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The Sporting Life / Re: County Cricket 2024
« Last post by Wowbagger on Yesterday at 11:54:30 pm »https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2024/mar/27/the-spin-wealth-gap-county-cricket
A piece on the different financial state of our 18 counties.
I recall years ago (1980 to be precise - I could have sworn it was 1979) going to Worcester for the Benson & Hedges semifinal v Essex. It was a glorious June morning after overnight rain. We arrived at the ground around 10.30am and had to wait for play to start at 2pm because the pitch was waterlogged. Even when play began, some of the Essex players rolled their trouser legs up because part of the outfield was still so wet that you could see the water splashing as they ran. We watched 11 overs before it rained again and it was obvious that play would be abandoned for the day. It took 3 days to complete a 1-day match.
Worcester is undoubtedly the most picturesque of all the county grounds but its playing area is spending an increasing amount of every year submerged beneath the swollen River Severn as climate change takes its toll. In some of the buildings around the ground there are brass "lines" attached to the walls to indicate the height of the floods in the wettest years. THe ground is often under a metre of water as the Welsh rains feed the river.
A piece on the different financial state of our 18 counties.
I recall years ago (1980 to be precise - I could have sworn it was 1979) going to Worcester for the Benson & Hedges semifinal v Essex. It was a glorious June morning after overnight rain. We arrived at the ground around 10.30am and had to wait for play to start at 2pm because the pitch was waterlogged. Even when play began, some of the Essex players rolled their trouser legs up because part of the outfield was still so wet that you could see the water splashing as they ran. We watched 11 overs before it rained again and it was obvious that play would be abandoned for the day. It took 3 days to complete a 1-day match.
Worcester is undoubtedly the most picturesque of all the county grounds but its playing area is spending an increasing amount of every year submerged beneath the swollen River Severn as climate change takes its toll. In some of the buildings around the ground there are brass "lines" attached to the walls to indicate the height of the floods in the wettest years. THe ground is often under a metre of water as the Welsh rains feed the river.