GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 166
October 2016
Champions Matters
When I joined Jack at Lord’s for the third day of the Somerset game on 24 May Middlesex had drawn all five of their previous matches and indeed they went on to draw this one as well. Most of the season’s early matches were badly rain affected and the Lord’s pitches were being condemned as lifeless and slow which was in stark contrast to the greentops of recent years for Championship matches. There was a general feeling of directionless cricket.
However, with improvements in the weather and matches away from Lord’s Middlesex beat Hampshire at Merchant Taylor’s School and then significantly beat Yorkshire at Scarborough and Somerset at Taunton. From then on they were at or near the top of the table and it increasingly been apparent that the fixture list was going to provide a title deciding game against Yorkshire at Lord’s in the final round of matches. What proved a surprise was that Somerset would also be in the mix. How come that the team with the little ground and belting wicket conducive to high scoring draws became contenders? They changed wicket preparation and produced turners which facilitated results.
I had been away in September and thought that I might go to Old Trafford for the last day of the Lancashire match but jet lag put paid to these plans. I also thought that I might journey to London the following week to take in a day of the Yorkshire match but once I had established that Sky would be broadcasting the whole match these plans were also abandoned. I then found that I was spending much of the week glued to the fascinating contest that unwound.
The wicket was another slow one and under the current regulations there was no toss and Yorkshire invited Middlesex to bat. I had already received an email from the Professor who seemed divided in loyalties for this clash:
“I see that Andrew Strauss (ex-Middlesex) has refused permission for Bairstow to play for Yorkshire in the Championship decider at Lord's tomorrow. He is being rested by England. Bairstow has played five days of cricket since August 14th. Finn is playing. Yorkshire are without Root, Rashid, Bairstow and Lehman.”
There were further interesting aspects of team selection. Yorkshire decided to pick five seamers but did not include Plunkett. Middlesex left out their two international batsmen Morgan and Stirling.
Middlesex ground it out on day one until bad light mercifully brought matters to a conclusion. On day two they failed to build on their overnight 206 for 5 and were all out for 270. Yorkshire’s ascendancy was short lived though as Roland-Jones reduced the visitors to 50 for 4. But these Lord’s wickets although difficult to score freely on are also relatively easy to stay in on as long as you play straight. Bresnan, batting at five, demonstrated this for the next seven hours and took Yorkshire to a substantial first innings lead. Like Yorkshire had done Middlesex dropped three catches, any of which could have changed the course of the match.
By this time Somerset had almost won their match and so to stay in the title race Yorkshire needed the batting bonus point they would get at 350. Sidebotham came to the wicket at 334 for 9 and 15 runs later the Umpires took the players off for bad light. When they returned in heightened tension they got their point and the last wicket stand was worth 56 when Sidebotham was dismissed with the score on 390.
Middlesex looked a beaten side and things got worse when they were reduced to 2 for 2 but Gubbins and Malan both followed Bresnan’s example and applied themselves with similar determination. The game appeared to be going nowhere on day four as Middlesex took their score beyond the first innings arrears and then continued with no urgency. By now Somerset had won and either Middlesex or Yorkshire had to win this game to take the title. There was much speculation amongst the commentators as whether a contrived declaration would take place and if so what the target would be. The deal was done and after some free hits for Eskinazi, Simpson and Franklin Yorkshire were set to score 240 in 40 overs. Many thought that this was too generous but I suspect that Gale committed to continuing his side’s chase to the end rather than shut up shop and give the title to Somerset if things did not go well. In the event it was moot as Yorkshire found six an over too demanding and once Bresnan fell Roland Jones wrapped the game up swiftly finishing with a hat trick to give Middlesex the title.
Roland-Jones gets mobbed by his team mates
The Morgan Report
Middlesex were unchanged from the team that drew rather disappointingly against Lancashire at Old Trafford recently for the final Championship match of the season against Yorkshire at Lord's which started on September 20th and which would determine who would win the Championship title. Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale dispensed with the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl on a strange looking greenish track in very poor light. Nick Gubbins was the only top order batsman to look capable of making a decent score as wickets fell regularly around him. Keeper John Simpson looked no happier than any of the others, but at least he hung around long enough to add 57 for the fifth wicket with Gubbins. Skipper James Franklin did even better and batting, for the first time, began to look slightly easier, but after a stand of 75 with Gubbins, the latter finally fell for an exceptional 125 off 274 balls with 16 fours and a six.
However, Franklin did not last much longer before departing for a praiseworthy 48 off 106 balls with 8 fours and the tail crumbled disappointingly to 270 all out. Yorkshire chose five seam bowlers for this one and the pick of them was ex-Northants man Jack Brooks (6-65), closely followed by ex-England all rounder Tim Bresnan (3-48) and although neither ex-England left armer Ryan Sidebottom nor ex-Leeds UCCE seamer Steve Patterson took a wicket, both bowled very economically to keep the pressure on Middlesex, though it was slightly surprising that England's Liam Plunkett was unable to squeeze into the team, but though Liam had a very good season with the bat (average 45), he had a poor season with the ball and this allowed a rare chance for England's David Willey to play in the Championship, but he did not bowl well in this match.
Ex-England opener Adam Lyth looked in great form at the start of the Yorkshire innings, but unfortunately none of his first three partners managed to get off the mark and when Lyth himself fell for 43 off 54 balls with 9 fours, Yorkshire appeared to be in trouble at 53 for 4. The general feeling was that Bresnan and ex-Sussex keeper Andy Hodd, were a place or two too high in the order at numbers 5 and 6, but both batted excellently during a fine stand of 116 for the fifth wicket before Hodd departed for a very valuable 64 off 104 balls with 7 fours. Bresnan then found another handy partner in off spinning all rounder Azeem Rafiq ,who has recently returned to the club after being released in 2014. Rafiq also acquitted himself extremely well and added an impressive 114 for the seventh wicket with Bresnan before he finally departed for an outstanding 65 off 97 balls with 10 fours and a six. Yorkshire needed to reach 350 to gain a fourth batting point which would keep them in the Championship race, but the situation was finely balanced when last man Sidebottom came to the crease with the score on 334. Sidebottom played competently, however, and Yorkshire "got them in singles", reaching their target slowly but then increasing the tempo and compiling a stand of 56 for the last wicket, which took the total up to 390 all out, a lead of 120. Bresnan had played a magnificent innings and he finished on 142* off 293 balls with 12 fours and a six. Toby Roland-Jones was the most successful Middlesex bowler with 4 for 72, while Tim Murtagh claimed 3-96.
The Middlesex second innings started disastrously as England Test batsmen Sam Robson and Nick Compton both failed for the second time in the match and the home team found themselves in deep trouble at 2 for 2. Fortunately, Gubbins has been in splendid form and he found a very reliable partner in Dawid Malan and the two of them put on a superb 198 for the third wicket before Gubbins finally fell for 93 off 200 balls with 9 fours and a six, giving him a brilliant total of 218 runs in the match. Malan now found another useful partner in Steve Eskinazi and 65 runs came quickly for the fourth wicket before Malan eventually departed for an excellent 116 off 246 balls with 14 fours.
It is believed that some secret negotiations had taken place as batsmen Lyth and Alex Lees were now purveying some hittable dross and Simpson cracked 31 off 10 balls with 6 fours and a six, Franklin hit 30 off 14 balls with 6 fours and a six, while Eskinazi was left undefeated on 78 off 83 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes as the declaration came at 359 for 6, leaving Yorkshire needing 240 to win in 40 overs. Yorkshire gave it their best shot and scored at a good rate throughout, but unsurprisingly, wickets were also falling at a good rate.
Bresnan, who had a superb match, was again the pick of the batsmen with 55 off 48 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes, sharing stands of 50 with ex-Zimbabwean Gary Ballance for the fourth wicket and 55 with Gale for the fifth wicket, but then the end came very quickly. Man of the Match Toby Roland-Jones was mainly responsible for this as he finished the match with a hat-trick (Rafiq, Hodd and Sidebottom) to give him the remarkable figures of 6 for 54 and 10 for 126 in the match as Middlesex won by 61 runs.
Middlesex took 21 points from the match (Yorkshire took 7) and finished four points clear of Somerset and 19 points ahead of Yorkshire. It was Middlesex's first Championship since Mike Gatting's side won the title in 1993. Haseeb Hameed (who is on the England Test tour) had a first class average of 49.92 this season, while Nick Gubbins (who is on the Lions tour) averaged 61.26, but at least Nick was awarded his county cap at lunch on day 1.
R I P County Cricket
Distinguished Old Dane, Mike Cope, gives us his view
May I offer my sincere condolences to the Somerset Cricket Club for the appalling manner in which the County Cricket Championship was finalised.
The result might have well been determined by the toss of a coin, if Middlesex, whom I happen to follow, were not in a position to win the game then that is their problem or lack of ability.
These are professional cricketers who play sport for a living but there can be no satisfaction in winning a title from a contrived situation. Sport is a contest between two teams and the members of each team should endeavour to play to their utmost ability.
Shame on them.
Out and About with the Professor
What with a lull in the international programme and Yorkshire’s 2nd XI narrowly missing out on a third successive Championship at Lord’s it is a good time to turn attention to the “grass roots” of the game.
I have never quite understood this metaphor – which I read is an Americanism – but I suppose it is quite apt for the game of cricket, the grass roots of which spread, presumably, from school and village green up to the ECB recognised club leagues.
I follow the fortunes of two clubs: my local team, Harrogate and the club of which I have been a member for 45 years, Welwyn Garden City. Both have had very good seasons.
Harrogate play in the Yorkshire League. The League has a long history and has included many of the clubs that formerly hosted a county match (Hull, Sheffield, Harrogate) and one that still does, Scarborough. There are, of course, numerous other cricket leagues in Yorkshire (not least the Bradford League) and there have been, from time to time, debates about which league is the strongest (in truth these debates have not been “from time to time” but more or less non-stop over generations). Relations between the leagues (this being Yorkshire) have not always been harmonious, but this year, after a very long build up, the decision was made to have an overall “Yorkshire Championship”. The teams in the Yorkshire League were split into two districts with other clubs from lower leagues being promoted into each. The Bradford and North Yorkshire South Durham Leagues made up the four with the winners of each playing off for the Championship.
There had always, I think it fair to say, been a quiet confidence that the old Yorkshire League was superior to the others and so it was with reasonable expectation that Harrogate (who won their league quite comfortably) set off to Scarborough for their semi-final against Wakefield. Sadly, they lost and so travel plans for the final had to be scrapped. “Travel” is involved since all this manoeuvring has meant that the final could not be played until 22 October. If you think that might be a bit late for a cricket match in Yorkshire, the answer is that even balmy Scarborough might prove a touch chilly…the final is in Abu Dhabi. And Wakefield’s opponents? A name that will resonate with most if not all Googlies readers – Pudsey St Lawrence.
Welwyn Garden City also won their League in a play-off. Hertfordshire is another ECB League and has employed the increasingly popular end-of-season play-off between the top four teams. Welwyn finished third and, in the old days, that would have been that. But not this year. Third place ceded ground advantage to second place Bishops Stortford and then, somewhat more controversially, to first placed Radlett.
So, off we all trooped to Middlesex’s second home to watch the final. Radlett have been a strong side for many years, they finished top of the League and had home advantage but the final was, in truth, a thrashing. Welwyn batted first and got 288. These days scores of less than 300 in 50 overs are frequently chased down but 288 in mid-September was, I thought, a pretty decent effort. Welwyn have a number of Middlesex connections with our captain Jamie Hewitt having played for the County some years’ ago, Gurjit Sandhu having been released more recently and Owais Shah having had a distinguished career with both Middlesex and, of course, England.
The bulk of Welwyn’s runs came from Dan Blacktop (who also had Lord’s connections) with 82. Shah (43) and a crucially rapid 64 from Hewitt from 55 balls set up the very defensible target. In reply, Radlett never really got going, Zimbabwean Fraser Crawford top scored with 35 while the Radlett captain, the talented Kabir Toor (who has also played in a couple of Middlesex fixtures) failed to hold the middle order together. The Radlett total of 157 in just 34 overs is a thrashing in anybody’s language. Quick bowler Conner Emerton took 2-17 and Shah 4-27.
A particularly pleasing end to the match was the last wicket which fell to Life Member Simon Bridgewater who has been bowling his left arm “spinners” for (seemingly) decades and who ended up with a very useful 2-37. Welwyn have their annual dinner next week…could be quite a do.
#FA.*#./+
ESPNcricinfo's County Championship XI
Andrew McGlashan selects ESPNcricinfo’s team of the season
Keaton Jennings (Durham) 1548 runs at 64.50
The leading run scorer in the country, Jennings made a strong claim to be included in England's Test squad. His seven Championship centuries - including two unbeaten double-hundreds, one carrying his bat against Surrey - were a Durham record and he scored more runs in 2016 than his previous two seasons combined. Resisted the temptation to move counties and will have a huge role to play in the post-Stoneman-Borthwick era of Durham's batting
Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire) 1198 runs at 49.91
A new star of English cricket after becoming the youngest Lancashire batsman to make 1000 runs in a season and the first to score two centuries in a Roses match. "Born to play for England," was the assessment of many and the call came when he was included for the Bangladesh tour. "I'm a modern-day Boycott," Hameed has said, but even during this season his range of strokeplay has broadened out. Batting time, though, remains his strength and a skill not to be forgotten in the modern age.
Nick Gubbins (Middlesex) 1409 runs at 61.26
The season began with most of the attention on his opening partner, Sam Robson, who has already had a taste of Test cricket but by September it was Gubbins closer to a call-up. A left-hander who has often drawn comparisons with Andrew Strauss, Gubbins began the season without a first-class hundred but scored four Championship tons including one in the final match of the season against Yorkshire.
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire) 1338 runs at 60.81
The most exciting uncapped batsman in English cricket. After a difficult period when Duckett struggled to adapt to the disciplines - on and off the field - needed for professional cricket, 2016 was a remarkable success story for the left hander. Churning out the runs from start to finish with breathtaking flamboyance, his returns included an unbeaten 282 against Sussex - the highest score of the season - which would surely have been a triple-century but for two days of rain. His first-class strike of 79.35 was also the fastest for the summer.
Tom Westley (Essex) 1217 runs at 52.91
Westley's most prolific season against the red ball saw him pass 1000 runs for the first time and was capped with a career-best 254 against Worcestershire as Essex's promotion campaign approached fulfilment. In imperious form at No. 3, he began with a century in the opening-round victory over Gloucestershire and followed that up with scores of 86, 16, 64 and 125, his leg-side whip and cover drive in full working order as Essex took an early grip on top spot in Division Two.
Ben Foakes (Surrey) 759 runs at 42.16, 43 catches and 3 stumpings
Regarded by Andy Flower and Alec Stewart as the best gloveman in English cricket, Foakes started to flourish having been given the chance as Surrey's first-choice wicketkeeper. Could not force his way past Jos Buttler as the reserve Test keeper - despite Buttler playing just one first-class matche in a year - but remains in the mix longer-term alongside Sam Billings.
Keith Barker (Warwickshire) 608 runs at 32.00; 59 wickets at 23.13
Another impressively consistent all-round season for Barker, ending with his best Championship haul for a campaign. He only played four games of white-ball cricket in the season which meant he was able to put his efforts into the four-day game and he was ever-present in the Championship. His hundred against Nottinghamshire was his sixth in first-class cricket with all of them coming at Nos. 8 or 9.
Graham Napier (Essex) 298 runs at 22.92; 63 wickets at 23.17
In his final season as a professional, Napier produced his best-ever Championship analysis before hobbling out of his last game, promotion secured. Essex's Division Two title was won by batting big and then letting their seamers get to work and while there were honourable mentions for Jamie Porter, David Masters and Ravi Bopara, Napier consistently led the way. Joe Leach edged ahead of him in the final week to top the Division Two tally, but the "King of Colchester" took a five-for and scored a hundred on his Castle Park farewell to boot.
Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) 69 wickets at 24.02
Remained the standout spinner in domestic cricket - it was also his most prolific season - although was pushed closer for that tag than the previous summer when a few of his home truths about English spin had hit a nerve. A better bowler now than he was during his international career, Patel has firmly said his New Zealand days are behind him even though he has been asked back.
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire) 49 wickets at 23.12
Started the season with a bang, under the gaze of the selectors, and was often remarked on as looking a Test match bowler. By the time the first England squad of the summer was announced he had 19 wickets at 21.15. He sustained his form to the end, following his Test debut against Pakistan, and took nine wickets in the match against Middlesex - including a hat-trick - but it was not enough to save Nottinghamshire from relegation.
Jack Leach (Somerset) 65 wickets at 21.87
This was the tightest call in selection with Leach tying on three votes with Jack Brooks. The chairman of selectors opted for a balanced, varied attack of three seamers and two spinners, plus it was a magnificent campaign for Leach who pushed himself close to England recognition. Enjoyed the change of tactics at Taunton, with a spin-friendly surface, but it was his performance at Headingley in the penultimate round which showed how rapid his rise had been.
Surrey Matters
The Great Jack Morgan has been to the Oval again
Hampshire captain James Vince did not bother with the toss in the Championship match against Surrey at the Oval on 6 September, but unsurprisingly invited Surrey to bat in very gloomy conditions. Three wickets went down for 96, but Rory Burns was batting very well, as he has for most of the season, and he got some useful assistance from Steve Davies and Ben Foakes. Burns reached his century just before departing with the score on 220 for an outstanding 101 off 207 balls with 15 fours and a six. Foakes went on to a handy 48 with 7 fours and Gareth Batty held the tail together with a gritty 41* with 5 fours as the innings closed on 329. Ex-Middlesex all rounder Gareth Berg, South African Test allrounder Ryan McLaren and England limited overs all rounder Liam Dawson all bowled well, but the best figures went to 20 year old Brad Wheal from Durban with 4 for 100.
Will Smith (ex-Nottinghamshire and Durham) and 20 year old Tom Alsop from High Wycombe put on 92 for the second wicket before Smith fell for 49 with 9 fours. Alsop then found another reliable partner in ex-Zimbabwean Test player Sean Ervine and the pair added 88 for the fourth wicket when Alsop fell to the first ball of day 3 for a thoroughly impressive 117 off 194 balls with 19 fours. However, Ervine soon found another excellent companion in McLaren, who was quickly into his stride and was rapidly catching up with Ervine. These two put on 186 (a new record for the sixth wicket for Hants against Surrey) in less than 3 hours before McLaren departed just after reaching a particularly entertaining century: he made exactly 100 off 149 balls with 18 fours.
Promising young keeper Lewis McManus from Poole then helped Ervine add 65 for the seventh wicket before falling for an encouraging 39 with 7 fours. Berg then produced a spectacular cameo of 42 off 27 balls with 5 fours and 3 enormous sixes out of a partnership of 48 with Ervine, before ex-Somerset and Worcestershire allrounder Gareth Andrew hit 25 off 14 balls in a stand of 44 with Ervine and no 11 Wheal had hit 10 off 4 balls when the declaration came at 582-9, a lead of 253. The closure left Ervine undefeated on a magnificent 158* off 286 balls with 16 fours and 2 sixes. Mark Footitt finished with the strange looking figures of 6-161, but credit to him for sticking to a difficult task, while Batty and Stuart Meaker also reached unwanted centuries and the former's figures of 1-118 seemed to mock suggestions that he might be in line for an England call up. Foakes claimed 5 catches behind the stumps.
Surrey had no chance of winning, of course, but they must have been confident of avoiding defeat on a pitch that, from the perimeter, appeared to hold few demons. Dom Sibley made 44 with 6 fours, Arun Harinath 57 off 105 balls with 8 fours in a stand of 100 for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara who made a smooth and unworried 84* off 177 balls with 11 fours. Sangakkara was joined at the end of the innings by Davies and they put on an unbroken 57 for the fourth wicket as the game drifted away to a draw with Surrey on 248-3. This was the first match that I have ever seen in which both teams fielded a player wearing the no 13 shirt, Middlesex, for example, have never used a no 13. The two involved both batted no 9, were both called Gareth and were, of course, Batty and Berg. Surrey took 9 points from the match and Hants 12 points. Surrey can no longer win the Championship, while Hants are still in deep relegation trouble: they are within a few points of catching Lancashire, Durham and Warwickshire, but they have only one match left and both Lancashire and Durham have two.
King Cricket Matters
Alex Bowden wrote this in King Cricket
As is our wont, we haven’t really drawn any conclusions about the fundamental merits of city teams versus a tournament involving the existing counties. We do have a point to make about a minor aspect of the scheduling though and we’re going to make it even though it will probably change.
The latest rumblings are that an eight-team T20 competition involving city teams would take place at the same time as several rounds of the County Championship. This, to us, seems very wrong.
There is a feeling among many people that the shortest format is a rival to the longer ones. We’ve never seen it that way. To us, it’s all cricket and we see no reason why the different formats can’t actively support each other, broadening the appeal of the sport as a whole. Twenty20 is more likely to draw people in and we maintain that the greater scope of Test cricket will always be more capable of retaining interest in the long-term.
The current pencil-scrawled plans are for the new competition to take place at the same time as Test matches and we’re not actually too bothered about that. You could even argue that this arrangement presents an opportunity for cross-pollination or whatever you want to call it, promoting Tests via the Twenty20 coverage. Test cricketers would have to be given permission to play in the sixes-and-fireworks stuff too, so there is an implicit message there that Big Man Cricket is the higher level.
It isn’t the same with the County Championship. Four-day fixtures taking place during the tournament would see teams gutted. What would this achieve? What would be the point of those matches? Shouldn’t you be gnawing on something else? We already have a situation where no-one’s quite sure what second division runs and wickets are worth. Compromising both divisions by hauling out all the bigger names for a spell would only make individual performances of even more questionable value.
A corollary of that is that team performances would also be qualified. If what basically amounts to a second XI win in July is worth the same as a first team win in June, what the hell kind of a competition are we talking about? Who would honestly care about winning that?
Playing the County Championship and a new Twenty20 competition at the same time achieves two shitty things:
It means the domestic game needlessly cannibalises itself when there’s no real reason why the different formats can’t work together; and it reinforces this idea that the long and short formats are fundamentally different and are actively in competition with each other
Those two points overlap really and that part of the Venn diagram is why we’re writing about something that probably won’t happen. The very fact that it’s being mooted betrays the fact that decisions aren’t being made in the interests of the game as a whole.
Whether it’s just that people have become so involved in trying to develop a more appealing ‘gateway’ cricket competition that they’ve lost sight of the bigger picture; or whether they really don’t care what form the sport takes as long as it makes more money, we don’t know. Despite the temptation to err on the side of cynicism, it’s actually far more likely to be the former. British cricket administrators are a bunch of old bastards and most of them have a long history of being involved in county cricket.
An alternative take is that they know full well that it’s a terrible idea to have the two competitions running concurrently. In this scenario, they’re only floating the idea so that the county chairman can see that giving a new Twenty20 competition its own window while retaining the validity of the County Championship is a much better option than trying to play a devalued four-day competition at the same time.
In other words, the counties might need to experience the bad idea before they accept it is just such a thing. As a friend’s aunt once said of a toddler crawling towards a roaring fire for the nth time one evening: “Oh, let him – he’ll soon learn.”
Red Mist Matters
Australia were short of fit openers for the first T20 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on 6 September and so Warner invited Glen Maxwell to face the new ball with him. Maxwell didn’t disappoint and scored 145 not out from 65 balls in an innings that included nine sixes. The others all chipped in including Travis Head who scored his 45 even quicker than Maxwell. Australia reached 263 for 3 and won by 85 runs.
Ged Matters
I planned an early September trip to Birmingham, cunningly mixing a few business meetings with pleasure such that I’d get to see best part of three day’s cricket for two days off work. I’d get some ukulele practice and some reading done in the evenings too.
The weather forecast was quite promising for September, although I did notice that Brum expected a bit of overnight rain before the start of the match, so I wondered whether the game would start on time. As it turned out, it didn’t start on the Tuesday at all. Sunshine for most of the day, but confounding showers at precisely the wrong times…we cricket lovers have all suffered such days.
A quick drive across Edgbaston to my hotel, where the receptionist said, “ah, you must have stayed here before, you have requested a quiet room at the back.” I should have just smiled and nodded, but instead I said, “no. I requested a quiet room because I intend to give Benjy the Bartitone Ukulele here a good thrashing and don’t want to disturb other residents”. The receptionist gave one of those nervous laughs and I thought I saw her check the location of her panic button.
Walking from the City centre to the ground after my meetings on Wednesday morning, I passed a small posse of low lives on the edge of the ring road, who greeted me warmly, “hello mate”, and to whom I waved. I left my hat on the hat stand at Edgbaston at stumps that evening and only realised my mistake half way back to the hotel. On the Thursday, walking the same route from the City to the ground, I encountered the same low lives and one of them called out, “oy, mate, where’s your hat?” You get a very sartorially aware type of low life in Birmingham these days. I was most impressed. Daisy was concerned, when I read her the first draft of this piece, that the low lives who hang around at King Cricket might object to my use of the term “low lives” to describe Brummy rough sleepers. But I reassured Daisy that King Cricket low lives are an entirely different class of low lives.
Each evening I had a good opportunity to practice ukulele with Benjy and speak with Daisy and make a start on reading PostCapitalism by Paul Mason, which I ended up reviewing under my other nom de plume here. I must choose more upbeat books for the cricket next summer, this was just as grim as my Uxbridge read earlier in the season.
Soon after my low-life hat interaction on Thursday, my Friday afternoon London client had called to ask, “could you be here for early lunchtime instead?” It was one of those statement-type questions requiring the answer “yes”. This meant that my planned Friday leisurely amble back to London became an early getaway from Brum.
Realising that Dumbo was low on fuel, I decided to stop at the first service station along the way. It was one of those “drive a loop-the-loop” service stations, which got Ivan’s Waze app into a fluster, saying, “turn around when possible”. When I went to pay, the cashier asked me, “which pump?” When I twisted around to check and Ivan blurted once more. “turn around when possible.” I smiled and explained to the cashier that the service station’s loopy routing had caused a bit of a barney between Ivan’s sat-nav app and Dumbo. The cashier laughed one of those nervous laughs and I think I saw him check the location of his panic button before taking my money.
A quick pit stop at the house to drop off Benjy and my bags, with only enough time to say “hello” and “goodbye” to Dais. Still, at least the early meeting meant an early end to the working week, if you seriously can describe such a week thus.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 166
October 2016
Champions Matters
When I joined Jack at Lord’s for the third day of the Somerset game on 24 May Middlesex had drawn all five of their previous matches and indeed they went on to draw this one as well. Most of the season’s early matches were badly rain affected and the Lord’s pitches were being condemned as lifeless and slow which was in stark contrast to the greentops of recent years for Championship matches. There was a general feeling of directionless cricket.
However, with improvements in the weather and matches away from Lord’s Middlesex beat Hampshire at Merchant Taylor’s School and then significantly beat Yorkshire at Scarborough and Somerset at Taunton. From then on they were at or near the top of the table and it increasingly been apparent that the fixture list was going to provide a title deciding game against Yorkshire at Lord’s in the final round of matches. What proved a surprise was that Somerset would also be in the mix. How come that the team with the little ground and belting wicket conducive to high scoring draws became contenders? They changed wicket preparation and produced turners which facilitated results.
I had been away in September and thought that I might go to Old Trafford for the last day of the Lancashire match but jet lag put paid to these plans. I also thought that I might journey to London the following week to take in a day of the Yorkshire match but once I had established that Sky would be broadcasting the whole match these plans were also abandoned. I then found that I was spending much of the week glued to the fascinating contest that unwound.
The wicket was another slow one and under the current regulations there was no toss and Yorkshire invited Middlesex to bat. I had already received an email from the Professor who seemed divided in loyalties for this clash:
“I see that Andrew Strauss (ex-Middlesex) has refused permission for Bairstow to play for Yorkshire in the Championship decider at Lord's tomorrow. He is being rested by England. Bairstow has played five days of cricket since August 14th. Finn is playing. Yorkshire are without Root, Rashid, Bairstow and Lehman.”
There were further interesting aspects of team selection. Yorkshire decided to pick five seamers but did not include Plunkett. Middlesex left out their two international batsmen Morgan and Stirling.
Middlesex ground it out on day one until bad light mercifully brought matters to a conclusion. On day two they failed to build on their overnight 206 for 5 and were all out for 270. Yorkshire’s ascendancy was short lived though as Roland-Jones reduced the visitors to 50 for 4. But these Lord’s wickets although difficult to score freely on are also relatively easy to stay in on as long as you play straight. Bresnan, batting at five, demonstrated this for the next seven hours and took Yorkshire to a substantial first innings lead. Like Yorkshire had done Middlesex dropped three catches, any of which could have changed the course of the match.
By this time Somerset had almost won their match and so to stay in the title race Yorkshire needed the batting bonus point they would get at 350. Sidebotham came to the wicket at 334 for 9 and 15 runs later the Umpires took the players off for bad light. When they returned in heightened tension they got their point and the last wicket stand was worth 56 when Sidebotham was dismissed with the score on 390.
Middlesex looked a beaten side and things got worse when they were reduced to 2 for 2 but Gubbins and Malan both followed Bresnan’s example and applied themselves with similar determination. The game appeared to be going nowhere on day four as Middlesex took their score beyond the first innings arrears and then continued with no urgency. By now Somerset had won and either Middlesex or Yorkshire had to win this game to take the title. There was much speculation amongst the commentators as whether a contrived declaration would take place and if so what the target would be. The deal was done and after some free hits for Eskinazi, Simpson and Franklin Yorkshire were set to score 240 in 40 overs. Many thought that this was too generous but I suspect that Gale committed to continuing his side’s chase to the end rather than shut up shop and give the title to Somerset if things did not go well. In the event it was moot as Yorkshire found six an over too demanding and once Bresnan fell Roland Jones wrapped the game up swiftly finishing with a hat trick to give Middlesex the title.
Roland-Jones gets mobbed by his team mates
The Morgan Report
Middlesex were unchanged from the team that drew rather disappointingly against Lancashire at Old Trafford recently for the final Championship match of the season against Yorkshire at Lord's which started on September 20th and which would determine who would win the Championship title. Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale dispensed with the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl on a strange looking greenish track in very poor light. Nick Gubbins was the only top order batsman to look capable of making a decent score as wickets fell regularly around him. Keeper John Simpson looked no happier than any of the others, but at least he hung around long enough to add 57 for the fifth wicket with Gubbins. Skipper James Franklin did even better and batting, for the first time, began to look slightly easier, but after a stand of 75 with Gubbins, the latter finally fell for an exceptional 125 off 274 balls with 16 fours and a six.
However, Franklin did not last much longer before departing for a praiseworthy 48 off 106 balls with 8 fours and the tail crumbled disappointingly to 270 all out. Yorkshire chose five seam bowlers for this one and the pick of them was ex-Northants man Jack Brooks (6-65), closely followed by ex-England all rounder Tim Bresnan (3-48) and although neither ex-England left armer Ryan Sidebottom nor ex-Leeds UCCE seamer Steve Patterson took a wicket, both bowled very economically to keep the pressure on Middlesex, though it was slightly surprising that England's Liam Plunkett was unable to squeeze into the team, but though Liam had a very good season with the bat (average 45), he had a poor season with the ball and this allowed a rare chance for England's David Willey to play in the Championship, but he did not bowl well in this match.
Ex-England opener Adam Lyth looked in great form at the start of the Yorkshire innings, but unfortunately none of his first three partners managed to get off the mark and when Lyth himself fell for 43 off 54 balls with 9 fours, Yorkshire appeared to be in trouble at 53 for 4. The general feeling was that Bresnan and ex-Sussex keeper Andy Hodd, were a place or two too high in the order at numbers 5 and 6, but both batted excellently during a fine stand of 116 for the fifth wicket before Hodd departed for a very valuable 64 off 104 balls with 7 fours. Bresnan then found another handy partner in off spinning all rounder Azeem Rafiq ,who has recently returned to the club after being released in 2014. Rafiq also acquitted himself extremely well and added an impressive 114 for the seventh wicket with Bresnan before he finally departed for an outstanding 65 off 97 balls with 10 fours and a six. Yorkshire needed to reach 350 to gain a fourth batting point which would keep them in the Championship race, but the situation was finely balanced when last man Sidebottom came to the crease with the score on 334. Sidebottom played competently, however, and Yorkshire "got them in singles", reaching their target slowly but then increasing the tempo and compiling a stand of 56 for the last wicket, which took the total up to 390 all out, a lead of 120. Bresnan had played a magnificent innings and he finished on 142* off 293 balls with 12 fours and a six. Toby Roland-Jones was the most successful Middlesex bowler with 4 for 72, while Tim Murtagh claimed 3-96.
The Middlesex second innings started disastrously as England Test batsmen Sam Robson and Nick Compton both failed for the second time in the match and the home team found themselves in deep trouble at 2 for 2. Fortunately, Gubbins has been in splendid form and he found a very reliable partner in Dawid Malan and the two of them put on a superb 198 for the third wicket before Gubbins finally fell for 93 off 200 balls with 9 fours and a six, giving him a brilliant total of 218 runs in the match. Malan now found another useful partner in Steve Eskinazi and 65 runs came quickly for the fourth wicket before Malan eventually departed for an excellent 116 off 246 balls with 14 fours.
It is believed that some secret negotiations had taken place as batsmen Lyth and Alex Lees were now purveying some hittable dross and Simpson cracked 31 off 10 balls with 6 fours and a six, Franklin hit 30 off 14 balls with 6 fours and a six, while Eskinazi was left undefeated on 78 off 83 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes as the declaration came at 359 for 6, leaving Yorkshire needing 240 to win in 40 overs. Yorkshire gave it their best shot and scored at a good rate throughout, but unsurprisingly, wickets were also falling at a good rate.
Bresnan, who had a superb match, was again the pick of the batsmen with 55 off 48 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes, sharing stands of 50 with ex-Zimbabwean Gary Ballance for the fourth wicket and 55 with Gale for the fifth wicket, but then the end came very quickly. Man of the Match Toby Roland-Jones was mainly responsible for this as he finished the match with a hat-trick (Rafiq, Hodd and Sidebottom) to give him the remarkable figures of 6 for 54 and 10 for 126 in the match as Middlesex won by 61 runs.
Middlesex took 21 points from the match (Yorkshire took 7) and finished four points clear of Somerset and 19 points ahead of Yorkshire. It was Middlesex's first Championship since Mike Gatting's side won the title in 1993. Haseeb Hameed (who is on the England Test tour) had a first class average of 49.92 this season, while Nick Gubbins (who is on the Lions tour) averaged 61.26, but at least Nick was awarded his county cap at lunch on day 1.
R I P County Cricket
Distinguished Old Dane, Mike Cope, gives us his view
May I offer my sincere condolences to the Somerset Cricket Club for the appalling manner in which the County Cricket Championship was finalised.
The result might have well been determined by the toss of a coin, if Middlesex, whom I happen to follow, were not in a position to win the game then that is their problem or lack of ability.
These are professional cricketers who play sport for a living but there can be no satisfaction in winning a title from a contrived situation. Sport is a contest between two teams and the members of each team should endeavour to play to their utmost ability.
Shame on them.
Out and About with the Professor
What with a lull in the international programme and Yorkshire’s 2nd XI narrowly missing out on a third successive Championship at Lord’s it is a good time to turn attention to the “grass roots” of the game.
I have never quite understood this metaphor – which I read is an Americanism – but I suppose it is quite apt for the game of cricket, the grass roots of which spread, presumably, from school and village green up to the ECB recognised club leagues.
I follow the fortunes of two clubs: my local team, Harrogate and the club of which I have been a member for 45 years, Welwyn Garden City. Both have had very good seasons.
Harrogate play in the Yorkshire League. The League has a long history and has included many of the clubs that formerly hosted a county match (Hull, Sheffield, Harrogate) and one that still does, Scarborough. There are, of course, numerous other cricket leagues in Yorkshire (not least the Bradford League) and there have been, from time to time, debates about which league is the strongest (in truth these debates have not been “from time to time” but more or less non-stop over generations). Relations between the leagues (this being Yorkshire) have not always been harmonious, but this year, after a very long build up, the decision was made to have an overall “Yorkshire Championship”. The teams in the Yorkshire League were split into two districts with other clubs from lower leagues being promoted into each. The Bradford and North Yorkshire South Durham Leagues made up the four with the winners of each playing off for the Championship.
There had always, I think it fair to say, been a quiet confidence that the old Yorkshire League was superior to the others and so it was with reasonable expectation that Harrogate (who won their league quite comfortably) set off to Scarborough for their semi-final against Wakefield. Sadly, they lost and so travel plans for the final had to be scrapped. “Travel” is involved since all this manoeuvring has meant that the final could not be played until 22 October. If you think that might be a bit late for a cricket match in Yorkshire, the answer is that even balmy Scarborough might prove a touch chilly…the final is in Abu Dhabi. And Wakefield’s opponents? A name that will resonate with most if not all Googlies readers – Pudsey St Lawrence.
Welwyn Garden City also won their League in a play-off. Hertfordshire is another ECB League and has employed the increasingly popular end-of-season play-off between the top four teams. Welwyn finished third and, in the old days, that would have been that. But not this year. Third place ceded ground advantage to second place Bishops Stortford and then, somewhat more controversially, to first placed Radlett.
So, off we all trooped to Middlesex’s second home to watch the final. Radlett have been a strong side for many years, they finished top of the League and had home advantage but the final was, in truth, a thrashing. Welwyn batted first and got 288. These days scores of less than 300 in 50 overs are frequently chased down but 288 in mid-September was, I thought, a pretty decent effort. Welwyn have a number of Middlesex connections with our captain Jamie Hewitt having played for the County some years’ ago, Gurjit Sandhu having been released more recently and Owais Shah having had a distinguished career with both Middlesex and, of course, England.
The bulk of Welwyn’s runs came from Dan Blacktop (who also had Lord’s connections) with 82. Shah (43) and a crucially rapid 64 from Hewitt from 55 balls set up the very defensible target. In reply, Radlett never really got going, Zimbabwean Fraser Crawford top scored with 35 while the Radlett captain, the talented Kabir Toor (who has also played in a couple of Middlesex fixtures) failed to hold the middle order together. The Radlett total of 157 in just 34 overs is a thrashing in anybody’s language. Quick bowler Conner Emerton took 2-17 and Shah 4-27.
A particularly pleasing end to the match was the last wicket which fell to Life Member Simon Bridgewater who has been bowling his left arm “spinners” for (seemingly) decades and who ended up with a very useful 2-37. Welwyn have their annual dinner next week…could be quite a do.
#FA.*#./+
ESPNcricinfo's County Championship XI
Andrew McGlashan selects ESPNcricinfo’s team of the season
Keaton Jennings (Durham) 1548 runs at 64.50
The leading run scorer in the country, Jennings made a strong claim to be included in England's Test squad. His seven Championship centuries - including two unbeaten double-hundreds, one carrying his bat against Surrey - were a Durham record and he scored more runs in 2016 than his previous two seasons combined. Resisted the temptation to move counties and will have a huge role to play in the post-Stoneman-Borthwick era of Durham's batting
Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire) 1198 runs at 49.91
A new star of English cricket after becoming the youngest Lancashire batsman to make 1000 runs in a season and the first to score two centuries in a Roses match. "Born to play for England," was the assessment of many and the call came when he was included for the Bangladesh tour. "I'm a modern-day Boycott," Hameed has said, but even during this season his range of strokeplay has broadened out. Batting time, though, remains his strength and a skill not to be forgotten in the modern age.
Nick Gubbins (Middlesex) 1409 runs at 61.26
The season began with most of the attention on his opening partner, Sam Robson, who has already had a taste of Test cricket but by September it was Gubbins closer to a call-up. A left-hander who has often drawn comparisons with Andrew Strauss, Gubbins began the season without a first-class hundred but scored four Championship tons including one in the final match of the season against Yorkshire.
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire) 1338 runs at 60.81
The most exciting uncapped batsman in English cricket. After a difficult period when Duckett struggled to adapt to the disciplines - on and off the field - needed for professional cricket, 2016 was a remarkable success story for the left hander. Churning out the runs from start to finish with breathtaking flamboyance, his returns included an unbeaten 282 against Sussex - the highest score of the season - which would surely have been a triple-century but for two days of rain. His first-class strike of 79.35 was also the fastest for the summer.
Tom Westley (Essex) 1217 runs at 52.91
Westley's most prolific season against the red ball saw him pass 1000 runs for the first time and was capped with a career-best 254 against Worcestershire as Essex's promotion campaign approached fulfilment. In imperious form at No. 3, he began with a century in the opening-round victory over Gloucestershire and followed that up with scores of 86, 16, 64 and 125, his leg-side whip and cover drive in full working order as Essex took an early grip on top spot in Division Two.
Ben Foakes (Surrey) 759 runs at 42.16, 43 catches and 3 stumpings
Regarded by Andy Flower and Alec Stewart as the best gloveman in English cricket, Foakes started to flourish having been given the chance as Surrey's first-choice wicketkeeper. Could not force his way past Jos Buttler as the reserve Test keeper - despite Buttler playing just one first-class matche in a year - but remains in the mix longer-term alongside Sam Billings.
Keith Barker (Warwickshire) 608 runs at 32.00; 59 wickets at 23.13
Another impressively consistent all-round season for Barker, ending with his best Championship haul for a campaign. He only played four games of white-ball cricket in the season which meant he was able to put his efforts into the four-day game and he was ever-present in the Championship. His hundred against Nottinghamshire was his sixth in first-class cricket with all of them coming at Nos. 8 or 9.
Graham Napier (Essex) 298 runs at 22.92; 63 wickets at 23.17
In his final season as a professional, Napier produced his best-ever Championship analysis before hobbling out of his last game, promotion secured. Essex's Division Two title was won by batting big and then letting their seamers get to work and while there were honourable mentions for Jamie Porter, David Masters and Ravi Bopara, Napier consistently led the way. Joe Leach edged ahead of him in the final week to top the Division Two tally, but the "King of Colchester" took a five-for and scored a hundred on his Castle Park farewell to boot.
Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire) 69 wickets at 24.02
Remained the standout spinner in domestic cricket - it was also his most prolific season - although was pushed closer for that tag than the previous summer when a few of his home truths about English spin had hit a nerve. A better bowler now than he was during his international career, Patel has firmly said his New Zealand days are behind him even though he has been asked back.
Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire) 49 wickets at 23.12
Started the season with a bang, under the gaze of the selectors, and was often remarked on as looking a Test match bowler. By the time the first England squad of the summer was announced he had 19 wickets at 21.15. He sustained his form to the end, following his Test debut against Pakistan, and took nine wickets in the match against Middlesex - including a hat-trick - but it was not enough to save Nottinghamshire from relegation.
Jack Leach (Somerset) 65 wickets at 21.87
This was the tightest call in selection with Leach tying on three votes with Jack Brooks. The chairman of selectors opted for a balanced, varied attack of three seamers and two spinners, plus it was a magnificent campaign for Leach who pushed himself close to England recognition. Enjoyed the change of tactics at Taunton, with a spin-friendly surface, but it was his performance at Headingley in the penultimate round which showed how rapid his rise had been.
Surrey Matters
The Great Jack Morgan has been to the Oval again
Hampshire captain James Vince did not bother with the toss in the Championship match against Surrey at the Oval on 6 September, but unsurprisingly invited Surrey to bat in very gloomy conditions. Three wickets went down for 96, but Rory Burns was batting very well, as he has for most of the season, and he got some useful assistance from Steve Davies and Ben Foakes. Burns reached his century just before departing with the score on 220 for an outstanding 101 off 207 balls with 15 fours and a six. Foakes went on to a handy 48 with 7 fours and Gareth Batty held the tail together with a gritty 41* with 5 fours as the innings closed on 329. Ex-Middlesex all rounder Gareth Berg, South African Test allrounder Ryan McLaren and England limited overs all rounder Liam Dawson all bowled well, but the best figures went to 20 year old Brad Wheal from Durban with 4 for 100.
Will Smith (ex-Nottinghamshire and Durham) and 20 year old Tom Alsop from High Wycombe put on 92 for the second wicket before Smith fell for 49 with 9 fours. Alsop then found another reliable partner in ex-Zimbabwean Test player Sean Ervine and the pair added 88 for the fourth wicket when Alsop fell to the first ball of day 3 for a thoroughly impressive 117 off 194 balls with 19 fours. However, Ervine soon found another excellent companion in McLaren, who was quickly into his stride and was rapidly catching up with Ervine. These two put on 186 (a new record for the sixth wicket for Hants against Surrey) in less than 3 hours before McLaren departed just after reaching a particularly entertaining century: he made exactly 100 off 149 balls with 18 fours.
Promising young keeper Lewis McManus from Poole then helped Ervine add 65 for the seventh wicket before falling for an encouraging 39 with 7 fours. Berg then produced a spectacular cameo of 42 off 27 balls with 5 fours and 3 enormous sixes out of a partnership of 48 with Ervine, before ex-Somerset and Worcestershire allrounder Gareth Andrew hit 25 off 14 balls in a stand of 44 with Ervine and no 11 Wheal had hit 10 off 4 balls when the declaration came at 582-9, a lead of 253. The closure left Ervine undefeated on a magnificent 158* off 286 balls with 16 fours and 2 sixes. Mark Footitt finished with the strange looking figures of 6-161, but credit to him for sticking to a difficult task, while Batty and Stuart Meaker also reached unwanted centuries and the former's figures of 1-118 seemed to mock suggestions that he might be in line for an England call up. Foakes claimed 5 catches behind the stumps.
Surrey had no chance of winning, of course, but they must have been confident of avoiding defeat on a pitch that, from the perimeter, appeared to hold few demons. Dom Sibley made 44 with 6 fours, Arun Harinath 57 off 105 balls with 8 fours in a stand of 100 for the third wicket with Kumar Sangakkara who made a smooth and unworried 84* off 177 balls with 11 fours. Sangakkara was joined at the end of the innings by Davies and they put on an unbroken 57 for the fourth wicket as the game drifted away to a draw with Surrey on 248-3. This was the first match that I have ever seen in which both teams fielded a player wearing the no 13 shirt, Middlesex, for example, have never used a no 13. The two involved both batted no 9, were both called Gareth and were, of course, Batty and Berg. Surrey took 9 points from the match and Hants 12 points. Surrey can no longer win the Championship, while Hants are still in deep relegation trouble: they are within a few points of catching Lancashire, Durham and Warwickshire, but they have only one match left and both Lancashire and Durham have two.
King Cricket Matters
Alex Bowden wrote this in King Cricket
As is our wont, we haven’t really drawn any conclusions about the fundamental merits of city teams versus a tournament involving the existing counties. We do have a point to make about a minor aspect of the scheduling though and we’re going to make it even though it will probably change.
The latest rumblings are that an eight-team T20 competition involving city teams would take place at the same time as several rounds of the County Championship. This, to us, seems very wrong.
There is a feeling among many people that the shortest format is a rival to the longer ones. We’ve never seen it that way. To us, it’s all cricket and we see no reason why the different formats can’t actively support each other, broadening the appeal of the sport as a whole. Twenty20 is more likely to draw people in and we maintain that the greater scope of Test cricket will always be more capable of retaining interest in the long-term.
The current pencil-scrawled plans are for the new competition to take place at the same time as Test matches and we’re not actually too bothered about that. You could even argue that this arrangement presents an opportunity for cross-pollination or whatever you want to call it, promoting Tests via the Twenty20 coverage. Test cricketers would have to be given permission to play in the sixes-and-fireworks stuff too, so there is an implicit message there that Big Man Cricket is the higher level.
It isn’t the same with the County Championship. Four-day fixtures taking place during the tournament would see teams gutted. What would this achieve? What would be the point of those matches? Shouldn’t you be gnawing on something else? We already have a situation where no-one’s quite sure what second division runs and wickets are worth. Compromising both divisions by hauling out all the bigger names for a spell would only make individual performances of even more questionable value.
A corollary of that is that team performances would also be qualified. If what basically amounts to a second XI win in July is worth the same as a first team win in June, what the hell kind of a competition are we talking about? Who would honestly care about winning that?
Playing the County Championship and a new Twenty20 competition at the same time achieves two shitty things:
It means the domestic game needlessly cannibalises itself when there’s no real reason why the different formats can’t work together; and it reinforces this idea that the long and short formats are fundamentally different and are actively in competition with each other
Those two points overlap really and that part of the Venn diagram is why we’re writing about something that probably won’t happen. The very fact that it’s being mooted betrays the fact that decisions aren’t being made in the interests of the game as a whole.
Whether it’s just that people have become so involved in trying to develop a more appealing ‘gateway’ cricket competition that they’ve lost sight of the bigger picture; or whether they really don’t care what form the sport takes as long as it makes more money, we don’t know. Despite the temptation to err on the side of cynicism, it’s actually far more likely to be the former. British cricket administrators are a bunch of old bastards and most of them have a long history of being involved in county cricket.
An alternative take is that they know full well that it’s a terrible idea to have the two competitions running concurrently. In this scenario, they’re only floating the idea so that the county chairman can see that giving a new Twenty20 competition its own window while retaining the validity of the County Championship is a much better option than trying to play a devalued four-day competition at the same time.
In other words, the counties might need to experience the bad idea before they accept it is just such a thing. As a friend’s aunt once said of a toddler crawling towards a roaring fire for the nth time one evening: “Oh, let him – he’ll soon learn.”
Red Mist Matters
Australia were short of fit openers for the first T20 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on 6 September and so Warner invited Glen Maxwell to face the new ball with him. Maxwell didn’t disappoint and scored 145 not out from 65 balls in an innings that included nine sixes. The others all chipped in including Travis Head who scored his 45 even quicker than Maxwell. Australia reached 263 for 3 and won by 85 runs.
Ged Matters
I planned an early September trip to Birmingham, cunningly mixing a few business meetings with pleasure such that I’d get to see best part of three day’s cricket for two days off work. I’d get some ukulele practice and some reading done in the evenings too.
The weather forecast was quite promising for September, although I did notice that Brum expected a bit of overnight rain before the start of the match, so I wondered whether the game would start on time. As it turned out, it didn’t start on the Tuesday at all. Sunshine for most of the day, but confounding showers at precisely the wrong times…we cricket lovers have all suffered such days.
A quick drive across Edgbaston to my hotel, where the receptionist said, “ah, you must have stayed here before, you have requested a quiet room at the back.” I should have just smiled and nodded, but instead I said, “no. I requested a quiet room because I intend to give Benjy the Bartitone Ukulele here a good thrashing and don’t want to disturb other residents”. The receptionist gave one of those nervous laughs and I thought I saw her check the location of her panic button.
Walking from the City centre to the ground after my meetings on Wednesday morning, I passed a small posse of low lives on the edge of the ring road, who greeted me warmly, “hello mate”, and to whom I waved. I left my hat on the hat stand at Edgbaston at stumps that evening and only realised my mistake half way back to the hotel. On the Thursday, walking the same route from the City to the ground, I encountered the same low lives and one of them called out, “oy, mate, where’s your hat?” You get a very sartorially aware type of low life in Birmingham these days. I was most impressed. Daisy was concerned, when I read her the first draft of this piece, that the low lives who hang around at King Cricket might object to my use of the term “low lives” to describe Brummy rough sleepers. But I reassured Daisy that King Cricket low lives are an entirely different class of low lives.
Each evening I had a good opportunity to practice ukulele with Benjy and speak with Daisy and make a start on reading PostCapitalism by Paul Mason, which I ended up reviewing under my other nom de plume here. I must choose more upbeat books for the cricket next summer, this was just as grim as my Uxbridge read earlier in the season.
Soon after my low-life hat interaction on Thursday, my Friday afternoon London client had called to ask, “could you be here for early lunchtime instead?” It was one of those statement-type questions requiring the answer “yes”. This meant that my planned Friday leisurely amble back to London became an early getaway from Brum.
Realising that Dumbo was low on fuel, I decided to stop at the first service station along the way. It was one of those “drive a loop-the-loop” service stations, which got Ivan’s Waze app into a fluster, saying, “turn around when possible”. When I went to pay, the cashier asked me, “which pump?” When I twisted around to check and Ivan blurted once more. “turn around when possible.” I smiled and explained to the cashier that the service station’s loopy routing had caused a bit of a barney between Ivan’s sat-nav app and Dumbo. The cashier laughed one of those nervous laughs and I think I saw him check the location of his panic button before taking my money.
A quick pit stop at the house to drop off Benjy and my bags, with only enough time to say “hello” and “goodbye” to Dais. Still, at least the early meeting meant an early end to the working week, if you seriously can describe such a week thus.
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