Not for the First Time, Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

So at last, I got a game of proper league cricket, although I forgot to arrange a lift and found myself wandering around our Kelham Road home like 14 stone of Bambi until a fellow traveller could be persuaded to go and kindly pick me up.

So today I played for the third team at our current home at Norwood Park with its cute Pavilion and unfeasibly bouncy wicket, and very wet ground after the showers this morning. I only had 10 minutes to get changed into my slighter tighter than last year whites and get ready to field laboriously as I hadn't had a chance to do any warm ups.

Not sure that would make much of a difference to be honest.

So we bowled first, and bowled and bowled and bowled without taking a wicket, despite our young quick bowler bowling so quick he got his one per over warning for bowling bouncers. Our first four bowlers all bowled really well - I was the fourth - and had no luck as the Ellerslie openers dug in for nearly 30 overs.

On a personal l level I had 3 edges go through the slips, a catch dropped, and beat the outside edge so many times I felt like I was bowling at a bat made out of neutrinos, neutrinos that mysteriously turned into solid matter when I bowled one on the stumps.

However, having softened up the opposition, I was allowed by my captain to have a rest so he could take some wickets, and after a 40 overs that seemed to go by very quickly, we restricted Ellerslie to 105 for 5.

I then got to wave my arms around when we batted, as I went out to umpire and signalled 4s and things while we made a good start against a young lad determined to knock heads off. Not so happily, I gave my first ever out single when our most dependable opener nicked a top edge, and then the wickets started falling, and unlucky injuries started happening.

We still needed about 20 when I got out there at number 9, after my captain telling me I was good enough to do this I felt very nervous, despite trying to feel otherwise. After a shaky start I cracked a rather good 4, but that it didn't help as I committed my perpetual problem of lunging at the ball too early and too hard and knocking up a dolly catch, while laser eyes of disapproval burned my back.

We lost, after having actually played better than Ellerslie in most facets of the game. I've been feeling rather narked about my own performance since, but oh well, another game tomorrow.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 18.05.19