Bonus Cricket Blog

 Do you know, my head got so addled after the remembrance for my mother's birthday - it would have been on June 21st - and also my sister getting C19 from which she is now thankfully recovered, I completely forgot to write about a match I played in.

It was against our friends from Travellers CC, an ebullient bunch of extremely nice expat lads who play together for fun, and know only one way to play which we found out very quickly when they won the toss and batted. 

We had a guest player that day, a very nice chap from Clowne CC over the border in Derbyshire, who turned out to be an excellent bowler. Opening up he didn't concede a run for 5 overs, which was just as well as the bowling from the other end was getting thrashed somewhat.

The only way Travellers know how to play is to swing very hard at the ball and watch it disappear into the bushes, amidst which we spent a very long time looking for lost cricket balls. So despite the five maiden overs from our guest, they were racking up the runs quickly.

This accelerated even further when our ace bowling guest found himself being thwacked into the distant greenery a few times. So after he bowled his 8 overs, I was called into the bowling attack.

It wasn't much of an "attack" for my first two overs; rusty as anything I had completely lost my run up and was bowling half trackers that were crashed to the boundary with utter disdain. 

A number of piteous looks were cast in my direction during this period. I've seen the "Simon, you are totally shit" look on all too many occasions. 

However, once I got my run up right, and the two openers had retired on reaching 50 and a couple of wickets had fallen at the other end. things tightened up considerably. Although my bowling felt hopelessly slow, it was at least accurate, and a decent looking left hander got so bored at being unable to hit me out of the park, he had a massive wipe across the line at one and was bowled in my seventh over. 

A new batsman came in, a left hander...

First up, he got about the best ball I've bowled in three years, an in swinger that tailed in on him before jagging back event further off the seam. It got him on the pad, I appealed like a banshee having a fit, and the umpire, one of Traveller's own lads, actually gave out. 

"Wax on Miyagi" called the watching fans, referring to my habitual headband wearing. 

Hat trick ball! The field closed in. Sadly, it was an average ball that was blocked quietly into the covers. Oh well. Maybe next time. 

That was my last ball, as a talented youngster was then brought on. I wasn't done yet though, as off him a low full toss was spooned into the gully and running round like a maniac I managed to catch the damn thing. Two catches in a weekend! 

In typical Travellers fashion, the unrestrained, er, swinging, went on right down the order, and they ended up getting 230. Not ungettable if we batted well.

Sadly we didn't, and we made their bowling look a little bit better than it was. Wickets were taken by rank full tosses. There was some bad luck. I had a good view of all this as I umpired continuously for 25 overs, hence the lack of photos. Good job umpring was fun with this bunch of guys. 

I did get to bat, down at number 10, and decided to go out trying to murder the ball rather than surrender tamely. I hit a few straight to fielders then nicked off to the keeper, and that was that. 

It had been an eventful cricket weekend.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.06.22

A Deluge of Runs

 Final home Sunday game of the season, I think, and this saw us taking on our friends from Travellers CC, who we beat in a nailbiter last time out, but have won their last 5 matches on the trot. 

As we always seem to, we ended up bowling first on what was an overcast, slightly breezy but mild day, on a wicket we just knew was going to be slow as anything, even by Kelham Road standards. 

Travellers opened up at a rare old rate of knots, with sixes being spanked into hedges and fours being walloped into the sight screens. However, a spot of spin from our mystery left handed wristie in his best bowling form for a while, soon found the wickets starting to fall, apart from one guy who had to retire - temporarily - on 50.

We had a very sharp pair of fielders on the boundary, one of whom took a catch when a full toss was absolutely banjaxxed at him, and the other executed a fine run out. This was down to our new young captain, who was enjoying his chance to take charge. 

Me I was fielding at square leg, waiting for my turn to bowl, knowing I would be doing so when the slog was on towards the end of the innings but hopeful of taking a few wickets. 

Of course, that didn't happen. I bowled better than I have done all season, 6 overs for 14 and beating the bat numerous times both on the outside and inside edge, getting a bit of swing. BUT NO BLOODY WICKETS! AGAIN! 

They were all falling at the other end again, like when we played Travellers before. But for a rather larger score this time, 198. Although, as the captain said, we did win the second half of that innings after the start they had. Too bad my ankle was now utterly fragged again. 

The wicket was getting slower and slower, and when we batted with our slightly weakened batting line up, it proved to be a struggle as wickets fell at regular intervals with no-one really able to form any kind of partnership.

This led to us attempting different tactics, by sending our junior batsman's dad's two poodles onto the field to attach the opposition opening bowler. He batted very well too, so he did his best for us with both bat and dog. 

So, I did get to bat today, against some very gentle bowlers but I still felt utterly hopeless for the first three balls I faced, smashing the ball into my already wrecked ankle and nearly onto the stumps. 

But off another bowler, a gentle tap through the covers got me a run, and I was even able to double my total before my batting partner got out. 

5 wickets and 3 runs. What a season. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 17.08.21

Better than Last Week Anyway

 So, Sunday saw us taking on Travellers with our "Sunday Legends" side, well Legends apart from me anyway. 

I was in a bit of a hurry to get to the game as I'd been unsuccessfully hunting for my white long sleeved base layer, it was that cold. Thus I was in a bit of a tizzy and walked onto the field of play with a black undertop on, which made me look very village, and also my cycling helmet, which made me look very village idiot.

We were fielding first, so no chance of a relaxing first couple of of hours walking around the ground taking photographs. We were straight out there, with me fielding in the Jonty Rhodes position at point, which would be great if I could field a thousandth as well as him.

As it happened I was feeling pretty good, and was able to field sharply and energetically, not that anything really difficult came my why. It may not sound much, but it is important for me to field well, it seems to give me more confidence for my bowling later on. 

Indeed I had to do quite a lot of fielding initially, and to get praise for what I was doing was rather helpful. Even though my throwing in from the boundary is terrible; my throwing arm being so gone it would be quicker to call a taxi to get the ball to the wicket keeper.

Travellers, as it turned out, had some good batters if thankfully not on the standard of Woodborough last week, and it took us a long time to make a breakthrough. But when it came, it happened quickly, as our opening bat took three quick wickets with his medium pace stuff. 

At the other end one of our very young bowlers was taking wickets too, using the shock tactic of aiming beamers at the batsman's head before cleaning them up with a length ball. Our catching was good as well.

I came on to bowl in the 20th over, nervous I'd be rubbish again. But as it turned out, I was good, if luckless apart from the one bad ball I bowled that was smacked into a hawthorn tree 100 yards away. I beat the bat, had edges go through the vacant slip cordon, and shaved the stumps several times for no reward. 

Typically all the action at the other end, where my fellow Sunday specialist went through Travellers lower order like a dose of salts to take 4 for 7.

That's the way cricket goes! Although there was a comedy tun out off my last ball. I ended with 5 overs for 24, with most of those runs in singles as the field was pushed back on the boundary as I was bowling the death overs again. We had bowled them out for 133.

So, batting time. Although not for me as I was back down the order in my rightful place. As it was so wretchedly cold I ended up spending a lot of time walking around, and as we started safely but rather steadily, there didn't seem to be any need to panic. It was so chilly however that outside of the cricket there wasn't a whole lot to see.

However, panic mode seemed to set in, as the opponent's canny medium pacer suddenly took a hat trick to devastate our middle order and leave us 5 down for not many. 

However, our opening bat and our skipper now settled in, and began to take the game away from the Travellers, who weren't helped by having a couple of fielders who made me look like Usain Bolt when it came to mobility. They gradually reduced the deficit down, until our opener sportingly retired at 50 and his son went in with us needing 25 off 5 or so.

This is when the skipper took control. The young chap was never going to monster the big hits, so his job was to keep the ball out and run like hell to try and keep the skipper on strike. No doubt the sight of me padded up waiting to come in helped focus their thoughts, as I knew I'd struggled to score against the fast bowlers who were on at the time.

Luckily the skipper is in a rich vein of form, and he saw up home. With a ball to spare!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.05.21