v Loughborough UCCE @ Taunton 14 April 2007

Scorecard

With Langer, White and Willoughby unavailable for this game (through jet lag and visa lag) and Ben Phillips already on the injury list, this game becomes a little more than a run out for the full strength team before the big stuff against the 'Sex on Wednesday.  It provides opportunity for Justin Langer to see some of the younger guys and for some of the younger guys to make a claim for places, especially in the bowling line-up.

The side is;

Trescothick, Edwards, Francis, Suppiah, Hildreth, Blackwell, Trego, Spurway,Jones, Caddick, Turner

The ommisions first.  No place for Matt Wood in this season opener.  We haven't seen much of him in the friendlies really.  There is a lot of competition for that number 3/4 place and he isn't the prominent one to take it at the moment.  Although Wednesday is the real indicator, I have a feeling in my water that Mr Wood will not be in the starting line-up for the first Championship match - if everyone else is available of course.  The second ommision that struck me was Keith Parsons.  Not as ominous this one because he has been prominent in the earlier games but personally I think that may indicate that he isn't being looked at for the Phillips slot on Wednesday and that Pete Trego is more likely to be there, unless Mark Turner really shows something in the next three days on his debut for the county.

As far as the rest of the lineup is concerned on would expect Trescothick, Hildreth, Blackwell, Jones and Caddick to be looking at this game as a taster for next week. If Langer comes in at 2 then Neil Edwards must fancy his chances with 60 to his name as I type this and a decent start in most of the games he has been seen in.  Whether that will mean that Langer will not open or Banger will take the number 3 spot is up for debate.  John Francis might also hope his name is in the frame but he hasn't made a real start yet and has already gone for 10 along with Mr T for 28.  Arul Suppiah must also feel he has a say in all this.  I think it will be Trescothick, Edwards, Langer, Hildreth, White and Blackwell as the 'Willow Wall' in the LVCC opener.

Sam Spurway needs a good game here after the batting pyrotechnics of Keiswetter last week with his 47 ball ton and some very tidy keeping from Carl Gazzard during the game against Devon.  I think he'll start on Wednesday but I still don't believe he'll keep the gloves for the one dayers.

As already mentioned Trigger must fancy his chances of a Championship start after the unfortunate injury to Phillips but he'll have to show a lttle more control than he did against the Woodman onslaught during the Devon game when he was given some hammer.  We need that support bowling slot to be tight and hard to get away.  We all need to hope that Charl W has got his paperwork in order and is in the country waiting for a ball to be put in his hand or this could be the frontline bowling attack for Wednesday as well!!

Anyway, it is a beautiful day here in the hills of West Somerset and I hope to get down for some of the afternoon session today.  As I close for the moment we are 128 for 2 with Neil Edwards  moving past 70 and James Hildreth on 16 after the loss of Banger and Frank (at 54 and 98 respectively). 

I didn't get there for Day 1 but it seems that Mr Edwards brought his party hat and decided to throw it into the ring!  A starting score of 212 has to have some effect on the selection committee for mid week and may have Mr Trescothick or Langer starting their 2007 card at Number 3. The great thing is that while he was ammassing what I believe is his first double hundred for our firsts, Hildreth and Suppiah were putting together decent supporting scores to keep the total moving forward.

All this is not going to suddenly make us all believe that this is how it is going to be weekly but the only thing you can do against weaker opposition is murder them and we've done that quite well when the opportunity has arisen lately.  Whether we will repeat it in the real thing still remains to be seen but you never know nd signs are positive in most aspects. 

The question is whether, now we have declared on 417 for 5,  we plan to take their batting apart as well or show that the wicket is benign and anyone could produce a score on it?  It looks like Mr Caddick is giving no quarter as his first 5 overs give him figures for tomorrow of 14 for 2 with good tight support from Turner.

Tomorrow.  Will we get the answer to the riddle that is nagging away in the back of many supporters minds  We know we can bat...but can we bowl?

 Day 2

Here was I just logging on an hour into the second day to check what I was going to see when I popped in about 12:30 and I find that my question has been answered quite emphatically.

Loughborough started the day on 14 for 2 and have been blown away by a Caddick five-fer with aggressive support from Jones and Turner who have both captured a brace.  Turner's 10 overs at 4.2 an over looks very promising and it also looks like Steffan was brought on as the innings progressed to rough up the back end of the middle order.  It seems to have been quite an effective strategy as he has taken his two wickets in 4 and a bit overs, both caught behind.  With one wicket remaining LCCE are looking at a follow on target in the 340's with only 73 to their name.  Over today?

Looks like it.  Once again, it isn't a preview of the season - many would argue it isn't even a first class match.  But it does suggest levels of confidence and preparation.  We are a county side doing to a University team what a county side should do.  We are scoring large off their bowling and skittling out their batting cheaply.  We can do no more than that.  But it suggests we are ready for something a little more strenuous!

Anyway they go for 77 and we decide to let those who didn't get a bat have one today. Some saw a cynical ruse to keep the bars open for another day but as there was only about 7 of us in there it seemed a little daft to suggest.  Also, isn't this game about looking at what we have so what is the point of shortening it when we don't have to?

In our second innings, we open with Mr Blackwell and Mr Francis. It isn't quite the story of the first, the Loughborough lads have learned a little and although Ian hits quite a rapid 50, John is still a little cautious and the rate is more sedate.  In the 80's both the starters go within 3 runs of each other (82 for 50 and 85 for 30) to usher James Hildreth and Peter Trego to the crease. Unfortunately Pete doesn't stay long making a mere 4 off the 8 balls he faces and his successor Sam Spurway doesn't fare a lot better making only 1 off the 9 balls he sees before being bowled by the impressive Braithwaite - who it seems did for Marcus yesterday with a very impressive disguised slow ball.  The man doing all the damage however in the secoond innings is a bowler called King who has three to his name as Arul joins JH and things get back to normal at 108 for 4.  Together they take the score on to 212 before Hildreth is caught behind, although he quite clearly doesn't think he was and looks amazed when the umpire gives it.  It deviated quite  lot from where we were sitting Jim I'm afraid.  When Steff is surprisingly meekly caught and bowled after being deceived by a slower delivery while contributing only 1, Tea arrives and we declare on 214 for 6 with James H top scoring with 79.

After Tea the bowling is opened by Steffan from the unfamiliar River End and Mark Turner from the Old Pavilion.  This is my first look at Turner who generates quite a bit of pace but is a fast/medium bowler in the "Gough" mould rather than the tall and rangey type.  But he does whap it down with some speed. He's too fast for lewis anyway who snicks one to Spurway with the score on 20 while Jonah is giving little away at the other end.  We have to wait until they pass 50 - a slowish rate to get there as well because they are getting little to hit.  Peter Trego opens his second innings account with the wicket of Spreigle LBW before Foster and Harinath set up a partnership to take the university past 100 and force Somerset to use their slows at the end of the day.  Bringing on Blackwell splits this little fightback duo though and Foster goes to Blackie at the close with 110 on the board and another 445 runs required for a University victory.

Most people were saying that this morning the wicket was greener than they had seen it for quite a while and it was really giving the bowlers something for at least the first hour (which is about all they needed to clean up the first innings).  If that happens again tomorrow morning then it won't be a long day.

News for WWednesday to finish.  Keith Parsons has a back problem and may or may not be up for selection for the first game.  Justin Langer is in Taunton - weve seen him!!  Charl Willoughby is also in the county - other people have seen him and talked to him so it isn't a double being used to keep Middlesex guessing.  No-one has seen Cameron yet but I have it on good authority that he was picked up by officials at the aitport on the 12th.

Rumours that Paul Jarvis, Gary Gilder and Si Francis have been put on standby for Wednesday's fixture are greatly exaggerated.  It is probably going to be Peter Trego who takes the fourth seam place to keep the tail short although spectators over the last couple of days were giving the thumbs up to Mr Turner as a definite outsider for the Number 8 spot.  We'll have to see won't we?  

Day 3

Well it started as well as could be expected as King, the replacement for Foster at the end of Day 2, lasted 2 balls before being fired out by Turner without adding to the score.  Harinath, kept up the fight and went to a fighting 50 before he was the next to say goodbye thanks to a link up between Jones and Spurway.  The student body was putting up a decent fist of it but there was llittle chance of this being anything but a heavy defeat.  Despite Murtagh, taking up the gauntlet and the tail having a bit bit of a wag we finally removed them all some 330 runs short of the unreallisitic winning total.

Good work from Mark Turner with an impressive 4 for 30 off 11 and a bit - it's students and all that but it is still looking like something we can work with.  Ian Blackwell got to turn his arm over and came away with 3 at 2 an over from his 26 overs with Trego, Jones and Hildreth clearing out the rest.

What does it tell us?  Well we have batsmen who know which end is which and we can put the heebeegeebees up the student body more effectively than we did last year.  Does it give us a side for Wednesday?

It puts Mark Turner in the frame and even with his lack of experience he might get a chance because of the experience of those around him. He will probably miss out to Pete Trego because of Trigger's batting but the older man needs a good performance to keep this boy out it seems.

Can we leave Neil Edwards out?  His opener status may not fit the model planned for the start of the season but he has to be a consideration for the starting line-up and that suggests that Matt Wood and Arul Suppiah will be sitting out the first game of the season.  Other than that, there is only the question about who will have the gloves.  Personally I still expect Spurway to start but all three 'wickies' have performed well in these games but Sam needs to keep an eye on the batting prowess of his English/SA compadre.

It will all fall into place when we welcome the Swarthy Greek back on Wednesday.  He played today and took a couple...ominous?

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon