Spectators 7 Players 1

posted by John Winn

Two weeks since I visited Arthington and bemoaned the speed with which winter seemed to have come upon us. Not so. Yesterday was the 'season of mists' at its best with warm sunshine and the trees doing their best to make this little corner of Yorkshire look like New England. Only one thing was missing as five of us assembled shortly before the one o'clock start: there was no cricket .Rain earleir in the week had caused the game to be called off on Friday. Ian from The Duchy of Lancaster had travelled furthest and arrived first and had already inspected the wicket before the rest of us arrived. He was able to confirm that there was standing water on an adjacent wicket.

Following a demonstration of motor cross from Mr Bindman we considered what alternatives the afternoon might offer. Ian knew that there was no game at Harewood which ruled out cricket. By this time Martin Binks had arrived to say that he had phoned a number of people to let them know that the game had been cancelled  and expressed his regret that he was unable to get in touch with everybody. To try and prevent unnecessary journeys in the future, particularly this afternoon,  he kindly passed on his mobile number.

Just as we were dispersing, Eddie and June arrived to swell the crowd  to seven, excluding Martin that is. I settled for going home and mowing the grass for what I hope will be the last time this year and to follow the fortunes of Darlington 1883* on twitter. Outside it is a beautiful autumn morning so let's hope that the sun is strong enough to make play against Doghouse CC possible this afternoon.

Whilst I can bring you no description of events on the field there is plenty to keep the game to the front of the mind of the pcw. It is  T20 finals in Sri Lanka today of course and as I type Yorkshire are playing a warm up game in South Africa as preparation for their part in The Champions League T20 where they start in earnest on Tuesday with a game against Sri Lankan side Uva Next. For those with access to Sky this game can  be seen live on British Eurosport 2 at 12:20 pm. Whether their involvement in the tournament will prevent Yorkshire signing another pace bowler this week remanis to be seen.

Interesting piece in The Cricket Paper this week by Paul Nixon drawing comparisons between Saj Mahmood and Yorkshire's latest signing Liam Plunkett. 'The perfect move for all concerned' says Nixon of Plunkett's arrival at Headingley.Mmmm says me. Good for Plunkett ? Yes, given Durham were going to ship him out anyway. Good for Durham? Yes a big earner off the payroll who only bowled twelve overs in the championship this summer and who even if he had been fit would not, I suspect,  have fitted into Admiral Collingwood's side where the emphasis has been on bowlers who can exercise control. Good for Yorkshire? Only time will tell but I remember clearly an afternoon at Headingley in 2003 when an 18 year old Plunkett took four wickets in nine balls to open the door to Durham's first championship win over Yorkshire in  eleven attempts. Ten years on it may be too much to expect Plunkett to achieve those kind of feats again but he is no mean no 8 or 9 bat and a good fielder. After all  he was born south of the River Tees so 'coming home' may just be the ticket that will get him  to the front of those queueing to take the new ball. Perm any one from four, Sidebottom, Patterson, Ashraf and Brooks and that assumes Shahzad won't be coming back.

No sign of next year's domestic fixtures yet but bit by bit the season's structure is emerging with dates announced for T20 and CB 40 finals. It seems likely that the season will start a week later this year, with the first championship matches on or about the 9th of April, and go on a week later in September. Meteorologically speaking the merits of this are, of course, impossible to call but personally I still prefer the idea of watching in mid September to the first week in April. The rain should be warmer if nothing else.

* OK if you insist, they won 7-1