Durham UCCE @ Taunton 9 May 2005 (3 day friendly)

Marcus Trescothick can't play today but he'd like to. I'm not sure the Durham guys are gonna enjoy it....they might like a lot of rain!! Somerset are pulling very little punches for this game. Mark Garraway has named the following squad of 12;

Neil Edwards, Matt Wood, Mike Burns, John Francis, James Hildreth, Ian Blackwell, Aaron Laraman, RobTurner, Richard Johnson, Simon Francis,Nixon McLean and Andrew Caddick.

It would be good to see the three guys who haven't had a run out yet - which would mean that probably Simon Francis would sit out. I can't see why he could name them if they weren't going to play...but arre thay all fit? Johnson wasn't supposed to be ready yet so he may only be making up the numbers to get himself back into the mind set. No information has been forthcoming about AL so one would assume he gets a nod to start.

The message coming out loud and clear is that we mean business this year. We have this lot PLUS Marcus Trescothick for next week.

Then we have that lot PLUS Sanath Jayasuriya for the Yorkshire game. We really have got to make the most of this start. Marcus tends to think that it'll geet even warmer around 15 May when the mighty Graham Smith takes over and starts to set out his expectations!

The report will come in fits and starts over the next 2 or 3 days...It shouldn't last that long though if what we read is true.

Wood and Edwards open looking just like Lathwell and Trescothick. Simon Francis is 12th man and the get off to a great start with Wood going to 50 off 57 balls with 7 fours. It's 96 for 0 off the first 19 overs.

Neil goes at 42 with 121 on the board to a catch that he wasn't too keen on. He waited, asked and then walked. Looked good. He's tall, confident and cuts like Robin Smith. You can only look as good as the opposition allow but he looked the part today. Out comes Mike Burns at 3.

Mike takes us past 150 with 3 fours to the same spot in the 33rd over. Durham have turned to their slow alternatives but anything loose is going to the boundary from either end.

But just before lunch Burnsy tries to clear the boundary and fails...caught for 19 and 163 for 2. He didn't look that pleased and John Francis must be over the moon to be coming in for 5 minutes! He's off the mark quickly but he'll have to start twice. Lunch comes with Somerset at 179 for 2. John has picked up 11 and Woody is majestic on 89 and so it should be for a side which will probably be the starting line-up for next week...with possibly no more than 2 changes.

Wood goes very soon after lunch for 95, a good catch 5 short at 180. Hildreth then plays on to his first or second ball without scoring (calm down dear, it's only a friendly) bringing Blackwell to the crease.

By the 44th, they've moved it over 200 with JF taking the majority of the runs. Blackwell is swinging a bit but finding fielders when he does connect. But, by the time we get to 250, Ian has his eye in, has overtaken John F and goes to 50 as we pass 250 (46 balls and 7 fours).

The 100 partnership arrives with a 64:36 split at 284 and Frank Junior reaches half a ton one run later. 300 at 5-ish an over isn't bad and at least one of Durham's slow men is getting a bat lashing from IB.

Blackie goes over the ton off 84 balls at 358 as the guys go to a second hundred. That comes up after some 'declaration' bowling at the OP in the 73rd. With two batsman in, who'd be a bowler in need of experience. 383 for 4 at Tea.

400 is the first target after Tea and Ian B gets Somerset there with a CA Pavilion six very early on. Durham continue with the 'milk it' slows at the start of the session. (The first ball was a no ball for above the shoulder...from a spinner!).

 

Frank reaches his ton at 429 with Mr B only 5 from his one and a half, which duly arrives at 435 (120 balls). Sixes start to come thick and fast, Blackwell mishits one straight into the Press Box (he was aiming for the graveyard).

300 partnership in the 85th and the shots just keep on coming as IB hits consecutive sixes around the scoreboard. Blackie skies one too many and goes for 191 - a club record 5th wicket partnership of 319.

 

Aaron Laraman follows that then for his first innings of the season. But it's Francis who whips one to the midwicket fielder(Tom Bruce) who holds on, at the second attempt, to an excellent catch. Career best 123 for JF and out comes Rob Turner at 503 for 6.

 

571 when I go to watch "The Doctor". We've had 101 overs and AL will go to 50 with luck. If he gets there before the end of the day let me know will you? A good day dealing exactly as we should with mediocre opposition (from a bowling standpoint). They fielded really well and kept to their task but they were murdered by a batting attack that should murder this kind of level of bowling. Burns will have felt he missed out and a couple of people were out to excellent catches.

 

Tomorrow we will see whether a) Durham's batting line-up is stronger and, more importantly, how our number one bowling attack takes to it!

 

Day 2

Well it seems that Durham's batting is stronger than its bowling if the score of 126 without loss is to be believed. With grass four foot high and no rain I've got jobs to do before I find out why the Somerset's bowling has been ineffective but after declaring overnight I expect that Rob Turner would have liked a better situation just before tea.

 

All credit to the students for coming out fighting. Smith and Maiden have put on 159 off 51 overs. The good news is that we aren't bowling huge numbers of extras (2 no balls and 2 leg byes) so we seem to be somewhere near the money. Also no bowler seems to be taking unusual amounts of punishment. Caddick 2.9 runs per over, Nixon 3.9, Johnson 3.0, Laraman 1.5 and Blackwell 3.7. The fact that we have used both James Hildreth and Mike Burns suggests that we are trying a number of options because the penetration just isn't there. Is that because the two openers have a strong defence or that our strike force isn't asking them questions? Don't know I'll try and find out in the next hour and report about 5.

Well the story is that it is more a case of excellent batting than poor bowling on a batting wicket. As I put this in Durham are 270 after 78. Both batsmen have their eye in now and there's not a lot in this pitch so we just have to wait for the declaration or take the time at the wicket in preparation for later in the week.

Other bits of news, Marcus Trescothick is fielding for Neil Edwards (who had two fingers taped up this morning) and Smith (Durham opener) has just gone to 150. While Smith (future captain) has just gone to 100 in Trinidad.

Burns finally gets Smith for 156 caught by Hildreth and It's 304 for 1!!

Maiden also reaches 150 at 317.  Caddick and Johnson are on, looking better than their figures probably suggest.  Tractor reckons Caddy has been the pick of the bowlers today, getting bounce where others didn't...not that it's made much difference.  They're seeing it like a football and we've been bowling all day with not a lot to show for it.

 

At 6 o'clock, Caddick decides to psych out one of the Durham batsmen (Burnell).  So there's lots of glares, words and deliveries around the ears....and the score tootles on to 319 for the loss of one wicket.  There's not a lot of runs coming, the bowling might not be penetrating but it is very tight and by then end of the day, Durham have moved to 327 which means that they only managed 23 runs in the last 75 minutes.

 

Is that any good?  Well in the context of the game, NO but in the context of the season?  We did not give up the ghost.  We scored at over 5 an over yesterday and clocked up a score of 500+ in roughly the same number of overs.  Today, the students have done extremely well, too well some might say.  But they are still just under 200 behind because the attack stuck to it's plan and didn't give runs away.  There are going to be days like this but if you can't remove, restrict.

 

Everyone had a long spell, no-one was hammered against two batsmen very much on their game.  The fielding was efficient and everyone came through the day without injury (I don't think Edwards is badly damaged).  Caddick bowled good tight overs, Johnson  looked fit and able to put in spells, Laraman was efficient and Nixon was pacy.  Well there's a day to go and then the important stuff starts.  It's at Old Trafford where it matters.  But this one isn't over yet!

 

Day 3

But it probably was the moment the studdent body decided not to declare in the morning.  A draw was really the only result from then on in.  Two early wickets for Caddick didn't do it , even though the second was on the second ball.  Nixon got one too but the declaration at 433 for 4 left nothing really to do but try and hold on to your wicket and get a few in the process.

 

James Hildreth had a quiet game against Gloucestershire and hadn't set the world on fire in the first innings of this game.  His 112 off 86 balls reminded us what he can do when the mood takes him and probably gave him a higher degree of confidence for the Lancashire trip.

 

Well done to Mr Maiden for his double ton (will we see his like again I wonder).  Thanks boys for the game.  We've now got bigger fish to fry so have a good trip home and we'll follow some part of the way home.  You take "Foxy" with you and we'll go and see if "Freddy" is at home.

 

"Bagpuss" may not be known to you all.  The roving cricket obsessed vet from Liverpool wafts in and out of the ground on her days off from travelling the world to see the big boys play in wierd and wonderful places.  She has given us some intelligence about the state of Lancashire which I've filched from the Messageboard and put up as the Lancashire preview.  I hope she may pass us a few words during the game because I'm sure she's put all the animals to sleep (no! not killed them!)in order to get there for four days.  If you have Nicky, can we have some idea what is going on pretty please?

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