(After Middlesex won inside 3 days, so a change in plan was required), The final day of Surrey vs Somerset at The Oval had the potential to be exciting, as Somerset started 6-0, 24 ahead, with a possible collapse leading to a result. Stuart Meaker soon got the early breakthroughs, as Marcus Trescothick (14) edged to Gary Wilson at slip and Nick Compton (16) lost his off stump before Gareth Batty had James Hildreth (21) LBW as Somerset slipped to 75-3 after the first hour. Surrey were unable to keep the run rate down as Alviro Petersen looked to add to his first innings hundred and the pitch being flat and lifeless, he had little trouble scoring.
Zander De Bruyn then found movement from the Pavilion End to trap Craig Kieswetter LBW for 1, now 82-4 and a shock victory was still possible. But after lunch, Surrey struggled to break through as Petersen and Jos Buttler brought up the hundred before Petersen took 10 off a Meaker over to move to 50 (66 balls). Surrey looked a fast bowler light and Gary Keedy bowled a poor line with Petersen slapping him into the OCS stand for 6 in his second over. He bowled some so wide of leg stump that Buttler had to stretch to kick them away, including kicking one to fine leg.
Batty finally got the breakthrough, with Petersen set for 100, he flicked one to Rory Burns at short leg to go for 91, 193-5. Meaker cam back on and had Peter Trego caught by Vikram Solanki for 4, then bowling Alfonso Thomas for a duck next over and an over later trapping Jamie Overton LBW for 6 to get his 5th wicket. A great performance, but probably too late as Somerset were 208-8 with 40 overs left in the day. Meaker (5-60) then limped off with a leg injury, ending any victory shot. Buttler had reached a 103 ball 50 and all that remained was if he could reach his hundred post tea. George Dockrell was happy to block out one end and feed Buttler the strike. Buttler moved through the 70s with shots round the wicket against Batty and Keedy, launching a one bounce four to the OCS stand before hitting a straight six into the same region, and another straight four to bring up the 250, and then he went for the six for his hundred, only for Batty to cling on, right on the long on boundary, 94 off 155 balls, 12x4, 1x6. The declaration and draw then came (251-9), with Dockrell unbeaten with 2 from 65. Surrey take 8 points, Somerset 9.
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Sunday 14 April 2013
Westley While You Work
The final day of Essex vs Gloucestershire at Chelmsford came after the previous two days had been heavily rain affected, and with more forecast in the afternoon, it was really a bonus points grab for both sides from whatever play happened.
Essex resumed on 177-3 with Tom Westley (82) and Mark Pettini (18) batting and Westley was promptly dropped in the 2nd over, the edge flying to Alex Gidman at first slip when keeper Cameron Herring dived across and grassed the chance off Will Gidman. Runs came slowly with the 200 coming up in the 13th over with consecutive fours by Westley off David Payne through midwicket. Westley then reached his hundred with his 15th four in the next over as runs began to come more easily before Liam Norwell found some late inswing with the old ball to trap Pettini LBW for 35 at 234-4. Captain James Foster then came in and Norwell and Benny Howell kept the pressure on with four maidens before Westley thumped another four down the ground.
The new ball came and Essex saw out the three overs until lunch from James Fuller and Will Gidman at 267-4. The predicted rain hadn't come, so it remained if Essex could get to somewhere near 350 and if Gloucestershire could take two more wickets for another point. Soon after lunch, another three to the deep boundary off Fuller took Westley past 150, his 2nd big score of the week, following his 130 against the students and Fenners. The 300 and third batting point soon followed as the pitch looked flat and lifeless and unlikely to produce a result even without the rain, and Gloucestershire then dropped another easy catch, Howell giving Foster a life at short mid-wicket, but Westley fell at the end of the same over, edging Will Gidman to Herring for an excellent 163.
Not that it put Foster off, he carted David Payne's first three balls of the next over for four through the point/third man region and got another four off Gidman to third man as the 350 began to look on, even though the floodlights were on and the gloom closing in. Foster kept getting of strike and Greg Smith kept blocking, making the task harder. The umpires obviously were waiting for the 350, since it had started raining round about the 99th over, but we played on.
Essex needed 5, Howell bowled a full ball which Foster swept high down to fine leg for a one bounce four (bringing up his third 50 of the year), forcing captain Michael Klinger to bring in all the fielders to stop the single, and Foster went for the same shot, this time finding the top edge where Fuller at fine leg jumped high, caught the ball, dived backwards and clung on to take the catch to give Gloucesershire their 2nd bowling point, with Graham Napier running out to make sure one more ball was bowled before they went off, and Smith slapped that ball through point for four to bring up the 350. The rain closed in at the end of the over and the game was called off an hour later with Essex 353-6.
They take 8 points from the draw, and Gloucestershire 9.
Essex resumed on 177-3 with Tom Westley (82) and Mark Pettini (18) batting and Westley was promptly dropped in the 2nd over, the edge flying to Alex Gidman at first slip when keeper Cameron Herring dived across and grassed the chance off Will Gidman. Runs came slowly with the 200 coming up in the 13th over with consecutive fours by Westley off David Payne through midwicket. Westley then reached his hundred with his 15th four in the next over as runs began to come more easily before Liam Norwell found some late inswing with the old ball to trap Pettini LBW for 35 at 234-4. Captain James Foster then came in and Norwell and Benny Howell kept the pressure on with four maidens before Westley thumped another four down the ground.
The new ball came and Essex saw out the three overs until lunch from James Fuller and Will Gidman at 267-4. The predicted rain hadn't come, so it remained if Essex could get to somewhere near 350 and if Gloucestershire could take two more wickets for another point. Soon after lunch, another three to the deep boundary off Fuller took Westley past 150, his 2nd big score of the week, following his 130 against the students and Fenners. The 300 and third batting point soon followed as the pitch looked flat and lifeless and unlikely to produce a result even without the rain, and Gloucestershire then dropped another easy catch, Howell giving Foster a life at short mid-wicket, but Westley fell at the end of the same over, edging Will Gidman to Herring for an excellent 163.
Not that it put Foster off, he carted David Payne's first three balls of the next over for four through the point/third man region and got another four off Gidman to third man as the 350 began to look on, even though the floodlights were on and the gloom closing in. Foster kept getting of strike and Greg Smith kept blocking, making the task harder. The umpires obviously were waiting for the 350, since it had started raining round about the 99th over, but we played on.
Essex needed 5, Howell bowled a full ball which Foster swept high down to fine leg for a one bounce four (bringing up his third 50 of the year), forcing captain Michael Klinger to bring in all the fielders to stop the single, and Foster went for the same shot, this time finding the top edge where Fuller at fine leg jumped high, caught the ball, dived backwards and clung on to take the catch to give Gloucesershire their 2nd bowling point, with Graham Napier running out to make sure one more ball was bowled before they went off, and Smith slapped that ball through point for four to bring up the 350. The rain closed in at the end of the over and the game was called off an hour later with Essex 353-6.
They take 8 points from the draw, and Gloucestershire 9.
Sunday 7 April 2013
Quine and Dine
The 2nd day of Cambridge MCCU vs Essex was the sunniest day so far with a good crowd, but began in a predictable way.
Cambridge resumed on 20-4, and provided some easy slip catching practice early on as Dean Bell (4), Matt Salisbury (5) and Alex Hearne (6) all fell within the first eight overs to leave the hosts 35-7. Tom Elliott and Alasdair Pollock took the total past 50, thanks to two set of four overthrows, which Essex weren't too worried about before Elliott (18) edged Greg Smith low to Tom Westley at slip, 61-8. Pollock then hammered 3 fours off Tymal Mills next over, including a massive top edge over third man. Alistair Allchin fell LBW for a nine ball duck to give Smith handy figures of 2-0 from 2 overs and Cambridge 73-9.
The Mills vs Pollock battle then hotted up, with the next ball hitting Pollock on the neck who then got up and smacked the next ball back past Mills for four. He followed that shot up by pulling a bouncer off the top edge out of the ground over square leg. The carnage carried in Mills next over as the first ball disappeared through cover for four and another bouncer was pulled just over a leaping Ben Foakes at Square Leg for six, this left Pollock on 44 from 35 balls, and Cambridge on the verge of reaching 100, they didn't, however as Grant Nicholson fell LBW for 1 to the first ball of Ravi Bopara's next over to leave Cambridge all out for 99, 229 runs behind Essex.
With no follow on enforced, Tom Westley and Rob Quiney came out for the 45 minutes before lunch and rattled along to 37-0 without any trouble. Quiney took 9 off the first over after lunch, as the pair looked untroubled by the student attack, with Nicholson coming in for some particular punishment as runs flowed easily. Quiney reached 50 from 73 balls, and celebrated next over by thumping Allchin over long on for six, two fours and another six over midwicket thudding off the wall of Hughes Hall. Westley was slower, reaching 50 from 89 balls but he too began to attack before Quiney reached his hundred from his 116th ball with another four. The score had reached 188-0 at tea, and any contest in the game was long gone with those 151 unbeaten runs that had been added.
The double hundred partnership came off Allchin before Pollock beat Quiney's outside edge and flattened the off stump for 112, Quiney was surprised that he was out, 209-1. Foakes joined Westley who soon reached his own 100 in the 51st over. Both batsmen then went after the bowlers, and spinner Akbar Ansari who seemed to keep bowling full tosses, went for 17 in his first two overs. Westley charged the first five balls of Ansari's next over, hitting the first four into gaps in the arc for two, before missing the fifth to be neatly stumped by Bell for 133, 281-2. Then the big moment of the evening as Bopara came out to bat, having only made four in the first innings, he'd of wanted a nice warmup knock to start the summer, only to be struck on the pad first ball and after a massive appeal, given out to give Ansari his 2nd.
That was to be the last wicket as, after negotiating the hat trick ball, Foakes (49*) and James Foster (34*) saw Essex through the last half hour to 335-3 from 70 overs a lead of 564 with one day to go.
Cambridge resumed on 20-4, and provided some easy slip catching practice early on as Dean Bell (4), Matt Salisbury (5) and Alex Hearne (6) all fell within the first eight overs to leave the hosts 35-7. Tom Elliott and Alasdair Pollock took the total past 50, thanks to two set of four overthrows, which Essex weren't too worried about before Elliott (18) edged Greg Smith low to Tom Westley at slip, 61-8. Pollock then hammered 3 fours off Tymal Mills next over, including a massive top edge over third man. Alistair Allchin fell LBW for a nine ball duck to give Smith handy figures of 2-0 from 2 overs and Cambridge 73-9.
The Mills vs Pollock battle then hotted up, with the next ball hitting Pollock on the neck who then got up and smacked the next ball back past Mills for four. He followed that shot up by pulling a bouncer off the top edge out of the ground over square leg. The carnage carried in Mills next over as the first ball disappeared through cover for four and another bouncer was pulled just over a leaping Ben Foakes at Square Leg for six, this left Pollock on 44 from 35 balls, and Cambridge on the verge of reaching 100, they didn't, however as Grant Nicholson fell LBW for 1 to the first ball of Ravi Bopara's next over to leave Cambridge all out for 99, 229 runs behind Essex.
With no follow on enforced, Tom Westley and Rob Quiney came out for the 45 minutes before lunch and rattled along to 37-0 without any trouble. Quiney took 9 off the first over after lunch, as the pair looked untroubled by the student attack, with Nicholson coming in for some particular punishment as runs flowed easily. Quiney reached 50 from 73 balls, and celebrated next over by thumping Allchin over long on for six, two fours and another six over midwicket thudding off the wall of Hughes Hall. Westley was slower, reaching 50 from 89 balls but he too began to attack before Quiney reached his hundred from his 116th ball with another four. The score had reached 188-0 at tea, and any contest in the game was long gone with those 151 unbeaten runs that had been added.
The double hundred partnership came off Allchin before Pollock beat Quiney's outside edge and flattened the off stump for 112, Quiney was surprised that he was out, 209-1. Foakes joined Westley who soon reached his own 100 in the 51st over. Both batsmen then went after the bowlers, and spinner Akbar Ansari who seemed to keep bowling full tosses, went for 17 in his first two overs. Westley charged the first five balls of Ansari's next over, hitting the first four into gaps in the arc for two, before missing the fifth to be neatly stumped by Bell for 133, 281-2. Then the big moment of the evening as Bopara came out to bat, having only made four in the first innings, he'd of wanted a nice warmup knock to start the summer, only to be struck on the pad first ball and after a massive appeal, given out to give Ansari his 2nd.
That was to be the last wicket as, after negotiating the hat trick ball, Foakes (49*) and James Foster (34*) saw Essex through the last half hour to 335-3 from 70 overs a lead of 564 with one day to go.
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