Not bothering with the test ... but may be seen in Chelmsford on Saturday 5th July .. although I may decided to watch it on Sky

btw I notice our Bristol correspondant has been quiet about Wednesday's FPT match

Yeah, I may be there myself. Though it's one of those matches that membership doesn't cover, so I'll actually have to get round to buying tickets in advance. Which may or may not happen.

My main disintentive is that it's over a 350 mile round trip

Just setting off for Trent Bridge........about a six mile round trip

See if you can find out what they've done with the real Jimmy Anderson...

and will remain so. game was effectively over before mid-day.



anderson's alright, just a little inconsistant, but then he's spent all of his international career on trial, unlike, say, harmison.

he's also a really nice bloke, i had a bit of a chat with him at the 20-20 finals day last year when i literally bumped into him walking around the outside of the ground.

Ah, that would show true devotion then. 'Tis about 120-mile round trip for me.
If you do go, be warned that parking in Chelmsford is a nightmare. (Sorry, you may already know this...)

Taa for the info ... Chelmsford is the only county ground that I haven't been to ... if I did attend it could be by coach if one is travelling down. We did do Bristol by car for a semi a few years ago (Yorks lost ) .. as it was 'holiday' time we left rather early ... & were outside the ground by 8am!!

To be honest you haven't missed much... the Chelmsford ground is a bit of a tip. They're supposed to be redeveloping it in a couple of years, and if it happens it'll be closed for the 2010 season, I think. And I'm not too impressed with the look of the plans, anyway. I still have a longing for the days when Essex played a lot more festival cricket in grounds round the county. Those were the days! [Just about refrains from going into old codger grumble mode.]

But given the parking problems, if you do come to Chelmsford then coach would definitely be the best idea. Should be fun.

Do they have like these new styled apartments that back right onto the Chelmsford ground or are they totally different buildings (or a totally different ground)?
I keep thinking someone's gonna smash a six right through the window whenever I'm watching a game there on the telly.


p.s. Warks are top of Div 2 - how appalling must this division be???

Today showed why 'proper' cricket should continue ... starting at 12-0 needing around 320 Somerset lost to Yorkshire by 40 runs when for much of the afternoon us Tykes thought we'd lost it

byw Thanks to England for dropping Hoggard ... most Yorkies would prefer the Hoggster bowling for us rather than England ... especially as our overseas bowler (NeveedRana) did his hamstring at the Oval ... whilst batting

The latest idea is to cut the championship to 12 games


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cri...icle4100399.ece

The Richard Heads who've proposed this will ony be happy when they've killed the county game ... it will be the end of county membership if they do ... Yorkshave around 8,000. Then a few years time when they've killed the 20/20 idea by palying too many we'll have the 1diots bleating that there's no cash

To put it susinctly ... LEAVE THE BL**DY CHAMPIONSHIP ALONE ... it's still be best supported domestic competition in the world.

Couldn't put it better myself. And I get frustrated now at this time of year because there's no "proper" ccricket around for a while. Mind you, poor old Essex could do with the break, to be honest.

Oh, and yeah, Chelmsford does now have some swish flats overlooking the place. There'll be even more after the redevelopment.

The death knell sounds on the sport of cricket.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7447618.stm

Cairns to re - join Nott's

It's just not right, in so many ways, is it? And what gets me is how many people seem so pleased with themselves about it.

I tried really hard to get excited about the beginning of the domestic T20 last night. Honest.

You're right barking. They try to sell it the supporter by declaring how much money players are gonna make from this. Yeah how exactly does that improve it as a spectacle for me then?

well, it wll cost you more for a start. thereby giving you an air of exclusivety. oh yeah, and alienation.

As Yorks lost heavily to Derby I've already given up on the 20/20 season. A mate phoned today.... there's a good chance we will be travelling to Chelmsford on 5th July

Which reminds me, I have to buy our tickets...
Essex have had a T20 win against Surrey (and any win against Surrey is a thing of joy), followed by a bad defeat against Middlesex. We are going nowhere fast.



Exactly. And if you're a fan of the game already, then there are only so many gimmicks that you can take. So what's next? Cricket played on a pitch over a shark-infested pool, with a trapdoor opening under a batsman when he gets out? Actually, I might watch that...

We keep hearing about the massive crowds at 20/20 games ... this might be true for some but I've been told that for Yorks vs Derby the crowd was similar to a one day crowd when there's good weather. This isn't unusual at Headingley, which is only 'busy' for the Roses game. The reason is that its the Yorkshire CCC. I know from experience that people travel distances to county & 1 day games. I normally sit with a variable group of friends that comprises people travelling upto 75 miles each way with only 1 of our number living locally. To see a single days play 'at home' I have about a 70 miles round trip. For a 20/20 game where I have to pay (my membership is for championship & 'normal' 1 day games) it's just not worth the hastle.

20/20 crowds can only realisitcally be drawn from around Leeds which limits the potential numbers. It's hard to get to the ground after work if you're outside the city & 20/20 doesn't really attract pensioners

I've just been told that I will be going to the Essex vs Yorks semi. Don't know how we're getting their yet as we need a lot more for a coach. The good news is that it's only £12 for members ... including us Yorkies ... which we totally approve of.

My visit will mean that I've seen Yorks play on every county ground as Chelmsford is currently the only one I haven't visited .. although I've only seen 1 day games at Canterbury, Bristol & Cardiff

Similar story here, Red Star. We have the same deal about membership. And it takes me about an hour and a half to get to the County Ground. And to be honest it's just not worth it for a couple of hours of slap-bang-biff cricket.



Yeah, I'm pleased that they've done that deal on admission for the semi. £12 adults, £6 juniors for members of both counties is not bad at all. Prepare yourself for the wonders of the Ford County Ground...

Warks are starting the 20/20 with three away matches and we've gained two ties from the first two. I wanna go New Road on Tuesday but not sure if it's going to happen now.


Did you go down yesterday Moster? Sounded pretty exciting what with the last ball boundary and all.

Red Star, if you're coming to Chelmsford for the semi then I'd say you definitely need to do it by coach. Essex are saying they probably won't have any parking at the ground, as the damn Sky vans will take up the car park.

Taa, but it all depends on numbers. Weneend a virtually full coach for the cost to be anything like reasonalble ... I was led to believe that there is a multi-storey car park that's normally full with commuters that we should be able to get into as its the weekend.

Yeah, that is true actually. Being as it's a Saturday, there are a few car parks within walking distance that you should be able to find space in. And Essex often manage to do a deal with the local council to have the use of the car park at Meteor Way for members. I don't know whether this would apply to Yorkshire members too. It's a few minutes' walk away.

Just setting off to Birmingham for the Edgbaston game tomorrow.


I'm taking my brolly.

I've a feeling Aqua is going to be needing his brolly .. I hope the weather improves mate

We keep being told that 20/20 attracts massive crowds ... was I the only one on here to notice that Old Trafford was no where near half full for last nights televised game against Durham

After the total c*ck up at Edgbaston today I expect to see a rant on here from Aqua ... just to say I agree with him in advance. I aslo hope he made the best of it.

No, you're quite right. Too much of a good thing, eh?
Oh, except I don't actually think that T20 is that much of a good thing anyway.

Total fiasco at Edgbaston. Sorry for anyone who was there.

My friend was stuck in one of the open top stands at Edgbaston yesterday. It was funny really cos tho I only live a matter of miles away from there, there always seems to be a five/ten minute difference in the weather so I was predicting when the brighter spots were coming.

I was in the best place. Spread on the sofa with a book and a beer.

Not chuffed.
Waited for 4 hours for play to start and then after 13 overs the heavens opened.
By this time we were cold, wet and generally miserable so we left.
Some of the party predicted no more play for the day but I, being slightly more cynical, mentioned that they would somehow play at least another 12 (despite the weather and light) to ensure that they didn't have to refund any ticket money.
Watching the end of the game on TV it was somewhat annoying to see that the conditions that they were playing in were far worse than the conditions in the morning when they were 'unable' to start.
So, what with the ticket and travel fees, I paid about £1.09 for each ball that I saw of a game that had no result

Ho hum.........a deserved win for Red Stars team at Trent Bridge.

Nott's started well but (as seems to be happening more and more recently) fell to pieces in the batting order and were fairly woeful in the bowling / fielding stakes

Red Star, if you're still coming to Chelmsford tomorrow than Essex are saying that the car park at Meteor Way will be made available for the use of members. I assume that means Yorks members too. Might be worth a try.

Sadly the weather forecast is not the best...

Getting to the ground was easy (we were there before 9am) & so was parking in the pay & display. We had a good walk round ... the griddled burger was nice, as was the museum & they even had real ale in the members bar (1 pint of Shepherd Neame Master Brew beofre the start) ... not too keen on the lack of space ... we were on the 'top deck' in front of the press press box .. the game was best described by a lady we met on the way out ... she's an ex-teacher & just said 'not good enough' .. refering to Yorkshire on the day.

Ah well tonight it's the 7th Durham vs Yorks game on of season ( 2 championship, 2 FPT & 2 20/20 so far) ... Dirham havewon most of them so we're not exactly confident

Glad you got there ok, Red Star, and hope the experience wasn't too painful. They did seem to have tried to pack a lot of people in on Saturday, and Chelmsford can feel a bit squashed at times. It would've been a lot closer match apart from another incredible knock from Napier... Wasn't expecting us to have a Lord's final this season, to be honest.

And yes, the beer ain't too bad. I was driving on Saturday, so didn't get to sample it this time.

Tonight we have Northants Stealboks. In a match that may well be decided by the toss.

This was my first visit to Chelmsford.....it's a bit small ... provided the weather is good Yorks do get 5-6,000 for a pro 40 game .... at Scarborough (I've been there with 11,000) ! I wasn't driving but it wouldn't have mattered as it was only 1 pint before the start .... I feel I have to have one if the beer is cask conditioned. I felt we lost it when Pyrah & Rashid bowled for 10-12 overs in tandem ... Essex were milking 6-8 an over without any difficulty. G**gh should have tried something (McGrath was one alternative that wasn't tried) instread of letting things drift. Napier could go into 'hitting mode' because there were enough wickets left. If Essex had been under pressure things may have been different .... to be fair it must be said that Hoggard acting as though he didn't want to be there was a big hinderance.

Crikey.............Nott's may still be in the T20 depending on the outcome of this inquiry

So a lad who's lived in England for years and actually captained the England U15 team isn't allowed to play because he has a Pakistan passport but Di Venutu can play as an Enlishman because his mother once went on a visit to Italy when last year he wasan Australian

Yes it's an almighty c*ck up on Yorkshire's part ... but why did the ECB wait until the day of the match before taking action ... or has someone waited until this day to inform them of something they should really know/

It seems totally incredible. Actually, it would seem totally incredible to anyone who's unfamiliar with the way the ECB generally functions.

Feel sorry for the lad, who seems to have got caught up in the said c*ck up through no fault of his own. And I'd guess there must have been a few unhappy people who'd come to watch a game of cricket last night too...

Meanwhile, Essex have had a not-bad-at-all couple of days. Thought they'd blown it last night when they held back letting the man of the moment have a bat till the last few overs. But chasing under the floodlights at Chelmsford is famously difficult. I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if they actually win either the FTP or the T20. But didn't think they'd even get this far this season.

I must admit to getting paranoid over all this .... Rafiq played because our alternative spinner ('Aunty' Wainwright) was injured in a previous 20/20 match but also because the ECB wouldn't let Vaughan play in the game ... Vaughan was at Loughbrough ... about 20 miles away btw

Last Saturday in the FPT semi Cook scored a rather fine 95 for Essex whilst Vaughan again wasn't allowed to play by the ECB

I have to agree that was a ludicrous situation. It's very hard to fathom what the ECB's up to sometimes.

I suppose the ECB would say they were trying to protect Vaughan's dodgy knee... but it did seem unfair on Yorkshire.

Mind you, Essex do often function better as a one-day side without Ali Cook. But it was a good innings-anchoring knock on Saturday.

Yorks were told that Vuaghan was to be 'rested' from the semi before the Durham match where he injured his knee.

Hmm. I guess the ECB have a certain neurosis about the state of Vaughan's fitness. I'd still have liked to see him playing for Yorks in the semi. On the basis that when you go to see a match you want to see teams playing their strongest XI.

Our 20/20 campaign is done with for another year then. Woakes went for 48 off 3.3 overs which probably means he'll be getting an England call up promptly.

It's a lottery this 20/20, don't care what anyone says.

Yorks have been thrown out of the 20/20 ... it's obvious that the ECB only care about paperwork as the 17 year old lad who cause the problem has captained Englandat U15 & played for the U16 & U17 teams ... unfortuantely Rafiq was born in Pakistan & doesn't yet have a UK passport ... even though he speaks witha broad Barnsley accent & came over to Britian when he was 8 or 9.

After the Durham chief execs comments (that they should get a bye to finals day) I hope Notts slaughter them in the quarter final ... poor Durham won't be able to have their full strength 20/20 team as the 2 South African Lurpacks signed on short term contract won't be available .. although Di Venutu, an Aussie playing on an Italian passport (so they can get in another overseas player), will be there.

..........Not all done yet Red Star - appeals may well be in the offing....

I have to say I was tempted to shed a tear for poor Durham when they started saying how unfair it all was that they might not be able to play their strongest T20 team... The simple answer to that, dear Durham, is to use proper, England-qualified, preferably home-grown players.


This whole player registration thing is a ludicrous mess, and needs to be sorted out pretty damn quick.

I don't hold out much hope of the route ... btw I do have to say how well the Notts hierarchy & their fans have reacted. They could have moaned about ineligble player (as Yorks probably would have) but haven't. I go onto a number of cricket forums & to a person the Notts posters have all said they were awful on the day & didn't deserve a replay. So please do the right thing & hammer Durham in the game.