Where Cricket played Football and Lost

Today's cricket schedule was thrown into mayhem by the England football's sudden regainment of their ability to play football, and their thus having to play it smack in the middle of our Saturday games.

A few games got cancelled, a few carried  on regardless, but most adopted new formats and start times. Including our trip to Whatton and Aslockton - major landmark, a sex  offender prison - where we found ourselves barely awake at 10am on an already brazing summer day.

We bowled first, when frankly I wanted to rest and stretch and loosen up with my new stretching techniques, but no we were out there straight away. Nothing major went amiss at first, we bowled ok, but after I knocked over the second  opener, a couple of dangerous hitters came in, and the run rane began to increase.

Not helped my me bowling a few extras. Wides, always a problem, sometimes my body just throws itself out of alignment at the moment of delivery, but no balls is new this year. I think the issue is the endless stiffness and muscle trouble in my legs this year, I never quite know how I'm going to  run in until I do. Perhaps I tic when I bowl.

This rather infuriates my captain, or certainly it did today. However, I didn't go for many runs off the bat, and beat the bat so many times. I am having a frustrating season. I just can't take more than one bloody wicket. No edge goes to hand, any 4s off me are edges. Grrrr. I want 5 fors and to feel good.

So, the opposition slowly got away from us to get to 166 of 32 overs, which always felt like too many, and our batting didn't fire, especially against a young bowler who got the ball to swing. I battled hard and still got out  for zero to a good delivery from him. We were all out for 76 and quite relieved to get out of the heat.

Cricket never gets any easier.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.07.18

Autumnal Cricket

Brrrrr, shiver shiver shiver.

Let's how we felt today, as we went out to Dale Field to play Whatton and Aslockton, a jolly bunch of chaps who like to take cans of beer to games, and indeed turned up today with what appeared to be an old style Watney's Red Barrel Party 7.

We were much more pro. We just ate jaffa cakes and ate Sensation crisps while waiting to bat.

For bat first we did, and on a super wickets, we did well to get to 168-6 off 40. Of course, I didn't bat, so I dressed up warm and walked the ground. The trees at the allotment end are laden with big, red apples, and sweet chestnut trees are similarly fruitful.

Autumn lurks, and today we felt its cold hand upon our bodies as it blasted us with a freezing wind. At least it blew the showers away.

We bowled superbly of course, to leave the opposition 56 all out. All our victims were bowled, but I was disappointed to only take 1 of them, despite the fact I was swinging the ball around a lot. I just always had the best batsman to bowl at, the one who scored a century last time. Although I got the other good bat out with a Wasim Akram style inswinger (at a tenth of the pace!).

Three victories for our teams today, a major major day.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 19.08.17

Losing My Balls

So, cricket time, and a trip to Whatton and Aslockton, a ground in an affluent part of the county. Aslockton is the birthplace of reformation Archbishop of Canterbury Sir Thomas Cranmer, and the village celebrates that.

Whatton has a prison and doesn't celebrate that.

The ground is a reasonably scenic, if bumpy, patch of greenery surrounded by horse liveries and a sheep field. The sheep are cricket ball collectors, and make a living selling them back to impoverished teams.

Well maybe not, but if they don't they are stupid, because a lot of balls must get hit to them. A few did today.

We bowled well early on, although I was slightly sulkily patrolling the outfield, carrying on the moodyness from the night before. We had them 4 down for not too many, but then a couple of big hitters came off, just as I came on to bowl in the 19th over.

My first ball was hit to the sheep. Perfectly good ball as well. As were the other couple that got hit out there. I had my revenge, taking two wickets and my final over, the 37th, was a maiden. Only bowled one wide, which hopefully impressed the skipper. I've bowled too many lately.

So they got 220, and our openers just saw off their quicker bowlers. Our skipper hit 70, but the run rate was always too much. Me, I was in better form having had an excellent fruit kebab and a magnum as part of the provided tea.

Nature wise, my explorations led me to a dried up stream bed, where many bees, bumbles and ringlet, meadow brown and speckled wood butterflies fed off bramble. There were skippers in the sheep field, the non cricketing sort, but I couldn't get close enough to them.

I'm still the second leading wicket taker in the club. Good.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.06.17