There is no such thing as a free lunch

 

There is no such thing as a free lunch

There does however, seem to be such a thing as a free tea………

A preview of Saturday’s game.

The Winton Dev teams first game is away to Godshill. And the news just in is that that Godshill has been in touch to say that they will be providing tea. Down in the lower reaches of cricket you are usually providing your own refreshments, which in my case is usually a Tesco meal deal as I am too pushed for time on a Saturday morning to sort anything proper. So an offer of tea is very welcome and indeed very stylish on our hosts behalf.

Right, that’s the important stuff out of the way, what about minor stuff like the ground we will be playing at and the opponent’s team? The ground I have only been to once before, and that was not to play cricket. I used the car park as the starting point for a long ole walk in the country, as it is in a beautiful area. The ground itself, although in the New Forest is not surrounded by trees but on the top of a rise with long views across heath land to the horizon (which I presume accounts for the village name?). If it was damp and windy it seems like it would be a fairly tough place to play. However, the weather seems set very fair for Saturday so it is looking like an excellent and beautiful setting for the opening game of the season.

The ground itself seems to be one of those ‘from time immemorial’ grounds that you get spread across southern England. The square would be well established. Think the pitch may be a bit sticky, due to the biblical amount of rain that we have had since last October, which must make it difficult to prepare a pitch. There have been a few days of sun this week that may help firm things up, but that is a few days v months of awful weather, so may be an interesting pitch. The outfield struck me as one of those New Forest grounds that seem only partially tamed. Well covered in good quality grass but the ground itself not smooth with waves and ridges. This can be a bit of a challenge as you can never been sure that the ball wont jump up and smash you in the face when ground fielding - cricket eh? A sedate easy game…… This is not really a complaint, as it is not due to the ground not being cared for; it is just a fact of what the ground is and always has been.  

And what quality of opposition may we be facing? Well, hard to get a handle on it really. They were relegated from NW Div 5 which suggests that they are used to playing at a higher level, but had a bit of a torrid season to finish last. Checking their website, it has not been updated since April 2017, which may suggest a club in decline. However, they are organised enough to provide food for the opposition as well as themselves which to my mind may just show a club with a clear minded view of where their priorities should lay. So to be frank, can’t even begin to guess how difficult a game it may be. I’m just looking forward to a days cricket on a sunny day, in a beautiful setting for the opening match of the season; how could that be bettered? Well, you could throw in a cricketing tea - Hurrah!