Northamptonshire share spoils with Warwickshire after 'turgid' final day

John Sadler admitted 'it's not good' that just 10 wickets fell over the four full days of Northamptonshire's LV= Insurance County Championship clash against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Northamptonshire head coach John SadlerNorthamptonshire head coach John Sadler
Northamptonshire head coach John Sadler

A high-scoring encounter in Birmingham ended in a draw, after the hosts replied to the County's 597 for six with 568 for four.

In 342 overs bowled, the aggregate score for the match was 1,165 for 10, with the Bears' Sam Hain ending on 202 not out and Matthew Lamb 155 not out.

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In Northants' innings, skipper Ricardo Vasconcelos plundered 156, Will Young 134 and Luke Procter 100 not out.

Sadler admitted Sunday's play was 'turgid', with Northants managing to take just one wicket in the final 132 overs of the match, and none in the final 75.

They failed to take a single wicket on day four.

Northants claimed 14 points to Warwickshire's 12 in the match, but slipped to eighth place in the Division One table, just 14 points above second-from-bottom Kent, who they entertain in a crucial match at the County Ground on Thursday.

For the second time this season, the Northants bowlers spent more than two full days in the field, and Sadler admitted that in retrospect he was 'delighted' with his decision to rest key seamers Ben Sanderson and Tom Taylor for the fixture.

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Left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan bowled 54 overs for nought for 174, while seamer Jack White bowled 33 (2-102), Rob Keogh 27 (0-71), Gareth Berg 25 (0-58) and Matt Kelly 23 (1-62).

In the end, part-timers Emilio Gay and Vasconcelos bowled 10 overs between them before the captains shook on the draw.

"It was quite turgid and it was a bit tricky in the end because we wanted to take into account the spirit of the game, but also make sure that our lads were okay for a massive game against Kent coming up," said Sadler.

"We rested two of our front line bowlers for this game and, after two days here, we were thinking maybe we should have played them because we'd win if we took 20 wickets.

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"But after four days, the way the pitch played, I am delighted we rested them.

"The ball did a bit on the first morning but as soon as they came to bat and they had two heavy rollers on it, it was quite dead.

"We tried everything but 10 wickets in four days says it all. It's not good."

Warwickshire coach, and former Northants seamer, Mark Robinson said: "We struggled again with the ball which was disappointing but it was a flat wicket and a bit slower than we expected.

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"Northants batted very well but we didn't bowl great and they got a huge score.

"Then it was all about us quietening the game down and showing some character and resolve which we have done all season and that was really pleasing.

"Then on Sunday afternoon the skies turned leaden and it got to a stage when everybody probably just wanted to go home.

"Their bowlers came at us hard early on and bowled well and it wasn't easy in those first two sessions.

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"But Dom Sibley did some good digging of the garden and then Hainy and Will Rhodes and Lamby started to display the roses.

"They turned the game into a place which was nice and safe and calm for the dressing room."

The result means Northants have drawn four and lost one of their five Championship matches to date.