Vaughan loses out to Harmison

MICHAEL Vaughan looked rather miffed with the decision, but if the result of yesterday’s Riverside joust has any bearing Steve Harmison edged ahead of him in the battle for an England recall.

Vaughan, who had looked untroubled in reaching 24, reacted with disbelief when given out caught behind off his glove by umpire Nick Cook. Harmison was in no doubt, nor was the Durham slip cordon, but television replays were inconclusive.

It did not appear to be the outcome which watching selector James Whitaker was hoping for, but he couldn’t fail to have been impressed by the way Harmison got better the longer he bowled.

At the start of Yorkshire’s reply to Durham’s 362, he was whipped off after three overs and brought back for two overs before lunch at the other end.

He stayed at the Finchale End after the break and towards the end of a nine-over stint he really began to hit his straps, surprising Vaughan with wicked bounce when claiming his wicket.

The ex-England captain departed with much shaking of the head and muttering and said afterwards: “I was feeling good and I’m entitled to be disappointed.

It’s all part of the game.”

Coach Martyn Moxon added: “Michael got out to a brute of a ball, which was frustrating because he was playing beautifully. If he continues in this form a big score is just around the corner.”

Harmison also had Jacques Rudolph caught by Phil Mustard for 57, but in a good match for the wicketkeepers Gerard Brophy led Yorkshire’s recovery from 142 for four. He was a few points ahead in the personal battle until he gave Ian Blackwell the charge on 75 and allowed Mustard to pull off a leg-side stumping.

It ended a stand of 105 with Tim Bresnan, who departed for 40 in the next over when he drove at a ball wide of off stump from Liam Plunkett and got a thick inside edge into his stumps.

From a position where they might have envisaged a healthy lead, Yorkshire were suddenly struggling for parity and they closed on 264 for six.

Durham skipper Will Smith said: “Brophy’s wicket let us in. The new ball is only three overs away, so if we use it well and knock over their last four the game will be ours to win.”

If Harmison is in contention to play in the first Test against the West Indies he will be withdrawn from the Durham team to play at Taunton next week, when Liam Plunkett will be on England Lions duty.

As Mark Davies is going to see a London specialist about his worrying ankle injury, there should be an opportunity for Mitch Claydon to confirm his improvement.

Whether Yorkshire can bolster their attack at home to Worcestershire with the addition of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan remains to be seen after they issued him with a May 1 deadline.

If he hasn’t arrived by then the second season of his two-year contract will be cancelled.

Mustard, who resumed on 62 yesterday, passed his previous highest home championship score of 81 but was left stranded on 94 as Brophy equalled the record of six catches in an innings against Durham.

He caught Graham Onions to bring in last man Harmison with Mustard on 88. The No 11 clipped the first ball he faced from Matthew Hoggard wide of mid-on for three, but failed to add before going half forward and falling lbw to Adil Rashid.

Mustard had twice twice reverse- swept the leg-spinner for four in his attempt to reach a century before running out of partners.

He had good support at the start of the day from Callum Thorp, who contributed 42 to the stand of 86 before punching a return catch off the back foot to Hoggard.

It was Hoggard’s fourth ball of the morning, Tim Bresnan and Deon Kruis having been preferred initially. After Hoggard also removed Onions he finished with the best figures of four for 82.

With Joe Sayers having been off the field with a shoulder injury the previous day, Rudolph formed a left-handed opening alliance with Andrew Gale.

When Onions replaced Harmison he beat Rudolph in his first over, and in his third he knocked out Gale’s off stump.

Onions looked back to the form he showed at the start of last season and on yesterday’s evidence he should have been in the England Lions team ahead of Plunkett. He was out of luck for the rest of the day, however, notably when he comprehensively beat Brophy on 56 with a ball which nipped back and just missed off stump.

Scoreboard

Durham v Yorkshire At Riverside

Overnight: Durham 303-7 (I D Blackwell 95, P Mustard 62 no).

Durham First Innings

P Mustard not out .................................94

C D Thorp c & b Hoggard ....................42

G Onions c Brophy b Hoggard ............. 4

S Harmison lbw b A U Rashid ............... 3

Extras (b10 lb10 w5 pens 0)........25

Total (112.3 overs) .................362

Fall: 1-20 2-41 3-69 4-82 5-129 6-236 7-257 8-343 9-353

Bowling: Hoggard 24-5-82-4. Bresnan 27-7- 63-3. Kruis 22-2-80-1. Patterson 22-6-61-1.

McGrath 9-5-19-0. A U Rashid 8.3-0-37-1.

Yorkshire First Innings Close

A W Gale b Onions ...............................11

J A Rudolph c Mustard b S Harmison ...51

M P Vaughan c Mustard b S Harmison .24

A McGrath c Stoneman b Thorp ...........27

G L Brophy st Mustard b Blackwell .......75

T T Bresnan b Plunkett .........................40

A U Rashid not out ................................ 8

J J Sayers not out ................................. 4

Extras (b10 lb8 nb6 pens 0) ........24 Total 6 wkts (77 overs)................. ..

264

Fall: 1-40 2-83 3-96 4-142 5-247 6-247

To Bat: S A Patterson, G J Kruis, M J Hoggard.

Bonus Pts: Durham 4 Yorkshire 3

Bowling: S J Harmison 19-3-69-2. Thorp 18- 2-57-1. Onions 16-2-48-1. Plunkett 13-3-38- 1. Benkenstein 2-0-15-0. Blackwell 9-4-19-1