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The arrival of Tom Hartley on the Indian Test team, several months after Nathan Lyon was acquired, offered us a fresh perspective on the age-old debate over the responsibility of the home team to English spin. With everyone having their turn and Hartley and Lyon remaining sensible, all eyes were on Lancashire’s 2024 county season teamsheet. With fingers on the triggers, the chamber is heated.
After more than twenty-six hours, an eleven-man roster featuring Hartley and Lyon side by side was named, as head coach Dale Benkenstein had hinted on Tuesday, especially with the Kookaburra ball in play. They ended the first day of County Championship cricket at Emirates Old Trafford bowling in tandem.
Unless you are a Lancashire supporter at this point. The play for the day, which started at 1.10 pm, ended with that spell “in tandem” being just one over each. After Surrey’s captain Rory Burns and Dom Sibley saw out five overs to go in at 11 for no loss, Lancashire was already dismissed for 202. The two-time defending champions have regained time despite rain ruining the first session of day two and the first day of the tournament. The cruellest of ironies was that they used a matching pair of twirlers for themselves.
With a tad more turn and bounce than expected, Lawrence surprised Josh Bohannon, the 2023 Division One top scorer, and set off that collapse. Even though it was a simple deflect to short leg, Jamie Smith had to grab it twice beneath the helmet. Bohannon left the pitch slowly, clearly disappointed that he was only 16 runs shy of a first-class century and frustrated at losing to a bowler who had easily hit his two sixes.
At the very least, Hartley and Lyon should get the chance over the next two days to construct their own riposte to Steel and Lawrence, as well as the discourse.