He almost had Darren Lehmann lbw the very next ball with another awkward delivery. His only misjudgement, which cost him his wicket, came as he tried to flick off-spinner Tim Mason through midwicket.. Surrey 549 and 153 Yorkshire 387 and 115-4 Match drawn
Rain washed what had promised to be a thrilling finish to an intriguing match down the storm drains at The Oval, leaving Surrey still winless a third of the way through a Championship campaign they were widely tipped to dominate.
False hopes had been raised and pulses stirred in both camps on the final morning when Yorkshire emerged under already darkening skies looking for the remaining 297 runs they needed for what would have been a famous victory, given the way things had gone early on.Surrey hearts were the first to be set racing. His encounter with Slater, a player who likes to take risks, was entertaining, bringing Slater one hooked boundary before an attempted repeat saw the ball cannon into his stumps off the bottom edge.By contrast, Taylor was looking ever more assured.
His feet are moving better now than at any stage in the last year and his shot selection, as he clipped and caressed was nigh on perfect. Leicestershire had a deep set field but such was his placement of stroke that his 57 took just 65 balls. After Reiffel’s early dismissal of Darren Maddy, the home side needed a playmaker, a role Sutcliffe fulfilled until McGrath ventured around the wicket and induced him to edge behind to Healy.Gregor MacMillan soon followed, caught by Michael Slater at mid-on as he drove at Brendon Julian. At that point the home side were 68 for 3 and in need of some guidance from their captain, James Whitaker A Yorkshireman by birth, Whitaker knows only of attack. Hooking McGrath for a steepling six to get off the mark, he then belted the Aussie paceman for two searing fours. He repeated the glorious brace against Warne but then the umpire, John Harris, for whatever reason, ruled in favour of a distinctly hopeful inquiry for lbw.It proved the turning point as Warne, bowling on a pitch not particularly suited to him, worked his way through the rest of the order to end with 5 for 42. Aftab Habib was caught on the slog, Paul Nixon was lured forward and stumped, and James Ormond was flippered.
If his shoulder is about to be operated on then the surgeon must be looking for gold and not gristle.Earlier when Australia batted after Whitaker’s overnight declaration, there were torrid moments for the openers against Ormond. He is still two yards too short and aiming to force batsmen back rather than bring them forward. If he isn’t rooming with Reiffel and talking things through, he ought to be.On a helpful pitch, under cloud cover, Leicestershire made a better start than they should, as Iain Sutcliffe regularly cut McGrath away to the boundary behind point. Although the match relied on some good old collusion from both parties, it was the Aussies first real excuse to enliven their tour by cracking out the amber nectar.
However, with Shane Warne and Paul Reiffel the only bowlers on song, it was a performance that posed almost as many questions as it answered.
Reiffel’s appearance may have eased some fears, but the worries now, must be over the lack of back up.Of most concern will surely be Glenn McGrath’s inability to adjust his length to suit the nature of the pitch. Australia 220-8 dec and 105-3 dec Leicestershire 62-4 dec and 179 Australia win by 84 runs
On an afternoon of Stygian gloom, Australia bowled Leicestershire out to claim their first victory since 17 May when they beat Northamptonshire in a limited overs match. Kent had declared at 217 for 9 shortly after lunch, setting the home side 306 in 58 overs.
Worcestershire’s seamer Stuart Lampitt ended Jack Russell’s resistance and consigned Gloucestershire to their first Championship defeat of the season – by 95 runs – at Bristol.Russell, who had shared a 57-run, seventh-wicket stand with Mark Alleyne and a 70-run stand for the eighth wicket with Tim Hancock, was eventually caught on 65.. Lancashire’s John Crawley warmed up for the Lord’s Test with a rapid 91 at Old Trafford yesterday but his effort failed to prevent Kent from winning by 58 runs to go to the top of the County Championship. Crawley was fifth out with the score at 203 and Lancashire then capitulated to the leg-spin of the Zimbabwean Paul Strang, whose figures of 4 for 68 gave him a match return of 11 for 186.