A little bit of cricket

The prospect of watching Worcestershire play Warwickshire was too good to miss, so yesterday I headed down to Worcester to spend the day soaking up the action at New Road.

Warwickshire had scored 610-6 in their innings, largley thanks to Ambrose's 251 and 162 from Jim Troughton, and Worcestershire were 116-2 in reply having lost Jacques and Solanki. Play started at 11am, giving me time for a little look around Worcester before making my way to the ground - I had a nice walk exploring a stretch of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, a great little bonus.

The cricket was thoroughly enjoyable, with Warwickshire applying pressure and Worcestershire battling to stay in the game. Moore went early for 47 (I'd only just sat down), leaving Ben Smith and Graeme Hick quite a repair job on their hands. I also had a bit of a mission in trying to stay warm - the glorious sunshine of the last few days had mysteriously disappeared behind a blanket of cloud, whilst a chilly breeze swirling around the Basil D'Olivera stand didn't help matters. I've never sat in a fridge but I guess this is what it would feel like!

I warmed myself up over lunch, aided by a nice packed lunch and a stroll around Cripplegate Park, before settling in for the afternoon session. Worcestershire lost wickets at regular intervals, including Hick for 91, to be all out for 288 and facing the follow on. In what seemed like no time, Worcestershire were 9 for 2 second time round, the clock ticked to 4pm and a third wicket went just as I was reluctantly leaving the ground. I'd have loved to have stayed for the full duration, but I had a train to catch and didn't want to get back home much later than 7pm.

Worcester was bustling as I headed up to Foregate Street for that train back to Stourbridge, and waiting on the platform gave me time to reflect - I enjoyed the day from start to finish, whilst New Road is a real treat to visit, a lovely ground with views of the cathedral and a real English atmosphere. Considering it only costs £5.10 train fare and £10 to get into the cricket, I think I definitely got value for money - so much so that I can't wait to make my next visit. I just hope they don't think I'm a jinx given the batting collapses!!