Best Day(s) Watching Cricket?

NorthCountryBoy

NorthCountryBoy

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Seeing as the world has gone all retrospective here’s a try for something similar on here...

Mine is England in Durban in the Boxing Day Test of 2009, only the second away trip we’d done. Me and four mates had a horror 20 hour journey from Newcastle and rocked up at lunchtime Day 2 (we often miss the first day flying out) wrecked.

That was a great South African team of Kallis, Smith, Steyn etc and we were initially expecting England to get a shoeing on a flat pitch. England had declared on a huge score though - Bell ton - so when we started bowling we expected a bore draw.

Instead, Broad and Swann rattled through their batting line up in the early days of the review system. There were about 500 English independents in one corner and the atmosphere was quality, as close to a football terrace as it gets. Pietersen’s Mrs was on the grass banks near us and the players were loving the Liberty X songs coming from the trumpeter and hammering KP for it.

We finished off the Saffers on the morning of Day 5, a totally unexpected thrashing. After the presentations Prior, Collingwood etc started singing songs at the fans from the players’ balcony. Podgy/ Poledancer off here was staying in the SA players’ hotel and was getting drinks on Graeme Smith’s room tab. Brilliant crack in the bars around the ground after play with the English evening footy on at perfect times. Happy days.

And three days later we were off to Cape Town to watch Onions save another test, back to back amazing games...

 


Cape Town Test this year and annihilating the Aussies in the semi final last year.

f***ing miss it man and it's only been three months :(
 
Back in 2012, Durham played the aussie A side. Was free admission and not a great deal in great there as Club hadn’t really promoted game.
Sat alone initially but joined a group listening to the olympics On a blokes transistor radio. Think GB won a few medals that day incl judo and canoeing but the weather was brilliant and it was just the perfect day
Mitchell Stark got some tap off Blackwell who get putting him into the trapdoor stand each time Stark bounced him which was briefly every ball

I know its a weird one to pick out
 
Probably the ODI at CLS vs NZ in 2015. Big rain delay leaving England chasing a revised total. Got back on and the sun was blazing down, game looked done with England about 100/7 but Bairstow managed to not get bowled through the gate and played a great knock to see England home. We were all very well oiled and my mate fell asleep during the noisy finish :lol:

It should have been day 4 of the Ashes test at CLS in 2013 but I left with the Aussies only 2 down, thinking the rest of the day was petering out (my lass at the time had come to pick us up as well and I’d not planned for that day going on past 6)

Some great days watching Durham too, Colly taking a hat trick in T20 against Northants in 2011. The best days were as a young kid as Durham won so few in those days that a win was really to be savoured!
 
I left at 3 down that day with firm plans to buy a ticket for the final day

The Breen Machine said:
Probably the ODI at CLS vs NZ in 2015. Big rain delay leaving England chasing a revised total. Got back on and the sun was blazing down, game looked done with England about 100/7 but Bairstow managed to not get bowled through the gate and played a great knock to see England home. We were all very well oiled and my mate fell asleep during the noisy finish :lol:

It should have been day 4 of the Ashes test at CLS in 2013 but I left with the Aussies only 2 down, thinking the rest of the day was petering out (my lass at the time had come to pick us up as well and I’d not planned for that day going on past 6)

Some great days watching Durham too, Colly taking a hat trick in T20 against Northants in 2011. The best days were as a young kid as Durham won so few in those days that a win was really to be savoured!
Click to expand...
 
2007 Friends Provident Final
Every day of the undefeated season in the CC
1st day of the Ashes test at CLS
Seeing a day of a test at Lords against India in 2014
2014 RL Cup final
Sri Lanka Vs. Windies at CLS last year
 
I could choose many CC days watching Durham but instead will go for the 2007 FP semi vs Essex at the Riverside.

Now I admit I'm an old fashioned sod and cant get away with these 450 totals now being posted in 50 over games and much prefer low scoring games where every run is vital and you couldnt get more low scoring than this!

Essex 71 all out in 22 overs and then Bichel reducing us to 38/7 in reply and then Kaneria dropping Lord Ottis with the score on 39...next ball..no ball free hit ..next ball six from Plunkett.

Also I've never heard such cheers greeting forward defensives in a limited overs match and then when Pudsey hit the boundary to send us to Lords you could have heard the roar in..erm..CLS Park!!😀

Only downside was that a week or so later I contracted a severe form of Glandular fever and was unable to go to Lords!!
 
The Red Telephone said:
I could choose many CC days watching Durham but instead will go for the 2007 FP semi vs Essex at the Riverside.

Now I admit I'm an old fashioned sod and cant get away with these 450 totals now being posted in 50 over games and much prefer low scoring games where every run is vital and you couldnt get more low scoring than this!

Essex 71 all out in 22 overs and then Bichel reducing us to 38/7 in reply and then Kaneria dropping Lord Ottis with the score on 39...next ball..no ball free hit ..next ball six from Plunkett.

Also I've never heard such cheers greeting forward defensives in a limited overs match and then when Pudsey hit the boundary to send us to Lords you could have heard the roar in..erm..CLS Park!!😀

Only downside was that a week or so later I contracted a severe form of Glandular fever and was unable to go to Lords!!
Click to expand...
The single worst Umpiring performance i've seen too. One came off the f***ing hips and was given out.
 
Nice to see Durham win the Cup at Lords in 2007.

Probably the best Test Match I've seen, even though we lost, was at Chennai in 2008 just after the Mumbai attacks.
Collingwood and Strauss got 2nd innings hundreds.
Sehwag went ballistic, scored 83 off 68 in an opening stand of 118.
India chased down 387, the 3rd or 4th highest(I forget) 4th innings score in Test history to win.
It was only mitigated by the fact that SA were doing exactly the same thing simultaneously v Oz.
After the bombings, it meant a lot to the Indian nation, and Tendulkar said something like his second innings hundred was his most important ever innings.

NorthCountryBoy said:
Seeing as the world has gone all retrospective here’s a try for something similar on here...

Mine is England in Durban in the Boxing Day Test of 2009, only the second away trip we’d done. Me and four mates had a horror 20 hour journey from Newcastle and rocked up at lunchtime Day 2 (we often miss the first day flying out) wrecked.

That was a great South African team of Kallis, Smith, Steyn etc and we were initially expecting England to get a shoeing on a flat pitch. England had declared on a huge score though - Bell ton - so when we started bowling we expected a bore draw.

Instead, Broad and Swann rattled through their batting line up in the early days of the review system. There were about 500 English independents in one corner and the atmosphere was quality, as close to a football terrace as it gets. Pietersen’s Mrs was on the grass banks near us and the players were loving the Liberty X songs coming from the trumpeter and hammering KP for it.

We finished off the Saffers on the morning of Day 5, a totally unexpected thrashing. After the presentations Prior, Collingwood etc started singing songs at the fans from the players’ balcony. Podgy/ Poledancer off here was staying in the SA players’ hotel and was getting drinks on Graeme Smith’s room tab. Brilliant crack in the bars around the ground after play with the English evening footy on at perfect times. Happy days.

And three days later we were off to Cape Town to watch Onions save another test, back to back amazing games...

Click to expand...
Class that like.
Sung by Decko
Someone else who was there told me about that as well.
Reckoned it was superb.
 
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The Red Telephone said:
One of my biggest regrets- me and my late father in law saw the first eight wickets and then it began to rain.
As it looked set and I live less than a mile from the ground we decided to head back home and check Ceefax and when it announced play had started we headed back down but missed his final two!!:cry:
Click to expand...

You must live near me! Sure our paths will have crossed at some point.
 
El Oso said:
Nice to see Durham win the Cup at Lords in 2007.

Probably the best Test Match I've seen, even though we lost, was at Chennai in 2008 just after the Mumbai attacks.
Collingwood and Strauss got 2nd innings hundreds.
Sehwag went ballistic, scored 83 off 68 in an opening stand of 118.
India chased down 387, the 3rd or 4th highest(I forget) 4th innings score in Test history to win.
It was only mitigated by the fact that SA were doing exactly the same thing simultaneously v Oz.
After the bombings, it meant a lot to the Indian nation, and Tendulkar said something like his second innings hundred was his most important ever innings.


Class that like.
Sung by Decko
Someone else who was there told me about that as well.
Reckoned it was superb.
Click to expand...

Yeah there was basically no one in the ground on Day 5 and when he sang it during play the whole place fell silent for it, one bloke’s love song echoing around Kingsmead. Prior was loving it as you can imagine.

Cape Town Day 5 may well have topped it mind had we went....!
 
I've got two:

First was the 5th ashes test in 2003 at the SCG. We'd been hammered in that series and were 4-0 down, but we played well that test, a magnificent 183 for Vaughan in the 2nd innings put us in pole position and 7 wicket masterclass from Caddick won the game on the final day. Add in that arch nemesis Steve Waugh retired from the ashes with a loss, but still managed a century in the first innings, was quite poetic, he got a good send off. There was a good atmosphere, i was sat with the mrs in amongst the barmy army and Brett Lee took a hammering on the final day, every single delivery all day being called a no ball, but he took it all fantastically well. I've had so much respect for him after that day.

Second was ashes first test in 2009 at the SWALEC. We were sat in front of a row of Aussies and it was consistently good banter. The beer snake, looking like we'd lost it and then somehow hanging in there for a draw in the final day with Anderson and Panesar at the crease. There was a cracking atmosphere at the end.
 
NorthCountryBoy said:
Yeah there was basically no one in the ground on Day 5 and when he sang it during play the whole place fell silent for it, one bloke’s love song echoing around Kingsmead. Prior was loving it as you can imagine.

Cape Town Day 5 may well have topped it mind had we went....!
Click to expand...

Aye, didn't want to say owt about CT day 5 like.......
But seen as you brought it up, it was canny.

For occasion, saw us win the Ashes at Leeds at as went 3-0 up in a 5 game series in 1977.

Also saw Day 4 in 1976 also at Headingley.
First ever day of Test cricket for me, aged 13 and it was against the truly great West Indian team of Roberts, Holding, Richards and Lloyd to name but a few.

Saw the highlights recently of that day and Richie Benaud said at close, something like that is was one of the best 4 or 5 days of Test Cricket you would ever see.
EDIT
He actually said
One of the greatest 4 days cricket I've ever seen in my life.

That was the series that Tony Greig said he'd "make them grovel."
 
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