Leicestershire Day 3 - Rain, Rain, Rain
By Grockle
May 17 2002
It's very wet here and Leicestershire must be on their knees hoping it carries on like this. We are in pole position but we can't beat this lot if we can't get on the pitch and it doesn't look good!! Pray for sun!!
V LEICESTERSHIRE CC1 @ TAUNTON 15 MAY 2002
| DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 |
The second day.....
With 390 on the board at the beginning of day 2 we were working on the plan of batting once. This meant a big total was required by mid-afternoon and then 2 and a half days at the Leicestershire batsmen in order to make them visit the crease twice....preferably before the end of Day 4.
Keith Parsons didn't get this plan off to a great start by being out without scoring. However, it is on days like this that you realise how much batting potential we have in this side. At 390 for 4 we still have Bowler, Turner, Blackwell, Dutch, Rose, Bulbeck and even Francis to come. All of them are capable of adding a quick fire 50 and most of grinding out a solid ton. On a batting wicket it must put the 'willies' up an attack when we reach about 400 with half the line-up to bat!
Or maybe not! Ian Blackwell came in next off the back of a run soaked week and saw the side past 400, well to 402 actually before he went for 6. Rob Turner joined Peter Bowler, who was playing his usual anchor role, the score moved on to 475 before he decided to give up that job and return to the Pavilion for 60. It then became the Keith Dutch show as the Somerset man did his thing. Firstly with Turner who went for 44 at 475 and then with Rose who helped him move us into the 500's. He finally went for 70 a run away from 550. Graham Rose did not last long but it was good to see him out there, he went for 20 at 560 and the two bowlers added a few with Bulbeck being the last man out stumped for 8 with the score at 565. Is it enough? depends on the bowlers and the weather. We may struggle to get them out twice on this pitch with our attack and we may not get two and a half days to do it. The second phase of Day 2 will be crucial with the weather warm and dry and the rain not getting here until Day 3. We are certainly looking to win and our guests are simply trying to achieve a draw.
Second Day phase 2....
So, what can the seam attack of Bulbeck (lot on his shoulders for this game), Rose, Francis, Parsons and Burns do? How important will Keith Dutch and Ian Blackwell be?
MATT BULBECK opened. He looks a more stable bowler than in recent years and his line was more consistent in the opening section Leicestershire's first innings. Hopes rose when Ward snicked on with the score on 14 and we had our first. The Foxes have a problem in the middle of their order having lost most of their established line-up in the off season. If we could get through their top order cheaply then we had a distinct chance. Maddy and Sutcliffe were aware of this and were not about to go that easily. The first wave of Somerset attacks were beaten off. GRAHAM ROSE and SIMON FRANCIS performed well but the ball didn't really trouble the batsmen.
The next breakthrough came with the introduction of the slows. KEITH DUTCH got the important wicket of Maddy for 22 and Leicestershire were 2 down for 79, with 416 required to save the follow-on (a vital requirement if we were to win) it certainly looked promising. Michael Bevan was the next target. It didn't matter if one of the opponents batsmen made a decent score, what we didn;t want was partnerships. Sutcliffe was starting to establish himself and we did not need to see the Australian getting into his stride. Bulbeck made sure of this with an LBW shout at 117. Bevan certainly didn't get into his stride and departed for 9 but he didn't seem happy about it...wonder if they'll cite him as well? Maybe Taunton will become the 'citing' capital of cricket!
3 down for less than 100, Leicestershire needed some stability and Vince Wells helped Sutcliffe get some of that into the equation. They added just over 40 before Bulbeck got his second LBW at 137 and the rock of the top order, Sutcliffe, was on his way. We then seemed to have a change of tactics. The game almost became a one day slog as the next pair seemed to decide that 416 was beyond them and therefore the objective was to slog as many balls as possible before the inevitable happened and they followed on. Wells was waving the bat at everything and Stevens was also looking for his shots. Francis was on the receiving end of some punishment but Graham Rose was generating some pace at the River End, again good to see.
This is an important game for Simon Francis. After a poor one day start in the B&H, he came back with a creditable performance in the Yorkshire game. He looks good, his action is natural and fluent but he has to show in these four day games that he can produce regularly if he is to have a chance at more first class cricket when STEFFAN JONES AND RICHARD JOHNSON return at the end of May. He looked in some trouble under the onslaught of Wells but came back well to entice him to snick it to Bowler for 35 at 168. This didn't stop the attack though because Neil Burns started in the same frame of mind and smashed him to all points. Again though he kept his head and his line and must have been satisfied when he skittled Burns on 'Double Nelson' for a score of 35 of 19 balls. It was good to see him keep at it but he has to deal with the issue of runs. Burns faced 19 balls and hit 7 fours, Francis went for 102 in 13 overs and a lot of them came in his second turn at the wicket. He is coming on but he may have to carry on his apprenticeship in the seconds when we are back to full strength.
At 222 for 6 we were in a commanding position and before the end DeFreitas was picked up by MIKE BURNS thanks to a storming catch from the captain. One worry was a strange attempt at a C&B by KEITH PARSONS. It wasn't clear whether he was trying to catch the ball or dive to avoid it. He ended up flipping into the air and getting his body in the way, it looked like he was trying to head it at one point. The problem was that he managed to damage his hand and had to go off half way through an over because he did not seem to be able to grip the ball properly. Let's hope it is a minor problem and it doesn't affect his ability to bowl or hold a bat...we don't need any more injuries.
Day 2 finished at 241 for 7. We were where we wanted to be. Tailenders inbound and two days to go. If the rain holds off and the morning is overcast on Friday, we could be into the second innings before lunchtime and have them reeling before tea. That is IF the rain holds off.
Day 3....
I seem to have commentators disease. On more than one occasion yesterday I made a positive comment about a Somerset bowler only to see the next ball go hammering into a boundary somewhere. I commented on the weakness of a Leicestershire batsman just in time to see him hit a simply beautiful cover drive. A really good fielder missed a sitter just after I had discussed his return to form. After talking about how the weather looked like holding off this morning I arrived early to see play start on time. At 10:50 the umpires wandered out with light meters, decided the light was poor and giving Frosty permission to put the covers on as the sky blackened. By 12:00 we had covers everywhere and no play at all. It is belting down and doesn't look like stopping. Let's hope that when I now say it "looks like we are going to lose a whole day" that it has the opposite effect. This is time we really did not want to lose. Leicestershire must be praying for a deluge!