Wednesday 31 August 2016

Neither a Lad nor a Dad

I was very unhappy to miss my Saturday cricket game due to eruptive body sickness. But, feeling a bit better on Sunday morning, I broke my quarantine to answer an emergency call to turn up at a "Lads versus Dads" match that was being run down at our HQ.

It was already well underway by the time I got down there, and presuming that I was to be a dad, despite the fact that there is not fruit of my loins - at least that I know about - I was immediately told to pad up by a skipper seemingly surrounded by small white creatures about the height of the stumps, that on closer inspection turned out to be children.

We were getting thumped, as usual.

Barely getting a chance to get my cap on before I was required to bat, I resolved there and then to play a big innings. I was thus very suprised to be unmercifully booed as I gently paddled my first ball around the corner for 4.

"YOU BULLY!" came a cry. And that was from one of my team mates.

I resolved to be more gentle after that, apart from slogging my Sunday captain back over his head for a boundary. To be honest, I found that even 11 year old bowlers were a test for my batting, so I'm happy to take the 16 or so I made as my best score of the year. Even if my bat was bigger than they were.

As for bowling, I was allowed to bowl flat out as the two opening bats were first team players, and indeed, I had the aofrementioned Sunday skipper caught behind early on. But the others were much more resistant, and we went down in the last over.

Even bowling off two paces, I still bowled a wide. Dear lord.

Anyway, it was genuinely a lot of fun to play in, and we got hot dogs afterwards!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 31.08.16 psst I'm in them too












3 comments:

  1. Awww, sounds like fun and looked like it too! Glad you managed to get back out over the weekend despite the illness! - Tasha

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  2. Reminds me of my father telling me about the time Joe Fletcher said his youngest son would play for the village team. The little lad came in to bat at number seven and the opposing captain, seeing the diminutive stature of the new batsman, took off his big fast bowlers and put a couple of occasional bowlers on instead. By the time the child star had reached 50 not out the fast bowlers were back on and being hit to all parts of the meadow and into the brook too. The little lad was Keith Fletcher who went on to captain Essex and England: he didn't play many more games at village level.

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