Visiting the Durham University ground at Maiden Castle on a glorious day last July I remarked in my posting that it might not be such a welcoming spot in April but encouraged by Our Hartlepool Correspondent I travelled north on Monday for a match between Durham CC II and the University second eleven. Although there was a cool breeze at times, the sun shone and after lunch it was pleasantly warm.
The students' first XI were in action against Cambridge U at The Racecourse and if you wanted cricket played on reasonably even terms I suspect that might have been a much better bet than the fare on offer at Maiden Castle. Although Gordon Muchall has only a part time contract with the county side these days he had been included in the squad that travelled to Northampton for Durham's opening match in their defence of the title gained last year and after the early loss of Clark (G or J I'm not sure) he blasted the undergraduate bowling to all parts and even further and there were still ten minutes to go to lunch when he reached his century. He was partnered initially by Rammy Singh and then by the powerful shoulders of Ryan Pringle and the score board rattled along at over seven an over throughout the afternoon.
I left at tea by which time the score was over 450 and with only three wickets down. At number five for DCCC was trialist Callum Macleod who was with Warwickshire five years ago and has performed some impressive deeds for Scotland including a score of 175 against Canada in an LOI. Durham declared and at the close the University were 26 for1. I received a phone call at lunch on the second day from OHC to say that they had been bowled out for 77, a first innings deficit of close to 500. What happened after that I don't know and don't care overmuch.
Saturday sees the start of the season for most leagues and I am planning a trip to the Clitheroe area for some action in The Ribblesdale and Craven Leagues. The forecast is for it to be dry and the outlook for Sunday seems to suggest that the rain will be confined to London and the south east in which case we might get a full day at Headingley when Northants come to town for the first time in Division 1 since 2005. As I type they are making a decent fist of securing a draw in their opening match against Durham. As in the first innings Robert Newton is offering stubborn defence, not bad for a man batting with a parrot on his shoulder.
To finish with a carp: the Durham University Centre of Excellence could not offer a scorecard, the students had no twelfth man so when one of their number sustained an injury Clark, who had missed the gravy train in the morning, had to field for them, they had no scorer and the scoreboard could not display the unit digits. If that's excellence then I hope I never see shoddy.
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