DERBYSHIRE
INDEBTED TO ROGERS by Marcus Hook
Surrey v Derbyshire 306-5.
Derbyshire were hugely indebted to
Chris Rogers on the opening day of their 2010 County Championship
campaign. After winning the toss and electing to bat first on an
Oval pitch that is already showing signs of taking spin, the
32-year-old Australian struck an unbeaten 178 in 282 deliveries for
the visitors. A first innings total in excess of four hundred would
almost certainly give Derbyshire the high ground.
The visitors' opening pair rode their
luck early on. Andre Nel was offered a half chance off his own
bowling by Rogers and Wayne Madsen was nearly run out by Tim Linley
in the first over, before even facing a ball.
It was not long before Rogers was
into his stride, driving Nel straight down the ground and
despatching Jade Dernbach through the off-side for two successive
boundaries, but Madsen perished in the eighth over to a routine
catch at first slip upon Linley's early introduction as first
change.
On such a true pitch Surrey did well
to limit Derbyshire to 80-1 at lunch. Indeed, had Stuart Meaker not
put Rogers down at backward point off Nel in the 25th over, when the
Victorian had 46 to his name, Rory Hamilton-Brown would have been
able to look back on an extremely encouraging first session as
Surrey captain.
But both his and his side's
doggedness were rewarded shortly after the break when Paul
Borrington gloved Gareth Batty down the leg-side and Steven Davies
claimed his first dismissal for his new employers at the second
attempt.
In the 43rd over Rogers, who had
brought up his half century off 100 balls, hit Dernbach for three
fours in the space of four deliveries, but Derbyshire's progress was
checked when Garry Park, sweeping, was caught off bat and pad at
slip in the 45th over to hand Batty a second success with the ball.
Chris Rogers and Greg Smith then
combined to make 128 in 31 overs for the fourth wicket, equalling
Derbyshire's highest fourth wicket stand against Surrey, which was
established by Henry Bagshaw and William Chatterton at the Oval in
1895.
Six overs before tea Rogers
progressed to the 42nd first-class hundred of his career, which came
off 174 balls and included 17 fours. Smith's half century arrived in
the second over following the interval, off 77 balls.
Rogers called for a new bat in the
72nd over and immediately put it to good use by bringing up the
hundred stand with another of his trademark straight driven
boundaries, which he followed up with a late cut to the rope at
third man off the expensive Meaker.
But just as Derbyshire appeared to be
taking a firm grip on proceedings, Usman Afzaal accounted for Smith
and Redfern in successive overs. In the 76th over, Smith, who was
particularly strong off the back foot, needlessly lofted a catch to
mid-off. The 26-year-old had batted for 115 minutes and made 66 from
101 balls. Two overs later Dan Redfern toe-ended a turning delivery
to cover point to make it 265-5.
Surrey took the new ball at the start
of the 85th over, though not before Rogers had posted his 150 in 239
deliveries. In Robin Peterson, who latched on to anything aimed at
his leg stump, Rogers found a useful ally. At the close the
visitors' sixth wicket pair had already put on 41.
From the hosts' perspective it was
encouraging to see Batty making an instant impact upon his return to
SE11. Both Nel and Linley beat the outside edge on a number of
occasions, but the wicket at the Oval continues to be an unforgiving
one when chances are spurned.
Earlier in the day, a minute's
silence was observed as a mark of respect to the recently departed
Surrey great, Sir Alec Bedser.
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