Cricket is not an aphrodisiac 

But was the game exciting?

A game where we were lucky to dodge the weather. Most games in the league being called off. We had a brief shower just before the game and then it held off until near the end when heavy showers happened. Which makes it the first game that I have played in that was decided by the Duckworth Lewis Stern Method (DLS). Which I always thought sounded like a particularly effective contraception. It turns out I am right. If you don’t believe me try it. Find a woman that you find attractive, could be someone you have just met, someone that you have been with for a while or your wife. Take her out for the evening, maybe to a restaurant. While you are talking to her, take the time to explain to her exactly how DLS is used to adjudicate the results of rain hit cricket matches. I can guarantee that you will have zero chance of getting her pregnant that evening.

The usual result of talking about cricket to 'the ladies'

But how did the game go? Well, we lost the toss and got put in to bowl and that started out very fine, taking a wicket in the first over for a score of 0 for 1. This was followed by a spell of very fine and hostile opening bowling. However, the edge was taken time after time with the catch not going to hand but flashing for a 4. This was to be a feature of the innings, with lots of not quite properly hit shots going in the air but not being taken, not dropped catches, always just out of reach. So the game got away from us. Now, this ‘we were unlucky’ can be overdone, as we were taken for 238 runs. As well as bad luck, there were also to many bad balls. The captain started by saying ‘they like hitting big, so pitch it up, on the stumps.’   Too many short balls looking to be pulled away, or to far outside of off looking to be hit through. If it was not for some very fine death bowling things could have been worse.

A salute to Mahesh Nagamallaressy, who opened, scored 120 not out and carried his bat, got lucky at times but you can’t get that lucky for that long without deserving it.

Batting wise, the familiar tale of woe. After opening solidly against some very good bowling (Masum Ahmed being the fastest bowler I have faced opening at this level, accurate too) both openers were feeling relatively comfortable before finding ways to get out. One chipping a catch up from possibly the worst ball Masum bowled all game and the other (me) managing to run myself out. I am so annoyed with myself for this. Last week I was out to a ball that pitched on off, swung away and took the edge, can’t complain at that, very good ball, it happens. Deciding to just give my wicket away though, you feel like such a mug. After the openers went, the rest of the team decided to join them in solidarity. Both Sargon and Alex looked threatening before falling to quickly.

So, where does this leave the Kapils? Well, at the bottom of the table. Why are we there? It’s a concentration thing I feel. Some skilled players that are not delivering consistently. 4 good balls in an over is no good, it has to be six. One good over is not good enough, it has to be four or five. One bowler doing well in a game isn’t enough, it needs to be four or five. Last game the side tried nine bowlers which tells its own tale. We also quite often start to look ragged in the field  by the end of 40 overs. I think we need to be sharper, more focused and more ruthless. OK we only play for fun, but winning is kinda fun?

Is there any plus side? Yes, two big things. Firstly we do have the players to deliver (young and old), they need to do the business. Secondly, even though we are bottom of the table, losing 5 games out of six, this is not a disaster when you consider it against a target of finishing in the top half of the table. Games we have lost are against teams in 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th place, so in the first few games we have got most of the hardest games out of the way. The other game we lost was by 1 run, on the last ball, against a team 9 wickets down, that could have gone either way. So as Yazz would say, ‘The Only Way is Up, Baby’. Good luck to the 3s in their quest for promotion, think they should be feeling confident about that.