The Yorker: At the Test

View from Hollies Stand

View from Priory Stand

I was at days 3 and 4 of the Edgebaston test, and we were extremely fortunate with the weather there too. There was only 1 shower of rain, which coincided with an early lunch on day 3. We were slap-bang in the middle of the Hollies stand on that day too - which is the Edgebaston encampment of the barmy army

Good crowd in

It was interesting to see how the behaviour in the stand changed over the course of the day as the level of Marstons consumption went up. The two lads beside us must have had about 14 pints each, and went from being nice polite lads at the start of the day to being out and out rebels at the end. Sticking it to the man don't ya know.

"Why should I sit down, look look ... he's standing up down there, tell him to sit down", say they to a bemused looking steward. They were harmless enough though, and it didn't take away from our enjoyment of the cricket overmuch, as there was a bit of excitement and atmosphere from the crowd whenever Flintoff or Nel were bowling.

Highlight was probably Collingwood getting his 50, everyone was so much wanting him to do well that there was really palpable tension as he approached it and a genuine outpouring of relief and joy when he got there. It's probably the first time I've seen such a reaction for a 50 - even the ovation he got for his ton wasn't quite as big.

Colly just after his 50

I also really enjoyed seeing proper quick bowling in real life. It was pretty much impossible to track the ball, and I couldn't believe how far back the keeper was ... on telly it looks like about half a track-length - whereas it's about three times that! I was also well impressed with some of the fielding, with them throwing the ball in from ridiculous distances with great accuracy and no noticable effort.

Bringing up 300

Unfortunately, we had to leave the ground 2 hours before the match finished, as we had a plane to catch to get home. Luckily it was on the TV at the airport, so we didn't miss much. That was quite a display from Smith to win the match, but the conditions weren't great for the bowlers - with a flat enough track and no cloud cover.

Monty catching his breath between his very frequent overs

It's an expensive day out at £55 per day

, but I do think it was worth it. A premiership football match is nearly as much and about 1/5 the length. Obviously you run the risk of weather playing a big part - but if you get a full day out of it, it can't be beat. Hell, I'd nearly pay it to see Nel bowl a spell and then have to go and stand in front of the barmy army - they were giving him a bit of stick and he was loving it.