What on earth is going on? Everything is so topsy-turvy this year! Today saw the weirdest thing of all. No, I'm not talking about the weather; Monty Panesar hit a six!!
As for the rain, well, I'm English so wet summer days are hardly a surprise. Global warming has played havoc with our seasons in recent years and now Edgbaston has had England's first two-day Test match wash-out for 48 years. Actually, that did cause me to raise an eyebrow, given my childhood memories of endless TV cricket watching on a screen with a little 'R' in the corner, denoting recording of past matches when rain stopped play.
When the gales subside and the clouds move north, at least there could be some play on Saturday, although with Sunday's forecast decidedly iffy, even the current England team may struggle to bowl the Windies out twice in a day to make it 3-0. Across the country there has been very little play. Hampshire's Liam Dawson has now batted across three days for his century at Tunbridge Wells, and may well also have to pad up on day four!
As a long-suffering Somerset fan, I have sought solace in the excuse that they will never win the Championship because it always seems to rain in Taunton, thus turning potential victories into draws, depriving the county of vital points. In the same vein, Lancashire could surely suffer the same fate. So what about their triumph in 2011? They won ten matches in all, five at home, five away, including the clincher in, of all places, Taunton! Somerset won four at home and two away, but blew it by failing to win any natch in the final six weeks of the first-class season. Ah, but Lancashire played most of last summer's games in Liverpool, not Old Trafford, so maybe it was the Manchester climate which was holding them back. I suggest Somerset merge with neighbours Dorset so if we transferred our home games to Bournemouth or somewhere, perhaps we'd finally claim that elusive title at last. Yeah, dream on...
Sticking with the meteorological theme, I see that there is hot debate about the relative merits of Duckworth-Lewis against the new VJD system of reassessing limited-over match targets when rain causes a reduction in overs. I applaud the Cricinfo article's attempt to compare the two but, in the end, it's all about trying to apply science to guess what SHOULD happen when a wicket falls with X overs to play, and we all know that sport doesn't always work like that. If it did, it wouldn't just be Indian bookmakers sitting on piles of cash. The ICC has stuck with the tried and tested D/L because it has become part of cricketing life. Both appear flawed - and the infamous 22 off 1 ball scenario between England and SA is always trotted out as evidence of D/L's failings - and maybe Messrs D and L could tweak their algorithm as one-day cricket tactics have also evolved in the years since the Method was launched.
At least a method has yet to be developed for Test matches. Maybe if rain ruins three days, they should go back to an uncovered pitch and see how the batsmen cope with an old-fashioned 'sticky-dog', and the modern Health & Safety regulations! Strauss and Sammy, beware!
