Notts or Nowt?

Compo In Benno Out
By Grockle
July 29 2010

Another of those 'must win' games starts on a breezy but warm Thursday in July. Nottinghamshire played when we didn't so we have a "games in hand" thing going on. Nick Compton is back in for Ben Phillips. We chose to bat at the toss backing our batting prowess against a strong Notts attack...may be a bad decision....read on.

v Nottinghamshire CC1 @ Taunton Thursday 29 July 2010

Scorecard

Commentary

Nathan's Blog

A bit late into this one I'm sorry to say and I missed both first balls of both sessions so I have to apologise personally to the captain and Mr de Bruyn for their respective demises!!

We won the toss and chose to bat with an eleven that comprised of;

Trescothick, Suppiah, Compton, de Bruyn, Hildreth, Buttler, Kieswetter, Trego, Thomas, Kartik and Willoughby

No Ben Phillips who is fit but has been rested in favour of spin while Matt Wood is in the visitor's starting side while Neil Edwards is here but not playing. As someone pointed out, Notts have picked all their seamers while we seem to think it may have something for the slow men. Notts cannot call on the skills of Ryan Sidebottom who injures himself playing football before the start of play, this after they lost Mulaney yesterday to the same dastardly game!!

The wicket is way over on the Somerset side probably only just outside the minimum boundary length. Half the Gimblett is covered by sight screens with a respectable size crowd in the ground.

The first session suggests they may have got some of it right as the Boss tries to flip the first ball to leg and is bowled for nothing!! Not a great start.

Nick Compton probably didn't want to be in second ball but there he is facing Pattinson. He does quite well but doesn't stay around long enough to push his case for permanance. The same bowler has him caught in the slips by Hussey before we pass 50 (44). Some good shots (3 fours) but still not convincing. Zander de Bruyn is the next man in.

Shreck, Pattinson and Adams are giving us quite a torrid time, lots past the bat especially from the River and it is slow going for the batting side. It gets worse when the ball does something that Arul did not expect and he is left looking down at the crease as Hales takes the catch and Adams reduces us to 77 for 3. Notts have the morning and we may have chosen the wrong option. Hildreth is at the crease and our two 'accumulators' look to re-stabalise up to lunch.

We go in at 126 and I miss the first ball back after lunch so when I look at the pitch Zander is no longer there!! First one and he plays all around one from Pattinson (or so I am told) so work starts straight away for Jos Buttler. Part of the reason I know this is that Pete Trego is in the dining room in black training kit and suddenly moves at pace towards the door. Whates are required Mr T!

Is this going to be a problem for us? Well it isn't the start we wanted but James starts to look to get the balance back and after facing 63 balls he passes 50 with 7 fours while Jos supports us and get to 200 in the 47th with Hilda looking in sublime touch.

This brings spin into the game seriously as Patel is introduced for the first time in the session and he gets spin off the pitch in his first afternoon over from the OP.

Jos joins his partner with a half ton in the 54th over off Franks at 233 for 4 (61 balls 9 fours and a six). He celebrates by hitting his 10th four with the very next ball. Great recovery with a pretty speedy 117 partnership but now they must push on.

Push on they do while Notts start to toil a little. No matter what they put in front of these Somerset men they seem to be able to deal with. 250 is passed as Hildreth looks to three figures and it comes off 128 balls with 13 fours. The Tea interval arrives with us in a much better position than one ball after the lunch interval. From 126 for 4 we are now 280 for 4 and the opposition must not relish the fact that a certain Kieswetter and Trego are waiting at numbers 7 and 8!

The spectators get to go on the pitch at the interval for this one - why is that not allowed in other games? Why are championship games the only time you get to see a kid with a bat playing on a cricket pitch with his dad? Isn't that part of the whole thing? One young lad is being bowled to by his dad and is pulling and sweeping him to the Gimblett Hill with alarming regularity. Good job the youngster has excellent technique becuase he is playing with an illegal hard ball - but he's keeping it on the floor so the only problem is that the regular smacking into the boards keeps some of the members awake!!

After Tea its more spin and more runs. It is to be hoped that our spin boys will make more of what is there because the two batsmen seem pretty unphased by the occasional spin of Hussey from the OP and Franks from the River. We pass 300 in the 70th over with the majority coming from the seemingly huge bat of James Hildreth.

JH passes his best score for the season with 132 off a swept four to the Somerset stand. He follows that with a sweep the other way to bring up a 200 run partnership with Buttler who is looking odds on for a hundred of his own until he charges down the pitch to Patel and is bowled for 88. Great innings, 210 stand but a poor finish. They have however taken this game back and 336 for 5 with Craig Kieswetter striding out is where we probably would have liked to have been on the first day.

Notts take the new ball with 347 on the board (10 to CK 142 to JH). First ball from Pattinson sees Hilda spanking the ball to the Somerset Boundary....unfortunately straight into the hands of Wagh. 142 brilliant runs but possibly a shot he will regret and Pattinson strikes again!! Peter Trego walks out to join our keeper at 347 for 6. He brings up the 350 with a streaky boundary shot just over the despairing hands of the leg gully fielder and the complexion of the game changes once more.

Quiet it remains until Trigger decides to lash out a little with 10 overs to go and takes Adams for 16 to move us towards 400 and him to near equality with his partner but Shreck is keeping them both honest at the other end and the progress to the next batting point if slow. The 50 partnership arrives at 398 with 27 each to our two but we have to wait until the 92nd over from Patel before we move over the mark with a late cut four to the Trescothick stand from Craig.

There are no more worries or mishaps from then on and the day ends with us in the prime position at 423 for 6 with Craig K on 43 and Peter T on 36. Both need a decent score to set them up for the rest of this season. Let's hope it comes tomorrow in the form of a couple of triple figure scores and a big total that allows us to have a double go at the East Midlanders!

Shakey start but a very satisfying finish.

Day 2

With 500 plus the objective it is important that our two expressive batsmen, express with caution and rack up the runs. The first target is 450 and maximum batting points although Trigger tries hard to lose his wicket early (according to those who saw - I was late) the boys pass 450 in the first hour. They are also neck and neck for the first to pass 50 and it is too close to call (at least Cricinfo don't call it) but they both pass the milestone around that 450 figure - suggesting that PT may have been sticking his particular neck out but has also been doing the most of the scoring. Craig's came off 90 odd balls with 6 fours while his partner's had the same number of boundaries but only 67% of the balls faced.

Nevertheless, Trego's spell at the wicket comes to an end first with 54 to his name at 460. Alf is next in and helps our keeper take the score to 489 before he misreads a ball from Patel and is bowled for an excellent and hopefully confidence building 73 - he took his time and picked his shots and showed his patience. Kartik joins his bowling colleague looking to move us on and at 12:21 the VC sweeps the ball to the Somerset boundary off Patel to bring up the 500 and take his own score to 20.

Shreck is on at the OP and he has Kartik lbw with his second ball which ushers in Charl and the usual fun. He steps to leg (surprise) and deftly steers the first between the two fielders for four - no slouch our number 11! He then drives the second and takes the single as Patel sweeps to stop another four. Alf is then bounced by the Cornishman but jumps up on his toes and guides the ball over the slips for a second four before sublimly driving the man for a third four to the Frosty Shed End. Brilliant stuff from the tail.

It doesn't last though as Willoughby is caught by Shreck off Patel at the start of the next over. 517 all out with 71 left in the day.

Great recovery, the wicket is suggesting help from the spinners and we hope to get among 'em early today. Half an hour at them before lunch is the starting point

Before lunch we have a bit of a punt at them (Wood and Hales) with Kartik taking the last over before just to get a feel and to give them a little taste before the sit down and think about the afternoon. Notts make 15 and we all look forward to the next session.

After lunch it is the Willoughby and Thomas show for the first half to three quarters of an hour and they reach 40 off 11 overs of tight questioning work from Somerset. Then Murali is introduced at the River and one run and four balls later Marcus takes the one that gets past Hales' bat and the visitors are 41 for 1. Wagh takes up his place while Charl gives Matt a really torrid time from the OP. The ex-home batsman plays and misses at the first four before getting some bat on the fifth (and a round of applause from the crowd).

17 overs in and the spin man is getting the ball past the bat regularly while our 'leftie' holds up the other end. Banger is not employing a gully for his spinner which is a bit of a surprise given the way the ball is behaving and he puts Pete Trego into the attack from the pavilion for the 18th. It is in fact Trigger (wearing Max Waller's number 3 shirt for some reason) who makes the next breakthrough as he has Wagh trying to guide a ball to leg straight to the waiting Zander de Bruyn 48 for 2.

There is a mix of emotions in the crowd. While wanting to see Notts skittled for as few as possible, they also would like to see Matt W get a decent score. He is tentative and has had his own chunk of luck this afternoonbut warm applause greets his 50 out of 75 (off 87 balls with 9 fours)

Worryingly, Kartik then leaves the pitch just after the skipper puts on the dual spin option. Arul bowls one from the OP and then while Thommo takes over there he starts a spell from the River. Will he overshadow his team mate? Well it is a promising start as he has Woody caught in the slips by the Boss for a good 72 at 119 for 3. Another one before Tea would not go amiss and after that today's info will be curtailed as the Kerslake and Bird show moves on to the radio and audionet at about 4 o'clock. Hussey takes over as Patel's partner hoping to take them through to the interval but it isn't easy out there and Arul has Patel in all sorts of trouble

Tea duly arrives at 128 for 3 with 29 left tonight if the light holds - it's a bit grey here.

Apres Tea and Day 3

Well I started the post Tea session in a highly optimistic mood and ended the day in despondent fashion not too hopeful for our Championship fortunes. My shoulder is not the greatest yet and that hurt but watching Kartik and Trescothick discussing the growing partnership of Patel and Reid in the last hour and the spinner changing ends to try and change the position was not a good thing.

Charl, possibly put on simply to get Suppiah to the OP after he bowled the last one before Tea at the River, started in great fashion removing two Notts batsmen in his very first over with wide-ish deliveries that went away from them. Hussey first, Brown with two to his name two balls later. We were all waiting for the River end change and the spin onslaught and weren't really expecting the damage to come from the seam at the Pavilion. Patel and Reid were under the cosh almost immediately and did very well even though they were becalmed at their respective ends with their only runs coming almost entirely from boundaries.

Nevertheless the boundaries were coming and although Patel looked to be tempted a more than on occasion to be the attacking batsmen he is, he also showed remarkable patience and curbed his natural instinct and kept his captain company. As the session went on they looked more assured and we looked less effective. There was a change of ends using Zander to swop personnel around but it lasted only one over and then there was a return to the pace men at the end to see what they might be able to do. Some inventive field placements kept the stuff fresh but a big partnership and Notts session to end the day.

We therefore started the third day needing a breakthrough with 278 for 5 a score we did not want to continue. they needed 368 to avoid the follow on but the Notts skipper and his partner had looked well set the night before. Enter the Mighty Willoughby!!

At 287 and after aggressive bowling from the start of the day, Reid nibbles at one and Craig ends the skipper's resistance. At 297 Thommo decides his opening partner has had it far too much his own way and catches Patel in front four runs after the little spinner reaches a valuable and very effective 100. But the lefty is not finished. Adams looks to be set when he is caught behind at 332 and then our man wraps up the tail, Franks LBW 7 runs later and Shreck clean bowled two balls later with no addition to the 339.

Charl Willoughby in the morning 6.3 overs 0 maidens and 4 for 26 giving him 6 in the first innings ( 22.3 3 maidens 101 for 6)and more to come as his Boss enforces the follow on and four balls later Matt Wood is walking back after driving at a CW delivery but missing it and finding himself in line. Notts 0 for 1! They manage to survive to 28 by the lunch interval

But will it spin in the afternoon? We think so as we start Alf from the OP and the spinman from the River. It does when Hales deposits a snick into the keeper's gloves off the meastro with 41 trying to drive the ball and Patel's heroics of the firsty innings do not continue into the second as he also tries to drive one that is moving away - this time from Alfonso and is returned to the pavilion for 1 and 43 for 3 has members of the box negotiating their time tomorrow - do they need to stay because the result is a forgone conclusion and there will be little cricket tomorrow.

Well it is now 2:40 and Notts are 81 for 3 with Wagh and Hussey looking in Reid and Patel mode, dealing with the ball with little difficulty. I really do not want to be commentating on this game at 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon but it is yet far from over I would suggest.

It gets a little closer though when ZdB gets Wagh LBW at 93. Arul is not badly injured, he bumped into the board an hurt his knee but he is now back on and seems to able to bowl and bat according to the trainers. The hundred arrives for the visitors in the 32nd over and as a celebration, Marcus re-introduces Charl for the 33rd.