Date-stamped : 21 Jul97 - 10:24
Essex shrug off news of Gooch exit to leave Emburey fuming

By Neville Scott at Northampton

Essex (199-8) bt Northamptonshire (198-8) by 2 wkts

THOUGH  completely taken aback that Graham Gooch should choose to
reveal his long anticipated retirement through the  medium  of  a
newspaper   rather   than  official channels (secretary Peter Ed-
wards confirmed Gooch had "kept his own counsel -  he   does   on
such matters"), Essex  soon  recovered to defeat Northamptonshire
off the last ball and stay joint top of the  table.  Nice  little
earners  rarely  dis- turb cricketers.

Wild   horses,   it   would  seem, will have to drag John Emburey
from the field. As the remaining member of a duo who  alone  have
played under six  prime  ministers,  he  came back to bowl two of
the final three overs.

Essex, having recently lost  Ronnie  Irani  after  a  key  72-run
fourth-wicket  stand  with  Paul  Grayson,  were  170  for  five,
needing 29 more.  Emburey bowled Darren  Robinson  and  two  more
fell  in the next over, but the last began with nine runs wanted.

Crucially, though he had run out his partner calling for a bye to
the  wicketkeeper,  Grayson  retained the strike. Moving to a su-
perb, Sunday best 51-ball 69, and aided by a wide,  Grayson  made
the  winning  runs  for Essex on his own, taking two off the last
ball.

Visibly  annoyed with young fielders at the  death,  Emburey  de-
parted  the  scene cursing. Northants` other veterans had earlier
provided almost all  the  home  runs as junior  colleagues  again
failed to con- tribute. Rob Bailey, with his fifth and best fifty
in  seven  innings  this Sunday season  (75  in as  many  balls),
joined  David Capel, back after seven weeks nursing a broken fin-
ger, to add 122.

On a pitch of some lift, exploited   by   Irani,   Northants  had
been  46  for  three in the 14th over and momentum took time. But
the innings final 74 runs needed just seven overs and though col-
lapse  followed, a reasonable par had apparently been reached.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

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