Cold today 6 degrees centigrade and Joe and I went out and had a practice. Initially we went to see if we could get into the cage at Markhams Chase, but there were some kinds in there despite the fact that it was so cold, so we went over to the neglected tennis courts at The Recreation Ground, Langdon Hills again, there's just nowhere you can go around here to practice, everywhere you look despite the concerns about obesity and the declining fitness levels, the facilities are either pay only or in a state of dilapidation - like the tennis courts at the Rec.
Despite the fact that the Rec is wrecked we persevered again as did a couple of women who were practicing netball and couple of other kids who were practicing basketball at the same time. We spent about an hour and half and it went nowhere near as well as last week and I couldn't figure it out, until I got back in the car and realised actually I might still be a little fuzzy in the head from last nights night out at a wedding? I'm using that as an excuse.
I had a bowl and that went okay. I think I need to do some of the practice again outside my house with grooving the run up a bit, as I was stuttering a little sometimes and needed to focus on the new run-up approach in order for it to be smooth and functioning properly.
I worked on getting on the toes a little as that's something I don't do well enough and when I do, do it the ball turns far more. The lifting on the toes at the moment feels a little unnatural and I need to bring it together with the rest of the new action before nets start. With that in mind I also need to be working on my Achilles but I've been warned about the potential for injury based on the fact that I generally practice on hard surfaces. Apparently if you practice consistently on a hard surface this affects the way your Achilles functions, and then when you start practicing on a flexible/soft surface such as grass early in the season, this massively increases the chance of sustaining injury. See the link below...
http://cricketstrength.com/?s=achilles
