Preseason intrudes on midseason

Rain stops play – although not at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

Football preseason has never really enthused me. While it is necessary to keep tabs on what is happening down the Meadow to avoid a complete state of bewilderment come August, I have always felt the need to have a couple of months rest. With all the shenanigans going on over the last few months, this year I was more than usually ready to escape the football supporter treadmill by immersing myself into the comforts of the world of cricket.

There is very little about cricket that I do not love, whereas there is far too much about football that really frustrates me. If forced to choose between the two, I would have to plump for the summer game. Among the reasons for that is that the weather is better, at least in theory.

In his book 'A Last English Summer', Duncan Hamilton describes Cheltenham College as: “the perfect place for those who regard watching cricket as a heavenly pursuit.” That must be why I have been to every festival since my first visit as a sixth-former. However, not even county cricket’s Garden of Eden is immune to the worst that the British summer can offer. The first day of the championship match between Gloucestershire and Glamorgan was truncated by the rain. The third day, the Saturday, was washed out completely.

It was one of those days where rain poured out of a slate grey sky and even when the clouds appeared to lift water lashed down even harder. Once play at the College Ground had been abandoned – one of the easiest decisions the umpires would have had during the four days – I resorted to my ‘Plan B’. Cheltenham Town were hosting Birmingham City for a preseason friendly. After registering with the Robins’ on-line ticket site, a digital ticket had found its way into my smartphone’s Apple Wallet.

Having arrived at Whaddon Road, commercially known as the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, I purchased a Guinness and cheese and onion roll at ‘The Thirsty Robins’. The name suggests something significantly different from the reality: a mobile catering unit sitting in a puddled-up car park with four pub umbrellas providing shelter from the summer downpour. Under the covering, trying to avoid any raindrops polluting my pint, I listened to the preseason chatter, the usual reflections on players and prospects mixed with complaints about the exorbitant ticket price being charged for this friendly.

Fifteen minutes prior to kick-off I took my position on the covered terrace commercially known as the Section Optimising IT Stand. Fortunately, there were no hard stares from any locals onto whose piece of concrete I had inadvertently trespassed. The friendly marked the launch of Cheltenham’s new change strip, a shade of green the half-time announcer described as ‘mint’. On first sight my reaction was how much they looked like their Gloucestershire neighbours Forest Green Rovers, something that Robins supporters might not be that comfortable with.

The match was entertaining, if typical of a preseason run out. There were plenty of deft touches, flicks and step-overs that will be confined to the training ground once the first Saturday in August arrives. The Robins soaked up pressure and then took the lead with a stunning long-range strike from Ellis Chapman. Keshi Anderson equalised for Birmingham, but the Robins edged ahead again when George Lloyd slid in to put away a cross from Rob Street. Goals from Curtis Davies and Juninho Bacuna ensured the Blues were 3-2 to the good at the interval.

As with so many matches that have free scoring first-halves, the second period was goalless. While Birmingham made eight substitutions during the second 45 minutes, Cheltenham kept the same ten outfield players for the whole match. My main interest was the performance of Rob Street, a regular starter with Salop last season. He was his usual industrious self, covering plenty of ground; late in the game he did not quite reach a cross that could have produced an equaliser. That, Robins fans, is Rob Street. Despite my blue and amber allegiance, as the clock counted down, I became vocal for a Cheltenham goal.

On the Sunday, back at the College Ground the championship match meandered into its purely academic fourth day. The time lost to rain meant that Gloucestershire were still a wicket down in their first innings. Chris Dent notched up a ton, while Olly Price, Miles Hammond and Bobby Bracey completed half-centuries. Every time that Bracey, a Bristol Rovers devotee, scored off a lusty shot a spectator chanted in strong Brizzle ‘come on the Gas’. It was ironic that while this match, important only for averages, bonus points and over rates, was being played out in breezy sunshine, some miles away at Old Trafford England’s quest for the return of the Ashes was dissolving in a rainstorm.