English County Cricket.

[Donny]

Too many matches to cover these in detail. I'll post, if there's a match or matches with particularly meritorious, or otherwise remarkable performance/s.

Somerset 180 all out, against Hampshire. James Hildreth scored 87 and Keith Barker took 3/33.

Hampshire 0/109. Joe Weatherley is 65*.

Only a few Aussies playing in County, this year. Sids is in this game, for Somerset.

[Donny]

Aussies in County.

Marnus Labuschagne – Glamorgan

After another long home summer, Labuschagne is set to return to Wales for another stint with Glamorgan, where he first played in 2019 ahead of his breakout Ashes campaign that year. The Queenslander signed a two-year contract extension in 2020 and is expected to again link up with his Queensland teammate Michael Neser in south Wales and play all three formats.

James Pattinson – Nottinghamshire

Having announced a shock retirement from international cricket last year, Pattinson will be back at his beloved Nottinghamshire this English season having signed a deal to play all three formats at Trent Bridge. The 31-year-old previously played at Notts in 2017 and 2019 and the prospect of him sharing the new ball with Stuart Broad will have rival batting line-ups on edge this season.

Peter Siddle – Somerset
His international days are long behind him, but Siddle is still going strong at domestic level and is back in England to play for a fourth county side following stints at Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Essex. One of two Aussies at Somerset this season alongside Queensland's Matt Renshaw, the 37-year-old will be available to play all three formats until at least the end of August.

Mark Steketee – Essex

Following another fantastic year for Queensland which earned him selection for Australia's recent Test tour of Pakistan, Steketee has signed a deal with Essex for the first six games of the season. The right-armer will play alongside the likes of England legend, Sir Alisatair Cook, starting with their match against Kent from Thursday.

Michael Neser – Glamorgan

Neser's current status is unclear after he suffered a side strain last month, which ruled him out of the recent Test tour of Pakistan, but he's expected to link up with Labuschagne at Glamorgan again this winter. The Queenslander signed a two-year contract extension last year after impressing in his first season in Cardiff, where he enjoyed the swing and seam offered by the Dukes ball.

Marcus Harris – Gloucestershire

Having lost his Test spot to Usman Khawaja, Harris will be looking for another strong county campaign having moved from Leicestershire to Gloucestershire in the off season. With another Ashes series looming next year, Harris will enjoy a full County Championship campaign in Bristol and has also signed to play both white-ball formats for his new county.

Josh Philippe – Sussex

A key part of Western Australia's Sheffield Shield success this season, Philippe will head to the south of England in June to play first-class and T20 cricket for Sussex. The keeper-batter has been signed as a replacement for Pakistan star Mohammad Rizwan, who is expected to miss parts of the season due to international duty.

Matt Renshaw – Somerset

Fresh off a late call-up to Australia's ODI squad in Pakistan, Renshaw will return to Somerset, where he enjoyed enormous success as an opener in 2018. That campaign yielded three first-class hundreds and an average above 50 from six matches and he will continue his push for an international recall by playing both first-class and one-day cricket until at least the end of August.

Peter Handscomb – Middlesex

After a disappointing 2021 season at Middlesex, Handscomb will return to London buoyed by a dominant Sheffield Shield campaign for Victoria. The 30-year-old has signed to play both first-class and one-day cricket and could put his name forward for an Ashes recall next year if he's able to maintain top form in English conditions this northern summer.

Nathan McAndrew – Warwickshire

Having shifted to South Australia from Sydney last year, McAndrew has been rewarded for his stellar first season in Adelaide with a stint at Warwickshire, last year’s County Championship winners. The right-armer has signed for 10 first-class games, starting with Warwickshire's second match of the season on April 21, and he could be available for the T20 Blast as well if imports Carlos Brathwaite and Paul Stirling become unavailable during the tournament.

Matt Kelly – Northamptonshire

After helping to lead Western Australia to a drought-breaking Sheffield Shield title this week, Kelly will head to the UK to link up with Northants for their first six first-class games of the season, starting this week.

Jackson Bird – Kent

After a frustrating run of injuries this home summer, Bird has signed a short-term deal with Kent after previous stints at Lancashire and Nottinghamshire. The 35-year-old old right-armer will play the first six games of the County Championship season alongside the likes of Kiwi seamer Matt Henry and England opener Zak Crawley.

Daniel Worrall – Surrey

Worrall is technically not an 'Aussie' in county cricket anymore, having taken advantage of his British passport to sign a multi-year deal as a local player with Surrey. The right-armer will now be based in London full-time, meaning he won't return to South Australia in 2022-23, and could one day be eligible to play for England.

[Donny]

T20 Blast

The following players have signed deals to play in the T20 Blast, which will be played between May and July.

Dan Christian – Nottinghamshire

Tim David – Lancashire

Nathan Ellis – Hampshire

Ben McDermott – Hampshire

Daniel Sams – Essex

Ashton Turner – Durham

[Donny]

Hampshire 1/213. Holland out for 81, Weatherley 120*

[Donny]

Essex 514. Critchely 132, Browne 107, Cook 100, Jackson Bird 3/85.

Kent 1/122.

[Donny]

Hampshire 428. Weatherly 168, Sids 2/66.

[Donny]

Kent 1/149.

Ben Compton is the great Denis Compton's grandson. He's 63 n.o.

[Donny]

Denis Compton played 78 Tests for England.

He scored 17 centuries and 28 fifties, for an average of 50.06

Averaged a slightly better batting average in 515 first class matches, of 51.85

He scored an amazing 123 f/c centuries. And 183 fifties.

Incidentally, he took over 600 f/c wickets as well, with his Chinaman spinners.

Read more: https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/denis-compton-10777

[Donny]

Kent 2/200. Compton 97*.

[Donny]

Kent 2/225.

Compton 102*, Jordan Cox 29*.

[Donny]

Hampshire won by an innings and 113 runs, against Somerset.

Mohammad Abbas took 4/22.

[Donny]

Kent is 4/360.

Cox is also eyeing off a ton. 84*.

[Donny]

Kent 5/425. Cox 107*.

[Donny]

Kent just 45 behind, now.

5/469. Cox 127*.

[Donny]

Runfest.

Essex 514.

Kent 581. Cox 129, Jackson Bird 53* with 2 sixes.