April
The cricket season started early, on 8 April, with MCC playing the Champion County, or at least it would have done if the rain had not delayed the start till the next day. The other games played were all between the first-class counties and university sides. The first matches showed a bumper crop of centuries, with little joy for bowlers, but there were no surprises. The MCC ended up beating Warwickshire.
Away from the cricket field, on 8 April the ECB announced that triangular One Day International tournaments would no longer be played in England. On 11 April Kevin Pietersen, England's South African-born all-rounder was reported to have a foot injury that could see him miss the start of the season, and Chris Schofield began his case for unfair dismissal against Lancashire, which he eventually won.
The first round of the Frizzell County Championship saw Warwickshire gain maximum points, with Hampshire also winning in Division One. Durham replicated Warwickshire's feat in Division Two, where Worcestershire also won.
The first round of the totesport National Cricket League was held on 17 April, though most of the games were affected by the rain. 5 results were possible in the 8 matches. Rain continued to bedevil the second round of the County Championship, with only Yorkshire and Durham securing wins. In the MCC University matches, Bradford/Leeds UCCE shocked an injury-weakened Surrey by beating them at the Oval.
The second round of the totesport League saw a heavy defeat for Surrey away to Durham, with other wins for Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Kent and Sussex, which left Middlesex and Durham at the top of the tables at the end of April.
In the third round of the Championship, Surrey thrashed what already appear to be Division One whipping boys Glamorgan to go third, with Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire also recording big wins to go second and first respectively. In the second division, Essex and Lancashire beat Somerset and Worcestershire respectively. However, Durham, who sat this round out, led the table at the end of April, from Essex and Worcestershire, with Derbyshire and Leicestershire propping the table up.
Read more about this topic: 2005 English Cricket Season
Famous quotes containing the word april:
“Spring’s an expansive time: yet I don’t trust
March with its peck of dust,
Nor April with its rainbow-crowned brief showers,
Nor even May, whose flowers
One frost may wither thro’ the sunless hours.”
—Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894)
“Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Such comfort as do lusty young men feel
When well-apparelled April on the heel
Of limping winter treads.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)