This episode of WMTMTM we asked another 4 fans to talk us through their favourite teams and why they love them.
We kick off this week talking to Ben about his love of Big Bash side, The Melbourne Stars.
Melbourne Stars
Name: Ben, District Council Officer
Favourite Current Player: Marcus Stoinis - I wouldn’t normally endorse an Aussie but Stoinis is pure class in T20 cricket. His 147* off 79 balls in January 2020 is the highest individual score in BBL history.
All-Time Favourite Player: Luke Wright - The reason I started supporting the Stars in the inaugural tournament in 2011. He is unarguably one of the best T20 players of the last decade.
Favourite Memory: Malinga’s 6/7 and Wright’s 117 - I’ve got two favourite memories of the Stars both of which came either end of 2012. In January, Luke Wright hit an enormous 117 off 60 balls which won us the game, unbelievable hitting! The following season saw an incredible bowling display as Lasith Malinga destroyed Perth Scorchers ending up with figures of 6/7. They ended up all out for 69!
Young Player To Watch: Pat Brown - Worcestershire’s Pat Brown is one of the best young white ball players in England. He signed for the Stars in 2019/2020 but did not play because of an injury. He will be an asset to any squad assuming he can stay fit.
Essex
Name: Taylor, Sales
Favourite Current Player: Simon Harmer - Such a wonderful bowler and he’s single-handedly turned us (no pun intended) into the force we are today. County Champions in 2017 and 2019, Bob Willis Trophy Champions this year and T20 Blast Champions in 2020. Simon Harmer had a huge role to play in all of those wins. He’s a wicket taking machine!
All time favourite player: Ryan ten Doeschate - Ryan seems criminally undervalued, one of the best limited overs all-rounders in the world, especially on his day, which is unbelievable for a player from an associate nation. He’s been with Essex for years now and provided us with so many memories along the way. His batting speaks for itself (a List A average of 45!) but his fielding has also always been superb.
Favourite memory: Essex v Middlesex, Lords, T20, 2010 - This was one the first matches I went to see Essex play and links in quite nicely as to why RTD is my all-time favourite player. The Middlesex team was packed with big name players that day; Warner, Gilchrist, Shah, Morgan, Malan… but we had Tendo.
They smashed our bowlers out of the park scoring 200. We were struggling at the start before he walked to the crease and went on to score 102 off 54 balls! Unfortunately, we lost that game but what a game it was!
What is your county best at: Over-achieving - Considering we’re not the biggest county and we don’t have the budget of some bigger counties, with arguably bigger stars we often go under the radar but tend to come out on top. I think that’s due to the fact we are fantastic at producing world class talent rather than bringing great players in. Our recent record in the County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy is testament to that.
Leicestershire
Name: Alastair, Farmer
Favourite Current Player: Colin Ackermann - Ackermann is a wonderful player and captain. He has the ability to lead from the front and score runs when those around him are struggling. I hope we manage to keep a hold of him for years to come.
All time favourite player: James Taylor - Although Taylor went off to Nottinghamshire before too long, he was a great servant to Leicestershire. He was a fantastic batsman and proved so many people wrong that his height would be a disadvantage including Kevin Pietersen. His near death experience that ended his career and nearly his life was also a massive inspiration.
Favourite memory: County Championship Winners 1996 - I think the reason why this year was particularly memorable was that it was in a period where sports sides in Leicester had suddenly started winning trophies. Leicester City won the League Cup the following April and Leicester Tigers had won the Rugby Premiership the year before. It was a fantastic time to be a fan of Leicester sport in general but the cricket topped it all off!
What is your county best at: Rebuilding in adversity - Leicestershire have had a pretty rough time of late. We went 993 days without a County Championship win before finally beating Essex in 2015. Despite significant upheaval and loss of promising players to larger counties we keep producing talent and hopefully one day that will put us back on the cricketing map.
The Oval Invincibles
Name: Jake, Account Manager
Favourite player: Sam Billings - As a fairly new arrival to cricket I didn't know a huge amount about Sam Billings beforehand but he is one hell of a player. He really can hit a big ball and he captained the side incredibly well. Really hope he gets more opportunities for England
Best moment: London derby - As it was the first season of the Hundred it felt like it was important to lay down a marker. A big win at the Oval really set down the marker for the first campaign. Gutting that we couldn't then build on that to get to the eliminator but still a great night!
Young player to watch: Will Jacks - In fairness he's not exactly the freshest face on the scene and is fairly well known but it's great to see a young player making a big impact on the Hundred like Jacks has. I hope we manage to keep hold of him for years to come!
Best thing about them: The Oval - I had been past the Oval a few times but never properly been able to witness a game there before my first taste of the Hundred. Having seen a couple of games on TV it was fantastic to go there and experience it in the flesh!
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