Lancashire slide to first loss in Trophy (From Lancaster And Morecambe Citizen)

Lancashire slide to first loss in Trophy

2:33pm Monday 11th May 2009

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LANCASHIRE suffered their first Friends Provident Trophy defeat after Varun Chopra struck a half-century for Essex at Chelmsford.

The 21-year-old right-hander struck a stylish 72 to pave the way for a six-wicket triumph after Lancashire, who had won their previous three matches, had been bowled out for a disappointing 157.

Chopra reached his half-century with the help of 10 fours before he was stumped off the left-arm spin of Stephen Parry.

Chopra shared in a third-wicket stand of 82 in 21 overs with Matt Walker, who made 34, after Glen Chapple had briefly given Lancashire hope of making a real fight of it.

He picked up the first two wickets relatively cheaply, getting rid of Mark Pettini for 13 before removing Lord’s Test hero Ravi Bopara two overs later.

Chopra and Walker, however, quickly gained the upper hand and, although both were to depart in the space of five overs, Grant Flower and James Foster led the holders to their target with 35 deliveries to spare.

Luke Sutton and Parry spared Lancashire from a more humiliating defeat. They came together at the fall of the eighth wicket in the 22nd over with only 82 on the board.

But they got their heads down to add 74 in 22 overs before off-spinner James Middlebrook bowled Parry for 31, an innings which contained Lancashire’s only six – a straight drive at the expense of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.

When Graham Napier brought the innings to an end soon afterwards by bowling Gary Keedy, Sutton was left unbeaten on 31.

Lancashire had earlier got off to a bad start by losing Paul Horton for a duck.

Ashwell Prince made 44 but Kaneria struck twice to plunge Lancashire deeper into trouble. And, despite a late recovery, that early order collapse proved fatal to their chances of a result.

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