For the first time ever our league isn’t playing this weekend. Not sure how or why they came to the decision. I’d rather play this weekend and not have to play on December 22.
Our bottom grades aren’t playing this weekend
I’ve always played 4s, but I’m normally about 2 spots outside 1sts on cup weekend
Couldn’t have had an easier game. No caught behinds, no lbw’s…only one decent LBW appeal. Finished early. Both teams far better behaved than what I remembered in the city. 5 or 6 kids in each team and they all got a go. Older blokes did nothing but encourage them. First side made 150-odd (scorebook was a bit of a mess) in their 40 overs…in a tick over 2 hours…second side passed them 2 down after 19.1 overs. Small ground though. The only dropped catch came in the 5 seconds of the day that the sun popped out from the clouds and the poor kid was looking straight into it.
Second game after 4 years today. Turf wicket this time. I hate hard wickets. For reasons not inderstood by me the skipper wanted me to bowl the last spell of the innings. We had one big guy slapping us all over the place with his tree trunk bat. He got me away for a few big boundaries but I got him in the end. Actually took three wickets with zero training. All bowled. Second one jagged back a long way off the seam and took the top of off. Possibly one of the best balls ive ever bowled and I’m knocking 40. Had a couple of hard catches dropped off my bowling. Guess maybe I’ve still got it afterall? Taking up running has helped.
PS. We got bundled out for an embarrassing score.
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We won the toss and sent the opposition in. They scored at a fair rate given how quick the outfield was. We dismissed them for 196 in the 43rd over, in reply we are 3/112 overnight. I got another start of sorts again, out for 10, hit a full toss straight to gully. Very frustrating to do the work to get into an innings and then find a way to get out…
Made my 1st ever GOLDEN DUCK today after playing 35 yrs of junior/senior cricket
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You never gave up
I had one in first year of juniors, about the 5th game of cricket I ever played. Never had one since.
Got my first diamond in a semi final about 15 years later. Now that is the worst!!
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We won outright yesterday, however a very interesting, see-sawing contest. Resuming at 3/112 needing another 84 runs for the win, we started solidly enough but collapsed badly, losing 5/6 all to spin and crashed to 8/156. Our final 2 wickets put on decent partnerships and with scores tied, a bad mix-up saw a run-out. There were only 45 overs left in the game, with little chance of an outright result I thought we’d pull up stumps and have an early beer, ruing what might’ve been, but we decided to play on and had another crack at them.
We rolled them for 48 in 22 overs, which meant we needed just 49 off the remaining 19 overs in the day. Passed that total 2 down in the 12th over, I ended up unbeaten on 17 when we scored the winning runs but while running between the wickets I’ve done my hamstring. Happy we pulled an outright out of a seemingly futile situation but am a bit sore and sorry today sitting on the couch with an ice pack under my leg and a likely 3-4 weeks on the sidelines…
Got the 9:30am phone call yesterday to come out of semi retirement and fill numbers in our C grade. Needed 3 players so I roped my son and my BIL in for the arvo. Only LO in that grade. Were playing on hard wicket and the opposition sent us in to bat and with a fairly youngish side I got roped into openening. We lost a couple in the first few overs so my son came in at 4 and I got to bat with him for a about 5 overs until I was dismissed. One of the openers was a bit of a ■■■■ and gave me a spray when he hit me in the forearm early on. I still don’t wear a lid so copped a few short ones followed by a gobfull each time. I only made 23 but was seeing them ok and had just smoked said flog through the covers for 4 and then tried to repeat it a couple of balls later and played it on thanks to my non existent footwork. The flog carried on like a parrot and gave me an absolute spray with my highlight being “ Fark off you old carnt”. I just smiled and as I walked off just said to him quietly “hope you don’t have to bat today son”. We ended up being dismissed for 131 in the 32nd over.
Our turn to bowl and my son is a former A grade opening bowler but due to work had to stop playing a year or so ago. He is still very sharp but due to a niggle he came off only a few steps and bowled 3rd change. Had them 4/83 and old mate Mr mouth comes out to bat after my lad picked up a wicket first ball of his 4th over. Straight away I say to my lad “what have you got lad” and he replied that he can give it a crack for a few balls. He proceeds to go back off the long run and 1st ball old mate doesn’t see it, second ball hit on the glove at good pace and hurts him. Third ball I tell him to badge him and he duly complies by hitting him right in the grill at extremely sharp pace which rattles him. 4th ball Mr mouth ■■■■■ himself and stumps go flying. As he walks off past me I gave him “ I might be old but atleast I don’t bat on square leg umpires toes you farken coward”
We rolled them for 116. Can’t walk today though, my left knee resembles a beach ball
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Two day side lost to Sydenham/Hillside at Taylors Hill but the one dayers defeated St. Albans at home.
Next week we are short a few but:
Two dayers host Strathmore Heights
One dayers play away at Avondale Heights
anyone remember Mitch golby who played about 50 games for Brisbane before getting cut recently. He’s lobbed up in Box hill league, played against our ones the other day.
Seems to be a specialist mid-wicket & square leg, bats down the order and doesn’t bowl.
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Still playing in the 2nds. We batted yesterday, lost an early one and I was in the 2nd over. I really struggled, lack of feet and no timing and was out LBW for 3. Our number 5 came in and smacked them everywhere and got 134. A great innings. We ended up all out for 293. Should defend that next week.
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I remember playing a game when I was, I dunno, 17 or 18 (and zippy enough). Some old bloke was belting us around, hit me for four and told me I was no good.
Skipper told me to bounce him, it literally only just missed hitting him in the throat. Next ball, pitched up and got him LBW. Skipper proceeded to give him one of the best sprays I’ve ever seen on a cricket field.
Very civilised here. Dunkeld Races are on next Saturday (Dunkeld is at the southern end of the Grampians) so the bottom grade (Div 3 one-dayers) get the weekend off. Too many short teams otherwise. Convenient for me because I’ve got to come up to Melbourne.
And they get about a month off over Christmas. Most teams have 4 or 5 kids in them and they’re often away with their parents (not sure how much this happens in the country though - maybe the townsmen, but the cows don’t have a month’s break).
Our comp is a country league and the top 3 grades get only a week off over Christmas.
They play on the 22nd of December and come back on the 5th Jan.
The LO comp gets an extra week off and come back on the 12th if Jan, same as our U16’s and U14’s. The U12’s don’t come back until school resumes
the break over christmas used to be called the harvest break. don’t know why because the harvest was usually finished by christmas
Last game for Div 3 is 15/12 and come back 19/1 so two weeks more.
Have you always umpired, old fart?
I get a message requesting my (limited) services every Thursday night.
I feel bad when I say no but I’m at the point where playing with my kids is just more enjoyable as opposed to getting out early, scoring and umpiring after and then fielding for several hours.