A day at Maiden Castle.

posted by John Winn

This week's matches between Durham II and Warwickshire II were originally scheduled for The Riverside but preparations for this Saturday's  Jesse J concert (got your ticket?) meant that both the SET and the SEC games were switched to the university sports centre at Maiden Castle, a few minutes bus ride out of the city centre on Stockton Road.

I had last visited the site in the same month that England won the Jules Rimet Trophy to compete in an athletics' meeting. The track is still there but everything else seemed new including the cricket field not to mention the rowing tank and the splendid refreshment facilities.With captain Singh having lost the toss 'yet again' the Bears' cubs chose to bat. Slow to start the tempo never really increased. Mid afternoon my wife texted me to ask how the cricket was going. My reply was 'not very exciting' but that this did not really matter so good was the conversation.There was indeed a good turnout of pcws (North Eastern branch) and seated in the shade, replenished by a good lunch and of course weather that begins to draw comparisons with 1976 for prolonged high temperatures, slow cricket was not really a problem.

Maiden Castle does have its disadvantages for there is no permanent seating and nothing that could really be called a pavilion: the players and scorers were protected from the sun by two gazebos. The pitch was understandably dry and Brathwaite in particular worked up a sharp pace with considerable lift at times. It is understood the Bajan's contract will not be renewed at the end of this season and given the advance of Rushworth, Wood and other youngsters it is not surprising news.

Chief run getter for Warwickshire was Sam Hain, who has an interesting pedigree .Eighteen  earlier this week Hain was born in  Hong Kong but holds  a British passport but was part of the Australian U19 squad last year. He has now committed his future to England and presumably the Bears.

Keeping wicket for Durham was a young man whose name, Tyler Easton, was unknown to most of us but who has shown good form for Redcar in the NYSD this season,  top scoring against Marske with 56. Just a thought but last time I looked, which was only about two weeks ago, Redcar was in Yorkshire.

I left at tea to catch one of the frequent buses that pass the ground and was back in York at 5:30 pleased to have visited a new ground which was shown to its best advantage but  I should mention that it might not be the most favoured of spots on an April day.

The photograph below has no connection with Maiden Castle or yesterday's cricket or even Durham or Warwickshire. The splendid bunch of chaps are Thisk Junction CC winners of the Thirsk and District league in 1933. I include it merely to show I have finally mastered the technology required to upload photographs to the blog. To avoid forgetting the procedures I will need to keep repeating them. You have been warned.