Looking focused during throw downs before going out to bat.
"He that is afraid of bad luck never knows good"
~Russian Proverb
After yesterdays game, I can honestly say that I have experienced almost everything that the game of cricket can throw up in terms of ways to be dismissed. The score book will say:
VJ. Nicholas Bowled 0
But in no way does it convey the drama and the freakish nature of the dismissal when read as such.
I arrived at our home ground nearly an hour before the start of play and the lads were already engaged in catching practice when I walked up with my kit bag slung across my shoulder. I said my hellos and then I strolled out to take a look at the pitch because there had been some drenching rains during the week. As soon as I saw the wicket I noticed it had a green tinge to it. Now everything I have ever read about green wickets is that they favour seam bowlers and offer some movement and bounce.
The round one match played here a fortnight ago offered up a feather bed wicket with true bounce and no hidden tricks. Last week at Canterbury we were served up an almost Sub-Continent style slow and low bounce deck which offered nothing to the bowlers at all.
How would I have to adjust my game to deal with this pitch? I thought to myself. I spoke to Brian “Happy” Hannon – our resident veteran and he simply told me to get my front foot forward as much as possible. “Just great”, I thought to myself – that is pretty much the same advice I was given for the first two weeks and they were vastly different pitches to this seam friendly pitch.
Strachany lost the toss and duly informed us that the opposition had put us in to bat. I rushed off to pad up still trying to figure out how the pitch would behave in the opening half hour. Once padded up I made my way outside and decided to face some throw downs to get my eye in, but again, I had to give this up after a few minutes as it made me sick with nerves all of a sudden.
I waited on the grassy embankment for the fielding team and umpires to make their way to the middle and summon us out. When the time came, Happy and I made our way out with not much being said other than Happy offering to take strike to the first ball.
~Russian Proverb
After yesterdays game, I can honestly say that I have experienced almost everything that the game of cricket can throw up in terms of ways to be dismissed. The score book will say:
VJ. Nicholas Bowled 0
But in no way does it convey the drama and the freakish nature of the dismissal when read as such.
I arrived at our home ground nearly an hour before the start of play and the lads were already engaged in catching practice when I walked up with my kit bag slung across my shoulder. I said my hellos and then I strolled out to take a look at the pitch because there had been some drenching rains during the week. As soon as I saw the wicket I noticed it had a green tinge to it. Now everything I have ever read about green wickets is that they favour seam bowlers and offer some movement and bounce.
The round one match played here a fortnight ago offered up a feather bed wicket with true bounce and no hidden tricks. Last week at Canterbury we were served up an almost Sub-Continent style slow and low bounce deck which offered nothing to the bowlers at all.
How would I have to adjust my game to deal with this pitch? I thought to myself. I spoke to Brian “Happy” Hannon – our resident veteran and he simply told me to get my front foot forward as much as possible. “Just great”, I thought to myself – that is pretty much the same advice I was given for the first two weeks and they were vastly different pitches to this seam friendly pitch.
Strachany lost the toss and duly informed us that the opposition had put us in to bat. I rushed off to pad up still trying to figure out how the pitch would behave in the opening half hour. Once padded up I made my way outside and decided to face some throw downs to get my eye in, but again, I had to give this up after a few minutes as it made me sick with nerves all of a sudden.
I waited on the grassy embankment for the fielding team and umpires to make their way to the middle and summon us out. When the time came, Happy and I made our way out with not much being said other than Happy offering to take strike to the first ball.
Walking out to the crease.
The opening delivery of the day delivered by the Parkville fast bowler flashed by Happy’s off stump and Happy let it go. The next delivery sailed down the leg side for a wide and beat the diving keeper. I set off on a run and yelled out to Happy “there is two if you want it?”, but as I turned to charge back down the pitch for the second run, I noticed that Happy had his back still turned and had only just made it to the bowlers end. So one bye it was.
I then looked around the field to see where each fielder was placed and in my customary habit I did not bother taking middle. I just stood one meter out of my crease and faced up to the next ball. The Parkville fast bowler then promptly sent down a wide down the off side which I left alone and then I held out my arms signaling a wide to the umpire who then did the same towards the scorers.
I don’t know what made me do that, as I think it would just irritate the opposition. I thought to myself, don’t do that again – don’t give them any ammunition. The next delivery was an absolute corker – it pitched short of a length, cutting into me sharply off the pitch and beat my bat thudding into my thigh pad. The “ooohhhhs” of the opposition fieldsmen sounded out and I thought to myself “great ball mate – but, you aren’t going to get me out bowling there”.
The next ball was also short of a length, but this time just outside off stump and it took off from the green pitch passing me at about chest height. I was momentarily tempted to have a flash at it, but withdrew my bat at the last moment as I realized it was slightly too close to my chest to get my arms free to cut. As the ball smacked into the keepers gloves the fielders “ooohhhss” went up again in unison. This time the first slip shot out “this bloke hasn’t got any idea”, to which I shot back, “yeah, I have no clue” with a broad smile on my face. I have always found that the best way to diffuse opposition sledging is to agree with it in a jocular manner and the keeper and first slip smiled back looking slightly sheepish. The next ball fizzed harmlessly by through to the keeper having been pitched short and wide. Infact, I expected it to be called a wide, but this time the umpire vacillated and did not call the wide. Yet another ball flashed by in a similar manner, though this one was somewhat closer to my off stump, but not close enough for me to again let the ball pass harmlessly by.
The bowler then bounded in and pitched one short of a length, but this time speared into my body, but I got behind it and I played the ball down towards short mid wicket off the middle of my bat where the fieldsman picked it up and there was no run as the umpire called “over”.
Happy and I met mid pitch and Happy offered “It was great that you left the wide stuff alone…wait until you get your eye in”. I nodded and we went back to our respective ends. The other opening bowler was a tallish left arm pace bowler. His first ball was short and happy guided the ball around the corner to fine leg for an easy single.
I am sharing a joke with the umpire at the non-strikers end.
I prepared myself to face up to the next delivery. I again stood a meter out of my crease to cancel out any chance of LBW and also to reduce the possibility of getting bowled if I had a swing and a miss. Bowling from the other side of the wicket, I made the mental note to open up my stance a bit so I would be a bit more front-on to the left arm bowler. He charged in and let fly with an over pitched Yorker that speared in to my pads.
Did it swing in through the air?
I don’t honestly know as it all happened in a blur. Happy told me later that it did swing in through the air, but I couldn't say if it did. The ball missed my bat and front leg and hit my back foot on the half volley and I turned around in time to see it deflect to the first slip fieldsman who caught it to much excitement of the watching wicket keeper.
The appeal went up loud, but I was not alarmed…surely, it was sliding down leg side and would not be LBW…and I didn’t hit it, so I can’t be out caught either. The umpire stood and stared momentarily and then he started walking towards the square leg umpire seeking some kind of confirmation. I thought to myself, “well I am not LBW here…he is thinking maybe I hit it…” and after what seemed and eternity but was probably no more than a dozen seconds, the umpire raised his finger and gave me out much to my chagrin.
I stood there momentarily and feebly asked “how am I out?”, to which the Parkville wicket keeper shot back “look at your stumps” and as I looked back, I noticed that the leg bail was gently resting on the ground.
How did it get there?
There hadn’t been any sudden gust of wind? It must have come off when the ball deflected off my toe?
As I walked off, I tried to digest what had just taken place. The ball had hit my toe on the half volley and then en-route to the first slips hands it had barely clipped my leg bail dislodging it almost without anyone seeing it at first. If the fielding team had seen it, they would not have bothered appealing to the umpire – they simply would have rushed to embrace their successful bowler. The bowler seemed to appeal for LBW and the fielders appealed for the catch – it was the square leg umpire who noticed that the bail had been dislodged in all this commotion.
It was a freak dismissal of the likes that I could play cricket another twenty years and never again experience anything like it again. I was flummoxed, but I also was too shocked to be angry with myself for playing over the top of what should have been a gift ball to turn away for runs. I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders at the freaky nature of it all.
That is the beauty of cricket. One mistake – and you are consigned to watching for the rest of the afternoon. I took a while to make sense of it all before I went inside the darkened pavilion to remove my padding. As I removed the last remnants of my bodily protection, I was shocked to see Nat “Mr Natural” Williams starting to also take his pads off. He had gone in and had promptly got out soon after for a duck as well. Oh dear!
Brent "Harry" Potter playing a delicate glide past second slip.
By this stage going in at number four was Brent “Harry” Potter a strapping lad of New Zealander origins. Harry Potter is someone that should be playing First grade – he is that good – however, as the Firsts play on Saturdays, due to work commitments, Harry plays Fourths on Sundays where his prodigious talents dwarf his less talented opponents (and teammates).
Harry – a left hander - announced his arrival and his bellicose intentions by getting off the mark in the most emphatic fashion possible – by smiting a massive straight driven six back over the bowlers head. “Way to go Harry” I thought to myself.
Brent "Harry" Potter playing a typically belligerent stroke.
Harry then smashed two further boundaries as well as running a single in somewhere amongst that. The boy was clearly in commanding form, being fresh from smashing a spectacular century in Round One for the Fourths and then when the Firsts played on last Sunday, he again was imperious with a match winning thirty three. On fifteen, Harry caught the malaise that had afflicted Nat and myself by being bowled by a straight delivery.
"How did I miss that?" Strachany appears to be thinking.
Strachany followed soon later – bowled for two and with the score sitting on a precarious 4 for 34, things were starting to look a bit grim to say the least. Happy who had been up the other end while all this carnage was being played out was finally out for a pain staking nine which he had compiled in a vigil that had lasted for twenty five overs. Under the circumstances, it was exactly the sort of grit we needed to overcome our situation.
Richard "Dragon" Halpagoda gets off the mark with a classic square cut for four.
Richie “Dragon” Halpagoda was the next to go for seven and the score on fifty three. New boy fill in Richie “Tricky” Dahlsen was then also dismissed for seven with the score on fifty nine. By this stage the batting collapse was in full swing. Amit Mehta was the next to go - controversially given out LBW when he smashed the cover off the ball on its way onto his pad. Justin Southern, another new lad was dismissed for eleven and the score on seventy six and that was where it ended as the last man Johnny Scurry was trapped plumb in front of his stumps first ball to a delivery that smashed into his calf just behind his pad that left him contorting in agony.
Richard "Dragon" Halpagoda playing with a straight bat.
All out for seventy six off thirty five overs. A full ten overs less than our allotted forty five. It was a shambolic batting performance – eight batsmen bowled and two LBW. Only Amit Mehta could consider himself truly unlucky in that he was given out to one that he edged onto his pad.
Richard "Dragon" Halpagoda leaving one through to the keeper.
As for the insinuation by some of the lads that I was unlucky, I personally felt that despite the freaky end result of my dismissal – it was none the less still an error on my behalf in failing to deal with a delivery that was arrowed into my one main weakness. A weakness which I have been attempting to address with Happy in the sessions with the bowling machine at Hawthorn Indoor nets. Not good enough.
After the lunch interval, we made our way out onto the field, but despite all the positive chat, I don’t think anyone really believed we were a chance to knock Parkville over for less than our total. However, a few quick wickets will usually change the mind set of a team and all of a sudden belief will come back fast.
Lining up to take the first over with the new ball was Harry Potter. I had faced him in the nets and he is appreciably faster than any of the blokes who play Fifth Eleven cricket. As I mentioned earlier, he is really a First Eleven quality cricketer. Harry bowls left arm express deliveries off a modest run up. But even off that run up, Harry generates a lot of pace. The first delivery that Harry sent down absolutely exploded off the pitch and flew through to the keeper Strachany who was standing back much, much further than to our usual bowlers at chest height. Strachany was filling in in-lieu of Timmy Miller who was seconded to a higher grade.
After this delivery an extra slip and a second gully were added giving us a slips cordon of four – easily the most you will see in Fifth Eleven cricket. The second delivery also exploded off the pitch and flew past the batsmen who meekly hung his bat out to a delivery he barely would have seen. This was pulsating stuff and I was starting to think that if we could break through early, maybe, just maybe we could be in with an outside chance. The next delivery smashed into the bat handle as the batsman tried to protect himself from the ball smashing into his face and the ball deflected away to fine leg for a single.
Harry was not impressed and he stalked back to his bowling mark and he turned around like a raging bull and charged in and bowled a hum dinger of a ball that pitched on off stump thus committing the hapless Parkville batsman to a stroke. The ball took a thick outside edge off the bat and flew like a tracer bullet to gully where Johnny Scurry held a wonderful catch at waste height.
One for one! We charged in from all directions to mob Harry and Johnny as this was exactly the start we needed. This was hostile fast bowling at its exhilarating best from Harry. The first ball to the new batsman also took off from short of a length and whizzed passed the edge of his bat.
The next over, new boy Justin Southern began with three wild deliveries - he hadn’t played any cricket for a while – but as soon as he found his radar, Justin also had the batsmen playing and missing with his fast deliveries. Hardly any runs seem to come from the middle of the bat with the ball flying off edges. Harry then took up where he left off the previous over beating the bat at will ball after ball with extreme pace. The only thing preventing him getting any further wickets was the fact that the batsmen were simply not good enough to even get any bat on ball at all most of the time. When the batsmen rarely did make contact, the ball would fly off the edge of the bat through the slips, over the slips and at least in one instance, under the slips.
I thought to myself that it must only be a matter of time before wickets started tumbling, but miraculously, they didn’t. Some how the Parkville batsmen stuck around and they did not lose another wicket until they only needed a couple runs to win.
The only interest left in the game was when Strachany asked Harry to bowl the last over before drinks and Harry at first mildly protested that he wasn’t up for it, but after some gentle persuasion from the master psychologist that is Strachany, Harry took the ball and unleashed one of the fieriest, angriest overs one could ever see. He bowled a full over of bouncers and throat balls that the bemused Parkville batsman managed to duck and weave through. Given that Harry Potter is a mild mannered sort of bloke, it was not exactly clear what had triggered this Bodyline attack in what turned out to be his last over. Even more incredible was the fact that neither umpire cautioned Harry for intimidatory bowling. It was fast, it was furious and for the batsman, I am sure it must have been scary.
It was not too long after drinks that the Parkville batsmen duly notched a crushing win. It would have been great to end the game there and then…a kind of mercy rule – but unfortunately due to percentage etc, the game had to continue until the forty fifth over was bowled. The next hour and a half was the longest ninety minutes I have ever experienced on a cricket field. It seemed to drag on for ever, but to the lads credit, they fought it out to the end. Harry showed his professionalism by chasing down hits to the deep and rifling in his throws to the keeper. I had nothing but admiration for the bloke trying his guts out to the very end. Strachany bowled his guts out as well – he truly does set a gutsy example as skipper and I could not help but silently respect his commitment to playing out the game with intensity until the last ball bowled.
Ah yes, the last ball bowled was bowled by me. Strachany was sporting enough to allow me three overs at the end of the innings and it felt good to get more real match experience to help me bridge the gap between my net bowling and my match bowling. I have been suffering from nerves when I run into bowl, but little by little I am starting to regain my match readiness.
As a young lad I used to run in and bowl fast...and I did it well. Somewhere down the line I have lost all ability with the ball in my hands. My fast days are well and truly over now – so I am trying to reinvent myself into an off spinner to lend the team with more variety. With some hard work, I am hopeful I can keep an end tight and maybe even take some wickets. Time will tell.
As for this particular game – it ended up being a rather heavy defeat that set back our aspirations quite a bit.
However, next week is a different game and surely we cannot be far away from our first win of the season.
Here’s hoping!
See you soon,
Vic Nicholas
Melbourne
After the lunch interval, we made our way out onto the field, but despite all the positive chat, I don’t think anyone really believed we were a chance to knock Parkville over for less than our total. However, a few quick wickets will usually change the mind set of a team and all of a sudden belief will come back fast.
Lining up to take the first over with the new ball was Harry Potter. I had faced him in the nets and he is appreciably faster than any of the blokes who play Fifth Eleven cricket. As I mentioned earlier, he is really a First Eleven quality cricketer. Harry bowls left arm express deliveries off a modest run up. But even off that run up, Harry generates a lot of pace. The first delivery that Harry sent down absolutely exploded off the pitch and flew through to the keeper Strachany who was standing back much, much further than to our usual bowlers at chest height. Strachany was filling in in-lieu of Timmy Miller who was seconded to a higher grade.
After this delivery an extra slip and a second gully were added giving us a slips cordon of four – easily the most you will see in Fifth Eleven cricket. The second delivery also exploded off the pitch and flew past the batsmen who meekly hung his bat out to a delivery he barely would have seen. This was pulsating stuff and I was starting to think that if we could break through early, maybe, just maybe we could be in with an outside chance. The next delivery smashed into the bat handle as the batsman tried to protect himself from the ball smashing into his face and the ball deflected away to fine leg for a single.
Harry was not impressed and he stalked back to his bowling mark and he turned around like a raging bull and charged in and bowled a hum dinger of a ball that pitched on off stump thus committing the hapless Parkville batsman to a stroke. The ball took a thick outside edge off the bat and flew like a tracer bullet to gully where Johnny Scurry held a wonderful catch at waste height.
One for one! We charged in from all directions to mob Harry and Johnny as this was exactly the start we needed. This was hostile fast bowling at its exhilarating best from Harry. The first ball to the new batsman also took off from short of a length and whizzed passed the edge of his bat.
The next over, new boy Justin Southern began with three wild deliveries - he hadn’t played any cricket for a while – but as soon as he found his radar, Justin also had the batsmen playing and missing with his fast deliveries. Hardly any runs seem to come from the middle of the bat with the ball flying off edges. Harry then took up where he left off the previous over beating the bat at will ball after ball with extreme pace. The only thing preventing him getting any further wickets was the fact that the batsmen were simply not good enough to even get any bat on ball at all most of the time. When the batsmen rarely did make contact, the ball would fly off the edge of the bat through the slips, over the slips and at least in one instance, under the slips.
I thought to myself that it must only be a matter of time before wickets started tumbling, but miraculously, they didn’t. Some how the Parkville batsmen stuck around and they did not lose another wicket until they only needed a couple runs to win.
The only interest left in the game was when Strachany asked Harry to bowl the last over before drinks and Harry at first mildly protested that he wasn’t up for it, but after some gentle persuasion from the master psychologist that is Strachany, Harry took the ball and unleashed one of the fieriest, angriest overs one could ever see. He bowled a full over of bouncers and throat balls that the bemused Parkville batsman managed to duck and weave through. Given that Harry Potter is a mild mannered sort of bloke, it was not exactly clear what had triggered this Bodyline attack in what turned out to be his last over. Even more incredible was the fact that neither umpire cautioned Harry for intimidatory bowling. It was fast, it was furious and for the batsman, I am sure it must have been scary.
It was not too long after drinks that the Parkville batsmen duly notched a crushing win. It would have been great to end the game there and then…a kind of mercy rule – but unfortunately due to percentage etc, the game had to continue until the forty fifth over was bowled. The next hour and a half was the longest ninety minutes I have ever experienced on a cricket field. It seemed to drag on for ever, but to the lads credit, they fought it out to the end. Harry showed his professionalism by chasing down hits to the deep and rifling in his throws to the keeper. I had nothing but admiration for the bloke trying his guts out to the very end. Strachany bowled his guts out as well – he truly does set a gutsy example as skipper and I could not help but silently respect his commitment to playing out the game with intensity until the last ball bowled.
Ah yes, the last ball bowled was bowled by me. Strachany was sporting enough to allow me three overs at the end of the innings and it felt good to get more real match experience to help me bridge the gap between my net bowling and my match bowling. I have been suffering from nerves when I run into bowl, but little by little I am starting to regain my match readiness.
As a young lad I used to run in and bowl fast...and I did it well. Somewhere down the line I have lost all ability with the ball in my hands. My fast days are well and truly over now – so I am trying to reinvent myself into an off spinner to lend the team with more variety. With some hard work, I am hopeful I can keep an end tight and maybe even take some wickets. Time will tell.
As for this particular game – it ended up being a rather heavy defeat that set back our aspirations quite a bit.
However, next week is a different game and surely we cannot be far away from our first win of the season.
Here’s hoping!
See you soon,
Vic Nicholas
Melbourne
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