King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

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King Pietersen

sC Player of the Month June '08
King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

I had 3 articles posted in my original blog. I'll post the last one in here, and then follow that with last nights training session:

First Match of the Season

We won, and I took 2 wickets . We batted first on what at first looked a minefield, but we made 202/6 in our 40 overs, which isn't bad considering we were bowled out for under 100 last season. I didn't bat, was annoying placed at 9, which I feel is far to low, but the captain said I was in for my bowling so it's fair enough i suppose. I came on first change and took the wickets of both openers, both with swinging yorkers/low full tosses. One of them brilliantly caught at mid-off with use of the hip lol. Think I bowled 6 overs, but i'm not entirely sure, will check when the result is posted on play-cricket. Wasn't overly expensive, only got hit for 1 four but early season rustiness meant I bowled a few wides. Pace was ok though, but running into a strong cold breeze really isn't fun, so i wasn't bowling as fast as i know i can. Was a good performance though, 2/24 off 6 and a mention in the paper. Good start to the season.

Thursday's Net Session

Had my 2nd summer net session of the season last night, and it was a good one for me. We started with a game of touch rugby, which was a really good work out and I think we're going to start doing it every week from now, I can see why the England players play it, great fun. Then we went straight into the net and I began my bowling for the night.

My bowling lasted from about 6:30 to 8, without a break of longer than a minute between balls, so it was a really good workout, and I was continually running in, and bowled my fastest spell i've ever bowled. I was getting good momentum into the crease, and more importantly following through the crease. This gave my bowling that extra yard of pace which decieved a few of the better players. More importantly though, my accuracy was far better, i was bowling good lines and good lengths, even when tired. Really good session, hopefully i'll be able to take the positives from that session and convert it into the game on Sunday.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Seems like you had a great match. Always a good feeling to begin the season with a win and if you play a part in it its even better.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Second Match of the Season

Yesterday I played my 2nd game of the season, this one against a side who were relegated from the league above last season. They showed their class early with a decent opening partnership before our left arm swinger/trundler came on and bowled 10 overs on the trot taking 3 wickets. I bowled 4 overs, bowling with good pace and away swing. There was some fairly heavy rain though so the ball was soaking which led to the ball slipping from my hands resulting in a full toss which went for four. I was happy with the way they were coming out, and our keeper commented on the good pace that I was bowling with. They ended up scoring 206 in their allotted 40 overs.

Chasing a fairly decent total of 206 we started poorly, going at a slow run rate, which resulted in one of the openers falling for 2. Our opener and our number 3 then put on 27 for the 2nd wicket, with our Number 3 playing a typical powerful and brutal innings. Once he got out though it was all downhill from there, with no-one outside the top 3 scoring double figures. I came in for 5-6 overs at the end, making a solitary single and remaining not out. We were bowled out for 68, a really poor batting performance, but one we can learn from. Glad i managed to stick around though, after lacking confidence in my batting after the last batting i had done in the nets, some 3 weeks prior to the game. My performance was decent, but we lost so i'm dissapointed. I'm looking forward to nets on Thursday though, next update will be on Friday.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

better luck for the next game. sad to hear about your bad loss but at least you got some pace with the ball.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Seems like you had a great match. Always a good feeling to begin the season with a win and if you play a part in it its even better.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Thursday 1st May- The Day of The Leg Glance

Another Thursday and another net session. We didn't start with the touch rugby warm-up like last week, so it was a matter of getting my spikes on and doing my stretches. Then we settled straight into some bowling. I started ok, decent pace still and my accuracy is ever improving. Was getting some decent swing early on, mixing it up with a few yorkers aswell. Didn't get any wickets, but felt comfortable. I then noticed the 2 batsmen switching nets so saw that as my chance to get padded up and bat in the nets for the first time for a few weeks.

I started facing the bowling machine, with the speed on 60mph and with some pretty big outswing. The first bucket of balls was abit short and all i had to do was move back and across and block the ball. Was good practise for getting my head behind the ball and watching it all the way. I then asked Dick, the guy operating the bowling machine to pitch the ball up abit so I could practise my drives. Once i had blocked a few i started getting my drives going, and played some beautifully timed drives straight down the ground, and a couple of cover drives aswell. I feel this is the best part of my game, I have the ability to hit the ball dead straight and also play a mean on-drive.

I then finished my 2nd bucket of balls and moved into the net to face the bowlers, having only got out once to the bowling machine, trying to cut a ball that wasn't short enough and under-edging into the stumps. One of the first team quicks came running in, and having struggled against his yorkers throughout winter and summer nets i decided i'd try something different, move across and flick the ball away with my wrists. First attempt i was caught plum in-front of the stumps, but decided to stick with it, and the next one i got my front foot out of the way a little and just flicked the ball beautifully away. Then the leading wicket taker in my side from last season, the B Team, came into bowl, and he gets most of his wickets by players playing to early, so i decided i'd try and take the attack to him. First ball i skipped down the wicket and flicked him away through mid-wicket, and did this twice more, timing it perfectly both times. I was also playing the 2 spinners well, who were generally pitching the ball short which allowed me to rock back and pull and cut. The last ball of my batting produced the best shot of the lot, again against the guy from the B Team, I skipped down the wicket once more and smashed him straight down the ground in the air, a shot which would have resulted in 6 runs on most pitches in my league.

After gaining massive confidence in the nets with the bat, i tried to take that into my bowling, but my early deliveries were poor as i was pretty tired after quite a solid session with the bat. I took a few wickets as the night went on though, 2 edges and a clean bowled, I even had the clubs leading run scorer in abit of bother when he came in to bat. I definitely took more confidence from my batting than i did with my bowling though. So a really fun and worthwhile session again, I'm starting to play consistently well, something i lacked last season, and something I can hopefully take into the match environment. Hopefully i'll be able to get them leg glances away in the match, the ones that i timed felt awesome, just a nice flick of the wrists, and all along the ground aswell.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Second Match of the Season

Yesterday I played my 2nd game of the season, this one against a side who were relegated from the league above last season. They showed their class early with a decent opening partnership before our left arm swinger/trundler came on and bowled 10 overs on the trot taking 3 wickets. I bowled 4 overs, bowling with good pace and away swing. There was some fairly heavy rain though so the ball was soaking which led to the ball slipping from my hands resulting in a full toss which went for four. I was happy with the way they were coming out, and our keeper commented on the good pace that I was bowling with. They ended up scoring 206 in their allotted 40 overs.

Chasing a fairly decent total of 206 we started poorly, going at a slow run rate, which resulted in one of the openers falling for 2. Our opener and our number 3 then put on 27 for the 2nd wicket, with our Number 3 playing a typical powerful and brutal innings. Once he got out though it was all downhill from there, with no-one outside the top 3 scoring double figures. I came in for 5-6 overs at the end, making a solitary single and remaining not out. We were bowled out for 68, a really poor batting performance, but one we can learn from. Glad i managed to stick around though, after lacking confidence in my batting after the last batting i had done in the nets, some 3 weeks prior to the game. My performance was decent, but we lost so i'm dissapointed. I'm looking forward to nets on Thursday though, next update will be on Friday.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

better luck for the next game. sad to hear about your bad loss but at least you got some pace with the ball.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sunday 4th May- 3rd Game of the Season

Had my 3rd game of the season yesterday, was an away game against close rivals Worlingworth. I played them last season, didn't bowl and scored 1 with the bat, so was hoping for a better game this time round. It certainly started better, with me opening the bowling with our impressive all-rounder, Sam. We started well, with the first 10 producing very few runs off the bat, with my 5 overs going for 22. Sadly i was wicketless, but very unlucky, as i had a few balls nipping back to the openers and narrowly missing the stumps, wasn't quite as unlucky a spell as Treva's, but I was unlucky not to get a wicket.

My job was then to field, and it was probably my best effort in the field this season, making no mistakes and taking 2 catches, 1 unfortunately off a no ball. The one that did count was almost identical to the one off the no ball. The batsman skied it, i watched it all the way, adjusted my position perfectly and took the catch easily, much to the relief of my team-mates. In the same over i also did a textbook sprint and 1 handed pick-up and feigned throwing the ball at the batsman :p. My captain was obviously impressed as his words were "Dan's on fire" :D.

Worli ended the innings 150-9, with 56 of those runs coming in extras. This then meant we were chasing a higher score than we should of been, and we got off to a bad start with the top 4 only adding 10 off the bat. An awesome partnership from all-rounder Sam (65) and keeper Tony (28) gave us a chance. Sam then gave his wicket away, giving a catch to a Worli fielder, and our chances began to slip away. Another wicket fell 19 runs later which meant i made my approach to the crease. I was feeling confident after my good net session on the Thursday, something which obviously impressed my captain as i was moved up 1 place to number 8, a position i still feel is a little too low, but i'm not going to complain.

I started with a few play and misses, but then played the shot i was hitting with regularity in the net, the leg glance, which got me a single. First ball of the next over i played a textbook straight drive which pinged off the middle of the bat, only for it to be stopped by the fielder. Another play and miss followed, before i recieved a full straight one which i tried to work away resulting in me getting bowled.

This left us 7 down, chasing a further 25. The match ended up going to the wire, with 11 year old Liam Smith showing his technical prowess hitting a quickfire 9*, it wasn't enough though, as we ended up 5 runs short, with an agonisingly close result. That's 2 losses on the bounce, so we'll be looking to come back stronger next week with a home match against Brantham, a side that finished 2 places above us in the league last year.

A dissapointing game all round, from me and the team, i'll be looking to improve next week, and hopefully get some runs under my belt for the season. I just need to have some real time in the middle, the past 2 times i've gone in i've only had 5-6 overs to bat, i'm desperate to be given a chance at the top of the order, and should probably have taken the chance to open yesterday, as the skipper offered it to me.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog

Thursday 1st May- The Day of The Leg Glance

Another Thursday and another net session. We didn't start with the touch rugby warm-up like last week, so it was a matter of getting my spikes on and doing my stretches. Then we settled straight into some bowling. I started ok, decent pace still and my accuracy is ever improving. Was getting some decent swing early on, mixing it up with a few yorkers aswell. Didn't get any wickets, but felt comfortable. I then noticed the 2 batsmen switching nets so saw that as my chance to get padded up and bat in the nets for the first time for a few weeks.

I started facing the bowling machine, with the speed on 60mph and with some pretty big outswing. The first bucket of balls was abit short and all i had to do was move back and across and block the ball. Was good practise for getting my head behind the ball and watching it all the way. I then asked Dick, the guy operating the bowling machine to pitch the ball up abit so I could practise my drives. Once i had blocked a few i started getting my drives going, and played some beautifully timed drives straight down the ground, and a couple of cover drives aswell. I feel this is the best part of my game, I have the ability to hit the ball dead straight and also play a mean on-drive.

I then finished my 2nd bucket of balls and moved into the net to face the bowlers, having only got out once to the bowling machine, trying to cut a ball that wasn't short enough and under-edging into the stumps. One of the first team quicks came running in, and having struggled against his yorkers throughout winter and summer nets i decided i'd try something different, move across and flick the ball away with my wrists. First attempt i was caught plum in-front of the stumps, but decided to stick with it, and the next one i got my front foot out of the way a little and just flicked the ball beautifully away. Then the leading wicket taker in my side from last season, the B Team, came into bowl, and he gets most of his wickets by players playing to early, so i decided i'd try and take the attack to him. First ball i skipped down the wicket and flicked him away through mid-wicket, and did this twice more, timing it perfectly both times. I was also playing the 2 spinners well, who were generally pitching the ball short which allowed me to rock back and pull and cut. The last ball of my batting produced the best shot of the lot, again against the guy from the B Team, I skipped down the wicket once more and smashed him straight down the ground in the air, a shot which would have resulted in 6 runs on most pitches in my league.

After gaining massive confidence in the nets with the bat, i tried to take that into my bowling, but my early deliveries were poor as i was pretty tired after quite a solid session with the bat. I took a few wickets as the night went on though, 2 edges and a clean bowled, I even had the clubs leading run scorer in abit of bother when he came in to bat. I definitely took more confidence from my batting than i did with my bowling though. So a really fun and worthwhile session again, I'm starting to play consistently well, something i lacked last season, and something I can hopefully take into the match environment. Hopefully i'll be able to get them leg glances away in the match, the ones that i timed felt awesome, just a nice flick of the wrists, and all along the ground aswell.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

The extras might have cost you the game in the end. Seems like you are not getting enough time in the middle with the bat but good to know you are doing well with the ball.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sunday 4th May- 3rd Game of the Season

Had my 3rd game of the season yesterday, was an away game against close rivals Worlingworth. I played them last season, didn't bowl and scored 1 with the bat, so was hoping for a better game this time round. It certainly started better, with me opening the bowling with our impressive all-rounder, Sam. We started well, with the first 10 producing very few runs off the bat, with my 5 overs going for 22. Sadly i was wicketless, but very unlucky, as i had a few balls nipping back to the openers and narrowly missing the stumps, wasn't quite as unlucky a spell as Treva's, but I was unlucky not to get a wicket.

My job was then to field, and it was probably my best effort in the field this season, making no mistakes and taking 2 catches, 1 unfortunately off a no ball. The one that did count was almost identical to the one off the no ball. The batsman skied it, i watched it all the way, adjusted my position perfectly and took the catch easily, much to the relief of my team-mates. In the same over i also did a textbook sprint and 1 handed pick-up and feigned throwing the ball at the batsman :p. My captain was obviously impressed as his words were "Dan's on fire" :D.

Worli ended the innings 150-9, with 56 of those runs coming in extras. This then meant we were chasing a higher score than we should of been, and we got off to a bad start with the top 4 only adding 10 off the bat. An awesome partnership from all-rounder Sam (65) and keeper Tony (28) gave us a chance. Sam then gave his wicket away, giving a catch to a Worli fielder, and our chances began to slip away. Another wicket fell 19 runs later which meant i made my approach to the crease. I was feeling confident after my good net session on the Thursday, something which obviously impressed my captain as i was moved up 1 place to number 8, a position i still feel is a little too low, but i'm not going to complain.

I started with a few play and misses, but then played the shot i was hitting with regularity in the net, the leg glance, which got me a single. First ball of the next over i played a textbook straight drive which pinged off the middle of the bat, only for it to be stopped by the fielder. Another play and miss followed, before i recieved a full straight one which i tried to work away resulting in me getting bowled.

This left us 7 down, chasing a further 25. The match ended up going to the wire, with 11 year old Liam Smith showing his technical prowess hitting a quickfire 9*, it wasn't enough though, as we ended up 5 runs short, with an agonisingly close result. That's 2 losses on the bounce, so we'll be looking to come back stronger next week with a home match against Brantham, a side that finished 2 places above us in the league last year.

A dissapointing game all round, from me and the team, i'll be looking to improve next week, and hopefully get some runs under my belt for the season. I just need to have some real time in the middle, the past 2 times i've gone in i've only had 5-6 overs to bat, i'm desperate to be given a chance at the top of the order, and should probably have taken the chance to open yesterday, as the skipper offered it to me.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

I bowled 5 overs for 22 runs Deer, so i didn't do too badly. Glad i didn't get called upon to bowl again after my opening spell, my back was aching like crazy by the end of the 40 overs. Cheers for the comments though lads, nice to see some comments coming in at last :D.

Thursday 8th May- Time to show what i'm made of

Another net session was completed tonight, and it was another very encouraging one concerning my batting. I feel that i'm being under-used in the batting order, batting at 8 and 9 so far this season, so I was detirmined to make a good account of myself tonight and show what i'm made of. I bowled abit at the start of the session, picked up 2 wickets, one seaming back, one full and straight, but i didn't really do much bowling after that due to the heat.

After bowling for about half an hour, i noticed the 2 batsmen swapping nets, and no-one else padding up so i jumped in and padded up myself. I chose to bat without a helmet for most of my batting session, and it seemed to have a positive effect when facing the bowling machine, maybe i could try that in the next game. I was in the net facing the bowlers first, and once i had my eye in I was playing some nice strokes, the leg-glance has been a new addition to my armoury, and i seem to be able to play that with consummate ease now, instead of trying to play round my pad like i used to. I did get out a few times though, mainly because i was trying to advance down the wicket to the bowlers :p.

I then swapped nets and moved into facing the bowling machine, and after playing on the back foot for the first 2 balls and knocking them down the ground easily, i asked Ben, operating the bowling machine, to pitch the ball up abit. This then allowed me to work on the best part of my game, my driving, especially straight. I was getting my eye in nicely, the pace of the machine was moving up slowly, still not at a rapid speed, but i was facing 60mph with ease by the end of the session. After completing my first bucket of balls with ease i decided i'd try and hit a few from the 2nd bucket. I didn't expect it to come off, but amazingly it did, and i was creaming the ball over mid-on and mid-off. Any balls on my pads were being whipped away with ease, and i was even advancing down the wicket and creaming a few. My captain was there to see my batting, and looked impressed, and I could hear comments of praise from other team-mates, saying i was creaming the ball, by far the best i've ever batted.

After my batting session I was pretty tired, it's surprisingly tough work facing 2 buckets of balls in quick sucession, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and definitely prefer the batting side of the game to the bowling, just wish i'd be given more chance to bat for my team, and bat up the order and give myself time to get in and then play some shots, the key to my success in the nets. I did very little bowling after my batting session, and spent the rest of the time either practising my fielding and slip catching, and kicking a football about with a few team-mates. Overall though, it was a very encouraging net session, and as i mentioned earlier, the best i've ever batted. Hopefully that performance will give my captain more confidence to stick me higher up the order, above players who i think i am better than.

When cricket goes your way, it's the greatest thrill in the world. We don't like cricket, oh no, we love it.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sounds great mate :)
Hope for your sake that you do get promoted up the order, just so you can show people what they have been missing out on :D Man I wish my club was rich enough to have a bowling machine
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

The extras might have cost you the game in the end. Seems like you are not getting enough time in the middle with the bat but good to know you are doing well with the ball.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Seems I might get a chance to show my batting skill Tommorow, hopefully it won't go to pot, it's just having the confidence to do what i did in the nets, in the middle. I've been picked to play for the academy side, a side i opened for on occassion last season, so hopefully i'll get that chance again, or at least bat in the top 5. Our academy was bowled out for 45 last weekend, so we're not the strongest, so i should be able to get a good place in the batting order.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

I bowled 5 overs for 22 runs Deer, so i didn't do too badly. Glad i didn't get called upon to bowl again after my opening spell, my back was aching like crazy by the end of the 40 overs. Cheers for the comments though lads, nice to see some comments coming in at last :D.

Thursday 8th May- Time to show what i'm made of

Another net session was completed tonight, and it was another very encouraging one concerning my batting. I feel that i'm being under-used in the batting order, batting at 8 and 9 so far this season, so I was detirmined to make a good account of myself tonight and show what i'm made of. I bowled abit at the start of the session, picked up 2 wickets, one seaming back, one full and straight, but i didn't really do much bowling after that due to the heat.

After bowling for about half an hour, i noticed the 2 batsmen swapping nets, and no-one else padding up so i jumped in and padded up myself. I chose to bat without a helmet for most of my batting session, and it seemed to have a positive effect when facing the bowling machine, maybe i could try that in the next game. I was in the net facing the bowlers first, and once i had my eye in I was playing some nice strokes, the leg-glance has been a new addition to my armoury, and i seem to be able to play that with consummate ease now, instead of trying to play round my pad like i used to. I did get out a few times though, mainly because i was trying to advance down the wicket to the bowlers :p.

I then swapped nets and moved into facing the bowling machine, and after playing on the back foot for the first 2 balls and knocking them down the ground easily, i asked Ben, operating the bowling machine, to pitch the ball up abit. This then allowed me to work on the best part of my game, my driving, especially straight. I was getting my eye in nicely, the pace of the machine was moving up slowly, still not at a rapid speed, but i was facing 60mph with ease by the end of the session. After completing my first bucket of balls with ease i decided i'd try and hit a few from the 2nd bucket. I didn't expect it to come off, but amazingly it did, and i was creaming the ball over mid-on and mid-off. Any balls on my pads were being whipped away with ease, and i was even advancing down the wicket and creaming a few. My captain was there to see my batting, and looked impressed, and I could hear comments of praise from other team-mates, saying i was creaming the ball, by far the best i've ever batted.

After my batting session I was pretty tired, it's surprisingly tough work facing 2 buckets of balls in quick sucession, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and definitely prefer the batting side of the game to the bowling, just wish i'd be given more chance to bat for my team, and bat up the order and give myself time to get in and then play some shots, the key to my success in the nets. I did very little bowling after my batting session, and spent the rest of the time either practising my fielding and slip catching, and kicking a football about with a few team-mates. Overall though, it was a very encouraging net session, and as i mentioned earlier, the best i've ever batted. Hopefully that performance will give my captain more confidence to stick me higher up the order, above players who i think i am better than.

When cricket goes your way, it's the greatest thrill in the world. We don't like cricket, oh no, we love it.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sounds great mate :)
Hope for your sake that you do get promoted up the order, just so you can show people what they have been missing out on :D Man I wish my club was rich enough to have a bowling machine
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Saturday 10th of May- So Much for a chance up the order

Saturday came and i was looking forward to getting my chance near the top of the order to get some runs, didn't happen that way as we fielded first, which normally means i'll be batting down the order to block out some overs at the end and get a draw. Our bowling options were poor, which meant I got a chance to open the bowling once more this season, 3 matches in a row now I think. It started OK, a couple of wides, but the ones i got right moved off the seam and had some good bounce.

After the first 2 overs being wayward, my keeper gave me the advice to slow down abit and aim for accuracy. I took this on board, slowed my run-up down and aimed for accuracy, it certainly worked, my keeper and captain were so impressed that i managed to bowl my full 8 overs on the spin, the first time i'd bowled my full amount of overs in a game. The figures don't show how well i bowled, but i got a wicket, keeper stood up and i nipped one away, bloke came down the wicket and he was stumped. I then had a plum LBW chance turned down. It moved off the seam from leg to off, hitting him plum in front, but not according to the umpire. My final figures were 8 overs 1 for 46, so not too bad.

I then fielded pretty well, still felt fresh even after bowling 8 overs on the bounce. We successfully batted out the 38 overs though, so i didn't get a chance to bat, bit annoying, but at least we didn't lose. Our captain batted 38 overs for 30* lol, a real innings of intent :p. Overall, pretty good game, my bowling was the highlight.

Thursday 15th May- another good batting session in the net

Had another net session on Thursday, and i managed to build on my batting form once more, and have been increasing in confidence with the bat. I batted 1st change in the net again, and started off facing the bowling machine. The "coach" as he likes to look at himself, decided that we'd all try and learn the cut shot this week against the bowling machine, and it went ok, i was getting good bat speed through the ball and hitting it with power in decent areas. Annoyingly though, "coach" had the bowling machine on too slow and i kept playing too early which made me cut straight lol. The final 5 balls "coach" called for 2 boundary shots in the 5 balls, i played 2 decent cut shots in the first 4, so decided to move across and pull the final ball, which went really well and rocketed into the net, straight off the middle. Incredibly pleasing.

I then moved into the net facing the bowlers, and played some nice strokes, got out once to the left arm swinger who bowled a good full inswinger. I played a few of my advance down the wicket and whip away on the leg side shots, but the pick of the strokes was against my captain in my last game, he isn't a bowler, and is pretty awful, so i decided to play a reverse sweep to him. Luckily he bowled it straight, i got down and swept it away, the first time i'd played it successfully against a proper bowler. Really starting to enjoy my batting, and feel i'm improving week in week out, just want to get a chance in a game now.

I bowled ok, didn't really bowl much though, was bowling spin at the end of the net, and was turning the ball both ways with a leggy and an offy. Good fun, enjoyable net session once more. Looking forward to my home game tomorrow, weather permitting of course.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Seems I might get a chance to show my batting skill Tommorow, hopefully it won't go to pot, it's just having the confidence to do what i did in the nets, in the middle. I've been picked to play for the academy side, a side i opened for on occassion last season, so hopefully i'll get that chance again, or at least bat in the top 5. Our academy was bowled out for 45 last weekend, so we're not the strongest, so i should be able to get a good place in the batting order.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sunday 18th of May- Opened the bowling for the 4th game on the run

Another game was played on Sunday, and it was another game where i opened the bowling, bowled well, but failed to take the wickets i deserved. I started the game with a 6 over spell, finishing with figures of 6 overs, 1 maiden, 0 for 12. Was a good bowling performance, i bowled good lines, started with a few wides early in the piece, but bowled well. My captain and team-mates said i deserved wickets, but they just didn't come. I came close on 2 occassions, one edge flying over first slips head (who later took the best catch i've ever seen in club cricket, an immense diving slip catch) and one bottom edge narrowly missing the stumps. I bowled with decent pace aswell, and if i can get my run up sorted as the season goes on, I could be bowling quite fast in a year or two I reckon. The teams bowling performance was impressive, skittling the opposition out for a measly 47, 16 of those coming in extras. I took a lovely running left handed catch to dismiss the a player who was playing shots with good power, but failing to score runs, i was chuffed with the catch, and took it with ease, my 2nd catch of the season.

I was then down to bat at 6, a well earned promotion, but as we were only chasing 47 i didn't need to bat. We knocked the runs off in 8.1 overs, with 7 wickets in hand, so i was next in to bat, for the 3rd game running. Desperate to get some time in the middle, i've had such little batting this year, last year i batted 23 times, in 24 games, but failed to make the innings count, amassing only 68 runs in my debut season in club cricket. The season where i perform in the nets and start to build a good technique and i get no oppurtunity to bat. The 2 innings i have batted in have gone ok though, i've felt comfortable in the middle, but have only made 2 runs, which is dissapointing. Ah well, hopefully my chance will come soon.

Overall, a good weekend of cricket, a good performance from the lads, and for me personally, just a shame i didn't pick up any wickets, my figures aren't looking great either, averaging 43 this season, with an economy of 4.6, hopefully the wickets will start to come soon.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Keep putting it on the spot and you'll get the wickets, don't worry. Those are very good figures too - 2 rpo :eek:
Was the guy at the other end picking up the wickets? It often happens, good bowlers hunting in pairs.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Saturday 10th of May- So Much for a chance up the order

Saturday came and i was looking forward to getting my chance near the top of the order to get some runs, didn't happen that way as we fielded first, which normally means i'll be batting down the order to block out some overs at the end and get a draw. Our bowling options were poor, which meant I got a chance to open the bowling once more this season, 3 matches in a row now I think. It started OK, a couple of wides, but the ones i got right moved off the seam and had some good bounce.

After the first 2 overs being wayward, my keeper gave me the advice to slow down abit and aim for accuracy. I took this on board, slowed my run-up down and aimed for accuracy, it certainly worked, my keeper and captain were so impressed that i managed to bowl my full 8 overs on the spin, the first time i'd bowled my full amount of overs in a game. The figures don't show how well i bowled, but i got a wicket, keeper stood up and i nipped one away, bloke came down the wicket and he was stumped. I then had a plum LBW chance turned down. It moved off the seam from leg to off, hitting him plum in front, but not according to the umpire. My final figures were 8 overs 1 for 46, so not too bad.

I then fielded pretty well, still felt fresh even after bowling 8 overs on the bounce. We successfully batted out the 38 overs though, so i didn't get a chance to bat, bit annoying, but at least we didn't lose. Our captain batted 38 overs for 30* lol, a real innings of intent :p. Overall, pretty good game, my bowling was the highlight.

Thursday 15th May- another good batting session in the net

Had another net session on Thursday, and i managed to build on my batting form once more, and have been increasing in confidence with the bat. I batted 1st change in the net again, and started off facing the bowling machine. The "coach" as he likes to look at himself, decided that we'd all try and learn the cut shot this week against the bowling machine, and it went ok, i was getting good bat speed through the ball and hitting it with power in decent areas. Annoyingly though, "coach" had the bowling machine on too slow and i kept playing too early which made me cut straight lol. The final 5 balls "coach" called for 2 boundary shots in the 5 balls, i played 2 decent cut shots in the first 4, so decided to move across and pull the final ball, which went really well and rocketed into the net, straight off the middle. Incredibly pleasing.

I then moved into the net facing the bowlers, and played some nice strokes, got out once to the left arm swinger who bowled a good full inswinger. I played a few of my advance down the wicket and whip away on the leg side shots, but the pick of the strokes was against my captain in my last game, he isn't a bowler, and is pretty awful, so i decided to play a reverse sweep to him. Luckily he bowled it straight, i got down and swept it away, the first time i'd played it successfully against a proper bowler. Really starting to enjoy my batting, and feel i'm improving week in week out, just want to get a chance in a game now.

I bowled ok, didn't really bowl much though, was bowling spin at the end of the net, and was turning the ball both ways with a leggy and an offy. Good fun, enjoyable net session once more. Looking forward to my home game tomorrow, weather permitting of course.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Yeh he was, i'm not too bothered about him getting wickets though, he's a very good little player. I think he's about 12 years old, is opening the bowling in adult cricket, and is a much better batsman than me already, he's a cool lad aswell. The annoying thing was though, that one lad came on, i was going to come on for a 2nd spell after his over, he bowled 4 wides in an over but took the final 2 wickets. I wasn't pleased, least we won though, that's the main thing.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Sunday 18th of May- Opened the bowling for the 4th game on the run

Another game was played on Sunday, and it was another game where i opened the bowling, bowled well, but failed to take the wickets i deserved. I started the game with a 6 over spell, finishing with figures of 6 overs, 1 maiden, 0 for 12. Was a good bowling performance, i bowled good lines, started with a few wides early in the piece, but bowled well. My captain and team-mates said i deserved wickets, but they just didn't come. I came close on 2 occassions, one edge flying over first slips head (who later took the best catch i've ever seen in club cricket, an immense diving slip catch) and one bottom edge narrowly missing the stumps. I bowled with decent pace aswell, and if i can get my run up sorted as the season goes on, I could be bowling quite fast in a year or two I reckon. The teams bowling performance was impressive, skittling the opposition out for a measly 47, 16 of those coming in extras. I took a lovely running left handed catch to dismiss the a player who was playing shots with good power, but failing to score runs, i was chuffed with the catch, and took it with ease, my 2nd catch of the season.

I was then down to bat at 6, a well earned promotion, but as we were only chasing 47 i didn't need to bat. We knocked the runs off in 8.1 overs, with 7 wickets in hand, so i was next in to bat, for the 3rd game running. Desperate to get some time in the middle, i've had such little batting this year, last year i batted 23 times, in 24 games, but failed to make the innings count, amassing only 68 runs in my debut season in club cricket. The season where i perform in the nets and start to build a good technique and i get no oppurtunity to bat. The 2 innings i have batted in have gone ok though, i've felt comfortable in the middle, but have only made 2 runs, which is dissapointing. Ah well, hopefully my chance will come soon.

Overall, a good weekend of cricket, a good performance from the lads, and for me personally, just a shame i didn't pick up any wickets, my figures aren't looking great either, averaging 43 this season, with an economy of 4.6, hopefully the wickets will start to come soon.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 01-06-08**

Sunday 1st of June- A career best :D

Just got back from a game, and it was a good'un for me. We bowled first on what looked like a wicket that would seam around and be lively first up. Not alot happened with the new ball, and 20 overs gone I came into bowl. First 2 overs were lively but i was just finding my line, both going for 4 runs. Next over I got my first wicket, that of their opening batsman, with a jaffer. Pitched on off stump, hit the seam and moved away taking the edge. The next over I took another, this time a mis-timed pull shot caught by the fielder at mid-wicket, and a good catch it was.

The Third wicket came a few overs on, after coming very close a few times, and actually hitting one of the batsmen in the midrift with one that bounced abit. The third wicket was a perfect yorker, full and straight and through the defences of a good batsman, who looked in good touch. I then took the elusive 4th wicket, the first time i'd done so in my year and a half at club level. This was another full straight one which took out leg-stump.

I finished with figures of 8.1 overs, 2 maidens, 4 for 23. I bowled 8 overs on the spin for the 2nd time this season, and would have bowled 10 on the trot if we hadn't have bowled them out for 105.

105 to chase, and not a good start, I batted at 6 and came in at 15-4. I started well, kept out 4 balls from one of the pacey openers. Then i squeezed a cover drive through for a single in the next over. Then i played a stupid shot, trying to go back and whip the ball leg-side. The ball didn't bounce and hit me plum in front. I walked back with 1 to my name, and dissapointed as I felt good in the middle, i must surely be due a score soon. In the end we were bowled all out for 53, very poor batting performance.

Overall, dissapointing that we lost, but 4 wickets and my name in the paper lifts my spirits somewhat. Just wish i could have capitalised on the good pitch conditions and average bowling. Least i managed to get moved up the order :D
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Keep putting it on the spot and you'll get the wickets, don't worry. Those are very good figures too - 2 rpo :eek:
Was the guy at the other end picking up the wickets? It often happens, good bowlers hunting in pairs.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

sounds very similar to our game today. bowled em out for 130 odd and got bowled out for about 40 LOL, shameful performance
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Yeh he was, i'm not too bothered about him getting wickets though, he's a very good little player. I think he's about 12 years old, is opening the bowling in adult cricket, and is a much better batsman than me already, he's a cool lad aswell. The annoying thing was though, that one lad came on, i was going to come on for a 2nd spell after his over, he bowled 4 wides in an over but took the final 2 wickets. I wasn't pleased, least we won though, that's the main thing.
 
Re: King Pietersen's Blog- **Updated 02-05-08**

Congrats, sounds like a really good spell with nice economy.

How old are you? Do bowling restrictions apply?? Last year we basically ignored them at our club but this year they're getting all serious about it and it's fairly annoying tbh.
 
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