Luke Procter takes seven wickets as Lancashire finish season in style.
Lancashire all-rounder Luke Procter
Finished with career best figures of 7-71
from 19.1 overs as Surrey were bowled
out for 367 in their first innings. Procter
then shared an opening stand of 110 with
Tom Smith. Surrey’s star batsman,
Zander De Bruyn, was dismissed for 125,
adding just 20 to his overnight century.
Tom Jewell made 70, his best ever score
for Surrey as they posted a strong total.
Despite the success that Surrey experienced
on the third day, they suffered a heavy collapse, which started with the loss of batting sensation, Zander De
Bruyn, who was trapped LBW to Procter, who would
prove to have a memorable day with the ball. Gareth Batty was out two balls later in exactly the same manner (LBW Procter) with Surrey now on 355-7. Jewell was the only Surrey batsmen who resisted the determination of Procter, but he too was out to the Oldham-born all-rounder, chipping
the ball to Steven Croft, as Procter claimed a five-wicket-haul.
Tim Linley gave Procter his sixth wicket, as he was trapped LBW for 1 and Jon Lewis followed shortly, as he was bowled by Procter for 8, with Dunn not out for no score. Procter finished with career best figures of 7-71 and despite Lancashire being relegated to division two of the county championship, Lancashire coach Peter Moore’s will be confident that his young players showed so much promise in this game both with bat and ball.
The recent opening partnership of Tom Smith and Luke Procter had great success at Lords, as the two made 95 for the opening stand. Today was no different as they shared a partnership worth 110, with Smith scoring 83 and Procter contributing 36 after taking 7 wickets. Smith reached his 50 from 78 balls, scoring 6 fours. It would have been fitting to see these two batsmen end Lancashire’s season, giving that they have been two of the red roses’ top performers, despite both suffering mid-season injuries. This would however not be the case, as Procter was bowled by Dunn for 36.
Tom Smith was perilously close to finishing the Lancashire season unbeaten, but was caught by Gareth Batty off of Tom Jewell for 83, just 5 overs before the sides shook hands. Karl Brown (1*) was responsible for seeing Lancashire over the line last season, when their victory at Taunton saw them win the championship title, but a year later his duties were rendered to two-run partnership with Paul Horton (10*) as Lancashire finished on 142-2.
Giving that Lancashire were relegated before this match, Lancashire fans will desperately try to take the positives out of this game, as they have been forced to do all season. Luke Procter’s performance with bat and ball confirms his potential in the first eleven and he will certainly be a vital part of their attempts to win promotion back to the first division. The new partnership of Smith and Procter at the top of the order seems to be working well and this will likewise be an interesting factor to look out for next season.
No comments:
Post a Comment