A look at the first innings of today’s Hundred (women’s) match between Trent Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix. Phoenix put up a respectable total, but maybe not enough – they certainly didn’t use all their batting resources. Also a large photo gallery.
Today in the Hundred the Trent Rockets are entertaining Birmingham Phoenix. I am typing this immediately after the end of the Phoenix innings (they won the toss and batted first).
139-3 NOT GOOD ENOUGH?
The Phoenix total referred to in the headline above is roughly equivalent to 165 in a T20 innings for comparison purposes. Undoubtedly a respectable score, but not an invincible one. Ellyse Perry scored 66 of the runs off 33 balls in a magnificent display. That means that the rest of the Phoenix innings was 73 off 67 balls. Sterre Kalis was scoring at a rate of below a run a ball for most of her innings, and even after picking things up late on she had a mere 48* (42) to show for her efforts, and it is not as though she had the excuse of worries over Phoenix’s batting depth – Amy Jones faced only three balls in the innings, and Suzie Bates, down to bat at five, never got in at all, the third wicket, a run out, happening on the 100th ball of the innings. Even after those two there were still Fran Wilson, Emily Arlott and Seren Smale who can handle a bat to come – Phoenix left a lot of resources unused in this innings. Rockets themselves have questions to answer – Alexa Stonehouse bowled the first 10 balls of the match straight through, yielding only six runs and was not called on for the rest of the innings. The ten balls she did not bowl were bowled by Amanda-Jade Wellington who leaked 29. Of the four Rockets bowlers who bowled a full allocation Heather Graham was the stand out with 1-15. Nat Sciver-Brunt (0-30) and Kirstie Gordon (0-32) were expensive, and such are Alana King’s usual standards that she would regard 1-26 as a disappointing return.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
If you click to view this one at larger size you will see a swallow.A green shieldbug.
A look back at today’s Hundred (women’s) match between Manchester Originals and Trent Rockets, with special focus on the final ten balls. Also a photo gallery.
Today the Hundred has matches between Manchester Originals and Trent Rockets. The men’s match will be starting in a quarter of an hour. This post looks back at a the women’s match.
THE MANCHESTER ORIGINALS INNINGS
Manchester Originals have come in for considerable stick over the make up of their squad. They have an overload of opening batters – todays playing XI featured four regular openers (Emma Lamb and Eve Jones being the two to come in down the order). Today however Eve Jones went a long way to addressing such concerns with a fine innings from number 5. Originals skipper Sophie Ecclestone hit 13 off just five balls to give the total a late boost. Even so, a total of 137 didn’t look exactly mountainous.
THE FIRST 90 BALLS OF THE ROCKETS CHASE
The Rockets lost three wickets fairly early in the chase, but then Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ash Gardner settled into a stand that looked to be moving things in their favour. With ten balls to go in the chase Rockets needed 22 to win, with Sciver-Brunt and Gardner still in residence.
THE LAST 10 BALLS
Lauren Filer was given responsibility for bowling balls 91-95, and she did an excellent job. Even with her final ball going for four the equation was 13 needed off the last five balls. Filer had 2-26 in total from her 20 balls. Kathryn Bryce was given responsibility for bowling the last five balls of the match. Gardner hit the first two of these balls for four to reduce the ask to five runs off three balls, and that point it looked like Rockets had done the job. Gardner went for glory off the 98th ball but hit it too high and Beth Mooney was able to get round underneath it, which meant the ask was now five off two balls with a brand new batter to face the first of them. Heather Graham, the new batter, did the sensible thing and grabbed a single, bringing Sciver-Brunt with an undefeated half century to her name down on strike with the task of hitting a four to win the match. Sciver-Brunt whipped the final ball towards midwicket, but while the shot had power it lacked for placement, failing to located a big enough gap in the field and Rockets only managed two runs of the final ball, meaning that Originals had hung on to win by one run. Filer was named Player of the Match for her bowling, and deservedly so. Scorecard here.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This may look a bit like a boiled sweet, but it is actually what is known depending on your source either as a ‘jewel bug’ or a ‘metallic shield bug’.An ultra close-up of one of these bugs.
An account of England’s victory over West Indies at Edgbaston and resultant 3-0 series triumph, plus a photo gallery.
Yesterday I put up a post just as England were moving into a first innings lead over West Indies in the third test match of the series at Edgbaston. This post looks at the events that have unfolded since that one.
ENGLAND SURGE AHEAD
Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes extended England’s lead at a rapid rate. Smith just missed out on a maiden test century, but his 95 was a command performance, beginning with England still very much in jeopardy and ending with them in complete control. The scoring was not quite done even then – Gus Atkinson belted a couple of sixes coming it number ten, and England ended with a first innings lead of 94, and West Indies had an awkward mini-session to get through with the bat.
EARLY WICKETS FOR ENGLAND
West Indies did not make as much of a Horlicks of this mini-session of batting as the 1994 England side had in Trinidad, but the experienced Kraigg Brathwaite fell early, and Kirk McKenzie completed a truly miserable series (33 runs at 5.50 in six innings from a supposed number three) by doing likewise.
WOOD WASTES WEST INDIES
The West Indies had a respectable morning, though they needed far more. Mikyle Louis who had previously produced a succession of scores in the 20s completed a maiden test 50, and Kavem Hodge also reached 50. However, the lunch time score of 151-5, with da Silva batting in company with Hodge held out little hope for them, being a lead of only 57. The end of the West Indies innings was swift and brutal as the pace of Mark Wood was simply too much for them. Joshua da Silva had been somewhat fortunate to survive two LBW appeals from Wood when he was given out at the third time of asking and did not review it. Six runs later Alzarri Joseph had his stumps comprehensively shattered, and then at 171 came the killer blow for such hopes as West Indies retained, Hodge edging one through to Smith who made no mistake with the catch. Three balls later Jayden Seales’ off stump was sent cartwheeling. Number 11 Shamar Joseph creamed a four through the off side but the second ball of his innings was fast, full and straight, took the edge of his bat and flew to Brook in the slips. West Indies were all out for 175 and Wood had figures of 5-40 for the innings.
STOKES SLAMS HOME ENGLAND’S SUPREMACY
Zak Crawley was having a scan on an injured finger, which means that England needed someone else to open. However with a target of only 82 (three runs fewer than has ever been successfully defended in the fourth innings of a test match, and that match in 1882 was incredibly low scoring – the highest of the four individual innings was Australia’s second innings of 122) this was unliekly matter much. Rather than ask anyone else to do the necessary Stokes donned the pads himself and opened the innings with Duckett – two left handers answering to Ben opening the innings together. It was soon apparent that Stokes intended the match to be over before the tea interval – before the innings was two overs old he had struck four boundaries, and he continued in that vein, overshadowing Duckett, not generally noted for being a shrinking violet with the bat. Stokes reached 50 off just 24 balls, the quickest ever for England in test cricket (four balls quicker than Botham v India during the 1981-2 series), and two balls outside the all-comers record by Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan. Stokes finished things by belting the second ball of the eighth over for six to give England victory by ten wickets with two days and a little more than a session to spare. Wood’s blistering spell to terminate the West Indies second innings saw him named Player of the Match, while Gus Atkinson with 22 wickets at 16.22 each in the three matches was named Player of the Series. The West Indies have a promising bowling attack, but their batting is indubitably weak and lacking in depth. Playing Holder at six and da Silva at seven requires a much stronger top five than West Indies currently possess – Louis batted well today, Brathwaite is experienced but no ones idea of a great test opener and Hodge has been impressive, but Athanaze has played only one innings of note in this series, and I have already mentioned Kirk McKenzie’s shocking series. A full scorecard for this match can be seen here.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A little bit of a preamble to today’s gallery, relating to the first picture in it: one of my fairly recent library finds is Rachel McLean’s ‘Dorset Crime’ series, several volumes of which I have now read. I highly recommend this series, in which I have read books 1,3,4,5,6 and 7 to date. The seventh book, “The Blue Pool Murders” features a map showing all the locations (LJ Ross in her Northumbrian crime series does the same thing, as does Rebecca Tope in both her Lake District and Cotswold series). Preamble done here is my usual sign off…
A look at developments son far in the third test match between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston
Yesterday morning the third test match of the three match series between England and the West Indies got underway at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
THE PRELIMINARIES
England named an unchanged XI, logical but a little disappointing – one would have like to see Potts and/ or Pennington in action. West Indies showed one change – Motie who had missed the second match due to injury returning in place of Sinclair, who had stood in for him. West Indies won the toss and chose to bat first. Putting England in on a surface like the one at Edgbaston would have reeked of fear, so this was a positive sign.
DAY ONE
West Indies began well, with the opening stand yielding 76. However one wicket produced a clatter, and at 115-5 West Indies looked in deep trouble. Jason Holder and Joshua da Silva then had an excellent partnership for the sixth wicket. The lower order also contributed a little, and in the end West Indies posted 282 all out. Kraigg Brathwaite scored 61 opening the batting, Holder 59 in the middle of the order, and Gus Atkinson had the best bowling figures with 4-67, giving him 20 wickets one innings in to his third test match. England had a mini-session to negotiate before the close, and made rather a hash of doing so, losing both openers and nightwatcher Mark Wood to end the day on a precarious 38-3.
DAY TWO (SO FAR)
The day started as the previous one had ended, with England losing wickets rapidly – first Pope and then Brook departed cheaply, at which point it was 54-5. Root and Stokes began the recovery, putting on 115 together before Stokeshit a short ball from Alzarri Joseph straight to Kraigg Brathwaite at forward short leg. Root and Jamie Smith continued the good work before Motie trapped Root LBW 13 short of a century. In the course of this innings Root passed Lara’s career aggregate of test runs, took his own tally past 12,000 and in the process assured himself of ending the innings with his average above 50 – the sixth time in his career that he has moved his average above 50. That was 231-7, with Woakes joining Smith. Smith completed his second test fifty, and when the tea interval arrived England were 274-7, just 8 runs short of first innings parity. A rain delay has extended the tea interval but they are now back underway. While I have been preparing this for publication England have moved into a first innings lead, with Smith and Woakes still together.
A look at goings on in the Hundred 2024 so far and a large photo gallery.
The most controversial competition in cricket, The Hundred, is under way for 2024. This post looks at some of what has happened already.
THE HUNDRED 2024
The Hundred got underway on Tuesday, and there was also action on Wednesday and Thursday, and will be more today.
Tuesday saw the Oval Invincibles successful in both the women’s and men’s games.
On Wednesday Southern Brave and London Spirit were the contending teams. London Spirit won the women’s match, largely thanks to a superb 65* from Heather Knight. Tilly Corteen-Coleman, making her Hundred debut at the age of just 16 had a dream start when she dismissed Meg Lanning with her second ball, holding a fine return catch to do so.
Yesterday was the turn of Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire. In the women’s match it looked at one point like the Originals could defend a total of 113, but Sophia Dunkley stepped on the accelerator at the crucial moment, turning a questionable looking 37* (34) into an indubitably match winning 69* (47).
The Men’s game embarrassingly one-sided, as an appalling batting performance from the Originals saw them tumble to 37-7. They recovered from there to post 86-8 from their 100 balls, but Welsh Fire made that total look absolutely as derisory as it was, never looking in any trouble at any stage of the chase.
A whistlestop tour of the greatest highlights of an outstandingly successful auction that took place on Wednesday.
On Wednesday just over 500 lots of mainly railway models went under the hammer at James and Sons. I had produced somewhere close to 3,000 images for this auction which gave me particular interest in proceedings. It was an extraordinarily successful auction, and my list of big achieving lots ran to about 80, and I had mentally adjusted my normal threshold for this upwards by some way early in the auction when it was obvious how it would go. For the rest of this post I am going cover a very few of these highlights.
THE HIGHLIGHT LOTS
Lot 507, a Bachman Aston Steam Breakdown Crane expected to fetch £30-40 climbed all the way up to £110. Here is the image gallery for that lot:
The main imageI dared not unseal this any further, so all the close ups were taken through the plastic.
Lot 509, a large range of Bachman wagons expected to get 50-60 went for £180.
Lot 511 a boxed set of the ‘Northumbrian’ with certificate of authenticity, was estimated at 40-50 and went for £100.
The main imageThe locomotive, tender and coaches, all covered.The locomotive, briefly and carefully uncovered for the purpose.A close up of the front where the nameplate is……and of the rear (note the driver).The tender, with a wonderfully clear BR logo.A close up of one of the coachesThe crucial certificate of authenticity.
Lot 551, a large collection of Hornby Gresley and Pullman coaches expected to fetch 80-120 soared to £220.
This image is a composite of the next three (the only way I could image a lot of this size)I settled for close ups of a single coach from the collection, one of the Pullmans.
Lot 653, a Hornby locomotive model ‘Walter K Whigham’, estimated at £30-40 went for £85.
Lot 714, a Hornby box set of Stephenson’s Rocket and its Carriages, estimated at 15-25 ended up going for £90!
The main imageFocus on the train and carriages.The RocketClose up of a single carriageInfo.The front cover of the item.
Lot 760, a collection of Hornby coaches including a ‘Northumbrian’ pack, estimated at 40-60 went for £110.
Now comes a hat trick of triumphs. Lot 765, estimated at £10-15 went £100, 766 estimated at 15-20 went £120 and 767 estimated at 15-20 went for £90. These were all model locomotives.
I sign of with let 784, a NU Cast Locomotive LNER/BR class GER T26 class 2-4-0 Passenger Engine, boxed. Expected to fare no better than 10-15 it ended up selling for £70.
Main imageLoconotive and tender out of the boxLocomotive close upTender close upThe box cover illustration.The description on the box.
A look back at the test match at Trent Bridge between England and West indies. and a fine photo gallery.
I did not actually get to follow a great deal of the match that unfolded at Trent Bridge between Thursday and Sunday (scheduled for five days, but four proved enough). Thursday was a work day, so I got only the closing stages of England’s 416, and as documented in my previous two tests I was busy over the weekend.
A HISTORIC MATCH
England amassed 416 on the opening day, but had, as opening batter Ben Duckett admitted, “left a few runs out there”. The West Indies response was led by two batters from the tiny island of Dominica (also birthplace of pace bowlers Norbert Philip of the West indies and Phillip DeFreitas of England) Alick Athenaze (82) and Kavem Hodge (120, the first test century by a Dominican), and at the end of day two they were 351-5 in response to that 416 by England. In the end, assisted by England trying to be too clever against the tailenders, West Indies led by 41. During the bit of listening I got in on the Saturday in between concerts Brook and Root batted beautifully after Pope had completed a 50 and then got out. Both players would get hundreds, but for the second time in the match England didn’t maximise their opportunity, suffering a collapse late on. They did however pass 400 for the second time in the match, the first England team to do so (though it has been done against them at least once – Headingley 1948, England 496 and 365-8 declared, Australia 458 and 404-3 to win by seven wickets). Part of the reason that occurrences are rare (there have been 12 in all of test history) is that sides putting up big totals used to expect only to bat once – declining to enforce the follow-on was much rarer than it has recently become. Also scoring rates were less rapid in test cricket in days gone by, which mean that topping 400 twice would almost certainly not have led to victory (the extraordinary Headingley 1948 match aside). West Indies thus need 385 to win – fewer than had been scored in any of the first three innings of the match. By the time I got to catch up on the action on Sunday after Norton Hill the West Indies second innings was already underway, and it did not initially look promising for England. However, with 61 on the board Woakes had Mikyle Louis caught behind and a dramatic collapse set in, including off spinner Shoaib Bashir entering the record books by taking wickets in each of his first three overs – before this only one spinner had taken wickets in each of their first two overs in a test innings at Trent Bridge – Shane Warne, when he almost bowled Australia to victory in 2005 with England needing only 129 to win. When Wood dismissed Sinclair courtesy of a catch by Crawley West Indies had tumbled to 93-6. They were still six down when I left for my evening engagement, but England, with the aid of the extra half hour got the job done that evening. West Indies were all out for 143 in the end, Bashir 5-41, including the final wicket, Shamar Joseph clean bowled for 8. Pope was named Player of the Match for his scores of 121 and 51. England had underachieved with the bat in the first innings on their own admission, had arguably done the same in the second, and had still emerged victorious by the huge margin of 241 runs.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
A Red Admiral looking rather the worse for wear.In contrast this Comma looked in perfect health.
An account of my visit to Norton Hill near Snettisham yesterday.
On Sunday I was at Norton Hill, where the Hunstanton & District Rotary Club were running an event and had very kindly invited the West Norfolk Autism Group to have a stall. This post looks back at the event.
THE PLAN
I had said I would come on the Sunday as there was no way I could go on the Saturday (see my previous post). As I was envisaging leaving early due to having an evening commitment and wanting to catch up on the cricket at some point I planned being there as early as possible – which meant 11AM for the start of setup. I had arranged to travel by bus with another member of ours, and had picked out the number 35 leaving King’s Lynn bus station at 10:10 as the best option. I wasn’t over worried about buses back as there are at least three bus routes that run between Snettisham (Norton Hill is a few minutes walk from Snettisham town centre) and King’s Lynn, and even on a Sunday the services are pretty frequent (King’s Lynn – Hunstanton, which passes through Snettisham is Lynx Bus’s most important route). I hoped to help get things set up, take a look around and sample Norton Hill’s feature – a light railway. I did accomplish this.
THE NORTON HILL LIGHT RAILWAY
This railway runs for one kilometre (a circular journey), on tracks with a gauge of about nine inches. The locomotives though small are genuine steam locomotives. I managed to get there before it got really crowded, though I had a fairly long wait in the end, as I just missed getting on one train, and the next was reserved for a group of travelling singers, and actually broke down, meaning that the diesel locomotive kept for such emergencies had to be pressed into service. Fortunately the other steam train, on which I was travelling had no such issues. I enjoyed the journey, though the seating on the train I was on was very uncomfortable, and one kilometre was plenty from that point of view. On this short route a lot of pieces of railway infrastructure are duplicated in miniature – there are viaducts, there is one tunnel, which though not very long is impressively dark. This is very much a summer activity – there is no shelter for passengers. We got the bus back at around 3PM – it was 3:25 when we got in to King’s Lynn bus station. I was thus able to catch up with the cricket, though as you will see in my next post my evening engagement meant that I missed the conclusion.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here is my Norton Hill gallery…
This was one of a number of mosaics made by a member of ours and available for a donation. I didn’t actually buy it.This was the type of wagon I travelled in.A viaduct section.Approaching the tunnelThe locomotive that pulled my train on the turntable.This locomotive has yet to be pressed into service.
A look back at Early Music Day at the King’s Lynn Festival.
I have had a very busy weekend – Saturday was Early Music Day at the King’s Lynn festival, and on Sunday I was involved with a fund-raising event at Norton Hill, and there was a family meal in the evening. This post deals with the Saturday.
HOW EARLY MUSIC DAY WORKS
Early Music Day at the King’s Lynn Festival comprises three concerts – a short one at noon, a longer one that starts at 7PM and a final short late evening concert that gets underway at 9:15PM. I attended with my mother, and we had lunch out after the noon concert. I then went home between that and the evening concerts to catch up on progress in the test match that was going on between England and the West Indies. The end of the early evening concert and the start of the late evening concert are so close together that one cannot do very much in the gap between them.
THE MIDDAY CONCERT
This was an organ recital by Harvey Stansfield and he had chosen some excellent works. Featured composers included JS Bach and the man he once walked 200 miles (each way) to see, Dietrich Buxtehude, among others. The organ at St Nicholas chapel is a superb instrument, and Stansfield’s performance was 100% worthy of such an instrument. Unfortunately attendance at this concert was both very small and very old – my mother looked younger than most of the audience, never mind me. Those who did the find the time to attend got a real treat. The full programme was: Bach, prelude and fugue in E Flat, Buxtehude, Praeludium in D Major, Coleridge-Taylor, Impromptu in F, Schumann, canonic studies 2&3 and Mendelssohn, Sonata no3 in D Major.
THE LUNCH
We had lunch at Marriotts, sat outside overlooking the Great Ouse (unfortunately the scene was marred by the river being at rather low tide which meant that lots of mud was on display). We were joined by my father who had already eaten, but who did indulge in a drink, and my nephew who both ate and drank. I, knowing that my arrangements for the rest of the weekend pretty much ensured that my next proper meal would be the Sunday supper had a steak and chips, which was a gargantuan meal.
THE EVENING CONCERTS
The early evening concert featured the European Union Chamber Orchestra and two guest recorder players, Tabea Debus and Miriam Monaghan. Being a chamber orchestra and hence limited in size the lead violinist, Hans-Peter Hoffman led the orchestra. The programme was Handel, The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Corelli, Concerto Grosso Opus 6 Number 1, Telemann Concerto for Recorder in F, Vivaldi, Concerto for two violins in A major, Opus 3 Number 3, Telemann, Suite Perpetuum Mobile and Bach, Brandenburg Concerto number four. This was much better attended than the earlier event, and was just as enjoyable in its own different way.
The late concert was a performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in their entirety, by Masumi Yamamoto on a harpsichord (the same harpsichord that had featured in the early evening concert, but a different player thereof). This music when played on a harpsichord by a really expert player (and she is certainly that) is superb, and certainly knocks the spots off any version of it on a piano.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My photo gallery for this post is purely St Nicholas Chapel (where all three concerts took place) and musical instruments…
The organ at St Nicholas Chapel.The Harpsichord all set for the final concert.The double keyboard – which comes into play in a big way in the Goldberg Variations.
A look back at England Women’s last home match of the summer and a photo gallery.
As I write this post the England and West Indies men’s teams are locked in a test match battle at Trent Bridge. England Women played their last home match of the summer (they have a series in Ireland to come before heading over to Bangladesh for the T20 world cup) on Wednesday evening.
SETTING THE SCENE
England Women had won every match against Sri Lanka in the first part of their home season, and went into Wednesday night’s fixture having won all three ODIs and the first four T20Is against New Zealand. England had never previously won as many as 13 matches in a home season, which is what they were looking to achieve. They found themselves batting first…
THE ENGLAND INNINGS
England started badly, and at 87-6 they looked in big trouble. Heather Knight and Charlie Dean put on 54 together for the seventh wicket to dig England out of this hole, and a couple of good blows by Sophie Ecclestone at the end boosted the final total to 155-7. This was enough to require New Zealand to score their highest total of the series to win.
THE NEW ZEALAND RESPONSE
New Zealand were in the game for good while, and even kept Sophie Ecclestone wicketless, ending a run of 34 international innings in which she had claimed at least one scalp. However England never really looked in danger during this innings, and some good death bowling meant that the final margin in their favour was 20 runs.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
Broad beans – a little too large for comfort but……the inside of the pods were fluffy which suggested that they weren’t beyond hope – and indeed they were fine.This is some breed of diving duck that I have not been able to identify as yet.Another shot of the diving duck, as it came up from another dive.birds and a ‘bird man’
aspiblog 