BATTY BATS AND BATS by Marcus Hook
Essex 252 v Surrey 376 & 381-7.

Jonathan Batty made a career best 168 not out at Chelmsford yesterday. But by the time Batty had bettered the 151 he made at Taunton last year, failing light had dissuaded Surrey from declaring and setting Essex what, at that stage, would have been a hypothetical 473 to win in the twenty overs remaining plus a day. Assuming the visitors insert their hosts this morning, one is certain – they will not lose.

At tea Surrey were 302 for four, 426 ahead, but with their cricket manager, Keith Medlycott, more aware than anyone that Essex have a habit of doing well batting fourth, it was not considered enough to be completely safe. The weather forecast for today suggested that Medlycott was being rather cautious.

Jonathan Batty was there at the start and he was there at the end, which came sixteen overs later when rain brought the curtain down on proceedings at 5:49pm. But the day began with a century opening partnership, which was posted in the 24th over.

Ian Ward on one leg – on account of an injured groin – was not always able to time the ball as he would have liked off the back foot. On the front foot, though, his driving through cover and extra was the same old Ward. Having despatched Scott Brant in that direction in the ninth over of the day, he saved his best shots for James Middlebrook. Moments after hitting his eighth boundary, however, Jon Dakin got one through the left-hander’s defences to clip the top of middle and off stump.

Mark Ramprakash had a rare failure when he edged high to Andy Flower at slip off Graham Napier, who, three balls later, got one to leave Graham Thorpe.

Batty, meanwhile, had gone to his fifty in 76 deliveries with a cut four off of Napier, whom Surrey’s second choice wicketkeeper had hit for four boundaries in his first spell. Soon afterwards he lofted Middlebrook over the Tom Pearce Stand and straight into the River Can.

But that was nothing. The way Alistair Brown tucked into Graham Napier after lunch suggested he had missed his dessert. The contradictory 23-year-old went for 40 runs in three overs. At one stage Brown had taken seven boundaries off nine balls from him. However, the first should have been caught at deep square leg – the substitute fielder, Arfan Akram, running in from instead of around the boundary.

Brown raced to his half-century, which consumed just 32 balls and was reached when he took his first four off someone other than Napier – a straight driven four off Brant. Out of an unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of fifty-nine Alistair Brown’s contribution was 51. After passing fifty, however, Brown became sedated until, in frustration, he holed out to Will Jefferson at long-on.

Having been seventy-two at the break, it took Jonathan Batty another twenty-two overs to reach his fifth first-class hundred, which took 167 balls and included 16 fours plus a six.

Adam Hollioake also found it hard to score. When he found his range, though, he hit Paul Grayson and James Middlebrook out of the ground in successive overs. The Surrey captain perished in the deep soon after tea for a 69-ball fifty-one.

Seven overs later Azhar Mahmood was out to a brilliant take at deep mid-wicket off a flat hit, soon to be followed by Martin Bicknell, who drove a low catch to James Foster to give Graham Napier figures of four for 124.

Had Ronnie Irani not left the field in the morning, to be followed by Jon Dakin in the next session, though, it is debatable whether the young all-rounder would have bowled quite so much.

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