da fezbet： John Ward reports on the third and final day at Old Trafford where Durham offered little with the bat
da bet vitoria： John Ward at Old Trafford09-May-2008
Scorecard
James Anderson bowls Steve Harmison to complete Lancashire’s win © Getty Images
Durham showed little fight on the third day against Lancashire atOld Trafford, subsiding well before lunch for a sorry 90. The margin of defeat was 232 runs, a total greater than the combined scores of their two innings.James Anderson was the man of the morning, bowling throughout to finish withfive wickets, and nine in the match, a performance he will doubtless hope willhelp him retain his place against strong competition in England’s Test team.Lancashire never looked like losing their grip. Anderson and Andrew Flintoff kept up their relentless attack from opposite ends and, without Dale Benkenstein (attending the birth of his child) and Neil McKenzie (given leave to attend a wedding), only Michael Di Venuto inspired any remote hopes of Durham, 28 for 3 overnight, approaching their target of 323.Lancashire could have begun the day better; nightwatchman Mark Davies was twicedropped in an over from Flintoff – low chances at first slip and short leg – andhe proceeded to add insult to injury by snicking the following ball over the keeperfor 4. But in the next over a full-length ball from Anderson beat him for paceand had him dismissed lbw for 9.Garry Park (2), hesitant, edged Anderson to the keeper, while Di Venuto at theother end played a calm but not dominant innings, waiting for a reliablepartner. That never came, and he ended up running himself out. Phil Mustardplayed a ball into the covers, Di Venuto backed up too far, and a fine throwand direct hit from Mark Chilton found him just short. He made24 off 67 balls, and his departure was the death knell to Durham’s dwindling hopes.While Flintoff was rested after five good but unavailing overs, Saj Mahmoodtaking over, Anderson continued to bowl unchanged from the Stretford End,mixing sharp pace with good movement. His best delivery was the one that flew,caught the edge of Mustard’s bat and was caught by Stuart Law at second slip.Mustard made 10, Ben Harmison 16, but nobody else deserved a mention. Left-armspinner Gary Keedy did not bowl an over througout the match, but he was not reallyneeded. Anderson bowled unchanged throughout the innings to take 5 for 46;Flintoff took 3 for 21.On a note of trivia, three England players recorded pairs in the match(Flintoff, Anderson and Steve Harmison), although three have no realpretensions to batting, and the fourth, Paul Collingwood, managed scores ofonly 3 and 1. It was clearly a match for England’s bowlers rather thanher batsmen.
