DURHAM TRIP ON FIRST STEP
DURHAM took their first tentative steps yesterday up the mountain created by the controversial punishments of last season but stumbled at the start of their long and challenging climb.
Relegation and a 48-point penalty from the ECB for financial mismanagement have left Durham with an enormous task to regain first division status, and they made the worst possible start when they were tumbled out for 162 by Notts at Chester-le-Street.
Even that represented a sizeable recovery from the depths of 71 for seven as keeper Stuart Poynter hit 65 off 59 balls in a counter-attack that saw Durham, still steaming at the ECB’s handling of them, add 91 for the last three wickets.
Notts had their own grievance against the ECB this week when England director Andrew Strauss turned down Stuart Broad’s request to play after bowling only 21 overs in their opening win against Leicestershire.
Yet the overwhelming favourites to bounce straight back up to division one hardly missed the England paceman as his replacement Jake Ball. Australian James Pattinson and Luke Fletcher took three Durham wickets apiece.
There have been mutterings at Headingley about Strauss’s decision to order rest for Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root for the first two matches of the season and Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison made his feelings known on Twitter.
‘ Shame Jonny Bairstow can’t play for Yorkshire this week but he’s doing a great job for Sky,’ tweeted Denison as England’s keeper-batsman did a studio stint on the broadcaster’s Indian Premier League coverage.
Yorkshire did perfectly well without their numerous absentees before rain stopped play at Edgbaston, reducing Warwickshire to 152 for eight. Their 23-year-old seamer Ben Coad, who was outstanding against Hampshire, took four more wickets.
Surrey had the better of the opening exchanges against Lancashire at The Oval, Mark Footitt snaring three more wickets after Haseeb Hameed had been dismissed second ball by Sam Curran. But the Red Rose then bloomed with an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 172 between Jordan Clark and the 42-year- old Shiv Chanderpaul.
So happy was Clark to reach his maiden century with a pulled six off Footitt that he celebrated in a thoroughly modern — and naff — way with a ‘dab’.
Former England opener Sam Robson led the way for champions Middlesex with 84 in their 290 for six against Hampshire at Southampton.