Too early for legends to be written anew,
Old heroes shine brightly, their courses set true,
James Vince, still explosive, falls just short of his best,
Liam Dawson, his ally in boundary-fest,
Hearty Leicestershire struggle, and then rally with bat,
Harrys Dearden and Swindells, defiant at that,
To give bowlers a rest, and their legs chance to heal,
From four sessions and more, watching Vince from the field.
For legends take time, take the stories of years,
Need the strata of matches, on the bedrock of years,
Witness Kent’s middle order, their immovable force,
Darren Stevens stepped forward – Darren Stevens, of course.
Legends, when written, form the story of the age,
Another Stevens hundred is another single page,
In a book not fully written, but now twenty five years old,
It was Northants’ turn on Friday, and a first at Wantage Road.
For Essex and Lancs, captains came to the fore,
Tom Westley, Dane Vilas important once more,
Westley has struggled, this marked a redemption,
While Vilas will look to score more on resumption.
There are runs to be had, but still flurries of wickets,
That the balance of power, and the beauty of cricket,
That’s Ben Coad, Lewis Gregory, Reece Topley, Josh Shaw,
That’s Steve Patterson (who else?) and yet so many more.
Matches up and down the land are starting to take shape,
And this very early season has a burgeoning landscape,
All games remain uncertain, so much cricket left to play,
Although Middlesex and Somerset will maybe end today.
Batter of the day; well, James Vince had it yesterday, and Tom Westley did phenomenally well, but Darren Stevens made 100, who else could it be?
Bowler of the day; perhaps a touch of bias, but Ben Coad taking 3/18 has given Yorkshire a squeak of a chance and he looked dangerous the little I was about to watch.