Your Cricket Season: 2012-2013

[Neil Pickup]

Clocked at 52/53mph - I think - by a Glos Academy speed gun at the tail end of last summer on a cold, wet, miserable day last September. Probably on for 56 now and I am optimistic we can get him at 60 by the end of the year and 70+ by the time he goes to Senior School.

I didn't see anyone quicker on the circuit last year, although admittedly we didn't play Essex, Hants, Middx, Lancs or Yorks.

[Neil Pickup]

Kilkenny 114 beat Sunningwell 46 by 68 runs

This was the only game in the division to get on due to the weather still rendering wickets and pitches unplayable. I rather wish this one had fallen by the wayside as well. The pitch was slow... sloooow... slooooooow. The ball also swung, and seamed, and cut (in both directions), and bounce and carry was also erratic.

I kept pretty well, particularly as my sum total of glovework practice over the winter comes to a couple of sessions behind the U11s facing a bowling machine, 10 mins in the nets to an U13 on Thursday night, and 2 hours of coaching it over the last week. One bye, which jumped off a length and I got the end of a thumb on (standing up), and four catches out of four (which was a bloody good job as no one else was holding them). One was particularly satisfying as it was an inside edge down the legside, which I took, diving, with my left hand. I didn't actually think it was out, though, I just appealed because I was so excited at having taken it. The umpire gave it about 15 seconds later...

Batting, well, the less said the better. Outswinger, outswinger, outswinger, right, safe to leave this one, bollocks, it's cut back in. This is a grass wicket not a sports hall. 13/1 became 13/5 and 16/7. Oops.

[Cabinet96]

Still can't get outside, either for matches or training. Had potentially 3 matches to play this weekend and had them all called off by Thursday. It sucks to say the least.

[uvelocity]

ahhh pomgolia. no contrast.

[jan]

Played a t20 (in whites though!) friendly yesterday. We had left the field several times due to rain before finally abandoning the match. Now DL result is being calculated.
Being completely wet and bowling a soaked ball that felt like a dumpling while trying not to slip on the mud pretending I could actually see something in the downpour ftw

[Neil Pickup]

It's really good when one of the children in your form has a parent playing in the same league as you.

That way the child can greet you with all kinds of polite remarks the following week.

Teaches me to encourage banter...

[wpdavid]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

Wednesday - Cheam 150/8 beat Dragon 70 by 80 runs.
The worst performance I have seen in 11 years of off-the-field involvement in cricket. I let them know that. Ropeable.

As in Cheam CC in Surrey? If so, that's the same club that my 10-year old pays for. Small world and all that.

[Cabinet96]

Originally Posted by Marcuss

Hope it rains continuously until mid-June tbh #selfish****

Well I hope your happy

[Neil Pickup]

Originally Posted by wpdavid

As in Cheam CC in Surrey? If so, that's the same club that my 10-year old pays for. Small world and all that.

Nah, Cheam School, Newbury.

My dealings with Surrey are generally restricted to the County U10s at the Malvern Festival in August... how good's Lewis junior?

[wpdavid]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

Nah, Cheam School, Newbury.

My dealings with Surrey are generally restricted to the County U10s at the Malvern Festival in August... how good's Lewis junior?

Better than his dad was. But not as good as the guys from the stronger clubs that we come across. He really enjoys it and is seriously competitive, as he is about most things in life. His bowling is useful when his radar's working because he's tall and either gets a bit of lift off a good length or sends down a decent yorker. Not entirely deliberate of course, but it makes him effective. He bats tenaciously rather than fluently. He knows that having six runs deducted for dismissals puts a premium on preserving his wicket, so he keeps the straight ones out most of the time.
Looking at that, I've probably overstated things a bit. To put him in context, he's not close to the district sides, although he more than holds his own for Cheam..

[Neil Pickup]

Well the Surrey district sides are usually around about the same level as a typical minor county side, so there's no shame in that!

[wpdavid]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

Well the Surrey district sides are usually around about the same level as a typical minor county side, so there's no shame in that!

Yeah, to my untrained eye there are some talented players at the better clubs.
tbh it's definitely his second sport, and playing a lot of football during the winter means that winter training sessions for cricket aren't really an option.

He's had some good moments though. He actually took a hat-trick a couple of seasons ago. Typical 8-year old thing - the first one was caught at mid-wicket and the second one was caught at extra cover before clean bowling the third one with a rare straight ball. It was all very special, not least because it was the only time my dad got to see him play. At a ground where he and I had also played in previous generations. Of course, Christopher had no idea how big a deal it was. iirc they were the first wickets he ever took for the club.

[Neil Pickup]

One more hat-trick than I'll ever take. I hope his middle name isn't Clairmonte...

[wpdavid]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

One more hat-trick than I'll ever take. I hope his middle name isn't Clairmonte...

No, that didn't really appeal.

And yes, it's one more hat-trick than I ever took as well.

[weeman27bob]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

Nah, Cheam School, Newbury.

My dealings with Surrey are generally restricted to the County U10s at the Malvern Festival in August... how good's Lewis junior?

In more small-world news:

Guess where I went to school...