Lancashire v Durham (LV County Championship) : Day Two

FROM mayhem to mundane.

That might have been the reaction of any recent convert to cricket as sanity was restored at Old Trafford yesterday until just before tea.

That was when Durham turned, apparently in desperation, to the medium pace of Garry Park, whose immediate success suggested that the frontline seamers had not done their job.

This was confirmed when Andrew Flintoff, fired up by bagging a pair, quickly wrecked Durham's slim hopes of reaching a victory target of 323.

With an awkward 12 overs to face, six of them were delivered in hostile and accurate fashion by Flintoff and he took all the wickets as Durham finished on 28 for three.

Mark Stoneman was a little unlucky to be caught down the leg side by Luke Sutton, but both Kyle Coetzer and Paul Collingwood looked very uncomfortable before also edging to the wicketkeeper then nightwatchman Mark Davies somehow survived a torrid last over.

Flintoff was furious to have been bowled by Park, who probably would not have been brought on but for the fact that Collingwood had a sore back.

Until this season Park was Durham's reserve wicketkeeper and had not bowled in championship cricket.

In his first over he beat Stuart Law and in his second he knocked out the Australian's off stump. Five balls later Flintoff shaped to drive through mid-off and lost his leg stump.

As he awaits a Test recall this weekend, Flintoff followed his first-ball exit in the first innings with a five-ball duck.

He had studiously blocked the first ball, to the cheers of the locals, which he acknowledged with a raised bat. The same bat was swishing furiously as he departed.

Park, better known for his fielding than his bowling, then swooped from mid-wicket to run out opener Paul Horton for 108 and Lancashire had lost three wickets for one run.

Any threat of a resumption of the first day's carnage, when 20 wickets fell, seemed to have been averted by Kyle Hogg making 33.

But there was another rush of wickets as Lancashire tumbled from 189 for two to 293 all out.

There were four wickets for off-spinner Paul Wiseman, who turned the ball from his first delivery and deserved his success.

Although Mitch Claydon topscored in the first innings, he was signed as a bowler and that his only wicket has come courtesy of a top-edged hook suggests the gamble on allowing him to justify his place has failed.

It was after a three-over spell by Claydon that Di Venuto turned to Park, then when Claydon returned after tea Hogg hit him for four successive fours before Davies took a good catch at long leg.

Although Park has now staked a claim as an all-rounder, he and Claydon are playing only because of others' absence, and with Dale Benkenstein and Graham Onions due back for next week's visit of Yorkshire Durham can begin to field a settled side.

But after their disappointing start it could be that the best of them will not be seen until the second half of the season following the arrival of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

It will also be interesting to see whether Steve Harmison begins to lose heart if the wickets don't start to come soon.

His revelation that he will quit if he doesn't get his Test place back may just be his way of stressing how much he wants to play for England. But the way he trooped off for a rub down after bowling his heart out for an hour after lunch smacked of frustration.

Harmison's attempts to unsettle Horton through hostility were largely futile, with several of his bouncers passing over the Sydney- born batsman's head.

He was out of luck when Mark Chilton edged him between the slips and gully and when Mohammad Yousuf, on eight, edged successive balls short of the slips then through them for four. But, like Claydon, Harmison has taken only one wicket in the match.

Durham turned to Wednesday's seven-wicket hero, Davies, after nine overs yesterday. But although he again swung the ball away the circumspect openers were generally content to leave anything they didn't need to play at.

When Wiseman replaced Davies his first ball turned and brought a big shout for lbw against Chilton, who edged to Phil Mustard in the off-spinner's second over to end a stand of 77.

Davies had another burst after lunch before Wiseman returned and Mal Loye went down the pitch to his second ball and was stumped.

Yousuf, one of the world's best players of spin, swept Wiseman for six in making his way comfortably to 40 before he played back and got an inside edge to be caught down the leg side by Mustard.

Horton cut Claydon for his 16th four to complete his century off 177 balls just before Park came on to change the game. It may prove to have been too late.

SCORECARD
Lancashire v Durham
At Old Trafford.
Overnight: Lancashire 143 (M Davies 7-33).
Durham 114 (A Flintoff 4-21,J M Anderson 4-31).
Lancashire Second Innings
M J Chilton c Mustard b Wiseman 37
P J Horton run out 108
M B Loye st Mustard b Wiseman 14
Mohammad Yousuf c Mustard b Wiseman 40
S G Law b Park 18
A Flintoff b Park 0
L D Sutton c Collingwood b Wiseman 13
K W Hogg c Davies b Claydon 33
S I Mahmood not out 5
G Keedy c Mustard b Davies 10
J M Anderson c Collingwood b Davies 0
Extras (b6 lb3 nb6 pens 0) 15
Total (81.3 overs) 293
Fall: 1-77 2-125 3-189 4-224 5-224 6-225 7-276
8-276 9-293
Bowling: S J Harmison 13-4-51-0. Claydon 16-
4-64-1. Davies 16.3-5-44-2. B W Harmison 4-1-
18-0. Wiseman 24-8-87-4. Park 8-3-20-2.
Durham Second Innings Close
M D Stoneman c Sutton b Flintoff 5
M J Di Venuto not out 13
K J Coetzer c Sutton b Flintoff 0
P D Collingwood c Sutton b Flintoff 1
M Davies not out 4
Extras (w1 nb4 pens 0) 5
Total 3 wkts (12 overs) 28
Fall: 1-12 2-18 3-20
Bowling: Anderson 6-1-21-0. Flintoff 6-5-7-3

11:14am Friday 9th May 2008

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