Cricket / County Championship: Tolley to the rescue

Worcestershire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406 and 199-4

Surrey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .427

CHRISTOPHER TOLLEY can't have thanked Martin Weston for getting flu. It meant moving from No 10 to open Worcestershire's second innings against the best bowling attack in county cricket. Almost four hours later, Tolley must have been feeling glad to have had the opportunity. He had survived Surrey's Waqar Younis and Martin Bicknell and left his previous highest score of 60 some way behind. Moreover, he had rescued Worcestershire after the best two batsmen had gone for 11 and Surrey appeared to have taken a firm grip on the game.

Tolley, 25, joined Worcestershire in 1989 as a batsman who could bowl. Now he opens the bowling (his figures yesterday were 0 for 42 off 19 overs). But the smart commentators say of Worcestershire that, apart from Tim Curtis and Greg Hick ,it doesn't matter where anyone else bats; they are all equally unreliable. Since it was Curtis (a duck) and Hick (11) who had fallen to Younis and Bicknell, Tolley's achievement was especially useful.

Damian D'Oliveira also had a good day, scoring 50 in a third wicket partnership of 143 with Tolley. When Tolley was eventually out for 78 after three hours 42 minutes, Worcestershire were 150 ahead and making a game of it.

The teams were finely balanced at the end of Surrey's first innings. A fine spell from Worcestershire seamer Phil Newport had prevented Surrey accumulating a substantial first innings lead. Rather to their surprise, Surrey lost their last seven wickets for 62 runs in 135 minutes before lunch.

Perhaps it was the heavy dew (the leaves are already turning in Worcester) but Newport swung the new ball off the seam and found more inspiration in the hard flat wicket than any other bowler. Considering the competition, that's not bad going.