Date-stamped : 03 Jun97 - 06:16 Vaughan to the rescue By Doug Ibbotson at Ilford First day of four: Yorkshire (158-5) trail Essex (297) by 139 runs UNEXPECTED vicissitudes, heaving first in Yorkshire`s favour then tantalisingly towards the Essex cause, provided entertaining cricket for a sun-drenched crowd at Valentine`s Park. Fifteen wickets fell on the day but 455 runs were harvested and it was difficult to see beyond the undulating terrain of the outfield that the pitch could be in any way culpable. There was indeed something for all when, after themselves recovering from a pale 184 for eight to almost 300, Essex, at one point, reduced Yorkshire to an even sicklier 67 for five until Michael Vaughan (92 not out) and Richard Blakey (41 not out) staged their revival. As to a lesser degree during the Essex decline, a mixture of seam and spin were at the root of the epidemic. Now it was Mike Ilott and Peter Such, plus a suggestion of the yips. At all events should the match survive further collapses a rousing encounter remains in prospect as well as some unusual statistics. Darren Gough claimed five wickets for 74 to bring his season`s first-class haul to 18 at an average of 16.11. The last two wickets added 113 for an Essex total of 297 that included 208 beyond the boundary - 46 fours and four sixes - and No 10 Ashley Cowan has now scored one more run in six championship innings than opener Graham Gooch. Not since 1987 has the vintage opener made such a frugal start; just 134 runs with a highest score twice of 34. Rattled in particular by a burst of three for seven in 14 balls from Gough, Essex owed much to wicketkeeper Robert Rollins, making his first championship appearance of the summer. Driving expansively, Rollins struck Richard Stemp for two sixes, Craig White for one, and seven fours in reaching 60 off 76 balls. He and Cowan, with a career-best 43 not out, raised 84 for the ninth wicket. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Law leads Essex back into clear blue water By Doug Ibbotson at Ilford Second day of four: Essex (297 & 215-4) lead Yorks (334) by 178 runs IT would be difficult to conceive a worthier `old-fashioned` cricket match than that being enacted in perfect weather and im- pecca- ble style at Valentine`s Park. Collective fortunes have been variously threatened and re- stored by individual skills in virtually all aspects of the game: pace bowling, spin bowling, fine fielding and batting from stonewall resolu- tion to profuse strokeplay. The twilight of yesterday`s exposition found Essex, for the second time in the match, sailing out of stormy waters, on this occa- sion in the wake of Stuart Law (76). The Australian impresario raised a fourth 50 (plus a century) in six championship innings and thereby elevated his adoptive county from an unpromising, effective 26 for two in the second innings to a respectable lead of 143 for four before he departed having hit 12 fours and a six. At this point Ronnie Irani and Danny Law took over the tiller and the Essex galleon sailed on, apparently unconcerned that a York- shire boarding party led by the potentially dangerous Dar- ren Gough - a five-wicket broadside in the first innings - may yet dictate the final course of the match. Yorkshire have already staged one remarkable recovery. Initi- ated at 67 for five on Thursday it resumed at 158 yesterday and was splendidly extended towards a partnership of 188 by the elegant Michael Vaughan and Richard Blakey, who has seldom played a more resolute role. Vaughan, 92 overnight, and mindful of the presence of England selector Graham Gooch, pressed on to a century with his 18th boundary and he continued to play handsome strokes. He reached 150 off 190 balls with 23 fours and a six and was looking impregnable on 161 when fellow York shireman Paul Grayson pro- voked a bat and pad catch to Stuart Law at silly mid-off. Blakey meanwhile, had been occupying the crease like an im- pacted wisdom tooth, nudging and blocking for 52 minutes before scor- ing the nine runs needed for his half century. He then survived Peter Hartley, Gough and Chris Silverwood, to share a last wicket stand of 54 with Richard Stemp (33) before, on 92, he too fell to the wiles of Peter Such. Indeed the off-break exponent has every reason for satisfac- tion so far in a summer which has already brought him 17 first- class wick- ets including two hauls of six. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Pendulum swings to provide diversion By Doug Ibbotson at Ilford Third day of four: Essex (297 & 312) lead Yorks (334 & 270-8) by 5 runs THE outfield at Valentine`s Park rises from the boundary and dis- appears into a hollow which, given the extraordinary swings of fortune over the past three days, has produced a match to challenge the Pit and the Pendulum for dramatic tension. So much so that sun-drenched spectators and sporting scribes alike were very nearly diverted from such trivial pursuits as se- lecting the England Test squad ahead of Messrs Graham Gooch and Co, nomi- nating a new Australian captain, a standby Essex captain and the winner of the 4.15 at Newmarket. Accordingly, anticipation at lunchtime as the Essex second in- nings expired on 312 and Yorkshire needed 276 to win was only marginally concerned with the possiblity that Gooch might have looked favourably on Michael Vaughan`s first innings 161. The Essex cognoscenti were in no doubt that Stuart Law, their overseas player and highly successful captain of Queensland, should take over from Mark Taylor, whose wretched form on the current tour hit another low at Derby. Who, on the other hand, could become locum tenens leader of Essex while Paul Prichard was suffering from a torn groin mus- cle - and for how long - in the absence of vice-captain Nasser Hussain on Test duties? Er, um; up comes the name of S Law again, but it`s all a bit academic while the Essex physiotherapist is saying that Prichard`s in- jury will sideline him for a month while Prichard himself claims he will be playing at the Oval on Wednesday. Rumblings from the Yorkshire camp also concerned the eligibil- ity of Darren Lehmann, the jovial and talented left-handed batsman from South Australia, to join a touring squad from which he should not have been excluded in the first place. For the second time Essex had emerged overnight in a position of promising recovery at 215 for four, 178 ahead and a burgeoning partnership in prospect between Ronnie Irani, on 35, and Danny Law, 23. Even then there were those among the deckchair selectors who were muttering about Irani`s short Test career - against India at Edgbaston and Lord`s last year. What did he do wrong? The answer, of course, is very little, but a back injury in- tervened and even close association with Gooch, an acknowledged admirer of his abilities, is not necessarily conclusive. At all events, while lower-order colleagues kept him somewhat fitful company, Irani compiled a splendidly controlled yet purposeful century before falling, the last of Richard Stemp`s six wickets. Stemp`s performance, incidentally, was his soundest for three seasons, and at fractionally less than 13 runs a wicket, his second best for Yorkshire. Lunch provided much food for thought. Yorkshire required the formidable 276 but with five full sessions available and the barometer set fair, time was not a factor. Bets on the outcome were as difficult to venture as that of the 4.15 at Newmarket. Enter young Vaughan. Another half century here and surely but half forward to Mark Ilott, fractionally off line and the best- laid dreams shimmered into the distance. All right then, how about so and so? Of course Martyn Moxon played for England 10 times between 1986 and 1989 and averaged 48.05 for Yorkshire last season. But, no, perhaps not and even less so as he, too, fell to Ilott caught behind for 16. Talking of Ilott, he gained the last of his five England caps as recently as last year. But then one could go on forever. Mean- while back to Lehmann, now busily building a half century, and, with captain David Byas, plotting to bring Yorkshire back into contention yet again. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Byas applauds `best game ever` By Doug Ibbotson at Ilford Yorks (334 & 277-8) bt Essex (297 & 312) by 2 wkts AFTER three days of titanic conflict it took just eight min- utes and eight balls to resolve what Yorkshire captain David Byas de- scribed as "the finest match I have ever played in". When play began at Valentine`s Park, Yorkshire required six runs for victory, Essex needed two wickets. The first over yielded a single each to Darren Gough and Chris Silverwood from slow left-armer Paul Grayson. The second, a single to Silverwood and a late cut to the boundary for Gough off Peter Such. As the ninth-wicket pair left the field Gough smiled and winked at his captain with a touch of relief and there were warm handshakes all round, not least between the opposing sides. "That," said Byas, "was the finest game I have ever played in. Perhaps a tie would have been the perfect end, but I`m certainly not calling for a recount. Each side produced tremendous indi- vidual per- formances and both twice came back from nowhere. "Robert Rollins, Stuart Law, Ronnie Irani and Peter Such grafted wonderfully for them; Michael Vaughan, Richard Blakey, Darren Lehmann and Darren Gough helped to do the business for us." The Yorkshire captain modestly failed to mention his own ster- ling contributions, not least his superb short catching. This was the first defeat for Essex in this summer`s champi- onship and likewise their first setback in the corresponding Sunday League encounter. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)