A love letter to the outgrounds of county cricket

NICK HOWSON AT THE COUNTY GROUND: The One-Day Cup showcases one of the great second homes of the domestic game - but for how much longer?

Beckenham: Kent 298, Sussex 302-3 - Sussex won by seven wickets

Scorecard

"We're going to need something longer than that!"

Allan Donald wants the ball back. An errant delivery during a practice drill has flown off-target, clipping the boundary rope - narrowly evading an unsuspecting elderly spectator whose deck-chair has been in prime position ever since the gates opened just after 10am - and buried itself underneath the wooden pallets supporting the media marquee.

Only four men have taken more Test wickets for South Africa, yet it is doubtful Donald thought it would come to this when he joined Kent as an assistant coach. He quickly gives up, leaving two of the more resourceful members of the media to attempt to fish the ball out. To any unwitting onlooker, it would appear that an Easter egg hunt has gone very wrong.

Welcome to The County Ground at Beckenham, one of a handful of outgrounds being used during this county season. Thanks to the World Cup and a glut of other international fixtures this summer, the domestic game is being parachuted into to the likes of the Isle of Wight, Newport, Scarborough, Arundel, Chesterfield, Cheltenham and Tunbridge Wells.

It might read like the schedule for a Spandau Ballet reunion tour but don't be fooled into thinking that county cricket is necessarily being pushed further onto the fringes like an unwanted sibling. Accommodation might be the aim but even if plunging another stake into country cricket was the central aim it has missed the mark: this is one of the UK's oldest team sports at its purest.

^{Salt hit the ball sweetly throughout his innings}

Aerosmith are blaring out of the PA. The supermarket-bought canned beer is approaching an uncomfortable temperature. Portaloos are deployed in clutches. Garden and camping chairs are used to secure the best vantage points with ticket holders displaying the same dedication of a German holidaymaker or a patron at the Augusta Masters. Various articles of merchandise are being displayed in areas with significant foot-fall. Short of some mud and unwanted rain, this is as close as cricket gets to Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts.

In truth, the label of outground is slightly derisory for what is firmly Kent's second home. Since 1954 the county have hosted matches here - with the last 15 completed seasons seeing the schedule shared with Canterbury.

Few sports give you such unbridled access to elite athletes as this, with today's particular entertainment provided by the Royal London One-Day Cup. Australia's Ashes hopeful Matt Renshaw and the talented Zak Crawley are among an otherwise injury-hit Kent team, while visitors Sussex boast Chris Jordan - still hoping for a World Cup call-up -, Luke Wright and the much-talked-about George Garton.

On a glorious Easter Sunday such stars can be found within touching distance. And if you're the unfortunate supporter who was struck on the head by one thrashing maximum by Renshaw during the Kent innings, the action is actually too close for comfort.

Counties have for many years accommodated picnics and even those bringing their own alcohol. It gives a relaxed, cordial atmosphere to proceedings. The concentration is on getting fans through the door by whatever means, and not bleeding their bank accounts when they get here. They'll be back if the schedule allows.

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Naturally, counties can do their utmost to create the right conditions but the cricket has to follow. Fortunately, on this occasion, there is a contest fitting of the surroundings.

Beckenham has a reputation for producing flat, white tracks and this particular day is no different. Indeed, it actually takes a Spitfires collapse to deny them a competitive total. From 202 for 2 they lose eight wickets for 92 - ending on 298 with two balls of their 50 overs remaining.

Centurion Renshaw went to three figures for the first time in Kent colours to further enhance his international prospects ahead of the Ashes later this summer in England, where he also starred last season with Somerset.

The 23-year-old's innings included four sixes, two of which peppered the inadequately protected media tent. But the knock of 109 is one of the few highlights in what is a sub-par batting display which fell apart in a similar fashion to the collapse against Somerset on Good Friday.

The missed opportunity was exposed by a Sussex chase which drained any drama from the contest. Phil Salt (137 not out) survived being dropped three times in one ball by Crawley at extra cover before bludgeoning his way to a maiden List A century, thanks to a rapid second fifty which was illuminated by three sixes in four balls.

^{Milnes' efforts were in vain}

The 22-year-old guided the Sharks home by seven wickets with 63 balls left, helped in part by a fine 89 from Harry Finch in a third-wicket partnership worth 171, to inflict upon 2018 runners-up Kent a third straight defeat in this competition, to leave their hopes of a return to Lord's in tatters. Despite an encouraging start in the County Championship, the imminent return of Joe Denly from the Indian Premier League cannot come soon enough. Sam Billings is still to come too.

Even if accusations that county cricket is being sidelined by being shifted away from major stadia are not totally convincing, the England and Wales Cricket Board are still endeavouring to provide substance to the claim they are trying to nullify the format.

There is no domestic cricket to be found on Easter Saturday or Monday this year. A contingency plan has been deployed for the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, but the second only has none until seven four-day games begin on Monday, May 27.

That weekend is punctuated by the One-Day Cup final at Lord's and some World Cup warm-up games - inexplicably including England. You couldn't make it up.

And in August as the summer threatens to slip away there are no matches on the Bank Holiday weekend. The third Ashes Test at Headingley is allowed to breathe freely without any alternative. Buy an expensive day four ticket or lock yourself away with a Sky subscription, then.

With the one-day domestic competition set to be relegated to the junior contest, days like these will soon be a distant memory. The worry is that with the schedule muddled and lacking any thought, rhyme or reason, a whole generation of cricket fans will be lost to the sport, with nowhere else to go.