The World T20 qualifying competition finished on Saturday when the final Final finally featured the previously unbeaten Afghanistan and Ireland, who after losing their first match had posted eight straight victories. The match was won by Ireland by five wickets which made them overall tournament winners and places them in a group with Australia and West Indies in the finals. Afghanistan will be in group A with England and India.
Enough of that, the first class English season begins on Saturday and disappointing though it is that no matches are being played further north than Cambridge, it is nevertheless a landmark day for the pcw, five more days and the waiting will be over.As I write this blue sky is everywhere I look and we are promised this weather will continue. I enjoyed a tweet from the BBC's Kevin Howells last week in which he suggested that in the near future the English season might begin in March and end in October with a mid season break in June and July for rain.
There is consolation for the lack of cricket in the north on Saturday however, in the form of the 8th Pennine Cricket Conference which will be held at Huddersfield University from 10:00am to 4:00pm, admission free.Topics include Cricket in Cleckheaton, Cricket in Oldham and Cricket Broadcasting. This presents an opportunity for enthusiasts to meet up prior to the start of the County Championship a week on Thursday with Yorkshire taking on Kent at Headingley, now that is a landmark day!
Monday 26 March 2012
Wednesday 21 March 2012
A game too far?
Posted by John Winn
The ICC T20 qualifiers completed the group stages yesterday but after resting today all the sixteen teams have at least one more match to play before the competition finishes on Saturday. The form established in the first week has continued with Afghanistan and Namibia topping their respective groups with 100% records. These two teams will meet tomorrow at 10:00 GMT in the '1st Qualifying Final' with the winners assured of competing in Sri Lanka in September. Meanwhile the second and third placed teams in each group,Netherlands, Scotland, Canada and Ireland will be involved in 'Elimination Semi-Finals' and on Friday 'The Elimination Final' which will decide who plays the loser of tomorrow's match between Afghanistan and Namibia, come on keep up! Put another way, Ireland probably the favourite to emerge from the group of four, will need to beat a) Canada b) Netherlands or Scotland and c) Namibia or Afghanistan to grab the last available place in Sri Lanka.Whoever qualifies from this maelstrom will know they have been in a tournament.
The Second Qualifying Final takes place on Saturday morning but just in case anybody feels short changed it will be followed by Match 72 (and remember this only began on March 13th), described as 'The Tournament Final', between the winners of the two Qualifying Finals which could be a repeat of tomorrow's game between Afghanistan and Namibia, or there again it might not.
What of the other ten teams, those who did not finish in the top three in their groups, bags packed and heading for home? Not quite, they all have at least one more game. The two wooden spoonists Denmark and Oman compete for a ladle in the 15th-16th playoff, while there are also playoffs for all positions between 5th and 14th.,which will decide a ranking for all sixteen teams.
If you have got this far then you deserve something much simpler and much closer to home. The draw for the National Club Championship, sponsored this year by Kingfisher Beer, was made earlier this week and matches in Groups 1 and 2 include Great Ayton v Scarborough, Harrogate v Beverley, Hanging Heaton v Elsecar, New Farnley v York, Sheffield United v Townville and Marton v Driffield. Matches to be played on Sunday April 29th. Holders Shrewsbury, who beat Cambridge Granta in last year's final travel to Stafford to begin their defence.The full draw is available on the ECB site, just put Kingfisher Cup into a search engine.
The ICC T20 qualifiers completed the group stages yesterday but after resting today all the sixteen teams have at least one more match to play before the competition finishes on Saturday. The form established in the first week has continued with Afghanistan and Namibia topping their respective groups with 100% records. These two teams will meet tomorrow at 10:00 GMT in the '1st Qualifying Final' with the winners assured of competing in Sri Lanka in September. Meanwhile the second and third placed teams in each group,Netherlands, Scotland, Canada and Ireland will be involved in 'Elimination Semi-Finals' and on Friday 'The Elimination Final' which will decide who plays the loser of tomorrow's match between Afghanistan and Namibia, come on keep up! Put another way, Ireland probably the favourite to emerge from the group of four, will need to beat a) Canada b) Netherlands or Scotland and c) Namibia or Afghanistan to grab the last available place in Sri Lanka.Whoever qualifies from this maelstrom will know they have been in a tournament.
The Second Qualifying Final takes place on Saturday morning but just in case anybody feels short changed it will be followed by Match 72 (and remember this only began on March 13th), described as 'The Tournament Final', between the winners of the two Qualifying Finals which could be a repeat of tomorrow's game between Afghanistan and Namibia, or there again it might not.
What of the other ten teams, those who did not finish in the top three in their groups, bags packed and heading for home? Not quite, they all have at least one more game. The two wooden spoonists Denmark and Oman compete for a ladle in the 15th-16th playoff, while there are also playoffs for all positions between 5th and 14th.,which will decide a ranking for all sixteen teams.
If you have got this far then you deserve something much simpler and much closer to home. The draw for the National Club Championship, sponsored this year by Kingfisher Beer, was made earlier this week and matches in Groups 1 and 2 include Great Ayton v Scarborough, Harrogate v Beverley, Hanging Heaton v Elsecar, New Farnley v York, Sheffield United v Townville and Marton v Driffield. Matches to be played on Sunday April 29th. Holders Shrewsbury, who beat Cambridge Granta in last year's final travel to Stafford to begin their defence.The full draw is available on the ECB site, just put Kingfisher Cup into a search engine.
Saturday 17 March 2012
T20 qualifiers take a break.
After 32 matches in four days the World Twenty20 Qualifying Tournament takes a well earned rest today with the group matches having reached the half way point and with just two teams having 100% records. Favourites Afghanistan head Group A with Canada and Netherlands occupying second and third places with three wins each. At the foot of the table are Bermuda who have yet to gain a point.
Top of group B are Namibia who beat Ireland narrowly in their opening match match. Ireland have recovered from this setback to win their other three games but not without a very narrow escape against Italy on Thursday. Scotland are level with Ireland on six points and their clash tomorrow could decide which of them qualify for the qualifier/eliminator stage at the end of the week. Italy, Uganda and Kenya all have four points in this group with the pointless USA and Oman bringing up the rear.
The pivotal game in group A tomorrow is between Afghanistan and Canada with victory for the former making it very likely they will reach the qualifier/eliminators. The format for determining which two teams will go forward to compete in the tournament in Sri Lanka later in the year is less than straight forward but full details are available on the usual websites. Complicated the arrangements may be but like the group matches they are far from drawn out and by next Saturday all will be done and dusted.
My interest in this tournament has not transmitted itself to fellow cricket entusiasts in my local pub and perhaps its significance will not be fully apparent until England come up against 'qualifier two' on September 21st.Title holders against qualifier: banana skin or what?
Top of group B are Namibia who beat Ireland narrowly in their opening match match. Ireland have recovered from this setback to win their other three games but not without a very narrow escape against Italy on Thursday. Scotland are level with Ireland on six points and their clash tomorrow could decide which of them qualify for the qualifier/eliminator stage at the end of the week. Italy, Uganda and Kenya all have four points in this group with the pointless USA and Oman bringing up the rear.
The pivotal game in group A tomorrow is between Afghanistan and Canada with victory for the former making it very likely they will reach the qualifier/eliminators. The format for determining which two teams will go forward to compete in the tournament in Sri Lanka later in the year is less than straight forward but full details are available on the usual websites. Complicated the arrangements may be but like the group matches they are far from drawn out and by next Saturday all will be done and dusted.
My interest in this tournament has not transmitted itself to fellow cricket entusiasts in my local pub and perhaps its significance will not be fully apparent until England come up against 'qualifier two' on September 21st.Title holders against qualifier: banana skin or what?
Thursday 8 March 2012
Short and to the point.
posted by John Winn
The ICC 2007 World Cup lasted just two days short of seven weeks, which according to Wisden was 'as long as the last Olympic Games and football World Cup put together'. If you prefer your cricket tournaments to be more concise than this then may I draw your attention to the World T20 qualifers which begin in UAE next week and in the course of twelve days and seventy two matches will reduce sixteen teams to two, who will qualify to be part of the World T20 to be played later this year.
The first games are on Tuesday when there are four games in Pool A and four in Pool B. Nothing like getting off to a quick start and the pace does not let up for there is cricket every day up to and including the 20th apart from a rest day on the 17th. The group games conclude on the 20th and the deciding playoffs are from the 22nd to the 24th inclusive. A full list of matches is available on the 'Cricket Europe' website together with squad lists. Familiar names include Porterfield, Rankin and O'Brien for Ireland,Coetzer for Scotland and from a Durham member's viewpoint the most interesing, Michael di Venuto for Italy.Reports, results and tables will also appear on the website.Six games in the latter stages will be televised by ESPN and fourteen group matches will be streamed by Quipu TV, a Scottish multi media company.
The ICC 2007 World Cup lasted just two days short of seven weeks, which according to Wisden was 'as long as the last Olympic Games and football World Cup put together'. If you prefer your cricket tournaments to be more concise than this then may I draw your attention to the World T20 qualifers which begin in UAE next week and in the course of twelve days and seventy two matches will reduce sixteen teams to two, who will qualify to be part of the World T20 to be played later this year.
The first games are on Tuesday when there are four games in Pool A and four in Pool B. Nothing like getting off to a quick start and the pace does not let up for there is cricket every day up to and including the 20th apart from a rest day on the 17th. The group games conclude on the 20th and the deciding playoffs are from the 22nd to the 24th inclusive. A full list of matches is available on the 'Cricket Europe' website together with squad lists. Familiar names include Porterfield, Rankin and O'Brien for Ireland,Coetzer for Scotland and from a Durham member's viewpoint the most interesing, Michael di Venuto for Italy.Reports, results and tables will also appear on the website.Six games in the latter stages will be televised by ESPN and fourteen group matches will be streamed by Quipu TV, a Scottish multi media company.
Monday 5 March 2012
PARSEE CRICKET CLUB
By Brian Sanderson,
On Thursday Peter Davies invited a number of people to his birthday lunch in Huddersfield.I was pleased to go and had a excellent Indian meal with good company.
Before I caught the train back to Leeds, I went with Brian Senior to Huddersfield Library.In the local section there was a book about Huddersfield Cricket Club.On opening it I found a fixture against the Parsee Club in 1886.I wondered how this had happen they played a Indian Team.
On the next afternoon I was looking through Cricket magazine for 1886 as one does in afternoon in March. One of the articles mentioned the trip of the Parsee cricketers coming to England.They were to leave Bombay and arrive in London about the 18th of May.Fixtures in the North shown they played Harrogate, Elland ,Hull Middlesborough, Huddersfield and Scarborough.
Te first match was against Lord Sheffield X1 .They lost the match by an innings and
43 runs.It states that five of the team bowled, Messrs. Patell, fast under,Framjee,fast round,Bhedwar, underarm fast,Khambatta,left fast and Morenas.No comment on his bowling.
They played Harrogate on the 9 and 10 June 1886.Harrogate scored 211 and won by an innings and 13 runs.
The next article in the Cricketer on the 19 August heading The Farewell address of vthe Parsee Cricketers.It states the coming over of the Parsee cricket team to England at the expense of time and considerable outlay is a remarkable feature in the history of this country,and marks a new era in the annals of this noble game.They were highly flattered at the reception we received at Cumberland Lodge at the hands of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Christain and also at Sheffield Parkby the Earl of Sheffield.
They stated the Parsees are unanimous in favour of British rule ,for they consider it best not only for themselves but for all the different communities of India.A different world to twitter.
Looking at the Cricket Archive web-site it has the list of the matches of the tour.
The Huddersfield match was played on the 9th and 10th July.Huddersfield scored 302 and the Parsees scored 75 and 59 for 2. It must have rain again in Huddersfield.
The scores were in the Huddersfield Chronicle paper.
On Thursday Peter Davies invited a number of people to his birthday lunch in Huddersfield.I was pleased to go and had a excellent Indian meal with good company.
Before I caught the train back to Leeds, I went with Brian Senior to Huddersfield Library.In the local section there was a book about Huddersfield Cricket Club.On opening it I found a fixture against the Parsee Club in 1886.I wondered how this had happen they played a Indian Team.
On the next afternoon I was looking through Cricket magazine for 1886 as one does in afternoon in March. One of the articles mentioned the trip of the Parsee cricketers coming to England.They were to leave Bombay and arrive in London about the 18th of May.Fixtures in the North shown they played Harrogate, Elland ,Hull Middlesborough, Huddersfield and Scarborough.
Te first match was against Lord Sheffield X1 .They lost the match by an innings and
43 runs.It states that five of the team bowled, Messrs. Patell, fast under,Framjee,fast round,Bhedwar, underarm fast,Khambatta,left fast and Morenas.No comment on his bowling.
They played Harrogate on the 9 and 10 June 1886.Harrogate scored 211 and won by an innings and 13 runs.
The next article in the Cricketer on the 19 August heading The Farewell address of vthe Parsee Cricketers.It states the coming over of the Parsee cricket team to England at the expense of time and considerable outlay is a remarkable feature in the history of this country,and marks a new era in the annals of this noble game.They were highly flattered at the reception we received at Cumberland Lodge at the hands of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Christain and also at Sheffield Parkby the Earl of Sheffield.
They stated the Parsees are unanimous in favour of British rule ,for they consider it best not only for themselves but for all the different communities of India.A different world to twitter.
Looking at the Cricket Archive web-site it has the list of the matches of the tour.
The Huddersfield match was played on the 9th and 10th July.Huddersfield scored 302 and the Parsees scored 75 and 59 for 2. It must have rain again in Huddersfield.
The scores were in the Huddersfield Chronicle paper.
Sunday 4 March 2012
Confessions of a twitterite
posted by John Winn
Worldwide there are over 350 million twitterites (users of twitter) and I'm one of them and have been for about three months. When I joined I sent texts to half a dozen friends who in the main were incredulous that I had taken such a step and I sensed that they thought I had been overcome by a very late midlife crisis. In those three months I have acquired just 13 followers of whom five are unknown to me and whose motives are, I suspect, entirely commercial and in three cases of a dubious nature.
Since it was founded as a social networking site in 2006 Twitter has expanded very rapidly and thanks to the likes of footballer Joey Barton, gained considerable notoriety and/or a reputation of being a vehicle whereby people publish comments on their daily lives of the 'got up, changed my library book, watched Countdown, had supper, went to bed' type.
It can of course be both these things and I would not deny that of the 226 tweets I have posted many will have made little impact beyond a very narrow circle, if as far as that, but of course I think they are terse, pithy and witty comments on the state of the world as seen from the Lower Ure valley. Where I have found twitter very useful, however, is as a source of information, especially cricket information. Of the thirty three individuals or organisations that I follow 13 are direct sources of cricket news and comment and a further five of a general sporting nature. With the use of a mobile phone or pc the touch of one button brings a constant 'timeline' of information, without having to use a search engine or website, from organisations ranging from the ECB to The Nidderdale League. So far today, and it is just early afternoon, I have received 14 cricket tweets, mainly updates from the Australia/Sri Lanka game but typical of tweets I have received in the last few days are as follows
:- Spofforth CC have got winter nets tomorrow
:- Headingley CC are looking for a friendly on 7th or 8th April
:- Total Cricket Scorer version two is now available for iphone and ipad
:- In 1889 the groundsman at Northfields Road, Southampton had his donkey stolen
:- Yorkshire Cricket Board has nearly 1000 followers on Twitter
:- Ossett CC want a local based pro
:- Idle CC need a first team scorer
Finally,and perhaps of greatest interest to the pcw, this season's Ingilby Shield fixture between The Nidderdale League and the league's overseas players will be played at Pateley Bridge on Sunday 8th July.
If all this has not convinced you that tweeting is for you then consider these two non-cricket snippets, Dana was at Frank Carson's funeral and my neighbour who moved to New York in 2010 went shopping at IKEA yesterday. Wow!
Good as I think twitter is for keeeping one up to date the most disappointing piece of news I have heard this week came not from a fellow tweeter, but in an email from Tony Hutton, to the effect that the match between Durham University and Middlesex,arranged for March 31st at Durham and which weeks ago I had earmarked for my first cricket watching of the season, has been switched to a Middlesex home fixture and will now be played at Merchant Taylors' school in Northwood.I am consoled by the fact that I will now be able to attend the Pennine Cricket Conference at The University of Huddersfield and that I need only curb my enthusiasm for cricket until the following Thursday when the curtain goes up at Headingley.Only 32 more days, roll on.
Worldwide there are over 350 million twitterites (users of twitter) and I'm one of them and have been for about three months. When I joined I sent texts to half a dozen friends who in the main were incredulous that I had taken such a step and I sensed that they thought I had been overcome by a very late midlife crisis. In those three months I have acquired just 13 followers of whom five are unknown to me and whose motives are, I suspect, entirely commercial and in three cases of a dubious nature.
Since it was founded as a social networking site in 2006 Twitter has expanded very rapidly and thanks to the likes of footballer Joey Barton, gained considerable notoriety and/or a reputation of being a vehicle whereby people publish comments on their daily lives of the 'got up, changed my library book, watched Countdown, had supper, went to bed' type.
It can of course be both these things and I would not deny that of the 226 tweets I have posted many will have made little impact beyond a very narrow circle, if as far as that, but of course I think they are terse, pithy and witty comments on the state of the world as seen from the Lower Ure valley. Where I have found twitter very useful, however, is as a source of information, especially cricket information. Of the thirty three individuals or organisations that I follow 13 are direct sources of cricket news and comment and a further five of a general sporting nature. With the use of a mobile phone or pc the touch of one button brings a constant 'timeline' of information, without having to use a search engine or website, from organisations ranging from the ECB to The Nidderdale League. So far today, and it is just early afternoon, I have received 14 cricket tweets, mainly updates from the Australia/Sri Lanka game but typical of tweets I have received in the last few days are as follows
:- Spofforth CC have got winter nets tomorrow
:- Headingley CC are looking for a friendly on 7th or 8th April
:- Total Cricket Scorer version two is now available for iphone and ipad
:- In 1889 the groundsman at Northfields Road, Southampton had his donkey stolen
:- Yorkshire Cricket Board has nearly 1000 followers on Twitter
:- Ossett CC want a local based pro
:- Idle CC need a first team scorer
Finally,and perhaps of greatest interest to the pcw, this season's Ingilby Shield fixture between The Nidderdale League and the league's overseas players will be played at Pateley Bridge on Sunday 8th July.
If all this has not convinced you that tweeting is for you then consider these two non-cricket snippets, Dana was at Frank Carson's funeral and my neighbour who moved to New York in 2010 went shopping at IKEA yesterday. Wow!
Good as I think twitter is for keeeping one up to date the most disappointing piece of news I have heard this week came not from a fellow tweeter, but in an email from Tony Hutton, to the effect that the match between Durham University and Middlesex,arranged for March 31st at Durham and which weeks ago I had earmarked for my first cricket watching of the season, has been switched to a Middlesex home fixture and will now be played at Merchant Taylors' school in Northwood.I am consoled by the fact that I will now be able to attend the Pennine Cricket Conference at The University of Huddersfield and that I need only curb my enthusiasm for cricket until the following Thursday when the curtain goes up at Headingley.Only 32 more days, roll on.
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