Match report day 4: Lancs v Surrey in Championship 2003 by Neil Adams

---

Scorecard:

Lancashire v Surrey

---

Summary for Day 4

Going into the last day, Lancashire's top priority was to remove Surrey's last two wickets as quickly as possible. By 11.15am, the players were back in the pavilion - job done! Set a target of just 135, Lancashire's greatest threat came from the weather (A mixture of very dark clouds and bright sunshine). Consequently, the home side raced along at exactly 4 runs per over by lunch. Ideally, Lancashire would have preferred to finish the game before 1pm, but fell 19 runs short despite Sutcliffe's valiant attempt. Surrey returned to the field waving the white flag of surrender - Stuart Law despatched the part time bowling of Brown for 4 and 6 in consecutive balls and Lancashire collected their first victory at Old Trafford since April 2002 and inflicted Surrey's first defeat of the championship season - enough to open the door for Sussex

 

Bowling Performance of the Day

Lancashire only required 7 deliveries to wrap up Surrey's second innings. Peter Martin bowled a wicket maiden from the Brian Statham end to finish with 3 for 20. Gary Keedy only bowled one ball from the Warwick Road end and finished with 4 for 57. James Ormond's mindless run out denied Keedy the chance of taking five wickets in the innings. Saqlain Mushtaq failed to take any wickets in the match. Incredibly, Saqlain has failed to take a single wicket in the last four innings which he has bowled (Leicestershire 2, Lancashire 2).

 

Batting Performance of the Day

Iain Sutcliffe batted in an extremely positive manner despite the huge amount of outstanding overs. Perhaps Lancashire were concerned that one of the very dark clouds which kept circling the ground might spoil a certain victory. Sutcliffe batted for 63 minutes, faced 62 balls and scored 47 runs including 9 boundaries. Mark Chilton batted throughout the innings for 33 (4 x 4) and Stuart Law reached 35 not out from just 22 deliveries (5 x 4 & 1 x 6). He finished the game with a huge six over the deep mid-wicket boundary from Alistair Brown's token bowling. Lancashire amassed 86 of the 135 runs which were required for victory from boundary strokes

 

Fielding Performance of the Day

On the seventh ball of the day (Ormond's first), the Surrey right hander attempted to sweep Gary Keedy down the leg side. He did not connect properly and Stuart Law chased the ball from his position at first slip. Incredibly, Ormond attempted a second run and failed to beat Law's throw (Hegg whipped off the bails)

 

Highlights of the Day

• The speed at which Lancashire removed Surrey's last 2 wickets
• The excellent innings by Iain Sutcliffe
• The speed and nature of Lancashire's fourth innings
• Winning and consolidating third place in the table - Middlesex lost.
• Owing to the other results, Lancashire are mathematically certain of playing in division one next season

 

Lowlights of the Day

• It would have been nice to win by 10 wickets if one was being totally greedy!
• After viewing the league table, accepting that Lancashire are unlikely to finish in any other position than third despite this victory - Sussex only require 34 points from 3 games to ensure that Lancashire can not win the title
• Surrey did not receive a points deduction for slow bowling at the end of the game despite being behind the schedule throughout
• Iain Sutcliffe narrowly failing to score his fifty

 

Contentious Discussion Point of the Day

Saqlain Mushtaq stroked the third ball of the day straight into Gary Keedy's hands in the covers. However, Saqlain stood his ground for nearly 10 seconds before taking a very slow walk back to the pavilion. While I am sure this gesture was driven purely by Saqlain's disappointment, he appeared to be emulating Ally Brown's defiance from the previous day. The spectators screamed at Saqlain to depart the scene - quite right too

 

Key Notes of the Day

• Saqlain Mushtaq caught Keedy bowled Martin 11 - 137 for 9 in the 43 over - Ormond 6*
• Ormond run out 7 (Law/Hegg) - 138 all out in the 44th over- Murtagh 0* - 11.15am

• Lancashire set 135 to win from a minimum 92 overs - Surrey over rate minus 3
• 50 or 0 in the 12th over - Sutcliffe 38* Chilton 8*
• Sutcliffe caught Batty bowled Azhar Mahmood 47 - 69 for 1 in the 17th over - Chilton 18*
• Currie caught & bowled Salisbury 13 - 92 for 2 in the 24th over - Chilton 26*
• 103 for 2 in the 27th over - Chilton 29* Law 8*
• Lunch - 116 for 2 from 29 overs - Chilton 31* Law 19*
• 135 for 2 in the 31st over - Chilton 33* Law 35* - 1.45pm
• Lancashire 20 points beat Surrey 6 points by 8 wickets

 

Lancashire Man of the Match

Despite some excellent batting displays, Gary Keedy wins the award for man of the match. He finished with match figures of 7 for 119 and held one catch. But most important - he scored one run in a memorable tenth wicket stand!

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 Neil Adams http://www.cricketimages.co.uk/adams-report/intro.html)