BENKENSTEIN OPTS TO PLAY IT SAFE by Marcus Hook
Durham 232 & 397-7d v Surrey 183 & 198-3. Match drawn.

By taking eight overs to add a further 72 to his side's overnight lead of 374, Dale Benkenstein signalled his intention to play it safe rather than challenge for top spot in the LV County Championship first division table. Maybe he was preoccupied with Saturday's Friends Provident Trophy final, Durham's first Lord's showpiece. Given the runs the home side had in the bank, they did not justify their decision to bat on by setting attacking fields. Surrey's Jonathan Batty duly capitalised by scoring his fourth championship century of the summer, which puts him on course for a fifth consecutive year of 900-plus first-class run tally.

For all of England's shortage of ready-made replacements for Flintoff, Harmison and Hoggard, there can rarely have been many periods in English cricket with so many wicketkeepers showing international potential. Cynics would probably suggest that it is because few, if any overseas players have been entrusted with the gloves in county cricket in recent times.

Batty's unbeaten 102 off 235 balls, which included eleven fours and a six, was timely. The 33-year-old had made just 121 runs in his previous eight visits to the crease. But, then, Surrey's main shortcoming of late has not been their ability to bowl sides out. Somewhat surprisingly, the Brown Caps have managed just two totals over 320 in their last seven championship outings.

With the visitors needing an unlikely 447 runs to win off a minimum of 86 overs, Scott Newman nearly played on to Ottis Gibson in the first over, but had made 34 out of the opening stand of 57 before he was caught at gully off a ball that Liam Plunkett got to climb off a good length in the second over after lunch, the 24th.

Eleven overs later, Gibson produced a fantastic ball to pluck out Mark Ramprakash's off stump, but with Durham hampered by the absence of Steve Harmison through injury, Mark Butcher joined forces with Batty for over an hour and a half to grind out a 64-run partnership for the Brown Caps' third wicket.

Butcher struck just two boundaries in his 18 off 78 balls before being caught behind attempting to Paul Wiseman. Stewart Walters played in similar vein, taking 47 deliveries over his unbeaten fourteen. Shortly after 5.00pm the two teams shook hands on a draw.

Earlier, Plunkett added 58 to his overnight score off just 28 further balls, the last 26 of which came in one over from Harbhajan Singh, who has now bowled 165 overs and five balls in Surrey's last three championship fixtures. The Indian off-spinner's action should be well oiled come the start of the World Twenty20 tournament, which rules both him and fellow twirler Chris Schofield out of the Brown Caps' trip to Edgbaston on 6-9 September as well as the visit of Lancashire to the Brit Oval two weeks later.

GO TO:

BACK TO: