16/11/25 - Indoor game

A good game tonight. 6pm start, with an inauspicious start due to the fact that the scoreboard was busted. . The team this week was pretty much the same as last week, but Kirby replaced by the official captain "Lennon" so another batter. 

We lost the toss, so we had to bat the 12 overs first. With Daniel Gray (most runs at the club last year and Elliott Noble 2nd most runs) we were in good hands in theory, these were backed up with Michael Gray (33 x 50's for the club) Ariz and Lennon both decent batters. Then me. 

I had the Gopro and set it up and videoed the whole game, so I should put this up on Youtube in the next few days. 

We didn't get off to a good start...

I wasn't even the end of the 4 over? and I found myself in the middle with Michael Gray and we were on about 25 runs and somehow needed to score realistically about 100 in order to have something to bowl at. One of us had to get through the next 8 overs and that was obviously Michael Gray, I just had to try and hang in there and try and play some shots and just not get out. I've done it before, so could I do it again? 

I could play straight shots defensively, but I don't have the skills to place those shots in the gaps, cross bats shots at balls oustdie off stump?  But they can result in dragging the ball onto the stumps or top edge to the keeper or bloke at point, but I had to try it just in order that Michael Gray was able to play shots and make runs. Over by over, I survived and when I was on strike I for the most part was able to get bat on ball once in the over and score a couple of runs and rotate the strike, although looking at the score-sheet I didn't do that as much as I thought I did. I played a couple of down on one knee slog sweeps much the hilarity of the lads watching from viewing balcony!

With no scoreboard we didn't know how we were doing, but the scoring in this format is pretty quick, a ball that hits the wall and includes a run is 3 runs. A straight ball along the ground hitting the back wall is a 4. A ball hitting the back wall only is a 6. When you're bowling the most valuable ball apart from the wicket is a dot ball, they're so significant as they're pretty rare. Anything legside is a wide - it's brutal. If you can do it, a deft late cut backward of point with a run is pretty safe and gets you three runs if it hits the side or back wall, conversely the flick off the legs backward of square-leg is the same result and just ticking along with them is the way to go if you've got that ability.

Michael has the ability to play straight and over the top, but I realised he was just playing a basic game, accruing the runs 1 or 3 at a time building an innings. There were a decent amount of wides as well and they're worth 2 runs without the extra ball. Bit by bit we were getting through it and the runs were accumulating and we played through the 11 overs and then Michael brought his "A game" for the final over as I watched from the other end. An over of 6's and a 4. The lads were saying from the blacony that if the strike was rotated I had to try and hit sixes, I thought whatever happens if there's a small hope I run anyway and get Michael back on strike, but didn't need to. 

So we ended up with 109 which in these games is a low score, so we weren't out of the woods yet.

Ariz was thrown the ball (last week he started off with 4 or 5 wides, but this week a first ball wicket! We were in the game!

Then a series of wickets fell quickly with virtually no runs being made until the captain made a stand and batted well for his 43 before being bowled by Daniel Gray in the last over, he'd left himself too much to do and hadn't got the support from his other players and the fell short by 19.

All in all for us a very good game considering how we started off. 

No wickets for me, but happy with my economy. I might get to play again? 

Some Indoor cricket

 Played Sunday in the 3rd game of the winter season and won this one having loss the earlier two. I don't recall the first game, only that we were soundly beat. The 2nd game I do as the opposition cheated off my bowling and the result was they won because of it. I was bowling top-spinners and leg-breaks and the bloke played a cross bat shot at a top-spinner that did what it was supposed to do... bounce more and he top edges it through to the keeper, everyone around the bat and the square leg umpire  all agree that it's out and the bloke throws his bat under his arm and heads off to the door (near the square leg umpire) with his team above the umpire. I think they saw the standing umpire hadn't reacted and told him to wait. The keeper and the near fielders were all screaming "Mate, you top-edged it and you walked, you know you're out", meanwhile he's now making like he'd walked to square leg to adjust his pads to then walk back to the crease and resume batting.

The umpire at my end hasn't reacted and he indicates to play on, the square leg umpire is totally on-board with rest of the players ready to give it out and looks my way looking incredulous that the standing umpire has indicated to resume. The wicket keeper and others are in total disbelief and carry on with making it clear that they're not happy with his cheating in the end the bloke (In his 30's) turns to call them F***** C*** (they're 17-18 year olds). The umpire steps in as diffuses the situation and the game resumes and this bloke then takes the game away from us. Then in the car-park it carries on and one of our adults has to intervene and diffuse the situation again. 

We've got them later in the season, they wont be playing 5 x 17 year olds in that next game I'd imagine if they're blatant cheats. The celebration at the end of the game was funny a bunch of 30 year olds ecstatic they'd beaten 5 teenagers and an old duffer like me!

The team that was beaten in the 'Cheat game'

This weeks team that won

This week we had a better game with the inclusion of another Adult... Michael Gray. To be honest in the game we lost with the incident I'd bowled poorly - way too full, multiple full tosses and a number of legside wides. Any ball down the legside that goes go on to bounce over the stumps is a wide - it's pretty brutal and this weeks game started off with our fast bowlers bowling a succession of wides. Me and Kirby (None of the other teams have girls in their teams) with our bowling - Kirby bowls left-arm orthodox a bit like Linsey Smith (England)  and like Smith goes through teams some days cleaning up and with my Wrist-Spin brought the game back and enabled us to win. 

Kirby and I got a wicket each, Kirby's a stumping and mine caught behind (Daniel Gray). 

But during my 2 overs the oppo lost 3 wickets. I think they see the slow bowling as a point in the game where they should be making runs and when the runs pretty much dry up in many instances, they then  resort to a back-up plan of trying to take quick runs and in this game that was their un-doing. 

I can't say that I've seen much of this format, but it does strike me that there is definitely a place in this game for specialist slow bowlers as they do seem to have a big impact on the game and I think my inclusion in the team is testament to that as I can't bat to save my life. But I'm pretty agile in the field at 65 and I love the fact that I get to play teams of adults in a team of teenagers and me! The thing is some of them know what I do and see me as a massive asset, thankfully they're the captains and they're prospective 1st XI players who recognise what I do with the ball is not to be dismissed too readily. 

It's really nice being valued in that way by significant players at the club!!!

In other news I've been running of late, getting out twice a week generally.