Cricket Thread

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Diogenes Mar 2020 9:33am, 27 Mar 2020 46,653 posts	0 Diogenes And I gave up cricket when I got married, although I did play a couple of matches a few years ago for my village team. During my retirement I seem to have evolved into an accurate line and length bowler with a classic action who is difficult to get away. No idea how that happened. Fear of looking an idiot when given the ball, I suppose.
Goofee Mar 2020 9:44am, 27 Mar 2020 3,126 posts	0 Goofee This is all very enjoyable reading! Dio, I was a latecomer and never a natural. Became obsessed with the game about age 11 but didn't actually play a match until 15 when a neighbour persuaded me to play for a local team desperate for youngsters. First match I ever played I was probably at least a decade younger than all my team-mates. It's all about finding your level, mine was pretty low! Tried most things in the game with a lot more enthusiasm than ability, but wicket-keeping, that was an absolute nightmare. Standing back was bad enough, but up close to the batsman, how do you ever see anything? I believe Oscar tG keeps/kept wicket at a decent level? And those golden periods when everything is suddenly simple. Fleeting, in my experience...
Oscar the Grouch Mar 2020 9:50am, 27 Mar 2020 1,529 posts	0 Oscar the Grouch Dio - that's why we play. I once had one such Sunday. tauntonstandrews.play-cricket.com I am Scott Weetch. I could bat... but I rarely bowled.
Goofee Mar 2020 10:04am, 27 Mar 2020 3,127 posts	0 Goofee Oscar, for some reason I had you mentally noted as a wicketkeeper, is that completely wrong? Rescued from 43-4, looks like 100+ put on at a decent run-rate
Diogenes Mar 2020 10:22am, 27 Mar 2020 46,660 posts	0 Diogenes The best thing about keeping wicket is it makes time in the field go much quicker.
Goofee Mar 2020 10:29am, 27 Mar 2020 3,128 posts	0 Goofee I've had three playing phases. Aged 15-18 with Sulhamstead & Ufton CC, playing Hampshire League, then after relegation, North Hampshire League, Sundays, bank holidays and midweek leagues. Steep learning curve took a lot of my time, basically I couldn't get enough. Learned to block and bowl an approximate line and length, nothing spectacular, but my fielding was good. Phase ended when the things that distract 18 year olds drew me away. Phase two was at Chaddleworth CC, a new team that had been formed a year before I moved to the village. They were hopeless and I had found my level. I opened the batting (because I was the only one with any patience), bowled a bit, became captain and club secretary. Sunday friendly fixtures only but just the best fun. Phase ended when a young family meant I couldn't justify the time any longer. Final phase was at Purley on Thames thirds. My son started playing in their youth teams, when he moved up to the mens teams I helped out when numbers were low. Found out my eye had gone, any ability I once had seemed to have drifted away and it all hurt quite a lot.
Nicholls595 Mar 2020 10:44am, 27 Mar 2020 19,927 posts	0 Nicholls595 I am 54 and haven't played since the mid 90's apart from a couple of seasons of pub cricket in the early 2000's. The pub cricket was ridiculously poor standard as each pub could only have one "registered" player. I didn't count as I no longer played. In every game I easily got to 25 before retiring, in fact I got quite good at counting to 24 and then hitting a six. I started off trying to bowl quick, but as i was only ever allowed to bowl one over, the accuracy was non existent and the wicket keeper couldn't cope with all the byes. I settled on bowling John Emburey style off breaks, which was usually pretty effective. In my head, I could still do a job and every April I think about going along to a club for a net.
Oscar the Grouch Mar 2020 11:03am, 27 Mar 2020 1,530 posts	0 Oscar the Grouch Ha ha Nico - I still think I could bat but my fielding retired before I was quite ready. Goofee - you are not wrong per se - I did play a decentish standard and I did do a reasonable amount of keeping. But I was a batter who could/would keep. I was an outswing bowler until about 20, who batted a bit but then I got an injury and then I got the yips after I recovered. Could never bowl outswing well again. So I adapted to be a bit of a blocker of an opening bat. Scored 5 hundreds over the years so not terrible, just not of the highest order.
57.5 Degrees of Pain Mar 2020 1:14pm, 27 Mar 2020 5,408 posts	0 57.5 Degrees of Pain I was a career No. 11. Well coached defence, slow reactions, inability to get ball off square. For this reason any bowling success pales into insignificance compared to my three batting highlights. First was in a 45 overs/ side first team game. We were pressing for promotion and playing our main rivals. They make 135, we subside to not very many for 9 in exactly half the overs. There is a significant points advantage to holding on for a draw, so my 15 year old partner (No. 10 in the batting lineup) and 17 year old me start to defend, assisted by some encouragement from our old junior coach who is umpiring at one end (we usually got one neutral umpire at that level). Over after over go by with us blocking and most of the fielders gathered around the bat. At one point I grab a single, and get a change of scenery. Finally after almost 18 overs of this David is struck on the pad and our (always scrupulously fair) coach gives him out (he was certainly adjacent) and we both walk off in tears. Fortunately we won the league in the end.
NDWDave Mar 2020 8:21pm, 27 Mar 2020 11,414 posts	0 NDWDave My favourite cricketing memory was my first ball faced playing for the school team. I was batting at number 6 which was purely due to 6 kids turning up at the last training session before the match. I played a defensive shot and edged it to slip. Except the slip was actually in leg slip position because I’m left handed and the fielder hadn’t adjusted after the previous RHB. The ball dropped safely. I made a solid 0* off about 15 balls. [And to be fair slip catches were usually dropped at school boy level]