HORTON GIVES LANCASHIRE THE UPPER
HAND by Marcus Hook
Surrey v Lancashire 245-3
A tenacious hundred from Paul Horton ensured that
Lancashire had the better of the opening exchanges at Guildford in
what, for Surrey’s fellow championship strugglers, is their first ever
visit to Woodbridge Road. The visitors finished day one on 245-3, with
Horton having contributed 110 off 237 balls.
After losing the toss,
Lancashire made relatively untroubled progress to be 112-1 at lunch.
Paul Horton and Stephen Moore shared in an opening
stand of 47. Moore opened his account in the
second over with a cover driven four off Jon Lewis before upper
cutting Tremlett to the third man boundary.
With Tremlett finding additional lift, Horton took a while to play
himself in. Withdrawing his bat in the seventh over, the 29-year-old
got a bottom edge that flew past Steven Davies for four.
Moore, head back, then smeared Lewis over first
slip. But Horton’s diligence was rewarded with successive leg-side
boundaries off Meaker to make it 44-0 in the tenth over.
Murali Kartik was given a couple of overs before Surrey
reverted to seam at both ends, which was the cue for Meaker to make
the initial breakthrough, with Moore being trapped leg before for 24.
Karl Brown was into his stride quickly, despatching
his second and third deliveries, from Meaker, to the rope.
Brown and Horton added 122 in 36 overs.
Horton, strong off his legs and straight down the
ground, proved an ideal foil for Brown, who latched on to anything
wide of his off stump. Brown was gifted a
let-off, on 30, when he was put down at first slip by Gareth Batty off
the bowling of Tremlett. But Horton’s ascendancy was underlined when
he brought up a 95-ball fifty on the stroke of lunch with a cover
driven four off Zander de Bruyn.
After the break the second wicket pair went thirteen
overs without finding the boundary before Horton pulled Meaker for
four and then steered the 23-year-old fast bowler to the rope at third
man. Brown moved to 49 with a straight
driven four off Batty, only to depart, moments later, to a thin edge
off Meaker.
Following a 50-minute break for rain, during which
tea was taken, Horton cut Kartik to the rope at third man to make it
194-2. But there was only enough time for Lancashire to secure their
first batting point before a further hour was lost to a combination of
bad light and showers.
When play resumed in bright sunshine, Horton moved
to his second championship hundred of the season with a two to fine
leg off Kartik. It had taken him 219 balls, with 14 fours.
Horton fell just before the close when Batty pulled
off a superb catch, low down to his left off Tremlett, to make it
233-3. Ashwell Prince (32 not out) and Steven Croft (5 not out) safely
negotiated the remaining eight overs.
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