It was Friday night, and therefore time to head to the Sussex County Ground for another crucial T20 fixture. Sussex have done well considering where they were in the T20 league just a few weeks ago. With one match to go, it looks like Sussex are going to be in the quarter finals, but they may have missed their chance for a home quarter final.
It was another fine evening, despite the weather during the day being a bit grey and dreary. It had cleared up and the game was played under clear skies. Sussex won the toss and decided to bat second, a strategy which had worked for them previously, but on this occasion unfortunately the Hampshire openers were too good for our bowling. Carberry fell early, but Vince batted out the innings and finished on 90 not out. It was good to see Owais Shah's brief cameo, he scored 40 from 23, and eventually Hampshire posted a total of 204-3. The pressure was on...
Wright and Nash came out and started enjoying themselves; they scored 15 off the first over, and their intent was clear. They both played well. Wright was out in the eighth over for 42, bowled by Arafat somewhat ironically, as Arafat used to play for Sussex. Nash went on to get 88, and the win was still within reach.
Unfortunately Machan did not shine; he was out for one run, and Bailey made a useful 33, but in the end it wasn't enough. We needed five runs from the final delivery, and Ollie Robinson was at the wicket. Of course, it was a dot ball, and Sussex fell short.
We have one more game, tomorrow I think, so maybe we can get a home quarter final still, but I think that maybe the chance has gone. I sat in my usual position, in the third row back, at the end of a section, so that my view of the play was unimpeded, and I enjoyed it. I was sitting next to a particularly rowdy bunch of Sussex supporters who barracked the Hampshire players in the outfield. They were quite amusing at times, although their attempts to get a Mexican wave started were woeful.
Now we're getting into the one day season, and I have tickets for those games, so I am looking forward to those. They're more my pace; T20 games, while exciting and hectic, are over too quickly. The one day games give you time to luxuriate in the atmosphere and really unwind. Bring it on, I say...
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Saturday 15-07-11 The Ashes First Test, Cardiff
Well, it should not be news to anyone by now that England won the first Ashes test in Cardiff against Australia. I think it was Botham who has the theory that the third day decides a test, and England won the third day decisively. Things were fairly well-balanced at the end of Day 2; England had put on a good score for their first innings and Australia were set fair to match it. They were 264-5 versus England's 430 all out. I did hope that if England could take three wickets by lunch, they would be in the box seat. As it was, Australia were all out for 308 before lunch, a deficit of 122.
England took their innings and lost Cook before lunch (I had a little £2 bet on Cook getting to 48, so I was disappointed). And they were all out at end of day for 289, but when the lead of 122 was added, that meant that Australia had to get to 411 to win in their final innings. England were all out with the final play of Day 3, and so Australia had two whole days, or 180 overs, to get to 411.
Unfortunately for Australia, they didn't even get to the end of Day 4 before they were all out. Only Mitchell Johnson and David Warner scored more than 50, and actually Johnson was the high-scorer with 77. But they couldn't muster more than 242 before they were all out. And so England were victorious.
I think there were small wins and benefits to both teams; Starc took five wickets in the first innings and appears to be the danger Aussie bowler. Johnson was wicketless but seemed to take it with good humour, he had a fairly good run rate of 4.44. Root, Stokes and Ali all scored highly, as did Ballance. So as expected.
It was good to see Bell get a 60 in the second innings, and I hope that is a return to form for Ronald. It is good to see him in the runs. Root also scored 60, probably without breaking a sweat, but such is the nature of cricket today.
I think at the end of Australia's first innings, the prediction was that this would be difficult for Australia to recover, and so it proved. I had a bet on Australia to win and obviously that has now fallen by the wayside, but I think an England win, so decisively, is worth a fiver...
TTFN
England took their innings and lost Cook before lunch (I had a little £2 bet on Cook getting to 48, so I was disappointed). And they were all out at end of day for 289, but when the lead of 122 was added, that meant that Australia had to get to 411 to win in their final innings. England were all out with the final play of Day 3, and so Australia had two whole days, or 180 overs, to get to 411.
Unfortunately for Australia, they didn't even get to the end of Day 4 before they were all out. Only Mitchell Johnson and David Warner scored more than 50, and actually Johnson was the high-scorer with 77. But they couldn't muster more than 242 before they were all out. And so England were victorious.
I think there were small wins and benefits to both teams; Starc took five wickets in the first innings and appears to be the danger Aussie bowler. Johnson was wicketless but seemed to take it with good humour, he had a fairly good run rate of 4.44. Root, Stokes and Ali all scored highly, as did Ballance. So as expected.
It was good to see Bell get a 60 in the second innings, and I hope that is a return to form for Ronald. It is good to see him in the runs. Root also scored 60, probably without breaking a sweat, but such is the nature of cricket today.
I think at the end of Australia's first innings, the prediction was that this would be difficult for Australia to recover, and so it proved. I had a bet on Australia to win and obviously that has now fallen by the wayside, but I think an England win, so decisively, is worth a fiver...
TTFN
Saturday 15-07-11 Sussex vs Glamorgan
Another Friday night, another T20 match. The weather was glorious, the beer was flowing freely and Glamorgan chose to bat first. That was a mistake, as Sussex like to chase, and so it proved. Glamorgan didn't score enough to make it a challenge for Sussex, Luke Wright scored 92 not out and was still in at the end (obvs). George Bailey had a bash once he got his eye on and hit the winning runs.
Sussex remain second in the table and with a home game again next Friday night, hopefully they can repeat last night's result and swing a home quarter-final.
Keepin' the dream alive...
Sussex remain second in the table and with a home game again next Friday night, hopefully they can repeat last night's result and swing a home quarter-final.
Keepin' the dream alive...
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Tuesday 15-07-07 American Horror Story: Freakshow - A Final Verdict
Freakshow was an excellent addition to the American Horror Story oeuvre. Let me get that out of the way first. Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars has found her calling. Kathy Bates, with her weird Canadian (?) accent was brilliant. I felt for all of the cast, cast as they were in their hopeless, fateful roles.
Evan Peters was brilliant, as were all repeating cast members. Frances Conroy as Gloria Mott was brilliant, and Dandy Mott played by Finn Wittrock was a tour de force. Basically, what I'm saying is that the cast was brilliant, the pacing was excellent, and the story was gripping.
It was so good that I watched the final three episodes in one burst tonight. However, I don't think I will watch any more series of American Horror Story.
My concern with American Horror Story is that the protaganists are always destined to fail. The ending of Freakshow was uplifting for one particular character, and a couple of others, but as time went on it became clear that this was not going to be an uplifting and optimistic series.
I wouldn't normally complain about being served up a quality drama series which was ultimately depressing, except for the fact that when I detach myself from the fantasy of the TV show, actually real life doesn't seem much better. The characters in Freakshow were locked into their fate, and sometimes it seems that we are all locked into our fates, guaranteed to continue along the path that we've cut out for ourselves.
I feel jealous of people like Romesh Ranganathan,not because he's a famous comedian (well, yea, that is a big factor) but because he's managed to swap jobs and roles. He hasn't let his fate define him, he's managed to escape the fate of the cost analyst and the fate of the teacher. Third time lucky. I don't know, I'm spouting on a bit, maybe I should shut up now. It is quite late, and I have had drink taken watching Freakshow. Take it from me, some soft landing is required. Especially with AHS.
Evan Peters was brilliant, as were all repeating cast members. Frances Conroy as Gloria Mott was brilliant, and Dandy Mott played by Finn Wittrock was a tour de force. Basically, what I'm saying is that the cast was brilliant, the pacing was excellent, and the story was gripping.
It was so good that I watched the final three episodes in one burst tonight. However, I don't think I will watch any more series of American Horror Story.
My concern with American Horror Story is that the protaganists are always destined to fail. The ending of Freakshow was uplifting for one particular character, and a couple of others, but as time went on it became clear that this was not going to be an uplifting and optimistic series.
I wouldn't normally complain about being served up a quality drama series which was ultimately depressing, except for the fact that when I detach myself from the fantasy of the TV show, actually real life doesn't seem much better. The characters in Freakshow were locked into their fate, and sometimes it seems that we are all locked into our fates, guaranteed to continue along the path that we've cut out for ourselves.
I feel jealous of people like Romesh Ranganathan,not because he's a famous comedian (well, yea, that is a big factor) but because he's managed to swap jobs and roles. He hasn't let his fate define him, he's managed to escape the fate of the cost analyst and the fate of the teacher. Third time lucky. I don't know, I'm spouting on a bit, maybe I should shut up now. It is quite late, and I have had drink taken watching Freakshow. Take it from me, some soft landing is required. Especially with AHS.
Tuesday 15-07-07 Some Observations on Current Affairs
It's been ten years since the London bombings and there has been coverage of the remembrance services happening today. It was a dreadful event and lots of people are still living with the after-effects of that tragedy.
Yesterday I saw that the government has handed off responsibility for free TV licences for the over-75s to the BBC. That is a bit of a surprise, as it will add almost a fifth to the BBC's annual costs. It will also reduce the costs to the government; I wonder what they're going to do with that £650 million? They're also talking about decriminalising not paying the licence fee. Currently the licence fee is classed as a tax, hence it is a criminal offence not to pay it. If it changes and it is not a crime not to pay the licence fee, then it will be more difficult to collect and the BBC will have to spend more to get the revenues it is due.
At the same time the govt is now proposing that the cap on household income from benefits will be £20,000 outside London. Well, they've already abolished child poverty so if they sort this out then they can probably call it a day for this parliament and sold off to the golf course for the rest of the term. Let's hope they don't implement any further policies to "help" the British public.
Oh, but wait! There's the first Tory budget tomorrow, which is expected to cut tax credits and allow more Sunday trading. So now the plebs can work seven days a week for less money than ever before. Way to go, fellas, gotta keep the general populace subjugated.
If the amount that the government is spending on people who need it is going down, I expect that they are planning a tax rebate of some mammoth proportions. Or maybe they are going to use that money to plug the gap caused by the reduced funds received from inheritance tax? That's right, they are intending to stop taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Still, they are the rich, so that's only to be expected. The trouble I think they'll find is that the poor voted for them, and it is the people who put them into power who will suffer due to the cuts in tax credits and withdrawal of other benefits.
I still don't really see an up-tick in the economy, I don't think anyone is getting better off. I'm alright, I don't get tax credits and i don't rely on the govt to ensure I have a living wage, but I'll tell you something, I'm bloody scared that one day I might, and then where will we be?
Just a thought...
Yesterday I saw that the government has handed off responsibility for free TV licences for the over-75s to the BBC. That is a bit of a surprise, as it will add almost a fifth to the BBC's annual costs. It will also reduce the costs to the government; I wonder what they're going to do with that £650 million? They're also talking about decriminalising not paying the licence fee. Currently the licence fee is classed as a tax, hence it is a criminal offence not to pay it. If it changes and it is not a crime not to pay the licence fee, then it will be more difficult to collect and the BBC will have to spend more to get the revenues it is due.
At the same time the govt is now proposing that the cap on household income from benefits will be £20,000 outside London. Well, they've already abolished child poverty so if they sort this out then they can probably call it a day for this parliament and sold off to the golf course for the rest of the term. Let's hope they don't implement any further policies to "help" the British public.
Oh, but wait! There's the first Tory budget tomorrow, which is expected to cut tax credits and allow more Sunday trading. So now the plebs can work seven days a week for less money than ever before. Way to go, fellas, gotta keep the general populace subjugated.
If the amount that the government is spending on people who need it is going down, I expect that they are planning a tax rebate of some mammoth proportions. Or maybe they are going to use that money to plug the gap caused by the reduced funds received from inheritance tax? That's right, they are intending to stop taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Still, they are the rich, so that's only to be expected. The trouble I think they'll find is that the poor voted for them, and it is the people who put them into power who will suffer due to the cuts in tax credits and withdrawal of other benefits.
I still don't really see an up-tick in the economy, I don't think anyone is getting better off. I'm alright, I don't get tax credits and i don't rely on the govt to ensure I have a living wage, but I'll tell you something, I'm bloody scared that one day I might, and then where will we be?
Just a thought...
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Sunday 15-07-05 Oneplus One Screenshot
There's lots going on in the world at the moment, but I'm not going to write about that. I could've read about it, but TW didn't pick up a paper when she popped out to Asda earlier. I can always scan the Guardian and Telegraph websites if I need a news fix.
The Greeks might be about to leave the €uro, we'll see shortly what the exit polls predict. That'll be interesting to follow.
We had a "Half Christmas" party yesterday so I am feeling slightly jaded. I nearly fell asleep earlier, but unfortunately I was rudely awakened / interrupted by TW returning from the aforementioned trip to Asda. So I am comforting myself with a nice sunny warm homescreen on my phone.
That is all.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Tuesday 15-06-30 My Wife The Good Samaritan
TW was awake at 01:30 this morning, which was a miracle in itself (since no alcohol was involved), but actually she had set the alarm and intended to be awake at that time. We are taking in students who are visiting the UK to learn English, and she had agreed to take in a Chinese boy. Unfortunately we were expected to collect him from Worthing Station at 23:30.
Why set the alarm for 01:30 instead, then? I hear you ask... Well, at about 23:00 we got a text message advising that our visitor was delayed, and not expected into Worthing until 01:30. Up until that point, I was going to collect him, but at that point TW told me to go to bed and get some sleep, and she would collect the new arrival. So she set her alarm for 01:00 or 01:10, and dressed and set off to the station.
She was a few minutes early, our arriving student had not yet arrived, so she busied herself surveying the scene. She noticed a young woman who appeared to be visibly upset talking to a member of the station staff. The young woman ended the conversation and was crying. TW, being the person she is, wandered over and asked the woman what was the matter.
It turned out that she was a Mexican lady travelling to Milan, and she had been in London, intending to get to Gatwick. She had boarded the last train out of London Victoria, which as any fule kno runs fast to Brighton and then along the coast to Worthing. Unfortunately not every Mexican fule kno that though... She had spoken to the taxi drivers at the station, and they wanted £100 to drive her to Gatwick; she only had £13 about her person. So that was a no-go. And her flight was at 06:00. TW took control of the situation, told her not to worry, explained why she was loitering at the train station at that time in the morning (I would have been a bit suspicious myself) and promised to get the girl to Gatwick.
So TW collected the student and brought the student and the young woman back to our house, settled the student, came and woke me up and told me what she was up to (not that I took it in at the time, apparently I mostly blinked and looked dazed), and set off driving the girl to Gatwick. TW got back about 03:30 and slept.
I made sandwiches for the students when I got up, and a neighbour offered to take the girls to school, and I left for work.
Speaking to TW in the evening, she said that she hadn't done anything special, that anyone would have done the same thing and that she hoped that if she or any of our daughters were in that situation, that someone would have helped in a similar way.
I beg to differ though; I think that what she did was extraordinary, and it's not something that "anyone else would have done". TW is extremely empathic, and she helps people wherever she can. This was an extreme example of the sort of thing that she does every day.
In a world where people are getting shot while they sunbathe, and state support is being taken away from those most in need, and where all our heroes have turned out to be grubby self-interested child-molesters, this is the sort of act which restores my faith in humanity and reaffirms the fact that I've got the best wife in the world.
I hope others can appreciate that a little help here and there makes the world a better place.
Why set the alarm for 01:30 instead, then? I hear you ask... Well, at about 23:00 we got a text message advising that our visitor was delayed, and not expected into Worthing until 01:30. Up until that point, I was going to collect him, but at that point TW told me to go to bed and get some sleep, and she would collect the new arrival. So she set her alarm for 01:00 or 01:10, and dressed and set off to the station.
She was a few minutes early, our arriving student had not yet arrived, so she busied herself surveying the scene. She noticed a young woman who appeared to be visibly upset talking to a member of the station staff. The young woman ended the conversation and was crying. TW, being the person she is, wandered over and asked the woman what was the matter.
It turned out that she was a Mexican lady travelling to Milan, and she had been in London, intending to get to Gatwick. She had boarded the last train out of London Victoria, which as any fule kno runs fast to Brighton and then along the coast to Worthing. Unfortunately not every Mexican fule kno that though... She had spoken to the taxi drivers at the station, and they wanted £100 to drive her to Gatwick; she only had £13 about her person. So that was a no-go. And her flight was at 06:00. TW took control of the situation, told her not to worry, explained why she was loitering at the train station at that time in the morning (I would have been a bit suspicious myself) and promised to get the girl to Gatwick.
So TW collected the student and brought the student and the young woman back to our house, settled the student, came and woke me up and told me what she was up to (not that I took it in at the time, apparently I mostly blinked and looked dazed), and set off driving the girl to Gatwick. TW got back about 03:30 and slept.
I made sandwiches for the students when I got up, and a neighbour offered to take the girls to school, and I left for work.
Speaking to TW in the evening, she said that she hadn't done anything special, that anyone would have done the same thing and that she hoped that if she or any of our daughters were in that situation, that someone would have helped in a similar way.
I beg to differ though; I think that what she did was extraordinary, and it's not something that "anyone else would have done". TW is extremely empathic, and she helps people wherever she can. This was an extreme example of the sort of thing that she does every day.
In a world where people are getting shot while they sunbathe, and state support is being taken away from those most in need, and where all our heroes have turned out to be grubby self-interested child-molesters, this is the sort of act which restores my faith in humanity and reaffirms the fact that I've got the best wife in the world.
I hope others can appreciate that a little help here and there makes the world a better place.
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