Middlesex CCC
A Repeat Episode of The Simpson's Great Show
A Happy Bunny
By Beefy Roberts
April 2 2017
Beefy now back in Blighty reflects on another dodgy journey and the build up to our stunning win against MCC
A taxi mystery tour starts the day off with Posh Margaret and myself being taken to the wrong cricket ground. We only realised when going towards the big mosque,correcting the driver he charged us the usual 40 Dihram for the fare.
Having the 'munchies' to take an early visit to the now famous food shop and miss two wickets and find out we need 305 to win.
Two different county shirts are seen,Somerset and Yorkshire are on view.
Explosive start by Robbo and Gubbins 26 runs off 21 balls. At 38 without loss,Overton to Robbo and there is a noise wicketkeeper dives to his left and huge appeal,umpire unmoved. It's a hotter day than yesterday.
Robbo on 20 off 30 balls and is caught by Lees off Leach its 43-1
Compo now in,the 'strange humming' returns, although not as bad as yesterday. We decide it's the power lines going over and are chatting to each other. 100 up,and Gubbo moves to 50 not out at tea,90 mins,67 balls and 6x4.
After tea,Lyth to Compo,an appeal for LBW not given,and a stumping at the same time,also not given. My curse strikes again,a toilet visit and we lose a wicket,Gubbo gone for 52,LBW Crane. Soon,Gregory to Mala and a stump is on the deck,144-3,Eskinazi now in. 150 up,half way there.....closing in our target..BATTLE. A drinks break,and these guys need the drinks,the heat is with shade where we are,but in the middle it must be baking.
2nd ball after drinks,and Compo is out for 59,Caught Lees b Crane off 84 balls. There has been a couple of very boisterous LBW appeals,but umpire is unmoved again .Time for a Samosa,Parthta and a can of cold 7UP,this all costs £1.40 approx! 180-4 soon moves along,with Simmo batting and he launches a lovely 6 to take up to 200,well its 202 to be precise. 212-4 and the 50 partnership with Eski.
Twlight Zone arrives and we are struggling to see the ball again,but the umpire can see the ball as it hits Eski's pad and given out for 44 off 64 balls. Next in is Franko,he goes first ball,Overton 2 in 2 balls,we start saying about hat-tricks,and of course Tobys is mentioned! It's 242-6 and Harris comes in facing Overton and...he goes 1st ball...HATTRICK FOR OVERTON! Have seen two for us,1 for Harmison in West Indies and now 1 against us. Overton did celebrate well and thoroughly deserved as well,as all hat-tricks should be! Simmo is 50-up as the mosques call for prayer.
Last Session. We all know this will finish a day early,but what way will it go? It;s now dark,it goes from twilight to dark within minutes. We slowly pick off the runs,Crane bowling to Simmo,as the fielders all go to the rope to invite the single run,he takes up the invite and Podmore is now facing. It's 278-8 now,as Podmore goes for 7,caught by Cox bowled Crane,Crane likes the pavilion end. Again the fielders are on the rope,offering a single,its now 300-8 and the fielders move in for Helm and he departs for 12,caught Leech b Crane and its 300-9 as Ravi makes his way to the middle. Ravi faces 6 balls altogether without a run as he allows Simmo to take the strike on 301-9,and he takes the winning runs.
We reach our target in 71.1 overs,with only 9 extras and a run rate of 4.29.
It was a great game,thoroughly enjoyed by all those who made the trip. Both teams put on a great display. It's a shame there isn't a trophy or a plate not presented to the winners,but the prestige of winning the opening game of the season is always a feather in the cap. A wonderful week away with fabulous company,the result we all wanted and warm weather.
All that remains is to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable flight home and good luck for the season.
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
StumbleuponA Repeat Episode of The Simpson's Great Show
Discussion started by Middlesex till we die , 02/04/2017 10:09
Middlesex till we die
02/04/2017 10:09
02/04/2017 10:09
What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017:04:04:21:10:38 by BarmierKev.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017:04:04:21:10:38 by BarmierKev.
My thanks to our reporters from the East for their missives from this tour game.
My thoughts on the trip.
The cricket itself was a great advertisement for the game with good performances on both sides. The pink ball, day/night format posed many questions, primarily the ball visibility and the flood of wickets during twilight. The concept of the first interval (tea) being 20 minutes and the second (dinner) 40 was something I had not contemplated. It remains to be seen how this will translate when the County Championship games are played back home in this format in June.
Looking at the form of our players, the second string attack acquitted themselves superbly. Helm and Podmore looked sharp and it was good to see Ravi Patel bowling at the level we all know he's capable of, especially in the first innings.
I'm suspecting that Steve Eskinazi is likely to lose his place to Adam Voges but he dug in well in the second innings after being dismissed to a Jaffa in the first. I'd like to see him get some wicket keeping time in anger at some point in case of injury to Simmo, who played every game in all formats last season.
Captain Franco's pair was a bit of a worry, but the undoubted star of the proceedings was Bury's finest, John Simpson. A magnificent unbeaten 89 with the added difficulty of nursing the tail was a terrific effort.
The stadium itself was somewhat disappointing. It can't be that old, but already has a ramshackle feel to it. The extreme weather must make it hard to maintain, but there was peeling paintwork everywhere and it would never achieve a safety certificate in the UK. The best part was the excellent tea bar as mentioned in several of the match reports.
With regard to Abu Dhabi itself, it's a place I'd vowed not to return to after my visit two years ago. However the euphoria of the title win and my retirement swayed me and it was overall a good trip, thanks to the cricket and excellent company with friends old and new.
To those who like to visit cities and pop into museums, galleries and bars, Abu Dhabi is probably not the place for you. Yas Island does have bars and nightlife, and the long delayed Guggenheim and Louvre galleries will allegedly soon be open. Another down side was the 20% tax on food and drink, although the admirable Red, White and Brew ale in the Stars and Bars was somehow exempt from this, making it a rare item of value in the UAE at £3 per pint.
Due to aversion to extremes in weather changes, I shall not be attending MTS for the Durham game but will be at Fenner's for day one of the Cambridge match. Up the Middle !!!
The cricket itself was a great advertisement for the game with good performances on both sides. The pink ball, day/night format posed many questions, primarily the ball visibility and the flood of wickets during twilight. The concept of the first interval (tea) being 20 minutes and the second (dinner) 40 was something I had not contemplated. It remains to be seen how this will translate when the County Championship games are played back home in this format in June.
Looking at the form of our players, the second string attack acquitted themselves superbly. Helm and Podmore looked sharp and it was good to see Ravi Patel bowling at the level we all know he's capable of, especially in the first innings.
I'm suspecting that Steve Eskinazi is likely to lose his place to Adam Voges but he dug in well in the second innings after being dismissed to a Jaffa in the first. I'd like to see him get some wicket keeping time in anger at some point in case of injury to Simmo, who played every game in all formats last season.
Captain Franco's pair was a bit of a worry, but the undoubted star of the proceedings was Bury's finest, John Simpson. A magnificent unbeaten 89 with the added difficulty of nursing the tail was a terrific effort.
The stadium itself was somewhat disappointing. It can't be that old, but already has a ramshackle feel to it. The extreme weather must make it hard to maintain, but there was peeling paintwork everywhere and it would never achieve a safety certificate in the UK. The best part was the excellent tea bar as mentioned in several of the match reports.
With regard to Abu Dhabi itself, it's a place I'd vowed not to return to after my visit two years ago. However the euphoria of the title win and my retirement swayed me and it was overall a good trip, thanks to the cricket and excellent company with friends old and new.
To those who like to visit cities and pop into museums, galleries and bars, Abu Dhabi is probably not the place for you. Yas Island does have bars and nightlife, and the long delayed Guggenheim and Louvre galleries will allegedly soon be open. Another down side was the 20% tax on food and drink, although the admirable Red, White and Brew ale in the Stars and Bars was somehow exempt from this, making it a rare item of value in the UAE at £3 per pint.
Due to aversion to extremes in weather changes, I shall not be attending MTS for the Durham game but will be at Fenner's for day one of the Cambridge match. Up the Middle !!!
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
