Busy cricket day today. We lowered the blades on the mower and cut it again and rolled it in the evening. I had a bowl in the morning after it had been cut and it's pretty good, straight balls go straight and at the minute I'm finding it tricky to get any substantial turn off the wicket.
The wicket was so good Ben spent more than an hour and half batting on it which by far the longest he's ever spent batting so that's a good omen as normally he'll get 'Bored'. Joe similarly with me bowled more than an hour and Ben bowled for 1/2 an hour as well. Both of them have improved a lot since last summer Ben is just a lot faster and probably more accurate with his bowling and hopefully he'll do really well for his team this year? It looks as though all the work done over the winter may be paying off with the bowling and a little with the batting. Both of them still tend to swing at the ball all the time rather than trying to play straight shots or blocks when the ball is on the stumps, but I reckon in time they'll get the idea, but in the short term their confidence at the minute is relatively high as they're both getting some bat on the ball. We'll have to wait and see, their outdoor training starts next monday and tonight is my last net session indoors for Thurrock CC.
I've ordered some stuff off of ebay - a helmet so that Ben and Joe don't have to share the same one and Joe/Ben can wear it behind the stumps at the Paddock - I noticed today that you have to keep right up on the stumps and if it's edged it could easily get up into your teeth! I've also got pitch marking paint on order and hopefully that'll come either tomorrow or Wednesday. I might even look into buying a set of wicket keeper pads for Joe and Ben for using over at the Paddock?
Just back from my nets session, it went OK, there wasn't that many people there. My accuracy was good, the wrong un was coming out nice and turning, but the leg break although turning wasn't doing too much at all, still worked fine though, would have got most of the blokes out easily 2 or 3 times over with catches, hit the stumps a couple of times as well, so quite happy with the outcome. It may have been better if I'd had more grip with my trainers as they were slipping all over the place which wasn't helping at all.
Paid my membership fees today 55 quid and there's a game this Sunday, from what I'm hearing I'm a bit sceptical as to whether I'll get a game, so I'll just have to wait and see and keep in contact with Wayne.
Last week the Paddock was so wet that the middle of the wicket had ducks sitting in it sifting through the water with their beaks and this week - look..... cracks already. I suppose this is because it's 99% clay. The image here is at the bowlers end but up around the wicket it's pretty much the same story as well. I'd imagine this'll eventually become crumbly and turn to dust?
