da fezbet: England all-rounder Graeme Swann gave Northamptonshire a winning start totheir tour to Grenada with a sparkling display with both bat and ball
da betano casino: Nick Hoult22-Mar-2000England all-rounder Graeme Swann gave Northamptonshire a winning start totheir tour to Grenada with a sparkling display with both bat and ball.Swann struck a 42-ball 73 hitting five sixes and then took three wickets asNorthamptonshire beat Grenada by 75 runs.The County players got their first glimpse of the $20 million stadium andsettled into life quickly under the hot sun, adapting well to the conditionsjust 36 hours after landing on the island.Director of cricket Bob Carter has used the games this weekend to give everyplayer a run out with Adrian Rollins making his first appearance in Countycolours on Saturday.Rollins put on 76 for the first wicket with Alec Swann (36) before fallingfor 21 to West Indian leg spinner Raul Lewis, who pegged the County backwith four for 27.But Swann played with panache and struck the ball superbly as he took thegame to the home side.Carter said: “It was a good start for us in the sense that it got us in thefield for 90 overs. That was what we needed. We played pretty well ingetting 220 plus particularly Graeme Swann who hit the ball as well as I’veever seen him. The boys have recovered well from the long trip and haveattuned to the conditions pretty well.”The stadium nestles between two lush green hillsides with palm trees liningthe perimeter and can hold up to 15,000 spectators. It’s an impressive venueand a large crowd is expected for the County’s match on Wednesday againstthe West Indies Masters XI.Carter said: “The stadium has impressed everyone. There isn’t much pace inthe pitch but that is good because that will be the case when we get backhome.”The team were originally due to watch the Grenada and Barbados World Cupmatch but a late start resulted in them missing what turned out to be a 3-2thriller in favour of the visitors.The Grenadian team were making their first appearance at the NationalStadium and many of the home side were playing their first limited oversmatch at this level, with the one-day game rare at club level on the island.Victor Joseph, coach of the Grenada team, said: “We are not used to playingthis format and it showed. The batsmen were a bit daunted chasing a totaland put a lot of pressure on themselves. Instead of seeing themselves inthey went for their shots early and paid the price.”The Northamptonshire team looked very sharp and I thought their fieldingwas the best I’ve seen in a long time. They put a lot of pressure on us withtheir fielding and our guys couldn’t cope.”The County celebrated the winning start to their tour with a drinks reception at the Governor General’s house thrown in honour of the first visit to the island by a county team.






