Table
The table, showing all completed matches is as follows:
+ 2005 totesport League – Division One Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Essex Eagles 16 13 1 2 56 2 Middlesex Crusaders 16 10 5 1 42 3 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 16 7 7 2 32 4 Glamorgan Dragons 16 6 6 4 32 5 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 16 6 7 3 30 6 Lancashire Lightning 16 6 9 1 26 7 Gloucestershire Gladiators 16 6 9 1 26 8 Worcestershire Royals 16 5 10 1 22 9 Hampshire Hawks 16 5 10 1 22
Match by match round-up
Round one
Hampshire v Essex (17 April)
Essex (4pts) beat Hampshire (0pts) by 16 runs (D/L method)
At the Rose Bowl, Hampshire Hawks batted first, scoring 175 for 9, as Tim Phillips took 3 for 31. It was a good day for spin, with Grant Flower also taking 2 wickets. In reply, Essex Eagles' Will Jefferson was 44 not out, and Essex 69 for 2 off 16 overs when rain put an end to play, leaving Essex the winners on the Duckworth–Lewis method. England's star one-day player of the winter, Kevin Pietersen, managed only 5 off 14 balls for Hampshire before being bowled. (BBC scorecard)
Lancashire v Glamorgan (17 April)
Match abandoned – Lancashire (2pts), Glamorgan (2pts)
Simon Jones took 3 for 19 for the defending champions Glamorgan Dragons took on Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford. Afterwards he said, "The older I've got the easier I've found bowling. My control has got better over the last couple of years and that showed today." Alex Wharf and Robert Croft also both took 2 wickets as Lancashire moved to 160 for 8 off 41.2 overs, with Hogg top-scoring with 41 not out. Rain then brought proceedings to a close. (BBC scorecard)
Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (17 April)
Worcestershire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by 31 runs (D/L method)
At Northampton, Worcestershire Royals captain Vikram Solanki led from the front, scoring 119 off 137 balls, including 13 fours and 1 six. Support from his colleagues took the visitors up to 211 for 4 off their 45 overs. Worcestershire director of cricket Tom Moody said of Solanki: "I can't see why he won't be in the mix for England section this summer. It depends how the selectors shuffle the deck, but I would imagine he will be in their minds for consideration at the very least. We were very confident he was ready for the challenge of captaincy and he has had a great start."
When Northampstonshire Steelbacks batted, Australian Matt Mason took 3 for 20, to leave Northamptonshire on 137 for 7 off 32.5 overs when rain prevented further play. Worcestershire won easily on the Duckworth–Lewis method. /BBC scorecard
Nottinghamshire v Middlesex (17 April)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 35 runs (D/L method)
At Trent Bridge, Chad Keegan took career best figures of 6 for 33 as Nottinghamshire Outlaws were bowled out for 173. By the time Keegan had finished they were 75 for 6, but the tail wagged. Middlesex Crusaders scored 91 for 0 off 21.3 overs, thanks to a half-century from Paul Weekes, when rain brought an end to the match. Middlesex were comfortable winners on the Duckworth–Lewis method. (BBC scorecard)
Table on 17 April
+ totesport League – Division One at 8 July 2005 Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Essex Eagles 1 1 0 0 4 1 Middlesex Crusaders 1 1 0 0 4 1 Worcestershire Royals 1 1 0 0 4 4 Glamorgan Dragons 1 0 0 1 2 4 Lancashire Lightning 1 0 0 1 2 6 Hampshire Hawks 1 0 1 0 0 6 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 1 0 1 0 0 6 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 1 0 1 0 0 6 Gloucestershire Gladiators 0 0 0 0 0
Floodlit week-day match
Glamorgan v Essex (22 April)
Match abandoned – Glamorgan (2pts), Essex (2pts)
This match, which was scheduled to be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff was abandoned without a ball being bowled. It was the first time for almost eight years a one-day league match at Cardiff has ended as a no-result. (BBC scorecard)
Table at 22 April
+ totesport League – Division One at 22 April 2005 Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Essex Eagles 2 1 0 1 6 2 Glamorgan Dragons 2 0 0 2 4 2 Middlesex Crusaders 1 1 0 0 4 2 Worcestershire Royals 1 1 0 0 4 5 Lancashire Lightning 1 0 0 1 2 6 Hampshire Hawks 1 0 1 0 0 6 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 1 0 1 0 0 6 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 1 0 1 0 0 6 Gloucestershire Gladiators 0 0 0 0 0
Round two
Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire (24 April)
Northamptonshire (4pts) beat Gloucestershire (0pts) by 9 runs
Northamptonshire Steelbacks batted first at Bristol. Two quick wickets reduced them to 14 for 2. It was a slow pitch that was not conducive to a high score, but they made their way to 202 for 7 off their 45 overs, thanks in part to Damien Wright smashing three sixes in four balls in the penultimate over, and thanks to Gloucestershire Gladiators dropping three catches.
In reply Northamptonshire took wickets regularly leaving the hosts on 111 for 5. There was a recovery of sorts after that, led by Alex Gidman's 71, but the hosts were always on the back foot from there. Eventually they finished on 193 for 8, a deficit of 9 runs. Four Northamptonshire bowlers got two wickets each, Welshman Steffan Jones getting them for the fewest runs, as he conceded only 29. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Middlesex v Lancashire (24 April)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Lancashire (0pts) by 69 runs
Lancashire Lightning won the toss at Lord's and put Middlesex Crusaders in. This looked the right decision as Lancashire's seam and swing bowling attack saw Middlesex fall to 6 for 3, and then 37 for 6. The Crusaders were then rescued by James Dalrymple, who took 81 off 82 balls to take them to 210 for 9 in their 45 overs.
Lancashire's reply started to come unstuck when both openers, Stuart Law and Iain Sutcliffe, fell in successive balls with the score on 23. The game saw the return of Andrew Flintoff, back after his operation and playing just as a batsman. But he could not stop the rot and made only 17 before falling lbw to Scott Styris. The Lightning were finally all out for 141 and Middlesex completed their second win in two matches. All eleven bowlers used in the match got at least one wicket, but the most prolific wicket-taker, Kyle Hogg, also conceded the most runs. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Table at 24 April
+ totesport League – Division One at 24 April 2005 Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Middlesex Crusaders 2 2 0 0 8 2 Essex Eagles 2 1 0 1 6 3 Worcestershire Royals 1 1 0 0 4 4 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 2 1 1 0 4 5 Glamorgan Dragons 2 0 0 2 4 6 Lancashire Lightning 2 0 1 1 2 7 Hampshire Hawks 1 0 1 0 0 8 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 1 0 1 0 0 9 Gloucestershire Gladiators 1 0 1 0 0
Round three
Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (1 May)
Lancashire (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 1 run (D/L method)
Lancashire Lightning held on to win by 1 run after Nottinghamshire Outlaws needed 7 to win off the last over. Earlier new Englishman Stuart Law made 52 as the Lightning got to 178 for 8 off their 43 overs. England fans would have been pleased to see James Anderson take 3 for 18 from his 8 overs in reply as the Outlaws went to 170 for 6 with 12 balls to go, needing 9 to win. But Sajid Mahmood (who only conceded 2 from the penultimate over) and Dominic Cork saw Lancashire win a nailbiter. (BBC scorecard)
Middlesex v Worcestershire (1 May)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Worcestershire (0pts) by 3 wickets (D/L method)
The Worcestershire Royals put on 201 for 7 in their 44 overs, with David Leatherdale making 72 from 83 balls in an innings in which Graeme Hick became the heaviest scorer in the Sunday League's history. New Zealander Scott Styris took 3 wickets for Middlesex Crusaders, and kept the visitors from scoring freely. Middlesex made heavy work of overturning this total, even though they had 104 on the board before the first wicket fell. But ultimately they retained their 100% Sunday League record with 3 wickets and 1 over left. (BBC scorecard)
Northamptonshire v Hampshire (1 May)
Northamptonshire (4pts) beat Hampshire (0pts) by 98 runs
At Northampton, Northamptonshire Steelbacks' Bilal Shafayat struck a career-best 74 from 82 balls as Northants stormed to 266 for 9. Shafayat was dropped on 11 and 56, but congratulated by Hampshire captain, Shane Warne, who was taken for 53 in nine overs. Hampshire fell to 44 for 4 in reply and, despite 42 from Shaun Udal batting number eight, were never in the game as the Hawks were all out for 168. Northamptonshire seamer Ben Phillips took his second List A four-wicket-haul, removing Kevin Pietersen, John Crawley, Warne and Chris Tremlett on his way to four for 48. (BBC scorecard)
Table at 1 May
+ totesport League – Division One at 1 May 2005 Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Middlesex Crusaders 3 3 0 0 12 2 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 3 2 1 0 8 3 Essex Eagles 2 1 0 1 6 4 Lancashire Lightning 3 1 1 1 6 5 Worcestershire Royals 2 1 1 0 4 6 Glamorgan Dragons 2 0 0 2 4 7 Gloucestershire Gladiators 1 0 1 0 0 8 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 2 0 2 0 0 9 Hampshire Hawks 2 0 2 0 0
May Day Bank Holiday matches
Hampshire v Gloucestershire (2 May)
Gloucestershire (4pts) beat Hampshire (0pts) by 60 runs
Jon Lewis won the game for Gloucestershire Gladiators with 40 runs off 28 balls with the bat, and then taking out the Hampshire Hawks top order by taking 5 for 19 with the ball. Lewis had come in as a pinch hitter at number four after Matt Windows retired hurt. It was the Gladiators won the toss at the Rose Bowl, Southampton and, thanks to Lewis and 63 from Phil Weston, they scored 210 for 9. Hampshire's innings was stopped by Lewis, and despite a 55-run partnership between John Crawley and Nic Pothas, it was never enough, and they finished on 150 all out. (BBC scorecard)
Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan (2 May)
Glamorgan (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 4 runs (D/L method)
Glamorgan finally managed to record a win at Trent Bridge after two "no results". In an innings that turned out to be restricted to 38 overs, they scored 204 for 4, which by the Duckworth–Lewis method was converted into a target of 222 for the Nottinghamshire Outlaws. In reply the Outlaws were 52 for 4 before rearguard actions by David Hussey (68) and Chris Read (47) lifted them to a challenge. Despite two sixes from Samit Patel in his 40, Nottinghamshire fell 4 runs short of par to end on 217 for 8. (BBC scorecard)
Table at 2 May
+ totesport League – Division One at 2 May 2005 Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Middlesex Crusaders 3 3 0 0 12 2 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 3 2 1 0 8 3 Glamorgan Dragons 3 1 0 2 8 4 Essex Eagles 2 1 0 1 6 5 Lancashire Lightning 3 1 1 1 6 6 Gloucestershire Gladiators 2 0 1 0 4 7 Worcestershire Royals 2 1 1 0 4 8 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 3 0 3 0 0 9 Hampshire Hawks 3 0 3 0 0
Round four
Essex v Glamorgan (15 May)
Essex (4pts) beat Glamorgan (0pts) by five wickets
Essex Eagles continued their unbeaten run in all cricket this season, after getting the 185 runs they needed for the last six wickets against Glamorgan Dragons at Chelmsford. Essex won the toss and chose to field first, and Glamorgan made 216 for 7. James Middlebrook was the main contributor with the ball, taking two for 27 off 9 overs, but South African pace bowler Dale Steyn also contributed with three for 34 amid no-balls and wides. Andrew Davies and David Harrison then reduced Essex to 31 for 4 before Ravinder Bopara (96 not out) and, once again, Middlebrook (46) took centre stage. With a partnership of 122, the two cut nearly two thirds off the target, and wicket-keeper James Foster contributed with 38 off 30 balls to see Essex to the target with five wickets and sixteen balls to spare. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Lancashire v Northamptonshire (15 May)
Lancashire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by seven wickets