The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast

Once appeared as a question on the chase | Redball Cricket Database -

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

The greatest red-ball cricket database I’ve ever wanted finally exists.

Every player. Every red-ball competition worldwide. Proper depth not just basic averages.

Explore (free tier):
https://t.co/AfxArH967b

#cricket

[The Cricket Paper @TheCricketPaper]

ICYMI 👀

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🔙 England return to Test action for the first time since their Ashes humiliation with some new faces and a point to prove.

⤵️ Here’s a look at what to expect from the three-Test series starting at Lord’s on Thursday against New Zealand.

https://t.co/iIvySOfMHf

[Ian Garrard @twominutesto]

@cricketslave @hantsfanpodcast @LeadingEdgePod Here’s the pair of them.

[Hantsfanpodcast @hantsfanpodcast]

We’ve never replaced Phil Mead!

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

🏏 Most centuries in County Championship history:

1️⃣ CP Mead 132
2️⃣ Jack Hobbs 130
3️⃣ Patsy Hendren 113

This is basically a roll call of English batting royalty.

CP Mead sits top with 132 County Championship hundreds and 46,268 runs. A Hampshire giant. Not always spoken about like Hobbs, Hammond or Sutcliffe, but statistically one of the greatest county batters ever.

Jack Hobbs is just behind with 130 hundreds and 38,737 runs. The Master. Still arguably the most famous first-class run machine of them all.

Patsy Hendren scored 113 Championship tons and averaged 50.50, while Frank Woolley made 112 hundreds and over 43,000 runs - and somehow also took 800+ wickets. Different era, different workload, absurd cricketer.

Then there’s Wally Hammond: 106 Championship hundreds at 56.68. Probably the most complete batting genius on the list.

The modern names stand out too.

Mark Ramprakash made 103 County Championship centuries at 58.18. That conversion rate is ridiculous (119 50s, 103 100s)

Graeme Hick finished with 97 Championship tons and a highest score of 405. One of the great “what if?” England careers, but an absolute monster in county cricket.

Boycott and Gooch also sit inside the top 10 - two England greats who combined elite Test careers with decade after decade of county dominance.

Mad stat:

Only six players have ever made 100+ County Championship centuries.

And Mark Ramprakash is the only post-war player in that club.

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVnc3

#countychampionship #ramprakash #hobbs #cricket #redballcricket

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

#upthedale

[Andrew @shortflyslip]

Shout out to Dale Phillips for his remarkable innings on the weekend.

Playing in the Lancashire League senior division 2 for Rochdale CC, Dale scored 197 off 94 balls which is believed to be a record score for Rochdale 1st XI.

He then took four wickets and two catches.

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

🔥 Best team bowling averages in the County Championship per year since 2000:

1️⃣ Kent 2018 - 20.13
2️⃣ Surrey 2000 - 20.49
3️⃣ Somerset 2019 - 20.51

Kent 2018 sits top - and it is easy to see why.
Matt Henry was outrageous: 75 wickets in just 11 Championship matches at 15.48. That is overseas signing cheat-code territory.

Kent took 248 wickets at 20.13, went up from Division Two, and built their promotion push around a proper attack: Henry, Darren Stevens, Harry Podmore, Matt Milnes and Grant Stewart all doing damage.

Surrey 2000 were a different kind of monster.

They averaged 20.49 with the ball, took 255 wickets, won the County Championship, and had a title-winning attack built around Martin Bicknell, Alex Tudor, Saqlain Mushtaq and the Hollioakes. That side did not just score runs - they strangled teams.

Then Somerset 2019…
252 wickets at 20.51. Jack Leach, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Josh Davey and Jack Brooks made them horrible to bat against all season.

They pushed Essex all the way in Division One and finished with one of the best bowling seasons of the modern era.

The mad thing?

Kent 2018, Surrey 2000 and Somerset 2019 are separated by only 0.38 runs per wicket.

That is the difference between elite and elite.

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

#countychampionship #surrey #somerset #kent

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

🏏 Highest team batting averages in the County Championship per year since 2000:

1️⃣ Durham 2023 - 47.21
2️⃣ Surrey 2006 - 46.32
3️⃣ Somerset 2007 - 46.27

Durham 2023 was an absolute batting machine.
They won Division Two with 6 wins, 7 draws and just 1 defeat - but the mad stat is this:

54 batting points.

That was 23 more than Yorkshire (2nd most amount of points) managed that season.

Alex Lees, fresh from being dropped by England, piled up 1,347 runs at 70.89. David Bedingham passed 1,000 as well. Then Ollie Robinson, Graham Clark, Brydon Carse, Bas de Leede and Paul Coughlin all averaged 50+.

That wasn’t just one bloke having a freak year.

That was an entire batting unit bullying Division Two.

Surrey 2006 was powered by peak Mark Ramprakash - 2,211 Championship runs at 105.28, including 8 hundreds. Ridiculous numbers.

Somerset 2007 were chaos in the best way: champions of Division Two, 10 wins, 65 batting points, and Marcus Trescothick leading the run charts for them with 1,315.

But Durham 2023 might be the most complete batting season of the lot.

Averages like that win promotions.

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVnc3

#countychampionship #surrey @durham #somerset

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship runs vs Test Match Players (2020–2026).

Tom Abell tops the list. In a different era, would he have played Test cricket for England?

Sam Hain is another fascinating case. County giant, but perhaps not a fit for the aggressive approach England have preferred.

Then there's Haseeb Hameed...

Outstanding county record since being dropped by England (4518 Runs at 47), but against Test bowlers since 2020 in the championship:

• v Sam Cook – 11.8 (5 dismissals)
• v Craig Overton – 18.4 (5)
• v Jimmy Anderson – 19.0 (2)
• v Matt Henry – 9.0 (2)
• v Matt Fisher – 9.0 (2)

It raises an interesting question:

Which county player from the last 10 years was most unlucky not to earn a longer England career?

Full player-v-test player stats:
https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B
#CountyChampionship #EnglandCricket #CricketStats

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship runs vs Test Match Players (2020–2026).

Tom Abell tops the list. In a different era, would he have played Test cricket for England?

Sam Hain is another fascinating case. County giant, but perhaps not a fit for the aggressive approach England have preferred.

Then there's Haseeb Hameed...

Outstanding county record since being dropped by England (4518 Runs at 47), but against Test bowlers since 2020 in the championship:

• v Sam Cook – 11.8 (5 dismissals)
• v Craig Overton – 18.4 (5)
• v Jimmy Anderson – 19.0 (2)
• v Matt Henry – 9.0 (2)
• v Matt Fisher – 9.0 (2)

It raises an interesting question:

Which county player from the last 10 years was most unlucky not to earn a longer England career?

Full player-v-test player stats:
https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B
#CountyChampionship #EnglandCricket #CricketStats

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Kent's bowling average, economy rate and strike rate as a bowling unit are all ranked THE WORST in The County Championship since 2021.

40.56 Average
3.70 Economy Rate
65.37 Strike Rate

Stats from https://t.co/skBiDLgSXY

#countychampionship #kent

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship wickets, 1890–1899 🏏

The 1890s bowling list is pure early Championship history.

Arthur Mold leads the decade with 1,150 wickets at 15.21, including 108 five-wicket hauls. A Lancashire fast bowler with serious pace, he was one of the most feared bowlers of the era.

Right behind him is Tom Richardson: 1,118 wickets, 120 five-wicket hauls, and a strike rate of 38.45. A Surrey and England great, Richardson’s workload was unbelievable - long spells, huge pace, and wicket after wicket.

Then there’s JT Hearne, Middlesex’s master of control: 1,027 wickets, economy 1.84, and 99 five-wicket hauls.

Johnny Briggs was another giant of the period — 950 wickets at 16.25 - a brilliant Lancashire left-arm spinner and England Test bowler.

And look at William Attewell: economy 1.46 across more than 51,000 balls. That is almost impossible to imagine now.

This was County Championship bowling in its rawest form: huge workloads, uncovered pitches, and bowlers who could dominate entire seasons.

#CountyCricket #Cricket #CountyChampionship

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship wickets, 1900–1910 🏏

This is a proper golden-age bowling list.

Wilfred Rhodes leads the decade with 1,339 wickets at 15.31, plus 114 five-wicket hauls. Already one of Yorkshire’s greatest bowlers, he was still years away from becoming a serious opening batter too - one of cricket’s most complete careers. The first Englishman to acheive 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test Cricket.

Colin Blythe was right behind him: 1,275 wickets at 17.21. A Kent and England left-arm spinner, elegant, accurate and devastating on helpful pitches, before his life was tragically cut short in the First World War.

Then there’s George Hirst, Yorkshire’s great all-round giant: 1,111 wickets at 16.60, while also being a major run-scorer. His 1906 season remains one of the most famous all-round years in cricket history.

Schofield Haigh might be the most underrated name here - 991 wickets at just 14.59, striking every 36.86 balls. Another Yorkshire weapon in an era where their bowling depth was ridiculous.

And Tom Wass, George Dennett and Alec Relf all show how brutal the workloads were: endless overs, low averages, and five-wicket hauls everywhere.

The 1900s County Championship was bowling in marathon mode.

#CountyCricket #Cricket #CountyChampionship

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship wickets, 1910–1919 🏏

A decade split by the First World War - and one of the most poignant lists so far.

Colin Blythe leads the 1910s with 748 wickets at 14.79, plus 69 five-wicket hauls. A Kent and England left-arm spinner, Blythe was one of the finest bowlers of his era - and tragically lost his life during the war in 1917.

Bill Hitch was the fast-bowling force on the list: 655 wickets, striking every 38.33 balls. A Surrey and England quick, he brought genuine pace in an era often remembered for spin and medium pace.

Harry Dean took 633 wickets at 17.99 for Lancashire, while George Dennett claimed 611 for Gloucestershire despite never playing Test cricket - one of the great “county-only” bowling records.

And then there’s Frank Woolley, showing his all-round greatness again: 574 wickets at 16.35, alongside his huge batting output.

Even with the war cutting into the decade, these numbers are enormous.

#CountyCricket #Cricket #CountyChampionship

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

South Australia's back-to-back Sheffield Shield titles needs more respect.

13 wooden spoons this century. 6 in 7 seasons before 2024-25.

Hadn't won more than 3 matches in a season since 2016-17.

Then across the last two seasons combined:

Best batting average: 30.99 (Queensland next on 26.60)
2nd best bowling average: 25.79 (Victoria 23.42)

10 wins, 3 losses from 20 matches

From last to back-to-back.

#SheffieldShield

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Somedays you need a reminder that Ricky Ponting averaged 62.96 across Sheffield Shield and The County Championship matches with 7429 runs.

30 100s from 84 Matches

Stats from https://t.co/AfxArH967b

#sheffieldshield #countychampionship #australiacricket

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

🇧🇩 Bangladesh are seriously on the rise in the RedBallCricketStats International Test Rankings.

They’re now up to #8 with an ELO rating of 897 — their highest rating since 2001.

Current streak: 4 wins in a row 🔥

Recent run:

✅ Beat Pakistan by 78 runs, May 2026: +20 ELO
✅ Beat Pakistan by 104 runs, May 2026: +22 ELO
✅ Beat Ireland by 217 runs, Nov 2025: +19 ELO
✅ Beat Ireland by an innings / 47 runs, Nov 2025: +23
ELO

That’s a +84 ELO swing across four straight wins.

Their wider trend is even stronger:

3M: +42
12M: +81
24M: +105
36M: +129

A proper red-ball climb from Bangladesh.
Full Rankings 👉 https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

#bangladesh #cricket

[Naughtius Maximus @NaughtiusMaxi10]

@GreigNorman2 @LeadingEdgePod @LostPlayhouse @stevesmith73652 Such a tragedy

[The Leading Edge Cricket Podcast @LeadingEdgePod]

Most County Championship wickets, 1920–1929 🏏

The 1920s bowling records are almost impossible to imagine now.

Charlie Parker leads the decade with 1,681 wickets at 16.71, including 167 five-wicket hauls. A Gloucestershire left-arm spinner, Parker was one of the most prolific bowlers in first-class history - relentless, accurate, and lethal across full county seasons.

Right behind him is AP “Tich” Freeman: 1,628 wickets, striking every 38.28 balls. The Kent leg-spinner was a wicket-taking phenomenon and would go on to become the leading wicket-taker in County Championship history.

Jack White was pure control for Somerset: 1,316 wickets at 16.25, economy 1.93. That is suffocating cricket.

Then there’s Alec Kennedy, Hampshire’s great all-round force, with 1,310 wickets, and Maurice Tate, Sussex and England’s brilliant seam-bowling all-rounder, who took 1,210 wickets at 16.35 while also scoring heavily with the bat.

Add in George Macaulay, Charlie Root, Ewart Astill and Tom Richmond, and the 1920s look like one of the most punishing bowling decades in Championship history.

#CountyCricket #Cricket #CountyChampionship

Stats by https://t.co/RdxGddVV1B

[Greig Norman @GreigNorman2]

@LostPlayhouse @stevesmith73652 @LeadingEdgePod Hedley Verity's first class career record is truly outstanding.