Umeed delivers epic display of patience

Andrew Umeed, Warwickshire’s 21-year-old opener, answered his captain’s call by showing the fighting spirit that has been lacking for most of this season with a stonewalling innings that frustrated Lancashire, and James Anderson in particular.

At Chelmsford last week, Ian Bell had locked the dressing-room door to hold an inquest into Warwickshire’s performance after they were bowled out for 94 in suffering their fourth defeat of the season. Umeed listened to his captain’s words and, with little support, batted for the whole day, at one stage threatening to set a record for the slowest halfcentury in championship history.

He started the day on eight, reached his fifty off 220 balls (the record is 244) with two fours, and reached his hundred with two overs of play remaining with a drive through the covers, his sixth boundary from 331 balls. It was an epic display of patience.

His first boundary took 98 balls to arrive, the second a further 91 as he kept his team in touch with Lancashire. It added up to a miserably dull day of cricket in front of a crowd smaller than on Monday, with the floodlit experiment failing to draw in the after-work support counties had hoped for.

The pink ball goes softer than the red one as it ages, and on a slow surface will produce poor cricket. The day only livened up after Lancashire took the new ball in the final session and Tom Bailey struck twice in successive balls.

Umeed was missed twice, on 19 and 49, behind the stumps, and the second drop resulted in two runs and brought up his half-century with Anderson, who was bowling, treating him to a word or two that were unlikely to have been complimentary.

Bell was dismissed for nought by a ball from Jordan Clark that seamed away to take the edge, and Jonathan Trott had to battle his way to 56, surviving a dropped chance on 20 before he was out plumb lbw trying to work Clark to leg.

But it was the ball that won the day. Once it lost its hardness, the life went out of the match.

England Test hopeful Haseeb Hameed spent most of the day off the field due to a cut hand that required stitches, although he will open in the second innings for Lancashire.