RIVERSIDE (third day of four: Durham won toss): Hampshire, with five first-innings wickets in hand, are 167 runs behind Durham
NOT all Australian bowlers are dynamite — at least not every day. That was shown with Durham’s remarkable decision to drop Shaun Tait, their recent fast-bowling signing, who in two games has delivered 18 overs for 176 runs, including a hatful of no-balls, and no wickets. He has been “overlooked”, Durham say, “while we work on restoring his confidence in his run-up”.
On the field, fallibility was also demonstrated by Shane Warne, albeit not quite so obviously. He must have been pleased when Durham elected to bat on a damp, sweaty pitch, a decision that would seem to have improved Hampshire’s prospects of forcing a win in the limited time left.
The scenario was developing nicely when Durham were 107 for five at lunch. But a doubling of the score in the afternoon and then a collapse to 50 for five in the evening, meant that Hampshire’s ambitions had taken a nasty jolt.
Advertisement
In the morning, the excellent Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled 13 overs unchanged, almost every ball delivered patiently at off stump, curving away so decisively they all could have been taken at first slip. Like him, James Adams who took two wickets from just eight overs, was not used after lunch.
A wicket had come in Warne’s exploratory over before lunch and he continued afterwards, even though leg-spinning errors on this low, slow pitch were punished with glee. There was a mighty six from the young cavalier, Phil Mustard — who was then stumped from an outrageous charge — and another for Graeme Bridge en route to a half-century. Warne’s figures were respectable enough, as were those of Shaun Udal, but what might the seam bowl ers have achieved?
That seemed to be answered when Liam Plunkett found a mean, dangerous length. His four victims including the prized wickets of John Crawley and Simon Katich — the latter a truly successful Australian at Durham.