Monday, 1st September 2008

Match abandoned: Sussex 8 points, Yorkshire 7

The rain of the last two days meant that Yorkshire's LV Championship at Scarborough was drawn with no play on Days 3 or 4 - Yorkshire coming out of it with seven points to Sussex's eight.

Day 3: Persistent drizzle and a poor forecast greeted the few spectators who arrived at North Marine Road, Scarborough, for Day 3 of Yorkshire's LV Championship match against Sussex.

It was decided to take lunch at 12 noon, but at 12.15pm it was announced that there would be no play today.

Yorkshire are 133-7 in reply to Sussex's first innings of 265. By 11am water was standing on the covers and the surrounds, and some of Yorkshire's travelling faithful were checking out of their hotels. 

Day 2: Adil Rashid led the way as Yorkshire captured Sussex’s last six wickets for 38 runs in the space of 13 overs on Day 2 of the LV Championship match at Scarborough - but the batting collapsed badly, and the close found them on 133-7 in reply to 265.

Sussex, 203-4 overnight, were bowled out for 265, Rashid finishing with the excellent figures of 4-56, but Yorkshire soon lost Andrew Gale when they began their reply. They took lunch at 27-1, lost Michael Vaughan without addition, and the main collapse came after a two-and-a-half hour break for rain.

Yorkshire did not need to call upon Tim Bresnan, who had dashed to North Marine Road from Scarborough the day before after being released from the England one-day squad. Yorkshire resumed with the pace of Deon Kruis and Rashid, who continued from the Pavilion End. Andy Hodd quickly moved off 66 by sweeping Rashid for four and cutting Kruis to the boundary. The Sussex collapse was triggered by Rashid - who dismissed Hodd and Robin Martin-Jenkins with consecutive deliveries, leaving Ollie Rayner to save the hat-trick.

Hodd, beaten by turn, was lbw for 81 off 174 balls with eight fours, while Martin-Jenkins lunged at a leg-break and was well held by Jacques Rudolph diving in front of second slip. It soon became 241-7 as Carl Hopkinson shaped to play Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to leg but fell lbw, and Sussex debutant Mohammad Sami managed only 9 before he was lbw attempting to sweep a full ball from Rashid.

Corey Collymore was run out in bizarre fashion in Rashid’s next over: he got a leading edge, and the ball struck Adam Lyth on the leg at silly-point before ricocheting on to the stumps with the batsman out of his ground.

The innings was wrapped up at 265 by Rana - who skittled last man Jason Lewry’s stumps, leaving Rayner unbeaten on 15.

The drama did not stop with the end of the Sussex innings: Yorkshire began their reply with the third-over dismissal of Andrew Gale, who was lbw to a swinging ball from the left-arm Lewry.

Michael Vaughan got off the mark with a glorious off-drive against Sami - but drove rather wildly at the next delivery, and Mike Yardy could not hold on to a fast chance at third slip. Vaughan showed further uncertainty by edging Sami through the slips, and his end came in the second over after lunch when he edged Lewry to tumbling wicket-keeper Hodd for 19, including three fours.

Yorkshire were 27-2, and Anthony McGrath and Jacques Rudolph had added only eight when the players left the field for rain at 1.30pm. They were not to return until 4pm - when Rudolph celebrated by clipping the first ball from Lewry through mid-wicket for four. He turned another nice two - but he had an astonishing escape when he edged Lewry and Hodd put down a chance that first slip might have reached.

McGrath bisected the slips with an edged drive for four off Collymore - but next ball Collymore trapped him in front for 16, including two fours. Yorkshire 47-3. Rudolph drove Lewry for four through mid-on to the Trafalgar Square End, and the 50 was passed. Adam Lyth, who has promised so much this season, began strongly, but at 60 Lewry struck again - Lyth snicking another swinging ball to Hodd.

Lewry finally took his leave of the Trafalgar Square End with 3-27 in 12 overs. Mohammad Sami dropped short to Rudolph, who crunched him off the back foor through the covers for four to move into his 20s. Ollie Rayner succeeded Sami, and Tim Bresnan at 7 should have gone when he jabbed him on to Chris Adams's wrist at first slip. Rudolph finished the over by laying back to crack Rayner for four through the covers.

Sami tried the other end: Bresnan hooked him savagely for four and then for two to bring up the 100 - but he was lucky not to touch one of better length to the wicket-keeper. At 106-4 Yorkshire seemed to be moving forward, but Robin Martin-Jenkins took the Trafalgar Square End: Bresnan shaped to leave his fourth ball, only for it to move in and hit his bat...from where it knocked out the middle stump. His 19 included two fours.

Rudolph could have done with more chalk on it when he sliced Lewry perilously over slips to the third-man boundary, and two balls later he fell: the ball turned and lifted, and Rudolph's defensive bat could only present Hodd wsith his third catch. His 41 contained six fours, but at 144-6 Yorkshire were out of the driving seat.

Rashid scored a single, but at 121 Martin-Jenkins found the outside edge, and Rayner added a fine falling slip catch to his excellent bowling from the Pavilion End. Yorkshire closed on 133-7, Gerard Brophy on 11 and Naved-ul-Hasan on 9.

DAVID WARNER

Day 1: Yorkshire struggled on Day 1 of their LV Championship match at Scarborough after Sussex had won the toss and batted - Steven Patterson taking two of the first four wickets.

Sussex were 203-4 when rain compelled the players to take an early tea at 3pm - and although the skies lightened at 4pm the umpires announced five minutes later that there would be no further play.

Anthony McGrath took over the captaincy, and Patterson was named as the man who will make way for Tim Bresnan if he is released by England later today.

Patterson was the only Yorkshire bowler to take a wicket before lunch - and the wicket-takers afterwards were Patterson, Matthew Hoggard and Adil Rashid.

It looked a good toss to win for Sussex on a bright and breezy morning as Yorkshire’s pace attack struggled to get much out of the pitch. Openers Mike Yardy and Chris Nash soon settled in, and they began to score freely after a quiet start.

They added 49 inside 14 overs before Patterson, coming on as second change at the Pavilion End, had Yardy caught behind by for 26. Wicket-keeper Andrew Hodd, a century-maker for the County Champions against Yorkshire at Hove last season, joined Nash, who completed a tidy 50 off 69 balls with nine fours.

Rashid became Yorkshire’s fifth bowler of the morning at 81-1 in 23 overs: he replaced Patterson, who had taken 1- 21 in six overs, but Sussex were still able to go in to lunch on 106-1, with Nash on 56 and Hodd 21.

Runs continued to flow after the interval, Hodd cutting and leg-glancing Hoggard for boundaries, but the batsman had two moments of good fortune in an excellent over from Patterson: he played just short of Jacques Rudolph at first slip, and two balls later he bisected wicket-keeper Brophy and Rudolph for an edged boundary.

Yorkshire suddenly picked up their second wicket as Nash, on 78, clipped Hoggard firmly off his legs, and Michael Vaughan held on to the catch at short mid-wicket. Nash had struck 12 boundaries in his 125 balls, and he Hodd had added 101 in 28 overs.

The batsmen remained in control, Hodd moving to his half-century from 102 deliveries with five fours, while his new partner, Murray Goodwin, quickly reached double figures. They took the total to 195, but then Patterson struck again: a good-length ball outside off-stump nipped back to bowl Goodwin for 25, including three fours.

Hodd and captain Chris Adams saw it to 202, but leg-spinner Rashid induced Adams to prod forward and the ball floated away off the outside edge to first-slip Rudolph, who caught it with both hands rolling over to his right. The rain came at 3pm, so the players immediately took tea at 203-4 - Hood not out 66 and Carl Hopkinson on 1.

The rain became heavier, and many of the spectators soon took their own decision. The sky brightened at 4pm, but the umpires announced at 4.05 that there could be no further play.

DAVID WARNER 

Anything to help: paceman Steven Patterson, extreme left, who was brought in to deputise for skipper Darren Gough and might have to make way for Tim Bresnan, begins the wicket-taking.

 

Today's Picture Coverage From North Marine Road: SIMON WILKINSON

Please remember the match starts half an hour earlier at 10.30am due to the fact we are now into September.

It was announced on Monday that Tim Bresnan, who is on England One-Day International duty, will not be made available for this LV County Championship clash if he features in the 5th and final ODI against South Africa. If Tim does not play for England he could be made available from day two of the match in Scarborough.

Michael Vaughan returns after missing Sunday's excellent victory over Glamorgan Dragons in the NatWest Pro40, but skipper Darren Gough is rested after playing all three matches so far on the east coast. Anthony McGrath will captin the White Rose county and Steve Patterson gets a chance to replace Gough, fresh from 8 wickets in the 2nd XI win down in Sussex last week.

Despite the disappointment of having to fight for a draw against Kent last week after bossing most of the game the LV County Championship Division 1 table is as tight as it has ever been at this stage of the summer. It is mathematically possible that all 9 teams could be Champion County and all 9 teams could still be relegated - there is everything to play for!

The current table

Sussex currently lie two places and 5 points ahead of eighth placed Yorkshire and with the return leg at Hove still to come in the last round of fixtures the south coast outfit will have a massive bearing on Yorkshire's final standing. Rana Naved will play against the team he enjoyed so much success with, but Sussex will be without their star turn, Mushtaq Ahmed, who recently retired from county cricket due to persistent knee trouble. In a bid to fill the huge gap left by Mushy's departure in Sussex's team they have signed another Pakistani international in Mohammad Sami. Sami, who previously enjoyed a short spell with Kent, will make his Sussex debut in this match.

Anyone who witnessed the 4-day draw against Kent last week will have seen what the LV County Championship can offer in terms of nailbiting, exciting cricket with all three results possible until the very end of the game. This game against Sussex is a crucial match in Yorkshire's season so get along to North Marine Road and give Mags and the lads as much support as you can.

PROSPECTS OF PLAY

The BBC's 5-day Scarborough weather forecast