Nick Compton – Ian Louis Harris

A Wonderful Wimbledon Day, Gentleman’s Quarter Finals Day, No. 1 Court, 10 July 2019

Janie seems to have a knack with the Wimbledon public ballot. Last year she got super seats on Centre Court for Ladies’ Singles Semi-Finals Day…

Wimbledon Ladies’ Semi-Finals Day On Centre Court, 12 July 2018

This year, men’s quarter-finals day on No. 1 Court. Oh boy was Janie excited again when those came through.

Picnic duties for me once again, with the centrepiece smoked salmon kindly supplied by Helga from her local West Cork smokehouse.

We had such success last year getting to Wimbledon early, getting to see Cori (now Coco) Gauff play in a Girls’ Quarter-Final on Court 18 before our main matches, I suggested that we get to Wimbledon before the start of play this year.

On the way, we were joined on the District Line by this keen tennis fan who couldn’t resist eating his fill on the train before even getting to Wimbledon:

He got on at Earl’s Court and was still on the train when we got to Southfields

In fact, we ended up at the All England Club so early they wouldn’t even let us into the main compound for a few minutes – not until 10:30 – a lesson for next time, if there is a next time for us.

Still, that early arrival at least enabled us to get front row seats (actually second row, as the front row view is a little restricted) on Court 12 to see a Ladies’ Doubles Quarter-Final: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Danielle Collins v Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu. The latter pair went on to be runners up this year but it was really the former pair we were especially keen to see.

We had plenty of time between that (rather short) match and the start of the No. 1 Court action, which enabled us to amble across the compound and take in the atmosphere before taking up our No. 1 Court seats.

Then to our seats on No 1. Court. Almost right at the back…

This must have been Janie’s fifth attempt at a double-selfie

…very similar to the seats we occupied a few years ago when we witnessed the famous third round match between Sam Querrey and Novac Djokovic

A Day at Wimbledon, No.1 Court, First Friday, 1 July 2016

Roberto Bautista Agut (our end) playing Guido Pella (hazard end)

That first match was a very good one. Bautista Agut always looked likely to win but was not so far ahead of Pella for the result to be sure until the very end – especially after Pella took a set.

During the innings break (between sets one and two) I took a long stroll to stretch my legs and stuff, running into Nick Compton (formerly Middlesex and England). We had a chat before wending our ways back to our respective courts.

It seems that we were missing some stuff on other courts and also missed out on Bautista Agut’s press conference after winning, in which he admitted that winning had messed up his stag do plans:

Sam Querrey (our end) against Rafael Nadal (other end)

The first set of the Querrey/Nadal match was excellent, but when Nadal eventually prevailed in that set, Querrey seemed to run out of juice for the remaining sets.

We didn’t stick around for the evening entertainment of old crock’s doubles – we felt we’d had a superb day and a sufficiency in having seen three good, week two matches.

Here is a link to the order of play that day – not sure if it is a permanent record for 2019 judging by the web address.

Let’s see how Janie gets on in the ballot next time – she has been extremely lucky these past few years, only missing out completely in 2017. I hope she isn’t too disappointed if the balloting system doesn’t pick us again for a while. But I also hope that her lucky streak continues!

Here and below is a link to all of the photos we took that day:

A Day At Lord’s With Big “Papa Zambezi” Jeff, 7 September 2006

The photo is from a year earlier in September 2005; the day England won the Ashes at the Oval, with thanks to Charley “The Gent” Malloy (also pictured, as are Uncail Marcas, Me and Daisy) – Jeff is the big fella in red.

I am reminded of this day from September 2006 almost exactly 13 years later (on 5 September 2019), as King Cricket described the wind as being the most important element of a day’s Ashes cricket at Old Trafford.

I took Jeff to a day of county cricket at Lord’s, between Middlesex and Nottinghamshire. I wrote the day up comprehensively for MTWD back then – click here.

The most noteworthy thing that happened that day (other than Nottinghamshire batting Middlesex out of the game), was a stray plastic bag that blew from the Upper Compton onto the pitch to temporarily hold up proceedings.

Unfortunately, that rogue plastic bag was ours. I report the matter in considerable detail about half way through the afternoon session section – here’s another chance to click here.

Other coincidences with this week in 2019 include:

Nick Compton being the player who rescued the bag – I am honoured as Ged to have my spotting of Nick Compton as the very first “Cricketer Spotted” submission this week, in the newly named King Cricket’s Edge – you can sign up for that e-mail newsletter by clicking here. (But you don’t need to do that if you were already a Cricket Badger subscriber);
I am going to see Middlesex play Nottinghamshire again this very day (5 September 2019) – at Trent Bridge this time and in the T20 format this time. Hopefully Middlesex will do a bit better today than they did in September 2006. Postscript: impossible though it might seem, Middlesex was even more comprehensively thrashed in the T20 September 2019 encounter than the September 2006 County Championship jobbie.

Here is the scorecard from September 2006.

The Day Michael Mainelli & I Witnessed Nick Compton Make His Maiden County Championship Hundred From The Compton Stand, 28 April 2006

Michael Mainelli and I had formed a tradition – I think 2006 was the third instance of it – that I would take Michael as my guest to a day of county cricket early season, before the crowds get larger and (most importantly) before the days get hotter.

Some like it hot, but Michael REALLY doesn’t like it hot.

So, Day 3, Friday, first county championship match of the season seemed just the ticket. In many ways it was. Middlesex v Kent. Good fixture. April.

The match was well advanced by the start of Day 3 but not too well advanced.

The cricinfo scorecard and resources for this match can be found here.

As tradition would have it…this sort of thing IS a tradition by the third time, possibly even by the second time…we watched the first session from the pavilion. Then, at lunch, as tradition would also have it, we perambulated on the outfield (smaller crowd than Middlesex’s glorious September 2016 match depicted above), then retired to Harry Morgan to grab some takeaway New York deli-style food – probably a chopped liver sandwich to share plus a salt beef sandwich each plus some pickled cucumbers.

We took our feast back to Lord’s in time to munch, drink some fine red wine and watch the second session of cricket from the Compton Stand.

The Compton Stand offered a rather binary choice; absolutely exposed to the elements in the upper tier, or caged in away from the elements in the lower tier. As I write in September 2019, that stand is being demolished, together with its smaller twin, the Edrich, to be replaced by more modern facilities.

Anyway, in April we opted for the upper and the sunshine while we ate our hot food, rather than the wind-tunnel cooling effect of the shady, cagey lower tier.

We finished our grub around about the time that Nick Compton’s fine innings for Middlesex entered the nervous nineties. I explained to Michael that the lad had been on Middlesex’s books for some years but this was, hopefully, to be his breakthrough season. He had just scored a big hundred in a University warm-up match but this might be his first County Championship hundred.

Shouldn’t we move now to a shady spot? Perhaps the pavilion again or the Warner?

I asked Michael, noticing a few beads of sweat and a slight reddening of the face. It was proper sunshine that day and by mid afternoon it was really quite warm.

Let’s wait and see Compton get his hundred. We should see Compton get his first hundred from the Compton Stand,

Michael replied; a cricket aficionado in the making.

Michael’s early effort in 1998; a Z/Yen & Barnardo’s & The Children’s Society match

We could go down to the lower tier and get some shade…that’s still the Compton Stand…

I suggested.

No, said Michael, we shouldn’t move. He’s in the nineties.

Now anyone who knows Michael surely knows that he is one of the least superstitious people you are ever likely to meet. He’s logical. He’s rational.

But cricket seems to get all of us…yes, even Michael, with quirky superstitions. Perhaps all sport does this to some extent, but cricket has superstition in spades.

And of course Michael had enough exposure to cricket through our charity matches and stuff to really understand that a century is a big achievement and a maiden century a really big thing…

…Nick Compton also knew the importance of making a ton, of course…

…so Nick’s nervous 90s went on for rather a long time…it seemed like a very, very long time…

…while Michael got hotter and hotter; ruddier and ruddier. I asked him a couple more times if he wanted to move, but Michael was glued to the cricket and absolutely intent on not jinxing Nick Compton’s century quest.

Within moments of Nick achieving his hundred, Michael was up and we were away in the direction of the shade. I think we went back to the pavilion for the rest of that very pleasant spring day.

Here’s that cricinfo scorecard and resources link again.

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