Date-stamped : 31 Jul96 - 06:16 NatWest Trophy, Quarter Finals Surrey v Somerset The Oval 30,31 July 1996 ====> REPORT 1ST DAY Caddick prepares for final throw By Simon Hughes at the Oval Surrey (126-4) need 100 runs to bt Somerset (225) DEEP gloom and drizzle descended over the Oval just before 6pm yesterday as a delicately poised match approached its climax. Needing exactly 100 to win, the Surrey batsmen understandably de- cided to wait for better conditions in which to negotiate the remainder of Andy Caddick`s spell. Somerset`s matchwinner in the last round, Caddick has al- ready taken three wickets here and the destiny of this match probably rests on his last two overs. Surrey have never beaten Somerset in the 60-overs competition and there were times yesterday when the sequence looked likely to continue. After a cautious start and the early loss of Mark Lathwell, Somerset advanced to 140 for two and with Simon Eccle- stone driving powerfully and a gaggle of hitters to come, were well placed for a substantial score. "We ought to get 280," said Peter Bowler, having contributed an enterprising fifty. It was at this point that the visitors appeared to forget they had made the journey from England`s smallest first-class venue to the largest. A succession of batsmen perished in the deep to shots that might have crept into the River Tone at Taunton. Ecclestone got underneath Martin Bicknell`s slower ball, Keith Parsons did the same to Brendon Julian and Graham Rose, inexplicably low down the order, skied precipitously to long-off where Ben Hollioake caught the ball with indecent non- chalance. The Surrey seamers were too wily to take liberties with and in the last 10 overs Somerset managed only 45 for six. Caddick`s first ball, a wide long-hop, did not exactly breathe back fire into the Somerset dragon, but his second, a sharp inswinger, certainly did and Darren Bicknell became that rare species, a Dickie Bird lbw victim. He was not needed to adjudicate the run out of Alec Stewart in the same over, as the batsmen hesitated over a quick single. Stewart was out by yards as Harvey Trump threw down the bowler`s stumps. Caddick, well supported by Rose, harried Surrey`s prolific left-handers Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher, and nipped one away from Thorpe to present Rob Turner with a sprawling catch. Butcher nudged and nurdled his way to 52 while Alis- tair Brown took vigorous toll of the second string bowlers. Caddick returned to snare Brown with another agile catch by Turner down the leg side. A Butcher and two Hollioakes stand between Somerset and the semi-finals. ====> REPORT 2ND DAY 31 July 1996 Butcher steers Surrey home By Simon Hughes at the Oval Surrey (226-5) bt Somerset (225) by 5 wickets SURREY made the task of knocking off 100 look a pea-shelling ex- ercise in this delayed NatWest quarter- final, clearing the arrears with the best part of eight overs remaining. Packing their bags disconsolately, Somerset will have rued their lack of nous on Tuesday as they sought the aerial route to con- vert 141 for two into a testing score. Instead they gave the Surrey fielders catching practice. In contrast, Mark Butcher and Adam Hollioake kept everything on the ground yesterday, making intelligent use of the Oval`s wide open spaces and some fairly friendly bowling. Both Andy Hayhurst and Shane Lee would relish bat- ting against themselves on this pitch, and 44 runs came in the first six overs, obliging the reintroduction of Andy Caddick. Neither batsman was flustered by his swing or lift, however, and Butcher`s imperious straight drive taking him past 1,500 runs in all competitions was one of the shots of the match. He hit only four boundaries in his 91 - the 16th time he has passed 50 this season - but his balance and control mean almost every ball presents a scoring opportunity. The only reason he missed the leg-side offering that caused him to be brilliantly stumped was because it was a wide. Still he could return to the dressing room to strum his guitar while Hollioake made light of a bruised toe and the Somerset medium-pacers. Lee bowling with his inviting outsw- ingers to two slips and a gully was nothing short of blatant op- timism. But Surrey know that Essex and their Australian thumper may not be such a pushover. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)