So the third day of Middlesex vs Durham at Lord's turned out to be one of the craziest so far with 18 wickets falling and a finish on the fourth day a certainty.
Durham resumed on 157-4 and batting looked easy as Middlesex toiled for the breakthrough. Jennings and Rushworth found runs easy to come by Rushworth even tonking Rayner for six. The 200 soon came up and it wasn't until the score reached 229 that Rushworth was LBW to Rayner for 40.
Jennings looked set for his 100, but on 98 looked to Voges fourth delivery and edged through to Simpson. From 239 for six, lunch did something funny as the next two sessions were completely different. Voges bowled Mustard off his pad, Arshad chipped Harris to the sub Balbirnie, Hastings edged Finn to slip and Coughlin caught behind off Harris only a quick 38 not out from Paul Collingwood saved Durham from disaster as they slipped to 294 all out.
Middlesex opted to bat again and it soon looked like a bad decision as Rushworth tore through the top order, having Gubbins LBW, Compton acrobatically taken at Gully by MacLeod, Voges LBW 2nd ball and Robson pinned LBW all in the first 7 overs. Hastings came on at the Nursery end to replace the expensive Coughlin and he decided to join the fun, Franklin was caught behind, Simpson was bowled off a no ball, before being caught at slip for a duck and Rayner bowled for a duck in the same over as Middlesex went to tea on a fairly bizarre 37-7.
Dexter and Harris blocked out after tea and ground to fifty in the 18th over when Dexter fell for six to give Hastings his fourth. Harris got a leading edge snaffled next over to complete Rushworth's 5 for and now out hobbled Tim Murtagh on one leg with Simpson as his runner to get a few more on the board. He edged the first ball for four and he and Finn adopted a stand and deliver approach with Murtagh wrecking Rushworth's figures by thumping him into the Grand Stand, they added 39 with Murtagh top scoring with 22 when Hasting pinned Finn LBW for 15 to finish with 5-24, and Rushworth 5-38. 89 all out wouldn't have been the plan but 24.2 overs later Middlesex found themselves bowling again.
Harris came tearing in again from the Nursery end and plucked out two more before close, Jennings limply pulling to square leg for a duck and Stoneman swatting at edge to Voges at slip as Durham closed on 24-2 still needing 235 more to win.
Tuesday 12 May 2015
A Battle from Hastings
So after the women's match at Edmonton got rained off we move back to Middlesex vs Durham for day two and I get there just in time to see Harris edge behind, Franklin having already gone and Middlesex now six down.
The first ball I get there for, Harris edges Hastings behind as Middlesex had now slipped to 341-6. It was down to Dexter and Simpson to further the cause, and Durham failed to blast out the lower order as the sun came out and batting was relatively easy. Dexter was next to fall, heaving a Hastings bouncer to Usman Arshad at fine leg who took a good tumbling catch. Rayner hit a quick 16 before falling LBW to Rushworth for 16 and Murtagh was bowled heaving Borthwick for 11.
Simpson completed his 50 from 89 balls before hitting Hasting straight to mid off to be the last man out for 58 as Middlesex finished with a solid 463, Hastings with 4-87 from 33 overs.
Durham started well, with Mark Stoneman and Keaton Jennings scoring fairly easily early on, helped out by Tim Murtagh limping off with a suspected damaged hamstring after 2 balls. After a couple of quality drives, Stoneman then looked to waft Harris over cover and edged to slip for 21. Borthwick batted a bit like Stoneman with some nice shots before a waft to Franklin found the edge to Simpson for 26. Michael Richardson hit six fours in also making 26 before giving the impressive Harris his 2nd wicket.
Keaton Jennings meanwhile completed a composed 50 and finished the day on 61 but had to watch Calum MacLeod go to the penultimate over of the day, as Finn got one to rise and bowl him off the arm. So Durham end the day 306 runs behind on 157-4 needing a big effort from their middle order to catch Middlesex.
The first ball I get there for, Harris edges Hastings behind as Middlesex had now slipped to 341-6. It was down to Dexter and Simpson to further the cause, and Durham failed to blast out the lower order as the sun came out and batting was relatively easy. Dexter was next to fall, heaving a Hastings bouncer to Usman Arshad at fine leg who took a good tumbling catch. Rayner hit a quick 16 before falling LBW to Rushworth for 16 and Murtagh was bowled heaving Borthwick for 11.
Simpson completed his 50 from 89 balls before hitting Hasting straight to mid off to be the last man out for 58 as Middlesex finished with a solid 463, Hastings with 4-87 from 33 overs.
Durham started well, with Mark Stoneman and Keaton Jennings scoring fairly easily early on, helped out by Tim Murtagh limping off with a suspected damaged hamstring after 2 balls. After a couple of quality drives, Stoneman then looked to waft Harris over cover and edged to slip for 21. Borthwick batted a bit like Stoneman with some nice shots before a waft to Franklin found the edge to Simpson for 26. Michael Richardson hit six fours in also making 26 before giving the impressive Harris his 2nd wicket.
Keaton Jennings meanwhile completed a composed 50 and finished the day on 61 but had to watch Calum MacLeod go to the penultimate over of the day, as Finn got one to rise and bowl him off the arm. So Durham end the day 306 runs behind on 157-4 needing a big effort from their middle order to catch Middlesex.
An Uncovered Truth?
So, the first match of the women's championship (Royal London Women's One Day...) For Middlesex vs Berkshire at Edmonton gets rained off because the pitch is flooded as the covers have leaked. By covers I mean a couple of tarpaulins as the real covers had been vandalised a few months before, which begs the question as to why elite women's sport (one level below international) is being played at a venue that doesn't have adequate drainage facilities given this is England... In May... Anyway, move on to Lord's again (no such drainage issues there) for more Middlesex vs Durham.
Robson Running Riot
At 10:30, a greenish pitch and very overcast conditions, the decision to bowl first might have been a smart one, however it proved not to be for Durham as Middlesex racked up 329-4 on the first day of their Championship match at Lord's.
With Graham Onions out with a knee injury, the key breakthroughs would have to come from Chris Rushworth and John Hastings, but they struggled to apply much pressure and even if the Middlesex batting was scratchy early and gave a few chances, no wickets came. Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins moved the score on to 66 before Paul Coughlin got Gubbins fishing to slip for 23.
Robson soon completed 50 and began to look a lot more relaxed and he and Nick Compton took Middlesex to lunch 104-1.
After lunch, it was a case of more of the same as the pitch looked easy going, and soon he race was on to see if Compton would get to 50 before Robson completed his ton, and despite nearly running himself out, Compton won. He went soon after, bowled having a heave at Scott Borthwick's half trackers but this only brought in Adam Voges, another man in the mood for big runs. Robson went to his ton, his first since Sri Lanka in June last year and kicked on towards a loftier landmark.
Tea came and went, and the runs were still flowing as Durham turned to Calum MacLeod as the 8th bowler of the day, only to see Voges shelled at slip. The new ball brought the breakthrough as Voges was LBW to Rushworth for 52. Robson had completed a brilliantly crafted 150, but could last the day, as after being dropped at slip off Coughlin, he edged the same bowler to Borthwick at slip to depart for 178 runs that will hopefully see him to form after a tough year.
James Franklin and James Harris saw Middlesex to the close 329-4, with more of the same expected tomorrow, if the rain holds off.
With Graham Onions out with a knee injury, the key breakthroughs would have to come from Chris Rushworth and John Hastings, but they struggled to apply much pressure and even if the Middlesex batting was scratchy early and gave a few chances, no wickets came. Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins moved the score on to 66 before Paul Coughlin got Gubbins fishing to slip for 23.
Robson soon completed 50 and began to look a lot more relaxed and he and Nick Compton took Middlesex to lunch 104-1.
After lunch, it was a case of more of the same as the pitch looked easy going, and soon he race was on to see if Compton would get to 50 before Robson completed his ton, and despite nearly running himself out, Compton won. He went soon after, bowled having a heave at Scott Borthwick's half trackers but this only brought in Adam Voges, another man in the mood for big runs. Robson went to his ton, his first since Sri Lanka in June last year and kicked on towards a loftier landmark.
Tea came and went, and the runs were still flowing as Durham turned to Calum MacLeod as the 8th bowler of the day, only to see Voges shelled at slip. The new ball brought the breakthrough as Voges was LBW to Rushworth for 52. Robson had completed a brilliantly crafted 150, but could last the day, as after being dropped at slip off Coughlin, he edged the same bowler to Borthwick at slip to depart for 178 runs that will hopefully see him to form after a tough year.
James Franklin and James Harris saw Middlesex to the close 329-4, with more of the same expected tomorrow, if the rain holds off.
Friday 1 May 2015
Sangaring Along
Surrey moved slightly ahead of Essex on the first day of their championship match at The Oval, with the hosts being stuck in to bat and finishing the day 293-5.
Surrey only lost one wicket in the first session as runs came slowly, but there were no real problems in the pitch with Jamie Porter snaring Zafar Ansari for 18. Rory Burns and Kumar Sangakkara looked pretty much at ease in cloudy conditions with Burns making 50 off 113 balls, and Sanga easing to his from 97 balls including a massive six into the OCS stand off Monty Panesar. Burns tried to repeat Sanga's six, but holed out to cover to go for 78. This brought Kevin Pietersen to the wicket, but he and Sanga would not have a glorious day, as Sanga was soon LBW to Ryder for 52.
Steven Davies and KP then batted through to tea and onwards to the new ball without too much trouble then KP fell LBW to Ryder's first ball back for a becalmed 32, and Jason Roy followed in the same fashion two balls later as Surrey slumped to 243-5.
It took a late 50 stand between Davies and Gary Wilson to see them through to the close, Davies 69 (50 from 94 balls), Wilson 23. The worries for Essex would be quick wickets in the morning and the state of Greg Smith who went off injured mid over.
Surrey only lost one wicket in the first session as runs came slowly, but there were no real problems in the pitch with Jamie Porter snaring Zafar Ansari for 18. Rory Burns and Kumar Sangakkara looked pretty much at ease in cloudy conditions with Burns making 50 off 113 balls, and Sanga easing to his from 97 balls including a massive six into the OCS stand off Monty Panesar. Burns tried to repeat Sanga's six, but holed out to cover to go for 78. This brought Kevin Pietersen to the wicket, but he and Sanga would not have a glorious day, as Sanga was soon LBW to Ryder for 52.
Steven Davies and KP then batted through to tea and onwards to the new ball without too much trouble then KP fell LBW to Ryder's first ball back for a becalmed 32, and Jason Roy followed in the same fashion two balls later as Surrey slumped to 243-5.
It took a late 50 stand between Davies and Gary Wilson to see them through to the close, Davies 69 (50 from 94 balls), Wilson 23. The worries for Essex would be quick wickets in the morning and the state of Greg Smith who went off injured mid over.
Monday 13 April 2015
Taylor Time
Middlesex began the Championship campaign by taking on Notts at Lord's, and it was a fairly even day as Notts finished 298-9 with Brendan Taylor making a Championship debut hundred and James Harris taking four wickets.
Notts won the toss and batted, and Steve Mullaney and Taylor did well to last the opening burst from Murtagh and Finn who got some sharp movement on a good pitch. After that runs were easier to find against Helm and Harris, but were helped out by the slips as first Malan and then Voges put down Mullaney both times off Helm. Mullaney failed to capitalise as he dragged on off Helm for 22 and Alex Hales soon followed prodding a ball to Murtagh at cover and setting off for the single to run out for a duck from the direct hit.
Now James Taylor came to the crease and he helped Brendan forge the partnership of the innings.
After lunch Brendan completed 50 and pushed on, making batting look easy as first Harris, then Helm gave too many loose balls which were gleefully plundered. Brendan raced through the 90s and completed his hundred from 160 balls with a push through cover. Finally a break came just before tea, as James hashed a pull to Gubbins at cover, it looked a worse shot as Samit Patel was LBW three balls later. Riki Wessels made one, before he became Harris's third victim and finally Brendan was sent packing by Harris for 106 as an amazing spell of 4-1 in 11 balls had dragged Middlesex out of the miasma as 180-2 became 183-6.
Will Gidman nearly went first ball but only made nine to give Helm a 2nd and Vernon Philander walked past a Voges off break to be stumped.
It looked like Middlesex would keep the score down, but Chris Read swung the day back towards Notts as he found an able ally in Jake Ball and then Harry Gurney as he made a battling 50 getting more expansive and celebrated by walloping Helm into the Grand Stand for six and then a one bounce four as he finished the day on 62 not out and Gurney on 8. Middlesex will be looking for the quick last wicket and then some solid top order batting, especially from the returning Nick Compton as Dawid Malan spent most of the afternoon off the field with a likely broken finger (after dropping another catch) and looked unlikely to bat.
Notts won the toss and batted, and Steve Mullaney and Taylor did well to last the opening burst from Murtagh and Finn who got some sharp movement on a good pitch. After that runs were easier to find against Helm and Harris, but were helped out by the slips as first Malan and then Voges put down Mullaney both times off Helm. Mullaney failed to capitalise as he dragged on off Helm for 22 and Alex Hales soon followed prodding a ball to Murtagh at cover and setting off for the single to run out for a duck from the direct hit.
Now James Taylor came to the crease and he helped Brendan forge the partnership of the innings.
After lunch Brendan completed 50 and pushed on, making batting look easy as first Harris, then Helm gave too many loose balls which were gleefully plundered. Brendan raced through the 90s and completed his hundred from 160 balls with a push through cover. Finally a break came just before tea, as James hashed a pull to Gubbins at cover, it looked a worse shot as Samit Patel was LBW three balls later. Riki Wessels made one, before he became Harris's third victim and finally Brendan was sent packing by Harris for 106 as an amazing spell of 4-1 in 11 balls had dragged Middlesex out of the miasma as 180-2 became 183-6.
Will Gidman nearly went first ball but only made nine to give Helm a 2nd and Vernon Philander walked past a Voges off break to be stumped.
It looked like Middlesex would keep the score down, but Chris Read swung the day back towards Notts as he found an able ally in Jake Ball and then Harry Gurney as he made a battling 50 getting more expansive and celebrated by walloping Helm into the Grand Stand for six and then a one bounce four as he finished the day on 62 not out and Gurney on 8. Middlesex will be looking for the quick last wicket and then some solid top order batting, especially from the returning Nick Compton as Dawid Malan spent most of the afternoon off the field with a likely broken finger (after dropping another catch) and looked unlikely to bat.
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Marching Along
So, the new season is almost upon us, and I went down to witness Essex and Middlesex have some batting practice on the 2nd day of their warm up at Chelmsford. March cricket is usually a) cold and b) full of batting collapses, today didn't really provide either of those.
Due to Essex losing so many wickets the previous day, it was agreed Middlesex would start batting and would have 50 overs, with Essex have the remaining 34 to do whatever it is they wanted. This meant that the day petered out somewhat as Essex were never really likely to chase down Middlesex's effort.
David Masters struck in the first over, having Sam Robson caught at short leg, but other than that Middlesex avoided too many scares early on in the face of some fairly sharp swing bowling. Everyone who got in found a way to get out as Eskinazi (LBW), Gubbins (ct behind) and Dexter (ct behind) all departed to swing as Middlesex went to lunch on 95-4.
Dawid Malan was the exception to this and marched onwards to complete an 82 ball 50, and after Simpson and George Scott both fell, Harry Podmore blasted 30 from 34 balls as Middlesex rattled up 158-6 from 50 overs, Malan being 57 not out.
Essex carried on batting the way they had the previous day (91-7) by getting in a tangle as James Harris served up a double wicket maiden with Westley yorked and Jaik Mickburgh caught at slip, but Nick Browne and Dan Lawrence saw off the opening bowlers on what was a reasonably sunny afternoon. Lawrence clubbed the first six of the day, but was LBW to Podmore for 14.
The rest of the innings was well played by Browne and first James Foster and then Kishen Velani as they saw out the rest of the innings with some easy runs as Ollie Rayner and Ravi Patel rattled through the last 15 overs of the innings in about 45 minutes. There wasn't much spin, unsurprisingly with Rayner dismissing Foster from a top edged sweep.
Essex finished their 34 overs on 121-4, with Browne 49 not out and Velani 27 not out to complete the draw before both sides play tomorrow in 2 t20s.
Due to Essex losing so many wickets the previous day, it was agreed Middlesex would start batting and would have 50 overs, with Essex have the remaining 34 to do whatever it is they wanted. This meant that the day petered out somewhat as Essex were never really likely to chase down Middlesex's effort.
David Masters struck in the first over, having Sam Robson caught at short leg, but other than that Middlesex avoided too many scares early on in the face of some fairly sharp swing bowling. Everyone who got in found a way to get out as Eskinazi (LBW), Gubbins (ct behind) and Dexter (ct behind) all departed to swing as Middlesex went to lunch on 95-4.
Dawid Malan was the exception to this and marched onwards to complete an 82 ball 50, and after Simpson and George Scott both fell, Harry Podmore blasted 30 from 34 balls as Middlesex rattled up 158-6 from 50 overs, Malan being 57 not out.
Essex carried on batting the way they had the previous day (91-7) by getting in a tangle as James Harris served up a double wicket maiden with Westley yorked and Jaik Mickburgh caught at slip, but Nick Browne and Dan Lawrence saw off the opening bowlers on what was a reasonably sunny afternoon. Lawrence clubbed the first six of the day, but was LBW to Podmore for 14.
The rest of the innings was well played by Browne and first James Foster and then Kishen Velani as they saw out the rest of the innings with some easy runs as Ollie Rayner and Ravi Patel rattled through the last 15 overs of the innings in about 45 minutes. There wasn't much spin, unsurprisingly with Rayner dismissing Foster from a top edged sweep.
Essex finished their 34 overs on 121-4, with Browne 49 not out and Velani 27 not out to complete the draw before both sides play tomorrow in 2 t20s.
Tuesday 24 March 2015
Still Alive
Hi all.
I know this has been somewhat abandoned over the last couple of years so I thought, what with the new season just about to start, it was time for a refresh and a spring clean which doubles as a fourth anniversary celebration.
I'll try and keep this more reliably up to date, probably with some shorter reports and other random thoughts.
I'll be tweeting as usual from @Wardog1990 and getting all 2012 with a hashtag - #cricket15 which may only last a few games, but we'll see.
First bit of cricket this season is the 2nd day of the warmup game at Chelmsford tomorrow.
I know this has been somewhat abandoned over the last couple of years so I thought, what with the new season just about to start, it was time for a refresh and a spring clean which doubles as a fourth anniversary celebration.
I'll try and keep this more reliably up to date, probably with some shorter reports and other random thoughts.
I'll be tweeting as usual from @Wardog1990 and getting all 2012 with a hashtag - #cricket15 which may only last a few games, but we'll see.
First bit of cricket this season is the 2nd day of the warmup game at Chelmsford tomorrow.
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