2008 Dobell Awards

The Shoaib Akhtar Award for Worst Overseas Player  Monde Zondeki (Warwickshire) and Boeta Dippenaar (Leicestershire) are worth a mention but, in terms of value for money, Shoaib takes some beating. Really, after the reputation he has earned everywhere else (especially at Worcestershire), it’s hard to believe Surrey were foolish – or desperate – enough to sign him.

The Mushtaq Ahmed Award for Best Overseas Player Imran Tahir. Hampshire were heading for relegation when he arrived. A few weeks later he took them – albeit briefly – to the top of the table. He might not turn his leg-break as much as Shane Warne, but he has a better googly and his energy invigorated a waning side. 

Imran should qualify to play for South Africa by the middle of 2009. As a quality spinner is the one thing they have been missing, his arrival could be very significant. Those who celebrate the tightening of regulations over non-England-qualified players should note that, from 2010, players such as Imran would not be able to gain a work permit. Would that improve county cricket?

Team of the season Durham take this for winning their first championship but Kent and Nottinghamshire deserve a mention, too. At some stage, Kent challenged for all four trophies, yet ended up empty-handed and relegated to the division two for the first time. They’ll surely bounce back.

Best bowler James Anderson. He came of age, bowling with pace, intelligence and skill despite a succession of flat pitches and a formidable South African batting line-up. Worcestershire’s Kabir Ali, as ever, deserves an honourable mention but the biggest improvement came from Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh, who was impressive in all formats of the game, and left-arm seamer James Tomlinson. He started the season with just 47 first-class wickets at nearly 50 apiece but, after developing an inswinger, finished top of the wicket-takers’ list: he was the first Hampshire man to do so since Malcolm Marshall in 1982.

Best batsman Kent’s Martin van Jaarsveld was excellent in first-class and one-day cricket. Worcestershire’s Stephen Moore, the highest run-scorer in first-class cricket, might have won; 12 counties tried unsuccessfully to lure him from New Road. But his one-day form was grim: eight ducks in his last 17 innings and no half-centuries in his last 21 games is not an award-winning record. Murray Goodwin, Ravi Bopara, Marcus Trescothick and Jacques Rudolph also enjoyed excellent seasons with the bat.

Best all-rounders Adil Rashid and Graham Wagg. For the second year in a row Wagg (538 runs and 59 wickets) finished with over 50 wickets and 500 runs; he was the first Derbyshire player to do so since Geoff Miller in 1977. Perhaps Wagg lacks the pace to flourish at international level, but he’s a significant player in county cricket. Rashid (62 wickets and 516 runs) surely has an international future.

Best quote “Over the last six months I have experienced competition in division one of the County Championship which was as tough as any domestic cricket I have played in my career.” Justin Langer

Most overused phrase ‘Kolpak’. Various Englishmen, Irishmen and Europeans were so branded by misinformed journalists and others who should know better.

Biggest mistake The failure of Yorkshire to properly register Azeem Rafiq. It cost them a Twenty20 quarter-final place and ruined the day for a large crowd.

Best moment Hard to beat those switch-hit sixes from Kevin Pietersen off Scott Styris. It’s ironic, therefore, that some wanted the shot banned.  Goodwin’s last ball six in the Pro-40 decider against Nottinghamshire was the culmination of a magnificent run chase that seemed all but impossible at one stage; 97 were required off ten overs with only two wickets in hand. Forty-over cricket can still be thrilling.

Worst moment AB de Villiers’ claim for a catch off Andrew Strauss in the second Test was far from pretty, but Mark Ramprakash’s tantrums were even more disappointing. As if losing his temper with a series of cameramen wasn’t bad enough, he then needed to be held back after a confrontation with Goodwin. A lengthy ban is possible, but perhaps more damaging is the sense that Ramps justified the selectors’ reluctance to pick him after all.

Best comeback How heart-warming to see Trescothick batting so well for Somerset, Andy Flintoff steaming in for England and Steve Harmison back to his best for everyone. Matt Prior, Ian Salisbury and Shaun Udal are worth a mention, too. But there’s only one winner of this award. 

Tony Frost had been on Warwickshire’s groundstaff for a season and was on a tractor (“I was verti-draining the outfield”) when Ashley Giles approached him about returning to the playing staff to cover for Tim Ambrose, who was on England duty. “It was bloody cold,” Giles recalls. “He’d have accepted anything just to get inside.” A few months later, Frost finished the season top of the national batting averages with 1003 runs at an average of 83. Not bad for a fellow who retired due to injury two years ago. Simon Jones deserves a mention but, as the season ended with another spell on crutches, he may qualify again next year.

Biggest disappointment A few contenders here: Lancashire, Surrey and Rikki Clarke (who also featured in this section last year) to name but three. Glamorgan, too. But Surrey’s attempts to sign Shoaib and Mohammad Asif – neither of whom should be allowed anywhere near a first-class county after escaping drug bans on technicalities – was a new low. Are we serious about ridding the game of performance-enhancing drugs or not? 

Breakthrough Ravi Bopara. Started the season as a talented prospect; ended it as one of the finest batsmen in the game. His omission from England’s Test squad to tour India is inexplicable. KD Smith, the Leicestershire chief executive, said that Bopara’s 201 in the FP quarter-final was reminiscent of Viv Richards; praise indeed. Look out for Joshua Cobb, Jaik Mickleburgh, Chris Woakes and Dawid Malan, too. They could be the future of English cricket.

Farewell Old players don’t retire these days, they just go to a better place. Or a better-paid place, anyway. Graeme Hick, Mushtaq Ahmed, Darren Gough and Jason Gillespie may all play in an Indian league, but will no longer grace county grounds. Each one of them was a great player and each one of them will be sorely missed.