England's tour of Sri Lanka 2012/Metal Detecting Thread

Hello and welcome to the only thread on the internet that combines England's cricket tour of Sri Lanka 2012 with Metal Detecting.

England got off to a great start today reducing Sri Lanka to 3 down for 50 odd but Mike Jayawardene steadied the SL ship and will still be in tomorrow to guide that ship into a moderate/satisfactory total port almost single-handed.

Last time I went metal detecting, in the Buntingford area, I found this nice 13th-14th century seal:


I have reversed the picture to make it readable, it appears to say "S' ISABELLE FIL IO EDGEWOOD" - Seal of Isabelle Daughter of Jo Edgewood, at least, that's my best guess.

 

How many wickets fell today?
A lot.
Sri Lanka about 190 ahead and 5 wickets down, should be an interesting run chase if England can finish them off for 250 odd.

Here's my oldest find, just over 2000 years old:



Silver unit of the Trinovantes, there are only 4 similar examples on the Celtic Coin Index so quite a rare one.
Here's it's record on the PAS.

 

Thought you said you was neutral not ABE?

I don't think England will win as I expect once one wicket goes there'll be a mini-collapse but if they all play sensibly and patiently it could happen. Monty to hit the winning run would be fun.

Oh well, **** that ****, back to the serious stuff...here's an item that might interest you, another one from the Buntingford area, Pope Gregory X's seal:



Bleeding Pope dropping his seals all over the place, tut. Here's the corresponding PAS record.

 

I don't have Sky so I'll be listening to TMS, hope it's still in play when I wake up.

Greg was probably in the Buntingford area looking for his seal.

 

Trott is the key,while he's at the wicket England can win.Pietersen looks all at sea against the left-arm spinner,and i don't fancy him to stay around long tomorrow.Bell came back to form in the 1st innings and usually plays spin well.I expect some more extravagant shots from Prior and the tail,but if England are gonna win Trott needs to score a big century,and i think he just might.Ultimately England have never chased over 250 to win a test in Sri Lanka,and as much as i would love to see them do it i think they will fall short by between 60-90 runs!

 

Pietersen out early, got that right, Bell didn't hang around long but Trott has his century, 107 to win/6 wickets to lose.

 

What the **** is Patel doing,he only had to push the ball around for singles.Trott still going,just need someone to stay with him!

 

Trott gone - bugger.

 

Last six wickets fell for 31 runs,says it all really.Wish my prediction hadn't been so ****ing accurate,Trott is true class it was only the heat and tiredness that got him out,and a blinding catch by Dilshan.

 

Second test day one: Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat. England got off to a blistering start, Jimmy Anderson taking three early wickets but from then on it was hard work in the field, the bowlers managed to restrict the scoring though and at the close Sri Lanka were on 238-6. M Jayawardene achieved a century before being trapped LBW by Swann.

This item is still going through the Treasure Trove process (at least I haven't got it back yet). It's a silver and gilt rapier knuckle guard from the Buntingford area. Believed to be continental in origin, it must have belonged to someone very wealthy. Wonder if it was meant for fighting or merely ceremonial use as silver is a soft metal. Here is the PAS record.

 

England have finally found some form with the bat, Strauss, Cook and Trott establishing a strong foundation then Pietersen blasting a ton and a half to give a first innings lead of 185. Could have been more but the tail somewhat disappointed. Can the bowlers get Sri Lanka out cheaply or will this match fizzle out into a draw? Can't see Sri Lanka setting a target and winning from here.

Livery buttons. Found quite a few of these, they are buttons worn on the uniform of the staff that worked for a wealthy family, typically 19th Century and bearing an heraldic symbol fromthe family crest. Here are a few examples:

 

Any predictions/wanna see some more buttons?

Apologies for quality of photos, it's painstaking work photographing these bits then when I view them on the computer they never have the correct exposure. Getting better at it having experimented with different settings and lighting over the years.

 

Very tough day in the field for us today. Here's hoping we can get them out relatively quickly and then have a repeat of the Pietersen first innings supershow.

 

Had play finished two overs earlier I would have said that the draw was a dead cert but, with England having toiled all day in the field for not much reward, Swann took two wickets in the penultimate over to completely tip the balance in England's favour. Sri Lanka start tomorrow needing to survive the day with just four wickets in hand, an early wicket and it's game over.

Any of you remember the television programme "Bygones"? It was an "old country" type of affair and if memory serves correct, used to end with a mystery object. Well, here's a mystery object found not all that far from Luton which might give you a clue. Can anyone tell me what this is?

 

It's a straw splitter, used for splitting straw into 4 flat srips which would then be used to make straw hats amongst other things. Luton was once well known for its hat-making industry, the football team are nicknamed The Hatters.

A comfortable win for England to finish the winter on a positive note. If there are to be changes for the summer series, Bell's place looks most at risk but who would replace him? I expect Patel to make way for Bopara as an extra batsman and Broad in for Finn.