End of the season or end of the road.

Posted by Tony Hutton

John Winn has already summarised the end of season game from Riverside, which I also attended, and has appropriately delved into the past which often throws up arguments which we need to recall in today's debate about county cricket. So many people are opposed to the ridiculous proposal for the so called 'hundred' and wish to protect the historic county championship that surely the powers that be must take notice.

We need to think who the 'powers that be' really are. It is not just the much maligned Messrs Graves and Harrison, but the counties themselves whose representatives attend the decision making meetings. It seems to me that these people do not really represent their clubs and supporters but merely nod their heads in agreement as soon as large sums of money are mentioned. It really is a failure of their duty of care for a very a precious commodity which has caused the current uproar.

As John has rightly pointed out the finish of the one game which went into the final day was happily televised by Sky, after a whole series of intriguing games around the county which all finished in three days. There currently seems to be a swell of opinion in favour of a regular county championship highlights programme, which I have long advocated, to promote the game which means so much to so many people. I can only commend an article by Jonathan Agnew in the new Wisden Monthly which recommends a return to a one division championship, something I agree with wholeheartedly.

However the outlook is not good and one cannot help wondering whether next season really will be the end of the road for county cricket as we know it. However rather than end on a pessimistic note I will give a few thoughts of my own of the game at Riverside, where Durham who were in the ascendancy for so long, contrived to lose the game at the death with a spectacular collapse.

Autumnal sunshine greeted spectators at the Riverside.

Durham v Middlesex has great memories for me as I watched the entire game some three years ago at Lord's when the Welshman James Harris had a memorable day taking 9-34 to help Middlesex to victory. This after Rushworth and Hastings had demolished the home side very cheaply. Harris will not remember this week's game with much affection after being hit on the head and withdrawn from the game for concussion checks. He did however manage to make top score in the Middlesex first innings with 31 out of a lowly total of 121 all out.

The most spectacular dismissal of the innings was that of James Fuller, yet another South African, once of Gloucestershire, who went down the wicket to Salisbury, played a dreadful cross batted heave and had his stumps re-arranged. Salisbury was the best bowler with 6-37 confirming the good impression he has made since joining from Essex, via Hampshire, earlier in the season.

Last man in and Middlesex soon to be all out.

Durham's first innings was built around another South African, Gareth Harte, who scored a workmanlike century, which included good partnerships with both Richardson (50) and Collingwood (32). Collingwood was given a resounding welcome from the Riverside faithful and the Middlesex side, who gave him a guard of honour. He played some characteristic shots, such as the push through mid wicket for easy singles, and a specialist cover-drive standing up tall to drive the ball to the boundary.

Paul Collingwood, always a tower of strength for Durham.

The crowd were momentarily silenced when Collingwood was given out lbw to the lively Ethan Bamber, one of several Berkshire products on the Middlesex books. They were soon on their feet however to applaud him all the way back to the pavilion. At that stage Durham were 201-4 but the momentum continued well until Harte was ninth man out for 112 and Durham had a first innings lead of 189. Thoughts were already turning to the possibility of an innings victory for the home side.

Chris Rushworth, Durham's player of the season will have a testimonial next year.

It was not to be and the final session after tea on day two saw the game swing back very much the visitors way. Not only did they clear the deficit, but were 66 ahead at the close of play with still eight wickets in hand. Steve Eskinaze batted beautifully until the nervous nineties struck and he was caught at slip by Collingwood for 96.  Middlesex added two hundred runs in the final session. Earlier Collingwood brought himself on to bowl and broke the stubborn opening partnership by clean bowling Robson to general acclaim.

The sun still shone on the last day of the season.

Nick Gubbins gave Eskinaze valuable support, while not scoring at quite the same rate. Having been 90 not out Gubbins fell early on the third day lbw b Rushworth for 91, but skipper Malan helped by Martin Andersson pushed Middlesex to a commanding total of 355, which meant that Durham required 167 to win. Thoughts of the extra half hour being claimed to produce victory for the home side were soon put on the back burner when Lees who had started brightly was out for 25.

Steel went into his shell completely and with Harte and Richardson soon gone as well it looked as though captain Collingwood was the last hope of victory. Despite another great welcome he was soon out bowled by Andersson for only 10 and took his last farewell. Durham were 67-4 and despite some resistance from Poynter the rest of the side subsided rapidly to the four pronged Middlesex pace attack of Murtagh, Bamber, Fuller and Andersson. 97-5 and as the long shadows from the pavilion reached the wicket Durham were all out just before six 0'clock for a miserable 109. Middlesex the winners by 57 runs.

Paul Collingwood strides out into the sunshine for his final innings.

Only three overs of spin were bowled in the whole match, by Durham's Steel and subsitute Rayner was not required to bowl, despite snaffling three excellent slip catches. A fascinating game throughout with the twists and turns which make championship cricket such compelling viewing.
The crowd wended their way home, with many farewells and wishes of 'winter well' all around the terraces. The fondest farewell of all of course to Paul Collingwood. One wonders how Durham will fare without him next season.

'Colly' says goodbye for the last time.

Engel's angle

posted by John Winn

A few days ago  I chanced to pluck my copy of Wisden for 1999 from its resting place. Edited at that time by Matthew Engel, one of my favourite cricket writers, it was an extract from 'Notes by the Editor' under the heading 'The house divided' that caught my eye. The subject of the piece was the announcement that counties had voted overwhelmingly in favour of splitting the championship into two divisions. I was not opposed to the idea at the time and there have certainly been plenty of September matches that have been given added lustre because they affected promotion and relegation issues but Engel clearly was opposed and very far seeing in his opposition.

Of the points made in the article the most relevant today is the criticism that counties would be forced into 'short-term decision making as they duck and dive for immediate advantage' and after 19 seasons of two division cricket in my opinion this seems to be more the case than ever with the rash of signings the wealthier counties have made from their poorer brethren with Notts, who appear to have given up all pretence of producing players, the worst culprits. Go to their website where they proudly announce that Joe Clarke of Worcester 'becomes their fourth recent signing....joining Ben Slater, Ben Duckett and Zak Chappell.' What would have happened had Lancashire made 27 more runs in their first innings against Hants earlier this week, thus gaining another batting point and relegating Notts. Are there escape clauses in the contracts signed by the Trent Bridge Four? 

In his final paragraph The Editor again shows remarkable vision, remember this was written almost twenty years ago, when he says 'this makes sense only for those who believe the counties should be heavily weeded, and reduced to a handful of big-city teams.' Two years ago, and I never understood why, the first division was reduced to eight teams with a consequent increase in second division members to ten. At yesterday's meeting of county chairmen it appears the nod was given to a reversal of this change with an agreement that from 2020 the top division will number ten leaving only eight second Division (and class?) counties. To effect this three teams will be promoted from Division Two next year and only one demoted from Division One. Get out while you can lads. 

Whilst this reorganisation seemingly met little if any opposition another issue on the table at yesterday's meeting sparked off some bitter discussion, yes, you've guessed it ,The Hundred was on the agenda. Such was the criticism of this plan to introduce a city based competition in 2020 that Colin Graves was unable to present the championship trophy at the conclusion of the match between Surrey and Essex. There are two theories as to why this was the case

• the meeting, which was held at The Oval,  over ran and Graves was represented by Jim Wood, a non-executive director on the ECB board, although Surrey's Richard Thompson who was at the meeting managed also to be at  the presentation
• Graves did not relish making a public appearance in front of a large number of cricket supporters whose very presence illustrates their appetite a form of cricket which Graves believes to be 'mediocre'. 

You pays your money and you takes your choice and speaking of money the most contentious item at the meeting was the news that the estimated cost of the new competition has risen from £13 million (sic) to over £40 million (sic) and that so heated did the discussion become that Graves appeared visibly upset. If either of these sums of money proves to be near the actual cost when will the competition make money? 

Regular readers will be aware that the end of county and league cricket does not mean there is no cricket to watch for in Wharfdale at least the season another couple of weeks to run. Tony published the fixtures on the blog on September 10th and has already reported from there. If the weather is anything like it is the Lower Ure Valley today there is no finer place to enjoy cricket and think of Keats. 

A winter warmer

posted by John Winn

With the other seven championship matches concluded on Wednesday there could have been an anti-climatic end to the county cricket season but the weather and the cricket at The Oval combined to present first class cricket at its best and served to remind those would see its presence in the calendar diminished even further that it can provide tension to match any other sporting event. Watching the last few overs on tv yesterday afternoon and rooting for Essex gave me a glow that will last well into winter. But I get ahead of myself for I must start by mentioning  three days spent at The Riverside where Durham lost a match on Wednesday evening that since Monday morning they had looked like winning. A family celebration meant I had to leave at tea and thus missed Paul Collingwood's last first class innings, indeed he was dismissed just as I turned on my car radio at Northallerton station, bowled by what sounded like a 'worm burner'. I was, however, present when he led his team out on Monday morning through a guard of honour formed by Middlesex players and there were several opportunities during the three days to applaud his efforts.

The Riverside match in some ways followed the pattern of the game at The Oval: a team bowled out cheaply (121), the team batting second gets a decent score (310), the team batting third gets enough(355) to set a manageable but by no means easy target (167). Alas this time the team batting last are bowled out on a wicket showing a feisty side to its nature. Wouldn't we have loved it if Collingwood had done a ten Doeschate and seen Durham home by one wicket with a beleaguered Rushworth* at the non strikers end?

Last word on the Riverside game has to be of  the incident on Wednesday afternoon when Harris had to leave the field suffering from concussion and we learnt, and apart from a vociferous gentleman next to me must of us were not aware of the regulation, and he was wrong, that in these circumstances the injured player can be replaced not just in the field but also in batting and bowling. Umpires Gough and O'Shaugnessy sought advice from Lords but nobody was available and they decided that Harris, a pace bowler could be replaced by Rayner, a spinner. In the event Rayner scored only two, and didn't bowl but took three slip catches and as John Gawthrope has pointed out Olly is regarded as one of the finest 'slippers' on the circuit. Fine leg at both ends next time.

* Durham's player of the year

Last lap for County Season

posted by John Winn

I must begin by thanking Tony for his kind words following my elevation to 45th in the 'stars' of Yorkshire Cricket in 2018 but any praise should at least be equally shared with my fellow blogger for he has contributed just as much, if not more, than me over the last year. To some 45th might look a bit like 'just crept in' but given that it puts me above Lisa Pearson who represents Todmorden Cricket Club's Red Brick Tea Room it is praise indeed.

Like Tony I was at Headingley yesterday but having waited until I was sure play would start on time I arrived just as Great Ayton's third wicket fell with the score at 23 and it was already beginning to look like an early finish. One can't help wondering why Great Ayton chose to bat on a wicket on which almost 200 overs had been bowled earlier in the week and which had been under cover for almost 48 hours and against an  attack which included Josh Shaw who ten days earlier had bowled creditably in the county championship. After last years' exciting final which Thornes lost only through their slow over rate yesterday served up pretty poor fare on a chilly afternoon and one where I was finally forced into the warmth of the long room, not just to avoid the cold but also the raucous band of Great Ayton supporters who served to remind me why I don't attend T20 Blast games.

Tomorrow sees the start of the last round of championship matches and I shall be at The Riverside in the hope that I will be present to applaud 'Colly' when he leaves the field for the last time. Given Durham's dismal showing against Leicestershire last week that means I will be there for wickets pitched tomorrow. The forecast is for better weather than last week but there are few issues that are not already settled and one wonders which match Sky will chose to cover. Warwickshire v Kent would be my choice for although both are certain of Division 1 cricket next season they are equal on points and Kent have most wins which would be the decider in the event that they tie on points.

Who goes down is still mathematically alive but Yorkshire need only two points from their trip to New Road and given that they have the right to ask Worcestershire to bat some decent bowling may mean those two points are in the bag early doors. Those who follow Tony on Twitter may have seen a posting he made yesterday in which he expressed his hope that Lancs will get maximum points against Hants and Somerset 'thrash player grabbing Notts' to such an extent that Notts go down. He has my full support in this but I'm not holding my breath.

I have no idea who first said that revenge is a dish best served cold but it is a wise maxim and whilst revenge is perhaps not quite the most appropriate word in this context I shall wait a few days until I express my feelings on Notts' apparently shameless recruitment policy. Suffice to say at the moment they have moved above Hants in my disaffections.

Champions of Yorkshire

Posted by Tony Hutton

First of all congratulations to fellow blogger John Winn for being named in the Cricket Yorkshire website's top 50 people who have contributed to cricket in the county this season. A well deserved reward for John, who always keeps us entertained with his erudite match reports, as well as pointing out the errors of the ECB policy makers in no uncertain manner. He is also not far from a lifetime achievement award in now being only two matches away from seeing every first class county play every other county. The two division structure has handicapped this impressive achievement, but who knows what the future holds. A return to one division only would help John's cause.

John Winn in winter garb at Boxing Day cricket.

Nice to see Cricket Yorkshire's top award going to another unsung hero - Colin Frank of Pickering and Yorkshire over 60s. Colin has scored over 1300 runs this season in all forms of cricket and I have had the pleasure of seeing him score consistently for Yorkshire over 60s, including a memorable century against Durham at Shotley Bridge.

Colin Frank acknowledges the applause at Shotley Bridge.

Yesterday saw the final of the Yorkshire Premier Leagues Championship at Headingley between Great Ayton of the North Yorkshire and South Durham League and Wakefield Thornes of the Yorkshire Premier League South. In truth this game proved to be something of a non-event, decided very early on when Great Ayton's top order collapsed in rapid fashion.

The excellent match programme gave details of the two clubs' histories and pen pictures of all the players. Possibly the most remarkable fact emerging being that the two county players Josh Shaw and Jared Warner both started with Wakefield Thornes at the age of seven. They have obviously stuck with them through thick and thin over the years, even though not available on a regular basis now, and it was a nice touch to see them batting together as the Thornes achieved an easy victory by seven wickets.

The game was played on the same wicket used by Yorkshire and Hampshire earlier in the week and it was difficult to tell whether this had any effect on the early batting collapse. As it was Mahmood Rasool and Josh Shaw made good use of the conditions with three wickets each and in no time at all Great Ayton were 25-5, with both former Yorkshire Academy players Batchelor and Holdsworth out.

Skipper Jon Grainge and Andrew Liddle, brother of the Gloucestershire player, added some respectability at the end of the innings with 17 and 20 not out respectively. Liddle hit a good straight six into the building works, but it was too little too late and Ayton were all out for 97 in the 27th over of what should have been a 50 overs a side contest. Left arm spinner Steve Morgan also took three wickets in an efficient all round performance by Thornes. Top score extras with 26!

As presumably Mrs Mulholland's excellent lunch was not yet ready, Thornes came out after a 15 minute break to chase down this modest target. Batting still did not look easy and Jared Warner took some time to get going. Wolfenden was out for 20 bowled by Sri Lankan Jeewantha at 29-1, but this only brought in prolific run scorer David Toft at number three. He eased his way to 28 before being caught behind off Batchelor, but by then the game was almost over and despite Jordan going cheaply, Thornes strolled to victory in the 25th over.

Warner, who never found it easy, made 28 not out and partnered by Shaw, 9 not out, took the applause as Thornes emerged as Yorkshire Champions yet again after their previous success in 2016. Full marks to them not only for today but for their performances throughout the season in the Yorkshire League South.

Another Headingley wash out.

Posted by Tony Hutton

Wednesday 19th September and back at Headingley for day two of the Championship match with Hampshire. As John Winn has already reported Yorkshire had been dismissed for 184 on day one, with Hampshire in reply struggling at 79-5. This morning three more wickets fell fairly quickly, all of them to Bresnan in an inspired spell, so that Hampshire were 110-8 and a reasonable first innings lead for Yorkshire looked likely.

Bresnan left the field for attention and Hampshire seemed to be let off the hook for a while as Berg in particular proved difficult to dislodge. After Waite managed to get rid of the American/Australian Holland, Coad eventually did the trick having Berg lbw for 25. Hampshire were all out for 157 and Yorkshire had a lead of 27. It was noticeable that the Yorkshire flag was flying in splendid isolation with no sign of a Hampshire version, this prompted the thought with all Hampshire's overseas players that a United Nations flag might be more appropriate for them.

The new stand gets bigger every day.

Yorkshire batted again and took their time against the South African Abbott and the West Indian Edwards. Lyth looked comfortable but the New Zealander Raval less so and he was caught behind off Edwards for only 9. Brook, after his first innings failure, started well and hit six fours before being caught behind soon after Dawson was introduced to the attack. The same bowler also got rid of Ballance cheaply. Kohler Cadmore made a brisk 33 before also being caught behind this time off Holland and Yorkshire ended the day on 172-4, with Lyth 60 not out.

On day three play was only possible up till lunchtime, when the rains arrived promptly as forecast and brought an end to the game completely as no play was possible on day four following heavy rain overnight. A sad end to the season which started in the same vein when the University match and the Essex game were both abandoned without a ball being bowled. Yet another complaint from the members huddled in the Long Room regarding the lack of public address within the building. You can hear it clearly outside, but not a word inside unlike the admirable facilities provided by Durham at the Riverside.

Another library picture, on a day when the sun shone.

Hampshire's stand in wicket keeper Aneurin Donald, recently signed from Glamorgan, dropped a couple of catches and Dawson, the suffering bowler also had a confident lbw appeal turned down when Lyth was in the nineties, Yorkshire were able to bat out the morning with ease. This was mainly due to an excellent partnership between Lyth, who completed his first century of the season in style, despite a few escapes along the way, and Johnny Tattersall, now looking a permanent fixture in the side. The running between wickets was exemplary and Tattersall fell just short of his fifty, with the score on 265-5. Only two more runs were added and that was that, Adam Lyth an excellent 134 not out. Eight points to each side for the draw and Yorkshire go to Worcester in search of just two more points to ensure first division survival.

Yorkshire seconds get blown away at Scarborough

Posted by Tony Hutton

We made a good choice to go to Scarborough on day one of the three day second eleven friendly game with Durham. Tuesday 18th September had a definite end of season feel about it, with the handful of hard core spectators sheltering from the strong wind either at the Trafalgar Square end or in the comfort of the pavilion. First impressions were that Yorkshire looked a little short of batting with only four specialist batsmen included, but not for the first time we were proved totally wrong.

Ben Birkhead, who has done so well both as wicket keeper/batsman and captain of the Academy side this season made a useful 32 in an opening partnership of 55 with Tom Loten, not usually an opener.
Loten progressed slowly to 44 in company with the impressive George Hill, who we have seen score a lot of runs this season. We have seen him score three centuries for different teams, but a possible fourth was just out of reach when he was given out lbw for 79.

By the time he was out he had put on a century partnership with Jack Leaning, who batted on for the rest of the day to complete a hard earned century. A bright and breezy 34 from Mathew Fisher kept the score pushing along against a variety of Durham bowlers. In fact ten of their twelve man squad turned their arms over during the day, including no less than three slow left armers in Hussain, Trevaskis and Ahmed.

Flags flying proudly in the strong wind.

Despite the wind, the sun shone for most of the day, and ensconced in the upstairs pavilion bar, surrounded by all the many photographs of famous cricketers from the past, proved a comfortable way to spend our final session of the season at Scarborough. Shaw and Leaning continued to pile up the runs against bowlers struggling in the persistent cross wind from the west. Our last view of the sea, during the tea interval, saw it as calm as a mill pond with the off shore breeze having no effect on the water whatsoever.

The following day, by which time we were back at Headingley for Yorkshire v Hampshire, Yorkshire batted on and reached 492-7 with Shaw also completing a century. Durham batted for about an hour before lunch to make 50-2. After the interval only a couple of overs were bowled before the wind gained in strength and made it impossible for the players to continue. The covers were being blown in the air, and later the sight screens were blown over which brought an early conclusion to the day's proceedings.

Apparently on day three, in much calmer conditions, play continued to mid-afternoon before the rains came and the match was abandoned as a draw. In the play that was possible wicket keeper Ryan Davies made an excellent century, 142 in all, with good support from Scott Steel who made 66. The tail rather collapsed to 295 all out with Leaning picking up three cheap wickets at the end. Not much joy for either of the two recent signings, Poysden and Pillans, who have yet to make any impression.

Batsmen get the wind up.

posted by John Winn

In four of the eight championship matches which started yesterday the team batting first was dismissed for under 200. Headingley was one such match but here Yorkshire, dismissed for 184 in what my newspaper describes as a 'battle for survival', fought back by taking five wickets before stumps and might be said to have a slight advantage when play resumes this morning.

After a delayed start and early lunch the game got underway at 12:40 with 80 overs to be played and tea fixed for 3:10. That Hampshire would exercise their right to insert was hardly in doubt, although interestingly a coin was flipped in 50% of the games, and that they would rely on an attack in which none of the bowlers were born in  England almost certain and it was not long before Yorkshire were two down. Raval who has at most three innings left to avoid being spoken of in the same breath as Brathwaite, was bowled by Abbot for 8 and Brook, dropped first ball off the same bowler managed to get down to the other end before being bowled second ball by Edwards for 0.  A feature of the Yorkshire innings was the high number of batsmen who had their furniture rearranged, six in all, three to Fidel.

Lyth and Balance pulled things round with a stand of 48 but then three wickets fell for two runs and we sought comfort in Worcestershire's woe at Chelmsford where they had chosen to bat. Bresnan and Waite stopped the rot before becoming further victims of the expensive but dangerous Edwards. A bit of tail end resistance brought hope of a batting point but Abbott returned to settle Brooks' hash and unsettle his stumps. Top scorer was Ballance with 30 and in the process he passed 10000 first class runs. Most economical of the bowlers was Holland, probably the first man born in Wisconsin to take 2 for 16 off 12 overs including 8 maidens at Headingley on a Tuesday.

By the time Yorkshire took the field the sun had finally won its battle with the clouds, assisted by a very strong wind which made one admire the courage of the men working on cherry pickers constructing the new stand. Weatherley and Soames opened for Hants, the latter playing only his third championship match but after some quickfire stuff from the former, Brooks, who else, made the breakthrough, Coad had Soames caught behind and Adams went caught Brook bowled Brooks. Vince looked the part but Northeast whose move from Kent has hardly set the Solent on fire, was removed by Bresnan and before the close Tim had added Vince to his tally. By the time the 80 overs had been completed Hants trailed by 105 and Yorkshire will be hopeful that not too much of that is whittled away this morning. Perhaps worth bearing in mind that Hampshire won the corresponding match last season after being more than one hundred in deficit on first innings.

I believe this is what is known as a library picture. In other words it has appeared on the blog before and sadly does not accurately reflect yesterday's crowd. 

Time warp at Arthington

Posted by Tony Hutton

Sunday 16th September at Arthington cricket club for the opening game of their end of season festival of friendly cricket, which goes on until mid-October. I have been coming here for twenty years now and nothing much has changed, even the weather, which is usually kind, seemed to change for the better as we came over the hill from damp and cloudy Leeds. Only a handful of spectators for this first game against Romany, one of the last of the wandering Sunday sides. The numbers will slowly increase over the next few weeks as the regulars become aware that league cricket has ended and that Arthington is here again.

The rural ground, with a large collection of sheep at one end, is situated in the grounds of Arthington Hall and across the road from Arthington church, now converted from Church of England to the Coptic Church, with quite a few children present this afternoon. Arthington are batting and the personnel hardly seem to have changed over the last twenty years. Joe Nash and Geoff Barker open the batting and standing as umpire, although still playing as well, Martin Binks club secretary for many years, but now secretary of the extensive Nidderdale League which runs to eight divisions over a large area of North Yorkshire.

Martin is a man of many parts, not only long serving conductor of the Leeds Symphony Orchestra, but a wicket keeper to boot, not bad for a man in his late seventies. The much improved club's website informs us that Martin made his 400th appearance for the club in July. It also rather unkindly dwells on his batting ability, which one could say is almost non-existent. He has in fact played 130 innings and scored a total of 130 runs at an average of 2.22. Sadly we are not given the number of victims he has taken behind the stumps which will be quite considerable.

Martin Binks on the right.

The merger with Hawksworth cricket club in recent years means that Arthington now field a first and second eleven in the Nidderdale League and both have been extremely successful. It has also prolonged the careers of 'golden oldies' like Martin and the even older Dennis Nash, who is still taking wickets for the second team, while the youngsters have produced two promotions in the last two seasons for the first team. The website confirms that Dennis had taken 396 wickets for the club a few weeks ago, so I assume he must now have passed the 400 mark.

Dennis Nash in bowling action.

The action continued on the field with perfectionist Geoff Barker, taking his time as usual. Joe Nash was replaced by the considerable presence of Vince Greaves-Newell and the runs were flowing at a positive rate, with the mixture of youth and experience in the Romany side not looking to pose many threats to the batsmen. Dennis Nash also came out to do his stint as umpire, meaning that the combined ages of the two officials were now in the region of 160, but none the worse for that!

The Arthington irregulars.

Another perennial batsman, Andrew Stothard, who must also have at least twenty years service in the festival, appears, also large in stature and perhaps a little slower between the wickets but always adding to the entertainment which continues unabated until the end of the forty overs. A useful total of almost 200 with only four wickets down was quite acceptable. Sadly another regular performer of years gone by, Stephen Bindman, was only among the spectators today but he put us all right about the state of Yorkshire county cricket.

Not quite the same without Mr Bindman on the field.

As the players took tea, admirably produced as ever by Mrs Nash, it was time to leave. The result does not really matter, but we will hear about it later in the week and will certainly be back next weekend for more of the same.

Not so quiet flows the Don

posted by John Winn

An early start from home on Saturday morning got me to Doncaster Town CC's ground well in advance of the 11:00 start and equally importantly before any extra traffic generated by racing enthusiasts heading for the St Leger. Coffee in hand I recognised several familiar faces from York, conversation with whom revealed slightly less than their usual confidence in the  outcome of their semi final with Wakefield Thornes.

Champions of Yorkshire Premier North v those of Yorkshire Premier South was a juicy morsel for any pcw especially one like me for whom this was a first visit to the ground. In the past when I have mentioned that Donny was still on my list the response had usually been to the effect that I hadn't missed much. I was pleasantly surprised therefore on arrival to find a ground looking in decent shape with  a well appointed clubhouse,  large playing area and certainly ready to host a semi final. A £1 bought me an informative programme and  as early as 10:30 refreshments were available and those participating included some who judging by their dress were having a couple of sharpeners before moving up the road to the racecourse.

York batted first against the pace and aggression of Josh Shaw and nagging accuracy of Mahmood Rasool and the early loss of Duncan Snell brought young Finlay Bean to the crease and although he stayed a while he managed only three before he was out leaving the board showing 23 for 2, the runs mainly thanks to Jack Leaning. The Yorkshire batsman was joined by Nick James who, perhaps out of character built his innings very carefully leaving the run getting largely to Leaning. Slow scoring, a turgid over rate and Thornes' incessant inane chatter made for poor entertainment and well before the York innings ended Plan B was in operation. Suffice to say 54 from Leaning, 50 from Tom Brooks and lower order runs for Toby Giddings got York up to 201 for 7 off their allotted fifty overs.

Opener James Wolfenden hit 80 for Wakefield and with Jared Warner he put on 97 for the first wicket, a decent sized bite out of the target. A steady 39 for Matthew Jordan helped by a generous portion of wides got Thornes home with four wickets and 15 balls to spare. They will now play Great Ayton at Headingley on Saturday. For what it's worth the forecast is for sunny intervals and 15 degrees c.

Doncaster Town CC

The execution of Plan B did involve me in negotiating some race traffic but I was fairly quickly heading north east out of Doncaster following the path of the River Don to my first stop and a Pontefract League Division Two game between hosts Barnby Dun and Knottingley Town. Barnby were batting and a wicket fell just as I arrived to a catch that would have graced the T20 finals at Edgbaston, 65 for 2 and a bit of drizzle in the air. A Knottingley source, third man, told me that this was the penultimate game of the season and although there was not much at stake for either side the play was keen and as is usually the case in this league there were two official umpires. The ground is not over blessed with charm, the heavily fortified pavilion and score board see to that, but the game rattled along at a good pace with Barnby Dun on their way to 229 all out to which Knottingley could only muster 153 in reply. The league table shows Knottingley 7th and Barnby 8th. Promotion celebrations next Saturday night look most likely to be at Darton and Rothwell, two unvisited grounds for me. 

From Barnby Dun it is but a short trip to Hatfield and with some difficulty I found the Carr Side Lane ground of Hatfield Town CC.

Division Four on offer here with a second team game between Hatfield and Frickley. Frickley were batting and were 135 for 4 off 31 overs. I enjoyed watching a young bowler, aged about 12, pit his wits against some experienced batting and he recovered from somebody making a hash of a catch in the deep to capture a wicket while I watched. Four wickets in the end for Josh Platt but Frickley's 233 for 7 was a decent score and too many for Hatfield who were 190 for 8 when stumps were pulled. 16 points for Frickley and 5 for Hatfield  which leaves Frickley second and I think assured of promotion. Hatfield are in the bottom two and I suspect they will be relegated. 

My last call of the day was to another new ground, this time at Fishlake and of the three minor league grounds I visited this would get highest marks. 

The premises are shared with a bowling club and they were in action too. A change of leagues here with a South Yorkshire Cricket League Division Seven game between Fishlake II and Dearne II with both teams highlighted in pink in the table, near the bottom in other words. Pleasing to see a number of youngsters in the field for Dearne and enjoying what proved to be a thriller. Dearne were batting and made 221 for 8 off their 40 overs. In reply the hosts fell just one short with five wickets in hand when their 40 overs were up.

If you followed Twitter over the weekend especially late on Saturday evening you might have got the impression that following the final of the T20 Blast the season was over but far from it of course with several leagues not finishing until next Saturday, some important finals to be played and of course two rounds of championship cricket to be played starting tomorrow. Easy choice for me: Headingley for all four days, although Thursday's forecast doesn't look too good, and a reasonable return of points from this match with Hants and next week's trip to New Road should see Yorkshire safe. Wearing my second division hat I would say that Sussex v Warwickshire holds the most interest in that division. Sussex have had a bad few days; losing to Durham and in the final of the Blast. 21 points behind Kent and a further 12 behind Warwickshire it will need a rallying cry from Dizzy if their season is not to finish in disappointment.

Premier Leagues play-off semi-final

Posted by Tony Hutton

What has now become the traditional end of season Yorkshire premier leagues champions play-off competition got under way at North Marine Road, Scarborough on Saturday 15th September.
Such is the complexity of including the North Yorkshire & South Durham League in this entirely Yorkshire based competition, means that the actual champions, Barnard Castle, are not allowed to compete due to being situated north of the River Tees and in county Durham.

In their place we have runners up Great Ayton, which despite the modern anachronisms of Teeside and Cleveland, were originally well inside North Yorkshire. Again we seem to be falling into the football trap where the Champions League includes teams which are not in fact champions. Be that as it may, there were no doubts about their opponents Pudsey St Lawrence, who were well and truly Bradford League champions after a close run thing.

The other semi-final was between the two Yorkshire Premier Leagues, North and South, at the ground of Doncaster Town and assuming he traversed the St Leger race traffic, hopefully John Winn will be reporting on that game.

Great Ayton (on the left) and Pudsey St Lawrence line up before the semi-final at Scarborough.

Great Ayton, famous as the boyhood home of Captain Cook, batted first and the innings initially seemed to stumble along somewhat as opener Thompson was run out with the total on 28 when both batsmen were making for the same end. Chris Batchelor, a former graduate of the Yorkshire Academy, who has given Great Ayton great service over the years, was caught behind off the bowling of first change Charlie Parker, followed quickly by Leng for a duck. Ayton were now 54-3 and in some difficulties.

Great Ayton.

Enter Mitchell Davis, from Brisbane, playing as an overseas amateur and looking full of runs. He batted beautifully to make by far the top score of the day with 79, before being caught by Waite in the deep off skipper Chris Marsden. His partnership with the Sri Lankan Jeewantha turned the game back Great Ayton's way as they put on 75 together. After a bright and breezy 18 from heavyweight Steve Pennock at number six, the Ayton innings rather fell away against Pudsey's three spinnners.

Pudsey St Lawrence.

Skipper Chris Marsden, another former Yorkshire Academy player, destroyed the tail very rapidly after initially taking the valuable wicket of Davis. He finished with by far the best figures of the day with 5-28 and led his team off the field no doubt thinking they were favourites to go through to the final chasing a relatively modest total of 179.

Chris Marsden leads Saint Lawrence off the field.

Ayton got off to a great start dismissing opener Waite bowled by Marsay for just one, thus splitting up the powerful opening pair who do so well for Pudsey. His prolific partner, Mark Robertshaw, stayed around for some time, but lost Best and county player Thompson, to a disputed lbw decision, with the score on 54-3. Batchelor, who had dismissed Thompson, then struck another vital blow by removing Robertshaw caught behind for 39.

Number six Harry Cullingford, a youngster who achieved fame last season for a double century in a record breaking partnership during a second eleven cup game, stuck around in very dour fashion.
He scored few runs but held one end up while the middle-order of Jim Smith, Chris Marsden and Charlie Parker all got quick runs, but not really enough. Marsden went clean bowled after a huge swing and the return of Great Ayton's opening bowlers, Marsay and Jeewantha finished off the innings very rapidly. Jeewantha taking 4-34 and Marsay 4-48.

Marsden clean bowled for 23.

The game almost over with nine wickets down.

Great Ayton were worthy winners by a margin of only 18 runs and produced a real team effort. Pudsey were let down by some of their big name players, who did not perform, and sadly several members of the side were guilty of showing dissent of varying degrees following their dismissals.

Great Ayton will now face the winners of today's other semi-final at Doncaster, in the final next Saturday at Headingley.

Two wins in two days.

posted by John Winn

On Tuesday I arrived at Headingley in time for coffee before the slightly delayed start of the second day of The Roses Match. Gloom was in the air with Yorkshire having been bowled out fairly cheaply on the opening day and Lancashire having made inroads without loss. Probably no need to tell you that the gloom was soon lifted by Brooks and that Lancashire's advantage was much smaller than feared. Like England Yorkshire have a top three problem at the moment and the men concerned Lyth, Raval and Brook were soon gone but the day and the game were rescued by KC and Ballance. 272 all out was enough to set Lancashire more than they had scored in the first innings, often a tough target.

Meanwhile on Wednesday I drove to Darlington from where I was transported to The Riverside by my friend Alan Pinkney in time to make our way to the lower east side where the sun eventually found us and from where we had a good view of the proceedings Tony has described in his latest posting. For me, Durham born, it was special to be there when Patel took the final wicket, for it was the first time I had seen The Prince Bishops clinch victory since they beat Surrey two years ago, just a week before the ECB came down savagely on the county with fines, points deductions and demotion to Division Two, a move that has left their players open to poaching by other counties.

By the time I reached home on Wednesday evening Ben Coad had swung events at Headingley to the point where Thursday looked like being a catching up day but after a couple of pints on Wednesday evening with Messrs Gawthrope and Bartle I had begun to take a rain check on that position. A text from JG that included the words 'happy to drive' and I was as good as at Headingley which come 1025 yesterday I was, samosa in hand. 40 minutes play later the first division table  looked much better through white rose tinted specs. For Lancs, with just one game left, trips to Wantage Road, The Riverside and Grace Road look more than likely in 2019. By the time they play their final match at Southampton on Monday week 'more than likely' might have become 'definite'.

Holders maintain grip on Kerridge Cup

posted by John Winn

The Kerridge Cup, the premier ko competition for the NYSD League has been played for since 1920. The cup itself was presented by Charles Kerridge JP of Marske and its early days it attracted crowds of over 3000 but nothing like that many were present when this year's final was played at Northallerton last Sunday. The contestants on a somewhat cool afternoon were holders Richmondshire and Middlesbrough who with 17 wins to their credit have won the competition more than any other club.

Taking shelter from the stiff breeze I was joined by Tony and Jennifer and league cricket mastermind Steve Mashiter. Richmondshire batted first and lost both openers Robert Carr and Gary Pratt with the score at 33. Indeed the latter might have gone even  earlier had not the umpire disagreed with everybody else on the ground that he was caught behind, an incident that brought on a fit of toddler tantrums from bowler Jamie Burke. Enter Matthew McKiernan who it has thought has aroused the interest of Yorkshire CCC, rightly so for there were over 200 on the board before he was dismissed for 87. He received good support from Matthew Cowling, 71 not out, as the pair added 128 for the fourth wicket. A couple of catches went down and when the innings closed after forty overs on 231 for 5 the expert opinion was that that would be too much for Middlesbrough for that man McKiernan would 'tie them in knots' with his leg spin.

The Middlesbrough innings followed a similar pattern to that of The Dalesmen, two down for 39, both to Robert West, followed by a substantial partnership between Gleeson and Reeves and at 150 for 2 the group of 'Boro supporters camped next to us were looking reasonably chipper. But while McKiernan didn't' induce  a granny or a reef he went for less than four an over off his permitted ten overs and we reached a point where victory was still possible but unlikely for the men in black and who thought that colour was a good idea?

Coloured clothing not to everyone's taste.

An excellent catch by Cowling in the deep got rid of Gleeson and while South African Steve Reeves muscled in on the act with 83 not out wickets fell at the other end and Middlesbrough pulled up 23 short and the task of polishing the handsome trophy will fall to Richmondshire for the next twelve months.

Congratulations to Northallerton on their staging of the final, shame more weren't there to see it, and especially to the ground staff for producing a wicket that yielded almost 450 runs at this late stage in the season.

A sleuth* of Bears

posted by John Winn

An early start on Monday took me to a small café close to Grace Road in time for a bacon sandwich before the gates were open for the championship match between Leicestershire and Warwickshire, Foxes v Bears, match 151 of 153 in my pursuit of seeing every county play every other county at least once.

Asked to show my membership card at the sentry box I staggered the gate man by offering to pay, clearly a rare occurrence and £12 later I had the pick of the seats. It had been six years since I was last here (Leicestershire v Hants), but reassuringly little had changed. The same man in a white coat guarding the access to the dressing rooms but otherwise steward free and I took 'my usual seat' on the benches in front of the pavilion where in time I was joined by three men who reminded me of the trio in JS Finch's excellent book 'Three Men at The Match'. Leicester Tigers men rather than Leicester City and grateful that I could identify former Durham man Usman 'Benny' Arshad, one of three newcomers to the Leicestershire ranks.

Almost inevitably Leicestershire were asked to bat and Warwickshire's formidable pace attack, augmented by Woakes,  could not wait to start. Barker, fired up by an endless supply of drinks and bananas from his manservant, started the procession of Foxes' batters to and from the pavilion with the dismissal of Dearden then Ackerman and if an attack of Barker, Woakes, Stone, and Wright isn't bad enough, Cosgrove, not the quickest mover at the best of times, was caught dawdling by a direct hit from Woakes . A short story cut even shorter and Leicestershire were 100 out, a score reached in mid afternoon by Warwickshire without loss, Sibley and Rhodes to thank. Fortified by a piece of cake and a cup of tea served by men who looked uncomfortable in aprons marked 'Friends of Grace Road' I stayed until the tea interval, delayed by the over rate, before heading back up the A46. 

Two matches to go both involving Somerset who despite a two day defeat by Hants are still favourites to finish second in the championship and therefore you might think unlikely to play Leicestershire or Gloucestershire in the near future. If that is your mindset hold this thought, Lancashire finished second last year. 

* sleuth is the collective noun for a group of bears and my visit to Grace Road means I have now seen Warwickshire play every other county, a journey that started at Edgbaston in 1991 when the visitors were Glamorgan. In the meantime I have seen The Bears at places like Tunbridge Wells, Chesterfield, Ilford and Southampton Northlands Road. Happy Days.

Durham turn the tables yet again

Posted by Tony Hutton

Tuesday 11th September and glad to be back at the Riverside for day two of Durham v Sussex.
Day one had been a dark and dismal day with only 27 overs bowled and Durham in deep trouble on
82-7 against a Sussex side with promotion hopes, despite now falling behind Warwickshire and Kent.

Ollie Robinson, who had a brief spell with Yorkshire seconds earlier in his career, soon finished off the Durham innings, removing Poynter lbw and clean bowling both Rimmington and Salisbury.
Durham all out for just 103, so no bonus points for them, but a five wicket haul for Robinson, who had figures of 11.4-3-29-5.

Ollie Robinson leading the Sussex side off the field.

So by five minutes to eleven, Sussex were going out to bat with youngsters Tom Haines and Phil Salt.
The unfortunate Haines was on his way back just five balls later when Chris Rushworth had him caught behind for 0. Salt managed to get to 20 before his was well caught by Clark, again off Rushworth and Sussex were 29-2. Worse was to follow with Wells out to the very next ball, bowled by Salisbury as Sussex became 29-3.

Salt and Haines go out to bat, but not for long.

Some resistance was shown briefly by  Harry Finch and former Loughborough University man Mike Burgess, before Finch became yet another Rushworth victim, clean bowled for 12, shortly followed by skipper Ben Brown lbw b  Rushworth for 10 and Sussex at this stage were 65-5. Burgess and Jordan also became Rushworth victims, both out to good catches by Clark and Smith and first innings lead looked in doubt with a score of 86-7.

Rushworth, who bowled unchanged for 13 overs throughout the innings, looked like beating his previous best bowling figures of 9-52. He bowled Archer for nought and then had Robinson caught at slip by Collingwood, after wicket keeper Poynton had flicked the ball in the air. However Salisbury returned to dismiss South African David Wiese, who top scored with 25. The visitors tailenders just scraped a small lead of 19 when they were all out for 122.

Rushworth received a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the field, holding the ball aloft, following a wonderful bowling display with figures of 13-3-51-8. Later in the day it was announced that he had been voted player of the month by Durham supporters and had also been granted a testimonial next season. A well deserved reward for this very popular player with all at Durham.

Chris Rushworth leaves the field after a great bowling performance.

So by early afternoon Durham were out batting again and this time made a much better fist of things thanks to Cameron Steel and Alex Lees. The varied Sussex pace attack did not appear to be getting much movement of the ball after the devastation of the earlier part of the day and it came as something of a surprise when Lees was out to the last ball before tea with Durham on 72-1.

The Yorkshireman obviously did not think he had got a touch when given out caught behind off Robinson, and appeared to be giving the umpire the hard stare repeatedly as he left the field.
Nevertheless he had helped Durham forge a strong foundation for the second innings and during the process passed 5000 runs in first class matches. Cameron Steel, who had played the minor role in the partnership was still there at the close of play, having passed the century mark, as Durham advanced to 220-4.

The following day, when we were back at Headingley for the Roses match, we followed the scores from Riverside closely and were delighted with an all out total of 340, of which Steel scored an excellent 160. Sussex, needing 332 to win, were in deep trouble straightaway when Rushworth and Salisbury blasted out Salt, Wells and Finch for ducks and the total 11-3. Things didn't get much better and despite 40 from opener Haines and 24 from Weise, Sussex succumbed very rapidly to 135 all out.

This time Rushworth was satisfied with just 4-49 as Indian spinner Patel finished the game off with 3-27 leaving Sussex in tatters to lose the match by 186 runs. Full marks to Durham for yet another great fightback, which has become their trademark of the season and to the hero of the hour Chris Rushworth.

Arthington festival fixtures 2018

Posted by Tony Hutton

Many thanks to Martin Binks for providing the attached Arthington fixtures.

Arthington is situated north of Leeds between Pool in Wharfedale and Harewood on the A659 opposite Arthington church. The festival continues to mid-October and to our knowledge this is usually the latest date cricket is played anywhere in England. It is always an enjoyable experience and often patronised by professional cricket watchers from all over the North of England.

Arthington play in the Nidderdale League and have achieved promotion for the second season running and will therefore compete in the dizzy heights of the Third Division next season. Their final league match against Studley Royal Third eleven will take place at home on Saturday 22nd September.

The following is a list of the friendly festival games:-

Sunday 16/9  v Romany

Sunday 23/9 v Halifax Nomads

Saturday 29/9 v The Hawks

Sunday 30/9 v The Druids

Saturday 6th October - to be confirmed.

Sunday 7th October v King James CC, Bishop Auckland.

Saturday 13th October v Cambridge Road Methodists

Sunday 14th October v St Georges Church

The September games usually start at 1-30 and the October games at 1-00 but these times can vary.

Northern tour - part two

Posted by Tony Hutton

Saturday 1st September and off to pastures new hopefully. Plan A was to see some club cricket in Cumbria followed by a couple of days at Cumberland's Minor Counties game with Lincolnshire at Carlisle on Sunday and Monday. Unfortunately for once the weather intervened, something we have not been used to over most of the season.

We were heading for the Eden Valley league and with two o'clock starts still in force, had plenty of time in hand on arriving in Carlisle. We decided to head north over the border into Scotland as far as Langholm the most northerly ground in the league. After a scenic drive the light rain arrived just as we approached this attractive ground, situated in the middle of an old racecourse alongside the river Esk. Obviously a good place to watch cricket on a fine day, but sadly this was not it. The mist came down on the hillsides all around and the persistent drizzle continued so we soon returned into England.

Rockcliffe cricket ground - subject to flooding from the nearby river Eden.

Next stop was Rockcliffe almost on the Solway estuary not far north of Carlisle, where the home side were due to entertain Kirby Stephen. With both sides in the top three of the league table this seemed likely to be the match of the day. However, although the rain had stopped when we got there,we were soon told the game was off. When both teams had arrived it was raining heavily and they had quickly called it off. I was aware that this ground flooded regularly, being so near the river but thought they might have waited a bit longer before abandoning ship. The sign on the pavilion shows the club's aptly chosen nickname - 'The Swans'.

Rockcliffe pavilion - back to basics.

After this we decided to head inland where it looked brighter and eventually found cricket in play at Lanercost adjacent to the famous priory, where there is an attractive cafe which provided some welcoming refreshment. Nothing to write home about with a second XI match between Lanercost and Caldbeck, which John Winn visited recently, but plenty of runs being scored on the artificial wicket which was unaffected by the earlier rain.

Lanercost pavilion.

Rural setting at Lanercost

At least we had found some cricket and a bit later on returning to Carlisle found that Carlisle first eleven were playing Cockermouth at Edenside in a game which ended with Cockermouth as league champions of the North Lancashire and Cumbria league, having won sixteen of their twenty games.
Carlisle made 177-5 in a game limited to 40 overs per side and Cockermouth 178-3 in 37 overs.
For the visitors Greg Platten made 76 and Cumberland player Marcus Stables 52 not out.

The pavilion at Edenside, Carlisle.

The following day we were back at Edenside for the Minor Counties game, but again the weather delayed the start. Lincolnshire the Eastern Division league leaders, but only by a few points, were obviously anxious to get started but when they did found run scoring rather difficult. Louis Kimber, who had scored a huge century in very quick time in a T20 game earlier in the season, made heavy weather of things. However he managed to hang around as wickets fell around him to make a most valuable top score of 68.

Lincolnshire batting against the background of the ski slope at Edenside.

Veteran Chris Hodgson bowled almost unchanged from one end and finished with an analysis of
32-5-72-4, a real marathon effort. He was helped by new opening bowler Ryan Maddock from Ormskirk who finished with 14-6-20-4, a fine effort on debut. When rain returned later to bring an early finish on Sunday, we could not have imagined that there would be no play at all on Monday due to persistent drizzle all day. Very disappointing for all concerned, but we put Plan B into operation and enjoyed an interesting day in Carlisle, visiting the Cathedral, excellent Museum and the Castle which all provided an excellent day out.

Day three on Tuesday, when we had set off for Durham, managed to produce a most unlikely result. Lincolnshire declaring on 231-8, then both teams forfeited an innings leaving Cumberland chasing 232 in 70 odd overs. With the title at stake Lincolnshire pulled out all the stops and bowled the home side out for 178 in 63 overs taking 18 points to keep them just ahead of Staffordshire and Suffolk who both won their games with 22 points each. Lincolnshire will now play the Western Division champions Berkshire, in a replay of last seasons final, in a four day match at Banbury starting on Sunday 16th September.

Meanwhile we were off to Riverside, Chester le Street, for the four day county second eleven championship final between Durham seconds and Essex seconds. A handful of spectators, never exceeding fifty on the first two days and somewhat less on day three saw a fascinating contest between two young sides. The weather by this time had returned to normal and we were blessed with two and a half days of almost constant sunshine.

Essex batted first and lost wickets quickly against the Durham pace attack spearheaded by Josh Coughlin who took four wickets by which time Essex were 98-5. After that they collapsed completely against the left arm spin of George Harding, who took 4-20 in just seven overs. Essex were all out for 130 and feelings were that the game could be all over in two or at most three days.

September sunshine at the Riverside.

Durham established a comfortable first innings lead, although it was hard work at first and opener Jones played a marathon innings of 2 hours and 40 minutes in compiling just 46 runs. It was left to wicket keeper Davies and Coughlin to accelerate the scoring rate which they did with a vengeance. They put on a hundred partnership, Davies making 83, with fifteen fours and Coughlin 68 with ten fours. Durham 263 all out, a lead of 133.

Hard work for Jones - 22 not out in 31 overs.

Fielding by numbers for the Essex slip cordon.

Thoughts of an innings victory for the home side were soon gone in the final session of day two when Beard and Kushi came together with the score on 72-2. The both batted through to close of play, having completed fifty each and looked in total control of the situation. Day three started again in hot sunshine and the two youngsters were in complete control both batting throughout the morning session with first Beard, the left hander, and then Kushi reaching their centuries. Durham rang the changes with nine bowlers but could not make any breakthrough.

Beard takes the run to bring up his century.

Kushi kisses the ground on reaching his century.

The two century makers return to the pavilion for lunch. Kushi on the left, Beard on the right.

Things changed after lunch when the partnership of 249 was finally broken and the rest of the innings just fell away with skipper Pringle taking four wickets near the end. Durham's overseas player Rimmington, took no part on day one when apparently confirmation was awaited that he was eligible to play. When he did appear on day two he was out for a duck and although bowling economically did not look like taking wickets.

One lady watches the cricket while the other concentrates on her knitting.

By this time we were heading for home as Durham began their chase of a target just short of 250. Not unreasonable one thought with plenty of time to go in this four day game. However now was the time for Essex's more experienced players Matt Coles and New Zealander Quinn to come to the party.
Coles, once talked of as an England player when with Kent, has moved twice since to Hampshire and then Essex without really pulling up any trees. He proved effective here though and by taking four wickets before the close, along with three for Quinn, looked to be taking Essex to victory.

Day four brought a long delay for rain and it must have been very frustrating for Essex, who had turned the game on it's head. When play finally started late in the day they needed just three more wickets for victory. Coles soon repeated his first innings feat of five wickets by bowling Coughlin, after Rimmington was dismissed for ten by Quinn. However, there was yet another twist in the tail.
Durham were in a hopeless position with 136-9, but McBride who defended stoutly for almost two hours was assisted by last man Whitehead for the last half hour and they managed to bat out time for a draw.

Durham were awarded the second eleven title due to their first innings lead, which all seems a bit unjust on Essex, who one feels should at least have shared the honours. Who said cricket's a funny old game?