Ranking the Top 10 Players from County Championship Week 2

In between the calypso backing track of England's Caribbean jolly and the razzmatazz of the IPL, if you listened closely enough, you might just have heard the faint sounds of leather on willow followed by a polite ripple of applause.

Yes, the County Championship is underway!

The second week of the UK's first-class cricket competition saw six matches contested and some sensational performances from the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Alex Hales.

But where do they rank in the top 10 players of the week?

Based on their contributions to their team's performance rather than purely individual achievements, here in descending order are the top 10 players from the last seven days of County Championship action.

Team: Yorkshire

Performance: 100 vs. Nottinghamshire

While his knock wasn't the fastest in the game or even the highest in the innings, Alex Lees' efforts against a quality Notts pace attack were crucial for the defending champions.

After a tough day in the field watching the opposition rapidly rack up 428, less mentally strong batsmen can crumble and fall early.

However, the tall left-hander saw off the new ball before grinding out a 224-ball century that helped to ensure a depleted Yorkshire team's title defence remained on track.

Team: Derbyshire

Performance: 2/55 and 6/61 vs. Lancashire

Derbyshire's young seamer Tom Taylor has only played seven first-class matches, but his latest outing against Lancashire proved to be his most impressive to date.

Aged just 20 years old, the right-armer ripped out six Red Rose second-innings wickets, including the scalps of Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince, to give his team a chance of victory.

They couldn't take this opportunity, but with a youngster such as Taylor coming through the ranks, the future looks rosy for the east Midlanders.

Team: Hampshire

Performance: 0 and 102, 2/43 and 0/9 vs. Warwickshire

Bouncing back from a duck in his first innings, Hampshire's Sean Ervine scored a high-quality century against Warwickshire to give his side a shot of victory.

The talented Zimbabwean came to the wicket with the score on 108 for five, a lead of just 147 over the 2012 County Champions, who boast Boyd Rankin and Keith Barker among their ranks.

But Ervine worked with the tail-enders to take the Ageas Bowl inhabitants into a position of power and record his 17th first-class ton in the process.

Team: Lancashire

Performance: 40 and 89 vs. Derbyshire

With nine wickets down in their second innings and a slender lead of 264, Lancashire will have been nervous at having to defend an achievable score on a wicket that was still playing well.

But a last-wicket partnership between Davies and Kyle Jarvis turned the game fully in the favour of the Manchester-based side, with the former scoring an impressive career-high 89.

The young wicketkeeper has replaced Jos Buttler, who seems set for a long run in the England side, with aplomb and is clearly no mug with the bat.

Team: Essex

Performance: 3 and 80 not out vs. Kent

Chasing an awkward score of 193 for victory on a seam-friendly pitch, James Foster recorded an unbeaten 80 to help see his team over the line.

Coming to the crease with the score on 66 for four, the one-time England wicketkeeper decided attack was the best form of defence and struck 10 fours and one maximum.

Foster has been a high-quality performer on the circuit for nearly 15 years and is recognised as one of, if not the best glovesman in the land.

Team: Sussex

Performance: 135 and 55 vs. Worcestershire

Perhaps buoyed by his experience with Scotland at the recent World Cup, Sussex's Matt Machan put Worcestershire's attack to the sword at Hove twice.

In the first innings, the 24-year-old blasted 135 runs off just 100 balls—an uncharacteristic scoring rate for the County Championship— to help his side make a flying start to the game.

Then, the Brighton-born Machan piled on a 79-ball second-innings 55 to help his county record a comfortable 61-run victory.

Team: Surrey

Performance: 149 and 40 vs. Glamorgan

The signing of Kumar Sangakkara was a huge coup for Surrey, and few cricket fans will be surprised that the Sri Lankan run machine has made a flying start to the season.

Picking up from where he left off in the World Cup, the 37-year-old milked Glamorgan's attack to score his fifth century in his last six innings.

And for good measure, the left-hander added a 27-ball 40 in the second innings as his county tried to set up a game-winning opportunity.

Arguably, Sangakkara's skills are wasted in Division 2, but his new employers won't care, especially if his runs help fire the London-based team into the top flight.

Team: Surrey

Performance: 200* and 21 vs. Glamorgan

While the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Kevin Pietersen captured the headlines during Surrey's clash with Glamorgan, England international Steven Davies played the most impressive innings.

The stylish left-hander put an inconsistent 2014 season behind him to stroke a 290-ball unbeaten double century and help his side post an intimidating total of 563.

If Davies can continue to outscore his more illustrious colleagues over the next few weeks, maybe the 28-year-old's name will start being linked with an England recall sooner rather than later.

Team: Sussex

Performance: 45* and 35, 1/44 and 5/46 vs. Worcestershire

After a disappointing spell at Nottinghamshire, Ajmal Shahzad moved to Sussex in the winter and seems to be enjoying life on the south coast.

The paceman looked lively with the ball throughout this tussle, culminating in blowing away the opposition's middle order in the second innings to help his new side record a 61-run victory.

Earlier, two useful contributions with the bat—Shahzad has a first-class average of over 25—also emphasised his resurgence.

Team: Nottinghamshire

Performance: 236 and 2 vs. Yorkshire

With England's openers, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, struggling in the Caribbean, Alex Hales put his name back in the spotlight with a sensational first innings against County Champions' Yorkshire.

The 24-year-old shattered his previous personal best by blasting a stunning double century that came off just 282 balls and contained 38 boundaries.

While a placid pitch, that produced only 27 wickets and led to a dull draw, took some of the gloss off his effort, the clean-striking right-hander batted when conditions were at their trickiest against a strong attack.

One thing is for sure, few batsmen can take apart an attack like Hales, and a few more scores like this will see the clamour for more international recognition continue to grow.