When I first started the wicket was hardly ever mentioned

When I first started the wicket was hardly ever mentioned.”The chief area of debate still seems to be whether a return to uncovered pitches after more than 20 years would be beneficial to the game. It’s only in the last three weeks that we’ve really had any decent weather to get the ball to bounce a little bit. You’re not going to get a decent wicket if you haven’t got that thing shining in the sky. That’s what makes the difference.”One or two dodgy Test surfaces this summer have sharpened the focus generally on that strip of 22 yards between the stumps.

“We just haven’t got any pace in the pitches because we’ve had no sunshine.
“There’s been some funny pitches this season because everybody struggled with the weather. And it’s no use blaming the men whose thankless task it is to prepare the wickets. The head groundsman in the sky is the only one to blame and cricket, it seems, has not been his number one priority in 1997. In 1994 and 1996 Somerset’s Phil Frost was voted Groundsman of the Year for his pitches at Taunton and Bath, but he does not expect to win it for a third time “Our marks this year are much lower,” he said.

The 27- year-old Tasmanian finished with 85 in Gloucestershire’s 247 for 3 after striking seven sixes and five fours off 61 balls.. Pace and bounce It’s all the rage. Or at least it would be if there was any of either in our county pitches at the moment. But he swung once too often at Irani and was bowled, while Capel soon afterwards skied a catch to the wicketkeeper, enabling Essex able to prevent Northamptonshire from reaching 200.n Shaun Young clubbed Gloucestershire to a seven-wicket win over Derbyshire at Cheltenham for their first Sunday League win in six matches. Then, Irani skied David Capel to the wicketkeeper and in his next over Danny Law was yorked.With three overs to go Essex needed 28 to win.

John Emburey bowled two of them and Tony Penberthy the other. In the general helter-skelter three more wickets fell, nine runs were needed from the last over, two from the last ball and Grayson saw Essex home.Northamptonshire had themselves made a poor start, losing three wickets for 46 in 14 overs and at the half-way stage were only 63 for 3. Rob Bailey and Capel produced a splendid stand, adding 122 in 21 overs and taking the game out of Essex’s hands.Both reached excellent half-centuries and Bailey showed that there is no Englishman who hits a cricket ball harder. Ronnie Irani and Paul Grayson then added 72 in 13 overs, but still the asking rate was just over eight runs an over. Neither Stuart Law nor Nasser Hussain found it easy at first after the early loss of Paul Prichard.