Div.1 Championship round-up

A combination of rain and some late resistance from Warwickshire batsman foiled Lancashire at Old Trafford. Large sections of the game were lost to rain, so much so that this was the closest to a result we had in the first division. After winning the toss and batting on a decent looking pitch, Lancashire went about their task well reaching a massive 575/6. Most of the batsman made contributions but the major one was the 236 not out from Australian import Stuart Law. Glenn Chapple promoted up to number 7 also made an impressive 132, from just 156 balls to support Law and help his side post an imposing total, after opener Iain Sutcliffe had also added 86.


In response, after a long time in the field the Warwickshire batsmen struggled to get make an impression. Chapple continued in an excellent vein and when he had Frost caught behind for his 3rd wicket, Warwickshire were rocking at 134/5. Late resistance from Dougie Brown (55) and Waqar Younis (22) helped Warwickshire make 255, still along way short. With time lost due to rain and still 320 in front Lancashire asked Warwickshire to follow on.


Knowing the weather was likely to aid them, they made a better fist of batting second time round. An opening stand of 75 between Nick Knight and Mike Powell helped guide them towards safety. After both were dismissed however Mark Wagh and Ian Bell batted for a long period to effectively end the chances of a result for either side, with Wagh finishing unbeaten on 75.


Scores;
Lancashire 575/6 dec, Law 236*, Chapple 132
Warwickshire 255, Brown 52, Chapple 4/82
Warwickshire 211/4, Wagh 75*
Match Drawn


Weather also meant the other two games in the division were reduced to draws.


At Southend Leicestershire made a huge first innings total to put pressure on the home side. All the home bowlers were made to toil, as the Leicester batsman rattled along at 4.5 an over. After an 108 run opening stand between Maunders and Stevens, they continued to score runs at a fast rate. All the batsman made contributions to the score but the significant ones were from Stevens who made 149 and from Trevor Ward who hit 168 from just 172 balls. Australian Brad Hodge (72) and Jeremy Snape (50*) were the other batsman to pass 50. Essex bowler McCoubrey finished wicketless, going for 102 from just 16 overs. Former England man Darren Maddy had helped dismiss the tail with 4/42.


Essex however in reply however batted long enough to, in combination with the weather, ensure they safely saved the game. Despite only making 351, they were able to occupy the crease for 113 overs. The highlight was undoubtedly 127 from Zimbabwean Andy Flower who was able to provide a platform for people to bat around him. Essex were in trouble at one stage at 97/4 but England wicket-keeping prospect James Foster (50) gave Flower support in a stand of 118.


Asked to follow on, Leicester were only able to bowl 46 overs at the Essex batsman. With the task of surviving the key, Essex were able to occupy the crease, only losing the wicket of Middlebrook with the final score of 111/1, meaning the game ended in a draw.


Scores;
Leicestershire 600/7 dec, Ward 168, Stevens 149
Essex 318, Flower 129, Maddy 4/42
Essex 111/1, Jefferson 54*
Match Drawn


In the final match at Guilford, the London derby between Middlesex and Surrey was another victim of the weather. Winning the toss and putting the home side into bat, Middlesex made a decent start taking two early wickets leaving Surrey at 20/2. However Surrey were able to build a decent total through contributions from most batsmen. New England ODI cap Ricki Clarke made 82 and yet the home side were still looking a little short of a decent total at 283/8. The tail however put on vital runs with number 10 Saqlain Mushtaq making an unbeaten 61 and number 11 James Ormond making 47 in a last wicket stand of 89, to leave Surrey in a good position on 411. Chad Keegan took Ormond’s wicket as his 4th, leaving him with 4/114.


Middlesex set off in response however in impressive fashion, and when Ormond dismissed Andy Strauss, Middlesex were 165/2. A pretty dramatic middle order collapse followed however, which was brought about by a hat trick from James Ormond. Ben Hutton was first to go, caught behind for 2, and then in the next 2 balls the wickets of Joyce and Weekes fell leaving Middlesex in real trouble at 165/6. An excellent 155 run stand between Razzaq and Nash however saw Middlesex back into the game, Nash batted especially well, and when he eventually ran out of partners he was unbeaten on 96, leaving the total at 385, 26 behind Surrey.


The weather meant Surrey were only able to add 94 to their lead in 26 overs. However they did lose opening batsman Jonathan Batty, who had to retire hurt, but by that point the chance of a result had passed.


Scores;
Surrey 411, Clarke 85, Keegan 4/114
Middlesex 385, Nash 96*, Strauss 86, Ormond 4/106, Bicknell 4/102
Surrey 96/0
Match Drawn







Posted by ChrisS