Durham in hurry to set up victory
Jul 17 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
Mark Wagh did not seem to have the same appetite for batting – surviving a risky run to get off the mark then wafting to slip – and while Bilal Shafayat did his vigil was cut short, again by Callum Thorp, after 88 balls.
Liam Plunkett’s introduction for Harmison got the runs column of the scoreboard ticking again, but also the wickets. Thorp made amends for dropping Wagh with a much harder catch jumping up at gully to send back Samit Patel. David Hussey followed, driving a full ball.
Like Read, Alistair Brown took his lead from Ian Blackwell and Phil Mustard. He got the stand going with a six over long-on and it had added 81 in 18 overs before Blackwell turned one into him and beat his drive. Read smashed 48 off 67 balls but was unable to carry it on, trapped lbw just as Mark Ealham started tucking into Plunkett.
Having watched from the balcony, Andre Adams obviously confused the adventure shown by Brown, Read and Ealham with recklessness. Instead of playing for Ealham, he tried to knock the cover off the ball against the spin and spooned it to Dale Benkenstein at point. Ryan Sidebottom top-edged a hook and Ealham’s dismissal was little better, chipping a catch to the diving Blackwell.
The follow-on was enforced immediately, but the umpires spared Wood and Shafayat having to face Harmison in the gloom. If – and it is an if – the forecasters are right, we could be into Saturday before they bat again.
As at Leeds, this is a poor, stodgy pitch where hanging around is not too challenging but there is little to assist wicket-taking or run-scoring. Blackwell, though, is at his best when he comes out throwing punches and, after initially taking a back seat, Mustard did the same as the pair equally shared 14 boundaries.
A classy pull and a vicious cut were the highlights of the former’s 38 off 45 balls, cut short by the introduction of Sidebottom, who had him caught at slip with his third ball of the day en route to a well-deserved 4-65.
Plunkett was dropped in the slips on two before an extraordinary shot to Ealham. The medium pacer bowled a bouncer which looped slowly over Plunkett’s head. As it arrived, he seemed to carefully weigh up the pros and cons, then swatted the ball to Wagh at midwicket. So violent was his reaction in the dressing room, Plunkett needed butterfly stitching over his left eye before fielding. One can only hope Nottinghamshire’s batsmen were equally upset at their dismissals.
Mustard was out driving in the 120th over, leaving Durham a run shy of four batting points. After none in their previous two games it was nothing to get too down about, particularly when their bowlers put the 356 into perspective. Points are all well and good in a title race where these sides should be the front-runners, but winning is what really matters. Two days in, Durham are the only side likely to do that.
