Amateur Poker Association & Tour

Poker Forum => General Discussion => Member Blogs => Topic started by: Logie66 on January 21, 2009, 21:29:28 PM

Title: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 21, 2009, 21:29:28 PM
As everyone opens this up and reads asking the question, cricket !! What"s cricket got to do with poker, obviously nothing  ;)

I have decided to start this blog as I"m winding down at work as I approach a 12 week sabbatical.  During this time I will try to keep everyone amused with some of my poker exploits during this period, of which I"m sure there will be a few as I intend to play as much as I can online and squeeze even more live games in without work for once being a consideration, until that is I have to go back !!!

So as I start this today I now have 7 more working days to complete, before I can chill and relax and play a bit more poker. So everyone take note if you want to improve your Bankroll  ;D

I will however have a four week exile from Poker, starting from the 11th Feb and this is where the cricket comes into it.  I will rubbing shoulders with the Barmy Army for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Test Matches in the West Indies and plan to bring all you Apaters who like a bit of cricket some specialist up close coverage of the tour.

In the meantime before I depart on the 11th I still have the start of the Online League and Walsall to look forward as I practice my comedy writing for you all. So, i"m looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone, along with a bit of cricket and reporting my poker exploits over the next few weeks.

Watch out for more.

Don


Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on January 21, 2009, 21:31:13 PM
Welcome aboard the Blog bandwagon Don...good luck with it.

I"ve promised myself I"ll take the plunge one day.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on January 22, 2009, 01:33:06 AM
Please please please make sure u keep this going especially when ur away with the army.

Have a good time, regardless of results, im sure some fun will be had, and a APAT banner with jizzemm on it would be worth a something im sure..

Enjoy
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 22, 2009, 11:02:34 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 22, 2009, 11:05:30 AM
I"ll join the APAT Caribbean Poker Club.

I fly our to St Lucia the day before you leave for Antigua.   ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 22, 2009, 11:22:02 AM
Oh, and I forgot to ask, shall we play in the Northern, Central or Southern Division.  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 22, 2009, 11:53:53 AM

Oh, and I forgot to ask, shall we play in the Northern, Central or Southern Division.  ;D


Only allowed to choose one as well, looks like you"ll have to be in Central Leigh  ;D

With me to choose from Northern, Central or Southern, which one shall it be  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 22, 2009, 12:00:08 PM


Oh, and I forgot to ask, shall we play in the Northern, Central or Southern Division.  ;D


Only allowed to choose one as well, looks like you"ll have to be in Central Leigh  ;D

With me to choose from Northern, Central or Southern, which one shall it be  ;D


Island hopping ftw
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 23, 2009, 12:27:06 PM
With the weather as it is today, I"m now wishing myself forward to the 12th February and looking forward to some high 20"s temperatures and sunshine  ;D

Another evening taken up with work so no poker and an early start at 3am to offer some support on my latest project, returned home at 5.30 this morning and decided sod it I need to squeeze a game of poker in before I get complete withdrawal symptoms!!

So fired up BSQ and decided to play a $5 sit and go, was very patient and waited for some premium hands, was fortunate to find myself dealt  ah :as: twice and got paid on both occasions.  Kept my patience and finally finished in 2nd to pick up $15.  Then decided I'd better get myself ready and head into work.

Looking forward to having a normal evening tonight and getting online for a bit of poker.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: rubertoe on January 23, 2009, 16:56:55 PM
Looking Forward to reading the Blog Don!

What do you think about the state of Cricket in England at the moment? What with the KP And Moores Saga, Is straus the Best Skipper for the shorther game? England Players to Play IPL?? No practice prior to the WI coming to the UK!!??

??? ???

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 23, 2009, 18:36:30 PM

Looking Forward to reading the Blog Don!

What do you think about the state of Cricket in England at the moment? What with the KP And Moores Saga, Is straus the Best Skipper for the shorther game? England Players to Play IPL?? No practice prior to the WI coming to the UK!!??

??? ???




Well Robert in all honesty I don"t think there is to much wrong with the English game, we lost to a very good South African team, they"ve just beaten the Aussies at home  ;D and it"s always difficult to play on the sub continent, the IPL might actually improve the players as they will get more used to the slower wickets that they have in India.

As for the Skipper, I"m of the opinion that the right man is in charge now, Strauss is an excellent Captain and proved that against Pakistan, Pietersen is too much of show pony and just needs to play his game for England, the reason why he shouldn"t be Captain is the same reason why Warne was never considered for the Aussie job.

Not sure about no practice for the Windies, they will have just finshed the tour and played a few IPL games, the Pro"s don"t really need that much pratice, 80% natural talent in my opinion, Monty the one exception  :)

Right time for some poker tonight !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 26, 2009, 10:50:19 AM
My desire to play some poker on Friday night was scuppered as I kept falling asleep in front of my laptop after a couple of overnights during the week, I therefore ended up playing very loose in the tournament I registered for and went out quite quickly.  In hindsight I should have stayed clear and caught up with my sleep, but let my own keenness override the sensible decision.

The majority of the weekend was spent working which again curtailed my aspirations for poker at the weekend, returning home on Sunday just in time to watch the Merseyside derby and endure another draw at the hands of the blues, form needs to improve quickly for Liverpool to continue the challenge until the end of the season.

So at last I was settled in front of my laptop on Sunday ready to play some poker, I registered for two MTT on BSQ, $6k gtd f/o and $35k gtd rebuy.  The $6k also had lukybugur and Chipaccrual in the field although I didn't come across them on the tables.  I ended up struggling with dead hands and eventually went out around 250th.

The $35k rebuy was now my last chance and I plodded along slowly trying to avoid a rebuy whilst keeping my stack in contention, this was a struggle as time after time my cards gave me very little and restricted my ability to participate in pots.  AK ended up being my saviour and at the end of the first hour and add-on I was sitting on around 6500 chips.  The second hour was again a challenge hitting very little and keeping my stack around the same level, my stack had reduced and I was sitting with 1600 the blinds at 300/600 and I was sitting in the BB, I was dealt Q5os and just had to try my luck, maximising my return if I hit.  Fortunately, four spades hit the table and I lucked a flush, which took me up 7000 in chips, I got called a fish and laughed it off.

I then hit AK twice and pushed, doubling up both times and I was now sitting with 40k chips and in the money, I managed to steal a few blinds to keep myself going but was generally card dead, I then had AK dealt again and pushed as I was struggling to stay afloat, two callers and the pocket 7's hit a 7 on the flush and my challenge was over, an enjoyable 3 and a half hours for $75 profit as I finished in 70th.

Now in to my last week at work and looking forward to getting to Friday now.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on January 26, 2009, 11:22:51 AM
Nice cash Don.  Always a slog, those tourneys.

I assume we will get Logie"s test series predictions before you leave ?
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 26, 2009, 14:54:08 PM

Nice cash Don.  Always a slog, those tourneys.

I assume we will get Logie"s test series predictions before you leave ?


Leigh,

a fair point, Logie"s test series predictions will be posted before the start of the first test on the 4th Feb  ;D

Don
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 26, 2009, 15:39:39 PM
One of my concerns with my trip was the chance I would have to access the internet and get online, one to keep in contact with friends as well as update my blog.  After a bit of investigation all the hotels are looking good for access, although not that cheap, but it should hopefully let me continue to participate in the Online League, possibly some satellites for the Nationals and the next Online championship which I was resigning myself to missing.

So now I will be shopping for a simple laptop to travel with so I"m not relying on my work one, will probably go for a tried and trusted Dell as I have never had a problem with one.

All good news at the end of the day, so if you see me online after Feb 11th and before Mar 12th, I"m probably playing in the sunshine  8)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 27, 2009, 00:21:05 AM
As I got home from work at a reasonable hour I decided to have another evening of poker to past the time  :D

Registered for three games on BSQ:

£10k gtd f/o 19:30 1207 runners
£6k gtd f/o 20:10   1513
£35k rebuy 20:30   1369

Was pretty card dead in the £6k and went out 641st, In the rebuy I was plodding along but eventually had to try some moves and nothing went my way going out in 219th place.

So my luck was going for me in the £10k, I had hit the top thirty but was short stacked and in last place, I then got lucky again pushing in the BB hitting a flush to raise myself up to 40k.  I then got dealt AK twice and pocket jacks to raise my stack to 200k and take the chip lead.

Donked off a few chips trying to steal and then struggled to get any good hands to challenge the all-ins.  Finally went out in 7th picking up $362.

Another enjoyable and profitable evening.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 27, 2009, 17:54:40 PM
Going to have an evening clear of poker this evening, would like to continue my run but I do have some work to do tonight, last few things to close off with only three days left in the office.

As per Leigh's request I will be hoping to post Logie"s Caribbean Tour Predictions tomorrow and getting some cricket into the blog, the predictions will cover:

- Results for each Test Match
- The key players for England
- The key players for West Indies

Once I"ve posted Logie"s predictions it would be good to see some debate and anyone else"s thought"s, even if they are to tell me my predictions are rubbish  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 28, 2009, 11:47:58 AM
Got my work completed last night and decided to get some poker in, even though I had made a decision earlier to have an evening off.

Only played one game last night, the £12.5k $5 rebuy on BSQ.  This went fairly standard to the other MTT I had played from Friday onwards.  Sat tight waiting to hit something before making any real moves, although I did have to utilise a couple of rebuys in the first hour.

Continued to stay solid and got myself in better position than the previous days, sitting on an average stack for most of the time, and didn"t require any fortune or a push with a small stack to stay afloat.

Was feeling comfortable and not pressured to make any moves but soon due to going deep and the increasing blind levels I was sitting with only 4BB"s, got dealt  ad :2d: and decided to try and steal the blinds, immediately called and was against  ac kc neither hand hit anything and was out in 35th for a $50 profit with a lower kicker.

Feeling good with the way I"m playing the MTT at the moment and a profit of $430 since Friday.

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 29, 2009, 00:35:45 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 30, 2009, 17:27:06 PM
As I have a high focus on Cricket in my blog, it is appropriate to post today and recognise the passing of Bill Frindall today.

Bill Frindall was a key part of Test Match Special on BBC Radio and was a man who expanded peoples knowledge of the game by answering a variety of questions on Cricket statistics, laws of the game and quirky questions asked by the general public, he also contributed significantly to the TMS Blog on the BBC website.

To quote Jonathan Agnew the BBC cricket correspondent;

"He brought scoring alive.  This is what Bill will always be remembered for. The weird world of cricket scoring to many people is incredibly dull but Bill made it interesting, he made it lively"

A loss to the game of Cricket and the BBC Test Match Special team.

RIP Bill Frindall
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: KarmaDope on January 30, 2009, 18:51:48 PM
+1.

The Bearded Wonder was a legend, RIP Bill.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on January 30, 2009, 21:47:19 PM
RIP Bearders.

A true legend of the game
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 03, 2009, 14:40:16 PM
I decided not to post for a few days after the Bearded Wonder Passed away on Friday, so now it is normal service resumed.

Not much poker over the last few days apart from playing the Online League game on Sunday night, it was good enjoyment with some good banter on the tables.  Was slightly disappointed to go out in 33rd and with North London looking good with 4 tables left we lost player after player but still had two make the final table.  Although overall we didn't score any league points I believe we will be strong over the whole course of the league.

With some additional things cropping up at work I've had to extend by 3 days to manage some extra tasks that needed dealing with, before I head off to the Caribbean for my cricket tour.  So now my final day is tomorrow, and boy am I looking forward to getting my feet out the door and relaxing.

With all that in mind, my thoughts are now with Walsall, so looking forward to driving up Saturday morning and meeting everyone for the first live event of the season.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 08, 2009, 02:20:48 AM
Well, got my predictions completely to pot on this one, similar vein to the first test in Jamaica on the last tour with a very low scoring second innings, unfortunately it was England who collapsed !!!

Well it should make watching the 2nd, 3rd and 4th test more interesting !

Some comfort, I"ve made day 2 in Walsall.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 09, 2009, 11:27:12 AM
After a great weekend in Walsall, I have now slipped in to Cricket Tour mode.  My tickets have finally arrived so I now have all flight details and tickets for the 2nd Test Match in Antigua.

Today is going to be a day of shopping and then packing.  Top of the list today are a laptop to take with me, a digital camera, a few extra clothes and some sun cream. Plan this evening is to get the laptop setup, the camera working and testing pictures being loaded up to the blog, I think they will make the difference to the blog bringing a bit of sunshine to you all. Especially as Leigh mentioned yesterday, photo evidence has to be seen by all  ;D

Tomorrow I will try and dissect the humiliation of the 1st Test and put my predictions up for the 2nd test, hopefully I won"t get this as wrong !!!!

Also looking forward to seeing some of the interview I did with Des after making the 2nd day in Walsall, a bit of talk about the poker and then good publicity for the blog, thanks Des.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on February 09, 2009, 13:19:30 PM

Top of the list today are a laptop to take with me.  Plan this evening is to get the laptop setup.


+1     :"(
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: lukybugur on February 09, 2009, 13:41:03 PM

:"(


Excuse me? And WHAT??? You"re sad to be goin" to the Bahamas? Oh you poor, poor soul!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 09, 2009, 20:24:51 PM
Well a hectic day of shopping and packing has been had !!

Suitcase nearly done, more importantly laptop sorted and camera and this post is making sure both are working properly, so attempting to display a picture of my holiday essentials.

Many thanks to the "Inserting Photos" thread  ;D if it works !

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/HolidayEssentials002.jpg)

Wicked, all sorted for the trip now !
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on February 09, 2009, 21:07:35 PM
Quality.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 10, 2009, 01:06:43 AM
read Gerrards book first, and leave the best one for last.. Carra"s book is awsome..

so jelous, was saving to go to the next ashes, but I think that maybe out of the window now, so next windies trip it is for me..

enjoy, will keep on this thread, just make sure u keep it going..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 10, 2009, 21:46:11 PM
Well, it"s getting close to boarding the Virgin Atlantic flight due to depart at 9.25 tomorrow morning.  Travelled around today and now sitting in my hotel room at Gatwick Airport, although it took about an hour and a half for them to sort out my Internet connection, dodgy modem, hope that doesn"t continue over the next few weeks !!!

So, in reflection what can we take away from the 1st Test debacle.

It certainly confirmed my prediction that the dangerman would be Jerome Taylor. The Windies haven"t had a raw strike bowler who can get batsmen out for a few years now, he appears to be the real deal and is improving all the time, he could make this series a memorable one for the Windies.

The surprise package has to be Sulieman Benn, as well as the sub-continent wicket that ended up being produced in Jamaica.  I can"t remember a West Indian spinner having such an impact and very early on in the first innings too !

The question will be can he continue, or did the Sabina Park wicket enable him to deliver.  If the pitch in Antigua doesn"t suit him will the English top 5 take to him, hopefully this will be the case.

With all the media frenzy around England"s collapse and the accusations of a team in turmoil, I"m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they had a bad day at the office and give some credit to the tremendous bowling of Taylor and Benn in the second innings.

Changes do need to be made, one of Harmison or Sidebottom will be replaced by Anderson in my opinion, probably Harmison, but this may depend on the pace and bounce in the pitch in Antigua.  Shah has to play, I thought he would be selected for the 1st Test but it wasn"t to be.  I would leave out Collingwood, bat Shah at three and move Bell down to five, Bell isn"t in the greatest of form, but it"s better than Collingwood.

So two changes for the 2nd Test, and hopefully an England win.  One thing is for sure though, with the Windies winning the first Test, the atmosphere in the grounds is now going to be superb and boy am I looking forward to that.

Hopefully I"ll be giving you an update from the Caribbean on Thursday and a round up of the first days play on Friday, with a few pictures to boot  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on February 11, 2009, 01:51:57 AM
Safe trip Don.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 11, 2009, 02:04:52 AM

Safe trip Don.


and im looking forward to Thursday so I can watch the cricket, and see ur first update..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 11, 2009, 22:43:44 PM
Landed safely in Antigua about 6pm UK time, a fair breeze and a few showers around also.  Interesting drive to the hotel, a bit of a gridlock, just like being in London  ;D

Already tried the local brew, Wadadli, Antiguan Premium Lager, not too bad and feeling light headed already, better have something to eat.

Biggest bonus of the day, I"m in the same hotel as England.  Already shared the lift with Graeme Swann, Monty and KP.

Should be an interesting couple of days, will try and get some picture exclusives  8)

One thing to note, all Paul Collingwood seems to do is spend his time in the Gym, been in there every time I"ve walked past it !!

Will provide a bit more detail on the trip and first impressions tomorrow, off to try the curried goat.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on February 11, 2009, 22:55:38 PM
Top stuff Don, if you"re wearing your APAT shirt, tell KP and co they"ll have to clickfest in like all the rest  :D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 11, 2009, 23:51:49 PM

Top stuff Don, if you"re wearing your APAT shirt, tell KP and co they"ll have to clickfest in like all the rest  :D


;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 12, 2009, 01:26:36 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 12, 2009, 12:44:18 PM
Have woken up to a stiff breeze still and a sprinkling of showers, the sun is warm when it breaks through the clouds though. 

Four guys who were on the plane yesterday invited me to join them for breakfast, they"re all from Wales travelling with there club groundsman who is having his trip of a lifetime in the caribbean to watch England. Welshman supporting England is that a first, I know it"s the English and Welsh Cricket Board, but  ;D

They do seem a bit worried about missing the Rugby game at the weekend, I suggested I wasn"t due to the fact that Wales are likely to win, but you never know the power of the underdog !!

Off to enjoy some more Wadadli, hopefully some sunshine, Gerrards autobiography and some Marlboro Gold  ;D

By the way Collingwood was still in the gym when I walked past !
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: PokerDan1984 on February 12, 2009, 14:26:25 PM
Remind the England lads that if they"re short of a batsman that u"ll gladly smash Benn and Co. all over the park  :D ;D :D

By the way keep up the good reports and cheer on the England boys..........
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 12, 2009, 14:56:34 PM



By the way Collingwood was still in the gym when I walked past !


Tell him to get out of the gym, and start batting and bowling practice sometime soon.. I suppose he wont be playing next game anyway so its ok..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 12, 2009, 19:08:44 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: rubertoe on February 12, 2009, 19:23:46 PM
I"m not in the least bit jealous - no way - not me!!!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 01:21:08 AM
Witnessed a bit of poker action tonight having my dinner in the hotel restaurant.  A four handed game involving Paul Collingwood, Jimmy Andersen, Matt Prior and KP.  Matt Prior first to go out and then a few shouts of all-in and the money went to KP.

Another game starting as I left with Stuart Broad joining to make it a five handed game.

Will have to see if I can join in the action another night  ;D

Players seem relaxed, will hopefully go well tomorrow, an early start in the morning for breakfast before heading over to the ground at 8am, noon to you guys.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 11:13:44 AM
First day looks like being a clear day with the odd wispy cloud.

Looking forward to my first experience of Test match cricket in a foreign country. Spoke to a young local guy on the beach about cricket yesterday, his interest in cricket had been diminishing but with the win in Jamaica this seems to have revitalised the local support, everyone is talking about it.

He did criticise the Windies for being a team of individuals who play for themselves, although he did say a lot of people disagreed with him.  He"s off to the cricket today and with the interest up, the atmosphere can be the only winner.

We"ll all be hoping for a good days cricket and an improved England performance.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: PokerDan1984 on February 13, 2009, 15:04:02 PM
I think u"ll be playing more poker with the England team than watching cricket looking at that pitch and out field.

Beat them on them on the tables  :D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on February 13, 2009, 15:32:35 PM
Lets hope you get to see more than 10 balls Don

In fact lets hope you got in the ground in time to see the 10 balls

Dangerous outfield??????? you have got to be kidding me!!!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on February 13, 2009, 16:49:25 PM
I don"t like crickeeet aah , I lurve eet!!
Hope you get some cricket tomorrow! What a shambles. Get to the old Rec ground. :-\
Different version of Beach cricket!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 16:53:13 PM
The day was looking good at one point ! The sun was out and we were on our way to the ground.  Arriving, all looked well, the Stadium actually looked impressive from the outside, even from inside there was no real telling of what was to occur.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/2ndTestDay1001.jpg)

The majority of people in the queues were from England, a couple from Wales  ;D and everyone was in good spirits and looking forward to the cricket.  The umpires walked out on time, followed by the West Indian team and the England openers, Strauss and Cook.  Jerome Taylor was opening the bowling, he kicked off from his starting point and ran through without bowling the ball, no one really thought this would be significant at this point.  So the first ball was bowled and Strauss glanced it to the legside for two runs, a good start !

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/2ndTestDay1002.jpg)

Taylor completed the over and England were 5 without loss, Edwards then commenced the second over from the North Stand End, he had only bowled two balls and the heavens opened, the players ran from the field and the covers were on the wicket before the rain hit the ground, at least the umpires appeared to have pre-empted the rain and made a good decision !!!

A delay of about 40 minutes before play recommenced, Edwards ran in a few times but only delivered the ball twice, so we had seen 10 deliveries and the umpires started to talk as Edwards pulled up again on his run up.  This debate seemed to go on for about 20-25 minutes, or seemed to anyway and eventually they walked off.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/2ndTestDay1003.jpg)

Rumours were passing round the stand, the test match was abandoned, a few people were looking shocked, very embarrassing for West Indies Cricket.  No information was coming over the PA system so I went for a walk round the ground.  Managed to ask Sir Ian Botham a question when he was walking of the pitch and got this quote.

"Absolute shambles, outfield was unfit yesterday, is unfit today and won"t be fit, no more cricket will be played here" !!

Then realised it was Friday 13th, figures !!!

So, still no news, lots of rumours abound that they are trying to move the match but can"t see that myself, too much to do to make that happen.

Only one thing left for it today, the beach and a few Wadadli  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on February 13, 2009, 17:01:45 PM
Sky sports are saying there is no way they are going to be able to play on that ground for the next day or two or three.
So Beach, Beer and poker with the England boys? I played against Freddie when he was a teenager, he was playing for St Annes in the Northern league, I was playing for Netherfield, he didn"t get many that day,but we all knew he would go far.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 13, 2009, 18:34:24 PM
Unlucky for the day -- not a great cricket fan myelf - but loving this blog

More pictures and name dropping please  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on February 13, 2009, 20:49:50 PM
The man himself, Don "Logie66" Logan, talking at the UK Amateur Championship last weekend.

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 20:54:38 PM
A lazy afternoon on the beach, today has probably been the hottest so far and it was difficult to stay out in the sun to long !!

Recreational activities for the England team again on the beach this afternoon. Cook, Swann, KP and Collingwood out on the jet ski"s.

At the moment we don"t really know what is happening I"m trying to keep everyone up to date with my access to the Internet, but it"s pretty obvious that no one is 100% sure yet, apart from the fact that no test match will be played at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium.

One plus I nearly got my prediction right, although it was Bell dropped for Shah.  Funniest thing this morning, Monty missed the England bus and had to hop on the Windies bus to the ground from the hotel, the Windies team were pissing themselves  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 20:58:30 PM

The man himself, Don "Logie66" Logan, talking at the UK Amateur Championship last weekend.



Just missed that as I posted, many thanks for that Des  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 13, 2009, 22:05:17 PM

Unlucky for the day -- not a great cricket fan myelf - but loving this blog

More pictures and name dropping please  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


Many thanks Duke, the only comfort is that it isn"t the worst place to be when the match is abandoned after 10 balls  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: jacko159 on February 13, 2009, 23:02:49 PM
Very jealous Logie.

Was there five years ago when Lara got his 400.

Hope you get to see some cricket at the ARG starting Sunday.

Could be interesting watching if the reports about the state of the wicket are to be
believed !!!


Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 14, 2009, 12:31:49 PM
Another day of leisure now, the Welsh boys are desperate to watch the Rugby and have been on a hunt to find a bar that might show it but without any luck.

From the info on the Internet it is clear that a brand new test is starting on Sunday if the Antigua Recreation Ground is ready in time, will be a bonus if we do see some cricket. If this lasts the whole five days then we will miss the final days play as we are due to be flying to Barbados on the 19th.

So unfortunately it"s another day on the beach drinking a few Wadadli  8)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 14, 2009, 12:58:29 PM

So unfortunately it"s another day on the beach drinking a few Wadadli  8)


Its a dirty job but someone"s got to do it. I understand that the Antigua Brewery brew Guinness in house. In the interest of science I would be grateful if you would sample this beverage and report your findings.

(http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8230/dorstig6wi.gif)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 14, 2009, 19:02:31 PM
Without the cricket it"s been another lazy day, topping up the tan on the beach with a few rum punches. Just checked up on the rugby and it seems England might have a chance of sneaking a win.  I"m only reading the text updates on the BBC so have no idea what the game is like  ;)

Completed Steven Gerrard"s autobiography today, was a good read and opened up a few insights on some of the big game experiences.  Will look to start Carraghers soon.

Will be off shortly to the bar once more as I try to track down a local Guinness for the interest of science and feedback to the Duke on the taste and quality  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 14, 2009, 19:35:26 PM

Just checked up on the rugby and it seems England might have a chance of sneaking a win.


WRONG
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 14, 2009, 20:09:53 PM


Just checked up on the rugby and it seems England might have a chance of sneaking a win.


WRONG


I did say a chance  ;D didn"t expect a win would have been fun to rib the Welsh guys out here !!

Anyway, I just wonder whether the test in Antigua is doomed !! This afternoon a storm has rolled in and is currently depositing rather a lot of rain, with the lack of preparation at the ARG you have to wonder that this may put paid to the start of play tomorrow, will have to wait and see !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 03:18:22 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 15, 2009, 10:17:06 AM
Thank you Don, I hope the natives now appreciate how to pour properly,,,,  ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 10:37:40 AM
So today is the second attempt to get the Test match going in Antigua, hopefully it will be a success and some cricket will be seen.  The weather does seem to be trying it"s hardest to scupper that though, fairly cloudy upon waking and shower after shower rolling in.

We have an early start from the hotel, leaving at 8am local time, noon to you guys. Apparently it could be chaos at the ground with the short time to get everything organised at the ARG.

Will hopefully be able to update you all with the days play later and the experience of the ground.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 22:55:32 PM
At the Ground


Nice journey to the ground a bit of cloud in the sky and a few showers early doors, everyone getting to the ground very early and the atmosphere is awesome.  Lots of England supporters and a fair few West Indian supporters in our stand too, it"s going to be a good day !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay1001.jpg)

The Welsh contingent get there club colours and flag ready for hanging up, we"ve all spent the bus ride in telling them it was a moral victory for England in the rugby yesterday, 2 tries to 1  ;D

Before the start the the stands are filling and a cracking time is being had by all, the game hasn"t even started yet !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay1003.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 23:03:26 PM
First Session


Chris Gayle wins the toss and decides to field, with some rain in the air is this a good decision, will the wicket do anything.  Strauss and Cook follow the West Indians out at 10:45am, a delayed start due to the damp outfield.

Play gets underway with Jerome Taylor bowling to Strauss, Strauss is quick of the mark.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay1005.jpg)

In the same over, Strauss clips Taylor to the boundary for four, similar start to Friday !! Are we going to get past 10 balls, lets hope so !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay1006.jpg)

The session is negotiated without really a chance being given by either batsmen before lunch, in fact I can"t remember one appeal from the Windies, great session for England and it"s 58-0 at Lunch.

Time for some beers and local fare  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 23:13:18 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 15, 2009, 23:36:53 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 15, 2009, 23:42:14 PM
Great read... keep it going
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 16, 2009, 00:47:01 AM

Great read... keep it going


how cool, i forget everything about the cricket, just get in from work, see the blog and now I have caught up, and got great pictures 2..

superb... cant wait for tommorrow already..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 11:03:11 AM
Up early again, the Welsh guys had said they were going to knock on my door for an early morning swim in the sea at six, no knock on the door they must have had a few too many beers last night  ;D

So it"s day 2 and looking forward to another awesome day of cricket, hopeful that we will get to see the destructive best of KP today.  My prediction today is that England will push on and bat for most of the day, declare, and give the Windies a tough hour to survive at the end, with a couple of wickets to boot.

Here"s hoping  8)

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: linziwan on February 16, 2009, 11:14:51 AM
fingers crossed we can amass a massive score. Without Ryan bowling I withhold judgement on how well we can do in WI"s first innings... fingers crossed for our fast bowlers tho...

Sounds like your having a great time :)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: rubertoe on February 16, 2009, 17:05:44 PM
I have no doubt that we will get a massive score - But we are batting to slowly - the pace needs to pick up to give us a chance to bowl the WI out!!!

If we dont capitulate as we appear to be doing - Pietersen and Flintoff out in 3 balls!!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 16, 2009, 18:41:09 PM
Give Don a commentators job -- very well written -- to a man that is not really fond of the game I am looking forward to these everyday -- keep it up
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: rubertoe on February 16, 2009, 19:10:10 PM

Give Don a commentators job -- very well written -- to a man that is not really fond of the game I am looking forward to these everyday -- keep it up


thats wrong!!! what a great Game!

You think that getting knocked out of an APAT event before the first break can get a bit messy - See Walsall as example - then you should attend a days test cricket - its a Hoot! ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 22:42:26 PM
Quick beer, ciggie and download of todays pictures underway.  Today"s update will be with you all shortly  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 23:12:04 PM
Day 2 - First Session


We get to the ground nice and early, crowd not so large today the locals have to work !! Everyone is hoping that KP is going to produce some fireworks and entertain the England masses with a swashbuckling innings.

Play get"s underway and nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson is the early casualty, well done Jimmy you work was completed last night protecting KP.  Paul Collingwood strides out, he needs an innings !!

Colly takes the game to the Windies bowlers and is the more aggressive, KP seems to go in his shell a bit and Colly keeps the momentum, dispatching the bowlers to the boundary at will. KP plays a delightful pull for four, shot of the morning.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay2008.jpg)

Kp and Colly see us through to lunch with no further loss, 90 runs from the session and Collingwoods fifty in the final over, good knock of just 77 balls. He outpaced KP  ;D

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 23:23:38 PM
Day 2 - Second Session


Play gets going after lunch and it"s spin from both ends, the England batsmen don"t seem to have any problems and the runs keep ticking over, 400 is passed and KP reaches his 50, a reserved knock from KP today but he"s still contrbuting and playing for the team.

Gayle decides to shake it up a bit and brings the Windies best bowler Taylor back on, first ball he sends KP packing and back to the stands, appeared to keep a bit low but Taylor makes the break through, here comes Freddie, there goes Freddie  :o

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay2014.jpg)

His stumps are everywhere but in the ground, oh well, we"ll have to look forward to his bowling later !! So a mini collapse and we"re 405-6, Matt Prior joins Colly.

Prior and Colly steady the boat, Prior takes the lead and dominates scoring and the strike. Colly takes a bit of a breather and watches from the other end. Prior goes just before tea after a 62 partnership of which he scored 39, good effort that.  Young Broad joins Colly and they see the game through to tea, England are 482-7 and looking in a strong position now.

We expect some fireworks after tea as England are expected to score quickly before declaring, giving themselves a few overs at the Windies this evening.

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on February 16, 2009, 23:27:35 PM
This is great Don, sounds like the trip has been rescued!  You"ll have to do an honourary APAT live update later in the season, to keep your hand in.  :D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 23:34:29 PM
Day 2 - Final Session


Broad and Colly resume after tea and once again Collingwood struggles to get much of the strike, it seems that young Broad has been given counting lessons by Boycott as he takes a single on the last ball of the over on a lot of occassions nicking the strike.

He does make the most of it though, hitting some superb boundaries and gets the run rate up once more, is he going to get to fifty before Colly get"s his hundred.  Don"t count on it, Colly takes an age to get to 90, but once there he rushes through and scores his eighth Test century, another good knock, Chris Gayle must be asking himself why he asked England to bat on this wicket !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay2022.jpg)

As soon as Colly gets his hundred, Broad departs for 44, great looking innings from the young lad.  Swann strolls to the wicket and starts to have a bit of a bish-bosh, England are after quick runs now, a decleration can"t be far away. Another 37 is added by this pair before Collingwood is caught right on the boundary going for a big hit, Strauss delclares and England have notched up 566 runs.

A good total, but not much in the wicket, will the England bowlers be able to fare any better !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 23:47:26 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 16, 2009, 23:51:38 PM

Give Don a commentators job -- very well written -- to a man that is not really fond of the game I am looking forward to these everyday -- keep it up


Duke, many thanks for the kind words.  I"m glad yourself and others are looking forward to the updates everyday.  I"m having a lot of fun writing them and with some fortune getting some good pictures at the right time, was chuffed to get Flintoff"s stumps going everywhere today  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 16, 2009, 23:53:58 PM


Give Don a commentators job -- very well written -- to a man that is not really fond of the game I am looking forward to these everyday -- keep it up


Duke, many thanks for the kind words.  I"m glad yourself and others are looking forward to the updates everyday.  I"m having a lot of fun writing them and with some fortune getting some good pictures at the right time, was chuffed to get Flintoff"s stumps going everywhere today  ;D


That picture was class - I was thinking you had a camera trained at all times with unlimited memory to get that one
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 00:11:36 AM

This is great Don, sounds like the trip has been rescued!  You"ll have to do an honourary APAT live update later in the season, to keep your hand in.  :D


Thanks Des, it"s great fun completing it so far, enjoying the number of views and comments being made, just hoping I have similar availability of the Internet when I get to Barbados on Thursday !
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 17, 2009, 00:44:17 AM
Great updates, keep them coming..

and u better sort the internet out in barbados otheriwise dont bother turning up to an apat event...  ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 11:13:56 AM
The sun is just rising up over the small hills behind the hotel and it looks like it"s going to be another cracking day weather wise.  The BBC weather site is reporting a chance of showers again, none were seen yesterday so hopefully they will be wrong once more.

England will be looking to take some quick wickets this morning to have any chance of winning this Test match, for me they need to wrap this game up by close of play tomorrow as we"re flying to Barbados on Thursday and will miss the final day.

Patience is the key for the Windies, if they all come out playing shots this will give England a chance, will they be able to curb there natural instincts and bat this game out for a draw, Chanderpaul is definitely capable of this we"ll have to see about the rest of them.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 17, 2009, 20:53:34 PM
(http://members.cox.net/jeepsg4/gifs/ShowLetter.gif)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 22:24:39 PM
That made me chuckle, downloading pictures, quick beer and ciggie and update on it"s way Duke  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 17, 2009, 22:29:10 PM

(http://members.cox.net/jeepsg4/gifs/ShowLetter.gif)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 22:57:50 PM
Day 3 - First Session


As we left the hotel this morning it was very noticable that the sea in the bay was dead calm, the breeze that has been with us since we arrived has gone, the slight wind that is blowing is from a different direction today.

We get in early and for the second day running we are in the Andy Roberts Stand, myself and the Welsh continigent are on the front row of the upper teir, if any of you are watching on telly, look for the Welsh flag and the five red bodies behind it  ;D

Play get"s underway and one thing was noticable, Freddie didn"t do much warming up and it"s no surprise when he doesn"t open the bowling, Harmison is looking a bit laboured as well, is there something going round the England dressing room ??

Devon Smith and Darren Powell frustrate the England bowlers, Powell in particular is riding his luck, especially from the first over by Anderson. Smith starts dispatching boundary after boundary and is starting to dominate the bowlers.  That is until he has an allmighty heave-ho at Swann and he"s bowled, his team mates are going to be well chuffed with that, what an awful shot !! Well done Swann  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3001.jpg)

Powell continues to frustrate the England bowlers and it looks like they are running out of ideas when bowling to him, Swann then gets his edge and Collingwood takes a great catch at slip.  Tremendous effort by Powell, came in as nightwatchman and then hangs around for another hour and 45 minutes, scoring 22 runs.

Sarwan and Hinds take the Windies to lunch, 132-3, not the early wickets we were hoping for, need a few more after lunch and quickly.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 23:04:46 PM
The Lunch Break


Just before the lunch break was taken, a pulme of smoke was seen drifting across the ground, with the breeze coming from a different direction the smoke and smells from the BBQ"s are being taken into the stands.  What a gorgeous smell it is too, BBQ Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Hamburgers, just a delightful combination of smells that makes you very hungry  ;D

So off it was to taste some of the food being cooked, decided on a couple of burgers, also decided to try the local hot sauce that was on offer. Blimey the sauce is hot !! The temperature in the ground is the hottest it"s been and I"ve just made myself get up to boiling point with the hot sauce !! Wow  :o

Other observations at lunch time, Monty doing a lot of practice with the England bowling coaches, Otis Gibson and Mushtaq Ahmed, will he get his place back ? Swann picking up the only two wickets of the morning also won"t help.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3005.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 23:22:05 PM
Day 3 - Second Session


Play resumes once more, the temperature is still rising, just no real breeze on the gound or in the stands today.  Harmison and Flintoff have been on and off all day so far, rumour is that they had a meal together last night at the Beach restaurant, could it be a coincidence !! Not eaten there myself yet, might stay clear  ;D

Hinds and Sarwan keep the Windies innings going, it"s all gone bit quiet and and not much action, the batsmen are getting on top.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3007.jpg)

Sarwan is continuing his from from the first test, not in too much bother and accumulating the runs, slowly but surely.  The Sarwan fifty and the Windies 200 almost arrive at the same time, but the crowd have to provide applause twice, too much energy in this heat.

Time for a change of scenery as a couple of us wander up to the back of the stand to find a bit of breeze, and that does the trick, we"ve got a wicket  ;D Flintoff has Hinds caught behind by Prior.  In comes Chanderpaul, I"m sure he"ll bore the pants off us ! Oh no he won"t young Broad sends him back to the pavilion, good spell young man !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3008.jpg)

Sarwan and Nash (he"s an Aussie really) steady the boat and see the Windies through to the tea break, 221-5, England still in with a chance of winning this one.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 17, 2009, 23:42:35 PM
Day 3 - Final Session


So the final session of the day, England need to make things happen now and go for the win.  Sarwan continues to keep the scorers busy whilst Nash holds up one end, playing very steady is Nash, not taking any risks.

Sarwan moves through the 70"s, 80"s and into the 90"s he"s starting to accelerate, bound to get his 100 sharpish better get the camera out ready and take a few shots. What a pity, he"s just smashed Swann straight to Flintoff and I"ve got it  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3010.jpg)

No sooner have we sat down, Ramdin is out first ball, full toss and he punches it straight back to Swann, thank you very much !! Windies reeling 251-7, so it"s a hat trick ball for Swann, who has four wickets now, can he make it five and a hat trick to boot ?

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3012.jpg)

A small appeal, but Taylor survives the hat trick ball.

England take the new ball immediately at 80 overs, Anderson and Broad are used as Harmison and Freddie are still under the weather by the looks of it.  Nash and Taylor putting up some resistance and surviving the new ball so far.  Don"t think this was the plan !!

Strauss then summons Freddie, he needs some inspiration and someone to break this partnership, the Barmy Army start singing Super Freddie Flintoff.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay3013.jpg)

With his second ball Freddie gets Nash caught at slip, we needed that. Next over Swann traps Benn LBW, that"s 5 wickets for him, a great effort, Windies 279-9, one more to get.

Freddie wraps it all up as Taylor top edges a pull shot and he takes the catch himself.

England decide not to enforce the follow on, understandable after a long warm day in the field and two of your bowlers not feeling too well !! If only everyone was firing on all cylinders today might have been different !!

England face a difficult 7 overs before the close of play, Strauss goes to Edwards who bowled very aggressively this evening and was even trying to intimidate the batsmen, shame he didn"t try that on the first couple of days.

So tomorrow, all to play for, hopefully Harmison and Flintoff will recover quickly so the bowling attack is back to full strength.  I do know that it will be difficult for us to see a result tomorrow, which is a shame as we are missing the fifth day, should only be one winner, can the Windies hold out for a draw we will have to see what happens tomorrow.

Time for a cool down and a few beers, blimey do I need them  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 18, 2009, 00:49:55 AM
I am a convert and it"s your fault -- you bring it alive -- how the feck do you get the pictures at the right time -- awesome
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 11:32:52 AM
Looks like it"s going to be another hot one at the ARG, not sure I"ll be able to sit in the front row today as yesterday was so damn hot !!  8)

Hopefully Harmison and Flintoff will be feeling better this morning and will be able to contribute 100% to the bowling attack when England declare.  Talking of declarations, with a 311 lead I would expect England to bat another 45 overs, pushing the lead out to 500 before asking the Windies to bat again. Whatever Strauss does I"m sure he"ll be criticised, always the case with declarations.

Anyway, better head off to catch the bus for my last day at the ARG today.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 22:30:36 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 22:45:00 PM
Day 4 - First Session


England resume on 31-1, Anderson and Cook walking out to face the Windies attack, we wonder what we will get this morning.  The body language of the West Indies team doesn"t look right, are they all concerned with the money that Alan Stanford invested for them  :o

Cook and Andersen keep the scoreboard ticking over, a few cries from the stands for the batsmen to get on with it, a bit harsh the Windies bowlers and making it difficult for them.  Anderson finally departs, he seems to be hearing the cries from the stands and starts having a few swipes of the ball, he gets a nick and is caught behind, having been dropped a couple of times by Gayle, this one goes to the keeper and it"s snapped up.

Shah comes out and looks to score quickly, he has a brief innings, which includes one big six, a crack on the head and his middle stump out the ground, once again the action shot hero captures a few more for your enjoyment  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4004.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4005.jpg)

Pieterson joins Cook and the pair see England through to lunch, Cook completes his second fifty of the match.  A fairly profitable morning session, 104 runs coming from it, the England boys would have been happy with that at the start.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4002.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 22:59:02 PM
Day 4 - Second Session


After lunch we expect the batting to be more entertaining, Pieterson especially should enjoy this, he loves to entertain the crowd.  Cook departs quite quickly after reaching 50, plays a strange shot and the ball shoots up in the air and it"s an easy catch.

Collingwood strides out and once more takes the initiative and out scores his partner once more, Pieterson at this point is playing his switch hit to virtually every ball bowled to him by the spinners, seems he just wants to have fun  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4014.jpg)

Eventually the switch hit is his downfall as he gets an edge, Prior comes out to join Colly, must be something still wrong with Flintoff.  Colly finally trys one too many swipes at the ball and is clean bowled, quick fire 34 including one big six.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4012.jpg)

Broad comes in ahead of Freddie and departs quickly run out, Freddie then appears and quickly departs again, getting a pair in this Test, poor Freddie !!  Prior and Harmison then have a who can hit the biggest six competition and Strauss finally declares, England lead by 503 runs, can we bowl the Windies out  ::)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 23:12:05 PM
Day 4 - Second Session (cont)


So, England need to bowl out the Windies in 4 and a half sessions, will they do it.  The opening attack is Anderson and Broad, Freddie and Harmison are obviously still not right, might be a struggle to make a break through, if only these two were firing on all cylinders  :(

Gayle and Smith play much more cautiously than normal, Gayle in particular is very restrained leaving more than he is playing, are both of these batsmen going to be able to curb there natural instincts, shot playing can be the downfall of the Windies batsmen, so we"d like to see a few more shots gentlemen please  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4019.jpg)

First hour negotiated without to much difficulty, Windies 32-0 at tea.  The score is rather unimportant now, just the wickets column, need to see it ticking over.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 23:30:08 PM
Day 4 - Final Session


So the final session starts, this will be our last as due to the schedule we are departing for Barbados in the morning and will not be able to watch anymore if the match continues into day 5  :(  :(

The session commences in much the same vain, not to much shot making from the batsmen and not much help from the wicket for the bowlers.  Harmison is bowling well, but nothing seems to be happenning, he then wraps Smith on the pads and the whole team appeal, Daryl Harper slowly raises his finger, one down another nine to go, come on England !!!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4023.jpg)

Flintoff comes on to replace Harmison, we could do with some Freddie inspiration right now !! But no, it"s Swann at the other end who get"s the next wicket.  Gayle attempts to sweep him and misses the ball, a big cry from the England team and the umpire gives him out, Gayle doesnt look to happy with that decision and looks back at the umpire as he walks off, the crowd shout Cheerio to him once more  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4027.jpg)

After three overs Freddie is off, he"s obviously not fit, could be a nail in our coffin that !! Broad comes on to replace him and in his first over he gets Hinds, what an awful shot  ;D Hitting the ball straight down Shah"s throat.  We said we needed more shot making from the batsmen, a few more of those please  ;D ;D

So it"s Sarwan and Chanderpaul at the wicket, the feeling is that we get one of these out and that should just about be enough to win it, will we be able to get one of them tonight.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/AntiguaTestDay4026.jpg)

Sarwan continues his form from the first innings and isn"t giving the England bowlers a chance, Chanderpaul is being Chanderpaul, a scruffy looking batsmen who can hang around and around, we don"t want him doing that for to long !!  They see the Windies through to the close of play, England need 7 more wickets to win.

Might be a struggle but hopefully they can pull it off and level the series after the embarrassing defeat in Jamaica.  Also talk of some rain around tomorrow, let"s hope cricket is the winner and not the weather.



Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 18, 2009, 23:36:33 PM
So the Antigua leg of my tour is nearly over, flying to Barbados in the morning.  What can I say to sum up Antigua.

Well, unfortunately it appears to be an Island in turmoil at the moment, currently an Election campaign is underway and some not too nice confrontations between the party"s being reported in the local papers.  Alan Stanford also seems to have shocked the Island, could this have a dire affect on the Island, we will have to wait and see.

One thing I know, I"m leaving a beautiful Island that had to endure the embarrassment of the "2nd Test" and then pulled out all the stops for the "3rd Test". The ARG what a place to go and watch Test cricket, I hope it sees some more Test matches and that Antigua isn"t punished for the sorry state of the Viv Richards Stadium.  Hopefully things can only get better from here, goodbye Antigua  8)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 19, 2009, 00:44:54 AM
Quality stuff

Thread keeps on delivering..

Enjoy
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 19, 2009, 11:23:56 AM
Just about to head off for the airport and catch the flight to Barbados, a fair bit of cloud about hopefully any rain will hold off and England will complete the win.  I can"t see the Windies holding out all day if we have a full days play.

Will be hoping for cricket on the TV and Internet access at the hotel later.

England FTW  ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 19, 2009, 22:37:56 PM
The flight from Antigua to Barbados was delayed this morning, due to a downpour in Antigua, at this point it wasn"t looking good for the cricket, very dark over Antigua and lots of precipitation coming out of the sky !!!!

Flight took about 1 hour 30 minutes, a very noisy two propeller plane, smallest I"ve ever flown in, although not to bad and got to see some great sights of the Islands out of the window.

Landed safely, although it soon transpired that not all of the group have their cases, thankfully mine arrived.  At this point we all had to wait for those without cases to fill out forms, another delay.  Finally got to the hotel and got checked in, not a bad view from the room.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosDay1001.jpg)

It was then to a room to huddle round a TV and watch the test, oh the pain, I managed to get a wicket everytime I went for a ciggie, well nearly. When Ramdin went we thought we had the win !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosDay1002.jpg)

It has to be well played to the Windies for holding out, if only it hadn"t rained !!  Well Internet connection sorted, so regular updates will be seen.  Six days of leisure now to the next test.  Got to rush battery fading fast, till the next post.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 20, 2009, 01:12:11 AM
Battery fully charged now and a bit more about the journey from Antigua, two of the Welsh contingent arrived at Barbados without there suitcaes, a couple of others were also affected, all blaming me because I had excess baggage and paid t have my case on the plane, oh well, at least I have a change of clothes.  If any of the Welsh are reading this is, it"s Dave and Tux who have no luggage.

We all took advantage of upgrading to All-Inclusive when checking in, Dave, one of the Welsh contingent negotiated a $40 a day rate, normally $50, so we can now drink and eat oursleves silly for 13 days, probably a lot of drinking, the cocktail list is being worked through  ;D ;D

Tomorrow we will discover a bit more about the place we are staying in Barbados.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 20, 2009, 21:27:29 PM
It"s been a very lazy day in Barbados, after a later than usual night tasting the delights of the cocktail list most of us had a reasonable lie in this morning.  The weather has been glorious and I have made most of the beach today.

This afternoon we saw a Virgin 747 and a BA flight come in, a few more English supporters arrived at the hotel this afternoon and a few more All-Inclusive deals appear to have been purchased, apparently the hotel are getting in first so that no more deals can be struck, we did well yesterday  ;D ;D

The missing cases have still not arrived and the two Welsh guys will start to fester soon, having to wear the same clothes for three days won"t be good  ;D ;D

The local brew in Barbados is Banks Lager, to be honest anything cold and chilly is going to go down well  8) but I have to say again, not a bad beer.

Well, time to get cleaned up and enjoy the delights of the restaurant and pool side bar again, it"s tough waiting for the next Test  ;D ;D

P.S. Duke, any scientific studies required in Barbados  :D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 20, 2009, 21:36:02 PM
Bit of a bonus in Barbados, it lets me log into Blue Square I might be able to play the Welsh Online game and next APAT live event qualifiers after all !!!

Result  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 21, 2009, 21:40:03 PM
Well a very quiet day today, not been up to much at all. Set my alarm for 3:30pm so I could get logged in and take part in the Welsh Online Championship.

Doubled up early doors after flopping the nut flush, had a caller which was good, then finished him off with my pair of two"s.

Lasted an hour and a half and went out with AKos against a pair of Jacks who hit a set on the flop.  Enjoyed playing some poker, the first of the holiday, will hopefully participate in some of the Sats for the Welsh open this week too.

Back to the holiday, one case arrived for the Welsh contingent, but one still outstanding, hopefully will be found and sent through tonight !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 22, 2009, 14:04:48 PM
It"s going to be a very hot one in Barbados today, not a cloud in the sky  8)

The Welsh contingent are happy this morning, at last the final suitcase arrived, so all personnel now equiped with clean clothes and toiletries, a freshness in the camp this morning  ;D

Making a visit to a local pub this lunchtime, it shows all the major sports and Liverpool v Man City is on at noon, come on the mighty reds !!!!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 23, 2009, 19:59:15 PM
Another glorious day in Barbados today, the rest of the Cricket tour party arrives this afternoon joining us for the 4th Test.  This will include the tour management and perhaps Tuffers as well.  We have a welcome party to attend tonight so we will find out whether Tuffers is with is.

Hotel has changed the Internet provider, which is a right pain, no problem for logging on and providing updates that is fine.  The only problem now is he length of time I can stay connected, limits me playing poker !!! Damn, was hoping to play one of the qualifiers tonight and that has put an end to that, hopefully will be sorted for tomorrow.

The team for the Test is going to be interesting, no Flintoff - injured, no Prior - new baby, new players available - Amjad Khan and Ravi Bopara.

Going to give it a couple of days before committing to a prediction, the only bankers at the moment I would say are: Strauss, Ambrose, Pieterson, Shah and Collingwood.

If anyone has any news at home let us know ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: PokerDan1984 on February 24, 2009, 10:29:53 AM
As Freddie Flintoff is injured looks like Ravi Bopara will be filling in at number 6 while Ambrose is at 7 in the batting line-up.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 24, 2009, 20:44:24 PM
Not sure that Bopara is the right selection, we"ve got to bowl them out twice !! Got to play five specialist bowlers in my opinion, will be interesting to see if the selectors are bold or conservative, I"d rather see England lose going for the win.

Not much sunshine today, the body has had a rest from the rays  ;D

Had a go at the Welsh Sat this afternoon, no joy, the rebuy tomorrow it is.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: PokerDan1984 on February 25, 2009, 12:21:25 PM
Are you ready for $20 Million Dollar Question?

As long as we can pile on the runs and actually bowl as a team unit ( :2d:) would be ideal, who would you drop if any?

And put in, in place of Flintoff?
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 25, 2009, 15:37:43 PM
If I was to drop anyone it would be Harmison, just didn"t look right in Antigua, sufferring in the humid conditions.  My pick would be:

Strauss, Cook, Shah. Pieterson, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Swann, Sidebottom, Khan

I have a feeling they will opt for an extra batsmen though, hope not we have got to go for the win.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on February 25, 2009, 17:31:15 PM

If I was to drop anyone it would be Harmison, just didn"t look right in Antigua, sufferring in the humid conditions.  My pick would be:

Strauss, Cook, Shah. Pieterson, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Swann, Sidebottom, Khan

I have a feeling they will opt for an extra batsmen though, hope not we have got to go for the win.


10 players!! I hope you haven"t got too much influence over there, Don.

You stick to the beer drinking, watching and photography!!

And keep posting those amazing photos
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 25, 2009, 19:49:05 PM


If I was to drop anyone it would be Harmison, just didn"t look right in Antigua, sufferring in the humid conditions.  My pick would be:

Strauss, Cook, Shah. Pieterson, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Swann, Sidebottom, Khan

I have a feeling they will opt for an extra batsmen though, hope not we have got to go for the win.


10 players!! I hope you haven"t got too much influence over there, Don.

You stick to the beer drinking, watching and photography!!

And keep posting those amazing photos


Whoops, missed off Anderson  ;D

They do put a lot of rum in the drinks  :o
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 25, 2009, 19:54:55 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on February 26, 2009, 17:36:01 PM
Your famous...

im sure i have just seen u on SSN..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 26, 2009, 22:54:37 PM
Couldn"t get on unfortunately to tell you the weather was looking good this morning, as you are all aware it"s been a lovely day in Barbados.

Last night was good fun with Tuffers, had a good two hours in the bar with him and the rest of the tour party.  Had a good chat with him, his best comment of the night was  ;D

"The West Indies is a great place to enjoy the cricket, great weather, great people, great nightlife, great beer and great rum.  If I hadn"t enjoyed it so much the three or four times I came here I might have played more Test matches" Classic  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Welcomedrinks001.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 26, 2009, 23:33:21 PM
got a pm

Duke,

Could you post on my blog apologizing for no update, hotel connection is appalling, it"s been a struggle to send a PM message.

Many Thanks

Don

the blog is awesome


he will be back
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 27, 2009, 22:50:08 PM
My delayed update from Day 1, the hotel connection is working at last !!

We left for the ground at 8.15am and immediately hit a queue of traffic when we got on the main road, it seemed everyone was going to Bridgetown.  All the Bajan"s to work and everyone else to the cricket.

The weather was looking gorgeous and for the first day in four it looked like it might stay dry and sunny all day.

We slowly crawled into Bridgetown and then made good time in the town itself, the tall set of floodlights showing us where we were going.

We finally arrived and quickly made our way to the ground, we were greeted to a lovely sight compared to Antigua ! An immaculate ground with a wonderful outfield.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1003.jpg)

We were going to see a lot more than 10 balls at this ground  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 27, 2009, 23:00:17 PM
Barbados Day 1 - First Session


Play commenced on time in a glorious setting, Strauss leading the stroll to the wicket to get proceedings under way.  After a couple of careful overs Strauss then started where he left off in Antigua, dominating the bowlers.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1004.jpg)

With only the odd ball beating the bat, neither batsmen were looking in trouble until Strauss edged one and Gayle continued his miserable catching run by dropping another at first slip  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1023.jpg)

The domination of the bowlers continued and eventually lunch was reached with no other trouble for the batsmen, the Kensington Oval was looking like another batting paradise. Will that be good for a result though.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 27, 2009, 23:13:23 PM
Barbados Day 1 - Second Session


After a successful first session and Strauss fifty, the enjoyment of watching England continue to pile on the runs continued.  Cook reached another fifty, will he be able to move on out of the fifties and make a big score this time.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1048.jpg)

Everyone is making the most of the rum, beer and food options available at the ground as the Ebgland openers continue to fine run"s easily. Another milestone passes by, 150 is reached and Strauss is getting close to his hundred.  He reaches it in fine style, smashing Benn for six over mid-wicket, you can see how far that one"s going by the look of the Windies players  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1040.jpg)

The form continues, and it is record breaking form at the Kensington Oval, record after record smashed, highest opening partnership, highest wicket partnership which has stood since the sixties so it"s a good effort from the boys  8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 27, 2009, 23:31:13 PM
Barbados Day 1 - Final Session


So after a comfortable day, will the England openers push on. Strauss is nearing 150 and Cook has a great chance of a hundred.

The first few overs after tea are negotiated safely with the runs continuing to be chalked up on the scoreboard, and then out of the blue  ??? Darren Powell sends down a virtually unplayable yorker to Strauss and cleans up his stumps, no one was expecting that !!  The Windies have something to celebrate at last.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1049.jpg)

In comes Shah who must be relishing the chance to have a bat on here.  The Windies seem to have eaten something good at tea, they"re fighting back after Strauss"s wicket and the runs have dried up, are England putting themselves under a bit of pressure.

Cook starts to give a few chances to the bowlers and eventually succumbs to Taylor, trying to pull a short one he gets a top edge straight up in the air and Ryan Hinds takes a tremendous diving catch.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1058.jpg)

Shah quickly follows caught at slip off of Benn for only 7, think he might have missed out here. So a mini collapse after the first two productive sessions and England are 259-3 and the new ball is available too !!

The Windies take the new ball and have six overs at England before the close, the new ball seems to give Pieterson and Collingwood renewed interest in run scoring, Collingwood hits a four, runs two and another four and he"s outscoring Pieterson again.  This seems to unshackle KP and he eventually gets going, scoring freely at last.  The last few balls are negotiated and England close on 301-3.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay1071.jpg)

A good days work for England, but I think it"s going to be a struggle to get a result here, the wicket looks a batsmens paradise !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 27, 2009, 23:33:38 PM
So many thanks to Duke for posting the update yesterday.  Day 2 update will be available in the morning, I need to download photos and get some food  ;D

The other good result of the day, my sister has success on the clickfest for me and I"m in for Cardiff, result  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 10:43:58 AM
Barbados Day 2 - First Session


The same journey was endured to the ground this morning but with some ominous black clouds around and as we arrived at the ground it started to rain, not looking good, time to queue for some coffee and an early morning caffeine fix.

By the time I got to my seat the rain had stopped and the covers were off, play was going to start on time.  The clouds are looming still though and we may be off for a few showers today by the looks of it !!

KP and Colly are subdued this morning and the runs are not flowing as the Windies bowlers start positively and aggressively.  Fidel Edwards who had a lot of banter with the crowd yesterday is looking dangerous, and he strikes KP right in front, that looks out and the umpire gives it.  KP is challenging the decision, must have hit it no point challenging that otherwise.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2010.jpg)

He didn"t hit that, what a waste of a challenge and selfish towards the rest of the batsmen.

Colly is joined by Ravi Bopara starting his 2nd Test Match, he shows early intent taking on the short pitch bowling from the Windies.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2059.jpg)

Colly on the other hand takes the cautious approach and has to duck and weave to avoid a few good bouncers, much to the delight of the West Indians in the crowd  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2017.jpg)

England eventually get back on top, Bopara the more dominant of the two batsmen, although another couple of chances go down from the Windies, if only they had held there catches the scoreboard might have looked completely different !!

Colly reaches his fifty in the last over before lunch and England are 405-4.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 10:58:58 AM
Barbados Day 2 - Second Session


The big black clouds that have been skirting round the ground all morning are moving away, it looks like we might have a full day and no breaks for rain.

Having reached his fifty before lunch Colly seems a different man having had something to eat, taking the game to the bowlers and despatching most of them to the boundary for four.  He"s looking good for another hundred here.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2035.jpg)

Bopara gets to fifty and that"s his first in Test cricket, well played, dropped on four and had a barrage of bouncers to get through but he"s looking class now. Colly is strolling his way to a hundred as he reaches the Nineties, but then he trys to smash another four and gets a top edge to Deep Cover and Nash holds a catch at last for the Windies, 467-5.

Ambrose joins Bopara and starts cautiously, looking a bit out of sorts, a few murmurs around me, "he"s not going to last long".

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2043.jpg)

Ambrose on the other hand hits a couple of fours and his confidence rises, he his now taking the game to the bowlers and attacking them with gusto, more boundaries are notched up against his name, at this rate he"ll overtake Bopara  ;D

But Bopara is having none of it a and also keeps his score ticking along, the fifty partnership is upon us really quickly and the crowd show their appreciation. Just before tea Ambrose reaches his fifty.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2049.jpg)

Gayle decides to give a part time bowler a go just before tea and Sarwan comes on to bowl some leg breaks, over negotiated with ease and England are 553 - 5, Bopara 88 and Ambrose 59, hundred for the taking here Ravi  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 11:17:05 AM
Barbados Day 2 - Final Session


England will be looking for quick runs in this last session so declaration can be made, this game is running very similar to the 3rd Test in Antigua now.  Bopara and Ambrose keep the scorebaord ticking and Bopara reaches his mainden test century, well played lad !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2070.jpg)

Having reached his hundred Bopara then plays a few more shots, but is eventually caught at about the third attempt by Taylor just after reaching his hundred.  Broad runs out to join Ambrose and the pair play a few shots taking the score to 600-6, England immediately declare and will have about 24 overs to bowl at the Windies.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 11:23:53 AM
Barbados Day 2 - Final Session (Cont)


The final session for myself will be remembered for the noise from the crowd, songs were finally being orchestrated by the Barmy Army and the atmosphere was awesome.  Song after song were being sung and even the three groups of our stand were split up into the right side, middle and left, we were in the left.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2110.jpg)

Some dancing girls were also ushered in by the West Indians to entertain the Barmy Army  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2108.jpg)

As for the cricket in the final session, Gayle was dismissed by Anderson after the decision was referred to the third upmpire much to the delight of the England team and the crowd.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2100.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay2101.jpg)

So the Windies 85-1 at the close and the wicket is still looking a batsmens dream, looks like a draw but you never know in Cricket  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 11:25:50 AM
Saturday morning and finally the blog is up to date  ;D

Weather is looking good this morning, another hot one, and I think it will be tough for the England bowlers.  Sarwan and Smith looked comfortable last night, here"s hoping England find something to get a result and square the series.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on February 28, 2009, 11:37:33 AM
Should be a great weekend here.

Cricket
6 Nations Rugby
Carling Cup Final


I would agree with your draw prediction.  Unless somehow the wicket changes dramatically.

Great blogging.   ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on February 28, 2009, 12:29:56 PM

Great blogging.   ;D


(http://djforum.free.fr/smileysmileysmiley/v2/surprises/surprises.smileysmiley.com.54.gif)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 23:18:10 PM
With the weather looking perfect for sun bathing we had the pleasure of an easy ride into Bridgetown and the Kensington Oval.  The traffic hold ups are only a problem on workdays, so much so we were in the ground at 8.40am and I was able to queue up for a lovely coffee this morning.  This particular vendor is one of the most popular at the ground and always has a long queue, so getting to it with only a few queuing was a bonus  ;D

We also got to see the England team go through there warm up routines, the first time we have been in the ground early enough to witness it.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3002.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 23:32:24 PM
Barbados Day 3 = First Session


Broad opened the bowling to Sarwan and the first over was an entertaining one, some short pitched bowling from Broad that caused Sarwan to lean out of the way and let the ball through.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3004.jpg)

The over also included two cracking shots for four an indication of how the play was going to continue for the morning perhaps as Sarwan quickly raced to his fifty in the first couple of overs.

Devon Smith was slower to get going but wasn"t looking in too much trouble, he was able to leave a lot of deliveries and also dispatched a few loose ones to the boundary, getting an outside edge to bring up his fifty and the hundred partnership. 

England had one chance with Sarwan who had a short pitched ball ballon in the air of his bat, but no short leg to take the catch, next ball a short leg is there, talk about bolting the door after the horse has bolted !!!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3021.jpg)

Just as it seemed it was going to be a long day, Swann goes up for leg before against Smith, the umpire gives immediately but Amith asks for a referral.  After a long delay he his given out again and England celebrate.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3023.jpg)

Ryan Hinds joins Sarwan and the pair start to build a partnership, Hinds looks to be aggressive and is keen to play some shots, always a chance we could get him out playing more shots.

As lunch approaches Swann again goes up for leg before against Hinds and the finger is up once more, Swann has taken both wickets this morning and this time we have no referral as Hinds wanders off to the pavilion  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3028.jpg)

Chanderpaul comes out to bat and the ten minutes is negotiated to lunch, Windies 163-3.  The two wickets have been a bonus this morning, another is needed and quickly after lunch if possible !

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on February 28, 2009, 23:46:15 PM
Barbados Day 3 - Second Session


With a couple of wickets taken in the first session England will be hopeful they can get rid of either Chanderpaul or Sarwan quickly after lunch.  These two held up England on the last day in Antigua and probably stopped England winning the game.

Chanderpaul has other ideas though as he takes the initiative after lunch and outscores his established partner with ease, contributing 33 from the fifty partnership that they reach quickly.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3044.jpg)

Sarwan, not to be out of the limelight for long though, cruises to his hundred, he races down the ground and celebrates in front of the Sir Garfield Sobers Pavilion where the West Indies players are out applauding him with the rest of the ground.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3059.jpg)

To be honest it"s looking pretty ominous for England, this pair are looking well set and haven"t been in any trouble at all. Englands bowlers are trying hard but there is nothing in the Kensington Oval pitch for them at all.

The Windies are cruising through the session and to tea, Chanderpaul reaching another test fifty, with ten minutes to go before the tea break we hear drums moving into our stand.  A delightful Barbados welcome is being made to the Barmy Army, and Gravy is here too, the Antiguan who for years has been dancing in the stands.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3077.jpg)

The entertainment continues for 5 minutes and takes us up to tea, a very hard slog for England that one, Windies 265-5


Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 01, 2009, 00:06:17 AM
Barbados Day 3 - Final Session


With Chanderpual and Sarwan looking in such good form this last session is likely to be another tough one for the England bowlers.  Chanderpaul continues to accumulate runs and is heading for another Test hundred.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3027.jpg)

About twenty minutes into the final session and we have more entertainment in the stand, the dancing girls are back, a man dressed as a Barbados green monkey and some stilt walkers, these Bajans certainly know how to get the crowd going  ;D ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3107.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3103.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3109.jpg)

Then in the middle of all this entertainment a shout goes up on the ground, Anderson appeals for leg before against Chanderpaul, umpire Tiffen gives him out and Chanderpaul goes for a referral. Once again everyone with radios are saying the Test Match Special team are saying not out, they"ve said that for all the referrals so far and have been wrong  ;D

Once again they are wrong as the decision is upheld and England celebrate the wicket of Chanderpaul, Windies 282-4.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3114.jpg)

All of the old school are complaining about the referral system in the stand, I remind them the Windies might be 282-0 if we didn"t have the referral system, they smile  ;D

Nash goes on the offensive, for one who is normally scratching around and frustrating the bowlers he is notching up a few boundaries and the scoreboard is ticking over nicely once more.  We then have a referral for a bad/pad catch or is it LBW, neither in the end as the third umpire says not out, one referral left for England.

A couple of overs later they decide to use it, Anderson goes up for leg before again and umpire Tiffen says not out this time, Strauss decides to refer once more.  The radio again says not out, umpire Tiffen sticks his finger up, thats out  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3119.jpg)

Well bowled Jimmy !!

Ramdin joins Sarwan, Sarwan notches up another milestone reaching 150, this series he has looked in superb form and could be on for a very big score if he can see out to the close.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay3095.jpg)

Sarwan and Ramdin see the Windies through to the close and have nearly gone past the follow-on target, 398-5. Sarwan 184 not out, a double hundred beckons tomorrow.

Well, I can"t see anything other than a draw here, outside chance of a Windies win but very very unlikely. The last two days have been fantastic, great entertainment on the ground and in the stands, just superb  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 01, 2009, 22:52:31 PM
Just back from the days play and I have to get changed and rush out to a Questions and Answers session being hosted by Tuffers tonight.

Update on the days play and the Q&A session tonight will be available in the morning for most of you, any night owls out there may get to read it earlier  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 02, 2009, 11:11:40 AM
Alcohol enduced delay to the updates last night  :o Q&A session very good, followed by a drinking session, followed by a Karaoke session. Updates will be completed tonight after my head has cleared  ;D

Weather looking extremely dodgy this morning, lots of black clouds around and it has also rained overnight.  Will this make it difficult for England with the Windies the only team that could force a result today. Let"s hope not !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 02, 2009, 23:17:34 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 02, 2009, 23:37:18 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: KarmaDope on March 02, 2009, 23:37:52 PM
I could have made a hundred on that wicket and I can"t bat.

Can"t bowl, field or keep wicket either but that"s something else entirely.

Great blog - looking forward to the final test.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 02, 2009, 23:53:37 PM
Barbados Day 4 - Final Session


So now it"s a question of how long the Windies are going to bat, Taylor continues his onslaught of the England bowlers and rushes to a quick fire 50.  Entertaining knock even if he did cost me lots of Barbadian Dollars  ;D ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay4093.jpg)

No sooner does he reach fifty and he"s out, bowled by Swann.

Ramdin who had been fairly quiet then takes the initiative and the Windies soon reach 700 !! Blimey I"ve never seen so many runs in two innings, 1300 runs so far and only 13 wickets !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay4100.jpg)

Ramdin keeps scoring and there aren"t many overs left in the day now, looks like the Windies are going to make us bowl them out.  Mind you, they are 1-0 up in the series they could make England suffer  ;D

Finally Ramdin falls, and Gayle decides to call it a day, England will have to face two overs, could be a dodgy 10 minutes for Strauss and Cook !  So this test has been one that has seen a lot of records set, one not beaten though is the highest score by a West Indian wicketkeeper as Ramdin falls two runs short, unlucky fella  ;D

So it"s 749-7 declared and a lead of 149, England could lose this now if the Windies get them on the rack.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay4120.jpg)

The final two overs are negotiated by Strauss and Cook and it"s one day to survive to have a chance of squaring the series in Trinidad.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 03, 2009, 00:06:46 AM
Tuffers on Tour


So last night we had a Q&A session with Tuffers a barbeque and some Karaoke.

We settled in the bar and our Tour Manager Richard posed the questions to Tuffers. His opinions on the Captaincy and Head Coach were put to Tuffers.  Tuffers is a supporter of Strauss and feels he should have had the Captaincy ahead of Freddie and should have been chosen before KP, he said it appeared no one had any idea who to pick apart from whoever was deemed to be our best player at the time.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay4123.jpg)

Upon the Head Coach, he criticised KP for challenging the Head Coach and suggested he should have just got on with his cricket and let the Head Coach do what he does, put the cones out for fielding practice  ;D

Asked about any future role in the England setup, Tuffers said he had been consulted for this tour so he could advise the younger players of the best bars and clubs to frequent to get the most out of the tour  ;D On a serious note he didn"t rule himself out from being involved in the future.

A few questions were put from the floor, a covered his jungle exploits and a Question of Sport, he said Matt Dawson was a swot and that he did not research which is why he loses most weeks  ;D

I got the last question in and asked him about the best sledging he had received, he said it was Ian Healy, the Australian Wicketkeeper.

"Tuffers, can I borrow your brain I"m building an idiot" slight pause and Tuffers said "What did you say" as Warne bowled him. Ian Healy said "F**k off you idiot"  ;D

After the Q&A we had a BBQ and then a Karaoke session, some good singers and I had a few drinks too many and ended up doing two songs. "Up on the Roof" and "American Pie" which seemed to both go down well. Our tour manager Richard was a bit of a crooner doing a few Sinatra numbers, finally we got Tuffers up and he sang "Unchained Melody" to wife Dawn.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay4129.jpg)

A great night and a few sore heads this morning  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 03, 2009, 11:40:34 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 03, 2009, 11:45:22 AM
After three weeks of the tour, some of the original touring party that started in Antigua are leaving for home.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosTestDay5103.jpg)

So it"s goodbye to Rod and Stella on the left, John and Deidre on the right.  Been a pleasure meeting them and enjoying their company in Barbados and Antigua.  A special note of thanks to Stella for making sure the sun cream was on my back properly.

A day of leisure today and I"m taking in a Catamarran, flight to Trinidad tomorrow along with the Welsh contingent and the remainder of the tour party.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 03, 2009, 21:36:50 PM
A gorgeous day today, enjoyed the Catamarran trip, got to snorkel with Turtles, they weren"t little ones either, also snorkelled around a wreck and reefs, hundreds of fish.  Enjoyed a lot of Banks Beer and lunch in a lovely little bay also.  A few photos of the day out.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosCatDay005.jpg)

Captain Sheldon


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosCatDay006.jpg)

Snorkelling with Turtles


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosCatDay008.jpg)

The Lunch Stop


Packing tonight as we transfer over to Trinidad, some spare clothes to go in my hand luggage just in case the same experience with the cases is encountered on our way to Trinidad.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 03, 2009, 21:48:00 PM
We"ve been given some advice for when we are in Trinidad, apparently gun crime is a real problem, I"m sure it"s not as bad as what you read, but after 21 days away I can see the hotel being stayed in a lot, especially as we are in the centre of Port of Spain and not near the beaches.

The only concerning thing is the advice about Taxis, always get in one, but be careful which one you get in  ;D Good advice  ;D

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on March 03, 2009, 23:51:58 PM
Loving the blog and some norkage pictures as well, fantastic..

Keep it going, good advice on the taxis that..  :D :D

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on March 04, 2009, 00:21:19 AM
Best blog - best pictures - best written word

priceless
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 04, 2009, 10:47:06 AM
So it"s goodbye Barbados, it"s been a great two weeks and I would recommend the island to anybody, in fact I"ve decided to come back for a week before I go back to work at the beginning of May.

Beautiful place, friendly people and lovely weather.

Hopefully I"ll be back and posting when we get to Trinidad.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on March 04, 2009, 10:57:12 AM
Safe trip and remember to get into the right taxi.   ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 04, 2009, 22:09:50 PM
I have arrived safely in Trinidad, took an absolute age to get checked-in to the hotel.  One bonus I have complimentary Internet access for the whole of my stay, nice little bonus !!

Weather pretty atrotious and Port of Spain is not the most beautiful place in the world, you would only come for the cricket  ;) Very industialised although surrounded by some hills that have been covered in mist all afternoon, we will be lucky to have a Test match without any rain delays.

Hotel has a revolving restaurant on the 14th floor, allowing a panoramic view of the industrial areas ;D spent the afternoon on the 14th floor having a few drinks waiting for our rooms to become available, finally got them about 5 o"clock.

Looks like we will be keeping safe in numbers tonight as we will attempt to go out as a group for those that are interested.  Have already risked crossing the road without using a taxi and it"s been ok  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 05, 2009, 20:02:46 PM
Woke up to a bit of sunshine this morning and Port of Spain certainly lloks more appealling with a few rays coming down.  It is surrounded by tree covered hills and is much nicer on the eye than yesterday.

A day of leisure today and after breakfast, in the revolving restaurant, I made my way down to the pool and have been laid out chilling for most of the day. 

So the final test starts at the Queens Oval tomorrow and England need a result ! Otherwise my first tour will be a defeat.  I can"t see any other selection than the five proper bowlers this time as England need to win, the local talk in the papers is that the pitch will deliver a result, so England need to go fo it and lose 2-0 if they have to.

My team for the test:

Strauss, Cook, Shah, Pieterson, Collingwood, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Harmison, Panesar

So five front line bowlers including two specialist spinners.

England FTW and a tied series, please  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 06, 2009, 04:17:46 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 06, 2009, 11:40:11 AM
Weather looking promising this morning, nice and sunny at the moment. Let"s hope today stays like this, looking forward to finding out the team and enjoying the days play.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on March 06, 2009, 14:12:29 PM

My team for the test:

Strauss, Cook, Shah, Pieterson, Collingwood, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Harmison, Panesar

So five front line bowlers including two specialist spinners.



not a bad prediction Don

lets hope Khan gives us a chance of getting those 20 wickets.

It is harsh on Bopara and Ambrose, but I think England have the right side for this particular match
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 11:32:46 AM
Slight technical hitch yesterday with the day 1 update for Trinidad, I met a friend of a friend at lunch and then we had a couple of cans of Stag.

Ok, I admit it I was drunk and in no fit state to do the blog  ;D Atmosphere at the ground was superb yesterday.  Weather looking ok this morning so hopefully another full days play.

Full updates on 1st and 2nd day will be posted tonight  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on March 07, 2009, 11:45:26 AM
FTW

(http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8230/dorstig6wi.gif)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:08:45 PM
Trinidad Day 1 - Pre-Match


At the start of this test the players marched out on to the pitch followed by an entourage for Brian Lara, the main pavilion was to be renamed after one of Trinidad"s favourite son"s.  A small speach was made by Lara followed by a brief minutes silence for those that lost their lives during the terrorist attacks in Pakistan.  Once complete, Lara and the President of Trinidad unveiled the new name on the Pavilion.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1013.jpg)

We were now ready for the start and the Queens Park Oval looked beautiful in the sunshine with the surrounding hills for a back drop, another glorious ground to watch cricket  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1014.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:20:14 PM
Trinidad Day 1 - First Session


England one the toss and decided to bat, the fifth time that England had batted first in the series.  Strauss once more continued where he had left off, stroking the bowlers for a couple fours.  Cook wasn"t looking as confident as he had in Barbados and got an early snick on a delivery from Powell, the earliest we had seen a wicket in each of the tests.  Does this bode well for a result ? England 26-1.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1034.jpg)


Shah strides to the crease and takes an age to get of the mark, once he gets a streaky single off about the nineteenth ball he had faced, he opens up and strikes two lovely fours that should boost his confidence.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1048.jpg)

Strauss continues his good form and starts to build a partnership with Shah taking the team to lunch without any more mishaps, altougth a run out is always possible with Shah at the wicket, he"s not the best judge of a run !

Lunch England 74-1.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:23:15 PM
The Lunch Break


Meet up with Lou a friend of an ex-work colleague who is in Trinidad for 3 days, we have a quick photo with Tuffers and then head off with her friend Klaus to the grass in front of the stands for a few beers.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1061.jpg)

The beer and sun during the afternoon would be my downfall  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:35:26 PM
Trinidad Day 1 - Second Session


Having moved down from the stands to the grass, the angle of view was square to the wicket and much closer.

Strauss and Shah continued to build the partnership, moving past 50 in the first over after lunch. Strauss again looking in fine fettle and reaches his 15th Test fifty.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1062.jpg)

At this point some entertainment arrived, the Digicel girls, dancing and prancing around in front of us accompanied by a band of drums and symbols.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1066.jpg)

After being entertained by the girls and a few of the crowd who tried to wiggle there booties, but weren"t quite as sexy to look at  ;D We noticed that Shah was having some treatment and eventually wandered off hurt, apparantly with cramp in his hands, better go and have some salt tablets matey !

KP wandered out and was quickly given out LBW, the decision was challenged and KP got a reprieve, would he make the most of it, well actually he wouldn"t.  Upon reaching 10 he was bowled by Hinds, you can"t challenge that one KP !

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay1092.jpg)

England 156-2 and that"s tea.

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:39:25 PM
Trinidad Day 1 - Tea Break


So being sat in the sun we have been knocking back the beers and have now consumed a fair number.  I go off to buy some more and struggle to navigate the steps correctly coming back down the stand and complete a dive head first down the concrete steps.

I manage to save the cans without them being damaged  ;D but have a few grazes for my fall, laughing at myself rather a lot along with a few of the locals.  More beer required to numb the pain  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:45:02 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 07, 2009, 22:52:04 PM
So after taking it easy on the beers today  ;D I"ve managed to get the day one update on, off out to dinner shortly and will be completing day two for the morning.

Been a glorious day today and a few more action shots bagged  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 08, 2009, 05:43:35 AM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 08, 2009, 22:36:13 PM
Trinidad Day 2 - First Session


The Windies decided to make a positive move first thing, they actually took the new ball, would we see wickets or runs.  It didn"t take long to find out, 15 minutes into the session and Fidel Edwards was steaming in, and he appeared to beat Strauss for pace and his leg stump was out the ground, I"ve been so lucky with the pictures  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2020.jpg)

Shah then returned to the crease having got over his hand cramps, he doesn"t hang around long though as he try"s to take a single to the substitute fielder, probably didn"t realise it was Dwayne Bravo and he"s gone with the aid of a TV replay.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2026.jpg)

So more action for us in the first session and England have a mini-collapse, 268-4.

Prior joins Colly and this will need to be an important stand, the last of the recognised batsmen due to playing five bowlers.  Prior starts very positively and is taking one"s and dispatching the bad balls for four.  Prior races to 50 and has dominated the partnership so far.

Colly speeds back up before lunch and in the last over reaches his Test hundred, both Strauss and Colly have had a tremendous series, probably something to do with the roads the Windies keep serving up !! England 372-4 at Lunch.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2053.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 08, 2009, 22:50:21 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 08, 2009, 23:05:16 PM
Trindad Day 2 - Final Session


England try to score runs quickly after tea, looking for a quick declaration hopefully. Prior survives an LBW decision by referring it, Tiffen hides his head in shame as another of his decisions is reversed.  Broad goes for 19 and England finally declare on 546-6.

So what can England do, well for most of the first hour they waste everything !! The new ball, the referrals and probably the chance to win this Test.  The new ball bowling is particularly woeful and we don"t seem to put the batsmen under any pressure, Gayle strolls quickly into the 20"s.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2117.jpg)

Khan, comes on for his first over in the Test cricket, it"s a shocker, 9 balls in total, he"s obviously nervous and trying far to hard !! Swann also comes on and Gayle dispatches him over the ropes for six twice.  The run rate is over five an over, we were hoping for a better start than this !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2124.jpg)

Finally we get to see Monty in action for the first time this tour, and he delivers, Smith is beaten and bowled, the crowd are up applauding the cult figure that is Monty.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay2128-1.jpg)

If you look hard enough you can just see the ball between the stumps, for once I took it too early  ;D  The Windies survive to the close and are 92-1, we need some early wickets if we are to salvage anything from this start !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: KarmaDope on March 09, 2009, 10:57:42 AM
That last pic is perfect for a "spot the ball" competition!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2009, 12:16:50 PM
Trinidad Day 3 - First Session


Having been out for a late one, I amazingly make breakfast for the first day in Trinidad, I needed food after the alcohol last night, we settle into the ground and discover the top tier of the Carib stand is closed.  Apparently the stairs were shaking last night with the number of people using them, hopefully the big lump of concrete that the upper tier is won"t come down and squash us on the lower tier  ;D

It"s a quick phone call to Mum to wish her a happy birthday, plus she get"s a quick chat from Tuffers, the King of the Jungle  ;D

Back to the cricket, England get rid of nightwatchman Powell quickly this time, Broad gets him with a short one and it"s a simple catch for Pietersen, that brings in Sarwan, normally the little master and hasn"t scored less than 94 in the series so far. Monty is on and he gets an edge, only for Collingwood to drop the catch, oh boy we could regret that  >:(

We don"t for long though as Khan somehow manages to bowl a straight one and gets Sarwan plumb in front, big celebrations and no referral, Gayle obviously thought it was plumb too  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3041.jpg)

So the little man fails and he is greeted to the Cheerio chant as he walks back to the pavilion.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3042.jpg)

Lendl Simmons wanders out to join Gayle on his debut, he is greeted the normal way, a few short deliveries as the bowlers attempt to soften him up.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3056.jpg)

The bowling this morning has been a big improvement on last night and the run rate has been contained after the shocking effort last night.  Gayle and Simmons see it through to Lunch 176-3.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2009, 12:29:39 PM
Trinidad Day 3 - Second Session


I"m certainly sufferring today, been a struggle to keep the eye"s open at times, it"s made easier by the number of locals in the stands who are making a lot of noise supporting their team, the ground does look a lot fuller today.

Back to the cricket and Gayle is looking in very good form, not as aggressive as last night but not looking in too much trouble, although Monty is causing a few problems, something always seems to be going on when he is bowling.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3026.jpg)

Gayle cruises through the nineties and gets to 99, he plays one to Shah who misfields and Gayle goes for his ton, it"s close and he ends up in a heap on the floor, all happened rather quickly that not sure what"s wrong but he"s not getting up quickly, finally he rises to acknowledge his hundred.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3065.jpg)

The Trinni Posse Stand goes ballistic, supported as always by the Digicel girls.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3067.jpg)

Gayle then hobbles off and Chanderpaul comes out, the entertainment levels might drop a bit now ! But Monty gets another shout in and the finger is up against Simmons, the decision is appealled against and we have another referral, this time the finger goes up again to confirm the decision, well bowled Monty  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadTestDay3077.jpg)

Chanderpaul and Nash bore us throught to Tea, the score is 251-4, Strauss had a great chance with a bat pad to remove Nash but the chance goes down.

Final session missed as I return to the hotel for some kip, the game has turned into a bit of a slog and I"m struggling to stay awake, normal service resumed in the morning  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2009, 12:34:15 PM
Refreshed after a good sleep and no alcohol, weather again looking gorgeous.  If today is as painful as yesterday I might be making use of the gorgeous weather tomorrow instead, going to be difficult to get anything out of this game now  :(
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2009, 22:06:43 PM
Trinidad Day 4 - First Session


We brave the bus to the ground, even though no one is that keen. Watched a bit of local TV last night and even the local cricket fans are unimpressed with the quality of the wickets that have been prepared for Barbados and Trinidad.  The talk show host, playing a bit of Devil"s Advocate even suggests that Barbados and Trinidad shouldn"t be awarded any more Test matches due to the wickets that have been prepared, you have to take your hat off to them, they are a passionate lot over here  ;D

The first session continues as the last, Chanderpaul is boring the pants of us, leaving most balls and defending the straight ones, not may attacking shots in his pocket today !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay4031.jpg)

Nash does show a bit of attacking flair, but the bowling being delivered is pretty poor.  Most of his scoring shots appear to have been boundaries, but he has faced a few !!  He eventually reaches his hundred, well batted you Aussie  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay4035.jpg)

We reach lunch the score isn"t really worth worrying about now, the Digicel girls have been doing a lot of dancing this morning, the only real entertainment in the ground  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay4038.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2009, 22:14:05 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 10, 2009, 06:20:11 AM
Another enjoyable evening in Trinidad, about 12 of us head off to a local Chinese.  The restaurant is rather nice and the fare served up is plentiful and tasty.  A quick wander down the road to a bar after the restaurant before heading back to the hotel and a few more beers after pursuading the staff to re-open the bar  ;D

With England on the rack we have all agreed to head off to the ground in the morning to support the boys, hopefully England will get to just over 200, declare and try and get a win, Strauss will go up in my estimation if he has a go.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on March 10, 2009, 08:17:17 AM
Really enjoying your updates Don.  There will be a hole in my train reading when you return...
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 12:30:46 PM
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on March 11, 2009, 12:34:43 PM
... enjoying the Digicel girls ...

Who is going to explain to Strauss the concept of making a declaration at the right time ...

... is he in contact with WG Grace?

L
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 12:38:20 PM

... enjoying the Digicel girls ...

Who is going to explain to Strauss the concept of making a declaration at the right time ...

... is he in contact with WG Grace?

L


I thought his declaration in both games was spot on, it"s easy for all the pundits to make comment in hindsight when they can do so with the result known.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on March 11, 2009, 12:47:11 PM


... enjoying the Digicel girls ...

Who is going to explain to Strauss the concept of making a declaration at the right time ...

... is he in contact with WG Grace?

L




I thought his declaration in both games was spot on, it"s easy for all the pundits to make comment in hindsight when they can do so with the result known.


I agree. What did Beefy want them to do?? set them 150 in 80 overs??? I remember him as a great player but a terrible captain. I thought england and strauss did as well as could be expected to get a result in this test and the other tests as well, especially given the negative pitches that the games were played on.

I think the preparation of wickets has been an issue in this series. the last three tests have been played on absolute featherbeds. I couldn"t imagine that happening in the days of Marshall, Holding et al.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 13:06:29 PM
Trinidad Day 5 - Second Session


So would the Windies go for the win, if they did this would give England more of a chance, the more shots played the more probability of chances being served up.  Smith opened with Simmons due to the hamstring injury sustained by Gayle.

Anderson was bowling well, the upset stomach from two days ago fully cleared up by the looks of it, and he eventually made the breakthrough.  Collingwood taking a superb diving catch in the slips after which he went running all round the ground.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5098.jpg)

Simmons had made his way back to the edge of the ground when he obviously got a message from the dressing room to challenge the decision.  We then got to see the funniest sight of the tour, umpire Daryl Harper gesticulating to Simmons to get of the field, hilarious  ;D  This brought Sarwan to the wicket, nine more chances for England to take !!

As always just after lunch the Digicel girls turned up in the Carib stand, so for one last time another enjoyable picture of the Digicel girls  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5101.jpg)

England turn to Spin early and it"s Swann who gets the first crack at the Windies batsmen. Big shout for leg before against Smith and Harper puts his finger up, Smith decides to challenge the decision, no joy as the decision is upheld and Smith is back in the hutch, good start for England this  ;D

The joy of joys Sarwan edges one and Collingwood snaffles another in the slips, the England boys go mad as they celebrate that wicket and Colly goes off running again.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5109.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5127.jpg)

Sarwan has had a great series with his beautiful batting and has been a delight to watch this tour, but the sight of him walking back warms the England fans, we really do have a chance of saving the series here thanks to Swann"s early wickets  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5131.jpg)

Hinds and Chanderpaul then take a bit of pressure off the Windies by seeing the team through to tea, another seven wickets to get !!

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 13:33:03 PM
Trinidad Day 5 - Final Session


So who would have thought we would have seen this today, at last an entertaining and enthralling days cricket. We all thought this final day would be similar to Barbados how wrong were we !

After tea it"s Anderson and Swann, Monty should be on again soon, no wickets yet but he has been dangerous, he"ll also probably lose some more of his match fee for even more excessive appealling, keep going Monty !!

Fourth over after tea and England get Chanderpaul LBW, he challenges, he loses  ;D No more referrals for the Windies and a key wicket for England !!

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5136.jpg)

Four overs later and the Aussie  ;D is gone, Anderson gets one to nip back at Nash and he"s given LBW by Umpire Harper, five more wickets required, this is a great effort by England !!

Hinds and Rmadin then get through another half an hour, all precious time for England.  Strauss at last gives Monty another go, first ball he has Hinds caught at slip and the we"re all up on our feet !

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5140.jpg)

This game is all about wickets now, the Windies aren"t even worried about scoring runs, it"s time and the overs being seen out they are watching.  England use up there final referral, seems a bit in desparation that one.  Monty has been plugging away, appealling a lot, but without much luck.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5144.jpg)

Finally after occupying the crease for an hour, Monty gets Gayle, another leg before shout and this one is given, Windies seven down and nine overs left to get the remaining three !

Time is running out, it looks like this great effort by England will fall just short.  Then we"re up on our feet again, Anderson bowls Powell, 20 balls left 2 wickets required, can they do it !!

Monty replaces Swann, he"ll have two of the remaining three overs, England close round the batsmen, putting them under as much pressure as possible.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5159.jpg)

Everything just drops short and doesn"t go to hand.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5171.jpg)

Ramdin and Edwards see out the last over the West Indians are celebrating a Test series win for the first time since 2003.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5175.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/TrinidadDay5176.jpg)

What a day !! It"s taken until the last day cricket on the tour, but the most enjoyable one so far.  A tense and intriguing days play, good effort by England, but well played to the Windies on winning the series 1-0.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 13:36:29 PM
My last day of leisure today before we start the journey home tomorrow, so I"m now heading down to the pool for some last rays of sun.

I"ll be thinking about the performance of the players today and will post a summary of individual performances and some final comments on the tour, the pitches, the people and lovely Country"s that I"ve spent some time in over the last 30 days  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on March 11, 2009, 17:02:06 PM
To be fair to Botham he slated them for the entire game ... not only after the event!

Last game they declared way too late ... and had Anderson at the wicket hitting the air for an hour ... when they were effective 300-1 ...

This game they are 1-0 down ... they have to gamble.

The last two wickets looked easy ... but the last one was disintegrating at the end.

Monty"s crazy appeals cost him in the end as they referred something that could never have been out ... and then they had no option to refer one which look good.

That said Monty"s celebration is one of the best things I have ever seen - for the last plumb decision ... tinsel toes on burning coals ... GENIUS.

L
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 17:33:17 PM
Botham is never happy with anything, Strauss was on a hiding to nothing whatever he had done would have been wrong.  In all honesty the wicket wasn"t really disintegrating, the Windies were cracking under the pressure due to the fact they were blocking everything being served up.

I"m sorry to say all the pundits would not have made anything happen in Barbados and Trinidad.  The man of the series for the Windies should be the Groundsman.

The reason we didn"t win in Antigua was that Flintoff was injured and Harmison was unwell, Strauss was unable to enforce the follow-on, end-of.

They nearly produced a result yesterday to save the series, having seen them slog their guts out against a negative Windies team they should be praised for nearly doing so, not slated every chance someone gets.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on March 11, 2009, 18:01:36 PM
Great blogging Don.  Hope you have a safe journey back,

There"ll be a pint waiting for you in Cardiff from me as a thank you for a brilliant 30 days of reading. (Although I think you may have created some demand for future words and photos  ;D )
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 18:13:32 PM

Great blogging Don.  Hope you have a safe journey back,

There"ll be a pint waiting for you in Cardiff from me as a thank you for a brilliant 30 days of reading. (Although I think you may have created some demand for future words and photos  ;D )


Got my eyes on South Africa next winter for a couple of weeks, could make it an annual event  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on March 11, 2009, 18:18:15 PM
... fair shout on pundits being VERY (overly) negative ... though I do enjoy Bob Willis once he gets on his high horse.

I expect Sarwan might have had a bit to do with them winning!

England lost because they got bowled out for 51.

I thought that Swann made Monty up his game and that is good.

Harmison - the question is why would you ever pick someone who is always inhured and doesn"t really want to play??

Strauss batted very well ... but where is the edge ... all he is doing is making robotically slow decisions.

I have spent a couple of happy days on the edge of the Barmy Army in Australia ... and great fun ... but you want the end result too ... Ashes looks pretty tough at the moment!

IPL an annoying distraction ... how many English players will get injured in that??

Great blog!

Louis
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on March 11, 2009, 18:27:27 PM
Have a safe Journey home......

Great stories, great analysis, great pictures

Priceless..........
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 11, 2009, 18:54:40 PM
This morning saw the party that joined us in Barbados depart for home, for some strange reason everyone who started in Antigua has an extra day.  So last night we had a few beers in the hotel, went for a meal and then visited the best local bar again, Shakers. A few images of the last night for most in Trinidad.

Phil and Dawn Tufnell


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosGroupLastNight001.jpg)

Dawn and Me


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosGroupLastNight002.jpg)

The Last Supper at Satchmo"s


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosGroupLastNight003.jpg)

International Darts at Shaker"s


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosGroupLastNight004.jpg)

The Welsh Triumph


(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/BarbadosGroupLastNight005.jpg)

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 12, 2009, 13:42:24 PM
So the final day has arrived and we are returning home.  The trip has been a wonderful experience, beautiful Country"s, friendly people, gorgeous weather and some interesting cricket, livened up on the last day.

Everyone is ready to come home now, it has been a long tour and I desparately need to do some washing  ;D Looking forward to getting back to the Uk, having a pint of bitter, playing in the online league on Sunday, not looking forward to the weather that much though, it"s been nice to laze about in shorts for the last 30 days  ;D

I will close the blog on my return with my player and Country review, at that point the Blog will be complete and any further postings will take away from what the Blog was, a update on my tour around the West Indies.

I have enjoyed updating this and reporting on the games and everything else that has gone on when I have been away.  It"s been a blast, thank you to everyone for the comments and in Duke it"s good to know that "One Winter in English Cricket" got him interested in Cricket.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on March 12, 2009, 16:36:26 PM
what a great blog, your writing and photo taking has been excellent, and im sure I along with everyone would be pleased if you kept some kind of blog going when you return.

Have a safe trip, and u will be glad to know its getting warmer in the uk, so you might be able to keep your shorts on..
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 14, 2009, 10:57:38 AM
Returned safely to the UK, although suffered from the night flight and lack of sleep, stopping in a hotel until tomorrow to catch up on sleep.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 14, 2009, 17:58:05 PM
Had to share this with you all, on our way to the airport in Trinidad we passed a few roadside adverts, in particular for Cesspit Cleaning.  This was the pick of them all and made us all laugh on the coach  ;D

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/007.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 15, 2009, 19:46:06 PM
All a bit strange watching the 20/20 on the TV tonight, especially as it"s at the Queens Park Oval, only a few days since I was there.  Not going well and expect England to lose this one, not enough runs tonight.

Expect all the pundits to all follow the Strauss isn"t a one day player line, to be honest it"s 20/20 and nothing really matters in that game, you either come off or you don"t.

Getting myself settled and ready for the league game tonight, back to reality  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on March 15, 2009, 20:55:18 PM
Welcome back Don and thanks for your contribution through the blog.  It was a cracking read and hopefully we"ll benefit again in some future series.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 15, 2009, 23:14:40 PM

Welcome back Don and thanks for your contribution through the blog.  It was a cracking read and hopefully we"ll benefit again in some future series.


Cheers Des,

Will keep it going, in some ways it"s good to be back, planning for next winter and going to hold a place for two tests in South Africa.

It"s been a lot of fun doing it and getting the responses on the blog.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 16, 2009, 15:22:14 PM
England Player Ratings


Andrew Strauss - 8 led from the front with his batting, 3 centuries and 541 runs at an average of 67.  Rotated his bowlers well to keep the Windies on their toes, challenged on the declarations made in Antigua and Trinidad but in my opinion got them right.  With more luck and without Freddies injury he may have been praised for series fightback.

Alistair Cook - 6 didn"t find batting as easy as Strauss but contributed to the successful opening partnerships in Antigua and Barbados, key innings in Barbados to ensure the match was drawn when finally reaching a century in the second innings.

Ian Bell - 4 got out in Jamaica after getiing himself in and was punished by being dropped in Antigua.  Number three not solved yet so he may get another chance in England colours.

Owasis Shah - 5 took his chance in Antigua scoring 57, but then looked in all sorts of trouble in his next two tests.  Running between the wickets is a problem and not the most athletic fielder in the team, may be replaced in the summer.

Kevin Pietersen - 6 didn"t look his normal self and was outscored at the crease by his batting partner in most innings, still contributed well with 406 runs at an avergae of 58, but could and should have scored more, criticised for getting out in Jamaica with the England innings well set.

Paul Collingwood - 7.5 was one that I felt was under pressure but delivered when required. 2 centuries and 430 runs in total a great return for a number 5. Not really called upon as a bowler and took some key catches, although he spilled a couple of what would have been key ones too.

Matt Prior - 6 batted superbly and scored runs quickly, keeping was awful though, the extras given away in Antigua and Trinidad could have cost England the win they were desperately after.

Ravi Bopara - 7 selected for the Barbados test and did nothing wrong scoring an important century.  Had to make way for an extra bowler in Trinidad as England went for a win, will get another chance.

Tim Ambrose - 6 another who did everything that was asked of him, kept and batted well in Barbados, made way for the returning Prior in Trinidad.

Andrew Flintoff - 5 suffered with injuries at a key time again, a fully fit Flintoff would have seen an England win in Antigua, needs to be fit for the Ashes to provide some venom and fire power to the bowling attack.

Graeme Swann - 8 not selected for the orginal test in Antigua but made the side for the additional third test, leading wicket taker on tour with 19 wickets and has provided the selectors with a headache over which spinner to go with, has a bit more guile than Panesar at the moment.

Ryan Sidebottom- 4 didn"t look fit and was out of sorts on the flat wickets, time for England to look for another seamer who swings the ball.

Steve Harmison - 4 another bowler who didn"t look fit, but the only bowler other than Flintoff to actually generate some pace. Will he get another chance, possibly.

Stuart Broad - 7 ends this tour wiser and stronger, took 12 wickets in the series and added some depth to the batting line up.  Could do with bowling fuller as he had a tendency to bowl short, may have been due to the flat wickets offered up.

Jimmy Anderson - 7.5 the player the ladies all love, and also one of the most unlucky bowlers on tour.  Put the effort in for his skipper but didn"t get the rewards he probably deserved, should be in the Ashes team in the summer.

Monty Panesar - 6 I have to say something was always happenning when Monty was bowling, the Windies feared him and went after him.  Was always in the nets practising and will come back from this series a stronger player, needs to develop his variety but still has a strong England future.  He was also superb fielding in the covers in Trinidad, something I never thought I would ever say !

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 16, 2009, 15:31:53 PM
Tuffers on Tour Review


With this being my first jaunt overseas following England I wasn"t sure what to expect.  I have to admit to enjoying the whole experience that was provided and organised by Paragon Sports Management, so much so that I will be looking to tour again with them in the future.

The people on the tour were also a key element to making it a great experience, so many of them have had a mention in the blog and some have not, but everyone was good fun. It was more the laid back approach to the tour, each night you did what you wanted, no shepherding around like sheep, this is what made it for me.

A big thank you to Richard from Paragon our Tour Manager and Phil Tufnell our Tour Host in Barbados and Trinidad, both excellent, but of course Tuffers is the King of the Jungle  ;D

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 20, 2009, 12:30:26 PM
Been back in the UK for a week now and it"s been a very lazy one  :)

Had a few things to sort out, dodgy brakes on the car after being laid up for 35 days, a new phone charger after leaving it in Trinidad, hopefully sorted today ! Need to get more active over the next few weeks before I go back to work on the 5th May.

Bought in to the WCOAP last night and opted for the Friday to make a weekend of the trip, that"s the 3rd APAT tournament sorted this year.  Booked the hotel for Cardiff, will arrive on the Friday and enjoy another long weekend.

Played a bit of MTT poker this week, but not that successful, one cash, need to get back into the groove after the time away.

Looking forward to watching the cricket this afternoon to see if England can actually put a winning performance in, not going to predict the team, but hopeful they can get a win.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 21, 2009, 00:27:06 AM
Well, the end of the cricket was rather funny, can"t believe the Windies came off when behind on the Duckworth/Lewis score, surely someone should have been watching the TV  ;D

It"s the sort of thing you expect England to do, not an Australian  ;D ha ha

Nice one John Dyson, 1-0 to England  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on March 21, 2009, 00:41:30 AM

Bought in to the WCOAP last night and opted for the Friday to make a weekend of the trip, that"s the 3rd APAT tournament sorted this year.  Booked the hotel for Cardiff, will arrive on the Friday and enjoy another long weekend.


see you in Cardiff -- looking forward to it
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 21, 2009, 01:04:44 AM


Bought in to the WCOAP last night and opted for the Friday to make a weekend of the trip, that"s the 3rd APAT tournament sorted this year.  Booked the hotel for Cardiff, will arrive on the Friday and enjoy another long weekend.


see you in Cardiff -- looking forward to it


Looking forward to having a Guinness with you Duke
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 23, 2009, 13:26:36 PM
So the one dayers are all level again, without the Windies cocking things up we struggled. Strauss proved he can play in the team, if only someone could have stayed with him out of the top 6 !

Tried a change of scene to poker last week by downloading Stars, have played a few of the multiplayer SNG"s and managed to win one and get placed in a couple of others.

Amazingly the first hand that i played on Stars was  ad1 kd

Flop  qd jd 9d

Turn  td

Thank you very much, also got someone with a Flush so they were calling my bets  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2009, 12:27:48 PM
So, KP has mental fatigue, is at the end of his tether and can"t wait to get back home. Is that England or South Africa KP for the IPL and all those big bucks !!

Timing is everything, just as England are boosted by the return of Freddie we wake up to KP and more of his me me me stories. Time for a rest if you ask me, England should leave him out today and play someone who is in the right mental state for the game, not fatigued  ;D Probably won"t happen, but not been impressed with KP this winter, he has got some runs but hasn"t looked right.

England have performed reasonably ok in the last two one dayers, winning one thanks to the Windies management team, got a feeling they will do well today in Barbados.

So England FTW and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2009, 16:11:18 PM

So, KP has mental fatigue, is at the end of his tether and can"t wait to get back home. Is that England or South Africa KP for the IPL and all those big bucks !!

Timing is everything, just as England are boosted by the return of Freddie we wake up to KP and more of his me me me stories. Time for a rest if you ask me, England should leave him out today and play someone who is in the right mental state for the game, not fatigued  ;D Probably won"t happen, but not been impressed with KP this winter, he has got some runs but hasn"t looked right.

England have performed reasonably ok in the last two one dayers, winning one thanks to the Windies management team, got a feeling they will do well today in Barbados.

So England FTW and a 2-1 lead in the series.




England have performed reasonably ok in the last two one dayers, winning one thanks to the Windies management team, got a feeling they will do well in the next Barbados one dayer after a nightmare in the game today !

So Windies FTW and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on March 29, 2009, 10:55:33 AM
Set my alarm early this morning, 6.45am to get up and watch the Australian GP.

Glad I did, a thoroughly entertaining race was enjoyed, lots of action and overtaking, with the result a dream start for the Brawn GP team and Jensen Button.  I also have to say it was also lovely to watch the whole GP without those damn adverts.  Enjoyed the BBC coverage and also watched the debate after the result on the red button, the Beeb couldn"t have wished for a better GP to start the season, especially with a Brit winning !!  Will be getting up early in Cardiff to watch the next one.

Now back to the cricket, after the poor performance on Friday it"s good to see that the England boys lost their day off yesterday, good management from Flower and Strauss, get them in, work them hard and demand they show some pride !

Not holding my breath for later as the Windies are high in confidence, but hopefully they can turn it around and give us something else to cheer on this weekend !

Come on England, show us some pride and passion, please !!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on April 01, 2009, 00:14:10 AM
So England have a chance to get something out of the tour on Friday, finally winning a game without the assistance of the Windies management, but with a helping hand from the weather and the fact that the ground had floodlights !! Strauss defied his critics with a quick fire innings enabling England to cruise to the Duckworth/Lewis target required.

All to play for in St Lucia and moral building series win.

Today we also hear that KP wanted to leave the tour to see his wife as he hasn"t seen her for 11 weeks. He hasn"t been married long and I"m sure he"ll appreciate it in a few years time and will be happy to spend 11 weeks away from her eventually ;D

Put my deposit down on the South Africa tour next winter today, costs yet to be set but hopefully won"t be too high, got the bug after the Windies tour.  Will also be attending the Andrew Strauss Benefit Dinner on the 8th April, a few well known stars are attending so I will hopefully have the camera out to add to the blog.

Looking forward to meeting up with everyone in Cardiff.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on April 01, 2009, 00:20:15 AM

Looking forward to meeting up with everyone in Cardiff.


First one is on me Don
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on April 08, 2009, 16:04:40 PM
Well, arrived in Cardiff on Friday evening and caught a little bit of the cricket.  It was finally good to see England get something out of the tour, although with a little help from the weather and the Duckworth/Lewis system once more. But a series win is a series win !!

Enjoyed a late breakfast on Saturday morning and wandered over to the casino for the tournament.  Had a great time as always and it was lovely to get lots of comments from everyone about the blog.  Battled to keep my stack around 14k for most of the day but after the dinner break struggled to hit anything and was slowly going under, finally eliminated around 10pm.

Had a burger in the casino and a couple more guiness before heading back to the hotel.  Woke up on Sunday feeling perticularly rough, watched the Grand Prix and then it started, threw up once and then twice, have I eaten something dodgy I thought !!!

Checked out of the hotel and then back in again a shortwhile later, extended my stay and managed to see a bit more of Cardiff, in particular my hotel bathroom for two more days as I suffered hell.

Finally arrived home today after recovering enough to feel safe enough to drive.

Looking forward to the next one  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: AMRN on April 08, 2009, 16:16:54 PM
wow!   eat what you like in Barbados, but you gotta be careful in Cardiff!!!

Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on May 07, 2009, 19:41:41 PM
This week saw the end of my sabbatical and a return to work after 12 weeks of leisure.  I did manage to fit in another week in Barbados to top up the tan and to chill out some more before going back to work.  Didn"t venture very far from the Hotel beach and enjoyed a holiday of breakfast, sun bed on beach, dinner and bed  8)

Landed back in the UK early on Monday morning and returned to work Tuesday.

It was a strange feeling, I was actually looking forward to returning to work, after 12 weeks of not seeing anyone from work, I was actually looking forward to seeing everyone, probably will feel different next week lol  ;D

It was also a strange feeling seeing England playing the West Indies once more, but not in the sunshine and without me in the ground this time !!

After a solid day one, what a day two of the test !!

Congratulations to Bopara and Swann for their efforts with the bat, and the England bowling attack for putting the Windies back in the hutch for only 152  ;D and this time with a fit compliment of bowlers the follow-on enforced, should be an easy win with three days to go as long as the weather stays good !!!

Everyone can bat on a road, but it"s a lot more difficult on an English green top in May, bouncing and seaming about, eh Ramnaresh !!!!!!  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on May 07, 2009, 20:04:05 PM
Having reached 99-2 in reply to England"s 377, the West Indies were blown away by a combination of Onions and Graeme Swann to collapse to 152 all out. Five wickets fell in 14 balls after tea awsome.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo  I am talking cricket --- kill me now
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on May 07, 2009, 20:07:15 PM
Priceless - Duke the Cricket reporter - Love it  ;D

You have been converted !!!!
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on May 07, 2009, 20:48:39 PM

Priceless - Duke the Cricket reporter - Love it  ;D

You have been perverted!!!!


FYP Don  ;)
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on May 19, 2009, 19:24:25 PM
When you look at life, you always review situations and say why does it always seem to happen to one of the good guys.  I"ve been saying this to myself over the last week and a bit as events of the weekend of the 9th May brought this home.

In the late Eighties, I was a member of a strong Cricket team in Suffolk and one of my team mates was a left arm spinner who was a great team member and player.  He was a guy who played the game competitively, had a great knowledge and passion for cricket, but played the game the right way with a smile on his face, he truly was a gentleman on the field and one of the good guys of it !

Sadly the weekend of the 9th he was taken, playing the game he loved, cricket !

So I have vowed to uphold the traditions of my colleague and ensure that I take this principle with me whenever I"m playing poker as I no longer grace the Cricket field. I will  be competitive, play with a passion but always play with a smile on my face and be considered one of the good guys.

RIP Slim, a true gentleman of the game.
Title: Re: One Winter of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on May 19, 2009, 20:14:57 PM
Sad -- RIP
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on May 19, 2009, 22:57:34 PM
Now we"re moving on to the business end of the Summer, a stroll in the chilly park at Chester-le-Street and suddenly the mind games are starting as the Ashes series gets closer.

The Aussies are starting to get vocal, this can only be a good thing, they have seen us turn up do a job against the Windies, a side that looked like it didn"t want to be here to be fair, and want to try and knock a little confidence out of us before we even get started.

Strauss is the target, the Aussies are going after him Ponting says.

Onions, don"t expect him to play in the Ashes, reverse psychology perhaps, please pick him we like the look of him.

Symonds, time to welcome him back to the fold, are we supposed to be scared of him or something.

Phillip Hughes, the new Aussie opener, thanks for letting him get used to the English conditions, this is the one of the key points here. No other Country would allow this, but our stupid counties are only thinking of personal gain.  Absolutely stupid, the ECB should lay down the law and sort this out for future years !

Things are only going to get hotter and more entertaining and it is going to be an interesting series, we do have a chance even if all of the past players are writing off our chances. 

New players, virgin tourists, it"s going to be fun..........

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSkNIUT1-Bo[/youtube]
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on May 20, 2009, 12:09:53 PM
Great stuff Don

The aussies can target strauss all they like....he is a different player to the one that averaged 24 down under last time.

I agree with Goughie that flintoff is key, though I do think we can win without him....just not as easily ;D

i think Hughes has a few technical issues that our bowlers can exploit (either that or he"s the next Bradman and we are screwed!!)

Expect Prior and Broad to get the worst of the sledging
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: nosey-p on May 20, 2009, 13:15:10 PM
Got my tickets for Headingly day 2, cannot wait, a few beers in the sunshine and some Aussie bashing, bring it on

What do you think of no Symonds?  
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on May 20, 2009, 15:48:14 PM
Good do for us! He"s a top player, and a great guy to have a beer with!!!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: KarmaDope on May 20, 2009, 16:01:14 PM

Got my tickets for Headingly day 2, cannot wait, a few beers in the sunshine and some Aussie bashing, bring it on

What do you think of no Symonds?  



An unexpected bonus, I was sure he"d be back especially as he seems to do well against us.  Aussies have missed a trick there.

I still expect to see him at some point though, probably when they"re 2-0 down after the first 2 tests!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on May 20, 2009, 17:22:45 PM

Got my tickets for Headingly day 2, cannot wait, a few beers in the sunshine and some Aussie bashing, bring it on

What do you think of no Symonds?  



He may still appear in the squad yet, Shane Watson has to pass a fitness test, Ponting seems to want him so any doubts around Watson and Symonds will be in I reckon.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 05, 2009, 21:28:58 PM
A great start to the summer of cricket  ;D

A humiliating defeat inflicted by the Dutch, the cricket team will be more famous than the spoof character Goldmember now !!

For entertainment 20/20 is superb, quick, lots of action and pulls the crowds in.  It"s also a format that gives every team a chance to win, even the non-test playing countries.  The Netherlands were great, England may have underestimated them as well and didn"t expect them to bat as well as they did. A fuuly deserved victory and hats off to them !!

So it"s a great start for the competition, not so for England, but cricket is the winner in my eyes.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 08, 2009, 09:00:13 AM
Well what a difference a couple of days make.  England survive the poor weather forecast and deliver a great all round team display against Pakistan, it helped slightly that Pakistan didn"t really bother to turn up  ;D

The convincing victory also delivered England through to the Super Eights, who"d have thought that !!

Later we will have the joy of supporting Sri Lanka as Australia play them in a must win match to continue in the competition. Now that would be a great shame if they didn"t make it  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 08, 2009, 17:30:18 PM
It"s congratulations to Ireland who have qualified for the next stage of the 20/20 World Cup. This follows on from the great showing at the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

Being in a group with two other Test playing nations this is another great feather in the hat for the Irish team and demonstrates that with the right management structure teams can progress and develop.

Great result and well done !! A few more Guiness will be drunk tonight I"m sure  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 08, 2009, 21:11:10 PM
So, Monday evening turns into an enjoyable part of the day as I sit in front of the TV and watch the Aussies get dispatched by the Sri Lankans  ;D Suffering the embarrassment of not making it past the first qualifying stage of the 20/20 tournament.

We"re not laughing Ricky honest  ;D

A much deserved defeat following the disparaging remarks about Leicester before the game as well, I"m sure there are a lot worse places you could spend two weeks preparing for the Ashes series, Australia comes to mind  ;D

The camera close up of Ricky Ponting was the best for me, putting his head in his hands as Brett Lee was hit for another four, which basically made the final over a non event for Sri Lanka, I"llbe searching for that on the Internet to post for everyone if I can find it !!

Mentally this could play into the hands of England, the last Ashes series started with a shocking performance in a 20/20 game, are we going to experience some deja vu for the series in 2009, I certainly hope so  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 12, 2009, 11:09:02 AM
A poor batting performance yesterday against South Africa, early wickets and tight bowling made it difficult for the England batsmen to set a good base in the first six overs.  The pressure to increase the run rate resulted in more risks being taken and some poor shot selection by the batsmen.  All in all a deserved victory for Graeme Smith and his men, they certainly look to be one of the favourites for the tournament, and I believe both finalists will come from this group.

England"s next game is a must win against India, will be difficult against a one day specialist team who have all developed their short games further with the IPL running for two years.  I expect England to bow out, but the 20/20 game is so unpredictable you never know, a couple of good overs and a game can be put out of sight for one team.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on June 15, 2009, 13:41:37 PM
Have enjoyed the 20/20 matches over the last few days with some good performances from South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England.  A surprise that India have effectively gone out of the competition, with all the experience from the IPL they were being billed as favourites.

I"m now trawling the internet to see if I can come across any tickets for the final, have found a few sites although it"s disappointing to see people charging more than the face value of the ticket.

I will see, may decide to pay slightly over the odds for a ticket just to attend what has been a great competition so far, I have been looking at the "Seatwave" website, has anyone had any experience of this ??

Would be good to get a good live match report with actions shots on the blog once more  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 05, 2009, 10:40:08 AM
So the next stage of the summer is nearly upon us, the home Ashes series against the Aussies and the England 13 man squad has been picked:

Strauss, Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Panesar and Onions.

Bell selected as cover for any of the batsmen over the next few days and expect him to be left out on Wednesday morning.  With Flintoff back in the fold, England will have the luxury of another bowler who can bat a bit, this will sway the selectors on the final selection place for the starting eleven.  With the Cardiff pitch expected to take spin according to all the experts, I feel that two spinners will be picked, this will give England an advantage over the Aussies and with more right handers in the Aussie side now, I think this will swing it for Monty.

So my England eleven for the first test is:

Strauss, Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson and Panesar.

A bit more batting strength with Flintoff and Broad going in 7th and 8th.

Will be interesting to see what bowling attack the Aussies go with, their spinner doesn"t look up to much, which means he"ll probably take a hat load of wickets  ;D

But the big debate is whether Ponting is as bad a Captain as Aussie Legend Jeff Thomson says he is, apparently everyone at home thinks the same, great player poor Captain.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR7_KtW3Is[/youtube]

It"s going to be a close series and the first test could be key in deciding the series winner, not always important as don"t forget the Aussies won the first test in 2005.  I do feel though that the batting line-up and bowling attack that England have could swing it our way with a narrow victory of 2-1 again.

Let"s hope that the weather holds in Wales !!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on July 05, 2009, 10:56:43 AM
... quality clip ... great chance for England to win the series given Australia"s lack of options in the bowling attack.

Ponting has a lot to prove despite his great Test Career.

Headline Average - 56.20
Last three years Test play - 43.08.

Not convinced Monty will rise to the occasion but other than that a good team picked.

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on July 05, 2009, 16:47:58 PM
LOLd hard at that clip. Nice one Don.

Just remember that these players won a series in South Africa. There is a lot of quality in the batting line up and the bowlers have Troy Cooley to help them get the best from english conditions and to use reverse swing effectively. I think too much is being made of their lack of experience and lack of quality spin bowler. (remember, we won the Ashes in 2005 with Giles as our spinner!!)

This will be a tough series. Gutted I"m missing most of it on holiday this year
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 06, 2009, 15:13:54 PM
Some possible good news for England, Brett Lee has broken down in training today.  Not completely ruled out of the first test yet, but could be a body blow for the Aussies.  Lee was firing in the warm-up match last week and their bowling attack will be a lot weaker without him.

He is also the only bowler in the Aussie team that has real experience of English conditions.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: AMRN on July 06, 2009, 15:57:27 PM
I enjoyed the Heads Up cricket at the weekend... the one with yellow furry balls, and funny shaped bats.

Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 09, 2009, 10:59:34 AM
After all the build up for the first day, work takes over completely and I have virtually zero chance to follow or see any of the first day  :"(  Finally catch up with some of the action at midnight after getting home.

Honours fairly even after the first day, but you would have to say that the England batsmen didn"t capitalise on the good starts that the majority got.  No point going deeper into KP"s shot been done to death by the media.  Just a shame we lost Prior and Flintoff before close of play, let the Aussies back into it really.

Glad to see the England selectors went with my team selection, perhaps they read the forum  ;D Hopefully we can push on to 400 and see what our bowlers can do, if the wicket does start turning, bowling last will be a big advantage.

Weather may affect the play at the weekend though, which will be disappointing.

Good to see Flintoff remembering what his bat is for though  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 10, 2009, 11:38:24 AM
Still not had much of a chance to watch the test, good effort by the England tail yesterday getting the score above 400.  The Aussies certainly highlighted the missed opportunity on the first day by the England batsmen, shot selection good and it"s an easy wicket, especially when the balls not swinging !

Could be another hard slog in the field today as the Aussies are dominating the proceedings.  Won"t be watching much again as I prepare to travel up for the Chezger Festival this weekend.

Looking forward to the Chester races and the poker on Saturday evening.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 11, 2009, 11:07:24 AM
Aussies dominating us in this test, we need to show some steel, determination and passion !!! But most of all we need lots of rain today !!!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 12, 2009, 19:07:35 PM
First of all I want to say a big thanks to Ger, had a great time at the Chezger Festival and the hospitality was second to none.  Managed to bubble the cash, but the game was superb and finally got back to the hotel and into bed about 4am.

Woke up and set off home and got home to see an Aussie win the Grand Prix, had a little snooze and then settled down to watch the cricket and an expected Aussie win.

When Collingwood fell, it looked like the end of the test match, but along with the crowd in Cardiff we started cheering Jimmy and Monty as they blocked out the majority of balls being delivered by the Aussie bowlers.  Big cheer when we went ahead and then lots of laughs when the 12th man and the Physio were running on the pitch to waste time.

Superb effort to get a draw out of this game by Collingwood and the tail, can"t really compliment the top order in saving this one.  The best result from this game is that the pressure will be deflected on Ponting, I"m sure he"ll come in for a lot of stick for not bowling out England, especially the ferret that is Monty.  We have got to turn up at Lords on Thursday and carry on where we finished, kick up when they"re down is what I say  ;D

Finally, congratulations to Cardiff for providing a great spectacle and a great atmosphere, especially the final session  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 13, 2009, 09:46:17 AM
Find it slightly amusing this morning that Ponting is deflecting the teams inability to bowl England out on the 2-3 minutes of time wasting when the 12th Man and Physio were on the pitch.  Has he forgotten that they bowled over 65 balls to the last pair  ;D

Would be interesting to hear Jeff Thomson"s opinion once more  ;D I think Ponting will come in for a lot of criticism back home.  The lack of overs that the two most effective bowlers, Hilfenhaus and Siddle, had in comparison to Johnson was shocking.  But can"t complain, thanks to Punter we got out of jail !!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on July 13, 2009, 10:43:26 AM
It"s a great save but essentially saved by the 4th day rain.

England 687 for 19
Australia 676 for 6

Ponting and Co ... not sure how much noise there will be back home (or how much they will care).

Ponting may have bowled the wrong bowlers at the end

England picked the wrong bowlers at the start.

Panesar + Swann = 73-12-246-1
(Where was Onions (or Harmison))?

Hauritz = 60.5-13-168-5

Fair play to Collingwood (great stoicism) and fair play to the rearguard but I am pretty sure Australia go to Lords very confident.

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on July 13, 2009, 11:43:05 AM
Just as you said Louis, a "tedious draw" !!  ;)
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 13, 2009, 11:49:47 AM


Ponting and Co ... not sure how much noise there will be back home (or how much they will care).



I think you might be surprised Louis, the inability to bowl out Panesar will not be lost on the Aussie media or the public.  Don"t forget he has a reputation for being one of the worst batsmen around.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on July 13, 2009, 11:54:32 AM



Ponting and Co ... not sure how much noise there will be back home (or how much they will care).



I think you might be surprised Louis, the inability to bowl out Panesar will not be lost on the Aussie media or the public.  Don"t forget he has a reputation for being one of the worst batsmen around.


Monty"s an all-rounder now ... (great at fielding too!)

Who do you think will be dropped (and who to come in?)

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 13, 2009, 12:12:09 PM
I expect only one spinner to be played at Lords, I would add Harmison to the squad as he will add some much needed venom to the attack. Unfortunately, the only way I can see the selectors picking him will be if Broad is too injured to last 5 days, reports are saying he has a slight calf strain.

My team would be:

Strauss, Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Prior, Flintoff, Swann, Onions, Anderson and Harmison

Tail loses a bit of batting capability, but the bowling options look more solid.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on July 13, 2009, 12:37:53 PM
Good pick, that would be my 11 too !
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on July 13, 2009, 13:04:46 PM
... aye this team might be able to take 20 wickets ... which is the min requirement in selecting a team for me.

There is the danger of a batting collapse - but I think that means the top order will just have to play proper patient cricket.

Watching some highlights - thought Swann did very well after getting peppered by Siddle.

Broad looks out of nick - injured or not.

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on July 13, 2009, 17:32:27 PM
Aye...Broady not doing it at the mo.

Good team Don
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 18, 2009, 11:04:23 AM
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 20, 2009, 19:12:11 PM
Well, well, well !!! 1-0 up in the series  ;D

Still up in Scotland, treating my Mum to a week of relaxation and some of my time.  Been travelling around today visiting Stirling Castle and a drive up to St. Andrews just so I can say I have been there !

The bonus of driving was being able to listen to Test Match Special, great effort by the team and Freddie in particular, amazing that he hasn"t taken 5 wickets at Lord"s before !! We rode our luck and certainly had the rub of the green with some of the decisions on Sunday, but you have to take the rough with the smooth, eh Ricky  ;D

Now in a peaceful location next to Loch Ard in the Trossachs, so peaceful and quiet and some lovely scenery.

Heading off to a Highland Games tomorrow at Inveraray Castle, hopefully won"t be too wet.  Will try and get a couple of pictures to highlight the peace and quiet, it"s great !!!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 23, 2009, 19:17:21 PM
Have had four great days in Scotland  ;D

Have also been lucky with the weather, there has been a lot of rain but have managed to miss the majority of it by being in the car or indoors when it has fell and some days boy has it fell !!!

Completed many miles giving my Mum a good glimpse of Western Scotland, the Inveraray Highland games were very good although the organisation was very school sports day.  The handicapping system used for the track events was bizarre, some of the runners didn"t have a chance, but some were handicapped well.  The strongmen in the heavy weight events travelled from all around and it was a very international field.

Managed to travel over to Oban, a very nice place, negotiated the coast road and nipped through the valley at Glen Coe.

Today went down a single lane track and found ourselves on the edge of Loch Lomond awaiting for a cruise ship, so peaceful and quiet, Scotland is a great place to visit and has many hidden gems.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/ScotlandJuly008-1.jpg)

View from the Hotel

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/ScotlandJuly001.jpg)

Loch Lomond

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/ScotlandJuly003.jpg)

On the boat

Heading back down south tomorrow.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 27, 2009, 22:54:35 PM
Finally got home after a nightmare drive on Friday, all going well until Manchester !!

Best part of the weekend was receiving details for the South Africa tour this winter, reviewed details and have reserved a space.  The tour will cover the second test starting on Boxing Day and the third starting on the 3rd January.

So Durban for Christmas and Cape Town for New Year  ;D More live action shots and daily updates on my days at the tests  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on July 30, 2009, 10:26:56 AM
Straussy has said this is the pivotal test in the series, looking more like the wettest test in the series at the moment  ;D Will be a shame to lose out on any momentum and the good old English weather is coming to play, could be a good toss to win with the ground very wet, the wicket surely to have a bit of green and could favour the bowlers.

Fully expect England to keep the same bowling attack, which is a shame for Harmison as he is bang in form, the conditions will probably favour Onions ahead of him still, but I may be.  Bell in for Pietersen, should be able to do the job and happy that Bopara has been kept at three.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/_46130664_water_index.jpg)
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 01, 2009, 13:18:36 PM
Weather going to ruin this test by the look of it, good recovery yesterday by England.  Even with the weather could regret the last two wickets putting on 60.  Strauss leading from the front again, Aussie bowling attack looking very ordinary, can"t remember ever being able to say that !!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 04, 2009, 21:53:58 PM
A boring last day after no break through before lunch, but hey more rain and we win the Ashes  ;D

Looks like a few injury concerns on both sides, so final selections could be interesting, for me regardless of his youth, potential and skills with bat our fourth seamer has to have more of cutting edge, so Broad has to make way in my opinion.  Could be happenning with Roger Daltrey called into the squad.

Weather forecast still poor so it could all hinge on the Oval test.

South Africa booked, roll on the 23rd December.  
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 07, 2009, 11:11:10 AM
Freddie crocked, our talismatic all-rounder unable to play, will be a big loss to the team.  Good to see Harmison recalled as he has been bang in form.  Tail could be more fragile, but hopefully the top order will get the runs required.

Interesting that the Aussies have gone without a specialist spinnner and that Brett Lee is still not fit, bonus !! Aussies obviously looking for the English conditions to suit the seamers.

Could be a very interesting test if the weather holds.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 07, 2009, 12:39:58 PM

Tail could be more fragile, but hopefully the top order will get the runs required.



Hmmm, top order fails, tempted fate with that comment !!!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on August 08, 2009, 20:46:13 PM
(http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/8008/oops7yt.gif)  End of message
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 21, 2009, 16:19:04 PM
After the debacle of the last test and the constant debate of who we should pick for the last test, surprised they weren"t even trying to suggest we should give Botham and co another go the England selectors went for stability and made one change.  Another Saffer though !!

Good toss to win as batting first is the only way to win the Ashes.

Disappointing first day performance after the good start and it looks like England have some up short gain.

Then a shower of rain and Strauss throws the ball at Broad and says you have a go.

CRASH BANG WALLOP and Swann joins in !! Now 121-7

We"re back in the game and in with a shout for the Ashes !!!! Come on England  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on August 21, 2009, 16:48:48 PM
More than a shout! I honestly can"t see the Aussies chasing any more than 200 max 4th dig! The wicket is a raging bunsen, and also going through the top off the quicks, batting is a nightmare, lets pray for a couple of dry days and we"ll be parading through London again!!  :)
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on August 21, 2009, 17:16:10 PM
I found the press reporting bizarre last night. (England Crumble!?!)

On a crumbling wicket (after about 6 overs) ... 300-8 was fine and dandy ...

I have tickets for Monday ... but I might not need them!

Lumped into England at 5/2 overnight ... now 1/3 ... DING DING.

Swann will slay them in the second Innings ...

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 21, 2009, 19:42:09 PM
Have to say the Aussies made a big mistake not picking a specialist spinner  ;D North has been bowling ok, but he"s not Hauritz.

Strauss leading from the front, I"m impressed with Trott, looks a confident guy.  Also after being one of the saviours in Cardiff I think the last 3 tests have exposed Collingwood, could be the end of the line for him in the test side.

Don"t think you"ll need your tickets for Monday Louis !
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Honeybadg on August 21, 2009, 20:37:27 PM

Have to say the Aussies made a big mistake not picking a specialist spinner  ;D North has been bowling ok, but he"s not Hauritz.

Strauss leading from the front, I"m impressed with Trott, looks a confident guy.  Also after being one of the saviours in Cardiff I think the last 3 tests have exposed Collingwood, could be the end of the line for him in the test side.

Don"t think you"ll need your tickets for Monday Louis !


It would suit me really well if game over before Monday - assuming England win.

Very impressed with Strauss in this match (and his captaincy)

Trott - spot on.

First few overs I thought Swann might struggle with the pressure of the situation but he started putting the ball on the spot.

Winning the toss pretty massive.

Make it to 300 ahead and should be okay.

L
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 23, 2009, 10:02:23 AM
Going to be an interesting day today, wicket has got easier and the only bowler who seems to go through the top is Broad.  History on England"s side, although the Aussie line up is strong, need to see at least a couple of wickets in the morning session to settle the nerves.

Noticable yesterday that once England"s batsmen got in they found it relatively easy, everyone then concerned that the wicket might not deliver the bad balls everyone was hoping for.

If it doesn"t go well I"m sure they"ll be criticising Strauss for his early declaration  ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 23, 2009, 18:57:53 PM
Awesome day in front of the TV watching and hoping, key run out by Freddie and then the team all contributed.

Great feeling to see us win the Ashes on home soil again, going to have to make the next series in Oz !!!

Just read my prediction for the series and it was a good call  ;D next stop South Africa !!



It"s going to be a close series and the first test could be key in deciding the series winner, not always important as don"t forget the Aussies won the first test in 2005.  I do feel though that the batting line-up and bowling attack that England have could swing it our way with a narrow victory of 2-1 again.

Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: AMRN on August 23, 2009, 19:10:56 PM
Wow, just so freaking wow! Feels good to be English today. They have been awesome!!
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on August 24, 2009, 14:25:06 PM
Good to see as a Nation the English are a confident bunch

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8217701.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8217701.stm)
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Mikeyboy9361 on August 24, 2009, 15:15:53 PM
We played some good cricket in patches throughout the series, and won the key sessions, that was the reason we won the Ashes. The Aussies were better than were expected, but lost the series when not selecting Hauritz, what a howler! Stuart Broad is already a better batsman than Freddie, and taken more 5 fers ( I think ), and if we need another all rounder Adil Rashid is in the wings, if we had picked him at the Oval it would have been over much sooner. Great to stick it up the Aussies, but the South Africans will be a different ball game, bring it on.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: bigredders on August 24, 2009, 15:56:24 PM

We played some good cricket in patches throughout the series, and won the key sessions, that was the reason we won the Ashes. The Aussies were better than were expected, but lost the series when not selecting Hauritz, what a howler! Stuart Broad is already a better batsman than Freddie, and taken more 5 fers ( I think ), and if we need another all rounder Adil Rashid is in the wings, if we had picked him at the Oval it would have been over much sooner. Great to stick it up the Aussies, but the South Africans will be a different ball game, bring it on.


agree totally, mr rashid needs to be considered more...panesar has just not get better, in fact he has regressed. His record in the championship this year speaks for itself. The aussies obviously didn"t fancy hauritz otherwise he would have played.
well done england, now for the real test in 18 months time!

bring it on! ;D
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on August 24, 2009, 19:25:54 PM


We played some good cricket in patches throughout the series, and won the key sessions, that was the reason we won the Ashes. The Aussies were better than were expected, but lost the series when not selecting Hauritz, what a howler! Stuart Broad is already a better batsman than Freddie, and taken more 5 fers ( I think ), and if we need another all rounder Adil Rashid is in the wings, if we had picked him at the Oval it would have been over much sooner. Great to stick it up the Aussies, but the South Africans will be a different ball game, bring it on.


agree totally, mr rashid needs to be considered more...panesar has just not get better, in fact he has regressed. His record in the championship this year speaks for itself. The aussies obviously didn"t fancy hauritz otherwise he would have played.
well done england, now for the real test in 18 months time!

bring it on! ;D


Good points about Broad, I was one who was doubting whether he was the right bowling option, but he delivered.  A lot of all rounders in the side now, Broad, Swann has shown his potential with the bat and had a great average for this series.  The bowling and batting options are getting better.

Agree with comments about Rashid, he has great potential and hopefully this will be brought to the table when he steps up to the full England side.  The only stumbling block for him could be the strategy and tactics, not many sides play two spinners unless touring the sub-continent, may need to get ahead of Swann, but has the potential to do this.

Panesar while being a cult hero with the fans has gone backwards and unless he brings something to his game his international test future may be in the balance.

South Africa will be a different ball game, but don"t forget this Aussie side beat them on home soil after losing at home.  If England perform to their full potential it could be a hell of a series, looking forward to it.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on October 31, 2009, 11:43:28 AM
Been fairly quiet for me since the summer, have only been playing the league games online and Bolton.  Bolton was an awesome weekend, helped by the fact that one of my mates joined me, he enjoyed the APAT experience so much that I think he will be looking to play a lot more next year.

So eight weeks and counting until the flight to Joburg and then onto Durban for the Boxing day test.  Have been thinking how I can step up from the tales of the West Indies and my mate and me are going to have a Video camera for this one.

Not sure how easy its going to be, but hopefully some daily diary of sorts and a bit of action if possible.
Title: Re: One Winter and Summer of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on October 31, 2009, 11:51:21 AM
How strange, just seen a Sky Sports advert about the cricket, and wondered if u were going..

Awsome, stories, pics and now vids..
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on November 02, 2009, 21:46:37 PM
Thought I"d better get a Name Change for the Blog.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on November 17, 2009, 22:09:04 PM
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on November 25, 2009, 22:53:46 PM
Tickets attempted delivery today, have to collect from Royal Mail.

Some disappointing news, Tuffers has a contractual obligation in Thailand over New Year and will not be able to host the Cape Town leg as expected.  A great shame as he was a great host and mingled with everyone, will be missed !! Got an e-mail from him today.

"I"m obviously gutted I can"t be back in South Africa with everyone.  To be honest I"ve only ever lost out there so hopefully it will be a good omen for the boys!  I"ll have a word with Beefy and make sure he puts on a good show.  Have a great trip."

So breakfast with Robin Jackman and Sir Ian Botham on the 2nd day of the 3rd Test in Cape Town, should be good.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on November 25, 2009, 22:58:07 PM
Get in Donblog and scanty women pics -- bring it on
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on November 25, 2009, 23:01:25 PM

Get in Donblog and scanty women pics -- bring it on


Hopefully video too Ger  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on November 25, 2009, 23:07:30 PM
Good to catch you last weekend Don and am preparing to add this to the essential reading list.  Not a little jealous either I have to say  :D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 04, 2009, 16:20:12 PM
A reasonable start to the tour, tied 20/20 series and a win in the one day series, only the second home defeat for South Africa since returning to the cricket fold, no mean achievement by the team.

Looking like a strong batting line-up with Strauss, Trott and Collingwood all showing form, hopefully this will be transferred to the longer game.

Only thing that needs to improve is the weather in Durban  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 10, 2009, 00:26:30 AM
Tour shirts and floppy hats arrived with the South Africa Tour branding, but most importantly the tickets have arrived. Now it"s just a case of getting myself organised and everything prepared for departure on the 23rd.

Video camera is now operational and have got myself acquainted with the editing software and loading up to You Tube.  Will attempt to complete a video over the next few days to fully test and publish here.

With all this rain and cold about, looking forward to getting away, although Durban is having a fair share of rainfall at the moment, will hopefully clear up before we get out there for Christmas.  Cape Town is tropical and looking promising  8)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on December 10, 2009, 01:05:54 AM

Video camera is now operational and have got myself acquainted with the editing software and loading up to You Tube.  Will attempt to complete a video over the next few days to fully test and publish here.


Keep it clean - on second thoughts - don"t == TY K bye
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 10, 2009, 08:29:44 AM
Don,

Not one to complain, but I stumbled across a pic of the cheerleaders for the Nashua Titans which is where the first test is being played (which I don"t believe is on your itinery) and I have to ask, what were you thinking man ?

Get those flights changed and get that video camera packed.   ;D

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_X5lM7YiBEWc/SyCyx6csJXI/AAAAAAAAA-k/PToiqL3n2Jw/s800/crickets-1.jpg)

Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: bigredders on December 10, 2009, 10:03:27 AM
stumbled???
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 12, 2009, 11:34:07 AM
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 15, 2009, 20:47:31 PM
Ok, first effort at delivering a video, pre tour waffle just for me to check setup, my edits and quality !

Notes to self on this one, get hair cut tomorrow and don"t sniff mid sentence  :)

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on December 15, 2009, 20:59:12 PM
good effort looking foward to the video diary good luck
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 22, 2009, 20:00:49 PM
Nearly ready to go and boy can I not wait to get somewhere warmer !!

Five hours to get home last night from work, North London an absolute nightmare and Southgate, where I live, has three routes in and they all involve getting up steep inclines, wasn"t pretty !!

Soon we will be on daily updates and some picture and video coverage of the tour.  Slight relief that I"m not joining another tour with England one down in the series, Sunday was a bit of a worry, left the cricket for a while thinking it was going to be a straight forward draw and then turn back and we are about to lose !! At least they held on, hopefully the cricket will continue to be good in England"s favour !
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: AMRN on December 22, 2009, 20:06:42 PM
hmmmm so whilst I spent the first test watching out for you in the crowd, you weren"t even there yet! lol

Have a great trip Don.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 22, 2009, 21:32:50 PM

hmmmm so whilst I spent the first test watching out for cheerleaders in the crowd, you weren"t even there yet! lol

Have a great trip Don.


FYP
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on December 22, 2009, 21:49:27 PM
How much for a ticket ?????


(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45812000/jpg/_45812629_cricketcheerleaders.jpg)
(http://www.football.virginmedia.com/javaImages/e4/ed/0,,12555~5762532,00.jpg)
(http://www.football.virginmedia.com/javaImages/e8/ed/0,,12555~5762536,00.jpg)
(http://www.football.virginmedia.com/javaImages/e1/ed/0,,12555~5762529,00.jpg)
(http://www.football.virginmedia.com/javaImages/e6/ed/0,,12555~5762534,00.jpg)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 22, 2009, 22:33:58 PM
I knew the Camcorder would come in handy, I will make sure I get one thing, Cheerleaders  ;)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on December 22, 2009, 23:13:27 PM
Have a great trip Don and I look forward to your many updates.

Merry Xmas
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 23, 2009, 17:06:44 PM
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 24, 2009, 23:07:51 PM
Finally arrived in Joburg, now have overnight stay here and depart for Durban at 12:10pm on Christmas day, still planning to go for Xmas dinner in Ballito.

Flight ok, although very long.  Currently chilling in the bar sitting in the smoking room, very civilised I have to say, with a cool pint of Castle lager.  Two hours ahead of you guys, so it"s Christmas day here, so Merry Christmas to you all.

Some photos and hopefully a video up tomorrow.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 24, 2009, 23:20:51 PM
Merry Christmas Don.

Hope you enjoy the trip.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on December 25, 2009, 00:32:40 AM
happy xmas -- have a great time
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: tumblet on December 25, 2009, 02:10:41 AM
Merry Christmas Don

Have a good time, and where r those pictures u mentioned..


Well it can"t be helped and I have to say there is a cracking couple of blonde ladies checking in, look like twins.  I will try and provide photographic evidence later, they could be cheerleaders I reckon  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 27, 2009, 06:14:24 AM
Durban 2nd Test Day 1

After finally arriving a day late in Durban, we caught up on our sleep on Xmas day, the weather had been terrible and weren"t expecting much for Boxing day.  We did however awake to sunshine which was unexpected.  We wandered down to the ground which is only half a mile away from the hotel.

With Durban having high humidity we had booked hospitality, which is access to an air conditioned room, this was a result as it was very hot and close.  England lost the toss and we were fielding not a great start to the day !

It did however start well as for once the England bowlers got there line and length right in the first session, which was rewarded with two early wickets.  Smith and Kallis then dug in and the bowlers made them work for the runs.  They made it to lunch without further loss, we went for a lap round the ground to soak in the atmosphere and see what was about.  Quite a few scantily clad ladies and a little treat can be found on the video at around 3 minutes  ;D

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]

Have been a bit pressed for time and made the major mistake of forgetting the battery for the camera, more detail later guys.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on December 27, 2009, 09:08:09 AM
And we are off -- zoom feature essential  ;D (How many of you feckers went straight to 3 minutes.. just sayin....)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Waz1892 on December 27, 2009, 13:55:55 PM

And we are off -- zoom feature essential  ;D (How many of you feckers went straight to 3 minutes.. just sayin....)


the very fact that he felt hed best mention it is probably the biggest tell!
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 27, 2009, 15:17:23 PM
Suncoast Casino

Last night myself, Greenie and one of the party decided to visit the local Casino.  Found a restaurant called Havana Grill and enjoyed some huge T-Bone steaks, two bottles of wine and three Jack Daniels and coke, doubles, all for £30 quid each, great value.

We were asked if we wanted smoking or non-smoking and threw us completely, but of course went for smoking.  Then wandered into the Casino and noticed a Smoking Casino, this however was too much, no ventilation and we wandered back to the normal one.

Sat down at a Blackjack table and had two hours of play and some good cards, was fortunate to leave the table with a profit of 3000 rand, £300.  All the locals ended up betting on me as I was running so good so a few left with a profit as well  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 29, 2009, 15:22:09 PM
Cameraman and scribe taken down with dodgy stomach, so apologies for the lack of posting ! Will be catching up tonight and getting videos loaded as soon as I can, lots of pleasant ladies wandering around in the sunshine on the third day.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 29, 2009, 15:45:03 PM
Durban Day 2

After an early curtailment on the first day we awoke to a gloomy setting, overcast sky and a chilly wind.  We set off to the ground for the earlier start at 9:30 to try and recover some of the lost time.

As we exited the hotel and started our stroll to the ground we could see that the floodlights were on, not looking promising.

Play did however start on time at 9:30, although bizarre with the lights on.  I won the side bet for the correct opening bowlers to make more profit following the win in the casino.  England"s opening pair of Anderson and Onions didn"t bowl particularly well as Boucher and De Villiers got South Africa off to a good start.  We had to wait for Swann and the assistance of the referral system to make the breakthrough.

The England bowlers kept the Proteas under pressure and we kept getting wickets, it was looking good to bowl them out for under 300 when Ntini joined Steyn, Steyn had other ideas and decided to use the long handle hitting three sixes in a partnership which lasted over 50 runs and could be key in the context of the game as this took the advantage away from England.

So the England Openers Strauss and Cook strolled to the wicket looking to whittle down the lead of 343 that the Protea batsmen had set.  For the first hour with the exception of Morkel, the South African bowlers decided to serve up some pies and Strauss ate them all, dispatching the bowlers to all parts of the ground as he raced to a quick fifty in test scricket standards.

Having survived one decision with the aid of the referral system, he didn"t last much longer as his stumps were destroyed by Morkel after getting an inside edge on a good delivery.

Trott and Cook steadied the ship and once again the bad light closed in and curtailed play early, has to be the first time ever that a days play has been completed with the floodlights on permanently.

Honours even and the 3rd day could be key as to whether this game heads towards a draw.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 29, 2009, 16:24:13 PM
Durban Day 3

After experiencing two days of overcast conditions we awoke to bright sunshine and a blustery wind, so day three was looking positive for a full days play, as well as some more scantilly clad South African beauties being present with sunshine out.

I did however also awake not feeling to well, as I spent a lot of the night up with a very bad stomach, that is all I shall describe it as !!  After getting ready in the morning which Greenie described as painful, I passed on breakfast and we headed off to the ground, at this point I was full off imodium tablets to hopefully counter act the stomach !!

We settled down in our seats, the morning bet was for the first four and where it would be hit too on the ground.  Trott departed early to Morkel who has to be the pick of the South African bowlers, this brought KP to the wicket, a couple of overs in and KP struck the first four, through mid-wicket, I win the bet once more must be my lucky tour !!

Cook and KP then started to build a good partnership, no rash shots and picking the bad balls, it was looking positive for England as the wicket had got a bit flat following the large roller.  KP then went for a sweep off of the bowling of Harris, obviously the same opinion as Greenie that he is overrated filth, he chose to sweep a straight one though and missed it ending up plum LBW.  A good reference to KP becoming more of a team player is that he asked Cook whether he was out before asking for a referral, Cook told him he was plum and he trudged back to the pavilion obviously disappointed.

Colly joined Cook and they set about putting England back on course, at times it was slow going but they patiently kept the scoreboard ticking over.  Cook in answer to all of his critics looked in no trouble at all, very disciplined and not being tempted outside of off stump had reached his half century confidently and was now looking to convert this into his 10th test match century.

As the ball got older the wicket seemed to get flatter and flatter, as batting seemed to get easier, perhaps the sunshine was also helping ! Without too much pressure from the bowlers and the overrated filth being delivered from spinner Harris, the partnership past 50 and then 100.

Cook having survived being given out with the aid of a referral then completed his century and acknowledged the dressing room and crowd, it was looking good for England as they were in a position to take control of the game.

Finally Cook nibbled outside off stump and got an edge behind to depart on 118, a tremendous partnership of 142 which had put England in the driving seat.  So the under pressure Bell, considered by many to be still in the side, came to the crease.  He immediately looked uneasy facing Morkel, he had made all of the batsmen struggle early on, but eventually got himself in and looked comfortable on the flatish track.

With the sun still out it was looking like a full days play may be gained, Colly and Bell kept the scoreboard ticking over as for the first time we passed 4 o"clock at the ground.  Colly was closing in on his century when Duminy drew an edge behind and he was gone, nine runs short another 50 partnership the fourth of the innings so far.

Bell and Prior saw England through to the close of play at 5:30 a revelation with the weather we have been experiencing.

It is at this point that I admit to being very ill and falling asleep on the ground, I was particularly lucky as I was shown on the big screen and the highlights here in South Africa, my hat was covering me up, so if anyone saw that it was me !!!  
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 29, 2009, 16:32:29 PM
Videos are much more diffcult to load than the photos I have to admit, had some good views on Monday in the bright Sunshine so some good minutes are coming  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Waz1892 on December 29, 2009, 16:38:19 PM
get better soon.....well well enoiugh to post the pics / videos. ::)

but do get better   :)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: APAT on December 29, 2009, 23:43:23 PM
Loving the reports Don, hope the stomach is sorted.  
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: jacklevel06 on December 30, 2009, 11:02:13 AM
Hope you enjoyed the victory don,that must have made you feel better.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 30, 2009, 14:01:58 PM
A little clip of the sunshine views in Durban and Belly reaching his fifty.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 30, 2009, 14:40:02 PM
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 30, 2009, 14:59:51 PM
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on December 30, 2009, 21:30:24 PM
Our attempt at punditry in South Africa  :)

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Chipaccrual on December 31, 2009, 00:00:04 AM
Inspired.   ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: jacklevel06 on December 31, 2009, 10:43:47 AM
Greenie should be working for sky.He"s ten times better than bumble.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: technolog on December 31, 2009, 12:18:07 PM
Yep, he looks assured in front of the camera although I think the bit about Bell"s 140 not having any impact on the game was nonsense.

Oh and Bumble is a legend MickyP. Who are you? Mike Denness" love child?
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 05, 2010, 18:08:24 PM
Have had a few connection problems in Cape Town, now sorted, I also have 5 days to catch up on so bear with me  :)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:21:44 AM
Happy New Year

We saw the New Year in at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, a ten minute walk from our hotel.  The whole tour group were entertained at Quay 4, a restaurant/bar where we were served food and drinks and entertained by a band.

Under a bright moon with a strong breeze we watched the Fireworks see in the New Year, lots of loud bangs before heading back to the hotel in the early hours of Friday.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:24:26 AM
New Years Day - Tour of Cape Town

After a bit of a late morning recovering from the night before we prepared ourselves for a trip around Cape Town and hopefully a visit up Table Mountain.  We were picked up by our guide "Super" just after 1pm, unfortunately he gave us some bad news, it was too windy and the cable car was closed, we would have to try another day.

We were then provided a tour of the city and given an insight into its history, some of it quite fascinating.  A lot of people in Cape Twon originate from Malaysia, they were the first slaves to be brought into the country. "Super" a Cape Coloured himself, told of the four races defined in South Africa, Coloured, Black, Indian and White.

We were then introduced to the six flags of South African rule, Dutch, English, Dutch, English, South African Union and finally modern day South Africa.

We saw a few kids walking around in multi-coloured track suits, these are the uniforms that they will be wearing at the festival on the 2nd.  The festival celebrates the abolishment of slavery and to celebrate the slaves wore coloured clothing for the first time and this is celebrated on the 2nd January each year at the Minstral Festival, the colours get more bright and garish every year.

It was an interesting tour and gave us a good insight into what has made Cape Town over the years.  Hopefully we will get to make the top of Table Mountain soon.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:26:57 AM
Cape Town Test Day 1

After a glorious day out fishing we awoke to an overcast and damp morning, just as the weather forecast had warned.  England have been beaten in Cape Town in previous series and the toss could be key.  We arrived at the ground, and what a view, Table Mountain in the background although covered in cloud.  Covers on and a delayed start.

The clouds slowly moved away and the stadium announcer informs everyone we have a delay to the start of the game.  Eventually the Captains are out to toss up, Strauss calls heads and it comes down in Englands favour, Strauss says we will have a bowl.

Lots of England supporters in the ground and the atmosphere is building, Jimmy Anderson opens up and Smith takes a single, Prince who struggled in Durban nearly goes first ball and then Jimmy gets a bit of lift and he edges behind to Prior who takes the catch, great start from England.  Onions shares the new ball and his first delivery is a wide one which Smith chases, edges to the slips, Swanny drops it !! Was a dolly ! Could be expensive that, Collingwood injury costs England as he would surely of taken that.

Amla and Smith steady the ship and Amla survives a referral after England seemed confident that he had edged behind, Onions then catches Amla in front and he"s gone.  Kallis strides forward to the wicket are we going to see Smith and Kallis pull it round like we did in Durban, Lunch 51-2, could have been better !

Immediately after lunch Smith feathers Anderson behind and Prior is screaming with delight, not as expensive as it could have been Swanny ! De Villiers and Kallis then start building a partnership, Kallis looking his imperious self as always.  They see the score past 100, and its looking good as the recovery is building, out of the blue Swann forces De Villiers into a mistake and he is caught by Strauss, Duminy gets his customary first ball and Swanny is on a hat-trick ! Boucher survives, impetus with England now, 127-5.

Kallis and Boucher dig in and work hard to keep South Africa in the game, Kallis reaches another 50 against England and is looking well set.  Boucher supports him well and survives some good bowling from Anderson who doesn"t have much luck, beating the edge on numerous occassions. Tea 183-5.

After tea Kallis and Boucher continue to work the bowlers and keep the scoreboard ticking over, England struggling to make the break through.  200 passed as the batsmen are getting on top, Boucher reaches 50 and the partnership is now worth 89.  Broad then catches Boucher in front of the stumps, umpire gives it, Boucher goes for the referral, on field decision we have a break through at last !!

Now this is strange Steyn is stepping out to the wicket, promoted in the order ? We all reckon Morkel was on the loo !  Last hour is negotiated with ease, Kallis registering yet another 100 ! Bad light draws in and we reach the end of the first day, honours even I would say.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:29:22 AM
Cape Town Test Day 2

We awake to a normal clear day and no threat of cloud and rain like the first morning, after breakfast we head back down to Newlands to enjoy the view whilst watching the cricket.

Resuming on 279-6 South Africa will be looking to push on and get a big score, England have other ideas and Onions gets Kallis second ball of the morning, another edge behind to Prior 280-7.  Anderson then joins in getting Steyn, Trott taking a cracking catch at third slip 280-8.  Swann then snaffles Morkel off Anderson 281-9, what a start to the day !! Anderson then wraps up the innings and completes a five wicket haul, 291 all out, we weren"t expecting that, I lose the sweep once more as I was confident that Kallis was going to large it today.

England come out to bat and get off to a bad start, Strauss trys to drive Morkel and gets an edge, he is furious with himself. A recovery is started and we reach 36, then disaster, Trott plays on and then Pietersen punches the ball straight back to Steyn who holds on, only South Africans out today so far ! Colly and Cook see England through to lunch, 64-3.

Not long after lunch Morkel catches Colly in front and he"s gone, four wickets down very early and England are under pressure, can Bell deliver. Cook and Bell dig in and play very sensibly, Cook leaving a lot and Bell very patient, Bell eventually off the mark with a text book cover drive for four.

Hundred up and Cook passes 50, he looks in good nick after his hundred in Durban. The remainder of the session is heavy going as England work hard and don"t play at what they don"t need too, 133-4 at Tea, and 60 runs in 25 overs, not pretty to watch.  You have to say three of the batsmen out to poor shots, could have been in a much better position than we are.

Disaster at the restart, Cook paddles one to Prince, poor shot and all that hard work has been wasted, he had got himself in and just got himself out. Prior joins Bell and the number of shots to balls bowled should increase now. A lot of overs to bowl in this session, I expect we will be here till 6pm, light will not be a problem tonight.

Rub rate increases and Bell and Prior are looking good, Bell has a confidence about him that has been missing, the 100 in Durban has obviously helped. Then a short wide one and he slaps it straight to a fielder, another batsmen gets himself out rather than being got out, too many loose shots today for England !

Broad joins Prior and once we are digging in, a good recovery each time, but all the hard work is being undone.  The score creeps past 200 and another partnership is building.  This one reaches 50 and then Broad departs, Steyn beats his defence and removes the bails, at least the bowlers had to work for that wicket.  Swann joins Prior who passes fifty and they see us through to close of play, 241-7, still honours even.

Forecast for tomorrow is hot, hot, hot, going to be in the 40"s !! A little bit warmer than home.  We are enjoying some hospitality tomorrow, hopefully a view to die for up in the gods behind the bowlers arm.

For the third time we attempt to get up the mountain, closed again and have to abort once more !!

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:32:15 AM
Phew, It"s a Scorcher !!

Hospitality suite today, complimentary food and bar, will be enjoyed as it is going to be very hot today, health warnings being posted by the local authorities.

We enjoy a couple of G&T"s for starters early doors, very refreshing in this heat.  We then sit down and watch South Africa do to England what we did to them the previous morning, a few more runs are scored though as we finish 18 runs short of South Africa, Prior last man out and a good effort from him to get us there.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]

South Africa come out to bat, Prince under pressure as he has not performed in the last two tests, he starts a lot more positive than usual, but is then given out caught down the legside, he immediately refers this !

With the hospitality box we get to see the replay and it"s a shocking decision, his bat was at least a foot away from that ! Decision rightly reversed.  Soon after Swann catches Prince in front and is given LBW, confidently Prince refers the decision only for the replay to show he was plum in front. Amla joins Smith and they start to make hay, England struggling in the heat !! It"s going to be a long day.  We are even flagging in the heat and with South Africa well on top we decide to make our fourth attempt at getting up the mountain, no more cricket for today.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:34:49 AM
Table Mountain at Last

With Smith and Amla cruising in the heat and the England boys sufferring in the field, we take the opportunity to get away at tea and jump in a taxi to Table Mountain.  We are rewarded when we arrive, Mountain is open and no queues !! We buy our tickets and hop on the cable car straight away.

Cable car is quick and the revovling floor is quite bizarre, journey worthwhile as the views are stunning, a highlight of the tour.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:37:24 AM
A view from Table Mountain

The "Analyst gives his views on top of Table Mountain.

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:38:57 AM
Cape Town Test Day 4

The weather reverts back to the norm, temperatures bearable and no where near the 40 degrees of yesterday.  Hard slog for England yesterday and South Africa are expected to push on and score quickly before declaring, we all expect England to have to bat for four sessions.

Smith and Kallis look to score quickly but England bowl well to a defensive field, South Africa struggle to get a momentum on the fourth morning. With more extravagant shots being played the chance of wickets will also be higher.  Smith eventually perishes as he skies one to Collingwood in the deep, a superb knock and the Skipper has set the base for a likely Proteas victory in this test.

England manage to keep the batsmen under control and wickets continue to fall at regular intervals, taking away any momentum that the batsmen were getting. All in all it"s a positive return following the heat from yesterday.  A lot of talk about ball tampering but in all honesty it seems to be a lot of fuss about nothing, no official complaint posted just lots of talk, seems like a ploy to unsettle the England boys in all honesty. South Africa eventually declare on 447-7 a lead of 465.

So four and a half sessions for England to survive, it"s going to be a tall order but the wicket does seem to have got easier.  Strauss and Cook come out to bat and endure some hairy moments early on, Strauss surviving with a referral.  Eventually they get on top of the bowling and it starts to look easy, Cook reaches his fifty and the hundred partnership is posted, immediately Cook gets a top edge to de Wet"s short delivery and Boucher pouches the catch. Strauss than plays a nothing shot to Harris and bat pads it to short leg, disaster in the last few overs.

Trott is joined by Pietersen and once again he fails, lots of comments from the fans being made about lack of interest and not being a team player, has he just sufferred from expectation and the barracking of the home crowd.  Nightwatchman Anderson joins Trott and they survive to stumps, after a positive start England are on the ropes at 132-3.

Going to be a struggle tomorrow and a likely victory for the Proteas.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:41:38 AM
Can England save the day

Considering the state of the game and the likely win for South Africa, the crowd on day five is still similar to the previous days at Newlands, perhaps the extra number of South Africans expecting to see a victory has boosted the numbers.

Nightwatchman Anderson does a superb job in the morning, taking up 45 minutes and 10 overs of play before falling to a great catch by Prince off another garbage ball from Harris, Collingwood joins Trott who gets a great delivery from Steyn, cutting back and finding the gap between his bat and pad to send his off stump cartwheeling out of the ground, 160-5, still a fair while to lunch and it"s not looking good for England.

So Collingwood and Bell will need to be the saviours, not many batsmen left after this pair and they are also all positive players, not a good mix when you are trying to defend and play out the remainder of the day.  Colly had been quoted in the morning that if he bats, it will be dull and boring, hopefully it will be as that is what we require.

At this part of the day, Steyn then bowls the best spell we have seen all tour, the ball swinging, moving and bouncing passed the outside edge, Collingwood surviving the majority of these deliveries, I can imagine that Steyn was asking Colly whether he needed a bell in the ball !

The cricket can only be described as attritional, not pretty to watch but a great contest between bowler and batsmen, the time and overs start creeping by and the afternoon session is survived with no wicket falling, 230-5.  The South African supporters have got a lot quieter as the day has progressed, are they losing faith in their team.

Colly and Bell see us through to the drinks break in the final session, 15 overs to negotiate to take a draw that looked like being a loss from day 3, in some respects it didn"t look like it would last 5 days at the end of day 2. First over after drinks is seen out and then Duminy gets an edge from Colly and Kallis takes the catch, what an innings, 40 runs, 188 balls, 112 partnership from 57 overs, have they taken the game away from the Proteas ?

Prior doesn"t last long, he pushes hard at one and its picked up an inch from the ground by DeVilliers, 10 overs left, just 60 balls to survuve and three wickets needed by South Africa.  The batsmen are now being crowded by the fielders, so much pressure out there.  Broad survives a referral early on and he is fending off the deliveries well, no runs being scored at the moment but they are immaterial. With four overs to go Broad pops one up in the air, appeal, given out, Broad refers to no avail.  20 balls left !

18 balls to go and Morkel is brought back, is it a mistake taking the spinners off, no potential for close catches has Smith missed an opportunity here ? First ball Morkel gets extra bounce, Bell edges, noooooooooo ! 78 runs and 213 balls seen out by Bell, probably his best innings for England, hats off to him.  Onions survives the remainder of the over, somehow.

Penultimate over and Steyn to send it down, Swann not really put under any pressure and it"s negotiated with ease, this Test is now down to six balls, Morkel versus Onions, can England hang on for the draw !

First ball - poked at and missed.

Second ball - fended down and safe.

Third ball - yorker, dug out well.

Fourth ball - another yorker, again dug out.

Fifth Ball - Short, and South Africa are up appealling, refered, desperation as that"s not out.

Last Ball - No need to play at that, ENGLAND have Won a Draw !!!!!!!!

Who said Test Cricket was boring, awesome day, awesome atmosphere and awesome result !!!
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 08, 2010, 11:43:08 AM
Video of final day drama to follow if we get back to UK, bbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Swinebag on January 08, 2010, 12:02:20 PM
Greeny is a legend.

Top reports, good to see you the correct side of the camera, Don ;)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on January 08, 2010, 13:46:09 PM
Great read - great views from the mountain - Sky will be snapping up you pair  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: duke3016 on January 14, 2010, 18:59:56 PM
"England"s hopes of winning the series in South Africa tumbled after they were bowled out for 180 on the opening day of the final Test in Johannesburg."

ooops
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket
Post by: Logie66 on January 15, 2010, 07:59:45 AM
I think we need the rain gods to assist us in the series win !!
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and continued adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 06, 2012, 18:58:14 PM
Time for a resurrection and continued adventures.

I know have 10 weeks until I journey to Sri Lanka to follow England once more to watch the two match test series. Arriving on March 24th and returning on April 9th.  In between there will hopefully be some good cricket, some interesting tourist activity and regular blog updates.

Already obtained my Visa, sneakily organised 90 days ahead of the trip, two days before they introduced a $50 charge for issuing them, some spending money in the pocket already.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and continued adventures
Post by: duke3016 on January 06, 2012, 19:04:07 PM

two days before they introduced a $50 charge for issuing them, some spending money in the pocket already.


Legend :)

Look forward to this.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: PHIL_TC on January 06, 2012, 19:21:47 PM
Wohoooo!! Don"t forget copious amounts of club sandwich reports and photos please Don x
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Swinebag on January 07, 2012, 07:13:46 AM
Is Greeny going? More vids from you 2 please!!
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 17, 2012, 12:08:23 PM
Unfortunately Rob I will travelling on my own again to Sri Lanka so the double act from South Africa will not be performing, will see if I can find a replacement on tour, but the dry wit and humour of Greenie is had to emulate.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 17, 2012, 12:13:48 PM
Have been doing a bit of investigation on popular bars when I will be in Sri Lanka, it always amazes me to which corners of the earth that the Irish get too.

#1 Entertainment rating out of 32 on Lonely Planet in Columbo


Clancy"s Irish Pub
Colombo's stab at Irishness offers pub grub and a variety of beers and ales, including Guinness. It's a popular spot, with regular quiz nights, live music on weekends and a few couches to sink into. All drinks are discounted 50% during the daily 6pm to 8pm happy hour. Long pants are required attire.

Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 26, 2012, 20:50:36 PM
Good to see England look more like the #1 test side in Abu Dhabi, great start to the day skittling out the tail and then putting some runs on the board. Just a shame the last hour saw 4 wickets fall.

Hopefully Bell, Prior and the normal wag of the England tail will see a good lead built tomorrow morning.

Great to see Panesar back in the side, although strange that he bowled twice as many overs as Swann.

57 days and counting until Sri Lanka.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on January 27, 2012, 18:52:13 PM

Is Greeny going? More vids from you 2 please!!


I thought I"d post this especially for you Rob, a lost video that has been found.  The Sum up of the South Africa tour by Greenie after arriving home after the dramatic draw in Cape Town the day before.  Shame he won"t be in Sri Lanka.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_rZ1oyrLBc[/youtube]

Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Swinebag on January 28, 2012, 01:14:17 AM
I"m a big fan.

Quality filming it in the freezing cold after the sunshine of Capetown
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on February 19, 2012, 00:16:43 AM
Have just upgraded to an iPad2, will hopefully improve the blogging in Sri Lanka.

Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 09, 2012, 19:29:03 PM
Two weeks today and I will be on my way, tour merchandise and full itinerary received this week.

Night flight on the 23rd March arriving in Colombo around lunchtime on the 24th and then a transfer to a beach hotel at Unawatuna just outside Galle the location of the first game, a day and a half to become accustomed to the time change and prepare for the 1st Test on the 26th.

The area around Galle has some of the best beaches on the South Coast and I will dig out some photo"s to cover this off. Starting to look forward to this and especially to the test in Galle, the area is a World Heritage site and the ground is reputed to be one of the most picturesque in the world.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Curlarge on March 09, 2012, 20:06:54 PM

Two weeks today and I will be on my way, tour merchandise and full itinerary received this week.

Night flight on the 23rd March arriving in Colombo around lunchtime on the 24th and then a transfer to a beach hotel at Unawatuna just outside Galle the location of the first game, a day and a half to become accustomed to the time change and prepare for the 1st Test on the 26th.

The area around Galle has some of the best beaches on the South Coast and I will dig out some photo"s to cover this off. Starting to look forward to this and especially to the test in Galle, the area is a World Heritage site and the ground is reputed to be one of the most picturesque in the world.


Really looking forward to reading you blog. Have a great trip. C"mon England.....
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 19, 2012, 23:04:09 PM
Hectic week to cram everything into before flying on Friday evening !

Awards dinner tomorrow night and a Gala dinner on Thursday night to attend, completed the majority of my packing this evening, lots of polo shirts, chinos and shorts, along with a fair supply of sun cream ! Forecast is looking good, although it"s going to be hot, 90 degrees most days.

Looking forward to this.

(http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee378/misco78gmail/Sri%20Lanka%202011/DSCF1184.jpg)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 22, 2012, 12:02:47 PM
Alex Stewart saying it"s a tough place to go because of the climate.

Wondering whether I"m taking enough tops now, may have to wring them out every couple of hours and I won"t be doing anything energetic  :)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/17468421 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/17468421)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: PHIL_TC on March 22, 2012, 17:14:44 PM
Safe trip tomorrow mate. Plenty of updates, photos, club sandwiches and mankinis FTW x
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: pables on March 22, 2012, 17:35:48 PM
String vests and knotted handkerchief FTW Don  :D

Have a Gr8 time and don"t post and fold like Oz  ;)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 23, 2012, 19:50:43 PM
Checked and waiting to board, will be hopefully tweeting during the trip as well as blogging.

@logieontour
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: technolog on March 23, 2012, 20:45:33 PM
Safe travels Don. Hope you have a great time and England do the business.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 24, 2012, 15:29:02 PM
Arrived safely in Sri Lanka and finally at the hotel, the journey after landing has nearly taken as long as the flight !

The roads and traffic, I have not seen such carnage in all my life  ;D there must be a high number of deaths each day to keep the population under control, the rickshaw drivers are unbelievable.

It is very warm, still at 9pm, my room is next to the beach so I will see the view in the morning. Free wi-fi is a bonus and I"m typing this on my veranda, very civilised, updates will be much easier to manage this tour.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: technolog on March 24, 2012, 15:56:09 PM

updates will be much easier to manage this tour.


wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 24, 2012, 16:35:48 PM
Refreshed quickly and now sitting down to lovely chilled Lion Lager, the bar area with the ceiling fans much more accommodating  :D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 24, 2012, 17:33:17 PM
The first cost of livinG exercise, dinner and a couple of bottles of Lion lager, the larger bottles.

1600 Rupees, 200 to the Pound, £8 happy days, I gave them a couple of quid as a tip, this tour is not going to be expensive  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 25, 2012, 11:03:22 AM
First full day in Sri Lanka, the beach is picturesque, one of those places that you would want to be shipwrecked on.

Have spent the day on the beach enjoying the sunshine, the place is ideal and a great way to chill and relax. Will post some pictures up later.

Welcome meeting shortly, a chance for some more beers and to collect test match tickets.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Swinebag on March 25, 2012, 11:29:00 AM
pictures please Donald!!

glad you are settling into SL well though
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 25, 2012, 14:01:37 PM
Some pictures to set the scene;

The view from my room:

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka178.jpg)

The beach at Unawatuna, apparently one of the top rated beaches in the world.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka179.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka182.jpg)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 25, 2012, 17:28:25 PM
A nice relaxing evening, had the buffet tonight as it was still open, part of the package too ! I had some spicy crispy chicken and beef stew with rice, both with a kick and very enjoyable. So my only purchases required, beer  ;D

Test match tickets handed out and all ready to go for the morning, early transfer in the morning, official tickets give access to the shaded area opposite the pavilion, will need the shade at some point, forecast is hot and sunny.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Curlarge on March 25, 2012, 17:31:59 PM

Some pictures to set the scene;

The view from my room:

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka178.jpg)

The beach at Unawatuna, apparently one of the top rated beaches in the world.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka179.jpg)

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka182.jpg)



Brrrrrr.....looks chiily and very un appealing....................(NOT)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 26, 2012, 17:00:04 PM
Sri Lanka - Galle Test Day 1

Following the interesting drive to the ground in the morning; the normal mayhem and carnage was again present ! I will attempt to catch a Tuk-Tuk (Rickshaw) to the ground one morning and video the experience for everyone to see; a boycott was underway by the Barmy Army, a protest at the rise in prices to £25 for the day.  The Army camped up on the fort overseeing the ground.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka014.jpg)

Unfortunately this had no or little effect, the numbers of England supporters in Sri Lanka is high, filling most of the ground. The covered areas that we were located in were heaving with supporters, the first three days are apparently sold out.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka015.jpg)

You have to wonder what would happen if the English fans stopped following the team at Test matches, with the exception of the series against Pakistan in Dubai and Adu Dhabi grounds are full or mostly full. This following appears to sustain the smaller countries, especially someone like Sri Lanka so in some ways I can understand them lifting prices, it has to set them up well when England come to town.

As for the cricket, it was a long hot day.  Jimmy Anderson taking two wickets in successive balls in the third over to get England off to a flying start, after the additional wicket by Broad, no one team took overall control. Without many chance appearing we got a lucky break after lunch with Anderson deflecting the ball on to the stumps to run out the Sri Lankan batsmen backing up.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka020.jpg)

Mahela Jayawardene then brought the Sri Lankans back into the game, surviving a chance off Swann which didn"t go to hand.  His general class shone through and he took the attack to the England bowlers, dispatching the bad balls to the boundary, a mixture of fours and sixes. A missed caught and bowled by Anderson just before he reached his hundred was the only other chance until later in the day that Jayawardene presented in his masterclass.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka027.jpg)

So the Test is fairly even at the close, we could have been batting, but the clown antics of Monty in the field put that to bed, as Jayawardene looking to raise the pace of scoring gave two chances that most of us would have caught !! The Local forecast is predicting another two hot dry days with a chance of showers on Thursday, the game is evenly poised with a slight advantage to England as batting first Sri Lanka would have liked a few more runs considering the number of wickets that have fallen.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2012, 02:28:27 AM
Another morning of clear blue skies, it"s going to be a scorcher again !

Yesterday at the lunch time interval our tour hostesses arrived with a local takeaway, with the half board my only purchases are water, soft drinks, ice cream and beer  ;D

At the ground the beer is 75p a cup, cheaper than the other three items I mentioned, happy days.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2012, 17:43:46 PM
The start of the day was marred by the lack of any organisation from the Sri Lankan Sricket Authorities, none of the tour companies seats are reserved and some interlopers snuck into our area today causing some dissatisfaction for some of our party who arrived late ! Obviously over selling the tickets and making the most whilst not assisting the official tour parties, didn"t affect myself but some were put out.

England duly saw off the last two wickets this morning, even though Sri Lanka advanced past three hundred, Anderson taking another five for in a test innings.  He know stands alone as the fifth highest wicket taker in English cricket and will surpass Ian Botham at some point in the next two years if he continues to avoid injury.  A major achievement for a player that came back from being the young new hope, who was left out of the side and suffered a severe back injury and may  have already beaten Botham without those.

Having seen the Sri Lankans post a better total than expected, expectations were high that England would challenge that total and put the home team under some pressure. Unfortunately this didn"t turn out to be the case, Cook plsyed down the wrong line to a ball that didn"t really do that much. Trott had a brain rush and danced down the wicket to be stumped and left lying on the floor in humiliation, up to this point he had looked solid. Strauss who was looking in good form decided to play a pre-meditated sweep to the spinner Herath, not the right ball and even after review was found to be out plum. So Pietersen was to be the saviuour, nope left a gap between bat and pad clean bowled.

So Bell the man who had shown no form recently then showed that runs could be scored, although he did have a blip about fifth ball playing the most awful shot ! But after that he started to use his feet to the spinner and started to look in no trouble as boundary after boundary flowed from his bat.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka004.jpg)

The only problem was that his partners at the other end kept walking back to the pavilion, as the winter hoodoo of a spinner seemed to come back to haunt the England batsmen, both Prior and Patel were both deceived by the flight of Herath and were caught in front both going back to good length balls, only Broad offered any resistance as he dispatched ball after ball to the boundary, only to fall foul of another attempted sweep, much to the disgust of the supporters around me.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka005.jpg)

So another spinner in the sub-continent took the majority of the wickets, Herath with six, deceiving the England batsmen and playing mind games with their confidence.

(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Logie66/Sri%20Lanka/SriLanka009.jpg)
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: pables on March 27, 2012, 18:01:35 PM
Great read Don, I hear Strauss wishes he hadn"t got the leg bye as that"s why the Indians took the review! ::)

Enjoy the weather m8 and see you soon!

Ian
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2012, 18:08:12 PM
Ian,

Just for political correctness, I"m in Sri Lanka, they"re called Sri Lankans not Indians  ;D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: pables on March 27, 2012, 18:10:08 PM

Ian,

Just for political correctness, I"m in Sri Lanka, they"re called Sri Lankans not Indians  ;D


LOL didn"t even notice....feel like the major now in Fawlty Towers  :-[
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on March 27, 2012, 18:43:06 PM
Following the escapades of Monty in the field yesterday afternoon, I decided to film when he came into bat today, the wag of the tail was some of the best entertainment over the first two days, especially for crowd participation.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7mGC_sKcHo[/youtube]
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: PHIL_TC on May 02, 2012, 13:19:26 PM
Happy birthday fella hope to see you soon x

(http://caccioppoli.com/Animated%20gifs/Balloons,%20palloncini/Getting_older.gif)

only 46?  ;) x
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Des on May 02, 2012, 13:21:14 PM
Many happy returns Don.   :D
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on May 06, 2012, 13:31:55 PM
Cheers guys, just got back from a little relaxation in Barbados  8)

Now the forum is functioning with the new server I"ll try and finish off the tour.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Logie66 on October 05, 2012, 14:11:29 PM
2012 has been a very quiet year for me, Sri Lanka aside most of my time was taken up with work. Due to the small event hosted by London this year.  All in all virtually no poker and no APAT live events, a disappointment as I always attempted to attend as many as I could in previous years.

Work has been busy but I know have the opportunity to embrace a new challenge as I transition into a role with the Global team. Just spent four days in Chicago and in two week will be heading to Brazil and in the first week of December it"s back to Chicago.

With all this going on I also managed to see myself end up in Hospital in August and I"m still recovering and healing from that.  The one benefit was that I got to play the ECOAP online series which was a lot of fun, a great format that is being repeated which I think is a superb series being added to the live event.

Talking of live events, I"ll be attending my first this year in Glasgow, so looking forward to this and seeing everyone. Have lost a fair bit of weight this year with everything going on so I hope people still recognise me.

A bit more travelling tomorrow as I head with work to Spain for five days, BA Executive Club is the winner for me at the moment ! See you all in Glasgow.
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: Swinebag on October 06, 2012, 19:48:34 PM
Thought we had an India/NZ video tour with Greenie post there.

Still good to hear from you though
Title: Re: Two Winters and One Summer of English Cricket and Continued Adventures
Post by: PHIL_TC on July 15, 2015, 00:56:10 AM
gets notification thread is unlocked at 1am.. digs out popcorn and beer...  :D x