Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

CC2: Worcs Champions

Friday, September 26 2003

A contentious declaration gave Worcestershire the title at Wantage Road in an otherwise unmemorable week of cricket

Northamptonshire needed to gain 14 more points than Worcestershire to take the title, and when Shaftab Khalid and Gareth Batty spun them out for just 196. 3-0 Worcester. This left Northants needing 17 further, 14 for the win and three bowling points, and to deny Worcester anything - i.e. bowl out the visitors for less than 200 and win.

At 134/6 and 172/8 it looked possible as Graeme Swann took 6/66. Yet then a tactical masterstroke from Worcester skipper Ben Smith sealed the title - as he declared their first innings, denying Northamptonshire the chance to gain the 17th point should they win, which in the end, they did.

Khalid took four more in Northants' second knock but 379 was enough to set the visitors 404 and despite a wag of the tail, the visitors lost their only first-class game of the season by 92 runs as Jason Brown's 5/89 cut them down to 311. In the end, the declaration became academic as the ECB docked the hosts 8 points for a sub-standard pitch that provided too much help for the spinners, who bowled 236.2 of the 302.5 overs in the game.

Damien Martyn hit the fastest first-class century of the season - off 65 balls - but Yorkshire failed to edge out Gloucestershire at Headingley for the fourth promotion slot. Martyn ended on 238 off 159 balls (38x4, 7x6) in Yorkshire's 476 but a determined 97 for the ninth wicket between Ian Fisher (71) and Jon Lewis (36) saw them to 344 and averted the follow-on.

As the weather closed around Headingley, Yorkshire hit 121 off 23 overs to set Gloucestershire 254. They never made an effort and closed at 93/5 off 41 overs as they sealed promotion to the top flight.

A fairly docile pitch produced a chaotic game at the Riverside. Mark Wallace hit 121 before Glamorgan collapsed to 270 and only fifties from Paul Collingwood, Gary Pratt and Vince Wells saved Durham blushes as their batsman contrived to get themselves out as well. 21 from number 11 Mark Davies restricted the deficit to 23.

The Welshmen threatened to collapse again until 231 at 7 an over from Matt Maynard (102) and Michael Powell (198, 36 fours) and 93 in better than even time between Dean Thomas (69*) and Michael Kasprowicz (34*) resulted in 464-8, setting Durham 488. Kasprowicz then took the second 9-wicket haul of the season - both by him - both against Durham - as they fell for 118 despite Shoaib Akhtar's 27-ball 37.

Hampshire thumped Derbyshire by 10 wickets in the wooden spoon game. Hasan Adnan's 84 led Derbyshire to 317 as James Hamblin took a career-best 6/93. Another career-best from Hamblin - 96 with the bat - and Simon Katich's 122 helped Hampshire rack up 480 at more than 4.5 an over. James Tomlinson's burst of 5/9 in 6/63 - another career best - cut the hosts down to 289 all out, and Hampshire took 27 balls to knock off the 28 required without losing a wicket.

Posted by James