Adam Wheater leads way for Essex as champions dodge Durham fightback

SAM DALLING AT EMIRATES RIVERSIDE: As the afternoon passed, the pitch flattened out a touch and the game finally found county cricket’s true pace. By the close Essex held Durham by the throat, Wheater’s classy knock the mainstay

Emirates Riverside (second day of four): Essex 182 & 263-8, Durham 99 - Essex lead by 346 runs with two second innings wickets in hand

Scorecard

Finally, it happened. The clock had just passed six on the second day, the shadows were looming over the outfield and the 27th wicket to fall finally involved an outfielder. Adam Wheater – who had made a fine, and likely match-winning 81 – pushing to Matty Potts at mid-on and failing to make his ground. Until that point, the diminutive right-hander had looked untroubled. 

Any youngster thrust the ball for the first time will be told a similar tale: ‘hit the top of off’. It’s a logical theory, given the fielding side’s chief concern is taking wickets.  Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis certainly subscribed to it, 72.19 per cent of the 1,705 international wickets they snared between them falling bowled (531), lbw (395) or tickled behind (306).

And that was the case for each of the first 26 wickets at Chester-le-Street, 15 of them rapping the pads and seven removing the bails. Cricket is the most complicated yet the simplest of games. Oh, the virtues of bowling straight.

And before you say anything, the disproportionately high number of lbw dismissals is nothing to do with trigger-happy umpires. True, James Middlebrook and David Millns were both fully-paid up members of the bowlers’ union but there has been little to grumble about. The odd decision that may have been ‘umpire’s call’ but certainly no shockers.

Instead, the blame – if you want to call it that – lies elsewhere.

Over the winter the entire square here had to be re-laid, the general consensus being that it is still bedding in. Ordinarily such an exercise is completed in stages, cautious groundstaff correctly preferring to take every step to avoid the kind of uneven bounce on display over the past 48 hours.

But nature rarely works to human timetables and underground sagging caused by the nearby River Wear forced Durham’s hand. Had the season been able to get underway on time last summer, Chester-Le-Street may not have been ready. An unseasonably wet May has hardly helped, and the pitch has been up and down like the Ferris wheel in situ nearby.

^{Chris Rushworth was comprehensively bowled...}

Largely it has low carry although Brydon Carse – a snarling, brute of a quick, who is an outside Ashes bet – got a few to spit off a length in the evening session. Not an easy pitch to keep on, particularly for Ned Eckersley who has the gloves for the first time this season.

The players too must shoulder some responsibility. Rightly or wrongly, the trigger movement is in vogue. Rarely these days does a batter set up without one. The majority meander toward off, increasing the chances of being struck on the legs ten-fold (note: not a verified statistic). It is counterintuitive when you consider many of the greats barely moved. Watch footage of Sir Garfield Sobers’ 254 at the MCG against a fine Australian attack and the stillness is striking. For younger readers, Rishabh Pant and Kane Williamson do likewise. The later you play, the more time you have.

As the afternoon passed, the pitch flattened out a touch and following a frenetic few sessions, the game finally found county cricket’s true pace. By the close Essex held Durham by the throat, Wheater’s classy knock the mainstay, Ryan ten Doeschate also adding a typically composed fifty.

Earlier, it took Essex just shy of an hour to claim the final four Durham wickets. Eckersley trapped lbw, Carse then losing his off-stump to Peter Siddle, before Jamie Porter rounded the innings off with back-to-back strikes. Durham had reached 99 – the first time they had been dismissed for that score in the county championship.

Batting again, Nick Browne fell to a Ben Raine delivery that went underground, before - for the third time this season - Chris Rushworth removed Sir Alistair Cook from around the wicket. He is now the competition’s leading wicket-taker on 37. Simon Harmer may yet have his say on that tomorrow though.    

When Tom Westley wandered across his stumps and became yet another LBW victim, Essex were reeling: 15 for 3 at lunch and the locals were chipper. They almost had four to talk about, Paul Walter surviving a huge shout that had Raine, down on his haunches struggling for breath following a double-appeal.

^{Matty Potts and Jack Burnham in the field for Durham}

One imagines Walter and Michael Pepper got together over sandwiches and concluded aggression was preferable to poking around, for they scored freely after the break. Walter played a pair of identical straight drives off Raine than whistled passed mid-on but with the partnership 38 he nicked Raine behind.   

Enter Carse, who conceded 15 from his first over. Scott Borthwick undoubtedly would have been tempted to remove the quick from the attack but, with Tammy Wynette ringing in his eardrums, the skipper stood by his man. The reward? With the seventh ball of his spell Carse took Pepper’s outside edge, Eckersley again taking the catch. A pair of wickets lost with the score on 54: momentum checked?  

Seemingly not. Ryan ten Doeschate and Wheater had been watching intently and agreed positivity was the way forward. A flurry of boundaries and some smart running kept the pressure on and, a little more than ninety minutes later, their partnership passed 100 runs from just 133 balls. The rain may be a distant memory, but Durham spirits were dampened. Still, cricket fans are a knowledgeable sort and there was plenty for them to admire.

Wheater crunched Carse through backward point and played a glorious checked drive off Potts. Raine suffered too, a trio of boundaries coming in one over, the pick a clubbed pull to a short ball that raced away. And ten Doeschate also impressed, a sweetly struck cover to get up and running the best of his strokes.

The Dutchman was first to reach a half-century from 82 balls, Wheater joining moments later from eight balls fewer. By tea they remained together, and Essex had added 155 runs in 37 overs for the loss of two wickets. Their session by any standards but, given the previous four had yielded just 296 runs and seen 23 men fall, it was quite something. It was a vital session in the context of the game, and one that may just prove equally important for the defending champions come the end of the season.

Carse, who had bowled just four overs for 33 at that point, claimed ten Doeschate early in the evening session, but Simon Harmer added 53 with Wheater before the mistimed single. Carse, who bowled a hostile spell, also removed Peter Siddle by close but with the lead already at 340, it will take some effort for Durham to save this game. The gap on Thursday between the sides was just three points, but the safe money is on that being extended significantly come tomorrow night. Still, well worth the 611-day wait to sit in the sunshine though.