Snakes and Bradders

Norfolk 257-6 Staffordshire 153 all out. Norfolk win by 104 runs

Ok, so the idea of this blog was to follow all things Norwich City but as all canaries fans know, you cannot afford to ignore a trophy when you get one.

So, in the height of Ashes fever, the BBC Radio Norfolk sports team decamped to Durham for what for us was as big as anything Flintoff and co. are fighting it out for this summer. The Minor Counties one-day trophy is admittedly played out without the vast majority of people even noticing but these guys all have other jobs and covering this final at the fine Riverside ground was a pleasure rarely afforded when you are used to commentating on the relative glamour of professional football.

Some of the players, including bowler Paul Bradshaw (above right), joined us for a stint of commentary as Norfolk headed for a well deserved win.

This was the one-day final played over two days. I realise this does nothing to defeat the often-had argument that cricket is far too complicated and difficult to follow but it was the rain's fault. The extension caused a bit of an issue for the BBC Radio Norfolk commentary team, some of whom spent the second day of this final in borrowed clothes after only bringing enough for one day.

These days Durham is a fully-fledged Test Match venue and on this evidence deserves to be. Players,officials and fans all had only positive things to say about their genial hosts although there was one sign at the ground which caught my eye:

Supporters at The Minor Counties one-day final couldn't be further from the beverage-vessel-stacking antics of the Barmy Army. The fact it happens on a Wednesday (and Thursday when it rains) means the sort of people who can go tend to be those that aren't at work anymore and are sufficiently passionate about cricket to go all the way from Norfolk to Durham. That's about 300 miles. They certainly were not going to be watching the final through an alcohol induced haze. I notice the sign doesn't mention anything about the stacking of tea cups.