Tag: Red Admiral

Two Very Different Finals

A look back at yesterday’s finals of The Hundred and a photo gallery.

This years edition of The Hundred came to an end yesterday with a pair of finals that apart from the presence of Trent Rockets sides in both matches were about as different as could be. This post looks back at the day.

TOTAL DOMINATION

In the Women’s match Trent Rockets won the toss and told Sun Risers Leeds to bat first. Sun Risers were 24-3 after 19 balls. Then Annabel Sutherland and Deepti Sharma hinted at a revival, before Sharma fell at the exact halfway point of the innings, bowled by Charley Phillips for 12, to make it 56-4. Four balls and two runs later Sutherland was on her way back to the dugout, stumped by Mooney off Adams for 25. Jess Jonassen negotiated her first two balls carefully, but was then run out, Georgia Adams’ fine throw being well gathered by Georgia Elwiss who broke the stumps to make it 58-6. Samantha Bates clean bowled Darcey Carter for a duck to make it 62-7. Dani Gibson and Kate Cross fought hard, but shortly after skipper Gibson had become only the second player to cross 20 in what was turning into a horror show of a batting performance, she gave Kim Garth a catch off Ash Gardner to make it 82-8. With no recognized batters left run scoring became very slow, and eventually Cross had a wild cross-batted swipe at one from Georgia Adams, missed and was bowled to make it 88-9 from 87 balls. Four balls and three runs later an innings that barely got started was at an end, Cassidy McCarthy pinned LBW for 2 by Samantha Bates to make it 91 all out from 91 balls. Sophia Dunkley at the top of the Rockets order continued her majestic form this tournament, moving her aggregate past 300 in the course of the innings, well supported by Beth Mooney. Mooney by her own stratospheric standards had had a quiet tournament with the bat, but she has a habit of delivering when it really counts, and being well aware that the only way her opponents could win this was by taking ten wickets she settled in to bat through at one end. Although Dunkley and number three Natalie Sciver-Brunt were out in the space of four balls, the game was as good as done by then. Dunkley had scored 41 from 23 balls, with four fours and two sixes, while the current England captain had 4 from two balls. The score at her dismissal was 74-2 from 43 balls. Gardner joined Mooney, and the two Aussies were absolutely ruthless in executing the last part of the job, taking 11 more balls to score 18 runs needed for the win. Rockets had won by eight wickets with a barely credible 46 balls to spare. They have been the best team at this tournament, and have improved as it went along. Full scorecard here.

A BATTLE ROYAL

In the men’s match Manchester Super Giants won the toss and told Trent Rockets to bat first. Rockets made a blistering start, lost wickets in the middle of their innings, and were then given hope by some big hitting from Lewis Gregory (32 from 16 balls) and Craig Overton (11 from five balls). They tallied 158-8, a fine but not unassailable score. Tim Seifert was in tremendous form for the Super Giants. He and Paul Walter kicked off the chase with a stand of 66 in 31 balls. Jos Buttler, the leading career run scorer in T20 history, then weighed in with 23 off 14 balls, his dismissal making the score 100-2 from 55 balls. Third to go was Seifert, caught by Billings off Aamir for 72 (38) with the score at 136 from 78 balls. 23 off 22 balls is normally considered a walk in the park in this format, but Super Giants made hard work of it. In the end Liam Dawson hit the 98th ball of their innings for six to get them over the line. Scorecard here. In their own ways both these matches were well worth following, the first because although it took any suspense out of the occasion the sheer brilliance of the Trent Rockets women, who did just about everything right and controlled their final from beginning to end was compelling of itself, and the second because it was a grand fight between two strong sides neither of whom would yield an inch.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

This small butterfly is not familiar to me. Its colouring is very distinctive and impressibe.
This was a huge fungus or piece of fungus floating on the Gaywood river.

Phoenix Reduced to Ashes

A look back at yesterday’s match in The Hundred (women’s), a link to a quiz and a photo gallery.

Yesterday in The Hundred Birmingham Phoenix were in action against Sun Risers Leeds. Neither match went well for the Birmingham outfit. This post looks back at the women’s match.

AN INNINGS THAT NEVER GOT GOING

Only two members of the Birmingham Phoenix XI reached double figures. The worst aspect of a sorry display was what happened in the final 20 balls. After 80 balls Phoenix were a not very impressive 89-4, but with Emma Lamb going well, and Annerie Dercksen at the crease with her they were not yet in a hopeless position. A strong finish could have got them to 125 or thereabouts, which would at least have meant that the run chase was not a complete formality. They actually managed 18-5 from those 20 balls, ending on 107-9, which was never going to be enough.

PHOENIX INCINERATED LITCHFIELD STYLE

The only setback Sun Risers Leeds suffered was the loss of Bryony Smith for 12 which made it 24-1 from 15 balls. Thereafter Phoebe Litchfield played a quite brilliant innings, with sensible support from the vastly experienced Lauren Winfield-Hill. By the time Sun Risers won, by nine wickets with a massive 31 balls to spare Litchfield had amassed 71 not out from 33 balls, with 13 fours and one six, overshadowing all else in the match in the process, while Winfield-Hill had scored 26 not out from 27 balls never looking in any trouble. Scorecard here. This hammering not only eliminated Phoenix, it also ensured that London Spirit would make no further progress in the competition and dotted the Is and crossed the Ts on MI London’s elimination, which in most minds had been confirmed for some days. Southern Brave and Trent Rockets are duking it out for top spot, with the latter now favourites to take to it, while Manchester Super Giants, Welsh Fire and Sun Risers Leeds are battling for the third qualifying spot, with the first named currently holding the advantage, though that could change fairly soon if Southern Brave manage to chase down their total of 139-4.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Before I present my gallery I have a quiz I created for funtrivia.com to share with you – it is a photo quiz about King’s Lynn landmarks (and you do not have to sign up for the site to play it – many play as guests).

Now for my usual sign off…

A Tale of Sophie and Sophia

A look at the women’s match between Manchester Super Giants and Trent Rockets in The Hundred today and a photo gallery.

Today in the Hundred the Manchester Super Giants are playing Trent Rockets. The women’s match has already happened, and this post looks back at it.

THE TRENT ROCKETS INNINGS

The home side won the toss and as everyone always seems to in this competition they chose to bowl first. Although the legend that is Beth Mooney failed on this occasion, bowled by Grace Ballinger for 2 that early setback was followed by a superb partnership between Sophia Dunkley and Sophie Luff who each topped 50. Luff went for 51, from just 26 balls, to a catch by Smriti Mandhana off Maitlan Brown. Dunkley scored 57 from 33 balls, falling to a catch by Ryana Macdonald-Gay off Sophie Ecclestone. The Super Giants bowlers arguably had the better of what was left of the innings, though Georgia Adams managed an unbeaten 20 from 13 balls to lift the Rockets score past 150. Most of the Rockets bowlers fared pretty poorly overall, though Ecclestone managed 2-24 from her 20 balls, and Ballinger had 1-21 from her full 2o balls.

THE MANCHESTER SUPER GIANTS RESPONSE

Manchester Super Giants never looked remotely like chasing that Rockets total down. Meg Lanning scored at the required rate, but could not get enough of the strike – she was out to the 72nd ball of the innings, which was her 24th, meaning that as an opening batter she had managed to face just one third of the number of balls bowled while she was at the crease. Kathryn Bryce hit successive fours to bring up the 100, making the ask 54 off 24 balls, but she was out to the very next ball and thereafter, apart from a couple of defiant sixes from the bat of Maitlan Brown it was one-way traffic, with the end coming when Ashleigh Gardner clean bowled Ballinger for a two ball duck to make it 122 all out from 93 balls, a win for Rockets by 31 runs. Sophia Dunkley was named Match Hero having pouched three catches to set alongside her score of 57. Scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

A common darter (four pics)
a red dragonfly near the Gaywood River (I am not sure enough of my dragonflies to give the species of this one).
This was discounted – £7 for a 750ml bottle, which is very cheap for olive oil in a British shop.

A Tie in the Hundred

A look back at a tie in the Hundred (women’s) which featured some great cricket and a very poor ‘match hero’ decision. Also a photo gallery.

Today is a double header day in The Hundred. The early part of the double header was Welsh Fire against Trent Rockets in the women’s. Then there was a choice of two matches – the men’s match from the first double header or the women’s London derby – MI London v London Spirit. I opted for the latter, and was rewarded – the men’s match was a complete non-contest, with the Rockets romping home by nine wickets with 28 balls to spare. The women’s London Derby was rather different…

THE MI LONDON INNINGS

MI London had been put into bat, and for much of their innings it looked like they would have a very modest total to defend. However Chinelle Henry smashed 33 not out off 12 balls at the death, including hitting the last three balls of the innings for 6,4,6. That got MI London to 151. Although Melie Kerr scored more (49 not out off 33 balls), Henry’s was the key innings in making this a defensible score.

THE LONDON SPIRIT INNINGS

For most of their innings London Spirit were ahead on comparison, but they never quite sealed the deal. Every time they looked like doing so someone got out. Marie Kelly hit 45 from 28 balls, before being caught by Henry off Gordon. Marizanne Kapp then looked to be carrying on where Kelly had left off, but immediately after hitting a six off Matthews she attacked again and was caught by Dani Gregory. Then Amy Jones assumed control, but when she had reached 49 she holed out off Kirstie Gordon. Finally, Nadine de Klerk had the chance to win it but holed out to Kerr off Matthews for 13 which left four needed off two balls and a new batter to face. London Spirit skipper Charlie Dean accepted responsibility for this task, and grabbed a single, which left Deandra Dottin on strike and needing three to win from one ball. She did her best, and got back for two to tie the scores, just getting in before the bails were removed – a direct hit would have done for and given MI London a one run win. Somewhat bizarrely Kelly’s 45 got her ‘Match Hero’ – it should quite clearly have gone to Chinelle Henry, whose innings was crucial in getting her side to a score they could even think about defending, who started the London Spirit innings by dismissing the dangerous Grace Harris for a duck, caught by skipper Hollie Armitage, and took the catch that dismissed Kelly off Gordon. If any of those things I have just listed had not happened London Spirit would have won the match, which is why Henry should have had the award and not Kelly. I am annoyed by this verdict, and it is cricket knowledge, not the fact that I grew up in south London that makes me so. Full scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

Two pics of a full moon that was very low in the sky and looked much bigger than normal.
A red admiral and a bumblebee in one picture.

The Hundred 2026 Gets Underway

A look back at the Men’s Hundred (mis)match between MI London and Sunrisers Leeds at The Oval yesterday and a large photo gallery.

The Hundred has undergone a major revamp since last summer, with the IPL getting involved in a big way. This post looks at the early stages of the competition.

NEW ERA OFF TO A FAMILIAR START

The first match of the Hundred in 2026 featured MI London (the former Oval Invincibles, and although the MI derives from the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, who now own this franchise as well as many others we have been instructed that the required pronunciation is ‘My London’ not ‘M I London’) in action against Sunrisers Leeds (nee Northern Superchargers, also now owned by an IPL franchise, in this case Hyderabad). I missed the women’s match due to being at work, but I did listen to the men’s game.

Sunrisers Leeds, batting first, started brightly, and for more than half of their allotted 100 balls looked to be going very well. The key moment was the dismissal of Mitch ‘the bison’ Marsh for 41, caught by Sam Curran off Tom Curran, which made it 84-3 from 56 balls. That started a collapse, and Leeds were all out for 143 off the penultimate ball of their innings. Richard Gleeson had 4-25 from 19 balls and Sam Curran 2-27 from 15 balls.

Will Jacks and Jason Roy were both out cheaply for the London side, but a good stand between James Vince and Sam Curran took them past 50 before Vince was bowled for 17 to make it 51-3 from 44 balls. That brought Nicholas Pooran, one of the ultimate ‘guns for hire’ in this era of franchise cricket, to the crease to join Curran. Curran batted beautifully, but even he was overshadowed by the pyrotechnics of Pooran. The Oval is a big ground, but most of Pooran’s five sixes cleared the ropes by a very long way. In all the West Indian hammered 58 not out from 22 balls with five of each kind of boundary, Curran ended on 60 not out from 39 balls with five fours and three sixes. The London side had romped home by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare, a barely credible margin in a match in this format. Sam Curran’s all round efforts plus his captaincy of the London side secured him the ‘Match Hero’ award. Some names of changed and there is more money involved, but the franchise based at The Oval still looks formidably strong. Full scorecard here.

PHOTOGRAPHS

After a reminder to click on photos to view them at larger size we move to my usual sign off…

A hummingbird hawkmoth extracting nectar from a buddleia plant…
…and close up in all its glory.
It rained lightly but persistently yesterday morning, and that brought the snails out in force.
This red admiral has seen better days.
goldfinches on a roof.
This feather, which I saw lying near the Gaywood river at Kettlewell Lane Park originally belonged to a blue jay.
Two bumblebees enjoying the same buddleia head.
A painted lady rests on a patch of gravel
A gatekeeper oblingly spreads its wings.

England Men’s ODI Side Struggling

A look at the problems England men are having in their ODI series against South Africa men and a very large photo gallery.

There is an ODI series in progress between the England and South Africa men’s sides. This post looks briefly at what has happened so far.

MATCH ONE: SO BAD I MISSED ALL THE ACTION

The first match of the series happened on Tuesday, a working day. It was a day/night fixture so I was expecting to catch the second innings after I got home from work. Unfortunately England were so atrocious that I missed all the action. First they crashed to 131 all out, then it took South Africa only just over 20 overs to knock this derisory target off. Sonny Baker, making his first appearance in England colours after some great successes in domestic cricket, including The Hundred, leaked 76 runs from seven overs.

MATCH TWO: BETTER BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

The second match, at Lord’s, was also a day-nighter. This one did go the distance, and in theory was a close one. However, save for when Bethell (58 off 40 balls) was firing on all cylinders England were always behind the rate, and there was never any great feeling that a successful chase was a likely outcome. The closeness of the final result (five runs in it) was largely down to a bat fling by Jofra Archer with all pressure eased because the game was to all intents and purposes already done. The Barbados born fast bowler scored an unbeaten 27 from 14 balls to reduce but not close the gap between the sides. All rounder Corbin Bosch, whose bowling stock in trade is right arm fast medium, was allowed to bowl his ten overs with figures of 1-38, which with a victory target of 331 was indefensible from England. The other thing to note here is that Lord’s is well known for being a hard ground on which to chase, and if England had any confidence in their ability to set a respectable target they would surely have opted to do so. The disaster in the first match meant that Brook apparently did not even consider batting first when the coin fell his way.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A cormorant pretending to be a black duck, overlooking the sculpted part of the Gaywood in The Walks (two pics).
Common sandpiper, spotted near the mouth of the Nar while on my way to a WNAG committee meeting this morning.
Some King’s Lynn townscapes from various vantage points, starting with the centre of the bridge linking West Lynn to South Lynn (further north there is only a ferry crossing available).
Two planes flying together.
The focus here is on the pontoon jetty.
This one comes from earlier this evening – the particular buddleia plant overlooking Bawsey Drain.

A Classic Contest at Chelmsford

A look at the match between Essex and Worcestershire that is now approaching a conclusion and a photo gallery.

Another round of County Championship matches got underway on Friday. I missed the first two sessions of Friday, the beginning of Saturday and the post tea session of Saturday due to various commitments, but have been following the action when able to. My focus this round has been on Essex v Worcestershire, and it has been a fine match.

A PITCH ON WHICH NO ONE IS REALLY ‘IN’

The pitch at Chelmsford has been offering something to the bowlers all the way through this match. There were no individual 50+ scores in the first two innings (Essex 179, Worcestershire 202). By the time I had to leave at tea yesterday Paul Walter had reached the first 50 of the match and was looking as near to settled as any batter had managed on that surface. I was to find out when I checked on what had happened on my return that he had completed a century and that youngster Noah Thain (a native of Cambridgeshire, which has produced some mighty cricketers over the years, most notably Jack Hobbs and Tom Hayward both of Surrey) was closing in on a 50 of his own. This morning Thain completed his half century, his first such score in first class cricket. He did not add many more, going for 54, but the Essex tail wagged more than a little, Harmer and especially Snater who got to within sight of a 50 of his own batting well for the home team. In the end Essex had amassed 317, at least 100 above par for this surface. It was expected that there would be time for two overs of the Worcestershire second innings before the lunch interval, but Porter dismissed Jake Libby with the second ball of the innings, and in the end that wicket extended the first over to a sufficient extent that Worcestershire did not have to face another before lunch. Through the afternoon session Essex kept picking up wickets. Kashif Ali did manage to become the first Worcestershire batter to reach an individual 50 but had not advanced his score from that point when Harmer, on for an exploratory over before the tea interval, got him. Brett D’Oliveira and Matthew Waite then defied the bowlers for a time, but just as I started this post D’Oliveira was caught by Walter off Porter. As things stand at the moment Worcestershire are 171-6, needing 124 more to win. Though Essex, thanks largely to Walter with that century, are heavy favourites this match has been an absorbing contest, helped to be so by the fact that batters have had to work hard for their runs and bowlers have got full rewards for doing the right things. Kasun Rajitha, the first Sri Lankan to play for Essex, took a five-for in the first Worcestershire innings. Sam Cook has been rested for this game on the advice of the ECB, which tells me that an England cap is coming for him, as it should be given his first class record (318 wickets in FC cricket at 19.77 a piece).

PHOTOGRAPHS

This gallery starts with two pictures from Friday, then a number from yesterday, and a few from today to round things out (I have several other galleries ready to go should I choose to use them)…

I spotted this red admiral on the walk home from Boal Quay Car Park after the seal trip on Friday.
An example of why I like having dandelions growing in my back yard.

A Composite #MAshes 2023 XI

A special butterfly picture, a composie #MAshes2023 XI with 12th man, and a splendid photo gallery.

What has been a superb Men’s Ashes (#MAshes for social media users) approaches its conclusion. The centrepiece of this post picks a composite XI from that series. However, I have plenty of other stuff to share, and before the centrepiece I have a photograph that given its significance and quality deserves special treatment (it has already generated interest on Mastodon)…

A HOLLY BLUE

I was out walking this morning when I spotted a butterfly that was new to me. I was able to get a very good photograph of the wonderful little creature, and Mastodon provided the answer to my inquiries – it was the Holly Blue, a species recognized as endangered (see this Guardian article):

A Holly Blue butterfly on a nettle leaf, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, 30/07/2023

A COMPOSITE #MASHES 2023 XI

Before I list my CXI in batting order let me emphasize that I am picking on the basis of THIS SERIES and this series only.

  1. Usman Khawaja (Australia, left handed opening batter). He has been Australia’s stand out batter of this series by a mile.
  2. Zak Crawley (England, right handed opening batter). Some, familiar with my opinions of him, will be surprised by this selection, but I am picking based on this series, and Warner has been negligible and Duckett patchy, whereas Crawley has had a fine series. It will take more than one fine series, even against the oldest enemy, to convince me that Crawley is the real deal as a test match opener, but denying plain facts is not my style, and the plain facts are that based on this series Crawley gets the slot.
  3. Marnus Labuschagne (Australia right handed batter). By his own stratospheric standards not a great series for him, but he gets the slot by default – since Pope’s injury England have struggled massively with this slot, experimenting with Brook for one innings, and then relying on Ali until his injury this match, with Stokes stepping up in their final innings.
  4. Joe Root (England, right handed batter, occasional off spinner). Only one century, but a couple of near misses as well, and the odd moment with his spin, plus some excellent catches. His opposite number, Smith, has had a decidedly quiet series.
  5. Harry Brook (England, right handed batter, occasional medium pacer). A very good series for him, though no century to show for it. It was ill advised to use him as an ersatz number three, an experiment that lasted one innings, but he played some fine knocks in his regular slot, especially at Headingley, Old Trafford and the first innings of this match at The Oval.
  6. *Ben Stokes (England, left handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler, captain). Knee problems have reduced his bowling to a virtual side show (he is allegedly practicing spin bowling in an attempt to prolong his ability to describe himself as an all rounder), but he has played at least one crucial innings, and his captaincy, not withstanding the short stuff at the Aussie tail on Friday, has been a cut above that of Cummins.
  7. +Alex Carey (Australia, wicket keeper, left handed batter). Massively the better of the two keepers on show this series, and Bairstow’s runs in the last couple of matches do not in anyway compensate for his clumsiness behind the stumps, which has cost England hundreds of runs through the series.
  8. Mitchell Starc (Australia, left arm fast bowler, left handed lower order batter). He gets smacked, but he also picks up wickets, and he provides something that no one else in the series does, in terms of the left arm angle.
  9. Mark Wood (England, right arm fast bowler, right handed lower order batter). The quickest bowler on either side, and he has had a good series.
  10. Stuart Broad (England, right arm fast medium bowler, left handed lower order batter). He has announced that the current test match will be has last match as a competitive cricketer, but this is not a sentimental pick – he has also taken over 20 wickets in the series, the fifth time he has done that against Australia, and taken his Ashes tally past 150, putting him alone among England bowlers but behind Lillee, McGrath and Warne overall.
  11. Todd Murphy (off spinner, left handed lower order batter). I didn’t want to name a side without a front line spinner, and with Leach injured before the series started and Lyon injured early in the series there was really only one option – Ali has been as ineffective as one might expect of a 36 year old with little interest in red ball cricket and a moderate prior record to be.
  12. Chris Woakes (England, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). I am naming a 12th man because the veteran Warwickshire all rounder has done well, proving once again that he is formidable in England, and while I couldn’t fit him in the XI I wanted to honour him.

The starting XI has a strong batting line up, a fine keeper and a strong and balance bowling attack, and the designated 12th man could cover any vacancy other than Carey or Murphy without crippling the side.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…