Porter's Points

Cricket and the Weather – A Tricky Business

The imposition of drought restrictions across much of the country has predictably led to a sustained period of wet weather and reminded us, after a couple of lucky years, that scheduling cricket matches in the first half of April is a pretty hit-and-miss business. Thankfully, whilst many games have been affected by rain, a number have been played to a conclusion, and it already looks as if the LV= County Championship will be a close-run thing.
                                                 
As I write, all sides have played two or three fixtures, and as many as 12 counties have won at least one match. Congratulations to Andre Adams, who edged out Alan Richardson by a fraction of a point to become the FTI MVP for April. Unsurprisingly, the rankings are being dominated by bowlers at this early stage of the season, Nick Compton and Chris Read being the only two non-bowlers to feature in the top ten.

The West Indies will be the first International visitors to our shores this summer. They have a rapid  turnaround between their final home Test on 27 April 2012, their first tour fixture against Sussex a week later, and the first Test at Lord’s less than two weeks after that. A new time zone and very different weather conditions are just some of the challenges international cricketers face.

Finally, a last word from me for a while (you'll be pleased to hear) regarding the anti-corruption tutorial. I'm pleased to say every player registered by the 18 First-Class Counties has now completed the training. Great effort lads – and thanks.

Angus