Ashes to Slashes

Kev describes how he manages his combination of following the various forms of Cricket. One was unpredicatbly exciting to the end , the other was the Test Match.

Those who know me are well aware cricket wise I would always put watching Middlesex before watching England. This morning, the way the Test match was poised I could potentially watch the Test at home up until lunch. After all It takes approx an hour an quarter, depending on connections, to get to Richmond, so if Test is still going on I can have views of Test match action from the Richmond Pavilion bar or if desperate I can find a pub in Richmond or even one near West Hampstead on route.    With the Aussies needing  just after noon 80 needed with one wicket left I was confident the Test would not be a Middlesex distraction. I was watching the final few overs before what I thought would be lunch Hi-Fi’s 2 overs concede 24 runs. Then I forgot there was an extra half hour and it was really too gripping to leave home. And aagh Hi Fi dropped a difficult catch. At 1:29 Broad is blatantly time wasting trying to delay his over (this guy earns little credit again) by taking his shoe on and off. The umpires allow another over at 1:30.

 I’m now leaving home at 1:35, missing a connection I wanted from West Hampstead to get Richmond station just before 2.30 and I’m going to be at this game late. I decide to catch the Test Match finish on my phone, otherwise potentially I’m going to miss too much of this must win for Middx 20/20 match, which of course is all that matters.  In case you don’t know England won by 14 runs I was at Willesden Junction at this time, I would have been at Richmond Station then, if it wasn’t for Stuart Broad’s shoe lace moment. Such are the margins.

 I find out thanks to Chunky from MTWD Hants won toss and we are batting.  Just as the train I’m on arrives at Richmond station my phone tells me we are 27-0 off 4.   I arrive 20 minutes into game we are 43-2 after 7 overs. Somehow I expected more. I missed most of next two overs due to a much needed bar visit our score 57-2 after 9 overs.   Soon after there followed 2 successive wides followed by a succession of dot balls. Our innings was waiting to take off and perhaps this the moment after dropped catch Mala hits a four- this could be the impetus.   The run rate continued at just over 6 an over. Voges is out in deep going for a big hit. Rossington added some much needed acceleration, until he wqs out from full toss that landed straight in fielder’s hands.  Given we were on 99 after 15 our final score of 162 looked relatively good. The conversation amongst the masses we were between 20/50 far too short.  Maybe more?

 The Hants reply. Oh dear. It was from the start boundary after boundary and yet another boundary. Gurjit Sandhu really suffering from their boundary fest. Our 1^st wicket was achieved by lucky deflection run out by Ravi's bowling. By the 10^th over they were 113-1- game over. In front of my vision there was an over bevied up excited Hants fan who became annoying. After another succession of boundaries there was a rare dot ball, I couldn’t resist a chant of “ You’re not singing anymore”, to him on my own.   He was excited and excitable and then he became very vocal talking about what happened to Hampshire at Sussex last Friday. Back to this game, it was a matter of time Hants won with 5 overs to spare, it was really easy for them. It was never a contest after 3^rd over when their score 41-0.

 After match I shook the perhaps rather annoying Hants fan by the hand.  He was trying to tell me why he was upset about what annoyed him about their performance against Sussex last Friday. The same day we thrashed Essex, who today thrashed Sussex.  I conclude the only predictable thing about cricket is it’s unpredictable and given the events at Trent Bridge this may apply to the other form of the game.

  Once again for obvious reasons the Dext player of month presentation did not happen. I also  hope Hi Fi comes out better from what was a tough day for him.