Sunny survivor

The end of the three-up, three-down era could hardly come soon enough for Middlesex, who just avoided the sharp teeth of relegation. By the end, for all the stylish blows of Owais Shah and the two Eds, Smith and Joyce, and the muscular efforts of several allrounders, Alan Richardson wins their Oscar, mostly by dint of finishing the season in roughly one piece.

His impersonation of a one-man attack was almost Bremner-like. The spearheads, Nantie Hayward and Chad Keegan, shared nine Championship scalps; no fewer than 11 men of pace were deployed (12 if you count the skipper's handy indefinables). Come the final round, only Richardson, an inveterate trier and genial cheerleader, had delivered 240 overs or lassoed more than 31 victims. There were 41 strikes in his first seven outings, 16 in his last five as the strain told. But the sunny disposition was unfailing.

Bar losing 20 wickets in 88 overs against Sussex - allowing the opposition to reach 522 from 199 for 6 is a fairly reliable route to shell-shock - runs were as plentiful as would-be Tufnells and Titmuses were scarce, with Lord's contributing four of the totesport's top five run-makers. Ben Hutton's catching and affably authoritative air were counter-balanced by poor personal form and a tendency to over-bowl the quicks but vital runs flowed after his reappointment. Huttons do not surrender easily.

Player of the Year Alan Richardson
High The second coming of the boy Trego.
Low Gleefully assuming the wiry debutant leggie tying Kent in knots was a son of Southall or Peckham, only to learn that Yogesh Gowalkar's closest link to English cricket had been the Irani Trophy final.