I managed to rustle up some company for last Sunday’s CB40 game against Leicestershire with the visit of my old mate Britto whose versatile repertoire of impressions includes Robert De Niro and former Villa Boss John Gregory. I insisted he arrive no later than 10.20am so we had plenty of time to get to the ground and watch Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell if we were batting first. Now, despite having read every word written about Warwickshire in the last month, I couldn’t have been less well informed if I’d been in solitary confinement at one of Her Majesty’s Prisons. Not only were our “Ashes Hero's™” not in the squad but the game didn’t get underway until 1.45pm. I gave it the big build up as we strolled through Cannon Hill Park, “ If you look carefully you’ll get your first view of our new floodlights through those trees”, “If we cut through here you’ll get your first glimpse of the new stand”, “Seems a bit quiet”, “Have I got the right day”? On balance I was pretty relived that I’d only got the time wrong and we took the less scenic route home up the Pershore Road.
Take Two… After a gourmet picnic in Cannon Hill Park with the girls, we walked towards the Edgbaston Road entrance (“Look at the floodlights… again”, “Check out the new stand… again”). Before taking a seat with the members I popped up into theHollies Stand to drink in the new surroundings. I wanted my first view of the developments to be from my regular Test Match vantage point and I wasn’t disappointed as I was greeted by the kind of view to rival any Cricketing venue in the World. Resplendent glass and concrete structures and one of the biggest two- tier stands I’ve ever seen (MCG excepted). Later on I would begin to reflect on the absence of character but for now I was impressed.
Warwickshire got off to an good start with Porterfield making 30 and Chopra looking steady at the other end. Barker came and went adding just 8 runs (he would do his work with the bat the following day against Scotland). Last year we became the first county (to the best of my knowledge) to use two pinch hitters at the top of a one day innings: Neil Carter and Keith Barker. The results speak for themselves as we went on to triumph in the Lords Final. It was a great piece of innovation that allowed us to get the most out of the power plays. Our willingness to be flexible with our batting order was also something that made a welcome change from England’s all-too-often stubborn rigidity. An excellent stand between Chopra (who picked up the pace to make an amazing run-a-ball 130) and Youssef (56) followed before this flexibility once again came to fore with Troughton dropping down the order for the bigger hitting Rikki Clarke who hit two sixes in his 39 off 25. After accomplished cameos from Maddy and Troughton we posted 294 and, frankly, should have been home and dry.
Leicester flirted with the demanding run rate set by The Bears without ever looking likely to chase the score down. That was until Taylor, Boyce and White picked up the pace and put the whole ground on the edge of their seats. Only when Woakes clean bowled Taylor the ball after he reached his century in 81 balls did the game look back in our hands and finally with two balls remaining the game was won. Woakes didn’t bowl great but his ability to pull out a masterful delivery in games most vital moment further underlines his credentials for the big time.
Verdict:
Batting – excellent
Bowling – unthreatening and almost costly.
The danger with only posting blogs once a week is that three more games can pass me by…. I must try harder to keep up! I decided to sit out the Scotland game the following day which also went to the wire but ended with the right result. It was probably for the best that I stayed away as the last time I remember watching us play against Scotland was when we lost at Stratford Cricket Club. I was last seen directing the marching bagpipe band off the pitch in a ‘borrowed’ high visibility vest much to their bemusement and, after a whip around, we managed to pay our friend Jarvis to streak. I can’t remember the exact headline in the Stratford Herald but it was a real knock to his confidence to be described as a ‘very heavy set nude gentleman’. A day on the Hook Norton can rather compromise one’s ability to assume the correct behavior!
If Jim’s decision to drop down the order against Leicestershire was flexible, he has shown the ultimate flexibility in dropping himself for the game against Lancashire at Edgbaston. With Trott and Bell back in the squad there was always going to be difficult decision. I wander if this was discussed pre season or how much pressure was applied from above? Whatever has happened, on paper it is for the good of the team and therefore to be commended. That was until we were bowled out for 167 on day 2 and suddenly Troughton was the most missed player at Edgbaston. Trotts contribution was 9 runs and two dropped catches. Porterfiled (the only other candidate to sit this one out) made just 2. After a comeback with the ball and a bit of Lancashire consolidation late on, all three results are possible as so often happens in our games (just one draw last year). Let’s hope we can have them out by lunch and be chasing as close to 200 as possible.
You Bears.
