Season updates thread

[hodge]

First topic message reminder :

I just thought for anyone who is playing this season that we could have a thread where people give updates on how their season is going both personally and for their team if they are interested?

As I said in another thread I have what are apparantly my university's first every cricket games thursday and friday this week and i'm captaining the side, no pressure there We have Newport cricket clubs midweek team on thursday and face UWE 2nd XI on friday who a freind of mine is captain so we have a little wager on the outcome of the game. Loser has to buy the winner a drink for every club 2nd XI game we both play in Again no pressure there!

Anyways good luck to everyone for this season, unless somehow in some strange case you end up playing against me!

[Shelsey93]

11 scheduled games so far this season... 6 cancelled (1 when the oppo conceded, 5 for weather). Turning into a huge damp squib, particularly as we've lost 4 of the 5 we have played and didn't win the other one!

I've managed to negotiate a place in this week's Sunday side, but that one could well go the way of the weather too...

[Corporalhumblebucket]

Shelsey - well Sunday itself should be dry. Just a question of whether someone can drain the marshland first....

[Shelsey93]

Shelsey - well Sunday itself should be dry. Just a question of whether someone can drain the marshland first....

Believe it or not, its already been called - game off. Guessing the ground must be under-water. Better luck needed next week... forecast not much better

[JDizzle]

Rain, rain and more rain. Games today and tomorrow already called off.

[Corporalhumblebucket]

Probably easiest all round to let amateur cricket grounds return to marshland to provide a home for bitterns, sedge warblers and the like....

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I had a game today

We won by 9 wickets, and it was played in lovely sunshine!!

[Shelsey93]

I had a game today

We won by 9 wickets, and it was played in lovely sunshine!!

Well done, on winning but mostly on playing!

Herts is usually relatively dry, but this year we've had it as bad as anybody.

The Herts Advertiser reported last week that a record number of rained off games in a season had already been set - 325 up to last week, and that was before all 132 were rained off today.

The consequences are actually quite substantial for the clubs, other than for cricketing reasons - we have no money coming in with no match fees etc. and our ground hire costs are fixed.

[Shelsey93]

Well that was an interesting day. We got bowled out for 14 Will post more details when I have time...

[Corporalhumblebucket]

Well that was an interesting day. We got bowled out for 14 Will post more details when I have time...

Batting a bit rusty

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Well after our awful start to the season (lost 6 games in a row), we have had a major turn around in form and today took our 4th win in a row!!! The last two games I have been down to come in at 5 and haven't even got a bat!!!!

[Mike Selig]

Apologies for recent absence - you will be pleased to know it has been mainly cricket related.

First we had another Olympic commemoration event - a French select side played matches against Old Blundellians and Castle Cary (the two sides who provided the players for the "England" team in the 1900 Olympics - for those of you not keeping up that was the only time cricket featured as an Olympic sport and "England" beat "France" in the only game). I got to play! We lost, but in somewhat unfortunate circumstances in the main event.

Vic Marks played for Old B's and I gloriously swept him for 4 and according to my batting partner was laughing as I hit the shot (more out of shock). We just failed to bat out a draw in a timed 1 innings match and then lost by a wicket to CC.

Then the French junior side participated in a 50 over 4 team tournament in Germany (featuring us, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium), and I travelled as head coach. I'm delighted to report we won (on Net-run-rate in the end) - our first junior tournament win since 2001, and first win since 2010. I shall write up a fuller tournament report on the associate thread, but after a comfortable win over Germany on day 1 (7 wickets, with more than 15 overs remaining) we had our customary collapse against Luxembourg and lost by 4 wickets.

This left us needing to crush Belgium on the final day and hope for a (narrowish) win by Germany over Luxembourg. First objective achieved as we scored 305/9 before blasting out Belgium for 74; on arrival at the other ground (where the presentations were to take place) we found out Germany had won by 30odd runs - I allowed myself a fleeting fist pump before the official confirmation. What followed were joyous scenes, and yours truly got a bottle of fizzy water poured over him by the team (there was apparently no champagne).

Truly a fantastic bunch of young men, and overall I couldn't have asked for much more than how we reacted after defeat on day 2.

That's about it for my cricketing summer now. Going to prepare the off-season (coach ed and hopefully restarting our winter accademy program).

[JDizzle]

Grabbed my first five fer of the season today! Ended up with a losing draw but it was a decent effort, and I'll gloss over my efforts with the bat...

[hodge]

Got my first ton of the season on saturday 125 which is a new highest score for me as well. We scored 357-2 off of 45 overs, i'd scored my 125 and got out in the 28th over at which point the opening partnership was 197.

Also managed to grab a catch which means i've caught 3 in the league and dropped 0 so not bad for me.

[Pete C (Kiwireddevil)]

Got my first ton of the season on saturday 125 which is a new highest score for me as well. We scored 357-2 off of 45 overs, i'd scored my 125 and got out in the 28th over at which point the opening partnership was 197.

Also managed to grab a catch which means i've caught 3 in the league and dropped 0 so not bad for me.

Nice work

[Fists of Fury]

Huge congrats Mike, and likewise JD and Hodge.

[Shelsey93]

Well done to everybody

Once again I can't come to the party. Our game was cancelled because our oppo couldn't raise a team At least we got 30 points!

[Mad for Chelsea]

no matches at the moment, but we have a busy september (friendlies, league finals and even a T20 tournament). Had my first net for a month and a half on Saturday and played OK, feet not moving that well but timing felt good after a couple of minutes to get my eye in. Turns out we've been docked some points in the League for playing unlicenced players, so we'll play the winners of the other pool (as we were relegated to second in ours) in the semi-final. Winnable, but we'll have to play well.

[Shelsey93]

This Saturday my team finally won!! We beat a mid-table outfit quite comfortably after putting 199-7 on the board (a full 185 more than we put on three weeks ago), and then bowling them out for 138.

My personal contribution consisted of 5 runs in an end-of-innings hit out and get out (though I think I should have been opening but that's for another day), and an important wicket at the end when a ninth wicket partnership was starting to build.

[Mike Selig]

This Saturday my team finally won!!

Well done! I've played in sides before where we couldn't seem to win a game, so know how it feels.

[hodge]

Not a good weekend with the bat for me edge behind twice both times under 10.

However our 2nds won a big game between 2nd and 3rd place, we were in 3rd and it sees us go up into 2nd by 5 points (35 points max for win - 15 for win, 10 bonus for batting 1 per every 20 runs till 200 and 1 point per wicket)

We won the toss and bowled the opposition out for 82 and knocked it off 4 down which meant we got 35 points and they got 8.

2 games to go to see if we can get promoted!

[hampo17]

Due to work commitments I've started playing for our 3rd XI on a Sunday, local derby today and a game I was determined to win. We had them 20-4 however a good partnership saw them to 90-4. On I come to bowl and get their key batsmen out bowled with one that nipped back off the seam. We had them all out for 108.

As we went out to bat I reiterated the fact we had 49 overs to chase this down. Worst possible start as we lost 3 quick wickets and I went in at 21-4. I saw us to 89-5 before leaving a ball that pitched 5 inches outside off stump which moved in and hit middle, shocked is an understatement. We didn't have much batting after that and we're all out for 101. Gutted doesn't cover it.

[Mad for Chelsea]

league semi-final yesterday, didn't go well at all

We lost the toss, and were in the field. Didn't mind this too much as we were playing on an unfamiliar grass pitch (nearly all pitches in France are astroturf, and the few grass pitches are basically a bit of very low-cut field, not a "proper" cricket wicket if you want) so wanted a look at the pitch before batting.

Started well with the ball, picking up a couple of early wickets and kept the run rate well in check. After 26 overs (out of 40) we had them 90-6. This is where things started to go wrong though. We were a bowler short really (due to some last minute pull-outs) and whether the heat started getting to us (it shouldn't have, we had drinks every ten overs) or we just lost focus I don't know, but they slapped us all over the place as we bowled some utter rubbish (I don't know if we were unsure of our lengths, but we were way too full). They were eventually bowled out for 179 in the penultimate over, at least 40 more than they should have got. From a personal viewpoint I thought I kept really well on a very difficult pitch (some were shooting low which meant I was quite a bit closer to the stumps than I'd normally be), especially to our left-arm spinner who found some huge turn at times and big bounce. There was one memorable delivery which pitched on a good length, leapt, and I had to jump and take it above my head. I took one catch, and dropped a difficult one diving to my right off our captain (but probably should have caught).

A tough chase then, made tougher by losing our president to the first ball of the second over of our reply. In I went, struggled with the pitch but saw out the rest of the over, only to watch in horror as our captain, fresh from hitting a four over the covers, received an absolutely shocking LBW decision (given out despite being hit on the roll a good three yards down the pitch). 5/2. In came Clint, and we knew we needed a huge partnership to get us close. We started gently, though I got off the mark with a pulled six (my first of the season) over mid-wicket, something I'd never done before. Clint was struggling to get used to the pitch bt stuck at it, we ran well, and I settled on playing the ball late and with as soft hands as possible, usually behind square on the leg side, to score my runs. We reached first drinks at 28-2, then picked up the pace to pass fifty in the next 4 overs. Unfortunately off the last ball of those four, Clint hit a full toss straight to mid-on. I then got a pretty poor LBW decision of my own (heading down leg was what I and the non striker felt, short ball which nipped back sharply and kept a little low) for 21 and we completely collapsed to 65 all out.

For the first time, I was a bit upset with the guys after that, felt we didn't do ourselves justice, and the shots the batsmen played to get out after I'd gone were extremely disappointing (lots of cross-bat swipes/attempted pulls before they were seeing it properly). In a word, we didn't fight hard enough, and this goes for our end of innings bowling too.

Still got the T20 finals day to look forward too, we're thinking of re-shuffling our batting order a bit, with Clint moving up to open the batting (he feels that coming in too often at 20 or less for two down puts too much pressure on him to bat through and he isn't playing enough shots as a result), and our captain moving down to n°4. I put in a request to stay at the top of the order where I feel I'm more suited, so it was agreed I'd open if TOG isn't there, and bat 3 if he is (at least in the longer games).

As a rule our season has been a bit up and down, our "lesser" batsmen haven't really taken on the responsibility which means we've been over-reliant on our two main bats for decent scores. People not turning up or pulling out late is also a huge issue, and one we'll talk of at our AG. From a personal viewpoint I've been happy to have made a few runs, averaging mid-twenties, and generally my mind hs felt a lot clearer while batting than last year. Keeping has been good, not quite as good as last year.

[Shelsey93]

Our club season in Hertfordshire came to an end on Saturday.

My team had a dismal start to the season - we managed 100 only once by the end of July and were looking doomed. But with improved availability (leading to a crucial bowler dropping back down from the 3rds to the 4ths after becoming disgruntled with not being the star of the show in the 3rds!), better pitches (our home ground is often a minefield after poor weather) and just better batting, we've had a stunning last few weeks.

By the start of this week teams dropping out of leagues further up meant that the league decided to cut the relegation places to two teams out of the twenty in our division, and with a few teams in our league getting docked points for not getting a team out, we were somehow safe before we even stepped out on to the field for the last match (How that happened I don't know...)

This allowed us to really enjoy the last game without the pressure of needing to score a particular number of points to stay up. After an early wicket our opposition built a partnership, which was broken when I took a diving one-handed catch to my left-hand side at square leg! (OK, I misjudged it and shouldn't have needed to dive, but with my catch success record it was comfortably my champagne moment of the season!) A few more wickets followed but we then wilted a bit in the heat of the day and an annoying left hand/ right hand partnership put on about 100 for the sixth wicket. I had a bit of a bowl, and probably should have come on earlier, as with our skipper on childcare duties, I was the only spinner in the team, but couldn't make a breakthrough despite extracting quite a bit of turn. Eventually they declared on 232 - a target which we had never before come remotely near chasing; my research after the match revealed that the previous highest run chase for our 4th XI was 178, and we hadn't successfully chased any score at all since the first game of last season.

The run chase got off to a quick start, with our makeshift opener carving 18 and our old opener finally finding some form and making 41. We had contributions all the way down and as the game went on it became more and more of a realistic chase - particularly as the opposition captain insisted on bowling himself for 20 overs and going for 104. He's not a particularly good bowler and I now sense that the only reason he always features in the leading wicket takers in the league is because he never takes himself off.

When I came in at No. 8 he had finally removed himself from the attack, and on had come a 70 year-old Sri Lankan who claimed to have played for Sri Lanka before they were a Test nation as a young man. He was actually the best of the bowlers, and we continually swished and missed at him in fading light. That meant that the onus was on scoring at the other end, which me and my batting partner did successfully for a while, before both getting out to him in consecutive balls and bringing our more experienced Nos. 9 and 10 to the crease. They saw us home with 4 balls to spare in near total darkness to secure 15th place in the league.

Meanwhile, our First XI were also happy despite loosing. After a difficult season in which an expected title challenge quickly became a relegation battle they stayed up by the skin of their teeth. But the number of young players in their side now (last year, when they finished 4th, they had a much older profile) is a definite positive.

[JDizzle]

I played for our second team, as having missed plenty of games this year through University and other things, I am still eligible and not classed as a first team player. So I played for our seconds as a supposed "ringer" to try and help get them promoted! Didn't go quite that well. I bowled 11 overs for 49 and just couldn't get an edge and when I did it through flew the slips! And to top it all of I dropped an absolute dolly in the field. Save the say the captain wasn't happy with me! Luckily I batted number 6 as well and managed to score 48* and get us over the line otherwise I really would have been in trouble!

[hodge]

Good to hear guys

My season ended last weekend but thought I would just give a update on how we went.

Going into the game our 2nd needed 8 points to secure promotion to division 7, 15 points for a win, 1 for each wicket taken and 1 for each 20 runs up to 200. The divisions were reformated 7 used to be the old highest 2nd team division, but merged with 1st team league. We were going into the game without our highest run scorer who was averaging 90 or so and our most experienced spin bowler who is near always very good. Still we had what would be considered a very dangerous team is this division, shortly before the game we learned the 1st team had been called off due to the opposition not being able to get a team (they're a good hour and a half away and they had nothing to play for......) so they were all going to come along and support the 2's in their effort for promotion.

So we win the toss and choose to bowl first thinking we can see how many wickets we can get and then see how many runs we may need to hit. A wicket in the first over and 2 more shortly after had the opposition at 17/3 and we were almost celebrating already. Then one of the strangest incidents I have ever seen while playing, spinner bowls and ball goes by the edge of off stump, the leg side bail then falls off, few of us start celebrating, few confused, batsman convinced the ball hadnt hit the stumps, but it hadn't come back off the keeper and the keeper wasn't close to the stumps. What I then thought was wind but wasn't windy enough to blow a bail off. However for not wanting to turn the game sour we call him back, which a bit later we thought may have cost us as this partnership then hit 99 runs together. It was our 14 or 15 year old bowler who then got the break through taking 3 wickets in quick sucession before having to be taken off due to rules on young bowlers. It then got to 159/7 off 44.5 overs, so 1 ball 1 wicket for us to get the promotion, however 1 run for the opposition to get an extra bonus point. Ball goes straight through to the keeper and they try to run which saw the keeper whip the bails off. Which cued a team huddle in the middle with us celebrating promotion, then realising we had to go out and bat still.

Not good for me getting out LBW first ball of the innings brining and end to what had been a season to forget in many ways. In the end we got over the line due to a guy who should be a first team batsman but doesn't know how often he can be around, but he averaged over 250 for the season. Meaning massive night out for us.

So in review of my season barring 2 maybe 3 things it was a torrid season with my knee injury putting me out for a few months only hitting 140 odd runs for the 2's in 5 games despite a ton says enough about how it went for me, but still to come back from injury and hit my first league ton was brilliant for me, 125 off what must have barely been 100 balls at tops, along with hitting a new top 1st team score of 27 and not dropping a catch in the league were my season highlights. Champagne moment for me would either have to be hitting the ton, or hitting 60 odd not out on debut for the 20 over team I started playing for in Newport.

Not sure whether I will be playing for my home club from the start of the season as I found it pretty expensive this season, despite being the division above im not sure.

Sorry to drag on a bit there

[Mike Selig]

Congrats to Shelsey on avoiding the dreaded drop, and hodge on promotion.

Commiserations to MfC - there's still the T20 finals day though, so good luck with that.

The South West final in France is taking place on the 30th of September - I shall try and get there given there are 3 juniors involved (including current captain Daniel Nott who scored a brilliant 61 in the semi-final). You going to be there MfC?

[Mike Selig]

Further to my previous note, I did get to the SW final, which was won narrowly by Daniel's team, also featuring 8 other juniors. They also won the T20 emphatically. Daniel made 87 in the final (in just 18 overs) and also a half-century (in 9 overs) in the T20 semi-final against MfC's team.

Terrific achievement from all the youngsters, and bodes well for our juniors this coming season.

Winter training starting in November, can't wait!

[alfie]

First round of club cricket here in Melbourne. As is traditional , the rain started just before most matches were due to start ...so a lot didn't.

Mine did. We played in miserable conditions , very cold , very wet , especially while we were in the field. We lost. I found myself bowling in the "slog at the end" overs with an out of shape slippery wet ball...afterwards one of my knees decided to remind me why most of my contemporaries have retired many years ago...today I ache all over and am walking with some difficulty...

Wouldn't have missed it for quids

[guildfordbat]

First round of club cricket here in Melbourne. As is traditional , the rain started just before most matches were due to start ...so a lot didn't.

Mine did. We played in miserable conditions , very cold , very wet , especially while we were in the field. We lost. I found myself bowling in the "slog at the end" overs with an out of shape slippery wet ball...afterwards one of my knees decided to remind me why most of my contemporaries have retired many years ago...today I ache all over and am walking with some difficulty...

Wouldn't have missed it for quids

Brilliant.

Alfie, you must be on the fringes of Shelsey's left field nominations for the Hall of Fame.

[alfie]

Round nine and still on two legs ... Had a good day today , first six wicket haul in a decade so I guess I will be on deck again next year unless I start listening to the doctors

Cricket is so much more enjoyable when the sun shines...

[Corporalhumblebucket]

. Had a good day today , first six wicket haul in a decade ...

[alfie]

This game has a habit of bringing you back to earth quickly...

Today I met a muscular young chap who rather enjoyed some short boundaries and my rather straight bowling in compiling a rapid century.

I got him in the end , but it was rather a Mitchell Johnson moment ...smashed all over early on , picking up cheap wickets at the end

We are chasing a few , and I am not proud of my day ; but I am consoled by the thought he will savage a lot more bowlers younger and quicker than me in the years ahead ... Oh how I miss the days when I could go round the wicket to such cheeky young sods and have them taken away in an ambulance

[Mad for Chelsea]

well our season got underway on Sunday with a hard-fought win over the London Wine Trade XI in our traditional season-opener friendly, our first win over the touring side!

We batted first by consent, and made a good start, reaching 66-1 after 12 overs before getting a bit stuck (only 89/3 after 20). However a late injection of pace from Andy "El Presidente" Smith saw us reach a pretty good total of 173. Our innings was anchored by new recruit AD Raynor who made 76. I batted 6, glanced my first ball for a couple to fine-leg, and cut my second - a horrible wide long-hop - to point who claimed a very good catch diving forward (well at least he said it carried, I wasn't so sure but decided that in a friendly would take his word for it ). Tried to overhit it I think and lost my shape on the shot, disappointing as he was the only guy within about 30 yards of where I hit it.

They made a good start in reply but once we broke through we chipped away regularly, and with 34 needed off three overs and one wicket left we felt confident. That's when their n°11 smashed a few lusty blows and suddenly they needed 9 off the last over. However another new recruit Mohammed don't-know-his-last-name held his nerve beautifully and after conceding only 2 runs in four balls clean bowled their n°11 to give us victory by 6 runs.

A great start to the season, and bodes well for the rest of it, hopefully.

[Carrotdude]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

[Guest]

going into my 3rd season of captaincy this year Looking to build on last year, where we came to within a couple of points of promotion.

[hodge]

Looking forward to next weekend if the weather holds up as its the clubs first pre season game, for me personally could give an indication of which team I will be in this year as it looks like the firsts could need 2 new openers at the start of the season at any rate.

Also this season i'm captaining my clubs Sunday XI big for me as its the first time i've been a permanent captain for a season, as before i've only done one or 2 games in a row.

On a side note, providing I get a 2:2 in my degree I will be going to UCLan (University Of Central Lancashire) next year to do a masters, so will try playing cricket for them too when the time comes.

[JDizzle]

Rained off today and yesterday and I'm off to Uni until the end of May now, so no cricket till then for me! Gutted. Bloody weather!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I'm gutted that training falls on the same night I have work!

Hopefully still make the team

[Corporalhumblebucket]

I'm gutted that training falls on the same night I have work!

Hopefully still make the team

Olly - I'm sure that job or not job you will be battering the opposition all season....

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I'm gutted that training falls on the same night I have work!

Hopefully still make the team

Olly - I'm sure that job or not job you will be battering the opposition all season....

I need to improve my batting last year. I played like Ravi Bopara in an England shirt last season

[Fists of Fury]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

I had exactly the same problem. Bowled for the first time in almost a year and was in utter agony!

Not managing to generate the same sort of pace as I possessed when I played a little more often, which is a shame. My batting remains totally hit and miss. I infuriate myself with my ability to miss a straight one and get bowled middle stump on occasion. It's not like I was trying to whack it, either, I was simply playing a forward defensive and missing the ball. Any technical wizards (Mike S?) out there that can offer a word of advice?!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

I had exactly the same problem. Bowled for the first time in almost a year and was in utter agony!

Not managing to generate the same sort of pace as I possessed when I played a little more often, which is a shame. My batting remains totally hit and miss. I infuriate myself with my ability to miss a straight one and get bowled middle stump on occasion. It's not like I was trying to whack it, either, I was simply playing a forward defensive and missing the ball. Any technical wizards (Mike S?) out there that can offer a word of advice?!

Hit the ball

[Fists of Fury]

Oh I tried with the greatest of intentions, Olly.

It is probably something as basic as taking my eye off it at the last minute.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

It probably is. I tend to find I worry too much about where my head is, feet are going etc etc, that I actually forget to look at the ball and hit it.

[Mike Selig]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

I had exactly the same problem. Bowled for the first time in almost a year and was in utter agony!

Not managing to generate the same sort of pace as I possessed when I played a little more often, which is a shame. My batting remains totally hit and miss. I infuriate myself with my ability to miss a straight one and get bowled middle stump on occasion. It's not like I was trying to whack it, either, I was simply playing a forward defensive and missing the ball. Any technical wizards (Mike S?) out there that can offer a word of advice?!

Hit the ball

Excellent advice if truth be told.

If you are missing a straight ball, then simply you have played down the wrong line, or you're late/early. You can do whatever you like with your head and feet, if the ball is straight and you aim the bat in the right place and the right time you will hit the ball (although where and how is anyone's guess).

However to go a bit more in detail: if you are missing straight ones then probably your bat is coming across the ball rather than straight (this is moreover likely if you are habitually a bit of a slogger, because sloggers rarely bring their bats down straight). It is possible your backlift is going towards 3rd man, and instead of arcing back around (a la Slater/Lara) merely coming down in a straight line towards mid-on which means you're hitting across the ball, so presenting less of a bat face.

Also, I suspect you might not be getting your head over the ball, so you're playing out in front, which increases the chances of playing an air shot.

Next time you're in the nets ask someone to check your backlift, and head position. Don't overthink things though, especially in a match: sometimes that can be an issue (you're thinking so much about what your hands, head, etc. are up to you forget to... hit the ball, which is where we came in).

[Fists of Fury]

Mike,

Thanks for that. The head over the ball point may well be the most relevant...thinking back to that shot, I certainly didn't do so and distinctly remember prodding out in front.

As for my backlift and head position I might ask someone to record a couple of balls I face on my mobile in order for me to watch it back.

[hodge]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

I had exactly the same problem. Bowled for the first time in almost a year and was in utter agony!

Not managing to generate the same sort of pace as I possessed when I played a little more often, which is a shame. My batting remains totally hit and miss. I infuriate myself with my ability to miss a straight one and get bowled middle stump on occasion. It's not like I was trying to whack it, either, I was simply playing a forward defensive and missing the ball. Any technical wizards (Mike S?) out there that can offer a word of advice?!

If you're missing a forward defensive and being bowled, simply use bat pad and cover the stumps if its a straight wicket to wicket bowler. Just be aware if you get someone who hoops the ball around then sometimes people's techniques come undone.

[Fists of Fury]

I'll probably resort to that, Hodge. Am I allowed to ban you if I get dismissed LBW every innings?

[Carrotdude]

2 days ago I played cricket for the first time in about 10 years at some indoor nets. Today I could barely get out of bed, my arm/entire back is stiff as a board, work was not fun! I wasn't quite prepared for that, must stretch more next week!

I had exactly the same problem. Bowled for the first time in almost a year and was in utter agony!

I massively underestimated the strain that bowling puts on the back/shoulders, I'm hoping it won't be quite as bad this week! I thoroughly enjoyed myself though.

[Fists of Fury]

It will be much better this week, fear not. Should just leave minor soreness this time, based on my own findings last week.

Utterly brilliant, isn't it? Great fun even in the nets. I'll just be playing a few T20's for work this year, but I'll love every minute.

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