Date-stamped : 06 Sep97 - 06:08 Glamorgan find a united front By Charles Randall at the Oval First day of four: Glamorgan (133-2) trail Surrey (204) by 71 runs SURREY, with three crushing championship victories in a row, were jolted out of their stride by Glamorgan at the Oval yester- day. It was perhaps not surprising that Glamorgan, as joint lead- ers, proved themselves worthy of the occasion - a gathering of interna- tional cricketers doing business together - but their showing defied most expectations for a side with only one win in their last five games. Surrey`s team contained nine Test players, an England one-day batsman and Jason Ratcliffe, who would have played even if Chris Lewis had not withdrawn with a hip injury. Collectively Surrey failed with the bat on a pitch firmer than the dry, crumbly Test strip that pro- duced England`s exciting recent win against Australia and revived Michael Atherton`s captaincy. Only Alistair Brown, the England one-day specialist, stayed long enough to threaten a good score and his 60 contained some par- ticularly firm hitting and a driven six off Robert Croft. Surrey`s 204 looked at least 50 runs lighter than they would have expected and Glamorgan`s brisk reply, led by Matthew May- nard, was ominously positive, almost intimidatingly so. Maynard`s timing did not seem to have been affected by a sore index finger, dislocated two weeks previously, and he scored freely off all bowlers, even heaving Saqlain Mushtaq for six over midwicket. Saqlain, who will be joining the Pakistan one-day squad after this match, missing the rest of Surrey`s season - though Waqar You- nis will not be required for the Canada tournament - was less effective than usual dropping short too often, this time overshadowed in the off-spin stakes by Croft. Steve James galloped off at his usual pace, with a couple of boundaries and seven twos in the first five overs until he missed unexpectedly trying to work the ball to leg. Maynard`s power of stroke provided most of the answers. He reached his fifty in 51 balls and if he stays long today Glamor- gan should rattle up a sizeable first-innings lead. Their seam attack proved ac- curate enough to unsettle Surrey`s batting. Alec Stewart departed first, driving rashly at a routine out- swinger from Waqar, who al- most copped Ratcliffe first ball with an in-swinger. Surrey, entertainers to a man, generally played too loosely. Ratcliffe was the exception, with full marks for concentration and al- most nil for effect, lingering scoreless at one stage for 52 minutes having been missed at third slip off Waqar. Ratcliffe finally fell victim to a planned dismissal, glancing Croft to backward short leg, an unusual fielding position these days. There Hugh Morris, who had moved from silly mid- off, held a sharp catch. Graham Thorpe snicked a loose drive at a wide half-volley from Darren Thomas, walking off so slowly that few could have been in doubt that he disagreed with the umpire`s decision. On the other hand, he might have been disgusted at his own judgment. With the Hollioake brothers both lbw sweeping at Croft, Brown had to work hard to turn the innings round especially after an at- tempted throw out by Maynard from mid-on bounced and struck him in the chest. If Brown was unsettled by that he did not show it, because two firm fours off the accurate Steve Watkin next over kept his score on the move. Eventually Brown`s concentration broke when, off the first ball of Watkin`s third spell, he edged the sort of outswinger that had posed no problems before. If Surrey bat in their second innings like they did yesterday they will lose in three days. An exciting late run on the rails be- hind the championship front-runners will then fade away. Surrey lay 20 points behind Glamorgan at the top yesterday morning and, with up to 11 draw points available, they need to win all their last three games to stand any chance of winning the title. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Batsmen steer Glamorgan in right direction By Charles Randall at the Oval Second day of four: Glamorgan (363-7) lead Surrey (204) by 159 runs GLAMORGAN tightened their grip on this contest at the Oval like potential champions when they batted as Surrey`s much- vaunted line-up should have done, and failed to do, the previous day. Glamorgan`s batsmen generally selected the right ball to hit and overtook the home score three wickets down at a brisk tempo, with fifties from Adrian Dale and Robert Croft following Matthew Maynard`s into the book. So far, only one team have shown the necessary passion and fo- cus, but pushing through for victory will not be an easy matter on a slowish pitch with more interruptions by the weather look- ing likely. Yesterday, 41 overs were lost, though more time would have been available if Waqar Younis and Darren Thomas had not decided to accept an offer for bad light soon after 5pm. The early close was an odd twist, because Glamorgan were well on top at that stage, Waqar having just blasted Ian Salisbury over long off for six. Neither were the conditions especially dark. Glamorgan have won the championship twice, in 1948 and 1969; they were second in 1970 and third four years ago. So an other- wise atro- cious record since their admission into first-class ranks in 1921 can be forgotten again if they climb to the summit this year. Surrey`s showing, so far at least, evoked the worst fears of David Gilbert, their coach, and Adam Hollioake, the captain, who suspect that subconsciously the players might settle for the glory of winning the Benson and Hedges Cup. Even after three consecutive cham- pionship wins, it would appear there is still room for complacency. At the start of this match Gilbert had not yet concluded his ne- gotiations with Surrey for a new contract, which depended on con- cessions not connected with money. A high finish, preferably better than last year`s third, would reflect the strength of the club, not that Surrey`s bowlers could do much to correct the imbalance against the Welsh side. Surrey`s attack was picked off brutally by Maynard in the morning as he improved his overnight 56 to 76 before driving a shade too early to offer Martin Bicknell a sharp return catch, superbly accepted. Dale assumed responsibility for maintaining the tempo, forcing Joey Benjamin`s first over away for 10 runs and making Saqlain Mushtaq`s off-spin look ordinary for a second successive day. Some penetrative swing bowling by Ben Hollioake slowed Glamor- gan`s progress. Dale perished for 72, driving impatiently at a wide one Surrey-style, and Tony Cottey after a useful stay, was tied in a knot by a delicious delivery and caught behind. Croft, lofting some meaty drives on both sides of the wicket, reached his third championship fifty of the summer in 84 balls before Ben Hollioake struck again, but Thomas and Waqar looked comfort- able enough. If the weather from the west proves to be an important factor in the title race over the next two weeks, Glamorgan could finish at a disadvantage with their final two matches scheduled for Cardiff and Taunton. That suggests that a neat job on Surrey in a rain-free zone could be so important to their progress. Comfortable successes over Kent and Gloucestershire, their main rivals, earlier this summer have reflected Glamorgan`s hunger, underpinning their aspirations to lead the table in the final shake-up. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Thorpe defies the odds to slow Glamorgan`s charge By Charles Randall at the Oval Third day of four: Surrey (204 & 324-6) lead Glamorgan (438) by 90 runs ONLY five first-class hundreds had been recorded at the Oval this summer, and only two by Surrey before Graham Thorpe gal- loped to an undefeated 140 yesterday and slowed Glamorgan`s push for vic- tory. This statistic gave some measure to the value of his contribu- tion to Surrey`s all-out attempt to salvage a winning chance dur- ing a lively day`s cricket. Nevertheless Glamorgan, as they had learned to do this season, plugged away patiently, and they eliminated most of his partners, as- sisted by the lucky dismissal of Alistair Brown, who was run out by Thorpe`s deflected drive. Though Alec Stewart`s 271 against Yorkshire has remained the highest score anywhere this year, batsmen have not had their own way at the Oval, and the pitch is nothing like as fast and true as, say, the linoleum-like strip seven years ago when the bowlers` main function was to put the ball back into play un- der the batsmen`s whip. Surrey needed to retain their usual aggression in their second innings, starting 234 runs behind, and they avoided the waste- ful carefree attitude of the first day without losing the neces- sary tempo. Thorpe struck only nine fours in a fast hundred, which took 161 balls. That reflected his quick-footed ability to work the ball around into the spaces, making him hard to contain, let alone dislodge, on this form. The left-hander offered a sharp slip-chance off Robert Croft when 88, but that was all, and on his shoulders rest Sur- rey`s slim chance of frustrating their table-topping opponents today. Croft`s off-spin, despite this near-success, proved less ef- fective than usual. He removed Jason Ratcliffe, caught at slip off an arm-ball, but he was knocked off his length by an assault from Brown, who drove him for an early six and milked him for most of his 41 runs. Dean Cosker concentrated on pitching up his left-arm spinners, and the value of this tactic was underlined in an unexpected way when Thorpe ripped the straight drive that accounted for Brown. The aggressive Adam Hollioake perished before the deficit had been wiped out, lbw to a swinging full-toss from Waqar Younis, af- ter an afternoon session that had brimmed over with runs, 174 of them for two wickets. Ben Hollioake, replacing his brother, edged his first ball just wide of the slips, but he soon began to score freely with his driv- ing and trademark pulls, once blasting a Cosker full- toss for an em- phatic midwicket six. Just as Surrey`s lead began to swell, he was bowled through the gate by Darren Thomas, who punctuated some erratic seam- bowling with the occasional corker. Glamorgan`s morning went very well for them, with Thomas re- vealing some clear batting ability in his 75 not out before the last two wickets fell in two balls. By lunch two Surrey wickets were in the bag; Stewart edging down the leg side and Mark Butcher driving a stinger of a catch to gul- ly. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Thorpe forces Glamorgan to give up chase By Charles Randall at the Oval Surrey (204 & 487) drew with Glamorgan (438 & 107-3) THIS was the innings expected of an England player, too rarely seen from the current elite as Graham Thorpe`s 222 almost swung im- possible odds to Surrey`s favour at the Oval yesterday. Much has been said about the comfort zone of the championship circuit, but Thorpe`s innings, a career-best, deserved the highest praise for resource and responsibility under pressure. The title hopes of both clubs depended on a fluctuating final day, and Glamorgan knew that if they could rid themselves of Thorpe, victory would be theirs on what had become a tired, unresponsive pitch. They did dislodge Thorpe, only too late to canter to the top of the table as they might have hoped. A target of 254 at five-and- a- half an over was always going to be tough and, to Glamorgan eyes, one notch above impossible. In fact, Matthew Maynard called off the chase before the halfway stage, with only three wickets down, as though appealing to a black cloud that skirted the ground to lower its blanket of rain - which it never quite did. The draw effectively eliminated Surrey from the championship race - if not mathematically - and Glamorgan lost ground on Kent, drop- ping to second place 12 points behind after starting this round of matches on level terms. It could be argued that Adam Hollioake would have had a better chance of winning if he had declared instead of allowing Surrey`s in- nings to run its course, an easy assertion in retrospect. David Gilbert, Surrey`s coach, admitted he was "furious" at Glam- organ`s reluctance to go for the win. He said afterwards: "It was outrageous they should give up so early. It had the makings of a great game. "If that`s the way they think they can win the championship . Kent in the final game." That comment implied no more, it is to be hoped that Surrey would not necessarily play to prevent Kent winning when they meet at Canterbury. To want a pay-off for disapppointment is human nature. In the morning Glamorgan had to take four wickets before Sur- rey extended their overnight 90-run lead by too much, and they failed, despite straining every sinew. Robert Croft gained an early success when he had Saqlain Mush- taq, in his farewell innings, scooped up at short-leg. The Pak- istani had once batted through an entire day in a Test match, so Glamorgan would have regarded the tail-ender`s one-and-a-half hours as a bargain. The left-hander Thorpe, 140 overnight, made a tentative start but soon found his most fluent form and he had occupied a lively seven-and-a-half hours at the crease before holing out at long-on with the job done and Glamorgan on their knees. For a batsman of England stature, Thorpe had not compiled as many major scores as would be expected in a nine-year county ca- reer, this being only his second double hundred. Graham Gooch, for exam- ple, made 13 of them. Martin Bicknell joined Thorpe and, from the Welsh point of view, he looked alarmingly at ease on his way to 53, the eighth- wicket stand of 110 in 33 overs giving Hollioake the option of declaring. There was no question of Thorpe throwing away his wicket with his task incomplete. A robust double-hundred arrived in 277 balls which contained 21 fours, reflecting a deep-set field and ex- pert placement. When Dean Cosker belatedly returned to the attack after his pre-lunch two overs, he removed Thorpe with his first ball. The left- armer then had Ian Salisbury caught at slip and Bick- nell offering himself up. Glamorgan`s chase started respectably and, after the loss of Hugh Morris, their score began to pick up when Adrian Shaw joined the in-form Steve James. These two former first- class rugby players, probably the quickest pair between the wickets on the circuit, squeezed every run going, once making two out of Ben Hollioake`s routine foot-stop in the covers. James thin-edged a sweep at a Salisbury leg-break, and Croft skied to long-on after a brief, futile attempt to smash the bowling around. Maynard looked burdened by his reputation as the county game`s most dangerous batsman and, after a couple of scintillat- ing strokes, he packed up the picnic and closed the hamper firm- ly. Perhaps mindful of defeat at Worcester in a similar situation three weeks ago, Glamorgan did not seem to have their heart in it. Thorpe could take credit for that. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)