My Best Didn't Cut It

Yes, another game of cricket after "the last game of the season" or indeed "last game of my life" or whatever I've been saying.

We played a friendly against Bingham today, a side who we've played a fair bit over the years in the Saturday leagues, but never before on a Sunday. With it being a friendly, the assumption was that they'd pick a fairly low key side to take on our young (apart from me) and inexperienced Sunday eleven.

Suspicions were roused when our one first teamer, our usual Sunday opening bowler, was hit into a adjoining field early on. Other end our fastest bowler, who took a wicket in his first over, was being driven to the boundary off perfectly pitched deliveries.

"These aren't third team bats" I remarked to a team mate, and no, they weren't. They'd bought a slew of their first team Division C bats, and aside from our youngest player, they hammered us to the back of beyond.

You know, today was the best I've bowled all season. No no balls. No wides. No pies chucked. I caused problems, beat the edge of the bat, bowled a ball that almost seemed to go through the stumps. But the Bingham first teamer I was bowling at just shrugged off being beaten before blasting perfectly good deliveries down to the straight boundary.

I couldn't have bowled much better, it just wasn't enough against bats of this quality. I fielded bloody well today too, unusual for me.

Anyway, after nearly dragging me on he got to 50 and retired, and the new left handed bat struggled against a maiden over from me. Unfortunately another of the bats decided to kick off on me, again off good bowling, and I was taken off having bowled 6 overs for 35.

After my being removed from the attack, the Bingham scoring rate, already high, accelerated further, with sixes being hit with gay abandon, although one of our bowlers suddenly took 3 wickets in the very last over we were faced with chasing a total of 227 in only 35 overs.

There were a lot of glum faces, and the chair brought us together for an inspirational team talk. Having shouted at me for making a very mild joke not at his expense when he was bowling, he must have calmed down a bit.

Note to self - don't make jokes when he's not long been hit for 6.

Anyway, the gist of it was not to let our heads drop, and to bat well on an easy paced pitch, and see how many we got. Sensible advice.

As it happened, I wasn't needed to bat and it would have been at number 11 anyway, and so I ended up umpiring for most of our innings, so got to wave my arms around a bit. Their bowlers were thankfully not as good as their batting, but not so bad as to let us get anywhere near their run rate. Our opener got 53, our captain got 37, I got sunburnt on what was the finest day for cricket we've had all year.

It wasn't massively exciting stuff, but we let our two young kids get a bat, we weren't bowled out and we could leave with our heads held high.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 13.09.20

And we are Playing Cricket Again

I say "we are playing cricket again" but that refers to the club. I'm not playing cricket yet because I don't want to share car transport with anyone. I am scared. I am chicken.

However I am playing for us at home tomorrow, where my bowling will be very socially distanced from the batsmen.

I went down to watch our first team today, a grey, mizzly day with the wind funnelling down along the bypass as usual on our wide open second ground.

The league is essentially a regionally based 7 game shootout with semis and a final afterwards, which leads to higher division teams playing lower ones, as happened to our firsts today as they took on Bingham.

It was always going to be a tough game for us, but we got stuck in with the ball, our 15 year old first team debutant taking 5 wickets in fine style. most of them castled. No one was battered to all parts, although that was tricky on our ground, as the boundaries cause the pitch to be about the size of a Soviet Central Republic.

Unlike myself tomorrow, no-one looked rusty or injured like I probably will tomorrow. Bingham were just a bit too good in all areas. They scored 211 without ever looking like they were forcing the pace, and their fielding and bowling were very sharp as they kept us to about 120 for 9 in 40 overs. Our new first teamers had good games though, and no-one seemed too disheartened.

On the nature front, because one has to combine nature with cricket, our ground for some reason has a dead crow in a water tank belonging to a farmer, and the borders are full of hairy willow herb, marsh woundwort and the two species of bindweed. Mare's tails are also growing in the dyke at the bottom of the ground.

So tomorrow I make my seasonal debut. And I'm sure I'll be terrible. But that's what you read my cricket blogs for.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 18.07.20

Drained and Exhausted

Today I was back in the third team, playing at Collingham against Bingham 3s - as  opposed to Bingham 2s who we played here a couple of weeks ago - yes we have two teams from the same club in our division, which is allowed because it is the bottom, most rubbishiest division.

Collingham was looking good today, and very busy as a lot of folk came to watch the first team game they had, but we too had a lot of relatives present as well, some of whom would have plenty to be proud of.

My parents came as well, but ended up watching the wrong match. Such is our competence level.

So Bingham batted first and thanks to some fairly average - ahem - bowling and fielding during I was horribly clumsy and got very cranky for being told off - racked up 110 after about 15 overs, the skipper having seen most of his first over end up in a hedge. Under swallows, wagtails and keening buzzards, we fought back, as I hurtled in, beat the edge a million times but took only the one wicket with the worst ball I bowled.

I'm getting frustrated with not being able to take wickets  despite bowling well and slowing the runs down.

Happily one of our first year juniors went through the batting order to finish with 5-55, and very happy  his folks were too. They still ended up with 256 though, far too many.

It looked about 220 too many after tea, with 4 wickets for 6 runs down and our 3 senior batsman out bowled by the sort of nagging short runned darter I hate the most. But other young players then batted for 30 overs, one of whom scored 75 while his father umpired and was presumably very happy. Hence we batted our full innings and scored 136-6 as the sun began to set.

It was such a hard day though. Despite being clumsy and unco-ordinated in the field, I still gave it everything, running rather faster in the outfield than I have done in a while. It pains me to be such a cretin. AND WHY NO BLOODY WICKETS. Me want a 5 for lol!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 23.06.18

A Choking Defeat

Today was pretty terrible, and I'm still pretty gutted about it. Although I probably won't be so much after I've had a pint after writing this.

We were playing top of the division Bingham 2, who had swept aside all comers in previous weeks, and who I felt coming in might be a bit strong for our side who although we have a strong bowling attack, are a bit light on batting.

So, out at Dale Field, we felt winning the toss and batting Was The Right Thing To Do. It would give us a chance to have a good game. Our youngsters opened up, and everything progressed quietly, not too many runs being scored. Then me and the skipper came  on to bowl, and in my second over, I had their opener caught at cover.

Then a similar service resumed. I'm bowling OK this season without doing anything dramatic, which is really annoying. I really want to explode, to destroy a batting side, but it just isn't happening. I'm not swinging the ball a lot, and not getting much joy out of slow pitches. I'm not getting hit for runs, but not beating the bat as much as I'd like.

Compared to the horrors of later, this was nothing.

They were 80-1, and then our special guest left arm spinning groundsman, and a couple of junior lads, wiped them out for  122.

This was an excellent effort against a team who haven't been bowled out yet this season. I knew they looked like a decent bowling side though, lots of athletic youngsters, and I was worried we wouldn't get the runs.

I needn't have done. Ha. We got to 80-0, as I walked off to inspect some lovely bumblebees and mating garden chafers. The batting against really good bowling was superb. Our injured pace bowler opened, and was dominant in his 50.

And then  it all went to shit. The opposition spinner just shut us down, and their returning fast bowler was a bloody handful as well. The wickets kept falling, I knew I would have to bat.

But, as I eventually went out there with 6 wickets down, I remembered I had won matches from this position before. All I needed to be was calm.

Unfortunately, this didn't happen. I have been batting ok this  year, but I struggle at the beginning always, and in this kind of nervy situation, I just couldn't settle. I didn't know what shots to play, was skittish, and never in control. I was out for 4 lbw, and knew I'd just lost us the game. Our juniors are very strong minded, but lack power at the moment.

We lost by 4 runs. In the South African manner, we had choked. And it was down to players like me who should have known what we were doing. That said, Bingham are top of the table for a reason.

I have the chance to correct this tomorrow. I can bat ok, I know I can. It just didn't happen today. When it mattered.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.06.18

Si