Sorry Durham offer little
John Ward reports on the third and final day at Old Trafford where Durham offered little with the bat
John Ward at Old Trafford
09-May-2008
Lancashire 143 and 293 beat Durham 114 and 90 (Anderson 5-46) by 232 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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James Anderson was the man of the morning, bowling throughout to finish with
five wickets, and nine in the match, a performance he will doubtless hope will
help him retain his place against strong competition in England's Test team.
Lancashire never looked like losing their grip. Anderson and Andrew Flintoff kept up their relentless attack from opposite ends and, without Dale Benkenstein (attending the birth of his child) and Neil McKenzie (given leave to attend a wedding), only Michael Di Venuto inspired any remote hopes of Durham, 28 for 3 overnight, approaching their target of 323.
Lancashire could have begun the day better; nightwatchman Mark Davies was twice
dropped in an over from Flintoff - low chances at first slip and short leg - and
he proceeded to add insult to injury by snicking the following ball over the keeper
for 4. But in the next over a full-length ball from Anderson beat him for pace
and had him dismissed lbw for 9.
Garry Park (2), hesitant, edged Anderson to the keeper, while Di Venuto at the
other end played a calm but not dominant innings, waiting for a reliable
partner. That never came, and he ended up running himself out. Phil Mustard
played a ball into the covers, Di Venuto backed up too far, and a fine throw
and direct hit from Mark Chilton found him just short. He made
24 off 67 balls, and his departure was the death knell to Durham's dwindling hopes.
While Flintoff was rested after five good but unavailing overs, Saj Mahmood
taking over, Anderson continued to bowl unchanged from the Stretford End,
mixing sharp pace with good movement. His best delivery was the one that flew,
caught the edge of Mustard's bat and was caught by Stuart Law at second slip.
Mustard made 10, Ben Harmison 16, but nobody else deserved a mention. Left-arm
spinner Gary Keedy did not bowl an over througout the match, but he was not really
needed. Anderson bowled unchanged throughout the innings to take 5 for 46;
Flintoff took 3 for 21.
On a note of trivia, three England players recorded pairs in the match
(Flintoff, Anderson and Steve Harmison), although three have no real
pretensions to batting, and the fourth, Paul Collingwood, managed scores of
only 3 and 1. It was clearly a match for England's bowlers rather than
her batsmen.