Tonight and tomorrow I am writing about an enduring affair of the heart. Whereas I regard the hold which watching professional football has had over my life as similar to that of a dominating Mistress, (see Ménage a trois), cricket has always been a fine and sensitive love affair, commenced in boyhood, and to continues throughout life unto this day. It is also a love of a game; the way individuals play and which can be shared with strangers who you encounter.
True, you usually belong to a club, but when you go to another club, you are not sectioned off and sit or are the custom again, stand shouting and singing insults and contempt. You are welcome into their holiest of spaces and to their best seats, as long as you are able to add to their knowledge about your team, the history of the players, how they perform, and reminisce of encounters of the past. My most moving experience until yesterday was to out on a tie and walk through the Long Room at Lords, also used by the Players as they enter and exit and sit on a tall stool looking out through the glass, and the most interesting was to sit in the Members stand at the Oval and talk to a former Surrey player about the day when as a boy I watched the legendry Australian Sir Donald Bradman, walk out to standing applause for his last Test Innings at the Oval only to be immediately out, so that we all had to rise again from out crammed sitting on the grass by the boundary rope, travelling at dawn and queuing for hours, and cheer and clap his departure, disappointed he had not score another century against the English Team.
Yesterday was the most thrilling, moving and wonderful match of cricket I have witnessed so far because she, the game that is, set a marriage date, after fifteen years of courtship and engagement, although it is a marriage which could still fail to be consummated.
In the early hours of yesterday as I decided that it was time for bed, I wrote of the intention to prepare a tin of salmon for sandwich rolls and to chop a pineapple to mix with strawberries. Alas I did neither so tired I had become, nor did I set the alarm for seven. I did awake later, as it my pattern, but this occasion not with the urgent requirement for the loo, but with rain, tis was a hard rain a falling, beating on my window panes. It fell so hard in the area that there were pools of water in one part of the ground, on the grass where a vast stand had temporarily been created for the Test match. However it had not been as bad as at Leeds where Thunder cracked and lightening pierced the closed eye lids according to a man of age who had travelled up, an Essex man, having stayed with his son and grand children, Yorkshire supporters. But I am ahead of myself because I nearly funked the engagement party.
Without the alarm it was well past eight when I arose, tired, slow and more interested in overnight communication and clearing up work and washing up than cricket, lovely cricket, sung to a West Indian beat. After all the game would be on the telly would it not, because Sky had set up all its equipment for the Test Match which had ended the day before, and witnessed the unlikeliest of England wins after the first day and a half had been lost through rain. I was wrong Sky had moved everything away and was covering the other semi final. Moreover the weather and cleared and the sun were peaking.
There was rush, panic rush rush, toilet, wash, hair, dress, Ciabatta- one Mexican cheese, one Milano Salami, peanuts, strawberries, raspberry trifle, coffee in flask, water in bottle, pepsi, tea towel, spoon, knife, tissues, select appropriate cool box, select freeze unit, notebook, pens, sun hat, sun glasses, change for parking meter, large umbrella, choice of outer clothing, Pac Mac is in the car, (forget sun cream). All done, and away by 9.40. I have not been to the ground from this house and the journey seems more direct and quicker than from Sunderland, but is about the same I suspect. It is the kind of issue where one day I will undertake both journeys as quickly as I can and time and distance them for my own satisfaction. It the kind of thing a completer finisher does. This weekend I will still dream of going to Glastonbury one day despite another muddy drenching being the forecast.
Yesterday morning the absence of any traffic build up was encouraging as I sped towards ground anxious I would find no immediate parking essential if you need to picnic in the car or use as a shelter from more rain. I passed the riverside park where tragedy struck when an artwork inflatable took off and a woman was killed. There is many a good walk remembered from lunchtime breaks over some thirteen may be twelve years more. The discrepancy is that in the beginning, when Durham became a Championship County, before then I would support Northumberland, it had no proper ground of its own, and we moved around the County, with the beautiful University ground situated on the banks of the Wear overlooked by Durham Cathedral and Castle, with a limited print edition of the scene on my Day room wall. There was Darlington, the Furtherest reach, a fine city centre with its ground next to former dilapidating football ground, Stockton, set near a park and among the finest of houses, or was that Hartlepool, I will have to check, and Gateshead a barren windswept club, or friendly Chester Le Street, where an Australian playing for Durham hit a mighty ton against a touring West Indies, now that was a sight and a day.
On arrival I decided to sit facing the sub behind the bowlers arm to the immediate left of the Sight Screen, at the back where I could sit at the stairway and stretch my legs although you had also to anticipating more movement obstruction in between overs. I settled in such a way that it appeared the seats on either side ere occupied and the size of the crowd twenty minutes before the scheduled start suggested that event in such a popular location I would not have to yield the comfortable space. I had been bale to find a place in the car parking area nearest the main exit road, rather than going to those closest to member's entrance and stands which would facilitate the leaving, and taken the all day ticket. I had wondered about getting in hen approach by misguided ticket touts and because the kiosk were labelled Ticket Collection, until I enquired I saw the piles of tickets in their thousands which was puzzling for such an important match, although it was a long way for Essex fans to travel without an overnight stay and after fifteen years of repeated disappointment and failure Durham fans had become cautious and selective, filling the ground for twenty twenty matches, and enjoying weekend visits with their families. For midweek four day championship games the main audience of familiar faces in their groups around the ground, the members stand, the members stand area, behind the bowler's arms and the sunny north east banked terrace close to toilets, beer tent, chippy, burger and ice cream.
After settling I walked the walked admitting the new media facility above the opposite sight screen, which obscured the sports Pavilion I had seen built for the adjacent sports ground and running track. There was now an enormous shed like structure adjacent to that which suggested an indoor athletics facility. The permanent members behind the bowlers arm facility had now been extended and expanded to what was an impressive scoreboard which I had also witnessed the building. I had seen the Health club facility from previous visits, and the now excluded Members stands, with two lift towers, then extended to three had been my familiar home for year upon season membership year. Austin's, the bar restaurant was still organises as it must have been for the Test with a tented extension selling stakes sandwiches and other burgers etc outside. The Club shop was the same but a box office was added to the main building area and finding its location as I purchased my match programme and visited one of several Gentlemen's quality facilities. I decided against making the full circuit to try and see if there were familiar faces from my former occupations and from years of casual encounters during a less than attention fixing day. It is the thing with cricket, people join in the overheard conversations of others, and yesterday was to be no different.
The first announcement was a wicket inspection at 10.30. And then at 11.30, information I was able to pass on the man from Leeds with his grown up son when the arrived and several others later. It was pleasant sitting there in the sun with a gentle breeze, making notes of all that I could remember of those 15 years for my main project when I got around to cricket, lovely cricket, Botham's Ashes at Headingly and the Oval, my first ever visit to Lords for a Test, and the visits to the other grounds, Sussex and Kent had become annual visits, as well as those of, Essex and Middlesex, Yorkshire at Scarborough, and as well as Headingly, Leicester, Birmingham for Warwickshire, next my former University on the bus route I had taken for a year from the digs where I had lived, Nottingham for Trent Bridge, Manchester, next to the Football Ground, only missing being Derbyshire and the West Country grounds.
I eat the cheese Cimbatta with over sweetened coffee. I always eat immediately when out in weathers and the nervousness of expectation. It was going to be a good and long day with the luncheon interval rearranged for twenty to four and the match end scheduled for 7.30 in this 100 over match of each side playing one innings of 50.
And I witnessed, we witnessed the most extraordinary, surreal of day of days. The strategy of a 50 over games is that you use every allotted ball, 300 and aim to score an average of one run a ball, compensating for a careful start with some big hits to the boundary for four or over the boundary for six. If you lose early wickets those replacing take special care and do not worry about run scoring until they are confident they have mastered the playing conditions and how the opposing team is using its bowlers.
Some when they make love, like eating food, devour, yesterday the cricket was rather like that. What happened yesterday was surreal and close to the unbelievable, except al la Max Boyce, "I was there and we all experienced in one collective orgasm.
Durham has two main Test bowlers, Harmison and Plunkett who joined the published team and a Third Players Collingwood who has scored a century to give England their win, and who also bowls. However yesterday they opened with Killeen a controlled fast bowler who is one of the few members of the present team I have seen play before. The other fast bowler Otis Gibson is fiery lad whose enthusiasm and delight, no I shall say it, ecstasy at his own performance and the collective outcome will long be remembered. After a mere five minutes and with five runs scored he had England opened Cook caught behind for 0, Zero, a duck, quack, quack. Then two mins later Killeen had Essex captain Pettini caught by Smith for 5, runs scored 11, There was hen a flurry of suicidal injudicious strokes by the Essex batsman, with Killeen disposing of Chopra for 9, Gibson then having Flower again caught by wicket keeper Mustard for 0 zero duck quack quack, Foster his opposing wicket keeper Leg Before Wicket for 0 zero duck quack quack while Killeen bowled Doeschate for 0 Zero duck quack quack filling the pond created by the rain by the temporary stand. The wickets falling 3-22, 4- 25. 5-25 and 6-26. My new found friends from Leeds were in despair, and the man who phones his wife to say the evening meal would have to be put back to until eight, phoned again to say he could be home for lunch. Everyone was on their mobile phone or being run by incredulous spouses, work colleagues or friends. This was not happening was it? It was. At this point there was a lull while ten runs were scored while the Test Bowlers were brought on and it looked as if runs would be scored as the control of the bowling eased. Harmison who needs a hernia operation was fiery but as with Gibson was so fast that a connecting shot quickly reached the boundary on grass which heavy still from the drenching slowed up most travelling balls. Then Plunkett discarded for the third Test showed his determination to regain his place with Middlesexk caught behind for 6, Napier LBW for 14, Kaneria caught Smith for 0 zero duck quack quack, and finally Bickel, Essex, hero for the day caught for 24, with the wickets at 38 runs 66, 66 and 71. Plunkett dismissing two men in two balls at the end of his fourth over. Killeen was for the start 3 wicket for nine runs, Plunkett showed his stuff with 4 wickets for 14 runs and Gibson the most memorable with 3 for 21. There was ten minutes between innings and time for a visit to the Gentleman's and an ice cream, a double cone for £1.20. Extravagant wickedness as the celebration was unlikely to be more than an hour away. The queue was long but we heard the anguish and the polite applause of disbelief.
As I made by way back opener Venuto was caught behind to hero Bickel when the score was 0, and a minute later wicket keeper Mustard departed for 2,the third wicked at 6 runs the fourth at 17 the fifth and sixth at 34 and the seventh at 38. We were going to lose. I had remained where I was standing leaning on the banking rail in one corner, unable to face my no doubt gleeful new found friends from Leeds, or the man who had shared attendance at that first packed match at Durham City when Botham played his first game on a cold opening day. We had quickly reminisced of grounds and matches and of disappointments, to day was the day when that was forgotten and we were on our way to Lords. Instead I was joined by those who had rushed to ground cancelling meetings, abandoning wives, just to say they had been there only to arrive to experience the horror of how were going to survive the ridicule when they returned. It was then that two of the morning hero's came together Otis Gibson and Liam Plunkett and slowly we began to dare and then to believe. The turning point was a free hit, smashed over the straight boundary for six, before Plunkett made the winning strong by a then delirious crowd of some 400.
The occasion was not over because the club had already printed application form for club members to buy tickets and those of us who were now non members, would gain preference by filling in and returning the form that day. I did and I am sufficiently confident of being allocated a ticket to late to day book my accommodation. Fortunately my football is playing away so one week there is first home game in the premiership and then next I am at Lords, as nervous and excited as any Groom.
True, you usually belong to a club, but when you go to another club, you are not sectioned off and sit or are the custom again, stand shouting and singing insults and contempt. You are welcome into their holiest of spaces and to their best seats, as long as you are able to add to their knowledge about your team, the history of the players, how they perform, and reminisce of encounters of the past. My most moving experience until yesterday was to out on a tie and walk through the Long Room at Lords, also used by the Players as they enter and exit and sit on a tall stool looking out through the glass, and the most interesting was to sit in the Members stand at the Oval and talk to a former Surrey player about the day when as a boy I watched the legendry Australian Sir Donald Bradman, walk out to standing applause for his last Test Innings at the Oval only to be immediately out, so that we all had to rise again from out crammed sitting on the grass by the boundary rope, travelling at dawn and queuing for hours, and cheer and clap his departure, disappointed he had not score another century against the English Team.
Yesterday was the most thrilling, moving and wonderful match of cricket I have witnessed so far because she, the game that is, set a marriage date, after fifteen years of courtship and engagement, although it is a marriage which could still fail to be consummated.
In the early hours of yesterday as I decided that it was time for bed, I wrote of the intention to prepare a tin of salmon for sandwich rolls and to chop a pineapple to mix with strawberries. Alas I did neither so tired I had become, nor did I set the alarm for seven. I did awake later, as it my pattern, but this occasion not with the urgent requirement for the loo, but with rain, tis was a hard rain a falling, beating on my window panes. It fell so hard in the area that there were pools of water in one part of the ground, on the grass where a vast stand had temporarily been created for the Test match. However it had not been as bad as at Leeds where Thunder cracked and lightening pierced the closed eye lids according to a man of age who had travelled up, an Essex man, having stayed with his son and grand children, Yorkshire supporters. But I am ahead of myself because I nearly funked the engagement party.
Without the alarm it was well past eight when I arose, tired, slow and more interested in overnight communication and clearing up work and washing up than cricket, lovely cricket, sung to a West Indian beat. After all the game would be on the telly would it not, because Sky had set up all its equipment for the Test Match which had ended the day before, and witnessed the unlikeliest of England wins after the first day and a half had been lost through rain. I was wrong Sky had moved everything away and was covering the other semi final. Moreover the weather and cleared and the sun were peaking.
There was rush, panic rush rush, toilet, wash, hair, dress, Ciabatta- one Mexican cheese, one Milano Salami, peanuts, strawberries, raspberry trifle, coffee in flask, water in bottle, pepsi, tea towel, spoon, knife, tissues, select appropriate cool box, select freeze unit, notebook, pens, sun hat, sun glasses, change for parking meter, large umbrella, choice of outer clothing, Pac Mac is in the car, (forget sun cream). All done, and away by 9.40. I have not been to the ground from this house and the journey seems more direct and quicker than from Sunderland, but is about the same I suspect. It is the kind of issue where one day I will undertake both journeys as quickly as I can and time and distance them for my own satisfaction. It the kind of thing a completer finisher does. This weekend I will still dream of going to Glastonbury one day despite another muddy drenching being the forecast.
Yesterday morning the absence of any traffic build up was encouraging as I sped towards ground anxious I would find no immediate parking essential if you need to picnic in the car or use as a shelter from more rain. I passed the riverside park where tragedy struck when an artwork inflatable took off and a woman was killed. There is many a good walk remembered from lunchtime breaks over some thirteen may be twelve years more. The discrepancy is that in the beginning, when Durham became a Championship County, before then I would support Northumberland, it had no proper ground of its own, and we moved around the County, with the beautiful University ground situated on the banks of the Wear overlooked by Durham Cathedral and Castle, with a limited print edition of the scene on my Day room wall. There was Darlington, the Furtherest reach, a fine city centre with its ground next to former dilapidating football ground, Stockton, set near a park and among the finest of houses, or was that Hartlepool, I will have to check, and Gateshead a barren windswept club, or friendly Chester Le Street, where an Australian playing for Durham hit a mighty ton against a touring West Indies, now that was a sight and a day.
On arrival I decided to sit facing the sub behind the bowlers arm to the immediate left of the Sight Screen, at the back where I could sit at the stairway and stretch my legs although you had also to anticipating more movement obstruction in between overs. I settled in such a way that it appeared the seats on either side ere occupied and the size of the crowd twenty minutes before the scheduled start suggested that event in such a popular location I would not have to yield the comfortable space. I had been bale to find a place in the car parking area nearest the main exit road, rather than going to those closest to member's entrance and stands which would facilitate the leaving, and taken the all day ticket. I had wondered about getting in hen approach by misguided ticket touts and because the kiosk were labelled Ticket Collection, until I enquired I saw the piles of tickets in their thousands which was puzzling for such an important match, although it was a long way for Essex fans to travel without an overnight stay and after fifteen years of repeated disappointment and failure Durham fans had become cautious and selective, filling the ground for twenty twenty matches, and enjoying weekend visits with their families. For midweek four day championship games the main audience of familiar faces in their groups around the ground, the members stand, the members stand area, behind the bowler's arms and the sunny north east banked terrace close to toilets, beer tent, chippy, burger and ice cream.
After settling I walked the walked admitting the new media facility above the opposite sight screen, which obscured the sports Pavilion I had seen built for the adjacent sports ground and running track. There was now an enormous shed like structure adjacent to that which suggested an indoor athletics facility. The permanent members behind the bowlers arm facility had now been extended and expanded to what was an impressive scoreboard which I had also witnessed the building. I had seen the Health club facility from previous visits, and the now excluded Members stands, with two lift towers, then extended to three had been my familiar home for year upon season membership year. Austin's, the bar restaurant was still organises as it must have been for the Test with a tented extension selling stakes sandwiches and other burgers etc outside. The Club shop was the same but a box office was added to the main building area and finding its location as I purchased my match programme and visited one of several Gentlemen's quality facilities. I decided against making the full circuit to try and see if there were familiar faces from my former occupations and from years of casual encounters during a less than attention fixing day. It is the thing with cricket, people join in the overheard conversations of others, and yesterday was to be no different.
The first announcement was a wicket inspection at 10.30. And then at 11.30, information I was able to pass on the man from Leeds with his grown up son when the arrived and several others later. It was pleasant sitting there in the sun with a gentle breeze, making notes of all that I could remember of those 15 years for my main project when I got around to cricket, lovely cricket, Botham's Ashes at Headingly and the Oval, my first ever visit to Lords for a Test, and the visits to the other grounds, Sussex and Kent had become annual visits, as well as those of, Essex and Middlesex, Yorkshire at Scarborough, and as well as Headingly, Leicester, Birmingham for Warwickshire, next my former University on the bus route I had taken for a year from the digs where I had lived, Nottingham for Trent Bridge, Manchester, next to the Football Ground, only missing being Derbyshire and the West Country grounds.
I eat the cheese Cimbatta with over sweetened coffee. I always eat immediately when out in weathers and the nervousness of expectation. It was going to be a good and long day with the luncheon interval rearranged for twenty to four and the match end scheduled for 7.30 in this 100 over match of each side playing one innings of 50.
And I witnessed, we witnessed the most extraordinary, surreal of day of days. The strategy of a 50 over games is that you use every allotted ball, 300 and aim to score an average of one run a ball, compensating for a careful start with some big hits to the boundary for four or over the boundary for six. If you lose early wickets those replacing take special care and do not worry about run scoring until they are confident they have mastered the playing conditions and how the opposing team is using its bowlers.
Some when they make love, like eating food, devour, yesterday the cricket was rather like that. What happened yesterday was surreal and close to the unbelievable, except al la Max Boyce, "I was there and we all experienced in one collective orgasm.
Durham has two main Test bowlers, Harmison and Plunkett who joined the published team and a Third Players Collingwood who has scored a century to give England their win, and who also bowls. However yesterday they opened with Killeen a controlled fast bowler who is one of the few members of the present team I have seen play before. The other fast bowler Otis Gibson is fiery lad whose enthusiasm and delight, no I shall say it, ecstasy at his own performance and the collective outcome will long be remembered. After a mere five minutes and with five runs scored he had England opened Cook caught behind for 0, Zero, a duck, quack, quack. Then two mins later Killeen had Essex captain Pettini caught by Smith for 5, runs scored 11, There was hen a flurry of suicidal injudicious strokes by the Essex batsman, with Killeen disposing of Chopra for 9, Gibson then having Flower again caught by wicket keeper Mustard for 0 zero duck quack quack, Foster his opposing wicket keeper Leg Before Wicket for 0 zero duck quack quack while Killeen bowled Doeschate for 0 Zero duck quack quack filling the pond created by the rain by the temporary stand. The wickets falling 3-22, 4- 25. 5-25 and 6-26. My new found friends from Leeds were in despair, and the man who phones his wife to say the evening meal would have to be put back to until eight, phoned again to say he could be home for lunch. Everyone was on their mobile phone or being run by incredulous spouses, work colleagues or friends. This was not happening was it? It was. At this point there was a lull while ten runs were scored while the Test Bowlers were brought on and it looked as if runs would be scored as the control of the bowling eased. Harmison who needs a hernia operation was fiery but as with Gibson was so fast that a connecting shot quickly reached the boundary on grass which heavy still from the drenching slowed up most travelling balls. Then Plunkett discarded for the third Test showed his determination to regain his place with Middlesexk caught behind for 6, Napier LBW for 14, Kaneria caught Smith for 0 zero duck quack quack, and finally Bickel, Essex, hero for the day caught for 24, with the wickets at 38 runs 66, 66 and 71. Plunkett dismissing two men in two balls at the end of his fourth over. Killeen was for the start 3 wicket for nine runs, Plunkett showed his stuff with 4 wickets for 14 runs and Gibson the most memorable with 3 for 21. There was ten minutes between innings and time for a visit to the Gentleman's and an ice cream, a double cone for £1.20. Extravagant wickedness as the celebration was unlikely to be more than an hour away. The queue was long but we heard the anguish and the polite applause of disbelief.
As I made by way back opener Venuto was caught behind to hero Bickel when the score was 0, and a minute later wicket keeper Mustard departed for 2,the third wicked at 6 runs the fourth at 17 the fifth and sixth at 34 and the seventh at 38. We were going to lose. I had remained where I was standing leaning on the banking rail in one corner, unable to face my no doubt gleeful new found friends from Leeds, or the man who had shared attendance at that first packed match at Durham City when Botham played his first game on a cold opening day. We had quickly reminisced of grounds and matches and of disappointments, to day was the day when that was forgotten and we were on our way to Lords. Instead I was joined by those who had rushed to ground cancelling meetings, abandoning wives, just to say they had been there only to arrive to experience the horror of how were going to survive the ridicule when they returned. It was then that two of the morning hero's came together Otis Gibson and Liam Plunkett and slowly we began to dare and then to believe. The turning point was a free hit, smashed over the straight boundary for six, before Plunkett made the winning strong by a then delirious crowd of some 400.
The occasion was not over because the club had already printed application form for club members to buy tickets and those of us who were now non members, would gain preference by filling in and returning the form that day. I did and I am sufficiently confident of being allocated a ticket to late to day book my accommodation. Fortunately my football is playing away so one week there is first home game in the premiership and then next I am at Lords, as nervous and excited as any Groom.
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