As the 2013 LV= County Championship moves on to its second round of games, First Eleven Scorer Roger 'The Duke' Marshall has sharpened his pencil, and hopefully his mind, to try to piece together some accurate predictions.
This season, an additional duty has been bestowed upon him. Ahead of each round of fixtures, he will be pitched against a Nottinghamshire illuminary in a prediction challenge. You can join in by tweeting your predictions with the hashtag #beattheduke with prizes on offer for competitors and champion tipsters.
This week Nottinghamshire conquerors Middlesex play host to Derbyshire who drew their first match after returning to the division. Surrey play their first game under new captain Graeme Smith against a Somerset side that suffered defeat against Durham in their first outing. 2013 champions play host to that Durham side looking to get their first win in their bid to retain their crown.
The Challenger- Peter Wynne-Thomas
Prolific author Peter Wynne-Thomas is the Duke’s second round opponent. He first visited Trent Bridge in 1947 and has been an avid supporter, statistician and historian ever since. During the 1960s, Wynne-Thomas worked with Rowland Bowen on The Cricket Quarterly. In 1973, he was involved in the foundation of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians' Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS).
He was the original treasurer until 1974 and then secretary until he retired in 2006.
Having stats running through his head back for hundreds of years, he is well placed to pit his predictions against them of the Duke’s.
The Challenger’s Predictions
Middlesex v Derbyshire
You have to think it will be a Middlesex win as I can never have much faith in Derbyshire.
Surrey v Somerset
It will be a good batting pitch at the Oval and that leads me to go for a Somerset win.
Warwickshire v Durham
Have to go with Warwickshire as I am good friends with my contemporary over at Edgbaston.
The Duke’s Predictions
Middlesex v Derbyshire
I think this will be an easy win for the home side. They beat us comprehensively here and I don’t see Derbyshire challenging at Lord’s with Middlesex supplying more fire power, especially if Steven Finn plays.
Surrey v Somerset
Graeme Smith will want to impress on his first outing as skipper but I think this one could end in a draw. With a good batting pitch likely, it will be down to who plays spin the best later on in the game.
Warwickshire v Durham
Durham go in on a high after beating Somerset but I believe a slow pitch will be on offer at Edgbaston. Weather could also be a factor leading me to believe a result is hard to come by in this fixture. Draw
A point will be awarded for each correct prediction and after the first week the table looks like this:
| Score | Challenger |
|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Afford |
| 0 (average) | Roger Marshall |
Of the people on Twitter no one got all four results correct but @Stepsinpairs, @SawleyJeff1 and @BlindPete666 all made one correct prediction. To Tweet us your predictions use the hashtag #BeatTheDuke