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4 in a row? Essex @ Taunton

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By Grockle
July 20 2007
Can AC and the rest of the guys put another 22 points in the kitty against the 3rd side in the division? It's a tall order against Essex and the weather. Matt Wood will play instead of the injured Marcus Trescothick but don't expect too many other changes. The rain may beat us this time but it's a good game for that to happen in. If we don't get points then neither do Essex

v Essex LVCC2 @ Taunton Friday 21 July 2007

Scorecard

So we start an important game at home against one of our rivals for Division 1 cricket in 2008.  Langer keeps to his Championship side except that Matt Wood finally gets into a side as the replacement for the injured Marcus Trescothick. The weather predicts 'no chance' for a result but we've been there before and emerged victorious so we all go into Day One with optimism.  The game is held under halfmast flags for 'Dasher' and a nice gesture is made by the umpires and the Essex boys who all wear black armbands for the first day.

We win the toss and put them in.  Problem number one - they fail to collapse!  Chopra, Pettini and Bopara all put on decent front end scores as our bowlers fail to penetrate the Essex front five.  The scoring is slow but it is scoring and although our guys work damn hard, the wickets aren't exactly flowing.  It's heavy going until we remove ten Doeschate (what wonderful London names these guys have...talk about multi-cultural!!) and although they only have 235 on the board, with rain interruptions, that is well into Day 2!!  This has draw written all over it and it isn't helped by Pettini's penchant to take his men off whenever they are offered.

It's fine for us because we can take the draw, we are ahead of them.  Eessex need to win this one more than we do even though we still have to play Notts twice.  Nevertheless, the first day ends at 155 for 2 and we take most of the second day to removef the other 8 and then only thanks to a late flurry just before tea from Cameron White who gets Middlebrook, Tudor and Paladino for not a lot in a spurt of wickets.  The visitors make 282 and we get to have a go after a rain break or two and then suffer one of those horrible bits of play where there are 10 overs, the ball's is all over the place and difficult to see and the only objective is to survive until the next day in the hope that the sun will come out.

We almost managed that but lost Neil Edwards to an LBW shout before the close but we started Day 3 at 28 for 1 with Matt Wood looking to carve a score for himself and his captain in to get the innings kick started again.

This he seems to be doing with a flurry of boundaries at the start of Day 3 but he doesn't last long because in order to stay there you have to hit Bichel's straight ball and Mr Langer didn't.  Matt Wood failed to hit one a little later but that was 'a shocker' according to most people I talked to.  It wasn't going to hit, it was too high and it wasn't straight.  Nevertheless Umpire Cook didn't agree and we are three down for 76.  It got worse but would have been a whole lot worse had Hildreth not been lucky when an Essex fielder dropped an absolute sitter at mid on. 

Didn't help us though.  We flash left right and centre and the only one's we really hit go straight to fielders or we miss the one's we should have hit and the loud thump of the pad is followed by the slow raise of the umpire's finger.  No-one covers themselves in any kind of glory and we manage to turn this back into a result game by capitulating for 153 giving Bichel a 6-fer and opening the possibility of Pettini posting a winning score.

The Essex second innings doesn't quite go to plan though as Chopra and the captain fall cheaply to Caddick and Jones but that is almost the end of the good fortune as although we get Flower, Foster and Bopara put on a hundred plus partnership and both score big with the England allrounder going to a ton. We expect the Essex declaration sometime in the last 15 overs but once again there seems little urgency in the visiting batting and there is some tight work from Cameron and Ian Blackwell with the flurry of wickets coming to the Englishman this time with the dangermen and ten Doeshcate all falling to him before the close.

Pettini doesn't declare and Day 4 will start with Essex still at the crease, unsure of the weather and without a really certain score in their pockets.  They lead by 423 with a variable day ahead.  Will they declare?  Who knows.  If they do can we hold out for the Day?  Who knows.  This game may still be in the hands of the rain but if that holds off it could be very interesting.

We hope for a draw.  The Essex win is still a possibility with a little help from dry weather and a Somerset win?  Well it's against all the odds but many would have said that about the Northants game.  It is highly unlikely but not completely in the realms of fantasy until about midday I would suggest.

Day 4

But the rain takes hold and there is absolutely no chance of any play by 11:00.  The umpires set midday as the inspection time but the weather just doesn't stop and the game is called off as a draw by 1 in the afternoon.  A decent result for us.  More bonus points would have been good but this game was never going to go the distance.  Essex move 2 points closer and we go to Derbyshire in the hope of getting a game either in the capital or Chesterfield.  Neither looks particularly hopeful at the moment.

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