4th Test - Cricket Web XI vs England
Day 4 - England still alive, but CW XI close in
Mark Ramprakash stood out amidst the England ashes
England closed day four hanging by a thread of hope, after Mark Ramprakash allowed for some measure of respectability in another day dominated by the tourists. The Cricket Web XI bowled acquitted themselves superbly yet again and England remained firmly on the back foot and on the verge of a rare home defeat.
The England batsmen showed some courage after resuming on 77-3. They still trailed by 88 runs on first innings, and Ramprakash and Collingwood looked to fight England back into some measure of contention. The batting was careful and resolute, with Ramprakash raising a notable half-century in the midst of it. But just as England looked to gain some footing, a poor umpiring decision inspired new panic. Billy Bowden raised a crooked finger to send Collingwood on his way, though it appeared that Mike Wilson had struck him outside the line of offstump. Collingwood trudged off visibly disappointed and was replaced by Ian Bell.
Previously in the series Ian Bell had been the form batsman for England, but he failed to emerge from single figures for the second time in the match. On this occasion it was a more unforunate demise, as a mixup with Ramprakash saw him run out for 2. Matt Prior announced himself as the last of the recognized batsmen with a thumping shot back over the head of Pickup and England went to lunch on 146-5. While Ramprakash continued to look solid and determined, Prior struggled to come to terms with the spin of Pickup. Unsettled, he edged Demeza through to Young at slip, immediately after the fast bowler had replaced his captain.
Ian Bell kicks the turf after being run out by Dauth
All that seemed left for England was the chase of a century by the unlikely Ramprakash. And as he drew closer, moving into the eighties, nerves began to creep into his game. He offered the simplest chances to Dauth in the gully, but was reprieved to the dismay of Kennett. Rain intervened to worry the tourists a bit, but after the second set of showers - 52 minutes off the pitch - Demeza needed just 4 balls to break through. A short, rising delivery caught Ramprakash in a tangle, and he gloved through to Mork. After consideration of his dismissal with head bowed and leaning on his bat, Ramprakash left the pitch, out for 95.
Demeza added the wicket of Sidebottom, his fifth of the innings and seventh of the match. But that was the final incident of the day. Broad and Hoggard offered the full face of the bat in scratching to stumps. With one day left, England lead by 66 runs with only two wickets intact. Cricket Web XI lead the series 1-0 and will look to seal the result with what looks to be a resounding win.
Code:
England 1st Innings
A.N. Cook lbw b Pickup 46 94 3 1
M.P. Vaughan lbw b Pickup 27 101 1 0
M.R. Ramprakash ct Mørk b Pickup 48 144 5 0
K.P. Pietersen b Pickup 26 48 1 1
P.D. Collingwood ct Cloete b Demeza 5 38 0 0
I.R. Bell lbw b Demeza 4 15 0 0
M.J. Prior ct Cloete b Wilson 26 40 4 0
S.C.J. Broad ct Pickup b Kennett 18 52 0 0
R.J. Sidebottom ct Wilson b Kennett 20 48 1 0
M.J. Hoggard not out 8 11 2 0
M.S. Panesar lbw b Borcich 1 9 0 0
Extras (byes 5 leg byes 8 no balls 9 wides 0) 22
Total (10 Wkts 98.3 Overs) 251
Fall of Wkts 78 85 129 152 168 199 207 238 249 251
Demeza 18 0 58 2 1 0
Kennett 23 5 48 2 4 0
Borcich 15.3 1 35 1 3 0
Wilson 15 4 34 1 1 0
Pickup 26 6 62 4 0 0
Cloete 1 0 1 0 0 0
Cricket Web XI 1st Innings
H. Mørk ct Prior b Panesar 22 81 2 0
P.E. Young ct Bell b Sidebottom 15 30 3 0
A.P. Cloete ct Pietersen b Panesar 186 239 14 3
C.R. Butler ct Hoggard b Panesar 57 133 4 2
S. Jasotharan ct Hoggard b Panesar 7 6 1 0
R.J. Dauth ct Vaughan b Hoggard 50 78 3 0
M.W. Wilson b Panesar 6 10 0 0
N.A. Borcich b Broad 16 66 0 0
D.M. Kennett not out 3 57 0 0
N.S. Pickup ct Ramprakash b Hoggard 28 44 1 0
T.J. Demeza ct Vaughan b Hoggard 0 1 0 0
Extras (byes 2 leg byes 17 no balls 6 wides 1) 26
Total (10 Wkts 123.1 Overs) 416
Fall of Wkts 24 61 210 218 309 342 378 384 416 416
Hoggard 26.1 3 82 3 1 0
Sidebottom 31 5 77 1 2 1
Broad 24 5 78 1 2 0
Collingwood 7 0 39 0 1 0
Panesar 32 6 106 5 0 0
Vaughan 3 0 15 0 0 0
England 2nd innings 231-8 (105 overs)
AN Cook 10, MP Vaughan 0, MR Ramprakash 95, KP Pietersen 26, PD Collingwood 26, IR Bell 2, MJ Prior 19, SCJ Broad 20*, RJ Sidebottom 6, MJ Hoggard 7*
TJ Demeza 5-64, DM Kennett 0-56, NA Borcich 1-55, NS Pickup 0-22, MW Wilson 1-20