6 Days

Still 2 men short - including a wicket keeper

Quite a bit of rain today and there I was sitting there at 19.25 looking at the sunshine outside thinking - shall I take the roller over to Great Berry and roll it and see if I can get it any flatter? I suppose any improvement is going to be worth it so off I went. Rang Nakul on the way and he met me over there and we rolled the wicket at both ends. The ground despite the rain didn't seem that soft, but there was a bit of give in it, so it did seem as though we may have had some impact if only slight. From previous experience I've found that it stresses the grass and impedes it's growth, so even if it just has that affect I reckon it'll be worth it, as it means it may be less green and more dirt and hopefully help my flippers and leg spin?

Nakul's been out and about today and got some of his gear and he's been able to buy a longer sleeve version of our short sleeve shirts over at Primark Lakeside - so that may be worth looking into? It seems the same shirts are not available in Basildon, so we all need to get to either Lakeside or Southend to source the shirts ASAP - again if you want the short sleeve version let me know and I'll get them for you on Tuesday if you pay me back promptly.

If you're after gear including bats - try the big place on the Lakeside retail park (the name escapes me for the minute) they've got a big range including some bats in excess of £200 each.

6 Days to go and only a few more opportunities to get out there and practice - made all the more important because of the fact that Richards let us down with the wicket keeping and Rod's shooting off to Florida. If anyone wants to practice come and join Nakul and me over at Great Berry if the weather clears up a bit. We're generally there from 7.30 to 9.00 almost playing in darkness by the time we pack up. Since the practice on Saturday I feel a lot more confident in my own ability and in how the rest of the team will do http://www.harrowdrive.com/the-law-of-10000/ also if you have a look at this link, I'm kind of given a boost in that we have been practicing and I'm not so sure this first team we're playing have been. Also if you have been using the links I've been putting on the blog teams like our always vary in their ability and I've got a sense this team is very similar to us. So I'm looking forward to an even match or one where we may dominate with the bowling.