By Grockle
June 8 2003

Burnsy must be beside himself while watching another poor batting performance. Less than 150 off 35, reduced by the D/L and we are up against it again.

v NORTHANTS @ Bath 8 June 2003

SCORECARD

Somerset won the toss on a windy a variable day and Burns decided to bat.  The only change to my predicted side was that young Michael Parsons was prefered to Gareth Andrew.  Cawdron (of blessed Bristol memory) and Nel open for them.  We send in Gazzard and Cox. It's lively and Cox can't resist the trap when it comes.  They put  a man deep and serve him one up and he obliges with a hook down his throat! Too damn predictable and 5 for 1

So Bryant is there by the 2nd over.  By the 5th he's still on 1.  The problems are compounded when Gazzrd is caught behind at 13.  Captain Burns heralds in the first boundary in the 6th before he is caught behind off Nel.  18 for 3 becomes 19 for 4 when Bryant fails to impress again and is LBW.

Enter Ian Blackwell with a 4 off his first ball, and it looks good, until he is caught brilliantly for 15 - 34 for 5. Keith Dutch starts the 10th over and brings on the rain. 75 minutes lost and a 35 over game.

At 15 overs we have 62, at 20 its not enough at 82 but the boys reach a 50 partnership 2 balls later.  Three figures in the 22nd.  Cook comes on at the Sports Centre end and the run outs start.   KP run out diving 106 for 6

Rob Turner in with 10 overs to go - no longer the slow ball man he used to be. With 6 left it's 125 and the Steelbacks are using every slow and dibbly dobbly bowler they can and we can't get them away.

Dutch reaches 50 at 133 and puts the next ball straight up in the air - 133 for 6.  Jonah is  run out at the bowlers end (dubious) by Cook.  Francis starts the  31st by driving straight to Cawdron 143 for 9.  In comes Mike Parsons with 3 and a bit overs to go and is run out by Cook (again) almost immediately, 143 all out.

We get a few runners belting round the outfield as half time entertainment and then the joy of the D/L cutting Northants required total to 131 off the same number of overs - how the hell does that work?

Francis opens at the Sports Centre end to Hussey and Michael Parsons is given the onerous task of taking the second over against the run machine from the Pavilion end.   Nothants are not messing about in a game that is something of a forgone conclusion.   They reach 32 off the first 5 while Mr Anderson is helping to keep some abusive Somerset supporters quiet and move them on with the aid of a very excitable and very big dog/security guard.  Well done PA - they were obnoxious to a lady scorer and were sorted well.

Anyway, back to the pitch.  50 comes up in 8 and we seem powerless to stop this.   Jones comes on at 10 and Blackwell is on at 11 and the run rate slows, but there's no leeway.  Slow bowling seems harder to deal with on this pitch so Burns brings Dutch on to work in tandem with Blacky at over 13.  It slows them to 67 off 15 and we get a breakthrough next over as Francis catches White off Blackwell - but it's 79 for 1 needing 131.  Hussey's 50 arrives in the 16th and they need a mere 42 off 15 overs by number 20.  Blackwell keeps plugging though and Cook goes to Cox, excellent catch.   Three figures by 22 and although Blackwell finishes with brilliant figures of 7/3/14/2, the batsmen have given us nothing to work with and we reach the inevitable with byes. 

A disappointing end to a disappointing Bath.  The Championship was a toss decision and nothing more than that.  The NCL was woeful.  If we cannot maintain a batting attack then it makes no difference how our bowlers perform.  We are starting too many games with less than 50 down and half our top order back in the pavilion and unless we can sort that out, what we think is our priority in the NCL is irrelevant.   On to the 20/20!!