Date-stamped : 07 Jun97 - 06:16 Whitaker salvages innings By D J Rutnagur at Lord`s First day of four: Leics 267-7 v Middlesex AN UNBEATEN century by James Whitaker, so dreadfully short of runs hitherto, held together a Leicestershire innings that had started well and then began to crumble. Its disintegration was expedited by a fractured finger which forced Ben Smith to retire. Leicestershire`s total may not appear imposing, but it is not one to be scoffed at since Paul Weekes was able to turn the ball as early as the first session, when he bowled the regulation over of spin before lunch. In the circumstances, scoring a century was not Whitaker`s only major contribution to Leicestershire. Winning the toss and saving his team from having to bat last on a surface bearing cracks was also a significant achievement. With the promise of the pitch yielding increasing spin, Middlesex must be doubly grateful to have had Phil Tufnell released from England duty. Indeed Leicestershire did not replace the injured David Millns with a pace bowler, but instead included a second spinner in Matthew Brimson. Spin may prove the key, but in the meantime it was Angus Fraser, with his best haul of the summer - four for 70 - who was Leicestershire`s main tormentor. He was hard to lay a bat on in his first spell, but he had to wait until the start of his second to strike. Entrenched for an hour, Ben Smith had shown promise of a substantial innings. It was cut short by a ball from Richard Johnson that lifted viciously from a length and damaged the same little finger of his left hand which was broken during a pre- season tour of South Africa. Neil Johnson also had reason for grievance after the ball he mistimed trying to cut, stopped. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Gatting takes a firm stand By D J Rutnagur at Lord`s Second day of four: Middx (298-4) lead Leics (280) by 18 runs TAKING into account a pitch that is unpredictable, Middlesex still have some way to go before they are cushioned against the dis- advantage of batting last. Their hopes of achieving such security were set back when Mike Gatting succumbed only two overs before bad light imposed an ear- ly end to the day. Middlesex were given the whip hand by captains present and past, Mark Ramprakash and Gatting forging a second substantial partner- ship in consecutive matches. They followed a stand of 187 against Northamptonshire with one of 178 after coming to- gether at 55 for two. Ramprakash, who batted with the responsibility becoming a cap- tain, was only three short of a second successive century when he ladled a catch to cover after driving at Alan Mullally. And Gatting came close to giving himself an an early 40th birth- day present of a 93rd century before he played on from a ball that Adrian Pierson turned in the rough. While eschewing risks, Ramprakash, who batted for 210 minutes, was by no means dour. He was delightfully fluent, driving through the covers or mid-on and hitting 15 fours. Gatting seized on any errors in length from the bowlers, but his principal mission was to give his captain the strike. There was no loss of momentum after Ramprakash`s departure, Jason Pooley striking some handsome blows. But Gatting was striv- ing to infuse further urgency into the scoring and eventually came to grief. Middlesex were set on the ascendant by Angus Fraser in the morning when he ended James Whitaker`s innings by flattening his off stump. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Maddy`s batting lesson By D J Rutnagur at Lord`s Third day of four: Leics (280 & 236-3) lead Middlesex (395) by 121 runs THE flashing blade of Darren Maddy quickly neutralised a lead of 115 Middlesex had acquired, thanks to a forthright 55 by Ja- son Pooley and a pleasing 36 by Scott Moffat, playing only his sixth champi- onship innings. Maddy made a delightful 103 off 154 balls, with 17 fours and a six, but Leicestershire lost their impetus after his departure. He and Vince Wells had put on 173 in 53 overs for the first wicket but Wells, after completing his fifty, was contained after he lost his opening partner and scored only nine off the next 49 balls he re- ceived. Maddy`s departure was only one factor in the loss of momentum. Leicestershire also had to contend with the grating, negative tactic of Phil Tufnell bowling from over the wicket into the rough outside leg stump. What is more, Angus Fraser, stirred up after having an appeal against Wells for a catch at the wicket turned down, bowled his most testing spell of the innings. In his stay of 188 minutes, Maddy made batting look as easy as at any time in the match, getting his boundaries with all manner of strokes - drives, cuts and hooks and a sweep on the pick up which rat- tled a plastic seat in the new grandstand. Maddy was exasperated by Tufnell`s over-the-wicket tactic into playing a sweep which he top-edged. Tufnell also accounted for Aftab Habib with the help of a brilliant tumbling catch at slip by Jacques Kallis. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Apathy brings sodden ending By Clive Ellis at Lord`s Middx drew with Leicester THE world`s most famous cricket ground played host to a morn- ing of such farcical inactivity that the prospect of an in- triguing finish disappeared rapidly from view. If the pitch defied knowing predictions by starting unreliable and getting better, the apathetic response of the groundstaff to the job of mopping up after overnight rain defied belief. Groundsman Mick Hunt, concerned that the pitch for the second Test was in danger of being over-dry, took the eccentric gam- ble of leaving it open to the elements overnight. When play finally got under way after lunch it was hidden be- neath matting, though even that came adrift in the breeze. Other outlying areas were sodden, but it was hard to avoid the feeling that if there had been a genuine desire to play, or a sizeable crowd to pacify, a prompt start could have been made. Leicestershire were in no position to offer Middlesex a target and Vince Wells, 76 not out overnight, made the most of the stress-free circumstances to score a career-best 224 off 399 balls. He dominated century-stands for the fifth and sixth wickets with James Whitaker and Paul Nixon. Whitaker had the doubtful privilege of becoming Mike Gatting`s first championship victim for three years when he edged a cut to wicketkeeper Keith Brown. Even more entertaining was Gatting`s jig of delight. Wells, who made 197 and double hundreds last season, has re- turned to form impressively. His first five championship innings of the season yielded just 13 runs; the last five have produced 521. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)