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Holloway seizes chance

Somerset beat Durham by 52 runs

THIS was a bizarre day's cricket. At times it was hard to know how to react. It was not the coloured clothing or the warlike names that provoked consternation. If footballers from Kiev can call themselves Dynamos so can cricketers from the North.

Nor was it the fact that these unfashionable teams were playing in the second division of a new-fangled league. Rather it was the arrangements that upset locals. To play a 45-over match and start at 1.30pm is ridiculous. Presumably it is an attempt to allow members to enjoy their lunch or to buy sheep at Taunton market before attending the cricket.

Otherwise it was a familiar scene, a chill wind blowing across the ground, sawdust protecting a muddy field and a small crowd watching. Mostly the cricket was low-key as Somerset Sabres were rattled by the loss of early wickets and recovered against an erratic attack and faulty fielding. Whereupon Durham failed against steady seam bowling, supported by committed team work.

Piran Holloway led the way for the hosts with an uncharacteristically daring innings that brought fifty in 66 balls. Holloway's chance had come because Mark Lathwell was undergoing knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season. No one else lasted long, but Jamie Cox played some handsome strokes on his home debut.

By the halfway mark Somerset had reached 99 for three and for a time the batsmen swashbuckled happily. A no-ball from Steve Harmison, a solitary blemish, helped the scoring, especially as a bumper followed. Since the free ball was dispatched to the boundary, the overstepping had cost nine runs.

A late clattering of wickets gave Durham a smaller target than they deserved but they made a hash of it against a tidy attack, cleverly and calmly managed by Cox. John Morris began brightly only to throw his wicket away in a careless run-out. No one else was up to it as Cox changed his bowlers around and even tried his own slow 'uns which brought three wickets.

Somerset won easily in the end. It was an encouraging victory for the hosts and a dismal performance from the visitors.