play cricket

i like to play cricket

I want to play cricketer

well i play the game as much as possible, absolutely love it, however recently it’s been raining non stop in the UK, and every match for the last 7 weeks has been cancelled!

this leads to all sorts of alternatives on saturdays and sundays, generally revolving around the pub – not good for my fitness!

with this coming week looking doubtful, and a friends wedding the week after, it’s looking like 9 weeks without a cricket match – absolute hell!

Meaning I can finally understand that ridiculous tea-towel!

malik

I’m just starting to learn how to play cricket so hopefully I should get to play a game next season. Luckly I have help, both my brothers are good players and I get sent cricket tips by a site I found called http://www.cricketsecrets.com. So as long as I stay focused this goal should be in the bag soon!

its cool to sit back relax and enjoy but it is more cool to play cricket and enjoy with your friends and be atheletic

Although we finished top of the league, the Taranaki Cricket Association saw fit, in its infinite wisdom, to introduce a play-off system – half way through the season – to determine the Championship.

On Saturday, we played Fitzroy at home in the semi-final of the competition. Fitzroy batted first and put up some initial resistance as we struggled to make inroads. However, with perseverance, we managed to restrict them to 148-8 off their allotted 45 hours. I bowled 5 overs at the death, taking 1 for 9 runs off my first four overs (including a brilliant stumping from our ‘keeper Adam Yates), but was milked for 10 runs from the final over of the game as we tried to restrict boundaries. We reached the target for the loss of only one wicket in 25 overs, both Jeff and Robbie posting unbeaten 50 – Robbie hitting 4,4 and 6 off consecutive balls to bring up his 50 and our 150, and ending the game.

Although it was blustery on Saturday, it was relatively warm. Sunday was a much cooler and damper affair, with two big rain showers during the match. Playing at home again in the Final, we faced Merrilands, who we had lost narrowly to 4 weeks previously. I dropped two catches and I have the bruises to prove it. Fielding at short cover all day, I had an absolute rocket that would have drilled a whole right through me had I not got my hands to it. Unfortunately, it smacked the palm of my left hand hard as I struggled to take the speed of it and spilled out. Two balls later, the same player gave another chance – difficult, but gettable – and I dived to my right. Again, it hit the palm of my hand – the right this time – and popped out again. I was gutted. It was a key point of the game. At that point, they were about 130 for 1 off 30 overs. Fortunately, the whole side fielded well and although we dropped another catch (not me this time), we restricted them to 196 for 8 off their 45 overs. At one point, they looked like they were going to score 250, so we did well to peg them back. The in-depth strength of our batting line-up showed again as we cruised to 200 for 3 off 35 overs, Jeff hitting an unbeaten 90 (after being dropped 3 times), Rory hitting a quickfire 50, and Jeff’s brother Adam hitting 26 not out alongside his brother Jeff to crown us North Taranaki 3rd Grade Champions.

The FINAL: we won the Taranaki Championship outright today, in our game against Stratford. Although we’d like to have batted, we lost the toss that morning at Pukekura Park and were bowling first. We bowled them out for under a hundred – 97 all out in 22 overs – an good performance, especially given we gave away 37 in extras – most of them being wides (I didn’t get a bowl). We knocked off the runs for the loss of 4 wickets, with their Captain getting sin-binned for 30 minutes for dissent. I didn’t even know that could happen in cricket…

First time playing for a few years, but its coming up to summer here and time to get busy. The game last weekend was cancelled due to lack of numbers (Labour Day weekend here) and the Thursday night practice was cancelled – bad weather. Still, looking good for a 2 hour open wicket practice tonight. And they don’t laugh at me when I bat wearing a helmet. As I do neuropsychological assessments as part of my job, I’d look a bit of an idiot if I didn’t.

I played club cricket for two seasons when I was 9, but quit to play tennis fixtures instead. I was pretty average, but I had fun, and ever since have been a little sad that I never played a team sport to any real extent. Also, since then, I’ve spent rather too much time beating a ball against a wall, playing corridor cricket and playing in the nets, and I think I could probably handle myself if I could find some sort of 6th grade club to join.