Feeling the Lash
Wimbledon – Lashings Cricket Club, for me, is a bit like Big Brother: you feel immature about liking it but you can't help jumping at the chance to find out the latest news.
On one hand this collection of former and current international stars playing out of a pub in Maidstone are the plaything of a self-publicist, the personification of the benefit circuit and an excuse for former greats - like Viv Richards, who batted at 10 on Wednesday – to carry on way past their sell-by dates.
On that same hand they love feeling like big fish in a small pond, for instance completely hijacking the opening match of the Zimbabwe Red Lions' tour of the UK with their exported Calypso beach party.
But undoubtedly they are a lot of fun to watch, they provide event-type entertainment and give players a route back to the fundamental enjoyment of the game.
Never seen Courtney Walsh in a Test? He's in action against your local club down the road, not as fast as in his prime but still a commanding presence.
Henry Olonga, whose knee as much as his black armband forced him out of international cricket, will sign mini-bats until his hand goes stiff.
"We think the game needs something different and we try to encourage youngsters to play," says skipper Richie Richardson.
"We go into smaller communities to give players a chance to rub shoulders with big names that they’ve seen on television and I believe that’s a contribution we’re making to the game."
And he adds: "One of the reasons I’m playing is because I’m enjoying it."
David Folb – the aforementioned self-publicist – finds the sponsorship, the accommodation and the liveried cars and this band of international stars do what they do best.
Arguably the success of Lashings is what prompted the development of the Twenty20 Cup, and Richardson believes the concept could work around the world.
"Earlier this year we were in South Africa and we’re planning to go to there again at the end of this year," he says.
"We’re going to Barbados and we’re thinking about going to the United States as well, and we’re having chats about a tour to Pakistan.
"The sky’s the limit for us."
Pakistan might be a step too far for the travelling band, but they're still well worth watching.
Stat of the week
Since 2000 Zimbabwe have had eight captains in Tests and one-day internationals – Andy Flower, Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak, Guy Whittall, Grant Flower, Brian Murphy, Stuart Carlisle and Tatenda Taibu.
Spotted
Grant Flower arriving with a wad of mail from home for Henry Olonga, who has not been able to return to Zimbabwe since his black armband protest at the "death of democracy" during last year's World Cup.
Quote of the Week
"I'm not denying that things are tough. Inflation is very high at the moment and things are getting harder for local people. But it's where I was born, I love the country and I don't see why I should move."
- Stuart Carlisle, former Zimbabwe Test captain and now skipper of the Red Lions.
Six sense
1. The one-day triangular tournament is now packed with funny little loopholes like bonus points and rain rules but what it still lacks is a rule specifying that the home team has to take part in the final. I was thinking about this in jest at first but the bare fact is that all interest is lost once the hosts are eliminated. Lord's may have been sold out last Saturday but the pavilion was empty and the fans had mostly filed out by the time New Zealand tied up victory at 8pm. Steve Waugh's retirement from one-day cricket was down the the uproar when South Africa faced New Zealand in the 2002 VB Series final. Try this for size: everybody plays each other in the group stage but the host goes through automatically and meet the best-placed visitors. If only they would trial that out at the ICC Champions Trophy.
2. Why did anybody think Mark Butcher was the answer to England's limited-overs woes? He is 32 next month, hobbled by knee trouble, has a mediocre domestic one-day record and has never played in a one-day international. Despite his 69 one-day caps he could not possibly be expected to fit into the rhythm of the shorter game immediately.
3. Zimbabwe's rebels are being naive if they think they can still re-integrate with the national team. The writing was on the wall for them long before they withdrew their labour and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union is clearly committed to pushing ahead with a new-look side. The signs from the ICC, who have allowed Zimbabwe to keep one-day international status, shows they may hedge that way too.
4. I didn't pay much attention to Sri Lanka's tour of Australia, or Shane Warne's concurrent equalling of Muttiah Muralitharan's record of 527 career Test wickets. Both Murali's absence, the oddity of the season and the consequent fact the matches were not played in regular Test venues – with Darwin's pitch particularly suspect - all conspired to leave me thoroughly under-whelmed.
5. This week's Twenty20 observation comes via a colleague, who believes the one-day international will soon be a thing of the past, or rather a thing of 20 overs. What is the point in having two different contrived versions of the game, he reasons, and I can see his logic. Bear in mind, one-day internationals started out as 60-over contests, which were shortened to fit the requirements of the subcontinent. It was only in 1993 that the ODI was standardised at 50 overs per side worldwide.
6. I'll whisper this in case it is too much of a shot in the dark but I believe West Indies will win at least one Test in England. In the last few years they have traditionally done better at home than on tour, but they did well in the one-day series. In particular, the increasing maturity of this pace corps allied to England's recent batting failures makes me think the hosts will collapse at some point.
Turnfurlong 4th XI update
"That bloke looks like Michael Vaughan," said Derek as their opening batsman took guard.
He was right. The bloke did look like Vaughany – a big gangly with a weak chin and a habit of playing and missing.
He was no problem, but the match ended up being abandoned. Gary had forgotten to specify to the yogic fliers to stay off the square. Admittedly it was a bit up and down but we managed to bat through it. Well, we sent Pooley in first and told him to block everything.
