SWANSEA (first day of four; Surrey won toss): Surrey have scored 316 for nine wickets against Glamorgan
MARK BUTCHER played the kind of innings that has served England well in the past and may yet do so again to keep Surrey on course for the second division title after Glamorgan had threatened to turn the table upside down by reducing them to 98 for six on a dramatic morning at St Helen’s.
The ball is supposed to swing when the tide comes up in Swansea Bay, but it was the bounce and seam movement achieved by David Harrison, the former England A bowler, and some injudicious shots that were responsible for the collapse after Butcher had won the toss on a pitch that is expected to turn.
Jon Batty was caught in the gully off the fourth ball of the day, the first he faced, and Scott Newman fell leg-before to Alex Wharf before Harrison ripped the heart out of the Surrey batting by removing Mark Ramprakash, Alistair Brown and Rikki Clarke in the space of 15 balls.
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Ramprakash, still technically the best batsman in England, could not avoid a ball that lifted and left him and he edged to the wicketkeeper. Brown was caught at second slip and Clarke sliced to backward point before Wharf got in on the act again by having James Benning caught behind.
Butcher, who has not given up hope of regaining the England place he lost after suffering a wrist injury in South Africa two winters ago, surveyed the wreckage as phlegmatically as he did so many times during his 71 Test appearances until he found a like-minded professional in Martin Bicknell to help him to repair the damage.
They put on 152 for the seventh wicket, a record for Surrey against Glamorgan, with Bicknell making 59 before he was caught at point and Butcher going on to 136 in a masterly demonstration. He had been there for four hours, faced 175 balls and hit a six and 20 fours when he was leg-before trying to sweep a ball from Robert Croft.