BRIGG SUPPORTS LINCOLNSHIRE CRICKET

Spectators from Brigg and district were among those who enjoyed a three-day county cricket match involving Lincolnshire which ended yesterday (Tuesday, July 12).
Lincs drew with Staffordshire in a high-scoring championship fixture at the Chichester Road Ground in Cleethorpes (not far from the seafront).
The high-standard playing surface provided by Cleethorpes Cricket Club meant that neither the home county nor Staffs could clinch victory, despite two innings apiece, 300+ overs and two declarations!

Match details: Staffs 326 for eight dec (Mike Hill 104, Mark Footitt (4-64) & 306 for five dec (Hill 110, Nic Keast 3-79); Lincs 282 (Jordan Cook 79) & 196 for five (Nic Keast 49 not out). Staffs secured 12 points and the home county 10.
Lincolnshire's next three-day championship home game will be against Bedfordshire at Grantham, beginning on Sunday, July 24.
The game at Cleethorpes gave local cricket fans their only opportunity this season to watch county cricket in the north of the old county.
Pictured here are former long-serving Brigg Town players Garry 'Gig' Smith (left) and Simon Fisher on the second day as they watched the action unfold out in the middle.
Brigg Blog met many old friends and contacts at Cleethorpes from our playing days with Brigg Town (1974-2004) and the 1984-1990 seasons when we covered Lincolnshire Minor Counties matches for the Telegraphs (Grimsby and Scunthorpe).
In our era reporting on Lincs games - home and away - there was an obvious time delay before match information could be included in the sports pages.
However, things have moved with the help of 21st century technology and during the Lincs v Staffs game it was fascinating to be able to view 'live stream' footage on the internet from a sight-screen mounted webcam.
Spectators on the ground could use their mobile phones to view the camera-recorded action from the loft location pictured here.

Changes have been made to what used to be known as Minor Counties cricket - at local and national level. We intend to comment on these in a future post and explain how things are now operating in Lincolnshire.

 

PICTURED: Above - The sun beats down in Cleethorpes as former Brigg Town cricketers Garry Smith and Simon Fisher watch Lincs v Staffs. Below - the sightscreen-mounted webcam streaming the action, a view of the licensed clubhouse at the Chichester Road ground where the hot weather saw many visits to the bar for cooling refreshments, and players and officials shaking hands at the end of this run-packed fixture.