Date-stamped : 05 Aug97 - 11:13 Law makes light of the darkness By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester First day of four: Essex 204-2 v Leics CASTLE Park was one of Graham Gooch`s favourite grounds and on the square where the watching Gooch scored eight of his 128 first- class hundreds, Stuart Law made one on his first appear- ance here. It featured some glorious strokeplay from the Queens- lander, who went to his century from three balls fewer than Nasser Hussain did to his fifty. Essex have traditionally done well at Colchester, which nor- mally assists spinners later in the game. Despite heavy cloud and the threat of rain, which duly came at 11.10am, Paul Prichard barely hes- itated before batting first. When play recommenced after lunch in gloomy light, batting was far from easy. Both openers perished inside the first seven overs. Prichard was caught and bowled by Alan Mullally off a leading edge from one that held up and Darren Robinson was well held at third slip when David Millns extracted extra bounce. Law arrived before Hussain had scored and it was not until his 30th ball that Hussain got off the mark. Such extreme circum- spec- tion was laudable given Essex`s plight and, apart from the occasional driven four through the covers, Hussain was con- tent largely to graft his way to a half-century off 150 balls as Law dominated a stand of 195 in 51 overs. Hussain and Law endured nervous moments before the Australian took charge of an attack notable chiefly for Millns`s probing open- ing spell. Thereafter, Leicestershire did not bowl espe- cially well as conditions eased and their spinners were ruth- lessly punished by Law for the slightest error in line or length. Law`s driving, often on the up, was as good as it had been at Trent Bridge in Tuesday`s NatWest Trophy quarter-final and there were shots all round the ground as he collected 15 fours and three sixes. Gooch was present wearing his England selector hat, although he spent much of the lunch interval satisfying autograph hunters be- fore plucking out the winning raffle ticket for a bat signed by the last Essex team to include him in it. Gooch said he was disappointed that James Ormond, Leicester- shire`s young fast bowler who took six wickets against the Aus- tralians in June, was ruled out with a side injury. "England should pick him soon," advised Millns. "He bowled like light- ning in our last match and has a big heart." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Huge stand by Law and Hussain is Essex tonic By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Second day of four: Leics (18-2) trail Essex (533-8 dec) by 515 runs ESSEX have batted with real aplomb in this match, however good the pitch. It began to turn yesterday, and if their three spin- ners bowl half decently, Leicestershire should lose their unbeaten record. Essex, it is worth recalling, have won their last three match- es at Castle Park by an innings. The platform for their highest total of the summer was Stuart Law and Nasser Hussain`s third-wicket stand of 317 in 77 overs, the entertainment value of which would be hard to beat. Law`s 175, made off only 223 balls, was his highest score for Essex, while Hussain`s 128, off 69 balls more, was his first for the county in any form of cricket this year. Law employed most of his vast repertoire of strokes while adding 51 more yesterday to his overnight score. He was only five short of a career-best and seven short of 1,000 runs for the summer when he went down the wicket to Matthew Brimson, failed to get to the pitch and was beaten by turn. James Whitaker, the Leicestershire captain, described Law`s innings as one of the best he had seen, although the Australian`s Essex team-mates felt they had seen several of similar quality from him. Hussain, who had more of the strike in the morning, soon aban- doned his restraint from the day before, hitting David Millns for three successive fours. Then, he came down the pitch to Adrian Pier- son, driving him for four and then six into the Lay and Wheeler tent. Later, Hussain and Law were back there, unselfishly doing their bit for Alan Lilley`s benefit raffle, while Paul Grayson and Ron- nie Irani filled their boots against inconsistent bowl- ing. They added 143 in only 33 overs, with Grayson playing some quality shots, par- ticularly off the back foot, on his way to 81 from 96 balls. When Alan Mullally pitched short, he pulled him for six. Pierson eventually bowled Grayson round his legs as well as having Irani well caught at midwicket. Irani had pulled and driven powerfully in the first fifty this season that he failed to convert into a hundred. After their long sentence in the field, Leicestershire were soon facing the man most likely to be their chief executioner, Pe- ter Such. Bowling into a considerable amount of rough creat- ed close to off-stump by Mullally, Such immediately had Darren Maddy caught off his second ball off bat-pad at short leg. Vince Wells had already gone, caught behind off one that bounced. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Dogged Sutcliffe keeps champions in hunt Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Third day of four: Essex v Leics IAIN Sutcliffe, Leicestershire`s Yorkshire-born left-hander, un- derlined here yesterday why he is a candidate for the Eng- land A tour to Kenya and Sri Lanka this winter. His obstinate 123 not out by tea had gone some way towards saving this crucial game for the champions, who lost two wickets in the morning and noth- ing between lunch and tea. Leicestershire, lying fifth prior to this match (one place be- hind Essex), still have realistic hopes of retaining their ti- tle. They have yet to play the bottom four and only two of their remaining fixtures are away - to Sussex and Northampton- shire. In this context, therefore, the value of Sutcliffe`s second century of the season (reached off 206 balls) can be seen on a ground where Essex have a formidable record, not to mention luck with the toss, which they won yet again. Essex were victorious in their previous three games here by an innings, and when play resumed yesterday Leicestershire, pre- cariously placed on 18 for two in reply to a total of 533, seemed ripe for the taking. But Sutcliffe, on one overnight, saw off Peter Such, the main threat on a pitch offering some turn, with a display of con- centration that was as impressive as his technique. Sutcliffe, 22, tall and thin, first emerged at Oxford where he won three Blues from 1994-96. A product of Leeds Grammar School, he joins the lengthy list of Yorkshire exiles who have settled at Grace Road. James Whitaker, a fellow member of the Yorkshire exiles, has a high opinion. "Sutto is one of those people who does not give it away. He has to be got out - he`s very, very determined. That`s not to say he hasn`t got shots - he`s played several very rapid Sunday League innings for us." Everything that Whitaker said of Sutcliffe was in evidence yesterday at Castle Park. His defence had a watertight look about it, his footwork was decisive and his temperament un- flappable. His cutting, and in particular his driving, were a delight. Ashley Cowan learnt painfully how adept a puller he is when he dumped him into a marquee at deep backward square. Against Such, Sutcliffe skilfully overcame the disadvantage of being a left-hander against an off-spinner. Such beat him occa- sional- ly, but Sutcliffe, blessed with soft hands, held firm, even if he man- aged only a single boundary off the former Eng- land bowler in his remark- able pre-lunch spell of 19-13-13-2. His victims were the night- watchman, Adrian Pierson, who frustrated Essex until 12.25pm before be- ing caught at short leg, and Whitaker, bowled by a low, turning skidder that he ad- mitted he might have gone forward to. The other Essex off-spinner, the debutant Jonathan Powell, 18, was surprisingly not given a bowl until the 49th over of the day. Both Stuart Law`s leg spin and Paul Grayson`s left-arm spin were employed earlier but neither made any impression on a pitch that turned less than anticipated. Nor did Alan Mullal- ly`s rough help Such as expected. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Such a lot in one innings By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Essex (533-8 dec) drew with Leicestershire (515-9 dec) THIS will be remembered as Peter Such`s match. Extraordinary figures of 86-49-94-4 give him the record for the number of six- ball overs bowled in a single innings in a championship match, beating Johnny Wardle`s 81 for Yorkshire against Derbyshire at Bradford in 1949. Such, who got through 36 overs yesterday, also set a record for the number of balls bowled, passing the then 52-year-old Alfred Shaw`s 501 for Sussex against Notts at Trent Bridge in 1895, when overs lasted five balls. In the press tent, an unwrit- ten rule was broken when both feats were applauded. The Essex players were kept informed and they, too, clapped. Once Ben Smith and David Millns had saved the follow-on and James Whitaker had turned down the lunchtime offer of a target of 225 in 55 overs, this game was as dead. Those few spectators who stayed on would have found more entertainment at neigh- bouring Dedham in the match between county sponsors Lay & Wheeler and the Essex restauran- teurs. Whitaker defended his decision not to chase. "Suchy would have bowled non-stop from one end and gone for no more than two an over on a turning pitch, and we`re two front-line batsmen short." Iain Sutcliffe (cracked rib) and Neil Johnson (ankle lig- ament damage) could bat only in an emergency. Whitaker also felt that, having saved the game with some reso- lute batting, defeat would have damaged morale and left his side too far behind Essex. "As it is, we have the bottom four to play," he added. Paul Prichard, his opposite number, was philosophical. "Maybe if it hadn`t been us, they`d have gone for it. We tried though." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)