LANCASHIRE HELD UP BY RAIN by
Marcus Hook
Surrey v Lancashire 425-7
Rain denied Lancashire the chance of racking up a
huge total against Surrey on day two of their visit to Guildford. But
thanks to an unbeaten 104 off 167 balls from Steven Croft, the red
rose county made good use of the 47 overs that were possible to be
425-7, having resumed on 245-3.
In the fourth over of the day Murali Kartik
justified Surrey’s decision to spurn taking the new ball by having
Ashwell Prince caught on the deep midwicket boundary for 34.
When it was taken, Tom
Smith greeted the new cherry by driving Jon Lewis straight down the
ground. Steven Croft then cut Chris Tremlett to the backward point
boundary, following it up, two overs later, with a cover driven four;
though not before Smith, attempting a quick single to mid-off, had
been beaten by Zander de Bruyn’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end.
Gareth Cross got off the mark with a cut four off
Lewis, but perished when pulling Stuart Meaker straight to Zafar
Ansari at square leg. Croft was joined in the middle by Glen Chapple
and together they added 121 in 29 overs for the seventh wicket.
In the 101st over, Chapple flicked Meaker off his
legs for four before pulling him for a maximum three balls later.
Shortly before lunch, Croft went to
fifty, which came off 94 balls, with his seventh boundary - a glanced
to four off Meaker.
Having been 356-6 at the break, Lancashire really
put their foot down after lunch.
Croft despatched the first delivery of the afternoon
session, bowled by de Bruyn, to the rope at deep midwicket. After
crossing, Chapple repeated the dose four balls later.
Surrey, who bowled just one further maiden, seemed
incapable of stemming the flow. In the 125th
over, Croft brought up his fifth first-class hundred with an extra
cover drive off Meaker. It had taken the 27-year-old three and a half
hours and 160 deliveries.
Chapple departed moments later, lbw to Lewis for 46,
but before Croft and Ajmal Shahzad could strike up an alliance rain
stopped play at 3.00pm. The remainder of the
day was eventually written off at 4.20pm.
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