Opener Stephen Moore impressed with an unbeaten century as Derbyshire piled on the runs on the second day against Hampshire.Moore, the former Lancashire batsman, was unbeaten on 106 by stumps as the home side reached 203 for 2, trailing by 125 runs after Hampshire were bowled out for 328 in their first innings.Starting the day 231 for 5 after a weather-affected first day, the visitors lost Kyle Abbott for a duck after he was bowled out by Mark Footitt in the first over of the day but recovered thanks largely to a half-century from Joe Gatting.Sean Ervine fell five overs later - caught by Richard Johnson off Tim Groenewald - leaving Hampshire on 248 for 7 as Derbyshire continued to attack.Gatting, who began the day on 25, passed the fifty mark and continued to cause problems before he was sent packing, caught by Chesney Hughes for Wes Durston's first wicket of the match. Footitt bowled Matt Coles lbw for 9 before Moore caught last man out Michael Bates, who managed 31, to leave Hampshire with a total of 328.In reply, Derbyshire lost opener Billy Godleman early on to leave his side 4 for 1 in the third over, but Moore began to pile on the runs, reaching his ton off 178 balls in 227 minutes. Wayne Madsen shared a 106-run second-wicket partnership with Moore before he was stumped for 36 off Liam Dawson.That brought Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the crease and, alongside Moore, he reached 35 not out as Derbyshire saw out the second day in a strong position. Durham 308 and 152 for 7 (Trego 3-46) lead Somerset 185 (Trego 48, Rushworth 4-52, Onions 4-65) by 275 runs (Div 1)This is a match report that could, to a large extent, have been written with the cut and paste keys.As has so often been the case in recent times, this was a day's play characterised by fine bowling from Graham Onions and featuring a visiting batting line-up struggling to cope with the moving ball on a helpful pitch. It was classic Durham; classic Onions. Pretty much like a band playing their greatest hits.Quite what else James Whitaker, the national selector, expected when he came to Durham is unclear. He knows that Onions - and the largely unsung Chris Rushworth - is a tough proposition in these conditions and he surely cannot have expected him to gain more pace, learn new tricks or even have deteriorated after several years of outstandingly consistent cricket.If England select Onions, they know exactly what they will get.That was a point made by Onions after play. Perhaps frustrated by the question - it is hardly the first time he has spoken on this subject - or the circumstances, he made little attempt to sugar-coat his feelings."He knows exactly what I'm about," Onions said. "He saw me in Sri Lanka, as well, when I was there with the Lions."As a cricketer there is nothing more I can do. I am doing all I can to produce results and to play for England. But the bottom line is that I've done that for the last four or five years. I've just got to keep knocking on the door."The problem with games at Chester-le-Street, however, is that they do not replicate conditions found in international cricket. While it is true that not many county grounds in April will replicate the sort of surfaces found at Test level, in Durham that is taken to an extreme. So only one batting bonus point was conceded at home by Durham in the 2013 season and not once has an opposition team scored 300 in their first innings here in the last two years.So while Rushworth and Onions, maintaining tight lines and generating movement, troubled batsmen throughout and made a strong batting line-up appear fragile, it is of limited use for Whitaker has he seeks to apply such skills to the demands of international cricket.Yet many of the virtues of bowling remain the same whatever the surface. So Onions' consistency, his stamina and his ability to extract movement both in the air and off the seam when conditions allow, would always render him a reliable performer for England. But he could play Test cricket for a decade and never find a surface like this. He could play Test cricket for a decade and never find a surface that offers such variable bounce in the first innings and he could play for a decade and not see the ball nip around to this extent.Equally Keaton Jennings, Durham's impressive opening batsman, has acquired a technique that seems ideally suited to these surfaces. Using his height, he prods half forward, is remarkably disciplined about not playing away from his body, and waits for the ball in one of his three or four scoring areas. It is the basis of a decent game and, in temperament at least, he has a great deal going for him. But sterner tests await on tracks that turn or against fast bowlers that will challenge that forward prod.All that leaves Whitaker with a difficult choice to make. Onions' case remains compelling but, with the younger men like Chris Jordan forcing their way into the reckoning, England may be reluctant to select a seamer who will be 32 before the end of the season. Unless Onions is able to unseat James Anderson or Stuart Broad - and that it is not completely impossible, as both will need rest - it is hard to see him winning a recall in anything other than a crisis.That Somerset ended the day still in with a chance of victory - Yorkshire chased down a target of 339 here in April last year - was largely due to some sloppy batting in Durham's second innings. While both Lewis Gregory and Peter Trego, who also produced a typically brave counter-attacking contribution with the bat, deserve credit for delivery the best part of 40 overs each over the first two days of the game, they enjoyed little support.Somerset donated another 10 runs in no-balls - that is 40 in the match so far - and several Durham wickets fell as the result more of careless batting than fine bowling. Michael Richardson, for example, pulled a long-hop to mid-wicket, Scott Borthwick was brilliantly caught as he turned a half-volley off his legs and Jennings drove uncharacteristically loosely at one that turned out of a foot-hole.Onions appeared unimpressed by his colleague's batting. "If we're honest, the application we showed with the bat could have been better," he said. "The batters will be disappointed, I'm sure. We could have put them out of the game. But if we bowl well, as we did today, I'm sure we'll win."Somerset's situation is not helped by something of an injury crisis. With three first choice seamers - Steve Kirby, Alfonso Thomas and Craig Overton - unable to take part in this game due to injury, they could have done without Craig Meschede sustaining a side strain and Nick Compton suffering a neck spasm that forced him to bat at No. 8 in Somerset's first innings. An injection appears to have brought little comfort and he was unable to take the field in the evening session. His involvement in the second innings, and in the next game, must be in doubt.Compton was, therefore, unable to make much of an impression on Whitaker. He may have felt it was typical of his fortune that he was last man out, adjudged leg before to a ball he seemed to have hit really quite hard."We didn't bowl very well at all on day one," Dave Nosworthy, the Somerset director of cricket admitted. "And we didn't start well with the bat, either. But we showed a lot of courage and character later on and by no means is this game over."Somerset will have to bat far better second time around, though. Marcus Trescothick does not look anything like the batsman he once was and, though the line-up is deep and contains several fine stroke makers, they are up against an expert in his own backyard. Durham's lead of 275 may well be enough already. Gloucestershire 230 for 9 (Dent 52, Cosker 5-46) lead Glamorgan 145 (Wagg 54*, Payne 3-29, W Gidman 3-34) by 85 runs (Div 2)A five-wicket haul from veteran spinner Dean Cosker helped Glamorgan remain in touch with Gloucestershire after day two of their Division Two clash in Cardiff.Gloucestershire looked on course to rack up an imposing first-innings lead, even after being frustrated by a battling 54 from Graham Wagg which took the hosts to 145.Chris Dent made 52 and William Tavare 42 as the visitors' reply started well, but they came unstuck against a 36-year-old slow left armer. Cosker completed his 10th first-class five wicket haul, recording figures of 5 for 46 as Glamorgan limited their opponents to 230 for 9, a lead of 85.There looked little way back for Glamorgan as they slumped from 47 for 6 at the start of the day to 72 for 9, but a final stand of 73 between Wagg and No. 10 Michael Hogan helped them rebuild their innings. Wagg hit five fours and a six in his unbeaten 65-ball knock, with Hogan providing vital support at the other end for his 23.The stand was finally ended by Matt Taylor, while Will Payne and Will Gidman finished the innings with figures of three for 29 and three for 34 respectively.With an easy-paced pitch becoming ideal for batting, Gloucestershire would have fancied their chances of building a commanding lead and looked set to do just that as Dent and Tavare took their score into three figures for the loss of just one wicket, that of Michael Klinger for 2.But Cosker arrived with a vengeance to halt their progress. He had Dent caught behind by Mark Wallace, ending his 72-ball stay, and then removed Tavare, who paid the price for a daft shot, sending an attempted clip over Hogan at mid-on straight to the fielder.Cosker was making full use of his experience, varying his deliveries intelligently, and had his third victim when he trapped Alex Gidman lbw for 12. The dismissals of Will Gidman and Hamish Marshall gave Cosker his five-for, although the latter's 32, which included two sixes, helped the visitors recover from 144 for 6.Hamish shared a partnership of 42 for the seventh wicket with Tom Smith, who finished the day unbeaten on 38. Leicestershire 333 for 9 (Boyce 68, Ireland 52, Stevens 3-46) v Kent (Div 2)Anthony Ireland, who had a batting average of 6.19 coming into this match, hit the first half-century of his career as Leicestershire finished on a very competitive 333 for 9 against Kent.Kent looked in control of the contest when they had the visitors 198 for 7 thanks in part to some excellent bowling from Darren Stevens, who ended the day on 3 for 46. However, an 85-run partnership between Ireland and Jigar Naik, who finished on 41 not out, pulled Leicestershire back into the match.Kent won the toss and decided to field on the first day but there was no action as the rain saw play abandoned. Leicestershire began their innings positively as opener Matthew Boyce led the way with 68 alongside Greg Smith and then Ned Eckersley.However, Eckersley's dismissal off the bowling of Mitchell Claydon sparked a flurry of wickets. Leicestershire lost 4 for 45, with two of them - Angus Robson and Ben Raine - falling to spinner Adam Riley, who ended the day with figures of 3 for 52 having replaced James Tredwell.Niall O'Brien made a useful 32 before being caught lbw by Doug Bollinger but the Australia conceded nearly five runs an over. Rob Taylor steadied the ship for Leicestershire with a useful 20 before Naik's 41, which included five fours, began the visitors' revival.Ireland then took centre stage on his way to a half-century before eventually being caught by Ben Harmison off Riley. Kent's frustrations continued until the end as Charlie Shreck put on another 18 before the umpires called stumps after 96 overs.This was Leicestershire's first Championship match of the season after their opening game against Derbyshire was postponed following following the car accident which injured Tom Poynton and claimed the life of his father. Warwickshire 316 for 9 (Porterfield 77, Bell 75, Chopra 52, Smith 4-67) lead Lancashire 247 by 69 runs (Div 1)Forget, for a moment, that Ian Bell plays for England. County cricket is relevant in its own right, not merely as some sort of massive academy for the national side. It is perfectly possible to consider Bell's fine 75 on the second day of the game against Lancashire simply in the context of this match and not as some sort of preparation for future examinations.Coming to the wicket with his team well-placed on 144 for 2, Bell made a substantial contribution to his side taking a 69-run lead with one wicket left to fall in this well-contested match. In doing so, he produced a gem of an innings, a 162-ball master-class generously sprinkled with fine shots in both defence and attack.Michael Henderson once wrote about the aesthetic satisfaction to be derived from watching Mark Ramprakash play a forward defensive shot, and it is possible to be similarly enriched by some of Bell's strokeplay. There were fine drives aplenty and a trademark six over long-on off Simon Kerrigan, but there were also carefully calibrated pushes and deflections, each of them enjoyable in its own right as a tiny piece of craftsmanship.At such moments it was not only possible to forget that Bell plays Test cricket; one could also forget the little matter of his allegiance, and simply savour the artistry.It is important to remember Bell's innings because, by the end of the day, his effort had been a trifle overshadowed by an excellent response from Lancashire's seamers, who took five wickets for 47 runs in ten overs in the final session and keep Warwickshire's lead within the realm of the manageable.That fightback was led by Tom Smith, who had both Tim Ambrose and Chris Woakes caught behind by Buttler in successive overs and finished the day with 4 for 67. Wayne White's contribution in bringing one back off the seam to uproot Bell's leg stump and then having Jeetan Patel caught at the wicket was also invaluable. By the end of the day Lancashire's players could anticipate a parity which had seemed rather unlikely in the first two sessions of play.For himself, Bell, who is currently Warwickshire's stand-in captain, would certainly place his own innings in the context of the game and pay tribute to the work of openers Varun Chopra and William Porterfield, whose 127-run partnership for the first wicket laid secure groundwork for the construction of their sizeable total.The openers had more than doubled their side's overnight score when Porterfield rather gave his innings away by driving Kerrigan loosely to Wayne White at mid-off. This was a shame, not least because he had played well, especially when dismissively pulling James Anderson into a building site for six.Following Porterfield's departure for 77, his first Championship fifty since May 2012, Chopra made his way carefully towards lunch and had very nearly achieved his immediate objective when trapped on the crease by Chapple for 52.That, as both players and the public address announcer Matt Procter recognised, was Chapple's 900th first-class wicket for Lancashire. He became the 15th Lancastrian to achieve the feat, the first of any type to do so since Jack Simmons and the first seamer since Ken Higgs.By the end of the day Chapple's tally was 901, meaning that he had equalled the total achieved by left-arm spinner Cecil Parkin, a clown-prince of a bowler who used to croon the 1920s favourites Tea for Two or Lily of Laguna as he made his way back to his mark. One rather doubts that Chapple sings at all as he trudges through his fine spells; were he to do so, though one certainly can't believe that they would be much like the genial ditties beloved of dear old Cec. Essex 225 for 6 (Bopara 49, Dunn 3-53) v Surrey (Div 2)On an even day that saw further time lost to rain and bad light, a fine display from Matt Dunn added a new angle on this encounter. The draw remains the odds on result but, with a host of England talent on show, it was Dunn who dominated most of the talk on what can be marked down as a professional display from both sides.During Surrey's first match of the season against Glamorgan, Dunn drew a crowd on the outfield of the Oval during the first lunch interval as he went through his repertoire on a cut strip, meters away from the main pitch. As his run-up increased from one step to its full length, so did the number of onlookers, many using their phones to film his show of speed, as he continually rasped the baseball mitt of his coach.It is a wonder how many times Dunn has gone through the motions alongside rather than in a Championship match. Since June 2011, when he became the first Surrey bowler for 56 years to take five wickets in an innings on debut against Derbyshire, he had only played three further times before now.The talent has always been there; rarely will you have entered a discussion on Surrey's prospective arsenal of first-class bowlers in the last three years without his name featuring somewhere near the top. From the mechanics of his action to the breadth of his shoulders, generating pace was never going to be an issue.It is his consistency that has had Surrey thinking twice about exposing him to more four-day cricket. At stumps, bowling coach Stuart Barnes was keen to praise Dunn's work behind the scenes as well as a worthwhile winter in Australia which gives Surrey's attack a newer dimension.With England selector Angus Fraser a clear presence in the media centre and the members pavilion, Dunn's efforts will not have gone unnoticed.Pace was always going to be the theme of the day, as Dunn and the returning Jade Dernbach were welcomed into the XI and, with a green track on offer, Graeme Smith won the toss and put Essex in to bat.Even Chris Tremlett, who had lacked incisiveness and wickets in the defeat to Glamorgan seemed up for the fight when he was introduced to the attack after eight overs. He ran through the crease with greater purpose and got some encouraging bounce off the pitch.A couple stung the knuckles of Jaik Mickleburgh, as the right hander's trigger to push forward caused him some discomfort. Just five balls into Tremlett's spell, Mickleburgh was surprised by a delivery which zipped up and, luckily, pierced the despairing grab of Jason Roy at third slip.At the other end, Alastair Cook was off to a brisk start, using the pace of Stuart Meaker and Dernbach to work runs towards the short boundary towards the Archbishop Tenison's School. It was this boundary that took the first casualty of the day as Zafar Ansari, attempting to rectify is own fielding error, slid into the side fence and badly injured himself. After a few minutes, he was helped to his feet and taken to hospital with concussion. He returned later in the day to be assessed by Surrey's medical team and remains a doubt for the rest of this match.More than three overs after that break in play, Cook became the first wicket for Surrey and Dunn, when he misjudged a short ball, which caught the splice of his bat and eventually dropped into the hands of Steven Davies.Upon Cook's demise, Mickleburgh began to rebuild as the more active part of a second wicket partnership with Tom Westley. But when Mickleburgh fell to a fine outswinger from Dernbach that moved late, and Dunn found the edge of Westley then Greg Smith's bat in the space of three balls, the match awoke to the prospect of bedlam.Alas, it was not to be, as Ravi Bopara remained diligent yet typically laid back in defence. While runs did not flow freely, he used his finesse to dab the ball behind point on multiple occasions to keep the scoreboard ticking past 200 and a first batting point. Upon entering the forties, he took a brace of boundaries off Dernbach to move only to be strangled down the leg side by Jason Roy.It was a deserved wicket for Roy, who was brought into the attack to fill-in the overs that Ansari would have bowled. Described by Barnes as "an enthusiastic bowler", his extra bow is another positive to be taken from the day for Surrey. Northamptonshire 94 (Brooks 5-36, Sidebottom 4-16) trail Yorkshire 459 for 9 dec (Ballance 174, Lees 90, Hall 4-103) by 365 runsAs Jack Brooks agreed, having run rampant against his former colleagues, Northamptonshire will have to learn their lessons quickly if they are not to go the way of Derbyshire last year in finding the step up from Division Two to Division One in the Championship a source of frustration and ultimate failure.They held on for a merit-worthy draw against the champions, Durham, last week, but found out here that, as was Derbyshire's lament all too often last year, one bad session can cost a match. Their second session on day two was particularly bad, bowled out for 94 in the space of 30 overs. With a deficit of 365 when they begin their follow-on, they had only the temporary release of the rain which set in after tea and prevented more play."It is going to be a tough year for them," Brooks said. "They have a good work ethic and play well as a unit but they are going to have to graft and this will be a bit of a wake-up call to some of them who have not played in the higher division. One session can cost you a game and we are the kind of team that are not going to let a team off the hook."Brooks finished with 5 for 35, his best figures for Yorkshire in first-class matches, with four of his wickets coming in a seven-over spell at the Rugby Stand End, to the accompaniment of sound effects generated by the Leeds Rhinos supporters in full voice on the other side, which leant a surreal atmosphere to the occasion.He revealed afterwards that he prefers bowling at the Kirkstall Lane End, where he opened (5-1-17-1) and would have remained had Andrew Gale not decided, after giving him a brief breather, that he could relieve Ryan Sidebottom at the other end.Brooks felt he bowled a little too full at times, but it was nowhere near often enough to allow much respite for the batsman. Having bowled James Middlebrook in his first spell when the opener played down the wrong line, he produced a peach of a ball for Rob Newton, one of his best friends at Wantage Road, that would have tested better-known batsmen, taking the edge despite his best efforts to miss it.Andrew Hall edged low to third slip, then David Willey and Steven Crook, possibly not showing the discipline they might have applied in the circumstances, were caught at gully and backward point respectively, slashing at wide ones.
World record equalled for lbw |
No comments:
Post a Comment