Date-stamped : 12 Dec93 - 09:03 The Guardian 30 April 1993 Lathwell the pattern for a day of almosts MATTHEW ENGEL AT SOUTHAMPTON County Championship: Hampshire v Somerset MARK LATHWELL of Somerset, at 21 the most talked-about young batsman in the country, also has a formidable but less public reputation as a trencherman of Mike Gatting's class. He was apparently at a reception once where the food was partic- ularly smoked-salmony and delicate-looking. His team-mates told him to get stuck in. ''No,'' he said, ''this is quality, not quantity.'' He prefers triple breakfasts. On the field his tastes are precisely the opposite. Watched by Keith Fletcher, the England manager, Lathwell batted yesterday in a manner that suggested he might be heading for a Test cap sooner rather than later. He was then out for 99, a figure highly re- garded by the tea and ice-cream industries but regarded with a peculiar prejudice in cricket. The century was there for the taking. The wicket was flat even by Southampton standards. Hampshire's strategy for the season depends heavily on the 35-year-old Malcolm Marshall recapturing old glories, and there was little sign of that. Probably nothing passed the bat at all until Marshall took the new ball an hour after tea and immediately skidded one through Richard Harden's defence. Harden was then on 97. The day's other major figure, Nick Fol- land, was out for 81. It was a day of almosts, but Somerset's to- tal of 343 for five was well up to standard and they have seven overs left to get to 350, the new figure for maximum bonus points. Lathwell has scored only three centuries, two of them for Eng- land A this winter. Last year he had a penchant for making hand- some twenties and thirties and then doing something daft, usually against the spinners. So a handsome 99 is a vast improvement. He is regarded as a thoughtful young man who says nothing unless it is worth saying (not every Somerset player has been like that) and his batting showed considerable maturity of judgment. When Marshall started his second spell he reinforced the slips cordon and bowled temptingly outside off-stump. Harden regarded every- thing as if it were smoked salmon. But when the ball was there to be hit, his bat was all middle. There was one dismissive clip off his legs against Shine that was especially telling. ''He's the best young player I've ever worked with,'' said Bob Cottam, the Somerset manager. Is he ready? ''Yes.'' The England management, however, may be conscious of the pre- cedent of another 21-year-old of obvious class who was picked against Australia. The year was 1975. The player made three con- secutive ducks and was left out for the next three years. Whatev- er did happen to Graham Gooch? Despite showing appropriate four-day caution, Lathwell got his runs in just over three hours before he tried over-eagerly to snatch the 100th run from the off-spinner Udal and was caught at mid-off. Harden was inevitably overshadowed, but he played very freely on the off-side until Marshall got him. The real revelation was Folland. This was only his third first- class match and he has passed 80 in every one. Alas, he does not count as a promising youngster. He is 29, a schoolmaster at Blundell's who spent 12 seasons with Devon and has now finally decided to see how far he can go in cricket. He might regret not taking the decision earlier. Folland started nervily but was then as faultless as the other two until he was well caught at second slip. The Somerset middle order has been short of a player like this for years. All this added to the perception that the county might be better-placed to make a run at the championship than at any time since Richards and Botham lost their early flush of enthusiasm for workaday cricket a decade ago. Hampshire might have had a similar day had they won the toss. But they are without Robin Smith, who had 18 stitches in his head on Tuesday after butting an advertising board. He contemplated heroism by playing but admitted in the morning that he was still ''a bit vague''. So, by the close, were his team-mates. The Guardian 1 May 1993 Caddick excels as Gower wafts away MATTHEW ENGEL AT SOUTHAMPTON County Championship: Hampshire v Somerset AT A few moments past two o'clock, precisely the time when Gra- ham Gooch was re-confirmed as England captain, David Gower - Cox to his Box, Prince Rupert to his Cromwell - walked out to bat here. Five balls later he walked back, avoiding his captain's eyes when they crossed on the outfield. He had been caught at point off Neil Mallender, trying a flat-footed wave bearing a superfi- cial resemblance to a cut shot. It might serve as a parody of any or all of Gower's dotty dismissals. He might have been caught off the first ball when he scored two of his three runs. He has only one championship innings left be- fore the selectors meet on Tuesday week to pick the one-day squad. That innings may well start quite early this morning because Hampshire are 140 for eight and close to following on. Indeed, there was a time yesterday when it looked as though they were about to be trampled to death. Replying to 500 for six declared - the first of what will prob- ably be dozens of such totals this season - Hampshire found them- selves, staggeringly enough, five for five. The other four wickets all fell at the other end to Andrew Cad- dick, the New Zealand-born migrant who is now probably closer to England selection than his team-mate Mark Lathwell - and, right now, definitely closer than Gower. Caddick took four for three in a burst of 17 balls. In the hour before lunch Somerset had scored 101 runs. It looked like those passages of play which four-day cricket is meant to have stopped, of counties deliberately bowling rubbish for a declaration. Hampshire, however, were trying their hardest, or the hardest a team can when they are already demoralised and it is still only April. It was hard to believe the teams were batting on the same strip. Early last season Kevin Shine produced one of the great bowling performances of the year when he rushed out Lancashire on a per- fect pitch. Yesterday he and the rest of the Hampshire attack were carted all over the ground by the Somerset wicketkeeper Neil Burns, who made the first championship century of 1993, and Gra- ham Rose. Burns smashed anything short; Rose concentrated on dispatching the half-volleys. There were a lot in both categories. Then Somerset declared, earlier than most observers expected. This is the way to win four-day games: do not assume they last forever; bat and bowl positively. But they could hardly have dreamed virtue would be rewarded quite so spectacularly. Everyone says Caddick is a Hadlee clone. And when he dips his head at the start of his run-up the resemblance is quite fright- ening. But his bowling is a bit frightening too. He is taller than Hadlee, far quicker than innocent batsmen think and he gets bounce from improbable surfaces, like this one. He had some help, from batsmen and fielders: Middleton was held at short-leg; Terry played across and was lbw; Morris was super- bly caught at third slip; Marshall, who is not the world's greatest No. 6 even in theory, decided not to play a shot to one that nipped back a fraction and was plumb. One of Mark Nicholas's virtues as a captain is that he does have enough front to make everything look like part of his masterplan. And when Hampshire made their lowest-ever score, 15 all out in 1922, they went on to win. However, Nicholas went for the more conventional strategy of trying to lead the team out of trouble himself. By the close he was 69 not out. With one man to come, Hampshire need a mere 211 to save the follow-on. Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)