Cricket: Shahid destroys the doubters

Glamorgan 450 Surrey 391-9

Surrey and batting bonus points have been virtual strangers to each other this season and there was every chance that they were going to remain fairly distant this time around. Surrey have scraped together a meagre 10 batting points in their seven previous matches and not long after lunch yesterday, with much of the cream of their batting already back in the dressing-room things were looking ominous.

Then Adam Hollioake, who has caught Ray Illingworth's eye this summer, joined Nadeem Shahid and together they transformed the match. By the time Hollioake departed having made an accomplished 88 in a stand of 149, Shahid was well on the way to his first hundred for his new employers and Surrey were close to saving the follow-on.

It was a good day for Hollioake, who had underlined his all-round skills with three Glamorgan wickets, but a great day for Shahid, who probably wondered whether he had made the right decision in leaving Essex . He and Surrey can have few doubts now after the application he showed in nearly four hours at the crease.

Shahid was a model of correctness and caution throughout, but as he grew in confidence so he began to entertain. He had let Hollioake hold centre stage for much of their time together, watching the Melbourne-born 23-year-old bludgeon the Glamorgan attack for a six and 14 fours in just 96 balls.

Then Shahid took over. He had been joined by the ever improving wicketkeeper Graham Kersey and it was to him that the honour fell of taking Surrey past the follow-on figure of 300. By the time he was out for 54, Surrey were out of the wood. Unfortunately, his departure signalled a mini- collapse with three wickets falling in quick succession. The last of these was that of Shahid, lbw to off-spinner Robert Croft for 125, with a six and 21 fours.