Day 2 of 4 – although no play at all yesterday, due to rain and high winds(!) – and, sadly, from the weather forecasts I’ve seen, it looks as though there’ll be very little cricket played on Days 3+4.
Today’s weather was absolutely fine though and a pretty good day’s play too (although they had to stop play early due to bad light). Gloucester bowled out Northants for 206, but rather struggled to 65-3 at the close.
I know I say the same thing every year, but I do hate the fact that the County Championship (ok, Glos are in the second division!) comes to a climax at the very end of September – when the days are somewhat shorter and the weather is deteriorating.
I suspect that the entire competition will have folded within the next ten years – in favour of 100% bish-bash, limited over stuff (which obviously attracts the crowds and makes money). For many oldies like me, it’ll be the end of a golden era…
But, hey, today I just enjoyed watching the cricket and listening to the old codgers sitting near me recall their past sporting achievements… “Did I ever tell the time I scored my maiden century at the Oval?” (they talked such things non-stop for the entire day); fast bowlers bowling with three slips and a gully; batters (as they’re now referred to, not ‘batsmen’!) playing elegant shots through the covers; leisurely run-rates of some 3-4 runs per over (not 10-16!!); not to mention (but, of course, I will) the fact that matches can be played over 4-5 days and STILL end in a draw!
Cricket, lovely cricket.
Photo: I thought this photograph (taken at today’s game) rather ‘said it all’: lots of empty seats (today’s attendance was in the order of perhaps just 120-150 in total!)… and, although, you might not see it clearly if you’re looking at the photograph on your phone, there are cobwebs between each pair of seats!
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