Johnson bats us back in - Hampshire Day 1
61 off 37 balls!
By Grockle
August 15 2002
Only a semi-collapse today so we only needed an innings of 2 a ball from Johnno and the usual Parsons/Turner face saver to keep us in it! Richard J hit a great end of innings score to give us something to defend tomorrow!
v HAMPSHIRE CC1@ THE ROSEBOWL AUGUST 14 2002
DAY ONE |
DAY TWO |
DAY THREE |
DAY FOUR |
One of the games I am assuming Kevin Shine expects us to win - one of our three targettd games. We had Hampshire on the ropes at Bath but failed to apply the final chop and they got out with a draw that saw us holding on in the last hours. Piran Holloway is in for Peter Bowler and Francis is preferred to Jones (can you believe that!) as we go in with FOUR seamers and no Keith Dutch dor the first time this season. Ian Blackwell is preferred as the slow bowling option. Caddick plays in this game - the Third Test is up and coming so he needs a performance to confirm the work he did last week at Canterbury.
Coxy wins the toss and WE BAT! Brave decision with our recent form with the wooden bit! Unfortunately, Matt Wood still can't find his early season form and we are 1 down with 21 on the board when Mascarenhas gets him caught by Tremlett. He faced 56 balls but only managed 9 runs - when it dries up it dries up I'm afraid. Coxy seems to have had the same run problem. Mike Burns was the second wicket to go at 66 for 31 off 43 balls including one six and when the captain was LBW to Mullally with the score on 90, he had managed the same score but off 100 balls. Runs were not easy to get in the morning session. Piran Holloway did not celebrate his return in style and became the fourth wicket down, one run over the hundred when he became Mullally's second LBW victim.
When Blackwell went 5 balls later C&B to Udal, we seemed to be in familiar territory...and to some extent we were. Who was at the wicket? Keith Parsons and Rob Turner. What did they manage to do? Put on a partnership of some worth! 99 to be exact. Blackwell went at 102 for 5. When Parsons was caught off Udal for 51, the score was 201 for 6 - better but by no means a good first innings score. Matt Bulbeck only added 5 and Richard Johnson arrived at 7 down for 206.
This bloke hasn't had a lucky season but when he's been there things have happened and not always with the ball! Today we needed him to stay with Turner and allow the recognised batsmen to accumulate a defendable score. Johnno had other ideas. He added 59 with the wicketkeeper before Noddy went caught behind to Mullally but Turner did not accumulate the runs. His 57 off 152 balls was useful but nothing in comparison to Johnson's massive 61 off 37 BALLS! 9 fours and 2 sixes helped move the score on to 265 for 8 and then 278 for 9 before the bowler became Mullally's fourth wicket. Phenomenal hitting. Use him as a pinch hitter, he always seems to do it when he has to and he rarely scores at less than a run a ball. You could (and have) done worse!
Caddick and Francis added nothing before Caddy was bowled by Mascarenhas and thre innings was over with 278 on the scoreboard and the memory of the Johnson onslaught leaving a more satisfying memory than the early poor showing once again. Mullally did most of the damage with 4 for 58 but Udal (3 for 89) and Mascarenhas (2 for 48) weighed in. We had 5 overs at them in which Johnson and Laney got 15 on the board and we go into Day Two with a need for early wickets.