Cricket Round-Up: Moxon lightens gloom

A START was eventually made at 4.40pm at Lord's yesterday and in no time at all three of the five lights on the Father Time scoreboard, which measure the quality of the light, were aglow.

In the 27.2 overs bowled, Yorkshire, who were put into bat, made 75 for 2 against Middlesex who were without the services of the ubiquitous Phil Tufnell because, it was said, of an injured left wrist.

It took until the 26th ball for Yorkshire to begin scoring, then after a thin inside edge went for four, Martyn Moxon played two nice strokes off his legs against Angus Fraser.

In the 10th over, Michael Vaughan played back to Neil Williams in his first over and lobbed an easy catch to mid-off from somewhere near the splice.

David Byas was picked up at short-leg trying to push Williams off his pads but Moxon continued to play well. When bad light ended proceedings 16 balls early, four of the tell-tale lights were burning brightly to illuminate the gloom.

The Essex opener Paul Prichard completed a carefully crafted half-century before bad light ended a rain-ruined first day against Durham at Stockton.

After chosing to bat, Essex reached 154 for 2 off 52 overs, with Prichard hitting seven fours in his unbeaten 50, which came off 144 balls.

Graham Gooch survived a big appeal for lbw from Anderson Cummins off the first ball of the day, but then took advantage of some wayard bowling before the morning session was ended by rain after 17.3 overs.

On the resumption, at 4.05pm, Gooch advanced to 42 before he fell lbw when trying to ease John Wood to leg.

Simon Brown trapped Jon Lewis lbw, but that was Durham's last success as the gathering gloom prevented the use of their pacemen.

Rain and bad light permitted only 14 balls to be bowled in Warwickshire's match against Leicestershire at Edgbaston where the visitors, having been put in, reached nine without loss.