LEE PAYNE

Tag: durham

  • Having a Blast: my trip to Old Trafford

    On Sunday I went to Old Trafford for the T20 Blast match between Lancashire and Durham.

    Me, my mum and her partner at Old Trafford

    A week on from England becoming world champions (I will never get tired of saying that), cricket is enjoying a boost in popularity. The Cricket Paper reports that counties have noticed an increase in ticket sales for the T20 Blast as people who maybe haven’t been to a match for a while, or indeed at all, seize the opportunity to see the game in the flesh.

    This includes – crucially – children. Most of the crowd in Manchester, which was huge for a domestic game, were families with youngsters. I’m not a big fan of kids – they are noisy, carry illnesses and can’t sit still for five minutes – but they are vitally important for the future of cricket. They all seemed to be having a great time, and that’s key. Children need to think of going to a cricket match as a normal thing to do, and something to look forward to. They will be the next generation of players and fans and will hopefully pass on their enthusiam to their own kids in years to come.

    The players warm up at Old Trafford, Manchester about an hour before the start of play

    I had been to Old Trafford before, for the Test match between England and India in 2014, and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere and friendly stewards. This makes it the ideal venue for 20 over cricket compared to, say, Lord’s which I find stuffy and inaccessible. The emphasis was on fun, with the Lancashire mascot Lanky the Giraffe dancing on the boundary before play began.

    As for the match itself, T20 is perfect for those who are unfamiliar with cricket. It’s short and sharp and you get to see plenty of big sixes and wickets. Lancashire batted first in their opening home game of the tournament and amassed 189-3, opener Steven Croft top scoring with an unbeaten 65 from 43 balls. The star of the show, however, was Australia international Glenn Maxwell. The world number one ranked all rounder in T20s hit 58 off 33 balls with four sixes. Each boundary was received with loud cheers and a burst of pop music. It was interesting to see how partisan the crowd was, a lot of the people there seemed to feel for the Lancashire cricket team the same way I feel for Norwich City Football Club. They weren’t just there to enjoy a day out, they were there to see the home side win.

    Australia international Glenn Maxwell bats for Lancashire in front of a huge crowd at Old Trafford

    Durham never looked like chasing the 190 they needed to win and were all out for 117 within 17 overs. Scott Steel had scored 58 from 46 balls but the next highest score for the visitors was 12. Lancashire won by 72 runs and a couple of run outs were enough to secure Maxwell the player of the match award.

    Maxwell played for Australia in the World Cup (having won it in 2015) so he was the main attraction for the kids. They gathered round to watch him be interviewed at the end of the match, taking photos and hoping for an autograph. The occasion was slightly lacking in big names. Both sides were packed with solid professionals and the standard was high but aside from Maxwell only D’Arcy Short, another Australian, would have been recognisable to most of the crowd. Short was not involved in the World Cup but has played for his country, as well as in T20 leagues around the world. Also on show was Keaton Jennings, who has scored a Test century for England but has otherwise struggled at the highest level and has been dropped from the most recent squad.

    Player of the match Maxwell is interviewed after Lancashire’s 72 run win

    The majority of the England players involved in the victorious World Cup campaign were getting a well deserved rest, with the seven week long tournament soon to be followed by a Test match against Ireland and the five match Ashes series against Australia. Part of me, though, wished that there could have been a way to get those stars involved in the first couple of rounds of T20 Blast fixtures to really capitalise on the current popularity of cricket in this country.

    Had those England players been available, the Lancashire side would have featured Jos Buttler and Durham’s side would have boasted Ben Stokes, who was player of the match in the World Cup final. Mark Wood is also a Durham player but is injured and out until September. It would have been fantastic for the crowd to have been able to see their new heroes, but I understand that with a packed schedule it was almost impossible. Wood and Stokes paraded the World Cup trophy around Durham’s home ground the Riverside on Saturday, as captain Eoin Morgan had done around Lord’s, where he plays for Middlesex, on Thursday. I had a faint hope that Buttler might have done the same around Old Trafford on Sunday but it was not to be.

    The T20 Blast is a fantastic product. Now in its 17th season, the crowds are big, the standard is high and overseas stars want to play in it. If some of it was on Free-to-air television instead of it all being on Sky Sports I have no doubt it would be a massive annual summer event.

    Walking away from Old Trafford, I couldn’t for the life of me fathom why the authorities have felt the need to invent an entirely new format of the game to try to attract new fans. Next year will see the launch of The Hundred, a convoluted version of the game with the simplest part being one hundred balls per innings. Eight completely new teams, based around the major cities and with awful names like London Spirt and Leeds Superchargers, will take part. These teams will have to start from scratch, with none of the existing loyal following of the county sides. The only thing going for it is that some of it will be on BBC TV. It makes absolutely no sense and from what I can see it is doomed to fail.

    My visit to Manchester on Sunday was conclusive proof for me that the England and Wales Cricket Board already has everything it needs to make cricket the undisputed second sport of the nation again. I can only hope that their seemingly muddled thinking doesn’t mean they miss the opportunity.

  • My Durham holiday photo treasure hunt

    This is a break from the norm for this blog.

    I’ve been spending a few days in Durham. While Norwich City do in fact play away at Newcastle this weekend (about 18 miles away) my visit is unrelated. I had a week off work coming up, did not want to be at home crawling up the walls with boredom, and my godmother – who works up here – kindly offered me the chance to come and stay at her place.

    My Durham Cathedral selfie.
    My Durham Cathedral selfie.

    Last night, while out for a walk, I had an idea. I asked my godmother to come up with a list of things that she wanted me to go and photograph the next day – a sort of treasure hunt. When I got up this morning, I had a Skype message from her containing this list:

    Whatever is up both of those alleyways (alleyways we had seen on our walk)
    The Sanctuary knocker
    Harry Potter style cloisters
    A cathedral made of Lego
    A poem on a stone bridge with the cathedral in the background
    A piece of rubbish in an inappropriate place
    A large map of the UK embedded in the pavement, made up of coloured stone in a geological manner
    Tracy Franklin’s studio
    A nice pile of washing up on the draining board
    A cup of coffee in your hand

    Around midday today, I was ready with my phone to start the challenge. Here’s how I got on.

    Whatever is up both of those alleyways

    Durham is a very old city. It’s full of narrow streets, listed buildings and hidden passages. On our walk last night, my godmother and I came to one of these hidden passages.

    The entrance to one of the alleyways.
    The entrance to one of the alleyways.

    It was getting quite late and the alleyway looked rather spooky in the dark, it has to be said. In the comfort of daylight, I headed up the steps and saw this ahead of me:

    This is what was up one of those alleyways.
    This is what was up one of those alleyways.

    When we had been looking at the entrance last night, a man in a suit strolled past us and went up there. It felt rather narrow and a bit eerie even during the day, so I would certainly not have gone up there at night like he did! The other alleyway I was tasked to explore looked like this:

    The other alleyway.
    The other alleyway.

    It turns out that this alleyway merges with the other one and they both take you just outside Pizza Express!

    The Sanctuary knocker

    In case you don’t know, a Sanctuary knocker (or ‘haogday’ but that’s just a weird name for it) is an ornamental knocker on the door of a cathedral. Long ago, if you touched the knocker, you were afforded the right of asylum inside. Think of a medieval Julian Assange. This ended about 400 years ago, so don’t try it the next time you are on the run from the police. Here’s the Sanctuary knocker on Durham Cathedral.

    It's much bigger than it looks here.
    It’s much bigger than it looks here.

    Harry Potter style cloisters

    The city of Durham is dominated by its cathedral. It looms large over the whole peninsula.

    Durham Cathedral looms large over the city.
    Durham Cathedral looms large over the city.

    I knew that the next target on the list would involve a trip inside this magnificent building. I made my way to the cloisters – stopping to take in the awe-inspiring interior – and got the shot I needed.

    The Harry Potter style cloisters of Durham Cathedral.
    The Harry Potter style cloisters of Durham Cathedral.

    My godmother hadn’t put ‘Harry Potter style’ cloisters on the list just because they look like they should be part of Hogwarts – she put it like that because they are part of Hogwarts. Durham Cathedral was used as a location for the first two films in the series – the Philosopher’s Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. The cloisters are where Ron’s spell backfired and he ended up coughing up slugs. Here is a page showing some of the scenes shot here.

    Parts of Durham Cathedral are currently covered in scaffolding as it undergoes major repairs and development. They are calling the project Open Treasure and you can donate to help them maintain this amazing place.

    A cathedral made of Lego

    Reading the list with somewhat bleary eyes this morning, I did think ‘she wants me to make the cathedral out of Lego!?’. It seems an unlikely request, but you don’t know my godmother like I do. I then realised that there must be a Lego model of Durham Cathedral. After taking a photo of the cloisters, I headed for the gift shop and found what I was looking for.

    That's a lot of Lego.
    That’s a lot of Lego.

    The ‘182,000’ on the roof of this impressive Lego creation refers to the fact that there are now more than 182,000 pieces of Lego used in the model. And it’s not even finished. People can buy a brick and add it to the model personally.

    A poem on a stone bridge with the cathedral in the background

    Having left the cathedral, I went in search of this rather specific target. I had heard vaguely before about a bridge in Durham inscribed with a poem, but I had no idea where it was. It turns out it is on the secluded Prebends Bridge. It’s more than 340 years old and features the words of Sir Walter Scott from Harold the Dauntless.

    I was pretty pleased to get the money shot of the cathedral in the background too.
    I was pretty pleased to get the money shot of the cathedral in the background too.

    A piece of rubbish in an inappropriate place

    I thought this one would be easy. Durham is so historic that pretty much any rubbish lying around would be inappropriate. However, it seems the people here know that and so I discovered that Durham is one of the most litter-free places I have ever been to. I was scouring the flowerbeds close to the cathedral for just one crisp packet. I was desperate enough at one point to consider putting a piece of rubbish on the toilet seat in the flat and claiming that as target complete. Eventually, I settled on this:

    I get a pass for this one, don't I?
    I get a pass for this one, don’t I?

    That’s rubbish. Check. That’s in the front yard of the road leading to the World Heritage Site. That’s got to be inappropriate, right? I do wonder what the people who saw me take that photo must have thought of me.

    A large map of the UK embedded in the pavement, made up of coloured stone in a geological manner

    This was the most difficult one on the list to find. This is because it’s not in the city centre, but outside the University of Durham’s Bill Bryson Library.

    Like Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
    Like Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

    Once you get the idea of what it is and what it represents it’s pretty cool I think.

    Tracy Franklin’s studio

    ‘Who the hell is Tracy Franklin?’ I hear you ask. Good question. I hadn’t got a clue either. Tracy Franklin is an embroiderer, and her studio is here in a back street.

    Tracy Franklin's studio.
    Tracy Franklin’s studio.

    I would tell you more about Tracy Franklin and her embroidery, but as embroidery is one of the most boring things in the world, I won’t.

    A nice pile of washing up on the draining board

    Now this was a very sneaky way for my godmother to get the washing up done in her flat. Being the excellent guest that I am, I did this before heading out this morning. Here’s the proof.

    How clean is your house?
    How clean is your house?

    Last but not least…

    A cup of coffee in your hand

    After traipsing around Durham for more than three hours, I was quite happy to complete the challenge with this one. Sat back in the flat, this cup of coffee was very welcome on a chilly October day.

    Raising a mug to my successful completion of the challenge.
    Raising a mug to my successful completion of the challenge.

    With that, my photo treasure hunt was finished. It was a lot of fun actually, a great way to explore somewhere you’re not familiar with. I recommend this game the next time you go on holiday.

    Thanks for reading, and rest assured normal service will be resumed shortly.