In "Bartlett for America", an episode of the third series of The West Wing, there is a flashback to a time when the future president was the governor of only one state. A man of formidable intelligence, but little patience when confronted with intellectual inadequacy or immorality, Jade Bartlett is asked to consider a new slogan for his kingdom: "New Hampshire. What's New". He decides to have some fun and show off his knowledge: "Thomas Hilton started a fishing village here in 1623, Allen." Ad-men don't last long.
"Every ball counts." The slogan "Hundred Plastered" under the 1864 suite on the pavilion at Emirates Old Trafford can hardly be avoided. The implicit contradiction is obvious. It would be different - many history klaxons - the 1971 Gillette Cup final, when Jack Bond was clearly not about to make most of the deliveries until he caught Asif Iqbal and changed the game. And the opposite couldn't be clearer with the Bodyline Series, when some balls were fatal, but sure, no one cared?
The crude promotion of Hundred by the ECB invites such ridicule. When the board stops shouting the perceived merits of its new competition in our ears, most people will be able to see the value of cricket without any hindrance. Surely another sun-baked cricket offering at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday gave spectators (7,855 in the women's match, 12,378 in the men's match) a chance to see happy examples of the art of at least five spinners leaving the field. Were. A prodigious, prodigiously talented Boltonian whose legspinners can still be seen in the Ashes this winter.
No, where Matt Parkinson is concerned, the link between a 100-ball match and a five-day Test is not as far-fetched as one might imagine. The Lancashire spinner took 4 for 9 in 19 balls in today's second game, leading Manchester Originals' first win in a hundred, a six-wicket win over Birmingham Phoenix. If the most memorable moment of Parkinson's spell was his signature dish - a legbreak that pitched outside Chris Cook's leg stump and hit the top of his off - there were many other examples of his varied skills, enough to encourage hope. Were. Going against India this summer. For example, Liam Livingstone's shrewdness in bowling a wide off the off-stump was rewarded by his county colleague's 12-run wicket, and it replaced within hours for the Originals, who beat Birmingham Phoenix in 84 balls. Got out for 87 before winning the match with 27 balls to spare. A beating, in other words.
But, of course, a larger note of caution should be voiced. Any spinner worth his pay would enjoy bowling on this Old Trafford pitch and after the women's game it could be expected that both Tom Hartley and Calvin Harrison would give their full ration of 20 balls. He did so and his figures, added to Parkinson's, read: 59 balls, 49 runs, six wickets. No Phoenix batsman reached 20 and was really only hit for a six throughout the day, which was smashed at square leg by Amy Jones when Laura Jackson sent a waist-high full toss.
Surely Jos Buttler didn't mind giving it big. Instead the captain of the Originals blocked his good 31-ball number and hit only four boundaries in his 30 runs. He was bowled by Livingstone when the job was almost done, and Carlos Brathwaite's fours came out of his pads at the end of the game.
The women's match had already seen very good spin bowling. Slow left-hander Sophie Ecclestone's square was plain as the original restricted Phoenix to 113 for 9, a total of 20 runs Jackson conceded from his second set of five. The importance of Jackson's over was made very clear in the second half of the game, played with 70-yard square boundaries, the maximum allowed in the women's game. Slow left-hander Kirsty Gordon took three for 14 off 20 balls, including a vital scalp from Liselle Lee, who scored 7 before being tossed full to square leg, and Gordon was well supported by her teammate Scott Abtaha Maqsood. Milla, whose legspin was responsible for both Mignon du Preez and Ellie Threlkeld. Harmanpreet Kaur scored an unbeaten 49, almost all of them, and was completely exhausted by the end of a match whose low scores added to its allure.
"It's new. It's a hundred." So claim the ubiquitous advertisements shown before the sad sight of fine cricketers imitating the play. Not really. This Sunday's cricket proved that whatever the ECB demands, the new competition will take its place in the history of limited overs cricket, a history that goes back more than half a century. Summer Sundays often see low-scoring games dominated by good spinners at Old Trafford, especially during the golden years of the John Player League. Perhaps some of those present today sensed the simple truth when they took refuge from the DJ's incessant drills and took the opportunity to reflect on the cricket they were watching.