He has spent time in the shadow of Kevin Pietersen and yesterday did likewise with a new team-mate. A modest contribution eventually brought him three wickets and he also flexed his vocal chords when becoming embroiled in a row between Adams and James Anderson.A bat was pointed in Flintoff's direction after Anderson had eyeballed the Sussex skipper at close quarters. But the top-edged six that preceded it proved an inconvenience Lancashire could well afford.. Then Prior holed out at deep midwicket and Symonds got to work with the ball. He "castled" Adams to make it 120 for 3 and followed up with a brilliant catch off his own bowling to remove the dangerous Murray Goodwin. That full-lengtheffort was matched by one at backward point off Andrew Flintoff to send back Michael Yardy and, in a crazy spell in which the ball seemed drawn by a magnet to his golden hands, he bagged Carl Hopkinson and Naved, and ran out Luke Wright.For Flintoff, playing his first county match since 23 May, it was a familiar plot. As debuts go, it was not too shoddy.
Andrew Symonds, deemed not good enough for Australia's Test squad, used his latest introduction to county cricket to produce as near a one-man show as is possible in an 11-a-side game. With a performance for which the term all-rounder was totally inadequate, he batted, bowled, caught and threw Lancashire into the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy semi-finals, scoring 101 runs, taking two wickets, holding four catches and effecting a run-out. By the way, he was named man of the match. Sussex sensed a real chance, both when reducing their opponents to 34 for 2 after putting them in and again when reaching 120 for 2 in reply to 249 for 8. After his departure the Surrey batsmen came and went in a flurry of lusty blows, but Batty remained, entering Surrey history with the second highest score in the competition after Alistair Brown's 268 in that 800-run fest of four years ago..
The match aggregate was the second highest in the history of the Cheltenham & Gloucester trophy, after the 867 between Surrey and Glamorgan on this ground in 2002. Watson's century eclipsed a magnificent maiden hundred by Jon Batty, who went on to produce a superb all-round wicketkeeping performance.If the Hampshire bowling had looked too loose, then Surrey's attack positively unravelled under Watson's onslaught.The Australian, making his first appearance of the season for Hampshire after fulfilling his one-day duties with the tourists, stoked up the fires of resistance with casual savagery as he clouted, clobbered and clubbed the Surrey bowlers all around the ground.There had been a solitary six in the Surrey innings, scored by Batty. Points: 1 Hushovd, 164; 2 O'Grady, 150; 3 McEwen, 142; 4 Forster, 84; 5 Vinokourov, 81; 6 P Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner, 79. Mountains: 1 Rasmussen, 160; 2 Moreau, 89; 3 Botero, 88; 4 Vinokourov, 71; 5 Armstrong, 40; 6 D Cioni (It) Liquigas-Bianchi, 34.. Shane Watson left Surrey shattered last night after hammering Hampshire into the record books to take them to a thrilling victory after the highest successful run chase in the competition. He was always in control, prepared to improvise whenever the opportunity presented itself. The pity of it was that it was all in vain.He shared in a superb opening stand of 142 with the rookie James Benning, who contributed a career-best 73, and one of 115 with Graham Thorpe.And while he and the England reject Thorpe were rattling along there looked to be an outside chance of Surrey getting close to emulating their feat in this competition three years ago when they smashed Glamorgan for 438, only to see the Welsh side respond quite brilliantly and get to within nine runs of Surrey's record total.Thorpe made a consummate 60.
