In the Can

Middlesex 260-9 beat
Kent Spitfires 173 all out (41.2 overs)
by 87 runs

Royal London One Day Cup
at Radlett Cricket Club

Friday 31 July 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Gratuitous, opportunistic one this. I needed to be in London/South East for some shakedowns. My first time at Radlett. Straightforward outground set up. Small, comfortable Pavilion/Club House. Bit cramped for the Players/Umps though. They're effectively in the bar for their meal/innings break refreshments. White picket fence Members area out front. Well stewarded. Park benches and folding chairs. (As was the rest of the ground).

Single pre-Duckworth Lewis, pre-Cut Off, pre-Over Rate, Club scoreboard. Scorers tent. Hospitality marquee. Ice cream van. Beer tents. Hog Roast. Great setting. It's right by the East Midlands mainline railway. Hence I'll have passed it many hundreds of times. Without realising it is there.

Because, the line is in a slight cutting & the trees are high. Maybe 15 minutes schlep from Radlett Station. And once you're there, you can barely see a house or building. Fields & trees.

No cask in the Club House. Best on offer was London Pride on KEG.

Middlesex do have a ground problem. Only tenants at Lord's. More and more games. I've seen them at Richmond, Uxbridge & now Radlett. But not at Southgate, nor Merchant Taylor's School.

My drink "experiment" was broadly a failure. I thought I'd catch up on the Cans. I sourced at BottleDog in Kings Cross. Great range in non-cans. Very helpful. But, I was underwhelmed. Not much of their own range. Then Beavertown & Oskar Blues covered it. With hindsight, I should have just tracked down some IHL. Anyway I went "seriously messed about with".

Oskar Blues, Mama's Little Yella Pils at 5.3%
Beavertown, Quelle Dry Hopped Saison at 4.1%
Beavertown, Holy Cowbell India Stout at 5.6%

Happy to report all were pleasant & enjoyable. Just underwhelming.

Fairly low scoring game by modern standards. Out ground, maybe a bit slow. Fifties in the middle order for Franklin & Gubbins. Tredwell 2-24.

My head was saying Kent looked comfortable. Sam Billings 68 off 83 balls. But they've ended woefully short. Ollie Rayner 4-45.

Some classic by play from an older fella along the benches from me. He wasn't happy with the music blaring out between overs. Including Joy Division. He tracked down the Match Manager. To be told they had to keep the music on as it is an ECB Regulation. Simply, That has thrown him.

178/374