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Match facts

September 20, 2010, Lord’s
Start time 1pm (12pm GMT)Shahid Afridi faces a stern challenge to inspire his troops ahead of the Lord’s ODI•Getty Images

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It is just three weeks since these two sides last met at Lord’s in an encounter that will live in infamy whatever the result of investigations into allegations of spot-fixing in the fourth Test. A match that included a display of Mohammad Amir’s teenage brilliance and an equally eye-catching fightback from Stuart Broad and Jonathan Trott ended in an atmosphere of tense and eerie quiet as England sealed a joyless innings and 225-run thrashing.The tour continued despite Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt’s suspension and even after an easy win for England in the first one-dayer fans on both sides turned out in large numbers at Headingley and The Oval. They were treated to what were, arguably, the two most enthralling contests this summer as England went 2-0 up before a career-best effort from Umar Gul brought the visitors back from the brink of a series defeat.Now, Pakistan’s visit has been thrown into yet more turmoil with the news that the ICC is investigating the third ODI after it received information from a newspaper before the game began alleging that bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that occurred during the match. While the ICC have been quick to point out that it would be premature to suggest anything untoward occurred during Pakistan’s 23-run win, the fans’ show of faith now appears depressingly naive.It had been hoped that Pakistan’s visit could finish on the positive note of a hard-fought contest, but the focus may well be elsewhere after the most recent allegations and the frustration and sadness in the England camp was evident ahead of the fourth match. Morale in Pakistan’s squad will also have been undermined and it will be a challenge to retain the momentum gleaned from Friday’s win. An autumnal Lord’s may well seem a bleak venue for what could have been an eagerly-anticipated clash.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England LWWWL
Pakistan WLLWLL

Watch out for…

Ian Bell is poised to return to international duty with England after being recalled to the one-day squad for the final two matches. Bell was been in prolific form for Warwickshire since returning from his metatarsal injury and though he might have hoped for more pleasant circumstances in which to cement his England spot, with a challenging winter ahead he will be looking to make the most of every opportunity.
Shahid Afridi showed glimpses that he was beginning to return to his destructive best at The Oval and if he can find form with the bat and rhythm with the ball he is dynamic and charismatic enough to be a dangerous player regardless of any off-field distractions. Afridi has so far managed to remain distanced from the allegations swirling around his team, and will still be looking to lead from the front.

Team news

Ravi Bopara’s return to England’s middle order has only been partially successful, and either he or Luke Wright could sit out if Paul Collingwood has recovered from the virus that kept him out of the third match and Bell slots back into the line-up.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Steve Davies (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonAn embattled Pakistan are likely to stick to the same starting XI, both because this unit was successful in the last match and to present a unified front as the storm surrounding the most recent round of allegations gathers force.Pakistan (probable) 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Pitch and conditions

Saturday’s CB 40 Final, which was also a day/night affair, gave a good indication of what to expect at Lord’s. In a match dominated by the ball but won by a batsman, Imran Tahir’s returns were the most impressive. The seamers also found plenty in the pitch to keep them interested, however, and Bell’s knock highlighted the value of having someone to bat through most of the innings. Although temperatures are likely to be on the low side once again, rain shouldn’t be an issue.

Stats and Trivia

• Bell’s performance against Somerset extended his domestic limited-overs tally this season to 554 runs at 61.55, including six fifties and Saturday’s fluent hundred. Bell has also been in decent nick in his limited Championship and he scored the only hundred of the match against Hampshire last week to secure Warwickshire’s spot in Division One.
• Umar Gul clearly enjoys bowling at The Oval, and has taken 20 wickets at an average of 11.00 across three formats there. He is less enamored with Lord’s, where has 12 wickets in two Tests and three T20Is at 31.08.
• Opinions are split over Fawad Alam’s success as a one-day player. While he has an impressive average of 45.00 that has been inflated by finishing not out eight times 18 innings in ODIs, and in matches where he has been dismissed his average dips to 27.60. His career strike-rate of 75.00 doesn’t suggest that he’s set the world alight, but in the ten ODIs he has played in in which Pakistan have won he averages 110.00, and so it appears he relishes the role of stabiliser and finisher in the middle order.

Quotes

“They’ve been three very hard-fought cricket matches. There certainly seems to be passion on both sides, they’ve been high intensity affairs.”

ScorecardA late blast from Darren Maddy charged Warwickshire to a four-wicket win overYorkshire at Scarborough and booked them a place against Somerset in nextSaturday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 final at Lord’s.Defeat was a bitter blow for skipper Andrew Gale and his Yorkshire side afteranother great century from Jacques Rudolph and they will try to make amends bylifting the County Championship title in the final round of matches nextweek.Chasing a revised target of 260 in 37 overs under Duckworth-Lewis, Warwickshirewere well in control until they slid from 203 for 2 to 216 for 5. The last three overs arrived with Warwickshire still requiring 23 to win and the issue was effectively settled by Maddy who lashed Steve Patterson for consecutive sixes over mid-wicket and long leg.Rikki Clarke was bowled two balls later but the pressure was now offWarwickshire and two fours for Maddy off Anthony McGrath in the penultimate oversaw the Bears home with seven balls remaining.Maddy finished unbeaten on 34 from 19 deliveries with three fours and two sixesbut the first four batsmen in the Warwickshire line-up also made significantcontributions.Openers Neil Carter and Varun Chopra lashed 65 from the first seven oversbefore Carter was lbw to Ben Sanderson for 40 but Yorkshire were unable to puttheir opponents under any real pressure.Barker, surviving two difficult chances to Gale, knocked up 34 in a 52 standwith Chopra and was then well caught by wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy, standing upto Richard Pyrah, but this dismissal only brought in a determined Ian Bell whodominated a fourth-wicket partnership of 86 with Chopra.Bell had dashed to 57 off 49 balls with four fours and three sixes when he wassuperbly caught on the boundary by Jonny Bairstow – and Adil Rashid claimedanother wicket in the same over by having Jim Troughton caught at long off.Chopra’s fine innings ended when he drove Patterson to McGrath at mid-off for76 from 81 balls with five fours and a six but the mounting excitement of theYorkshire fans in the 5,100 crowd was soon quelled by Maddy.A short delay to the start made it a 39-overs-a-side match and a total of fourmore overs were lost for a break during the Yorkshire innings which was given apositive start by Gale and Jacques Rudolph.Once the early overs from Carter and Chris Woakes had been safely negotiatedthe pair flourished and each took a six off Woakes as the stand built up to 73in 12 overs before Gale drove Barker into the hands of Clarke at long on todepart for 30.Yorkshire then went through a lean spell during which Adam Lyth was dismissedby Ant Botha and McGrath was caught behind of Imran Tahir but either side ofthese mishaps Rudolph moved to a 46-ball half-century with five fours and asix.After Yorkshire had gone 13 overs without a boundary, Brophy ended the droughtby planting the last ball of Botha’s spell into the crowd and it was the startof a furious assault by the wicketkeeper-batsman as he dominated a 99 stand in12 overs with Rudolph, who calmly worked his way towards his fourth CB40 Leaguecentury of the season.Brophy had dashed to 64 from 46 balls with four fours and four sixes whenBarker had him caught at long off by Troughton to make it 212 for 3 with alittle over three overs remaining.Bairstow made sure Yorkshire finished with a flourish as he thrashed anunbeaten 26 from nine deliveries with two fours and two sixes but the biggestcheer was reserved for Rudolph when he cut Barker to move to his century off 93balls with nine fours and a six. He fell for 106 to the last ball of the inningsbravely attempting to complete a second run off Bairstow’s stroke.Warwickshire’s jubilant acting captain Bell said afterwards: “This is one ofmy proudest days with Warwickshire and we felt that it was a par score which wewere chasing.“I would even have been happy chasing a 300 target over a full 40 overs on thesmall North Marine Road ground and the lads batted very well all the waydown.”

ScorecardSomerset’s hopes of a first ever County Championship title subsided as their rain-ruined game with Durham at Taunton petered out into a draw.The captains could not agree on a target for a contrived finish so the home side continued their first innings on 287 for 4 and did not declare until maximum batting bonus points had been achieved at 400 for 6.Craig Kieswetter hit 75 and Zander de Bruyn 54 after a 2pm start following two days when not a ball was bowled. Durham were left with a possible 35 overs to bat in their first innings, but declared on 37 without loss after 15 to end the match.Somerset took eight points and Durham five, which left Nottinghamshire stronger favourites than ever to win the First Division. Somerset and Yorkshire look set to contest the runners-up spot. At least Kieswetter was able to use the afternoon to play himself back into some batting form. The England one-day wicketkeeper’s 101-ball innings was his highest score of the season and featured nine fours and two sixes.The fifth-wicket partnership was worth 109 when Liam Plunkett tempted de Bruyn to pull in the air to Scott Borthwick at mid-wicket. The South African had faced 102 deliveries and hit eight fours. Kieswetter followed with the score on 381, looking crestfallen to be given out lbw to leg-spinner Borthwick’s first ball of the day.Peter Trego’s first scoring shot was an upper-cut six over third-man off Plunkett and he brought up the 400 with a straight driven four off Borthwick. Trescothick immediately declared and tea was taken. The only remaining question was whether either side could gain any more bonus points.Durham were more interested in an early departure, but Michael Di Venuto had the satisfaction of reaching 1,000 first class runs for the season before the players shook hands at 4.50pm. By then the weather was the best it had been in the entire match. But the loss of days two and three to torrential rain spoiled what might have been an absorbing contest.

USA suffered their first defeat of the tournament as a clinical bowling performance from Italy consigned them to a 51-run defeat in Medicina. Italy’s batsmen did not fare too well after winning the toss, but they found their saviours in Andy Northcote and Peter Petricola, who lifted them to what proved to be a match-winning score of 212.Wickets tumbled early with Hayden Patrizi and Nic Northcote managing just three runs in between them. That brought Andy and Petricola together, and the pair added a decisive 111 for the third wicket. Andy scored a 108-ball 72 before Muhammad Ghous got the better of him, and things went downhill for Italy thereafter. Petricola also missed his ton, falling 15 short to the impressive Lennox Cush who snared three wickets. The tail managed to lift Italy to 212, a score their bowlers comfortably defended.USA’s chase was wrong-footed early when their in-form batsman Sushil Nadkarni departed for a duck. Italy’s seamers never released the pressure and soon USA were 26 for 4. A battling 51 from Aditya Thyagarajan, and a couple of reasonable contributions from the tail took them past 150, but the result was never in doubt after the early damage.Petricola, who was adjudged Man of the Match, was pleased to put it past the USA. “It was great to beat the USA today, a side that is particularly strong. I felt today was real team effort by us all in the field and it felt particularly great to bounce back after our first game defeat at the hands of Nepal.”Our batting showed good strength and depth and I’m proud of the fact I managed to add a few runs to our final total today. I was also happy with how we performed as a side in the field, we kept our bowling tight and I was thrilled with my team-mates overall performance,” he said.Tanzania‘s bowlers ensured that their side surged to their second win in two days, against Cayman Islands in Pianoro. It was a stop-start innings for Tanzania after they won the toss as batsmen either threw away solid starts or got out early. Four run-outs out of the nine wickets that fell added to the general chaos of the innings. Five batsmen managed to get past 29, but all of them succumbed for scores under 40, while the rest of the batsmen fell for single-digit scores. Still they managed to put 197 on the board, and their bowlers, fresh from a spirited defence of a poor score against Nepal, stuck to their task again.Khalil Rehmtullah was once again the hero, scalping 3 for 28, including two early wickets as Cayman Islands’ chase was stunted at the top. Saheed Mohamed and Ryan Bovell repaired the damage from 10 for 3 in a patient 80-run stand spanning nearly 20 overs, but just like the Tanzanian batsmen, they too chucked it after reaching 30s. Unfortunately for Cayman Islands, they did not have enough reserves to pick up the slack, and despite a stubborn 25 from Conroy Wright, they folded 43 short of Tanzania’s effort.Kassim Nasoro, leading the side today, was pleased that the side managed to pull off a win despite missing their regular captain. “I’m really proud of the way we played today. Having lost our captain Hamisi Abdallah this morning due to injury, we really came together as a side and our game plan paid off. Our bowlers kept things tight and the batsmen made a solid total that proved too hard for the Cayman Islanders to make, it feels great to have our second win of the tournament and hopefully our good run continues,” he said.Nepal put their forgettable outing against Tanzania behind them and trounced Argentina by eight wickets with a professional performance in Navile. Argentina’s innings, after electing to bat, never went into gear against a determined Nepal attack and, despite an attacking 83 off 73 balls from Alejandro Ferguson, they could only manage 193 in their 50 overs. The wickets were shared around, with Shakti Gauchan and Basanta Regmi picking two wickets in particularly niggardly spells.Mahesh Chhetri began Nepal’s chase in sedate fashion with a 60-ball 36, while his colleagues went after the bowling. His opening partner Anil Mandal struck 60 off 58 balls with seven fours and three sixes. After their exits, Pradeep Airee and captain Paras Khadka sealed the deal with a 92-run stand, with the latter on 53 off 40 balls when the winning runs were scored in the 33rd over.Man of the match Mandal was pleased that his side shrugged off the batting failures from the previous games. “I think we batted well compared to the previous two matches and I’m happy I was able to contribute to the team score. I felt we needed to see the new ball off first and once we’d settled in, I felt I could go back to my basic skills and hit the ball freely to put the runs on the board. I think we have to be even more focused tomorrow for the USA, they will come back stronger and we have to be ready to take on their bowling attack and ultimately claim victory,” he said.

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, is chasing a dream series win over England on Monday after his side’s historic victory in the second game at Bristol.So often a tense onlooker, Siddons was in a bullish mood at Edgbaston ahead of the series decider. Until Saturday’s triumph Bangladesh had never beaten England in any form of the game but now stand within one match of a series win that seemed unthinkable after the opening game.”It would be a bit of a dream for us but it’s not impossible,” Siddons told PA. “We’ll go out on Monday, do what we’ve been trying to do the last few games – either putting a score on the board or chase down a score – and anything is possible.The sides have now played each other over four Tests and five ODIs this year – with England winning every game until Saturday – and Siddons feel he’s spotted some weaknesses for his side to exploit.”I’ve said before there were a few chinks in the armour of this England team and I guess them leaving a few players out of their side weakened them a bit. But some things have been exposed and that will get written about and talked about. But they are still a very good team, so are Australia and now we are getting there.”Having waited all year for a victory Siddons has had a tough job raising spirits in the squad but with one victory now secured he hopes they can turn their fortunes around.”We’ve had a lot of losses and a lot of heart-ache along the way but we’ve won a game now and hopefully we can continue playing some good cricket and put ourselves in a position to win some more games,” he said. “The way we built up to this win was important to me, not just the win itself. It wasn’t just a flash in the pan, we’ve been building up to this and we have to keep playing good cricket. The jubilation has already gone I guess and we’re getting ready to play another game on Monday.”Meanwhile Paul Collingwood has called for England to regain their intensity to avoid their first series defeat in one-day cricket since losing to Australia 6-1 last summer. England looked lacklustre as they slumped to a five-run defeat on Saturday and Collingwood feels England need to recreate the spirit that delivered victory in the first three ODIs against Australia this month.”We need to get back to the same intensity as we had at the start of the Australia series,” said the allrounder. That’s when we were putting the opposition under the most pressure and that’s when we played our best cricket.”It’s probably more the mental stuff than the technical and it’s something we talked about in the Australia series after going 3-0 up. That was a position we hadn’t really been in before against Australia and we really wanted to get a ruthless streak going. Ruthlessness is a skill in itself and it’s something we need to keep improving on.”

Scorecard
Surrey pulled off their first Friends Provident t20 victory of the season by dampening the fire of Somerset’s batting power at Taunton. The visitors won by 21 runs, having posted what looked a below par total of 160 for 7. Mark Ramprakash and Younis Khan both contributed 59, while Alfonso Thomas took 3 for 27.Despite Kieron Pollard’s explosive 42 off 30 balls, with three sixes, and a half-century from James Hildreth, Somerset were always behind the required rate and eventually stumbled to 139 for 8. Chris Tremlett was the pick of the Surrey bowlers with 2 for 25, while Jade Dernbach conceded only 19 from his four overs.A crowd of more than 6,000 basked in the Taunton sunshine, many of them wearing the yellow hard hats Somerset had distributed to promote the big-hitting potential of their batting line-up. Perhaps that sight acted as an incentive to the Surrey bowlers. They lived up to their name with their boundary fielding and defended their total as if lives depended on it.Surrey had to recover from 47 for 4 after losing the toss and owed much to a stand of 84 in eight overs between Ramprakash and Khan, who both timed the ball sweetly. Man-of-the-match Ramprakash faced 38 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes, despite being troubled by a foot injury. Khan was finally run out in the final over, having faced 41 balls and hit seven fours.Somerset’s hopes of bludgeoning their way to a quick success were soon scuppered as openers Marcus Trescothick and Craig Kieswetter fell with only 13 on the board. They were given a chance by a fourth-wicket stand of 70 between Pollard and Hildreth, which at least featured some of the promised six-hitting.West Indian Pollard lived up to his reputation with some savage blows but when he was caught at mid off from a Tremlett full toss 44 runs were still needed off just 22 balls.Somerset had pulled their previous two t20 games out of the fire from apparently losing positions. But this was a bridge too far, despite Hildreth finishing unbeaten, having faced 44 balls and hit five fours and a six.

ScorecardOn a day when individual performances from both sides stood out, West Indies A finished with 230 for 7 as honours were shared on the first day of the second unofficial Test in Savar.Syed Rasel’s early heroics left the visitors wondering whether they had erred in deciding to bat first, as both openers perished cheaply in the seamer’s first spell. Kirk Edwards and Travis Dowlin came together to repair the situation before Suhrawadi Shuvo got into the act.The 21-year old left-arm spinner had starred with bat and ball in the first game, and continued to make a strong statement in the second outing. He prised out both batsmen striking them in front of the stumps, to push the visitors to 74 for 4. Then began the best passage of play for West Indies A, as Brendon Nash and Chadwick Walton added a sublime 106 runs for the fifth wicket.Walton was the aggressive half in the association, striking three sixes and seven fours in his 95-ball 70. Nash dropped anchor as is his vaunt, blunting the attack with a patient 169-ball 74. Shuvo had more tricks up his sleeve, getting Walton to offer a catch to Raqibul Hasan, before prising out Imran Khan cheaply. Nash continued his resurgence, with Shane Shillingford for company, raising 37 for the seventh wicket before Rasel removed the latter in his final spell of the day. Nash holds the key for the visitors as they seek to push to a strong finish to their first innings on day 2.

Surrey XI 318 for 7 and 313 for 3 drew with Bangladeshis 372 for 6
ScorecardThe opening game of the Bangladeshi tour of England petered out into a chilly and predictable draw in SE11 where helicopter traffic over No10 Downing Street captured the attention as much as the cricket.While rolling news channels fought for airspace in the hope of catching Gordon Brown sneaking out the back door of the prime minister’s residence with suitcase in hand, so Surrey’s young side exchanged playful blows with an equally young touring team – indeed both sides boasted an average age of 23.On a docile pitch that offered little encouragement for spinners or seamers alike, it came as no surprise that the most experienced player on display, 32-year-old Usman Afzaal, showed the Surrey’s Lions cubs how it should be done.The former England left-hander marched in with his side on 61 for 2 – a slender overall lead in the match of seven runs – following the overnight declaration of the tourists and the early loss of Arun Harinath (20) and Tom Lancefield (11) to shots they would rather care to forget.For the record, Harinath went down one knee to chase and edge a wide one to the keeper while Lancefield blotted his copybook by pulling a long hop into the hands of the substitute fielder at mid-wicket. That brought together rookie Laurie Evans and Afzaal for a third- wicket stand worth 225 in 44 overs that made Surrey hearts swell with pride.Afzaal made his intentions clear. Spanking his first ball for four over backward point, while the second was pulled over the fielder at mid-wicket for another boundary. Evans, with only one first-class hundred to his name, had an equally obvious game plan – to score another century and but for sheer bad luck the nugget right-hander would have achieved his aim.In bitterly cold temperatures the Bangladesh attack looked all at sea, indeed their frustrated coach, Jamie Siddons said: “I thought our bowlers bowled a bit too short. We talked about pitching it up, but they still want to bang it in and try and get a wicket that way rather than be patient and wait for them to make a mistake.”Accordingly, Afzaal and Evans cashed in. The senior pro moved to his century with panache clubbing a back-foot force through backward point for four against the part-time spin of Mohammad Ashraful. The next three also deliveries disappeared to the boundary as Usman celebrated his first ton of the summer.Evans was more watchful, content to play second fiddle. After four-and- a-half hours at the crease he had mustered nine fours and was within a couple of his hundred when, in backing up at the non-striker’s end, he was run out when Mahmudullah Riyad finger-tipped an Afzaal drive onto the stumps.The game limped toward a slow death thereafter and even the famous urban fox that inhabits the Oval appeared bored. At one point he trotted onto the playing area, sniffed the Bangladesh drinks’ carrier that had been left on the outfield by the 12th man, and duly cocked a leg to mark his territory.The game ended soon after with Afzaal making a more acceptable mark on the game, unbeaten on 159 it was the ninth score in excess of 150 in his career. By then, Surrey were 259 ahead and event the fox had gone home.

Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback. A torn patella tendon in the first ODI against Australia last month ruled him out of the IPL, where his price tag was US$675,000, and continued a desperate battle with his body.Oram, speaking at New Zealand’s training camp in Australia, said he is “good to go” for the Twenty20 tournament, which is a relief to himself and the side. In form Oram is one of the game’s most brutal hitters and a useful medium pacer, but he has been hampered by injuries – back, calf and Achilles problems occurred before the latest setback – throughout his career.”The knee is alright, at the moment there are no problems,” Oram told Cricinfo. “It’s nearly six weeks now since I was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been four to six months instead of four to six weeks. It’s still been hellishly frustrating, especially missing the Australian series, which is the big one.”There was also the financial pain of losing his huge IPL fee, but throughout his rehabilitation he remained focussed on the event in the Caribbean. New Zealand open the tournament when they face Sri Lanka in Guyana on April 30 and back up against Zimbabwe on May 4.”The carrot for me was the World Twenty20, which is still a massive event, so I pinned my hopes to that,” he said. “I’ve had to start looking at the big picture. Three or four years ago I used to rush back and it doubled or tripled the time out. This time it hasn’t been like a winter break and I’m looking forward to more.”During the lay-off he was at home with his wife and six-month old son and the 31-year-old knows his life is changing. He has already retired from Tests after 33 games to prolong his limited-overs career, which includes 139 ODIs and 23 Twenty20s.With each new fitness problem Oram finds it harder to keep going. “Now it is. Maybe the first four or five lengthy injuries – going home from a tour or missing a series – didn’t worry me,” he said. “I was young and I just got back. Now it’s eroded the energy of my psyche. It weighs on my shoulders.”Oram, whose knee becomes “a bit stiff” after bowling, is not the only one in the New Zealand squad who is suffering. Kyle Mills (knee and shoulder), Jesse Ryder (stomach), Ian Butler (groin) and Aaron Redmond (groin) are also trying to eliminate doubts over their bodies in Brisbane this week. The training was restricted on Wednesday when they were forced into an indoor cricket centre after being hit by the sort of wet weather they knew they would get at home.Oram said having so many players coming back was not a problem. “New Zealand teams are used to it, a wealth of injuries,” he said. “Kyle and Jesse are very important to the team so it’s more about being excited to have them here than worried about them.”Having their core of star players firing is the key for New Zealand, who made the semi-finals in South Africa in 2007 and the second round in England last year. “If we can get everyone fit then we’re a real chance to go all the way,” Oram said. “The 40-over game helps us. For the five to 10 years that I’ve been playing, we’re always better and more comfortable with the shorter forms. If things go well it could play into our hands, but then Twenty20 is so fickle.”

ScorecardMark Ramprakash made his 109th first-class hundred, but Surrey continued to play catch-up against Derbyshire•PA Photos

Chris Rogers continued his prolific start to the season as he added an unbeaten 99 to his first-innings double hundred to give Derbyshire the chance to push for a final-day victory. The visitors built a lead of 260 over Surrey despite Mark Ramprakash’s 102 and Rogers stands on the brink of making Derbyshire history as no batsman from the county has previously made a double ton and a hundred in the same game.It looked for all the world that he would reach the mark before the close, but he lost the strike as Surrey slowed down to a crawl to ensure they’d only bowl one more than the allotted number of overs. Has it come to that stage already? In the final over of the day Rogers crunched a pull through deep midwicket and wanted a second, but Greg Smith slid as turned and played out to the close.The tactics that Rogers employs on Monday will give an indication into the brand of cricket Derbyshire are keen to play this summer. Teams in Division Two are always likelier to gamble more over declarations with the carrot of promotion dangling in front of them. Although it’s only the opening week of the season it would set a positive trend if Rogers gave his side a strong chance of victory.Rogers barely put a foot wrong in another confident innings and his main moments of discomfort came against Gareth Batty who bowled with nice flight and drift from the Pavilion End. The offspinner removed Paul Borrington with a delivery that slanted across him from round the wicket and almost shifted Rogers when a bottom edge rolled past the stumps. However, it was a rare moment of unease.While the turn will interest Derbyshire when they try to bowl Surrey out a second time, so will the hint of low bounce that played a part in Garry Park’s wicket when he was caught on the back foot against Jade Dernbach. Rogers will probably want at least another 100 runs, but if Derbyshire bat positively they could get those in around 20 overs and leave Surrey about 75 overs to survive or 360 to chase at under five an over. It should be well within Surrey’s compass to save this game, although it hasn’t been a convincing start to the season.When they resumed the follow-on was still a potential hazard but Ramprakash’s composed innings took them closer to passing that mark. There was a sense of inevitability about him reaching a hundred and this was the fourth consecutive season his first Championship innings was a three-figure effort. The century was raised off 184 balls, but the surprise came shortly afterwards when he nibbled outside off stump to one angling across him from left-arm Mark Footitt.When Stuart Meaker drove loosely to cover to bring lunch Surrey were still 10 short of the follow-on, but Batty registered a composed half century to take his side past 300. Andre Nel offered typically flamboyant support (although showed a solid defensive technique as well) until Batty drove Smith – this time in offspin mode – to cover.Nel took Surrey to the brink of a fourth batting point only to fall in curious style as he attempted to run a bye to the keeper. Racing towards the non-striker’s end he was beaten by Lee Goddard’s accurate throw which rolled under Nel’s feet as he correctly ran the line of the ball. Nel could barely haul himself from the crease, but the final pair took the home side to the 350-mark before Robin Peterson trapped Tim Linley lbw. With the pitch offering turn, Peterson could yet prove a handful on the final day as Surrey battle for a draw.