1805 A great view but a terrible stadium and a poor cricket team

Thursday 24th September will be recorded as another memorable day in the history of Durham cricket club. It was also the day I cracked attending cricket at the County ground. I had doubts early on about achieving this objective although I left at eight instead of nine and reached the city boundary about half an hour later, it then took the best part of three quarters of an hour to get to my destination, such was the volume of early morning traffic and this time there was no road works affecting the journey but simply traffic congestion with traffic lights and two heavy streams of vehicle seeking to join in a one lane flow.

I could not resist taking a peak to see if the free parking was full and this lost a further ten minutes turning the vehicle around and rejoining the traffic in the one system around the park. There were about a dozen spaces left in the car park where the charge for the full day was only £3.50. It was also a pleasant walk through the park and across the main road to the ground where only a few spectators had arrived, although I was order number 26 for coffee and a bacon roll costing £4.50 three times that at the Ship and Royal in South Shields. It all reminds that long gone are the days that you would find Durham players sneaking off for a hamburger during a match.

There was considerable difference in the weather with the sun shinning warm and temperature in the seventies. There had been some low lying fog before reaching the city but for the rest of the day until late afternoon there was sunshine and occasional clouds. I decided to sit square to the wicket about three rows from the top below the member’s lounge and quickly found the sun so hot that I had to cover my knees with my coat.

Yesterday Durham bowlers tried hard but found the pitch flat and a Member explained that there had been no rain for a month and obviously the Groundsman had done his best to reduce the impact of the Durham pacemen men as soon as learning that Worcestershire had won the toss and decided to bat. At one point with the total 54 for 2 and again when the total was 120 for four and 197 for six it looked as if the home team would struggle to reach 250 but they fought well to finish the day something like 334 for 9. It took Durham half an hour or so to gain the last wicket in the morning with the Worcestershire total 356. The previous day I had heard a Member forecasting that with the wicket playing so well Durham would still be batting well into Friday. With Durham reaching 100 before lunch without a loss of wicket this mixture of spectating experience and my intuition looked accurate. Having eaten lunch early on and enjoyed a large glass of Pepsi with ice and lemon for £1.60 I crossed back to the car in the interval for my sun hat wishing that I had also remembered the sun cream.

I had excellent chats with two Worcestershire couples during the afternoon session. In both instances what I had to say about Durham proved accurate especially that if you do not dismiss Chanderpaul within first few overs he will score 100 with appearing effortlessness.

Michael Di Venuto continued his spectacular season with another 100 and passing 1500 runs for Durham, the first member of the Durham to achieve this total and also passing the number of runs he had previously scored in first class cricket in a season. I am not certain at this stage if he will surpass the runs scored by Trescothwick.

Coetzer had looked well set but went for 44 and captain Smith played a silly shot to go for 28 and at 207 for 3 thoughts of batting most of Friday until reaching 701 seemed unrealistic and then Chanderpaul was joined by former captain Blenkenstein and they professionally set about the task of breaking the hearts of the young Worcestershire bowlers to end the day undefeated in a stand of over 180 runs with Chanderpaul’s third century in four innings, Benkenstein on 91 and the total 390 for 3. 701 had become a realistic target for Friday and to give the bowlers the opportunity to gain a wicket or two before the final day. For the final session I moved back into the sun behind the wicket and found myself with various members of the Durham Travellers club who are staying at a Hotel in Droitwitch. By the time play ended there were mostly Durham supporters to celebrate the situation and I speculated how many Worcestershire members would come for the penultimate day of cricket in the first division of the championship.

The traffic was at its worst as I made my way to the car standing solid all around the park in three lanes. My first intention was to leave the bag and make my way into the city for a meal but I then saw a McDonalds on the other side of the road so I made this my destination for a McChicken sandwich, fries and a coffee medium size for £3.69. That is less cost than my breakfast. When I commenced the journey home at about 6.45 the roadway had become clear and I was back by 7.30 with the only disappointment that Sainsbury’s had closed the entrance opposite and I was too lazy to go round to car park entrance to see if the rear had close as well. The plan in the morning is to set off even earlier and find somewhere to have breakfast.

The plan nearly misfired as the alarm did not go off but I was able to be away by about half past seven and found my way to the car park with only two minor stops around 8.15, It was a chill walk through the Park and I regretted not putting on my outer coat as I made my way via the underpass into the shopping area up the hill deciding not to explore the Coop store and go on to the full size Sainsbury, but disappointed that there was no café or coffee dispenser. I purchased fruit, croissants and a pack of Eccles cakes as they had not yet filled the shelves with new Danish pastries that I prefer, and made my way back to the vehicle noting that there was a fish and chip shop and a Indian or was it Chinese restaurant but no where for a coffee or afternoon tea, yet two large supermarkets.

I then went over to the McDonalds for a bacon roll, Worcester sauce included plus a large hash brown and a good size coffee for £2.79. Excellent value compared to that at the cricket club. The next task was to prepare two of the rolls as I had only salami left for the third. I had purchased a small carton of Scottish crab which I liberally divided between the two rolls using my finger. It was rapidly approaching 9.30 so it was then time to test out my belief that although I had left my ticket in the case at the travel lodge a duplicate would be issued from this area. Because the alarm had not gone off and I was determined to leave earlier than the previous two days I had rushed out forgetting that I had been keeping the tickets in the case in the room. I was right in my assumption and there was no problem getting a duplicate after giving my name and address. I found myself an aisle seat towards the end of the Graham Hicks pavilion after finding the lift at the back although there is no signing and it not visible unless you go looking. This is because the location of the pavilion entrance up a long flight of steps before the stewards guarding the car park entrance means that anyone could walk to the lift off the street and reach the Tom Graveney Members’ lounge or the players dressing rooms on the floor above. It is without doubt the worst designed Members and players pavilion I have encountered and what do the wives with young children do? It was also a sight seeing the staff including Geoff Cook having to take the gear up the levels of steep steps. Clearly the county had not heard of the Disabled person’s Act when the Pavilion was created and one feels this is a club which struggles to shed its tradition. Oddly they have inserted high gates between the member’s sating below the pavilion and the rest of stadium which includes some areas for members. The annual prices for subscriptions are comparatively high although there is a reciprocal arrangement with Gloucestershire and Somerset and did include Glamorgan before they became a test playing county. The reality is that there is now a Premier division and a championship in cricket in terms of both playing abilities and grounds. Durham is now firmly planted in both

The weather and the cricket did not live up to what I had hoped for. The weather turned overcast and was chilly at times so I had to keep on the inner jacket of my coat for most of the day. It did brighten for brief periods during the afternoon, clouding over again after tea and I needed my outer coat by the time I went over to PC World after the day’s play was over. I upset a Worcestershire member by in response to a greeting from another member met the previous day who commented that I had been right about Chanderpaul. I said the plan for the day was score 701 runs before declaration and for four Durham players to get centuries again given that two had already been achieved and Benkenstein was only a few runs from his. I also added that they had half a dozen overs to get Chanderpaul out or he would bat all day and night.

What happened is that Benkenstein got out and Ian Blackwell and Philip Mustard failed to establish themselves into the fourth century was Liam Plunket getting 52 so Chanderpaul played his natural role and anchored the side reaching 150 and 175 exceptionally slowly scoring only 30 runs in a session and reaching his 200 an hour after tea. Before then Claydon and Davies had caused cheering on the player’s balcony as they gained fours in a message to Chanderpaul to get on with it, but he continued in his own way. Because of this although the team scored over 600 runs, close to 650 they were short of both the club record established against Notts and the 701 target I was convinced they were aiming for. That I was nearly right also upset quite a few of the Worcestershire supporters including the elderly couple behind who explained that it was tradition for the members to have to stand in line half an hour before the official tea time with their backs to the play queuing for their tea and large chunk of tea which they then took on trays to various parts of the stadium including the Members Pavilion where there was also tea but no cake. I advised that for £4.50 at Durham tea comprised sandwiches, cream scones, two pieces of quiche and sausage rolls.

Most of the Worcestershire Members departed before the declaration with those who stayed divided between watching a spectacular unexpected performance but the England one day side against Sri Lanka, winning by six wickets and five overs to spare, or stay and moan about the batting of Chanderpaul. I thought the young Worcestershire bowlers did exceptionally well given the way the pitch had been prepared, the lack of rain over the past month, their relegation and the departure of leading players to other counties offering to pay more.

I had enjoyed my visit to Worcestershire but learnt the lesson that there is a price to pay for keeping a good view.

As the traffic had eased considerably I decide not to repeat the evening visit to McDonald’s but use up the packet soup, beans and rice with the rest of the carton of grapes, and second Eccles cake by way of an evening meal. I had bought a game pad rather than a Joystick at PC World because one was obtained for under £10 with the rest in the region of £30 and then bought for another £10 a copy of Luxor, there was also Zuma and three for two offer was tempting but as Vista was not shown on the DVD case I was cautious. In fact there is no provision to use a game pad with the game and there were no instruction on how to use the various controls on the pad if there had. I will see if my one without a USB connection provides the information. However instead of writing up these notes I did enjoy using the built in mouse with the loaded full screen game and respectable 1 million points with one of the three games includes but had just as much difficulty getting beyond level 2.4 with the same game as on the free edition. It will require some working out as well as the great speed and mobility available with the wireless mouse.

I also watched Rebus and a French film about the government producing a clean bomb which they proposed to District 13 a no go area of area of Paris run by criminals with the schools, hospitals and other public services closed and some two million inhabitants of the capital in the vicinity.

I had watched the new series of Question Time and the Politics Show and a programme about how Brown did in fact provide a solution to the Banking crisis which was better than the American of buying the bad debts. He has also been made international statesman of the year but his popularity within his Party and the country generally does not improved. There is his failure to insist that the Chief Law Office does not retire after her failure to check that an employee had no right to work or stay in the UK although she may well have been set up. There was the allegation that the White House had snubbed the attempts of Brown for public meeting with the President who is hosting the GO in the USA and recently chaired the UN top committee, in advance of condemnation of Iran for operating a second establishment designed to create the fuel for nuclear weaponry as well as energy. One wonders did the info come from al-Gaddafi or through al-Gaddafi hence the release of the Lockerbie man. There are sections of the British media that have become so party politically orientated that they cannot see the wood for the trees but the Telegraph revelations about how and why they got hold of the information about Member‘s expenses is more interesting and relevant. More on all these things over the weekend.

1804 An expedition to Worcestershire Cricket Club

I am writing this having settled into my room at the South Birmingham Travel Lodge in preparation for Durham’s County Cricket Club’s last match of the season. Their task is first not to be defeated thus completing the 16 match season without a defeat. How often this has been accomplished should be mentioned by the media if it is achieved. They would like to win and so have an emphatic margin of points over whoever finishes second. I had anticipated watching behind glass but there has been a major improvement in the weather and it should be dry and warm for the first full day of autumn. They like me treat life as a risk taking adventure which requires hard work and planning to be successful, although as age mounts the assessment of hazard and danger becomes more dominant to an extent than with increasing frequency one becomes reluctant to set off on a new expedition. It is therefore good just to take off sometimes as long one is prepared to face the consequences of doing so and then having to sort out the problems arising from failing to check and double check the preparations.

The day had not got off to a good start as the alarm set for 6 either did not go off or I slept through it. It was 7.17 and meant I had only forty minutes to do everything before loading the car and moving it out of the garage to ensure it was not blocked by neighbours. It was therefore surprising to me that when I set off a little after 8.15am having parked the car on a nearby roadside that I remembered that I had only failed to take sheets of kitchen roll and a bottle of water and that everything else had been thought of. The weather forecast for travel had not been good with high gusting winds and although there was some wind stronger that usual it did not cause a problem and the bonus was the sunshine and it felt warmer than it had been since that last glorious match at the riverside two weeks ago. Having set off well before nine I decided to call in at Morrison’s, Seaburn, for kitchen roll, the single bottle of water and some Danish pastry for later. Having paid the purchases and discovered that they had introduced some self service check outs I made my way to the café for a mug of tea and a read of the Journal and Northern Echo newspapers. The Journal had included a twelve page pull out on the memorial service and both papers featured the service on their front pages as did some national newspapers, especially the Sun.

It was after nine when I set off proper via the Sunderland ring road to the A19 where before Middlesbrough there was a short hold up which appeared to be for traffic congestion rather than anything more serious. Midway on the three hour journey to my midland lunch stop I opened the passenger side window because it had become hot and stuffy inside the vehicle I decided to conserve energy by not switching on the air conditioning and felt the force of the wind, although while travelling the car need not feel that it was being buffeted. I stopped for a comfort break at Blythe where the traffic flow has been significantly changed as a consequence of the A1 by passing the former roundabout.

I had an excellent lunch and two and a half hour break at midday with a two course meal of gammon with egg and chips followed by a chocolate brownie with ice cream, with an apple and Mango drink starter and coffee to finish for £7.25. The sun continued to shine.

The route to the M42 is well sign posted on the M1 with a two lane slip road and from there to south Birmingham, my destination there is continuous motorway although you have to pay good attention as there are several lane switches as the route connects with other motorways.

I have not travelled this was before or at least that I can remember and certainly I do not recall the area of National Forest which appears to continue over an area similar to that at Nottingham. This is not continuous woodland such as the coniferous man made forest around Keilder and has farming and village communities within the large areas of deciduous woodland. I was intrigued by a sign with said Conkers and showed two tree symbols and a building which later from the Internet I learnt was a family attractions centre with tickets under £25 for a couple with two children.

I had made a note that I needed to take the A435 road towards Birmingham where south of Kings Heath the travel Lodge is located off a main roundabout with a Sainsbury on the opposite side of the road. I went passed this in search of a service area for a comfort break and perhaps a hot drink as I was also feeling tired.

The service area is of the latest design off the motorway and providing for traffic in both directions as well as those using the A441 between Redditch and Birmingham. The seating area which contains many comfortable chairs applies to all the various foot and drink outlets which means one can sit and relax, use the free Internet connection without buying anything. It is evidently a good venue to hold a business meeting as three groups of between two and four individuals were noted with the tell tale lap top. I had noted the sign which warned that stays were limited to two hours after which payment was required for parking vehicles, £20 for coaches and heavy Goods vehicles or £22.50 with a meal voucher. Failure to obtain the requisite permit resulted with an instant £80 penalty.

The continuing to the service area and the A441 provided the opportunity to take the road into Birmingham and the cross over to the A 435 coming to the roundabout near which the Travel Lodge is located. All went well until unknowing I went directly across a roundabout along the part of the route travelling west east between the two A roads, instead of swing right to the next junction and ended joining the right road but further north. This would not have been such a time consuming and tiring problem if the traffic had not been at a standstill in both directions. I was to find out the cause of the problem some 15 minutes later as several cars had collided just off a junction ahead. Fortunately it was possible for vehicles to get passed a single line with the help of a member of the public or a driver of one of the vehicles while the police arrived. It did not look as if anyone was seriously injured, fortunately.

I took the right turn here hoping to go right and right again and get back to the A435 in the right direction. I did achieve this although several stops to check the Birmingham A to Z Map were necessary. Having reached the destination roundabout and turned into the Lane as directed I could not immediately see the Travel Lodge and continued along the lane for about a mile before deciding I had somehow missed the building, stopping on the return journey to ask a passer by who explained that it was at the junction corner. The explanation is that similar to the Travel Lodges at Croydon and Brighton the building is located on floors above stores: Subway where a bacon or sausage sub is available for £1.99, a Wilkinson store where I was able to buy three more of the Black display books which I use for my work and a betting shop. The car park is to the rear and is used by shoppers as well as those staying at the lodge. The lodge entrance is a small one with reception on the first floor and my room is directly opposite the Sainsbury store and traffic light controlled roundabout.

The following morning I elected to take the 435 down to the motorway filling up the car with petrol at a garage shortly before. It was only a mile or so to the service area and only a couple of miles to the junction with the 441 which means I had taken an hour the previous evening to travel the five to six minutes of the morning. I would not make the same mistake on the return journey. The road incidentally is called the Hollywood after the nearby village. The morning mistake was not to allow sufficient time for traffic, and in particular road works into the centre of Worcester. I had not studied the map sufficiently either and therefore in the absence of signs relied on passers by to aid in the directions at two crucial moments when had I opted for the wrong turning at the junction I could have easily taken an extra half and hour or more in the conditions. As it was I reached the county ground with only half an hour to go before the match commenced and it was evident from the location that I would have difficulty in find somewhere to park outside but close to the ground. I stopped at the first car park which looked part of the ground and which had the shop to my right but this was for permit holders, and while there appeared to be a public car park beyond there appeared to be no way to enter from this entry point. I was wrong because there ire two large gates which are opened when any vehicle approach to go in or out as this takes you into the ground and is restricted on match days to permit holders with a steward in constant attendance to open as a vehicle approaches to enter or exist.

What I should have done is to temporarily park the car and collect my tickets from the office part of the club shop which has a direct access to the street by which is difficult to work out and appears to be only available once inside the ground!
I got back onto the road and headed passed the public turnstiles located closest to the bridge over the river into the city centre and to the next entrance which stated Members and visitors. Because I could not display a permit or a ticket and did not have a ticket from a player I was warned I had to pay £8 this given the option of retreating and seeking somewhere less expensive, but given the fast approach of the start of play and that the sky was could covered some of which looked rain bearing, I said I was willing to pay and directed to park on a temporary basis in that of the Chairman of the Club, which I considered something of an honour but also reflected that it meant they either knew he would not be coming today or perhaps rarely did!/

I walked back passed the area of the ground on the outside behind the wicket where is located comparatively new Members pavilion with the players dressing rooms above. This is an ugly functional building and the only modern one with the others appearing to be ancient and consequently dilapidated, there is also the small media area, some hospitality boxes and a restaurant with terrace and then the main public entrance from those coming to the ground on foot from across the bridge into the city centre. Unusually there is also the race course close to the other bank of the river which includes the coach park one of two. I could have walked to the shop inside the ground but went outside leaving the explore until later.

I returned to the office part of the shop with both being no more than a temporary square Porto cabin type of building and which houses three desks which comprise the main reception. These are cut off from the other buildings which somehow matched the whole image of the club which despite its magnificent location reflected a playing side which had seen much better days. I was quickly to come across members who bemoaned the fact that the club had yielded to modernity by adding a concrete seating structure at the other end of the wicked blocking out the view to the old scoreboard and famous picnic and parking area adjacent to a large area of what I discovered were school playing fields.

I learnt from one life member that car parking was free to him and from a sign that those buying a half season could also buy a car park permit for £60. I paid £8, deciding to go on an explore on foot later in the day to find parking available for less and within walking distance. I discovered as I went in search of space that these are available all the way to a an area set back where the parking is in rows, and backs on to the separate car park available to the public for half the cost I was paying outside of match days. I found a space at a gate into a field on inspection was a vast area with several rugby and hockey pitches. The gates was close but I checked that it was ok to part in the vacant spaces. I late guessed that perhaps in summer out of term time there was provision for additional car parking.

Worcester Cricket ground is the most traditional of the first class counties and has commanding views of the Cathedral and other church spires set among trees across the river and the very busy traffic dominated city centre. I found a seat behind the wicket against a temporary Sky Camera construction which was a mistake because the black canvass used as a sight screen for the white ball one day games flapped against the back one’s head with the slight wind and meant to avoid the irritation you had to lean forward.

I then made my way to the Graham Hick Pavilion with the member‘s facilities on the first floor and the player’s dressing rooms on the second accessible by one of two levels of steps at either side of the building or through the Member’s area. I learnt that bacon or sausage sandwich/roll costs £3.20 brought to the table and a coffee £1.30, tea £1. Main course cost meals £6-£7 Those seeking a conventional afternoon tea have to queue for entry into the Ladies Pavilion which is to one side. There is an area of three or four car parking spaces close to the entrance marked reserved for tea ladies! This suggests that ladies into do the tea.

At the other end of the ground to where I sat for the greater part of the first two sessions of the day, the media are housed behind glass or at a bench table in the open but covered. Part of this area is open to members who can also use the bench table at the front or in the two rows of seats behind.

There is not one but two shops selling support and memorabilia. One by the club which also housed in the what is described as the main reception. There is also a separate supporters kiosk and display area and where I noticed that the attractive greetings cards of painted Worcester scenes cost less than the same cards in the club shop. There is another kiosk selling books about cricket. There is a similar facility at Headingley within the member’s lounge and where in addition there are separate tables selling second hand books of all kinds outside in the stadium areas. Durham has nothing similar and even less since the Cotton Traders took over the shop but I doubt if there is any profit in it.

In the Member’s Lounge there are large photographs along the walls of the five championship winning sides and of the occasions when they have won other competitions. The last time they won the championship I believe was in 1989. I attempted to check this on the internet when under archives there is an amazing plethora of information including the most comprehensive records that I have come across. It may be somewhere but could I find it so I sent an email and hopefully someone will send the answer or add the information.

Not seeing what is there in one my lifelong problems. Around midday I returned to my car for the bread rolls to which I added salami and stood overlooking the play from a spot near by which was delightful grassed bank under horse chestnut trees (conkers) at which there were two picnic benches. I made two visits for two rolls and then returned to my position in the stadium until the official lunch interval at 12.30. I then returned to the car for a third roll and to my horror could not find the car keys and then found the car unlocked and still could not find the car keys, Next to me a Life Member of the Worcester club had also returned to his vehicle for lunch and we had a chat while I finished my rolls and searched for the keys, eventually finding them on the car floor having slipped of the lowered car seat on going for the food box.

Over the tea interval I decided to go on an explore. Across from the cricket ground the is a park and later on the homeward journey I noted a long stay car park on the other side if the small free area of on street parking I found is not available. It was walking to the area of shops up a gentle hill that I saw the full extent of the playing fields of the Kings school. From the internet my first impression was confirmed in that the schools also has its own cricket square and indoor nets, and plays football. The girls all participate in a sports afternoon once a week and are all expected to play hockey and Netball. Obviously rowing is important, has its own indoor swimming pool as well as facilities for Fencing. There are several tennis courts and in addition to athletics training using the school fields there is use of the city running track and facilities for field sport on the sports afternoons. In addition to their academic records it is evident that the 920 senior pupils with 520 in the Junior schools will become proficient in at least one sport during their school experience. The value of private education! The price by the way is £10500 a year paid in advance by year or term. You can pay by credit card with a 3% surcharge.

I discovered some pavement side free parking across from the cricket ground and school playing fields with space for about a dozen cars. I will try for these tomorrow before the long stay found on the other side of the park in the one way system which goes back over the bridge and by the racecourse before joining the ring road out of town to the M5.

I was tempted to go to Kings Heath for a meal on return but was so tired that I made do with soup, baked beans, rice, and grapes and then fell asleep between 7 and 8 pm. Due to the long day of travel the day before and the autumnal fresh air. I have my camera with me and hope for a brighter picture taking day. I will leave the cricket reporting to another day.

1803 Sir Bobby Robson Memorial Service

It is not the weather for sitting out in the open watching or for doing anything other than going back to bed having dragged myself up and out to put the rubbish bin out of the garage into the back lane for collection. I am continuing with the trip as I felt like this before going to London in August when the weather was better and enjoyed the venture despite the length of the coach journeys and still wonder what happened to the young girl who got off the coach at an almost deserted bus station having missed her stop at Stockton and not realised the mistake even when we reached Hartlepool. Did she get a bus Hartlepool at that time of night? Did the woman help her out. Did the people she was visiting come and collect her? Life is full of not knowing and being unable to do anything about situations.

Take the relaying of the New York Metropolitan Opera Performances throughout the world. The Cineworld contract has collapsed either because of the cost or the company wanted to be selected about the performances which they showed. I discovered that there were being shown in independent cinemas but for some reasons not in the Midlands and the nearest locations were at York closes to where I have booked accommodation. I then discovered that despite the prices of £25 full and £21.50 concessions there were only seats left right in the front row. When I contact Cineworld this morning they clearly realised they had made a mistake and mentioned they were trying to arrange alternatives. I then contacted the nearest independent cinema and discovered that they had received countless cinema enquiries and gave the explanation that they were a small cinema and fitting into schedules was a problem however I believe there may be reconsideration after I mentioned that that the price being charged was £25 for full and £21.50 and therefore they were missing a major commercial opportunity. I will keep looking at the Metropolitan Opera site which lists the countries and locations for the relays around the world.

On the good side of things I have just found out that the BBC is showing the Bobby Robson Memorial service from Durham this afternoon which saves having to go out to St James park for the relay there. I have made myself and undertaken not to go to St James while the present owner remains in charge, although had considered making an exception for this specific occasion. Now it is time to sort out the paintwork on the car. I delayed doing this and the insurance renewal letter arrived at lunchtime which I checked and made a few enquires and there used compare the market.com which has the imaginative advert about not confusing with compare the meerkat.com and which stand with the Orange phone advert which appear at Cineworld cinema and which are genuinely funny and imaginative edition after edition after edition. What was interest is the range of prices quoted from the same vehicle and driver particulars from under £200 to £400 and where my insurance broker has given which is the same or below 80% of the prices quoted. And in relation to those lower the excess requirement is significantly less from existing agent. However whether in reality this is significant will depend on what it cost to undertake event he smallest level of repairs. My present excess is £100 and it will be interesting see how much the paint job costs when I go for a couple of quotes when returning from the trip to Worcester.

The afternoon was taken up with watching the service of remembrance at Durham cathedral for Sir Bobby Robson. An invitation only event for 1000 with a screen in eh centre of Ipswich and at St James Park which appears not to have the level of attendance which the organises had hoped for. The main reason for this is that service and interviews was being carried live on both the BBC and Sky News channels and on Sky sports news although then latter continued show headline at the base of the screen and had a side panel of sporting information. The service was exceptionally well organised with reminiscences from Garry Linekar and Sir Alex Fergusson, the consultant who suggested he assist in the new cancer research centre at Newcastle and his lifelong friend with whom he shared lodgings when a player at Fulham and who was the best man at his wedding. The most impressive contribution was from the Bishop of Newcastle and the service as conducted by the Bishop of Durham which contribution from the family Parish priest and from the Bishop of Jarrow( is there one or at last a senior clergyman from Jarrow. Catherine Jenkins sang, they played the last post which Bobby played at services of remembrance when he was a young man and the three tenors ended with Nesum Dorma for Italia 90. It was a nicely balance service where the spirituality was throughout and there was no clapping with everyone suits. There was applause at St James and in Ipswich but it was heart felt and interestingly the majority of those present shown on camera were in the 40 to 70 age range

In the evening almost all the regional ITV programme was devoted to the services couples with film on his life, the live broadcasts to Ipswich and at St James and outside Durham Cathedral wherein the evening sunshine a rainbow appeared across the sky. The programme was clearly the work of the ITV regional sports commentator who had become involved in the cancer research fund raising activities and received an invitation to be present from the fund organisers. It was best region coverage of one event one persons life I can recall seeing and hopefully it will be available as some DVD tribute. Whereas ITV devoted between 20 and 35 minutes to Sir Bobby, the BBC condense the reporting to 15 minutes and understandable devoted some time to the Great North Run which is one of their great outside broadcasts events and which primarily raises money for charities. There were brief few minutes references on both the BBC and ITV 10 pm news bulletins, with brief references on the ten minutes late night local news shows. The only discordant note was struck by one of his sons who attempted to balance all the praise for the public persona with some insight on the impact of his life and personality on his children and grand children. Thus it is forever so.

I also watched the second part of Waking the Dead which developed into the provision of body parts from those who volunteered but mostly those who were bullied and blackmailed and in two instances killed. It again centres on the unconventional and use of criminal methods to obtain the truth by Boyd and in this episode the team drive away from one the main antagonist who carried out the surgery, knowing he would be killed by his colleagues for effectively closing the enterprise in the UK down for the individual concerned. No doubt other will step on to gill commercial opportunity just as desperate people for a new life will continue to sell their bodies in different ways for what they believe is the opportunity of their lifetime. The programmed was completed on a day when the French government under pressure from the UK moved into to close the encampment at Calais where mainly Afghans congregate hope to find a way across the channel to the promised land of the UK. No doubt the place was also used by terrorist and intelligence services of such is the world we lives.

The closing word in the book by Sir Bobby and quoted at and after the service was about his life being a black and a white one, black from going down the pit and white of the light. Also his love for the black and white of Newcastle and which the Bishop of Newcastle and the other clergy used to emphasis the black and white of life and Christian faith and in Bobby’s own words the belief that there was more light than darkness around. I wish that was true.

1802 The Australians are defeated at Chester Le Street

It was twenty degrees colder than south England overnight and ten degrees colder than the Midlands and not cricket weather. Today England play Australia at the Riverside ground and am I glad I decided to watch the game on the television. The ground looks excellent and will be full after everyone has copes with the travel problems and the security arrangements. Graham Onions although selected for the one day squad gets his first game and Collingwood comes back after being rested. The commentators made the punt that although it was a blue sky bright start it was a chilly morning. England won the toss and elected to bowl which was the right thing for the Durham pitch and Anderson had a wicket before many had taken their seats and then Graham Onions got his first wicket with the total 17 and in the fourth over. More on what happened in the game after I have finished making notes from the books by Tom Moffat and Ralph Dellor

It is only twenty years ago that that the stadium was planned and not until 1996 that the first game was played and the first part of the present main pavilion building completed. Then the new Chairman Don Robson and Treasure Tom Moffat had been tipped off that Geoff Cook the retiring captain of Northants would be the man to help fashion the first team and interested in coming back North where he had roots. He agreed on a sessional and part time basis until the plans for using the six playing grounds over three years and the permanent stadium site and building programme was agreed together with the required funding had been confirmed. All this was pointless without recruiting a playing staff which could perform in the championship then a competition in which all the teams played in one division and playing the other teams at home one year and away the next. No one expected Durham to be immediately successful but equally no one wanted the team to be humiliated.

It is not known who instigated the two big signings which the club made. Dean Jones had come to England before with the Australian touring Test side but was interested in the gaining the experience of batting in English conditions and he did not disappoint scoring 100 in the first official game of the 1992 competitive season, the Sunday 1 day match which Durham won, just. The other was that of Ian Botham, past his best but still the biggest name playing in English cricket. It is also important to put the signing of Botham in context as the Kevin Keegan era was also underway, taking Newcastle back to the then first Division and to the top of the Premiership, 12 points ahead, until the end season collapse to finish second to Manchester United .

Geoff brought to together a mixture of experienced championship players with local individuals who only had experience of Minor County playing conditions. He recruited David Graveney as Captain, the nephew of the legendary Tom, both Gloucestershire men, Wayne Larkins from Northamptonshire, a club with long standing links with Durham, Phil Bainbridge from Gloucestershire, Gary Brown from Middlesex, and Paul Parker of Sussex experienced batsmen, all rounders Simon Hughes who had been to Durham University and Yorkshireman Phil Berry. plus Steve McEwen and Christopher Scott one of two wicket keepers came from Nottingham. The local men included Simon Brown born Cleadon village and playing first class cricket with Northamptonshire, Darren Blenkiron batsman although born Warwickshire was raised in Durham at Bishop Auckland the home of the Prince Bishops, John Glendening from the Boro, James “Jimmy” Daley batsman born Sunderland, Paul Henderson all rounder born Stockton, Stewart Hutton Batsman also born Stockton, Ian Smith all rounder born Chopwell, Gay Wigham all rounder born Bishop Auckland, together with John Wood, “Woody” all rounder born Yorkshire but yet to play first class cricket. Andy Fothergill was born in Newcastle but brought up in Darlington was the second wicket keeper.

Most of the players came together to play in the Minor Counties league in 1991 and this included Geoff Cook scoring 63 in his last game as Captain before David Graveney took over. During the winter preparations for the first season continued with the use of the McEwen Indoor centre. Now the club has indoor facilities at the ground in the adjacent sports centre as well as cricket nets for players and for the public. The team also played in Zimbabwe.

The first game as a first class County was not against Lancashire at the Durham City University Racecourse ground but against Oxford University, when alas rain washed out most of the first day and also severely affected the rest of the game. Durham made 286 for 2 when they declared with Glendening and Paul Parker both making 100, Oxford made 105 for 2. After the euphoria of the opening home match against Lancashire, the team lost to Glamorgan in the first game of the Benson and Hedges Cup. Leicestershire were the first Championship visitors and they won the game by seven wickets. Durham were able to make 164 in their first innings to which Leicestershire replied with 342 with Boon and Smith making 100’s. Durham did significantly better in the second innings with Parker and Ian Botham making centuries. The great adventure had began as it was too continue for over the next decade with defeat after defeat, clawed draws and rare victories. More on what happened in those early years when I find my records but I will use the Tim Wellock book Summers with Durham over the coming week while at Worcester.

What I like about Tom Moffat‘s book is that he has penned notes about those who helped to get Durham into the Championship. He rightly begins with Arthur Austin Chairman of Durham Cricket club from 1975 to 1991. He is said to have been a gentleman with an aura who was nevertheless quiet and kind and with integrity. However it also appears that he saw his role as a narrow one of chairing committee meetings rather than being an activist. His position as Chairman was taken over by Don Robson without whom the dream would not have become a reality. He also had many critics. There have been three concerns over the years. He was foremost a major Party political leader and political party leaders if they are to get things done and survive have to be strong individuals. Secondly there was the debt which reached over £1.5 million at one point and continued to keep the club in the red a long periods, primarily in order to build the and develop the stadium So although the club achieved an operating profit over a year, interest on the debt meant the account was always in the red and this was said to have restricted the room to manoeuvre the development of players. Against this I would say just look at the stadium today and what will happen over the next three years before the Durham is to host an Ashes Test and then a twenty twenty finals day. Having good facilities also encourages the ongoing interest of business and commerce and the inclusion of a major commercial Fitness centre project within the grounds and with balconies overlooking the play was a smart move which brought in additional revenue but also the kind of individuals more at home with corporate hospitality that the Barmy Army area. The third concern is that he was satisfied with achieving first class championship status and the opportunity to watch the best players and best sides without worrying too much about the results and therefore the professionalism, the discipline and the resolve to win became secondary to playing the game. This was ok in the beginning but became a problem when the situation failed to improve.

By 1999 the financial position of the club is reported to have become precarious with Bank insisting on regular independent financial reviews which in turn caused a further drain on Resources. For four years Bill Midgley took over as Chairman. It was during this period that Bill developed the approach of making Durham into a stadium for international matches. The first internationals were 1 day affairs with one cancelled because of rain. The first test was against Zimbabwe in 2003. Mr Midgley became President of the British Chamber of Commerce which indicates something of his national status in business.

Technically the chairman of Durham Cricket Club has been Bob Jackson from 2003 to the present time although his status has been significant reduced by the creation of a holding company as in effect the old Board was wound down. Bill has a seat on the new Holding board as well as being a Member of the English Cricket Board. In 2004 the new holding company and new board was established under the chairmanship of Clive Leach and it is under his leadership that success has come to the club. In the previous writing about the history of how is all began I indicated that in the North East the practice used to be to keeper the dirty linen hidden and to do the washing in private, unless as from time to time it has happened the national media or the judicial authorities have taken an interest, I therefore detect more than what is said by Bill about the taking over by the holding company and the plans led by Clive Leach in conjunction with the ECB to create the best international stadium at Durham outside of London.

The President of a club can be no more than a recognition award and an ambassador for the enterprise without power. It an also be the actual powerhouse albeit often behind the scenes. So much will depend on the individual involved. The First president was Ian Caller and he held the position for 11 years and this would have continued for life had he not suggested that the position become one of recognition and be held for only two years. Without Ian there would have been no first class cricket in Durham as one should not underestimate the good will he generated from the region with the ten years of festivals and that he ploughed back the profits (meeting the expenses) into the development of cricket in the region. Bill Midgley became the first recognition president. He was followed by Harry Banks 1998 2000 an individual who through his building and construction company has financed the development of league and youth cricket and who chaired the working group which promoted the concept of Durham becoming an International cricket ground. The position went to Don Robson 2000- 2002 Malcolm Pratt took the role in 2002 to 2004 and was the former leader of Chester Le Street Council. He faced major opposition to the proposal to build the stadium at the Riverside. I wonder if those involved still have the same view now. The petition was signed by 20000 individuals gives an indication of the strength of feeling which the proposed site aroused and most politicians would have found it difficult to press their support in such a situation. The mystery appointment was that of Lord Stevens QPM who had been Chief Constable of Northumbria 1991 1996 and then of the Metropolitan Police. Tom Moffat himself was made the President over the crucial years 2006-2008 and pens a note on the difficulties of leaving the top table and doing so with good grace. The present President is Ian Mills a distinguished local lawyer whose late wife was Judge Mary McMurray.QC. He has provided legal advice and assistance to club.

Mike Gear was the first Chief Executive Officer 1991 1992, an import from the English Cricket Board and when he left the present CEO David Harker together with Pat Walton PA to the Chairman and CEO took over for two years until what was hoped would be a long term appointment. However Alan Wright who had a background in the media was able to provide a good Media and PR image but the implication for the shortness of his appointment is that he did not have the commercial experience required by the club at that time Mike Canlish 1996-1999 had the industrial and commercial experience and after he left he continued to assist the club for two days a week in relation to the development of International cricket at the Riverside. David Harker was a young man when he was recruited in 1991 as the Finance Officer for the club and obviously was able to learn from all the CEO with whom he worked closely over the decade before the board gave him the position in 2000. That nine years later he is still proves the wisdom the decision.

Geoff Cook was the first Durham appointment made back in 1990 or was it 1991.Between 1995 and 2000 Norman Gifford came in as head coach and Geoff concentrated on the development of young players in the second team and subsequently the academy. He was followed by Martyn Moxon from Yorkshire who Yorkshire wanted back before he could no longer resist the situation mid season in 2006. The brilliant decision then was to ask Geoff not just to caretake but to take on the position himself and a major factor in the recent success is the way Geoff has created a winning team unity. A great deal of credit for the state of play was due to the grounds man Tom Flintoff from North Yorkshire who became Groundsman of the year in 1991 when working for Hampshire. When he returned in 1998 the position was taken by David Messor a local man who was Tom’s Assistant. The issue of continuity with the appointments of Coach, Chief executive and Groundsman has been important in unravelling the Durham success story. Brian Hunt retires this season as Officer Scorer, having been appointed in 1991. He held that position for 17 years with the Minor County side before then. Local Architect Bill Ainsworth was a cricketer under at Stockton under Arthur Austin and was responsible for designing the stadium from its Greenfield site the advantage of retaining one individual and one firm is that development has continued to be integrated even if the process has been gradual. According to Tom Moffat in addition to his design proposals Bill was given the contract because of his known work for the Lord’s Tavernier’s as much as for his architectural standing and experience. Bill accepted the invitation to add the following comment. “To have played cricket as a young man was a civilising process in my life and to have been part of designing a Test match cricket ground and in Durham was beyond a dream.” Someone unknown to me is Joe Sherrington who has been the ground administrator. I assume it has been his job not just to employ and organise the stewards but manage the constructions including the temporary stands used for international tournaments. Among other individuals mentioned by Tom is Maurice Johnson and his wife. Maurice was an assistant secretary with the former Durham Minor County Board who was given the job to help the first class bid. His wife was a qualified secretary. He also gives special mention to Jack Illey the then Secretary and it is interesting that Jack, Arthur Austin and Tom were all wicket keepers. Tom has also included copies of the autograph book of players from visiting teams as well as international touring sides.

So although only watching on TV it was a very special moment to witness England playing Australia at the Riverside and the lunch time interview with Graham Onions held at the Newcastle stadium. After the good start by the English pace bowlers Pointing and Clark appeared to take control although found scoring runs difficult and pit on 79 runs before there was an Australian collapse with spin man Swann looking as if could take a wick with every ball and gaining five for 2.8 off his ten overs. Australia were all out for 176 and when openers Straus and Denly put on 100 runs before a wicket fell it looked as if England would coast to victory in the pleasant sunshine as the day warmed up.. Then there was the continued failure of Bopara, Shah and Prior getting only 33 runs between them . It was left to Collingwood with 13 and Bresnen to get the required runs and in fact the wining run was a no ball. Australia had put out almost their best team and were well beaten due to good bowling on an English wicket which provided some swing and bounce as well as spin. The real winner of the day was the Durham cricket club.

I was able to catch the start of the Great North Run and heard the Red Arrows thunder over heard I also dipped into the Manchester United and City derby in which he city came back three times to draw 3.3 as the final whistle approached. Then former Liverpool. Newcastle and England Strikes Michael Owen who came on as a substitute for United scored the winner in the sixth minute of extra time. In fairness United dominated the second half and the result was a fair one on the play but dubious time keeping. As expected although Murray won his single match the 19 year old who played the final game was overwhelmed and the team is now back in the third division of the Davis Cup. Newcastle Rugby Union club lost away on Saturday with the game shown on RV. At Lunchtime Sunderland were beaten in a game which they dominated against newly promoted Burnley and Newcastle won 3.1 on Saturday afternoon in a game I listened to on the radio.

I enjoyed half a chicken with roast potatoes and a banana for lunch to day followed by mince and mash for tea with rice pudding. I had a cooked breakfast bought as a carton for breakfast. Saturday I enjoyed a butterscotch win in addition to fruit

1293 Gazza and Sir Bobby Robson

Paul Gascoigne is a Tyneside lad who at the age of seventeen entered the stage of the Newcastle Football club in the days when there were four stands and the wind and rain came through the open corners. That September in 1985 he scored his first goal for the club's first team before a crowd that quickly came to adore his flair and commitment. At the age of 19 years he was selected as the Professional Footballer's Association Young Player of the Year and after 99 games and 25 goals he was transferred to Spurs in the Summer. The moved enable him to be called up to the England Squad and he made his debut that September, scoring his first international goal the following Spring. In the Summer of 1990 he came internationally known for his performances and his reaction to being sent off in the World Cup. That Christmas he was voted by the British Public Sports personality of the year. The following year he joined the Italian Club Lazio and in 1995 he joined Glasgow Rangers, becoming the Scottish Player of the Year. Around this time I was on holiday in Scotland and visited a local Inn on the banks of Loch Lomond, Gazza as he became known entered for a drink and the effect was electric. There have been only two other sporting celebrities and personality where I witnessed a similar impact. Mohamed Ali when I attended a Civic Lunch at which the crowds were larger and more enthusiastic than for the Queen who visited the Town in the same week, and Ian, now Sir Ian Botham, when unknowingly I sat in the stand of a Kent Cricket ground near his wife, when during a rain interrupted match he joined her and then signed autographs and chatted to everyone, and I mean everyone, who stood in line to meet him. It is not surprising that all three individuals have had the problems as well as their many triumph given the adulation they received, the comparative shortness of their time performing their skills, and the inevitable void which follows when they cannot continue at the required level. The test is how an individual then copes with the situation and of the three, Paul has too often hit the headlines for the worst possible reason. Ian Botham continued to be a known and loved character for his Cricket expertise, his monumental walks from one tip of the British Islands to the other some 600 miles, year upon year, raising over ten million pounds of leukaemia research, and for his TV adverts, and which mean that he continues to be recognised and shown attention wherever he goes. Mohamed Ali also possess the personality to continue to be recognised and loved, particularly when stricken with disease he continued to demonstrate a spontaneous humour and courage which refuses to accept his disabilities.

At the end of this week the media in the Northern region disclosed that following a situation Paul had been committed to a psychiatric hospital in the interests of his own welfare. It is the nature of the people and their culture in the North East England that the local football managers and other personalities together with the local media has sent a public message to Paul that he is not alone and that he has many friends. Kevin Keegan has said the Newcastle Football Club will give what help is needed.

By a twist of circumstance this weekend is the 75th birthday of Sir Bobby Robson who is still under treatment for cancer and who for the first time to my knowledge has commented about his disappointment at being sacked from Newcastle after four successful seasons although the tide was beginning to turn as the new breed of over paid, arrogant and self seeking carpet bagging players came to dominate the Premiership and finding someone able to exercise control and discipline and to create a united and committed team of skill and flair led to one managerial failure after another. Sir Bobby was also the England Manager during Paul's international career. It is also the first time that Keegan has faced Sir Alec Ferguson since returning as Newcastle Manager Newcastle Manager, with the team and supporters still reeling from the 6.0 surrender at Old Trafford which contributed to the early departure of his predecessor. Many of my generation and of more recent generations prefer to remember the occasion when Newcastle scored five goals and Manchester Unit 0, I was there. The match is live at 5.15 on Saturday evening and the club will be lucky to escape with a draw, but then nothing is impossible as Barnsley have demonstrated, igniting the dreams of everyone. Outside of Liverpool.

I went out twice during the day, the first occasion to seek the advice of a bank manager, located near to a barbers I have used in the past. In this instance I checked first that I had sufficient cash with me and fortunately having changed trousers for the visit there was a £5 note in one of the pockets and I had sufficient coin. There was gale blowing so my hair was mess my the time I arrived home. It was sunny with not hint of the squalling storm which hit me as I ventured out again in the afternoon to purchase and post a card and a letter. I bought an evening paper, two in fact after seeing the headlines in the Sunderland Echo and retreated for a cup of tea and a read. The cause of the double purchase is the news of the prospect of resolution over the future of the large vacant riverside site across from Sunderland AFC stadium and a matter of yards from the City centre. The site was bought from Vaux, the former Brewery and Hotel company which provided major employment after the demise of shipbuilding and coal. and cleared by Tesco with the intention of building a major store with car parking. Vaux also owned the hotel near to my former home where I stayed on the night before my interview for the job which brought me to Tyneside, and also owned the Inn built into the cave at bottom of the cliff at Marsden and where the new owners had to close the facility shortly after I visited last summer because of the problem with the adjacent stairs and the instability of the rock faces. It was important that alternative job creating uses were found for the Vaux site but the news of a third major supermarket complex in the city was not greeted with the enthusiasm that might have been expected because of the proposed location, given the master plan that had been developed for the generation of the Riverside with educational, cultural and residential developments to rival those underway at Newcastle, Gateshead, and latterly planned for the North and south banks of the Tyne at the estuary.

The proposed solution should satisfy all interests. It looks as if a major site has been found, a short distance away over the Wear bridge close to the football ground and about two miles away from Morrison's on the same side of the river, and about three from Sainsbury situated within the southern communities at the outskirts of the city. Hopefully Tesco will retain its smaller city centre store which would otherwise have closed have closed the riverside development continued. The plan to go ahead with using the riverside site for a hotel close to the football club, for apartment blocks, offices and a civic building already approved by government should be realised . There was also excellent news about jobs locally as the Legal body responsible for managing legal; aid is moving to Jarrow. This involves 132 Legal jobs.

For the past two nights, there were three in the USA, I have watched the first round of the finals of American Idol, with two shows of two hours each featuring twelve men and women from 16 to 30.While there were half a dozen outstanding performances and half a dozen others noteworthy, it was evident who should be cut at the numbers are halved over the next three weeks to the final dozen. However the public does not always select the best and with 28 million votes, I will say that again 28 million votes, the equivalent of one phone call for every two people in the UK, the unpredictable and the unjust had to be expected. For me the memorable aspect is the faces of the four sets of parents of those whose dream ended. The dream quickly ended with a taste of appearing in the most watched show on American Television and therefore becoming celebrities, particularly in their home towns and states. It is to be hoped they do not spend the rest of their lives reflecting on what might have been and looking to recapture the feelings they will have experienced so briefly. The dream should always go on although the images will need to adjust to the realities of circumstances.

1800 Durham Cricket success. How it happened 1

For the 800th piece of writing since February 2007 I have decided to concentrate on the story of Durham Cricket which led to winning the County Championship two years in succession less that two decades after being elected to the competition. I am using the Ralph Dellor book, Birth of a First Class County which he published through Bloomsbury for £14.99 in 1992, together with The Impossible Dream.... Come True by Tom Moffat MBE published in soft cover through FRO Print and Image Ltd of Birtley in County Durham in August 2009.

The story begins over 100 years ago in South Shields at the County Hotel, still a tavern restaurant close to the Redhead Park and the Marine college on the main road to Sunderland which runs through Cleadon Village and parallel to the coast road. At the meeting it was agreed to invite all the secretaries of cricket clubs in the County to meet at the Three Tuns Hotel in Durham city to consider forming a team to represent the County. Eight clubs were represented at the meeting held two weeks later from Darlington, Durham City and Durham School, Stockton, Gateshead Fell, Whitburn, and from North Durham. I do not know if the grounds at Darlington, Stockton and Gateshead Fell are the same as those which Durham was to use 110 years later and it would be interesting to find out and later in his book Ralph Dellor provided the information. Darlington was established in 1827 ( Fixed seating 900 and temporary 2200 (Stockton established 1816 ( Fixed seats 890 and Temporary 2000) Gateshead Fell 1878 (Fixed 400 and temporary 3500). Durham City played at what is now the University Race Course Ground by the River Wear and which provides views of the Castle and the Cathedral. I have a signed numbered print of a painting of the scene recording when the ground became the principal venue for Durham during the first three years. From the book I learnt that the land had been once owned by the Bishop of Chester. (Established 1835) Seating capacity 1000 and more. The other temporary grounds used by Durham 1992 to 1995 were Hartlepool established 1855 with fixed seating for 1000 and temporary for 2000, and Chester Le Street with permanent seating capacity of 3299 and a total capacity of 4000 and where I watched Dean Jones score 100 against the touring West Indians

In the later 1900’s there was also an arrangement for the new County Team to play Northumberland at Sunderland (Chester Road) One hundred years later Ashbrooke, Sunderland was being canvassed at the permanent location for the new First class County. Of interest that first game was played over two innings and Ralph Dellor has obtained a copy of the original scorecard which was collated by Brian Hunt, Durham’s official scorer, who retires this year and the beneficiary of various social activities to mark his contribution. His work is called 100 Years of Durham County Cricket. I noticed that the Northumberland innings ended at nine wickets before I read the explanation that the team had taken the field after a long delay with a man short. In 1895 Durham shared the Minor County Championship with Norfolk and Worcester. They appeared in the championship tables for 1897 and from 1899 they appeared every year thereafter until 1992 when they became a First Class County. The Championship was headed in 1901 1902 and 1926, 1930, 1976 and they were runner’s up in the next three years. They won again in 1980 1981 and 1984 and this success led to the first bid to join the Championship in the mid 1980’s Ralph also highlights that over the first half of the 20th century Durham was unique in being awarded games against the touring sides from South Africa and West Indies, New Zealand India and the West Indies. The last side to visit was Pakistan in 1962. However for 10 years prior to 1992 the owners of a travel firm Caller Pegasus sponsored a Festival week which attracted cricketers from all over the world.

On the ground floor of the main Pavilion stand at the Riverside which houses the player’s dressing rooms, hospitality boxes, the Administration and the Member’s Lounge, there is a well appointed bar restaurant open to visitors and for Sunday lunch throughout the year. It is called Austin’s and named after Durham’s renowned wicket keeper from 1936 to 1954. He went on to become secretary of the County Committee in 1969 and Chairman in 1975, a position which he held until 1991 when Durham achieved first class status and Don Robson became the chairman. He died in 2007 at the age of 98. Having travelled by car from his home at Yarm to visit the club.
These days there is much speculation how some of the former cricketing greats would have fared with insistence on being lean and agile. I immediately think of FR Brown of Middlesex and Stewart Surrage of Surrey, Colin Cowdrey and particularly at 18 stone, Colin Milburn, who I was amazed to remember played for the minor County side during the mid 1970’s three times. Ian Blackwell follows in the tradition.

It was in 1973 that Durham of the Minor Counties electrified the North East and surprised the Cricket world by beating Yorkshire in the first round of the one day Gillette Cup by 5 wickets. The game was played at Harrogate, a lovely ground where Yorkshire played Durham during the early years of their promotion to the Championship and which I attended. In 1985 Durham beat Derbyshire in what had become the Natwest trophy and these victories led to some contemplating first class championship status..

When Ralph wrote his book some 2500 people had become Members of the new County, with an estimate of 4000 by the end of the year at a time without a permanent ground and club facilities Such was public enthusiasm generated for the plan. I have had difficult in finding the present number but I would be surprised if it more than 3000 although there is talk of trying reach 5000 as a consequence of winning the championship twice in succession. This would be a major step forward as around the world support for the four day game is falling away on the part of some players, administrators with the task of keeping clubs financially solvent and the public who have turned to the shorter on day game, and in particular the 20-20. Ione of the many remarkable aspects of the Durham story is that the club and players are not flying the flag of the County Championship for the rest of the club memberships, although raising the prize money from £100000 to £350000 for the players and adding £150000 for the winning club has obviously been an incentive.

Ralph also wrote about the enthusiasm for professional and amateur sporting activity throughout the region, describing the extent to which winning and losing can effect whole communities as tribal, a term which I have always used with some trepidation as saying tribal to someone’s face is usually interpreted meaning primitivism and a criticism rather that an objective statement about the bonds and loyalty which tends to govern political and social life in the region.

This applies strongly to Sport with the rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle football fans the foremost. For the first decade and a half of living in the North I was a season ticket holder at Sunderland, choosing the club because it was a short walk from my home and I could hear the roar of the crowd on match days when working in the garden. I remember individuals coming to their front gate to ask the score on the way home and when a team did well, especially against southern sides the mood of the community was lifted and politicians and trade unionist declared that production would go up and down according to the fortunes of the team supported. When Sunderland lost to Newcastle I would find printed cards on my desk which someone had asked my secretary to deliver usually with a coffin and a the short sentence “here lies Sunderland Football club R.I.P. “ At St James’s Park, Newcastle’s home when Sunderland visited it is traditional for the supporters closest to them to rattle bunches of keys because the Sunderland natives are reported to have difficulties pronouncing their E’s. At Durham last week some of the embittered Notts supporters in front of me made sarcastic remarks about the accents of some of the local the Durham players and I was pleased to act as a buffer for the hostility which their comments were greeted. At the end of the 2008 2009 football season Sunderland were defeated at home in the last match but secured their position in the Premiership and there was much singing and dancing in the streets and on public transport immediately after the game. However the cause for wild celebrations in the cities and among Sunderland supporters where ever they lived was that Newcastle had been relegated and the tables had been reversed between the two clubs. However the lesson is that if outsiders attack, especially Southerners, the region unites in common purpose. I heard one Durham Member tell the serving catering staff recently with great glee, “they will hate this, absolutely hate this,” and he then referred to the southerners and interestingly to the Yorkshire club. He was of my generation and now doubt like me had become young again and full of the youthful dreams which the present generation of players was realising.

Brendan Foster the Olympic and National runner made his name at Gateshead where he was employed in the Council’s Culture and Leisure Department. Brendan was also responsible for bringing an International Athletics day for the opening of a new Athletics and sport’s stadium on the main Road from Sunderland and South Shields into Newcastle. What TV viewers were unaware that day is that bank behind the stadium had been painted green and because of rain was streaking so the cameramen were told to only take long shots of this area, such was North East pride and concern to change the image of the region after years of economic decline. I was told the story by a senior Councillor at Gateshead in the bar of a conference in another part of the country. He was a rival of the then Councillor Leader who had previously been in charge of the culture and leisure sector and had been the driving force behind the development of thee Gateshead stadium and supporting Brendan, and had personally given the orders for the former slag heap to be painted over because the grass had not yet come through. I mention this story for three reasons, that nothing used to get done in the North East without significant political support, but that behind the media presentation there was often feuds and rivalries, usually stronger with political parties than between them. The third reason is that Brendan Foster and his media company were employed to promote the Durham bid to become a first class championship county. It was Brendan who realised that motivating the public was important but the bid would fail unless the business and commercial sectors could be persuaded to become significant sponsors. Brendan ensured that all the leading sports and other regional personalities of the day supported the new venture.

Most people who only know the region from Television or occasional work related visits fail to understand that business and commercial interests are entwined in public, recreational and social life in a greater way than elsewhere in the UK other than Ireland, Glasgow the South Wales, Yorkshire and Midland coalfield and heavy industrial areas. They quickly learn not to make the mistake that because someone has a strong regional accent they are not educated or have exceptional wit, including spontaneous and creative humour, They also have usually worked exceptionally hard just to ensure their families survive, provide the backbone for the armed forces, and still practice their religions, albeit with varying degrees of belief. One should not underestimate the significant role which Don Robson played fro as in addition to having been a professional footballer and a cricketer he was the leader of Durham County Council which impacted not only on Chester Le Street Council all the councils in Durham, in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland and who at the time were all of the same political party persuasion.

The appetite for championship cricket had already been created by two men without whom this story would have been told. Ian and Roy Caller had built up a successful Travel firm and used some their profits to support their sporting love of cricket within Northumbria. In1980 Newcastle celebrated 900 years as a city and the brothers agreed to sponsor a match between Northumberland and the visiting West Indies at the small ground in Jesmond. It was full and for the next decade the brothers invited cricketers from around the world to the festival and a full list, a whose who of cricket at that time, s included in Tom Moffat’s Book with Graham Gooch, Alan Lamb and Alan Border attending four years; Ian now Sir Ian Botham, with Kapil Dev and Jarved Miandad, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge and Michael Holding came for three years. Another visitor was Martyn Moxon from Yorkshire who was to play a leading part in the development of Durham before the recent success. Players found they were well paid and well looked after on their visits to the region and this built up enormous good will when the application for First Class Status was made. Ian Botham signed a contract to play over the first season. Tom Moffat’s book includes a colour photo of a an Old England Cricket team which attended the festival in 1990. The team included Peter May and Tony Lock of Surrey Denis Compton of Middlesex, Godfrey Evans of Kent, Fred Truman of Yorkshire and Ted Dexter, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, Trevor Bailey, Brian Statham and Reg Simpson, all heroes of my and cricket lover’s youth everywhere in the world.

Ralph Dellor also highlights the importance of Durham University in the development of cricket in the county with perhaps the most important former member of the University team Nassar Hussain who became captain of England. Will Smith the present Durham Captain was also at the City University. Another Durham student who was to play an important role in the early Durham years was Simon Hughes. Dellor lists some 30 individuals who were students who went on the play County Cricket before 1992 and this includes the bowler Frank Tyson.

The fact that so many outstanding cricketers had been available to be watched in the region, and that the Yorkshire ground at Headingley could be reached there and back within a day was potentially a double edged sword when the reality set in that Durham with the best will in the world was a poor side over the first decade of its new status. The reality of championship cricket is very different from the Festival and the Test match. One should not underestimate the challenge of maintaining four day cricket and in this respect Durham becoming a class above the rest may not be a good thing for the long run good of the game. In a short table of nine clubs the margin between winning the championship or being one of the two clubs relegated has been the number of bonus points accumulated for several recent years and this has been all to the good, maintaining interest until the last games of the seasons

I am also indebted to Ralph Dellor for reminding something of the history of the first class championship and that up to this century the administrators of the game were conservative in their approach. He mentions that although the championship proper did not begin until 1895 there were champions from 1864, depending on the number of inter county matches played. The championship was not regulated until 1873. The counties involved until 1895 were Yorkshire, Surrey, Lancashire and Middlesex the main counties when I was a school boy and a young man, together with Nottingham, Kent, Gloucestershire and Sussex who only won the championship for the first time this century. Gloucestershire have never won. In 1895 this select group were joined by Derbyshire, Essex Hampshire Leicestershire and Warwickshire. Worcestershire having won the Minor Counties three years in a row were admitted in 1899. Northampton joined in 1905 and Glamorgan in 1921. That is only two clubs since 1900 and none for seventy years until Durham.

It is nearly two decades since reading the Dellor book and I had forgotten that the first idea before that of Matt Roseberry, mentioned in writing earlier in the week, came from Norman Graham who had played for Kent before returning to his home county of Northumberland His idea in 1983 was to create a new side of Northumbria above the existing two minor county sides thus enabling first class cricketers to play for the county than go elsewhere and presumably brining in players to get the new club off the ground. He and Shropshire who was also interested in becoming a first class county were told by the English Cricket Board to prepare a feasibility study which included the support of everyone likely to be involved. They were told the application would not proceed without unanimity.

It is at this point that I remain unclear about the sequence of events before the first planning committee was formed in 1989. Tom Moffat gives importance to Matt Roseberry, the entrepreneur with two sons playing county cricket. Together with Mike Weston the Rugby International he had created the McEwen’s Indoor cricket centre and where there was office space which could be used for the staff needed for getting the proposed county club off the ground As I understand what happened from Tom’s book Matt approached a number of people on the basis of creating a new club as a commercial operation and separate from the Durham Minor County Committee. One has to ask why this was so? Whatever the reason it is evident that Matt quickly formed an alliance with key members of the Durham Cricket Committee and that Tom Moffat played a key role both in supporting the project and using the staff of his firm to process the application and coordinate the various meetings and actions which were required. In March 1989 the Test and County Cricket Board replied to the initial enquiry which Mr Moffat had written on behalf of the planning committee. The reply did not say yes, nor more significantly did it say no. The service which Mr Moffat has now added to his lifelong contribution in the county is to reproduce the key exchanges of correspondence and reports as well adding comments about the reservations which many felt about a task which involved initially raising £1 million to get the venture off the ground. Impressive is the feasibility document submitted to the ECB which made reference to using other grounds for three years while a purpose developed ground was located and established.

That the vote of the seventeen clubs was sixteen for and one abstention indicates both the goodwill which the planning committee received and the hard work of committee members who made vists to all the championship clubs and spoke to key figures. Getting the go ahead did not mean entry would be automatic and various steps had to be taken to ensure the grounds used over the first three years would be of sufficient standard, that progress for a permanent ground would be dovetailed, required funds raised and players and backroom staff recruited Perhaps the most extraordinary and fortunate decision of all these was on learning of the availability of Geoff Cook following his retirement from playing cricket for Northants Don Robson and Tom Moffat travelled to the Midlands to meet him and offered him an open ended contract as Director of Cricket which would be become full time once the project had become a reality. In terms of individuals being responsible for the championship it was his subsequent work with young players nurturing the likes of the Harmison brothers and Liam Plunket which proved significant as well as his ability to create a genuine sense of team membership among a varied and changing group of competitive individualists. It was therefore understandable and highly appropriate that after the victory on Saturday the players gravitated to the home of Geoff Cook.

Whereas the Dellor book is a factual statement of developments with critical asessments Tom Moffat is able to include stories which only those directly involved know about. One of the best is when they arranged to take representatives of the ECB to the six grounds at which matches would be played so facilities could be inspected and obtain advice about what was required. This involved arranging time table meetings with the clubs for the key people to be present and everything went well until the visit to Darlington when the groundsmen was present with staff but making prepartions for the wintering of the cricket area and who were unaware of the visit and its purpose. As the party approached on to the hallowed square they were greeted with the cry “get off the bloody square.” What is agreed is that everything the ECB advised was undertaken down to buying the right equipment. It is evident that what impressed the governing body was not just the enthusiasm of those involved but their professionalism and willingness to take advice and do everything that was asked of them.

It is also understandable that the first thought of Matt Rosberry had been the use of the Ashbrooke cricket ground in Sunderland as a permanent home for the county given that crowds in excess of 20000 had attended a game when the Australians played against the Minor Counties side at the end of World War II I am still not sure how the idea came to use a sports field on the banks of the River Wear at Chester Le Street with its backdrop of the Lumley Castle Hotel on a hill rising across the river. People have compared the location to that of the ground at Worcester. It was then and is still a large area of land adjacent to a large park and where to the northern side of the stadium there are now allweather sporting facilities created to replace those lost with the arrival of the stadium. There is parking at the ground sufficient for spectators to all kinds of matches except the internationals which will amount to only a handful of days in any year. However while there are bus services from Chester Le Street to Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle as well as a train service, the motor car is the main way visitors can get to and from the location especially for any matches played under floodlights. The location like that at the Rosebowl and other county grounds not based within a city does reduce the potential support. Although I lived some distance from the Oval and from my workplace it was possible to get there by public transport relatively quickly, so it was possible to take an afternoon off during weekdays. While I can get to a seat at the Riverside by car within half an hour if I take the bus the choice is between a long tiring tour of Washington when travelling from South Shields to Chester Le Street and then a long walk or an infrequent bus, or a bus to Sunderland and from there one of two buses to a stop across from the ground, and one of these also takes an around estates route. I have to allow two hours for each way of the journey. There is a similar problem from those who live in the various villages and small towns of County Durham and North Yorkshire. Making the journey once a week in the cricket season is not a problem but for four days in succession followed by a one day match is not practical for many, especially the older members who rely on public transport or lifts. One of the reasons why Newcastle and Sunderland can fill stadiums with capacities of 50000 is their locations in the centre of cities and with a first class public transport system as well as a first class road network.

Having secured the agreement where to play matches over the first three years and a site for a permanent stadium, and a Director of Cricket, the next task was to raise the funds which quickly increased from half a million in the first year to a million and from a quarter to half a million in the following two years. Most of the funds immediately available are said to have been spent on a promotional video arranged by Brendan Foster’s agency and which brought together clips of the Caller festivals and the proposed location of the ground together with support from various North East Personalities including the cricketer Tom Graveney who was born in Niorthumberland. I was excited by the video when it was shown on regional TV programmes. The film ended with a young cricketer being told that one day such a young man might walk out to the wicket at the Riverside to face the then all powerful West Indian Bowling attack. It was Durham’s Paul Collingwood who as a batsman withstood the Australian bowling attack at Glamorgan in the first Ashes Test this year, a performance which prevented defeat and paved the way for the winning of the Ashes back and as Tom Moffat recalls it was Paul who also came out to bat at the Riverside in 2007 against the West Indian team.

Brendan Foster set his sights high proposing that the club concentrate on attracting major sponsors and the interests of business in general as well as building a support base of individual members of the general public. The promotion worked because within hours major sponsors had signed up and others commenced to take out the secondary and third level of involvement. Vice President Status was offered for £25000 a year for 5 years providing advertising, hospitality, parking spaces, memberships and souvenirs, and the opportunity to use players for promotional purposes. For a single outlay of £10000 there was a VIP membership and for £5000 or £1250 a year for five years an individual or small company could receive two life memberships which was exceptional value given the cost of full memberships and charges for individual matches today.

Ordinary membership was set at £60 a year although the original business plan had proposed £100 which was the figure then planned for 1996 when the Chester Le Street Ground was expected to be ready. Individual life Membership was then only £2250. Now twenty years later I only pay £90 for up to 44 days cricket a year. Four Memberships at the reduce price of £25 each are given to the over 100 cricket clubs who are part of the Durham Cricket association. One might have expected this encouragement would be taken up but alas because of work and involvement in the actual playing of cricket the memberships are not used and which explains the decision to open the ground free for the last two days of the championship winning confirmation game against Nottinghamshire. The fund raising drive exceeded estimates with £1.7 million raised and individual Membership before the first ball was bowled stood at over 2500. It is to be hoped that the success of the last three years will have a positive effect on membership and sponsorship

In 1990 1991 there was the question of contracting playing staff who could compete against the other sides in the Championship at their home grounds and at the six temporary venues in the County. I will write about that another day.

1798 Durham's 3 and 4

According to Durham over 3000 people attended the third day of the match between the county and Nottingham at Riverside on Friday of last week. As it was a weekday there were no school age children until the later afternoon but there were significantly more younger people and those of working age present, especially after lunch and towards the evening session. Unable to predict the attendance I had risen early and decided to repeat the pattern of the previous morning, a prepared salad using the remaining gammon. I had purchased the 1.5 kilo size for £6 instead of the usual £4 for half the weight and had obtained Sunday lunch and second main meal with hot gravy plus three salads and a couple of late evening snacks. Excellent value but only to repeated occasionally. With salad there was grapes and a cinnamon whirl.

I had then bought the breakfast platter with coffee at the KFC for £2.79 and arrived at the ground before the 9am opening, staying in the car and reading more of the impossible Dream by Tom Moffat. I had been interested to read that in 1989 Matt Roseberry the Durham business man had initiated enquiries about creating a first class side based on the development of the Sunderland cricket ground at Ashbrook for a commercial undertaking rather than as a development of the existing Durham Minor County side and after the original initiative had failed in the mid1980’s.

Matt is a remarkable individual in his own right having started life as a trainee pitman who became a well known figure in business construction, entertainment and sporting industry in the North East acquiring a host of facilities from public houses, working men‘s clubs, leisure facilities, and building houses and recreational centres, and becoming one of the Directors of Durham Cricket club where one of his son became captain for a time after a career as opening batsman with Middlesex for 10 years, returning to that county after his short spell at Durham. What caught my eye is that Matt approached South Tyneside Council when I was there about support for the Ashbrooke project having a meeting with the then head of Culture and Leisure Tom Graham and deputy leader of the Council Sep Robinson, the seventh son of a seventh son. According to the Roseberry Notes he met the deputy leader S Robertson and the error is surprising given the role of the Robinson brothers in Durham Politics. The note describes the meeting as not being fruitful, as being with the leader of the Council which Sep was not and giving his name as Robertson.

As expected the Northern Echo was full of praise for the previous two days of cricket with Tom Wellock who produced the excellent account of the sudden rise to success “Summer’s with Durham.” In anticipation of winning the club were reported to have contacted the ECB and the Championship sponsors about having a celebration and representation of the trophy at the end of the game on Saturday, although this not mean the original intention of a formal presentation during or at the end of the last one day International between Australia and England at the Riverside this coming Sunday which I have planned to watch on TV. Some Durham players had indicated they were unhappy about being required to return tot eh ground for a celebration on that day as it would be between the important games at the Rosebowl and Worcester which they intend to try and win and make the gaining of the second championship an emphatic and memorable one, standing out in the umber of matches won, being unbeaten and total points gained. Whereas last year there was an element of luck although they did win more games than anyone else. The front page headline in the Echo was Tons of Glory and in addition to pointing out the reaching of the highest first innings score and four centuries, Tom added the information that Patel had scored his 50th century in first class cricket and that Benkenstein had now made fifteen centuries for Durham one more than Morris and Paul Collingwood.

I have commented that Paul has made little contribution to Durham’s championship victories but this should not discount his immense contribution to the development of the club in the hard years of regular defeats in the championship. And his contribution tot eh England team has been immense although like Harmison he has had his ups and downs. And where I suspect some southerners have had mixed feelings about the rise of their northern counterparts.

Nottinghamshire commenced the day 65 for two wickets and Durham needed to get four more wickets before the 121st over was bowled that is in the 96 overs that were left from the 120. For the first dozen overs it began to look as if the task would not be an easy one as young opening batsman Hales who had risen into the first team this season from the academy scored without difficulty eventually being out, bowled by Plunket for 62 as the fifth wicket before lunch. Before him Patel has also gone to Plunket when the total was 129 for a creditable 44 and Shafayat the makeshift wicket keeper had departed cheaply leg before wicket to Plunket with the total 133. The prospect of the game ending in three days loomed as Nottingham appeared to be collapsing as quickly as they had on their home ground.

It was then that injured captain wicket keeper Chris Read was joined by Ali Brown and put together a stand of close on 100 runs taken the score to 247 before the vital sixth wicket fell during the afternoon. There was a brief celebration in part out of respect for Nottinghamshire, doomed to no more than second place for the third year in succession but mainly because the task in had was to win the match as well as the championship.


Mark Davies had Ali caught behind and this heralded a mini collapse with Read going to Plunket and Fletcher to Davies making the total to 270 for 8. There was then a further stand between Ealham and Pattinson who added one hundred runs taking the score to 383. Shrek bravely took the field with a runner and it was evident he was in no state to play and therefore Pattison hit out and was caught behind to give Plunket his sixth wicket for 86 runs with Mark taking the other four for 87. Durham had maintained an attacking field, as in fairness had Nottinghamshire with the consequence that any well timed and well placed shot reached the boundary given the number of fielders surrounding the batsman for edges or saving the single run forcing the batsman to try big hits and get out that way. Durham had been significantly more successful at avoiding this trap whereas five of the Notts batsman did not although the team reached a total of 384, a good score on most days but still resulting in having to follow on with four sessions of the match remaining. Yorkshire had survived a similar situation earlier in the season on a similar wicket. As with the first innings Durham were able to take two wickets before the close, Plunket catching Newman off the bowling of Claydon when the total had reached 21 and Wagh going to Davies with the total 48. The evening closed with the total 48 and Nottinghamshire needing another 200 runs to make Durham bat again.

As on the three previous evenings by the time I returned home and made a meal, caught up with the general news and relaxed I was sleepy, sometimes sleeping and dragging myself to bed. There was no inclination to stay up watching TV or trying although I play a lot of games on the computer which required limited concentration and skill.

Saturday was a very different day for me. I decided against a cooked breakfast and went instead to the supermarket for a sandwich deal, Three different halves, a bottle of water and packet of crisps for £2 plus melon slices and a cinnamon whirl with some remaining grapes. I went for coffee immediately on arrival and was disappointed not to find copies of the Northern Echo. This was explained later in the day when two young women were at a stall selling copies for of the Saturday edition for 4 pence plus two pieces of flapjacks or sweets. I opted for the former.

I believe there were fewer people over the day than on Friday but the composition was significantly different. There were far more families than I can recollect seeing at the ground, often with very young children and during the afternoon I noted the large number enjoying the sunshine and sitting behind the stands eating hamburgers and sausage rolls or using the dodgem cars at £2.50 a ride. There were several hundred people milling about while the game continued and even more during the two intervals. I also failed to see many faces encountered during the playing season as I suspect many established members decided not to attend given the open house and that the championship had been secured. From previous experience Saturdays are not well attended days as the mornings are usually given over to shopping or activities with the family and one husband admitted he had difficulty in getting to the match for this reason, while another expressed sadness that his boss had been unwilling to give him a day’s leave for the Friday. In the afternoon there were home games at Sunderland and the Boro and I had spoken with one grand father and son who were taking the grandsons to the Boro and could stay only for the morning session. For many cricket clubs the weekend was the last competitive matches of the season so given these factors I thought the crowd was excellent and exceptionally well behaved, a concern which some Members had expressed concern.

The day started exceptionally well with two wickets falling quickly and at 64 for four a lunchtime end was a possibility. Young Hales was determined this would not be so and he ended the day top scorer with another fifty, caught off the bowling of Blackwell for 78 as the sixth wicket at 163. The end came quickly after that with Plunket getting Read and Ali Brown and Harmison getting Fletcher and the last wicket of Ealham to close the match with an eighth win for the season shortly after tea time. It was then time for celebration

I had decided against sitting in the sun for the fourth day and went to the opposite end of the ground behind the bowler and where at first it was chilly in the shade and I had to wear my top coat as well as inner jacket. Liam Plunket‘s parents and other family members came and sat on the first row a little distance away and during the lunch interval Liam came to greet them while the family played on the grass. I took several photos at a distance hoping some would be of sufficient quality to send to him as a memento of the day.

With two wickets to go I moved to a seat close the aisle which the players use to get to the dressing room and where I expected the presentation to take place. Only one request was made for supporters not to enter the playing area and everyone obeyed without exception and without stewards having to defend the area, which to my mind was the great success of the venture. It demonstrated that if you treat people with respect in general they respond accordingly. There was great joy among the players and backroom staff who called for their children and partners to join them in the celebrations. The players were also photographed against the crowd, myself included, for a post photo and future video and then photo posters were handed out the team with space for autographs as the spectators were invited to meet the players on the field. I decided it was time to go home and had little difficult in leaving the car park and reaching the motorway.

Among the playing staff attending was England’s Paul Collingwood who was rested by England for the fourth one day international, and which England lost making the final game at the riverside less attractive, except perhaps as a means of avoiding a whitewash.

I returned home to watch the regional news and for once the praise was justified as well as the point that without major injuries or changes this is a team which could continue to dominate the championship over the next two to three years.

I decided not to open a bottle of sparking Chardonnay which I planned to enjoy on Sunday with a quartet of small lamb chops. I was high without the need for additional stimulants.