This may go down as one of the longest, strangest U.S. Open tournaments in history.  In a weekend that has seen two of three rounds halted by torrential downpours, there have been two players who have shot a course record 64 on the notoriously difficult Bethpage Black, and another player setting the U.S. Open 36 hole scoring record.  Strangest of all is that none of these three players are named Woods or Mickelson.
Instead of Phil and Tiger, you have Mike Weir and Lucas Glover sharing the course record, and perhaps even more surprising, former U.S. Amateur winner Ricky Barnes setting the …read more

The first round at this year’s U.S. Open was over barely three hours after it began, thanks to Mother Nature.  A downpour of rain started just before 7 a.m., minutes after amateur Ricky Fowler, the first player off the tee, hit his opening drive.  Play was halted at 10:16 a.m. because officials were unable to keep up with the amount of rain that was soaking an already water-logged Bethpage Black.  The greens became ponds, and play was suspended until Friday.  No player completed more than 11 holes, and half of the 156 man field didn’t even get on the course.
The …read more

2nd Test match, India vs England, Trent Bridge
Fickle weather in England looks set to completely disrupt the 2nd test between England and India. Day 1 didn’t get underway until 1500 and by close of play, England had managed to lose 7 wickets for a mere 170 rus. The Indian bowling was of a reasonable standard with a handful of unplayable deliveries, but really, the day was characterised by most batsmen getting a start but lacking the concentration and application needed to go and get a big score. Day 2 is likely to be disrupted similarly, with more rain forecast (not …read more

The 4th test between England and West Indies failed to get underway today due to torrential rain in most of northern England. That the game was abandoned by midday says plenty about exactly how wet it is. The forecast isn’t great for the next few days so it could be a very frustrating time indeed for all involved.
Despite the implication of the ridiculous title to this post, the West Indies would certainly have wanted to play, if only to save some face in this largely disappointing series. They very nearly pulled off a shock in the 3rd test during which …read more

The poor bloke in charge of the pitch at Cape Town has been having a hell of a time trying to get the pitch ready. General atmospheric conditions have resulted in a decidely soggy wicket and outfield for the 2nd test encounter between South Africa and New Zealand, not to mention the fog that cut short the first session of the second day.
Never fear, though, some South African ingenuity helped the players getat least a few overs in the morning session. Yep – not only did they get a hovercraft out there to try and whip away some of …read more

It just wouldn’t be English cricket (well, unless you were trying to watch the 5th ODI between England and India) without a wet start to the season. The season opener MCC XI vs Notts (last seasons County Champs) finally got underway after a proper English drenching put paid to any cricket in the morning. England hopefuls Monty Panesar and Alastair Cook will be hoping to impress in advance of the forthcoming Sri Lanka test series.
In other news, the stereotyped stuffy-old-men-with-silly-jackets-big-beards-and-outdated-opinions reared it’s ugly head as Southport Trinity Cricket Club were issued a threat from Liverpool and District’s League Cricket management …read more