 |
England
|
|
Floodlit Challenge
Lancashire v Yorkshire
Old Trafford, 21 July 1997
First quarter
"We want to bring cricket to people who have never seen it before, we want to make a break with the traditional way of doing things," Dave Edmondson, cricket secretary of Lancashire CC, told the assembled press before the start of a game billed as England's first ever day night game on an authentic cricket ground. The hard-bitten hacks may not have taken his words to heart. After a few wild swings of Lancashire bats one inquired dryly of the steward if the Lancashire batsmen were going to be slogging for the whole game.But Lancashire's openers, exchanging convivial words with their opposite numbers as they came to the crease while their signature tunes blared out over the tannoy (the Wanderer for Watkinson, Down Under for Gallian), seemed determined that the crowd were going to enjoy themselves. Indugled by some fairly wayward bowling from Peter Hartley and England hopeful Chris Silverwood, both batsmen demonstrated their full range of one-day strokes, before Gallian holed out to Hartley at mid wicket.
The crowd took some time to warm to the atmosphere of the musically-enhanced game. Refrains of Pato Banton's "bubbling hot" every time the ball crossed the boundary rope (and Arrow's "hot,hot,hot" every time it cleared it) only stirred the crowd into a display of polite cheering and waving. Watkinson's departure, however, really got them going. Not the manner of his leaving the crease, clean bowled by White, but the reception he received from the PA announcer who bounced onto the pitch with a radio microphone. With all the enthusiasm of the recently promoted (in this case from announcer to live interviewer) the announcer asked Watkinson why he swung "right across the line of that one". "Oh, so you're a coach too?" was Watkinson's terse reply, which prompted a roar of crowd laughter.
Watkinson's replacement, Lloyd, needed no encouragement to dare where Watkinson had come a cropper and upstaged his partner Fairbrother (who is normally dubbed the one-day specialist) with some crowd-pleasing reverse sweeps, one of which brought up the hundred, and with one glorious six over mid off off Fisher. The crowd was a little unsure how to celebrate the batting display, and settled on the familiar, if lacklustre, tune of "lancy lancy lancy lancy Lancashire" as the scoreboard ticked over. At the half-close of the first innings Lancashire had reached 122 and looked fair set to put together a big total.
Second quarter
Perhaps David Byas' cheeky comment to the PA announcer come impromptu interviewer as he left the pitch at the end of Lancashire's first twenty five overs was a clue that Yorkshire intended to embrace the unconventional in their opening twenty five. "What are you going to do to prepare for the next innings?" asked the announcer. "Have a beer," came the reply.Moxon's early dismissal to a straight, quick ball from Martin, heralded the arrival not of Lehmann, as billed, but of tailender Morris. However the experiment soon began to look as flat as the Lancashire singing had sounded. An uncertain start seemed to justify his choice of Aretha Franklin's "Rescue Me" as a signature tune. Yorkshire limped along to 30 off 10 overs at half the pace of Lancashire's openers. Morris had struck 28 when he threw away his wicket attempting a reverse sweep, and natural order was restored by the arrival of Darren "wild thing" Lehmann (guess his signature tune if you dare).
A few balls later McGrath tried to hit over the top off Watkinson and was well caught at long on by Mark Chilton. "I was looking to hit out as we are slipping behind," McGrath told the announcer candidly as Craig White came down the pavillion steps. The small Yorkshire contingent in the crowd were now looking to Lehmann and White, Yorkshire's Aussies, to turn the match around. Lehmann duly delivered with some gentle pulls and delicate sweeps, and White hit a mighty six over mid off at the Warwick Road end.
By the time twenty overs had been bowled Yorkshire had reached 93 for three, compared with Lancashire's 98 for two at the same stage. Yorkshire survived a couple of tight run out attempts. Watkinson's replacement, Mark Chilton, succeeded only in making the batsmen look more comfortable. White found the long off boundary again to record his second six in the last over, and Yorkshire finished on the same total as Lancashire.
Third quarter
The lights came out for the second half of Lancashire's innings (or the third quarter of the match depending how you like to take your fractions), and Lancashire came out fighting. Adding 30 runs in 5 overs before Lloyd skied an on drive to Ian Fisher, whose bowling had Lloyd had earlier sent over the boundary ropes more than once.Then it was the turn of Darren Lehman to show his experience under the lights. Lloyd, Flintoff and Chilton fell to the Aussie in quick succession, and Ian Austin's usual pace let him down when he was run out, again off Lehmann's bowling. Lehmann had a hand in Hegg's dismissal too, but could do nothing to prevent Neil Fairbrother rounding off a measured century, which he reached off 138 balls hitting 1 six and four fours. Lehmann finished with 3 for 43, and walked back to his position knowing that though he had batted already, he could yet make a match winning contribution to the match with his bat in this four quarter game.
Lancashire showed a cool head to see out the last eight balls for nine runs when Gary Yates dragged an inside edge onto his stumps.
Final quarter
Yorkshire returned to the fray for the final quarter under the strong glare of the lights. White and Lehmann took control of the game straight away, reaching fine 50s, before White was bowled by Martin attempting to hit him over the top. Mexican waves, whose absence had been a good a sign as any that the crowd were really enjoying not only the occasion but the cricket too, and even an impromptu conga, broke out as Lehmann and new partner Byas rallied. But Byas saved Lehmann from becoming the man of the match by inelegantly running him out, hesitating on his own call.Yorkshire still looked likely winners, taking every available opportunity to move the score along, until an extraordinary spell of three wickets in four balls wiped Yorkshire out. Young Lancashire fast bowler Darren Shadford had Byas (inside edge), Hartley, and then (one ball later) Blakey with three quick, straight balls. As he returned, back turned on the square, to his fielding position at third man at the end of the over the rest of the Lancashire side stayed in the centre. When he turned round to take up his position, his team mates, in a memorable gesture, were all standing in the centre, applauding. The light (or lack of it, as the ground was really short of a couple of floodlights) certainly helped Shadford to beat the bat, and Martin reinforced the point by taking the final wicket, bowled, with the first ball of the next over to finish the game.
But Yorkshire was generous in defeat and praised the bowler rather than cricticise the batsmen.
As for Lancashire, it was cock-a-hoop. "The dressing room seasons were like winning a final," said one insider. Lancashire, for one, will certainly be keen to try the day night game again.
Prepared and contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com). Copyright CricInfo 1997.
Date-stamped : 25 Feb1998 - 15:35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Results - Forthcoming Desktop Scoreboard |
|
|
|
||||||
