Twitter and Cricket: #KnightGate

"I don't even know what it does", said Geoffrey Boycott on Test Match Special during the evening session of the latest Test with the West Indies. The microblogging social networking website of Twitter has grown in popularity and stature since its formation in 2006 and it has many fans. I, having grown up with websites like Bebo, MySpace and Facebook, am included in this and having had an account on the site for nearly three years, I spend a lot of time on it.

Twitter, like any social networking site on the internet, is a hive of information. What Boycott, and others, don't seem to understand is that it's a site for discussion, entertainment and sharing of knowledge. Some tweeters may well have a tendency to update you with what they had for breakfast, but others will have something genuinely interesting to say. Friendships can form on there. My passion for cricket and sport in general has allowed me to meet people who have similar interests to me and means that, finally, I have someone to watch sport with, something that never happened when I was younger.

Of course, my banal rambling aside, Twitter also provides a platform for the celebrity, politician or sports star to share details of their life. One of those characters is that of Kevin Pietersen, who this week got in trouble because of his comments about the Sky commentator, Nick Knight:

Now, I'm not really a big fan of Nick Knight's commentary style. I have nothing against him as a person and I will give credit where it's due, as he's improved since I saw him presenting my mum's ECB coaching videos, but there's just something about the way he commentates that I don't like. Of course, some people do like it. Others think Ian Botham is a superb commentator, others can't stand Henry Blofeld's love of pigeons and nobody is ever quite sure how they feel about Nasser Hussain. James Anderson has his own opinions on commentators in general and said in a recent feature in the latest edition of The Cricketer that "Cricket commentary must be one of the hardest jobs in the world. It is the only way I can make sense of how so many of them talk such absolute guff".

Pietersen was fined a reported £3000 for the tweet and, of course, it's not the first time Pietersen's been in trouble over his use of Twitter. In 2010, he announced he'd been dropped from the ODI squad having apparently forgotten how to use the direct messaging service. He was fined for his comments back then as well and this, arguably, was a far more worthy reason for him to be fined. Other English cricketers have got into trouble for their use of the site. Tim Bresnan was less than impressed with someone's creative use of Photoshop and the Yorkshire all-rounder Azeem Rafiq was banned after a Twitter rant. There are those, such as Graeme Swann, who use Twitter to entertain (and make fun of Steven Finn or Tim Bresnan). David Lloyd and Michael Vaughan, both former players (and in Bumble's case, coaches) turned commentators enjoy filling your timeline with those who 'abuse' them and their attempts to outwit/humiliate the perpetrator.

The relationship between the sports star and the media has become one of the player presenting a bland front and not really saying much. Cliches galore have slipped into speech, sometimes a sparkle in their eye suggests they want to get something off their chest, but they can't. Even the England Lions receive media training as part of their development. Presumably this'll now include a module on Twitter etiquette. However, Pietersen's not going to stop tweeting, nor will his opinion of Nick Knight change. There are those who will argue that if Knight's allowed to criticise Pietersen, how come Pietersen isn't allowed to criticise Knight? There are others who will say that Pietersen should be respectful and wonder what the reaction would be like if this was a team mate or member of staff. Mind you, we know what happens when he criticises a member of staff, don't we?

It's also not the first time that an England cricketer has singled Nick Knight out for criticism. During England's ODI series in India, in which Stuart Broad was sat at home eating crackers/what was really just a student diet and saying that this was really beneficial to his beanpole body, Broad tweeted this:

Maybe it was because it's Stuart Broad, someone who some don't think suffers from chronic foot-in-mouth syndrome. Maybe it's because it was said during the ODI series in India which everybody seems to have forgotten about. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but had this been said during a home series, would it have caused a similar reaction? With Pietersen causing headlines with seemingly every move/statement he makes, has he just become an easy target?

Twitter is a fantastic platform. In a way, it's like a massive press conference, only with more grammatical errors, overuse of exclamation marks and sometimes horses. With more and more cricketers signing up, opinions, spats, and the odd gaffe (Dale Steyn tweeting an "accidental cobra" in the background of a picture, for instance) are now a part of the game. And this will mean that it will continue to perplex and baffle the likes of Boycott and the technophobe Alastair Cook. But it will also continue to create debates and sometimes allows people to feel closer to the action, something which should be celebrated, and not scorned.

England v The West Indies: The Lord's Test, Day 1

There's something magical about the first Test of the international summer in England. It might be the muffled applause of the gloved hands, echoing around a three quarters full stadium. It might be the fact that champagne bottles adorn the boundary as those adorned in red and yellow stripes decide that 11 in the morning is a superb time to crack out the alcohol. It may just be that long suffering England fans are finally able to watch international cricket in their own time zone. Anyway, Test cricket's back and it's at Lord's.

Who would be England's third seamer? Well, after a comment from Mike Atherton about Strauss being "long in the tooth", it was revealed that Tim Bresnan had made the cut. Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow was to make his Test debut and was presented with his cap by close family friend, Geoffrey Boycott. For the West Indies, Ravi Rampaul had a stiff neck so it handed a Test debut to Trinidad quick (I'm just going from reports here. I didn't quite reach West Indian domestic cricket in my winter exploits) Shannon Gabriel.

Still, cricket's back, rubber ducks are back and awful puns may or may not be back. Here's day 1 from Lord's:

England v West Indies: A Test Series Preview

Ah yes, it's that time of year again. Rummage around in the back of your wardrobe for those winter thermals that you put away during the heatwave in the final week of March, dust off your hand warmers and brush England's winter exploits to one side because England's international summer kicks off tomorrow. It's back to the green and pleasant land of seaming pitches and, presumably, empty seats because it's May. In England. And it's the West Indies.

The West Indies arrive and prepare to play in country which can't seem to decide which season it is, with the weather ranging from sunshine to hailstorms in the space of an afternoon. Around the county circuit, it's been a spring of discontent. My own county of Essex have been struggling since their first, and so far only, victory of the season in the first County Championship match of the season and other teams have also struggled to reach 200 on a regular basis. Days have regularly been washed out, with New Road being half submerged in water for a few days and a match at Gloucestershire being abandoned without a ball being bowled. It wouldn't be surprising if, like the Sri Lanka series last year, the three Test matches to be played are rain affected at some point.

Such is the beauty of the British weather. This isn't the MET Office and I long since gave up any dreams of being a meteorologist when I realised it'd help if I wasn't afraid of thunder storms, so I digress and move onto the cricket. Long ago, the West Indies coming over would've sent fear through the England batting order, and they wouldn't even need a spinner to do that. Today, anything less than an England whitewash would be seen as a disappointment.

To expect the West Indies to challenge in early English summer conditions is difficult, especially against a side who haven't lost a Test series at home since 2008, but they're not as bad as some make them out to be. Granted, they're not likely to be challenging for the number one ranking (although the top five is a target) and are liable to a collapse of England against Ajmal proportions, but they are, like many sides in international cricket have been, a side in transition. Ottis Gibson has been their coach for over two years now and captain Darren Sammy has been in charge of all three formats for around a year and a half.  They are a young side, with the average age of the squad for this series being around 26, but they do have some bright prospects coming through.

In the squad for this series, only five of those who came over in 2009 remain in the squad. One of those who remains is Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who in 2007 proved a stubborn thorn in England's side and, as recent showings against Australia suggest, he has the potential to do that again. For many years he, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle have been the major batsmen in the West Indian line up, but with Gayle's changeable relationship with the WICB and Sarwan's loss of his central contract meaning he now props up Leicestershire's middle order, Chanderpaul must act as a 'father figure' of batting to the youngsters coming through.

One of these batting youngsters is that of Darren Bravo. There's a mandatory reference to him being Brian Lara's cousin, left handed, etc. here, but Bravo is one of the West Indian players I'm excited about. This may be because I'm, somewhat unfairly, subconsciously comparing him to his half-brother Dwayne's performance at the Rose Bowl for Essex in 2010, but I'm hoping that Darren Bravo performs this series. He played a handful of matches for Nottinghamshire last season and his average was in the mid-30s, but in the warm up match against the Lions he got a half-century in each innings. He had a disappointing series against the Australians, but after 30 Test innings, his average is a relatively healthy 49.59. If he can perform in English conditions, then that would be wonderful for West Indian cricket, especially with the lynch-pin of Chanderpaul being 38 this year.

On the bowling front, England would do well not to completely underestimate them. Whilst the England Lions cruised home to a 10 wicket victory in Northampton, when Darren Bravo's coming on as first change, you know something's not quite right. Kemar Roach did not bowl in the second innings, and Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul only bowled 10 overs between them. They bowled the combined total of 45 in the first. Should Edwards, Rampaul and Roach be fit and firing for the series, then England may well face some tricky spells. It won't exactly be the stuff of West Indian legends, but Kemar Roach, like Darren Bravo, is a West Indian youngster I'm excited to see in England.

Roach currently has 62 Test wickets under his belt and was the leading wicket taker for the West Indies against Australia, where he took 19 at 19.73. He can be expensive at times, but the 23 year old has pace and in the seamer friendly conditions of the early English summer, this may cause the English batsmen a bit of difficulty at times. 

Darren Sammy and Ottis Gibson aren't stupid though and are fairly realistic about the West Indies chances in the Tests. They know how strong England are at home and are also aware of how brittle their batting line up is. The ODI series is the one that the West Indies are more excited about, especially with the return of Chris Gayle. Sammy will be hoping that his young side will be inspired by the surroundings of Lord's and the potential to be on the honour's board, whilst Ottis Gibson has been left hoping that the match reaches four days.

When you look at the England bowling attack, though, it might take the weather to take the Lord's Test to a fourth day. England's bowlers have been superb over the past couple of years and this winter demonstrated that to full effect. They, especially James Anderson, toiled away in the searing heat of the Middle East and Sri Lanka and helped give England platforms that their batsmen failed to capitalise on. All the talk before this series is of who will be that third seamer. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann (although how much he will be used is up for debate) are all shoe ins, but it's a choice of lucky charm Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn and Graham Onions for that final piece of the bowling jigsaw. 

I would expect England to select either Steven Finn or Tim Bresnan. Finn has come on leaps and bounds in the past year and would be playing at his home ground, but I would be tempted to go for Graham Onions. He picked up 7 wickets against the West Indies the last time they played at Lord's. In the County Championship match between Middlesex and Durham, he bowled Andrew Strauss for 0 and 6 on his way to picking up excellent match figures of 10-73. He is the fourth highest wicket taker in Division 1, with 23 at 14.52. Durham have had an awful start to the season, but Onions has stood firm and performed when required. I would love Onions to play, but that may be for sentimental reasons because I still remember the treatment of him in South Africa in 2010. Then of course there's Tim Bresnan. Bresnan had a superb series against India last summer and was a noticeable absentee in the disaster in UAE. He returned for his first Test match of the winter in England's victory in Colombo, where he wasn't really in on the wickets, but provided England with something different in the middle overs.

Of course, the bowling debate is something of a positive to have come out of England's dismal winter. The form of Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell's awful time of it are two things that have been much discussed in the run up to this series. Ian Bell had an incredible 2011 and it seemed like so much had been put behind him, but a miserable time of it at the hands of Ajmal and co was not exactly ideal for his confidence. He began the county season with three low scores, before hitting 120 out of Warwickshire's first innings total of 267 against Durham. He followed this up by then scoring 82 not out against Northants to guide Warwickshire home in a CB40 match. However, he decided to play for the England Lions and managed only 29 before being bowled by Roach. He didn't get a chance to bat in the second innings, but Bell, when he's on form, is a wonderful player to watch and I fully expect him to find 'form' again this series.

Andrew Strauss, on the other hand, remains centuryless. After the "witch hunt" of Sri Lanka, the cauldrons and broom sticks are probably on standby and packed in a cupboard in the Lord's media centre. Strauss has not had a happy start to the season, his highest score so far for Middlesex is a mere 49 against Worcestershire. His last first-class century came in a warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Development XI in March, but for his last Test century, you're heading back to the happier winter times of Brisbane in 2010. For his last one on home soil, you have to go back even further to the Lord's Test of 2009. With South Africa meaning far, far sterner bowling tests are coming, Strauss will know that he needs to find form, and will be trying his best to find some. 

A timely Ravi Bopara thigh injury has meant that he's now on the sidelines for at least two weeks, meaning that England have decided to hand the batting at number six baton to Yorkshire youngster, Jonny Bairstow. Bairstow is an incredibly exciting prospect and has shown himself to possess an incredibly cool head in limited overs cricket. On debut against India, he basted 41 off 21 deliveries and handed England a 3-0 series victory. If he can perform well in this series, the hapless Bopara may well have run out of England chances without having played a Test match for England since August 2011. Still, England have been lacking a northern ginger ever since Colly retired last year, so Bairstow is a welcome addition to the squad.

Anticipated result: England 2-0 West Indies (weather affected Test being a draw). If the weather's good, which it probably won't be judging by the first two months of the county season, then you would expect England to win 3-0. The West Indies have some talented youngsters coming through, but with the clouds gathering and England back on the green, seaming pitches of home, you get the feeling that the Calypso Collapso headlines may not be that far away.

The ducks will be back, probably, as I slowly try and not fail my second year. Anyway, here's to the English summer and being able to watch cricket in your own time zone again! 

Close Encounters, Umbrellas and an Abandonment: Day Four, Yorkshire v Essex

Cheerful scenes at Headingley.

The public transport system of Sundays meant that I managed to miss Masters’ wicket of Sayers, but judging by his willingness to run in and bowl double the amount of overs that the other quick bowlers managed, it was a wicket that he deserved. The wicket brought to the crease Jonny Bairstow, and it was clear that he and captain Andrew Gale were going to go for the declaration.

Gale and Bairstow were positive. Bairstow cut Masters for 4 just before there was a rain delay. If a result was on the menu, the rain was the dish that looked the least appetising. Luckily for Yorkshire, it was only a shower, so Essex were back out with Tom Westley and Greg Smith bowling to a spread field with plenty of men on the boundary.

Smith bowled better in Yorkshire’s second innings than he did in the first. Having picked up the wicket of Joe Root, caught down the leg side, last night, he added the wicket of Jonny Bairstow too. Looking for quick runs, Bairstow went for a shorter ball and ended up pulling it to Adam Wheater at deep backward square leg.

Yorkshire’s attacking intent was clear. Throughout their mini partnership, Gale and Bairstow had pushed each other for twos, especially when the ball was heading in Charl Willoughby’s direction. In the same Smith over of the Bairstow wicket, Gale went for another six, but looked like he didn’t have enough timing on it. It was sailing to Willoughby at long off, but he somehow managed to drop it. In fact, it wasn’t even a drop. It just sailed through his hands.

About 45 minutes before the lunch break and after a Tymal Mills over, Gale decided he’d had enough. He clearly thought that there was something in the pitch, especially from the Kirkstall Lane End, for his bowlers to exploit and knew that a quick burst before lunch might see his side pick up a couple of quick wickets. There was also the weather to think about.

So, with his side 214-4 and with a lead of 261, Gale walked off. There were some murmurs in the stand, as many were confused about what was going on, but it soon became clear that Yorkshire had declared. Gale was not out on 48, but personal milestones clearly meant nothing compared to giving his side a chance at victory. Essex would require 262 in 74 overs or less and would want to show that their batting performance in the first innings was a minor hiccup.

Well, that was my hope anyway. Ryan Sidebottom and Ajmal Shahzad had different ideas, Shahzad especially. The battle of the first innings was definitely the one between Alviro Petersen and Shahzad coming in from the Kirkstall Lane End. Petersen was having a torrid time of it and it was no different in the second innings. Having managed to get off the mark, Petersen then managed to miss one that seemed fairly straight. The umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger and Essex once again found themselves losing an early wicket. 4-1 and there was still some time to go before lunch.

Tom Westley came in on a pair. Westley is a young player who, like Godleman and Jaik Mickleburgh last year, was fairly disappointing at the top of the order. With Alastair Cook returning for a couple of games in May, Westley will want to show that he deserves his chance at number three ahead of players like Mickleburgh and even Mark Pettini. He managed to get off his pair first ball and this innings played a bit better. He was hitting a lot of deliveries through the leg side and did play and miss a couple of times, but he managed to survive until the lunch break.

Godleman at the other end looked like he was also having trouble with Shahzad. Some deliveries were keeping a bit low. Petersen’s had kept a bit low, but he was also playing with his bat behind his pad, which is a huge danger in the early season conditions. Godleman seemed to be doing something similar and had survived a couple of LBW shouts until he was given out when he was on 2.

I got the camera out, Bernie got out. Sorry, Essex fans.

Like with the first innings, Godleman was not happy. The umpire took a long time to raise his finger and by this point, Shahzad’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head. For me, from where I was sat although with Essex tinted glasses, it looked a bit high. Still, the umpire’s decision is final and Godleman had to go and Essex were in a whole heap of trouble at 7-2.

Ravi Bopara once again found himself at the crease earlier than he would’ve hoped and, like in the evening session of the first innings, was having a lot fly past his outside edge. He played a lovely cover drive off Shahzad, but a lack of power combined with a wet outfield meant that it didn’t go to the boundary. Ravi played well this match and will surely be a welcome addition to the Essex middle order before England, perhaps, come knocking again.

Dry conditions over lunch meant that it looked like there may well be play for much of the afternoon session. During the lunch break Tim Bresnan was bowling on the outfield with Jason Gillespie as wicketkeeper. He hit the single stump plenty of times and must’ve spent the majority of the match sat in the dressing room eyeing up Petersen ahead of the summer.

When the players did come back out, the clouds were threatening behind the pavilion. Just after the first ball of a Sidebottom over, the heavens decided they’d open and the daily April apocalypse duly arrived. It forced Essex off at 26-2, with Westley on 12 and Bopara on 5.

After an afternoon session of several cups of tea, nearly bumping into both Graham Napier and Tim Bresnan and ending up awkwardly smiling at Charl Willoughby, the umpires emerged from the pavilion. They were joined by the ground staff out in the middle, but despite the sun coming out overhead, the weather that was threatening behind the pavilion meant that at 15:52, play was abandoned and the game was declared a draw.

Yorkshire will be thoroughly disappointed, especially after such a positive declaration. For Essex, the weather must have been of some relief and for them, it is back down to Chelmsford where they will face Northamptonshire on Thursday. There will be injury problames for Essex. Napier has just undergone his first round of physio for his calf injury, Phillips can hardly bend down and Bopara isn’t allowed to bowl. Essex will soon welcome back 18 year old Reece Topley from his England under 19 escapades, but with Napier gone, Smith and Chambers expensive, Mills only 19 and Willoughby having not bowled in a “proper” match since getting injured at Fenner’s earlier this month, the bowling attack is looking like it may well have to be the one man show of Dave Masters again.

Of course, the bowlers managed to fight back against Yorkshire, so it’ll once again be the batsmen under the microscope. Granted, it is April, Essex were playing at Headingley for the first time in, off the top of my head, three years and they came across a strong Yorkshire bowling line up, but if the side harbour serious promotion ambitions, then they can’t afford to keep losing early wickets. Even against Gloucestershire they did. Essex will be hoping that Alviro Petersen can soon begin to perform, but apart from his 156 against New Zealand, he’s been getting a string of low scores. With England presumably awaiting him this summer, if he keeps playing round straight ones, he’s going to be in for a rough time.

I wasn’t the only Essex fan in the ground. There was a lovely gentleman from Southend who I ended up chatting to during the rain delay. As we were leaving the ground after the abandonment of the match, he informed me that he was only doing the away games this year. He was all too happy to support the team, but this season he’d refused to buy membership and also refused to visit Chelmsford as he didn’t want to give the club a penny this year after the shambolic cancelling of the Southend Festival. There’s not really been a clear explanation as to why the festival has been cancelled, last year it drew in record crowds and, sadly, like with most issues that currently surround the club, the reasoning behind the decision has been kept very quiet indeed.

Still, I’ve enjoyed my hour and three days in Leeds. It’s been cold, it’s been wet and so much tea has been drunk that I was given a free one on the final day, but it’s been good fun and it was lovely to be watching the county I support in a different ground. It’s certainly an experience being an away fan at Headingley and it’s certainly one that I would thoroughly recommend. 

And if you're going to visit Headingley at this time of year, I recommend a snazzy blanket like mine. 

Sunburn, showers and Ravi Bopara: Day Three, Yorkshire v Essex

Ravi Bopara celebrates his century. He and Tymal Mills put on 48 for the final wicket.

"April is the cruellest month" said T.S. Eliot. Having been sat at fine leg at Headingley, getting sunburnt and battling the downpours, for the second day running, those words ring incredibly true.

They also ring true for the batsmen, not just from Yorkshire and Essex, but across the nation. Like yesterday, today was about one player and that player was Ravi Bopara. Out of Essex's total of 199, Ravi scored 117 and he finished not out. The next highest innings was from captain James Foster, who got 25 before edging Sidebottom to McGrath in the slips. Only Alviro Petersen and the extras got into double figures.

Bopara, having survived two separate hat-trick balls and looking incredibly uncomfortable and shifty at the crease yesterday evening, had to farm the strike to try and help Essex build a somewhat competitive total after being 42-5. Once Foster departed, David Masters came in ahead of Tim Phillips. Phillips had been missing for much of the afternoon session and hadn't bowled at all yesterday, so clearly something was up.

We soon found out that something was indeed up. When Masters was bowled by Shahzad for 1, Phillips came out to the crease walking gingerly and accompanied by Adam Wheater as a runner. 

Ravi and a batsman with a runner, it was a recipe for disaster...

Phillips can usually bat. He would, normally, be in before Dave Masters and his first-class batting average is in the low 20s. Today, however, he did not look right. He would leave his bat hanging outside off stump with absolutely minimal footwork, he couldn't bend his knees and he would only play a shot off his pads. He survived 43 balls for his 7, but there was pain etched on his face. It became clear later as he slowly made his way around the boundary and then tried to bend down to replace Tymal Mills' drink that he is suffering with a back injury.   
The wicket of Tim Phillips brought Maurice Chambers to the crease. To compound Maurice's miserable game, he was gone for a six ball duck, the fourth of Essex's torrid innings. It was also Ryan Sidebottom's 5th wicket, handing him figures of 5-30. Essex, at this point, were 151-9. Reaching 150 had looked a far cry yesterday evening, so it was a testament to Ravi Bopara who was displaying the sort of batting that most England fans, sadly, rarely see.

In came Tymal Mills. Mills' top first-class score is 8, which he got on debut against the touring Sri Lankan side. Bopara was a long way from a century and with Mills looking like a rabbit trapped in headlights, it was looking like Bopara may well be stranded.

However, Bopara farmed the strike well from the youngster. He did turn down a lot of singles, but all things considered, the amount he hit in boundaries probably made up for it. Mills scored only 2, but he batted for well over an hour and faced 41 deliveries for those two runs. At the other end, Bopara was playing some wonderful shots, including a cover drive for four. His century came about in generous circumstances, as Ajmal Shahzad gifted him a nice leg sided delivery for him to glance down to fine leg for four, a full delivery on his pads and then a ball with width.

The desperation to protect the youngster from strike soon proved the downfall for the 48 run partnership. Yorkshire were desperate for a wicket and Bopara was happy to oblige. He stormed down the pitch off the fifth ball of McGrath's over, looking for a single despite hitting the ball straight to the fielder. Mills ran, but Patterson was quicker and Essex finished 199 all out.

It's telling of the performance of Bopara and the tail that Essex fans were disappointed to miss out on a batting bonus point. To have reached 200, having been at least 5 down when they've reached 100, is something Essex have a knack of doing. It could've been much, much worse, especially if Bopara had managed to nick one yesterday evening, but a lot will be said about his innings and it will provide him with a lot of confidence before the English summer, should he be pencilled in to bat at 6.

Yorkshire had a lead of 47, something they may not have expected before the Essex innings. They reached tea 44-0, having nearly doubled their lead and Essex were desperate for a wicket. With Bopara unable to bowl due to a side injury, Phillips in the dressing room nursing a sore back, Napier out injured, Willoughby on as 12th man and a guy who's really a back up wicket keeper on the field, Essex were limited on their bowling options. Masters was ever his economical self, but Chambers was, once again, disappointing. He started off well enough, but as soon as he got straight driven for four by Joe Root, his head dropped and he was expensive. Meanwhile, Tymal Mills was hostile. He was brought on first change and soon began peppering the Yorkshire batsmen with aggressive, but accurate, bouncers. He was far, far less expensive this innings and could have picked up a wicket had James Foster had a short leg in straight away.

Tom Westley was brought on before Greg Smith, but when Smith was brought on, he was more controlled than he was in the first innings. He did, however, struggle to find the off stump, so it was no surprise that his wicket came from the leg side strangling of Root. This was my first time seeing Joe Root in the flesh, having missed his wicket in the first innings due to trains and sleeping, but he played well for his 67. Westley picked up the other wicket, that of the first innings hero of Phil Jaques. He was out LBW going for a sweep. Nice way to celebrate his new found Englishless.

If the weather forecast brings up rain tomorrow, then the most probable result is a draw. However, if not, then Yorkshire will probably be looking to attack tomorrow morning and try to declare with a 250-300 lead. If this happens, Essex will have to play far better than they did in the first innings. They will, like Jaques, Bopara, Root and Sayers, have to dig in and display patience. The performance against Gloucestershire, albeit in the first game, has shown that Godleman does seem to be in decent nick. Petersen will want to show that he can handle English conditions, even though he can't keep his hands out of his pockets for longer than the period of time it takes the ball to go past the bat. Bopara will take confidence from his century. Wheater can bat, as can Foster who can also hang around. The number three, Tom Westley, is surely aware that the ominous shadow of Alastair Cook hangs over his position, so he will want to prove himself.

Essex may not be able to pull off the remarkable tomorrow, but if they can leave Headingley with a draw and a vaguely decent showing in the second innings, then they can prepare for the visit of Northants on Thursday in a far better mood than if they leave with a heavy defeat.

"Is that your funeral outfit?": Day Two, Yorkshire v Essex

Tymal Mills (to the right of Westley and looking round) is the centre of Essex's attention on a day that ended in an all too familiar fashion for Essex.

Having traipsed across the Pennines yesterday to get nothing more than a £3 breakfast, it was a surprise that there was actually any play at all today, let alone the fact it started on time.

There was an injury blow to Essex before the start of play as Graham Napier, who has started the season very well, was ruled out with a calf injury. It's not just a blow to the county, but a blow to Napier himself, who has had many injury problems throughout his career. The injury meant that Tim Phillips came in for his first Championship match of the season. There was no place for Charl Willoughby, except seemingly as official Essex cheerleader. Yorkshire won the toss and they decided that they would bat first.

The woeful Essex batting performance (more of that later) will get the headlines, but it should not overshadow the performance of Tymal Mills. If you read this blog regularly, you'll know that I rate him a lot. It's not just because of Suffolk bias, although it certainly helps, it's because he's quick. Very quick.

Mills, 19, is a left-arm pace bowler, who has only played a handful of first-class games for Essex. He was quite expensive today, going at nearly 5 an over, but he made an impact and had a huge say in a Yorkshire collapse which saw them all out for 246. He started off from the Rugby Stand End, but was not at all happy. The poor weather was making the run ups muddy and no amount of sawdust could make him less concerned. As Tom Craddock, the legbreak bowler who wasn't in the squad today but is a graduate of Leeds MET, walked past, Mills informed him how delighted he was to be bowling from the Kirkstall Lane End. 

All the Essex bowlers were expensive today. Even the usually metronomic Dave Masters got tonked about before finally remembering that he's only going to beat them with naggingly accurate bowling, rather than attempting to bounce Phil Jaques at 78mph. Maurice Chambers and Greg Smith were especially disappointing today. Chambers picked up 2 wickets, but not before he'd been hit about by the Yorkshire top order. After his effort, Greg Smith later tweeted that he's had better birthdays. A golden duck and being smashed for 50 off 10 wicketless overs? Many happy returns.

Still, after Yorkshire had been 184-3, to get them all out for 246 was a decent effort from Essex. And Yorkshire, actually. McGrath, Rashid and Shahzad all played shots (or in McGrath's case, didn't) that were so inexplicably awful that they'd have to be rated 18 before being released at the cinema. Jaques played superbly on his return to the county and hardly put a foot wrong in his 126, before he decided he'd finally accept his invitation to the collapsing party and got out to Maurice Chambers. Westley also bowled and he picked up the key wicket of the Yorkshire captain, Andrew Gale, after he and Jaques put on a partnership of 86 for the third wicket.

Essex's batting had started well against Gloucestershire. It was almost too well. This was the side that, last season, regularly reached three figures with at least 5 wickets down. It seemed like Essex took one look at the Yorkshire scorecard and thought, "Sod this, anything they can do, we can do better."

Sidebottom and Shahzad started incredibly well. Both were getting angry and both deserved a wicket. The breakthrough came at the end of the 9th over. Sidebottom angrily appealed at the umpire as the freshly shaven Billy Godleman, having made a career best equalling score against Glouchestershire, was seemingly struck on the pad. After a slight hesitation, the umpire raised his finger and Godleman was on his way. He didn't seem too happy about it. He probably thought it hit bat first, but it's probably better he went off with his life spared, as Sidebottom was looking angry.

Westley came and went for a golden duck, again to Sidebottom. Down at the other end, overseas signing Alviro Petersen was being roughed up by Ajmal Shahzad. Shahzad was bowling well after an incredibly torrid 2011. Petersen managed to edge one through the slip cordon, prompting Shahzad to release a crude, high-pitched shriek that echoed round the ground.

It wasn't Shahzad who got his wicket though. Sidebottom was replaced by Anthony McGrath who, thankfully for Ravi Bopara, managed to release some pressure with some relatively friendly medium pacers. Shahzad was replaced by the older-than-you-think-he-is Steve Patterson, who unleashed an over that caused me to slump into my seat sobbing at fine leg.

First Petersen, who'd looked uncomfortable, scratchy and he didn't particularly like Britain's idea of April, departed. He was out LBW. In came Adam Wheater who, if this match were in Essex, would be the perfect player for this type of situation. He wasn't. He was gone for a four ball duck. Greg Smith walked to the crease. He walked straight back to the pavilion with the second golden duck of the innings.

42-5. Lovely.

If you've watched Ravi Bopara play in the whites for England, or for Essex in early April last year, then you'd have found most of his innings flash before your eyes. He, somehow, managed to survive to the close. He played watchfully. He survived many deliveries that went past the edge, managed to keep some edges down and did actually play a couple of good shots, including a leg sided flick and a cut for four. He and captain James Foster managed to survive until the close, leaving Essex on 72-5.

Essex will need these two to perform tomorrow. With no Napier and Phillips having gone missing for much of the afternoon session (he didn't bowl and Willoughby was on for much of it), Essex's tail is looking quite long. Masters can try and hit it, but apart from that, there's nothing of great substance. Essex only won one game away from home last season, and that was against Leicestershire. Before that, the last time they won away was in 2009 and that was against Derbyshire to seal promotion to Division One.

Unless the weather intervenes, or Essex pull off a magic batting performance against a strong Yorkshire bowling line up, Essex may well be facing their first defeat of the season and having to deal with the top order batting demons all over again.

Thunderstorms and a Day at Lord's: Day 1, Middlesex v Surrey

Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown (on the right sitting on the step) shows his disappointment as play is suspended by bad light during the evening session.

On a day in which wickets tumbled across the country, I found myself at Lord's watching the first day of the London derby. Now, I come from a very rural background - I have to get ducks that try and bite me out of my local library and pheasants regularly turn up in my back garden. I am a Suffolk based Essex fan who only ever travels down to London to watch sport. I've been to Lord's around five times now, but as I left the tube at St John's Wood and began the walk down to the ground, I was filled with the same childlike excitement that I've had every time I visit. And it's in this mindset that I found myself in the lower tier of the Compton Stand watching Jon Lewis run in from the Nursery End to bowl to the Middlesex openers of Joe Denly and Sam Robson.

It was, ultimately, a frustrating day to be a cricket fan at the Home of Cricket. April showers threatened, rumbles of thunder were heard and there was even flashes of lightning in the distance behind the pavilion. With conditions like these, it's not really a surprise that Surrey decided to bowl first when they won the toss.

Middlesex began watchfully. There were a couple of LBW shouts, but Robson and Denly were playing OK. The pitch looked good and there was no devious bounce, meaning both were comfortable leaving the ball without the fear of doing a Michael Clarke/Shane Watson. Of the two, Robson looked more comfortable at the crease. Denly edged off Lewis through the vacant third slip area for a boundary, and then a couple of overs later, ended up nicking one behind to give Steve Davies a relatively easy catch.

Middlesex went into lunch 86-2, with Chris Rogers having been trapped LBW by Dernbach. They were playing steadily, especially when compared to the scores from around the country. Sam Robson had been playing well for his 40 and would be hoping to continue after the lunch break. Unfortunately, the weather decided to roll in.

It wasn't as grim as the CB40 final, but that's because Somerset can't lose here.

There was about an hour and a half delay, as the covers went on towards the end of lunch. During that time I'd had a look round the MCC Library, thanks to Liz, and then spent a small fortune on a cup of tea. An elderly chap nearby me struck up conversation with me, deciding to tell me about his knee cartilage, Steven Finn needing a mean streak and how he disliked the Rose Bowl being "built on a bloody great hill", how it was "a nightmare in the winter" and kept telling me that if this match had been there, we'd have been soaked because there's no shelter. Having been to Twenty20 Finals Day in 2010, I knew this all too well and was incredibly grateful to be sat in the lower tier of the Compton Stand.

Play restarted at around five to three. Unfortunately for Sam Robson, he couldn't capitalise on his good start and departed for 40, having been comprehensively bowled by Tim Linley for 40. Middlesex were 86-3 and continuing from the Pavilion End was Jade Dernbach.

In his second over after the delay, Dernbach could've had the Middlesex captain of Neil Dexter bowled, caught or LBW off the first three deliveries. On his fourth, he finally got his man. Dexter looked to leave, but instead ended up chopping it on to his leg stump to leave Middlesex 91-4 and Jade Dernbach to jump around in celebration. The wicketkeeper John Simpson came and went, as he was out LBW for a golden duck. Middlesex were reeling on 91-5 and Dernbach was on a hat-trick.

Jade Dernbach celebrates the golden duck of John Simpson, which left him on a hat-trick.

The South African-turned Englishman-turned Italian all-rounder of Gareth Berg came in to face the hat-trick ball. He survived and ended up getting off the mark with a single after a mistake at point. Dernbach then unleashed a scream reminiscent of Shan Yu in Mulan.

Surrey were bowling well in the seam friendly overhead conditions. Berg ended up being bowled for 11 by Tim Linley, who I apparently dubbed "The Inspector" when Surrey visited Chelmsford back in September last year, leaving Middlesex 108-6. Ollie Rayner was next in. Dawid Malan was good at protecting him from the strike, but when Rayner found himself facing Jon Lewis, he was eventually beaten and bowled on the off stump for 2. Middlesex went into tea on 142-7 relying on Tim Murtagh and the not out Dawid Malan to help them rebuild to a respectable total.

Tea saw me meet up with Liz and then join her in meeting some of the Test Match Sofa crew. They are a lovely and entertaining bunch, despite obviously being "nowhere near as funny as they think they are". It was probably for the best that the tea break was coming to an end when conversation turned to my favourite all-rounder, but the philosophy of "let's drink wine and watch cricket" is one that many people I know would approve of.

Cricket fans, especially county cricket fans, are a weird and patient bunch. In football, if you had an hour's delay for the floodlights going off in an evening kick off, you'd probably find that a lot of people wouldn't be very happy. The apocalypse looked like it'd missed Lord's midway through the afternoon session, but a huge cloud had gathered around the sun after tea and it wasn't long before the two umpires had come together and told the players that they were coming off. The hover cover came on, but the umpires and groundstaff could see that there was sunlight still to come on the horizon. It just needed the clouds to shift. A gentleman in the Grand Stand decided to shout "Get on with it!" having earlier told Jade Dernbach that a delivery was "Pitching miles outside leg". Both calls of frustration echoed round the near empty ground.

Bad light stops play.

When play eventually got started again, Tim Murtagh and Dawid Malan, who was playing very well, were proving a thorn in Surrey's side. They could not get the 8th wicket. The partnership was steadily growing, and with Surrey's over rate around -3, Hamilton-Brown decided to bring on Gareth Batty. Murtagh, possessed by the spirit of England's winter in UAE, went for a massive swipe across the line against Batty in his third over and was out plumb LBW. Middlesex were 182-8 and Surrey would be hoping to finish them off so they could bat in the morning.

It didn't go to plan. Malan continued his steady accumulation and he reached 50 with a single off Batty. He barely raised his bat in recognition. The single also brought up Middlesex's 200, something that had looked increasingly unlikely around the tea interval. At the other end, Chris Jordan, Surrey's most expensive bowler of the day, was being hit around. He was having no-ball problems and Middlesex capitalised on it, with both Malan and Toby Roland-Jones hitting him to the boundary for four. 

Roland-Jones could not survive until the close and nicked one into the slip cordon off Chris Jordan. Gareth Batty had a break from kick boxing with Steve Davies and just about clung onto the catch at first slip. Roland-Jones then walked off with the second slowest trudge I have ever seen at a cricket match, the first being James Anderson crawling off at Cardiff trying to hide his sheer disappointment at being 99 runs shy of a maiden Test century.

Corey Collymore and Dawid Malan survived until the close of play, leaving Middlesex on 225-9 and Malan on 62 not out. Surrey had let Middlesex off the hook in the evening session, perhaps the bad light interruption had impacted upon them, and Malan was showing that if you got in, survived the early tricky weather conditions and played patiently, then you would be able to build an innings. His anchorage of one end and his partnership with Tim Murtagh allowed Middlesex to rebuild to a fairly respectable first innings total, especially when compared to some of the scores from across the country.

A spectator's county cricket season would not be complete without a trip to Lord's. It would also not be complete without the typical British summer weather having a say in proceedings.