Drawing in the rain

Despite the best efforts of both sides, the Hampshire-Durham match at May's Bounty unfortunately ended in a draw as half a day of rain meant that anything but a completely contrived result was out of the window. Having ended day 3 on 41-2, a lead of 142 in the second innings, Hampshire looked to be positive in the hope that the forecast rain would keep away and a declaration could be made. This was made all the more possible by the injury to Durham's most effective bowler, Callum Thorp, during the 3rd day evening session. Carberry was joined at the crease by fellow run machine Michael Lumb for the start of play and the pair went about their usual business, as if it was the first day again. Carberry started the day on 22 and quickly took another liking to Harmison's perhaps lacklustre bowling as boundaries came in plentiful amounts. Lumb too looked circumspect early on but kept the scoreboard workers on their toes by blasting four sixes in his 50, Carberry also reaching 50 but from 102 balls. The pair brought up the hundred partnership and went into lunch on 150-2. After reaching his 50, Carberry stepped up the pace considerably, and reached his century from 164 balls, moving from 50 to 100 in just 62 balls. Lumb fell for 64 to Blackwell with the score on 191, meaning the pair had put on 150 for the fourth wicket. Amazingly whilst batting together, Lumb and Carberry managed to put on 464 runs in this match. Carberry also lost his wicket to Blackwell, stumped for 107, his second century of the match and his fifth of the season, as rain approached the ground. Blackwell also removed Vince for a duck but a few minutes later the covers were on and the match was called a draw not long after.

It is disappointing that a result could not be forced from the game, for both sides, though the two captains should be congratulated for not letting the game die after all but 11 overs of the second day were lost. Mustard's third day declaration was particularly bold, as he sacrificed batting points in the hope of getting a win. As it was it was not to be for either side, and the rain ruled the match. Terrible news came out of Southend though, as Warwickshire beat Essex in a very low scoring game to drag themselves back into the relegation fight. A few positives though were that neither side picked up a single batting point (155 and 150 were the first innings scores), whilst the defeat also stopped Essex from pulling away, and they have played 2 or 3 more games than Hampshire. Thankfully there have been no reports of injuries from the Basingstoke game from a Hampshire perspective, meaning we will probably go into the Somerset match at Taunton on Monday with the same XI. Inbetween that we have a 40 over match at home to Durham, and Jones and DC have been added to the match day squad. Christian's inclusion could suggest a number of things. Either that Cork will take a quick break, given that a four day match takes place the next day, or that we will look to bolster the batting by bringing Christian in for Riazuddin, batting him at 7 and moving Bates and Cork down one. A third possibility is that Christian may come in as a like-for-like Slug replacement, giving the Zimbabwean a day's rest before the Somerset match. Either way it should be a good match, better than the corresponding fixture, as Hampshire look to continue their limited overs renaissance in time for Finals Day.

Making a game of it

I do hope that those associated with a county based at Old Trafford have been following events at Basingstoke these last few days. Despite pretty much losing the second day to rain and what looks like most of the fourth day, Hampshire and Durham have managed to keep the excitement going in this intriguing contest which, if rain weren't to intervene today, could become an absolute cracker of a finish. After feasting on the Tuesday, then only getting 11 overs on the Wednesday, Hampshire declared overnight on 421-5, and so took to the field after a half hour delay. Things couldn't have gone better with the ball in the first hour, removing 4 of the top 5 to leave Durham reeling at 40-4, Tomlinson especially providing a fine exhibition of swing bowling. However, as is often the case they were undone by a counter attacking partnership between Muchall and the young Stokes, as the pair got Durham out of follow-on danger. Stokes then fell to a brilliant catch by Ervine near the boundary off of Briggs with his personal score on 99. Muchall reached his century though, and following a clatter of wickets, put on a partnership with Borthwick that got Durham up to 320-7. Interestingly, Mustard then declared, meaning about 40 minutes at Hampshire's batsmen before close (which had been moved to 6:30). Blackwell managed to remove the struggling Adams, then nightwatchman Tomlinson. However that was to be the last act of the day as Hampshire closed on 41-2, a lead of 142. Carberry however was not out at the other end on 22 from just 27 balls, having tucked into some dreadful Harmison bowling, who appeared to retire from his bowling duties halfway through his third over, having already gone for 18 runs.

So it leaves the match very interestingly poised. It's frustrating that we managed to let Durham get a competitive score having had them 40-4. However even if we had managed to remove the other 6 wickets for the loss of say another 160 runs and enforced the follow on, Durham's top order would have made a much better fist of their innings and we'd have probably been in a similar position but with Durham ahead. Likewise when I saw Tomlinson had gotten out to the last ball of the day I was annoyed, but he had done his job. He had protected Lumb who will now start his innings this morning, and not with 3 overs left last night. All in all this game has thoroughly impressed, with positive cricket being on show from both sides throughout, with perhaps the Stokes dismissal summing up the approach of both teams to the game.

The new allrounder and a cloud burst

It's fair to say that James Tomlinson is enjoying 2010 more than 2009. 23 wickets so far will not get him near his country topping feat of 2008, but he will be happy with the haul that puts him second in terms of wickets taken (Cork has 28 at an average of 20.5). What has been perhaps more impressive is Tomlinson's improvement with the bat. Though he has never been a rabbit, batting previously in a side containing Mascarenhas, Tremlett and Tahir firmly made Tomlinson the number 11. However with Mascarenhas out of the side and Cork making the number 8 spot his own, Tomlinson is quickly becoming a firm number 9. With his current innings against Durham standing at 31*, batting at 7 as the nightwatchman, his batting figures for the season currently stand at 159 runs from 13 innings with 4 not outs at an average of 17.67. A career best 42 was scored this season in an innings turning partnership with Slug, whilst he has currently scored 50 runs in his last two innings, with the possibility of more to come today. Hampshire are in a stronger position too. After the wobble on Tuesday night left them 373-5, only 11 overs were possible yesterday but Vince and Tomlinson quickly took the score to 421-5 and maximum batting points. A particular highlight was Tomlinson's cover driving off Thorp to really get the innings motoring as Vince added 4 more boundaries to his total too. Rain in the morning delayed the start until early afternoon, but a thunderous downpour ended all play for the day after the 11 overs, the outfield too wet to get cleared up in time to play again. Apparently some of the rain has managed to get into the wicket, which will be music to Cork and Tomlinson's ears as they go about trying to force a result on a third day that should offer the full 96 overs of play.

Both teams will be hoping for weather similar to the first day (above)

In other news, Hampshire have managed to register Dan Christian for all forms of cricket as our overseas player until September, and he will be a welcome boost to the lower middle order in the one day side. However, I'm not sure if fitting him into the Championship side would be a good idea. Also, there was saddening news that Neil McKenzie will have to return to his South African side the Highveld Lions in order to play in the Champions League. He will miss the last month of the season. This news was tempered though by the announcement that replacing him would be Aussie Phil Hughes, the 21 (or 22, depending upon which newspaper you read) year old who scored runs for fun for Middlesex at the start of last season. He will be a very welcome addition to the side, though Chalky will have some headaches about which order to play a top 4 that is made up of 4 batsmen who all regularly open in various forms of cricket. I wouldn't be suprised if Hughes bats at 3 with Lumb at 4, keeping the Adams-Carberry partnership intact. If he gets going then Hghes could be a match winner, as he not only scores big but he scores quickly too. He'll play in three Championship matches - away to Lancashire, away to Kent, and home to Warwickshire. He'll also play in the CB40 match against Leics at Grace Road. Of course the loss of Macca is a huge one and not one anyone would have done through choice, but I'm pleased, very pleased in fact, with the replacement Chalky and Bransgrove have found. Let's just hope he turns up.

A lesson in how to bat positively

In an effort to be at the forefront of cricket's development, especially in this country, from Sunday past-time to national sport, Rod Bransgrove has developed The Rose Bowl into one of the best grounds in the country. The latest additions, two stands either side of the main pavilion, have raised the profile of the ground enormously, with 2 ODI's and 20/20 Finals Day being staged there this year. In all of this rush for money and development, a particularly treasured aspect of County Cricket is in danger of being lost. The outground has been the favourite of many supporters and members, a hark back to the older days, though of course grounds such as New Road and Hove still maintain a certain feel of being an outground. The days of playing at grounds such as United Services Ground in Portsmouth are over, but thankfully Hampshire have continued an arrangement with Basingstoke and North Hampshire CC to play a Championship match each season at May's Bounty. Tucked away on the outskirts of Basingstoke, admittedly not the most picturesque of towns, May's Bounty provides Hampshire and its supporters with (usually) 4 days of nostalgia, at least for the older members who fondly recall many games played at Northlands, Hampshire's original home. Even for those who were introduced to cricket after the shift to The Rose Bowl, the ground offers a character that does not fail to charm. Arriving at the ground provides a feeling that you are perhaps entering into a private party, tree-lined on two sides with a classic pavilion and scoreboard. The concrete strip that for 361 days of the year is used as a road from the gate to the pavilion is transformed into a concourse, serving idling members, those with ice cream and club staff frantically carrying shop stock in cardboard boxes.

What May's Bounty offers that is not available at The Rose Bowl is a ready access to the outfield. Instead of boundary boards, stewards and announcements to keep off the playing area, the boundary rope sits feet in front of the first row of seats. Intervals allow kids to play on the outfield without being removed from the ground and prosecuted, whilst those with more than a passing interest can get a close up look at the wicket. To compliment such a fine ground, some fine cricket was in order, and that was exactly what Hampshire provided. Having won the toss Cork elected to bat, Carberry and Adams making their way across an undulating outfield and to the middle. Overthrows on the last ball of the first over, bowled by Harmison gave a good indication of what was to come from the Durham fielders. A flurry of boundaries was ended with Adams nicking Harmison behind for 18. Strangely Durham turned to youngster Stokes as first change from the Town End, and after some decent overs, new man Lumb and Carberry began to find the boundary easily. A flying edge off of Carberry entered then exited the hands of Benkenstein for a drop that was to prove extremely costly. There were a couple of lbw shouts but umpire Benson in particular was having none of it. Lumb and Carberry were having none of it either and moved on to 99-1 at lunch. Last week Lancashire did their best to kill off anything and everyone associated with Hampshire. You could say that the afternoon session at May's Bounty was two fingers up at Lancashire, but more likely it was about securing batting points for a match that is heading towards a rain affected draw.

After a drop off Lumb by Mustard early on in the session, Lumb moved to 50 (Carberry had reached that point before lunch) both played a varied game against the pace attack, going through phases of consolidation followed by bursts of boundary hitting. Mustard brought the spinners on but this only served to cement Hampshire's dominance. I was worried about Lumb facing two spinners who turn it in to him, but after a watchful start he unleashed a full range of shots against Borthwick in particular, the cover drives for four and the six over long on particular highlights. Carberry maintained a similar pace at the other end, and despite the edge being beaten a few times neither batsmen looked in any trouble at all. It was as if Durham's bowlers had turned up for throw downs to the Hampshire batsmen and the milestones kept coming - team score 100, Lumb 50, 100 partnership, 150 team score, 150 partnership, 200 team score, 200 partnership, Lumb 100, Carberry 100, 250 team score, 250 partnership. By the time both teams left the field for tea the scoreboard read 298-1, and Hampshire had scored an incredible 199 runs in the afternoon session, at more than 6 an over. Second ball after tea the 300 was up, with the 300 partnership and Carberry's 150 following. Lumb then brought up his 150 before delaying tactics by Durham broke the partnership. Lumb I think called for new gloves and Durham took the opportunity to call drinks for them, as well as have a sit down, a team talk and toilet break for two players, Much to the bemusement of the umpires and batsmen. Benson broke up the team talk like he would a group of youths hanging outside a shop. Carberry must have been bored by this as well as Benkenstein's bowling which was wide of off-stump with a packed off side field. Sadly it worked as Carberry cut to point to fall for 162. McKenzie didn't last long, bowled rond his legs by a ball from Blackwell that seemed to hit a footmark or something. Lumb then fell lbw to Thorp for 158, Ervine the same but for 8 as Hampshire closed on 373-5.

The aim is of course to reach 400 and maximum batting points, and though the weather may be ok at the moment, the forecasts point to a lot of lost play over the next three days so the target will be to get as many bonus points as possible. Durham gave an image of 'we don't want to be here' Harmison in particular, reflective of a team that has been crippled by injuries and in fighting. How they will bat I don't know, as despite Lumb and Carberry's efforts the ptich does have something for the bowlers in it, so scoreboard pressure may play a part and Hampshire ca pick up bowling points too. Lumb and Carberry's partnership of 314 was the second highest ever for the Hampshire second wicket, just 8 runs short of the record.

A lesson in how to kill cricket

This lecture was today delivered by the batsmen of Lancashire who, on a fourth day that still harboured a number of possible outcomes (despite my complaints at the end of day 3), managed to well and truly snuff the life out of the game. What Hampshire needed to force a win was very early wickets, while if Lancashire were hoping to set a target then they would have to get a move on with their two set batsmen. The trouble was, as became so painfully apparent at an early stage on the fourth morning, was that being set at the crease meant simply that occupying the crease was easy. Chilton and Smith removed all chance of being out by not playing positively to what was, when stripped down to the bare bones, a fast medium attack. Conditions again were not exactly bowler friendly, but that didn't stop Lancs from shutting up shop. 22 runs came off the first 10 overs, as Smith made his way towards a century and Chilton crawled towards a 50. There was, amazingly,  brief flurry of runs as Smith hit a few sixes off of Briggs, but such nonsense was quickly stopped and normal service resumed. Thankfully some pain was removed in the form of Chilton's wicket, edging Balcombe's first ball behind to Bates. Smith got his century, whilst Chanderpaul didn't last long, offering a catch to Lumb at short leg off of the ever impressive Briggs. Croft hit a couple of boundaries off Ervine, briefly making him the most expensive bowler in terms of economy, 11 overs for 29. Croft fell the same way as Chanderpaul, giving Briggs another wicket caught by Lumb at short leg. Lancashire continued to kill the game, though at least Cross began making some shots.

Smith hit Briggs into the deep, but Adams held onto the catch as the allrounder departed for 128 from a mere 306 balls. Sutton was next to go, scoring 2 at an impressive strike rate of 6.45 to keep the game alive... his wicket taken by Carberry and his offspin, caught by Balcombe. You suspect that the delivery was better than his first one on the first day, a waste high full toss that Chanderpaul must still be kicking himself about for not sending into orbit. Cross however continued on his way, scoring at an acceptable rate, reaching his hundred from 134 balls and taking Lancashire to 351-6, a lead of 267 with an hour left of scheduled play. Perhaps finally realising that those still left at the ground should not be put through any more pain, Chapple put Hampshire out of their misery too, shaking hands with Cork. And so brought to an end a game that promised so much at the end of day two, but provided very little in terms of points. Lancashire will of course be pleased that their unbeaten run continued, however 7 points are more than they deserve for such a negative approach to a game as I've seen. Hampshire came away with 10 much needed points, but will be frustrated at how the game died. So it's onto Durham at May's Bounty in Basingstoke tomorrow, and Hampshire will be hoping that the pitch will offer more assistance in the last two days. No injuries have been reported so I expect the same team to start the match as started against Lancashire. A win is a must but the weather is not looking great for Wednesday or Friday, so again there may be frustrations come Friday. Durham however will still be dangerous, despite the upheavals of the last few months. This is a game that Hampshire can not take lightly.

From intrigue to snooze fest

What promised to be an eventful, perhaps tense day sadly turned into a turgid affair where the leave just outside off stump ruled as king. Hampshire began the day 4 ahead with 4 wickets in hand, though Bates and Balcombe quickly succumbed to Chapple, Cork still not out having got Hampshire past 300. Rain delayed the start and so lunch was delayed too. I decided on attending the rest of the afternoon session and the evening session, and to my amazement on my arrival, Lancs were not batting, but instead Cork and Tommo still occupied the crease! Even more, the pair had gotten Hampshire past the invaluable (ok, valued at 4 points) 350 score mark, within the 110 over limit. A beautiful cover drive from Tommo a highlight, as Cork reached 50 for the second time this season. Tommo edged Keedy to slip but it was agonisingly late for Lancashire, who missed out on the third bowling point by just 2 balls. Briggs came to the wicket and scored a run before a frankly lucky but impressive one handed tumbling catch by Chapple ended the innings on 369, a lead of 84. Lancs opened again with Horton and Smith, whilst Hampshire again opened with Cork and Tommo to start off the third innings. Like the first, Lancs were very circumspect in their approach to the game, Horton cutting Cork for 4 in the first over but little else followed. Infact nothing else followed as Smith and Horton insisted on leaving the ball at every opportunity. This eventually bit back at Horton, as a superb ball from Tommo nipped back on Horton who had shouldered arms, and the off-stump was knocked back.

Sadly at this point, the game as a contest died. Chilton joined Smith at the wicket and a few overs later the sun dominated the sky for the first time in the match, rendering the pitch useless and removing all swing and seam help. This basically left us with 4 fast medium bowlers whose only tool was now accuracy. At this stage it might have been expected for Lancs to step up a gear in the face of severely restricted bowling. However Lancashire, ever since Chanderpaul's dismissal on the first day, have displayed the image that they are not interested in anything except a bore draw. Smith reached his century, playing a few shots in anger early on against Briggs, before getting back in line and leaving/blocking the ball. Smith reached his half-century whilst Chilton must have done something bad in the changing rooms as there was no way he was going to risk doing anything of any kind in the foreseeable future that might result in something that isn't a dot ball. The pair were the very epitome of aggressive batting as they put together an unbroken partnership of 98 from about 48 overs. It wasn't suprising that with still 10 overs to go in the extended day, nearly the entire crowd had gone home to prevent any suicidal thoughts. Claims that the remaining supporters had all died of boredom were flatly denied.

So with the fourth and final day due to begin in about half an hour, barring a monumental Lancashire collapse in the morning session, or a monumental Hampshire collapse in the evening, this game is hurtling towards a draw. There is some cloud cover at the moment, which should at least make bowling less of a chore than it was yesterday evening. I expect half a mind will now be on the Durham match at Basingstoke which starts on Tuesday.