Birthday 2012 Sport

I now turn to what was a mixed sporting weekend. The Highlight was the radio commentary followed by extended highlights in the evening of Sunderland’s hard fought 1-0 win against Liverpool at home. Liverpool aware they had an important derby with Everton midweek kept Gerrard and Carroll on the bench. There was not much good football in the first half and the goal had a strong element of good fortune. Frazer Campbell hit the post and the ball rebounded off the keeper to Nicklas Bentner who side footed into the net. His reaction was excellent and skilful. Liverpool then through their kitchen sink but Sunderland held out. Sunderland whose impressive recent run had made them the form had halted with a draw and two defeats from the previous three games are not firmly in the top third of the table and rivalling Newcastle for the top team in the North East although there remains a gap of 7 points to make up. They are now joined by Everton who they meet in the FA Cup on Saturday. Newcastle could have widened the gap on their visit to the Gunners on Monday night which was shown live on Monday and in 3D.

Hatem Ben Arthur bought for five million is a talented midfield player but with tendencies to be caught in possession as he tries to make that extra touch. He has an amazing left foot which enables him to shoot with force at tight angles and it was such a run which achieved the first goal at the Emirates to stun the home crowd in the fourteenth minute. It was only sixty seconds later that Van Persee took a pass from Theo Walcott and the score was 1.1.

Newcastle then fought a rearguard battle for the greater part of the rest of the game although they also had opportunities, although significantly less than the home side. It looked as if there was to be a point from the draw as goalkeeper Tom Krul performed great athleticism to push a looping ball which looked as if was about to slip under the bar into the net away and out of danger. However a super fast move saw Vermaelen get the winner in extra time. The three points mean that Arsenal is now jockeying with North London Rivals Spurs for the third position in the table when not long ago the gap was 12 points and three points clear of Chelsea outside the top four for the first time in yonks with the consequence Chelsea has have parted company with yet another manager and for whom the reputed to have paid £15 million to prize him way from his previous club.

Sky also showed the visit of Warrington to Leeds last Friday and the game lived up to the billing as the clash of the season so far despite a slippery ball in the wet. It was Warrington who made the greater number of mistakes especially at the end. Leeds looked as if they were going to take the game with a 12.0 lead before Warrington respond to take the score to 12.12 at the interval. They lost 26.18.

I missed England’s 24 22 win in the International Rugby Union against France in Paris which reported to have been an excellent and exciting win which augurs well for the future after a mixed fortunes start with the loss to a rampant Wales at Twickenham. Having lived close to the ground in the sixties before it was developed it is one of my regrets not have ever visited. England could still finish alongside Wales in terms of total points if they win against Ireland on Saturday but I anticipate Wales will win against France in Cardiff to rightly take the honours with five wins from five matches. They are some 38 points better than England whatever happens this weekend.

I also missed on the Olympic swimming Trials which were held at the new stadium and were open to public with some 2000 present of the 17000 who will be present for the Games. It was amazing to see the out best ever twice Gold Medal Winner Rebecca Ardlington ultra nervous as she stormed to win the 400 and 800 freestyle events and therefore has the prospect of another two wins which if she achieved would make the greatest of the great British swimmers. As a result of the trials 38 swimmers have been named for the team with a second opportunity for others to join them later. Reports suggests that a number of the established swimmers were given a close run by a the next generations, some of whom may be given the opportunity to experience what for everyone concerned will be the opportunity of their lifetime.

Ayrton Senna

Sky had added a new sports channel dedicated to Formula 1 racing and which in advance of the new season is showing wall to wall programmes on the shirt of the sport, covering seasons, famous races and drivers and the cars. It was therefore fitting that to mark the event Sky is also showing the midsummer 2011 documentary film on the life of Ayrton Senna the Brazilian racing driver who was killed on track in May 1994 aged 34 years. This is a film which merits being seen by all sports fans and indeed by those who may not be interested in motor racing or professional sports.

Senna was open about the fact that he came from a privileged background with his Italian background parents owning land and factories and resulted in establishing a genuine concern for the less fortunate, especially the education of children which continues to this day through his sister.

At the age of 21 he came to England to race in Go Karts which had been his love from an early age and has become the standards way for young drivers to learn their art. His stay was short lived because of pressure to work in the family business. Before returning home he was offered a contract to race Formula 3 cars and won the Formula Ford Championships in 1982 and then won the Formula championships in 1983. In 1984 he tested for a Formula 1 drive with a number of teams and commenced with a comparatively new team of Toleman and he amazed everyone coming second in the Monte Carol Grand Prix because of his skill in wet weather conditions having commenced 13th on the grid. He achieved two podium finishes and came 13th in the driving table at the end of the season. It was a performance bringing him to attention of major teams.

It is important that this is in the era before the use of technical wizardry both in the preparation and running of cars and in communication between the driver and the team regarding vehicle performance, race positioning and tactics. It was the skill of the driver in learning and driving the car which won races.

He moved to Lotus for the 1985 season and again in wet conditions he won his first race in The Portuguese Grand Prix, the second race of the season. He won again in Belgium also in the wet and this was followed by finishing 4th in the table a position is also held the following season with 55 points improving to third with 57 points the following season. He had become a recognised top rank driver but not yet in the frame for the world championship.

With the approval of World Champion Alain Prost he moved to the second car for McLaren Team but the good relationship was short lived and quickly developed into one of the fiercest rivalries there has been in motor sport. They won between them all but one of the sixteen races in 1988 with Ayrton winning his first World Championship, just. The rivalry commenced when Prost accused Senna of forcing him out of the lead as they approached the first corner at the start of a race.

Relations became strained to breaking point the following season when Senna needed to win a race for the championship and the cars touched and Prost crashed. Senna was forced into an escape lane but was able to continue and win the race. However Prost immediately complained to the Race Stewards after the incident and this led to the disqualification of Senna. There was a bad odour about the decision because was known to have a close relationship with the then head of Formula 1 Race who was also a Frenchman. Prost joined Ferrari for the following season.

There was a further confrontation towards the end of the following season also at the Japanese Grand Prix which was the location of the first clash. What happened is that Senna arranged with the race official that should he finish in pole position they would change the pole position because the nature of the track gave advantage to the second vehicle. The president intervened reversing the decision so Senna had charged holding the preferred line with Prost refusing to give way again crashing and was so incensed that he considered giving up racing. The outcome is that Senna won and took the championship and then again the following year, the year in which he also won the Brazilian race this turning him into the famous Brazilian of the decade and a legend since his premature death.

The problems commenced in 1992 because his car was outclassed by the new electronics used by the Williams Team result in a fourth position in the championship. Because of the reactions to the growing use of electronics the governing body made changes in 1994 after the cars had been redesigned. The impact was that they became unstable and Senna was one of several drivers who forecast there would be disasters.

His team mate Barrichello suffered a broken nose and arm after crashing in to the barrier. The Austrian driver Roland Rozenberger in his first season was killed outright after crashing into a concrete wall at maximum speed. It was then Senna turn to be involved in a major accident and there was devastating bad luck because he was uninjured except that the right suspension frame was sent stabbing back into the cockpit with a piece penetrating his helmet and causing fatal skull fracture.

Given the acclaim he had received in Brazil the death shocked the nation who saw in their young hero hope that the country would rise from its political problems and the poverty. There was three days of national morning. Some three million people descended on his home town for the funeral the largest recorded group of assembled mourners in recent times. Among the pall bearers were Alain Prost and Britain’s Damon Hill. For the next race the first two positions were empty painted with the Brazilian and Austrian Flag. Legal preceding followed the accident for years with McLaren investigated re possible manslaughter the more positive impact is that major changes were made to the cars and to the tracks to reduce the possibility of further fatalities.

Sienna was a devout catholic reading the Bible and able to quote from it and his beliefs led to development an extraordinary concern for the welfare of children in his homeland and to devoting the greater part of his personal fortune to their education and general help. When he first became famous is donated to those requested his help and personal appearance but he decided something more substantial was required any by the time of his death he had established what became the Instituto Ayrton Senna and managed by his sister with the advice of Bernie Eccleston Frank William Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger investing some $80 million in various ventures and which has led to the education over 100000 children. His spirit and endeavour therefore lives on in his homeland.

cricket, Football American Football Tennis and game play

There have not been the usual references to sport of late although this does not mean I have not been watching and listening to events over the past two weeks.

First cricket, my consistent sporting love, and where unlike football I have supported the national side regularly attending a Test Match day each year until the past couple of seasons. England are playing Pakistan in the Middle East with a humiliating defeat in the first Test held in a near empty stadium in Dubai although there were a few more people attending the second Test in Abu Dhabi. England ended the first day having taken 7 wickets for 256 runs. Yesterday Pakistan were only able to add 1 more run and England survive the morning with the loss of one wicket and making 48 runs. The going was slow but keeping wickets must be the priority given the two collapses of the first game. I will watch and listen until Leveson, then watch while listening to Leveson.

England appeared to be doing well after the early loss of Captain Strauss with Cook 94 and Trott 74 and a total of 197 for 2 but then 4 wickets fell cheaply. This morning before I arrived down stairs England had progressed well with an excellent innings from all rounder Stewart Broad of Nottinghamshire who was left all out at 58 when the innings quickly ended immediately after the lunch with the two last men out in the first over. It is now up to the opening bowlers not just to bowl accurately but take wickets if the lead of 70 runs is to have impact. I switched channels to watch Scotland‘s Andy Murray start his semi final game against world champion Djokovitch and the opening games suggested the difference between top man and nearly man is as wide as ever.

I have not mentioned American Football much over recent years, rarely watching a full game on TV except the annual Super Bowl. In part this is because of the demise of the two teams I commenced to support in the mid 1980’s seeing two live games at Wembley as well as regularly staying up on Sunday nights to see live relays. My chosen team was the Chicago Bears but after being given a shirt one season for the San Francisco 49ers I also followed their fortunes. This weekend I watched the play off between the 49ers and the New York Giants. They lost in a thrilling game in extra time having had the chance to win it.

Another disappointment was on Tuesday in the penalty shoot out of the second leg of the semi final of the League Cup competition in which my boyhood club, Crystal Palace, down to 10 men, held out to and through extra time before collapsing to Cardiff City when it came to the penalties.

Newcastle were smashed at Fulham in strange game which they dominated throughout the first half and then went to pieces in one crazy period in which they gave away three goals and lost 5. 2 in the end.

The only bright light was Sunderland who managed a hard fought 2.0 at home win against Swansea with two great goals and who are now out of the relegation quagmire in mid table but still 9 points adrift of Newcastle who remain in 6th a point above Liverpool having played he same number of game. The Sunderland Newcastle F A cup game is on television lunchtime Sunday which is excellent news. Newcastle visit to Brighton is the featured game on ESPN where I regarded the additional premium a luxury.

My game playing against the computer has improved in several respects so that after three years of trying I managed to achieve 18 million points at Luxor Mah-jong. I have also now won 2000 games at Spider patience out of 10047 and achieved another run of 101 games but still short of the maximum of 243 to date. Having decided to move up between levels in Chess each time I manage a run of 101 games I am stuck within level 3 because of lapses of concentration. The main success continues to be with Patience Hearts where my record breaking run is now over 2250 wins where previously it was only over 1000. Over all I have won 6400 games losing only a dozen early on before I got the hang of the play and maintain the 99point something average.

Sunderland and Newcastle have sucess: May it last

It was in the autumn of 1974 that I first became a regular at Sunderland Football Club at Roker Park, following them at many away matches over the next fifteen to sixteen years that I was a loyal season ticket holder. I stopped as they slid from the first to second and into the third divisions of the football league. There was a gap of year before I became caught up in the Kevin Keegan era at Newcastle where I remained a season ticket holder for about 14 years. Some Sunderland supporting politicians thought this was a great betrayal.

By about 2005/2006 I became disenchanted with the development of Premiership football which had become finance governed in terms of the payments made to players resulting in a situation where only club with unlimited financial support could purchase and keep the top players and therefore have the opportunity to win the Premiership or major European competitions. There was also the issue of the cost of attending matches and the impact of getting older and less enthusiastic about watching games when the weather was poor to bad. As had been the instance when I first stopped buying a season ticket there was the question of how many game experiences did one enjoy?

I did enjoy watching Sunderland gain promotion into the Premiership in 2007 at their new purpose built stadium but after that it was back to normal fighting to avoid relegation which is what happened to Newcastle under the managership of Alan Shearer. The whole saga of what happened at Newcastle under the ownership of Mike Ashley led to taking the decision that I would not return to watch games at the club while he remained in control. This position remains although is a separate issue from my support for the team as my support for Sunderland AFC has continued.

This year Sunderland ended the contract of Steve Bruce the second former Manchester United player to fail at Sunderland within five years, the other being Roy Keene. The choice was former Sunderland supporter Martin O’Neill who had a great careers as a player with Nottingham Forest winning a European Champions and then as an International for Northern Ireland with 64 appearances. He had also had a substantial and successful managerial career talking Leicester City to Football league Cups and winning the Scottish premiership and in his first season with Celtic the team not only one the Scottish Premiership Title but both cups. He left football to care for his wife who developed cancer in 2005. He then joined Aston Villa which he took to the first Cup win in ten years and finished 6th in the Premiership in each of his years with the club. He shocked the football world resigning from the club at the commencement of the 2010/11 season with lack of funds to progress the club considered the main cause.

Since joining Sunderland he has quickly created an enthusiastic team unit playing to the best of their abilities. Just before Christmas the team had a dramatic 3.2 win away to Queens Park Rangers and at Everton the award of questionable penalty prevented a second win away so they settled for draw. Their biggest challenged under the new Manager came the following week at home when they faced the present leaders Manchester City and won in the dying seconds of the game. They went to Wigan Athletic and won 4.1 thus gaining a total of 10 points out of 12 and moving out of the relegation zone into mid table. This Sunday Sunderland was the penultimate game to be played in the third round of the F A CUP, competition that Martin O’Neill has never won as a player or manager. Moreover the reason why the game was one of two selected by ITV to be shown is that over the past decade Sunderland has gone out in the early rounds of cup competitions to clubs from lower divisions.

That afternoon Peterborough the home side managed by the son of the Manchester United Manager were nervous and handicapped by injuries failed to show the attacking flair for which they are famous while Sunderland carried out a professional and rather clinical performance which won the game by two goals to nil. They have been rewarded with a home tie in the fourth round to North East neighbours Middlesbrough.

Their closest neighbours and fierce rivals Newcastle had one of the best starts to a Premiership season since the day of Kevin Kegan now some 20 years ago. Lee Catamole, the Sunderland captain played for the Boro before their relegation to the championship which will add spice to the match although it is not anticipated the game will be featured live because of the emphasis on potential giant killing.

In contrast to Sunderland Newcastle United had their best start to a season since the Kevin Kegan era rising fourth in the table and then slipping to 7th as they played and lost to some of the more accomplished sides in the Premiership. The surprising and best buy of the season and of most seasons was the decision of the club to take Demba Ba an extremely talented player but with a suspect knee which led Stoke City among several clubs to pass him by. Not only is an excellent frontman but he performs as a creative midfield player with defensive awareness when required. He quickly became one of the Premierships leading scorers. His performance against the present Champions Manchester United was regarded as not just 10/10 but the best performance in a single game by a forward in British football this season.

Newcastle has only beaten Manchester United three times in the past two decades. I watched the previous two games at the ground while the latest match was with the help of 3D so it many respects it was not just as good as being there but better with the benefit of close ups and replays. There were two great goals while the icing on the cake was a dreadful own goal by Manchester United which will be replayed in howlers of decade programmes for decades to come. The much maligned Shola Ameobi also had an excellent game and the two tall and strong front men created such problems for the united defence that their forwards could rarely get into top gear.

It is in sport and artistic performances that 3D has its great potential although as with 3D in general it is an aid to a performance and not a performance in itself. It provides the opportunity to feel part of the reality of the experience rather at a distance and separate. It will not make a boring game or event interesting once the novelty of the medium wears off. So far I have also watched darts, the Horse of the Year show and some rugby union. I look forward to tennis and motor-racing although I suspect the latter will be dependent on Sky gaining the rights to Formula 1 and of course the Olympic Games but the main joy will be cricket and it will be interesting to see if England’s games with Pakistan in Dubai will be shown in the medium.

The main talking point of the past couple of months, making the front as well as rear papers of the newspapers has been incidents of racism. A Liverpool player has been suspended for eight games because of repeated remarks made to a Manchester United player. The two teams have now been drawn to play each other in the 4th round of the F A Cup. Liverpool players unwisely supported by their Manager wore shirts in support of their player which may have influenced an individual fan making offensive remarks to an away team player at weekend which distressed him to the extent that the game was stopped and the police carried out an investigation with an individual arrested and charged. John Terry who has already lost his captaincy of the England team last year because of a private life scandal is to be prosecuted for alleged racist comments against QPR player. |The spate of these incidents together with a random racists killing of a student from India may be a coincidence and not indicate some form of organised response or general reawakening and also nothing to do with the conviction of two member of the gang who killed the school boy Stephen Lawrence nearly two decades ago. The police through racism and incompetence and perhaps some corruption although the latter has not been substantiated while the former were following inquiry failed horribly. The family were forced to bring a private prosecution which failed and it was only through persistent campaigning that the law was changed to enable a second prosecution when sufficient evidence to convince a judge and jury became available because of improvements in forensic science. The continuation of racism in British life remains an indictment of the British character.

Durham lose at Nottingham 2011 but reach Clydesdale Semi final while go from triumEngland ph to triumph

The main purpose of my visit to Nottingham was to watch Durham Cricket Club take an important step in winning their third County Championship in four years and their fourth trophy in five years thus making it a golden half decade, something which I did not anticipate experiencing in my life time. However having lost away to Somerset and again at home in the rain affected game against Hampshire I was not optimistic as in both instances it was the batting that had failed and which had been Durham’s great strength this season.

I always enjoy my visits to Trent Bridge because it is possible to have a good seat and view behind the bowler’s arm. After 50 years of watching cricket I learned why if one is not playing, the best view is from above the bowlers arm, especially as at Trent Bridge anyone buying a ticket to the championship games can sit immediately over the wicket and have one of the best views in the country, usually taken by the media at one end of every ground. The only disadvantage is that a substantial number of Nottinghamshire Members like to enjoy the experience so you have sit with other supporters on either side unless you arrive early and gain an aisle seat which I did on the two days of what proved a three day match.

When I normally watch a game I have great difficulty in seeing the ball especially if I watch side on and even behind the wicket I have problems. However looking over the wicket at height it becomes possible to see the movement of the ball, the swing or the turn in such a manner that I have not witnessed before. It was a revelation.

Notts won the toss and elected to bat on an overcast day which quickly changed to hot sunshine by the time play commenced and I had left hat in the car and sun cream at home. I investigated if there was in suitable in the club shop but those available were for smaller heads and expensive so I missed around 30 mins of the morning session going back to the car which I had managed to park in a side road only a few minutes from the Co Op and ticket office. I then decided to try another 7 day, all hours, local store on the road leading to the coop for sun cream and was horrified at having to pay 6.99 for a factor 15 sprays. I checked the price after leaving the store and then return to my seat in stand which was now full on both sides of the stadium at this level leaving large areas of emptiness.

The star of the day was Alex Hales with 115. He is the young man who in a 20 20 game, three, may even be four seasons ago he took a catch going backwards and stood on the rope which should have registered as 6. Half of Durham supporters could see the error which he failed to admit. It was a good innings in a season which has brought him to the attention of the England A side and then the England 20 20 team playing later this evening. At 202 for six and 239 for nine I had hoped for a lower total which could have made all the difference. Durham alas had a disastrous start losing 3 wickets for 25 runs and visions of 400 runs plus and an innings win vanished.

Everyone, that is the weather forecasters, the ground staff and Nottingham spectators all were convinced that the rain would arrives early and remain heavy for the greater part of the day and as I had an engagement late afternoon I decided it was not worth planning to go to cricket and made arrangement to spend the day elsewhere arriving for an early lunch. It was therefore just before 11 when I set off with darkened skies and spots of heavy rain so yes I said to myself the result looked destined to be a draw as the weather for Thursday was also not forecast as good for cricket. I had a great time but blame myself for not being at the game and therefore perhaps contributing to the mounting disaster as alas for Durham a full day’s cricket was possible.
One day and former Championship winning Benkenstein with the dependable Blackwell scored 101 between them putting on a stand of 90 but the last five wickets went for 30 with the last 3 going for a couple run. This gave the opponents what proved to be an invaluable lead of 75 runs. When Hales went for 0 and Turner for 17 things looked up for an interesting third day and at 159 for 7 the feeling was Durham had the upper hand. However Adam played a brilliant innings, I was told the following day making 53 so the home side made 235 setting Durham to get 300 runs two days, a very gettable target by any standards.

Alas Smith went for 9 and De Venuto for 20 so the third day task quickly became daunting. Then after Claydon, the overnight watchman was out at 35, Stoneman with the help of Benkenstein commenced a great innings which changed the mood of the surrounding Notts supporters who believed the game was Durham’s at the luncheon. I know from experience, especially of late that nothing is certain until the weight challenged lady sings.

I had made the most of the visit enjoying a coffee on the first morning in the Radcliffe Road stand restaurant and Bar, enjoying my spicy chicken wings for lunch but the great treat came later at tea when I scooped a giant portion of cream to go with my scone and strawberry jam and cup of tea and then had an enjoyable chat with a lady who was one of the Durham supporters on the coach trip I presumed than perhaps a mum of a player. She was upset that a second team had been sent without Onions, Stokes or Borthwick all away on England call up for the game in Dublin Ireland on the Thursday. I also kept an eye on the Test match to see if Tendulkar would get his 100 100‘s, a consolation for three poor Test performances but he was out just before and this paved the way for England to win the fourth Match and reaffirm their position as the number one team in the world.
On the third morning, arriving early, the ancient Members pavilion was visited for much needed bacon bap, as I had eaten what I had bought for breakfast the previous evening. Alas I to wait until 10 past 10 but and enjoyed even more although coffee was already unremembered. This reminds that I now need coffee and some cereal. The bacon is banned until Christmas

For lunch there was my second carton of chicken wings brought for the trip but I settled for a cold drink in the afternoon as the weather had been hot. When the wickets started to fall I knew a loss was in sight and spent the last session after tea prancing about on the concourse at the back of the middle tier hoping for a miracle. Only young Wood playing in his first game made a creditable 45 not out after 6 in the first innings. He bowled 2 for 57 in the first innings and 3 for 72 in the second 5 for 129 in the match which is a reasonable return and indicated that the former Academy player has a good future.

With the other results going badly Durham slipped to third in the table with 188 points having played 14 and impetus with Lancashire on 198, Warwickshire 195 and Somerset 177 all with an extra game to play over Durham. It was therefore time to turn attention to the 40 40 competition to be played on the Bank holiday Monday..

It was almost certain that Durham would qualify even if they lost their away game at the Oval because of the faster run rate. The match was shown live on Sky on what was a chilly and overcast day in the North East. Durham winning the toss and choosing to bat found the champion side Colonel Mustard, as he is always known on the circuit, had a fabulous knock with 13 fours and 1 six for his 66 from 31 balls and set up what proved to be a total which was too much even for Surrey who on the high scoring wicket have achieved some fine innings this season.
After the departure of the Colonel it was Paul Collingwood who has recently agreed a three year contract to stay with Durham who made an excellent considered 96 four short of a century with Benkenstein 48 so that Durham were able to amass 325 for 9 in their 40 overs the second highest total of the season in this format of the game. Surrey therefore needed to score these runs at a rate of over 8. For a period of time when Maynard was joined by Spriegel and they added just under 100 for the 5 wicket when it looked as if they still had a chance although behind in the required rate. However Claydon and Thorp with three wickets each did damage although Graham Onions bowled well for his 7 overs taking 1 for 33 to keep the over rate over 20 runs below that required from which Surrey failed to recover.

The disappointment of the day was the draw which sees Durham going to Somerset for the semi final on Sunday rather than back to Surrey who now have Sussex as their visitors. Both games will be televised with Sussex members able to go to the match free. Sussex has a fine record over recent year’s competitions after having not so good years in the Championship after winning 3 in four. They won the original pro forty competition- Sunday competition which was in two leagues until last year with Sussex winning three times back in 1982 and then in 2008 and 2009 with gaining promotion twice while Durham has only gaining promotion as leaders in 2007. Somerset back in 1978 and Surrey 1996 have won the first division. In the 50 over competition Sussex have won five and been runners up 4, Somerset have won 3 and been runners up 4, Surrey has only won once as had Durham but Surrey has also been runner up 3 times. Warwickshire beat Somerset in first of the new format competition held last year. Sussex, Surrey and Somerset have all won one of the 20 20 cup competitions which have been held since 2003. Somerset was the runners up last year and has been the bridesmaid in about 4 competitions in the last couple of years have reached finals day including this year.

This brings me nicely to this year’s Final day at Edgbaston and what a day it proved to be. The first semi final between underdogs Leicestershire and a strong Lancashire team ended in a tie Leicestershire considered themselves to be about a dozen runs short in the rain affected first innings which closed for 132 for 6 after 18 overs. Razzaq set the place alight with a splendid 3 sixes and two fours for 36 not out at the end. Lancashire was set 80 to win under Duckworth Lewis rules in 11 overs after further rain delays. Moore the Lancashire opener set of well making 42 with 7 fours and 1 six and with only losing their first wicket after scoring half the runs required. However some fine Lancashire work in the field and Cobb getting 2 wickets for six runs both teams ended with the same DL score after Cross got the six required off the last ball and the match went into was is described as the golden over.

Each side bowls 1 over to see how many runs they can score on the basis that if two wickets fall the innings ends so if the first and second batsmen are out in the first two balls the side has no score and the other side has only to score I run to win.

Lancashire batted first scoring a six but failed to score on the last two balls leaving the Foxes to get 15. They had reached 11 after four balls and Jefferson smashed a six to take the underdogs into the final. The romance of the contest was that 39 year old former England wicket keeper Paul Nixon was potentially playing in his last match before retiring. By qualifying for the final his team automatically became part of the world 20 20 club series which is held in India.

Amazingly there was also a Golden Over at the end of the 20 20 semi final between Hampshire and Somerset last year’s finalists, As with the first semi final there were several rain interruptions, Hampshire the visitors and champions the year before were asked to bat first and made 138 in 15.5 overs made with three rain delays, the highlight being a glorious career best innings by Shahid Alfredi of 80 which included 5 sixes and 6 fours. Somerset were given 10 overs to score 95 runs. Again the two team faced a single over decider and. Somerset made 16 and Hampshire who lost a wicket early on could only total 5. The two men who were crucial to the win was young England star of the future Josh Butler who hit 32 from 16 balls to bring Somerset close to winning after Marcus Trescothick was out for 28. Josh Butler partnered Kieswetter in the golden over. It was their bowler Alfonso Thomas who went for 1. 19 in his 3.5 overs who bowled the over with 1 wicket for 5 runs.

However it was the underdogs Leicestershire who were triumph in another final which swung between the two teams. Hampshire decided to field after winning the toss and the decision appeared to be a good one restricting the Foxes to 145 in the full 20 overs, as the rain cleared away by the start of the Final. Suppiah and Pollard were excellent taking 2 wickers each for 27 and 24 runs in their four overs but the star Bowler was Henderson who only gave away 11 from his four overs. However the Foxes were not downhearted arguing that the wicket had become more difficult as the day progressed and they thoughts they could defend the total. They were proved right because of some remarkable fielding including a sensational catch by Paul Nixon and four catches in the deep, always difficult under the lights by the substitute from the bowling of young Cobb who also had the presence to turn round after stopping a ball from his bowling and running out the backing up batsman who was well out of his crease. This brought ecstasy to the team finishing last at present in the second division championship and to Paul Nixon who will delay taking up his coaching appointment with the county until after the tournament in India.

This was not the last 20 20 game of the domestic season as earlier this evening England played India at Old Trafford. India blitzed away as England under Broad could not resist sticking to their plan of bowling short before a packed ground where the majority appeared to be supporting India and making the kind of noise experienced on the sub continent. I watched without sound listening to the closing overs of Durham at Sussex as well as keeping and eye on the games played by the three others with the game in hand. It was Rahane with 8 fours in an innings 61 supported by Dravid and Raina who appeared to be taking the game away from England as the run rate reached over 8 and approached 9. However some excellent bowling by Dernbach 4 for 22 from 3.4 overs at the end with Bopara taking 1 for 4 of his only over dismissing Dravid early on who ensured an unexpected England victory restricting the visitors to 165 in 19,4 over.

A nervous Pietersen before his resting from the 1 day game against India to be played on Saturday at Durham made 34 before being stumped but it was Morgan who appeared to take the game away with 49 before a contested catch who reduced to run rate to less than 8 Young Hales was out second ball which pleased me! The match became in balance when England needing 13 runs from 12 could only get 3 with the loss of a wicket at a time when Bopara and Patel had played themselves in. The first ball of one of the Kumar’s was declared a wide, a dubious decision, and this unsettled the bowler who gave another wide and then three fours which meant the required total was passed with 3 balls to go and the Brits celebrated while the Indian supporters tried to hide their understandable disappointment. The difference being the ability to bold tight at the end.
There are two more 20 20 game before the official end of International in the UK when England Play the West Indies at e Oval in late September as he season is extended.

The 50 over game in Dublin was rain affected but Trott made an excellent 69 with Owen Morgan 59 Debutants Taylor 1 and Durham’s Ben Stokes 3 failed to cover themselves in glory but Borthwick did get a promising 15. Another youngster Woakes was also promising with 19 as the total was pushed to 201 in 43 over on a difficult pitch for batting. There was more rain and Ireland restricted to 137 were 11 runs short at 117 for 8. Borthwick was only give one over from which he was hit for 13. Dernbach from Surrey had a promising 3 for 30 and proving himself to be the up and rapidly coming new fast bowler of the season.

Going back further to the fourth Test England declared on a massive 591 runs for 6 with Bell making a massive 235 and Pietersen 175 in a stand which took the total from 97 for 2 to 447 before the third wicket and for a time it looked as if there were to be two players reach double centuries in the same game. Pietersen his 27 fours and Bell 23 plus two sixes.

It was going to be tough for India and touch it was with only Dravid 146 not out one of the few players to carry their bat throughout Test Innings the only player to distinguish himself. Late in the order Mishra made 43 and the last four wickets made over 150 runs after India were 95 for 5.

The question therefore was could England win by an inning in another ain affected game and could Tendulkar get his 100 100’s reminding once more that Don Bradman only needed 6 runs to end his Test Career with an average of 100 at the Oval Test in I was there in 1948 only to be bowled by Eric Hollis in the second ball faced. Tendulkar made 91 with partner Mishra 84, a partnership of just under 150 for the fourth wicket at 262. After that wickets timbered again at 262,268,269, 69 275 and 283 with Swann 6 for 106, The lads done well!

Meanwhile there is a ray of light perhaps two emerged today regarding Durham’s now outside chance of winning the championship. Before reporting what happened I have a lot of catching up to do.

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.