After another memorable summer, ecb.co.uk’s Will Jackson has picked out his best moments of the season in domestic cricket.
Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final: Durham v Notts Outlaws
Ben Stokes showed in the previous winter what a prospect he is for English cricket, and any lingering doubts over his batting were dispelled on one brilliant afternoon in Durham.
Despite having recorded an unfortunate six ducks in his previous 10 international innings, Stokes went into the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final against Notts Outlaws brimming with confidence following an unbeaten 33 for England against India the day before. What followed was spectacular.
Watch highlights of Ben Stokes' brutal innings and the rest of the semi-final at the Emirates Durham ICG
After walking to the crease at 92 for three, Stokes proceeded to flay a hapless Notts attack to every inch of the Emirates Durham ICG en route to an astonishing 164.
The innings was a combination of timing and brute strength as the 23-year-old proved himself to be a destructive batsman of rare quality – in front of the television cameras.
He hit 18 fours and six sixes in his 112-ball stay as Durham piled on a massive 353 for eight, and he even took the key wicket of James Taylor with the ball as the hosts won comfortably.
NatWest T20 Blast: Lancashire Lightning v Yorkshire Vikings
Much was made of the arrival to the county game of the world’s leading T20 batsman after Yorkshire Vikings secured the services of Aaron Finch, and he did not disappoint.
The burly Australian arrived with huge expectations and, although Yorkshire fell short of the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals, he certainly made an impression – but not for what you may think.
In a hotly-contested Roses clash at Emirates Old Trafford, Finch stunned the local crowd with a typically explosive innings of 88, including one of the biggest sixes seen at the ground, but he also took what has been described as one of the best catches of all time.
Tom Smith had launched Adil Rashid over his head and the ball seemed to be travelling the distance only for Adam Lyth to leap spectacularly over the boundary, hold a stunning catch and fling the ball into the hands of his team-mate who was waiting just inside the rope.
Yorkshire went on to win the game in dramatic circumstances, as Richard Pyrah struck Kabir Ali over cover for six with just three balls to go. Lancashire had just been hit with a six-run penalty for a slow over-rate to the dismay of captain Paul Horton, and it proved to be crucial as the visitors sneaked home by five wickets.
Even more impressive was the fact that Finch and Lyth repeated the dose just a matter of weeks later with the same result against Leicestershire Foxes, this time with Finch clinging on with one hand just inches from the ground.