew Waite (groin injury) and Adam Finch (back injury) for this particular encounter but with resolute opener Jake Libby, the club’s leading run scorer with 909 runs at 56.81 so far this season, leading from the front of a dependable batting line-up, the Pears will certainly fancy their chances of grabbing some valuable points in this game.
Glamorgan meanwhile will be without club captain David Lloyd for this fixture as a result of a cracked rib, with Kiran Carlson taking up the mantle in his absence. 19-year-old all-rounder Ben Kellaway could also be on track to make his First-Class debut for the Welsh outfit after producing a number of impressive displays in the Metro Bank One Day Cup so watch out for his name in the starting XI come Sunday, he’s a very bright talent to say the least. Admittedly, this could be a difficult fixture for the visitors to win given their tendency to draw matches in this year’s competition so far, but if they do emerge victorious at New Road this week, Glamorgan may well be taking a huge leap on their way to securing a place in the first division come 2024.
Player To Watch Out For:
Ben Kellaway – Whether or not we’ll see Kellaway in action this week ultimately depends on the decision of Head Coach Matt Maynard but if the 19-year-old does get the nod for the Welsh side, I recommend that you keep a close eye on his performance over the course of these next few days. Statistically speaking, he had a pretty prosperous time of it in the recent Metro Bank One Day Cup group stages, racking up 195 runs at 32.50 and claiming 13 wickets at a shrewd average of 22.92, but the aspect of his game that really stood out to me was his character. For example, in the match against Warwickshire in Neath, Kellaway followed up excellent figures of 3/56 with a classy 67 from just 41 deliveries towards the business end of the run chase during a knock which displayed an air of maturity well beyond his years. First-Class cricket is a different beast to List A cricket of course but if he can transfer the composure and level-headedness that he exhibited in the 50-over competition, Glamorgan could have a real red ball prospect on their hands for the foreseeable future.
The Verdict:
Looking at it on paper alone, this is a ridiculously challenging verdict to reach given the strength that both sides possess in the batting department but purely based off of the recent results between these two teams, as well as the difficulty that sides have faced in getting a win at New Road so far this season, I’ll go with a hard-fought draw. Must say I’m really looking forward to this one regardless of the result though, it should make for some fantastic viewing for any neutral fans tuning into the livestream.
Preview written by Aaron Viles