Date-stamped : 20 Aug97 - 03:04 Curtis lets loose as bowlers toil By Geoffrey Dean at Worcester First day of four: Worcs 342-4 v Glamorgan NEW ROAD was not the place to be a bowler yesterday. It was suf- focatingly hot with barely a hint of breeze, the pitch was an absolute back-breaker and there was a 60-yard boundary on the pavilion side. And finally, Tim Curtis batted particularly well to reach his highest score for two years, 160 in just under six hours. Curtis, who retires at the end of the summer, was not due to be playing until Reuben Spiring pulled out injured. Most will remember him as someone who skilfully wore down rather than took apart attacks. However, in the first 90 minutes yester- day, he shed all shackles, perhaps being demob-happy, while hitting 11 of his 26 fours in his first fifty. Curtis took six boundaries off Waqar Younis`s eight-over open- ing spell, four coming in the space of seven balls when he twice pulled deliveries that sat up nicely on this painfully low, slow pitch. Nor was Waqar able to get much swing, either traditionally or later on when the ball stubbornly refused to reverse. This was Waqar`s first confrontation in a first-class game with Graeme Hick since he knocked him over twice in Hick`s last Test at Lord`s last year. But even though Phil Weston was out in the 10th over, Waqar bowled only four balls at Hick in his opening spell and five in his second. Hick, still troubled by a bruised finger and watched by both David Lloyd and David Graveney, never dominated but also never looked like getting out until he edged Robert Croft to slip. Like Curtis, Hick cut well, hitting 10 fours in his 130-ball 65 out of a stand of 178 at nearly four an over. Glamorgan tightened up their bowling in the second half of the day as Croft weighed in with a good containing job. Nevertheless, it was to a ball tossed invitingly high that a tired-looking Curtis finally fell, heaving across the line. He had survived one chance, a difficult one to second slip off Waqar when 114. Gavin Haynes, too, was missed when 24, at the wicket off Steve Watkin, but Waqar returned to find his edge in a worthy third spell. Nightwatchman Alamgir Sheriyar somehow survived while Tom Moody dug in ominously. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) James` reminder By Patrick Murphy at New Road Worcs (476) lead Glamorgan (355-8) by 121 runs GLAMORGAN`S Steve James has nudged the selectors frequently in the last two seasons, and he was at it again yesterday. With the Oval Test squad due to be chosen last night, it was an apt time for the country`s leading scorer in first-class cricket to offer an- other reminder of his talent. He made 69 off 74 balls, as Glamorgan rattled along at five an over, yet lost wickets regularly. James might have been caught at slip early on, but he contin- ued to score all around the wicket. It came as a surprise when he was caught behind off the inside edge. Next month, Mike Atherton will be one of the ushers at James` wedding. It may be that Atherton will no longer be in a position to extend an invitation to tour the Caribbean with his former opening partner from Cam- bridge University - but it is hard to see what else James can do to extend his claims. Earlier, as the Worcestershire Former Players` Association en- joyed their annual reunion here, the soporific events out in the middle gave them plenty of time to reminisce on the glory of Tom Graveney`s off-drive and the true age of Basil D`Oliveira. The flat pitch, with occasional low bounce, meant a crawl of around three an over. Whenever Worcestershire tried to accel- erate against a persevering, accurate attack, they got out. The ball swung, too predictably and slowly for Waqar Younis. The skidding, fast- medium pace of Gary Butcher and Steve Watkin was more suited to the pitch, which is expected to keep lower as the game progresses. Stuart Lampitt`s 49 off 47 balls was the ideal pre-declaration innings, flogging a tiring attack. Glamorgan needed 327 to avoid the follow on, with their second target 350 to bring them full batting points, then hand back to Tom Moody the respon- sibility for re- viving the match. Worcestershire still foster hopes of a late surge for the title, but they need to win this game to come within range. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Maynard tips the balance By Geoffrey Dean at Worcester Third day of four: Worcs (476-9 dec & 263-7) lead Glamorgan (398) by 341 runs THANKS to one of the most dominant innings this season, Matthew Maynard`s unbeaten 161 off 145 balls, and to a fine un- changed 37-over spell from Robert Croft, Glamorgan could still win this match. At tea on Saturday it seemed certain they would fail to save the follow-on but, 24-hours later, Worcestershire were only 284 ahead on a belter with four wickets remaining. Then came another pendulum swing as Glamorgan`s bowlers, hand- icapped by an old ball that would not reverse swing, took just one wicket in the final session. Maynard`s side can now expect nothing less than a demanding run-chase from Tom Moody after scoring at the almost unheard-of rate (in a first innings) of 5.7 per over. Maynard was impossible to contain on such a good pitch, driv- ing on the up and cutting and pulling with tremendous power. Ably sup- ported by the tail, notably Waqar Younis, Maynard su- pervised the pillage of 243 for the last four wickets. Worcester soon lost Tim Curtis to a good one from Steve Watkin that bounced and left him but it was Croft who took the key wick- ets of Graeme Hick and Moody, beating both in the flight. Hick drove to extra cover and Moody, having clouted Croft over long- off for six, hit the next delivery to long-on. Soon after, Croft had Vikram Solanki taken at short leg off bat-pad. Gavin Haynes and David Leatherdale were both defeated by move- ment back in but Phil Weston was constructing an innings of sweet imperturbability, notable for its defence and discipline. Ten days ago, without a championship century this season, he did not expect to play at Northampton, where he scored 205. But Hick`s injury gave him a late reprieve and yesterday, after a jittery tiptoe through the 90s, he reached a hundred in just un- der six hours. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Glamorgan lured over the edge By Geoffrey Dean at Worcester Worcestershire (476-9 dec & 295) bt Glamorgan (398 & 319) by 54 runs GLAMORGAN would have gone top of the table had they won a hard-fought game, but in pursuing a target of 374 in 81 overs almost to the end, they sacrificed three points for a draw in the quest for vic- tory. Matthew Maynard`s first-ball dismissal was all-important, and although Steve James made his fifth championship hundred of the summer, no one really stayed with him long enough. Tom Moody, as keen to win as Maynard, deserves credit for keeping the game open until the last. At no stage did he employ a cover boundary sweeper for any of his bowlers, and while both he and Graeme Hick bowled their off-spin from the New Road end, he never set men back straight, even when Waqar Younis launched an onslaught that ruined good figures; his last five overs costing 42. Not that he would have cared - his captaincy had helped win the match and lift Worcestershire into fourth place. When Waqar strode to the wicket, with James passing him in the opposite direction having finished with 130 off 202 balls, Glamorgan needed 105 in 14.3 overs, an unlikely equation with three wickets remaining. But Waqar went straight after Moody, clouting 26 off his first 21 balls, before Adrian Shaw was run out with 74 wanted off 55 balls. Still Glamorgan refused to shut up shop as Waqar swept Moody for a second six. But when Darren Thomas was lbw to a swinging york- er from Maneer Mirza, a good prospect at 19, 35 balls re- mained for Worcestershire to take the last wicket. They needed only eight more before Steve Watkin edged the lively Mirza to first slip where Stuart Lampitt held a good low catch to go with the more difficult one offered by Adrian Dale and his direct hit to remove Shaw. Lampitt invariably contributes in some form - not with the ball yesterday, but in the field and with the bat when he su- per- vised the important addition of 32 runs yesterday for Worcestershire`s last three wickets. James and Hugh Morris had provided the necessary platform for such a long chase with a stand of 115 in 30 overs. Morris`s dis- missal was a needless sacrifice for it was a risky single to ex- tra cover where Vikram Solanki`s pick up and throw to the wick- etkeeper were impressively quick. Moody now replaced Hick, who had dropped short too frequently, and bowling into Sheriyar`s rough wide of off-stump with a 6-3 off-side field, made life difficult for the batsmen, especial- ly with his bounce. He turned his first delivery sharply to re- move Dale, and later lured Gary Butcher into driving a return catch. But it was the three key top-order wickets taken by Gavin Haynes and David Leatherdale that were of key importance. Like Lampitt`s, their contributions are often overlooked, but be- tween them this year, they have 100 victims and 2,000 runs in all forms of cricket. Haynes produced a beauty that held its line to brush Maynard`s edge, having just had Mike Powell held at first slip. Later, after Robert Croft had driven Mirza to mid-on, Leatherdale persuaded James to miscue a pull to deep backward square. The majority of James`s 21 fours had come from cuts and square drives, be- fitting someone who is very much an off-side player. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)