Nail Biter at The Riverside

 posted by John Winn

The championship match that finished at The Riverside yesterday had several unusual features

• the captain winning the toss opted to bat
• 39 wickets fell but only three batters made fifty
• the top individual score was 51 (George Hill)
• only one team innings passed two hundred and fifty (Yorkshire 254)
• only one batting bonus point was gained in the match
• a batter not in the original XI was allowed to bat in the second innings as a concussion substitute 
• barely anytime was lost through rain
• it was so cold on Friday that I left at lunchtime
• Durham won by one wicket when a batter who needed a runner hit the winning runs

Durham had not played Yorkshire in four day cricket since 2016 when the visitors won the toss and opted to bat on a sunny Thursday morning. This was not quite the gamble it might seem for the forecast suggested that the first day would offer better batting conditions than the second, and this proved to be the case, and secondly opener Adam Lyth was in splendid form having hit a magnificent 174 just a few days earlier against Glamorgan. Alas Lord Mayor's show and all that for after just ten deliveries Lyth was on his way, well caught by Clark in the gully off Potts. Masood on his Yorkshire debut made 44 but although five of his team mates could be said to have got their feet under the table none went on to make fifty and only a last wicket stand of 36 brought Yorkshire a batting bonus point

Durham fared no better, losing openers Lees and Jones before stumps and like Yorkshire they relied on a last wicket stand to bring respectability. Yorkshire's second innings started no better than the first, Lyth bagging a pair, out first ball this time, which brought Bean, unlucky to be dropped in my opinion, to the crease in place of the injured Shakeel, lucky to be playing in the opinion of more than me. Bean, Malan  Bairstow and Hill all got a start and at 145 for 4, a lead of 172 it was beginning to look as though Durham might be set an awkward fourth innings target. Enter Raine and Potts and the last six fell for 73.

Durham, set 246 to win, got off to a good start but the middle and lower order were swept aside  until Raine and Potts, this time with the bat, held out to close of play including the extra half hour to set up a fascinating last day. 33 to win, two wickets to take and number 11, Carse, injured. How far would you travel to watch what might be not more than an over's play? A family commitment saved me making that awkward decision but free admission persuaded 245 to come through the turnstiles. I decided it would be rude to have my phone switched on while in conversation with my brother-in-law and his partner so it was 12:15 before I checked the scores to find Durham had got home by one wicket, that the winning runs had been scored by Carse, batting with a runner but the real heroes were Raine and Potts whose ninth wicket stand had yielded 71 to leave their team within touching distance of their third victory of the season, all at The Riverside.

Yorkshire will perhaps be pleased that next time they take the field, on Saturday at Edgbaston, the ball will be a different colour and the game will be much shorter. Yes its that time of the year again, T20,
but in the meantime Durham travel to Bristol looking to extend their lead at the top of the table before we have a break from championship cricket four weeks. 

Queen's Park Chesterfield, will Yorkshire will face Derbyshire on Sunday June 11th

The deckchair gets an airing

 posted by John Winn

Yesterday, after lunch with my wife at a local pub, I returned home and on a beautiful afternoon, opened the shed, disturbed the deckchair from its winter hibernation, dusted it off and settled down to listen to BBC commentary from Headingley with occasional excursions to other grounds. Just three days earlier I had watched the first day of the Yorkshire/Glamorgan match wearing my cold weather jacket and not once did I feel like removing it. I did not stay long enough to see Yorkshire lose five wickets before close of play and a poor forecast for Friday put me off returning to LS6 for the second day when they were bowled out for 106. 

Saturday was a much warmer day and I travelled in hope to St George's Road, Harrogate where Sheriff Hutton Bridge were the visitors. I stayed a couple of hours catching up with my friend Les Pennington who I had not seen since January, but despite the sunshine there was no cricket as the ground stubbornly refused to dry sufficiently to allow play. Tea(sic) was taken at 13:15, numerous inspections followed but all to no avail and by 15:00 I was on my way home wishing I had driven a dozen miles further and gone to Headingley where I could have seen Labuschagne make 170 not out which went a long way towards the 492 Yorkshire were set to win. 

Back to the deckchair and Yorkshire kept the crowd and listeners to the commentary enthralled to the very end when Thompson, having reached his fifty, safely played out the last over from Neser while the injured Coad, who fortunately did not have to face, watched from the non-striker's end. Yorkshire travel to The Riverside this week, presumably without Coad but under a new captain, Shan Masood, who had such an outstanding season for Derbyshire in 2022.The forecast isn't great but I have every intention of being there  for the first championship match since 2016 between my county of birth and my county of residence. 

Headingley did not have a monopoly on close finishes yesterday. What would you have paid to see Broad facing Anderson and taking fifty balls to score three?  As if this was not enough "Ashes hopeful Olly Stone"*  was undefeated on nought having limped from the field earlier in the day. At Derby, Leicestershire showed plenty of spirit and scored just enough to make Derbyshire bat again setting a target of fifty four from three overs but after phone calls to the ECB and a twenty minute delay this was reduced to one over which was bowled by Ackermann and defended by Haider Ali. Elsewhere Northants thwarted Somerset, Surrey had three wickets in hand when stumps were pulled but an Essex victory had been a possibility until Jamie Smith and Jordan Clark stopped the rot. Earlier in the dayWarwickshire crushed Hants and are now level on points at the top of Division One with Surrey. 

                                                                            

And now for last week's homework for which you were asked to say how many of these clubs who were operating in the High Peak League about 80 years ago are still in existence today. Perhaps surprisingly only one of the clubs seems to have vanished without trace, Bradbury St M while Stockport SS** merged with Stockport in 1998 and Compstall seem to have become a feeder club for Marple. Birch Vale are now known as Birch Vale and Thornsett. New Mills, Dove Holes, Whaley Bridge, Hayfield, and Hazel Grove play in Derbyshire and Cheshire Div 1, Chapel (en le Frith) and Birch Vale in Div 2. Romiley are in Cheshire Div 2. 

* I newspaper's words not mine. 

** SS stood for Sunday School

Four Days Cricket

 posted by John Winn

Tomorrow I shall travel to Headingley for the first day of the championship match against Glamorgan. The forecast suggests that whilst flags may rest without fear of being cracked I stand a good chance of seeing a day's cricket thus continuing a reasonable run despite what for many has been a very wet spring. Last weekend I saw cricket on four successive days, not without interruption from the weather but enough play to make my journeys worthwhile. 

On Thursday I travelled to Chester le Street when despite occasional patchy rain 92 overs were bowled and Durham by their own choice made good use of the wicket to score at more than four an over, a rate that has become characteristic of their cricket this season. 63 for the first wicket, Lees setting the pace then a slight slump to 126 for 4 before Clark and Robinson added 106 with Robinson going onto his first century for the Prince Bishops. As on my previous visit to Riverside this season I opted to stay overnight but woke to forecast steady rain on Friday. Good work by the ground staff allowed play to start at 12:15 and Carse, aided by Coughlin and Potts, completed his maiden first class century. Then followed a passage of play that delights old buffers like me and baffles Americans. 

After Carse hit a mighty six that had those of us in the north west corner cowering for cover, Durham declared leaving time for just one over before lunch from the fifth ball of which Godleman was lbw Raine, a common mode of dismissal this season, and off they came for lunch. Shortly after which Derbyshire were 6 for 4 and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals until a last wicket stand between Reece and Conners saw them to 165 all out. 

Second time around things got no better for The Peakites until Lamb and Reece added 149 for the sixth but when the end came it came quickly. LBW Raine saw the back of Lamb for 91 at which points four quick wickets for Potts cemented Durham's place at the top of the division. 

On Saturday I took in my first league cricket of the season when Ouseburn CC 1st XI welcomed Masham to Lightmire Lane, arriving in time to see the visitors collapse from 50 for 1 to 69 all out. The response of Masham's tail to the fall of wickets was to give it the old heave-ho to little effect other than  to ensure that more than twenty of their overs were not used, overs that might have yielded enough runs to make the outcome much tighter. As it was Ouseburn got home by four wickets. 

More club cricket on Sunday but higher up the pyramid when I made the trip to St George's Road Harrogate to see The Roosters take on Hartlepool in a National Club Championship match. Rain halted proceedings after 31 overs and the match was abandoned. Because of league commitments next weekend Hartlepool have conceded the tie.

Tomorrow sees the fifth round of matches in this year's championship and I suppose Surrey's impressive start will give prominence to their trip to Chelmsford but Broad and Anderson on opposite sides whets the appetite for Trent Bridge and in the basement it's Somerset v Northants. Only three matches in Division Two and Derbyshire (bottom) entertain Leicestershire (second) and for the latter a good result could see them go top. 

 

This week's homework, how many of these sides still exist?

A Star Studded family

 posted by John Winn

Rain interfered seriously with cricket both locally and nationally over the weekend. League cricket in my part of the world had already got off to a bad start with the postponement of the entire NYSD opening programme on the traditional third Saturday in April and the almost complete washout of the Nidderdale league. Things were little better this week and my local side, Ouseburn CC saw both first and second eleven games on Saturday abandoned early in the day without a ball being bowled, indeed the first XI who were given the doubtful privilege of starting with two away games on their return to the First Division, have yet to bat or bowl. 

I spent much of yesterday, which was actually quite a nice day in the Lower Ure Valley, switching between commentaries and live feeds on county championship matches but even here rain had the upper hand. Yorkshire, Durham and Gloucestershire will all feel they were robbed of victory by the weather and Kent v Essex at Canterbury was a total washout on the last day. At Taunton, in spite of Anthony Gibson's rain dance, Somerset's middle order put up enough resistance to deny Lancashire a first victory but it was the action from Lord's that engaged my attention to the last, once that is I had stopped laughing at the news that Spurs' supporters had been filmed leaving St James's Park after 20 minutes. 

In the match at Lord's Notts bravely opened up the game with a declaration that invited Middlesex to go for a target which they duly did and succeeded with just a few balls to spare. This in spite of Notts' efforts to ensure a draw by some dubious tactics towards the end. The championship tables show that only Hants can claim two wins so far and are already sixteen points ahead of Lancs who have drawn all three. Durham top Division Two, despite only one win from three and much credit must go their batters who have already accumulated 12 bonus points. 

It is just possible that by now some of you are wondering if there is any link between what I have written so far and the title of the posting. The answer is no but given the lack of cricket to watch on Saturday I have fallen back on a subject I have been meaning to write about for a few weeks, namely the Studd brothers, a cricketing family of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and here they are, from left to right, Kynaston, Charles, and George.

Their father Edward Studd, who fathered eleven children in all, was born in Bombay and made his fortune in indigo manufacture, a fortune big enough for him to own Stratton Hall in Northamptonshire, Hallaton Hall in Leicestershire and Bedworth House in Wiltshire at various times. All three boys went to Eton, all captained the XI and all three went on to win blues at Cambridge. Kynaston (1858-1944), played occasionally for Middlesex and in 1928 became Lord Mayor of London and shortly afterwards President of MCC. Moving on to George (1859-1945) , the second of the three, he followed  Kynaston in going to and captaining Eton then got his blue at Cambridge and was more than a useful tennis player. 

Finally we come to Charles (1860-1931) who followed the same education and cricket careers as his older brothers but went a significant step further for in 1882 he and George were part of Bligh's team that went to Australia and brought back the Ashes. George's form was disappointing but Charles was one of the best all-round cricketers of his time and played five tests in all.

Meanwhile back in Wiltshire the boys' father became, in 1878, a born-again Christian and shortly afterwards all three embraced Christianity. I recently acquired a biography of Charles written by his son-in-law, Norman Grubb, but only two chapters are devoted to cricket, it is very much a story of his work as a missionary. Charles went to China in 1885 where he remained for ten years but illness brought him back to England from where he went to USA and then to the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, this very much against medical advice. In Wisden's words this was an 'uncivilised region' but CT devoted the rest of his life to missionary work there until his death in 1931 from untreated gallstones. George too became a missionary and did much of his work in the slums of Los Angeles (sic). 

I should just mention that there were four other Studd brothers, all good enough to play for Eton and MCC. Star-studded indeed. 

Down by The Riverside

 posted by John Winn

                                                                           

                                                                                    

A day at Aintree on Thursday delayed my start to the 2023 season at The Riverside but I was there in good time on Friday to see the second day of Durham's match with Worcestershire. Durham had had an excellent day on Thursday and Raine and Coughlin started where they had left off the evening before. Durham skipper Scott Borthwick eventually declared on 425 for 9, leaving the visitors about an hour's batting before lunch and what an hour it was. Pollock set about the Durham attack, shorn of Carse by the ECB, with Pollock hitting nine fours off 26 balls before he was cleaned up by Potts for 41, a scoring rate of 157.69. Azhar Ali went for 29, lbw Potts, but shortly afterwards rain sent the players from the field and that was it for the day, Worcestershire 96 for 2. 

 Rather than return home I had booked accommodation in Durham for the night and thus was at the ground early on Saturday to see Worcestershire resume their innings. I was slightly concerned that mopping up was still going on when the five minute bell was rung but play started on time. Coughlin, who I thought the pick of the bowlers, had Libby caught at slip and to a man the Durham side thought they had D'Oliveira next ball but umpire White stood firm and the Pears' skipper proceeded to play a lively innings before being caught and bowled by Kuhnemann. I thought the Durham attack especially the seamers gave away too many easy leg side runs. The photo up above was taken just after lunch and suggests a cloudy day but for much of the day there was lovely sunshine.

I had originally intended to leave about 2:30 and catch some league cricket in East Durham on the way home but news of widespread postponements dissuaded me from this idea and instead I stayed until shortly before tea and got home just in time to see the delayed Grand National. Sam Brown who carried my hopes but fortunately not my money fell at the 16th. Perhaps his belt was too tight. 

After I left Worcestershire made a somewhat surprising declaration and with Borthwick hitting a century Durham have set Worcestershire 314 to win, as I type they are 3 for 2. 

In last week's posting I commented on the dismay felt in Somerset when they lost the first day of their opening match to rain, imagine the disappointment yesterday morning when the game at Bristol between Gloucestershire and Yorkshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled, a fairly rare occurrence these days. The decision provoked plenty of bile on social media but my main sympathy lies with Yorkshire supporters who booked accommodation for a couple of nights or more. They should have better look at Hove next week.

Not a bad start

posted by John Winn

At 9:20 on Thursday morning I was not going to Headingley, at 9:25 I was on my way. I had vacillated all week whether to attend the first day of the first class cricket season and after seeing Paul Hudson's forecast on Wednesday evening which promised a showery opening day I decided not to attend, a state of mind which did not change until shortly before half past nine the next morning. What caused this abrupt change?  The sun came out, I remembered how much I had been looking forward to meeting old friends and my wife told me to stop dilly dalllying and I was on my way. 

Having paid the tax now imposed on members to enter the long room, £15 for the season, I met up with old friends Jennifer Ellison and Stuart Wrigley for coffee, shared our varying opinions on the rights and wrongs of the signing of SD Hope and took our seats to see Leicestershire, having won the toss, take the field with Messrs Lyth and Bean opening for Yorkshire. No Root, Brook or Bairstow of course, although encouragingly the last of these was seen in the nets before the call of play. The sun shone and Yorkshire made good progress so that by the time Hudson's revenge arrived mid afternoon in the shape of a heavy almost wintery shower which caused an influx of taxpayers* to seek the shelter of the long room, last year's wooden spoonists found themselves in a familiar position with Malan and Bean enjoying some fairly moderate bowling. Mr Bean feasted on Rehan Ahmed's opening over to the tune of 22 runs and throughout the day Malan showed what a class act he is. 

The severity of the rain convinced that there would be a long wait before there was any more play and so I left but returned on Friday when a better forecast had increased the crowd considerably and by the time I left at tea, Leicestershire had lost three wickets in response to Yorkshire's 517.

                                                                              

                                                   Friday afternoon in the Upper North East 

As I type, 11:45 Sunday morning,Yorkshire  despite a lead of almost four hundred, continue their second innings but with a scoring rate of over five an over surely a declaration cannot be far away. Elsewhere, in Division One Hampshire have beaten Notts inside two days, Lancashire probably need to bat all day to avoid defeat against Surrey at Old Trafford, at Canterbury Kent need to score a trifle more than they did in their first innings to beat Northants while at Lord's Middlesex are now seven down in their second innings and facing defeat against Essex. At Taunton where the first day was washed out, more of which anon, a draw seems the only outcome. In Division Two a decent last day is in prospect at Derby where Worcestershire are the visitors, a draw seems likely between Glamorgan and Gloucestershire at Cardiff and Sussex should just scrape home against Durham at Hove. 

The second round of matches begins on Thursday with sixteen counties in action, Glamorgan and Sussex are resting, and Surrey v Hants looks the pick in Division One. 

Finally and back to Taunton where there was no play on Thursday, the game eventually started at noon on Friday, the county's Facebook page has presented some Somerset supporters with the opportunity to vent their spleens especially those who travelled quite long distances to find there would be no cricket.  Mr Charles Maggs took the biscuit and opened a can of worms, mixed metaphor there John,  and proposed that all these opening matches should have been played in the Middle East. And there's me thinking I was ill served by having to pay to go into the Long Room. 

* Given the absence of a steward on one of the doors there may even have been some non doms. 

Here we go again

 posted by John Winn

                                    When baby summer calls us once again

                                     to close trimmed turf; we say we will not go 

                                     but yet we go. Digby Jephson*

Pending hip surgery is restricting my driving at the moment but had I been fully fit then today I would have been at Riverside, Chester le Street where Durham are taking on  Durham University and where, on a lovely March day, the county side took the precaution of including Raine, Drissell and Macintosh in their XI. I have complained in the past about the stilted start to the English cricket season, just compare it to the fanfare for the start of the Major League Baseball season later this week, but at least the county championship when it opens next Thursday will see all 18 counties in action. Match of the Day has to be Lancashire, tipped by Cricketer magazine to be champions, taking on Surrey, last year's winners, at Old Trafford. Well done algorithm. Nonsense I hear some of you cry as you head to Headingley to see relegated Yorkshire take on wooden spoonists Leicestershire. 

If league cricket is more your bag then I have done my usual exercise of working through a few websites to find out when readers in the north east and Yorkshire will be able to see their local clubs in action. Most have opted for the traditional third Saturday in April, this year the fifteenth, the earliest it can be. 

These leagues are in action that day, Bradford, Dales Council, Craven and District, Huddersfield, Yorkshire Premier (South), North Yorkshire South Durham, North East Premier, Nidderdale, Durham & North East 

22nd April Aire Wharfe, Yorkshire Premier (North) and its supporting pyramid, Pontefract and District, Langbaurgh, Darlington and District, Bradford Mutual.

29th April Scarborough 

Good watching!

* This little poem which I came across ten years ago in a book entitled The Demon and The Lobster, was written by Digby Jephson who played for Cambridge University and Surrey. Jephson was known as the lobster because of his skill as an underarm bowler between 1890 and 1902, although he made very few appearances after 1902. The Demon refers to Charles Kortright, a contemporary of Jephson. considered one of the fastest bowlers of all time. The two men were distantly related. 

                                                                       

                                                                      Digby Jephson