Cricket: Morris makes Waqar dance to his tune: Mike Carey reports from Ilkeston

Surrey 205 and 30-1 Derbyshire 438-9 dec

SURREY were again mostly on the wrong end of things here yesterday. On a pitch which Noel Coward would have described as 'very flat, Ilkeston', their bowlers were first dissected by John Morris's dazzling century, then ground into submission by Peter Bowler's more studied first three-figure innings of the season.

Morris raised his game by several notches to reach his fifth hundred of the season with another avalanche of powerful strokes. Not the least of his achievements was to hasten the removal of Waqar Younis from the attack by taking him on and hooking and driving him relentlessly, before eventually falling leg-before to Adam Hollioake.

Bowler, meanwhile, kept the other end bottled up, mindful no doubt of the need to nursemaid along a relatively inexperienced middle order, and although the odd ball would still move off the seam, not much else happened to encourage Surrey.

Many of their problems were self-inflicted, however. Although Monte Lynch switched his bowlers around thoughtfully, length and line remained in short supply. Thus Bowler found plenty to smooth through midwicket and Chris Adams found there was usually one ball an over which offered him the room to display his power outside the off-stump.

They rolled along comfortably enough in that mode until Adams was deceived by a slower one from Waqar. Bowler, disciplined and compact, remained at the hub of things for almost six hours until Waqar, armed with the new ball, had him leg before when he failed to make contact with another projected stroke through midwicket.

Waqar then yorked Dominic Cork, though he could have done without the accompanying gesture. Much more in keeping with the context of this game was the lbw decision which the Pakistani won soon afterwards against Matthew Vandrau.