The picture you see here on the left is exactly how I feel today. Yesterday was the annual "Long Grass Cricket Match" in our village between Clapton (my village) and Wayford (next village up the valley). This is my third year of playing in it and today, I feel like I have been shot in both knees, my back and I have a headache. And to think when I used to live in Essex I played week in and week out with the Hoop Cricket Club in Stock.
For the first time in three years the match started in dry conditions, which was rather ironic considering the summer we have had so far. As Clapton could only muster nine players we were allowed to bat first! I contributed a quite stunning 1 before being caught by Steve Ireland with a quite breathtaking stop and the first catch I have seen him take in three years. He then went better and produced another tumbling stunning catch that Derek Randall would have proud of in his prime. Due to our lack of batsmen, I went back in at the end of the innings and this time contributed an even more stunning 0, being clean bowled first ball with a delivery that pitched half way down the pitch and then shot along the floor.
Clapton managed to amass 149 off our 30 overs. After a nice lunch and some beer (always helpful at this level of cricket) we were back out for Wayford's innings. I managed in four overs to take three wickets for about 20 runs, including for the first time ever in my career (career!?) a double wicket maiden! With the pitch being so rough it was great to bowl slow spinners that bit hard on the pitch and spun considerably. Made me feel like Shane Warne! We eventully kept Wayford down to 121 off their 30 overs and won by 28 runs.
Today, I am a poor shattered remnant of a human being and stiff as a board. Being Henry is much easier than this...
1 comment:
Didn't understand a word of it, but well done (I think).
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