Preview:
James Bracey: the plot thickens. In fact, Sir
Arthur Conan-Doyle could make a decent Sherlock Holmes story about the
movements of players around this game. We know now that according to the BBC, he
was in the squad as cover, both as reserve wicket-keeper and as reserve batsman
and thus unlikely to play barring injury to a member of the first-choice XI.
However, as Ben Foakes will miss the New Zealand series now due to a freak
accident, James Bracey will play and keep wicket and both Sam Billings and
Haseeb Hameed will cover now for him, although, according to Jon Agnew, neither
is likely to play. To cover for James Bracey in the Gloucestershire squad, Jonathan
Tattersall has been signed on a short-term loan. That Tatttersall, a player who
had a fantastic 2020 Bob Willis Trophy for Yorkshire, is available, is down to
the fact that he has struggled this season and lost his place last week to 19
year old debutant, Harry Duke and is in need of cricket to boost his form and
confidence. Glenn Phillips, who will replace Kraigg Brathwaite as overseas
player, has arrived in the UK, but is not yet available and Tom Lace, who
substituted for Bracey with the gauntlets earlier in the season, is not
regarded as more than an emergency option in the 4-day game.
Tattersall started batting at #6 for Yorkshire, but
has recent batted at #7, which is where Miles Hammond batted against Somerset
(although rain arrived before he had the chance to take guard). That leaves a
gap at #3, which will be filled by Miles Hammond, who made good runs last time
out in the 2nd XI. The XI is likely to be Dent, Brathwaite, Hammond,
Lace, Higgins, Cockbain, Tattersall, Smith, Payne, Taylor M. and Worrall in
that order. Scott, Goodman, Shaw and van Buuren travel as reserves.
This is Kraigg Brathwaite’s last game. He would be
the first to admit that his 229 runs @ 25.4 with just a single 50 are not what
he would have hoped for. Hopefully, he can sign off with the big performance
that he knows that he has within him. The other worry, with Bracey unavailable,
is the alarming fall-off of the captain’s form: in his last eight innings, he
has passed 25 just once. Chris Dent brings solidity and security to the top
order. It is mainly an issue of trying to be too positive in an effort to keep
the scoreboard moving but, Gloucestershire supporters would happily settle for
a century opening partnership made in 40 overs if it means a solid start and a
good haul of batting points. Graeme van Buuren is back in the squad, but as cover
for Brathwaite and Worrall: it seems that he is still sadly unlikely to be
available any time soon. There might be an argument for playing Dom Goodman for
Matt Taylor, but it seems that George Scott, Josh Shaw and Dom Goodman will
join the unlucky Graeme van Buuren as the travelling reserves.
For Surrey, Ben Foakes is now doubly unavailable
(he is injured, even if England did not have first call on his services). Kemar
Roach, who both tops the Surrey bowling averages and has the most wickets for them this season, has stood down and is
replaced by Sean Abbott: it is a little like a side hearing that Dennis Lillie
is unavailable to play against them, but Wayne Daniel has stepped-in to fill
the breach. Rory Burns and Ollie Pope – the two highest run-scorers for Surrey
this season – join James Bracey on England duty, which means that the Surrey
side will have a considerable re-jig from the one that was somewhat fortunate to
escape with a draw against Middlesex. The XIII named has some less-familiar
names, although Surrey have given themselves the opportunity to play two
spinners, with both Amar Virdi and Daniel Moriarty in the squad. However
unfamiliar some of the names, Mark Stoneman has a century and two fifties in
his last four innings and Hashim Amla scored 215* against Hampshire, so the
Surrey batting remains full of threat and should be underestimated at your
peril.
Somerset and Hampshire sit out this week so, after
this round, all sides will have played seven games and we will see the true
position of the sides. Surrey know that, now 25 points behind Somerset, they
must win this game if they are to have any hope of finishing in the top two in
the group (and, even then, will still be at least one point behind having
played a game more). In contrast, a Gloucestershire win would all but seal a
top-two spot, barring a complete meltdown in their last three games. So, both
sides have plenty to play for.
Day 1:
So, interesting rumours overnight that, as the game
would be played on a used pitch and Surrey would play both spinners, Dan
Worrall would be replaced by Graeme van Buuren. Yes, Surrey did pick both
spinners, but Gloucestershire went with the XI that was released yesterday and
in the same scorecard order as published. Surrey won the Toss and batted,
undoubtedly hoping that Virdi and Moriarty would spin their web of crime on the
fourth day… if the match got that far. Certainly, it was a worn pitch with a
lot of repaired footmarks, but also looked quite green in the bright sunshine.
The suggestion was that it would play okay for two days and then start to turn.
David Payne opened the bowling to Mark Stoneman,
who made a confident start. The first ball was tucked off his hip for two and
the second cut past Gulley for a single, bringing Ryan Patel on strike in his
twenty-seventh First Class match, although he only averages 24.4 in that time.
Certainly, there was some evidence of movement in that first over, with the
last ball moving a long way, but too wide to be threatening. At the other end,
Ryan Higgins, saw his first ball guided between the two Slips and Gulley for
the first boundary, before a loud shout for LBW from his final ball (probably
missing Stoneman’s Off Stump, despite curving in a fraction). After a
relatively quick start the runs slowed and a spell of 25 balls produced just a
single, but there was never a sensation that wickets were coming. The initial
thrust with the New Ball repulsed, on came Dan Worrall for the tenth over,
replacing Ryan Higgins. 27-0 after 12 overs and Surrey building a good start.
More alarmingly, there was a long pause in play when
the third ball of the fourteenth over, bowled by Dan Worrall, caught Patel on
the side of the helmet as he ducked. The physio came on and attended him to
check that he was okay to continue and a new helmet was brought out. One
delivery under the new lid and Patel decided that he needed to change it again,
leading to some engineering work by batsmen and twelfth man on the new helmet. Patel
was able to continue and Worrall, who had checked immediately that the batsman
was not badly hurt, then served up a ball well pitched-up outside off
(apparently in a gesture of sportsmanship) to help him settle.
With nothing happening for the seamers, Tom Smith
was on, wheeling away, as early as the 18th over. The 50 partnership
coming up in the next one, but the openers got no further. After a long
conference, Chris Dent brought back Ryan Higgins. His first delivery looked a
bit leggish, but Stoneman played all around it and off he went, LBW Higgins 22
(50 balls, 3x4). 50-1.
For the 29th over, the Shire switched to
an all-spin attack, as Miles Hammond came on, in headband and curls and looking
a lot like Björn Börg in his prime, to bowl his very, very occasional
off-breaks for the last over before Lunch. 77-1 at the break and Surrey very
happy with their session. After the break, first Patel reached his 50, then up
came the 100 in the 34th over. By now you were starting to get a very
bad feeling about this game. Something had to be tried, so the captain tried to
get the ball changed. An initial request failed but, in the 35th
over, after a violent boundary that bounced into the stands and damaged the
ball further, a box of balls came out and a new one was picked. This worked the
oracle: David Payne sent down the first delivery with the new old ball, outside
off and moving away and Patel edged it straight to Kraigg Brathwaite. 105-2,
Patel 62 (113 balls, 10x4). One more wicket and you felt that the Shire would
be getting back into the game. That wicket was not long coming. David Payne
gave Smith some width outside off. The batsman slashed at it and Kraigg Brathwaite
took a good catch. 123-3, and David Payne’s 300th First Class
wicket. The Sun had gone in and the ball was doing a bit; could Gloucestershire
get into the inexperienced middle order? Yes they could! Matt Taylor came on
and produced a superb delivery that Evans edged very low to Jonathan
Tattersall, who just about managed to get the gauntlets underneath it. It was
an excellent catch and the young Yorkshireman had continued to justify his
signing. Surrey 133-4 and the afternoon turning the Gloucestershire way.
Surrey, though, bat deep even when fielding a virtual 2nd XI. Amla
ground his way up to his 50, which he reached with a delicious cut for four
(115 balls , 7x4). At the other end, Jacks kept him company and accumulated
steadily, while Tom Smith wheeled away, testing and teasing and bowling some
very nice deliveries.
Just short of the 50 partnership and with Surrey
again looking on top, Jacks got burnt by Ryan Higgins. He served-up a very wide
one that Jacks slashed at, totally unnecessarily, getting a thick inside edge
that took Off Stump: 181-5. So, Surrey had reached 183-5 at the break and this
session, definitely was Gloucestershire’s.
However, we have seen this script in other games
this season. One more wicket and Gloucestershire would have been in a strong
position. Instead, the batsmen tilted the match strongly in their own favour. Surrey’s
200 and first batting point came up with the last ball of the 69th
over (Amla 63*) and Overton 11* and bedding-in. Another partnership was
building and you felt that Gloucestershire badly needed a wicket before the new
ball. It should have come at 229-5, when Overton edged Tom Smith straight
through Miles Hammond’s hands at Slip: as catches go, it was not a difficult one
and it was a bad drop at a bad time. Hammond’s punishment was to be brought
back on to bowl to hurry on the New Ball; this he did with enough style to
suggest that he could become a useful bowler. His length was excellent, he got
good shape through the air and just needs to learn to control the line a bit
better. The New Ball was taken immediately by David Payne at 241-5 and was the
critical moment of the session. The bowlers were getting some movement, but
sometimes strayed a little in line: when David Payne did it, Overton smoked him
through the covers to bring up the 250 and the second batting point.
As the partnership waxed and prospered, closing in rapidly
on the century as Surrey sought to increase the scoring rate, Gloucestershire
faced the unpalatable prospect of, once again, failing to obtain full bowling
points. A four to Third Man off Matt Taylor brought Amla onto 99 and a Cover
Drive for a single from Ryan Higgins brought up the century (197 balls, 12x4)
out of 283-5 and brought up the century stand to boot. That missed chance early
in the evening session was beginning to get expensive, with Amla and Overton
batting supremely well; it was a pity, given that Brathwaite had taken two,
excellent catches and Tattersall one that was a difficult chance, that he made
look straightforward that the one chance that was missed turned out to be
costly.
So, we had reached 285-5 at the Close, with Overton
bringing up his 50 with the last ball of the day (123 balls, 7x4).
Gloucestershire, who will bat last, need quick wickets urgently in the morning.
Day 2:
A cloudy morning that you thought should favour the
bowlers. Gloucestershire needed quick wickets and got one, first ball of the
day. David Payne bowled a brutal delivery at Overton that lifted and moved away
and that the batsman could only edge to Jonathan Tattersall. Surrey 285-6 and
the second bowling point: just the three more wickets needed for a third! After
some early frenetic batting from Abbott, calming words from Amla led to more
careful play and the 300 coming up safely in the 103rd over. With
further bonus points looking unlikely for either side, the match settled into a
quiet period of phony war, although the introduction of Matt Taylor saw two
false shots from Amla in his first three balls as he tried to accelerate again:
the first an appeal for a catch down leg, the second just past the outside edge and then Amla ran a quick single to
David Payne at Mid-On, who destroyed the stumps with his throw, but with Amla
safely in. So, Surrey 321-6 were after 110 overs and the points split 3-2 in
their favour.
Although the bowling was tight, the fifty
partnership came up in the 115th over as the Surrey strategy became
clear: bat long, bat once. In the commentary box, Mark Church was already
licking his lips at the prospect of Gloucestershire following-on after being
bowled out cheaply. Yes, the County Championship was war as usual! Finally
though, Abbott played one shot too many, paddle-sweeping a straight ball from
Tom Smith that he missed completely, beaten by a little turn and hit in front
of middle: 346-7. It was The bad news? Rikki Clarke, in at #9, averages 40 in
First Class cricket! 363-7 from 126 overs at Lunch and everyone watching Tom
Smith for the first signs of the pitch misbehaving.
Dan Worrall had a chance to make the breakthrough
at 376-7 when he took the edge of Amla’s bat and the chance may, or may not,
have carried to Kraigg Brathwaite. In any case, the chance, if it was one, went
down. Two balls later Clarke cut the ball just fractionally out of reach of the
flying Miles Hammond at 2nd Slip who could not quite reach the ball.
Luck definitely was not with the bowlers. The score kept on mounting: 150 for
Amla in the 134th over, made out of 388-7. Then Clarke almost holed
out when he slogged Tom Smith just short of the diving Dan Worrall on the
Mid-Wicket boundary. Clarke and Amla piled on the misery and the partnership
had reached 82 before the moment that sounded alarm bells. Miles Hammond
produced a magic ball that turned hugely and lifted from very wide of Off Stump
and was chopped on by Amla who fell finally for 173 (347 balls, 16x4), 428-8.
As the light faded and rain approached London, Rikki Clarke went on the attack,
launching Matt Taylor for four consecutive booming boundaries, the second of
which just cleared Ryan Higgins running back, before plugging and trickling
over the boundary as the fielder applied the brakes and overran the ball. That took
Clarke to his 50 and the score past 450. Surrey were looking at the declaration
and Miles Hammond went for 4 6 4 in the next over, as 27 runs came from 9
balls. Ryan Higgins ended the fun by bowling one very short, which kept low and
bowled Clarke for 65 (103 balls, 8x4, 2x6), 468-9.
The last wicket fell as Moriarty took a huge swing
at Ryan Higgins and knocked the Middle and the Off Stumps out of the ground.
473ao. 324 to avoid the follow-on. It was not the bowling performance of a
title-challenging side, but it was not a poor one either. At no stage save the
final slog did the batsmen score freely. In a big total, Ryan Higgins finished
with a very creditable 4-69 and David Payne, 3-79.
What could the openers do? The Shire really needed
a big partnership from them. Both were off the mark first ball: Kraigg
Brathwaite with a delicious turn off his legs for 4, Chris Dent with a push for
a single. After just 6 overs from Abbott and Clarke, with the score 12-0, Virdi
was called into the attack to take advantage of the hard, new ball. What was
interesting was to see the change in the way that the openers played. Normally,
Kraigg Brathwaite has played the tortoise to Chris Dent’s hare but, after the
first 12 overs, it was 25-0, with Brathwaite 21* and Dent 4*. You hoped that
this was the prelude to a big score, but Chris Dent was not timing the ball as
he can. As the batsmen started to play some shots and to take advantage of the
attacking field, Kraigg Brathwaite chipped a ball straight back at Mortiarty
who, amazingly, dropped it. It is never easy to take a catch in your follow
through, but that was a gentle lob-back that should have been swallowed to make
the score 37-1. Was this a sign that the Shire’s luck turning? No it was not!
Virdi dropped one short. Chris Dent, who on another day would have deposited
the ball in the stands, hammered it to straight to Mid-Wicket and Moriarty took
a comfortable catch. 39-1 from 15 overs and the captain out for 14, bringing in
the under pressure Miles Hammond, who needed a score to seal his place in the
side. “Opportunity Knocks!” said Ed Seabourne in the commentary box, but James
Bracey’s place was a big one to fill and he must surely have a better chance of
making consistent runs at #7.
Even though the main band of rain that was crossing
England and Wales had (just) missed The Oval, the light was extremely dark, the
shadows of the floodlights surrounded the players and, even with an all-spin
attack it was just a question of when the umpires would take the players off.
In the end, it was at 45-1 after 19 overs, with Brathwaite 27* and Hammond 4*, as
some light rain started to fall
And that was that. Stumps were called, 15 overs
were lost and, with sun and clear skies forecast for Day 3, Gloucestershire
would have much better conditions to bat in, but that Hammond delivery will be
praying on the minds of the batsmen.
Day 3:
Miles Hammond stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the pitch’s wreck,
Shone round him o’er the dead.
Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm;
A batsman of heroic blood,
A proud, though childlike form.
The bowlers spun on – he would not go,
Without his captain’s word;
That skipper, in batting collapse below,
His voice no longer heard.
He called aloud – ‘Say, captain, say
If yet my task is done?’
He knew not that the captain lay
Dismissed in the pavilion.
‘Speak, captain!’ once again he cried,
‘If I may yet be gone!’
– And but the booming shots replied,
And fast his boundaries rolled on.
Unless Miles Hammond can conjure up something even
more spectacular than some of the feats of one I.T. Botham, Gloucestershire’s
unbeaten record in the 2021 Championship will end sometime around Lunch
tomorrow. The overwhelming feeling is that it will be an unnecessary defeat
that should have been avoided.
When you are 84-1 and beginning to score freely,
with two set batsmen, you start to think that maybe your worst imaginings will
not come to pass. Then, 29 balls later, it is 89-5 and that follow-on target of
324 looks a long, long way away. The pitch, though, had little to do with it.
For the first hour all looked rosy in SW7. Kraigg
Brathwaite and Miles Hammond batted sensibly, adding runs steadily, which was
what the situation demanded. Miles Hammond hooked Overton for the boundary that
brought up the 50 in the 22nd over. After three maiden overs, he
then produced two, fabulous cover drives off consecutive balls from Overton. On
came the spinners and the two batsmen continued calmly. A reverse sweep by
Miles Hammond brought up another boundary from Moriarty. Both batsmen were
playing comfortably and there was very little pressure from the bowlers, with
the field well spread. The change came when Amla decided to add some close
fielders, which seemed to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the batsmen.
Kraigg Brathwaite was on 38 and playing with a solidity that made you think
that, this time, he’d make a big score, but he pressed forward down the wrong
line to a straight ball from Virdi and was LBW: 84-2 and the start of an
inexplicable collapse.
Tom Lace also pressed forward to a straight ball
and edged to Slip: 84-3. Ian Cockbain, tried to be positive and swept Virdi in
the air straight to Square Leg: 88-4. Then, Ryan Higgins left a perfectly
straight ball from Mortiarty and was bowled: 89-5. None of the wicket-taking
balls had done anything at all that was untoward. Suddenly, even Miles Hammond,
who had been playing supremely well, looked as if his boots had been replaced
with concrete overshoes and he was being goaded with an electric cattle prod.
There was no good cricketing reason for what was happening apart from the
pressure of having a convention of close fielders around the bat.
In came Tattersall, who brought up the 100 by
coming down the pitch and whipping the ball through Mid-Wicket for four. Was
this the start of a recovery? No. Moriarty overpitched and Jonathan Tattersall
pushed the ball straight into the hands of Leg Slip: 111-6. In came Tom Smith and now, we were into the
tail. Would he see it through to Lunch? Nope! Six men around the bat. Straight
ball. Press forward. Slightly mishit and at least he could say that he was the
victim of a sharp piece of fielding from Jacks at Silly Mid On, one-handed, low
to his left. 113-7 at Lunch and Miles Hammond stranded on 49*.
We were back to Taunton 2020 and the impression
that Gloucestershire are a very fragile batting side, who will collapse under
pressure. You look at the scorecard and think that conditions must have been
impossible, but they were not. There was no sharp turn. There was little
variable bounce. The pitch was playing perfectly well and there were runs to be
scored in it. What there was were a lot of badly fried nerves.
Miles Hammond brought up an excellent 50 soon after
Lunch (124 balls, 6x4) out of 114-7. Only now did the odd ball start to
misbehave. However, Miles Hammond and Matt Taylor produced an hour of excellent
batting. They kept the ball out calmly and saw off Moriarty and Virdi, starting
to score more freely again. Abbott was brought back to keep order and Jacks,
who had never taken a First Class wicket, was brought on to hurry on the New
Ball. It was Jacks who produced the breakthrough with a magic ball, similar to
Hammond’s yesterday: the ball pitched very wide of off and turned in viciously
as Matt Taylor left the ball only to see it hit Off Stump. 144-8 and the end of a stand of 31.
David Payne did not last long. Once again, the
batsman pushed forward, the ball went straight, but along a completely different
line to the bat. Moriarty had his fifth wicket. It was 153-9 and a bemused
Miles Hammond was on 73*. Hammond deserved a century, but knew that he had to
start to hit out if he wanted it. All the same, he was not giving up easily and
produced a magnificent reverse sweep off Moriarty that flew to the boundary to
move him to 77* before playing one shot too many and hitting the next ball straight
to Mid-Wicket. 158ao in 75.5 overs and, to be brutally honest, a very poor
performance with the bat. 6-60 for Moriarty, but you didn’t have to be Sherlock
Holmes to detect that many of his wickets were gifted. What the evidence
showed, though, was that in just his third First Class match, Moriarty had four
consecutive hauls of 5-for and 23 wickets at 17.5.
A mere 315 behind on first innings, Gloucestershire
were, of course asked to follow on. And, after the break, a novelty act: Moriarty
and Virdi opening the bowling with the New Ball. There are not too many
occasions that two spinners have taken the New Ball: even in the 1970s, when India
sometimes played Bedi, Venkat, Prasanna and Chadrasehkar in the same XI,
someone always took the shine off the ball for a couple of overs before the
proper bowlers came on. That said, there was much about Amar Virdi, wheeling
away in his lilac patka, that Bishan Bedi himself would have approved of. Five
men round the bat but, when Moriarty misdirected a couple of balls too far down
leg, Kraigg Brathwaite seized on them and flicked them away contemptuously
through Fine Leg for consecutive boundaries. 28-0, from 8 overs at Tea,
Brathwaite 20*, Dent 8*. Could Gloucestershire hope?
The batsmen had seen off the New Ball thrust and
Amla brought on his change bowlers, Overton and Abbott to try a few overs of
seam after Tea, presumably to rest the spinners. You could imagine a bemused Mr
Spock watching this and saying “it’s cricket, Jim, but not as we know it”, before
arcing his right eyebrow. Kraigg
Brathwaite kept the scoreboard moving and when Overton sent a ball too far down
leg, he flicked it down to the Fine Leg boundary to move onto 27* and the score
to 36-0 from 11 overs. Surely, this time, he would make a score? The batsmen
were looking comfortable. There was no threat in the bowling. 120-0 at the
Close? No way! It was too good to last. Overton pitched one up and Kraigg
Brathwaite chipped it tamely back to the bowler. 38-1, Brathwaite out for 28 in
his final innings for the Shire, having once again done the hard work, got a
start and got out.
18, 36, 60, 21, 9, 16, 33, 21, 15, 38, 28…
If you consider that reaching 15 is a start,
Brathwaite has done it in 10 of his 11 innings, but just four times has he passed
30.
Could things get worse? Yes they could. Very quickly.
38-0 and hope became rapidly 44-3 and misery. Gloucestershire desperately
needed the captain to arrest the slide in his scores. A glide through Third Man
for four after a careful start suggested that he was in the mood. He then
propped half forward to Abbott, missed, and went LBW. That was 42-2 and in came
Tom Lace who has struggled for runs all season. Abbott came. Lace saw. And
stumps were scattered. The ball went through him like an armour-piercing shell.
Faster than you could say “Sebastian Vettel” the Shire were in the Pits. 44-3
and sinking… fast.
Could Ian Cockbain stop the Brown-Cap charge? Virdi
produced a wonderful delivery that turned a long way, hit the stumps past
Cockbain’s forward defensive and the bowler, not the most athletic in the home
side, headed off towards the Cover boundary at warp speed, celebrating wildly.
At least the batsman could say that he was dismissed by a very fine delivery. 58-4. Ryan Higgins came in to join Miles
Hammond who had, again, watched carnage at the other end and who was 4* from 25
balls. Surrey thinking that they could be requesting the extra half hour to
finish the game.
Ryan Higgins is the type of player who tries to
counter-attack in any situation and, for a time, it worked: a lovely cut for
four and some busy running aimed to reduce the pressure. This encouraged Miles Hammond
to come out of his shell and reverse sweep Virdi powerfully for four. Higgins
tried to keep up the attack, dancing down the pitch to a wide ball outside off
from Virdi that turned and bounced and the ‘keeper finished off the stumping.
84-5 and the end was nigh. Again, Virdi set off towards the boundary at a rate
of knots, arms outstretched, gambolling with glee. In truth, the batsman was so
far down the pitch that the ‘keeper could have lit a cigarette before taking
off the bails.
That the match did not end on the third evening was
down to a mini-fightback by Miles Hammond and Jonathan Tattersall. Hammond
could see himself running out of partners again and was the one batsman who was
not psyched-out by the bowling, the pitch and the Surrey close fielders
convention. Another powerful reverse sweep for four was followed, two balls
later, by an even bigger one for six. Up came the 100 in the 34th
over with 4 leg byes (Hammond 31*, Tattersall 0*) and, glory be, the number of
close fielders was now sharply reduced when Miles Hammond was on strike, while Jonathan
Tattersall combated Virdi by taking guard outside off, around about 4th
stump. A conventional sweep off Moriarty took him into double figures with a
boundary and, once again, a partnership was building. Overton and Jacks came
back into the attack to try to break it, but something odd happened… it did not
break. In fact, the batsmen started to look increasingly comfortable.
The Shire reached the Close on 124-5, still 191
behind, with Miles Hammond on 38* and Jonathan Tattersall on 15*. They would
need to bat past Lunch on the final day for Somerset to start to worry, even a
little, but at least they have shown some spirit.
Day 4:
The defeat did come, around Lunch, but the way that
it came showed that this was a match that should not have been lost – one bad
hour was to blame – and could even have been won had the batsmen showed more
gumption in the first innings (imagining a hypothetical situation in which
Chris Dent could have declared behind). In fact, the Shire could even feel a
little aggrieved that they had not been given a chance to make Surrey bat
again.
Blue sky, brilliant sunshine and vultures (or,
maybe, pigeons) circling The Kennington Oval looking to feast on the
Gloucestershire batsmen. Mark Church, licking his lips in the commentary box,
like a cat who has the canary cornered and is anticipating cleaning the
feathers from his whiskers. In contrast, Ed Seabourne, in the Radio Bristol
corner, looking pretty hangdog as if his only hope is for Boris Johnson to call
and cancel play due to a national emergency. Yes, the Shire are back in their accustomed
role as suffering underdogs. Even the public seemed to take a quick finish for
granted and only a smattering of fans had decided that it was worth shelling
out cash to see the last rites.
Virdi was still in his lilac patka and got things
underway, wheeling away again, although the Sun went in for a while when play
started. The first two balls turned in slowly from off, the second of which Jonathan
Tattersall cut beautifully away for four to get underway as Moriarty chased the
ball in vain to the Third Man boundary. Virdi served-up a full toss on leg and Miles
Hammond thumped it to the wide Mid-On boundary, which may have given the close
fielders pause for thought. With the batsmen looking comfortable, on came
Overton after four overs of spin, for another go at blasting out the batsmen.
However, it was Moriarty who made the rapid breakthrough and it really did look
like a very rough decision for Miles Hammond: a ball pitching well outside off
and barely turning in. Hammond went for it, missed and was hit on the pad, well
outside off. What was unarguable is that it was 138-6, Hammond was out for 45
and Gloucestershire’s last remaining hope was gone. The scorecard showed it as
caught behind, so Hammond must have got a nick on it, in which case it was
brilliant work by the ‘keeper. Either way, the decision looked wrong and,
however many replays were shown, you could not see much evidence to support the
dismissal. Miles Hammond looked incredulous at the decision. It was the sort that
a side gets when its luck is out. Given what happened later, you do wonder what
might have happened if Miles Hammond had continued to bat: certainly, avoiding
the innings defeat, if not the defeat itself, would have been a real
possibility.
It did not take long for Overton to get in the act.
Tom Smith was completely squared-up by him and hit in front. The only doubt
that time was if it might have gone under middle. 139-7 and two wickets in
seven balls. The match now moved into that delicious phase where you know that
defeat is inevitable, no one can do anything to avoid it and you can sit back
and enjoy the action.
Jonathan Tattersall wanted to rehabilitate his
batting and to get his Yorkshire place back. Matt Taylor can bat when he feels
like it and the two decided to hang around and even enjoy themselves a bit. The
stand reached 40 as Tattersall advanced and lofted Moriarty over his head for a
six through Long On: the look on Moriarty’s face as he followed the ball over
him and into the far distance was worth a king’s ransom (this was one innings
in which he would not get a 5-for). Unfortunately,
it gave Matt Taylor ideas. The stand had reached 42 when Taylor decided that he
could hit a six too, skipped down the wicket to Virdi and gave Long On a
comfortable catch. 181-8. You could not censure Matt Taylor too much for the
shot with the game lost even if it was another wicket gifted instead of earnt
by the bowler. All the while Jonathan Tattersall just kept playing his own
game. It was noticeable that the number of close fielders was much smaller with
him on strike and Short Leg must have thought that even that number was one too
many as he swept the boundary to bring up his 50, the ball whistling past the
fielder’s head as he ducked for cover. This was the sort of Yorkshire
bloody-mindedness that Gloucestershire had hoped for with the loan signing.
With the turn and bounce gentle and predictable, David
Payne was confident enough to stroke a cover drive for the boundary that
brought up the 200 in the 69th over. At the other end, Jonathan
Tattersall must have been wondering if his partner would hang around for long
enough to give him a chance of reaching his century. Tattersall took the runs
where available, used his feet well and came down the pitch to take himself to
57* with a lofted drive through Long Off. The response of Amla was to bring
back Jacks back on to bowl. Sadly, though, David Payne, having played some
really nice shots, fell in exactly the same fashion as Matt Taylor: down the
pitch to Virdi, didn’t get hold of the ball, gentle catch to Long On. 212-9. Jonathan
Tattersall high and dry on 58*, with only Dan Worrall left and Worrall has not
shown any kind of batting ability this season; in fact, Dan Worrall’s batting
had been more of the “please declare before I have to bat” type.
Tattersall was not complaining about facing Jacks:
a slog-sweep went for an enormous six and was followed-up by another sweep for
four. 223-9, Tattersall 69* and enjoying his rest-cure from Headingley. Even
Dan Worrall joined the party, cracking two boundaries from the first two balls
of a Virdi over before the next delivery beat everything and went for four
byes. That made 22 runs from the last 7 deliveries. If you are going to go
down, at least enjoy yourself doing it. There were plenty of gaps in the field
and the batsmen were finding them. Another slog-sweep for Tattersall and twelve
off a Jacks over took Tattersall to 80*. It left Dan Worrall on strike: was he
worried? No. Virdi was met with a lofted Cover Drive for four, then another.
Back came Moriarty to try to break the stand. Jonathan Tattersall took the
single first ball and left Dan Worrall to crack the second for another
boundary. The reward was to see the close fielders start to retreat to the
outfield. Jonathan Tattersall had just a Slip and a Short Forward Square Leg,
then only the Slip and even Dan Worrall’s close field was starting to comply
with COVID restrictions on gatherings. Surrey were definitely starting to go on
a little on the defensive, trying to staunch the flow of runs. An Off Drive
from Dan Worrall brought up the 50 partnership in 37 balls. 262-9. Could the
innings defeat be avoided? Could Tattersall, on 85*, reach only his second
First Class century?
It was not to be. Moriarty got the last laugh. Dan
Worrall pushed forward and missed and was bowled for 24. 268ao and a defeat by
an innings and 47. Seeing how comfortable batting was through the morning, you
do wonder if that Miles Hammond dismissal – it was a stinker of a decision –
was the difference between an innings defeat and at least setting Surrey a
small victory target.
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