Anyone there? Are the pitch inspectors gonna get us again?
I was there. It is a very good pitch, giving a chance to the bowlers, unlike several of the abominations this season. I agree with Jason Gillespie who said there were no demons in the pitch.
The atmospheric conditions on the other hand, were quite peculiar. Yesterday there was bright sunshine and humidity followed by a wind which threatened to blow the flags off the poles in the upper pressbox stand and then black skies with thunder and hail. And then bright sunshine again. No hail or thunder today but it was very changeable, and I would say about 30% of the crowd left after the first weather break of the morning, such was the bleakness.
Bottom line is that we have 2 genuine swing bowlers, Barker and Woakes before he decided to add pace for England. I have sat behind the bowlers arm for most matches in the last 4 seasons and Barker is the only one of our pacemen with genuine swing. Chris Wright gets movement off the seam with the new ball, but Clarke and Rankin rely on bounce, which can be lethal in the right conditions.
Sidebottom gave a masterclass in swing bowling. The old banana metaphor came to mind time and again. He got an ovation from all sections of the crowd when the players left the field.
