By Grockles
August 18 2002
The freefall into Division 2 continues as we maintain our Championship form in the NUL! Not satisfied in producing appalling performances to force ourselve into relegation in the four day, we produce the same type of batting performances in the one day games..Roll on Lords...can't wait!
v NOTTINGHAMSHIRE OUTLAWS @ TRENT BRIDGE 18 AUGUST 2002
First of a double header over the next couple of days and VITAL for our survival (how many times have we said that in the past couple of weeks?).We have Andy Caddick in for this game but not the Taunton fixture. Matt Wood stays in, Keith Dutch and Steffan Jones come down for the fixture and Simon Francis gets a game while Richard Johnson doesn't (although he is playing instead of Caddy tomorrow - is he fit? If he is why the hell isn't he playing?) The Outlaws win the toss and send us out into the field. Piran Holloway is unlucky to miss out after a decent performance in the four day game against Hampshire. No Matt Bulbeck - don't know why
Gallian and Shafayat start for Notts and Caddick has early luck with the second man - 16 for 1. He continues this by getting the home side to 43 for 2 when he has Afzaal caught by his captain for 12, Jason Gallian is not the England prospect he used to be but he steadies the innings and puts on 62 with Pietersen (one of those "Euro professionals" before he goes to Keith Dutch for 39 with the Outlaws just over 100. Sharp fielding by Mike Burns makes Johnson's visit to the crease very short and we have 106 for 4 and a fighting chance at a good performance. Enter the reject keeper Chris Read who helps Pietersen with a partnership of 98 before he is also run out for 38. Mr Pietersen is dropped on 38, he snicked one at 48 and did not walk (not my opinion but everyone commentating plus Rob Turner and Keith Parsons) and got no applause on reaching his fifty and eventually his hundred. 204 for 5 is more serious but Francis gets Franks for 3 and Jones bowls Lucas only 3 balls later 215 for 7.
Jonah shows what he does best, clearing out the tail in the final 10. He bolws Pietersen for 122 off 100 balls with 9 fours and 5 sixes at 236. Then he bowls McGill (who he probably played with in Somerset's seconds) four balls later. This keeps the Notts score down to 239 off their 45 and gives him figures of 8/1/46/3. Caddy weighed in with 2 for 34. Francis put in a decent performance with 1 for 43 off his 8 and Dutchy produced an excellent tight spell in the middle of 1 for 39 off his 9.
Good first half - 5 an over should be a winning target. But we need to bat well....
Out come Bowler and Burns. A surprise but an opener with a stroke player is not unusual and we expect Cox/Wood to be next in depending on who is out....after a decent start this time. Whoops, 1 boundary and Burnsy is on his way back after 4 balls, caught behind. 4 for bleeding 1...not again please!
Out comes Coxy - second over back goes Coxy - out for 0 bowled Lucas (first over) caught McGill. 6 for bleeding 2 ...and it is another debacle.
3 for 11 - Blackwell 0 bowled Lucas - 5 balls. 4 for 11 Parsons out first ball LBW. Where the hell is Woody? Why play him if you're going to send him in after your stroke men? If you lose them who the hell is going to build on the platform that Woody can provide? If he can't be risked, why play him?
So it's over! All our big guns are gone and we have 11 runs! That's 229 less than we need for those who are worried. Finally Wood joins Bowler and we have a run chase on our hands (they's got to 24 by the end of the 8th) with our two stabalising openers in together and not a lot to come.
Luckily, they put on a partnership of 80 and we get past our smallest score. Unfortunately, they aren't scoring fast enough and Bowler wants to get it going. After nearly being stumped the ball before, he gives Read another chance and the wicketkeeper takes it. Bowler out stumped 91 for 5. Read is having a blinder for us, standing up to the spinners, he fails to catch three and misses one stumping - wonder why he was dropped by England?
Woody succumbs at 108 for a dogged 37. He's really out of form and shouldn't have played! Rob T is trying to hold together an innings that was still born from over three - he shouldn't have to do this EVERY GAME!!!! Dutchy tries a reverse sweep, looks a prat and is bowled by Randall for 2. Francis smacks two boundaries from the six balls he faces but is bowled by Shafayat trying for one more. Jones gets 10 before he tries to choke McGill by sending one straight down his throat and Caddick stays around while Noddy makes a few. He puts on 21 before he's last man out to Shafayat - bowled. Turner is 39 not out and we are 69 runs short.
It smells, its awful and we are soooo bad that any target we set for ourselves will not be achieved with the present mindset and the present batting form. I heard a supporter actually discuss selling his Finals tickets because he did not want to go to Lords and see his side totally humiliated. Tomorrow is the floodlit match - attendances may well be down - what's the point of going to see a side who have no confidence in themselves and lose the game in the dressing room before they take to the field? We could be so good, why are we this poor? Relegation looms in both leagues and we'd better get ready to ask an awful lot of important questions at the end of the season. The excuses for performances this poor should be really impressive to listen to.