The Roots of a Sporting Love

Most sports fans have watershed moments.  Moments they attribute to contributing greatly in them initially falling in love with the game.  Moments they remember from early on that got them hooked.  Moments they will remember fondly and reminisce about for the rest of their lives.

For some it would be the first time they walked on the hallowed turf, that first walk to the stadium to watch their team with butterflies in the stomach or perhaps a particularly iconic moment in the game that made them stand up and take notice.  For others it would be the first time they met a famous player or the first time they watched or played the game.

A lot of these memories for me, as for many other people i’m sure, also bring back fond memories of great times spent with family and friends.

When I think of my love of football and indeed Man United I think of the FA Cup Finals of the past.  One of my earliest memories, sat watching Man United vs Crystal Palace (1990) with my dad in my living room.  Running out into the garden at half time to have a kick around with my brother.  This one memory alone conjuring up a bagful of further memories of fun times playing footy with my brother.

 A school trip to France a few years later, Brian McClair sealing a 4-0 victory against Chelsea (1994).  Some of the class ecstatic, others dejected.  This takes me back in time.  Reminds me of classmates standing on the tables in celebration, ribbing the Chelsea supporters of the group.  The Chelsea supporters claiming that they were unlucky when Gavin Peacock hit the cross bar and saying that they were the better team in the first half and would have won if only they'd scored first.  That evening of pure ecstasy, elation, unbridled joy.

For me, cricket doesn’t have a huge number of early memories associated with it.  My mum and dad weren’t keen for me to watch too much cricket.  Understandably, they felt I could be doing something better with my time other than sitting in front of the TV for hours on end.  Though, given half the chance, I would happily have sat and watched every single ball of a test match.  I find it sad that there are kids these days that are only interested in T20 and haven’t fallen in love with the test game in the way that I did.

Most of my earliest and fondest memories involve watching cricket with my Grandad.  He really enjoyed cricket and would happily while away a few hours watching the game.  He had strong beliefs in it being a gentlemanly game, with little celebration.  I remember how horrified he was when Dominic Cork appealed vociferously for a wicket.  Turning to face the umpire, legs wide apart, arms outstretched, all mad eyes and shouts, with white streaks of sunblock covering his face.  It didn’t sit nicely with him at all.  He would reminisce about the good old days of no celebrations.  Where the odd polite enquiry and a few pats on the back were the norm.

From those days I remember watching Atherton vs Donald live.  Walsh and Ambrose tearing strips out of every opposition, the seeming invincibility of the Aussie batting line-up (the Waugh brothers in particular).   Dickie Bird and David Sheppard umpiring away.  I remember visiting my Grandparents for afternoon tea desperately hoping that we’d be able to see the game until close of play.

There have been many many happy memories since and i’m sure there will be many more to come.  Whatever these memories might be they’ll have to go a long way to beat those first few memories.  The memories that helped to sow the seed!

The End of a Summer to Remember

I’ve had a number of issues with mental health over the years and the one thing that has been hugely beneficial in helping me through the bad times has been cricket.  Putting a day aside to relax in the sunshine, watching a sport I love amongst people with a similar passion for the game.  Becoming engrossed in the on-field battles between bat and ball and forgetting my troubles until close of play.

My first summer as an avid, don't want to miss a game, cricket fan has now come to an end.  With the superb New Zealand series, the much improved coverage of the Women’s game over all media formats and with the England men regaining the Ashes, it’s certainly been a summer to remember.

Joe Root has shone throughout, continually maturing and looking more and more like a once in a generation player.  The same could be said for Ben Stokes, who has the makings of a Beefy or a Freddie.  Anderson and Broad have continued to look good and Wood is a excellent prospect, assuming he can keep his pace up around the 90s.

Surrey themselves have had an incredible season, getting to the final of the One Day Cup and gaining promotion to the first division by winning the second division championship, sealing it on the last final day of the summer.  I’d have to say that my stand out players for Surrey this season have been the Curran brothers, Batty, Sangakkara and Ansari.  Pietersen deserves a mention too, if only for that memorable innings against Leicestershire.  Worth the Surrey membership fee alone, it ultimately didn’t end with an England call up.

Cricket of course carries on throughout the off-season, going on tour from now until the new year.  First, England play 3 tests in the UAE vs Pakistan (starting on Tuesday) before moving on to South Africa for a 4 test series, with a number of ODI/T20 games thrown in for good measure.  All of these games will be on Sky and i’ll do what I can to watch as much of the action as possible, despite the time differences and work commitments.

It’s my plan next summer to visit a number of the county grounds, as part of my mission detailed in a previous blog post to eventually visit every county ground in the country.  It’s an exciting prospect for me and one that I hope will serve as an incentive to be sensible in the coming months and to save up for the various trips I plan on undertaking next year.

Thanks for a great summer, cricket.  You have been good to me!

Canterbury Bails!

I’ve kept a keen eye on the England Women’s results for the last 2 or 3 years, since I rekindled my interest in the game of cricket to a somewhat excessive degree. 

I went to my first Women’s cricket match at the Oval this year.  It was a T20 game and Middlesex won convincingly versus Surrey.  There was a smallish crowd at the game, despite the fact that the game was free to watch.

It was great to see a large number of future stars watching the game but it annoyed me that such talented cricketers had very little following compared to the men.  I had been to a men’s T20 game a week previously and the crowd had been over 20000 strong.  To add to my chagrin there was little or no interest from the stewards when it came to movement behind the bowlers arm, the crowd moving around in front of the sight screen at will, ignoring the signs on every seat asking people to only move at the end of an over.  It was then and there that I decided to take more of an interest in the Women’s game.

When I discovered that the Women’s Ashes Test Match was taking place at Canterbury, I hurried to grab tickets to the first day of the test.  Not only did I love the city but now I had the chance to see an Ashes test for £15 pounds…and that was the expensive ticket!  It took another few weeks for me to decide to book tickets for day 2 as well, spending the night in a Canterbury hotel.

I arrived a little late on Tuesday morning due to the length of time it took to make the journey.  It turns out I missed an outstanding spell of bowling from Katherine Brunt, a player I love due to her slightly unhinged nature, talent and fighting spirit.

I absolutely loved the day.  It was great to see such a large crowd, so many players i’d seen a bit of already thanks to Sky, players i’d been following on Twitter for a while and players who were all incredibly talented.  The coverage of the game on both Sky and TMS had clearly made a huge difference to the crowd numbers.  The professional nature of the game was there for all to see, even though the women have only recently been given similar treatment to those in the mens game.  I spoke to a few supporters at the ground, who had a really impressive knowledge of the game.  Depressingly, the day didn’t pass without one particular fan making a comment that the game would be a lot more interesting if all the girls were naked.  Why couldn't a day as good as that pass without casual sexism!

Sarah Taylor’s wicket keeping, Anya Shrubsole’s bowling, Katherine Brunt’s mammoth effort and Lydia Greenway’s fielding all stood out on the first day, along with some impressive batting from Jess Jonassen in particular.  The game was as good as the men’s game and no less professional.

Unfortunately the second day had a 2.5 hour rain delay and they still decided to take a lunch break…something common in cricket, which has forever puzzled, bemused and irritated me in equal measure.  As I was so tired and had a long journey back to Sutton, I decided to leave during lunch break.

England ended up losing the test to a very impressive Australian team, despite the rain delays.  On the plus side, I’ve no doubt that days like day 1 will help produce superb English Women cricketers for the foreseeable future.

Puppy Love!

It’s quite astonishing how quickly fortunes can change in cricket.

Clarke, lauded for his captaincy in the World Cup, winning in style, with Australia only picking up the one defeat against New Zealand on route.  Cook, lacking in form, dropped as one day captain days before the World Cup started, question marks over whether he would ever captain England again in any form of the game…and that’s without taking the 5-0 drubbing in Australia into account.

Now, England have won the Ashes in style.  Cook has rediscovered his form with the bat and his captaincy is finally being praised.  Clarke however seems a shadow of his former self, apologising after every game for his poor performances, looking like a shell of the player he once was.  Lost and dejected.

Clarke announced his retirement during the 4th test.  Something which I can’t really understand.  Why retire mid-test?  Why in the middle of an Ashes series?  Why after only one evening of discussions with friends and family?  How did the Aussie press get hold of the story and why did he not get to announce the decision himself?  I do feel there’s more to this story than meets the eye, though I doubt we’ll ever know the facts.

Whatever truly happened, Clarke should be considered a great of the game.  He has captained brilliantly at times, some of his batting performances have been sublime and many of his centuries should go down in Aussie folklore.  None more so than the century he scored vs India, closely following on from the death of his good friend Philip Hughes and fighting through the pain of a back injury.

I have no doubt that the death of Hughes affected Clarke’s game and outlook on life.  Nothing makes you think more about what truly matters than an incident like that.  He dealt with the aftermath beautifully with his very public grieving, finally winning the hearts of some Aussie doubters in the process…but i’ve no doubt that it must have taken a huge amount out of him emotionally and mentally.

Whatever Aussies think of the man, I personally feel that Clarke should be considered a legend of  the game and if I had one i'd tip my hat to you, Pup!

For a more eloquent Clarke tribute see the article below:

ESPN Article

Around the Grounds

I’ve loved cricket for a long time but in the last year, since splitting from my wife and spending 6 months off work with illness, it has become a huge contributing factor in my wellbeing and road to recovery.  I paid for a Surrey county membership for the first time this year and have been to a large number of County, one day and T20 games at the Oval.  I’ve fully embraced cricket on social media and have recently started this blog.  Now I would like to go one step further in my love for the game.

Since visiting Lords on a few occasions and visiting both the SCG and MCG on a trip to Australia it’s given me a newfound desire to visit all of crickets major grounds both in this country and abroad.

So, starting with this country, that’s what I plan to do.

Major Cricket Grounds - England and Wales:

The Oval - Surrey - VISITED

Lords - Middlesex - VISITED

Trent Bridge - Nottinghamshire

New Road - Worcestershire

Grace Road - Leicestershire

Wantage Road - Northamptonshire

The Spitfire Ground - Kent

The Rose Bowl - Hampshire

Edgbaston - Warwickshire

Chester-le-Street (Riverside Ground) - Durham

The SWALEC Stadium - Glamorgan

Old Trafford - Lancashire

Headingley - Yorkshire

County Ground, Taunton - Somerset

County Ground, Derby - Derbyshire

Nevil Road - Gloucestershire

County Ground, Hove - Sussex

County Ground, Chelmsford - Essex

…Starting with The Spitfire Ground next Tuesday!

Another swing of the pendulum...An England perspective

After 3 tests few comparisons can be made to the astonishing series of 10 years ago, when almost every test went down to the wire.  This series has so far been entertaining, though it's been a tale of 2 teams taking it in turns to win convincingly.

England took a much deserved 2-1 series lead yesterday.  It was a dominant display, much needed after the mediocre performance at Lords.  It was great to see a few England players really step up to the mark to silence critics.

Finn, with a decent performance in the first innings with the ball and 2 key wickets, produced a performance in the second that has surely cemented his place in the team for the remainder of the series.  He bowled both quickly and accurately, picking up career best figures in the process (6-79) and rightly receiving the man of the match award.  From unselectable to undroppable.

Bell showed signs of being back to his fluent best, scoring decent half centuries in each of his innings.  He played aggressively throughout and despite 1 or 2 scares looked comfortable and struck the ball well.

Anderson, wicketless at Lords and with figures of 0-137 (only the 6th time he’s ended a test wicketless) left a few people with short memories wondering whether he still had what it takes.  He responded in typical fashion with figures of 6-47 in the first innings.  Unfortunately, after bowling economically in the second innings and gaining a wicket, he picked up a side strain which is likely to rule him out not just for the next game but for the remainder of the series.

Out of the England team there is only one player who will be truly worried when selections are made for the next test.  Adam Lyth only managed scores of 10 and 12 in his two innings at Edgbaston.  That means that excluding the 107 he scored against New Zealand, in the other 9 innings he’s batted in he has only scored 115 runs, at an average of 12.8.  I personally believe that he should still be given the rest of the series.  Other than maybe Alex Hales, there is no obvious replacement waiting in the wings.  England have been guilty in the past of not giving players enough time to bed themselves into the team before looking elsewhere.

Finally, a word on Joe Root.  Another half century followed by a score of 38 not out, continuing his excellent vein of form.  It doesn’t seem to matter what position he plays at the moment or in what circumstances he enters the fray.  He is the brightest star for England now and will be for years to come.

England vs Australia - Edgbaston - 3rd Ashes Test

Hi all!

As a start to my new cricket blog I thought i'd provide a few thoughts on the England team likely to play Australia tomorrow.  So, here goes...

Alastair Cook

I have to admit that during his dip in form of the last 2 or 3 years I had my doubts that Cook still had what it takes.  Class may be permanent but he looked more and more vulnerable outside the off stump and though his scores weren’t exactly binary, he was failing to make the 50s and 100s that we had all become accustomed to.  His captaincy was, at times, baffling; more cautious, defensively minded and orthodox than the lauded, more experimental captains of India, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

However, in the last few months he has become the Cook of old with the bat.  Leaving anything outside off stump better than any other batsman of the modern era and forcing the bowlers to bowl to his strengths; for the pull shot, the cut shot or the clip off his legs.  A combination of a new regime and this new found form has led to a marked change in the quality of his captaincy.  He’s becoming more experimental, more attacking and taking more risks.

The Verdict:

He should remain in the team as captain for the next 2 or so years until Root matures and gains the knowledge and experience needed to take over from Cook.

Adam Lyth

I’m yet to be convinced by Lyth.  Granted he made a century against New Zealand…no mean feat against the current NZ pace attack of Southee/Boult.  He’s also shown potential on a number of occasions, playing his shots and getting out either to good deliveries or in showing the kind of aggressive intent maybe inadvisable of an opener while the ball is still swinging. 

Since Strauss, the opening spot alongside Cook has been very much up for grabs.  A number have tried including Robson (11 innings), Compton (17 innings), Carberry (12 innings) and Root (10 innings).  In my book, neither of these have really been given long enough to bed themselves into the position (many say that Sam Robson should never have been given the opportunity in the first place, though a high score of 127 against Sri Lanka suggests he had at least a degree of potential).  For this reason more than any other I feel that Lyth should be given longer.  He really ought to have opened in the West Indies, something which I feel would have given him the confidence to face New Zealand and Australia in the summer.

The Verdict:

He should be given the rest of the series to prove himself and to bed himself in to the team.  In my opinion a team can afford to take a punt on 1 or 2 players who’ve underperformed in the hope of them coming good.  If he doesn’t make a score or 2, England should look elsewhere.

But where to?  There are only a few new options in county cricket at the moment.  Alex Lees, Yorkshire’s impressive young opener and Alex Hales, Nottinghamshire’s clean hitter are my newbees to watch.  I also wonder if James Vince has the potential to climb the order to the position of opener for England.  As for other options; Ali, Root, Compton and Carberry (who I felt sorry for having performed reasonably well in a terrible series for England out in Oz) will I’m sure be under consideration.

Though for me, Hales is the man.  I like the idea of having a Warner-esque batsman opening alongside the Rogers-esque Cook.  The shot-maker alongside the innings stabiliser.

Ian Bell

Bell was my favourite player for years before the introduction of Joe Root onto the international scene.  His cover drives are as good as it gets and when he’s on form he’s a formidable batsman.  However, when Bell is off-form he’s a shadow of the player I love.  His binary scores of late have been a major concern.  He seems to be getting out in a wide range of different ways, a lot of them not very pretty.  To be fair to him he’s had a number of jaffas of late along with his fair share of bad luck.  Perhaps his promotion up the order to 3 will inspire him to greater things.  I really hope so!

The Verdict:

Bell should be given the rest of the series to prove himself.  He’s likely nearing the end of his career, so replacements will need to be considered.  Here are my thoughts:

I can’t see Ballance returning to the squad until he finds a way of combating his issues outside off-stump and works out a way of playing that doesn’t involve sitting deep in his crease, with minimum of footwork.  He has been found out of late, after an excellent start to his international career.

There’s the potential for Root to move up the order to 3.  This is an idea which a number of ex-players and pundits have championed….and I’d have to agree.  Root at 3 sits well with me, despite his excellent form with the bat at 5.  He has become used to entering the fray early on in the innings of late, with England 3 down for 40 odd runs.  This simply can’t continue to be the case and Root has a great ability to both attack and defend when necessary; something highly desirable at 3.

Joe Root

What can I say?  My favourite player and in my eyes the most promising young England player since the Gower/Botham days (not that I remember them!).  He has all the shots, can play all formats of the game, can attack, can defend, has massive captaincy potential and plays with a carefree attitude and a smile on his face.  Having cemented his place in the team for the foreseeable future the big question is over his batting position.  Having excelled at 5, will he still be averaging 80 odd at 4 or indeed his possible future position of 3?  Time will tell but he is the most exciting player for a generation.

The Verdict:

A cemented position in the side and a future England captain if ever there was one.  I’d be looking to play him at 3 when Bell eventually vacates that position, whenever that may be.

Ben Stokes

Not sure if this will be his eventual position.  Showed what he’s capable of against New Zealand at Lords and indeed in the Perth test vs Australia last time out.  The new Botham?  Probably too early to tell.  I’m not sure his bowling is quite up to Beefy’s standards yet, although he has more wickets/runs than any England all-rounder at this stage of his career.  Should be a good asset for a long time to come.  Strikes the ball cleanly, with ease and often never looks like he’s going to get out…until he unluckily chops on of course.

The Verdict:

Should be an England player for a long time to come.  Love his passion for the game and his energy in the field.  Could play at 4, 5 or 6 for England.

Johnny Bairstow

Not sure if this will be his eventual position but i’d probably play him at 6, after Stokes.  Bairstow looked vulnerable and a bit under par on his previous stint in the England team.  In honesty, I’ve not seen him play an awful lot since (particularly not in the longer form of the game) but if Gillespie says that his technique has improved I’m inclined to agree with him.  Looked very impressive in the ODI vs New Zealand and the right replacement for Ballance in my book, particularly based on current form.

The Verdict:

A good addition to the team.  Should be given a fair few matches to give him the opportunity to cement himself.  Has the added advantage of being a decent backup wicket keeper.  Many would say he's better than Buttler in this respect.

Jos Buttler

His ODI innings in particular have shown what an outstanding striker of a cricket ball he is and how explosive he can be.  Being picky, he still needs to do a bit of work on his wicket keeping to reach international class.  But you’ve got to start somewhere and he has looked promising from the word go.  Another young player who’s going to be around for a very long time.

The Verdict:

A must pick in the current team.  Batting at 7 is probably about right for a wicket keeper, though I’d like to see England being more fluid and moving him up the order when we’re in need of quick runs.

Moeen Ali

An excellent batsmen and a decent enough spinner.  I’m enjoying watching Ali batting at 8 though…and England's improved batting line-up as a result of this.  He’s been particularly vital with the bat of late thanks to all of the poor starts.

The Verdict:

Ideally we need to find ourselves another Swanny but until that time Ali is likely to do a decent enough job for England.  Not a lot of other options when it comes to spin, though I’ve seen a lot of Ansari and it looks like he may be a decent England player of the future.

Stuart Broad

Still blows hot and cold with the ball.  Capable of being the best there is (take Chester Le street in the last Ashes series in England for example) and also of going missing in games.  Struggled with the bat and has showed a vulnerability to the short ball in recent times having taking a blow to the head in the series with India.  But the signs are that things are improving somewhat on that front.  Let’s hope that another 160+ score is just around the corner.

The Verdict:

A vital cog in the England machine, opening the bowling alongside Jimmy.  Capable at times of brilliance and he’s been looking somewhere near his best.  A must pick for the current team.

Mark Wood

Loving Wood’s attitude already.  He’s capable of bowling fast, accurately and getting the most out of the wicket.  He also has some useful variations (short run ups, bowling from wide of the stumps etc) and bowls with a smile on his face and a sense of humour.  He can hold a bat too!  My only concern with Wood is his lack of pace in the 2^nd of back-to-back tests.

The Verdict:

Has potential and should remain in the England team as long as he is capable of bowling at 90+ mph.  Otherwise England should at least consider dropping him for these tests and replacing him with either Plunkett or Finn.

Jimmy Anderson

The king of swing.  If the conditions are right for swing, Anderson is the very best in the world.  If conditions are not right for swing then things are not so good (though even then he's an excellent player who most teams would love to have).  One of the best fielders in the team.

The Verdict:

Assuming he avoids injury his record of 400+ test wickets for England should ensure that he’s one of the first names on the team sheet, for the next few years at least.  My concern is for the more distant future...and if there’s anyone in the pipeline who can come close to filling Jimmy’s boots.

...and on that note I shall sign out, until next time!