LANCS BACK KERRIGAN
Date: 6th July 2010
COUNTY CRICKET - A LEARNING CURVE.....This is a Paul Edwards exclusive and the copyright is held by this website...........
Lancashire coach Peter Moores has given his backing to Simon Kerrigan after the Ormskirk spinner came through the toughest test of his county career.
Kerrigan bowled 27 wicketless overs costing 101 runs in the first innings of last week's Roses Match. But he followed that disappointment by taking four for 77 in Yorkshire's second dig and Moores believes that both experiences will be valuable for the 21-year-old slow left-armer. "By his own admission Simon ended up chasing the game in the first innings," said Moores. "He saw a bit of turn and tried too hard to take a wicket against two left handers who played him very well. That was the first difficult day in the field he's had in Lancashire's first team.
"But you learn about players from all sorts of days and what we've learned about Simon is that he's a tough character who gets stuck in, and he came back in the second innings and did what he does best. He kept it simple, bowled his maidens, built up pressure and ended up with his wickets. To come through in that way in the second innings showed great mental strength."
Kerrigan's four wickets in the Roses Match took his tally for the season to 23 in four-day games and Moores believes that the Preston-born spinner's cricketing education will continue with every game. "Simon will get more mature with every match he plays," he said. "What he learned from the Yorkshire match was that under pressure he delivered, and for me that's a great thing because a lot of the pressure in this game is mental. He prduced the goods when we really needed them."
Kerrigan will not get a chance to further his education in the four-day game until Lancashire visit Durham in a fortnight's time but he remains a key member of the t20 squad and has played seven Premier League matches for Ormskirk.
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