April 2009 Archives

Warwickshire 412 for 6 (80 overs). Barker 68, Javid 9.

Barker reached 50 in 49 balls with eight fours.

There has been a remarkable number of full-tosses.

The declaration will come in a minute or two.

Jim Troughton did not excel today but his grandfather, Patrick, did in this city in 1987 when he unveiled a stylish cameo as a shabby peeping tom in the first televised episode of Morse.

Warwickshire 370 for 6 (70 overs). Barker 43, Javid 0.

Clarke did indeed reach his century from the ball after tea and then effectively declared by charging at the spinner and being stumped by seven yards. 101 from 95 balls, 12 fours, 2 sixes.

Barker now has his snout in the trough and has played some attractive strokes. "I don't like the way he bats," N.Carter has just observed. "He keeps the ball on the ground far too much."

Tea: Warwickshire 335 for 5 (68 overs). Clarke 98, Barker 12.

Piolet reached 32 from 71 balls then sent up a skier. He is, at this moment, pensively studying his dismissal on the computer beside me.

Clarke has bludgeoned 98 from 92 balls with 12 fours and two sixes and you'd fancy him to complete his century from the first ball after tea.

There has been some, if I may use this term, pie-throwing from the students this afternoon.

Ant Botha will a blood injection to address his tendonitis tomorrow but will be out for a month at least.

Warwickshire 288 for 4 (60 overs). Clarke 79, Piolet 15.

Frost skied an attempted heave to leg and was caught at point for 112 (144 balls, 24 fours).

Clarke is filling his boots and has smiting them to all parts.

Well, most parts anyway.

Just spoken to Chris Woakes. When he plays for the MCC v Durham on Thursday it will be the first time he has been to Lord's, never mind played there!

He'll go far.

Warwickshire 216 for 3 (42 overs). Frost 103, Clarke 33.

Frost reached his ton from 127 balls with 22 fours. Totally untroubled.

Clarke has just smote Young for a four and six off successive balls, the latter blow landing in a bin-liner in the pavilion.

It's useful middle practice for the batsmen, though the standard of bowling can be judged, perhaps, by the wickets having fallen to two straight balls left and a full-toss caught on the boundary.

Lunch: Warwickshire 161 for 3 (37 overs). Frost 87, Clarke 1.

Ambrose, on 16, ladled a waist-high full-toss from Young into the hands of Bradshaw deep-square leg whose fine catch, backpedalling, turned six runs into a wicket.

Young, who on the evidence of this morning, is unlikely to play for England, then delivered a knee-high full-toss which surprised Clarke into almost dollying up a return catch.

Frost 87 from 99 balls with 19 fours.

Warwickshire 120 for 2 (23 overs). Frost 63. Ambrose 6.

Troughton, on 3, played no shot at Batey and was adjudged lbw. Looked a bit high.

Frost reached 50 from 60 balls with 11 fours, most of them perfectly timed.

The bowling is earnest. There is only one Oxford University player in the Oxford UCCE team. The rest are from Brookes.

The first confections of the season - jaffa cakes - have just been passed round the press box.

Warwickshire 69 for 1 (13 overs), Frost 34, Troughton 3.

Maddy, on 23, offered no stroke to a ball from seamer Khalid and it hit the top of middle-stump, not the first time in his career that the former skipper has perished by leaving a straight one.

Trott, who was due to play here, had a stomach upset. Probably butterflies, bearing in mind what's due to occur next Saturday.

Warwickshire 48 for 0 (8 overs). Maddy 14, Frost 20.

Frost is cover-driving and straight-driving superbly, a continuation, apparently, of the excellent form he showed throughout Warwickshire's stay in South Africa.

Chris Woakes and Ian Bell have been included in England's preliminary 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.

There is a spectator strumming a guitar at deep point.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. The Parks is looking sylvan and green and gorgeous as Warwickshire's players potter about on the outfield. It is a lovely, timeless sight and almost makes it possible to believe that cricket can survive the spiral of money-grabbing self-destruction on which those at the top of the sport appear destined to take it.

It is 13-a-side and Warwickshire have won the toss and will bat.

Their 13: Maddy, Frost, Troughton, Ambrose, Clarke, Johnson, Carter, Piolet, Miller, Anyon, Javid, Tahir, Webb. The latter, John Webb, is from Bromsgrove School and a batsman from the Bears' academy.

A word of warning for anyone thinking of popping along. A by-law appears to have been passed in Oxford which allows cyclists to go wherever they want whenever they want on the roads.