Durham again nurse Twenty20 hangover (From The Northern Echo)

Durham again nurse Twenty20 hangover

10:53am Monday 9th July 2007 in Sport By Tim Wellock

Surrey v Durham (County Championship)

DURHAM were again unable to find a remedy for their annual Twenty20 hangover yesterday as they reached the crazy score of 151 for eight at lunch on the first day against Surrey at The Oval.

Phil Mustard's 70 took them to 191 all out in 44.3 overs, to which the hosts replied with 198 for six after adopting a more circumspect approach until Stewart Walters marched in with all the confidence of a brash Aussie youth.

Born and bred in Australia but now resident in the UK, Walters came in at 53 for three and twice hooked Steve Harmison for six in reaching a 61-ball half-century.

Making his first appearance of the season, 24-year-old Walters passed the top score of 67 he made in three games last year but immediately fell lbw next ball to Ottis Gibson with four balls of the day's play left.

This was very similar to last year's resumption of championship action when Mustard made 81 out of 195 against Nottinghamshire and Durham lost three out of four matches to slip into a relegation battle.

After the first Twenty20 programme in 2003 Durham were all out for 120 at Worcester in their next match, while in 2005 they resumed four-day combat with defeat by an innings and 228 runs to Lancashire.

Prior to that Durham had won five out of eight matches but they managed only one more win in the second half of the season.

It's a problem they have discussed at length, but after losing their first two wickets to good bowling yesterday the senior players seemed unable to knuckle down to sensible rebuilding.

Ottis Gibson was unlucky in edging a thigh-high full toss to second slip, but Gareth Breese and Dale Benkenstein got out carelessly and Scott Styris edged an ambitious drive into his stumps after making only one.

Mustard, chasing a wide one, survived a very difficult chance to gully before he had scored and had that stuck Durham would have been in disarray.

As it was, they were back in the game by tea as they reduced Surrey to 53 for three more through good fortune than good bowling from a side who had the luxury of leaving out Graham Onions.

Liam Plunkett was very wayward in his opening spell, which included four maidens largely because the batsmen could simply watch the ball go by.

Harmison was better, but his only wicket came from his first ball and owed everything to a sensational reflex catch at short leg by Kyle Coetzer, substituting for Will Smith.

Left-hander Scott Newman turned the ball off the face of the bat just to Coetzer's right and he somehow clung on. If he's not needed today they should set Coetzer to work catching the pigeons which several times forced batsmen to back away.

Harmison beat the prolific Mark Ramprakash with what would have been a perfect yorker had it not missed off stump by a whisker, but after contributing 18 to a stand of 47 in 16 overs the No 3 attempted a forcing back-foot shot off Gibson and chopped the ball into his stumps.

Then Jon Batty called Mark Butcher for a cheeky single to gully, where Plunkett swooped and hit the stumps with an under-arm throw to run out the opener.

Plunkett's only success with the ball came when he suddenly bowled a big in-swinger to the left-handed Butcher and had him lbw.

Rikki Clarke was also lbw, trying to sweep Paul Wiseman, after making 30 in a stand of 53 as Walters throttled back before almost seeing out the remaining seven overs with Chris Schofield.

Benkenstein would have been pleased to win the toss on a sunny morning, but on what is always a good pitch Durham's 191 was the lowest first innings total at The Oval for five years.

The start was sensibly sedate, but once the first wicket fell the innings careered out of control as they seemed intent on rattling along at five an over.

When Neil Saker came on for the eighth over Breese took 12 off his first four balls, which included an uppish four just out of mid-on's reach.

It should have been a warning, but in Saker's next over Breese clipped a catch straight to mid-wicket, then Australian Matt Nicholson claimed his third scalp with Styris' dismissal.

Smith was first to go, shaping to play to leg only for the ball to swing and clip off stump, then Gordon Muchall was trapped on the crease by a good-length ball.

Benkenstein was quickly off the mark with a straight-driven four and sped to 26 before being caught off a top-edged pull at deep square leg.

At 96 for five Jade Dernbach, a South African with an Italian passport, returned for a second spell and his first ball was a high, wide full toss. Gibson naturally tried to put it away, only for the edge to fly to Rikki Clarke, who held a good catch at second slip.

Plunkett edged Harbhajan Singh to first slip, then two balls later Paul Wiseman drove the Indian spinner over long-on for six, only to be caught off bat and pad off the next ball.

That made it 123 for eight, but Mustard had been in little trouble and had hit nine fours when a straight six off Harbhajan in the over before lunch took him to a 56-ball half-century.

He followed that with a reverse sweep for four, but added only ten after the interval before slicing a drive to backward point to give Harbhajan his third wicket.

Having helped to put on 45 for the ninth wicket, Mark Davies, who was preferred to Onions, added a further 23 with Harmison.

But with a bonus point in sight Harmison's eyes lit up on the introduction of Schofield and he lifted the leg-spinner with unerring accuracy to deep mid-wicket.

SCORECARD

Surrey v Durham at The Brit Oval.

Durham First Innings
W R Smith b Nicholson 10
G R Breese c Walters b Saker 23
G J Muchall lbw b Nicholson 1
S B Styris b Nicholson 1
D M Benkenstein c Schofield b Clarke 26
P Mustard c Newman b Harbhajan Singh 70
O D Gibson c Clarke b Dernbach 10
L E Plunkett c Clarke b Harbhajan Singh 5
P J Wiseman c Newman b Harbhajan Singh 6
M Davies not out 20
S J Harmison c Nicholson b Schofield 8
Extras (b9 lb2 pens 0) 11
Total (44.3 overs) 191
Fall: 1-22 2-34 3-34 4-40 5-74 6-96 7-117 8-
123 9-168
Bowling: Nicholson 14-3-37-3. Dernbach 6-1-30-1.
Saker 7-0-40-1. Clarke 5-0-27-1. Harbhajan Singh
11-2-44-3. Schofield 1.3-1-2-1.

Surrey First Innings Close
S A Newman c Sub b S J Harmison 0
J N Batty run out 17
M R Ramprakash b Gibson 18
M A Butcher lbw b Plunkett 25
S J Walters lbw b Gibson 70
R Clarke lbw b Wiseman 30
C P Schofield not out 20
Extras (lb10 w2 nb6 pens 0) 18
Total 6 wkts (56.2 overs)198
Fall: 1-2 2-49 3-53 4-115 5-168 6-198
To Bat: M J Nicholson, Harbhajan Singh, N C Saker,
J W Dernbach.
Bonus Pts: Surrey 3 Durham 0
Bowling: Plunkett 13-4-44-1. S J Harmison 13-3-
57-1. Gibson 10.2-3-34-2. Davies 9-3-18-0. Wiseman
11-2-35-1.