Virendersingh.berthwal
Active Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
Best of luck and keep us posted>>>>>>
Best of luck and keep us posted>>>>>>
Edladd's Blog
- Thread starter edladd
- Start date
edladd
New Member
Eureka again
Just had the indoor cricket session, and the good news is - I can still bat!! The first over I faced was hopeless, I was incapable of hitting a ball (albeit from a chucker :
). But then I decided to just relax and play the ball as it came to me, which worked great! Anything straight and short was either pulled away or pushed into a side-wall for 1 run. Anything full was hit straight down the ground, so I was able to pick up a run or two for nearly every ball.
Of course, it was only after 4 balls of this that the very large and angry penny managed to drop all the way onto my head and scream "That's what they mean by playing each ball on it's merits!". It seems obvious now, but before this I always would have been thinking "I need to get my front foot forward", or "I need to defend this ball", as opposed to just relaxing, watching the bowler and playing the ball as it deserved to be played.
To be fair, before now I couldn't afford to relax at the crease, as the odds of me hitting a ball of any speed were akin to the odds of me winning the lotto or writing a novel by accident or something. But since I've started practicing by driving balls with a stump, I now much more rarely miss a straight ball! And this practice has had the added benefit of making me cut out unnecessary cross-batted shots.
I also actually enjoyed batting today. Up till now I could never understand why anyone would actually want to bat. I saw it as a necessary evil that I had to get out of the way before I could get down to bowling and fielding. Now I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow so I can have a bit of a bat and see if the indoor feeling follows me. And the best thing is, I've been so bad this season with the bat that the pressure is completely off. No one expects the last partnership to last a full over. So if I get some runs - bonus. I must make sure that the guy at the other end doesn't throw away his wicket in an attempt to score a few before I face :-/
Added 9 hour(s), 13 minute(s) and 56 second(s) later...
Argh, Friday's game is off as the opposition can't field a side. Crappit anyway.
At least nets went well.
Just had the indoor cricket session, and the good news is - I can still bat!! The first over I faced was hopeless, I was incapable of hitting a ball (albeit from a chucker :
). But then I decided to just relax and play the ball as it came to me, which worked great! Anything straight and short was either pulled away or pushed into a side-wall for 1 run. Anything full was hit straight down the ground, so I was able to pick up a run or two for nearly every ball.Of course, it was only after 4 balls of this that the very large and angry penny managed to drop all the way onto my head and scream "That's what they mean by playing each ball on it's merits!". It seems obvious now, but before this I always would have been thinking "I need to get my front foot forward", or "I need to defend this ball", as opposed to just relaxing, watching the bowler and playing the ball as it deserved to be played.
To be fair, before now I couldn't afford to relax at the crease, as the odds of me hitting a ball of any speed were akin to the odds of me winning the lotto or writing a novel by accident or something. But since I've started practicing by driving balls with a stump, I now much more rarely miss a straight ball! And this practice has had the added benefit of making me cut out unnecessary cross-batted shots.
I also actually enjoyed batting today. Up till now I could never understand why anyone would actually want to bat. I saw it as a necessary evil that I had to get out of the way before I could get down to bowling and fielding. Now I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow so I can have a bit of a bat and see if the indoor feeling follows me. And the best thing is, I've been so bad this season with the bat that the pressure is completely off. No one expects the last partnership to last a full over. So if I get some runs - bonus. I must make sure that the guy at the other end doesn't throw away his wicket in an attempt to score a few before I face :-/
Added 9 hour(s), 13 minute(s) and 56 second(s) later...
Argh, Friday's game is off as the opposition can't field a side. Crappit anyway.
At least nets went well.
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
Batting is the best thing about the game, even though I'm hopeless at it! Glad that it's coming together for you.
Batting is the best thing about the game, even though I'm hopeless at it! Glad that it's coming together for you.
Jelly Beanz
New Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
I heard someone say that the thing bowlers enjoy most is getting runs and batsmen enjoy getting wickets the most!! I agree though, batting is more fun most of the time - sometimes I'd rather I'd not have bothered
I heard someone say that the thing bowlers enjoy most is getting runs and batsmen enjoy getting wickets the most!! I agree though, batting is more fun most of the time - sometimes I'd rather I'd not have bothered
edladd
New Member
Ysub Eludehcs
Last entry here was about the amount of games I was likely to be playing this weekend. Basically, if you take that schedule and invert it, that's how my weekend actually panned out :
First game was called off on Thursday evening, as the opposition couldn't get more than 5 players - and this was after I'd booked a days holidays
. Friday turned out to be not a complete write-off however - aside from getting the car ready for my NCT (which it passed this morning ), I managed to get in an hours batting practice by myself. Basically I was throwing a tennis ball against the wall at the back of our house, and then trying to drive or defend it with a stump when it came back to me. I spent a while of this concentrating on balls at my legs - trying to get used to getting my front foot out of the way so I had room to hit the ball.
Saturday then was due to be a day off, but I had made myself available for the 1sts as they were having trouble getting 11. Sure enough, 9amo) on Saturday morning I got the call up for my first 1st team game of the season. We needed a good win to have a chance of promotion, and we got off to a pretty good start having them at 65 for 6 about 25 overs in. Unfortunately though their number 4 and number 8 both knuckled down to get the rate up over the course of about 15 overs. They both eventually got 50s (the number 8 being not out) to leave us chasing 165. The firsts hadn't had a game in around 5 weeks due to weather and some scheduling issues, and unfortunately it showed. None of the top order really fired and despite a few well made 20s from the middle batsmen we were fighting a losing battle.
I was in at 10 (much to the chagrin of the number 11), and came in to bat with 15 overs to go. The guy at the other end was batting well, so I just made sure to keep out the straight ones and hoped to nick a few singles by connecting well. I did manage to play a few shots, but nothing that really cleared the field. Eventually I got one run, (which was given to me really to keep me on strike 
), and the next over was on to face a spinner (don't like spinners).
This guy actually didn't turn it much, but he put the ball down fast with an off-spinner's action. I broke my own new-found rule and forgot to play each ball on it's merits - instead playing for the non-existent turn. After 5 balls I fished at one that was well outside off without moving my feet - and managed to get an inside edge into off stump
Interestingly, this is the first time I've scored a run that resulted in my average dropping
We ended up with 115 ao, with the poor number 11 only getting to face 1 ball - 0 not out
Fielding was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but mostly good. I'd a few nice stops that saved 4s, including one that nearly saw me run full tilt into the sight screen - evasive action being needed. I also chased a few that other players had given up on, and came within inches on two occasions of saving another 4. I really need to learn how to dive or slide, it's such a shame to be quick enough to get close to the ball, but then not have the skill to make use of it.
The worst bit though was my first drop of a dolly. I was moved to long-on, and my second ball there was creamed in the air directly towards my. I ran in towards it - then realised I'd overshot it and tried to backpedal. Then with a full stretch jump I just managed to get a hand to it, but couldn't hold on :embarrassed: (stopped it going for 4 at least). I was pretty annoyed with myself, but I just decided to put it behind me and get on with the game. These things happen to us all, ya know! I think if it happened to me last year I would have gone into my shell completely and been afraid to go for a ball for the rest of the game, but after taking 10 catches this year I still had some confidence in my ability. This paid off a few overs later when I took a nice one - running from long-on to behind the bowler and taking it two-handed at full tilt.
Sunday, I had made myself available for the 2nds as a backup, as they were playing the game that would potentially decide the league. 1st v 2nd. If we won, we were beyond catching. A loss meant that they had a slim chance of overhauling us in the last two games. In order to be available for this, I had replaced myself on the RTÉ taverners team for the day. So when it turned out I was surplus to requirements on the 2nds, I was left cricketless
It was still a good day though, not sure what Dave was complaining about in his blog - the last day of August over here was the hottest we'd had in months! I watched our boys score 170-odd in their game, which looked a safe total, then called down to the taverners game to see their run-chase. 2nds ended up winning comfortably to get the league title in the bag for the 2nd time in three years. And the taverners got within 3 runs of winning in their game before losing 3 quick wickets in the 2nd last over to hand the trophy to the opposition .
We had a meal afterwards to mark the end of the taverners season, and a good day was had by all
Added 1 hour(s), 1 minute(s) and 26 second(s) later...
Just installed spell checker - woohoo
Last entry here was about the amount of games I was likely to be playing this weekend. Basically, if you take that schedule and invert it, that's how my weekend actually panned out :
First game was called off on Thursday evening, as the opposition couldn't get more than 5 players - and this was after I'd booked a days holidays
. Friday turned out to be not a complete write-off however - aside from getting the car ready for my NCT (which it passed this morning ), I managed to get in an hours batting practice by myself. Basically I was throwing a tennis ball against the wall at the back of our house, and then trying to drive or defend it with a stump when it came back to me. I spent a while of this concentrating on balls at my legs - trying to get used to getting my front foot out of the way so I had room to hit the ball.Saturday then was due to be a day off, but I had made myself available for the 1sts as they were having trouble getting 11. Sure enough, 9am
o) on Saturday morning I got the call up for my first 1st team game of the season. We needed a good win to have a chance of promotion, and we got off to a pretty good start having them at 65 for 6 about 25 overs in. Unfortunately though their number 4 and number 8 both knuckled down to get the rate up over the course of about 15 overs. They both eventually got 50s (the number 8 being not out) to leave us chasing 165. The firsts hadn't had a game in around 5 weeks due to weather and some scheduling issues, and unfortunately it showed. None of the top order really fired and despite a few well made 20s from the middle batsmen we were fighting a losing battle.I was in at 10 (much to the chagrin of the number 11
), and came in to bat with 15 overs to go. The guy at the other end was batting well, so I just made sure to keep out the straight ones and hoped to nick a few singles by connecting well. I did manage to play a few shots, but nothing that really cleared the field. Eventually I got one run, (which was given to me really to keep me on strike ), and the next over was on to face a spinner (don't like spinners).This guy actually didn't turn it much, but he put the ball down fast with an off-spinner's action. I broke my own new-found rule and forgot to play each ball on it's merits - instead playing for the non-existent turn. After 5 balls I fished at one that was well outside off without moving my feet - and managed to get an inside edge into off stump
Interestingly, this is the first time I've scored a run that resulted in my average dropping
We ended up with 115 ao, with the poor number 11 only getting to face 1 ball - 0 not out
Fielding was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but mostly good. I'd a few nice stops that saved 4s, including one that nearly saw me run full tilt into the sight screen - evasive action being needed. I also chased a few that other players had given up on, and came within inches on two occasions of saving another 4. I really need to learn how to dive or slide, it's such a shame to be quick enough to get close to the ball, but then not have the skill to make use of it.
The worst bit though was my first drop of a dolly. I was moved to long-on, and my second ball there was creamed in the air directly towards my. I ran in towards it - then realised I'd overshot it and tried to backpedal. Then with a full stretch jump I just managed to get a hand to it, but couldn't hold on :embarrassed: (stopped it going for 4 at least). I was pretty annoyed with myself, but I just decided to put it behind me and get on with the game. These things happen to us all, ya know! I think if it happened to me last year I would have gone into my shell completely and been afraid to go for a ball for the rest of the game, but after taking 10 catches this year I still had some confidence in my ability. This paid off a few overs later when I took a nice one - running from long-on to behind the bowler and taking it two-handed at full tilt.
Sunday, I had made myself available for the 2nds as a backup, as they were playing the game that would potentially decide the league. 1st v 2nd. If we won, we were beyond catching. A loss meant that they had a slim chance of overhauling us in the last two games. In order to be available for this, I had replaced myself on the RTÉ taverners team for the day. So when it turned out I was surplus to requirements on the 2nds, I was left cricketless
It was still a good day though, not sure what Dave was complaining about in his blog - the last day of August over here was the hottest we'd had in months! I watched our boys score 170-odd in their game, which looked a safe total, then called down to the taverners game to see their run-chase. 2nds ended up winning comfortably to get the league title in the bag for the 2nd time in three years
. And the taverners got within 3 runs of winning in their game before losing 3 quick wickets in the 2nd last over to hand the trophy to the opposition .We had a meal afterwards to mark the end of the taverners season, and a good day was had by all
Added 1 hour(s), 1 minute(s) and 26 second(s) later...
Just installed spell checker - woohoo
edladd
New Member
The Real Mother of Invention
Gah .... Woeful turnout at nets last night. A whole 2 peoples. And the second only turned up as I was leaving. I think the end-of-season rot has well and truly set in. I remember this happened last year too, where for the last month everyone gave up nets and it was very difficult to get a team out (not that I'm complaining too much - it got me my debut on the 1sts).
I was more surprised than usual last night though, as our first team have their cup final next Saturday, and I thought some of them would be down sharpening their skills. Unless they were hiding in the bushes waiting for me to leave
I know the skipper was working late, but surely a couple of them would have still pitched up to get a bat in their hands to check if they still remember how to use it! Especially after the last 5 weeks of cancellations and a drubbing last weekend to dash our hopes of promotion.
I got to the park just before 6 to open the place up, and while I was waiting I got out the stump and a few hockey balls to have a bit of a hit myself. At home I've been bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and practising driving it, but I hadn't been able to find a suitable place to do this at the pitch. However yesterday, what with boredom being the mother of invention and all, I managed to circumvent such petty obstacles
Basically, I dragged the roller over in front of the door of the equipment container, stood about 10 feet away with the stump, and then pegged the ball at the curved surface of the roller. This worked surprisingly well, with the hockey balls pinging back to me at a reasonable clip (but not too fast), and the length gets a natural variation based on where on the roller the ball hits! Errant throws also weren't too bad, as the container behind the roller stopped the ball going too far.
I think this new method might keep me going for a while, I'll have to find something similar for the tennis courts near my house. It's coming into the time of year when they'll be empty more often, so I might be able to get down and use them myself.
Gah .... Woeful turnout at nets last night. A whole 2 peoples. And the second only turned up as I was leaving. I think the end-of-season rot has well and truly set in. I remember this happened last year too, where for the last month everyone gave up nets and it was very difficult to get a team out (not that I'm complaining too much - it got me my debut on the 1sts
).I was more surprised than usual last night though, as our first team have their cup final next Saturday, and I thought some of them would be down sharpening their skills. Unless they were hiding in the bushes waiting for me to leave
I know the skipper was working late, but surely a couple of them would have still pitched up to get a bat in their hands to check if they still remember how to use it! Especially after the last 5 weeks of cancellations and a drubbing last weekend to dash our hopes of promotion.I got to the park just before 6 to open the place up, and while I was waiting I got out the stump and a few hockey balls to have a bit of a hit myself. At home I've been bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and practising driving it, but I hadn't been able to find a suitable place to do this at the pitch. However yesterday, what with boredom being the mother of invention and all, I managed to circumvent such petty obstacles
Basically, I dragged the roller over in front of the door of the equipment container, stood about 10 feet away with the stump, and then pegged the ball at the curved surface of the roller. This worked surprisingly well, with the hockey balls pinging back to me at a reasonable clip (but not too fast), and the length gets a natural variation based on where on the roller the ball hits! Errant throws also weren't too bad, as the container behind the roller stopped the ball going too far.
I think this new method might keep me going for a while, I'll have to find something similar for the tennis courts near my house. It's coming into the time of year when they'll be empty more often, so I might be able to get down and use them myself.
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
I used to endlessly drive myself insane by hitting rebound tennis balls. Sounds good though if you're getting a bit of variation of the roller.
I used to endlessly drive myself insane by hitting rebound tennis balls. Sounds good though if you're getting a bit of variation of the roller.
Norm the whale
New Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
Hate that, ankle or knee on the bone = ouch. Have a bruise from the other week on my knee cap still.
Hate that, ankle or knee on the bone = ouch. Have a bruise from the other week on my knee cap still.
edladd
New Member
Smash-fest Nets
Even with the club's most important game of the year coming up this Saturday - I was still surprised by the turnout at nets yesterday! I think there were around 15 there in total, with 8 from the 1sts in attendance. The emphasis was on letting people have a chance to get their eye in and their confidence up, so it was more of a smash-fest than any sort of considered drilling of skills. It was still fun though, with plenty of banter between the lads about who can hit it furthest, and trying to hit skiers (skyers? Though who wouldn't like to hit a skier, smug gits) in the general direction of certain sledgers so you can take the mick out of them when they drop it.
In this atmosphere my bowling was obviously taken apart! No death bowler me I was still happy with my bowling though, line and length were consistent, and my slower balls caused aggro every time I put one down there. Batting went fairly well too, managed to keep my wicket intact and played a few decent strokes. I also played a chinese cut or two, but a run's a run ... no-one remembers how you scored them unless you land on your ass during the shot
There are only four games at most left in the season, but I suspect that there's little hope of tomorrows game going ahead. It's been solid rain since early this morning, and there's still no sign of a let-up. Hopefully Sunday will still happen though. I'm going to try for a late season charge to get up to 30 wickets, I've been on 26 for almost a month due to cancelled games and not getting overs. I'm also in joint 2nd for the catches cup, so I need at least 2 more to get a clear lead. I'll be bugging the skippers to field me in the ring, as my high catching has been pretty poor this season.
Obviously some runs would be nice too, especially since my batting is just starting to come together. There's even a chance that I might not have the Duck Cup in the bag. There's one other lad that now has 4 (to my 5), and if he gets one more his ducks percentage could be higher than mine so he'll end up with the cup :biggrin I'm not counting my chickens though, chances are I'll get ducks myself in all the remaining games
Even with the club's most important game of the year coming up this Saturday - I was still surprised by the turnout at nets yesterday! I think there were around 15 there in total, with 8 from the 1sts in attendance. The emphasis was on letting people have a chance to get their eye in and their confidence up, so it was more of a smash-fest than any sort of considered drilling of skills. It was still fun though, with plenty of banter between the lads about who can hit it furthest, and trying to hit skiers (skyers? Though who wouldn't like to hit a skier, smug gits
) in the general direction of certain sledgers so you can take the mick out of them when they drop it.In this atmosphere my bowling was obviously taken apart! No death bowler me
I was still happy with my bowling though, line and length were consistent, and my slower balls caused aggro every time I put one down there. Batting went fairly well too, managed to keep my wicket intact and played a few decent strokes. I also played a chinese cut or two, but a run's a run ... no-one remembers how you scored them unless you land on your ass during the shot There are only four games at most left in the season, but I suspect that there's little hope of tomorrows game going ahead. It's been solid rain since early this morning, and there's still no sign of a let-up. Hopefully Sunday will still happen though. I'm going to try for a late season charge to get up to 30 wickets, I've been on 26 for almost a month due to cancelled games and not getting overs. I'm also in joint 2nd for the catches cup, so I need at least 2 more to get a clear lead. I'll be bugging the skippers to field me in the ring, as my high catching has been pretty poor this season.
Obviously some runs would be nice too, especially since my batting is just starting to come together. There's even a chance that I might not have the Duck Cup in the bag. There's one other lad that now has 4 (to my 5), and if he gets one more his ducks percentage could be higher than mine so he'll end up with the cup :biggrin I'm not counting my chickens though, chances are I'll get ducks myself in all the remaining games
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
Good luck with getting a game this weekend - no chance here. Been raining non-stop for 24 hours now with flood warnings galore and the ground is sodden and not even fit for football/rugby.
Good luck with getting a game this weekend - no chance here. Been raining non-stop for 24 hours now with flood warnings galore and the ground is sodden and not even fit for football/rugby.
edladd
New Member
Wonder of wonders!
Managed to actually get a game in yesterday, but it was a bit of a disaster for us - so I don't know if that was a good thing
We were bowled out of 98, and they got the total, under no real pressure, in about 30 overs and only losing 4 wickets.
Me? I got a third ball duck, and am going to have to add "Batting against swing" to my already long list of pending improvements. I also bowled 8 overs for 18 runs, but didn't manage to take a single wicket. It was extremely frustrating, as it was by far the quickest and most consistent spell I've ever bowled, with no wides, and only 5 or 6 balls not going where I wanted them to.
I think this actually made it less likely for me to take a wicket though - as the opposition batters were refusing to chase the ball ... instead dead-batting the majority back to me, and turning the odd one down to fine leg. It didn't help that they were under no scoreboard pressure either I suppose. Normally, I get wickets from people being tempted into chasing my innocuous bowling - missing the pace of it - and so getting bowled or caught off a miss-hit.
So perhaps straight line and length bowling is only really effective when it's really slow - or when they have to chase it? Not that I was chanceless - I was dropped twice (one a dolly), and had a few LBW shouts turned down. I beat the bat a few times too, but no luck
The obvious next step is to get some swing out of the ball. If I can keep up this pace so that they try to defend more often, then a touch of outswing has a chance of taking an edge.
I'm bloody knackered today after it, not necessarily because of the physical exertion (8 overs ain't a marathon after all), but more from disappointment. I bloody put everything into the game, both in the bowling and trying to get the team going in the field, and have ended up with nothing to show for it.
Ah, hopefully I'll manage to get in a better game next week. Still need 4 more wickets to get 30 for the season, which isn't really significant - just a nice round number, and if I can get two more catches I'll be back in with a shout for that cup.
Added 19 hour(s), 2 minute(s) and 8 second(s) later...
Game off next weekend, as we're trying to get to see the firsts in their cup final - so it effectively means that the season is over!
One of the lads is pushing for it to be played though, as he needs 8 runs to get to a career 2500. I wouldn't mind playing myself, it would be a good chance to take a few more wickets or catches - and the final is on very close by, so we would be there for the end of the game.
Having said that, it would be good to turn up and support the lads, we've only ever won one cup, and that was in a 20-20 competition, so it would be nice to get a proper one.
Managed to actually get a game in yesterday, but it was a bit of a disaster for us - so I don't know if that was a good thing
We were bowled out of 98, and they got the total, under no real pressure, in about 30 overs and only losing 4 wickets.
Me? I got a third ball duck
, and am going to have to add "Batting against swing" to my already long list of pending improvements. I also bowled 8 overs for 18 runs, but didn't manage to take a single wicket. It was extremely frustrating, as it was by far the quickest and most consistent spell I've ever bowled, with no wides, and only 5 or 6 balls not going where I wanted them to.I think this actually made it less likely for me to take a wicket though - as the opposition batters were refusing to chase the ball ... instead dead-batting the majority back to me, and turning the odd one down to fine leg. It didn't help that they were under no scoreboard pressure either I suppose. Normally, I get wickets from people being tempted into chasing my innocuous bowling - missing the pace of it - and so getting bowled or caught off a miss-hit.
So perhaps straight line and length bowling is only really effective when it's really slow - or when they have to chase it? Not that I was chanceless - I was dropped twice (one a dolly), and had a few LBW shouts turned down. I beat the bat a few times too, but no luck
The obvious next step is to get some swing out of the ball. If I can keep up this pace so that they try to defend more often, then a touch of outswing has a chance of taking an edge.
I'm bloody knackered today after it, not necessarily because of the physical exertion (8 overs ain't a marathon after all), but more from disappointment. I bloody put everything into the game, both in the bowling and trying to get the team going in the field, and have ended up with nothing to show for it.
Ah, hopefully I'll manage to get in a better game next week. Still need 4 more wickets to get 30 for the season, which isn't really significant - just a nice round number
, and if I can get two more catches I'll be back in with a shout for that cup.Added 19 hour(s), 2 minute(s) and 8 second(s) later...
Game off next weekend, as we're trying to get to see the firsts in their cup final - so it effectively means that the season is over!
One of the lads is pushing for it to be played though, as he needs 8 runs to get to a career 2500. I wouldn't mind playing myself, it would be a good chance to take a few more wickets or catches - and the final is on very close by, so we would be there for the end of the game.
Having said that, it would be good to turn up and support the lads, we've only ever won one cup, and that was in a 20-20 competition, so it would be nice to get a proper one.
edladd
New Member
The end is NIGH (or at least soon)
The last Tuesday-training of the year was two days ago, and guess how many turned up?
Two.
Again.
We spent about 30 minutes giving each other throwdowns, but to be fair, we were dodging showers for most of that. Apparently all the wind and rain we had at the start of this week was the tail end of hurricane Gustav! It happens a good bit over here, where a couple of fronts associated with a hurricane in the US follow the gulf stream and dump a crap-load of water on us. The one that most people still talk about was hurricane Charley in the 80's, did a lot of damage apparently, though I don't remember it, what with being 2 at the time and all
So with inclement weather, and a maximum of 22 people playing next weekend - it's hardly surprising that nobody made it but it is still disappointing that one of our last opportunities for a hit has passed us by. Hopefully there will be a few there this evening for what is officially the last net of the year.
I started swimming lessons last Monday though, which should give me something to do in the off-season. Nothing challenging so far, but I don't think I'm kicking properly - and it's quite difficult to tell what your feet are doing when you're busy trying not to drown
Other than that I haven't really made any plans for the winter, cricket- or training-wise. Rest up for a few weeks I suppose, then we'll see what happens. That is of course assuming we're [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI8Xp3Ibs4M"]all still here[/ame] for the winter.
The last Tuesday-training of the year was two days ago, and guess how many turned up?
Two.
Again.
We spent about 30 minutes giving each other throwdowns, but to be fair, we were dodging showers for most of that. Apparently all the wind and rain we had at the start of this week was the tail end of hurricane Gustav! It happens a good bit over here, where a couple of fronts associated with a hurricane in the US follow the gulf stream and dump a crap-load of water on us. The one that most people still talk about was hurricane Charley in the 80's, did a lot of damage apparently, though I don't remember it, what with being 2 at the time and all
So with inclement weather, and a maximum of 22 people playing next weekend - it's hardly surprising that nobody made it
but it is still disappointing that one of our last opportunities for a hit has passed us by. Hopefully there will be a few there this evening for what is officially the last net of the year.I started swimming lessons last Monday though, which should give me something to do in the off-season. Nothing challenging so far, but I don't think I'm kicking properly - and it's quite difficult to tell what your feet are doing when you're busy trying not to drown
Other than that I haven't really made any plans for the winter, cricket- or training-wise. Rest up for a few weeks I suppose, then we'll see what happens. That is of course assuming we're [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI8Xp3Ibs4M"]all still here[/ame] for the winter.
edladd
New Member
Batting Masterclass
Again with the lack of people at nets last night! We had a grand total of 6, which is way better than Tuesday, but very disappointing for the last Thursday net of the year; and the very last chance for the 1sts to practice before the final (It HAS to happen this Saturday).
Still, we made the most of it. One of the lads had noticed I wasn't great under the high ball and so fixed me Apparently, I was trying to take the ball too far from my body, which is why it was bouncing out so much. And apparently for covers and midwicket type catches - if it's coming at you hard, fairly low and to your side - it helps to get your leg behind the ball. Firstly, because if you miss, there's a second line of defences. And secondly (and more importantly), it's difficult to judge where your hands are once they go past your knee. I tried his advice, and it's certainly helped so far - I can work on it a bit over the winter and hopefully go the extra mile with the catches next year
Batting went well enough. At one stage I hit a lovely cover drive (in the midst of a load of edges), where I ended up down on one knee and with the bat above my head pointing towards where the ball had gone. The keeper remarked that I looked exactly like Michael Vaughan.
Next ball I missed completely and it went through the gate and knocked over middle stump. The keeper remarked that I looked exactly like Michael Vaughan. :embarrassed:
Bowling was the same as usual - I'm no use as a net bowler, as I need the field or scoreboard pressure to force errors. But it was reasonably accurate, and I worked on my follow-through a bit.
Our game on Saturday now looks like it is back on, so I still have one last opportunity to pick up a few more wickets. Hopefully I'll be a bit more successful than last week - though it was nice to get my economy down a bit to just over 4.
Again with the lack of people at nets last night! We had a grand total of 6, which is way better than Tuesday, but very disappointing for the last Thursday net of the year; and the very last chance for the 1sts to practice before the final (It HAS to happen this Saturday).
Still, we made the most of it. One of the lads had noticed I wasn't great under the high ball and so fixed me
Apparently, I was trying to take the ball too far from my body, which is why it was bouncing out so much. And apparently for covers and midwicket type catches - if it's coming at you hard, fairly low and to your side - it helps to get your leg behind the ball. Firstly, because if you miss, there's a second line of defences. And secondly (and more importantly), it's difficult to judge where your hands are once they go past your knee. I tried his advice, and it's certainly helped so far - I can work on it a bit over the winter and hopefully go the extra mile with the catches next year Batting went well enough. At one stage I hit a lovely cover drive (in the midst of a load of edges
), where I ended up down on one knee and with the bat above my head pointing towards where the ball had gone. The keeper remarked that I looked exactly like Michael Vaughan. Next ball I missed completely and it went through the gate and knocked over middle stump. The keeper remarked that I looked exactly like Michael Vaughan. :embarrassed:
Bowling was the same as usual - I'm no use as a net bowler, as I need the field or scoreboard pressure to force errors. But it was reasonably accurate, and I worked on my follow-through a bit.
Our game on Saturday now looks like it is back on, so I still have one last opportunity to pick up a few more wickets. Hopefully I'll be a bit more successful than last week - though it was nice to get my economy down a bit to just over 4.
Jonesy
Active Member
Re: Batting Masterclass
Hahaha.
The opposite happened to me today. Mucking around against my mate in the nets - he bowled me first ball then I hit him for 6 the next. When I bagged him for it he said you can't hit a 6 if you're already back in the pavillion. Lol.
Good lucky for the final today, no pressure.
You play 1sts yeah? Geez I can't believe you guys only get half a team each training session!
edladd;30128 said:Batting went well enough. At one stage I hit a lovely cover drive (in the midst of a load of edges
Next ball I missed completely and it went through the gate and knocked over middle stump. The keeper remarked that I looked exactly like Michael Vaughan. :embarrassed:
Hahaha.
The opposite happened to me today. Mucking around against my mate in the nets - he bowled me first ball then I hit him for 6 the next. When I bagged him for it he said you can't hit a 6 if you're already back in the pavillion. Lol.
Good lucky for the final today, no pressure.
You play 1sts yeah? Geez I can't believe you guys only get half a team each training session!
mas cambios
Active Member
Re: Batting Masterclass
The culture is different over here though, training is seen as something the kids do or only if you have to. Probably explains why we're so crap at cricket.
Jonesy;30183 said:
The culture is different over here though, training is seen as something the kids do or only if you have to. Probably explains why we're so crap at cricket.
jimmy33
New Member
Re: Edladd's Blog
Hmm, you may have a point mas. The adults at my club are pretty crazy about training. They go Tuesday, Thursday as well as Saturday morning. Also during the winter some play indoor. Quite amazing, considering these guys are past their prime and have other lives. Great blokes to train with though
Hmm, you may have a point mas. The adults at my club are pretty crazy about training. They go Tuesday, Thursday as well as Saturday morning. Also during the winter some play indoor. Quite amazing, considering these guys are past their prime and have other lives. Great blokes to train with though
edladd
New Member
Re: Batting Masterclass
No I'm a 3rds/4ths player. I only started playing last year so that's why I attend training so much - I need all the help I can get to improve.
This time of year it is difficult to get numbers at training, the season's practically over - the weather's crap - people are starting to play their winter games like soccer and hockey etc. Earlier in the year it was better - regularly there would be 20-odd there.
Funny enough, most of the senior members that turn up regularly are Aussies - I suppose that reflects the different attitude to training that you guys were talking about? There are others that turn up all the time too, but for most people it's not a priority.
Added 2 hour(s), 11 minute(s) and 9 second(s) later...
Well, it's over.
It's more than mildly depressing to know that it's at least 7 months until the next competitive game, and probably a whole 5 months until I'll pick a ball up in the company of people who are really interested in what I'll do with it.
There seem to be a good few people on SC who are writing up a review of their season, but I'm going to sit on my one for a few days - partially to try and get a bit of perspective on it, but mostly because there's other more interesting news.
Not that my last game this season was cancelled due to opposition failing to get numbers - on the nicest day we've had in months ... That's not news at this stage, it's been happening so often the last few weeks - it would have been more surprising to actually get a game played.
The real news is that our first team have finally gotten their final played (Third time's a charm). And guess what.....
go on ....
Guess ....
They won!! :thumbup1:
After 24 long years as a club we actually have a cup. (To be fair, our 2nds won a 20-20 competition earlier this year, but there's nowhere near the same history associated with it.) Our firsts have been in the final of this competition 7 times before and lost them all (once when it would have been much easier to win).
So as you can imagine, there were a lot of teary-eyed players and former players about the place exorcising their demons. And there were a few pints imbibed on Saturday evening (I'm still trying to remember if I said or did anything embarrassing). It was a great day for the club, and it caps off a fantastic season - our 2nds and 3rds both won their leagues, the 2nds won their short-game cup and now this
I don't know how we'll top it next year - but the monkey is off the back now and hopefully it is just the start of a new era for us.
Jonesy;30183 said:
No I'm a 3rds/4ths player. I only started playing last year so that's why I attend training so much - I need all the help I can get to improve.
This time of year it is difficult to get numbers at training, the season's practically over - the weather's crap - people are starting to play their winter games like soccer and hockey etc. Earlier in the year it was better - regularly there would be 20-odd there.
Funny enough, most of the senior members that turn up regularly are Aussies - I suppose that reflects the different attitude to training that you guys were talking about? There are others that turn up all the time too, but for most people it's not a priority.
Added 2 hour(s), 11 minute(s) and 9 second(s) later...
Well, it's over.
It's more than mildly depressing to know that it's at least 7 months until the next competitive game, and probably a whole 5 months until I'll pick a ball up in the company of people who are really interested in what I'll do with it.
There seem to be a good few people on SC who are writing up a review of their season, but I'm going to sit on my one for a few days - partially to try and get a bit of perspective on it, but mostly because there's other more interesting news.
Not that my last game this season was cancelled due to opposition failing to get numbers - on the nicest day we've had in months ... That's not news at this stage, it's been happening so often the last few weeks - it would have been more surprising to actually get a game played.
The real news is that our first team have finally gotten their final played (Third time's a charm). And guess what.....
go on ....
Guess ....
They won!! :thumbup1:
After 24 long years as a club we actually have a cup. (To be fair, our 2nds won a 20-20 competition earlier this year, but there's nowhere near the same history associated with it.) Our firsts have been in the final of this competition 7 times before and lost them all (once when it would have been much easier to win).
So as you can imagine, there were a lot of teary-eyed players and former players about the place exorcising their demons. And there were a few pints imbibed on Saturday evening (I'm still trying to remember if I said or did anything embarrassing). It was a great day for the club, and it caps off a fantastic season - our 2nds and 3rds both won their leagues, the 2nds won their short-game cup and now this
I don't know how we'll top it next year - but the monkey is off the back now and hopefully it is just the start of a new era for us.