Better days

I’ve finally warmed up again after an engrossing four days of County Championship cricket. I’m feeling enthused. Over recent years that hasn’t been a common feeling. At the start, and the end of the match against Yorkshire there were some very positive signs. 

Maybe our new Head Coach Mark Alleyne can bring some long overdue joy to the Seat Unique Stadium. 

I’m reminded of the Turner Cody song Better Days. It could be Mark’s message to the fans, with the lyrics:

Well, I won’t let you down,

And I won’t mess around,

There will be better days,

Better days will come.

I will hold you long,

Till the leaves are all gone,

And the strong winter winds blow (though they can’t be much stronger than the winds we had on Monday!).

See the sun sinking fast,

Feel the great shadow cast,

There will be better days,

Better days will come.

Let’s go back a little first though. As my previous post mentioned, it’s been a tad wet here in the West Country. When it rained again on Wednesday evening, the ensuing shiny patio that I saw upon drawing back the curtains on Thursday morning did not bode well.

And yet……somehow the ground staff managed to get the surface ready for the scheduled start time on Friday morning.  The first bag pack and clothing choice of the season can be tricky. Thankfully I managed to get it just about right. In the ground I soon met up with “S”, who was clearly concerned about his clothing options. The next day he was there with a much larger bag. It’s good to have strength in depth when it comes to bag options. As we know you need have clothing to cope unexpected heat, freezing cold and unexpected downpours. Actually, is that a thing anymore? Surely, we expect downpours on even the brightest of days.

As is usual, there was a healthy smattering of travelling Yorkshire fans around us. One of them dully informed me that Glos had won the toss and asked Yorkshire to bat. The Yorkshire side was a strong one. How great to see England stars Joe Root and Harry Brook in the side. Then there was Adam Lyth and captain Shan Massood to contend with. The final member of the top five was the young opener Finlay Bean who only just failed to score 1,000 runs last season. This was going to be a test for the Gloucester bowling attack, especially as Tom Price and David Payne were not around.

Well, that’s what we thought would be the case. Yet before lunch Yorkshire had been reduced to 90 for 5, with only Massood still hanging around. The bowling had been, controlled and hostile, the fielding sharp. A tangible buzz was in the air. 

By now “S” and I had been joined by “J” and “I” then fairly soon “M”. A few of us are regular attendees at the fabulous Walkers and Talkers events that Andy Brassington put on. There was though still some catching up to be done. This increased on a couple of strolls around the ground. It was good to see “M” taking a break from training for her forthcoming half marathon. Also bumped into a host of others who I have got to know through W&T, it’s such a great way for Glos supporters to keep in touch. Later in the day, I had a chat with “D”, a Somerset member who happily pops us to Bristol from time to time. Having taken out membership with Hampshire as well, he is now able to use the reciprocal membership arrangement between Glos and Hants to get in for nothing. 

Earlier we had been talking about the reciprocal membership arrangements. Given the need to boost crowds for County Cricket, we wondered if a general County Membership could work. Your membership could get you into any county game in the county. Maybe that would encourage folk to travel to a few more games. They would probably buy a drink, or some food as well, boosting funds for the counties. Could it work? 

Anyway “D” blew my mind when he advised that Leicestershire have agreements in place with 14 counties. How brilliant, being centrally located it makes a lot of sense for them and is great news for their fans. Something for the other counties to look at?

The afternoon session did not go quite so well. Whilst all round him had floundered in the morning, Yorkshire captain Shan Masood had looked comfortable. This continued after lunch, and he was to become the first centurion of the season in Bristol. One lofted shot landed fractionally short of the boundary just in front of us. In a clear indication of how damp the outer edges of playing surface were, on landing it barely bounced, failing to even the reach the ropes which were less than a foot away. Eventually he was dismissed for an impressive 140. Seeing your first century of a new season is an important milestone, so to get one on the first day of watching was good. The other milestone is the first bowler to grab a five-fer, and the young Glos bowler Zaman Akhter managed to do that. A pretty good set of scalps as well, Root and Brook amongst them. 

The Glos reply to the Yorkshire total of 326, started with a tricky short spell, at the end of the day and they didn’t get off to the best start. Both Chris Dent and Ollie Price were back in with pavilion with only 19 runs on the board. It had been an enthralling start to my seasons viewing. Almost 350 and 12 wickets, the game had ebbed and flowed but Yorkshire looked on top as we said our farewells and headed home after a full day of play.

Obviously, my match fitness was not quite there yet. Getting home after my short walk from the ground, I was absolutely shattered. Maybe, I should have spent more time sitting on a park bench, staring into the middle distance. I Would have needed someone alongside me to discuss topics as diverse as, what was the first alcoholic drink to be advertised on British TV (Babycham in 1957), the strange love that Malaysians have for drinking tepid water, the miraculous way that long forgotten foreign words and phrases pop back into your head when you are abroad. But most importantly, where have all the mobile toilets gone at the ground? If you are sitting at the flats end of the ground, you need to be a much better judge of your journey time, than used to be the case.

The next day was a tricky one for me. I could only be at the ground for the first session of the day. Once again, Glos won that period of play thanks to some excellent trolled batting from Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond, the morning session saw only one wicket fall. Our gathering was joined by “P” who boldly decided to wear a pair of shorts, in April! Brave, foolish or just wildly optimistic? Although I wasn’t there for the later stages of the day, I gather he himself admits the error in his decision. My reason for not being at the game was linked to another West Country v Yorkshire sporting clash. My good friend “R” is a dedicated supporter of Huddersfield Town, even though he lives in London these days. Every time his team visit my team (Bristol City), we have a meet up, along with other pals from his time in Bristol thirty odd years ago. Post-match when we met up, I think I may have slightly calmed his anger at his team being pegged back by a controversial penalty for City in the 10^th minute injury time. Yorkshire had managed to bowl Glos out for 263, and hadn’t lost any wickets that evening. Another 2-1 on the day in term of sessions won for Yorkshire. Sunday was already looking like a make-or-break day.

Once again the weather held firm, though the approaching balmy temperatures of the previous days were disappearing fast. Although I was aware of this, sensibly popping a pair of gloves into my jacket pocket, the jacket itself was in truth far too lightweight for the day. Lesson learned. All part of the getting up to speed process for any fan at this stage of the season.

My discomfort in terms of clothing, was little compared to that of the Glos bowling attack, as the Yorkshire batters sent about from a position of strength. They started the day 120 ahead with all wickets in hand. Everyone in the ground had a theory on how quickly Yorks would look to acquire an unassailable lead. The weather forecast for day 4 wasn’t great, so we assumed that with the considerable talents at their disposal, some fireworks would be in order.

Although they didn’t drag their feet, the declaration came much later than anticipated. By the lunch break they were an ominous 194-1 with Adam Lyth becoming the latest centurion in the match.  

There was a brilliant piece of collaborative work between the Glos team, and the ground staff, in a mid-morning attempt to slow the run rate and break the concentration of the batters. As yet another boundary shot spend towards the fence of the Mound Stand, which disappointingly feature was populated by fewer spectators than the small number of Dot balls we had seen, it was suddenly lost from sight. And so it stayed for several minutes. A couple of Glos fielders were unable to locate the ball, members of the staff joined in. Damp covers were lifted, shaken and moved, yet still no sign of the ball. Maybe the much discussed Kookaburra had some sort of self-destruct option if it makes contact with something that is too wet? Were the players just looking for a breather? Eventually the umpires tired of this classic piece of club cricket action and called for a replacement ball. Shortly after the original did emerge to a warm cheer, was thrown to the umpires, who promptly rejected it.

After lunch, which required a thawing out session in The Thatcher’s café we got ready for the Yorkshire. They kept going though, Glos skipper Graeme van Burren added to his wicket before lunch, with two including a great stumping by James Bracey. Still Yorkshire went on.

For a while we had the treat of watching Joe Root and Harry Brook batting together. It was a mini masterclass, the sort of thing that fans of the county game have been denied over recent years. We were lucky to see it. We were even more luck to see the magnificent one-handed leg side catch that Bracy took to remove Root off the bowling of Zaman Akhter. There was much debate in our gang regarding the nature of the touch that Root had on the ball. Had he “feathered” it down the leg side or was it “tickled”. Answers on a postcard please.

On Yorkshire half century’s being scored in quick time, yet still no sign of a declaration. The tea break came and went, the “free after tea” crowd members joined after waiting patiently for the first ball of the evening session to be bowled. It seems odd that they can’t be allowed in at the start of the tea break, maybe buying a drink or a slice of cake to bolster club funds. But no, they must wait outside. “What if the first ball after tea, is called as a no-ball, after they have inadvertently been waived through?” someone asked. Would they need to be round up and escorted from the stadium before the next ball could be bowled? 

Anyway on and on Yorkshire went. The length of the inning stirred memories of risky wedding anniversary idea that “S” had a couple of years into his marriage to “E”. He thought it would a superb treat to take her to see the Wagner opera Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, which clocks it at around four and a half hours, despite “E” having expressed not interest in seeing it. Happily their marriage did survive this most robust test of sitting technique. It was concluded that the approach that Yorkshire were taken to building up a suitable led was positively Wangnerian. On and on they went. Though with fewer aria’s then Wagner would have liked.

Eventually with lead at 497, there most have been a corpulent lady singing somewhere. It was finally over. We laughed at the idea that Glos could get anywhere near the 498 that would secure victory. 26 overs were possible that night and by the time of their conclusion the mood had darkened amongst the Glos fans. We were 96-4 and even the most optimistic of us was probably secretly hoping for heavy overnight rain to put us out of our misery.

Well, the rain did come, I’ll admit that I wasn’t dreadfully disappointed when it woke me at around 7:30 am. It had though stopped by the time I had made it downstairs. Then at around 10:30 I had a message from “P” saying that play was due to start at 11:30, just 30 minutes late. Incredible!

I had a message from “S” who quite rightly said that going along today seemed like an act of “fatalistic devotion” and he was looking at other options for his fun. Hard to argue with him. However, at 11:30 “P” and I had taken our seat in front of the pavilion, and despite a further brief shower, the players were on the field. We were playing.

Ollie Price and James Bracey were at the crease, surely just to delay the inevitable defeat. We found ourselves sitting next to a young overseas student, he was originally from The Punjab, this was his first visit to the ground in Bristol and was obviously thrilled to be there on a cold day, with a howling gale watch the day play out. He started as a neutral but as the day wore on, he was as much of a Glos fan as “P” and I. After what we saw, it couldn’t have been any other way. Some people say that the 4 day game is only for us “mature” types. Yes this young man proved that it really is for everyone. I think we have ha new Glos fan in our ranks.

Price and Bracey were simply magnificent.  Resolute in defence, and keen to take the chance to score as well, they went on, and on, and on. Price was eventually out for a wonderful 147, his highest first-class score. Bracey also made a century, before departing for 102. So great to see him back making a Championship ton after a tough time last season. Even when those two went there was still a lot of work to do but Graeme van Burren (51) and Ben Charlesworth (43) batted beautifully to take us past 400 with only 6 wickets lost. A great day for Glos, with them winning all three sessions. Something it would be great to see as the season moves on.

On and there was one other thing that amused us during the game. On day two I noticed that Joe Root had some sort of hand muffler strapped behind his hips, allowing himself to keep his hands warm between deliveries. Genius. By the later stages of the game, he was wearing on his waist in full view of everyone. Om the very cold final day we noticed that Yorkshire skipper Shan Masood was sporting one as well. Very sensible work by these two. I look forward to the Glos marketing team producing a range of these in club colours for the forthcoming nippy days, especially at the end of the season. If the weather isn’t that cold, it would also be a great place to a nice baguette, so that crumbs don’t fill your bag. It’s going to fashion of the season.

Anyway it’s great to be back watching cricket again. Lovely to catch up with old friends. And so great to see some standout performances from players on both sides during the game. Lets hope that Mark Alleyne can keep Glos performing, and that some better days are on the way.

Finally huge credit to all the ground staff, who some enabled us see a virtually complete 4 days of cricket. Also credit to both teams, I’m sure that some areas of the outfield were pretty wet at times. They played on, doing their best to give us a game to remember. They succeeded.