Saturday, 24 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
One Nelluva day!
Surrey v Northants: Day Three at the Brit Oval
I’m so glad I took a half day from work, even although nothing much actually happened for the majority of it from a Surrey point of view! Okay, I was feeling ill and headachy until after the lunch break, and fell asleep on the fold-down bed (which I managed to break for the second time in the space of a week) but to be honest I don’t think I missed that much by the sound of it. Churchy’s got such a soothing voice that I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. I wonder if he’s considered a sideline career in doing audio books? Get him to read ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’ and ‘Mog The Forgetful Cat’ to the kids: he’d make a fortune!
What I did gather from when I was actually awake was that Surrey had one wicket to get in the Northants first innings. It took a bit of time but you always felt it was a formality, really. Possibly that’s why I kept zedding all the time! I did actually hear Brooks’ departure, with Batty picking up another wicket: his fifth in the game as it turned out. Brooks likes to tonk the ball about a bit looking at the shots he played: four 4s and three 6s are not bad from a tail ender! But at the end of the day all Northants managed to achieve was one solitary batting point, and Surrey were quick to stick them in and have another crack at them.
I was going to use the old simile of ‘three busses turning up at once’, but perhaps I’d better not. In Edinburgh we’re still waiting for our trams to arrive. If Surrey waited for a wicket as long as we will have to wait for the work in the city centre to finish, they could have expected to dismiss Peters sometime in 2013...
As it happens it did seem that was the way it was going to pan out. Cricketers must have incredible patience and concentration. For so long nothing happened, and I was reduced to waking myself up with the sound of my own snoring (which quite disgusted my cat who was sleeping on the chair in the same room), punctuated with pleas to the cricket gods to grant Surrey a wicket or two before the heavens opened again. And then, lo and behold, from out of nowhere Peters was dispatched with typical Günter efficiency for 50. It was as if the cap had been unscrewed on a violently shaken bottle of Diet Pepsi, for no sooner had the pressure been released by the wicket of Peters than Howgego was Howgegone!
Wait...this gets better.
Sales went for a duck, bowled by Tremlett. And then Tremlett also got White, whom he’d almost managed to turn into a eunuch with his previous delivery, for a resounding zero! Four wickets gone with no further runs added! Tremlett and Nel must be one of the bowling duos you’d least like to face on the county circuit at the moment. Even when hobbling like Long John Silver Andre gives it everything, and Tremlett has become increasingly accurate and economical the more he’s played.
And then there’s Stuart Meaker. Gareth Batty had a pretty fine haul of wickets today, but then so did Meaks. With five down you really felt Surrey had a really good chance of finishing the game with a day off for good behaviour. If it wasn’t quite ‘start the coach time’ you were probably thinking that the Northants driver was behind the wheel! And sure enough, another little clump of wickets fell in the same way they had in the first innings: Wakely out for 7 runs to a catch by Nel that sounded as if it was right out the top drawer! Sometimes you feel it’s a bit of a pity that the cameras are static and focussed on the middle in the replays, and I guess this is one of those times! And then shortly afterwards Hall departed for 2, with Meaker taking another. It all seemed a little too good to be true; although Chigumbura tried to show the same stubbornness he had whilst occupying the crease the day before. When he went for 25 it was definitely looking like a Surrey victory was inexorably heading the way of the home team.
There remained the small matter of Murphy, whom Meaker removed for 8, Lucas (brilliantly caught by Afzaal for 14) and Brooks (brilliantly but hilariously not-caught by Afzaal). Poor old Usman has had a mixed game: failing with the bat yet again but always seemingly popping up at a vital moment to claim a wicket, take a catch or turn himself into a two-seater propeller aeroplane. The non-catch, following almost immediately from his sublime take of Murphy, reduced Tremlett (and Mark Church) to tears of laughter. Considering someone once said that Afzaal’s fielding reminded them of ‘a bear doing aerobics’ he’s probably not done too badly!
Brooks and Middlebrook appeared determined to delay the expected outcome, but it was inevitable that the final wicket would fall to Afzaal, and to be caught by man-of-the-match Ramprakash. Did Afzaal run after him for his customary hug? I don’t know, because just as inevitably I was sitting down to tea when the last wicket fell! Grrrrrrrr!
So, there you have it. A win for Surrey by one innings and 175 runs, I kid you not! If it was an episode of a Dynasty-style soap opera, the credits would go up with RHB and Spriegel as the young, dashing brothers, Nel and Tremlett two nightclub bouncers, Batty as the local sheriff, Meaker as his apprentice, M R Ramprakash as the lord of the manner and Afzaal as...er...the one with big shoulder pads. But even if the massive total was built upon Ramps’ hefty 248 the fact is this was a triumph for the whole team: their first at the Oval since back in 2007! Every one of them contributed to the win in some way.
Even the lemon tree on the boundary bowed its branches in respect!
I’m so glad I took a half day from work, even although nothing much actually happened for the majority of it from a Surrey point of view! Okay, I was feeling ill and headachy until after the lunch break, and fell asleep on the fold-down bed (which I managed to break for the second time in the space of a week) but to be honest I don’t think I missed that much by the sound of it. Churchy’s got such a soothing voice that I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. I wonder if he’s considered a sideline career in doing audio books? Get him to read ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’ and ‘Mog The Forgetful Cat’ to the kids: he’d make a fortune!
What I did gather from when I was actually awake was that Surrey had one wicket to get in the Northants first innings. It took a bit of time but you always felt it was a formality, really. Possibly that’s why I kept zedding all the time! I did actually hear Brooks’ departure, with Batty picking up another wicket: his fifth in the game as it turned out. Brooks likes to tonk the ball about a bit looking at the shots he played: four 4s and three 6s are not bad from a tail ender! But at the end of the day all Northants managed to achieve was one solitary batting point, and Surrey were quick to stick them in and have another crack at them.
I was going to use the old simile of ‘three busses turning up at once’, but perhaps I’d better not. In Edinburgh we’re still waiting for our trams to arrive. If Surrey waited for a wicket as long as we will have to wait for the work in the city centre to finish, they could have expected to dismiss Peters sometime in 2013...
As it happens it did seem that was the way it was going to pan out. Cricketers must have incredible patience and concentration. For so long nothing happened, and I was reduced to waking myself up with the sound of my own snoring (which quite disgusted my cat who was sleeping on the chair in the same room), punctuated with pleas to the cricket gods to grant Surrey a wicket or two before the heavens opened again. And then, lo and behold, from out of nowhere Peters was dispatched with typical Günter efficiency for 50. It was as if the cap had been unscrewed on a violently shaken bottle of Diet Pepsi, for no sooner had the pressure been released by the wicket of Peters than Howgego was Howgegone!
Wait...this gets better.
Sales went for a duck, bowled by Tremlett. And then Tremlett also got White, whom he’d almost managed to turn into a eunuch with his previous delivery, for a resounding zero! Four wickets gone with no further runs added! Tremlett and Nel must be one of the bowling duos you’d least like to face on the county circuit at the moment. Even when hobbling like Long John Silver Andre gives it everything, and Tremlett has become increasingly accurate and economical the more he’s played.
And then there’s Stuart Meaker. Gareth Batty had a pretty fine haul of wickets today, but then so did Meaks. With five down you really felt Surrey had a really good chance of finishing the game with a day off for good behaviour. If it wasn’t quite ‘start the coach time’ you were probably thinking that the Northants driver was behind the wheel! And sure enough, another little clump of wickets fell in the same way they had in the first innings: Wakely out for 7 runs to a catch by Nel that sounded as if it was right out the top drawer! Sometimes you feel it’s a bit of a pity that the cameras are static and focussed on the middle in the replays, and I guess this is one of those times! And then shortly afterwards Hall departed for 2, with Meaker taking another. It all seemed a little too good to be true; although Chigumbura tried to show the same stubbornness he had whilst occupying the crease the day before. When he went for 25 it was definitely looking like a Surrey victory was inexorably heading the way of the home team.
There remained the small matter of Murphy, whom Meaker removed for 8, Lucas (brilliantly caught by Afzaal for 14) and Brooks (brilliantly but hilariously not-caught by Afzaal). Poor old Usman has had a mixed game: failing with the bat yet again but always seemingly popping up at a vital moment to claim a wicket, take a catch or turn himself into a two-seater propeller aeroplane. The non-catch, following almost immediately from his sublime take of Murphy, reduced Tremlett (and Mark Church) to tears of laughter. Considering someone once said that Afzaal’s fielding reminded them of ‘a bear doing aerobics’ he’s probably not done too badly!
Brooks and Middlebrook appeared determined to delay the expected outcome, but it was inevitable that the final wicket would fall to Afzaal, and to be caught by man-of-the-match Ramprakash. Did Afzaal run after him for his customary hug? I don’t know, because just as inevitably I was sitting down to tea when the last wicket fell! Grrrrrrrr!
So, there you have it. A win for Surrey by one innings and 175 runs, I kid you not! If it was an episode of a Dynasty-style soap opera, the credits would go up with RHB and Spriegel as the young, dashing brothers, Nel and Tremlett two nightclub bouncers, Batty as the local sheriff, Meaker as his apprentice, M R Ramprakash as the lord of the manner and Afzaal as...er...the one with big shoulder pads. But even if the massive total was built upon Ramps’ hefty 248 the fact is this was a triumph for the whole team: their first at the Oval since back in 2007! Every one of them contributed to the win in some way.
Even the lemon tree on the boundary bowed its branches in respect!
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Monstered!
Surrey v Northants: Day Two
That Coke and ice must have done the trick last night.
Poor old Northants. They put in a whole lot of effort for very little return today. From a Surrey point of view it really couldn’t have gone much better! There’s not much really to add in terms of the batting except to say a huge congratulations to Matthew Spriegel (or Matthew Treacle as my increasingly deaf mother believes he’s called) on a wonderful hundred. There must be something about batting alongside Mr Ramprakash that brings out the best in the younger players, but the credit here goes to Spriegs for a really impressive innings.
Perhaps there was something in the air though, as he got to 103 just like the skipper the day before and then was dismissed by – you guessed it – Chigumbura.
Gareth Batty took his place at the crease and kept Ramps company, whilst shortly before lunch the maestro brought up a magnificent double ton. I’m pretty sure Mr R went to lunch on 205 not out...but then the next time I looked (what could only have been 15 mins later) he was on 240 plus! I was almost certain that the BBC cards must have been mistaken, but it appears he must have gone out after lunch and just tonked the ball to all parts, knowing that the declaration was coming, and it was only when he went for 248 that I realised there wasn’t a fault in the site at all! It looks as if Surrey pulled the plug as soon as Ramps lost his wicket, leaving Gareth Batty not out on 48, some 200 runs behind his batting companion.
The coup de grace for Northants came when, with the exception of the odd little partnership, their batting faltered on a regular basis. Howgego went for 12 early in proceedings, whilst Wakely stabilised matters with Peters until caught behind for a well made 50. Sales short-changed himself, making only 7, and then the huge wicket of Peters (who was Mr Ramprakash’s nearest division two challenger) fell for 41. Suddenly you felt the middle order had been exposed by some determined Surrey bowling. Chigumbura sounded a class act but was yorked expertly by Tremlett who, with his very next delivery, removed Hall from the equation. So often this has been the story that Surrey has faced, so it made a refreshing change to see lady luck on the side of the home team!
Andre Nel, still sounding a little bit sore with his hamstring problem, claimed two wickets today; one of them being White for 16, and then at the close of play Batty had Middlebrook trapped lbw for 13. The bowling honours were fairly evenly split, with Tremlett and Nel on two apiece, Meaker claiming one wicket and Batty with three. At the end Northants closed on 174 for 8, and when you consider the monster 620 set by Surrey in their first and probably only innings, it looks as if hardly a dent has been made in the deficit! Wow! I was going to say “is this really Surrey” but of course, it is. Yes, the massive score was built on the foundations of Mark Ramprakash’s brilliant 248 but so many of the guys contributed with bat or ball that you could honestly say this was a team effort of the highest degree.
Surrey have threatened to do this frequently in their last few games. To see it come to fruition must be very satisfying for the team. If they can just continue the forward momentum and get that winning feeling once again, there’s no reason why they cannot continue onwards and upwards. Here’s hoping that they get a richly deserved innings victory tomorrow or the day after! Well done boys!
That Coke and ice must have done the trick last night.
Poor old Northants. They put in a whole lot of effort for very little return today. From a Surrey point of view it really couldn’t have gone much better! There’s not much really to add in terms of the batting except to say a huge congratulations to Matthew Spriegel (or Matthew Treacle as my increasingly deaf mother believes he’s called) on a wonderful hundred. There must be something about batting alongside Mr Ramprakash that brings out the best in the younger players, but the credit here goes to Spriegs for a really impressive innings.
Perhaps there was something in the air though, as he got to 103 just like the skipper the day before and then was dismissed by – you guessed it – Chigumbura.
Gareth Batty took his place at the crease and kept Ramps company, whilst shortly before lunch the maestro brought up a magnificent double ton. I’m pretty sure Mr R went to lunch on 205 not out...but then the next time I looked (what could only have been 15 mins later) he was on 240 plus! I was almost certain that the BBC cards must have been mistaken, but it appears he must have gone out after lunch and just tonked the ball to all parts, knowing that the declaration was coming, and it was only when he went for 248 that I realised there wasn’t a fault in the site at all! It looks as if Surrey pulled the plug as soon as Ramps lost his wicket, leaving Gareth Batty not out on 48, some 200 runs behind his batting companion.
The coup de grace for Northants came when, with the exception of the odd little partnership, their batting faltered on a regular basis. Howgego went for 12 early in proceedings, whilst Wakely stabilised matters with Peters until caught behind for a well made 50. Sales short-changed himself, making only 7, and then the huge wicket of Peters (who was Mr Ramprakash’s nearest division two challenger) fell for 41. Suddenly you felt the middle order had been exposed by some determined Surrey bowling. Chigumbura sounded a class act but was yorked expertly by Tremlett who, with his very next delivery, removed Hall from the equation. So often this has been the story that Surrey has faced, so it made a refreshing change to see lady luck on the side of the home team!
Andre Nel, still sounding a little bit sore with his hamstring problem, claimed two wickets today; one of them being White for 16, and then at the close of play Batty had Middlebrook trapped lbw for 13. The bowling honours were fairly evenly split, with Tremlett and Nel on two apiece, Meaker claiming one wicket and Batty with three. At the end Northants closed on 174 for 8, and when you consider the monster 620 set by Surrey in their first and probably only innings, it looks as if hardly a dent has been made in the deficit! Wow! I was going to say “is this really Surrey” but of course, it is. Yes, the massive score was built on the foundations of Mark Ramprakash’s brilliant 248 but so many of the guys contributed with bat or ball that you could honestly say this was a team effort of the highest degree.
Surrey have threatened to do this frequently in their last few games. To see it come to fruition must be very satisfying for the team. If they can just continue the forward momentum and get that winning feeling once again, there’s no reason why they cannot continue onwards and upwards. Here’s hoping that they get a richly deserved innings victory tomorrow or the day after! Well done boys!
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Twisting the knife
Surrey v Northamptonshire: Day one at the Brit Oval
Okay: I admit it. I did have a few concerns as to how Surrey would handle the return to championship cricket.
So many times in the past good teams in both the first and second divisions have come back to the four day game once the T20 – or ‘happy slapping’ – season is over and feverishly continued to play shots as if they were suffering from ‘St Vitus’ dance!’ With this in mind, I left for work feeling optimistic if cautious. And I’m glad to say I was a good girl. I didn’t peek at the BBC cards once during the day other than to confirm that Surrey was batting first.
My curtailed listening to the commentaries means that I have no idea of the circumstances surrounding the Surrey wickets that fell. I have no idea if they played like trees, or if they were unlucky, or indeed thought “hang on a moment, I’ll just give this a bit of a bash towards the Peter May stand and...oh, b*gger. I’m out!” So if any of the team were in T20 mode, I missed it!
One batsman was definitely not playing a round of ‘crash bang wallop’: Mark Ramprakash constructed a beautifully crafted innings (from the point where I heard it, which was around 91 not out), full of his trademark shots, making sure he was there at the other end whilst rotating the strike to let the other batsmen set about the Northants bowlers. And how RHB set about them, and no mistake! The two deadly assassins formulated their own way of neutralising the opposition: the skipper bludgeoning them cudgel-like with a barrage of fours and sixes, whilst the maestro Ramprakash preferred to slowly twist the knife into the wounded Northants beast.
It’s a flowery description, but I like it!
Let’s start at the beginning. Surrey decided to give young Lancefield a go, which I liked the idea of, and he formed one half of the opening partnership with Steven Davies. Unfortunately it appears that Davies went for 5, bringing Mr R on to the field of play pretty early in the morning. Lancefield seems to have played nicely for his 31, but when he was dispatched by the wonderfully named Chigumbura, the skipper decided to make his own mark on the game. Having survived one or two dodgy sounding moments, he and Mr R formed a two-pronged, stylistically and diametrically opposed partnership that flourished after lunch. Content to give the captain free reign, the maestro continued to do his own thing whilst RHB became almost frenzied in his approach!
In the end the skipper reached what appears to have been a breathtaking century at a run a ball, but then finally his luck ran out on 102 when Chigumbura struck again to end a powerful and frenetic innings.
This brought Afzaal to the crease, but it seems he only made 7 today. It’s just not going right for Usman at the moment.
Stewart Walters played a jaunty cameo and made 31, the same as Lancefield, with six 4s and one 6 for just 20 balls, another victim of the dreaded Chigumbura, to whom I apologise for making him sound like some kind of tropical disease. At this stage the game could have gone either way. Sure, the master was still there but with most of the batting back in the hutch it would only have taken one more wicket for Surrey to potentially kick-start one of their famous collapses.
And then young Mr Spriegel stepped up to the plate, the perfect foil for Ramps, as both men took their turn to face the strike and kept the game ticking along. Neither man seemed troubled overly, with Mr R (having hit his 1000th run earlier that morning, for the 20th time in his career and the ninth time in a row) bringing up century number 112. The cricket gods we often refer to must have decided to redress the balance for the terrible thing that happened in the last game, where they deprived poor Ramps of a nailed-on century following a faulty scoreboard tally! Today should have been his fifth century of the season; instead it was his fourth, but it was no less magnificent for all that.
Both batsmen are there at the end of the day, with Spriegel on 85 not out, hopefully set to become Surrey’s third centurion of the game, and Ramps on 137 not out. The plan would appear to be to bat long and hard – and hopefully once. They will need to rack up a few more runs yet and hope to get Peters out for a ridiculously low score when Northants wield the willow, but with these two at the crease, anything seems possible. Definitely Surrey’s day today.
Let’s hope the boys got plenty of ice at the close of play...along with maybe a celebratory diet Coke for Mr R!
Okay: I admit it. I did have a few concerns as to how Surrey would handle the return to championship cricket.
So many times in the past good teams in both the first and second divisions have come back to the four day game once the T20 – or ‘happy slapping’ – season is over and feverishly continued to play shots as if they were suffering from ‘St Vitus’ dance!’ With this in mind, I left for work feeling optimistic if cautious. And I’m glad to say I was a good girl. I didn’t peek at the BBC cards once during the day other than to confirm that Surrey was batting first.
My curtailed listening to the commentaries means that I have no idea of the circumstances surrounding the Surrey wickets that fell. I have no idea if they played like trees, or if they were unlucky, or indeed thought “hang on a moment, I’ll just give this a bit of a bash towards the Peter May stand and...oh, b*gger. I’m out!” So if any of the team were in T20 mode, I missed it!
One batsman was definitely not playing a round of ‘crash bang wallop’: Mark Ramprakash constructed a beautifully crafted innings (from the point where I heard it, which was around 91 not out), full of his trademark shots, making sure he was there at the other end whilst rotating the strike to let the other batsmen set about the Northants bowlers. And how RHB set about them, and no mistake! The two deadly assassins formulated their own way of neutralising the opposition: the skipper bludgeoning them cudgel-like with a barrage of fours and sixes, whilst the maestro Ramprakash preferred to slowly twist the knife into the wounded Northants beast.
It’s a flowery description, but I like it!
Let’s start at the beginning. Surrey decided to give young Lancefield a go, which I liked the idea of, and he formed one half of the opening partnership with Steven Davies. Unfortunately it appears that Davies went for 5, bringing Mr R on to the field of play pretty early in the morning. Lancefield seems to have played nicely for his 31, but when he was dispatched by the wonderfully named Chigumbura, the skipper decided to make his own mark on the game. Having survived one or two dodgy sounding moments, he and Mr R formed a two-pronged, stylistically and diametrically opposed partnership that flourished after lunch. Content to give the captain free reign, the maestro continued to do his own thing whilst RHB became almost frenzied in his approach!
In the end the skipper reached what appears to have been a breathtaking century at a run a ball, but then finally his luck ran out on 102 when Chigumbura struck again to end a powerful and frenetic innings.
This brought Afzaal to the crease, but it seems he only made 7 today. It’s just not going right for Usman at the moment.
Stewart Walters played a jaunty cameo and made 31, the same as Lancefield, with six 4s and one 6 for just 20 balls, another victim of the dreaded Chigumbura, to whom I apologise for making him sound like some kind of tropical disease. At this stage the game could have gone either way. Sure, the master was still there but with most of the batting back in the hutch it would only have taken one more wicket for Surrey to potentially kick-start one of their famous collapses.
And then young Mr Spriegel stepped up to the plate, the perfect foil for Ramps, as both men took their turn to face the strike and kept the game ticking along. Neither man seemed troubled overly, with Mr R (having hit his 1000th run earlier that morning, for the 20th time in his career and the ninth time in a row) bringing up century number 112. The cricket gods we often refer to must have decided to redress the balance for the terrible thing that happened in the last game, where they deprived poor Ramps of a nailed-on century following a faulty scoreboard tally! Today should have been his fifth century of the season; instead it was his fourth, but it was no less magnificent for all that.
Both batsmen are there at the end of the day, with Spriegel on 85 not out, hopefully set to become Surrey’s third centurion of the game, and Ramps on 137 not out. The plan would appear to be to bat long and hard – and hopefully once. They will need to rack up a few more runs yet and hope to get Peters out for a ridiculously low score when Northants wield the willow, but with these two at the crease, anything seems possible. Definitely Surrey’s day today.
Let’s hope the boys got plenty of ice at the close of play...along with maybe a celebratory diet Coke for Mr R!
Monday, 19 July 2010
What's in a name...part eight
To celebrate the return of or, if you prefer, ‘round two’ of the county championship tomorrow, it’s time to dust off the old anagrams! I’ve waded through the piles of naughty - and in a few rare cases downright obscene – ones and come up with the following anagramatical delights:
SAMIT PATEL: A Split Team
DERYCK MURRAY: Make Dry Curry
COLLIS KING: Slick Lingo
CHRIS WOAKES: Ski Crash Woe
ALFONSO THOMAS: Shoo Fat Salmon
ROY FREDERICKS: Fiery Red Rocks
MIKE SELVEY: Vies Meekly
JAMES KIRTLEY: Try Like James
DANIEL VETTORI: Violent Tirade
CHRIS ASHLING: Rich Lashings
DAVID STEELE: Sedate Devil
GEOFF PULLAR: Offal Gulper
IAN WARD: Dawn Air
JAMES TOMLINSON: Milan’s Tom Jones
SAMIT PATEL: A Split Team
DERYCK MURRAY: Make Dry Curry
COLLIS KING: Slick Lingo
CHRIS WOAKES: Ski Crash Woe
ALFONSO THOMAS: Shoo Fat Salmon
ROY FREDERICKS: Fiery Red Rocks
MIKE SELVEY: Vies Meekly
JAMES KIRTLEY: Try Like James
DANIEL VETTORI: Violent Tirade
CHRIS ASHLING: Rich Lashings
DAVID STEELE: Sedate Devil
GEOFF PULLAR: Offal Gulper
IAN WARD: Dawn Air
JAMES TOMLINSON: Milan’s Tom Jones
Sunday, 18 July 2010
It's the final countdown!
So sung Bon Jovi some twenty odd years ago. I'm sure they won't object to my half-inching their song title for this blog post. And, just to try something a little different, today I am going to be blogging live and adding my thoughts as the game progresses, whilst keeping a keen-eye turned to the the Middlesex and Hants games. As two of our number aren't especially Surrey supporters - in fact not remotely - one a Middlesex fan and the other a Hants fan, it's going to make for an interesting afternoon! But, whatever happens in terms of that last qualification spot, at least somebody is going to be happy with the outcome today!
May the best teams win, and good luck to all!
But especially Surrey, Sussex and Essex... (sorry, couldn't resist)!
***********
Gladiators have been stuck in by the Lions. Symonds bowling first. Think we need to get Porterfield out quickly. Pitch playing slowly. 4-0 in the first over.
Middlesex 1-1 in their first over!
Tremlett gets Redmond!!! Woohoooo! 12-1 in the second over! He's a good boy, that Chris Tremlett.
Gidman looking frisky now! Both batsmen very dangerous. 22-1 at the moment. Wonderwoman has turned up in the crowd. Could do with her superpowers! Oh, and the Ghostbusters! I'm afraid I'd have to go dressed as the Stay Pufft Marshmallow Man.
Gidman swings the bat and the first 6 goes hurtling out of sight.
32-1 and Gladiators starting to motor a little. Need a wicket quick-smart.
And no sooner said than done! Gidman gone for 15! 36-2, and well done Mr Tremlett!
Nel aims at the stumps and nearly gets Franklyn. Think he's been taking my advice regarding lobbing grenades.
40-2 after the 6th over. Spriegel coming in to the attack. Come on the 'spin doctor'!
50 comes up in the 7th over. 51-2 and a good over for the Gladiators.
Shah has gone for Middlesex. They are 56-2 in the 6th over.
Porterfield is looking mighty good! Eeeeek! Surrey could do without this at the moment, but the Gladiators (I keep wanting to call them Gladioli) aren't going to lie down and die. 82-2 after 10 overs.
Middlesex 73-3.
I'm missing the trumpeter. I like the tootling to signal a change of bowler!
Yippppeeeee! Porterfield goes! 89-3, with Hamilton-Brown taking a good catch. Thank the lord!
Warner gone for Middlesex. Essex doing okay so far.
Taylor gone for 1! That's two in the last two overs. Fab-u-lous, as Craig Revel-Horwood would say. 91-4 for Surrey.
Dent bowled for 1! 97-5! Unfortunate for Dent: looks like his bat got stuck in the turf and the ball went between the bat and pad, hitting the stumps. Very good news for Surrey!
Hants have lost Jimmy Adams, this is even better for Surrey!
98-6! Snell just gone! Well done Nella!
101-6 in the 14th over. Nails are being bitten.
Good outfield cricket from Surrey. 108-6 in the 15th.
Franklyn gone for 33! Run out! Good arm from Wilson. 155-7 now.
Andre Nel does a pirouette. Rampants may start 'Gunther for Strictly' campaign.
Oops...Spriegel has a ball bobble on him and it goes for 4. Dawson going nicely now.
134-7 in the 18th over. This might be a tricky ask for Surrey after all.
143-7. Not what Surrey would have wanted. Hope RHB and Davies have their batting heads on today.
Lewis gone for 13. 144-8. Tremlett strikes again!
Kirby goes first ball, run-out by Tremlett!
147-9 posted by the Gladiators: 148 for the Lions to win. Middlesex have posted 173, which will take some catching by Essex! Time for a cup of tea!
***********
Scary biscuits time: hold on to your hats folks! Here goes with the Surrey reply.
RHB only knows one way to play...hoping it works for him today. He won't die wondering, that's for sure! 6-0 after the first over.
Hampshire looking ominous, especially given that Sussex have not done so well in their last few games. 196 for Sussex to win.
Davies nearly gone but it just snuck past Porterfield. And now hits a six to clear his mind.
20 off the second over! Surrey need Davies to stay forever, basically, and help get that run-rate down.
Ramps not playing, btw. Sad for the Rampants, but I guess it means we can listen to the game without tensing up like a coiled spring! Davies hits another 6: he's got the bit between his teeth and no mistake!
And again! 39 without loss! Sixes gallore!
Free hit...where's the skipper putting this? Swing and a miss. Oh, well! Let's not be greedy!
The 50 comes up without loss in the fourth over.
54 without loss. The skipper beginning to get his head down. And then a further boundary! So far, it's a dismantling in the powerplay. 60 without loss.
67 without loss after five overs! Wow! Uh-oh...here come the spinners. And I'm not talking about the 70s folk group. Even I would face up to them.
Good point made by Churchy and JB: Surrey have nothing to lose. All they have to do is win, and win in the best way they can. They can do nothing about the other results, and they are indeed playing without fear. It's the only way to do it.
78 without loss at the end of the powerplay is very good indeed!
'Demolition Davies' brings up a fabulous fifty with a six! Wooohooo!
Why the flip did we not play like this against the Gladiators at the Oval?!?
RHB and Davies are having a contest to see who can hit the longest six! 99-0!
Hundred up in the 8th over! 106 in fact. Davies will surely find himself in the England team opening the batting at some point. This is a really classy display! At this rate we might not get to find out if the team is missing Ramps in the middle order.
RHB winning the battle of the sixes at the moment. Rory, size isn't everything! And as I say that, he's lbw for 48. Pity he didn't reach his 50. Now, Roy or Symonds next?
Jason Roy comes on next. Will it be a good day or a bad day for him?
Answer: bad day. 112-2. Roy gone second ball. Ooops.
Symonds dropped by Snell. Hoping Symo the animal has turned up today. We could do with him in a rampaging mood!
Symonds goes for 4. 123-3...please get Davies on strike!!! Please!!!
Johnny Barran wins first prize for non-gratuitous use of the word 'humping'.
Not looking good in the other games for Surrey. Essex struggling, Sussex struggling. And now it's raining for good measure.
Only 13 runs required, and then they have to sit and twiddle their thumbs to see what happens elsewhere.
Davies gone for 73.
Wilson clubs a meaty six with his first ball. Only 6 required now. Wilson gets 4 more...
Gary Wilson smashes a total of 12 off three balls. Lions win by six wickets! Well done boys, whatever happens. 150-4! You were meteoric today!
********
So close in the end. Surrey did all they needed to do, but so did Hants. We shouldn't have to rely on other teams to do us favours, although Sussex have been rubbish in the last few games compared to how they started, so it shouldn't surprise us. So, congrats to Hants and hard luck to Surrey and Middlesex.
Now it's back to the county championship next week!
May the best teams win, and good luck to all!
But especially Surrey, Sussex and Essex... (sorry, couldn't resist)!
***********
Gladiators have been stuck in by the Lions. Symonds bowling first. Think we need to get Porterfield out quickly. Pitch playing slowly. 4-0 in the first over.
Middlesex 1-1 in their first over!
Tremlett gets Redmond!!! Woohoooo! 12-1 in the second over! He's a good boy, that Chris Tremlett.
Gidman looking frisky now! Both batsmen very dangerous. 22-1 at the moment. Wonderwoman has turned up in the crowd. Could do with her superpowers! Oh, and the Ghostbusters! I'm afraid I'd have to go dressed as the Stay Pufft Marshmallow Man.
Gidman swings the bat and the first 6 goes hurtling out of sight.
32-1 and Gladiators starting to motor a little. Need a wicket quick-smart.
And no sooner said than done! Gidman gone for 15! 36-2, and well done Mr Tremlett!
Nel aims at the stumps and nearly gets Franklyn. Think he's been taking my advice regarding lobbing grenades.
40-2 after the 6th over. Spriegel coming in to the attack. Come on the 'spin doctor'!
50 comes up in the 7th over. 51-2 and a good over for the Gladiators.
Shah has gone for Middlesex. They are 56-2 in the 6th over.
Porterfield is looking mighty good! Eeeeek! Surrey could do without this at the moment, but the Gladiators (I keep wanting to call them Gladioli) aren't going to lie down and die. 82-2 after 10 overs.
Middlesex 73-3.
I'm missing the trumpeter. I like the tootling to signal a change of bowler!
Yippppeeeee! Porterfield goes! 89-3, with Hamilton-Brown taking a good catch. Thank the lord!
Warner gone for Middlesex. Essex doing okay so far.
Taylor gone for 1! That's two in the last two overs. Fab-u-lous, as Craig Revel-Horwood would say. 91-4 for Surrey.
Dent bowled for 1! 97-5! Unfortunate for Dent: looks like his bat got stuck in the turf and the ball went between the bat and pad, hitting the stumps. Very good news for Surrey!
Hants have lost Jimmy Adams, this is even better for Surrey!
98-6! Snell just gone! Well done Nella!
101-6 in the 14th over. Nails are being bitten.
Good outfield cricket from Surrey. 108-6 in the 15th.
Franklyn gone for 33! Run out! Good arm from Wilson. 155-7 now.
Andre Nel does a pirouette. Rampants may start 'Gunther for Strictly' campaign.
Oops...Spriegel has a ball bobble on him and it goes for 4. Dawson going nicely now.
134-7 in the 18th over. This might be a tricky ask for Surrey after all.
143-7. Not what Surrey would have wanted. Hope RHB and Davies have their batting heads on today.
Lewis gone for 13. 144-8. Tremlett strikes again!
Kirby goes first ball, run-out by Tremlett!
147-9 posted by the Gladiators: 148 for the Lions to win. Middlesex have posted 173, which will take some catching by Essex! Time for a cup of tea!
***********
Scary biscuits time: hold on to your hats folks! Here goes with the Surrey reply.
RHB only knows one way to play...hoping it works for him today. He won't die wondering, that's for sure! 6-0 after the first over.
Hampshire looking ominous, especially given that Sussex have not done so well in their last few games. 196 for Sussex to win.
Davies nearly gone but it just snuck past Porterfield. And now hits a six to clear his mind.
20 off the second over! Surrey need Davies to stay forever, basically, and help get that run-rate down.
Ramps not playing, btw. Sad for the Rampants, but I guess it means we can listen to the game without tensing up like a coiled spring! Davies hits another 6: he's got the bit between his teeth and no mistake!
And again! 39 without loss! Sixes gallore!
Free hit...where's the skipper putting this? Swing and a miss. Oh, well! Let's not be greedy!
The 50 comes up without loss in the fourth over.
54 without loss. The skipper beginning to get his head down. And then a further boundary! So far, it's a dismantling in the powerplay. 60 without loss.
67 without loss after five overs! Wow! Uh-oh...here come the spinners. And I'm not talking about the 70s folk group. Even I would face up to them.
Good point made by Churchy and JB: Surrey have nothing to lose. All they have to do is win, and win in the best way they can. They can do nothing about the other results, and they are indeed playing without fear. It's the only way to do it.
78 without loss at the end of the powerplay is very good indeed!
'Demolition Davies' brings up a fabulous fifty with a six! Wooohooo!
Why the flip did we not play like this against the Gladiators at the Oval?!?
RHB and Davies are having a contest to see who can hit the longest six! 99-0!
Hundred up in the 8th over! 106 in fact. Davies will surely find himself in the England team opening the batting at some point. This is a really classy display! At this rate we might not get to find out if the team is missing Ramps in the middle order.
RHB winning the battle of the sixes at the moment. Rory, size isn't everything! And as I say that, he's lbw for 48. Pity he didn't reach his 50. Now, Roy or Symonds next?
Jason Roy comes on next. Will it be a good day or a bad day for him?
Answer: bad day. 112-2. Roy gone second ball. Ooops.
Symonds dropped by Snell. Hoping Symo the animal has turned up today. We could do with him in a rampaging mood!
Symonds goes for 4. 123-3...please get Davies on strike!!! Please!!!
Johnny Barran wins first prize for non-gratuitous use of the word 'humping'.
Not looking good in the other games for Surrey. Essex struggling, Sussex struggling. And now it's raining for good measure.
Only 13 runs required, and then they have to sit and twiddle their thumbs to see what happens elsewhere.
Davies gone for 73.
Wilson clubs a meaty six with his first ball. Only 6 required now. Wilson gets 4 more...
Gary Wilson smashes a total of 12 off three balls. Lions win by six wickets! Well done boys, whatever happens. 150-4! You were meteoric today!
********
So close in the end. Surrey did all they needed to do, but so did Hants. We shouldn't have to rely on other teams to do us favours, although Sussex have been rubbish in the last few games compared to how they started, so it shouldn't surprise us. So, congrats to Hants and hard luck to Surrey and Middlesex.
Now it's back to the county championship next week!
Friday, 16 July 2010
Operation miracle underway!
Well, part one of 'operation miracle' at least was successful. It was actually quite amusing to find myself cheering on Middlesex. I almost enjoyed it! In fairness, they comprehensively thrashed Hampshire and thus have allowed Surrey to just about keep in the hunt. That was the good part.
The not so good part is that in doing so the Panthers have snuck ahead (just) on net run rate. And considering that it may well come down to run rate, suddenly things look a tad less rosy for the Lions. We now require Middlesex to lose against Essex on Sunday, Hampshire to lose against Sussex, and Surrey to thrash Gloucestershire. All three currently are tied on 14 points, and I suppose the only thing in Surrey's favour is that they have had a longer rest period than either of the other two. Although I guess this also means they might be a little out of practice: they always say momentum is key in T20.
Let's hope that whatever happens on Sunday, Surrey come out of the game well - preferably with a victory - and that they field the strongest team they are able. And even if they do fall short in the end on run rate, this season represents a much improved performance on the last few years.
Best of luck, Surrey!
The not so good part is that in doing so the Panthers have snuck ahead (just) on net run rate. And considering that it may well come down to run rate, suddenly things look a tad less rosy for the Lions. We now require Middlesex to lose against Essex on Sunday, Hampshire to lose against Sussex, and Surrey to thrash Gloucestershire. All three currently are tied on 14 points, and I suppose the only thing in Surrey's favour is that they have had a longer rest period than either of the other two. Although I guess this also means they might be a little out of practice: they always say momentum is key in T20.
Let's hope that whatever happens on Sunday, Surrey come out of the game well - preferably with a victory - and that they field the strongest team they are able. And even if they do fall short in the end on run rate, this season represents a much improved performance on the last few years.
Best of luck, Surrey!
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