On the http://www.bigcricket.com/forum/t58854-112/ forum recently we've been discussing Flippers in all their infinite varieties including the very obscure Clarrie Grimmett Top-Spinning Flipper. But of interest to me at the minute is the Basic Clarrie Grimmett Flipper because it has an attribute that I've not seen in my bowling before - it swings/drifts and much of the discussion has been very pedantic around the arguments of what is swing/drift when you're bowling spin. Anyway the intention tonight was that I was to have gone over to The Rec near where I live and shot some footage of me bowling this particular Flipper. As it turns out my plans were scuppered because of a high Chav count and I had to resort to a low profile approach to setting up the camera and I ended up putting the camera on top of the stumps at the bowlers end looking down the wicket. Having got home I've found that this hasn't worked because of the lowness of the camera angle the ball doesn't appear in the frame until the last few yards and therefore you've got no real sense of whether it's swinging or not, so I'll have to re-do it.
But as I arrived I noticed that there was a couple of blokes and a kid on the outfield already in my usual place practicing and I recognised the bloke and his kid being from Ben & Joe's club - It was Jodie and his Dad plus one other bloke. So once I'd done my filming I went over and joined them just at the point when the other bloke had just padded up to face some balls from Jodie's Dad while he kept wicket, so seeing that they were having a go this was my que to get in there and join in and I was met with -
"Yeah we were just about to ask if you wanted to join in". So it was game on. As I joined in the other bloke Jamie was saying to Reg (I think that was his name - sorry if I've got that wrong).
"Yeah I'm not really that good facing the faster bowlers, it's spin that I'm good at playing" As he faced another of Reg's off-spinners despatching the ball with relative ease. Hearing that it was music to my ears and eventually the ball was handed to me. I'd noticed that the wicket was offering some bounce so thought I'll come in early with a Top Spinner and get it to drop short right from the outset. The ball dropped straight on target and Jamie played the ball and hit it and it came straight back at me low for a bowled and caught first ball - lovely!
Over the next 6 or 7 overs I bowled a mixture of Leg Breaks, Flippers of both types, Wrong Uns and a few Top Spinners and bowled the bloke clean 6 times! How adept he was as a batsman I don't know but he looked well versed in the art of batting and wasn't tempted down the crease at all, but he couldn't deal with the accuracy combined with different trajectories and speeds. He was especially undone by the Wrong Uns that followed up my Leg Breaks. Jodie's Dad joined in later and I got him as well once. So why did I do so well? The green grass was certainly assisting the spin, but I was bowling a good line and length and neither of these blokes have ever faced me and haven't got a clue as to what I'm about. It was especially nice because he had come out with his 'Playing spin's my preference' and at the end all three of them were obviously impressed with my bowling with both of them suggesting that I should play for B&PCC or Westleigh heights CC. I told them about G&CCC and the fact that I've been seemingly side-lined or retired early and they suggested I move elsewhere, but I like Grays so I'm sticking with them unless my position becomes untenable or it's blatantly obvious that my days atG&CCC are over.
There were several other good aspects to this meeting as it turns out that Jodie's Dad seems to be the key organiser or the head of the selection committee with regards the B&PCC Under 11's. It turns out that they've got a match on May 10th at Orsett and he was saying that because of the Bank Holiday and the fact that there's not an under 11's training session there wasn't any opportunity to see who's in form to be selected and the only information he had to work on was how all the U 11's had been at the indoor sessions over the winter and last Monday at Mopsies. He then went on to say 'Your boys are up for it - will they play'? Of course! It then got better as he was saying that around the Rec there's another couple of boys from the club and he was saying that him and Jamie and Jodie were going to make this Wednesday night at the Rec a regular thing, which is brilliant because there's a few other kids over there which are likely to get involved and this could easily turn into something good.
So all in all a good evening all round.
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