Friendly Northampton

I was at the Northampton County ground yesterday on a glorious summers day, ideal for cricket, where Worcestershire were the opponents for the Friends Provident Trophy match. I have become fond of this ground as you are made to feel very welcome as soon as you enter the ground right from the security at the gates to the executive members. Everyone is very warm, friendly, helpful and very welcoming and you feel a part of a big family.

I was lucky enough to talk to various people at the ground and the one thing that struck me was that most people had a long association with the ground, either as members, players, staff and fans. They all loved the ground and had a passion for the County and were really proud of their achievements. This was evident by the way people talked about the place and their experience of it over the years. They are one of the smaller Counties in the Country but they have a unique atmosphere far removed from the hustle and bustle, impersonal and sometimes arrogant nature of the bigger Counties. Commercial aspects are very important as each County has to work hard to survive and has to become more business minded in their approach to running the club, but it is good to see that the human factor is still retained, which is what appeals to people who love the game of cricket.

Whilst I was busy with my assignment for the day, I could not miss a brilliant century by Graeme Hick for Worcestershire. He is still a class act and played all the shots that he is so renowned for. He looks the complete cricketer and makes you sit up and take notice. It begs the question of why he could never transfer this kind of form into the international scene. His 120 out of a total of 302 set up a comfortable victory for the visitors in the end.

I was keeping half an eye on the score at the Test match in Manchester.This is the home ground of Monty Panesar, who was on duty with England, and one of their key bowlers that could help them secure a win. Monty played well but there was dogged resistance from the West Indies, with Chanderpaul playing a characteristically gutsy innings with help from his colleagues. It was good to see a fightback and leaves the match intriguingly set up for the final day with the Windies aiming for a record run chase to win and England needing 5 more wickets to win the series.

As I reluctantly left the ground, I reflected on a wonderful day, rich in experience and so far removed from the maddening crowd.