We're having a good spell of weather at the minute with the temperature today up in the 28-30 degrees centigrade region and it's been like that for the best part of 2 weeks as I recall. The consequence to the wicket in the paddock is that it's gone through a drying out and cracking phase where the bowling area was into a crumbly phase where the ball makes contact with the wicket. This means that if you get some rotation on the ball it and hits one of these more crumbly areas or the big cracks it now turns well - see this clip where Joe my 8 year old gets me with a lovely Wrong Un in the paddock having set me up with 5 or 6 straight balls that were all slightly erring towards the leg-side, he them pitches one outside of off and you can see what happens..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUG6g9VLyd8
Have a look at the other clip with me bowling to him earlier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsqlylRyDm4 again same kind of tactic nothing really turning - certainly not towards leg and then the last ball a wrong un.
They practiced tonight over at Mopsies park and both of them batted quite well and bowled pretty good too with most of the balls just outside of the off-stump. I noticed that when Joe bowled at Travis he did the same thing - a series of loopy straight balls and then a faster flatter ball that turned into the body, it might be the case that when he bowls faster he produces an off-spinner or an off-cutter? I don't think he realises that this is the case or that it's done intentionally, he really only makes concious decisions with regards whether he bowls slow with flight and faster and flatter. Ben on the other-hand as he's getting older makes more complex decisions with regards his bowling but that much more than Joe.
Again as I've said before I just wish they realised the fact that they're dead lucky to have the Paddock right outside our house and that I maintain it and put the net up whenever they wish. Hopefully as they get older they'll realise and make more use of it?
At the weekend we went over the Rec at Langdon Hills and had a knock about playing Kwik - Cricket with some of their mates and they all seemed to get into that and enjoy that. Again one of the kids was one of the types that has a natural ability to hit the ball a kid called Kieran Barbaro, very good, but never played cricket in his life!!!
