Date-stamped : 24 Aug97 - 03:08 Law lifts Essex with aerial display By Neil Hallam at Worskop First day of four: Essex 319-4 v Nottinghamshire STUART LAW`S claim to be the most successful overseas player in current employment in England was underlined with a fourth cham- pionship century of the summer yesterday. It was his 18th hundred in all competitions in under two sea- sons, but was helped by some undemanding Nottinghamshire bowl- ing on a sluggish Worksop pitch. On a day when everybody else felt it necessary to graft in conditions which hardly encouraged fluency, Law had no hesitation in hit- ting the ball in the air and had two sixes and 18 fours to his name by the time he had made 115 off 131 balls. The tradition at Worksop, where the friendliness of the locals makes up for the adjoining supermarket`s lack of scenic appeal, is that the ball turns in the later stages, so this was a good toss to win for Essex as they try to bridge a gap of 34 points between them- selves and leaders Gloucestershire, with a game in hand. Off-spinner Peter Such seems sure to feature prominently against one of his old counties, but there has been nothing to encourage bowlers of any type so far and the first three Essex batsman all wore a look of disgust as they fell after putting down foundations with admirable diligence. Darren Robinson sliced to gully, Paul Prichard fell forcing on the off side after completing 1,000 first-class runs for the eighth time, and Tim Hodgson, whose 44 was his best in first- class cricket, ap- peared to misjudge the line, offering pad rather than bat to a full- length ball. Law lofted the ball too close to fielders for comfort several times in reaching his fifty off 79 balls, including two sixes off Usman Afzaal, but he was more secure and more punishing with his second fifty off 37 balls until reaching three figures with a drive which did not clear extra cover by much. He too had reached the 1,000-run mark in the process. A stand of 94 with Paul Grayson took only 23 overs, but ended when Law charged at the first ball of another spell of Afzaal`s left- arm spin and skied a catch which wicketkeeper Wayne Noon held halfway down the pitch. That was the signal for the innings to revert to grafting mode until thickening gloom and the new ball induced an early finish. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Essex are poised to turn to spin By Neil Hallam at Worksop Second day of four: Essex 440-7 v Nottinghamshire ESSEX`S game plan on a wicket renowned for offering increasing encouragement to spin became plain as they added 121 runs in the 36 overs possible before rain washed out play two overs after lunch. So far, Essex have occupied 137 overs and from this commanding position they will look to the off-spinner Peter Such, who be- gan his career at Trent Bridge, and the left-arm spinner Paul Grayson to bowl Nottinghamshire out twice and revive hopes of a late challenge for the championship. With Jimmy Hindson and Richard Bates confined to second-team cricket after suffering finger injuries and Andy Afford endur- ing an- other unproductive season, Nottinghamshire went into the game with- out a front-line spinner and they have found nothing in a slow pitch to ease the toil of their seamers. Essex, who resumed at 319 for four, added only 10 before Grayson sliced to gully to become the fourth batsmen to perish in the forties and Robert Rollins became the first to fall for less when he chipped to mid-on after a sixth-wicket stand worth 51 in 15 overs. Danny Law`s first championship half-century for Essex was built on sound shot selection which produced eight fours. When he mis- cued to short midwicket, there was further discouragement for Nottin- hamshire in the ebullience of Graham Napier, a 17-year-old all-rounder making his championship debut. Napier showed no evidence of nerves in making an unbeaten 35 off 41 balls, including five fours and a six carved behind point. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Robinson rises to follow-on challenge By Neil Hallam at Worksop Third day of four: Essex (440-7 dec & 10-1) lead Notts (351-3dec) by 99 runs TIM ROBINSON, whose only previous championship score above 50 was in his first game of the season, took almost six hours to redeem himself yesterday as Nottinghamshire passed the follow-on figure of 291. His unbeaten 143 off 307 balls included 19 fours, while Nathan Astle adjusted more fluently to a sluggish pitch with a six and 16 fours in his 100 off 150 balls. Their partnership of 193 in 49 overs was followed by a brisk flurry from Paul Johnson to enable Notts to declare at 351 for three, 89 behind, and Essex increased their advantage by 10 for the loss of Darren Robinson, who fell forcing to deep gully, in the nine overs remaining. Essex`s hope that a wearing pitch would offer turn for Paul Grayson and Peter Such, who was introduced in the 11th over, was soon deflated and it was 17-year-old seamer Graham Napier who parted the Notts openers with the eighth ball of his championship debut. Mathew Dowman fell working to leg on the back foot but it was more than a full session before Essex gained further reward, As- tle driving loosely to extra cover after reaching his second championship century with a six over midwicket. The declaration came as soon as Johnson skied Such to long on, a solitary success for spin, with Notts, who managed a beggarly five batting points from their first nine matches, claiming a full hand for the second successive game. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Johnson hails his young lions By Neil Hallam at Worksop Essex (440-7 dec & 183-7) drew with Notts (351-3dec) NOTTINGHAMSHIRE captain Paul Johnson, a careworn figure last season with his side locked into a long, barren run of champi- onship failure, reeled off a list of birthdays to explain his jauntier mood as this rain-blighted game meandered through an af- ternoon of futility to an inevitable draw. Left-handed opener Matthew Dowman is 23, paceman Andy Oram is 22, all-rounder Usman Afzaal is 20 and the precocious Paul Franks, a brisk seamer and dangerous tailender, is just 18. With Notts subsiding into the bottom six since their third and last championship success of the season in June, it has hardly been a vintage summer but Johnson has seen enough of this new breed at Trent Bridge to believe that renewed prosperity beckons. "At the start of the season we had nobody in the picture for the England Test team or even for the A team. Now we`ve got these four lads in with a shout for the A tour next winter and it makes me feel we are moving in the right direction." Dowman, hailed as English cricket`s new wunderkind when he scored 267 in a youth Test against the West Indies fours years ago, is the latest to graduate to first-team regular. With two more centuries since he won a run-chase for Notts with a hundred against Northants in June, Dowman is well set to reach 1,000 runs in first-class cricket for the first time this season. Essex, 10 for one overnight and still nursing outside hopes of a title challenge, were 115 for four at tea but a lead of 204 was in- sufficient to prompt a declaration on a wicket which has made batsmen a protected species. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)