Appears that now I am little fitter and faster I have added being run out to my skill set. Twice in two games, and if you add in two ducks (a first ball and a second ball) not the best of weeks, but the good news remains my bowling, fitness and being very relaxed and comfortable with where my game is at the moment.
Last week I mentioned being run out for 41. It was a genuine mistake from my batting partner, although I still hold the view that if you have a batter on 41 with 7 4s and a strike rate of 150+ with only two overs left you don’t worry about a single off the first ball of an over, but give them two or three balls to try and find the boundary.
Playing for Church Eaton I went in at 6, behind the run rate as ‘normal’ and I think the last recognised batter. Chat with batting partner about the need to push some singles and punish the bad bowl – the usual stuff – then eased my first ball into mid wicket for an easy single. Called as I played it and set off for a gentle one …. only to see my partner leaning on his bat, looking at me, and saying he had had not heard me call (strange as the teammates on the boundary said they did), and it appears that they didn’t see me running towards them either or had heard what I said during our chat.
Naturally frustrating BUT my mind is so clear about my cricket this year that I just shrugged it off, watched the inevitable collapse, had beer with a Staffordshire Seniors colleague then went to the pub with my new team mates who seem a very pleasant bunch.
Church Eaton v Silverdale
Debut for the 1s. Lucky to get a game in as was a lot of rain forecast but we got in a fill game. Bowed well with 8 Overs for 23 runs and 3 dropped catches! Batting though – well see above!!!
Unicorns v Sean McCormick
Another game affected by the rain, but not too badly. We batted first, started well, but then had a somewhat typical and predictable collapse which included a second ball duck for me from a unplayable ball thanks to a somewhat variable wicket.
We put up a valiant effort with the ball but as only defending 100 a couple of expensive orders put the game to bed for them just before the rain came.
Coaching
Cancelled due to the rain
Staffordshire v Leicester
Watched our top 3 for an hour, then watched the rain for the rest of the day!
XL West Midlands v XL Scotland
Played in York. We scored 245, of which I contributed 32 not out off 33 balls batting at 5. Very pleased with my batting. Fielding was OK but my legs were stiff. Enjoyable day, but a long way.
The body is holding up well. Two main issues remain: hamstrings which get very tight, especially when sitting, and left arm. Both much better than have been, and post rehab sessions are pretty good so a solid winter working on them should see a lot of improvement.