Cricket, Like War, Can Be Hell

And what horrors will we see in Nomansland?

The hardest thing I find about cricket is when you make a mistake or do badly, as there is no hiding. In football, if you make a bad pass, usually other things have to happen for that to be turned into a goal. In cricket though, get whacked for a 6, make a mistake in the field leading to giving away runs and that is on you. It’s not so much the feeling of not doing well personally, it’s more the feeling of letting team mates down. Calling it hell though is of course hyperbole. For the youngsters, it is a good way to learn to process difficult emotions in what should be a supportive atmosphere. For grownups, there is of course beer.

This weekend’s game is against Bramshaw 3s. A team that have won 2 and lost one so far this season. How are we going to do? Buggered if I know to be honest. The game they lost was against a team we have also managed to lose to. So could be a close game? The Kapils have already developed this season and I think it is fair to say that their bowling has been more than up to snuff. The batting has improved but has still not shined. Which hopefully will be put right this weekend, as we do have some bats that can be highly destructive. What we are looking for is for one of our better batsmen to properly fire, back up by the rest of the team, if that happens, an opposition team could be on the end of a hard time in the field. Will it happen this weekend? Let’s be optimistic and say hell yeah!

Would like to say that I am impressed with Bramshaw’s website, someone puts a lot of work into it, so kudos to you. From it I learn that the pitch at Nomansland. On the village green, was first in use in 1926, has a shed load of quirkiness going on and excellent views across the forest. I have never been there before but a day out in a beautiful setting on an historic pitch is one of the major reasons I enjoy cricket so much, so am looking forward to it.

Elsewhere in the league I am pleased to report there are only 4 teams to not record a win, and as two of them are playing each other that will reduce even further. There are also only 4 teams to have won all their games, it will be interesting to see if they can carry that on; how long can the longest winning streak go for?