LVCC v Durham - day 4

Durham bat out 5 wicket win.

 

 

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Summer arrived at the Riverside, County Durham, as the temperature soared into the upper teens for the start of the final day’s play. This was to be an important session for Hampshire: it was essential that they batted through to lunch and lost as few wickets as possible in the process. The home side opened with Blackwell from the Finchale End, and Plunkett. Pothas took a single from each over, but was beaten outside off stump in the next when Blackwell, giving the ball air, turned one off a length. Tomlinson was clearly intent on crease occupation; he scored his first run of the day in the fourth over when he turned Plunkett to fine leg.

The first half hour seemed a passive period for both sides. There was the occasional pushed single by the batsmen, mainly Pothas, while Plunkett didn’t seem to have the zest of the previous day. He did twice unsettle Tomlinson with short deliveries which almost carried to one of the close fielders on the off side, but he surprisingly kept the ball up to the bat. After nine overs 17 runs had been added. Stokes replaced Plunkett, whereupon Pothas struck the first boundary of the day, to third man, when the England Under 19 player over pitched. Shortly afterwards Hampshire passed 200, a lead of161.

The visitors’ placid progress towards safety was disturbed when Pothas called his junior partner for a quick single to cover from the bowling of Blackwell. Coetzer swooped to his left, picked up right-handed and a sharp return to wicketkeeper Mustard saw the bails removed with Tomlinson short of his ground. 202 for 6; a lead of 163, after a useful partnership of 32; Tomlinson 9. Plunkett immediately returned for Blackwell and, from his second delivery, Pothas reached 50 when he clipped a full toss for four through mid wicket. His half century contained seven fours and had taken 111 balls.

Thorp came on for Stokes, but his first over was too short and Pothas moved into the sixties with a series of pulls and deflections. There was a let off for Hampshire when Pothas, driving hard at Plunkett, was dropped by Di Venuto at second slip; a difficult chance as he dived to his right, but he made the ground. The fielder sat with his head in his hands for several moments, realising he might have thrown away Durham’s chance of victory; it also enabled him to avoid eye contact with the bowler. Di Venuto’s worst fears began to materialise when Thorp’s next over went for 13 as Pothas moved to 76 and Ervine, with two extra cover drives, into double figures.

However Plunkett had other ideas. Bowling quickly again, with the occasional delivery flying through at chest height, he managed to find the edge of Pothas’ attempted turn to leg, and Mustard took the catch. 247 for 7; a lead of 208. Kabir was off the mark in the same over with a two and a four, both edged behind square on the off side. This took Hampshire past 250, giving them a lead of 214. When Davies replaced the expensive Thorp, Ervine increased this by six as he pulled a short one over the mid wicket boundary. However, apart from that aberration Davies bowled as tightly as he had done yesterday.

Kabir was not entirely comfortable against the pace of Plunkett and it was a surprise when the bowler was replaced by Blackwell. However, Durham captain Will Smith could soon congratulate himself on a shrewd move when, in his first over, the slow left-armer trapped Kabir lbw on the back foot with a faster arm ball which kept low. 267 for 8. Next over Plunkett replaced Davies at the Lumley End, and Hampshire’s position further deteriorated when Danny Briggs played across a ball of almost full pitch to fall lbw. 268 for 9. The last wicket pair survived the eight minutes until lunch, taken at 269 for 9, the Hampshire lead 230.

Pothas in early season form last year

Ervine took nine from the first over of the afternoon session, bowled by the tireless Plunkett, including the important single from the final delivery. Blackwell continued from the Finchale End, but he appeared to be tiring after a long spell and lost his earlier control. There were leg side byes and his length suffered. Ervine pulled him for a huge six over mid wicket to take himself into the forties and the lead past 250. When Stokes replaced Blackwell Ervine tried to reach his 50 in the grand manner but was wonderfully caught at long on by Thorp from a hard, low, well-middled smite. He had scored an important 46 runs, taking the initiative in a final wicket partnership of 30 in 29 minutes. Durham needed 260 to win in a maximum of 57 overs.

Victory for either side was possible. Durham and the draw were perhaps favourites, but early wickets on a pitch where the bounce was becoming less predictable would soon place doubt in the batsmen’s minds. Kabir took the first over, from the Finchale End rather than the end from where he bowled so well yesterday morning, and both batsmen were soon off the mark, Di Venuto with a four pulled backward of square. Tomlinson was his customary accurate self and conceded only two singles from his first three overs, but Kabir, pitching the ball well up to the bat as he searched for swing, was occasionally driven for runs.

In his fourth over Tomlinson made the breakthrough. Di Venuto attempted to chop him into the off side but was beaten by extra bounce and edged the ball to the right of McKenzie at second slip, where the South African dived to take an excellent two handed catch. This was Tomlinson’s first wicket of the match, and not even the Durham partisans in the crowd could begrudge him the success. 28 for 1; 49 overs remaining, 232 or 9 wickets for victory.

Will Smith, the Durham captain, had looked out of touch in the first innings. He was soon tested by Tomlinson and played and missed twice in the first full over he faced, a maiden, the bowler’s third. He now had one for three in five. Unfortunately for him he over pitched with the first delivery of his next over and was driven for four.

Griffiths had replaced Kabir and there was concern as the bowler left the field clutching his back, to be met at the top of the steps by Andrew Nealon, the Hampshire physio. The former Worcestershire paceman had missed half of 2009 with a back injury suffered, ironically, at the Riverside after he had taken six Durham wickets in the first innings of a championship game. However, Kabir returned after ten minutes, so it must be assumed that his problem had been an unrelated twinge, and slight.

Griffiths remained in the attack but 20 runs were taken from his first three overs and Durham passed 50 at a rate well in excess of what was required. Tomlinson had 1 for 8 in 6 overs when he and Griffiths were replaced by Ervine and Briggs. Whether there was any significance in Kabir not adding to his four overs was not at this stage clear. Briggs began with a maiden, but two fours were taken from his second over, reducing the target to below 200, with 40 overs remaining.

With the tea interval minutes away Hampshire revived their fading hopes of victory when Smith swept at Briggs to be caught off the top edge by Adams at backward square leg. Tea was taken at 78 for 2, 182 runs or 8 wickets required.

Briggs took three wickets to no avail

Kabir was on the field after tea, gently stretching at long leg to Ervine’s bowling, then at mid off to Griffiths. The first runs came off the fifth ball when Coetzer drove the Zimbabwean straight for four. He followed this with successive square cuts to the boundary from Griffiths. A pull for four and an angled glide wide of and over slip in the next over took him to 40, and Durham past 100, in the 24th over. Pothas was now concerned at the run rate and replaced Ervine with Tomlinson, although it was Griffiths who was the more expensive. Thirty runs had come in five overs. Coetzer, in good form and capitalising on any loose deliveries, reached 50 in 83 balls. 146 were now required in 30 overs. 

Kabir then returned to the attack, bowling with sufficient pace for a leg glance by Benkenstein to beat Benham at long leg. Tomlinson’s trying times continued when, in the next over, Adams failed to hold a difficult low chance to his left hand at slip from the edge of Benkenstein’s bat. Retribution was not long in descending upon the South African, however: two balls later he was beaten by Tomlinson’s inswing, and unquestionably lbw. 121 for 3; 139 or 7 wickets for victory.

Cometh the hour; cometh the Blackwell. ‘Burly’ is an old-fashioned word, but for the Durham allrounder it is appropriate, for alliterative as well as physical reasons. The balance of the game probably favoured the home side at this stage, but if there were any doubts, an over of the left-hander’s bludgeoning blade dispelled them. He took 16 from Kabir, mostly in the long off area, but he could have gone first ball as a mistimed drive just carried over the head of Griffiths at mid off. He followed this with a straight six from Briggs, who had replaced Tomlinson, the left-armer having 2 for 20 in ten excellent overs. Shortly afterwards, having been kept away from the strike by the assured Coetzer, he reverse swept Briggs for four, although in Blackwell’s case reverse thump would be a more accurate description.

Kabir conceded 27 in three overs, but was unlucky when Coetzer edged him just wide of the only slip fielder for four. 150 was reached in the 33rd over, and the target was soon below 100. The next Durham milestone was the 50 partnership, of which Blackwell had scored 37. They now required only 89. The scoring rate was increasing all the time, and when Blackwell biffed Ervine over long on for six, marginally more than four an over were needed. Griffiths came on at the Finchale End and nearly broke the partnership when Adams, at mid wicket, almost took a tremendous diving catch high to his right. In the following over Ervine made ground rapidly from extra cover to straightish mid off when Blackwell mistimed a lofted drive from Briggs, but he couldn’t steady himself to take the catch. However, two balls later Coetzer’s innings ended when he hit across the line at the slow left-armer into the hands of Kabir on the mid wicket boundary. 188 for 4; 72 runs or 6 wickets. The odds were still on the County Champions as Stokes joined Blackwell.

Two accurate overs took the required rate up to almost five. Blackwell’s 50 arrived with an uncharacteristic single; it had taken 36 deliveries and contained two sixes and five fours, but with 12 overs remaining the rate climbed to more than five for the first time. Both Blackwell and Stokes attacked Briggs but neither could land a decisive blow as the young spinner bowled a clever line and varied his flight. Blackwell clipped Griffiths to the mid wicket boundary in the following over before Stokes mistimed a drive which carried just over the head of Carberry at backward cover point. 44 needed from 10; Durham in the driving seat. From the first ball of the next over Blackwell turned Briggs into the hands of Adams just in front of square leg, and Hampshire could feel they still had a chance.

Kabir returned for Griffiths. He had made some athletic dives on the boundary which tended to confirm that there was no injury problem. After bowling five good deliveries he dropped short outside leg on the final one and allowed Mustard to pull him for four. 33 needed from 8. Briggs continued from the Lumley End and was dismayed when Stokes drove him for four past the left hand of Kabir at cover. This was followed by two singles: 27 from 7. Kabir to Mustard, who took a single from the second ball; Stokes angled one to third man from the next. Kabir around the wicket; Mustard hammered a good length ball straight back at the bowler. They either stick or they don’t, and this one didn’t. Moreover, it continued to the boundary. A further single meant 23 were needed from 6. Mustard clubbed Briggs through extra cover for four then deftly reverse swept for another boundary, before smashing the next ball over extra cover to make it twelve from the over. 10 needed from 5.

The cause was now lost. Stokes pulled Kabir fine for four, then took a single to mid wicket. Mustard pulled the next ball to square leg for one. Stokes defended on the back foot, mistimed a drive which was fielded by the bowler, then pulled a short one straight to mid wicket. 4 from 4. Briggs again, having taken a commendable 3 for 69 in 14 overs. This became 3 for 75 when Mustard slog swept the first ball of the over for six, and victory. Mustard made 32 from 19 deliveries; Stokes finished on 27.

Durham take 23 points from their victory to Hampshire’s 5. 

 

Bob Horne

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