June 7, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1424

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CHESTER-LE-STREET (England), June 6: England debutant Richard Johnson flirted with the record books on Friday to leave Zimbabwe heading towards their second innings defeat of the two-Test series.

The 28-year-old Johnson took six for 33, including wickets with his third and fourth balls, to skittle the touring side for 94 and enforce the follow-on at the new Riverside venue.

Zimbabwe, themselves flirting with their lowest test total, closed the second day on 41 for one, still 281 runs in the red.

One more wicket and Johnson would have surpassed Dominic Cork’s seven for 43 on his debut against West Indies in 1995.

While he deserved commendation, the Zimbabweans, heading for their ninth successive loss and looking supermodel-thin on resources after the retirement of Andy Flower, were worthy of their share of condemnation on a blameless surface.

England had resumed on 298 for five and were dismissed shortly after lunch for 416.

The debacle then began.

Johnson, who would have had a hatful of England caps but for year upon year of injuries, bowled at a lively pace, seaming the ball off the deck and angling it in. He was unerringly accurate.

His opponents proved unerringly inaccurate in putting bat to ball. Seven of their batsmen were to depart lbw, a Test innings record.

Mark Vermeulen went third ball — by the end of the day he was boasting a four-ball pair for the match — and Stuart Carlisle was out for a golden duck, both shuffling half-forward and being struck on the pad.

James Anderson, who also took five wickets on his debut in the first Test at Lord’s, chipped in with the scalps of Dion Ebrahim and Grant Flower to make it 18 for four, already exposing Zimbabwe’s all rounders, before Johnson, watched by his parents, got among the wickets again.

Sean Ervine edged a leg-cutter behind and Travis Friend, the fourth duck of the innings, missed an in-drifter. When Streak declined to play a stroke at Johnson it was 35 for seven at tea and Zimbabwe’s all-time low of 63, against the West Indies in 1999-2000, looked under threat.

Somerset bowler Johnson, who appeared in the England squad way back in 1995 and who was named as 12th man in the 2001 Ashes before touring India in the same year, was to claim one more wicket.

Wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, all energy and obduracy, pulled him for successive fours but was dismissed for 31 next ball — lbw, inevitably — before Steve Harmison wrapped up the innings with his second wicket.

Earlier England had been dismissed for 416 after a pedestrian first hour to the day.

Alec Stewart made 68, Anthony McGrath added an 81 to his Lord’s debut innings of 69 — the pair put on 149 for the sixth wicket — and the tireless Heath Streak took four wickets. But it was Johnson again who had enlivened proceedings after some tight bowling restricted England to 14 runs in the first 15 overs and sent the 9,000 crowd into hibernation.

Johnson, clearly impatient to get the ball in his hand, hit 15 off an over from spinner Raymond Price, including a sweep for six and two more boundaries before marching back to the pavilion for a 14-ball 24.

Johnson has a degenerative knee condition and, clearly, no time to waste after eight years of frustration.

Scoreboard

England (1st innings) (overnight 298-5)

M.Trescothick c Taibu b Price 43

M.Vaughan c Ervine b Streak 20

M.Butcher b Hondo 47

N.Hussain c Taibu b Hondo 18

R.Key c Flower b Hondo 4

A.Stewart lbw b Streak 68

A.McGrath c Taibu b Blignaut 81

A.Giles c Ervine b Streak 50

R.Johnson c Streak b Blignaut 24

S.Harmison c Vermeulen b Streak 11

J.Anderson not out 12

Extras (b-1 lb-5 w-7 nb-25) 38

Total 416

Fall of wkts: 1-49 2-109 3-146 4-152 5-156 6-305 7-324 8-356 9-390

Bowling: Streak 34.1-11-64-4, Blignaut 23-4-95-2, Hondo 22-1-98-3, Ervine 3-0-17-0, Price 40-9-105-1, Friend 4-0-26-0, Flower 1-0-5-0

Zimbabwe (1st innings)

D.Ebrahim lbw b Anderson 6

M.Vermeulen lbw b Johnson 0

S.Carlisle lbw b Johnson 0

G.Flower c Trescothick b Anderson 8

T.Taibu lbw b Johnson 31

S.Ervine c Stewart b Johnson 0

T.Friend lbw b Johnson 0

H.Streak lbw b Johnson 4

A.Blignaut c Anderson b Harmison 13

R.Price lbw b Harmison 17

D.Hondo not out 5

Extras (b-5 lb-3 nb-2) 10

Total 94

Fall of wkts: 1-3 2-3 3-11 4-18 5-23 6-31 7-35 8-48 9-73

Bowling: Anderson 10-2-30-2, Johnson 12-4-33-6, Harmison 9.1-3-22-2, Giles 1-0-1-0

Zimbabwe (2nd innings)

D.Ebrahim not out 22

M.Vermeulen c McGrath b Anderson 0

S.Carlisle not out 19

Extras 0

Total (for one wicket) 41

Fall of wicket: 1-5

Bowling (to date): Anderson 4-0-18-1, Johnson 5-4-1-0, Harmison 4-0-11-0, Giles 2-0-11-0.—Reuters