Ranjitsinhji ... Gone

Yorkshire 557-6 Declared
v Durham 140-5
close on Day 2
at Chester-le-Street

Monday 29 June 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

The drink was out at The Stables Bar & Restaurant in the Beamish Hall Country Hall Hotel. There is a microbrewery on site. You can peer in. They badge it as Stables Brewing Company. They had seven of their own on cask. And the usual yellow, brown & black stuff on keg.

I started with Old Miner Tommy, pale, blonde, golden thing. At 3.7%. Pleasant enough. Not much going on. Easy drinking. Gentle honey sweetness on the nose. Refreshing.

Then Coppy Lane, Stout at 4.2%. Quite thin in the mouth. I don't really mind that in a stout. I'm still swirling it around. But maybe bitter just dominates any toast or smoke. There's little sweetness. Some red fruit. Nice beer.

I'd recommend both the place & the beer.

In the first dig, Yorkshire were 152-5. Durham finished Day 2 on 140-5. But, from there Yorkshire "recovered" to 557 for 6 declared. Durham are 417 behind. The follow on is 408. I bang on about how tough LVCC Division 1 is. About how 450 is no guarantee of domination. Taking 20 wickets in back-to-back innings ain't easy. Bowlers come up tired, and have to do it all again next week. But, I'll allow myself to say Yorkshire have given themselves every chance there. What. A. Day. Durham were 81-5 at one stage. The Steamroller was out.

Records tumbling in the knock by Bairstow & Bresnan. The highest 7th wicket stand ever in County Cricket. Beating Ranjitsinhji & Newham Leyton 1902. I've supped a lot of beer, but I wasn't at that one.

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