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Fallen Mullally comes up smiling

From the archive, first published Monday 19th Jun 2000.

ALAN MULLALLY had everyone in stitches when he fell flat on his face - but it was Hampshire Hawks who had the last laugh, standing firmly on their feet to break their NU National League duck with an 18-run win over Durham Dynamos.

Shane Warne was rendered helpless with laughter and other Hampshire's players rolled on the floor as Mullally got a spike caught in a bootlace and tumbled base over apex when running in to bowl.

The lanky bowler grinned and bore it, which tells you what you need to know about his temperament. There are times when Mullally gives the impression of being so laid back he's horizontal but the fact that little or nothing gets his goat stands him in good stead.

Mullally conceded seven extras in his first over as he got his wonky radar sighted and nine of the 40 runs in his nine-over spell were sundries. Mullally is able to make light of that sort of thing and he roared back with 3-7 in the space of 14 balls to cauterise any hopes Durham had of overhauling Hampshire's 222-5.

It also helps when you've got Warne to come on and break up a 95-run opening partnership. Warne taught Muazam Ali not to take liberties by having him stumped for 36 but not before former Essex groundstaffer Ali had cheekily reverse swept Warne in a well-organised 36.

Having pulled the plug, Durham then helped bail the bath themselves. Opener Paul Collingwood was needlessly called through by Simon Katich for a second run and was run out and Durham's top order crumbled losing four wickets for six runs in 20 balls and, from being well placed at 100-1 off 23 overs, they could never recover from the loss of their first seven wickets for 30 runs.

Life was given to an innings that had stagnated with Jon Lewis thumping 55 off 53 balls and with Neil Killeen also blasting a rapid-fire 21, Durham creamed 16 off the first five balls off the penultimate over before Dimi Mascarenhas bowled Killeen off the last delivery.

For once, Hampshire's tinkering with their batting turned into fine-tuning.

Hampshire were almost in dreamland as they moved into uncharted waters, passing their previous best this season of 154 in 35 overs, and for the first time this season passed 200 AND batted through their overs.

Backbone of the innings was an unbeaten 83 from John Stephenson, brought in to open and steering Hampshire through potentially chopppy waters at 20-2 in a 79-run partnership with Robin Smith and then 53 with Will Kendall, while Jason laney made a confidence-boosting 27.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.

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