Lancashire victorious depite Law's two tons
Muttiah Muralitharan earned match figures of ten for 123 as Lancashire crushed Essex by nine wickets to claim their third consecutive Championship win despite a century in each innings from Stuart Law
Andy Wilson
22-Jun-2001
Muttiah Muralitharan earned match figures of ten for 123 as Lancashire
crushed Essex by nine wickets to claim their third consecutive Championship
win despite a century in each innings from Stuart Law.
The overseas players continued to dominate on the last day at Old Trafford
with Murali taking three of the last six wickets as Essex were all out for
257, with Law left high and dry for the second time in the match, this time
on 120.
Lancashire were left needing only 53 to win, and took 19 points to climb to
second in the First Division table, leaving Essex in the relegation zone.
But that was so tough on Law, who has now scored 305 runs in three
Championship innings without being dismissed following his unbeaten 116 in
the first innings, and 66 not out in Essex's last game against Surrey.
This was the second time he has scored two centuries in a match for Essex,
the other coming against Yorkshire at Chelmsford in 1999, and took his ton
tally for the county to 29 in less than six seasons.
And although both Michael Bevan and Mark Ramprakash scored two centuries in
a Championship match last season, Ramprakash also ending on the losing side,
Law became the first player to record a pair of unbeaten hundreds in the
Championship since Hugh Morris for Glamorgan against Notts in 1995.
But Muralitharan was not to be outdone.
The Sri Lankan had Stephen Peters caught at silly point, Ricky Anderson lbw
and bowled Barry Hyam with a ball which turned prodigiously from well
outside off stump to complete second innings figures of four for 70 from 39
overs.
That gave him match figures of 87-36-123-10, the sixth time he has taken
ten wickets in a match for Lancashire in only 11 appearances, and he did not
bowl in one of those.
Muralitharan has now taken a total of 94 Championship wickets for
Lancashire, and six more against Surrey at The Oval next week would take him
into three figures in only 12 matches - probably the fastest century of
wickets in Lancashire history.