THE Thunder roll on to Old Trafford and I at last have the chance to score at the iconic old ground.

It is the team's final warm-up game for the Super League against Loughborough Lightning, played prior to the men's T20 clash against Birmingham Bears, and is the first women's match at Old Trafford for many years.

A reduced 11-over contest due to wet conditions goes ahead and the Thunder win with a ball to spare.

The view from the scoring room is terrific despite a couple of minor obstructions. After the game we are royally looked after by club sponsors Thomas Cook as we stay to watch the men beat Birmingham Bears.

Less than 24 hours later I squeeze in a guest scoring appearance for Lostock second team at Eagley before jumping into the car for a trip to Taunton to score the Thunder's first competitive game.

Thankfully, the Lostock lads serve up one of their periodic collapses with the bat and I am on my way to Taunton earlier than I expected.

Taunton is vastly changed from the last time I was there 40-odd years ago.

It is now a lovely modern stadium. The view from the scoring room atop the new media centre – directly behind the bowler's arm – is fantastic, although the 79 steps to get there are not so appealing.

Fortunately, I have a couple of days to recover before getting back on the road as the Thunder travel to Loughborough to meet the Lightning!

Loughborough University has all the facilities you would expect, and the ECB's indoor nets certainly catch the eye.

The outfield on the main ground is literally pitch perfect and you have to look twice to make sure it is not an artificial surface.

There are about 500 spectators which makes for a good atmosphere on a nice compact ground.

The scoring facilities leave a lot to be desired. Two club scorers and the Opta scorer are crammed into a window area with part of the ground obscured by a staircase and the angle of the room, and a gazebo for the players taking out another chunk of view.

The flow of people up and down the stairs does not help either and a far better vantage point is left unused for some reason.

The game itself is a thriller and Thunder grab a vital six-run victory over one of the competition favourites.

It is then back to Blackpool for the third game of the competition. Stanley Park looks at its best with a good number of spectators.

Sadly, we are on the wrong end of another exciting game against Southern Vipers which really puts the pressure on for the last two games.

A rare weekend off, and what feels like an even rarer win for Wanderers, is a nice break before the trek down to Guildford Cricket Club for Thunder's next game.

It is a very well appointed ground with around 700 permanent seats but surprisingly no permanent scoring area.

It is also the first club I have been to that has an official stockbroking partner – how the other half live!

The Test Match Special commentary team commandeer a picnic table for their spot, and the press pinch the gazebo that had been set up for the scorers.

This leaves a rather crowded balcony for the rest of us – three scorers (both teams plus Opta) two performance analysts and the scoreboard operator.

Needless to say chaos reigns as extension leads fail, but eventually we cobble together a set of connections that get us through.

Whether it is the open-air setting or not it must be one of the noisiest places I have ever scored at.

The main road on one side, planes overhead and a busy railway line on the other side – and Lancashire lost.