Foxes lose rain-affected affair

Date: Monday 03 May 2010

Leicestershire Foxes lost a rain-ruined Clydesdale Bank 40 game against Durham Dynamos by 21 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method at Grace Road on Bank Holiday Monday.

Captain Will Smith led from the front with an enterprising unbeaten 50 from 33 balls and Ben Harmison made 45 as Dynamos tallied 156-4 from 26 overs, and despite good knocks from Will Jefferson (45 from 41 balls) and Wayne White (36 from 22), the Foxes fell short of their revised target of 176.

It was a miserable Bank Holiday Monday with rain falling throughout the afternoon. Ultimately the match was reduced to 26 overs per side, although the Dynamos were only aware of that having batted 19 overs of their innings.

At that stage they had made 91-1 but Smith’s innovative knock ensured Durham scored 65 from their final seven overs. In reply, the team laid solid foundations but with boundaries hard to come by all afternoon, there was too much to do in the latter stages of the innings.

Earlier in the day, Leicestershire Foxes made two changes to the starting line-up, with Jigar Naik and Sam Cliff coming in for their first appearances of the season as they replaced Nathan Buck and Josh Cobb.

Durham Dynamos had major injury problems with Michael di Venuto, Dale Benkenstein, Steve Harmison, Callum Thorp and Graham Onions among those out while Paul Collingwood is leading England’s T20 world cup bid in the West Indies.

The visitors included Liam Plunkett as a batsman and also picked Luke Evans - who played for Northants 2nds last week at Grace Road - in their side after recalling the tall seamer early from his loan spell. They also gave opportunities to Will Gidman and Chris Rushworth and both impressed in a young seam attack.

Smith won the toss and elected to bat, although rain delayed the start after his decision and reduced the game to a 37-over affair at that stage. The third powerplay was reduced to three overs in the process and more interruptions followed.

Phil Mustard and Ian Blackwell opened the innings and Cliff immediately impressed from the Bennett End. He made an instant impact by bowling a brilliant first over and capped it off by having Mustard well caught behind by Tom New.

Buck was getting good shape and with Matthew Hoggard also bowling well, it took the Dynamos until the fifth over to find the boundary when Harmison drove through cover. The batsman took confidence from that and glanced another four in the next.

The duo were compiling a useful partnership and Blackwell opened his boundary account with a drive over mid on and glanced another boundary later in the over. A pulled sixth in the eighth took the score to 37-1 after the first powerplay.

The fifty came up in the eleventh over and after Cliff's impressive opening six-over spell – in which he took 1-22 - White came on. Andrew McDonald had his first spell at Grace Road from the Pavilion End, and after 15 overs, the Dynamos progressed to 71-1.

The bowlers were doing a good job though and White struck in his third over. He enticed the dangerous Blackwell to drive and the batsman nicked through to New for 35. It ended a solid stand of 77.

Smith came in and worked the ball around nicely to get himself in. Unfortunately, rain then fell again to take the players off after 19 overs of the innings, with the Dynamos on 91-2 at that point.

Although it started as a light shower, it was soon coming down quite heavily. It did stop and the umpires considering a game consisting of 30 overs per side, but another burst put paid to that.

However, with the rare sight of bright sunshine shortly before 5pm, a 5.11pm restart was possible with the game now 26 overs per side. Claude Henderson was immediately introduced and Hoggard and Cliff were now unfortunately bowled out of the game.

Harmison hit a four through mid-wicket but the slow left armer got his revenge by having the youngster stumped by New. Smith then took the score past 100 in the 21st with a powerful stroke for four back past the bowler.

He was playing a highly effective knock and cleverly cleared his front foot out of the way to drive wide of long on. In the next over, he made room through the off side before clearing extra cover Fortune then favoured the brave and when Smith got an inside edge, that also raced for four down to fine leg.

The Foxes kept plugging away and another wicket fell when Ben Stokes became Henderson's second victim when he dragged on and Gordon Muchall came to the crease. The spinner bowled with intelligence in taking 2-28 off his four overs after the rain break.

Smith received a reprieve when Hoggard put down a chance off White at mid off and went on to make his half-century of the last ball of the innings.

Muchall also got away with one when driving uppishly and the duo went on to see the innings through. Smith's fifty included just four boundaries but his strike rate was over 150, which shows how well he judged his innings.

The Foxes were chasing 20 more than the Dynamos got as Duckworth-Lewis came into play and the powerplay overs were reduced to spells of five, three and two overs respectively for the reduced knock.

Jacques du Toit scored a boundary in the first over by driving over the top of mid-off. He added a second in the next over but fell to a slower ball as Evans took the catch at mid on after Gidman deceived the batter.

James Taylor played a great shot through mid on to the ropes and it was certainly an all-action start to the innings.

Things were happening and when Jefferson drove uppishly to backward point, Gidman thought he had taken a clean catch. However, after a referral, it was decided that it did not carry.

However, a second wicket fell in the next over when Gidman bowled Taylor off the inside edge. It was an unlucky way to fall.

Jefferson continued on his way and two boundaries flew off the inside edge down to fine leg. A couple of tight overs meant the score was 43-2 after eight and it was still nip-and-tuck.

The opener was going well and a four through mid-wicket bought a welcome boundary. As did a Nixon reverse-sweep in the 12th which bounced just shy of the ropes.

Jefferson creamed a cover drive off the front foot as the Foxes reached 75-2 off half the overs. With both men getting in, the Foxes would have been confident of upping the tempo to keep the rate in check.

However, two wickets fell in quick succession with both set batsmen being dismissed. The opener went for 45 when getting a bottom edge on an attempted pull off Harmison and there was another setback when Nixon was removed by the returning Rushworth.

The batsman timed the ball sweetly but picked out Stokes at deep mid-wicket for 22, who took a well-judged catch.

After 17 overs, the score moved on to 90-4 and 86 were needed off the last nine. With two new men at the crease, the Foxes needed some momentum.

There was no time to lose and another critical blow was struck by Rushworth when McDonald was bowled by an inswinger.

It meant that with seven overs to go, 77 runs were required and the Foxes had lost their top five. White has been in tremendous form though and the all-rounder was up for the challenge.

White continued to dominate at the crease. He smashed a four over cover and the Foxes then opted to take their batting powerplay with New and White taking responsibility.

White pulled a huge six over mid-wicket in the first of those two overs, which was bowled by Gidman. Unfortunately for the bowler and his county, he became the latest bowler to join the Durham treatment table.

He had to limp off after turning an ankle running in for his fourth delivery, and after taking ten off that over delivered by both Gidman and Blackwell, 58 were required off 5.

In the second over of restrictions, White powerfully struck Breese with a drive so straight that it nearly cleared up umpire Steve Garratt in the process. At the end of the powerplay, 48 were needed off four.

White was put down in the deep off the returning Harmison but Muchall made no mistake in catching New later that over. White was still going great guns though and hit a four down the ground to leave a target of 40 off three.

Breese's over cost just nine, although White did find the boundary off the last ball. It was still a tall order and Henderson was bowled by Rushworth in the penultimate over.

Rushworth held his nerve to leave 25 needed off the last over. White fell for a brave 36 as Stokes took a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket.

The youngster overstepped the rope but juggled the ball back into play brilliantly without touching the rope. That effectively ended the chase and Blackwell sent down the rest of the over to seal the win.

If you take D-L out of the equation, the Foxes were just two shy of what the Dynamos scored. It was a huge shame that rain fell, as a 40-over contest between these two could have been a real thriller.

As it turned out, it was a bit of a damp squib.