Essex 358 & 470-8 dec, Sussex 448. Essex (11 pts) drew with Sussex (12 pts)

To Castle Park! …on Sunday morning to see the Essex slappers in action against Sussex.

And Essex slappers don’t come bigger than Colchester home boy Graham Napier, playing his farewell match in Castle Park ahead of retirement.

The game was set up nicely after the first three days of play. Essex had six wickets remaining of their second innings - either an Essex or Sussex second innings collapse would lead to a result.

SPOILER ALERT:

What wouldn’t lead to a result would be only four wickets falling all bloody day.

Hey hoe.

Long live County Cricket, etc.

Castle Park itself was looking SPLENDID.

There was less seating that previous years for the ‘Festival of Cricket.’ A crowd of 2,000 plus however on the first day of play showed that there is still life out on the County festival circuit.

We took up our seat opposite the Pavilion, positioned behind a couple of good owd Essex boys.

The banter was better than three generations or so younger, but it did grate a little when Tractor Boy football talk kicked in.

Not quite the Best Seat in the House was the poor Essex chap left looking in from the outside, positioned on the road behind the fence all bloody day long.

Fine work fella - your dedication wasn’t too dissimilar to the dogged Essex ‘attack.’

Chris Jordan looked lively with the cherry for the visitors at the start of play, taking the wicket of Dr Foster for 38.

Napier came to the crease just before luncheon looking a little nervy.

He made it through to the posho sarnies back in the Pavilion, and then returned refreshed with a simply majestic afternoon of batting.

This was a day for the flask, and not the booze. I am coming to the conclusion that I actually appreciate cricket far more when sober compared to the traditional Oval tired and emotional stare.

Fancy that.

Jordan took up the new ball in the afternoon, but still Napier wouldn’t shift.

His job was to block, block, and then slowly slowly start to get the scoreboard ticking, putting the game out of reach for Sussex.

In all of the excitement I paid a trip to the portaloos. It takes some bottle - and need - to have to flick the Engaged lock in a Castle Park portaloo.

Napier finally hit 50, and then started to put his foot down. It was fitting that the Castle Park brass band fired up the Rocky theme, just as yer man made his mark on his home patch.

A fine century then followed.

Just.

It would have been slightly tricky if the home boy hero had been caught on 99 now, wouldn’t it?

The rest was just inevitable.

A little t20 style fun was had with the game well out of reach for both teams.

And then shortly before 5pm, the two Captains thought bugger this for a Sunday afternoon, and tucked into the leftovers from the tea buffet.

And so four wickets all day.

Oh - and a century from Napier, G.

Cricket.

Bloody hell.