A look at the events of the first two days of England v Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge and a photo gallery.
The second match of the Womens T20I series between England and West Indies has just got underway at Hove. Today has been the second day of a four day test match between England and Zimbabwe men’s teams at Trent Bridge. I missed most of yesterday’s play for various reasons.
MISJUDGEMENTS AT THE TOSS
Zimbabwe won the toss and inserted England. Allegedly Ben Stokes would also have bowled first had he won the toss. Whatever the reasoning behind Zimbabwe’s decision, and the one England would possibly have made, bowling first did not work out well for Zimbabwe. By the close of day one England had piled on 498-3 from 88 of a supposed minimum of 90 overs. I only caught one fairly brief passage of this day’s play, but I did get to hear Pope’s century (the third of three scored for England that day), Root’s 13,000th test run (only four others have ever reached this milestone – Dravid, Kallis and Ponting will be all in Root’s rear view mirror by the end of this season, but Tendulkar’s tally of 15,921 remains a long way off) and Pope’s 150 (he was going ballistic by this stage of proceedings, and that third 50 took only 33 balls). England continued scoring quick runs on the second morning. It was the dismissal of Brook for 58 off 50 balls, which made the score 565-6 that prompted Stokes to declare. The Zimbabwe first innings was a one man show, that man being 21 year old right handed opening batter Brian Bennett, who reached three figures off a mere 97 balls. He did not get a great deal of support from the rest of the order. He was reprieved on 89 when Root dropped a catch in the slips off Ben Stokes. Stokes was not long delayed – he took a wicket in his next over, and added a second in the course of what was a fairly brief spell. At 139 Josh Tongue had him fending a short ball into the hands of Pope at forward short leg but a call of no-ball saved him. In Tongue’s next over the same sequence of play – short ball, fend, catch by Pope, ensued and this time it was a legal delivery. Bennett’s dismissal made it 246-6, and with Richard Ngarava having injured his back while bowling and not being fit to bat it did not take terribly long to wrap the innings up. The final score was 265 all out, giving England a lead of precisely 400. In view of it being a four day match, and tomorrow’s forecast being a little dodgy Stokes had no hesitation in sending Zimbabwe in again. Bennett could duplicate his first innings form, being pinned LBW by Atkinson for 1 (it was given not out on the field, but Atkinson sent it upstairs and was proven right). Tongue then intervened with the wicket of Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine, caught by Pope at forward short leg. Sean Williams batted impressively to reach 22 not out by the close, but at 30-2 Zimbabwe are still 270 runs short of avoiding an innings defeat.
A look at the start of the new era of England Women’s cricket and a photo gallery.
Yesterday the new era of England Women’s cricket with Charlotte Edwards as head coach and Natalie Sciver-Brunt as captain had its first practical test in the form of a T20I against West Indies Women at Canterbury.
A NEW TEAM FOR A NEW ERA
While Heather Knight, who had resigned as skipper in the wake of her team’s disastrous tour of Australia, kept her place as a player there were some new and some returning faces in the England squad. The final line up chosen at the toss was: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley, *Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight, +Amy Jones, Alice Capsey, Em Arlott (her international debut), Issy Wong, Charlie Dean, Linsey Smith and Lauren Bell. With batting all rounders at numbers 3 and 6, a wicket keeping all rounder at 5, a genuine all rounder at 7 and bowling all rounders at 8 and 9 there was depth and variety in both batting and bowling. With Dean and Smith to bowl spin (Dean off spin, Smith left arm orthodox), and Bell, Wong and Arlott to bowl seam/swing plus Capsey (off spin) and Sciver-Brunt (rightarm medium) all bases save leg spin were covered. Ecclestone is returning from a knee injury and was not picked in this squad on the ground of managing her return to full fitness, while leg spinner Sarah Glenn was in the squad but did not make the final XI. Also watching from the side lines were veteran opener Tammy Beaumont and young batting all rounder Paige Scholfield. Sciver-Brunt won the toss and put West Indies in to bat.
The pitch looked good for batting, the conditions were excellent, and there was good batting on show from Hayley Matthews, the West Indies skipper. Sadly none of her team mates were able to offer her decent support. Until wicket keeper Mandy Mangru scored a sparky 17 late in the innings no one save Matthews had managed double figures. Sciver-Brunt showed imagination in her handling of her bowlers, putting Dean on for the second over and Smith for the third, and carefully not introducing Arlott until the Power Play was done. Matthews played a magnificent innings, reaching her hundred off the final ball of the innings. As for her team mates the final West Indies tally of 146-7 sums up their efforts with no need of further comment.
This total was soon put in perspective by England, for whom Wyatt-Hodge and Dunkley led off with a 50 opening stand in quick time. Sciver-Brunt kept the momentum going in partnership with Dunkley, who batted superbly. Knight, playing her first innings back in the ranks after nine years as skipper, played with wonderful freedom, outscoring even Dunkley. England won by eight wickets with 3.3 overs to spare, Dunkley 78 not out from 54 balls, Knight 43 not out from 27 balls. There will be tougher tests ahead than this West Indies side, but it was a defeat in a T20 (their last group fixture of the T20 World Cup) at West Indian hands that set the stage for the disastrous visit to Australia, in which England were whitewashed and deserved that fate. My Canterbury Tale is told and it remains only to provide…
A look back at a remarkable day of cricket, including three (count ’em) classic finishes to county championship matches. Also a photo gallery.
Just over an hour and a half ago Jack Morley, Derbyshire’s number 10, kept out the fifth ball of the final possible over of the match, and with Derbyshire eight wickets down, but a long way adrift, Lancashire accepted that they were not about to capture two wickets with one legal ball left and the latest round of County Championship matches had officially ended. This was the third splendid finish to a match in very quick succession. This post looks back at the stories of this merry Monday.
THE PATTERN OF MY DAY
My morning was to a certain extent tailored around the fact that I had arranged to get myself vaccinated against the current variant of Covid-19 at 10:00. The venue for this jab, Well King’s Lynn, is on Loke Road, only a few minutes from my home by the quickest walking route, though I extended it both ways, on the way there because I also had a few things to purchase at Morrison’s, and on the way back because I was in the mood to do so, and as has always been the case with me and covid vaccinations, I did not feel so much as a hint of an unpleasant side effect. I decided that my first port of call cricket wise would be the Women’s One Day Cup match between Hampshire and Warwickshire, while also having cricinfo tabs open to follow progress in other matches, and that I would revert to the championship after this match was done. I missed the ending of Surrey versus Yorkshire, which followed a predictable course, ending with victory for Surrey by an innings and 29 runs.
A TOPSY TURVY MATCH
At first it looked like Hampshire were in charge. At one point they had reduced Warwickshire to 93-6. Abigail Freeborn was batting well, and now for the first time she found genuine support from the other end. Charis Pavely, a 20 year old who also bowls left arm orthodox spin, actually outscored Freeborn, contributing 55 to their seventh wicket stand of 97. Warwickshire captain Georgia Davis now came in and helped Freeborn to boost the final Warwickshire total to 243, and Arundel Castle is not especially noted for high scores. Freeborn just missed out on a century, being 94 not out at the end of the innings. The Hampshire openers fell cheaply, but then Charli Knott and Hampshire skipper Georgia Adams shared the biggest partnership of the match, and although Warwickshire then pegged Hampshire back once more, Mary Taylor played a little gem of an innings in the closing stages to get her side over the line with four balls to spare.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S WIN
To say that Gloucestershire have been unconvincing at Bristol in recent years is to err on the side of generosity – before today they had not won a red ball match at county HQ since 2022. They need 162 in the final innings to beat Kent, and given their poor record at Bristol in recent times they would have been quaking when their seventh wicket went down at 138. That brought Zaman Akhter in join Cameron Green. This pair picked their way towards the target, and in the event got there for no further loss. After 970 days Gloucestershire had finally won a red ball match at county HQ.
CLOSING STAGES IN PARALLEL
Glocuestershire’s triumph left two matches still in progress. At Chester-le-Street Durham had managed to get through Nottinghamshire’s second innings quick enough to leave themselves a chase of 92 in 18 overs to take the win. At Old Trafford Derbyshire had initially been looking at a potential chase against Lancashire but were by this stage hanging on grimly for the draw. By the time the Gloucestershire match finished there were under 10 overs left in both games, and Durham after being temporarily rocked back by Mohammad Abbas striking twice in the opening over were well on course for the win. Derbyshire were eight down, with Anuj Dal and Jack Morley defending gamely. Durham were 10 short of victory when Alex Lees was out, both bowler and keeper trying to get under the catch, and the latter, South African Kyle Verreynne finally claiming it. Durham promoted Brydon Carse to number five, and although Colin Ackermann reached a 50 before the end, it was Carse, like a ham actor stealing the Oscar winner’s line, who made the winning it, a straight driven four with 10 possible balls remaining. That left Derbyshire’s rearguard as the last cricket action of the day. They were into the final over there by then. Anuj Dal had clocked up 100 balls survived in the innings just before the end of the Gloucestershire match, and his score was 12 not out at the time. By the time Morley, 0* off 36, had played out the final few balls to secure the draw Dal’s final innings figures were 13* (115) – even more self denying than Hashim Amla’s 37* (273) for Surrey v Hampshire a few years ago. Ben Atchison, Derbyshire’s number nine had also contributed a 21 ball duck to the resistance act.
The three county championship match finishes described in this post illustrate just what is best about this, the oldest of all organized professional cricket competitions. At 135 years of age the County Championship is in splendid health.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This splendid beetle attracted my attention during my extended walk back from being vaccinated.As did this slightly less splendid specimen of the same species of beetle.This pic and the next three show another Large Blue Butterfly.
A look at the current round of county championship fixtures, with the focus on the battle of the behemoths – Surrey v Yorkshire. Also a photo gallery.
Another round of fixtures in this year’s county championship got underway on Friday (there is one more round, some of which I will unavoidably miss) before the Vitality Blast, One Day Cup and Hundred are played, with the second half of the championship season happening after these competitions are done. This post looks at events on the first two and a half days of the current round.
SURREY v YORKSHIRE
These are the two most successful clubs in the county championship’s long history, with Surrey dominating the current era. Surrey won the toss and opted to bowl first. Yorkshire had somewhat the better of the morning session, Surrey definitely the better of the afternoon session, but what still looks getting on for two full days later like the decisive tipping point of the contest occurred midway through the evening session. Yorkshire at 237-6 were still holding their own when Bairstow, previously majestic, played a very poor shot at Dan Lawrence’s part time off spin to be caught by Tom Lawes for 89. The Yorkshire first innings folded rapidly thereafter, with only a further 18 runs accruing. Burns and Sibley made it through to the close without loss, making it definitively Surrey’s opening day.
Day two went meltingly in Surrey’s favour, and by end of it they were 384-7. There were no centuries, but both Aussie recruit Kurtis Patterson, batting at number three, and Ben Foakes at number five topped 80. Foakes was 7th out for 86, with the score at 351, but unlike Yorkshire who folded from the point their seventh wicket fell, Surrey were far from done. Jordan Clark, far better with the bat than most county number eights, now assumed control of the innings, and New Zealander Nathan Smith also played competently.
The Surrey innings lasted for slightly more than a standard length morning session on day three (as they were nine down at the scheduled interval time an extra half hour was playable in the session, and about 10 minutes thereof were actually needed. Surrey scored 512 in total, for a first innings lead of 257. They were already well ahead when their seventh wicket fell, but whereas Yorkshire had added only 18 more from that point Surrey’s last three wickets piled on 161 between them. Bean fell early in the Yorkshire innings, to the bowling of Nathan Smith. Jordan Clark, scorer of 69 in the Surrey innings, made the big breakthrough when he had Adam Lyth caught by Patterson. Since then James Wharton and Jonathan Tattersall have batted well together, and at the moment Yorkshire are 81-2, 176 runs short of avoiding the innings defeat. Given how far adrift they still are Yorkshire probably need to bat until tea time tomorrow before they can even begin to feel safe. Tattersall has just lost patience and played a loose drive at Clark resulting in a catch to Sibley. Tattersall batted 82 balls for his 12. Yorkshire are 83-3, still 174 short of avoiding the innings defeat. Bairstow, the first innings top scorer is now at the crease.
ELSEWHERE
Somerset are playing Sussex, and it is just possible that a decision to enforce the follow on when they could reasonably have gone in again (it was the afternoon of day two, and their advantage was 186, so they could justifiably have opted to bat till lunch on day three, and have five sessions in which to wrap up the Sussex second innings). As I type they need another 109 with seven second innings wickets standing. I will not condemn them even if their decision to enforce does end up backfiring, because I think too many sides have a knee-jerk aversion to going for the quick kill in these situations, often citing a need to rest the bowlers. Lancashire are in action against Derbyshire, and Lancashire’s Sir James Anderson collected three cheap wickets in his first first class bowl since being accorded that status.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Yesterday, I included a picture of a pair of butterflies that I had not been able to identify on a flower head. I have been given what I believe after checking online to be a correct identification: Large Blue or Phengaris arion. As you will see today yielded another new butterfly find…
Yesterday’s great sighting.Today’s new sighting. This one on the thistle flower was the first of three photos I was to take…It moved from that perch to resting on a wooden fence where I got this picture….…and this one.
A look back at the T20 match that took place between the Somerset and Durham women’s teams and a photo gallery.
Last night in the Vitality Women’s T20 Cup Somerset Women entertained Durham Women at Exmouth. This post looks back at the second half of that match (I missed the first half, joining the action after the county championship match I was following had ended for the day).
MORE UPS AND DOWNS THAN A YO-YO
Durham Women had been restricted to 124-9 from their 20 overs with England off spinner Charlie Dean underlining her class by taking 4-12 from her four overs. This did not seem likely to test Somerset unduly, especially when Bex Odgers started like a train. Odgers scored 39 off 18 balls, of which she hit nine for fours, in an opening stand of 54 that Somerset well ahead of the rate. Odgers’ innings would prove to be the only 30+ score of the match. Once Odgers was out Somerset hit the buffers, and at low water mark were 107-9, needing 18 from two overs, with Alex Griffiths batting in company with the Somerset number 11, 19 year old Croatian Erin Vukusic. Vukusic had not a good evening, leaking 24 from two overs in a low scoring affair. However, while she did not score any herself, she partially redeemed her poor bowling by running well in support of Griffiths, who almost took Somerset home. In the end a quickly run two off the final ball levelled the scores – 124-9 for each side. As this competition is knockout one there had to be a super over. For this Somerset batted first, and former England skipper Heather Knight emerged alongside Odgers. Knight scored five off the first two balls of the over, but then Odgers was out first ball. Somerset ended with only eight from their super over. Unsurprisingly given her figures in the full match Charlie Dean took the ball for Somerset. Durham opted to trust their regular openers, Hollie Armitage and Bess Heath, and it took just three balls for this pair to punish Somerset for failing to win in regular play.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
From this picture on are highlights from today’s lunch time walk – there will be more pictures from that walk in my next post.After lots of close ups this was an attempt to capture all the insects in the above pictures in one shot.These two butterflies are of a type that is new to me. This is the unedited originalClose focus on the stars, and rotated.The one I suspect from its colouring and extra decoration to be the male.The one I suspect to be the female.The original shot, edited but without cropping or rotation.
An account of a remarkable match between Surrey and The Blaze at Beckenham in the Women’s One Day Cup, and a photo gallery.
On Wednesday the Women’s One Day Cup saw Surrey entertain The Blaze (I am not sure why they have been allowed to continue under that name while all other such names disappeared in the close season reforms to women’s domestic cricket in England and Wales) at Beckenham. This post looks back at a remarkable day.
AN UNUSUAL VENUE
Shrewd observers may have already noted that the ground at Beckenham is officially known as The Kent County Ground, making this not in actuality a Surrey home game. Beckenham is only just Kent rather than Southeast London, and I presume Kent raised no objection to the venue being used for a Surrey home game.
TWISTS AND TURNS
The Blaze batted well, though no one made a really massive score. There was a fluent 80 from Amy Jones opening the batting, 56 from Scotland all rounder Kathryn Bryce, 82 off just 67 balls from Georgia Elwiss, and a rapid 34 from Scotland wicket keeper batter Sarah Bryce. They racked up 346-9 in total, a fine score, but at Beckenham, with its flat pitch and lightning fast outfield not necessarily a winning one. Ryana McDonald-Gay was the most economical Surrey bowler with 1-53 from her ten overs. Leg spinner Dani Gregory was the most penetrative, with 3-63 from eight overs.
Surrey lost Dunkley for 20, but then Capsey played a superb innings. The problem was she did not get enough support. Danni Wyatt-Hodge scored an aggressive 43 off 40 balls, while Paige Scholfield was even more aggressive for her 37off 31 balls, 24 of those runs coming in the form of sixes. After Scholfield’s dismissal Davidson-Richards, Chathli, Franklin and Moore all went fairly cheaply (Franklin’s 17 was the best score by any of these four). At 227-7, with McDonald-Gay, definitely more bowler than batter coming in to join Capsey, and only Alexa Stonehouse and Dani Gregory, the second as close to a genuine number 11 as you will see in 21st century professional cricket still to come it looked like the Blaze had secured the points. McDonald-Gay helped Capsey to add 65 for the eighth wicket. Stonehouse also offered support, but at 307, with Surrey still 39 adrift Capsey’s great knock ended for 125. Gregory rose to the occasion and batted above her usual station, but the real revelation was Stonehouse from number 10 in the order. By the time the final over started not only were the last pair still there, they had somehow reduced the runs needed to nine. Stonehouse hit the first ball of that final over for four and the heist looked on. The next four balls saw five needed off five balls turn into two needed off one, or one for a tie (there are no ‘super overs’ in this competition, so a tie would mean a share of the points), with Gregory, the number 11, on strike. In the event Gregory managed the single that split the points, and since each side had scored 346-9 from their 50 overs. This was the highest scoring tie in the history of women’s List A cricket. I suspect that Elwiss, who had followed her 82 with the bat by taking 3-35 from seven overs and taking the catch that dismissed McDonald-Gay would have been named Player of the Match for her all round contribution, though Capsey’s innings also deserves credit. Full scorecard here.
PHOTOGRAPHY
My usual sign off…
I thought this picture of three green insects on the head of a daisy was going to be my feature image…If you click the next picture along from this page it should open up the Wildlife Trust’s Cinnabar Moth page.…until my lunchtime walk today, when I saw this Cinnabar Moth near Bawsey Drain.
A look at the draw in cricket (some other sports also use that term for a result but none use it in the way cricket does), with two very different examples from the most recent round of county championship fixtures. Also a large photo gallery.
While cricket is not the only sport to use the word ‘draw’, the way that word is used in cricket is different from in any other sport. In cricket the draw covers any situation in which neither team has been able to win within the allotted time. Ties are rare in cricket because to be a tie the side batting second has to lose its final wicket with the scores level – if times runs out with scores level, as happened in the “We flippin’ murdered ’em” test match between Zimbabwe and England, when then coach David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, exasperated by Zimbabwe getting away with bowling deliberately wide because the umpires obtusely stuck to test match rules regarding wides, flipped his lid in the immediate aftermath of the result being confirmed. This post looks at two very different draws from the last round of county championship fixtures by way of illustrating the sheer range of match situations that can come under the heading of ‘drawn’ in the game of cricket.
EDGBASTON – THE ULTIMATE IN STALEMATES
Warwickshire hosted Surrey, winners of the last three county championships, in this round of fixtures, and as far I am concerned the surface the Edgbaston ground staff offered up for the occasion tells its own story about Warwickshire’s level of ambition for this match: they wanted a high scoring draw, from which each side would accrue a respectable haul of points, since they did not believe they could beat Surrey. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey but then put Warwickshire in to bat. Warwickshire batted for the first five sessions of the match, piling up 665-5 declared. By the end of the third of the four scheduled days Surrey were nine down, with Ben Foakes and Matther Fisher together at the crease. Had Warwickshire got the final wicket early on the fourth morning they may have been able to make life hard for Surrey in the follow-on. In the event, even with the half hour extension permitted when a side is nine down at the lunch interval, Warwickshire did not get the wicket at all that morning. By the time Fisher was finally last out for 40 Foakes had gone to a career best 174 not out, and Surrey had topped 500, having batted 178 overs. They had not quite done enough to avoid the follow on, which Warwickshire enforced as they had to. The Surrey second innings was barely underway by tea time, at which point Jupiter Pluvius, clearly as unimpressed by the pitch and the farce of a match that resulted as I was, intervened, enabling a game that had pretty much been DOA to be officially put out of its misery. I hope that Warwickshire get a points deduction for preparing such a surface – it was blatantly unfit for a four day game, since it would have taken eight days at a minimum to generate a result on it.
CHELMSFORD – ALIVE TO THE LAST POSSIBLE BALL
When Essex resumed overnight on 64-4, 456 adrift of a gargantuan victory target this match did not look like being a great one. However, the overnight pair of Critchley and Pepper held the fort until the stroke of tea when Pepper was out. Two more wickets immediately post tea, Thain and Critchley, left it up to South African Simon Harmer, mainly noted for being the best off spinner currently playing county cricket, but also a very useful lower order batter to shepherd the tail if Essex were to escape with a draw. When Rajitha was out just in to the last hour (and we were dealing in time by then because a combination of Essex being committed to defence and spinners bowling for Yorkshire meant that way more than the scheduled minimum number of overs was being bowled) Jamie Porter, with a career batting average of six, joined Harmer for the last stand. The last over of the match, which Yorkshire just managed to sneak in, getting it underway at 17:59 on day four, one minute before the scheduled close, Dom Bess’ 38th of the innings, the 133rd in all, and the 106th that Yorkshire bowled on that final day began with Porter on strike, but the Essex number 11 managed a single, just the second run of his innings, off the first ball thereof which meant that Harmer was back on strike. Harmer played out the remaining five balls, and Essex, 273-9 and still 247 short of the winning target had held out for the draw in a very exciting finish. Yorkshire might have been less cautious about their second innings declaration, but when they had Essex four down overnight it looked as though they had more than made up for any overcaution about that declaration, and Essex deserve credit for the way they fought through to that draw.
A look at happenings in the latest round of county championship matches, which got underway yesterday morning. Also a photo gallery.
This season’s sixth round of championship fixtures got underway yesterday morning. As an indication of changing times it was on May 9 1895 that WG Grace’s first class season got under way. After that late start to the season the fixtures came thick and fast, and precisely three weeks after his season had begun the good doctor notched up his 1,000th run of the campaign. This post looks at what happened yesterday.
BURNS’ BUNGLE
Surrey are taking on Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Yesterday, on a lovely sunny day, Rory Burns the Surrey skipper won the toss, and with overhead conditions suggesting that it was a time to bat and no hint of demons in the pitch he opted to put Warwickshire in to bat. Not only were wickets slow in coming (while runs were not so), both the first two, those of openers Alex Davies and Rob Yates, for 45 and 86 respectively, would have had the batters very annoyed with themselves. Davies, having started very impressively, charged down the pitch at part time off spinner Dan Lawrence, missed his stroke and was bowled. Yates, looking nailed on for a century, had an uncharacteristic swing at one from Tom Lawes and succeeded only in nicking it behind where Foakes, as ever, was unerring. Sam Hain got to 26 before he was caught by Lawrence off Clark. Then Lawrence, whose 20 overs of off spin on day one of a championship match form Exhibit A in the case against Burns’ decision to bowl first, took the only really well earned wicket of the day, producing a fine delivery to bowl Aussie all rounder Beau Webster for 15. New Zealander Tom Latham was looking utterly secure, and moved past three figures with no hint of difficult. He was joined after the dismissal of Webster by Ed Barnard, treated by his former county Worcestershire as a bowler who bats, but now at Warwickshire regarded as a genuine all rounder who is if anything more batter than bowler. This pair were still in residence at stumps, with the score 364-4, and Latham closing in on 150. They are still together as I type, just over a quarter of an hour into day two, with three runs added to the overnight total as they settle in. Ed Barnard has moved to 50 since I typed this section, Latham has passed 150 and Warwickshire are 394-4. Dan Lawrence is about to have his first bowl of day two at 11:37AM.
ELSEWHERE
The most inconsistent day yesterday was that of Sussex, who started with an opening stand of 80, then lost five wickets for one run, and six for eight runs, then recovered to post 284, with off spinner Jack Carson registering a maiden first class hundred and first class debutant James Hayes contributing an unbeaten 33 from number 11 as the tenth wicket stand yielded 73. For Glamorgan, in action against Kent at Canterbury Ben Callaway, an all rounder who bowls both off spin and left arm orthodox spin, was 91 not out, closing in on what will be his maiden first class century. He has just reached the landmark while my photo gallery was uploading. Essex, seeking to recover from a setback against Somerset (see here), are not going well against Yorkshire at Chelmsford. They bowled the visitors out for 216, a decent effort, but are currently 35-4 in reply.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This picture and the nest show the new library/ community hub;s current stage of development.
A back at the round of county championship fixtures that took place over the bank holiday weekend, a look at the points system and a photo gallery.
The most recent round of county championship fixtures took place between Friday 2 and Monday 5 May. It was an excellent round of fixtures overall, with the only clear cut dud game, the one at the Utilita Bowl where both hosts Hampshire and visitors Durham seem to have decided almost from moment one that a high scoring draw and consequent boost to a few people’s batting averages was all that was available. In the rest of this post I will look at the games I actually followed some of, and will end with something about the current points system in the county championship.
SOMERSET v ESSEX
Somerset came into this round without a win so far this season, and for a long time it did not look like that would be changing. Somerset had surrendered tamely for 145 in response to Essex’s first innings 206. When Essex led by over 300 with only four wickets down in their second innings it was looking horribly one-sided. Although it did not look like it at the time the injury sustained by Jordan Cox in his anxiety to get to three figures (at that stage the previous highest score of the game was the 41 made Noah Thain in the Essex first innings) was a turning point in the match. Cox completed his ton, and immediately retired hurt. From that point five wickets crashed for seven runs, which precluded any return to the crease on Cox’s part. A total of 321 still looked beyond Somerset’s capabilities. At 78-5 the only question seemed to be whether or not there would be a fourth day – with not seeming the more likely answer. However Lewis Gregory now joined James Rew, and redeemed a less than stellar effort with the ball by launching a counter attack. The sixth wicket pair put on a century stand before Gregory was out. Craig Overton now came in and supported Rew to such good purpose that they were still together at the close. On the fourth morning the pair continued their good work, and the Essex bowling, normally among the best in the country, became somewhat ragged, with even the usually metronomic Sam Cook struggling to locate the right areas and regular fourth innings destroyer Harmer not quite looking at his best. A Somerset win had looked very distant when play started, but as Rew and Overton kept going and going it went from deeply improbable through unlikely and on to possible, then probable and finally, as Rew moved past three figures, a near certainty. When Rew finally fell for a magnificent 116 a mere nine more were needed for the win, and Josh Davey, by no means a mug with the bat, was joining Overton. It was Overton, appropriately enough, who struck the final blow, a six that simultaneously propelled Somerset to victory and him past the 50 mark. Somerset have a long history of involvement in bizarre matches (e.g. Headingley 1901 – Somerset 87, Yorkshire 325, Somerset 630, Yorkshire 113, Somerset won by 279 runs after trailing by 238 on first innings), but not even they have been involved in many games to equal this one.
OTHER MATCHES
Lancashire v Gloucestershire bore all the hallmarks of a dull draw deep into day three, when in response to a Lancashire score of 450 Gloucestershire were steadily moving into a lead. However, once they had the lead Gloucestershire did attack, led by Oliver Price, who before this innings had never topped 150 in a first class match. Now he made it 250, a mark that only one previous Gloucestershire batter, Walter Hammond, had ever reached against Lancashire. Gloucestershire ended the third day on 589-8, a score at which they promptly declared. Lancashire were at one point four wickets down and level in terms of runs, but in the end they did enough to draw the match.
Glamorgan against Derbyshire got very tense in the closing stages. When Derbyshire were 248-5 chasing a target of 338 it looked all over, but a clatter of wickets suddenly left Derbyshire clinging on by their finger tips. In the end the match was drawn, with Derbyshire surviving the final over with their score 308-9. This innings featured a maiden first class five-wicket haul for Ben Kellaway, who like Aussie women’s player Jemma Barsby cam bowl both off spin and left arm orthodox spin. Kellaway had earlier played a big innings for Glamorgan as well.
Middlesex and Kent also had an incredible finish. In their case the draw was off the table, but win for either side or a tie were possible deep into the closing stages. The fortunes of wat swayed hither and thither with first one side and then the other looking favourites. In the end Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones got his side over the line for a two wicket win. This was harsh on Daniel Bell-Drummond who had scored a double century in the Kent second innings to put Middlesex under pressure.
THE POINTS SYSTEM
As it currently stands a win is worth 16 points, a draw is worth 8 points and there are 8 bonus points available, 5 for batting (250 = 1, 300 = 2, 350 = 3, 400 = 4, 450 = 5) and 3 for bowling (3, 6 and 9 wickets). These bonus points are awarded specifically in the first 110 overs of each side’s first innings. The big problem is the valuation put on the draw, because a draw with a full ration of bonus points nets 16 points, making it almost as valuable as a win with a low bonus point tally. Although the round that has just gone was a good one overall, there was the game I mentioned in passing at the Utilita Bowl where both sides settled early for a high scoring draw, and there have been several notably cowardly declarations earlier in the season where sides have built their leads to an absurd extent and ultimately declared so late in the game that only rank incompetence by their opponents could result in victory. I would either reduce the award for drawing a game to 6 points, or if keeping the draw at eight points boost the award for winning a match to 20 points, to make sure achieving victory even with a small bonus point count is definitely more desirable than a high scoring draw. Matches like the abomination at the Utilita Bowl are a poor advert for what is actually a great competition – witness the four matches that I looked at in more detail in the course of this post.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This is in Grimston – my bus home from work yesterday was diverted from its usual route.
A look back at James and Sons’ April Auction, a brief mention of County Championship action and a photo gallery.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week James and Sons had its April auction, 1,000 stamp and postal history lots across the two days. On day one I was at work, one floor above where the auction was taking place, but had left bids on two lots, the fate of which would decide my approach to day two where I would be following from home.
A MODESTLY SUCCESSFUL AUCTION
The opening day of the auction went well overall for the company, and well for me personally – I got both lots I had left bids on, and both sufficiently cheaply that I was still in a position to bid on more items on day two. Lot 193 was the first of my lots:
Lot 398 was five pages of Russian steam locomotive stamps:
DAY TWO
This could have been a very quiet day, but fortunately it wasn’t completely so. The biggest success of the day was lot 762, which went for £140. My first bid of the day was on lot 701, and I was successful:
Lot 728 was my next success…
Lots 785 and 840 also went to me…
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
Another round of County Championship fixtures got underway today. Due to a meeting this morning I missed the first session of play, and I will be missing most of tomorrow as it is the West Norfolk Autism Group’s annual outing to Pensthorpe. However I have got to enjoy Somerset having superb afternoon and evening against Essex at Taunton. Essex were 115-2 at the high water mark of their innings, but since then it has been one-way traffic – they are now 180-9 with Noah Thain having just gone for 41, caught Rew bowled Pretorius. I am not entirely sure about Kasun Rajitha;s batting credentials, though the fact that he is below Sam Cook, sometimes adhesive (as indeed he was today) but unquestionably a tail ender, tells one something, but Jamie Porter is an absolutely blown in the glass genuine number 11.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
These coasters (seven images in total) are an early birthday present from my boss.The Trevithick/ Pen-y-Darren £2
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