We Don't Like Cricket...Oh No (ratatat tat) - We Love it!

On Bank Holiday Monday, the Wookster and I went to watch the Cricket in Bristol - a 20 over match between England and Pakistan. After a week of uncertainty about whether the fixture would go ahead, we were relieved to hear confirmation on the Friday before the game, and even more relieved that the weather came good just in time.

For Chewy, it was his first ever cricket game, and a warm-up to the two Ashes test matches he has tickets for in Australia at Christmas. For me, it was the first time I had been to watch cricket since childhood, and my first international. For both of us, it was the perfect excuse to drink far too much beer and sit in the sun.



We arrived soon after noon, and quickly realised that the game didn't start until three.








After watching the players come to the field and warming up, we decided to do a lap of the ground to see what was going on. Oh, and to buy another rack of four...



There was a lovely view from the other side of the ground...



We made it about three-quarters of the way round when we reached the pavilion, only to find that the route was fenced off for the players to leave the field. I managed to get this snap of Marcus Trescothic. As I'm sure everyone knows, Mike Roberts once got him out.



We took the long route back to our seats and returned just in time to see Shoaib Akhtar bowling the opening over.



Initially I was disappointed to be sitting square of the wicket, as it's impossible to see what line the bowlers are bowling. However, you can really appreciate just how fast that ball travels. The whole crowd seemed to gasp as his opening ball flew past Trescothic into Kamran Akmal's gloves.



The biggest early cheer came when 'boom boom' Afridi dropped a simple catch just in front of us on the square leg boundary. The second biggest early cheer came one minute later when they showed the slow motion replay of the incident on the big screen. This cheer quickly turned to laughter and mockery when the screen cut away from the replay to show Afridi looking sheepishly up at the screen at his woeful effort (and then quickly looking away when he realised). How we laughed.



Trescothic (who Mike once got out, by the way) also gave the crowd something to cheer about with a number of fours on his way to a half-century...





However, it was the Pakistan fans who spent most of the innings cheering, especially when we lost three key wickets in the space of two overs, for just one run, including a Kevin Pietersen golden duck. In the end we reached a meagre 144 from our twenty overs.



So, after a pit stop for chips, toilets, and another rack of four from the bar it was time to see Pakistan's reply.



Again, there were some moments of cheer for the England fans, not least when newcomer Michael Yardy took a stunning catch over his head while diving backwards on the long-on boundary...





Also, another newcomer and youngster Stuart Broad took two wickets from two balls in his second over. 'Boom boom' Afridi, so called because of his ability to 'boom' the ball all around the ground, came to the crease for Broad's hat-trick ball. Amazingly, Afridi lived up to his name and decided to try and hit the hat-trick ball for six back over the bowler's head. There was a huge cheer as the ball hung in the air, seeming to defy the laws of gravity. It clearly wasn't going to reach the boundary. Unfortunately the English fielders didn't reach the ball either and it landed safe. Afridi went on to score 28 from ten balls, which ultimately won Pakistan the match and more than made up for his dropped catch earlier in the day. In fact, he even won man of the match.



So, we lost...with more than two overs and five wickets to spare.

Part of me was pretty gutted to have spent nearly £40 on a ticket and watched such a poor England performance. Especially with Pietersen, surely our most entertaining batter, going for a golden duck. However, it was still a very enjoyable afternoon, with a lovely atmosphere, a little bit of sun, and quite a lot of beer...

Breakout Rocked!

Next time, I'm going to take a fan.

Breakout Returns to the Croft

Firstly, apologies to those of you who have already received a text message and two emails from me about this night, especially as the second email, entitled "And here's the poster" was completely blank. I blame googlemail's unique email attachment system, which interestingly informs you that your attachment is ready, and then fails to actually send it with the email. Instead it left me feeling rather foolish, especially as I had ruthlessly sent it to just about all of the addresses from H's "I've updated my blog" emails (which seemed to include everyone in the south of England, and their Mum). I didn't have the guts to try it again.

Hopefully the night itself will go more smoothly.

I'm actually really looking forward to this one. I popped into the Croft earlier for the first time since our last night there nearly three years ago, and it's very different. For a start, they've got rid of the pool table to create a mini dance-floor in the front bar, and they've put a DJ booth by the windows, which is where we'll be playing (unless it gets really rammed and we move into the back room). Swanky sofas have replaced the tables and chairs, and there's a cosy atmosphere.

This one should be a lot more chilled than the Fez Club night a couple of months ago. Bevan and I are going to kick things off with an eclectic mix of reggae and chill before Stig plays a hip-hop set. Guest DJ King Kong will hit the decks at midnight mixing up intelligent and liquid drum'n'bass, and accompanied by my mate John "the hornblower" on his trumpet with effects. It might sound a bit odd but it's certainly original, and it's been going down a storm at Cosies by all accounts. From then on it will most likely be drum'n'bass all the way with Wilbur building things up for Bevan and I to unleash our 4-channel scratch-happy mash-up mix. It could get messy.

Do come!

Mr Freakes' 30th Birthday Bash Piccies

The Afternoon at Mark & Wendy's:







The Party Warming Up:











The 80's Sing-a-long:

















Sam Being Annoying:



The Journey back to Mark & Wendy's:



The Aftermath:







Birthday Boy Falling off Chair:



I Have No Idea:



Sam Looking Like an Old Man:



Happy Birthday Mr Freakes and thanks again for a great night.