You've just dropped the World Cup...

3 hours of fielding on Monday. THREE! Genuinely good session though.

Started off by usual warm-ups, runs round the pitch (side-stepping, backwards, heel flicks + knees up, etc.) and dynamic stretching. Moved onto games such as setting up 2 stumps about 30 yards apart, splitting into teams of 5 and rolling/underarm throws between teams, trying to hit the stump, the other team trying to intercept. Other fielding drills, such as chasing and getting the ball back to the keeper in the time that someone runs a 2, high catches, close catches, shying practice, etc. Finished off with little Bob absolutely pelting a cricket ball in the air for you to catch. Needless to say, I dropped my first one, disappointingly. Didn't pick it up, but shouldn't have dropped it, even if I did move too far forward. Oh well! Got a text off the Uni 3rds skipper, asking if I'm available for the 10th for a match, hoping that this will push me into contention for the 2's.

My prayers have been answered!

Good day today I think! We'll start off with the morning training.

7.30-9am, we had a fielding+fitness session. Well, we would have had more of one, but there was 4 of us. So we had the catching cradle out, and for every dropped catch we did suicides runs, and for every time we didn't hit the cradle so the ball could fly off we did 5 press-ups. I dropped 4 catches, 2 were reaction ones, and the other 2 I should have caught, but I didn't. We did use a wind-ball, so it bounced out of your hands, but no excuse! Ahh well. Did some other good drills, really enjoyed it, but I did turn up to my 9.15 seminar soaked with sweat!

Then, at 5, we had nets. I turned up 15 minutes late due to lectures, but got a bat after 10 minutes, more importantly though I faced the bowling machine. I really needed this. My technique was all over the place, and after a few balls Armo (Uni CC president) had spotted my faults and sorted out my technique really quickly. After half a basket of balls I was already playing straighter, and much more correctly than I was previously. I was also finally hitting balls through leg! About time! I had a little bat in the net against the bowlers, after my bowling machine session, and it had instantly paid off. Had a couple of blips, but didn't get out, which was most important!

Bowling was good, as usual, bowled well to a lefty as well, which is always helpful! Not a lot to say on it to be honest!

One of those nights...

I think this title could get an awful lot of use in the upcoming few weeks, as the season gets ever closer. My bowling is still good, good variations in flight, line, length, and turn (and still getting a couple to spin the other way, always good!), but my batting is beginning to really piss me off. Admittedly one of the lads was bowling 70+MPH and swinging it round corners, but that didn't excuse my piss-poor shots. I wasn't playing it under my eyes, I wasn't getting to the pitch, I wasn't getting into line. I was feeling for it, leading with my hands. On the plus side, I got a couple of well timed, as in reeeally well timed, flicks through midwicket, but one was a full toss and the rest were half volleys. I was cutting the ball alright as usual, but the rest just wasn't there. Also, I cannot physically defend anything in the nets. Instinct takes over and I try to hammer it. It's just frustrating, I really need a bowling machine session to work on my technique. But because I'm not a batsman, I'll be very lucky to get that. Might have a word with the 1st XI captain tomorrow, see if I can blag myself a 15 minute go on it! I've got a fitness+fielding session at 7.30-9 tomorrow morning before my 9.15 seminar, then another 5-7 session in the evening, hope Bob (said 1st XI captain) will let us have a go on the bowling machine. Lord knows I need it.

Goldmine in the post!

No nets today, bit of a shame, but they're on Thursday this week, also got Friday morning and evening sessions which is exciting! (Yes my life is that boring...) On the up side, I got some cricket books from Sam Stow at All Out Cricket in the post this morning, the following 4: Flying Stumps and Metal bats by the Wisden Cricketer, Cricket, Lovely Cricket? by Lawrence Booth, Cricket's 300 Men, and one 400 man by Christopher Hilton, and Mushtaq Ahmed's autobiography. I'm a big collector and reader of cricket books. I have the fast bowler's bible by Ian Pont, and the Art of Wrist-spin, both of which I don't even need! I love reading cricketer's bio's, and also anything technical. My "library" probably has about 50 cricket books (I've even got Harold Larwood's autobiography!), about 15-20 Roman history books (I'm a sucker for the Roman army), about 10 French revolution texts (Bought on a whim as part of my course) and about 250 fiction books, ranging from Harry Potter, through Lord of the Rings, Chris Ryan and Andy McNab, and a few other choice autobiographies like Ben Collins. I also have a small section dedicated to zombies, about 10 of them, as they are fantastic reads! This may all be off topic, but I'm the sort of person who, while waiting to bat, has a read of a book, or listens to music, or plays the marker game with a cricket ball. I always get funny looks for reading while waiting to bat, but it takes your mind off it.

Wow, this is a longer post than I intended. It's also gone on a lot about random crap. Oh well, c'est la vie je crois! It's a lovely sunny day out, so I need to get out and do something, which will also mean I don't start my assignment til tomorrow. Oh, what a shame!

Fitness, fielding and nets session.

So last night we had a 2 hour session, the first 45mins of which were fielding+fitness drills. Fielding was really good, held all my catches, including a couple of rippers on the catching cradle. Fielded well using a drill where 3 people stand about 30 yards away, with a set of stumps cut off half way up in the middle. one end throws it in the air to the other, who shy at the stumps, and the first end backs up. 5 shys at the stumps, hit 3 times, would have hit another on a full set of stumps. Good start. Bowling was good as well for the most part, beat the bat a few times, had a couple of poor long-hops or full tosses, which was to be expected I suppose. All in all, good net.

Friday evening no nets on, but we've got a Friday morning net at 7.30-9, before French, so will be interesting to see how that goes. probably get the bowling machine out, so might have to practice driving a few deliveries, maybe playing off my legs too. Could do with the batting practice, as on Friday after my net my batting was taken to pieces by the 1st team vice-skip!

What a terrible net!

Ahh, where to even begin?! Went to Uni nets after my Spanish lecture, and it didn't start off well. Got bowled for a golden duck in kwik cricket at the start. Then netted. Bowling was okay, not bowled as consistently well as I have done before, but this is where I got annoyed. Normally we have 3 nets: 1st team, 2nd team and 3rd team. Tonight, we had 2 nets and a bowling machine. Naturally, all the 2nd team bowlers went into the 1st team net, and I was bowling and batting against 3rd teamers. I don't like this. The 3rd teamers just tried to slog everything I bowled, and this really wound me up. Then I padded up, and went to bat. Everything was either down leg or not even on the pitch, apart from a few balls I drove nicely, and one that was swinging into me, I played all around it, and it took out leg stump. Came out of the net, spoke to a few lads who were watching and they told me I'm not playing it under my eyeline. Joy. A massive flaw in my technique. That, and the fact I can't hit a leg stump ball with a straight bat. Hmm... This will probably involve lots of bowling machine practice. Better luck next time I suppose.

First post

I started one of these a while back, and didn't continue, but I feel like I should get it going again. I am a left arm orthodox spinner, and a right-handed batsman. I bowl for my side in Lincolnshire, and at my Uni as well. I would class myself as a lower order batsman, but by no means a tail-ender. I'm also a fairly good fielder, without being amazing.

My kit is as follows:

Bats:

Hunts County Glory Custom

Gray-Nicolls Venom Viper

Gloves:

Bradbury VS Sterling

Pads:

Bradbury VS Sterling

Hunts County Clippers

Helmet:

Masuri Titanium

Thigh Pad:

Newbery

Spikes:

Mitre Half Spike

Gray-Nicolls Full Spike

I spent a year out of Uni due to being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and that severely affect my life, as well as my cricket. However, I'm fine as of February 2010, and hope to keep this going.

Right, now that crap's out the way, I can start on what I want to: Blogging about how my cricket is going. I've been going to nets with my Uni, and have gone back home for a net with my club. My batting has really been coming on, driving really well, albeit I've got a couple of flaws I can't seem to get out of my game. I lead with my hands, so I won't always get my feet to the pitch, and I struggle with full balls on my pads. it's something I need to work on, and I'm getting practice on it. My bowling is better than it has been too, bowling far less poor balls. I'm also getting more turn, and depending on who is facing, I can adapt to bowling darts à la Yardy, or tossing it up like Vettori, with a couple of decent variations, and better variation of pace. My catching is coming on, especially my close catching, and my ground fielding is as strong as usual. Being back at Uni has really improved my game. Hopefully I'll keep to this blog for once!

That'll do for now, this'll probably get updated next time I net.