Few surprise packages in the County Championship's opening rounds

OUTSIDE EDGE: Essex's young guns show promise; Indian Premier League fails to maintain the World Twenty20's momentum; South African cricket wrangles over quotas once again

Warwickshire batsman Varun Chopra (Getty)

Early season offers no surprises

As I scraped ice off the car windscreen yesterday morning it was odd – even in Britain, even in the age of rampant climate change – to reflect on the fact that the County Championship had just finished its third round of matches. And thank goodness too: cricket, even viewed through fluttering snowflakes, provides a welcome contrast to never-ending football.

So far though, there is little sign of a Leicester City-style surprise package in the Championship’s first division. There may not be much to go on as yet, but who’d bet against a top three of Warwickshire, Notts and Yorkshire – the current incumbents of those positions – come September. A charge to the title by Somerset or Hampshire feels eminently unlikely.

Varun Chopra reminded selectors of his ambitions this week with a good ton against Yorkshire, and spinning all-rounder Zafar Ansari made a welcome return for Surrey. An unlucky injury at the end of last season robbed him of a place in the England squad to face Pakistan in the UAE. As it happens, not playing hasn’t much harmed his chances in the future. If he can find a way back to opening the batting for Surrey, he might be an answer to a longstanding England riddle in due course.

Youngsters could awaken Essex from their slumber

With sleet-affected draws aplenty, Essex were the only team to claim victory in either division. I’d planned a trip to Chelmsford on Monday but exercised caution when I saw the weather forecast – sure enough only ten overs were bowled that day. All the more credit to Essex then that they managed to force a win, bowling out Northamptonshire twice.

Despite not having a test ground, Essex have the feel of a relatively big club – and success on the field is still fresh in the memory of anyone over about 35. But there has been considerable underachievement in the last decade and a cautious approach to change, especially in terms of coaching personnel, led to a period to stasis.

Young guns like Tom Westley and Jamie Porter can push the club forward. Porter has 22 wickets in three matches so far, while England hopeful Westley has racked up 287 runs in four innings. These are players destined for Division 1 – whether with Essex or not.

Don’t believe the IPL hype

While snow was tumbling at grounds from the Oval to Derby, fireworks were soaring in the Indian Premier League – where rockets are as de rigueur as thermals are here.

Two matches on Wednesday neatly summed up the IPL’s inconsistency. In Delhi, the Daredevils struggled to contain a Gujarat side containing Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum and James Faulkner, who between them walloped 135 off 79 balls. In pursuit of 173 to win, the Daredevils then crumbled to 57-4 in the eleventh over. Game, seemingly, over. Enter the South African all-rounder Chris Morris and in the blink of a Brass Eye suddenly it was game right back on – 8 sixes in a score of 82 were almost enough to turn things around, but a last required boundary off the final ball was not to be. Still, great entertainment.

Spectators in Hyderabad were less enthralled. On a turgid pitch, and with wickets falling regularly, the Sunrisers limped to 118 for 8 – only Shikhar Darwan prospered. The Supergiants (team names in the IPL must, by dint of contractual obligation, be utterly inane) were coasting at 94-3 off eleven overs before rain came and gave them a comfortable DLR victory.

The truth is, the second of these matches is more emblematic of the IPL. The World T20 was a terrific advertisement for the short-form game, but the IPL frequently fails on that front. Only a handful of games so far this season could reasonably be described as close contests, and just two out of 23 were in the balance as the final ball was bowled. Maybe snow in Derby isn’t so tedious after all.

Contentious quotas are going nowhere

At least Chris Morris gave South African fans something to cheer about. His six-smashing came in the midst of recriminations over the decision by sports minister Fikile Mbalula to ban South Africa’s cricket federation (and equivalent bodies governing several other sports, including rugby) from bidding to host international tournaments – a punishment for their alleged failure to meet transformation targets.

The timing is unfortunate for South African cricket, coming after a winter test series in which Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada prospered so notably. Jacques Kallis was widely retweeted when he pronounced himself “embarrassed to call myself a South African these days”, adding there was “no place for politics in sport”.

Quotas and targets undoubtedly breed resentment in some quarters. But in the context of apartheid’s bitter legacy, they are not likely to go away any time soon.

@willjgore