Practice x 3

Had a few sessions today 5 x 12 balls, so the equivalent of 10 overs each spell in the compound. I've been working on getting the grass in front of the stumps level by top-dressing with a mixture of clay and well rotted compost, you can see in the image the patches of dirt where the levelling process is taking place bit by bit. All the time the weather is as dry as it has been for the last week or more there's no chance that this new top dressing is going to integrate with the sub soil. It'll need a fair bit of rain and probably the autumnal grass growth spurt to knit the new stuff together. But having said that this new top layer has made the area far more level if not very loose to bowl into.

Despite that I am coming round to the idea that this is now where I practice rather than the big field that I've been using that's just a few more yards away. At the bowlers end (below) you can see already that I'm wearing out the grass during my run up.

Anyway - the practice sessions went exceptionally well, especially the first two. My bowling looks really promising and I can't wait for Sunday to see if I can improve on last Sundays debacle. I'm hoping that if I get a bunch of right handers I cut a swathe of devastation through them in the style of Callum Sellars, he's a lad in our team that has recorded figures of 5 for 4 runs or something outrageous like that.

The 2nd session I almost got to video and that was like the first session was an excellent session with a similar 1 out of 60 balls going for a wide. I was also messing around with bowling at different speeds, loopier flight, Wrong Uns and disguising the bowling to look like a faster delivery but then slow the ball down. The 3rd session I managed to get the camera and tripod over there and recorded a load of 12 ball overs. Most of the footage is Leg Breaks using the red balls and Wrong uns using white balls. There's an over of the Grimmett 'Mystery Ball' which is looking promising - this is the ball that is a top spinner using the Flipper technique, so you spin the ball in towards yourself as you release it. I bowled an amazing Wrong Un about 5' wide of the Off-stump that turns in and comes across the stumps and lands on the leg side, which is video'd so I might upload that to you tube. The gutting thing is that I bowled 3 or 4 balls like it before I put the video on, the 5th ball did the same and I got it on camera, but then I became self concious and they then didn't come out so well. These ones came about through trying to really flick the ball out of the hand like a Top-Spinner but turned into Big Wrong Uns. I'm obviously doing something wrong with the wrist when I really try and rip it as a Top Spinner, but I'm not that fussed if they turn like this......... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svjEQWOIAiA

I noticed that with my Wrong Un it's far more consistent and accurate if I sit the ball very now in the hand and very loose. Whereas to get it turn big like in the Vid I try and top spin it with a BIG flick, gripping the ball with a lot more purpose. So if I can incorporate both approaches into my repetoire I reckon I'll be ready for the Lefties in future.

A very commendable day of bowling.