Katich creates merry mayhem

Australia 390 MCC XI 82-6

David Llewellyn
Monday 25 June 2001 19:00 EDT
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The Castle ground is home to one of this country's rarer insects, the English field cricket. Some 100 of them have made their homes by burrowing into the bank at the Park End of this most patrician of grounds. As a result those 100 or so yards of banking have become a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Not many sports grounds, let alone cricket grounds, can boast such letters after their name.

On a grander scale, the ground is home to another rare species, English Country House Cricket. And both sides upheld the tradition in splendid fashion, so much so that the insects were in danger of being blasted out of their homes by Australia's Simon Katich – rather like MCC's batsmen were at the fag end of the day.

Katich fairly peppered the surrounds as he made himself at home. Of course Katich is a more common species than the field crickets, he is yet another superb Australian batsman. Yesterday he scored a flawless, unbeaten hundred, the 15th of his career, entertaining an appreciative crowd for approximately three-and-a- half hours.

It was an innings that pulled the Australians out of the mire after one of their countrymen, Joe Dawes, plucked from the Kent League side Bromley by MCC, had singlehandedly reduced them to 64 for 4.

Dawes, a Brisbane drug squad officer in his day job down under, is a burly figure who extracted a fair bit of life out of an excellent surface, and his scalps were notable ones – Michael Slater leg before to one that kept low, Justin Langer brilliantly taken at second slip by the MCC captain Jimmy Adams, Matthew Hayden caught in the covers, and Damien Martyn, who thumped two fours in successive balls off Dawes before the next one cut back and bowled him.

Katich and the Australian captain Steve Waugh quickly set about restoring the natural order of things, hammering 62 off the next 52 balls. But first ball after lunch Waugh, who had reached 45 off 39 balls, was delivered of a big in-swinger by another South African Charl Willoughby and was bowled.

The same bowler struck again five overs later to account for Wade Seccombe, thus bringing together Katich and Shane Warne and they were ruthless, smashing 190 runs off 172 balls. In the process Katich passed 150 for the fourth time in his career, doing so at better than a run a ball. He drove, pulled and cut at will, collecting 27 fours and a big six over mid-wicket. Warne was no less enjoyable to watch as he helped himself to 11 boundaries.

After damage assessment, Dawes emerged with pride barely intact. His figures had read 4 for 26 at one point, but were then battered out to 4 for 74. At the close MCC were in a mess, having lost the pick of their batsmen for too few runs.

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