V YORKSHIRE CC1 @ TAUNTON 8 MAY 2002

End of the innings...

Rushed to get in for the start of play, expecting the innings to end quite quickly...as it tends to do.  But it didn't.  The weather is still 'misty' (almost a sea mist in fact) and cold and the morning session offered quite a lot of help for the bowlers.   A lot of people here as an example of the 'struggling' Championship form of cricket.  Yorkshire always seem to bring a lot of people down but most of the CA Pavilion seats were filled as was quite a lot of the River End.   If we were a second division soccer side we'd almost be classified as 'healthy' as it is we are simply a drain on the valuable resources of the glorious ECB!!

Keith Dutch actually looked like he'd just been off for a couple of minutes and was straight back into the fray.  Blackwell was a little more circumspect and took quite a while to get off the mark.  It was the smaller man who made the initial running and also Dutch who was the first to go when Sidebottom had him C&B with the score on 206 and the batsman 4 from a well deserved 50.  Dutch had done his job though.  Matt Bulbeck replaced him and was required to do the same for Blackwell who was starting to get into his stride but he looked out of sorts with the bat and only stayed to add one to the score before he was caught LBW for 1.  It seems that it was decided that experience should win out next and in came Caddick before Francis.  It didn't matter in the long run because Sidebottom got Blackwell to smack one with the full face of the bat straight at a short fielder and the innings was effectively over at 217 for 9.  Blackwell was gone for 114 in 134 balls with 4 sixes and 13 fours.  We did have a little cameo from Francis and Caddick though who suggested that the extra batting point might be on with a partnership of 15.  Francis looks better with the bat than his average suggests and he made a comfortable 13 before the big man spooned/flipped one in the air and was caught off Silverwood.  232 all out with a lead of 19  More than we could have hoped for at 4:00 yesterday afternoon.

Yorkshire's bowling figures made interesting reading with the three man seam attack taking the bulk of the wickets but the 'international' Hoggard seemed obsessed with bouncing people who either put his balls over the fence or simply left them alone (except Rob Turner of course!!).  104 for 3 was 'well deserved'.  Sidebottom helped clean up this morning with 2 for 37 but the surprise was Chris Silverwood who we didn't really notice but who took 4 wickets for the measely total of 28 (if I heard right of course).

Second innings..

12:40 4.5 overs gone and Yorkshire are 27 for 0 with White on 16 and Vaughan on 10.   An interesting afternoon to come!!  

But it wasn't really for most of it because we didn't get the momentum up to get them out.  We let White and Lehmann reset the Yorkshire threat and thay accumulated even though we hit them with the odd flurry of wickets. Lumb got 62 a hell of a lot easier than he got 66 the day before.  Matt Bulbeck's figures tended to flatter to decieve because he spent most of the early afternoon two foot outside off stump with the batsman offering no shot at all.  Caddick seemed misreable about something and now we know that it was a question about a decision which has made him a very bad boy in the eyeys of the ECB!  Keith Parsons took 3 important wickets but the game changed when Blackwell got Lehmann on 186 because although McGrath made it to the end of the innings, the big guns had gone.  We had them at 280 at the end of Day 2 which still meant that we would have to score big to win.  With two days to do it we the game would be over one way or the other by the end of day 3.

Best Moment....

"Hey Jamie...do you want a drink?" I mean talk about toadying to the captain!   I don't think Tractor was expecting Coxy to say Yes.  Then again, I don't think he expected Tractor to buy him a half of Blackthorn either!  It is amazing that the Aussie has been here for four years and looked as if he'd never seen a glass of Somerset amber nectar before.  We all wondered whether they have apples in Oz.   He smelt it, took the smallest of sips and then avoided it like the plague.   he did however take an important catch almost immediately so it obviously had an effect.  Tractor looked after it for him and I think it found a good home at sometime in the next half hour.  An honorary Somerset man who doesn't llike Cider?  Say it ain't so Buzz.

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