First live cricket of the season

 Posted by Tony Hutton

Having enviously watched pre-season games going on in constant sunshine from the Midlands and the south of England on live streaming, it was a great relief to get our first live cricket of the season on Sunday. It was day two of a pre-season friendly between Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire at Trent Bridge. With the clocks having gone forward during the evening, Sunday morning proved an almost traffic free journey south to enable us to have our morning coffee in the Trent Bridge Long Room well before play started.

Warwickshire take the field at Trent Bridge.

The sunshine of the previous week had given way to cloudy skies with a slight chill in the air during the morning session, but the sun reappeared during the afternoon session. As ever the rules of these pre-season matches seem to be made up as the game goes along and it was explained over the public address that after yesterday's game, when Warwickshire declared after 57.2 overs and Notts then had 30 overs, a similar format would take place in a new game today.

The teams line up, with a few more names added later.

So Nottinghamshire started a new innings and batted for 60 overs to be followed by 28 overs for the visitors before play ended. All rather strange with players coming and going or not re-appearing and both sides changing wicketkeepers during the day. All very interesting nevertheless with a certain amount of detective work necessary to keep up with all this. However the newly arrived second eleven annual proved excellent ammunition as ever in identifying players we had not seen before.

Play get's underway at Trent Bridge.

Slater and Hameed had scored runs yesterday so were not given a second knock, but Duckett who had made 42 not out yesterday, carried on for ten more overs before retiring out on 28. Clarke played a rather  tedious innings of 28 before being dismissed by the England Under 19 spinner Jacob Bethell, who bowled a very tidy spell of fourteen overs. Lyndon James, a rare local lad, got more of a move on with a more aggressive 42 before retiring. Club captain Steven Mullaney started very slowly but eventually got to 50 just before the end of the innings declaration on 192-5.

Warwickshire bobble hats were popular with the support staff.

One or two newcomers had appeared in the Warwickshire ranks, Chris Benjamin taking over as wicketkeeper from Burgess (who was wearing Sibley's shirt) and Bulpitt a left arm seamer (wearing Sidebottom's shirt and later Garrett's sweater), joined the attack. Another complete newcomer to us was Zaman Akhter, another left arm seam bowler, who has played one first class match for Oxford University, games for Cambridgeshire in the National Counties and for the England XI which played in a European T10 competition. Hard to keep up with all this I know!

The sun appeared during the afternoon session.

However, during the late afternoon sunshine the game drifted to a predictable draw, with Warwickshire making 115-3. The major contributors being Burgess, with some good hitting in his 60, before retiring and the opening bat Rob Yates, who had impressed us several times in the past, with 38 not out. A mixed bag of Nottinghamshire bowlers all bowled about five overs each, including a newcomer from Somerset in James Hayes. Luke Fletcher and Brett Hutton the two main seam bowlers were rested after playing in the three day game with Loughborough University last week.

Best part of the day. Trent Bridge at it's best.

One change of personnel we were not aware of until later was that Nottinghamshire's wicketkeeping duties were taken over by a young man called Dane Schadendorf, from Zimbabwe, in place of Tom Moores. Dane is the younger brother of Jayden Schadendorf, who has played for Notts seconds since 2019.

A sparse crowd of course for a match with little purpose only to give everyone involved some match practice before the more serious business starts, but the diehards who did attend all enjoyed renewing the sights and sounds of county cricket. Whatever the pundits and prophets of gloom may say, after another England dismal performance in the West Indies, county cricket is still the bedrock of cricket in this country and long may it continue.

County cricket returns

 Posted by Tony Hutton

For those of us suffering from a sort of overkill of Test cricket, from both the West Indies and Pakistan, where the endless chatter of the ever increasing number of commentators and summarisers often leads to a sort of numbness of the brain, relief is at hand. Today saw the first games of friendly cricket between counties preparing for the forthcoming season. The sun shone and a full morning's play took place at Taunton, Canterbury and Southampton.

The added bonus has been the live streaming from the first two games with no commentary whatsoever. The games proceeding in total silence. Full scorecards are available on the live.nvplay website, so the spectators can try and work out what is happening for themselves. No adverts, no irrelevant conversations, but identifying the players can sometimes be a bit of a puzzle.

Warwickshire's Henry Brookes bowling to Daniel Bell-Drummond.

The non-striker on the above rather poor picture is labelled as Jack Leaning, recently appointed vice captain of Kent and actually captaining them in the current game. When he appeared to be batting left handed I became somewhat suspicious and when he removed his helmet it clearly was not Leaning. The nvplay scorecard told me it was in fact Ben Compton, grandson of the great Dennis, and recently arrived from Nottinghamshire.

Will Rhodes bowling to Compton (not Leaning).

The Warwickshire wicketkeeper was wearing a shirt with the name Sibley on his back. Sibley, remember him opening for England not long ago, was not even listed as playing in the game and it looked more like the bulky shape of regular wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. New recruit Alex Davies, from Lancashire, obviously playing as a batsman. However good to see everyone back in action with former Yorkshire players Hannon-Dolby and skipper Will Rhodes getting a bowl before lunch. Kent were progressing nicely just after lunch at 83-0.

Meanwhile at Taunton, with a slightly different camera angle, Somerset were batting against Glamorgan. Lammonby and Green put on sixty for the first wicket and the latest there is currently 93-2. Good to see Harris, returning from Middlesex, bowling for his native county again. Glamorgan also now have Sam Northeast among their ranks and they will be looking for more runs from Billy Root in the coming season.

At the Ageas Bowl, no live streaming to be found, but Gloucestershire were batting and currently have 95-4 on the board. Wickets for Fuller, Currie and the ever reliable Barker for Hampshire already. Charlesworth, Bracey and Hammond all making useful contributions already for Gloucester.

Australians in Carlisle 1926

Posted by Tony Hutton

Came across this team picture of the Australian cricket tourists of 1926 recently. It was taken at Edenside, the Carlisle cricket ground, where the penultimate match of a long tour was played on 16th September 1926. It was a one day friendly game against G. Palmer's XI, which contained many well known county and Test cricketers.

The Australians at Carlisle.

Back row - Oldfield, Andrews, Palmer (scorer), Richardson, Woodfull and Taylor.

Front row - Everitt, Mailey, Smith, Macartney, Ryder and Ponsford.

The Australian side throughout the tour was heavily reliant on a powerful batting line up which included such luminaries as Woodfull, Bardsley, McCartney and Ponsford. The strength of the bowling, apart from all rounder Gregory, was very much in the hands of the two spinners Grimmett and Mailey. The first four Test matches were all drawn and the final game at the Oval was set to be a 'timeless Test', in order to obtain a result.

It started on Saturday 14th August, with a rest day on the Sunday, and was actually concluded within four days play, with a remarkable victory for England. The home side were dismissed for 280 on the first day, Yorkshire's Herbert Sutcliffe top scoring with 76. Arthur Mailey bowled a marathon spell to take 6-138 and Grimmett took 2-74, both of them bowling 33 overs. Australia took a first innings lead with 302. The early batting let them down but Gregory with 73 and skipper Collins with 61 contributed well against the bowling of Larwood, Tate and the 48 year old Wilfred Rhodes.

England's second innings saw a match winning opening partnership of 172 between Hobbs and Sutcliffe. Hobbs making exactly 100 and Sutcliffe 161. Mailey (3-128) and Grimmett (3-108) again toiled away, but England finished on 436 all out, leaving Australia with the daunting prospect of 365 to win the match and the Ashes. However the bowling of Larwood and Rhodes soon dismissed the much vaunted Australian top order on 35-4 and England emerged as emphatic victors by a margin of 289 runs, as Australia were dismissed for 125 (Larwood 3-34, Rhodes 4-44).

The tour then proceeded for another month and the Australians arrived at Carlisle in mid-September after an exhausting tour of southern England and ahead of the final game against the North of Scotland two days later. Palmer's XI batted first and took all of 62 overs to compile a score of 197-5 declared. Yorkshire's Percy Holmes made 94 and Herbert Sutcliffe, batting at number five, gave the Aussies some respite with only 12. Other Yorkshiremen in the side were Roy Kilner and George Macauley, as well as other notables like Patsy Hendren, George Gunn, and Charlie Parker.

The Australians, no doubt rather weary, fielded their manager Sydney Smith to make up the side, but it was George Macartney, who won the game with a splendid innings of 106 in only ninety minutes, taking the visitors to victory on 207-4 in only 37 overs. Obviously a great day for the locals to see such players as Macartney, Ponsford, Woodfull, Oldfield and Mailey in action on the Edenside ground.

Yorkshire county cricket saga rumbles on

 Posted by Tony Hutton

One of the many casualties of the ongoing saga concerning Yorkshire county cricket club has been the lack of anyone with the necessary know how to plan the cricket at lower levels, which includes the Second eleven and the Academy side. The Yorkshire website has always been rather slow to keep members informed, so in a way nothing changes with the lack of Second eleven and Academy fixtures on the website. Obviously this is no doubt regarded as somewhat trivial, given the host of problems the new management team face.

Headingley in 1930.

Fortunately the excellent Cricket Archive site recently published the full list of county second eleven fixtures, which shows that Yorkshire have eight four day championship fixtures, four at home and four away but of course no venues for the home matches yet appear. Not surprising when the man who arranged all this, Ian Dews, was one of the many victims of Lord Patel's purge. In addition the Seconds' T20 fixtures are somewhat confusing, in that some involve two games in one day and others only one.

However, no doubt all will be revealed in due course, shortly before the season actually gets underway. Many members will no doubt be equally confused by the bulky literature received by post or by e-mail which tries to cover all the many concerns involving the much postponed Emergency General Meeting.

Without wishing to get too involved in all the legal arguments, it does appear to me that the members are being blackmailed into voting not only for the vastly changed board, but to absolve the new management from any blame for the illegal actions they took rather too hastily at the very beginning. Failure to vote in favour of all this risks losing the Test match status and probably the very existence of the club, due to the intransigent attitude of the ECB and the misguided Parliamentary Committee.

No doubt the majority of members will vote in favour of everything to enable the club to continue, but they may not realise exactly what these votes mean. What does leave a nasty taste is the way in which former officers and members of the club have been treated by what was supposed to be a new inclusive attitude. Far from it, I would say, when anyone with contrary views are insulted by being called 'old guard' or 'obstructive' just for airing completely reasonable opinions. Few signs of inclusivity there.

Obviously there was need for a change of attitude, but so far many of the changes appear more divisive than ever. A little more sense of reconciliation might have gone a long way to improve the situation. However, cricket lovers will soldier on, come what may, and look forward to days in the sun, even if it does mean for some of us long journeys to Durham, where we know we can enjoy our cricket.

More signs of Spring

 posted by John Winn

Tony has nicely turned our thoughts towards the 2022 season which, with a bit of luck, should be a bit more like normal. With March having opened its doors it is possible to say that the county championship begins next month, in 31 days to be exact and if first class cricket begins then can league cricket be far behind? Not too far behind for a check through the North East and Yorkshire reveals that many leagues are scheduled to start on the traditional third Saturday of April which falls on the 16th this year. Some leagues have not yet posted their fixtures but those that will start in under six weeks  include

Aire Wharfe, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, Yorkshire Premier League (South), North Yorkshire South Durham, North East Premier, 

on April 23rd

York Vale, Yorkshire Premier League (North), York Senior, Dales Council, Pontefract and District, Craven League, Leeds and Wetherby

Good Watching

Three cricketing greats.

 Posted by Tony Hutton

At a time of great turmoil in the world, as well as the current problems in cricket, it is sad to report the passing of three truly great cricketers. Great is a word perhaps used far to often these days, but in this case I think most people will agree that Sonny Ramadhin, Rod Marsh and Shane Warne all fall well within this category.

I first came across Sonny Ramadhin during the memorable 1950 West Indies tour of England when 'those two little pals of mine, Ramadhin and Valentine' destroyed the England batting, I memorably saw him in action two years later in a benefit match in the Birmingham area, where he actually opened the batting (probably for the only time in his career). Sadly he was out first ball but compensated by taking five wickets, together with four from Alf Valentine. Inevitably bowling in his cap with shirt sleeves buttoned at the wrist, he puzzled batsmen, both at Test level and in league cricket, for many years to come.

Sonny Ramadhin

He settled in the village of Delph, then in West Yorkshire, and ran a pub there for many years, plying his trade in endless leagues throughout Lancashire, Yorkshire and North Staffordshire. The last time I saw him was at Nelson cricket club, where he sat quietly on his own, away from the spectators, to watch his grandson Kyle Hogg playing for a Lancashire age group side. 

Ramadhin was a quiet man, which is something you would not associate with Rod Marsh, the Australian wicketkeeper and later a cricket coach. Marsh certainly made his presence felt on the cricket field, never more than when keeping wicket to the two hostile pacemen Lillee and Thompson. The picture below, taken by Patrick Eager, shows a memorable catch during the 1975 World Cup semi-final at Headingley. Marsh dismisses Tony Greig, from the bowling of Gary Gilmour, who had a field day, with a brilliant dive across in front of a wide first slip.

A classic Rod Marsh catch.

Many years later I had a brief conversation with Rod at his office in Dubai, during his spell as coach with the I.C.C. Academy. More soft spoken than you would imagine, he obviously thought deeply about cricket coaching, which he practised with success in both Australia and England.

Soon after Marsh's death was announced a message of sympathy was sent by Shane Warne from his holiday home in Thailand. Only hours later it became known that Warne himself had passed away following a heart attack at the early age of 52. This news was a great shock to cricket followers in both Australia and England, indeed throughout the world. His performances for Australia of course broke all records and he is fondly remembered in Hampshire where as ever he led from the front.

Shane Warne

Probably my first memory of the great man came at the Gabba in Brisbane in November 1994 during the first Test of that winter's series. England were up against it from day one and Warne had only a modest return in the first innings with 3-39. However as England tried hard to fight back in the second innings, he not only dismissed the top five of Atherton, Stewart, Hick, Thorpe and Gooch, but finished with figures of 8-71 to set the tone not only for the series, but for years to come as well.

His combative on field style together with his controversial off field activities were not to everyone's taste, but it cannot be denied that he re-invented the difficult art of leg spin bowling and inspired youngster's around the world to follow in his footsteps. The ball of the century, when he dismissed Mike Gatting, will never be forgotten.