At Sir Julian Cahn's Place

Today saw us taking on the nice chaps of West Bridgford Legion 2s at West Park, West Bridgford.

A pleasant ground on a pleasant day, I had been really struggling with 1) Lower back pain and sciatica that made it difficult for me to put my own shoes on and 2) loads of toothache despite the dentists telling me my teeth were fine a couple of weeks ago.

I arrived at the ground hobbling after a scenic car journey through the Trent-side villages of Notts - the A46 was accident stricken, as usual. For once I was really hoping we would bat first, but no, skipper won the toss and stuck them in. Trying to stretch was hilarious, I couldn't even touch my knees, let alone my toes.

So, I took two paracetamol and two ibuprofen, and headed out there thinking I was going to be utterly embarassing. Funny though, concentrating on the game always seems to make the pain go away, and apart from my stiffness causing one horrifically bad misfield, I was OK.

Luckily, our quick quick bowler, as opposed to me who can't even pretend to be quick, and a couple of our good juniors, bowled before me giving my back a chance to get warm. We went through their top order, and eventually I got into bowl after about 20 overs, and bowled about as well as I could do. No wides, no mega beamers, no no balls, and didn't go for a run until my 5th over. Wickets came too, a nice sharp catch at short cover, and one of my special inswinging yorkers claming another.

I just couldn't knock over their tail enders though. Tried all sorts, but they just kept the ball out. Bowl was sailing past the outside edge, yorkers dug out....grrrrr. Really fancied 5 wickets today. 2-14 off 10 in the end, as they struggled to 74-9 off 45.

Bowling first is always the smart tactical move as far as I'm concerned - as you know, it means stuffing myself at tea!

Yeah, we'd bowled well, but this was the sort of chase we'd buggered up in the past. I showed my concern however by immediately heading off to photograph the sights, take in the sun, and spend even more energy by doing some sketching, we started off slowly but steadily so I figured best not to worry.

Sir Julian Cahn, after whom the posh pavilion at the ground is named that we weren't allowed to use, was a mega rich businessman and cricket fanatic, who in the 20s and 30s took tours of top stars playing cricket all around the world, while hosting big matches at the ground we played at today.

The only test side not to play at West Park were Australia, but I'm sure we were an acceptable substitute.

By this time, we'd lost a couple of wickets, but hey, no panic. Our stalwart opener was doing a fantastic job on a tricky wicket, and a couple of other lads had played a few shots. However, as ever, we began to find ways to get out, and a deadly spell of umpiring from an umpire of ours perhaps overly keen on demonstrating his neutrality left us 8 down with the grisly spectacle of only having myself down at number 11 to come in.

You may remember, I've won a game like this before, but I doubt I could do it again, no matter how well I batted in nets on Thursday.

Enter our young leg spinner, who despite having no technical batting ability at all other than to play a cow corner hack, has a great eye and a great temperament. He belted a massive 4, and at the other end one of our senior players also found the fence too.

We'd squeaked home. A second much deserved victory for our very young side. And a great settler for my nerves.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.07.16

Hawton Holt

Away on the other side of the Sconce and Devon Complex, away from the River Devon, is Hawton Holt, the little reserve where fruit trees and bamboo is being grown.

Usually it's closed to the public, but when I stuck my head in on Monday, it was open. It has a new sign, mounted on top of a home made bee hotel, and within it is full of trees, natural arched walkways, a pond, a hide, and beehives too.

The first chiff chaff I have heard for a while was singing, as was the badly blown but sweet sounding flute-song of the blackcap. It is a peaceful spot, full of bees and damselflies, and I hope to return and sketch the backside off it, as well as have a read and write perhaps in a quiet corner.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.07.16

Life on the Teasels

But first...a kitty update!

We've had traps out since Monday evening to try and relocate our feral cat colony here at work, and it didn't take long before we had our first customer, a beautiful and wild 8 week old tabby kitten. This has gone off for fostering and eventual re-homing.

I would have taken it home there and then.

Today we caught one of its parents, a smoky tabby cat with white feet. We always thought this was the male, but haven't had it confirmed yet, and this has gone off for neutering before resettlement in a less dangerous place.

After inspecting the (empty) traps this afternoon, I went for a walk around campus to photography the teasel flowers, which are attracting insects in large numbers. I'm interested in the bumblebee I've snapped here, it looks like some sort of carder, but not a common one.

Miaow.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 05.07.16

Monday's Critters

It was warm again yesterday, but I was once again far too achey to even think of going for a run. So it was a couple of walks, a shorter one around town, and a two hour one out to the park and around and about.

There was plenty to see, and once again the effect on my mental health was striking. It was so pleasant to be out there, I'm lucky to be able to do that, which I tend to forget.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 04.07.16

I'm a Mighty Swinger

Home game again today, but at our proper home ground at Kelham Road, rather than the outground. This means it is Sunday, and yet again, I am playing cricket at too high a standard for me. But, it wasn't all bad, as we shall see.

It was another lovely day at our home ground, and as instructed by my mother, I remembered to be more liberal with the sun cream and hat wearing today, bless her.

For a change, we batted first, and with me after my recent trot of ducks destined to bat at 11, I had plenty of time to explore after I'd dome my ten overs umpiring penance at square leg, counting to 6 like a robot.

As usual, I headed for the two pastures at the North end of the ground, and was well rewarded with a bombylans hoverfly on the buddleia on the way, as well as some soldier beetles getting frisky on a thistle. The main action was taking place on a clump of knapweed in the pasture, which was covered with beautiful small skipper butterflies. They were unusually confiding, so I got some decent photographs of them.

Back to the ground, and our good start started to go a little South as our talented juniors struggled to get enough power on the ball to beat the field. Finally I went in with two overs to go, determined to make an impact rather than play pat a ball and get nothing anyway. So every ball I faced, I took a mighty mighty swing.

Missed every single time, and I got hit in the the testicles for my trouble, which was a bit eye watering. 10 goes I had, and then was finally LBW off the 11th.

After a curtailed tea - I have batting first for this reason, we took to the field to defend our modest total of 107, and we, including myself for a change, bowled really well early on and our debutant took three good wickets, including the Lowdham big hitter. But a coupl more very good bats saw them home.

It had been a fun day though. Love Sunday cricket, despite the endless hammerings. Lots of folk came to watch for a little while, the Lowdham guys were friendly, and the tea was nice!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.07.16

There's No Magic Here

I've had sort of cricket day really. A fortunate reprieve from a day of being really rubbish at second team level - I've had a hearty dose of realism as to what my skill level is actually like - meant I found myself at my usual 3rd team standard, playing Notts and Arnold 5th XI out at Dale Field, which I shall call the Buzzard Ground from now on, for there are always Buzzards circling there keening away.

I end up crying, the Buzzards keen.

We found ourselves bowling first against a team I think we possibly slightly underestimated, at our peril for we were a very young side today - 7 junior players - which meant muggins here got to have a crack with the wind behind him with the new cherry.

As ever, wide disease was a problem. This curious ailment which happens usually once per over drives my captain and team-mates mad, and me all the madder. It comes out of nowhere, two screamingly good deliveries can happen either side of it, and like the full toss disease I also suffer from, it seems to be very difficult to cure.

I do wonder if there is a Tourette element to this, if there is sometimes a tic in my bowling. Hmmmmm.

So I did castle their opener, a 15 year old kid, with a pearl of an inswinger, my speciality delivery - when I can bowl it  - and had another catch dropped but seeing as only one catch went down today I can't grumble. More importantly, I TOOK A CATCH! This doesn't happen very often and so it was well worth celebrating excessively, running around skipping. Ah well, I'm only a young child of 44.

Pleased actually, fielded pretty well today and have done so the last few weeks. That's a hex put on me for tomorrow then.

We had better bowlers than me, especially our young mystery spinner who is a genius bowler and took 3 wickets today. He leads me as 3rd team wicket taker by a few now, and deserves it. But we shouldn't have let them get 144-8.

After tea, I searched out the magic mushrooms I'd been told were at deep mid-wicket. Sadly, they weren't magical, just fairy ring fungus. I might have batted better, or at least more entertainingly.

Batting. Oh dear. The team as a whole are struggling at this at the moment, with me being totally dreadful since my early season patch of form. But as I was batting at 10, I could enjoy the buzzards, and the bees while the early batters did well against an odd fast bowler who flung it down off a one pace run up. Must try that.

Trouble was, as I sunbathed shirtless, it all became a bit what we call "binary batting" after that. All 1s and 0s. I was one of the 0s, horribly LBW to another very slow spinner. I just feel like crying about my batting at the moment. What happened!

Buy hey, a catch. And a wicket. 20 for the season now, so I can't be all rubbish. That was one of my goals.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.07.16