i know it not the purpose of this blog, but it is BF hard for me to be interested in short form cricket played OS.
As we know, Aus are the Champions of the Champions Trophy, well done to the boys, sorry that i just don't care!
For ODI i really only value the World Cup, as it at least gives lesser teams a chance at playing the big boys- who knows, one day we may get an Ireland or Holland side into a final! But a best of the best; just a same old same old to me- pouring $$$ back into the teams that need it less!
Great wins to NSW and Vic in the Champions league T20, for short form games, this is where i believe it is at: best club.
apart from that -until Australia play tests again- i'm a little engrossed in playing for Mordi!
We played week 2 in or one day comp yesterday and after last weeks win against last years winners, we were pumped. Unfortunatley, due to the importance placed on the team when it comes to selection through the club, we only had 4 of last weeks 10 playing.We lost... quite badly!
At 9 wickets for 100 i went in with still nearly 8 overs remaining. After last weeks duck and the acknowledgment i probably closed my eyes as the ball came through, i was determined to practice what i preach to my son, and watch the ball onto the bat; every ball!
the other batter Mark was a middle order batsman so i knew one end should be alright, but it was up to me to redeem last weeks fiasco and try and stay in for the rest of our innings; i had plenty of time to settle.
Mark informed me of the bowlers ability- not too quick and getting a bit of swing- and i then took the time to check the field and just enjoy the opportunity of stonewalling my end.
I let myself block or leave the rest of the over and just kept my eye on the ball and on to the bat; easy as!
The next over was a leggie who was getting no turn (which surprised me as i got heaps last week on the same track!) and getting onto a loose one i was away; the chance of a pair broken.
It is such a nice feeling when you rely on the basics and they pay off; there were no glorious shots, i concentrated on offering nothing in the air -one ok cover drive- a couple of streaky sweeps against the leggie, and one very close call on a run out -once again, saved by the basics: the massive furrow through the dirt before and crossing over the crease dispelled any doubt as to whether my bat was grounded!
They brought the opening bowler on to knock off the bunny, and the best thing about that was getting hit on the thigh pad a couple of time trying to turn the ball around my body. Because he was absolutely fizzing them in the blows allowed me to disregard any concerns of being hit; and when one lifted sharply at the body and smacked in to the thigh square and i just smiled back at bowler i knew i'd broke him down a degree. He got a maiden for his troubles, but he also stopped bowling at my body and his next over he was all over the place.
With one ball remaining we'd made it through our overs and when the other batsman called for a second run and ran himself out, we'd added 34 to the total and i walked off with 12 n/o. Happy days!
In the field nothing came my way as a chance, but i fielded well and received a nice big bruise on my left palm where a dive pulled up a certain 4. Brought on as first change again i was feeling really confident due to bowling 'on the spot' in the nets the night before.
The batsmen were well settled but i was mostly effective with a few smacking the pads turning in from well outside leg. Unfortunately as a 'newbie' i don't get to set my own field and while i respect the captains understanding of the game, i know my own bowling better. I would always put in a fly slip and deep leg slip; unconventional positions to be sure but i can get a lot of sideways on the ball so it goes across the stroke often or comes on quick to a batsman trying to play me down to fine leg. Given 2 chances for both of these positions went begging i better speak up next game.
In the end, my card belied how well i bowled- 0-28 off 5. There was a sitter dropped, and two shocking miss fields for 4 so i was fairly disappointed after my last over given so many ball landed well and most of the hits were not well controlled and very uppish. I'm not saying i was perfect, i bowled about 3 long-hops but apart from that...
I know stats don't tell the whole picture... i just hate it when they distort mine
stoph verismo
down the wicket
Nice Stoph, getting only 5 overs as a first change bowler is a bit rough! Perhaps the expectations are a bit high after your exploits in the previous game?
ReplyDeleteSpinning is always difficult as there is generally a ‘buying of wickets’ where the batsmen gets a few away but the bowler can still be getting him to do what he wants him to do. The figures can piss you off as you know you’ve bowled better than that but I reckon after a little while people sometimes forget that and then look at the figures anyway. In any case that 34 run partnership would have been invaluable and your partner would have been very impressed by your sticking around and doing a job. In one-day scenarios you probably don’t get the time to build your spell and set blokes up – taking wickets immediately is the order of the day. For this reason I think you’re better off coming on later – between overs 25 and 35 (is it a 40 over game?) when they want to get on with it and make them look stupid. What do you think?
Did your team win? Didn’t think you mentioned this element!
Our B grade for Mt Lofty had a successful start to the two day comp playing Happy Valley at our 2nd ground at a nearby high school. We bowled them out for 156 off 63 overs with your truly fielding terribly – diving over balls at gully several times. No real catching opportunities (two sailing over my head) but there was only one for the whole of last season – which I thankfully caught. I generally field at gully or point and am continually amazed at how few balls come in the air to me.
I didn’t get a bowl with two young fellas rolling the arm over who I would suggest are behind me but it’s clear I won’t be sending down much leather at all for B grade. I know I shouldn’t be concerned as I’m opening the batting but I really miss bowling. To their credit they both did very well with one of them picking up 3 for. Obviously the most important thing is the outcome for the team so I’ll have to work on my fielding to contribute better.
My batting partner and I negotiated 4 overs from their openers well and are 0/6 with 70 overs this Saturday to get 150. I copped one flush in the ribs as since I was leaving everything outside off one of the blokes decided short was the way to go. Then the bloke at the other end decided the same so I know where I can expect a lot of bowling this weekend! I was so proud after getting a brand new nut straight into my body I didn’t flinch and just took my guard. This shut those wankers up quickly. I felt so comfortable at the crease and with patience am hoping to be around for quite a while Saturday. The plan is to see off the openers and see what else they’ve got. Hour by hour, session by session………….
Nospmas, what say you?
nah mate, we lost by 8 wix!
ReplyDeleteyes about the first change thing... obviously i'm no warne!
36 over matches, so i'd be happy bowling arond the 15-25 mark; not at the 11th!
not for the sake of a roughed up ball -that doesn't matter at all to my turn- just as you said, to take on the order a bit down the line when they are trying to get a wriggle on.
i know what you mean about the "buy a wicket" i was bowling to my field (what i was given, anyway)and they were getting their chances; unfortunatly, throwing them away! So hard not to crack em when i'm doing my bit and not getting supported.
that must have been a real grinding day for you guys; not many runs!
still, with a whole day the stage is set for you to shine on saturday.well done seeing out that difficult time without loss.
i love copping one and giving none, just to see the smile fall off the bowlers face quicker than a brides nightie! good work.
I think it helped that we bowled them out. The first wicket took a while and we had 4 or 5 dropped catches. One bloke dropped two and the first was as easy as they come. He redeemed himself with a catch later though.
ReplyDeleteVery true about grinding it out. One of the older fellas was saying that towards the end quite a bit. They really made a meal of it all up. One bloke was just blocking everything with wickets falling at the other end. When their number 11 came in (and I mean a true 11 – just swing at everything) this other bloke still just got his elbow up and played it back to the bowler. I thought ‘what the hell are you doing – the other guy is going to go any minute so you need to make some runs and farm the strike!’ He got red ink which I think was his whole mission – selfish prick. They were 2 for 90 at the 35 over (half way) point so 156 is a shit total. We bowled very well I must say.
The weather looks bad for the whole week so I’m not confident of play this Saturday but hopefully it’s just showers on and off so their ball gets saturated and your truly can spend some decent time in the middle!
Ah the frustration of cricket. My lot as a keeper involves fielding what probably amounts to 50% of all balls bowled. Rank crap way outside leg that I must drag in. Crap throws that land at my feet, or worse. None of these exploits are even acknowledged on a day to day basis. But I drop one catch……
ReplyDeleteLefty I would hazard a guess that the lack of catching opportunities in gully/point area is due to the batting standards in lower grade cricket. Batsmen are either not good enough to get near the ball or only ever just nick it. Anything with real sideways movement is usually too good for the bat. Good batsmen might compensate and get a thick edge that might carry to you.
ReplyDeleteYeah you’re right but it’s more cut shots that I’m expecting. The first few came along the ground fairly innocuously (cuts) and I made one good stop; two over my head so probably about a dozen with two in the air.
ReplyDeleteOne ball I got Sat I just nursed to gully so they can expect some shots like that from me. It’s very satisfying to get bat on it rather than let it go. This may be silly for an opener but feeling the bat on ball like that gives me more confidence and I think it says to the opposition that you can play an array of shots – even if some aren’t massive run-scoring ones. The ‘standard’ comment is quite valid as there were many slashes outside off with few connections. The cut shot used to be my favourite before discovering the straight drive so I’m looking to re-develop it so bowlers have to bowl straighter to me. My leg-side shots have improved the most of all (from non-existent) so the plan is to give bowlers fewer options of where to bowl to avoid singles being taken. I’m not great at the short ball but I cover it ok and can flick some to fine leg.
You’re right about keeping – it’s a shit job that I’d never do in a fit. Crap returns from the boundary, leg-side rubbish with little gratitude.
As an opener I too love to feel bat on ball. I have a standing habit to always try to get bat on ball to the first one. I love the cover drive and pull shot. My new team plays on the all purpose pitches that don't get covered for the footy. They are way longer than the normal synthetic and they jag around like turf. Very interesting early on.
ReplyDeleteInteresting – haven’t heard of those pitches to be honest. That would be awesome to play on more turf-like pitches!
ReplyDeleteThe important thing when you like to feel bat on ball is to remain patient. I think you can get a false sense of confidence when you’ve been hitting them to fielders early – I always need to be mindful when starting to open up the shoulders!