365 Sporting Days

There was a lot of angst online about Nottinghamshires intention to charge £10 for this surprise Day 5, I’d bought my tickets at the end of last summer so my £10 was long gone, and there was no way I was missing the end of this test match.

Overnight the powers that be at Trent Bridge had a rethink and made entry free, with a refund for those who’d already paid.  I donated my £10 to their Foundation, it’d been long spent.

I have a membership at Trent Bridge this summer so took advantage and went to sit in the pavilion.  It was interesting to see the history on the walls, then the honours board being updated with the names of Jos Buttler and Jasprit Burma, I presumed Virat Kohli’s name had been added the day before.

I sat down in the back row of the pavilion and then turned into a nervous cricket fan, as I sought selfies and even an autograph from Virat Kohli, I was like a child, so excited to meet these cricketers, albeit briefly.  I had Jonny Bairstow in my grasp, so to speak and messed up with my phone!  I take so many selfies I can’t believe it!! Ridiculous!  But, I was very happy to capture Virat, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravi Jadeja and Jos Buttler. I must share that all signed as many items as they were asked to and gave photos too.

Star chasing done I settled into my seat, I had a Yorkshire fan, Notts member Ron sat next to me, wow he’d seen some cricket in his time!  Chatting to those I’ve sat with really has been a highlight of this test match.  I’d been helped in my quest for photos by Dominic, sat in front of me, he was having various items signed to add to his collection. I’m hoping he’ll write something to share here in my guest blogger area.

The day wasn’t going to last too long as far as the cricket was concerned, it was a huge surprise to be there at all.  The first over went by with no drama, Jimmy withstood the bowling of Pandya,   Shami bowled from the pavilion end and again the over was survived,   Rashid and Anderson even added 6 runs in all.

Ashwin bowled the third over of the day, these photos show how high the ball must have gone from Anderson’s bat, I really think he had no idea where it was, Rahane however had it covered and England were All Out for 317.  India had won this third test by 203 runs, emphatic to say the least!  The series is still open with England having 2 wins to India’s 1.  England had been bested at every facet of the game at Trent Bridge, India were deserving winners.

Another benefit of sitting in the pavilion was being able to see the presentation up close, with his 200 runs in the match Virat Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match champagne, well deserved.  He was humble in his speech, praising the contributions of his team mates and dedicating the win to Kerala, a region of India suffering terrible floods.  The more I see and hear of this man, the more I like him.

Joe Root spoke of having to learn from Buttler and Stokes, that concerns me a lot when we consider that this is England playing in English conditions.  The English batting collapse in their first innings was beyond poor, they’re going to need big improvements before the next test in Southampton.  Jos Buttler’s innings has cemented his place as a red ball cricketer, that’s me eating my words, which I’m quite happy to do.  Ageas Bowl is up next!