Preparing for 20 20 Finals

After all the excitement of Tuesday evening Wednesday's 40 over game with Somerset was bound to be something of an anti climax. Somerset are an excellent team with former England batsman Marcus Trescothick and they have suffered this season with the injury to Andrew Caddick although he is beginning to play again in the second team. Unsurprisingly the crowd was significantly less although a comparatively good one for an evening night game scheduled to end around 10.45 or so. I quickly realised that the evening was nothing like as warm as the previous day and wondered if the combination of a long sleeve shirt and sleeveless jacket, plus a light wet and wind jacket would be sufficient at we progressed into night.

In the first year as a county I travelled to Darlington on the 2 3 and 4th of June for my first visit to the ground and what became Durham's first home win, having won at Glamorgan previously. The feature of this game was a generous declaration by Somerset when 192 for 6 wickets setting Durham 213 runs in something like 50 overseas which they completed in 39 for the loss of only two wickets with Wayne Larkins scoring 92 and the Australian Dean Jones 79. Young Caddick played in that game and Durham Captain David Graveney became Chairman of the England's selectors. I was at Lords to see Durham well beaten by Middlesex. I travelled with the club travel club to Uxbridge for the one day second round Nat West trophy against Middlesex which we won and then went to Grace Road Leicester where we lost in the next round.
I suspect that I was not alone in think back to previous meetings in a game the club could have done without before Saturday's big day. Nothing prepared any of us for one of the brilliant century knocks of the season by Marcus Trescothick as he hit the ball hard and with great skill. This was not a slog a la Mr Napier but world class batting and it was pleasing to see many in the Durham crowd giving him a standing ovation. Somerset went on to score 286 which in forty overs was a remarkable score and one suspected beyond Durham. As the opening order collapsed to 66 runs for the loss pf six wickets one suspected everyone's mind was concentrated on Saturday, There was however a strong defence by the captain who reached an impressive 50 but when he was out I was no alone in thinking the match was over. We did lose but not before an extraordinary battling once again by Liam Plunkett the bowler who alone with batsman Will Smith are my present choices for man of the season with still half a season to go in the county Championship . He was devastated to be run out as Steve Harmison crashed the ball into the opposite wicket and it went straight to the hand of a fielder who was able to throw down the same wicket with Liam stranded. The determination shown encouraged for Saturday and the loss was not such as bad thing as will make the team more determined and remove any sense of over confidence.

The rest of the day was used to prepare for the weekend. Hampshire has previously been regarded as a typical county with a count ground but over the past decade it has developed its ground in a showpiece cricket stadium which I look forward to seeing as in addition to its contemporary design it features covered standards which is helpful as light rain is forecast on the first day and I have been allocated a seat the upper level of a roofed stand facing the main Pavilion.

There is no Parking available at the club but free park and ride services just off the motorway which passes close to the ground. Everyone will be going to the first of these unless they are staying overnight in the Southampton area. So with the park and ride service operating from 8.30 and staying about 20 mins to half an hour away I would l want to leave no later than 8.15 which just gives time for a fruit juice, bowl of cereal, a croissant and cup of coffee as long as I I have risen early enough, got everything ready including the food and drink for what will be a long day unless play is abandoned because of weather conditions. Should the forecast prove wrong then on Sunday there is the final open day in the dockyard enabling a visit up the Tower adjacent to the Harbour Train station before catching a ferry to the Isle of Wight for a quick reminder tour of the Island visit on holiday as a boy, However the art of good planning and enjoyable travel is flexibility and preparedness for all weathers and circumstances. More of that tomorrow.

The implication of Yorkshire's 20 20 behaviours

The media last night was interestingly cool on Durham's move to placate its Members and supporters over the fiasco of the 20.20 match a week ago. The game, now against Glamorgan will take place next Tuesday and Durham announced on its website that it has decided to donate all proceeds to Charity and to charge adults £5 and for children to go free. Everyone who purchased tickets for the original night is to be reimbursed automatically the full amount or on submission of their ticket if they made a cash purchase. This is an excellent move both in accepting that the situation was badly handled on the day, however much it was the fault of Yorkshire and the English and Welsh Cricket Board and that without such a move it was unlikely the game would attract a good crowd. Although scheduled for 5pm because there are floodlights the game could be played until 10.45 if there is a weather governed difficulty in reaching a result. Neither regional TV evening news programme mentioned these developments although they may decided to leave publicity until the weekend and on Monday.

Meanwhile Yorkshire lost their second division 40 over televised match. Gough appeared in good spirits despite a couple of knocks but the rest of his team were clearly demoralised after being thrashed by Essex again. Essex are already playing Kent in the 50 over final at Lords but either the fall of the toss or the manipulation by the ECB has resulted in the two teams playing each other in the first semi final the following Saturday. This means that Middlesex will play either Durham or Glamorgan at 3pm giving these times more time to travel down, although the with the final not commencing until 7 it will be along days night return homeward, although little different from those who travel away to football games held in the evenings.

A bad day at Durham and for cricket

Reality four and five are of different order. It has been a glorious warm and sunny day and I decided early on that irrespective of how the game progressed in the morning I was visit Durham Cricket Club for the after lunch session. I had a belief that Somerset were the kind of Cricket Club who would declare their second innings at a point where Durham had a good chance to win the game rather than play defensively. I remembered that when Durham first became a First class cricket county they plated Somerset at Darlington and set Durham the task of getting some 250 runs which in fact Durham were able to achieve within the overs remaining. Somerset had been criticised for making the task too easy and this was one of the first wins if not their first win. Today the task set was some 280 runs with 50 overs, a task similar to that which faced Durham in the recent Semi Final of the Friends Provident Trophy and where in fact the same thing happened as it did then and Durham lost two quick wickets. At least this time Durham had no need to face a win or lose position as a draw would keep them in the title race as they continue to have one game in hand on the three teams above them and on Yorkshire who have the same number of points. It was just as well that the weather was fine as you have to be an aficionado to appreciate the defensive game. A good approaching 100 partnership between captain Blenkenstien and opener De Venuto steadied the situation but their quick departure, followed by a fifth wicket opened her possibility of defeat again. Phil Mustard held himself back and with Ben Harmison saw the game through to 5.30 when Somerset agreed to the draw and an early long drive home. Had the umpire accepted their call for an LBW shortly before the half hour I am sure they would have pressed on in an effort to claim the additional ten points for the win and which would have deprived Durham of four of their eight points. Durham were lucky for Somerset appeared to be in control of this game from the start and puts Durham's ambitions of winning the championship title in perspective.

It was only later in the evening on arrival home that the result of the Yorkshire appeal against being ejected from the competition was made known. It was an amusing decision because it was agreed that the Committee had been too harsh in ejecting Yorkshire from the competition and instead they were deducted two points but allowed the result against Nottinghamshire to stand. This consequently also punished Nottinghamshire who had claimed the game just as Durham had asked for a bye. The decision means that Glamorgan one of the third best placed teams in the final league tables go through to meeting Durham at Riverside at a date to be determined. Presumably Nottinghamshire may appeal against this decision. I like this decision though. It is also interesting to read an apology issued by Yorkshire Cricket Club to Durham Members and although this is wholehearted it is about the original mistake and not what happened a week ago. I had written to Yorkshire Chairman Brian Close as well as Durham's Chairman which led to a personal letter from the Club's Chief Executive. Twenty four hours later the date of the revised game has not been publicised. I contacted the Rosebowl and established that all tickets and pre parking has been sold except for the semi finalists. It is going to be a hectic few days if the date of 21st suggested to Glamorgan is correct.

Reality Six. Before returning home I went to Sunderland City Centre to see what was the latest position on replacement spectacles at Specsavers who provided a current pair where one lens has been affected by my fall which I have only recently noticed. Sadly it is a sign of the times that the shop was fully shuttered so I had to find out find out the position through the internet. However the visit provided the opportunity to see some changes to the side of the city centre where there are the offices of solicitors and accountants and such like. I will need to bring my camera on another fine evening to be able to photograph when there are no crowds. I also called in at Morrison's for some fruit but could not resist two packs of Cinnamon Danish pastries originally 79 pence on offer for 39 when you will pay over a £1 when eating in café. A cup of tea and a single scone without cream or jam cost £2.20 at the cricket. It became a day of facing different levels of reality. More about that another time, perhaps.