County cricket: Leach brings Worcestershire to life in One-Day Cup | County Championship

1) Somerset secure home advantage

Four into three is not going to happen, so Group A qualification came down to which of the four counties contesting the top of the table could best finish the podium. Lurking in the shadows was the opaque Net Run Rate calculation, Duckworth-Lewis-Stern’s ugly older brother.

Somerset were in no mood. They went home first at Taunton to another of the fab four, Worcestershire, seven bowlers taking a wicket, with a frugal Jack Leach bowling his 10 overs for 37 runs.

They secured the Groups guaranteed home semi-final spot with another superb bowling display at Lords, Riley Meredith's pace taking him four for 27 as Middlesex struggled from 48 for five. It will be rocking in the West Country on Sunday.

2) Hands, not pants, because they go through

Worcestershire’s narrow defeat to Lancashire in their final group stage game protected a healthy lead in the NRR, enough to secure an early quarter-final elimination tie. Things were much more tense between Hampshire, Durham and Derbyshire, who all played out a long Mexican stalemate on the final day for a chance to progress. The southerners were in Northwood to take on Middlesex, the northerners over 250 miles away, in a do-or-die match in Chester-le-Street.

Hampshire won, Toby Albert's 75 from 53 balls taking his team to 276 for seven, which was defended by Hampshire's quartet of international bowlers. In the north-east, Durham needed a win and were in the thick of it after Scott Borthwick's maiden List A century had put them on 253 all out. But solid contributions at the end of the card saw the visitors over the line in the penultimate over.

The players were able to commiserate in the dressing rooms, Durham missing out on the win they needed and Derbyshire missing out on the net run rate boost they needed. Any tentative plans for golf on the south coast on Friday were rescheduled.

3) Will Glamorgan repeat 2021 success?

Glamorgan, after a clean sheet and a loss to hard-charging Leicestershire, needed a win to take Group B and secure a home semi-final spot. Their captain, Kiran Carlson, made a handy 31 but were indebted to Billy Roots' 66 and Timm van den Gugten's 34, hiding at No 10, to move into the break-even position.

The target of 231 was certainly within reach for Yorkshire, but Andy Gorvin dismissed Matthew Revis and Jonny Tattersall in three balls just as they threatened to pull the visitors back into the game. There was no turning back.

Glamorgan won this competition to spark scenes of joy in 2021, Michael Hogan sharing a pint with fans in his swansong to the county. Carlson is two wins away from a repeat celebration.

4) Home is not home sweet home for Worcestershire

Leicestershire and Warwickshire progress to the Group B eliminators in contrasting form. Leicestershire completed a hat-trick of wins in the final week of the group stage, beating Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Yorkshire (two on DLS) to take good form into their play-off with Hampshire.

By contrast, Warwickshire’s last win came on 4 August, and two defeats to close out the group stage hardly reflect the momentum that coaches and players like to talk about. It’s not all bad news for the Bears, though. Worcestershire earned the right to a home semi-final against their local rivals, but they will have to make the short trip to Edgbaston as New Road is being used for England Lions’ clash with Sri Lanka.

And some argue that the ECB is not taking this competition seriously.

5) Batsman of the group stage

As Somerset’s golden boy emerged from his teenage years, the game continued its inexorable rise. James Rew had six red-ball centuries to his name and must have seen this season as an opportunity to cement his credentials as the next in line for England’s wicketkeeping job. A ton in nine Championship games and a season average of 30 suggests a difficult period, the kind that most young players in all sports go through.

He didn't feature in the T20 Blast but played in all eight One-Day Cup matches, scoring five fifties for an average of 75 and a strike rate of 96, the kind of return that leads to knockout qualification. The lad has the talent and it looks like he has the mentality too.

6) Group stage bowler

I'm going to cheat a little here and mention Warwickshire's Ed Barnard, whose very commendable 14 wickets for 16 and an economy rate of less than 4.5 are eclipsed by one or two other bowlers. That said, neither of them do it while leading the side and opening the batting (390 runs, average 78, strike rate 105).

Barnard is the type of player that suits this competition, a match-winner with bat or ball who is always in the game and always gives his team a chance. He is probably not good enough in either discipline to be called up for international colours and perhaps not to be drafted by a franchise, but he is, like Ryan Higgins at Middlesex, much more than that dismissive description, a bits and pieces player.