A canine repast

Posted by John Winn

Having been frustrated by a washout at Ouseburn yesterday, where my wife would have been match ball sponsor, but surprised to find that a match was played at Alne just four miles away, I have now gone almost a week without seeing any cricket. With the weather forecast suggesting that unsettled conditions will persist in the week ahead it may be a few days before I can report on any live cricket watching.
Once a year I try to meet up with old friends from my time living in Sussex with Grace Road our usual venue. This year we are due to meet on Wednesday when Leicestershire are due to play Sri Lanka A but with long journeys involved, especially for one friend coming from the East Sussex coast, the prospect of midweek rain may cause an abandonment of our plans. Headingley will of course provide me with a very acceptable alternative and a much shorter journey.
At the beginning of June I suggested in a posting that 20/20 cricket might be losing its charm. This was based on the slender evidence of seeing Lancashire's game with Leicestershire and having to play spot the crowd. I also confessed in the same posting that I had enjoyed the match and on the principle that one might as well be hung for a sweater as a pair of socks I now admit that I have watched a further number of games, some of which have been entertaining and in some cases have been watched by packed houses.As most followers will know the game has now reached the knockout stage, that didn't take too long did it? Only 144 matches.
The SKY commentary team has on more than one occasion said that the southern group has been the stronger. If this is true then Hampshire will be firm favourites to triumph in the final next month. Despite a two point forfeit from last season they have topped the 'stronger' group by three points and at home won seven out of eight with one no result. In the quarter finals they will host Durham, who have not been impressive, and so will expect to pass through to Egbaston in late August. But here's my point, and you may have wondered if there was ever going to be one, Hampshire have so far failed to win a game in the championship and despite their captain's assurance that all will be well they may just be playing second division cricket in 2012.By way of further illustration of the disparity of form in these two contrasting styles of the game then one would could point to the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Northants. Matthew Hoggard's boys find themselves with a home draw in 20/20 but with just one win in nine in the four day game whereas Northants top the second division table with five wins but have been dismal in 20/20.
Of the four counties with home draws in the next stage of 20/20 I suggest only Sussex will be satisfied with their season so far in first class cricket and that might have been different if they had not won a tight game with Hampshire last week.
There are six championship games this week all beginning on Wednesday which has a nice familiar ring to it and the competition has a relatively smooth run in to its climax in eight weeks.
Just in case you were thinking we were back to the good old days I was speaking to a friend from Durham this morning who said he was debating whether to go to The Riverside for the Clydesdale Bank 40 game this afternoon, a competition in which most counties have not played for eight weeks.This means that when Durham's opponents Surrey take on Middlesex at Guildford next Wednesday in the championship they will have played in three different competitions in less than a week. What a dog's breakfast!
The same friend did say one remarkable thing this morning and that was when I told him I had a grand day out at Scarborough on Monday, he said 'I know, I read it on the blog.' Blimey!