No bumbling from Bumble junior ... a ripping finish with Hampshire champions, and Lancashire left thinking what might of been.
The final over, of a long day, took some de-coding as lights-out fast approached.
Saturday for me personally, was a marathon.
Much the same for Hampshire and Lancashire, who earlier in the day both survived semi-finals in the Vitality Blast, before facing off under Edgbaston’s lights, hoping to be later crowned T20 Blast champions. With all eighteen counties involved, there were a total of 133 games; spanning late May through to Saturday night. A marathon of the fittest.
My own Saturday marathon started with some local cricket watching at Urmston CC (there is an Urmston connection later) - a narrow win gave way to Open golf viewing, courtesy of a local hostelry, and then followed a couple of calming ales back at base. I am glad I lasted the course, with some decent refreshment. And was able to see my mate come through a stern test.
Lancashire had butchered a straight-forward chase, if there is one in T20 cricket, seemingly cruising at one for 72 inside eight overs, with Keaton Jennings and Steven Croft playing good-cop, bad-cop, to perfection, nothing could go wrong?
Well, thankfully, there is still one incalculable variable in cricket. Momentum.
How to find it? By what means do you reverse it? And, by what method do you ride it? All imponderable questions
Hampshire turned to spin - the games momentum changed, quartering in their direction.
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Earlier, Hampshire had posted a modest total - 8/152. Their progress toward a higher score also being halted by spin. Matt Parkinson found a coupling ball speed for his leg-spinners, and the wearing Edgbaston pitch. More often his pace can be too slow. Saturday night he was dialled in - four for 26 from his four overs was just rewards, placing his team in control of the final at the half-way mark.
James Vince’s introduction of spin changed the pace, and the course of Lancashire's innings. Mason Crane (who has an interesting middle name) - had Croft caught behind by Ben McDermott, and Jennings was lured to, long-off by Liam Dawson (who has a not-so-interesting middle name) - one for 73, became three for 73. And then five for 118, after Lancashire’s ‘closer’ - Tim David departed, he batted one spot to low, with Luke Wells taking too many balls of him. (David also has an interesting middle name. Could this have something to do with his surname being a first name - how are you placed on this?)
So, with the final over bowled by Nathan Ellis, Lancashire found themselves at seven for 142, needing 11 runs for victory. And, you guessed it, Graham David Lloyd, stood firm in the bowling umpires position. Much the same as he had done three nights previous on his one-pint allocation of real-ale in the Hare&Hounds.
On-pace, full and wide was Ellis’ choice - balls one, two and three. Four runs left Lancashire needing seven to win, or six if you factor in they win on the Powerplay if the scores are tied.
Ball four: Tom Hartley had to be sweating on the slower ball change-up. It came, and he missed connection; then came the play of the game. Ben McDermott, swooped on a difficult receive, throwing down the stumps, leaving Luke Wood short in his attempt to rush a bye. The worst possible outcome for Lancashire - no run, Hartley off-strike, and the new batsman, Richard Gleeson, on strike.
Ball five: Umpire Lloyd remains un-flustered by the manic scenes around him, instead making sure he clicks over the ball-counter metronomically, and keeps his ‘wide lines’ in focus. Gleeson picks the full length and gets it down the ground for two, leaving a boundary to tie, and the win to Lancashire.
Ball six: Ellis nails his spot; an in-curve yorker that is un-hittable to a stationary batter. Gleeson chose not to move. Hampshire grab an improbable win, as well as a few commemorative stumps. Fireworks rained upwards into the Birmingham sky, and pea-souper smoke enveloped the ground. Commentary teams are in over-drive; one bench is delirious, the other dumb-founded.
Consequently, out of the smoke, appears Graham David Lloyd, left-arm out-stretched, signalling a no-ball, which had been relayed to him by the TV umpire (third umpire) - the image of Bumble calmly waving to the Hampshire players to resume their positions, and replace the stumps that already had a place on someone’s wall, was priceless. And it should be noted: It is the TV umpire’s responsibility to call no-balls, not the standing umpire.
I foolishly posted in our WhatsApp group ‘that took some balls Bumble to pick up the noey” This was Sunday, in the aftermath.
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Nathan Ellis had won a title for his adopted county once, and now, around six minutes later, he was being asked to do it again!
Ellis, for those that didn’t know, plays for Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes. He is one of many Australian players to migrate south from the over-populated New South Wales, to the calmer environs of Tasmania. His bustling action produces a near-perfect trajectory for stumps-death-bowling. As we saw; he also has a wicked change-up in his armoury.
Which one was it to be? Not a trivial question.
Most would opt for the same ball, full, straight, and quick. Ellis had used this five times in the over. If he misses the slower-ball change-up, then potentially this opens up the ground to Gleeson.
Australian cricketers tend not to deal in consequential-decision-making, preferring to make their in-play decisions pragmatically. The ball to match that ball in the over, whether it be ball one, or ball 120-odd, was the slower ball. Ellis, is a product of a very efficient system.
Ball six again: Ellis goes to the change-up, and into the wicket. It was straight and bounced to a perfect hitting apex, only if Gleeson was in tune with the pace. He wasn’t - it was a bloody gutsy play from Ellis, and presumably, his captain, James Vince. McDermott cleaned up the bouncing receive, and went to the stumps to complete the win, breaking them as anyone else would do, and many have done before him.
There ends the story.
Hampshire are T20 Blast Vitality champions. Players, rightly seeking their opposition to shake hands, some go to the umpires thanking them for their participation. As you do. Fireworks are given a second work-out, and the same smoke hangs around. In the back-ground, though, it seems Gleeson and Hartley sense an opportunity to run again. Almost like ‘electric cricket’ in the school-yard. ‘Is there anyone watching’ you can almost hear their minds working. They did, in the back-drop of what should have been happening. Hampshire reacted as if to protect what they knew was there’s - and the rest got very muddled for some.
The two directors of the show were not muddled. Umpires Lloyd and Millns immediately diffused any cause for debate, although Lancashire did choose to challenge the common-sense decision. Kudos to them both for showing no signs of decision-fatigue. They deemed the ball dead. End of story. Start the car.
The simple fact is: both batters had stopped playing after completing the first run. Anybody who has played the game can see that. As James Vince said “ everybody knows you are not running two to the wicket-keeper”
The position that Lancashire, and Dane Vilas took would be a tough one to defend with hindsight. I am sure they will recognise this when the smoke settles. Lancashire are a very combative cricket team, and will continue to challenge in all formats of the game. They have all-bases covered, and some more.
As for Hampshire, they will have had a past player looking down from above, grinning wryly. Shane Warne was no stranger to this kind of theatre, and cricket.
Lastly, Bumble. Nice work GD. RTBC
