Tag: Bees

The Hundred (Women’s) With One Round Left

A look at the situation in The Hundred (women’s) with each side having played seven of their eight group matches. Also a large photo gallery.

After today’s two matches every team in the Hundred (women’s) has played seven of their eight group matches. This post looks briefly at what is going on overall.

THE TABLE IN DESCENDING ORDER

Southern Brave have won all seven of their matches thus far, giving them 28 points. Their net run rate is +1.130, though that is not relevant as they are already guaranteed a place in the final (the top three teams qualify for finals day, with second and third facing off for the right to face the league winners in the final). They have the best bowling unit in the competition, with Lauren Bell the leading wicket taker and young left arm spinner (yesterday was her 18th birthday) Tilly Corteen-Coleman being the most economical bowler in the competition and having a decent haul of wickets as well. They also have a more than adequate batting unit, and as those who have paid attention to my all time XI selections will be aware I tend to look more to bowling strength when picking winners.

Northern Superchargers have won five and lost two giving them 20 points, they have a net run rate of +1.027. They will definitely be involved in Finals Day.

London Spirit and Manchester Originals have each won four and lost three, and after todays disastrous showing against Birmingham Phoenix (facing a total of 111 they suffered a run out on the first ball of their own innings, and thing basically did not improve from there) Originals are behind Spirit on net run rate by a fraction. Also still nominally in the qualification hunt are Trent Rockets, with three wins and four losses and a just positive net run rate. If Rockets beat Phoenix by a huge margin and Spirit and Originals each lose their final game Rockets might sneak in on run rate, but no team in the history of this tournament has qualified with as few as four wins in the group stage.

Oval Invincible and Birmingham Phoenix have each won two and lost five for eight points. Invincibles have a considerably better net run rate.

Adrift at the foot of the table, with a mere one win and six defeats (and that win was achieved after their elimination was confirmed) are Welsh Fire. Fire stacked the top of their batting line up with Hayley Matthews, Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont and of the three only Dunkley has had a good season. When you rely on three players to do most of the batting and two of the three fail to deliver you will be in trouble. Fire entertained Rockets today and went down by 23 runs, which in a 100 ball a side match is a fairly hefty margin.

A BRIEF LOOK AHEAD

Brave and Superchargers are already booked in for Finals Day. Out of the two realistic other qualifiers (sorry Nottingham folks I am discounting your side for reasons that this post should already have made clear) I would expect Originals to be the ones to join them for two reasons:

  1. Originals face Superchargers in their final group game and Superchargers are already qualified, and will thus be a tiny bit less motivated than Originals.
  2. Originals will be eager to redeem themselves for today’s horror show.
  3. Spirit face Invincibles in their final match and in recent times the record of Lord’s based sided against Oval based sides is not in their favour (to drolly understate the case).

Anything can happen on Finals Day, but I would expect Originals to prevail over Superchargers there, setting up a final between the two sides with the best bowling units. Brave would obviously be favourites, having carried all before them this season, but that final would be one heck of a game.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Invincibles Out

A look back at Northern Superchargers v Oval Invincibles earlier today and a photo gallery.

The first match of today’s Hundred double double header saw Northern Superchargers hosting Oval Invincibles. To retain even a Jim Carrey type “so you’re saying there’s still a chance” hope of qualifying Invincibles needed to win. For Superchargers Kate Cross was playing her first match since finding out that she is not part of England’s world cup plans.

AN INNINGS THAT NEVER GOT GOING

Oval Invincibles won the toss and chose to bat. The first ball of the match, bowled by Grace Ballinger (left arm medium) hit the stumps of Paige Scholfield to make it 0-1. Kate Cross picked up the wicket of Alice Capsey, caught by Superchargers skipper Hollie Armitage for 12 off 12 balls. That was 19-2, which was still the score at the end of the Power Play three balls later. Meg Lanning and Marizanne Kapp both struggled for runs, with the score at 39 Annabel Sutherland bowled Kapp for 6 off 11 balls. Lauren Winfield-Hill batted better than any other Invincibles player. With the score at 64 she lost the support of Lanning, the veteran Aussie having accrued a painstaking 21 from 25 balls. Joanne Gardner, one of the few top level cricketers to hail from the Isle of Wight, now offered sensible support to Winfield-Hill. The 92nd ball of the innings saw Winfield-Hill caught by Cross off Sutherland to make it 110-5, Winfield-Hill 37 off 30 balls. Amanda-Jade Wellington gave Invincibles a hint of hope with 12 off five balls, but a final score of 125-6 look well below par.

AN INJURY HIT DEFENCE

Marizanne Kapp started economically but unpenetratively with the ball. There was a nasty injury to Tash Farrant, who at one point looked likely to be stretchered off, but was in the end able to walk off, albeit with assistance. Capsey also went off injured at one point, but was able to return. However Capsey had bowled only three balls, which meant someone else had to bowl the last two balls of the set, and that Capsey wouldn’t bowl a full allocation even when she did return. These injuries made things more difficult for Invincibles. Alice Davidson-Richards scored a fine 50 for the Superchargers who were ahead at every stage of the chase. Sophia Smale accepted responsibility for bowling balls 91-95, and the event balls 96-100 were not needed at all. The winning shot was a four, which meant that Smale had conceded 32 from her 20 balls. The margin was seven wickets.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

a heron in its watchful pose…
…and on the wing a few moments later.
A moth resting on a bramble petal.

Three Teams, Two Spots

A look back at the two matches in the Women’s Hundred today and at the effect they had on the table, plus a photo gallery.

Today has been a ‘double double header’ day in The Hundred, and following my usual practice on such days I have listened to both women’s matches and am now tuned into the evening men’s match. This post looks back at what happened today and at how the table now shapes up.

WELSH FIRE v SOUTHERN BRAVE

Welsh Fire came into this match having lost all four of their fixtures this year, while Southern Brave had won all five of theirs. This should then have been an easy game for the Brave, and it looked to be playing out that way when Fire could do no better than 111 from their 100 balls batting first. However, although Brave seemed to have things under control for most of the chase they lost their way quite dramatically late on, and came very close to losing their unbeaten record this season. Off the penultimate ball of the match Georgia Adams played an airborne shot, Katie George made a superb effort in the field but dropped a desperately difficult chance and Adams was able to run the two that Brave needed to clinch the win with three wickets to spare. Fire performed excellently with the ball and in the field, but simply did not have enough runs to defend. Brave with six wins from six games have 24 points, and cannot now fail to qualify for Finals Day (and it will almost certainly be at the head of the table, getting them straight into the final). Fire by contrast are firmly pinned to the foot of the table, and even if every result from here on in goes their way cannot finish higher than fifth. Australian left arm spinner Jess Jonassen took 4-10 from her 20 balls for the Fire.

LONDON SPIRIT v NORTHERN SUPERCHARGERS

London Spirit won the toss and opted to bat first. That was the last moment at which anything went right for them. At low water mark they were 54-6, and over two-thirds of the way through their 100 balls. A minor fightback in the closing stages of their innings got them to 90-8, but that was miles short of a defensible total. Both openers for the Superchargers, Perrin and Davidson-Richards were out cheaply, but thereafter Phoebe Litchfield bossed proceedings, ably supported by another Australian, Annabel Sutherland. When Litchfield hit the winning runs in the form of her tenth four she moved to 55 not out off 38 balls, while Sutherland had 29 not out from 21 balls, and Superchargers had 34 balls as well as eight wickets to spare.

HOW THEY STAND

Southern Brave with a full haul of 24 points from six games are clear at the top. Northern Superchargers, Manchester Originals and London Spirit all have 16 points, also from six games each. Oval Invincibles have eight points from five games, which means that they are not quite out of it yet, but they are in the last chance saloon, with last orders having been called and the tables being cleaned and cleared around them, while Trent Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix are each on four points from five games, and will not feature beyond the group stage, and Welsh Fire, no points from five games bring up the rear. Even after todays wobbles the Southern Brave look by far the likeliest winners.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A Record Winning Margin

A look back at this afternoons mismatch between the Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles women’s teams, a mention fo the closing stages of Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers yesterday and a photo gallery.

The first half of today’s Hundred double header saw the Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles women’s teams clash in Southampton. The men’s match is currently underway. This post looks back at the extraordinary events of this afternoon.

A GOOD BATTING PERFORMANCE

Southern Brave openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Maia Bouchier both fired today (Bouchier 34 off 23 balls, Wyatt-Hodge 26 from 24 balls), Laura Wolvaardt scored 36 from 19 balls, Freya Kemp 19 from 11 and Sophie Devine 19 off 14. All of this added up to a Southern Brave total of 161-6 from 100 balls, more than ample for the best bowling unit in the tournament to defend one thought.

ONE PART GREAT BOWLING, ONE PART BAD BATTING

Oval Invincibles never got going at any stage, and wickets fell with ever increasing regularity. Only Tilly Corteen-Coleman, whose 1-25 from her 20 balls was still way less than Invincibles could afford, went for more than a run a ball. It was only a boundary from her penultimate ball that even pushed Bell’s ER for the day above half a run per ball. Only Joanne Gardner, with 10 off nine ball scored at better than a run a ball. Top scorer was leg spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, not someone usually expected to figure seriously with the bat, with 18 from 18 balls. Probably the worst knock out of a terrible bunch was Marizanne Kapp’s 17 ball 10, somewhat worse than a total reversal of the required scoring rate. At low water mark Invincibles were 47-8, but Sophia Smale (another of the phalanx of left arm spinners featuring in this tournament) and debutant Daisy Gibb helped Wellington to raise the score by 25. Thus the final margin was 89 runs, the biggest in the history of the Women’s Hundred. Brave look to be winning the group outright, while Invincibles qualification hopes hang by the slenderest of threads – they need three wins from their remaining three games and a bit of luck elsewhere, and after the monstering they suffered today net run rate is not going to be their friend. Manchester Originals, successful by five runs over Northern Superchargers yesterday, courtesy of an exemplary display of death bowling from Ecclestone (who did enough with balls 91-95 to leave NSC needing nine to win off the last five) and Filer, who pretty much settled things with balls 96-98, conceding only one run, and causing Kate Cross, forced to go big, to hole down the ground to leave eight needed off two and a brand new batter on strike, look the likeliest challengers to Southern Brave – they also have a splendid bowling unit.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

This coin remains in my possession – I am reluctant to spend it, though I have not added it to my collection of railwayana.

Welsh Fire Woes

A look back at the matches between Oval Invincibles and Welsh Fire yesterday, which pretty much ended the qualification hopes of both Welsh Fire men’s and women’s teams. Also a photo gallery.

The Hundred is beginning to reach the stage at which teams have an idea of their likelihood of progression. One team who are all but certain not to progress in the Women’s and very unlikely to progress in the Men’s are Welsh Fire. This post looks back at yesterday afternoon and evening when they were at The Oval facing Oval Invincibles.

THE WOMEN’S MATCH

Oval Invincibles batted first, and largely thanks to Alice Capsey (55 off 34 balls) and Marizanne Kapp (47 not out off 32) they tallied 150-5 from their 100 balls, a fine score in this format in most circumstances. Sophia Dunkley batted excellently for Fire, but support was conspicuous by its absence. Second top scorer in the end was Katie George with 16, and the match ended with two dismissals that could have been mistaken for action replays of each other, Shabnim Ismail and Katie Levick, numbers 10 and 11, each going caught by Meg Lanning off Sophia Smale. The Welsh left arm spinner with the aid of these gift wickets at the end took 3-13 from 17 balls (the wickets fell to the 96th and 97th balls of the innings). The margin was 39 runs, and Welsh Fire, half way through their group fixtures (there are eight rounds of group fixtures as each side plays each other side once, with the exception of ‘derby’ fixtures which are played twice, the quotes round ‘derby’ because some of them are blatantly no such thing – Welsh Fire’s ‘derby’ is against Southern Brave, based in Southampton, which as far as I am aware has never had any rivalries with Cardiff based teams before) are yet to accrue a point. With only the top three qualifying for finals day (second play third for the right to face the group winners in the final) an even record of four wins and four losses, the best Fire can now achieve, gives almost a 0% chance of qualifying, and Fire’s net RR, the one thing that might give them hope, is an abysmal -1.444.

THE MEN’S MATCH

Invincibles also batted first in this one. Tawanda Muyeye, born in Zimbabwe, but now England qualified, and likely to play for them, and Will Jacks opened up with a stand of 76 from 39 balls, 38 for Jacks, 33 for Muyeye. This turned out to be a mere prelude to a thunderous assault by Jordan Cox, only playing for Invincibles because of an injury to Ollie Pope. Cox scored 86 not out from 29 balls, hitting 10 sixes and three fours along the way. Invincibles ended with 226-4 from their 100 balls, comfortably a new record for the competition. For comparison purposes this score equates to 271 in a T20. The most bizarre feature of a generally sick looking Fire bowling card concerned left arm spin bowling all rounder Saif Zaib. He bowled five balls, taking 1-6, and that was it, while the 95 balls bowled by bowlers other than him were spanked for 220 runs between them. No one actually went as many as 50, but Ajeet Singh Dale had 1-46 from 15 balls, which suggests that his and Zaib’s share of the bowling duties were the wrong way round. Unsurprisingly Fire never looked like getting anywhere close to chasing this monumental total down. They, like the women’s side earlier, ended up not batting the full 100 balls, being out for 143 from the 93rd ball of their innings. They have one win from four matches, and a dreadful net run rate. If they win all their remaining games they might qualify, but the odds are not on their side.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

An Unexpectedly Close Finish

A look back at this morning’s Hundred match between the Trent Rockets and Southern Brave women/s teams and a photo gallery.

The early match in The Hundred today featured Trent Rockets women playing host to Southern Brave women. This post looks back at the match.

LEFT ARM SPINNERS DOMINANT

The reason that this match becoming a close one was so unexpected was that Brave totally dominated the early exchanges. Tilly Corteen-Coleman, helped by some brilliant wicket keeping from Rhianna Southby (two stumpings, both beyond the capacities of a batter/keeper as opposed to a true keeper) took 4-13 from her 20 balls, all bowled in the first half of the innings. As well as bowling superbly the left arm-spinner also held two catches. At low water mark Rockets were 55-8. At this point another left arm spinner entered the picture, Kirstie Gordon. She and Alana King put on 51 together for the ninth wicket. That meant that Brave were 106 all out, the tenth wicket going to the 100th ball of their innings. Gordon top scored with 32 off 24 balls, Rockets skipper Ash Gardner had contributed 25 earlier in the innings, and King managed 24, with no else in double figures.

A CREDITABLE BOWLING EFFORT

It says much for the Trent Rockets bowlers that there were significant periods of the chase during which it felt like they might possibly defend this small score. It was the 95th ball of the innings, hit for four by Sophie Devine to reduce the ask to three off five balls that finally killed off the last hopes of a turnaround by the Rockets. Cassidy McCarthy accepted responsibility for bowling the last five balls of the match. Devine took a single off the first, the second was a dot, and Chloe Tryon hit the third for four to finally get Brave over the line. Maia Bouchier with 42 was top scorer, while Devine ended up on 41 not out. The margin was six wickets. Brave have now won four matches out of four, and the secret of their success is not hard to locate: their England seamer Lauren Bell is the leading wicket taker of the tournament so far, with Corteen-Coleman second on the list, and it is generally bowling resources that separate winners from also-rans. I could cite many examples from cricket’s long history to back this up, but will settle for reminding people of the history of RCB men in the IPL – for years they had devastating batting but comparatively second string bowling, and for all those years they never won the tournament, but in the most recent IPL they had for the first time assembled a properly balanced squad, and what you know, they won the thing. Scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

A Nailbiter in Manchester

A look back at this afternoon’s match between the Manchester Originals and London Spirt women’s teams, and a photo gallery.

Today’s round of The Hundred featured Manchester Originals playing host to London Spirit. Allegedly for next year the Manchester franchise will be the Manchester Super Giants, with the owners of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants having bought the name change. The women’s match happened first as is standard in this tournament, and this post looks back at it.

THE ORIGINALS INNINGS

The Originals started slowly, and lost two early wickets as well. Kathryn Bryce was caught behind off Tara Norris, and then Amelia Kerr fell victim to some terrible judgement from Beth Mooney. The previous delivery had been a no ball, so this one was a ‘free hit’ ball, off which the only way one can be out is run out. Mooney went for a second with Kerr running to the danger end. The call was bad enough that although Eva Gray’s return was not world beating Kerr was barely even in the frame when the bails were taken off. Mooney now batted well, with Seren Smale playing the support role. However, just as Originals were thinking in terms of recovery Mooney was out, caught by Norris off Charlie Dean to make it 45-3. Scoring now virtually ceased, and although only one had been added to the score eight balls had elapsed since the Mooney dismissal when Smale was bowled by Sarah Glenn for 5 off 12 balls. Deandra Dottin top scored with 36, while Fi Morris and Alice Monaghan supported her. A final total of 122-6 looked inadequate.

THE LONDON SPIRIT INNINGS

For much of the chase Spirit looked to be falling short. They were given a chance when Deandra Dottin had a nightmare sequence, first a n0-ball hit four four, for a total of six runs, and then another six off the free hit ball. Suddenly Spirit were on terms. Grace Harris, who had struck those blows off Dottin reached a 32 ball half century off the 92nd ball of the innings. However, she had taken a single to get there and was thus at the wrong end. There were nine needed from eight balls at this point. Then Issy Wong was pinned LBW, and referred it upstairs, burning her side’s review when it was shown to be plumb. The 94th ball of the innings did for Dean in the same fashion. Sarah Glenn edged the hat trick ball past the keeper for four and that was five needed off five balls. The veteran Dottin was entrusted with the bowling at this crucial juncture. Two runs came off the 96th ball, and for the first time runs required were lower than balls left – three off four balls. The 97th ball was a yorker which Glenn could do no more than dig out for a dot ball. However the leg spinner then rose to the occasion on the 98th ball (the antepenultimate scheduled ball of the match), driving it through the off side for four to finally get London Spirit over the line. A quirk of the Originals deployment of their bowlers was that leg spinner Dani Gregory had 1-4 from five balls – she bowled one superb set and then was not used again. Scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Young Talent Comes to the Fore

A look at two outstanding performances by youngsters today in The Hundred (women’s) and a photo gallery.

Today, like yesterday has been a ‘double double header’ day in The Hundred – one morning/ afternoon double header and one afternoon/ evening double header – the evening match between the Trent Rockets and Northern Superchargers men’s teams gets underway at 6PM. I have followed my usual policy on such days where there is an overlap of listening to the morning match, then listening to both matches of the second double header, which means I listen to two women’s and one men’s match. This post looks at the two women’s games that happened today.

CORTEEN-COLEMAN PUTS SKIDS UNDER PHOENIX

Southern Brave had tallied a respectable but not outstanding 139-8 from their 100 balls. Danni Wyatt-Hodge led the way with 59, while there were also useful contributions from Kiwi veteran Sophie Devine and silky South African Laura Wolvaardt. Young left arm wrist spinner Millie Taylor continued what is becoming a very memorable season for her by taking 1-25 from her 20 balls.

Birmingham Phoenix had got to 19 without loss from the first ten balls of the reply when Southern Brave turned to 17 year old left arm orthodox spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman. In the space of three balls she changed the complexion of the match, bowling Emma Lamb for 9 with her first ball, and then two balls later dismissing Marie Kelly the same way, for a duck. When Lauren Bell got rid of the surviving opener, Georgia Voll, with the 18th ball of the innings the Phoenix was well and truly in the ashes, and unlike in the legend this one was not going to revive. Ellyse Perry, Amy Jones and especially Sterre Kalis kept things alive for them, but they were never other than behind the rate, and when Kalis finally fell, to the third last ball of the match, caught by Corteen-Coleman off Bell for 44 (34) it was 124-9, 16 needed off three balls. None of those runs were scored, Hannah Baker surviving one ball before being castled by the next, the penultimate scheduled ball of the match. Sophie Devine was named player of the match for her 27 and 2-28, though personally I would have given it to Corteen-Coleman whose two early wickets put the skids under the Phoenix chase, and whose catch to dismiss Kalis effectively sealed things for Southern Brave. Scorecard here.

PERRIN PULVERISES THE ROCKETS

The focus for me now switched to Nottingham, where Trent Rockets were playing host to Northern Superchargers. Rockets began appallingly, losing three wickets almost before they were started. Their skipper, Ashleigh Gardner, led a fightback, scoring 61 off 32 balls, but they could do no better than 128-8.

Davina Perrin, an 18 year old opening batter, proceeded to make an inadequate total look positively risible, as she climbed into the Rockets bowlers. Alice Davidson-Richards provided early support, and then when she was out Phoebe Litchfield, the 22 year old Australian, produced a splendid cameo, scoring 22 off just 10 balls. Annabel Sutherland, generally regarded as the best current all rounder in the women’s game, and player of the tournament in2024, now came to the crease, and it fell to her in the end to make the winning hit, a four that took her to 18 not out off 11. Perrin had scored 72 not out from 40 balls, with 12 fours. This supercharged performance gave Superchargers the win by eight wickets, with 21 balls to spare. Scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A beetle on my left forearm this morning (three pics)
Some butterflies in my back garden – three red admirals and one European Peacock.
A comma butterfly on an ivy flowerhead from my post-lunch walk
from the same walk, a small pale green insect with wings so diaphanous as to virtually transparent temporarily on my left arm.
Another visitor to the garden, a hummingbird hawkmoth I think (three pics).

A Long Morning Walk

A detailed account of a long walk I took this morning, with plenty of photographs, Also a gallery of photos not related to that walk.

This morning it was bright, sunny and already showing promise of becoming the warm day it now is. I thus decided to make my morning walk a long one.

SETTING FORTH

I left by the back door, headed up the unnamed private road that runs behind my house, crossed Raby Avenue onto Smith Avenue, walked along that road to the point at which it swings 90 degrees and becomes Townshend Terrace, at which point I diverged by way of a short path that leads alongside a pond to Loke Road. Crossing Loke Road I then took Harefield Parade, alongside a second pond, this one with a curved edge. From the end of Harefield Parade I followed a footpath that leads into Kettlewell Lane Park. I left the path in Kettlewell Lane in order to walk alongside some bushes that often harbour insect life. There was one such sighting today. Then I walked along the bank of the Gaywood River until it was time to leave Kettlewell Lane Park and cross the main road at Eastgate Bridge. Having crossed the main road I took Highgate, past the Methodist Chapel, continuing until I reached the footpath that crosses the Gaywood and ultimately brings one out on Wyatt Street. I crossed Wyatt Street to another footpath section which runs alongside Eastgate Academy, joining Blackfriars Road about 100 yards from the train station. I made my way past the train station and into The Walks…

A bee in my back garden.
This I think is a supergiant hoverfly – it was on a nettle leaf in Kettlewell Lane Park
This was alongside the Gaywood River.

THE WALKS TO THE GREAT OUSE

Entering The Walks I headed on to St John’s Walk, which if you follow it all the way leads through past the Recreation Field to Tennyson Avenue, though on this occasion I followed it only as far as the sculpted sections of the Gaywood river the flow through this area of parkland. Shunning paths I walked right alongside the river, where there is a lot of plant life, and sometimes interesting insects. I left the river where my route intersected with the Broad Walk (which runs from directly opposite King’s Lynn library through to the home of King’s Lynn Town football club). I took the Broadwalk through the Guanock Gate and across the Gaywood, before then following a path that cuts through to a bigger path, which leads to the Seven Sisters Gate, by which I left the parkland. I followed the road until I reached a path that leads through to London Road, emerging near a light controlled crossing from which the South Gate is visible. I crossed London Road here and walked down past the South Gate, then swinging right, crossing the Nar, and leaving the road at a path that leads into Harding’s Pits. The path that I had chosen cuts another path that I might have chosen about halfway along its length, and I followed this path from the intersection to the Great Ouse…

ALONG THE GREAT OUSE TO PURFLEET QUAY

I now turned north along the Great Ouse, following the footpath until it joined the road at the Nar Outfall, and then after crossing the Nar I took the unsurfaced footpath that follows the dike around old Boal Quay and then on level ground runs alongside the wall that is part of King’s Lynn’s flood defences, coming out close to the river. I followed the town centre section of the river front past the pontoon jetty, at which several boats were moored, past the courthouse, past the Bank House hotel and across the mouth of the Purfleet, from where one gets a splendid view of the Custom House. I went via the display honouring famous mariners associated in some way with the town and the statue of Captain George Vancouver, who surveyed and charted the Pacific Northwest coast all the way from San Diego, California to Anchorage, Alaska (it took him four years – 1791-5 – to complete this monumental task, and in Canada there is a city named Vancouver). From Purfleet on, though I made one diversion, I was at all times headed towards home…

A composite image showing both the statue of Captain Vancouver and the plaque affixed to the stone plinth on which the statue is mounted.

HOMEWARD BOUND

I walked along Purfleet Quay past the Custom House, crossed King Street and headed along New Conduit Street, past the junction with the High Street, past the statue of King John (unworthy of my camera) and past the construction on the old Argos site that will be King’s Lynn’s new library and community hub when it is complete, then up past the old post office and St James’ Leisure Centre, and in to The Walks, and up past the station, at which point I diverted by way of Morrison’s where I had a small amount of shopping to do. The shopping attended to I left the environs of Morrison’s by way of a short footpath that leads from the carpark through to Highgate. From the point at which I met the footpath by which I left Highgate on my out my route duplicated the outbound route in reverse as far as Loke Road, at which point I headed along Loke Road, across Raby Avenue and on to Columbia Way, ultimately returning to my home via the front door.

Coming along nicely.
A solid looking insect, with an overripe blackberry in the top left corner giving it scale.
A close up of the insect.
I think this is a gatekeeper butterfly.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Just to wrap things up here is gallery of photos not from this particular walk…

This grasshopper was resting in a flower no more than 60 metres from King’s Lynn train station.

England Fall Short at The Oval

An account of an extraordinary hour of cricket this morning to end an extraordinary series, plus a look ahead to England’s winter tour and a photo gallery.

Play resumed today at The Oval with England needing 35 runs to win and having four wickets left. This post describes a crazy hour of cricket this morning.

THE END OF A GREAT SERIES

The weather had closed in after two balls of a Prasidh Krishna over yesterday evening, so he started proceedings this morning. Jamie Overton hit the first two balls of the day for fours, the first a superb shot, a pull that sent the ball in front of square for four, and the second an edge. Then came a huge moment, when Jamie Smith, the last front line batter remaining for England, was out caught behind. Overton and Gus Atkinson advanced the score to 354, 20 to win, 19 for the tie that would be enough to give England the series. Then Overton was given LBW, a very slow decision by umpire Dharmasena (so slow that Overton was actually at the bowler’s end having run an intended leg bye by the time the finger was raised). Overton reviewed it, and it was umpire’s call on wickets, just brushing the outside edge of leg stump. Some might argue that if it taken Dharmasena as long as it did to assess the situation there had to be doubt in his mind and therefore he should not have given it. That brought Josh Tongue in join Atkinson. Three runs later Krishna bowled Tongue to make it 357-9, and Woakes, his left arm in a sling (he dislocated a shoulder in a fielding attempt on day one, and was on the field for the first time since that injury) made his way to the middle, following in the footsteps of the likes of Lionel Tennyson, Colin Cowdrey, Paul Terry and Malcolm Marshall in batting one-handed in a test match (Tennyson actually scored 63 and 36 one-handed in the face of Aussie speedsters Jack Gregory and Ted McDonald). Atkinson did his best to advance the score, and Gill twice refused to alter his deep set field on the last ball of overs, allowing Atkinson to take the strike when India could have given themselves an over at the injured Woakes. On the second of those occasions the score ticked to 367-9, one big hit away from levelling the scores and winning the series for England. Siraj, who had bowled his heart out and must by this point have been pretty much out on his feet, took the ball for yet another over. With the first ball of the new over he hit Atkinson’s stumps, and just before midday India had won the match by six runs. The turning point that enabled all this drama, and England’s eventual failure by so slender a margin was Harry Brook’s crazy dismissal yesterday with England 301-3 and India looking every inch a beaten side. For the record Siraj’s marathon bowling efforts secured him the Player of the Match, while Shubman Gill was India’s player of the series for his 754 runs across the five matches and Brook England’s, with 481 runs in the series. A scorecard of the match can be seen here.

LOOKING AHEAD

This winter England travel to Australia to renew test cricket’s oldest rivalry. Australia hold The Ashes, and the last time an England side regained the urn down under was in 1970-1 when Ray Illingworth skippered the side to victory in the series that ended Bill Lawry’s playing career (England sides retained the urn down under in 1978-9, 1986-7 and 2010-11 as well). Can this England do the almost impossible? Possibly, though it will be incredibly difficult even for such a confident England outfit as this one. If the likes of Wood, Archer and Atkinson are fit on a consistent basis rather than the odd match here or there that will be a big help. Woakes will almost certainly not be able to tour, but I would probably not pick him for an Australian tour anyway – even fit he would be unlikely to make much of an impact there. More worrying is that England’s pig headedness has left them with an opener averaging barely more than 30 in test cricket and a number three averaging a little over 35 in test cricket (an a series in Australia is not the time to be blooding newcomers to the test scene). Although a little under five runs an innings separates these players there is another difference – Crawley’s test average is a near duplicate of his first class average meaning that he is quite simply not good enough at the job. Pope however has a magnificent record in first class cricket and has failed to translate that to consistent success at test level. I would like to see Rehan Ahmed’s form for Leicestershire recognized with a place in the squad. If England want to attempt to equip themselves with something approaching a replacement for Stokes the player (Stokes the captain and Stokes the talisman are irreplaceable) then Jordan Clark has a lot going for him. In all probability, if England are to prevail Stokes will to be both the Brearley and the Botham of the squad.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…