Date-stamped : 05 Aug96 - 14:29 County Championship 1996 Leicestershire v Northamptonshire Grace Road, Leicester 1, 2, 3, 5 August 1996 ====> REPORT (Day 1, 1 Aug 1996) Wells flourishes in new position By D. J. Rutnagur at Leicester First day of four: Leics 364-7 v Northants THE first 10 overs of the morning sufficed to make the point that Northamptonshire had been badly deceived by the pitch`s greeness. Vince Wells and Phil Simmons made them rue their decision to bowl first with a fourth-wicket partnership of 152. Wells, pitchforked into the role of opening batsman by injury to Nigel Briers which compelled his retirement, rediscovered his rich vein of form after four paltry scores. He batted through the day for an unbeaten 201 - his second double century of the season - and laid the foundations of a sound total which, but for the unforced errors of some of his early partners, could have grown to formidable proportions. Another distinction Wells achieved during his chanceless and handsome innings, replete with flowing drives, was reaching the thousand mark for the first time in his career, which started with Kent as a medium-paced seamer who could bat. The pitch`s appearance and the return to the Northants attack of Curtly Ambrose held out the prospect of an eventful start. The great man, who had taken 24 wickets in four matches before suffering a recurrence of a hamstring strain, bowled accurately, but without menace and did not draw blood until his second spell. ====> REPORT (Day 2, 2 Aug 1996) Curran leads counterattack By D. J. Rutnagur at Leicester Second day of four: Northants (301-4) trail Leics (422) by 121 UNTIL halfway between lunch and tea, the state of the match re- flected the chasm between these teams in the championship table. Northamptonshire, second from bottom and depleted by injuries, were so outplayed by Leicestershire, the leaders, that with four wickets lost, they needed 158 to avoid the follow-on. At the end of the day the initiative still lay with Leicestershire, but their grip on the game was loosened and Northants` dignity restored by an unfinished partnership of 187 between Kevin Curran and Tony Penberthy, who showed defiance in their forthright batting. Indeed, they were given the scope to counter-attack, for there was a generous supply of half-volleys from the bowlers, the spinners Adrian Pierson and Matthew Brimson both wanting for ac- curacy. To be fair, however, either could have broken the partnership. Penberthy, the left-hander, had three escapes. At 24, he sliced a drive at Pierson to second slip, nine runs later he survived a difficult stumping chance off Brimson and when 49, a snick off a ball from Pierson which turned viciously out of the rough was too sharp even for the quick reflexes of Phil Simmons, at slip. He took advantage to make 79, his highest score for two seasons. Curran`s first century of the summer, completed with his 16th four, a handsome straight drive off Alan Mullally, was flawless. He began his innings in the same buccaneering vein as his unsuc- cessful predecessors, but became more discerning as he gained control, driving through a wide arc between mid-on and cover. The follow-on was avoided with little over half an hour of the day left. It is debatable, however, if Leicestershire would have enforced it, for the pitch, although ostensibly well-grassed, has enough bare patches and Leicestershire would not have appreciated chasing runs against John Emburey and Jeremy Snape in the fourth innings. Northants started to bat 50 minutes before lunch and by the break they had suffered two reverses. Every bowling change Simmons made brought instant success. Vince Wells` first ball, an out-swinger, induced an edge from Mal Loye. In Brimson`s introductory over, Alan Fordham lay back to force through the covers and was bowled. Then Simmons himself struck twice in rapid succession. Tim Wal- ton, who batted impressively for 51, was brilliantly caught behind attempting to glance and David Capel edged a drive. Mullally did not take a wicket, but he left his impression on the day by bludgeoning four consecutive balls from Curtly Ambrose for four. His 29, in the light of later events, proved highly valu- able. ====> REPORT (Day 3, 3 Aug 1996) Leicestershire are let off hook Scyld Berry at Grace Road Overnight: Leicestershire 422, Northamptonshire 301-4 IT was a sad illustration of the way that county cricket can be played in August. It made a good case for a two-division cham- pionship. Anything but the present system at which Australians, often rightly, scoff. Northamptonshire, after a career-best innings from Kevin Curran, took the smallest of leads over Leicestershire, the championship leaders, shortly after lunch on the third day. Curtly Ambrose then steamed in, riled by having the worse of a duel with Alan Mullally, and in his opening burst took two wickets and dropped a sharp return chance from Phil Simmons. Leicestershire were therefore reeling at 31 for three - 47 for four if Simmons had been caught. To make their position more pre- carious still, Ben Smith was unable to bat, out for the count with his first migraine. But just when Northants could have made Ambrose go for the jugu- lar, they opted to go for a toenail. When the opening bowlers were finished, they brought on John Emburey and Jeremy Snape, spread their field and let Leicestershire escape. Ambrose had been riled by being hit for four consecutive fours by Mullally on Friday, and bounced by him several times yesterday morning. But the West Indian never came back at all for a second spell and Leicestershire by the close were 173 runs ahead, resus- citated by Simmons and the impressively compact Darren Maddy, back in charge of their destiny, and Smith was recovering his vi- sion. This was either poor captaincy by Alan Fordham, Northants` acting captain, or else it was another cosy arrangement all too typical of the county game. Leicestershire have to win this game tomorrow to make the most of Yorkshire`s defeat; Northants, second in the Sunday League, have to win today. At best, Northants were con- serving their energies for the morrow. Ray Illingworth had turned up, not to watch uncompetitive crick- et, but in case Vince Wells made another double-hundred (he has made three this season and 197). As Mark Ealham will not be fit for Headingley, there is a vacancy at No 6 for a batsman who can bowl some seam. But Wells did not have a happy day. His seam-up, under the strain of opening the innings, was not accurate enough for one of modest pace; and when Ambrose ran in, Wells did not move his front foot to the pitch and edged a catch behind. Most counties have a bats- man who will go through a purple patch and look a Test player, but Wells does not have great origins to return to: he had made only two first-class hundreds before this season, and he will be 31 on Tuesday. Curran had picked up at 101 not out and drove the first ball of the day - a left-arm spinner - for six. Fire and Brimson, you might say. Curran shared a stand of 226 with Tony Penberthy from 67 overs, and both batsmen faced 219 balls. Mullally bowled sharply down the hill and with great heart for a man in between Tests. Jack Birkenshaw thinks David Millns may be back for the next match against Glamorgan, during the second Test, but not James Whitaker. Mullally has not bowled a bad spell yet for England, has seen off the challenge of Simon Brown, and should not be dropped for the Head ingley Test. Andy Caddick would be far more suited to the bounce of the Oval than to Headingley, which can still sometimes be as flat as when the Bradman trebles were scored. One spinner has to be included in England`s party, although the groundsman, Andy Fogarty, has been exhorted to leave some grass on. And he might as well be an off-spinner if Pakistan are going to play four left-handers in their top eight, or even five if Asif Mujtaba was brought in for Salim Malik, who is now behind the pace, except if England bowl Graeme Hick when he starts his innings. The successor to Mike Watkinson as an off-spinning all-rounder is Robert Croft. Off-spin, and finger-spin in general, may be verg- ing on obsolesence in Test cricket, but Croft should be steady enough to keep the game tight. ====> REPORT (Day 4, 5 Aug 1996) Maddy lingers too long By D. J. Rutnagur at Leicester Northants (425 & 212-5) drew with Leics (422 & 298-7 dec) IF Leicestershire, leaders of the table by three points, fail by a small margin to win their first championship in 21 years, they will regret their curmudgeonly approach to this match. They contented themselves with three points for a draw rather than gamble on the bigger prize of 16 by enticing Northamptonshire with a more appealing challenge. Letting Darren Maddy linger over his maiden cham- pionship centu- ry, Leicestershire delayed their declar- ation until 15 minutes after lunch and left Northants, who figure nowhere in the title race, a minimum of 56 overs in which to score 296 to win. It is true that Leicestershire started the day in a precarious position, leading by only 173 runs with four wickets lost. How- ever, Paul Nixon did show some aggressive intent, pulling Curtly Ambrose for two fours in quick succession and advancing the score by 30 runs in 40 minutes before the overnight partnership ended in total confusion over a second run. Ben Smith, whose customary position in the order is three, came in at seven because he had been stricken with a migraine on Sa- turday. One of the symptoms was said to be blurred vision, but there was no evidence of it as he batted for 42 minutes to score 41 out of a partnership of 61 in 15 overs. This partnership too ended in a run-out with Mal Loye scoring a direct hit from cover to dismiss Smith. At no stage, however, did Maddy show any sense of urgency. He ar- rived on 99 just before lunch and blocked 15 balls after lunch before getting the final run in the 350th minute of his innings. Leicestershire could also have been more adventurous in their quest for Northants` wickets. Despite the pitch affording turn accompanied by bounce, Adrian Pierson was not called on until the 22nd over, though they had by then claimed no more than one wick- et. Fellow spinner Matthew Brimson was used for an over early in the innings to enable Allan Mullally to change ends, but was then held back until the 42nd over. As it transpired, Pierson took four wickets for 49, two of them in the 16 overs of the final hour. Given the advantage of the slope, Mullally bowled with a lot of fire on a pitch of little pace. Trying to parry a brute of a ball, Alan Fordham played it into his face. When another short one came along, he offered a tentative bat and edged to slip. But that was Mullally`s only success. In his final spell he came in for harsh treatment from Kevin Curran. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Ravi (sista@*.latech.edu)