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Napier leaves Colchester a big-hitting farewell
- Updated: August 7, 2016
Essex 358 (ten Doeschate 83, Lawrence 65, Jordan 4-99) and 470 for 8 (ten Doeschate 109, Napier 124, Jordan 3-88) drew with Sussex 448 (Jordan 131, Joyce 92, Archer 73, Napier 5-114)Scorecard
This looked, for a long time, looked like being remembered as Chris Jordan’s match, or maybe even Jofra Archer’s match. But Graham Napier was among his people, here at Castle Park, his homeground in Colchester, where he was born.
The crowd was sparse, and most of them seemed to be discussing their latest bout of gout or their latest round of bets. Even more of them seemed, in tones sterner still, to believe that they were watching the last day of the Colchester Festival, ever.
All the more reason, then, for this to be Graham Napier’s match. Napier, by the standards of the shires, has always been a cricketer with a touch of Hollywood about him, so after a typically tenacious five-for in Sussex’s innings and – vitally for a fierce competitor – with plenty still worth fighting for, he made a marvellous draw-securing 124, the seventh first-class ton (and first since 2013) of a career that will be long-remembered in these parts.
When that draw – which surely felt like a win, and takes Essex top of Division Two by a point – had been declared and he’d had time to ditch his pads and his whites, he wandered over, shaking plenty of hands on the way, hugged his mother and kissed his wife, all the while smiling wearily; the local lad done good.
The most impressive aspect of Napier’s innings was his ability to rein in his instincts for some of his trademark tonk. He was patient, reading the match situation, nudging and nurdling his way to seven from his first 40 balls. Having lost Ryan ten Doeschate for a century every bit as good as his own, Napier continued to accumulate in the company of David Masters, who defended as though his life depended on it …
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