An unusual game on Sunday, as it was for Upton rather than Newark. No-one was interested in playing for us, so our game was cancelled and the third team captain and myself were able to snare a game with the good burghers of Upton, a club which we call our second home this year after the flooding.
The last two games I had played in, including a horrible defeat to Keyworth the day before, had been so horrendous that I couldn't bear to write about them. I didn't bowl, and I can't remember the last time I hit the ball with my bat.
Having toyed with the idea of forgetting cricket and moving to a Tibetan monastery, I did turn out for this game over in the very pretty village of Ropsley, the other side of Grantham. My sister and I were delighted to see it was red kite country, and before and during the game a couple of these magnificent raptors flew low over the ground. .
The Ropsley Baboons, for t'was their name, were rather less majestic as it turned out. Like the Upton lads a very nice bunch of chaps, they found dealing with our bowling very tricky, aided by a similarly tricky wicket. Our early bowlers, a couple of whom turn out for us on a Saturday, soon started cutting through the top order, followed up by the third team captain who took two wickets before being taken off for being too good.
I even got a bowl myself, castling one of their younger bats second ball, before bowling a gentle spell of tight control against rather more "mature" batters. Even let my old quicker ball go, and it was even straight.
Sadly, it was my partner at the other end who grabbed the last couple of wickets, so I ended up with four overs 1 for 2.
It was then time for me not to worry about batting, as we coasted to victory, overhauling Ropsley's 55 all out in about 16 overs before retiring to a lovely pub in the village for a few beers!
Made me feel good about playing cricket again, which will probably last until I play Keyworth again on Saturday.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 12.07.24
Now I've got an image in my head of a game between baboons and Tibetan monks. What a glorious sky in your picture of the game.
ReplyDeleteIt was a surprisingly nice day!
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