Report on first day of Durham v Yorkshire, 15th July 2003 by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Durham v Yorkshire

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Yorkshire’s captain Anthony McGrath showed that he intends to be a contender for England’s Test team as well as its one-day side, as he hit a purposeful 86 on the first day of the county’s match against Durham at Riverside. Soon after his dismissal Yorkshire were left struggling at 197 for six, which underlined the value of his innings to the team.

Then McGrath’s fine effort was matched with two superb fighting fifties from Craig White and Andy Gray, whose century partnership was in no way as colourless as their names sound. They survived until the end, with 82 and 60 respectively, and Yorkshire in a far brighter position with 340 for six. Having lost to Durham for the first time in first-class cricket last month, the Yorkshire players were determined to set the matter right in this match, and after one day were well on course to do so.

Yorkshire dropped their long-serving wicketkeeper-batsman Richard Blakey for this match; the intention, it appears, was to give promising understudy Simon Guy a trial to see if he was up to the job of keeping in championship cricket. There is some speculation as to whether Blakey’s career may be drawing to a close. If so, that would be a pity for a fine servant of Yorkshire cricket, but on the other hand, if Guy is up to the task, Yorkshire do not want to lose him as they did Steven Rhodes almost 20 years ago. Michael Vaughan, on contract with England, did not play, but Darren Gough was in the side, eager to prove his fitness for Test cricket.

On a beautiful sunny day, Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat, in front of a crowd probably approaching 2,000. There was some consternation as Shoaib Akhtar bowled the first ball of the match outside off stump, only to see it shoot through virtually along the ground to the keeper. This was an extreme aberration, though the bounce was uneven at times. The Riverside pitch this season has been criticized for being lifeless, but on this particular morning it was much livelier than usual, with Steve Harmison back from international duty to partner Shoaib. Coincidence, perhaps? Both bowlers were hostile and indulged in rising deliveries and there was enough lift at times to trouble openers Matthew Wood and Stephen Fleming.

Wood on 8 might have been caught by Michael Gough in the gully off Shoaib, but the fielder never seemed to see a slash that flashed past his face on the way to the boundary; on 16 he was dropped at second slip. Fleming was dismissed for 10 rather mysteriously: it finally transpired that he had been adjudged to have gloved a short ball on to his helmet, and Harmison ran through to claim a return catch almost at the batsman’s feet.

Wood was not to enjoy his good fortune for long. He played a couple of good shots, including a sweetly timed flick to the square-leg boundary in Harmison’s first over, but on 18 turned the same bowler straight into the hands of Nicky Peng at short leg. Yorkshire were 39 for two with both openers gone after the first hour, and winning the toss was looking a mixed blessing.

Harmison’s opening spell was 8-3-24-2. McGrath temporarily broke the bowlers’ grip with two successive boundaries off Nicky Hatch, but in-form batsman Michael Lumb did not look it early on, several times playing and missing. He held firm, though, and settled in. 108 for two at lunch was fair progress in the circumstances.

There was some speculation as to why Shoaib Akhtar bowled only five overs (for 13 runs) during the morning session – he has at times seemed seriously underbowled in recent matches - but no satisfactory conclusion could be reached. He was to bowl just 14 (54 runs, no wicket) in four brief spells during the day. McGrath reached his fifty with a beautifully timed cover drive for four off Shoaib, while Lumb went on to 43 before driving a simple return catch to left-arm spinner Graeme Bridge.

Yuvraj Singh made a brief and flashy 7 before being caught down the leg side off Nicky Hatch, who produced many excellent balls during the day, along with a few too many down leg side, giving wicketkeeper Philip Mustard a testing time. Yorkshire were now 167 for four.

McGrath looked set for a century, in an innings of fine dedication and determination, when he swatted a short ball from Vince Wells straight into the covers and departed for 86 off 152 balls. He was quickly followed by Guy, caught at the wicket driving at Wells, for 3. At 197 for six, downhill from 160 for two, Yorkshire were now looking more shaky.

Craig White and Andy Gray applied themselves to the task in hand, taking Yorkshire to 226 for six at tea. Afterwards their partnership thrived, with determination rather than aggressive being the main ingredient, though there were some good attacking strokes too. Both reached invaluable fifties, Gray’s being completed against the second new ball, and by this time little could shake the composure of either of them. They completed the session successfully and closed with their seventh-wicket partnership standing on 143.

Luck perhaps tended to go Yorkshire’s way during the day. Frequently the batsmen were beaten, playing and missing time and again, and the onus will be on their bowlers tomorrow to maintain the advantage by finding that vital edge. On this occasion at Riverside, they have a lively pitch that should help them bowl out Durham twice to win the match. Darren Gough, yet to set foot on the field during play, will be expecting and expected to play a major part.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2003 John Ward)