|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 3, 2015 13:28:23 GMT
There is a fun one page feature in the June FREE local magazine - the A5 size ‘Viva Brighton’ - about the ‘Sussex Sharks’ written by none other than Gary Pleece, the founder and head of ‘Pleece & Co’, the digital media company who work for the Club. Some good questions but Gary’s answers are not always correct. Luke Wright scored 153* off 66 balls at Chelmsford last year and not 166 but why be pedantic?  |
|
|
|
Post by hhsussex on Jun 3, 2015 13:33:44 GMT
There is a fun one page feature in the June FREE local magazine - the A5 size ‘Viva Brighton’ - about the ‘Sussex Sharks’ written by none other than Gary Pleece, the founder and head of ‘Pleece & Co’, the digital media company who work for the Club. Some good questions but Gary’s answers are not not always correct. Luke Wright scored 153* off 66 balls at Chelmsford last year and not 166 but why be pedantic? Why not get it right? It doesn't take much to check. |
|
|
|
Post by flashblade on Jun 3, 2015 14:01:32 GMT
There is a fun one page feature in the June FREE local magazine - the A5 size ‘Viva Brighton’ - about the ‘Sussex Sharks’ written by none other than Gary Pleece, the founder and head of ‘Pleece & Co’, the digital media company who work for the Club. Some good questions but Gary’s answers are not always correct. Luke Wright scored 153* off 66 balls at Chelmsford last year and not 166 but why be pedantic? 'ave some o' that! |
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 6, 2015 6:40:20 GMT
I had dinner at the Brighton ‘Hotel du Vin’ on Thursday and the first thing you see as you enter the bar and adjacent restaurant is Matt Prior’s wine locker or ‘vin prive’ as the hotel describes it. Back in May 2014 Matt was the first to sign up to this privileged concept by the hotel. Elite, exclusive, call it what you like, but if you are a successful sportsman, the occasional indulgence, is surely allowed.  The hotel has created just 20 wine lockers; they cost £50 pa to rent; you buy the wine from the hotel at cost price + 10% commission + £20 corkage; and you have the additional experience of the hotel sommelier, Ziggy Grinbergs, who aids with the choices. Matt was quoted in the ‘Argus’: “I am really excited about being the first owner of a private wine locker. I’ve been a customer at the restaurant for some years and it’s a great spot for my wife and I to pop down to for a meal or a glass of wine. To now have my own private collection is even better.” Looking at the other 19 names surrounding Matt, it seems, this locker concept is an excuse for his fan club to share the pleasure. Dave Day, VIP Sussex supporter and owner of the Brighton ‘Golden Lion’ pub chain (he who drives up to the ground gate in a Bentley); Alan Prior, former owner and publisher of ‘Absolute Magazine’ (the club shop once distributed the magazine as it regularly carried interviews with Sussex players including several on Matt); Ian Poysden, (MD of IEP Financial and long-term sponsor of Sussex CCC); Andrew Cheeseman (MD of Brighton & Hove City Cabs and sponsor of Rottingdean CC) etc.. In fact cricket and fine wine go together like leather and willow. Prior with hotel sommelier Ziggy Grinbergs  John Arlott was a renowned ‘grape connoisseur’; David Gower often orders £100+ bottles of Chateau Lafite at dinner whilst his commentary mates sup a lager. Henry Blofeld is another connoisseur and even has his own label. For perhaps, Matt as he continues the battle to overcome his achilles injury, sees himself as a holder of this noble past-time. And this hotel connection has leaked to other areas of Sussex CCC which include holding recent Benefit dinners and lunches for players like Mike Yardy and Luke Wright. Matt’s plugging of the hotel continues during an interview with ‘Sussex Life’ where he states ‘Hotel du Vin’ is his favourite local restaurant and describes their toasted brioche and pork bellies as a wonder dish. Meanwhile, the hotel also pride themselves on their cigar room which lies to the right side of the bar. They do an excellent range of Havannas. Smokers are invited upstairs to an outside area to enjoy the experience. Enjoying a cigar with England team-mate Tim Bresnan Matt is known for the occasional cigar offering a perfect time to contemplate his future. During a recent ‘Telegraph’ interview he is asked by a journo whether he would prefer his new cycling team ‘ONE Pro‘ to win ‘The Tour de France‘ or get fit again, re-establish himself in the England set-up, and score an Ashes-winning hundred. His response: “I don’t know - I honestly can’t answer that. That is like saying, which of your two children do you love the most. I couldn’t pick between the two. Both would be colossal achievements.” |
|
|
|
Post by hhsussex on Jun 6, 2015 7:05:15 GMT
I think you must have put this bit of snobbery in purely for the fraudster's benefit: toasted brioche and pork bellies, indeed!
|
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 6, 2015 8:46:54 GMT
Yorkshire CCC are on a financial roll and CEO Mark Arthur must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of improved club accounts for 2015 after their £300,000 loss for 2014. First, the county hosted the second New Zealand Test match and enjoyed the momentum from the thrills and spills at Lords and the dramatic win by England after all seemed lost. Attendance figures at Headingley bore this out. Even though England lost the encounter, the Test lasted the full 5 days with a sum total of 43,971, the ground’s highest match aggregate since 2012. Here are the FiguresDay 1: 12,957
Day 2: 14,362
Day 3: 8,933
Day 4: 5,592
Day 5: 2,127Total = 43,971When Yorkshire last hosted NZ in 2013 the total was 38,736 and last year’s Test against Sri Lanka came to 36,546. Mark Arthur at Headingley  Meanwhile, the club’s financial bumper T20 home game against Lancashire on Friday evening went ahead without a weather hitch, unlike last year when the encounter was rained off without a ball bowled. One cannot emphasise the financial importance of this match for the Yorkshire coffers. The game was the expected sell-out with 16,199 attending. The club makes more money from this one evening than all their season’s Headingley Championship matches put together. yorkshireccc.com/news/view/3447/financial-report-yorkshire-ccc-announce-results-for-2013-14Tragically, Yorkshire lost the game on the last ball after a heroic and magnificent innings from Lanky’s Joss Buttler who scored 71* from just 35 balls. Given 17 runs were required from the final over, the keeper said afterwards, “As soon as I hit the first ball, I knew we were going to win.” Tim Bresnan was the victim. Matt Prior tweeted,” Unbelievable game. Joss Buttler is a freak!” Meanwhile, both the Oval and Trentbridge experienced rowdy and drunken behaviour last night. Sports correspondent Gary Naylor tweeted from ‘The Oval’: “People are throwing plastic glasses at the stewards. Mostly white people throwing, mostly brown and black people the targets. Dismal.” He later wrote, “I've been in 100s of football crowds (which can be intimidating) but the only time I've seen more drunk people than The Oval was at Ascot.” adding, “Lots of men who are paid more for an hour than stewards are paid for a day, treating them with contempt. Not pleasant at all.” Drunken Behaviour at 'The Oval' Fortunately, the Headingley crowd behaved themselves, and although the home side lost, the encounter is another fantastic advert for T20 cricket. |
|
|
|
Post by flashblade on Jun 6, 2015 9:20:05 GMT
Quote:
The hotel has created just 20 wine lockers; they cost £50 pa to rent; you buy the wine from the hotel at cost price + 10% commission
+ £20 corkage; and you have the additional experience of the hotel sommelier, Ziggy Grinbergs, who aids with the choices.
I may well be out of touch, but I thought bottles of fine wine should be stored horizontally, in a rack - not upright per your photo. Can someone please bring me up to date?
BTW, I assume Matt's wine wasn't in screw top bottles.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 6, 2015 12:23:49 GMT
While some Sussex supporters believe Chris Nash should be spending all his time in the cricket nets to rediscover his Championship form and learn how to contend with spicy pitches, come Friday he was at Mannings Heath playing golf. He tweeted, “Lovely evening at Mannings Heath for 9 holes,” adding the hash-tag ‘perfectevening’. Having played the course myself it is a gem - particularly the par 3 waterfall hole - and is one of the more resplendent in Sussex. The Great Sir Garfield Meanwhile, as part of Luke Wright’s Benefit year there is a fantastic opportunity for three wealthy golfers to play alongside the cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers at the ‘East Sussex National Course’ on Friday June 26th for a round of golf. This chance comes via a silent auction where potential candidates put in their bids to organiser Jon Filby. Only offers of over £1,000 will be taken seriously. It is unclear whether Ted Dexter is joining the golfers on the day as he was booked alongside Sobers earlier in the year but there is now no mention of him. Even so, there should be a fair sprinkling of celebrity on the day as Sir Garfield has invited a number of friends from the cricket and sporting world to join him. static1.squarespace.com/static/5457b109e4b048c4207dac24/t/554b3442e4b0c3e2c558f87d/1430991938362/Gary+Sobers+charity+application+form.pdfSir Garry has taken golf to his heart since retiring from cricket. He plays most days and instigated and heads the annual Caribbean ‘Sir Garry Sobers Festival of Golf’ which is now in its 14th year and played across the top 4 golf courses in Barbados including the famous ‘Country Club’ at Sandy Lane. www.sirgarrysobersfestivalofgolf.com/www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st94Zv3DawA Golfer of Repute Also, 78 year-old Sir Garfield has written a children's novel about cricket, Bonaventure and the Flashing Blade, in which computer analysis helps a university cricket team become unbeatable and presently does after-dinner speaking as well as the theatre circuit. Last summer he carried out a seven date tour around Southern England entitled, “An Evening with...” where he recounted the greatest moments of his long and accomplished career, including the ground-breaking six sixes in one over at Trent Bridge in 1968 and his 1958 record breaking Test score of 365 not out. www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/sir-garfield-sobers. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2015 17:07:41 GMT
s&f, thanks for keeping us consistently entertained and educated with your varied and always interesting blog topics.
I played a round with Sir Garfield at the Royal Westmoreland course in Barbados in 1992, when on a cricket tour with a side that was captained by Mike Brearley and included Tony Pigott and Phil Edmonds. I am the world's worst golfer and it was truly embarrassing - although not as embarrassing as when at dinner later that night I introduced my 15 year-old son to the world's greatest ever left-hander by saying, "Adam's a left-handed batsman, just like you." Which was a bit like saying to Lewis Hamilton, "We've got a lot in common,Lew - we both drive a car."
On another matter, the drunken behaviour at The Oval and Trent Bridge is a monster entirely of the ECB's own Frankenstein making. If they chose to sell the T20 Blast as a Friday lads-night-out-bacchanalia, instead of marketing it, as they should, as a Sunday afternoon entertainment for families and selling them strawberries and ice-cream ( as at dreamy Arundel next weekend), what the hell do they expect?
And it's not just lads-night-outs but drunken girlies, too. I went to see Kent v Glos at Beckenham yesterday, and every few overs the ridiculously over-excitable PA announcer was plugging free booze if you but a ticket for something called the 'Pimms Girls Night Out' v Essex at Canterbury next Friday. I love cricket, girls and a glass of Pimms. But put them all together and it sounds like the T20 from hell, and I'm sure such crass promotions drive away as many spectators as they attract.
|
|
|
|
Post by hhsussex on Jun 7, 2015 7:05:32 GMT
Yorkshire CCC are on a financial roll and CEO Mark Arthur must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of improved club accounts for 2015 after their £300,000 loss for 2014. First, the county hosted the second New Zealand Test match and enjoyed the momentum from the thrills and spills at Lords and the dramatic win by England after all seemed lost. Attendance figures at Headingley bore this out. Even though England lost the encounter, the Test lasted the full 5 days with a sum
total of 43,971, the ground’s highest match aggregate since 2012.
Here are the Figures
Day 1: 12,957
Day 2: 14,362
Day 3: 8,933
Day 4: 5,592
Day 5: 2,127
Total = 43,971Meanwhile, the club’s financial bumper T20 home game against Lancashire on Friday evening went ahead without a weather hitch,
unlike last year when the encounter was rained off without a ball bowled. One cannot emphasise the financial importance of this
match for the Yorkshire coffers. The game was the expected sell-out with 16,199 attending. The club makes more money from
this one evening than all their season’s Headingley Championship matches put together.
So the third day of a crucial Test, with massive exposure in the media and riding high on the feelgood factor from the Lord's Test attracted about half of a T20 crowd? What does this tell us about Test cricket and how it is marketed. More means less. Instead of trying to cram in more Tests, and fulfil the ambitions of Ireland, Scotland, and for all I know the Isles of Man, Scilly and Lundy, we should be thinking about giving people what they want and packaging it appropriately. It has been suggested that perhaps yearly Ashes might be the answer, as the public never seems to tire of them. Perhaps in the future we will play one off Tests amid a series of T20 onedays, rather as the administrators of the women's game have done, and that might bring back the crowds. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2015 7:37:19 GMT
Yorkshire CCC are on a financial roll and CEO Mark Arthur must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of improved club accounts for 2015 after their £300,000 loss for 2014. First, the county hosted the second New Zealand Test match and enjoyed the momentum from the thrills and spills at Lords and the dramatic win by England after all seemed lost. Attendance figures at Headingley bore this out. Even though England lost the encounter, the Test lasted the full 5 days with a sum
total of 43,971, the ground’s highest match aggregate since 2012.
Here are the Figures
Day 1: 12,957
Day 2: 14,362
Day 3: 8,933
Day 4: 5,592
Day 5: 2,127
Total = 43,971Meanwhile, the club’s financial bumper T20 home game against Lancashire on Friday evening went ahead without a weather hitch,
unlike last year when the encounter was rained off without a ball bowled. One cannot emphasise the financial importance of this
match for the Yorkshire coffers. The game was the expected sell-out with 16,199 attending. The club makes more money from
this one evening than all their season’s Headingley Championship matches put together.
So the third day of a crucial Test, with massive exposure in the media and riding high on the feelgood factor from the Lord's Test attracted about half of a T20 crowd? What does this tell us about Test cricket and how it is marketed. More means less. Instead of trying to cram in more Tests, and fulfil the ambitions of Ireland, Scotland, and for all I know the Isles of Man, Scilly and Lundy, we should be thinking about giving people what they want and packaging it appropriately. It has been suggested that perhaps yearly Ashes might be the answer, as the public never seems to tire of them. Perhaps in the future we will play one off Tests amid a series of T20 onedays, rather as the administrators of the women's game have done, and that might bring back the crowds. I was talking to Jon Filby during the Warwicks match and he made a powerful argument for playing cricket's biggest box office event on an annual basis, alternating between northern and southern continents. I trotted out the stock response of 'you can't do that, an annual Ashes would soon lose its lustre'. But he made a very compelling case. He pointed out that nobody complains that Chelsea play Man City too often or in rugby it gets boring because England play Scortland, Ireland, Wales and France every year. This summer's Ashes is the third series in three years.I guess Test match crowds will be disappointing next summer for Sri Lanka and Pakistan, will pick up for South Africa in the summer of 2017 - and then we get ten Ashes Tests in ten months between Nov 2017 and Aug 2018. |
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 7, 2015 11:16:05 GMT
Bm,
Many thanks for your kind comment.
I wrote a feature for Cricinfo a year ago about the T20 Blast warning of a potential "booze-fest". I was told later that ECB COO Gordon Hollins was unhappy with my assertion dismissing it as 'media scaremongering'. Well, I was proven right on Friday evening. And what happens when the drunks bore of throwing paper cups at the stewards? As football showed they then turn on their rival supporters.
The ECB are not so much walking a Friday night tightrope but a thin red line, imho.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 8, 2015 9:20:27 GMT
Thanks to museum volunteer and archivist, Norman Epps, I have a scoop. Did you know that the oldest known Sussex cricketer died on May 26th at the age of 95. But who is he? The Reverend Bill Davidson, a wicket-keeper/batsman who played 5 first class matches for the Sussex first team between 1948 and 1951. He was educated at Brighton College and then Oxford University where he gained a blue. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Davidson_(Sussex_cricketer)Presently, the oldest living former Sussex player is Rupert Webb who resides in Rottingdean and is aged 93 years-old. Behind him is Don Smith who now lives in Australia who will be 92 on June 14th; followed in third place by Hubert Doggart who is 90 on July 18th. |
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 10, 2015 11:45:43 GMT
'Arundel “Narnia-Time” is Upon Us'
_____________________________________________ Well, it’s “Narnia-time” starting on Sunday as the delights of Arundel CC beckon once again. Another year has passed like a Japanese bullet train. That quintessential, idyllic, picture postcard ground that Sussex Members look forward to dissolving in to when they permeate through the back of a magical wardrobe at the ground’s entrance. For, the ground is such a special place and the 'Arundel Cricket Festival' is such a unique occasion. If you haven’t attended before, here is a wonderful opportunity, especially when this is the festival’s 25th anniversary year.  So much to mention. On the grassy knoll, former international cricketer Jack Russell will be in attendance, taking a pitch to sell his highly-acclaimed artworks, books, sign autographs, drink copious amounts of tea and enthuse cricket supporters with his bubbly and eccentric personality. He loves Arundel. It resides in his top three grounds alongside ‘Lords’. Last year, Jack had a ball. On his first day, he sold over 80 (not 60) of his books by lunch. There were queues leading to his stall and one man who benefited from this fervour was second-hand book seller, Neil Beck, whose pitch lay close by. He will be attending too with the appropriate trade name ‘Castle Cricket Books’.  unofficialsussexccc.freeforums.net/thread/3/softandfluffys-wicked-cricket-blog?page=5On Sunday, Sussex play Surrey in a T20 and appropriately a spellbinding England player is involved. Kevin Pietersen is playing for Surrey before dashing off to the ‘Caribbean Premier League’ where he joins the ‘St Lucia Zouks’. He tweets, “So many q's on my schedule playing here in UK. I'm playing at Arundel castle on Sunday & that's it...leave for CPL next week!” In fact, this may be his last cricketing appearance in England for a very long time. On Monday, Durham join Sussex for a Championship match. The Division 1 leaders may find the Arundel pitch not to their liking as the strip has gained a reputation of being a bit of a feather-bed. The question being, will this be a three or four day game? The weather forecast is set fair. One hopes, financially for Arundel, it is four days. This year the festival is presented by ‘Sussex Cricket in the Community’. The initiative, delivered in conjunction with the ‘Sussex Cricket Board’, is in its second year and is receiving a national and political profile due to the innovative nature of some of its schemes. Head of 'Cricket in the Community' Tim Shutt says: "Some of the current programmes are pioneering and it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to introduce some of these schemes to the Arundel Festival. Ultimately, we want cricket to make a real and sustained difference to the communities of Sussex." www.sussexcricket.co.uk/news-1/arundel-festival-of-cricketThe marketing department at Sussex are pulling out all the stops. The club are offering a range of services throughout the festival including a two course carvery and a private viewing area with a cash bar. The carvery is available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at £25 (entrance price is extra). www.sussexcricket.co.uk/news-1/arundel-carvery-lunch-available-for-3-days-of-lv-cc-fixture-against-durham-1 Meanwhile, one forgets how active Arundel Castle CC are. They have a diverse range of fixtures throughout the season from Sussex Martlets, Duke of Norfolk and visually impaired games to a ‘Private Eye v BBC Radio’ match. Narnia can be experienced throughout the summer although this festival is its pinnacle. www.cricketatarundelcastle.co.uk/fixtures_and_results.htmlwww.cricketatarundelcastle.co.uk/PS: When attending the sausage rolls are a must. Expensive at £3 but well worth the cost.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 10, 2015 14:11:41 GMT
I received cricket book & memorabila dealer, John McKenzie’s, latest catalogue today - No.184. We met at the ‘Robin Marlar Auction’ and got on well. He’s a lovely chap and proffers an attractive twinkle in his eye. He kindly agreed to appear on the local ‘Latest TV’. This was one of his first TV interviews and John showed exceptional assuredness.  This latest catalogue is full of mouth-watering goodies including various items concerning Sussex CCC. Examples are a CB Fry ‘Book of cricket’ published in 1899 for £185 and CMJs complete ‘Who’s Who of Test Cricketers’ released in 1983 that includes 620 signatures of international players within it for £600. But what really caught my eye amongst the 900 or so items is John’s range of Wisden books. Presently, he has a complete set published from 1864 to 2015 in various conditions for sale.  Intrigue took me to the first and very rare 1864 version, No.455 in the catalogue. John had bought a standout example at the Robin Marlar auction for £7,200 + 12% buyer’s commission. One wondered what he might be charging. The description is remarkably similar to the Marlar copy. His price: £18,000. “If” it is the same almanack, and it may not be, quite a spectacular mark-up, especially when the 1865/66/67 copies are for sale at £10,000 each. |
|
