da stake casino： Surrey completed a resounding victory over Leicestershire by 10 wickets atGuildford today – their sixth win in the championship this summer
Staff and agencies21-Jul-2000
Martin Bicknell bowling blitz – the best since Laker’s record
Photo © Paul McGregor
Surrey completed a resounding victory over Leicestershire by 10 wickets atGuildford today – their sixth win in the championship this summer. The homecounty scored 119-0 from 39.3 overs with Mark Butcher (47 n.o.) and Ian Ward(61 n.o.) taking the title-holders home with a day and a half to spare.Martin Bicknell, who took all four wickets in the first innings, producedyet another magnificent display of fast bowling. His return of 9-47following 7-72 in the first innings gave him a match analysis of 16-119 -the best achieved in England since Jim Laker, also of Surrey, took 19Australian wickets in the Test Match at Manchester in 1956. Bicknell becamealso the first bowler to achieve 50 wickets in the championship this summer.
The 47 runs put on for the seventh wicket by Vince Wells and Phil DeFreitas,who hit 24 in one ball less, alone provided any resistance. Bicknelldismissed both within three deliveries to catches by Butcher and Brown. Withthe last two wickets folding tamely Leicestershire were all out for 87. Incontrast to that batting debacle the Surrey opening batsmen showed howplacid for run-scoring the pitch could be, and they knocked off the runswithout giving a chance. Butcher brought up the victory with a cover-drivefour, one of eight boundaries in his innings.Bicknell, who played club cricket for Guildford, said: “I love playing atGuildford, it’s my home ground and I know a lot of people here. Playing thisweek every year is something I look forward to.”He has taken five-wickets in an innings three times this season – a feat hewas not able to achieve once last year. Although he claimed to be doingnothing different this summer to the blast four or five seasons Martin washappy for the figures to speak for themselves. He recognised that chanceshad to be taken when they arose because otherwise Saqlain Mushtaq and IanSalisbury would take the wickets, but he would gladly exchange this analysisfor another championship.