Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM'S election system could not have received more damning condemnation than when a High Court judge announced he'd found vote-rigging in the city which would "disgrace a banana republic".

IF you have any doubts about recent calls for everyone to be considered an organ donor unless they opt out just look at today's picture of little Erin Nicks.

Bit of cloud cover this morning so the ball should swing for Warwickshire's bowlers. They need brisk wickets. The way they are batting at the moment any deficit of around 100 could be decisive.

The Bears players are indulging in some callisthenics on the outfield. I had rice krispies for the first time in 25 years this morning - they haven't lost their magic I can tell you. Meanwhile, at the posh end of the hotel market, a Ronnie Corbett lookalike is staying at Warwickshire's team hotel.

Durham 149 for 3 (49 overs). Coetzer 44, Benkenstein 24.

Bit of help from the pitch. Thick cloud to assist swing. Munton and Small would have fancied these conditions big-time.
Durham have progressed sweetly - 39 without loss in 11 overs - so far this morning though against Tahir and Anyon and now Harris. When Anyon dropped short, Benkenstein was on to it in an instant and pulled it murderously. Then Coetzer did the same. The Bears badly require a stroke of inspiration.

Durham 178 for 3, now just 61 behind. Coetzer 58, Benkenstein 38.

Streak and Harris are wheeling away but the batsmen are content to defend the good balls and work around the others.

"It's not looking good for the Bears at the moment," a press-box sage has just observed with ever-so-slight under-statement.

Durham were within sight of lunch, having added 81 without loss this morning at 191 for 3, when Maddy brings himself on. The captain's first ball is chipped straight into the hands of Sangakkara at mid-wicket by Benkenstein.
The Durham skipper goes for 45. Next over, new batsman Mustard, on 1, drives at Daggett and finds his off and middle stumps flattened.
Durham 198 for 5. Coetzer, dropped off a caught-and-bowled by Harris on 58, is on 68 and Harmison 0.

So far in Durham's innings.
Daggett: Bounced back well after rough treatment yesterday. 13-3-40-1.
Streak: Steady - and the big wicket of Chanderpaul. 15-3-42-1.
Anyon: Off the boil this morning. 12-2-40-0.
Tahir: Probing. 12-4-26-1.
Maddy: Keeping up reputation as valuable nipper-out of wickets. 9-3-21-2.
Harris: Accurate, not hugely threatening. 14-5-18-0.
Halford: Greedy. Rice Krispies, Toast. 2 bananas. 2 soups. 2 Satsumas. Ham sandwich. Pie.

Durham 244 for 5 (87 overs). Coetzer 93, Harmison 9. Five in front.
Poor session so far for the Bears since lunch. Too many four-balls and little decent use made of new ball. Also, when the bowlers earn a chance, it is not taken. Coetzer, on 87, edges Tahir at catchable height smack between Trott and Maddy at first and second slip. The fielders leave it to each other.
Coetzer's innings is hugely significant in the context of the match but quite colourless. He has just showed a lot of patience, an attribute of which Warwickshire's batters much show a great deal more in the second innings than they did in the first.

Durham 271 for 5. Coetzer 105, Harmison 22.
Ragged stuff from the Bears this afternoon, with some variable bowling and fielding.

Coetzer reached his century from 242 balls with 17 fours - a crucial but workmanlike effort. He was reprieved on 58 (ct-bld off Harris), 87 (edged between first and second slips off Tahir) and 98 (tough chance at mid-wicket to Westwood from a pull off Anyon).

Coetzer and Harmison have added 75 so far - this could be the decisive session of the match.

Tea. Durham 310 for 5 (71 ahead). Coetzer 121, Harmison 42.
Durham added 112 without loss in the session against a pedestrian bowling attack. Alex Loudon has not bowled a ball, evidently not even considered as an option now.

The cloud is thickening up and rain might arrive soon but the forecast for the next two days is good and the weather will not save the Bears here like it did at Canterbury.
Only good cricket - much better than they have produced so far in this match - can save Warwickshire.

Durham 328 for 5.

Loudon is about to bowl his first over - the 118th of the innings.

Durham 367 for 5 (128 overs). Coetzer 135, Harmison 80.

So far today, the Bears have bowled 90 overs and taken two wickets. It's pretty supine stuff really and you have to feel sorry for Darren Maddy who has just brought himself on at the Nicky-Nacky-Noo End in place of Alex Loudon.

The captain is wielding a bowling attack which has looked frankly toothless. Let's face it, Coetzer and Harmison are not world-beaters but they have so far added 171 without much fuss.

At last, Coetzer edges Maddy to slip to perish for 142 and conclude a partnership of 182 with Ben Harmison (84 not out). Otis Gibson joins Harmison at the crease and when immediately offered bad light they accept!
Truly bizarre! Durham are 378 for 6, 139 ahead of Warwickshire, and have spent the day rubbing their noses in the dirt. They have absolutely nothing to lose by staying out there but everything to gain. They could only have further driven home their dominance.
Warwickshire can't wait to get off after a wretched day - and Durham brought the moment forward. Very odd!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. The sun is shining in Chester-le-Street. Warwickshire's only route to escape lies in their own skill and fortitude.
Durham evidently sense the kill. Their arc of slip-fielders in practice is rather large.
Warwickshire, meanwhile, have been in the nets and are now playing football on the outfield.

The Ronnie Corbett lookalike has checked out - although suspicions about whether he is only a lookalike were aroused when his farewell words to the receptionist were: "And it's goodnight from him."

Maddy and Anyon take up the attack for Warwickshire but Gibson cracks a couple of early boundaries and a six off Anyon to raise the 400. Durham 406 for 6. Harmison 91 Gibson 21.

I never understood why school pupils were encouraged to 'cover' exercise books. I mean the books already have covers which I assume the manufacturers thought were sufficiently robust.

And yet children were frowned upon if they did not add an extra cover - often in the form of ludicrously-coloured wallpaper. What a daft, pointless exercise that was.

Darren Maddy (captain and main man with the bat) probably wouldn't expect or want to be top of Warwickshire's bowling averages but he is and has just cemented his position there with his fourth wicket of this innings, courtesy of a lovely outswinger which Gibson edged to Ambrose.

Still, Durham advance though and Harmison, still playing and missing and with erratic footwork, has just reached his maiden champo ton from 237 balls with 12 fours and a six,

422 for 7 (182 in front). Harmison, watched by brother Steve, 101, Plunkett 5.

Durham 474 all out after Paul Harris nips out the last two wickets.

The Bears need 235 to avoid innings defeat.

Maddy, having taken 27-5-63-5, must now negotiotiate an awkward 25 minutes before lunch.

Just when you need some rain. Damn these dry summers...

Warwickshire 16 for 0. Maddy 7, Westwood 6. Need 235 to make Durham bat again.

Maddy dropped on 0, a difficult chance to Plunkett at gully off Gibson.
A reprieve for the skipper. Surely, it's asking too much for him to play another match-saving innings?

The rest of this match will reveal a great deal about the Bears' technical ability and, even more, their mental strength.

Maddy falls to a magnificent piece of fast-bowling. Gibson sends an off-cutter searing past the outside-edge then, next ball, rips through a yorker which sends middle-stump cartwheeling. Maddy out for 16.

92 for 1 (27). Westwood 28, Sangakkara 36.

How important was Ernie Wise to the success and subsequent elevation to the status of comedy legend of Eric Morecambe?

Westwood and Sangakkara coming up with some encouraging resistance. Both play and miss a bit as the ball continues to move around but Sangakkara unveils some fine drives and Westwood is showing increasing confidence after a scratchy start.

Bears 126 for 1. Westwood 46, Sangakkara 51.

Ernie Wise made the first mobile phone call in the UK on January 1, 1985 from St Katherine's Dock, East London.

Neil Carter has been placed on the 'transfer-list'. Warwickshire have announced that Carter is "unlikely" to be offered another contract so any counties who might be interested in signing him are welcome to make that interest clear. An interesting decision by the Bears. Carter should still have plenty of good cricket left in him and is unlikely to be short of offers.

In 1939, while still a teenager, Ernie Wise appeared with Arthur Askey in the Bandwagon show.

Tea. Warwickshire 154 for 1. Westwood 63, Sangakkara 60. Trail by 81.

Ian Westwood reaches 100 - his first century in 46 championship attempts since Colwyn Bay, 2005. An impressive, steel-nerved effort which should banish a few demons from all those times he has made a start in an innings but not carried it through.
Bears 213 for 1. Westwood 101, Sangakkara 77. And then Westwood, on 101, is dropped by Wiseman at slip off Plunkett.

Despite that reprieve, an excellent effort. Makes you wonder how Warwickshire made such a porridge of their first innings - but at least they have a chance of saving the game now.

Sangakkara reaches his century (154 balls, 12 fours). The patience he showed during his second 50 suggests he has his eyes on another double-hundred to go with the back-to-back ones he struck in Bangladesh last month.

Warwickshire 253 for 1. Westwood 113, Sangakkara 100. Fine effort,

Ernie Wise was an active and long-time participant in the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign

Warwickshire 256 for 1. Westwood 116, Sangakkara 100.

A tremendous effort of resolve, concentration and skill by the pair who have so far added 218.

The Bears are 21 in front. As the pitch flattens out, a draw looks likely. How the Bears would settle for that after the first two days!

Ernie Wise lived in a luxury home on the banks of the River Thames in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

LET'S make one thing clear.

The whole point of the investigation into the blunders which allowed cop killer Glaister Butler to murder detective Mick Swindells is to prevent it happening again.

NEW STREET Station is rapidly collecting more titles than Blues and Villa put together.

IT could be a day in the life of Posh and Becks.

Rubbing shoulders with the stars at the Cannes Film Festival and jetting off to far-flung destinations like San Francisco and Tokyo.

THERE must be a whole new section in careers libraries these days.

One dedicated to workers who spend their time coming up with barmy rules and regulations.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It's a sparkling morning at Chester-le-Street.

Hard to see this match ending in anything but a draw but we will see if Ian Westwood and Kumar Sangakkara, having so far added 218, can challenge Warwickshire's record partnership against Durham - the 322 put on by Brian Lara and Keith Piper on a certain famous day at Edgbaston in 1994.

Otis Gibson has just fired home a rip-snorting 20-yarder for the bibs v the shirts on the outfield.

To the fifth ball of the day, from spinner Wiseman, Westwood survives a confident appeal for a catch at short-leg. He then edges the sixth to Di Venuto at slip to depart for his overnight 116.

Warwickshire 247 for 3 (effectively 22 for 3). Sangakkara 101, Trott 0.

Some work still to do for the Bears to earn a draw.

Warwickshire are lurching into jeopardy again after Trott edges Davies to Wiseman at second slip.
There's turn for Wiseman this morning - and a new ball is due.
Bears 262 for 3 (effectively 27 for three). Sangakkara 102, Loudon 0.

I've been in Durham for four days now and everybody - in pubs, shops and service stations, at the cricket ground and about town - has been really nice and friendly. Without exception. What a groovy part of the world.

Warwickshire 296 for 3 (61 in front). Sangakkara 119, Loudon 13.

Sangakkara is looking rock-solid and determined to record his third double-century in four first-class innings. Loudon has settled in well alongside him.

The next test: the new ball, just taken by Plunkett with Gibson about to bowl his first ball of the day.

"Sangakkara is looking rock solid...."

In Gibson's first over with the new ball, Sangakkara essays a big drive which entails the bat and pad separating by a fair distance and the ball speeds its way through said gap and knocks the off-stump out of the ground.

I know me stuff. Warwickshire 297 for 4 (62 in front). Loudon 13, Ambrose 0.

Lunch: Warwickshire 326 for 4. Loudon 26, Ambrose 16.
With 65 overs remaining, the Bears are 91 ahead so have plenty more work yet to reach sanctuary. Loudon and Ambrose have batted well, abetted by the sun coming out to diminish the swing of the ball and a loose new-ball spell by Plunkett.

Durham will fancy their chances of making shorter work of Warwickshire's tail than they did in the first innings so the Bears need Loudon and Ambrose to take root for a decent chunk of this afternoon.

342 for 4. Loudon and Ambrose batting steadily. Sanctuary on the horizon.
Then Ambrose edges Wiseman to short leg. Then Loudon is guilty of the most brainless piece of cricket this season. Having just leading-edged Wiseman inches over mid-off the very next ball he tries to loft the ball again and holes out to mid-on. 353 for 6.
Streak is plum lbw to Gibson for 0 (a pair). Tahir fishes at Gibson and nicks to the keeper for 0. Harris is guilty of a horrible slog at Wiseman and is stumped for 0. Carnage.

375 for 9. Anyon 6, Daggett, 13. 140 ahead with 49 overs left.

This afternoon's crazy collapse (5 wickets for 13 runs) is being put into perspective by last pair Anyon and Daggett.

Daggett has just gorgeously cover-driven Gibson for four and Anyon has swung Wiseman over square-leg for two sixes. Ernie Wise would have approved.

They have so far added 44. Warwickshire 399 for 9. Daggett 21, Anyon 22.
Bears 164 ahead with 47 overs left.

The day began with us wondering whether Westwood and Sangakkara would displace Lara and Piper from the record books. Instead, Anyon and Daggett have displaced Piper and Donald.

Piper and Donald's hitherto tenth-wicket record for the Bears v Durham (55) has just been eclipsed by the former Lancashire pair. They have so far added 56.

411 for 9. Anyon 28, Daggett 27. 176 ahead - 41 overs left. What a strange old beast of a game this cricket is.

Daggett is bowled by Plunkett for a career-best 33 to end a stand of 71 with Anyon who finished with a joint career-best 37 not out. Superb effort from those two.
I quote a press-box colleague (not Warwickshire-based): "What you saw there was two young men fully focused on and committed to the cause. Did that apply to all the others in the team?"

The astonishing twist means that, after tea, Durham will require 192 to win from 36 overs.

Well now, what an intriguing session we have left.

Durham 24 for 0 after 2.4 overs. Di Venuto 5, Mustard 17.

Mustard, sent in as a statement of intent, is adopting Twenty20, never mind one-day, mode.

He took most of the 17 that come from Tahir's first over, an over which contained a no ball and two fours out to that short boundary to which Westwood is quickly dispatched as deep cover

Durham 51 for 0 (6 overs). Di Venuto 16, Mustard 245Cupably, several no-balls already.
Curiously, Loudon, who was introduced for the 118th over in the first innings, bowled the fourth over of this one. It transpired to be a rather unfruitful one-over spell!

It's worth remembering that the Bears were only given a glimmer of hope here by that shock last-wicket stand between Anyon and Daggett. Without that, after that appalling earlier collapse, they would have been well and truly beaten by now.
If they escape with a draw here it shouldn't paper over any cracks.

Loudon switches ends for the ninth over and serves up a waist-high full toss which Mustard has hit so far for six that the ball has been lost.

73 for 0 in the ninth over. Mustard 45, Di Venuto 18.

Durham 97 for 0 (14 overs). Di Venuto 35, Mustard 52.
The umpires have ticked Warwickshire off for wasting time but so rapid has been Durham's progress that time-wasting is a waste of time, if you see what I mean.
Mustard, in particular, has batted very well but I am having a hard time - a very hard time - fathoming the decision to bowl Alex Loudon at such a crucial period.

Maddy and Trott have both gestured to spectators barracking the Bears for their rather charmless slowing-down of things.

Durham 134 for 0. Di Venuto 53, Mustard 70.

They require 58 from 16 overs.

The phrase "without a whimper" springs to mind.

Ernie Wise first joined forces with Eric Morecambe in 1941 when the two men were booked separately to appear in Jack Hylton's revue, 'Youth Takes a Bow'.

Mustard aims another big hit at Anyon and plays on. He departs, for 76, to a richly-deserved standing ovation.

A grain of hope? Well, the next ball from Paul Harris is hoisted for four by Di Venuto. And Chanderpaul has come in!

Durham (164 for 1; Di venuto 75, Chanderpaul 1) require 29 from 12 overs. It has gone a bit dark but rain doesn't appear imminent. Anyway it would be a travesty if Durham didn't win this game.

Durham won by nine wickets. Di Venuto 91 not out. The home supporters cheer them off the field.

One would imagine - one would hope - that Warwickshire's players are stinging after this. Stinging bad.

Still, only Sussex away next.

Well, night is drawing in at Chester-le-Street. All still and silent except a sprinkler watering the square and a gaggle of youngsters playing in front of the pavilion.
"Our skill-levels are a worry," admitted Mark Greatbatch to reporters D.Wheeler, G.Dobell and B.Halford who waited around patiently for his observations.
When asked by George about his position at the club, M.G. picked up his bag and departed. Tense, troublesome times.
Ah well, the A1(M) beckons. From Canterbury to Chester-le-Street, clocking up a few miles at the moment. Still, a home game next. Er, no it isn't. Hove ahoy. Who sorts out these fixtures?

IF YOU think you're generous when it comes to tipping taxi drivers think again.

Those extra couple of pounds handed over after a good night out are nothing compared to the generosity of Birmingham City Council.

JUST when we'd almost given up hope, summer finally arrived.

And what a weekend for it to get hot, hot, hot!

AS a second suspected outbreak of foot and mouth is investigated our thoughts go out not just to this region's farmers.
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