Worcestershire edge wicket-filled day
Worcestershire seamers Matt Mason and Alan Richardson dismissed Northamptonshire for their lowest County Championship total of the season as 17 wickets fell on the second day at New Road
30-Jul-2010
Worcestershire 287 and 72 for 8 v Northamptonshire 158
Scorecard
Scorecard
Worcestershire seamers Matt Mason and Alan Richardson dismissed
Northamptonshire for their lowest County Championship total of the season as
17 wickets fell on the second day at New Road.
The experienced pair - Mason at 36 and Richardson a year younger - made the
most of favourable conditions in claiming six of the dismissals at a miserly
cost of 62 runs in 40.4 overs. Worcestershire's batsmen then took their turn to struggle on a seaming pitch
when crashing to 72 for 8 - a lead of 201 - after Lee Daggett's lively
opening salvo of 4 for 25 in 10 overs.
Northamptonshire only dodged the follow-on thanks to a couple of dropped
chances when David Murphy (26) and David Lucas (24) put on 43 before Richardson
accounted for the tail-end pair in six balls.
Finally bowled out for 158, the visitors were still in a tight corner, trailing
by 129, but Daggett kept them in the game with his best performance in two
seasons for his third county. The former Warwickshire and Leicestershire bowler landed a double blow in the
space of nine deliveries. First he removed Daryl Mitchell, brilliantly caught by
James Middlebrook at backward point, and next he had Vikram Solanki taken at
second slip by Stephen Peters.
With David Wheeldon and Moeen Ali also falling in an inspired spell,
Worcestershire were rocking at 43 for 5 when Shakib Al Hasan played on to
Lucas.Alexei Kervezee (24) fell to Andrew Hall and with the light fading prior to an
early closure because of rain off-spinner Middlebrook played an influential part
with 2 for 11. There was an extra problem for the batsmen as the bounce became steeper on the
unpredictable surface.
Resuming at three for one, Northamptonshire lost Middlebrook to a catch behind
the wicket in a testing opening spell by Mason and the pressure built up as
Richardson's figures showed only three scoring shots after 11 overs. Ben Howgego succumbed when Richard Jones ran out the opener from mid-on and Mason found some extra lift when David Sales registered his fourth duck in six Championship innings.
Alex Wakely (20) and Rob Newton, with a promising knock of 23 on his debut,
steadied the ship for a while before medium-pacer James Cameron bagged the first
two wickets of his four-match Championship career. Elton Chigumbura quickly fell to another rising delivery from Mason and Northamptonshire's last hope appeared to have gone when Richardson pounced from
short mid-wicket to run out Hall for 28.
Murphy atoned for his part in going for a dodgy single with four fours and the
follow-on threat disappeared in an erratic over from Jones. Shakib dropped Lucas
at point and the next four balls went to the boundary - three of these off the
pads for a dozen leg byes.