Durham Lose 20 20 quarter final and Wimbledon returns to League Football

I try and cheer myself on a miserable Monday morning cold and wet with The Entertainer Chris Barber and his band Down home Rag; Baby won’t you please come home, The Entertainer, New St Louis blues, Ory’s Creole trombone; Bourbon Street Parade; High Society/When the Saints; Stevedore stomp; The Sheik of Araby; Georgia Cakewalk Li’l Liza Jane; Burgundy street blues, On the Sunny side of the Street; when the saints go marching in featuring Pat Halcox Monty Sunshine Lonnie Donegan Micky Ashman Ron Bowden and Ottile Paterson also Eddie Smith Dick Smithy Graham Burbage, Edmond Hall, Hank Duncan, Hayes Alvis Joe Marshall and, Ian Wheeler

I have recovered just about from Durham‘s bad defeat at the Rosebowl on Sunday evenings in 20 20 quarter final. The first game on Saturday evening was great with both teams scoring over 200 runs. Kent appeared unbeatable as Mahmood scored 91 and Van Jaarsveld 63 not out reached 203 for 3 setting a rate of 10 runs an over for Leicestershire with Paul Nixon celebrating his 40th birthday and last home appearance before retiring capped a home side performance as the team stood up at the plate and kept the score within reachable distance with McDonald 53, young and diminutive Taylor England hopeful scoring a quick 21 and Nixon himself just missing out on the making the winning strike with a creditable 31 off 17 balls. In this high scoring and entertaining game Kent scored 6 sixes 21 fours while Leicestershire 7 sixes and 23 fours reaching 206 with 4 balls left. At the end of the game Nixon was chaired off by the delighted crowd which had packed the small home side ground and he rose to the occasion showing his unbridled joy and joining in the fun. It was the first of the midlands/north clubs to win.
It was inevitable that Sunday would prove an anti climax as Somerset came from behind to beat Notts at an almost full Trent Bridge. Hales never to be forgiven for standing on the rope and claiming catch out made 78 to give the home side a chance with a score of 169 scoring 3 sixes and six fours, When Trescothick was out for 3 runs it seemed as if it was going to Notts day but Kieswetter 49, Pollard 47 of 25 with 4 sixes and 2 fours and Buttler saw the away team reach their second finals day in two years.

The less said about the Durham performance the better after losing the toss and Paul Collingwood staying home with a continuing bad back, Durham started well as Afridi was run out on the first ball by Borthwick who caught hold of a high pitching ball and through down the stumps and when Vince was caught of a high level shot from Onions with the total 26 and then another magnificent run out saw Adams go with the total 24 but then a bad over from young Borthwick. Who went 4 for 34 in the end and Benkenstein and Breese also unable to control the scoring rate to less than 5 an over, It was Blackwell who go the ball to spin missing the stumps to the side and just over several times but who also yielded runs going from two overs for 7 to 4 for 26 which meant that the home side reached what everyone said was going to be an impossible target of 154. I hoped they would make a better fist of it but were all out for 99 in the 19th over shattering hopes and dreams. The draw for finals day takes place this evening after the floodlit game between Sussex and Lancashire but it be that three of the most successful I day sides of recent year will again make the finals day another memorable occasion alas without the presence of Durham

I enjoyed Durham’s home championship game against Nottingham at the riverside last week although a draw always appeared the likely result as rain throughout the third day was forecast and proved accurate. Durham won the toss and decided to bat with Di Venuto scoring and excellent 132 but was later injured and did not bat in the second innings. It is understood he has a badly bruised finger. Captain Mustard made an excellent 88 runs not out as the home side reached a total of 351 runs and four batting points. Collingwood was out to Adams for 0 and Stokes making only 6. He still has pins in his broken finger which remains strapped and makes it difficult for him to hold the bat and he will not bowl for the rest of the season a double blow.

Although for Notts Voges 80 and Chris Read 133 runs not out the rest of the team failed to add more so that at 261 Durham had a useful lead rather than a commanding one given the extraordinary start where Notts lost four wickets with the total 21 and both Onions and Thorp on hat tricks.

Because of the interruption for the rain Durham decided to declare at 181 for 3 on the fourth day setting Notts total of 250 with 60 overs which seemed a risk taking challenge. At 37 for 2 the risk appeared to being paying off but the wicket offered little and Notts were not in the mood to lose the three points for the draw and the matched ended with a handshake 172 for 5 with only 6 overs to go. In form Voges scored another match save 68 runs not out.

Durham still lead the championship with 183 point from 12, Lancashire have six points less, Somerset now in third are 12 behind while Warwickshire who have played a game less are on 168. Notts look comfortable next with 134 and out of the relegation battle between Yorkshire and Worcestershire who are 17 points behind Yorks but with two games in hand.

The Championship and League football season also was underway this weekend and I was delighted to see that the first game of Wimbledon back in the League was being televised, As a school boy and young man my local club was Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park three stations away from Wallington or a couple of bus rides both via Croydon. In the opposite direction, a little further away was the other South Greater London club of Wimbledon Plough Lane via Sutton and Kingston, Whereas Selhurst Park was a natural Amphitheatre easily adapted to become a First division club with a capacity of 25000 Palace rivals were always Brighton and Hover Albion on the South Coast and Millwall and not Wimbledon.

I was not surprising therefore that when Wimbledon had to leave its Plough Lane site it ground shared with Crystal Palace for twelve years until 2002. The Club then moved to Milton Keynes as the MK Dons with the majority of supporters deciding to form their own club from scratch finding their own ground which they purchased and getting promotion five times in 9 years in order to enter the league this year. I have abiding memories of visiting the Plough Lane Ground when I went to purchase a ticket for a home game and was invited into the office where a seat ticket was taken out of the safe. This entitled not only a seat in the main and only stand but to the club where it was possible to possible to eat and drink at reasonable prices and watch the TV including re run of the match at the end. The second was to get a Cup final ticket in 1988 when they beat Liverpool 1.0 in the FA cup. Whereas Crystal Palace never made the Premiership, Wimbledon did. Unfortunately they lost their opening game 2.3 at home as did West Ham ion their return to the Championship. Meanwhile Brighton who like Wimbledon faced years of seeking permanent home and who now have a new stadium won their first game.

England demolish India second Test, Durham narrow win over Sri Lanka A

Instead of the recent full week round up of other activities I am dividing the past seven days into segments for no better reason than finishing volumes which I use for these writings.

The first event to be covered in this short piece is the completion of 10000 lengths swimming 15 metres give or take a few as sometimes I lose count as I become engaged in a train of thought. The total has been completed with 52 weeks and 211 visits so the average is over 47 lengths per visits and 710 metres. For the next session the proposed rate will be a minimum of 3 visits a week at an average of 500 meters.

The aim is undertake other forms of exercise with weight reduction in mind and the base weight will be measured and recorded on Wednesday morning. The amount of walking at the cricket has become abysmal with less one perambulation of the inner ground per visit and it is months since doing any circuit of the parkland.

However the cricket has been good. Last week I watched two consecutives days at the Riverside as Durham played the Sri Lanka A team. I watched from the Member’s balcony with three contemporaries from the depths of Durham County.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat and were quickly in trouble at 36 for 4 and 126 for 8. An excellent 50 not out from Eranga meant that a first innings total of 203 was achieved. Three Durham bowlers did the dame with Rushworth 2 for 15 from 9, Borthwick 2 for 17 from 6.4 and Brathwaite 3 for 35 from 11. Two academy players recently graduated to the second eleven were Wood 2 for 64 from 10 and Raine o for 7 from 4. Poor Plunket continues to have a bad season with the ball with 1 for 58 from 10. Yet without Plunket the game would have been lost.

The Durham Innings was extraordinary following on from what happened at Somerset although it was composed of second team players. Stoneman injured at the start of season and losing his first team spot as a consequence took the score with Borthwick to 111 when he was out for 56 and then Borthwick continued with Gordon Muchall to 211 when he was out for 101. Muchall carried his bat for the rest of the innings for 71 while everyone else got themselves out with only Breese holding on for a time with 38. No one else reached double figures and after their promising start Durham was all out for 303, an invaluable 100 runs to the good.

The Sri Lankians made a better start with their first four openers getting 30 to 40 runs and other getting forties and double figures. They ended their second innings at 319 setting Durham a challenging 200 plus total. Plunket was the best bowler with 3 for 70. I did not attend the third day and the decision appeared a wise one when Durham commenced to collapse Borthwick out for 0 at 1 Stoneman and Muchall going at 30 and 33 Breese and Stokes also going quickly for the total to be 104 for 7. It was then that Plunket batted with young Wood to add the 100 runs required although with Wood going at 218 for 48 the outcome was by no means certain. Rushworth then got the four runs required for the win with heroic Liam not out for 65, It was a great with but a distraction from the main menu over the next six weeks as Durham fight to gain not one, not two but three trophies to add to the Championships and 50 over one day title during the past four years with only last year trophyless.

To achieve this sporting miracle Durham needed to win the 40 over game against Warwickshire on a cloudy and stormy Emirate’s on Sunday where I settled myself behind the bowling arm at the far end of the ground with a flask of coffee, two iced sticky cinnamon buns and two salami olive rolls.
Warwickshire won the toss and opened the batting and scored at a steady five runs an over which they gradually increased to 6 closing the innings at 240 runs precisely with clobbering Breese at the end who finished 0 for 60 from 8 overs, Claydon 3 for 34 was the only successful bowler but despite the good total I retained a sense the Durham were in a competitive and confident mood given that so much was at stake.

In this competition only each of the section winners gets through to the semi finals with the third best placed from any of the three mini leagues able to make the fourth position. At present it is Durham aiming to get the fourth spot after the fruitless visit of Surrey which was rained off so the two points were divided. Had Durham they would now be two points ahead of Surrey who has two games in hand making the game at the Oval likely to be the decider.

However I am ahead of myself as yesterday it was Mustard and Di Venuto who started at a fine rate of 7 runs an over getting to 110 before the first wicket, that of Di Venuto for 53. Stokes and Collingwood stayed around sufficient for Mustard to dramatically improve his performance in this competition todate with an unbeaten 129 from 116, The game was won in the 37 over which was my prediction having gone to the car at the 35 to get a good get away before the rush.

It looked to me the best crowd of the season so far compared to the less than 250 present for the free entry game against Sri Lanka. The result of the game yesterday is that Durham has 13 points from the 9 games played with three to go, two of these at home making a total of 17 points before the game against Surrey. If Surrey wins their next 4 they will have 21 so evening if Durham wins the final game at the Oval their total will be 19. Sussex and Middlesex are fighting out for the first position in the first mini league each with 4 games to go but Sussex having the edge with 2 more points at 14 The two teams meet each other on the last Sunday at Lords and my instincts is that Middx could gain the first position here as Sussex have to go to Headingly who are desperate to have one or two good results in what has become a miserable season. If so can see Sussex finishing with 18 points making the Durham win on the last day essential. In the third league Somerset have stormed ahead with 12 points from 7 and therefore with five games left should have no problem qualifying Nottingham and Essex with 11 points from 9, that is two points less than Durham and Lancs 9 points from 8 and are in with chance should Durham Middlesex Sussex falter. There is a tendency that teams who start the 40 over game at the commencement of the season find it difficult to sustain the effort given the commitment to the 20 20 mid season and then the return to the Championship and vice versa.

Tomorrow Durham play Nottingham in the County Champion and must win against the present County Champions to keep ahead in the championship as Lancashire are playing Warwickshire from today so which ever team wins will go ahead in the table at least for a day or both if they draw and each gain bonus points. A draw will be the favoured result from Durham’s viewpoint with few bonus points awarded. In a rain and light disturbed game at Liverpool Warwickshire won the toss after driving themselves from Durham after the game ended last night. They did not bowl well at first again but Carter with 6 for 30 prevented the home side from gaining one batting bonus point. At the close Lancs were 30 for 1 with |Chopra losing his wicket just before the close of play. Unless there is lots of more rain there will be a win but whose remains speculation.

Then next weekend it is 20 20 quarterfinals with Durham playing their game at the Rosebowl on Sunday afternoon. So it is a great week of cricket ahead, the first of several.

Meanwhile the second Test against India has taken an amazing turn in favour of England. In the first game at Lords it was out of form Kevin Pietersen who lit up the first Innings of England after they had been put into bat with a magnificent not out double century of 202 Trott had supported him with 70 for 100 partnership and had Bell with another 100 partnership with a third partnership after Morgan was out without scoring Prior contributed 71 so that England were able to declare on 474 for 8 giving them opportunity to bowl at India before the second day close.

For India it was Dravid rather than Tendulkar looking for his 100th test century that became the mainstay of the innings after a slow start with Mukund getting 49 after Gambir was out for 15. Dravid and Tendulkar looked as if they would rescue the innings. It was also out of form place under threat local young man Broad who had excellent bowling figures of 4 for 37. Dravid was not out for 103 and the innings closed at 285 nearly 200 runs behind the England total.

Then it was England’s turn to perform badly as the top order came and went in quick succession 62 for 5 and 107 for 6. After that it was Prior 103 not out and Broad 74 not out who led England to a substantial leads of 450 runs declaring at 269 for 6. With Raina 58 and Laxman 56 India could only get 261 of the runs required to give England a 196 run victory. It was Anderson 5 for 65 who got his name on the Lord’s board for those getting 5 wickets in a Test for the third occasion. Broad finished 7 for 94 plus 74 average for his batting.

So this brings to the present Second Test which if England win and do not lose either of the remaining tests will make the number one in the world for the Test match series. India won the toss and invited England to bat and with Cook out at 7 and Trott 23 and then horror of horrors another four wickets fell from 73 to 88 and two more at 117 and 124 therefore England were in trouble 8 124. And who came to the rescue Broad with 64 and Swann with 28 so England managed 221 but not a great total and the initiative with India?

With Mukund out for 0 it looked as if it was going to be a low scoring game. Dravid then got his second century of the series and Laxman 64 and at 250 for four I must confess that I decided to return to the computer to undertake some writing and was amazed then to find they were all out for 288 and Broad had a hat trick only the 14th Englishman to do this and the first at Trent Bridge in a Test Match. I have since watched the feat several times. Broad takes 6 for 46. This morning I read a splendid article in the Times about the difference between childhood sense of a miracle and that of the adult in terms of the great experiences of life and their rarity and included are the sporting of which perhaps once or twice in a lifetime one is lucky to experience direct and the writer added to the small list of the half a dozen or so that of Chris Broad before his home crown in Nottingham.

The implications of the event only became fully apparent as England commenced to bat again and after Cook and Strauss were out and Ian Bell was joined by a cautious Pietersen with the inscrutable Yorkshire man Boycott proclaiming that if England could manage a lead of 200 he felt this would be sufficient for a second win in succession but he had his doubts, as other expressed their concern. Pietersen made 63 and then Morgan 70 and Prior 73 but it was Bell with 159 who sealed the fate of the visitors, after which Bresnan 90 and Broad 44 joined the party so that the home side made a remarkable 546 giving India a manageable total to win over one full day and two full sessions.

Of course we now know they did not have a hope as the England trio of Anderson, Broad and Bresnan showed no mercy. The wickets fell at 6,13,31,31,77,55,55, 107,129,153,158, with Broad 2 for 30 8 for 76 in the match and Bresnan 5 for 48 making 6 for 96 as the two bowling stars and England achieved a crushing Victory by 319 runs and over a day to spare. There was one incident yesterday with the last ball before tea, Bell’s partner hit a shot which appeared to cross the boundary so Bell walked off to tea without bothering to return to the crease. As it was not a four and the bails were removed he was out, regarded by the crowd as unsporting behaviour. Over the Indian team withdrew its appeal and therefore Bell returned to make another 20 odd runs which in the event did not matter either way. Bell admitted he made a mistake. In the interests of goodwill over the rest of the tour the Indians made the right call.

It was Jenson Button’s turn to win the Hungarian Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton 4th but they remain 5th and 3rd in the Championship title race with Vettel who was second still over 80 points ahead of team mate Mark Webber. However it is good that Vettel is not winning every race, only most of them!

Warrington after their defeat to Wigan in quarter final of the Rugby League Challenge cup took it out on Bradford but Wigan also won keeping ahead on points in the table

I watched an interesting programme on the construction of the Olympic Park at Stratford as there is now less than one year to go as was celebrated during last week with special event in Trafalgar Square. Tom Daley did the first dive in the spectacular designed Olympic Pool after the failure in the World Championship due in part to his reaction to the death of his father earlier in the year. Rebekah Adlington won her first World Championship Gold to add to her two Olympic Medals. Liam Tancock also won the 50m freestyle and Keri Anne Payne the Butterfly with Silvers for Ellen Gandy in the 200 Hannah Miley 400 and Rebecca for the 400 free so the team finished 4th in the table three less than in 2009 when they came third and perhaps this is a guide to what will happen at the Olympics.

It was also the British Athletics championships this weekend where the results were also a forerunner of the World Championships later this month. It is time for Athletics to shape up but confidence is less than in relation to swimming or cycling where also the competition has been making inroads. I am told that we have been concentrating on improving performances across the range of sports so that while the third place overall achieved in China may not be repeated it is possible that we shall come close.