Not Cricket Weather

It's been a mainly dry summer up in Yorkshire but Forrest has never had more cricket matches rained off in a single season. And there are 4 potential washouts still to come. It's so frustrating when the weather had been dry throughout the week before and then forecast to become dry again after the weekend. At least the match was called off before anyone had to set off all the way up to Middleham. That made Forrest happy, at least.

Being granted a day at home meant that I was able to watch the Hundred final. Early on in the tournament, I managed to overcome my natural objections to the format and the marketing hype and have enjoyed watching some fine cricket this last few weeks. The ECB have a tough job on their hands trying to sell cricket to a wider and younger audience. Feathers were always going to be ruffled in the necessary process of distilling 18 first-class counties down to a manageable number of teams. The biggest plus was the emergence of some exciting young talent, domestic players who were drafted in as last-minute replacements and who suddenly found themselves with a platform on which to shine. Local lad, Harry Brook, was one such name but there were several others.

What we discovered is that when you bring quality cricketers together with something at stake, quality cricket will ensue, whatever the format. My only real bugbear was the insistence on calling the new 5-ball over a 'set of five', a dictate from the top that is thoroughly condescending to its new audience and made fools out of the commentators. That aside, I think it was a success. A new tournament always takes time to establish itself. Next season will be the true test. Like the IPL, it needs to mix emerging talent with the best international players in the world. I'm certainly looking forward to the next addition.