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Good training session last night ... My batting was quite good compared to before. I was making a concious effort to be as still as possible before the ball was delivered, as someone pointed out that I was tending to shuffle around. And I think it helped, as I felt like I had more time to watch the ball and still had time to play it. A few balls got through me, and I was C+B once - but mostly not bad.

Bowling was better than Tuesday too - not brilliant, but I think I figured out where I was going wrong. On Tuesday I was trying to run in fast and use that speed on the ball, whereas I should have been just running in consistantly and try to put pace on the ball with the delivery.

I was fielding at square leg too - which was fun. I did drop a catch that I should have taken, but I was trying to chase it down and catch it over my shoulder on a bumpy part of the outfield - so I never got close enough to where it was going to land and it just bounced out of my hands :( I was able to effect a few runouts though - 4 in a row at one stage :eek:hmy:. Though it was more due to the fact that the batsmen were refusing to call and running everything ... and one of them had shinsplints. Still ... had to get in on the ball quickly and get it into the keepers hands.

This Saturday coming is turning into a bit of a mess games-wise. Three of our teams are out on the same day, and our 4ths were the first to have a team mostly picked - but now they're being ransacked from above. I've been called up to the 2nds, which is fine ... but I'm not likely to be able to contribute at that level as much as I possibly could have on the 4ths :( I'll do my best though - the captain seems to have a policy of bowling as much of the team as possible, so I might get an over or two. Hopefully they won't be carted to all ends of the country ::)
 
Out for the 2s

Another good weekend for the club :D

We had three teams out on Saturday, which meant it was bit difficult to get enough players - but we managed, just about. Myself and one of the other 4th teamers were drafted up to the 2nds, along with some lads from the 3rds. And most of the 4th team were names I'd never heard before - I don't know where the captain found them :?

The 4ths had an interesting game by all accounts. They batted first and were all out for just 57 :eek: - but then they bowled the opposition out for 30 :eek: :eek: including one lad getting 5 for 7 off 10 overs.

Our game was just as dramatic - if for different reasons. The top order did it's job well, with the first 3 getting 91, 72 and 77, which led to us getting 294 in the 45 overs. Which is a record for the club, beating the previous best (267) that was set in 1987 (in a game that they lost believe it or not)! There was also plenty of activity aside from the free run-scoring - with scuffles between the batsman and the keeper; a dog trying to eat the ball; some comical attempts at fielding the ball; and no less than 4 arguments over the rules - all with the same member of the opposition. I didn't get to do much during the first innings obviously - being set to bat at 11 in a game where we only lost 4 wickets. But I did square-leg umpire for a bit. I still haven't had to do the bowlers end umpire yet this year - I'll have to start doing it at some stage I suppose, but a 2nds match is probably not the right place.

I did manage to get a bowl too. I wasn't really expecting to get on, but just after drinks the captain gave me the nod. My first over was a perfect study in how NOT to bowl! I was a bit nervous, and was alternating between long hops and full tosses down the leg side. And my run-up was just feeling wrong. My first over was carted around the place, going for 12 runs :embarrassed:, 8 of which came from 4s hit straight over my head! I have recently been putting some thought into setting a field for my bowling - which does include a long-off that would have discouraged the batsman from playing that shot - but I wasn't confident enough to set the field coming on ... I was more worried about not screwing up! It would have looked bad if I'd set a field for my normal bowling and then proceeded to give them balls that were crying out to be hit into the gaps. I'll definitely be doing it next time though.

I came back well though - I relaxed a lot and only gave away a total of 6 runs off the next three overs. There were a good few close chances in there too. About 2 in each over beating the bat, and somehow just missing the stumps; I'd 3 or 4 good shouts for lbw too, but in all fairness I probably wouldn't have given them myself; and there were 3 catchable opportunities, 2 fell short of fielders (who should have been walking in), and one was driven just over my head and I just managed to get my fingertips to it at the top of a jump, which at least took the pace off it and stopped a possible 4. There were a couple of byes off me too, strangely enough. Two of the balls that beat the bat, also confused the keeper it seems. It's not that they were too fast, if anything they were slower balls. But perhaps the problem is that it so rarely gets past a batsman (either hits or defends) that the keeper's not expecting it when it does ::)

Four overs was all I got though. When coming on for the 4th, the skipper said I could stay on if I got a wicket ... but it wasn't to be. I even tried a deliberate slower ball with my last one, but the line was off and it just resulted in a single. The game was over fairly soon after anyway. The other 4th teamer (who was given the chance to open the bowling and took 1 wicket from his first spell), came back on and did a great job - being rewarded with 3 more wickets. The last being a decent enough catch from me running from mid-off to cover and taking it at a stretch to end the game with the opposition on 153. So a 4-for for the other 4th team bowler! It's quite likely now that the 4th team mightn't be getting to keep him for much longer :(

That catch was my 7th of the season from 10 games, which puts me currently joint top of the table with the 3rd team keeper. If I can keep up with this sort of pace it might result in a cup that can be used to "cancel out" the now near-inevitable duck cup. I could also do with a few more wickets too. I racked up 11 wickets in 4 games (6 if you count games where I didn't bowl) and then didn't get to bowl for almost a month. I'd like to be getting a lot more overs in, but we almost always seem to be in games where we bat first and then don't have to defend for long enough for me to get a chance at them. Maybe this weekend?
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Virendersingh.berthwal said:
One query;do u work and play cricket or u r purely a professional cricketer.
Click to expand...

Do I sound like a professional cricketer!!! No I'm just obsessed ... I have a job in an electronics company doing tech support.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Well U do sound like a professional.
Good to read a technical guy in this forum.
About the field setting;I had in some post about it and had adviced u that bowlers alongwith their captain should set the field.
This "experience" ;) will be useful to you for the coming matches.
One thing was good that u were close to getting wickets and that will be good for your confidence and even the captain will feel the same.
Besides I liked the humor in your post related to dog trying to eat the ball,comical attempts to stop the ball :D
One thing;the photo posted on the ur profile.I use to think that u are standing behind the stumps and ur coach is playing the cut shot or square drive.
But in one of the website:tinypic;I saw it was George bush and a boy and the photo was taken in Pakistan.
I was first :eek:,then :laugh:
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xD3ESrwnzs&feature=related]Video of Bush taking a bouncer to the head[/ame] :laugh:

Nice one Virender. The dog was tied up on the side of the pitch - we got 2 boundaries thanks to him, as in ball that wouldn't have gone unless he'd grabbed them!

I have a team photo from Saturday in my blogspot version of this blog - Link

I'm third from left at the front.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Nice one ed :D
Good to see an electronics engr on board.
I am a electrical engr working in Facilities.
We also have stray dogs around but on very few occasions they have bothered the players.
Anyway the dog was ur best players it seems for he effected 2 boundaries :D
Good to see ur team photo.
u have quite a lot of Asian players.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Yeah, it's been great for cricket in Ireland in the past number of years to have an influx of players from a number of cricketing nations. We're fielding 4 teams this year which would never have been possible for a small club a few years back. We've a lot of guys playing with us from Hyderabad especially.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

So u have guys playing from hyderabad- Cosmopolitan city in Andhra Pradesh.
How are the selection/application procedure done to have a influx of players from different countries.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

It's not a big league really, i.e. there are no professional players except maybe 1 per team in Senior 1. So the selection procedeure is - you turn up to training ... you get a game. :D

Most of these guys are over in university here and want to play some cricket. The reason there was an influx of foreign nationals was because the economy over here boomed in the past 15 or so years, so there was plenty of work. We have lads playing with us from all over Asia, Australia, South Africa and England. It's the same for all the clubs over here now. I would suspect it's not much different in England, but I don't really know.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Yeah u r right;well I was looking to get some of the talented players to get occupied during "off season".
But without sponsorship is not possible.

edladd said:
The reason there was an influx of foreign nationals was because the economy over here boomed in the past 15 or so years, so there was plenty of work.
Click to expand...
Well :D then I should also give it a try.
 
A different type of spinner

On a training front, Tuesday went quite well. I was bowling more consistantly than in previous weeks. I think I need to be bowling a few overs every weekend to keep myself in any type of form. Spot bowling is all well and good, but it doesn't teach you how you should be thinking in the middle of a match. There weren't enough at training to have a full field either, so it was basically just a ring field. But I was paying attention to where the ball was going, and how that would have fit with the field I would have set. As usual, all the big arial hits went either over my head to long-off (where they would have been dropped :p) ... or were pulled over Midwicket. These two positions (long off and deep midwicket) are going to be my strategic fielders I think. The guy I was bowling to is a good bat, and so I reckon he was hitting the ball where is deserved to go (not forcing shots) - so therefore it makes sense that long off and midwicket are generally where people want to hit me. So by having fielders there it will either result in catches, or make the batsman think twice about playing that shot.

Obviously, it depends on how the batsman is playing, but as a starting point it's good to have an idea where the field should be. Currently I'd be setting a field like:
Mid On - Deep Forward Midwicket - Short Midwicket - Square Leg - Shortish Fine Leg (at 45) - Shortish Third Man - Backward Point - Cover - Long Off.

We'll see how it pans out this weekend. In a repeat of last week we have three teams out on Sunday. This time though it looks like the captains will have the teams set earlier - so I should be playing 4ths (barring any last minute changes). We're playing on a ground that has a notoriously bad mat, with absolutely no bounce. So it should be a low scoring affair. I'm going to dig out the camera and try and get some more pics up on the blog. I bought it a few years ago, so it's not a great one (Fugi Finepix something), but I'll see how they turn out.

In other relatively exciting news - there was some progress on the bowling machine yesterday. I got a pair of wheels at the weekend, and I now have them mounted on the motors. I used some hot-melt plastic as the "adapter" and it seems to have worked quite well. I have the motors pretty much centred (thanks to some dental floss and a padlock ;)) but the wheels aren't level at the moment, meaning that there's still some vibration when it's powered. If I can get my hands on a spirit level (or failing that some chalk or a ruler) and a hairdryer I should be able to sort it out this weekend.

The wheels are hard (not air tyres), so I don't think I'll be able to use hard balls in the machine but if it fires tennis balls reasonably fast I'll call it a prototype and that'll do for now :D If I sort out the camera I'll take some pics of the different parts and show you guys the progress so far. The next step is to make up a frame and a way of guiding the balls down the centre of the wheels. I reckon a bit of pipe (like a drain-pipe) with slots in the sides might do the job - but I might have to revise that once I start looking into it properly.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Hi Ed,
Regarding u r field setting; u seem to work on the leg side more.
Can u explain the field position like Deep Forward Midwicket and Short Midwicket.
Do u think it will be worth a gamble by not keeping a deep extra cover and cover point region.
R u a gentle medium pace or fast.
Have u checked ur natural swing wether it is inswing or outswing.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Hey Virender,
I bowl pretty slow, so I'm relying on line and length for the most part. I do naturally get a little bit of outswing - but not much. And I can often get the ball to seam into the right-hander. I usually bowl at the stumps too, to try and force the batsman to play and cramp him up so he has no room to work on the off side. But if it's too short or a full toss, they normally hit it somewhere in an area between Long off and Midwicket - hence the field setting. Short Midwicket is there to stop the batsmen taking quick singles by blocking the ball down into the gap and sprinting through.

In the league I normally play, people aren't great at driving into covers. Escpecially when there is no pace on the ball and they have to do all the work to get it away. They might cut it through the covers if its a bad ball - but I suppose it's up to me to bowl to my field. If anything it is usually an advantage to try and make them play through covers - as they often mistime is and offer a simple catch. Obviously, it depends on the batsman, I'd happily move the short man across to strengthen the covers if necessary. And anyway, hopefully the man at long-off will be able to sweep some of the cover boundary if necessay.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Ed,
It is good to know ur bowling limitations and place ur fielders accordingly.
There must be good fielders and bad fielders in your team.
With the help of your captain place the good ones at critical position for good fielding backup.
Be confident in your fielding setting.I am sure even the captain will acknowledge the same.
Secondly; u have not cleared the field position details of Deep forward midwicket and short midwicket.
I have attached a fielding position chart for your further reference.Hope it will be helpful to you.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Well, short Midwicket would be 17 but closer in. And Deep Forward Midwicket would be 16, but further around - i.e. closer to the bottom of the diagram. Is this what you meant? Actually, I've edited your picture to show my proposed field. As I said though, it hasn't been tried in a match situation, but it's a start :)
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Ed,

Given the bowling style and details in your earlier post.
The field placing looks very strong on the midwicket and long on region as the majority of the shots are played in that area.
Try it in a match but observe the batsmen batting skills also so as to manoeuvre the fielding.
After all every hit-n-miss is an "Experience" :D
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Looking at it now, I'm not sure I need a third man. As I said, i'm pretty slow (bowling-wise ;)) so it would take a strange shot to bring him into play. Maybe if third-man went around to gully, I could tighten up the off side a bit. I'll bear it in mind tonight at training.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Sounds like you're going along well and the field is looking good.

Regarding the bowling machine, tennis balls come out really slowly from bowling machines for some reason. I really don't know why but we tried them at the club a month or so ago.
 
Re: Edladd's Blog

Thanks Jelly Beanz, I'll bear that in mind. It might be because the tennis balls can deform to absorb some of the energy from the wheels rather than all of it going into speed?

Nets went pretty well again last night. I bowled OK, and managed to put the vast majority on a good length. And the ball was almost always pitching on leg stump. However, all of the balls were seaming in :confused: This basically meant that if it was a little bit short it moved outside leg and it was whacked. But it wasn't too bad - as it was being whacked to Deep-Midwicket, so in a match situation it would be covered (hopefully).

I got a short bat at the end of the session too, and it felt really good. Two of the first teamers were trying to fire in yorkers, and I was having great fun with it. I'd a lovely looking drive past mid-off, and another through covers - both of which felt "right". It was another one of those moments where you do something - and a switch trips in your head going "So that's what they meant"! I'd say that this was the first time I'd ever actually played a ball directly under my eyes - and it makes such a big difference!

I was still lucky not to be bowled, I'd two inside edges that missed leg stump. But I suppose the difference is that previously I wouldn't have had the bat anywhere near the ball. And I guess that it helped that I knew they were trying yorkers, so I'd an idea where they were trying to pitch it. Still, it was good fun.

I effected a few run-outs again too, but generally my fielding was poor. I dropped one (admittedly difficult) chance, and some of my throws into the keeper were at his head instead of into his hands.

One thing that really does annoy me though is other players attitudes to fielding in nets. Very few of us were walking in, or trying to field with any sort of intensity. Instead some people were moping about looking bored until they were called to bat or bowl. As far as I'm concerned, if you're a lazy fielder in training thinking "I'll do it properly when it matters" - then the laziness is goint to follow you into the games. There's nothing worse than seeing a ball drop just short of a player when they're still trying to transfer their weight off their heels, and still taking their hands out of their pockets :cursing:

I found my old camera last night too, but I have no idea where the USB cable is. I'll try to pick one up on the way home from work today. Our 1sts have a big cup game tomorrow so I'll take a few pics during and upload what our pitch looks like here.
 
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