Thursday 24th September will be recorded as another memorable day in the history of Durham cricket club. It was also the day I cracked attending cricket at the County ground. I had doubts early on about achieving this objective although I left at eight instead of nine and reached the city boundary about half an hour later, it then took the best part of three quarters of an hour to get to my destination, such was the volume of early morning traffic and this time there was no road works affecting the journey but simply traffic congestion with traffic lights and two heavy streams of vehicle seeking to join in a one lane flow.
I could not resist taking a peak to see if the free parking was full and this lost a further ten minutes turning the vehicle around and rejoining the traffic in the one system around the park. There were about a dozen spaces left in the car park where the charge for the full day was only £3.50. It was also a pleasant walk through the park and across the main road to the ground where only a few spectators had arrived, although I was order number 26 for coffee and a bacon roll costing £4.50 three times that at the Ship and Royal in South Shields. It all reminds that long gone are the days that you would find Durham players sneaking off for a hamburger during a match.
There was considerable difference in the weather with the sun shinning warm and temperature in the seventies. There had been some low lying fog before reaching the city but for the rest of the day until late afternoon there was sunshine and occasional clouds. I decided to sit square to the wicket about three rows from the top below the member’s lounge and quickly found the sun so hot that I had to cover my knees with my coat.
Yesterday Durham bowlers tried hard but found the pitch flat and a Member explained that there had been no rain for a month and obviously the Groundsman had done his best to reduce the impact of the Durham pacemen men as soon as learning that Worcestershire had won the toss and decided to bat. At one point with the total 54 for 2 and again when the total was 120 for four and 197 for six it looked as if the home team would struggle to reach 250 but they fought well to finish the day something like 334 for 9. It took Durham half an hour or so to gain the last wicket in the morning with the Worcestershire total 356. The previous day I had heard a Member forecasting that with the wicket playing so well Durham would still be batting well into Friday. With Durham reaching 100 before lunch without a loss of wicket this mixture of spectating experience and my intuition looked accurate. Having eaten lunch early on and enjoyed a large glass of Pepsi with ice and lemon for £1.60 I crossed back to the car in the interval for my sun hat wishing that I had also remembered the sun cream.
I had excellent chats with two Worcestershire couples during the afternoon session. In both instances what I had to say about Durham proved accurate especially that if you do not dismiss Chanderpaul within first few overs he will score 100 with appearing effortlessness.
Michael Di Venuto continued his spectacular season with another 100 and passing 1500 runs for Durham, the first member of the Durham to achieve this total and also passing the number of runs he had previously scored in first class cricket in a season. I am not certain at this stage if he will surpass the runs scored by Trescothwick.
Coetzer had looked well set but went for 44 and captain Smith played a silly shot to go for 28 and at 207 for 3 thoughts of batting most of Friday until reaching 701 seemed unrealistic and then Chanderpaul was joined by former captain Blenkenstein and they professionally set about the task of breaking the hearts of the young Worcestershire bowlers to end the day undefeated in a stand of over 180 runs with Chanderpaul’s third century in four innings, Benkenstein on 91 and the total 390 for 3. 701 had become a realistic target for Friday and to give the bowlers the opportunity to gain a wicket or two before the final day. For the final session I moved back into the sun behind the wicket and found myself with various members of the Durham Travellers club who are staying at a Hotel in Droitwitch. By the time play ended there were mostly Durham supporters to celebrate the situation and I speculated how many Worcestershire members would come for the penultimate day of cricket in the first division of the championship.
The traffic was at its worst as I made my way to the car standing solid all around the park in three lanes. My first intention was to leave the bag and make my way into the city for a meal but I then saw a McDonalds on the other side of the road so I made this my destination for a McChicken sandwich, fries and a coffee medium size for £3.69. That is less cost than my breakfast. When I commenced the journey home at about 6.45 the roadway had become clear and I was back by 7.30 with the only disappointment that Sainsbury’s had closed the entrance opposite and I was too lazy to go round to car park entrance to see if the rear had close as well. The plan in the morning is to set off even earlier and find somewhere to have breakfast.
The plan nearly misfired as the alarm did not go off but I was able to be away by about half past seven and found my way to the car park with only two minor stops around 8.15, It was a chill walk through the Park and I regretted not putting on my outer coat as I made my way via the underpass into the shopping area up the hill deciding not to explore the Coop store and go on to the full size Sainsbury, but disappointed that there was no café or coffee dispenser. I purchased fruit, croissants and a pack of Eccles cakes as they had not yet filled the shelves with new Danish pastries that I prefer, and made my way back to the vehicle noting that there was a fish and chip shop and a Indian or was it Chinese restaurant but no where for a coffee or afternoon tea, yet two large supermarkets.
I then went over to the McDonalds for a bacon roll, Worcester sauce included plus a large hash brown and a good size coffee for £2.79. Excellent value compared to that at the cricket club. The next task was to prepare two of the rolls as I had only salami left for the third. I had purchased a small carton of Scottish crab which I liberally divided between the two rolls using my finger. It was rapidly approaching 9.30 so it was then time to test out my belief that although I had left my ticket in the case at the travel lodge a duplicate would be issued from this area. Because the alarm had not gone off and I was determined to leave earlier than the previous two days I had rushed out forgetting that I had been keeping the tickets in the case in the room. I was right in my assumption and there was no problem getting a duplicate after giving my name and address. I found myself an aisle seat towards the end of the Graham Hicks pavilion after finding the lift at the back although there is no signing and it not visible unless you go looking. This is because the location of the pavilion entrance up a long flight of steps before the stewards guarding the car park entrance means that anyone could walk to the lift off the street and reach the Tom Graveney Members’ lounge or the players dressing rooms on the floor above. It is without doubt the worst designed Members and players pavilion I have encountered and what do the wives with young children do? It was also a sight seeing the staff including Geoff Cook having to take the gear up the levels of steep steps. Clearly the county had not heard of the Disabled person’s Act when the Pavilion was created and one feels this is a club which struggles to shed its tradition. Oddly they have inserted high gates between the member’s sating below the pavilion and the rest of stadium which includes some areas for members. The annual prices for subscriptions are comparatively high although there is a reciprocal arrangement with Gloucestershire and Somerset and did include Glamorgan before they became a test playing county. The reality is that there is now a Premier division and a championship in cricket in terms of both playing abilities and grounds. Durham is now firmly planted in both
The weather and the cricket did not live up to what I had hoped for. The weather turned overcast and was chilly at times so I had to keep on the inner jacket of my coat for most of the day. It did brighten for brief periods during the afternoon, clouding over again after tea and I needed my outer coat by the time I went over to PC World after the day’s play was over. I upset a Worcestershire member by in response to a greeting from another member met the previous day who commented that I had been right about Chanderpaul. I said the plan for the day was score 701 runs before declaration and for four Durham players to get centuries again given that two had already been achieved and Benkenstein was only a few runs from his. I also added that they had half a dozen overs to get Chanderpaul out or he would bat all day and night.
What happened is that Benkenstein got out and Ian Blackwell and Philip Mustard failed to establish themselves into the fourth century was Liam Plunket getting 52 so Chanderpaul played his natural role and anchored the side reaching 150 and 175 exceptionally slowly scoring only 30 runs in a session and reaching his 200 an hour after tea. Before then Claydon and Davies had caused cheering on the player’s balcony as they gained fours in a message to Chanderpaul to get on with it, but he continued in his own way. Because of this although the team scored over 600 runs, close to 650 they were short of both the club record established against Notts and the 701 target I was convinced they were aiming for. That I was nearly right also upset quite a few of the Worcestershire supporters including the elderly couple behind who explained that it was tradition for the members to have to stand in line half an hour before the official tea time with their backs to the play queuing for their tea and large chunk of tea which they then took on trays to various parts of the stadium including the Members Pavilion where there was also tea but no cake. I advised that for £4.50 at Durham tea comprised sandwiches, cream scones, two pieces of quiche and sausage rolls.
Most of the Worcestershire Members departed before the declaration with those who stayed divided between watching a spectacular unexpected performance but the England one day side against Sri Lanka, winning by six wickets and five overs to spare, or stay and moan about the batting of Chanderpaul. I thought the young Worcestershire bowlers did exceptionally well given the way the pitch had been prepared, the lack of rain over the past month, their relegation and the departure of leading players to other counties offering to pay more.
I had enjoyed my visit to Worcestershire but learnt the lesson that there is a price to pay for keeping a good view.
As the traffic had eased considerably I decide not to repeat the evening visit to McDonald’s but use up the packet soup, beans and rice with the rest of the carton of grapes, and second Eccles cake by way of an evening meal. I had bought a game pad rather than a Joystick at PC World because one was obtained for under £10 with the rest in the region of £30 and then bought for another £10 a copy of Luxor, there was also Zuma and three for two offer was tempting but as Vista was not shown on the DVD case I was cautious. In fact there is no provision to use a game pad with the game and there were no instruction on how to use the various controls on the pad if there had. I will see if my one without a USB connection provides the information. However instead of writing up these notes I did enjoy using the built in mouse with the loaded full screen game and respectable 1 million points with one of the three games includes but had just as much difficulty getting beyond level 2.4 with the same game as on the free edition. It will require some working out as well as the great speed and mobility available with the wireless mouse.
I also watched Rebus and a French film about the government producing a clean bomb which they proposed to District 13 a no go area of area of Paris run by criminals with the schools, hospitals and other public services closed and some two million inhabitants of the capital in the vicinity.
I had watched the new series of Question Time and the Politics Show and a programme about how Brown did in fact provide a solution to the Banking crisis which was better than the American of buying the bad debts. He has also been made international statesman of the year but his popularity within his Party and the country generally does not improved. There is his failure to insist that the Chief Law Office does not retire after her failure to check that an employee had no right to work or stay in the UK although she may well have been set up. There was the allegation that the White House had snubbed the attempts of Brown for public meeting with the President who is hosting the GO in the USA and recently chaired the UN top committee, in advance of condemnation of Iran for operating a second establishment designed to create the fuel for nuclear weaponry as well as energy. One wonders did the info come from al-Gaddafi or through al-Gaddafi hence the release of the Lockerbie man. There are sections of the British media that have become so party politically orientated that they cannot see the wood for the trees but the Telegraph revelations about how and why they got hold of the information about Member‘s expenses is more interesting and relevant. More on all these things over the weekend.
I could not resist taking a peak to see if the free parking was full and this lost a further ten minutes turning the vehicle around and rejoining the traffic in the one system around the park. There were about a dozen spaces left in the car park where the charge for the full day was only £3.50. It was also a pleasant walk through the park and across the main road to the ground where only a few spectators had arrived, although I was order number 26 for coffee and a bacon roll costing £4.50 three times that at the Ship and Royal in South Shields. It all reminds that long gone are the days that you would find Durham players sneaking off for a hamburger during a match.
There was considerable difference in the weather with the sun shinning warm and temperature in the seventies. There had been some low lying fog before reaching the city but for the rest of the day until late afternoon there was sunshine and occasional clouds. I decided to sit square to the wicket about three rows from the top below the member’s lounge and quickly found the sun so hot that I had to cover my knees with my coat.
Yesterday Durham bowlers tried hard but found the pitch flat and a Member explained that there had been no rain for a month and obviously the Groundsman had done his best to reduce the impact of the Durham pacemen men as soon as learning that Worcestershire had won the toss and decided to bat. At one point with the total 54 for 2 and again when the total was 120 for four and 197 for six it looked as if the home team would struggle to reach 250 but they fought well to finish the day something like 334 for 9. It took Durham half an hour or so to gain the last wicket in the morning with the Worcestershire total 356. The previous day I had heard a Member forecasting that with the wicket playing so well Durham would still be batting well into Friday. With Durham reaching 100 before lunch without a loss of wicket this mixture of spectating experience and my intuition looked accurate. Having eaten lunch early on and enjoyed a large glass of Pepsi with ice and lemon for £1.60 I crossed back to the car in the interval for my sun hat wishing that I had also remembered the sun cream.
I had excellent chats with two Worcestershire couples during the afternoon session. In both instances what I had to say about Durham proved accurate especially that if you do not dismiss Chanderpaul within first few overs he will score 100 with appearing effortlessness.
Michael Di Venuto continued his spectacular season with another 100 and passing 1500 runs for Durham, the first member of the Durham to achieve this total and also passing the number of runs he had previously scored in first class cricket in a season. I am not certain at this stage if he will surpass the runs scored by Trescothwick.
Coetzer had looked well set but went for 44 and captain Smith played a silly shot to go for 28 and at 207 for 3 thoughts of batting most of Friday until reaching 701 seemed unrealistic and then Chanderpaul was joined by former captain Blenkenstein and they professionally set about the task of breaking the hearts of the young Worcestershire bowlers to end the day undefeated in a stand of over 180 runs with Chanderpaul’s third century in four innings, Benkenstein on 91 and the total 390 for 3. 701 had become a realistic target for Friday and to give the bowlers the opportunity to gain a wicket or two before the final day. For the final session I moved back into the sun behind the wicket and found myself with various members of the Durham Travellers club who are staying at a Hotel in Droitwitch. By the time play ended there were mostly Durham supporters to celebrate the situation and I speculated how many Worcestershire members would come for the penultimate day of cricket in the first division of the championship.
The traffic was at its worst as I made my way to the car standing solid all around the park in three lanes. My first intention was to leave the bag and make my way into the city for a meal but I then saw a McDonalds on the other side of the road so I made this my destination for a McChicken sandwich, fries and a coffee medium size for £3.69. That is less cost than my breakfast. When I commenced the journey home at about 6.45 the roadway had become clear and I was back by 7.30 with the only disappointment that Sainsbury’s had closed the entrance opposite and I was too lazy to go round to car park entrance to see if the rear had close as well. The plan in the morning is to set off even earlier and find somewhere to have breakfast.
The plan nearly misfired as the alarm did not go off but I was able to be away by about half past seven and found my way to the car park with only two minor stops around 8.15, It was a chill walk through the Park and I regretted not putting on my outer coat as I made my way via the underpass into the shopping area up the hill deciding not to explore the Coop store and go on to the full size Sainsbury, but disappointed that there was no café or coffee dispenser. I purchased fruit, croissants and a pack of Eccles cakes as they had not yet filled the shelves with new Danish pastries that I prefer, and made my way back to the vehicle noting that there was a fish and chip shop and a Indian or was it Chinese restaurant but no where for a coffee or afternoon tea, yet two large supermarkets.
I then went over to the McDonalds for a bacon roll, Worcester sauce included plus a large hash brown and a good size coffee for £2.79. Excellent value compared to that at the cricket club. The next task was to prepare two of the rolls as I had only salami left for the third. I had purchased a small carton of Scottish crab which I liberally divided between the two rolls using my finger. It was rapidly approaching 9.30 so it was then time to test out my belief that although I had left my ticket in the case at the travel lodge a duplicate would be issued from this area. Because the alarm had not gone off and I was determined to leave earlier than the previous two days I had rushed out forgetting that I had been keeping the tickets in the case in the room. I was right in my assumption and there was no problem getting a duplicate after giving my name and address. I found myself an aisle seat towards the end of the Graham Hicks pavilion after finding the lift at the back although there is no signing and it not visible unless you go looking. This is because the location of the pavilion entrance up a long flight of steps before the stewards guarding the car park entrance means that anyone could walk to the lift off the street and reach the Tom Graveney Members’ lounge or the players dressing rooms on the floor above. It is without doubt the worst designed Members and players pavilion I have encountered and what do the wives with young children do? It was also a sight seeing the staff including Geoff Cook having to take the gear up the levels of steep steps. Clearly the county had not heard of the Disabled person’s Act when the Pavilion was created and one feels this is a club which struggles to shed its tradition. Oddly they have inserted high gates between the member’s sating below the pavilion and the rest of stadium which includes some areas for members. The annual prices for subscriptions are comparatively high although there is a reciprocal arrangement with Gloucestershire and Somerset and did include Glamorgan before they became a test playing county. The reality is that there is now a Premier division and a championship in cricket in terms of both playing abilities and grounds. Durham is now firmly planted in both
The weather and the cricket did not live up to what I had hoped for. The weather turned overcast and was chilly at times so I had to keep on the inner jacket of my coat for most of the day. It did brighten for brief periods during the afternoon, clouding over again after tea and I needed my outer coat by the time I went over to PC World after the day’s play was over. I upset a Worcestershire member by in response to a greeting from another member met the previous day who commented that I had been right about Chanderpaul. I said the plan for the day was score 701 runs before declaration and for four Durham players to get centuries again given that two had already been achieved and Benkenstein was only a few runs from his. I also added that they had half a dozen overs to get Chanderpaul out or he would bat all day and night.
What happened is that Benkenstein got out and Ian Blackwell and Philip Mustard failed to establish themselves into the fourth century was Liam Plunket getting 52 so Chanderpaul played his natural role and anchored the side reaching 150 and 175 exceptionally slowly scoring only 30 runs in a session and reaching his 200 an hour after tea. Before then Claydon and Davies had caused cheering on the player’s balcony as they gained fours in a message to Chanderpaul to get on with it, but he continued in his own way. Because of this although the team scored over 600 runs, close to 650 they were short of both the club record established against Notts and the 701 target I was convinced they were aiming for. That I was nearly right also upset quite a few of the Worcestershire supporters including the elderly couple behind who explained that it was tradition for the members to have to stand in line half an hour before the official tea time with their backs to the play queuing for their tea and large chunk of tea which they then took on trays to various parts of the stadium including the Members Pavilion where there was also tea but no cake. I advised that for £4.50 at Durham tea comprised sandwiches, cream scones, two pieces of quiche and sausage rolls.
Most of the Worcestershire Members departed before the declaration with those who stayed divided between watching a spectacular unexpected performance but the England one day side against Sri Lanka, winning by six wickets and five overs to spare, or stay and moan about the batting of Chanderpaul. I thought the young Worcestershire bowlers did exceptionally well given the way the pitch had been prepared, the lack of rain over the past month, their relegation and the departure of leading players to other counties offering to pay more.
I had enjoyed my visit to Worcestershire but learnt the lesson that there is a price to pay for keeping a good view.
As the traffic had eased considerably I decide not to repeat the evening visit to McDonald’s but use up the packet soup, beans and rice with the rest of the carton of grapes, and second Eccles cake by way of an evening meal. I had bought a game pad rather than a Joystick at PC World because one was obtained for under £10 with the rest in the region of £30 and then bought for another £10 a copy of Luxor, there was also Zuma and three for two offer was tempting but as Vista was not shown on the DVD case I was cautious. In fact there is no provision to use a game pad with the game and there were no instruction on how to use the various controls on the pad if there had. I will see if my one without a USB connection provides the information. However instead of writing up these notes I did enjoy using the built in mouse with the loaded full screen game and respectable 1 million points with one of the three games includes but had just as much difficulty getting beyond level 2.4 with the same game as on the free edition. It will require some working out as well as the great speed and mobility available with the wireless mouse.
I also watched Rebus and a French film about the government producing a clean bomb which they proposed to District 13 a no go area of area of Paris run by criminals with the schools, hospitals and other public services closed and some two million inhabitants of the capital in the vicinity.
I had watched the new series of Question Time and the Politics Show and a programme about how Brown did in fact provide a solution to the Banking crisis which was better than the American of buying the bad debts. He has also been made international statesman of the year but his popularity within his Party and the country generally does not improved. There is his failure to insist that the Chief Law Office does not retire after her failure to check that an employee had no right to work or stay in the UK although she may well have been set up. There was the allegation that the White House had snubbed the attempts of Brown for public meeting with the President who is hosting the GO in the USA and recently chaired the UN top committee, in advance of condemnation of Iran for operating a second establishment designed to create the fuel for nuclear weaponry as well as energy. One wonders did the info come from al-Gaddafi or through al-Gaddafi hence the release of the Lockerbie man. There are sections of the British media that have become so party politically orientated that they cannot see the wood for the trees but the Telegraph revelations about how and why they got hold of the information about Member‘s expenses is more interesting and relevant. More on all these things over the weekend.
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