Report on second day of Yorkshire v Worcestershire, 13th August 2003 by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Yorkshire v Worcestershire

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Overnight: Yorkshire 130 and 137/5 (White 42*, Kirby 6*); Worcestershire 91.
Lunch: Yorkshire (2) 238; Worcestershire (2) 6/0 (Singh 1*, Peters 4*).
Tea: Worcestershire (2) 120/3 (Smith 8*, Solanki 2*).
Result: Worcestershire (2878/5) beat Yorkshire by five wickets.

Did Worcestershire play well enough to win the match, or did Yorkshire throw it away? It is a moot point, but both are probably true. In the end it was the Worcestershire captain Ben Smith who played a superb innings of 87 not out to take his team through to consolidate their position at the top of Division II. But they had to chase the highest total of the match, and Yorkshire were very disappointing in their failure to defend it adequately.

As a result of the debacle on the first day, John Jameson, the ECB pitch inspector, arrived for an inspection as required by the regulations, but the general feeling was that the problem was with the players rather than the facilities. The pitch had not been totally dry on the first day, but it had not played particularly badly. However, there are rumours that, after 24 wickets had fallen then, there was pressure that ‘something must be seen to be done’.

Craig White reached the first individual fifty of the match with two drives to the off-side boundary in the second over of the day, bowled by Matt Mason. However he soon fell for 54, to the same bowler and yet another lbw decision, although the ball appeared to be going down the leg side. Yorkshire were 150 for six.

Steve Kirby, who had come in as night-watchman, surprised everybody by swatting Kabir Ali over the midwicket boundary for six, but was out to the same bowler for 15, backing away slightly from a shorter delivery and steering the ball into the slips; 168 for seven.

Simon Guy played some perky strokes, before falling, inevitably, lbw for 26, Mason again being the bowler; 197 for eight. The two off-spinners, Andy Gray and Richard Dawson, both batted soundly in a good stand and Worcestershire’s target began to drift further away from them. The added 41 before Dawson, with 24 of these, was caught in the slips off Justin Kemp. Without addition Gray (27) fell to a similar dismissal off Nantie Hayward, and the Yorkshire innings closed for 238.

This left Worcestershire 278 to win, the highest total of the match. Under normal circumstances this would not be unduly daunting, but in this particular match it looked very testing. Kemp returned the best figures with four for 44; Mason took three for 53, with two wickets to Hayward and just one to Ali, who must have been disappointed not to take ten in the match after his eight on the first day.

In two overs before lunch, Yorkshire had two confident lbw appeals against the Worcestershire openers, Stephen Peters and Anurag Singh, but wrung no further concessions from the umpires. After the interval the batsmen played with great care, determined to see off the new-ball attack. Perhaps there was too little attempt to keep the score moving with singles, as the only runs were an occasional four, and then Peters drove Kirby hard but straight at extra cover. He made 15, and Worcestershire were 21 for one in the 12th over. Kirby unfortunately could not keep his mouth shut and felt obliged to give the batsman a verbal send-off.

Singh was dropped off a hard chance to the slips off Chris Silverwood without further addition, but Graeme Hick, with one or two slices of luck, began to pick off boundaries as usual. Silverwood and, to a lesser extent, Kirby were not accurate enough to exert the desirable pressure, but the selection of only two front-line seam bowlers made their task more difficult and they slowly tired as a lot of work was required from them. The spinners were not trusted until just before tea, and then it was Gray while Dawson was ignored.

As the total approached 100 with only one wicket down, the match was swinging away from Yorkshire and they knew it. They were helped by a slice of good fortune, as Hick, looking ominous on 47, suddenly tried to withdraw his bat from a delivery from Kirby, only to play it on to his stumps. Now Yorkshire knew they had made their most crucial breakthrough, and Worcestershire were 96 for two. But Kirby again gave the batsman a send-off, and demands for action to be taken against his over-aggressive attitude increased. It is time the administrators paid more than lip service to the spirit of the game; Kirby’s type of ‘lip service’ needs dealing with effectively. It detracted from his bowling, as he was consistently the best of the attack.

However, Worcestershire dug in again, and Silverwood missed a return catch from Singh who was on 37 at the time. But, just before tea, Singh went for 41 as he drove at Silverwood and sliced a catch into the gully; 115 for three, and the match still in the balance.

Vikram Solanki seemed hopelessly at sea against Gray after tea, having several narrow escapes before being smartly stumped by keeper Simon Guy for 2, reducing Worcestershire to 134 for four. Smith began to open out, but gave more evidence that Yorkshire’s catching this time round was much more fallible than in the first innings, surviving a hard chance to first slip. Some of the ground fielding also left much to be desired. The bowlers toiled, and finally the crowd applauded when at 174 for four Dawson was given the ball.

Unfortunately accuracy at the other end declined, especially down the leg side, and Worcestershire were clearly in the driving seat again. But then Kemp, who struggled against the spinners, threw his wicket away for 23, stepping back to cut Dawson and chopping the ball on to his stumps. It was a considerable crime as far as Worcestershire were concerned, just as they were pulling ahead again; they were now 188 for five.

Fortunately for Worcestershire, Smith continued to play superbly, while Gareth Batty played the junior role to perfection. The bowlers strayed to leg far too often, while the field settings did too little to stem the flow of runs. Once again Worcestershire began to pull ahead, and this time they stayed there. Kirby, overbowled, grew tired and Batty so gained in confidence he began to outscore Smith.

Despite the protests of Yorkshire, perhaps in ignorance of the regulations, Worcestershire claimed the extra half-hour. The two batsmen were now so confident and dominant, making batting look easy for the first time in the match, that they romped home in a series of boundaries. Batty reached a well-deserved fifty just before victory was accomplished, finishing unbeaten on 54.

Yorkshire were left to rue their failure to press their claims for promotion to Division I next season and to grasp a golden opportunity to inflict the first championship defeat of the season on Worcestershire.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2003 John Ward)