2018 Cricket Season in Review

Sorry nature lovers, this is a piece aimed at my cricketing colleagues, who all love reading about themselves when my cricket blogs come out on Saturday and Sunday evenings, hoping I've said something nice about them.

This year I've played 9 times for the 3rd Team, 7 times for the 2nds, once for the 1sts, and then 10 times for the Sunday 1sts. I took 27 wickets at 19.26, including 16 at 13.00 for the 3rd Team which got me an award which I've very proud of.

The less said about my bowling for the 2nd Team the better...

Nicest Ground

Both the Manor Ground at Thurgarton, and Norwood Park are beautiful and incredibly photogenic. We had stunning weather as well when I played at those grounds. Newstead Abby has stunning surroundings, but the cricket ground itself is bobbins and surrounded by holly so fetching a ball hit for 4 or 6 resulted in laceration on a major scale

Worst Ground

The City Hospital ground where we played Basford Mill was a sunburnt horror with a terror wicket and "smoking" opponents. The tea could have walked out of there on its own, with a special mention to the whole melons we were provided with no means of cutting.

Best Away Tea

Toss up between Keyworth 3rds and Calverton 2nds. One does not expect to find pulled pork at a cricket tea.

Best Innings

I was privileged to play with 3 century makers, but the best innings was Sean G. scoring 82 against Basford Mill against fast bowling on a wicket where the ball could have taken your head off at any moment. He smacked it everywhere, and when they brought on the fast bowlers to bowl at 13 year old Jacob P., he smashed them as well.

Best Catch

George took a deflected blinder off my bowling at Keyworth 2nds. Leapt like a salmon. A salmon with hands.

Best Bowling

Modesty Si, modesty... but probably Jack E's second spell against Bingham 2. We let him down losing that game.

Biggest choke

Me batting against Bingham 2 in a tight game. I lost my head completely, I just didn't know what to do. I felt utterly rubbish

Best Meat Raffle

Against Walesby at their ground, after the Country and Western Singer...

Here's to the 2019 season!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 31.12.2018

The Tourettes Cricketer Strikes

Hero to Zero in a day. After a good day yesterday, I got called today for some obscure back foot no-ball violation rule that really pissed me off.

I was already on a down after feeling really stiff and unable to open the bowling as I usually do, even though our skipper was late and technically I could have bowled myself if I wanted to. But a slightly picky umpire wound me up, and it completely threw me.

This led to one of my famous meltdown times, as not seen on a cricket field for a while. For about 45 minutes I had no idea what was going on out there! My body didn't help by being completely unable to obey the instructions my brain was giving it...one particularly hilarious uncoordinated dive ended up with me in a sprawl on my back, with the ball sailing over the rope behind me.

Grrrrr.

Luckily our skipper is a proper cricketer, and he took seven wickets while I pointed out oystercatchers to passers by and generally moved around in a chilly daze.

When we batted, we struggled against good bowling again, although our new Kiwi friend showed his power by hitting a few into the trees. I merely popped up a catch off a leg spinner for 1.

Really bad day for me.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 04.06.17

Nostalgic Cricket at Fiskerton

Fiskerton is the club where I played most of my junior cricket, a tall but feebly skinny 15 year old with too much wavy hair and kit that never looked like it fitted.

I had a trial for Nottinghamshire at that age, but that was with the school. The club itself thought I was rubbish, and to be fair I probably was. I never got to do much bowling and always batted at number 11.

So when I went back today, for the first time in over 25 years, I was determined to do well and maybe show them a bit. Although who I was supposed to be showing, I've got no idea.

We bowled first, and I nearly died with shock when the skipper, a cricketer with 20 times my talent, decided that I should open the bowling. I repaid his faith too, bowling one of the Fiskerton openers in my 2nd over, before producing the best delivery of my entire cricketing life to swing one a mile into the other opening batter and splatter his stumps.

That was as good as it got. It was all a bit of a battering after that, ball after ball disappearing into the thick undergrowth that surrounded the ground. Not bad bowling, the batting was just too powerful despite the fact that one of their main men was barely taller than the stumps. I kept bowling low full tosses while striving to bowl swinging yorkers. Rubbish!

At least I fielded ok - meaning I didn't do any horrific howlers. I leave diving to the folk who are half my age. Or in the case of our wicket keeper, not far off double.

I have all the flexibility of a concrete post.

After my last over involved me being hit out of the ground twice, it was time for batting. I always like batting second, as it means I can stuff myself at tea time and not worry about fielding afterwards, and hey, I'm never going to open the batting, being rubbish and all that.

Instead, I took myself off exploring, poking my nose over the fence into the strange choked undergrowth beyond, seeing a huge hollow under a tree that looked like something Ray Mears would construct. We were batting well, so I had time. Buzzards were keening high overhead, their piercing cries echoing round the ground.

I wonder if any larger birds incubate the missing cricket balls by mistake?

It was a lovely day in a posh part of the world, signified by the croquet club found at one corner of the ground, and a rink being used by a very posh old couple of dahhhhlings.

Eventually all our good batsman got out, including the star of yesterday who found himself involved in one of the wonderful run outs that tend to infect our side like a plague, and so I tremulously padded up. They had some very fast bowlers. What if they came back on when they saw me.

Luckily it was an older, slower chap who bowled, and I managed to swipe him for 4 before the game ended with us about 80 run behind, while making sure I ran fast to help a young player get off the mark.

Ahhh, what a nice old man!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.08.16