| Somerset county championship win would exorcise ghosts of legends past | Mike Selvey Viv Richards, Ian Botham and Joel Garner, for all their one-day titles, they never nailed for Somerset the one most covetedAs I write this, the Met Office rainfall radar, my default port of call for prospects of play, is showing the ink-blot of rain that has hovered over Old Trafford has moved only ever so slightly east towards the Pennines, that there is a slender band of precipitation in the vicinity of Chester-le-Street and some pinpoints of frustrating light stuff around Leeds. To the south, not a smidgeon shows. The County Championship finale already promised a nailbiter but now the weather was added as an extra dimension.As it stands, then, it is Somerset who have managed to get their noses in front for the first time this summer, and short of contrivance in Manchester, and something similar at Headingley, will stay there. The Somerset cricket chairman (and Observer cricket correspondent) would be ecstatic of course, although his May prediction that his side were "hardly championship contenders" might come back to haunt him, possibly as early as our annual golf trip at the end of the month.In theory I should be dispassionate about the final destination of the championship trophy. My county loyalties (something that pertained in the old days) still lie with Middlesex, although I hope Glamorgan can hoist themselves up. However, if pushed, and at risk of alienating others from this parish, I would have to say I would not begrudge Somerset if they sneaked through on the rails. Yorkshire have had plenty of times to celebrate, almost twice as many as the nearest rival, and indeed I was actually at the crease (non-striker) when they clinched the last of their great run through the 1960s. Likewise Nottinghamshire. But Somerset supporters, while enjoying their various one-day successes with the accompanying jolly up to London, have never seen the championship pennant fly over the Taunton pavilion.I know what it is like wanting that title and what it means to win it: four times in fact with Middlesex and it never palled although there is no time like the first. Strictly speaking, 1976 was not the first time Middlesex had claimed the championship but they had not done so since they tied with Yorkshire in 1949.There were a lot of fine players at the county thereafter who never won and it rankled with them. But there was an element within the dressing room of the mid 1970s that had tired of stories of Compton and Edrich. The signs of a revival were there the previous year when we reached both domestic finals (losing them to Leicestershire and Lancashire respectively) but the following summer we got it right.As now, it came down to the final match. It had been a long hot summer but still the weather interfered as the season came to a head. Middlesex required five points from the last match at the Oval and were denied a fourth bowling point when John Edrich made a hundred. But Gloucestershire, the nearest challengers, also failed to get full bonus points, so only one batting point was needed, fittingly achieved on the penultimate day of the season, when Clive Radley nurdled one of the thousands of singles he thieved in his career. It would be nice to report that the celebrations were muted but they were not. Immediately the champagne was opened and quaffed. Then my bowling mate and travelling companion Allan Jones and I repaired to the Long Room bar for a couple. Wisden records only that subsequently I made an unbeaten 29 but for the half hour I was batting I thought I was Vivian Richards. In retrospect I should have spent my entire career batting pissed.Then came the aftermath. Prince Phillip presented the Lord's Taverners' Trophy to the county at Buckingham Palace one October afternoon and was to do so a further three times over the next six years, once, the following year, jointly to myself and Graham Johnson of Kent, with whom we had tied the championship. On this second occasion, Ian Gould, just on the staff, spent the entire time trying to avoid HRH who, having recently made some coruscating public remarks about unemployment, was asking people what they "had on at the moment". "I didn't want to tell him I was on the rock-and-roll," said Gould.Above all though, winning that first title earned us respect and gave us self-esteem. No longer did we need to hear about the summer of 1947 and feel underachievers. The ghosts of the past were exorcised and if Somerset should win, then so will theirs. They are legendary in those parts but Viv and Beefy and Joel, and indeed Vic Marks, for all the one-day titles, never nailed for Somerset the one coveted most. People will remember this and dim the switch a little on the past. Marcus Trescothick is already a legend in the county but this would deify him. And who knows what success would be bred by success. Middlesex retained the title next season and enjoyed seasons of excellence thereafter. So it was with Essex and Notts and most recently Durham. A door may have been unlocked.County Championship Division OneCricketSomersetYorkshireNottinghamshireMike Selveyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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Hilfenhaus's haul gives Australia hope Australia 428 & 192; India 405 & 55-4Ben Hilfenhaus claimed three India wickets in the final session to bring Australia back into the match after being bundled out for 192 on the fourth day of the first Test in Mohali.The paceman saw off the dangerous Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina before Doug Bollinger accounted for Rahul Dravid to leave India on 55 for four chasing a victory target of 216.Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma claimed three wickets each while the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha took two apiece, as none of the Australia batsman, with the exception of first-innings centurion Shane Watson (56), showed much resistance.India dominated the first two sessions and much of the third on a day which saw the fall of 14 wickets but frittered away the advantage in the final hour.India started their second innings disastrously, losing Gambhir for a duck in Hilfenhaus's first over. The left-hander was given out lbw even though replays suggested there had been an inside-edge but the wicket of Dravid (13) was a bigger blow, since he was timing the ball well.Bollinger claimed the prize wicket, when the right-hander lunged across to defend a delivery which found an edge and travelled through to the wicketkeeper Tim Paine.Hilfenhaus struck again, first claiming Sehwag (17), who offered a simple catch at gully to Michael Hussey, and then Raina (duck), who was bounced out, to record impressive figures of three for 22 in seven overs.India's fightback hinges on Sachin Tendulkar (10 not out), who carried the battle to the final day along with nightwatchman Zaheer Khan, who was dropped by Simon Katich fielding close and also edged wide of the slips.Australia had lost all 10 second innings wickets for 105 runs and inside 40 overs. The opening stand between Watson and Simon Katich was worth 87 runs, with Watson bringing up his 50 off 51 balls to put Australia on 80 without loss.He then chopped a Sharma delivery on to his stumps and the prize wicket of the Australia captain Ricky Ponting followed in the same over, caught in the boundary. Sharma could have had Michael Clarke first ball but umpire Billy Bowden spotted a no-ball, but the bowler claimed Clarke in his next over to reduce the tourists to 96 for three.Katich and Hussey added 42 but Ojha got through the defence of the obdurate opener, who scored 37 off 118 balls, triggering another collapse just before tea. Harbhajan removed Hussey (28) and Marcus North (10) to leave Australia on 165 for six.Zaheer then came up with a superb spell of reverse swing to account for Mitchell Johnson (3), Nathan Hauritz (9) and Hilfenhaus (6).India Cricket TeamAustralia cricket teamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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