GALLIAN AND STEWART SHOW THE WAY by Marcus Hook
Nottinghamshire 211 v Surrey 159-5.

Fifteen wickets fell on the opening day of Surrey’s latest encounter, at Trent Bridge, yesterday. There could well have been more. The wicket, which offered bounce as well as a good deal of lateral movement defeated everyone apart from Stewart and the Nottinghamshire captain, who vindicated his decision to bat first even if his colleagues failed to. Jason Gallian fashioned his first championship hundred of the season in little under five hours. He faced 204 balls and hit two sixes and 17 fours. Alec Stewart, on the other hand was not so circumspect. His swashbuckling 98 took just seventy deliveries.

Either side of lunch Gallian’s partners came and went. Darren Bicknell started by off-driving his younger brother for four in the opening over. The former Surrey man was somewhat fortunate to survive a chance off him at short leg two overs later, but the introduction of Azhar Mahmood soon had the tall left-hander edging low to Butcher at second slip.

Guy Welton went for a duck in the Pakistani’s second over, taken at chest height by second slip in front of first. The catcher, Mark Butcher, had a hand in the third wicket. Brought on for the penultimate over before lunch, he had Usman Afzaal driving all around a ball that plucked out his off stump.

Azhar was straight into the action after the break, taking his 300th first-class wicket when Bilal Shafayat drove him to the first of two gullies, where Ramprakash took the ball at head height. Meanwhile, Jason Gallian profited from the cut stroke, which was in evidence again when he reached his half-century in 131 deliveries in the 45th over with a ninth four, off Azhar Mahmood.

He found a decent ally in Chris Read. The pair added 59 in eighteen overs for the fifth wicket. But after batting well enough to cause England’s selectorial representative Geoff Miller to stroke his now clean-shaven chin with interest, the prodigal keeper drove at a ball that kept low and took an inside edge.

The home side lost their last five wickets in nine overs for the addition of just 34 runs, most of which were struck by Gallian who went to a well deserved hundred in 198 deliveries when he followed up a hooked six with a backfoot drive through cover for four off Alex Tudor.

The wicket of Greg Smith gave Jimmy Ormond his 250th championship success, off a ball that lifted and found enough of an edge for it to balloon off a thigh pad to Azhar at third slip. Jason Gallian went on to carry his bat, repeating his own feat from five years ago. Ormond, who took five out of the last six Nottinghamshire wickets, finished with figures of five for 45.

Surrey, in reply, were soon in trouble, but after seeing off the new ball brought up the hundred in the 20th over. Mark Butcher, playing a textbook backward defensive, was caught behind off the first ball of the innings. In the very next over Ian Ward was prodding forward when he got a ball from Greg Smith that left him off the pitch. Hopefully it will not be Ward’s only chance to impress Miller before the Test series against Zimbabwe begins.

Alec Stewart then turned attack into the best form of defence, punishing anything short of a length, of which there was more than the conditions merited. Stewart had made 27 before Mark Ramprakash could get off the dreaded nought. The former Middlesex man, who was dropped at short leg off Steve Elworthy in the third over, went on to make a patient 38 – the day’s third top score – before he was caught at long leg off a top-edged pull.

The sun only poked though the clouds a couple of times. Crucially when Stewart was on 27, he should have been caught at deep square leg. But the former opener, who effectively opened yesterday, made his highest championship score against Nottinghamshire. His half-century required just 33 balls and had the 40-year-old middled the ball he was out to, instead of pulling it on, he would have set the fastest hundred of the season.

Three overs from the end Alistair Brown was brilliantly caught at mid-on off a top-edged pull to give Smith his third wicket and to leave the match nicely poised.

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