TRACTOR'S TALES.

Castle Park Colchester was the venue for the Essex FCC game last Wednesday week. The ground is situated alongside a park that features a castle!

Other places of interest in Colchester: The Fox and Fiddler (Mighty Oak IPA, something called JTW, and an Amarillo ale!), The George (Greene King IPA), The Playhouse (Abbott, Marstons Pedigree, Burton) and The Odd One Out (Archers, Priory Mild, Umbel, Wyndsweep, and Thatchers Cider!).

Wednesday was badly affected by rain with just 3 overs possible (Essex 6 for 1). Thursday's forecast predicted a sunny start with the chance of heavy showers late afternoon. Play started on time and Essex made steady, somewhat slow progress, with only Jefferson making any effort to push the score along, eventually dismissed by Blackie for 93. Debutant Michael Munday bagged his first championship wicket, trapping Andy Flower lbw for 14. Approximately late afternoon the heavens opened accompanied by loud thunder, forked lightning, and a complete covering of the ground in hailstones. Play was abandoned for the day (Essex 220 for 5 from 73 overs), with a large lake having formed on the ground.

Amazingly, Friday's play started on time and Essex eventually amassed 400 for 6 declared from 126.1 overs (Irani 86, Foster 107*). Somerset's reply was greeted by Andre Nel's hostile in-swing accounting for Woody first ball, and 2 balls later, Suppiah adjudged lbw, Somerset 0 for 2. Francis jnr and Hildreth then absorbed all that Nel, Napier, Kaneria, Bopara and Middlebrook could muster, recovering to make 112 for 2 when bad light curtailed day 3's entertainment, Francis 31*, Hildreth 76*. Day 4 (Saturday) started with the news that Somerset had declared overnight - far too soon I thought, until I realised Essex had forfeited their second innings to leave Somerset requiring 289 from 96 overs (3 runs per over). Despite another Andre Nel scare accounting for Woody adjudged lbw third ball, Somerset ensured a 16 point win by 5 wickets with 30 overs to spare, Francis 51, Blackie 59, and Hildreth 125*.

Sunday, and on to The Oval (Young's and London Pride) where spin-doctors Blackie & Suppiah dominated the TSL fixture against Surrey. The game was interspersed with occasional loud cheers from people either tuned into radio or TV coverage of the 4th Ashes test. England pulled off a closer-than-it-should-have-been 3 wicket win, just a few minutes ahead of Somerset's impressive 5 wicket win with over 5 overs remaining, Blackie 88 off just 53 deliveries.

Last Monday I enjoyed a splendid day out at Seaton (Courage and Tetley's) where Somerset grabbed a comprehensive 20-20 victory against a Seaton CC XIV (yes, fourteen) in a Mike Burns benefit match. The day featured Marcus Trescothick interviewed by Peter Anderson, with visits from Andrew Caddick in his helicopter and Peter Bowler. A great 6 days of Somerset cricket.

Celebrity birthdays today include Freddy (De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, no, sorry, that was The Police, it must have been Radio Ga Ga; always get those two confused) Mercury, Raquel (very big in the seventies film star) Welch, and George (only managed 1 Dry Martini on the rocks, shaken and definitely stirred) Lazenby. For those here on Friday for the 3rd day of the Northants game, there's even an Emperor's 21st birthday.

Tonight it's our annual floodlit fixture. This year we welcome Warwickshire in the return TSL fixture for the match played way back in April, when we were cruelly robbed of certain victory by incessant rain after we'd amassed 254 for 5 (Burns 107).

Let's keep the winning streak going. You can sing it, you can drink it, is there an Amarillo pasty as well?

COME ON SOMERSET!!!