Cricket World Cup: Flaming June - English cricket's monsoon month

World Cup Diary

NEVER MIND Pakistan or South Africa, there is still time for a tight grip on this tournament to be exerted by the weather. So far, so good perhaps, and, as the authorities are wont to say, only two one-day internationals have ever been washed out in this country and they are always played in May and June.

Still, there have never been 42 of them before and, as if to warn that the clouds could yet mean business, many of the serious variety were lurking about last week. Recent figures, demonstrating that all may not yet be well, have come winging to hand.

They were compiled by Dr Andrew Hignell, honorary statistician to Glamorgan and head of geography at Wells Cathedral School, where he also compiles rainfall figures, has close links with local meteorological stations and is known as master in charge of the weather.

His detailed figures for rain at all county grounds last year, given added relevance by previously compiled data, show that trouble could be in store. In April and May of 1998 210.25 hours were lost, in June that went up to 224. Come July, it dropped to 58.75, stayed reasonably steady at 61.75 in August and rose to 107.75 in September.

Dr Hignell also kept records of which grounds suffered. Old Trafford - surprise, surprise - suffered most with a total loss of 37.82 hours. Old Trafford has two World Cup games left. Headingley, also with two, is next on the list with 20.87, with Edgbaston third on 19.

There is a distinct east-west split (the weather master is particularly concerned about Glamorgan) and while it is too late for this World Cup, Dr Hignell wants change in the future. So, it may be low down the list of priorities for change in the English game (then again, isn't everything) but as Dr Hignell said: "Some counties would appear to be at a disadvantage. I would like to propose the idea of a spare day in Championship matches to be used by discretion. It would help towards more finishes."

Actually, since most four-day matches happily seem to end in three with or without the weather, it may be excessive. But Dr Hignell is understandably not letting this one go. He is unearthing figures from the past, he is in consultation with other academics, he is publishing a paper in Weather, the journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, and, most significantly, has attracted the attention of a publisher with his book Grounds For Concern: A Geography For Cricket.

"Maybe, as well as a Duckworth-Lewis system we need a McCaskill-Fish system," he said. And the ECB might have thought they had enough problems.

THIS WHOLE tournament is naturally geared to the final at Lord's on 20 June. Regardless of England's absence that is the match which matters. Only the New Zealand tourists are also in action (at The Parks) unless they are needed at HQ.

The eyes of the British cricketing public will be on the Big Match (the one at Lord's silly). Well, maybe not. Sunday 20 June is also the immovable date for the 32 regional finals of the National Village Knockout Cup. Many of the very grass-roots folk who would have relished the final will have to play.

"It's an unfortunate consequence of having to play so many matches," said Tim Brocklehurst, of the organisers. "I'm afraid if they want to keep in touch they'll have to take transistor radios. But our own final late in August [sensible time for a final] depends on it."

AJAY JADEJA'S hundred for India at Lord's on Friday may well have been in vain but it helped his side to a record which could take some time to be overtaken. They became the first country to provide four different century-makers in the same World Cup.

Jadeja, who just made it before India lost their last wicket, joined Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. Many sides have provided two centurions in one tournament but only the West Indies had previously had three. In 1987, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes scored hundreds. And they did not win the Cup either.

TALKING OF India, the theme of the tournament so far has been the crucial importance of experience to success in one-day international cricket. Lack of it, it has been widely held, cost England dear. Well, Mohammad Azharuddin is the most experienced player in the competition. He has played 321 limited-over internationals, all which he has doubtless called upon to amass scores so far of 24, 7, 11, 26 and 3.

ONE OF the lectures in a fascinating World Cup coaching seminar in Birmingham was given by Steve Bull on Developing Mental Toughness. Dr Bull is the psychologist to the England team, which entails helping the boys to get their minds in the correct frame. Well, thank heavens Steve was around, otherwise the consequences wouldn't bear thinking about.

CARNIVAL CAPERS

CATS HAVE nothing on cricket balls among pigeons. Two of The Oval's huge flock were stunned on Friday - one when Paul Reiffel was throwing in from the boundary, the other when Ajay Jadeja nudged to third man. But nothing is new in cricket. Twenty years ago in Adelaide, Clive Lloyd killed a gull with a straight drive. That has nothing on what happened to Joe Hall when batting for Trimdon Colliery (seat of Tony Blair) some summers back. On route to him, the ball struck a swallow and deviated on to his stumps.