Surrey win the CB40

Hi everyone !




At Lord's on Saturday for Surrey v Somerset in the CB40 Final.

A MASSIVE THANK YOU to Andrew Merrifield of Clydesdale Bank who invited me.
    I can really recommend watching from Box A in the Mound Stand !!

Having been 79 for 5, Somerset were rescued by Josh Buttler who scored a very accomplished 86, hitting two sixes and seven fours off 72 balls , before being bowled by Man of the Match Jade Denbach, who took 4 for 30 in Somerset's 214 all out.

Somerset needed early wickets to stand any chance. And, although Murali Kartik crucially dropped Hamilton-Brown before he had scored, they made two breakthroughs around two brief rain breaks, Kirby taking the wickets of both Davies and Roy.

At 46-2 off seven overs, rain then forced the two sides off again, at which point the weather had caused sufficient delay for Duckworth/Lewis to come into play.I can confirm that no-one in Box A knows how the D/L system works ; so no surprise there!

Somerset's revised target was 186 off 30 overs, meaning 140 were needed off 23 overs, at 6 an over.

Although Suppiah had Maynard caught behind, Schofield helped Hamilton-Brown put on 58 for the fourth wicket.

Just when Schofield and Hamilton-Brown looked to be cruising home, Schofield slammed it straight to Trescothick before Hamilton-Brown was run out by a fantastic direct hit from Buttler at mid-on.

Spriegel (24no) and de Bruyn (17no) saw their side home in the 28th over - to complete a memorable week for Surrey, just three days after winning promotion back to the Division 1 in the County Championship.

From Box A you get  a good view of Father Time, turning in the wind high above the Mound Stand:

Just 60 or 70 metres to the Warner Stand from where I sat with Dad on my first visit to Lords 50 years ago for MCC v Australia in May 1961.

Has Life turned out I thought it would as an 8 year old?

    My Blog next year on 21 June will tell you !! 

The last game of Season 2012 and what a season it has been.

The Diamond anniversary of that Never To Be Forgotten match at Tunbridge Wells.


There have been the much looked forward to annual trips to the Nevill, to Southend and to Beckenham.
The evening game at the Oval.
Sitting on the benches in front of the Pavilion at Lords; a special afternoon with Bob Ayers
A first visit to Southgate, a delightful ground.


A first season of being able to walk to the ground at Hove.


And of course The Day I Watched Cricket with Young Jim Parks ... did I ever tell you the story !!!




Thank you to all of you who watched cricket with me in Season 2011.


I look forward to seeing you in Season 2012.


--


I don't want to keep you in suspense over the long Winter months:

That 8 year old did find the Rainbow.


And I know you will too !




Onward !!


Lord Ric 




PS


During the day Alastair Cook popped in to the Clydesdale box:

On the England  tours to the sub-continent over the winter ... I'm sure he will find the couple of tips I gave him about his batting extremely useful !!