Middlesex CCC
Chesterfield Day 1
New boys view
By New Boy2
June 18 2022
belatedly we hear of New Boy's @ day 1 experience at Chesterfield
From the release of the fixture list, I was keen to attend the away game at Derbyshire as I had never been to the County Ground in Derby. I still haven't as the game was moved to form part of the "BRM Solicitors Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council". I've been to Chesterfield a few times but always for football having seen games at now defunct Saltergate and the new B2net/Proact/Technique Stadium, so a cricket match in the shadow of the crooked spire was a new experience for me
Having left home at 7am, I arrived at Queens Park bright and early at 10am. I'd booked a parking space but nobody asked to see my ticket as I drove into the car park immediately beside the ground. Getting into the ground was a breeze: friendly stewards at every gate cheerfully welcoming you in to a sunny cricket ground set within a large park. There were plenty of seats spread around the field, no more than three rows deep. The members' section looked to have the best seats, and also the best catering but that didn't prove to be a problem: there is a cafe immediately outside the ground selling pizzas, sandwiches, pasta meals etc..
The ground was not even a third full at best all day but there was a cheerful atmosphere by the time the tannoy burst into action at around 10 to 11am. "The Middlesex team is Sam Robson....". And that was that for the day as it spluttered into silence and was never heard from again. Even the raffle winner was announced by one of the committee walking round the ground after tea calling "Yellow 346" at regular intervals.
So with just the one classic, minimalist scoreboard, no tannoy and certainly no video screen, I settled back for a day's cricket that felt more like an old Sunday amateur game than a County Championship match. The blokes behind me were certain in their opinion of many things: Wednesday where shite, United were shite, Chesterfield were shite and had nowt chance of promotion, England were shite and goodness knows how Southgate got the job, football was shite and they didn't know why anyone would bother with it, Stokes was alright but had a lot to prove, you can't argue with Joe Root: he's a good batter, Derbyshire need to score more runs or they'll finish bottom of the table. They said there was a heatwave coming. "Who said that?". They said it was. "Yes, but who said it?". They said it on news, or in paper or somewhere. "You can't trust news, there's nowt worth listening to on the news". It was great, I really enjoyed listening to the gritty realism of the East Midlander compared to the "Should I accept the baronetcy?" conversation I heard at in the Warners Stand at one T20 game last season.
In terms of cricket, The Middle's batters all got in and then they all got out again. Simpson was caught by a stunning catch at slip by Madsen. Hollman and Bamber put on a very good partnership and while Lukey deserved a fifty, I did feel he visible slowed down in the forties and really did ignore many chances to score more runs. There was one over where he took a single off the first ball so slowly that he only just moved quicker than walking pace, then left Bamber to face the next five balls. He was visibly angry when he was finally caught on 48. Maybe this could be the lesson he needs to push on next time as I really did think he was looking comfortable for 60+ runs if he could hang on to a batting partner.
The weather was very hot in the morning, cloudy and warm in the afternoon, then cold and windy in the evening. The ground visibly emptied after 5.30pm when the wind got up, it wasn't the weather for shorts and those left watching the final overs were wrapped up and shivering as Shan Massood took TRJ apart for a good start, scoring all but one of the 28 runs they closed on. The square leg umpire was practicing his lunges in between balls, whether to keep warm generally or to break the ice forming around his knee-caps I don't know. Getting out of the ground was easy and I was on the road to Nottingham for day four of the Test Match in no time.
I really enjoyed visiting this picturesque town-centre park ground. I'd be happy to visit next year's Festival of Cricket, even if The Middle aren't involved. It seemed a very pleasant location to watch a day's cricket.
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Discussion started by Middlesex till we die , 18/06/2022 14:52
Middlesex till we die
18/06/2022 14:52
18/06/2022 14:52
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:06:22:09:36:27 by BarmierKev.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:06:22:09:36:27 by BarmierKev.
Sounds a delightful place. My memory of Derbys ground (some years back) is that it was pretty grim.
Enjoyed the trip. Agree chilly day one with breeze. Day two a 2-2 draw. Day three very much The Ruffians as they were known in the past as they closed out the game with Madsen and Reece. Overall the attendance was fair, best Monday.. Gate person said 2000 tickets sold in advance. Good Mx turnout.
They expect a close to sell out T20 against Yorkshire on Saturday maybe 5000ish.
Quote:Queens Park much prettier Freddie but Derby vastly improved these days.freddie tittlemouse
Sounds a delightful place. My memory of Derbys ground (some years back) is that it was pretty grim.
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