Barcelona, Warrington and Durham are super teams

Alas there is going to no me and family at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. For the past ten days I have checked the credit card account on line for an amount of up to £1000 to be deducted. I had made application for the maximum possible number of events in this first trance of applications but applying for the lowest price tickets available. Three days ago the amount appeared under transactions pending which if confirmed revealed that I had only been successful in one pair of £16 tickets or two single tickets for this amount. This could mean a visit to the Olympic stadium complex or to Wembley for the football or to the tennis at Wimbledon or two of the three venues.

I suppose that on the bright side I have managed to get tickets as 250000 applicants have not successful I gaining a single ticket but they will be given first opportunity to apply for tickets for events where there are seats available. After this any remaining seats will be made available to those like me who did not get all their first preferences and only then to the general public. One has to take account that a substantial number of the tickets for the events go for allocation to the countries participating and to the families of the participating athletes. There are also those which form part of hospitality packages as well as kept for dignitaries. As with last night’s European Cup final at Wembley it was possible to officially secure a good seat for £4000 and there was market for seats at several times their face value.

Manchester United were well beaten in the game 3.1 by the super team Barcelona who have become precision ball players with exquisite passing and a lethal ability to score goals as well as prevent goals defensively. Last night there was a ray of hope when Rooney equalised after Barcelona had opening their account midway during the first half. In the second half Manchester United were out classed and the score could well have been greater. It merits noting that while many Spanish footballers play in the Premier League no British player presently performs in any of the major Spanish sides. Having said that even in Spain while it is possible to win games against Barcelona they have a rare mixture of brilliant individualists who play according to a crafted and tested system which is superior to everyone else.

Warrington Rugby League team also displayed moments of brilliance which suggests they could walk away with the Championship although in terms of wins and points there are three other team competing for the top honours. Warrington has recently overwhelmed lesser teams in the division accumulating a massive match point’s total, 150 more than their nearest rivals. However Huddersfield has the same number of League points while Wigan with two gamed in hand could join them if they win their game tomorrow. St Helens are fourth just 2 match points behind.

There is a similar situation emerging in division one of the County Cricket Championships with Durham having an excellent win against Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Friday in a rain affected game which prevented all but a handful of overs being bowled on the Thursday. Warwickshire have been deducted 8 championship points, half those awarded for a win, because of the fiery nature of the pitch which resulted in two of the opposition players being injured. The consequence was that the pitch was treated in such a way as to make it flat, that is to say that the fast bowlers were unable to get the ball to bounce high with any speed and more importantly in played true with balls either shooting low or higher than would normally be anticipated.

Fortunately Durham won the toss and chose to bat and there was the spectacle of three Durham batsmen again having major innings. The most satisfying was former captain Will Smith with 179, his first century for two years and the indefatigable former captain Benkenstein making 129 and present Championship captain “Colonel” Mustard one short if his century. Durham ended their innings 602 for 6 and set about Warwickshire in such a manner that by the end of the second they had lost 9 wickets with just 180 runs on the board. Young Stokes with 4 for 48 caused the most damage but Thorp with 3 for 35 and Steve Harmison 2 for 41 shared the honours. Stoke getting Miller out with one of the few balls bowled during the day. Late on Durham were able to bowl another few balls and had Warwickshire reeling with the overnight score 23 for 3.

With a weather uninterrupted day forecast for the Friday victory seemed certain but the lower order batsmen put up a great fight especially with a stand of over 100 runs for the eight wicket but as the end of the match approached and an unexpected draw seemed likely Durham were able to take the last wickets and won the game by an innings and 103 runs. Stokes took 3 more wickets finishing the match 7 wickets for 137 runs and Thorp 5 for 105. Harmison who strained his back after taking 1 for 18 was the only downside.

Durham is now second to Lancashire who they play at the Riverside Emirates Durham International to day Sunday 29^th. Lancs have a game in hand so a win could make Durham and Lancs the potential champions. Warwickshire who had commenced to have hopes are now third having played the same number of games and 23 points behind Durham, similar Somerset. Notts who have played a game less having lost twice recently so even if they win their game in hand as Somerset and Sussex they will remain a score of points behind Durham. The teams will begin playing the 20 20 competitions games over the next six weeks. Hampshire and Worcestershire look the doomed teams with only 33 and 28 points compared to 118 and115 for the top two. Yorks with 57 are struggling.

The club has invited members to apply for tickets for the England Australia One day game next year on July 7^th just before the Olympic Games commences and more speculative the England Australian ashes games in July of the following year but without the dates yet determined. I have applied for tickets for the one day game next July but not the Test Match where the day/ match can prove a major disappointment disrupted by rain and a boring draw the best outcome. This appears to be the situation with the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff.

There has been no further reference 20 20 finals days, to the ground completion other than money available for the hotel or to the court case involving the builders of three quarters completed stand. I will leave reports on the Test Match and Durham’s game against Lancashire as well as the first 20 20 on Thursday to late in the week late in the week.

Survival Sunday May 23rd 2011

Sunday 22nd May 2011 commenced in sunshine but then clouded with a light rain while at 14.00 there was a clear blue sky which lasted all of a couple second before the wind blue clouds from west to east. Gale force winds were warned for later.

I enjoyed half a prepared chicken breast with mini sausages and stuffing balls, with roast potatoes for lunch followed by a chocolate mint whip, after a light breakfast of cereal. I have completed 135 sets in the artwork project so far this month with the intention to increase to 200 a month over the rest of the year. I will commence to convert press cutting relating to child care matters, local and national, later today having earlier completed a writing and published on Google but ran into problems on MySpace.

For the rest of the day there was sport with the Spanish Formula I with Vettel set fair for yes another victory over Hamilton and Button unless something goes wrong with tyre selection, pit stops or use of the extras which have been developed to make racing more competitive and not just resting on who can engineer the quickest car through sheer speed. It did not and that is how the race finished although much closer than everyone anticipated.

Durham played in a one day game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston which I have only visited once for one day of a Test Match en route home from a stay in Wiltshire. They did not started well losing two early wickets. Then Stokes settle in scoring some giant sixes and wondrous four reaching over 150 runs before the end of the innings with Durham on a massive 180 plus runs. However Warwickshire set off at a fantastic rate of ten runs an over which the weakened Durham bowling side was unable to control and they achieve the required runs with overs and wickets to spare. This effectively ends the chance of the 40 40 final unless they can beat Surrey twice and Northants once with Surrey also beating Northants or someone else is able to stop the two runaways in their tracks. Warwickshire has not joined Durham so the league is divided between the strong and the weak.

The most interesting events is the last day of the Premiership football with five clubs trying to avoid relegation and separated by only one point, I wanted Blackpool to survive and for a time it looked as if they would after equalizing a Man U goal and then taking the lead, but they lack the defensive strength and staying power. I failed to pick up the Blackpool taunting of Ryan Giggs. On Monday it emerged that Ryan is the football named in the High Court super confidentiality order. His photo and name were revealed in a Scottish newspaper and then revealed through a question in the House of Commons. It this shows that if the people with some Parliamentary support witch they will thwart the rule of Law which suggest the rule of Law needs to keep closer in touch with the will of Parliament and the people although this could do also prove a very slippery slope down to mob rule.

By 6pm Blackpool was doomed but the surprising club to go down with them was Birmingham but to the delight of Aston Villa and other Midland Clubs. The surprising survivors were Wigan who had been at the bottom for most of the season. They cam back to win at West Ham who have become woeful and this was underlined as Sunderland had a great win there to move into the top after of the Premier table at 10th. Newcastle who were above them and took a 3.0 lead at home, conceded 3 goal to finish with a draw and therefore below the Mackems. Both clubs having poor seasons overall although Newcastle could be said to have done better having re-established themselves in the top flight league of all top flights in Europe.

Durham Cricket Club make progress in 2011 season

Durham is performing significantly better than anticipated. Last Sunday I braved a very cold and overcast day to sit in the open air to watch the 40 over innings game against struggling Hampshire. I went to the Member’s room and on to the balcony on arrival as until reaching the Riverside I had driven with continuous rain spots on the car windscreen. The wicket had been prepared in the far distance so there was no alternative but brave the weather and I took the seat booked for the 20 20 innings series which begins next month. This has the advantage of an under cover tier just behind.

Hampshire won the toss and decided to bat a mistake in these games and with the total 59 for four wickets my initial reaction was proved right. Rushworth, Onions and Claydon did the damage with Claydon having his best match of the season taking three wickets for 16 runs in in 6.2 overs. The inconsistent Ben Stokes also had a good match taking 4 wickets for 29 from 7. There was a temporary stay of execution when Howell was joined by Dawson but when Dawson went at 127 one knew the Hampshire side were not going to last 40 overs and wickets then fell at 145,152,159 and 161, twice. Durham did not start their innings well because of the return of Dimitri Mascarenhas who had Mustard, Stokes and Coetzer out by 37. But that was that and Muchall 67 and Benkenstein saw the home side win with overs to spare.

Durham then played on the Monday against Scotland in Edinburgh. Unfortunately there was no live commentary so I had to rely on ESPN cricket information. This is a brilliant service with ball by ball information on one of three screen with the first covering all the matches being played on the day, the second a summary of the favoured match ands their the full scorecard which is updated. In addition to showing the current batsmen and bowlers, the summary shows every ball of the last half dozen overs which together with information on the overall run rate and that of the last ten overs provides a very effective way of keeping in touch with what is happening A fourth screen provides statistics on all the players in the game for the current season todate. It is therefore possible to listen to the a commentary while also showing the favoured scoreboard in domestic comfort, either giving full attention or working on other things or even have the TV on showing sport in silence as I am doing now writing this on the desk top, keeping one eye on the scoreboard of the game between Yorkshire and Lancashire at Liverpool and also the other eye on the TV showing that Wakefield and Castleford are 6.6 in a fifth round Rugby League Cup game on BBC 1.

In a delayed reaction I remembered I had not watched This Week and turned to the I player and was rewarded first with the appearance of Kate Hoey on the sofa with Michael Portillo, someone who should be there every week and then the gorgeous Kay Burley although I often disagree with the interview approach. The programme dealt with several of the subjects already covered including the visit of Queen Elizabeth where Fergal Keane plus Andrew, Kate and Michael shared in the view that this marked a remarkable historical event in relations between the Republic and UK but also marked a significant development in the role of the Queen Elizabeth who demonstrated with remarkable sensitivity the value of a head of stated without a party political affiliation. It confirmed my support for her but did not reduce concerns about the situation upon her death or decision to retire.

Kay Burley was present in part to publicise a fiction work about a Prime Minister and his two lovers but also to talk about the interaction between powerful men and women. I was impressed with what she had to say and with the level of discussion as should be said for the full programme.

This is a long detour from the 40 40 game on Monday in which Scotland wisely chose to field after winning the toss. It looked a good move when Mustard went for 5 with the total 9 but then Coetzer got his head down and carried his bat to end the innings 110 runs not out. He was supported by Stokes with 35 and then Muchall again with 63. There was also a dramatic slog at the end by Breese with 4 sixes and 3 fours who took the game beyond Scotland’s reach as Durham ends on 278 for 4. Scotland never looked as if they had a chance of reaching this total with wickets falling at 28 45 60 61 129 145 161 188 197 and 198. All Durham’s bowlers got between 1 and 2 wickets. The consequence of this is that Durham are now second in the table with 8 points as has Surrey above and Northants below but these two have played a game less. Durham at Warwick to morrow and it is essential that they win this game before break for the 20 20 series and they host Surrey in a Sky televised game on July 17th. I visited Worcester for the last game of the season at that club in a sub lit September staying at a Travel Lodge South of Birmingham. The game was a draw after Durham scored a mountain of runs

Durham then moved to Worcester for the County Championship game. I attended the game at the end of the 2009 season where Durham were declared championship winners during the game and Worcestershire went on to be relegated. Durham scored a mountain of runs with Chanderpaul scoring one of the slowest hundreds of all times. During several emails with the commentators I mentioned this and the explanation came back that the Durham players had been out celebrating and were in no mood field so they advised Chanderpaul to stay out there for as long as possible.

Durham won the toss and decided to bat in a first day rain affected day. They scored a massive 587 before declaring the innings on the second day with 3 wickets left. Gordon Muchall continued his exceptional form making a total of 175 supported by Ian Blackwell with 134 and captain Mustard who has had a torrid time especially in the one day games but added 101 to the innings. Borthwick added 67 in a stand of over 150 with Mustard. Faced with the total no one expected the comparatively new Worcestershire team to do well and this was so with no one reaching 50 they were all out for 217 over 200 runs short of avoiding the follow on. They put up a better fight the second time around with Solanki 58, temporary captain Ali 63, Andrew 50 and Scott 73, respectable scores in most circumstances with a team total of 345 but still 20 runs short of Durham needing to bat again. The match saw the return of Steve Harmison who only bowled 2 balls before injury in the first match of the season. His total figures of 7 for 151 are an excellent start. Graham Onions was recalled to the England A team playing the tourists at Derby, He is not having a good match out for 1 in the mammoth England first innings in which Owen Morgan made 193 and struggling to take wickets in a Sri collapse to 263 to the 493 with 3 for 138 as the touring team reached 392 for 6 at the end of the third day.

Durham should have ended the day equal top with Warwickshire on 91 points as the Roses game between Lancs and Yorks was set for a draw, Yorks collapsed after tea this afternoon leaving Lancs to get 121 in 20 or so overs. They got them in 14 with the loss of 4. As a consequence they now head the table by 5 points and a game in hand on the other two. Notts with two defeats in succession have fallen away. It makes next’s weeks game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston interesting!

Durham home cricket season 2011 brgins with mixed fortunes

During April and Yesterday the 1st May 2011 I have sat in sunshine for the greater part of nine days watching cricket, for the most part in warmth with the consequence that April has become one of the hottest since records commenced several hundred years ago. I have neglected everything from my biographical and project work to household chores. The good weather has been a bonus.

After the near win against Hampshire in the first championship win and the great win at Yorkshire where I attended the crucial third day, Durham experienced a disaster against Sussex, unexpected triumph against Warwickshire, all in Division one of the County Championship. There has also have been two games in the 40 over competition at the Emirates International Stadium, one won and one lost yesterday.

It was another glorious warm sunny day on Wednesday two weeks ago and I made the right decision not to have the swim but organise myself properly for the first day of the Durham home cricket season. The day was not without mishap as the container used for the milk did not keep upright when I transferred from the small cool bag and with a loose top nearly all the milk spilt into the shoulder bag and on to me. It was not an auspicious start after I had gained a good parking place close to the ground. I was however able to get my ideal seat at the top of the stand to one side of behind the wicket with no seats in front of me so there was a good stretch of the legs.

I enjoyed both apple turnovers and three good cups of coffee before venturing to take a look at the vantage point of the new completed addition to the main stand. It is not clear if the top section above the first floor offices is open and odd while the terracing for seats outside the office windows has been completed, the seats have not been installed. An examination of the front of the building confirmed that the work has not been completed with a cable dangling in on corner of an external canopy and other indications of a job not finished

There is a sombre note in the Member’s Handbook, comments of the club chairman and that the club is working to find the funds to progress the ground development. Members will be advised of any progress during the season. In his note the Coach explained he decision not to add to the squad over the winter, a decision with which I concurred as it was evident that the squad, despite the disappointments of last season has the right mixture to compete at the highest level as the results of Richardson, Stokes and Borthwick indicate. With no immediate room for Luke Evans he went to Northants where he played in a couple of Championship games on loan last season. He did not feature in the impressive innings defeat of Surrey.

I knew beforehand that Graham Onions would not be playing in the game, from an email which explained that he was being rested as part of his rehabilitation, no doubt under instructions from the ECB who pay his wages and Durham’s compensation. Liam Plunket whose batting innings was the key for Durham success against Yorkshire and who I thought bowled well in the second innings has an injury along with Steve Harmison who has a cracked forearm which sees him miss the rest of April and at least four games. The late year acquisition, the West Indian background Ruel Brathwaite who played for Loughborough and Cambridge university teams gained his first opportunity to play for the first team. As for the opposition they are in transition with the retirement of Robin Martin Jenkins and James Kirtly and with Yassar Arafat moving to Surrey and Collymore to Middlesex.

The important new face who joined the Sussex club in 2010 is Monty Panesar out of favour with the national selectors but a great favourite with the crowd everywhere including Durham. Luke Wright is now part of the national squad but they still have Joyce, Yardy (injured) Nash and Goodwin. New faces are Anyon from 2010 and Warwickshire, Luke Wells 2010 and Amjam Khan from Kent.

Durham won the toss the elected to bat which seemed to be an excellent decision until Di Venuto who had scored 30 of the opening 44 runs and has shown good form was out leg before wicket to Anyon. There was then a good stand over 100 runs involving Gordon Muchall who is also in form with a spirited 74 before being caught by Joyce off Naved at 173 when a 400 plus total seemed certain. Former Captain Will Smith was painstaking and slowly gained a half century which was greeted with prolonged applause by the Durham crowd which by then must have approaching 1000, enjoyed sun and the cricket. However after lunch Smith seemed to freeze on his 50 and wicket fell at regular intervals with only Borthwick offering resistance hitting Panesar for four fours in succession. The team failed to get three bonus points all out at 291 which left a dozen overs for Sussex to face.

Ed Joyce was caught behind off Claydon when the total was six but Nash and Wells held out taking the total to 30. Claydon was the better bowler. There were good innings from Nash 65 and Hodd 67 but at no time did the team look like reaching the first batting bonus point at 200, Thorpe again to the fore on the second morning when after Bash when to Brathwaite for his first wicket Thorp had Gatting and Brown out in successive deliveries and Sussex were 108 for 5.

With a lead of 98 runs the game looked set to be Durham’s. It is difficult to explain the second innings batting by Durham with Benkenstein in particular playing a very bad stroke just when he had reach 50 and similarly Blackwell. Every run was a struggle and the team were out for 210 a leads of only 308 which I thought with over a day and half to play was between 50 and 100 runs light. This proved to be the situation and an excellent stand between Wells (103) and Brown 61 saw the total rise from 149 5 to 277 for 5. The game appeared won easily by then but Brathwaite had a purple patch taking 5 for 56 and in the end the Sussex only won by two wickets so with 2 for 42 in the first innings Brathwaite finished the match with 7 for 98. Durham had lost the opportunity to take an early season lead in the Championship and the immediate high hopes were dashed and uncertainty over what kind of season was in store. With just Easter Monday free (the first one day 40 over innings game was on the Sunday) I hoped there would be a better performance for the back to back home game against Warwickshire.

Tuesday 26 April 2011 was overcast and cold from a north easterly wind more like normal conditions for cricket this time of the year. Once upon a time the football ended at the commencement of May and the cricket commenced and then ended in early September coinciding with the start of the football season which now being in mid august with the cricket extentding into mid September. There was one Test Touring side with five matches played and then three one day 50 over games. Now with the season extended there are two touring sides, up to seven Test matches, up to seven one day games and a couple 20 20’s. It is all about money making and there is nothing wrong with this as it keeps the Counties able to play the four day game, the players well paid and the International quad exceptionally well paid but the fans lose out.

The game against Warwickshire did not begin well with Durham losing the toss and Warwickshire commencing to build what seemed to be a likely giant total. Porterfield was one of several players whose catching chances were not taken by Durham and he went on to make 87. Troughton, the grandson of Dr Who Patrick made 76 and shortly after tea I decided to go home. Onions played and bowled well as did Thorpe and Brathwaite. The spin bowling of Ian Blackwell was exceptional and the Warwickshire batsmen treated him with justified respect, to an extent that the team were behind the run rate to gain maximum batting points. However by the time I arrived home and switched on the radio commentary the situation commenced to change and from 327 for 4 with Clark and Ambrose and Troughton out to Brathwaite at 328 and 341 followed by Best to Onions at 346. With Miller also going to Brathwaite at 349 the prospects was of Warwickshire failing to get the fourth batting bonus point. In fact Bowlers Woakes with an unbeaten 70 and Boyd Rankin 28 added 80 valuable runs which seemed to take hopes of a win from Durham although the fifth bonus point was not achieved within the permitted number overs. The innings closed at 429

I delayed my visit arriving at midday and Di Venuto and Smith took their time to reach a century partnership and then 150 runs before former captain Will Smith was caught at 66 rubs. Gordon Muchall who has been in good form went for 7 and new young man Stokes for 5 after his brilliant performances. Di Venuto having reached 113 was also quickly out after being injured and needing a runner and was followed also immediately by night watchman Graham Onions for a duck and Durham were 232 for 5. It was then that Ian Blackwell joined captain Benkenstein and batted out to close of play.

They only put on a few runs in the first half hour pf play the following morning but they then put Warwickshire’s bowling tot he sword in what would in other circumstances have been a match winning display with a part ship of 150 runs before Benkenstein was removed for 75 after Blackwell looked as if he would bat the innings out reaching his century after Richardson had gone quickly also with the total 383, and who with the help of Borthwick saw the 5th batting bonus point and the score go past that of Warwickshire. I would have liked another 50 or more runs but it was not to be and the innings ended at 465 just 36 runs ahead and Blackwell run out, his own fault, at 125.

A draw now seemed inevitable and although opener Chopra went for 8 to Thorpe at 19, Westwood and Porterfield, although playing defensively with no attempt to score runs except from hit me balls, I nearly went home in the growing evening cold as the sun left the ground. Many other Durham supporters did so and missed the excitement as Borthwick had Porterfield, Yousef and Westwood out within two overs and Warwickshire faced the nightmare of being 50 for 4.

The following morning a much better crowd than originally anticipated arrived in the expectation of the unexpected! My hope was that Durham would be able get Warwickshire all out in their second innings for less than 200 in 50 overs leaving Durham to get less that 175 with a similar amount of time to hand. At one point it looked as if the game would over without a break for lunch as wickets fells at 67, 67 and 69. The last three wickets put on 68 runs with Ambrose making 51 but this still left Durham with only 102 runs to win the game in some 50 overs. Smith opened the innings as before but with Borthwick the hero so far having taken 4 wickets for 25 and Graham Onions 4 for 28 both having been punished in the first innings (Onions 2 for 106 and Borthwick 1 for 46). When Smith went for 9 we sensed that Warwickshire would make a great fight for it but Borthwick with Muchall battle exceptionally well and with no need to take risk gradually moved the score to 83 before Muchall went with 30. Stokes joined Borthwick and the two young men saw Durham win shortly after tea. It was good to see that after the strong batting performance of county championship winning Di Venuto, captains Smith and Benkenstein and man of his first season Blackwell, it was returning back to form by the injured Onions and the Youngster Borthwick who saw the win home. Promising Stokes and Richardson did not have good game, however. I had stayed in on the Friday to watch the Royal wedding switching between channels on the TV but with computer radio commentary keeping me up to date with the cricket supported by the score and scorecard updated every two minutes.

The outcome of other matches played meant that Durham had moved back at the top of the division in second place with two wins, a draw and 62 points, one less than Nottinghamshire who have played one game having won all their games so far. Notts are home to Yorks this week with Durham resting and a draw would be brilliant and a Yorkshire win also acceptable. Yorkshire know that a defeat will significantly dent their hopes of championship success this season

Sandwiched between the two championship games was the best single day’s cricket of the season so far, the first 40 over league and cup competition of the season against the weakest team of the 18 division one and two teams added to which are .Scotland and the Netherlands, together with the Unicorns, a made up team for the competition. Scotland won only two of their twelve games last season, losing all the others. Durham was not that better so the first game was going to be a season trend setter for both teams.

Scotland started badly losing wickets at 1, 5 and 16, all to Graham Onions and I wondered how long the game would last. There was a rally until 80 when three wickets fell and again there were thoughts of an easy and early win. However Mommsen with 73 not out steadied the tale so that with Has getting 30 the team finished with a respectable 215 for 7 hitting 37 runs over the last two overs. We knew there was going t be a good game on our hands when Mustard back from injury went for 1 and then Benkenstein was out to the catch of the season so far and Durham had to work hard for the runs. It was Gordon Muchall who rescued Durham from embarrassment with 95 not out and the expendable Gareth Breese with 24 saw the game won with ten balls to play. That was a good start and an enjoyable afternoon and early evening in warm sunshine but the next game would be tougher as second division Northants had commenced with a good win beating neighbours Leicestershire by 7 wickets and with ten of their forty overs to spare.

It was there with hope more than expectation that I arrived at the Emirates ground on Sunday taking with me a cold drink and a pastry, I early returned home shortly after play commenced as Mustard was out again for a duck before a run was on the board and Coetzer also for a duck with the total 3. When Stokes went for 15 after a promising start with the total 24, Gordon Muchall and Benkenstein once more came to the rescue but scored slowly taking the total to a more respectable 121 before Benkenstein went for a truly remarkable catch at the boundary, no disgrace there. The remaining team members tried to get more runs at a quicker pace but with a total of only 172 in 39.1 overs my experience indicated that this was game we were going lose, and we did. There was some hope when Loye went with the total 4 and O’Brien at 14 but Wakley not out 78 and opener Peters 55 quickly mastered everything that Durham could throw at them with 8 of the 11 man Durham team taking their turn at the bowling. Rushworth with 2 for 15 was the best and I do not understand why he was only given 6 overs. Claydon 2 for 27 also bowled less than the available 8 overs as Northants completed their win by five wickets and 9 balls to go. The clue is that the attempt was made to prevent the win by tight bowling rather than take more wickets at a run cost. It could be argued by taking the game into the 39th over was to the captain’s credit. It makes a win against Leicestershire at their ground to day, essential. They have only won 1 of their three games so will be desperate for their second win. Northants is now topping the table with 2 out of 2 with Surrey 1 out of 1 at a faster run rate Hampshire also 1 out 1 followed by Warwickshire and Durham win one win out of two and with Durham a .05 run rate with Warwickshire. 08. A win at a good run rate is therefore essential. Only the top team in each division goes through to the semi final round with the fourth team having the best run rate of the runner ups. This means a team can win the overwhelming majority of their games but still lose out to a team winning fewer game sin their division but having a better run rate. I would have preferred to see the top twp in each division, plus two others with the best run rates going through to a quarterfinal and then semi final stage as was the position in the previous 50 over inning competition. It is also questionable policy to expect new 50 over international players emerge by only playing 40 over innings games.

This part of the season was not over for Durham who played Leicestershire this afternoon. Durham were asked to bat after winning the toss and although Coetzer again failed and Mustard was run out with only 59 on the board, Stokes hit hard and fast for his 52 to go out third at 112 and hen with Benkenstein 4 and Muchall 32 the position did not look good at 127 for 5. It was then Blackwell Breeze took control and powered their way to 271 when Breeze went for 44 and Blackwell soon after two short of a century. The innings ended at 285 which left the home side having to score at a rate over 7 an over. Blackwell had hit 5 sixes and 7 fours in his match winning innings. While after Leicestershire also lost an early wicket they worked hard to put on 100 before the next loss to Blackwell. After that they were always several runs per over behind the Durham scoring rate. Blackwell ended the day with 3 for 49 to take the man of the match award had their been one while you can never know what he will do Stokes too 3 wickets for 6 runs in 2.2 overs at the end of he game with the home side all out for 216 with 16 balls left to play. The importance of this win away from home cannot be underestimated, especially as the run rate improved in major way but still just below that of Surrey and Northants who are above Durham and with a game in hand.

Over the ten days of home games of which I attended eight I took with me an already made up salad, either prawn or chicken and bacon with pasta from Asda at £1.50 a time, plus two Danish at 74p and a carton of cut melon slices at £1 although I managed to make do with only one pastry and brought back home the melon on several occasions. I took a thermos filled cuppa soup and another of coffee. On one day I used a Membership voucher for a free cup of coffee at the Austin’s Bistro. I only had one single cone ice cream. I did manage three walks into the adjacent park along the river bank and over to the benches opposite bowling greens among bedding plants but mostly made a circuit around the grounds during the lunch or tea intervals. As expected the cost of petrol and parking exceeded that of the average cost per day portion of the Membership.

On balance the season has started well, better than I expected. But still not back to winning things consistency.