Dirk Nannes is the latest overseas star to sign up for next season’s Twenty20 Cup (following Adam Gilchrist’s move to Middlesex and the various other county comings and goings), having been snapped up by Nottinghamshire.

The Dutch-Australian fluent Japanese speaker and skiing enthusiast is widely regarded as a Twenty20 specialist, and given his success with Delhi, Victoria and Middlesex in the past (not to mention a certain incident over the summer), it’s hard to argue with Notts director of cricket Mick Newell’s assertion that Nannes is “the most effective Twenty20 bowler in the world“. If Graeme Swann, Samit Patel and Ryan Sidebottom are all available to their county over the summer, then the Outlaws will have quite a bowling line up in the short format next year.

Dags för läsresumé. Det har gått undan på bokfronten den sista tiden, och det är bara att tacka och ta emot. Har aldrig kunnat styra det där – vissa perioder plöjer man litteraturåkern som en traktor på metaamfetamin, andra är det valium i tanken.

Jag tror, för egen del, att det beror mycket på i vilken ordning jag läser böckerna. Jag måste variera mig annars tröttnar jag. Dessutom är det mest rättvist mot berättelserna, eftersom jag tenderar att blanda ihop böcker om jag läser flera snarlika på raken. Och det är ju inte bra.

Så sent som idag både började och avslutade jag Fyrväktaren av Jeanette Winterson. En poetisk berättelse om en flicka som lär sig hitta livets ljus med hjälp av en blind fyrväktare. Borde egentligen låta den smälta innan jag skriver om den, men den grep tag och ställde en del spännande frågor. Vi har alla en historia, frågan är bara var den börjar, och slutar.

Innan den ömsom lusläste och ömsom skummade jag Stewart Copelands självbiografi Strange Things Happen – A Life with The Police, Polo and Pygmies. SC var trummis i The Police, inihelvete bra sådan, och det var till stor del på grund av det här som den hamnade i läshögen. Den var tyvärr inte så bra som jag hoppats på. Likt hans trumspel var den intensiv, infallsrik och driven, men vissa partier var tämligen ointressanta. Sen hör det ju till saken att jag hade sett fram emot att frossa i The Police-kuriosa, vilket jag fick, dock inte om deras framgångsår (1978-1984) som avhandlades tämligen raskt och odetaljerat. Däremot berättade han en hel del om återföreningen, vad som föranledde den och hur han hanterade en viss basists (läs Sting) tendens att agera envåldshärskare över bandet. De partierna var klart läsvärda; resten – gäsp.

Och nu säger jag emot mig själv om att variera mig, men innan Copeland klämde jag till med två Ernest Hemingway på raken. Anledningen var dels att jag bibliotekslånat dem och var tvungen att förhålla mig till återlämningsdatumen, men även för att jag varit rejält sugen på EH länge.

Och Solen Har Sin Gång var hans första storsäljare, en magnifik berättelse om ”den förlorade generationen” i 1920-talets Europa. Rumlande festnätter i Paris, närgången skildring av tjurfäktningslivet i Madrid och en befriande osentimental beskrivning av ytliga romanser som tröst mot livsledan och sorgen över den oförlösta kärleken. Sprängbra.

Den andra var Den Gamle och Havet, som många betraktar som hans absoluta mästerverk. Och jag förstår det. Så enkelt, närvarande, och innerligt beskriven är den gamle Santiagos kamp mot naturen, att jag var DÄR. Jag satt bredvid honom i båten och kände sorg över att inte kunna sträcka ut en hand och hjälpa honom dra in svärdfisken, att inte kunna bryta en åra och bistå honom i hans kamp mot hajarna eller stödja honom när han utmattad föll ihop efter att ha nått land. Rörande, realistiskt och vackert. Har du inte läst den – gör det.

Det var det. Nästa på tur blir Middlesex av Jeffrey Eugenides. Pulitzerpris-vinnande tegelsten om ”det moderna Amerika: från massinvandringens ström av fattiga, rädda och sargade människor, över 20-talets förbudstid och sextiotalets raskonflikter in i vår egen tid”. Återkommer om den.

That´s a wrap.

Spitfires v Crusaders, The Rose Bowl, 26 July 2008

© Sarah Ansell

Next season’s Twenty20 cup looks set to be an altogether more glamourous affair, with Middlesex having already signed Adam Gilchrist and hopeful of adding Sachin Tendulkar as well. Add to this the arrival of Ajantha Mendis at Hampshire, and county cricket in general is looking like it might be a little easier on the eye next season.

Lancashire, not to be outdone, have made Lily Allen an honorary member.

I hate getting onto a band bandwagon. It is not an authenticity thing, but simply, I don’t want to seem like I like a group because a few choice cool kids do already. Well, fuck it, because The XX sound really good. I just bought their CD today (I buy my CD’s), and it is so fitting for the weather and in my room it makes it feel a little more enclosed (the way I like it to be).

On other news, I went to the United Way Book Sale at school, and though I didn’t walk away with many books that I will never read last year, I made a select few wise choices I can be proud of. I found some really great contemporary works like Middlesex, 100 Years of Solitude, The Deep End of the Ocean, some classics like Catcher in the Rye (which I’m giving away to Sasha P.) a collection of H.G. Wells shorts, and a couple other presents. Books are the best presents.

Highlights of my day: the books, chit chatting/laughing with Sasha P. and Dani T.S. (shout out!), getting advice from a major thread and a major motion picture, and listening to rap music for class.

What happened to you today?

…after hitting a brilliant 161 off 132 balls. FPT Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 11 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell

FPT Spitfires v Sabres, Canterbury, 16 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell

The Sebastian Gibson law firm provides International Business and Entertainment representation to businesses, entertainers, artists and celebrities from offices in Southern California. Learn more at http://www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com

English and Welsh-trained and internationally experienced, the Law Firm of American Attorney Sebastian Gibson has been established for over 25 years. Experienced in practicing international law in London, England, throughout Great Britain and the UK, Europe and around the world from California, Sebastian Gibson is an exceptional attorney.

Specializing in the representation of entertainment and sports celebrities, business figures and international figures, Sebastian Gibson is that rare English and Welsh trained international lawyer you need for your international representation.

Today, Middlesex is one of the world’s leading centers for business and entertainment. Sebastian Gibson has had a strong affiliation with Middlesex since the 1980’s when he practiced exclusively in London and represented international figures and multinational companies in their business enterprises worldwide. His representation has included celebrities, royal family members, multinational corporations, insurance companies and even foreign central banks in a wide variety of legal matters.

Working with local solicitors and barristers throughout Great Britain and the UK, Sebastian Gibson can assist you with your legal issues and disputes and protect your legal rights in Middlesex and throughout England, Europe and the World.

Some of the areas of law the law firm specializes in include, celebrity, entertainment and sports figure representation, publishing law, invasion of privacy, defamation, misappropriation and misuse of images, music, film and television law, multimedia law, internet and advertising law, modeling law, talent agent and management representation law, intellectual property, trademarks, copyrights and patent law, licensing, gaming, media, marketing, business, real estate and personal injury.

The Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson can assist you in your international legal matters in California as your American law firm and we will coordinate representation of your international legal matters throughout England, Europe and the World, working closely with local attorneys.

U.S. and non-U.S. companies can enlist the assistance of International Attorney Sebastian Gibson in their legal matters by calling Sebastian Gibson internationally or e-mailing us.

In the entertainment and sports representation of celebrities, our experience affords us the ability to handle international contracts, licensing agreements, and to protect celebrity rights in privacy law intrusions, defamation and misuses of their names, likeness and images.

In business matters, the Sebastian Gibson law firm represents individuals as well as U.S. based and non-U.S. based companies with all aspects of their business ventures and enterprises. The law firm’s international business representation includes contract negotiations and drafting of complex international agreements, business fraud representation, intellectual property rights protection, joint ventures, licensing, distribution, agency matters, trade and customs disputes, electronic discovery, and dispute resolution.

Today, Sebastian Gibson represents models, writers, artists, performers, publishing companies and advises a host of celebrities in the entertainment field. Sebastian Gibson has also represented international insurance companies based in London as well as Canadian insurers and as a personal injury attorney today he knows how insurance companies analyze cases for settlement as well as anyone.

As a litigation lawyer, Sebastian Gibson is an accomplished attorney not only in litigation and discovery, but is also experienced in mediation and arbitration. He has obtained millions of dollars in settlements and has a number of seven figure million dollar plus settlements to his name.

Sebastian Gibson is a well-recognized name in U.S. and international legal circles with over 1500 legal articles on the internet and he has recently completed work on a book. Sebastian Gibson is also a former musician who performed full time internationally from the age of 16, and appeared on national television shows alongside other famous entertainers. After working in London for a number of years as an international attorney, he formed his own law firm in California in the early 1980s.

Sebastian Gibson received his B.A. from UCLA, and then obtained two law degrees, the first from Cardiff University in Wales, Great Britain and the second from the University of San Diego School of Law. He graduated cum laude from UCLA and magna cum laude from Cardiff University.

If you need legal international legal representation, call the law firm of R. Sebastian Gibson today.

…successfully for the wicket of Dawid Malan (lbw). Pro 40 Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 9 August 2009

© Sarah Ansell

Mary Ann Lamb

Born on December 3, 1764, London; Died may 20, 1847, Edmonton, Middlesex), sister of Charles Lamb, wrote with him Tales from Shakespear. 

Subject to periods of violent insanity (in the first of which she fatally stabbed her mother), she was under Charles lamb’s watchful and devoted care during his entire lifetime.  Apart from infrequent lapses, she was, for the most part, quite lucid, serving as her brother’s hostess, housekeeper, faithful companion, and literary ally.

She wrote 14 of the 20 Tales from Shakespear (1807), concentrating her effort on the comedies, and collaborated also on Poetry for Children (1808), and mrs. Leicester’s School (1809), a book of children’s stories.  She survived her brother by almost 13 years.

Frozen waterfalls. Vertical Ice. Climbing ever higher. Nearby we have some great ice! This is a great way to add adventure to your winter! You will learn how to put on crampons, tie into a rope and use ice tools to climb a perfect beginner’s climb. Just walking up the gully to the frozen falls is spectacular. On site you will have the chance to climb several times. Perfect for budding rock jocks looking to see if they would like to get into the sport. Easy enough for anyone at a normal fitness level and the desire to go vertical. You will be on belay the entire time, so you are carefully protected. You will need to bring your own stiff hiking boots, stiff tele, or downhill ski boot. Only 3 participants!

Meets in Middlesex, NY (south end of Canandaigua Lake)
Saturday, January 30th, 8:30AM -4:15PM
$125/person includes climbing gear, instruction and lunch
To Register – Call Now! Contact the Pack Paddle Ski office at 585-346-5597!

I love it when assigned reading for an English class is so enjoyable that you want to read faster than you’ve been assigned.  Surprise surprise – the “sophomore” class that I’m taking as a senior (loooong story) has had three books like that so far.  Jane Eyre was good, Lolita was one I had an excuse to get to, and now the Pulitzer Prize-winning Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

The book has always been on my radar (like Lolita) as one of those books I should get around to reading but I just never picked it up – there was always something else that seemed more interesting at the time.  Now I’m glad that I finally got around to reading it – the critical acclaim is (mostly) well-deserved.

The story is certainly not a “normal” one – it is the story of a recessive chromosome passed through generations, it is the story of a family through three generations, and it is the story of a child stuck between two genders.

To be very honest, the book lost steam near the end.  The story of Lefty and Desdemona, grandparents to Cal (the hermaphrodite narrator), was a fascinating one – the incest angle was handled very well and it was less about two siblings falling in love and more about two people who love each other trying to start a new life in America.  As the story progresses, with a new generation (of relatives falling in love) living through war and rights (you know, civil ones) and the 60s, the reader just gets wrapped up in Cal’s storytelling.  I mean, Eugenides’ storytelling, in reality – the way he, through Cal, references so many things and creates such a “hyper-realism” in the narration… its brilliant.  Sometimes its a mostly unnoticeable reference – the use of the name “Plantaganet” or a twist on an obscure Shakespeare quote – but all of them add a layer of color to the novel, making it a delight to read.

The first 14 years of Cal’s life are, in my opinion, the most exciting of the novel.  She – Calliope, at the time – lives through so much and experiences life in such a delightful way that I was reminded of being a kid again.  The house on Middlesex (the only slightly ham-fisted symbol in the novel.  The street Calliope grows up on is “Middlesex” – really?!) is a very cool house and the family settles into this quirky dysfunctional American life that anyone who has grown up in suburbia can relate to.  The scenes with “the Obsure Object” – Cal’s first true love – are fantastic.  The quiet passion, the sexual discovery, the fun of the text… there are awkward and uncomfortable moments, like the sex in the cabin with Jerome, but they only heighten the novel – they aren’t awkward in the sense of “oh, this is weird and doesn’t fit” but rather “ohh…. Cal….”

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the novel falls flat in the last hundred pages or so, after Calliope runs away from her family in New York in order to escape any sort of procedures that Dr. Luce wants her to undergo in order to remain a girl.  As Calliope becomes Cal… I just found myself not really caring.  The big moment of the novel should, of course, be the realization that Calliope was not in fact a girl and that moment was big.  Unfortunately, everything after it (not including the “present” interjections from Cal about Julie, the girl in Berlin – those were nice counterpoints to the history bits) just fails to excite.  It is somewhat uncomfortable but mostly just disappointing.  It isn’t as tight or as engaging as the earlier points of the novel.  Maybe this is because Cal is writing about himself?  I’m not sure.  Regardless, I was let down by the way the pacing just faltered as the finish line approached.

To Sum Up: Despite the faltering of the ending, this was a great novel.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it deserved the Pulitzer, the Oprah’s Book Club spot, and everything else.  I just wish it could have taken that jump to “really great” by keeping up the pacing to the end.  I really ought to read Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides now too – because I know I’ll want to read whatever he publishes next, so why not get the full scope?

News From the Bridges – November 7th 2009

TrueBeat are looking for a new drummer!

Yes Truebeat are parting company with their old drummer (on good terms) because of commitment issues so the new guy must be dedicated and willing to go the whole hog. A car and the ability to do backing vocals are also very useful but not essential! Anyway, have a listen to  ‘em and see what you think; if you want an audition, get in touch at info@truebeat.co.uk. Catch these skasters in STAINES on Nov 26 2009  at The Hobgoblin   [www.myspace.com/truebeatuk]

WAXHOUSE are going into the STAKEOUT STUDIOS Hampton next week to start recording an EP with Chris Coulter … we wish them a pile of luck  [www.myspace.com/waxhouseband]

Melodramatic Surrey rockers ARCANE ROOTS have a new website they want you to visit : www.arcaneroots.com …. it is coming to life a bit more too with some live tracks and some demos up as well as a discography … but they would like to see more fans coming in tho! Click on, send ‘em messages, tell ‘em what you want and who you are!

Feltham eccentric yet sensible indie rockers “The Eccentric Sensibles”
[www.myspace.com/eccentricsensible]  will be  in the Studio next week to collaborate with artist Lori Sims (acoustic), on a blinding new song entitled  “Player” . . .

Indie poppers AUDIO VIDEO DISCO [www.myspace.com/audiovideodiscouk] will be playing The Fighting Cocks Kingston-Upon-Thames Dec 5 2009  at 8:00P

Guildford’s Fab Four GETSETRADIO is coming to STAINES for all you lucky people – catch ‘em on Nov 15 2009  at 8:00P at OUR FAVOURITE STAINES venue The Hobgoblin w/ 8th Time Luckie [www.GETSETRADIO.com]

Twickenham punksters ANONYMOUS TIP (who will be playing STAINES Nov 26 2009  at 8:00P The Hobgoblin W/ True Beat) have been getting some seriously strong support from radio and hot reviews from tastemakers Subba Cultcha and Music Week …

WITHOUT THOUGHT are lined up for two sparkling Christmas Shows… the first is Dec 19 2009      8:00P at Guildford – The Boileroom **Christmas Party** w/ Polar + JB Conspiracy and the VERY NEXT DAY the band plays STAINES Dec 20 2009  8:00P at The Hobgoblin (w/ Purge & Polar) [www.myspace.com/withoutthought ]

After a gob-routing shockingly successful show at the BUCKLE UP Rock Goblin, STAINES hometown’s favourite pop act MISS PINK SHOES is back in TOWN playing THE HOB Dec 3 2009  7:00P so if you missed ‘em in November come back and support this LOCAL ACT this  December.[www.myspace.com/misspinkshoesofficial]

staines
live music
rock music
gigs

Feedburn This

CHERYL Cole has been targeted in a big money internet sex plot.

A British man wants millions to stop him shaming Cheryl with an X-rated website.

Martin McCann, 55, has bought the rights to the internet address cherylcole.cc

And he is threatening to plaster it with adult snaps or sell the address to a porn firm unless the X Factor judge stumps up the cash to buy the site.

Already he is attempting to embarrass the 26-year-old by putting up photos of her next to the phrase “3 Words: Sex Sex Sex”.

Cheryl’s album 3 Words is currently No.1 in the UK album charts.

Mr McCann told the Daily Star Sunday: “If Cheryl wants it she can have it but only for the right money.”

The move by India-based Mr McCann, originally from Harrow, Middlesex, follows his attempt a year ago to get David Beckham to hand over £5million.

He wanted the cash to stop him making condoms named after the footballer’s three sons.

Source

FPT Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 11 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell

Shaun Udal, Danny Evans & Steven Finn, FPT Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 11 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell

FPT Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 11 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell

An increase in smaller properties is misleading the average house buyer, who cannot currently buy a house with their £165,528 in Middlesex.

Townends Estate Agents Hounslow

As Halifax announces increase in the average house price, estate agents express joy. Peter F from Foxton Estate Agents in Richmond states  ”… everyone is buying…The only problem is, there are not enough properties.”

The reality is the average house price will not buy you a house in Middlesex – Vicky from ‘Townend’ estate agents, Twickenham stated “In Whitton  you will only get… a flat or maisonette’ and ‘in central Twickenham a studio.”

She goes on to explain that the current economic climate restricts anyone that does not have large amounts of savings or a high paid profession from purchasing anything but ’student accomidation’.

Vicky discusses the possibility of a trend which involves variables such as Age, Class and Marital Status.

According to the bank UK house prices rose by 1.2 % meaning over the last six months the average house price increased by £11,000. As the good news keeps coming  buyers of ‘Beautiful homes’ will be disapointed.

In reality…

A two bedroom house in the middlesex area can cost you anthing from £200,000- £275,000. This ia a far cry from the estmate made by Halifax who pointed out. ‘House prices are still 4.7% lower than they were – this time last year.’

Many estate agents have expressed their concerns regarding mortgage rate percentages being to high. They claim young couples and young professionals are deciding to rent properties instead because the deposit amounts are too high.

Peter F disagrees. “It is a ‘… busy time… We are excited.”

There is a real possibility that the average house may become a flat if things continue this way.

LVCC v Middlesex, Canterbury, 5 August 2009

© Sarah Ansell

LVCC v Middlesex, Canterbury, 5 August 2009

© Sarah Ansell

Sweet and frothy on top – dark and mysterious when you delve deeper – stained and smeared with a light bloom of self-belief and a love-of-life, Hollow Limit is a joyful and optimistic young band – not doom laden and nihilistic like many of their melodic metalcore compatriots.

I was fortunate enough to see their recent performance at The Hob, Staines Sunday 25th October. Sharing the finesse of Avenged Sevenfold together with the egotistical majesty of Iron Maiden, these local lads have grand aspirations and tip-top musical talent to boot.

I loved the clean vocals (not too many metalcore growls) from Dan, the dual guitar symphonies from the twin guitar maestros of Tommy Goodrick and Mike Lidiard, the rattling rapid-fire drum notes  (with plenty of radiating blast beats) from Luke Veryard and, not forgetting, the exquisite bass patterns from George Pardoe.

Yes, hardcore Hanworth head-bangers Hollow Limit nail their symphonic intentions firmly to the mast right from the outset.

Their twin lead guitars take turns to tango, the shrieking breaks and rippin’ and searing solos tending to lacerate your eardrums. It soon becomes clear that the cruel intention of this lively and lucid band is  to frizzle your brain hair,  slap a smile upon your chops and twist your insides inside-out,  whilst simultaneously demolishing your ear-drums,  in an all-out tactical assault on your mind and body.

I particularly enjoyed the ‘Bon Jovi’ sounding shallow snarling low-points and well positioned breakdowns on ‘The Devils Hour’ but my favourite Hollow Limit number has to be ‘Our Desperate Story’ with its complex metal basslines, carved and exquisitely handcrafted riffs and inventive, adventurous, twisting leads.

Dan Evans is the band’s fresh cheeky-faced ‘cockney looking’ front-man (he looks like a character from those 1970’s ‘Confessions of a Window Cleaner’ type films – you can just imagine Dan shinning down the drainpipe with his shirt-tails flapping between his legs, because the headmistress’s husband -  known to us as ‘the colonel’   – has just arrived home unexpectedly …  you can then picture him having to hastily make off in the nearest possible vehicle – in this case a milk float – just before the Colonel appears blustering and red-faced at the door, weilding a shotgun.) His charmingly fresh
vocals tend to add clarity and counter-points to the intricate musical compositions whilst his cheeky boyish grin, mop of golden hair, and innocent smile adds to the bizarre sense of ‘Britishness’ that pervades the overall style of this group.

If you like metal and you are looking for an authentic British equivalent to Avenged Sevenfold, with a capacity to produce astonishing, twisting and turning aural landscapes where grungy gravely low chords are cut through by exciting high points, then your are gonna just lurve Hollow Limit.

See ‘em now before they become too old!

© Neil_Mach
October 2009

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/hollowlimit

staines
live music
rock music
gigs

Feedburn This

The quixotic charm of The James Warner Prophecies is that their music contains a myriad of styles, oeuvres and impressions – much like J-Rock -  but theirs is less disposable pop in style and more harmonic indie in ambition. Thus we get thick slices of American Punk (i.e. think ‘Bad Religion’) laced generously with Brit indie folk sound reminiscent of ‘The Magic Numbers’.

So with The James Warner Prophecies you get melodic singing together with hardcore drum beats and haunting flute.  Yeah, I know it shouldn’t work. But it does.  Just.  Sometimes you feel poised on the edge of something a little too grand and opulent to be really honest …  but then the twinkle-in-the-eye  gentle humour of the band shines through,  and the result is an agreeable love fest of sound and virtue.

Benign Rasputin-like figure Joe Brown is the mighty front-man power-house lead singer/guitar of the band. Striding about the stage looking like a kindly ginger version of Edward Teach (the notorious pirate) – with an enormous burning red beard and a savage glint in his cruel eye. Instead of cutlass and sword, though, we get electric mandolin & guitar – but the results are similarly battle hardened with an abundance of inventive fireworks from the fret-boards and vindictive encounters with the spiteful strings of the mandolin.

Bringing some calm and beauty to the proceedings, Kate Rounding plays a mournful flute on many songs, plus the haunting chords on Korg. I understand Kate also adds violin to the mix – but we didn’t see her fiddle at The Hob. Lanky long-haired hippy Matt Anthony adds some low inventive and, ultimately, reassuring bass to the songs and the ‘Noel Fielding’ look-alike Dan Williams in assured and competent on drums.

The band moved ruthlessly from song-to-song keeping up the pressure and starting with an appropriately named tune ‘Braincell Piracy’ before launching into ‘King of The Killers’, then onto ‘Judas Stone’ and ‘The Itch’. The big end to the show was their ‘Set The World on Fire’ track (the unimaginatively named) ‘Mandolin Song’. This song has some fierce fretting from Joe (on mandolin) with audacious flares of light and fire from Kate and plenty of pounding crashing percussion from Dan and Matt. A truly exciting and heart pummelling joy of a song.

From my own point of view, I would prefer something a bit more languid and soulfully helpful from Kate (at times it seemed like her contributions were repetitive and almost go through-the-motions routine in content) and I would also like a little less sympathy from the band for the folk-country traditions of their home county (Derbyshire) and a little more hard driving rock from the ensemble … but that is just my personal taste.

Overall, though, the band makes a positive contribution to the Rock / Folk Rock scene. The band members are a jolly hardworking crew with a capable and naturally talented energy. I Strongly recommend that you see their live show soon.

© Neil_Mach
October 2009

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies

staines
live music
rock music
gigs

Feedburn This

In fairness to Steve Harmison, if anyone has questioned his commitment to England then no-one could ever question his commitment to Durham. Anyone who has heard Harmison speak while away on tour with England gets the impression that home really is where his heart lies, and when you watch him for Durham, he appears completely at ease.

And the results have been prolific. Durham have won two County titles with Harmison at the forefront each time-getting the final title winning wicket each year as well as being named the county’s bowler of the year each time.

While speculation has been rife about the 31-year old retiring from international cricket, though he has been quick to refute such suggestions. But Durham were understandably delighted that Harmison had signed up for four more years, with Geoff Cook, Durham’s head coach admitting: “Stephen is a huge asset to our team, he has a great presence, both on the field and in the dressing room, and his commitment and dedication to the Club has always been fantastic.”

Certainly Harmison’s importance to Durham over the next four years cannot be understated. The county may be the country’s leading purveyor of pace bowling talents, in the likes of England players Graham Onions and Liam Plunkett, England Lion Mark Davies. But Harmison, with his pace and bounce is the sort of bowler rarely seen in England. He can terrify county batsmen seemingly at will, and is perhaps the finest spearhead of a bowling attack in the country. And how his home county’s fans will revel in the thought of seeing him for four more years.

Middlesex move can breathe life into Newman

It is perhaps harsh to label Scott Newman as a living embodiment of Surrey’s decline, but no man best represents the fall of one of the countries biggest teams. For any Surrey fan his departure is probably inevitable, but a sad sight nonetheless. Newman debuted for Surrey at one of their strongest moments. Entering a team with the likes of Ramprakash, Thorpe and Butcher he scored 99 on debut, followed by 143 against Leicestershire in his next match.

That summer he was given an academy berth, and the talk was of a future England player. Such talk remained for a couple of years, but as Surrey’s form has waned, so has Newman’s. In truth for the last year he has appeared on his way out of the team, which in truth is a crying shame. Perhaps his face just didn’t fit in Chris Adams new plans, much like James Benning, another former great white hope of Surrey cricket. But a loan move to Notts pretty much showed which way the wind was blowing.

But with a first class batting average over 40, he has the potential on his day to be one of the best openers on the county circuit. After a couple of stale years, Newman can be reborn at Middlesex.

County circuit abuzz with transfers

Who says the County season only lasts five months a year? The intrigue of who is signing who remains an added attraction even when the cricket is absent. Today, there was the news that Nick Compton had left Middlesex, ending a long-term family connection, to join Somerset. There it is widely predicted that he will replace the departing Justin Langer, though Compton will have to go someway to replace the former Australian opener.

Elsewhere, Warwickshire announced the double signing of Imran Tahir and Essex batsman Varun Chopra. The signing of Tahir could be one of the coups of the season, a matchwinning spin bowler always wins matches in County Cricket, and Tahir proved his pedigree while at Hampshire. Meanwhile the signing of Chopra further boosts a batting lineup likely to be weakened by the departures of Trott and Bell next year for England duty. Chopra was once considered a bright prospect at Essex, with Graham Gooch a big fan, and the county will be disappointed to lose a batsmen in whom they have invested plenty of time and effort. However his departure is offset by the signing of another bright young English opener in Middlesex’s highly promising Billy Godleman.

Meanwhile the talk turned to wicketkeepers. Surrey’s long-serving wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty has moved on to Gloucestershire. One of the more capable wicket-keeper batsman, Batty averages in the mid 30s and is a dab hand with the gloves. Though his time at the Oval was always likely to be finished with the signing of Steven Davies, but Gloucestershire have got themselves a very capable keeper. Batty will replace Steve Adshead at Gloucestershire who has been released.

FPT Spitfires v Panthers, Canterbury, 11 May 2009

© Sarah Ansell