All Set up for a Photo Finnish

Way Out West provides a truncated yet detailed report on a day of many ebbs and flows , engagement with drinking and the views from the Mrs.  Another excellent read.  

Standing room only on the train not made any easier by the presence of ten 15 year olds going to watch Swindon at Gillingham. They seemed to be somewhat confused and spent the whole time singing Millwall and Chelsea songs, and drinking Strongbow. Strange. Mrs WayOutWest was making a very rare appearance having previously attended two 20/20 games at Lords and Canterbury.

 She asked “is it 20/20 or 40/40 today”. “Um, it’s a four day game” I nervously replied. “Oh, they won’t be wearing their nice pink tops then”. I told her Steve Finn was playing and that cheered her up as she seems to have developed a crush on him over the winter. A bit worrying as I am less than 6 feet tall.

 Onto the cricket and we manage to miss the wicket of Dexter before we even sit down. 132/6, it is very dark and very cold once again; the previous two beautiful Aprils are but a distant memory. Berg quickly goes and we are 137/7 and the very sparse crowd is very quiet. Luckily the hero of my first report, Carlsberg Man is present and correct and in fine form.

 Tim Murtagh plays another breezy innings, as does TRJ, but Finn lasts only two balls much to the disappointment of my wife and we are 188 all out, Onions having bowled very well.

 Half an hour or so of very loose bowling follows, albeit with a couple of loud appeals, as Di Venuto and Smith go about their job with much aggression and vigour. In summary, not a great morning, time for some lunch and a drink.

 A nice pint in a Samuel Smith pub was followed by lunch in Café Laville located on a bridge overlooking the canal in Little Venice. Very nice indeed, a little too nice as it stretched way past two o’clock.

 Durham had moved onto 74/2 with the run rate around the 4.5 mark. Both Collingwood and Stokes looked very confident although TRJ getting them to play and miss on many occasions. Sat in the Grandstand with the sun now out, it felt like Middlesex had firmly arrived in Division One watching these two classy individuals.  No disrespect to Surrey, but we have been with them in Division Two, so nice to see different players.

TRJ had Collingwood caught by Strauss with the score 109/3, definitely much needed. Stokes soon went, Finn looking very sharp back from his winter in the sun. This bought Blackwell to the crease, prompting me to tell Mrs WOW that Blackwell was probably one of the fattest players on the county circuit (Cosgrave when at Glamorgan always looked particularly “athletic). Amazingly she said I was being unfair. However, a couple of minutes later she admitted “yes, he is quite big isn’t he?” Maybe he overheard us because he wasn’t his usual fluent self and went LBW to Finn, Benkenstein having already departed.

 All in all, a good session for Middlesex, getting us back into the game, although the positive actions of Durham definitely keeping a result possible.

 The Evening session was all set to be very interesting indeed, but here is where I have to make a confession.  Mrs WOW had decided that it was time to go as she mentioned that we only had a babysitter until 5.30pm (why she didn’t mention this earlier I can only speculate). My protest fell on deaf ears and so I will have to leave the details to those who actually managed to watch the whole day. Despite the truncated day, another interesting one and my view from Ceefax when I got home, suggests that we will do very well to get out of it with a draw.