Ben Phillips and the fielders (with a little help from IB) give us a decent target to chase. Srry people, misled you completely. The Numbers are wrong in the programme and it's Craig Keiswetter who came out to open. More sensible selection procedure one would suggest...although it doesn't seem to have worked.
The Somerset Reply
This is going to have go on in very small bits because the wireless connection is all over the place!!
Marcus Trescothick opens with Kieswetter against very tight and aggressive bowling from Bond and Mascarenhas. It starts slow and continues in that vein. We've only hit 12 after the first 5 and as 8 came off boundaries from the VC it looks even slower. After Marcus hits another masterful stroke, he wafts, snicks and is caught at a very wide slip (set for a very wide ball). We're one down for 16 after 5.4
Justin Langer strides out to sort out the run rate. He doesn't. We've fumbled our way to 29 by the tenth and then Tremlett replaces Bond at the River and his first act in anger is to trap the skipper LBW for a majestic 2. 30 for 2 and it's looking a long way to 222. Hildreth is the next man in.
It doesn't get any better when Taylor and Ervine take over the bowling. We can't get it off the strip and when we do we find a fielder rather than a boundary board. There is no change of gear as we pass 43 in the 15th. The 50 arrives nearly 5 overs later. Hildreth does look to drive the score on but in doing so he drives at a ball he doesn't hit and is clean bowled by Ervine at 73. By this time Mascarenhas has finished with excellent figures of 10/0/26/1
Ian Blackwell is the next man in and we hope that there might be some kind of charge. Hampshire seem to think the same because they return Bond at the River end and he succeeds by clean bowling Craig 1 short of a 50 but it's all too slow. 91 for 4 in the 29th and in comes John Francis to sort out the problem.
100 arrives at the start of the 33rd. It's still on but looking less and less likely. As I say that of course, they start to push the score along a little. Francis sixes one end and Blackwell boundaries at the other and we reach 132 in the 37th so we need 90 off 13....gettable if Blackie looks where he is hitting it (he belts one to Lumb which just falls short of his outstretched fingers.
Still not convinced I'm afraid as we move to 138 at the start of the 40th. A four takes the boys to a 50 partnership. John looks quite confident, the first few overs weren't the problem they were in some of the friendlies but it is down to IB to get us there if we want to win this one. John gets him on strike and Blackwell hits the woodwork around the ground and we could be home. With that he puts one into the OP seating and we need 70 off 10 overs.
161 at 41 with Blackwell going to 50 off 41 balls with 1 six and 6 fours to his name. Sean Ervine returns at the OP and we all hope that the red mist doesn't come down and destroy this. Enter John Francis to offer the sensible boundary to offset Ian's sheer venom. We need 51 off 8 with Lamb bowling at the River and then 48 off 7.
The 100 partnership arrives in the 45th and it is a true partnership with Francis giving as much to it as the big hitting allrounder at the other end. We are at 196 with 5 to go. 26 to win...we can only lose it from here as Tremlett returns at the OP. We are in front of the D/L for the first time and the rain has started to spit. Tremlett offer up a full toss and Blackwell says "Thanks" and sends it to the boundary and the score over 200.
Meanwhile it is also good to see his partner walking up the wicket to the same man - good to see some confidence in the man's demeanour. Then Blackie hits him over his head and we need 16 off 4 with Bond returning at the River with loads to do.
Bond tries to bounce him out and gets hit to the boundary, he tries to think him out and Ian cuts the inner field wth a gentle chip past the mid wicket man. He takes him for 11 off the first 5 balls and then farms the strike to meet Chris T at the other end. But JF stops that happening and he will face the youngster needing 4 to win this one. he does put Blackwell on strike needing 3 though and he tries to launch it into orbit, misses and nearly loses his wicket - play sensibly my friend. Tremlett then bowls him a jaffa and Blackwell relies with the winning boundary. We win with 14 balls left. Ian is 86 and John is 48 - a 132 run partnership and a great comeback from a very poor position. Well done to both gentlemen and 2 points in the bag for a 6 wicket win.
Yep it must be the start. The WiFi has gone down, we may have lsot the whole of the firts half of the story and progress is mind bogglingly slow here. Will try and give you the second half but it's a bit intermittent at the moment.
I hope it's better down that way tomorrow as I'm being taken to Minehead.My daughter tells me the air will aid my recovery although I don't know about sitting in a car for an hour and half.I'll wave to yoy Jim.
A pretty tight game but the difference was the GREAT Ian Blackwell.
He seems to be in pretty awesome nick this early on, doesn't he??
It might well be a verrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy long season for opposing bowlers.
And well done to John Francis who answered my question and showed that there was a point to having him in the middle order (as opposed to opening.) And Kieswetter's innings was mightily encouraging too.
The two that need to step up, from what I heard, are Trego, who did not bowl particularly well in helpful conditions and it sounded like Hildreth had an extremely torrid time when he batted.
A shame for Wes that he didn't get the chance to use this chance to drive home his claims for a place vs those of Banks, De Bruyn etc.
And a well done has to go to Ben Phillips for three wickets on his 'proper,' debut.
All pretty pleasing, all in all. Now bring on the Cadmeister, MKM and the champagne charlies from Old Trafford.
And he was very very ably assisted by John Francis who certainly deserved his place today as a batsman and a fielder. Took a bit of time but we got there in the end. The bowling needs a bit of fine tuning but it's a good thing we bat down - sensible pacing in the end.
Great to see us continuing from where we left off last year. Ian deserves the accolades, as does Francis. Cracking.
I can confirm that Watchet was anything BUT Sunny LoL. I was there this morning, and it was it's usual self!
I wish I had gone now, instead of spending too many hours on the M5 finding some sort of Somerset Sound coverage, only to find that it lost sigenal at Strensham Services. Disgraceful!
Yep. Exciting day all round. Just watching the end of the Durham/Yorkshire game on Sky. Yorks were well out of it - 40odd needed off 24, now 11 needed of 6.
Bobstan I must admit I had pretty well given it up at one stage.
Me too. I should have remembered from last year, though.
This team is never beaten until ther last runs is scored or wicket falls.
Great stuff all eleven of you!
Yes, FE, and so much of this attitude has got to be down to the skipper. He didn't make runs today, but he took a very good catch and he expected... and the team delivered. The Langer touch, instead of the Nelson touch!
I drove past the ground at 11-30 and peeped my horn as a good luck to the guys. I'm dissapointed I didn't go, but commitments up the M54 meant I had to come back as soon as I'd reached Somerset!
The Trigger drop wqas one of those things where you moved the right way and nabbed it or you didn't. Not easy but he could have got it if he'd moved the right way.
Can't say Ian looked particularly 'slimline' but he did get his eye in and belt the ball when it came his way.
Steff was tight. He had to be if he wants to play a part this year.
News about Thomas and de Bruyn. It seems like the ECB want some kind of letter from the SA cricket board stating the position of the players. The SA Cricket Board sya that it's all in their rules and regulations and the player comply with the rules when they register with them
So ECB want a letter, the SA say it's already built in and the county are working to find out what exactly they have to give to the ECB to sort all this out. Yawn!! But while it gives people like Steff and Frank time to make their case I'm not complaining.
I wonder how times a batsman as been run-out by a relayed throw?
Pothas hit two sixes off Blackwell in reaching his half-century off 48 balls before being run out by a combination of throws from James Hildreth and Marcus Trescothick.
Good result after a slow reply, blackwell’s timing of the ball was excellent from the start, with no slogging just a well paced innings with the support of Francis, at one time the run rate was over 7 an over which they gradually got down.
Jones’s bowling should get a mention he bowled without much luck beating the bat on many occasion.
The relayed throw wouldn't have been a problem if the Hampshire batsmen had had their brain's in gear. They heard Marcus shouting to Pete 'fielder here' as he moved in to take the mid point. The batsmen looked at each other and decided to run a third.
Why did they think that two good throws would get the ball to the keeper/bowling end any slower? The throws were good and they threw a wicket away.
Don't run on a misfield. Don't go for a third when the fielder has it in his hand. Simple really. At best it was a real gamble and at worst.....well that's what they got.
For all you guys sat in the cold, our good friend Grockle enjoyed anice comfortable, cushioned chair in the press box. Maybe they even get free coffee and biscuits, unlike the members of the Business Club, much to their chagrin.
Apprently, this perk was promised when the club moved premises. I was also told that the coffee in the shop only costs 50 pence! I note that Thatcher's cider is no longer available, something to do with Blackthorn's sponsorship. A shame, but it may help those trying to lose weight!
I tried to keep up this afternoon but had to go out just as Francis joined Blackie. I was not hopeful....but a look at the mobile phone at 2000hrs and I was ecstatic. I wondered wby Craig was opening with JF down the order... part of JL's cunning plan.
Yep and I didn't pay over 200 quid for the right to be there...ahh well you win some you lose some don't you Wurz - never mind.
Of course I also did something all afternoon rather than just sitting on my "well cushioned" behind waiting to be waited on but such are the difficulties of trying to keep people informed rather than just 'networking'. The company was quite interesting as well. It's amazing what you hear while you're tapping away.
When it gets warm enough to be outside then we'll check out the signal in the open air....where are you lot going to sit when it gets warmer? Those balconies aren't very big.
We`re not likely to see Alfonso Thomas for another week or so anyway, Grockle. His team, the Dolphins, are through to the final of South Africa`s domestic Twenty/20 tournament, with the match against the Titans being played this coming Friday (with Saturday as the reserve day).
Thomas was the second most economical bowler in the semi-final, by the way, with 1-21 from his four overs. He`ll probably make his Somerset debut against Hampshire under the Rose Bowl floodlights on May 2 now.
Zander de Bruyn`s team went out in the quarter-finals.
True CJ. They don't expect him to be around until after next weekend. ZdB will probably be about for a couple of days at Old T to 'bond' with his team mates. But May seems the earliest we are going to see either of the SA boys in the "Grey and Jester"
The bottom-line, KT, is that whether you like it or not, competition for places will be good for this cricket team.
It’s a happy accident, in my opinion, that our South Africans have been slightly delayed in their arrivals, since it has given people like Francis and Jonah a chance to stake a claim for a place in the one-day team. Furthermore, I also expect it to give Wes Durston a chance to stake a claim for the CC team, since I anticipate him playing against Lancs on Wednesday (in the White/McKenzie berth)
But if the registrations mysteriously collapsed at the last minute, then we’d be left with very little strength in depth and if people like Francis, Wes and Jonah fail to sustain their form, then there’d only really be Arul Suppiah and a hugely inexperienced Robin Lett by way of alternative to the first two and somebody like Mark Turner as an alternative to Jonah.
I’m sure the knowledge that people like De Bruyn and Thomas are likely to be waiting in the wings will have concentrated the minds of people like Francis and Jonah and so helped to produce the result that we obtained yesterday.
The only way I would ever have a problem with this if the likes of Francis and Jonah continue to play really well but are then replaced – by default – by the South Africans. That would be wrong.
But the fact that Wes was selected ahead of Omari Banks for this game, suggests to me that the powers-that-be are not going to just automatically ignore the home-grown players.
Grockle Yep and I didn't pay over 200 quid for the right to be there...ahh well you win some you lose some don't you Wurz - never mind. How often do youand Walshie get free tea and biscuits?
Of course I also did something all afternoon rather than just sitting on my "well cushioned" behind waiting to be waited on but such are the difficulties of trying to keep people informed rather than just 'networking'. The company was quite interesting as well. It's amazing what you hear while you're tapping away. No networking yesterday. Unfortunately the wate isn't very hard in most of Somerset, so not much opportunity there!
When it gets warm enough to be outside then we'll check out the signal in the open air....where are you lot going to sit when it gets warmer? Those balconies aren't very big. Good point, but I'm sure it's all been well thought out by that nice Mr Gould! Actually, he probably said, " who cares, as long as we've got their money!
Never had biscuits in the press box (maybe Walshy eats them first). I'm not sure the tea and coffee aren't provided by the press bods after the initial stuff runs out - some of it has also been there a Loooooooog time. Rarely any milk and certainly no waitress service.
It could be an issue this sitting business because I seem to rememer that the club became very popular on sunny afternoons, especially on the weekend and you aren't gonna get them all on that balcony (and I'm not sure it would take the weight anyway).
Excellent pictures though Mike.
If you're near me you're more likely to hear something that sounds like rollocks.
Of course I make sure there are no women,children or EBC members nearby prior to my outburts.
You can keep these ones coming all season.
If it was purely down to luck and you don't have one of those fancy digital cameras (that shoots 250 frames per second and lets you discard the ones you don't want to keep) then even more 'well done!'
Let's go for the "great minds..." line, at least just between the two of us, Bobs, no-one else will know.
I'd also wondered if it was a photo of a place where new members stand, as opposed to sit, but decided that was too childish even for me, and that I might incur the wrath of our occasionally-humourless Grockle police again.
While I was out on the stairs Mike did you acknowldeg me with a wave as you went past? If so I have put a name to a face given these little contributions as well. If it's OK I'd like to add them to a number I got from a gentleman called Alain who you may have come across in your travels...if you are who I think you are>
Yes Grockle I know Alain we are sometimes sat near each other. Now he is one that know about Photography!!
You may also may have seen me sat with a lady that you know that never misses a day's cricket. It was she that pointed you out to me after we had passed by.
Ahhh the things fall into place I've noticed you about the place for many years - always reminded me of the Sheriff of Nottingham from a very old TV version of Robin Hood with Richard Green in it.
I won't look as quizzically at you in future when you say good afternoon!!
So,we've got the Sheriff of Nottingham.
What we need next is somebody who looks like Friar Tuck.
Now,let me get thinking.
My wife thinks we've already got Homer Simpson.
I'm not saying who it is though.
I don't want another row.
I not convinced that description fits me did the Sheriff of Nottingham have grey hair.
I haven’t seen as much cricket in the last few years due to caring for my mother and only came to the ground a few times with my mother in the car. There was a time last year I managed to get to the cricket when my mother was in hospital for a month.
Sadly with my caring duties ending last November I can now come as often that I want.
Before that I could leave both my parents to fend for them selves most of the time, then I was a permanent fixture at the ground, (Due to medical retirement).
He wasn't known as the silver fox of Trent Bridge for nothing Mike.
I hope you are able to enjoy the cricket this and for many more seasons.
We know things have been difficult.
Let's hope the lads can bring a smile to all our faces.
Why don’t they do a separate score card for the one day matches, it is too much to pay (was it £2.50) for a glossy program if you intend to throw it away after the match
I think it's because the FP have the monopoly on the programme stuff rather than the club. If I'm correct, the club only add pages to the generic programme provided by the sponsor and therefore would be taking revenue away from the marketing arm of the competition organisers.
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