Oxford narrowly beaten by Durham
Mike Munday finally gets the wicket of Gareth Breese, as Oxford seek to regain control of the second innning’s play.
Before this match, the Oxford Academy had not lost to first class county opposition this season. Despite a brave and determined performance, they eventually lost their unbeaten record to a good Durham side who snatched victory after a bold declaration from Academy captain Josh Knappett at 328.
Even though the game finished in a negative result for Oxford, the players can take heart by the fact that undoubtedly it will be remembered as the finest encounter between an Academy side and a county outfit this season. Normally, these three day matches between hardened professionals and students are embarrassingly one-sided affairs, endured by the county players in the knowledge that they are giving their young opponents much-needed practice.
But this season, helped by perfectly true pitches at the Parks, Oxford have proved difficult opposition, and this match was no difference. Durham rested several senior players, but were able to replace them with seasoned first class players such as Neil Killeen and picked Australian fast bowler Callum Thorp, who has been in excellent form for the north-east side. Notably they also gave a debut to Ben Harmison, younger brother of England star Steve.
Unlike his fast bowling sibling, Ben is a batsman, and displayed impeccable technique that his brother would no doubt love to emulate. Oxford won the toss, and on a fine day took the obvious option of making use of an excellent batting track which did little, if anything, to assist either seamers or spinners throughout the three days.
Having said this, the Durham bowlers would not have been expecting the Oxford onslaught that ensued when Turner had Steve Moreton caught for 13 with the scoreboard showing only 27. But Peter Wilshaw and Luke Parker formed an obdurate partnership, frustrating the county attack with determined defence. They had managed to put on an impressive 94 for the second wicket before Wilshaw was dismissed for 60, again by the persistent, accurate bowling of Turner.
However, far from being perturbed by the loss of his batting partner, Parker began to play more aggressively and accelerated the rate. He was especially ruthless to the Durham spinners, even dispatching two huge sixes. Omar Anwar offered valuable support, scoring a steady 34 before being caught off the bowling of Neil Killeen. With the score on 202-3 and in a great position to get a big score, Oxford began to increase the run rate with the arrival of skipper Josh Knappett.
The captain looked to score at every opportunity, and his batting was remarkable for powerful hitting and an ability to reach the boundary, seemingly whenever desired. When Parker was finally caught for a magnificent 140, the only issue was the intentions of captain Josh Knappett. Understandably, he gave himself enough time to reach his own excellent century off only 128 balls before declaring for a very impressive total of 362 for four.
Even though the pitch was flat, it was a remarkable achievement by the student side to deal with the county attack with such ease. Durham thus came into bat under considerably more pressure than they had envisaged, and took time to play themselves in. The opening pair managed a useful 98 before James Lowe was trapped lbw by Luke Parker. Next in was Ben Harmison for his debut, and the man did not disappoint, playing shots on all sides of the wicket.
He put together a ton partnership with Gary Scott, before Scott was caught by Steve Moreton off the bowling of Nick Woods having scored a solid if unspectacular 90. This brought Gareth Breese to the wicket, but he was dispatched back to the pavilion for a golden duck, caught behind by Knappett off Mike Munday. Kyle Coetzer steadied the Durham ship, which allowed Ben Harmison to reach a sensational debut century.
Harmison was eventually caught by Pete Wilshaw off the bowling of Steve Moreton, who also trapped Coetzer lbw soon after. Seeing the momentum of the Durham innings stalling, captain James Lowe declared on 288 for 5, giving Oxford a first innings lead of 74. The Academy set out to push home their advantage and score quickly to set up what would have been a memorable victory.
Instead, they were pegged back by accurate Durham bowling and were only able to score at just over four runs an over throughout. Luke Parker completed a great performance with a score of 61, and there was some impressive lower order slogging from Nick Woods to boost the flagging run rate. Captain Knappett wanted to give his student side the best possible chance of triumphing, and rather generously declared with his side on 253 for seven.
Durham were thus set 328 to win with less than a day remaining. It looked a tall task at first, with Lowe trapped lbw by Mali Richards early on for just 12. When Steve Moreton dismissed first-innings hero Ben Harmison for the same score, Durham were in trouble at 81 for two. From the moment Gareth Breese walked to the crease, however, the result never seemed in doubt. He blundered 45 off 46 balls before being stumped attempting another extravagant stroke off the bowling of Mike Munday.
But it went from bad to worse for Oxford, as Aussie Callum Thorp butchered the Academy bowling, hitting a phenomenal 41 off only 26 balls, including three sixes and five fours. Meanwhile, Gary Scott was busy compiling a brilliant century, and by the time he fell Durham were within sight of their target on 317 for 3. Scott scored 223, and with it took the man of the match award.
Next to bludgeon the Oxford attack was Kyle Coetzer with 63 off 60 balls, and Garry Park saw Durham to a thrilling, if not entirely merited, victory with time to spare and four wickets remaining.
8th Jun 2006