Old Deer Park

My first visit to Old Deer Park in Richmond for Middlesex v Hampshire in the Twenty20.

The ground is like many in outer London, but with two ‘features’.

The Pagoda:

And the Planes:

My FlightTrack app has never been happier !!

    (Cognoscenti will recognise instantly GA3 Airbus A330-200 from Bahrain on its final approach to Heathrow)

As for the match… Middlesex scored 162 for 5 in their 20 overs.

Dawid Malan top scored with 77 off 66 balls.

Andrew Rossington, the wicketkeeper, took my eye with a good 26 off 16 balls and an energetic performance behind the stumps. His ‘stature’ reminded me of David Nicholls, who regularly deputised for Alan Knott as the Kent wicket keeper in the 1970s.

    Rossington: My tip as a future England wicket keeper; #JustSaying !!

Hampshire set off like a rocket, scoring 83 without loss in the first 6 overs.

Michael Carberry’s 43 took just 16 balls. And James Vince’s 84 just 49 balls.

Hampshire won easily, losing just 3 wickets & with almost 5 overs to spare.

A good afternoon out !!

Lots of Cricket in the rest of July …  

•       Sussex v Middlesex on 16 July
•        The Friday of the Lords Test on 19 July
•       The Restoration Partners’ Evening for Surrey v Kent on 26 July

•       And Sussex v Australia on 27 July. A day long looked forward to; a day to remember the same match in 1948 when my Dad & Granddad were at Hove for what proved to be A Really Good Day Out; well, it did finish in The White Dog in Ewhurst !!

See you at a game soon !

Lord Ric