Due to the cricket ball incident and finding out about my bad blood supply, I started to wear my compact compress stocking, aren’t they sexy?
Tag: Cricket
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Week 33 – October 12th 2020 – Week 30 of lockdown
Aren’t stockings sexy ? -
Week 29 – September 14th 2020 – Week 26 of lockdown
New Year and 100 posts up and what timing. It’s my birthday week.
Thank you as always to my lovely wife Claire for arranging this and also for letting me retire.❤
It’s been a strange year, knowing that at the start I would be made redundant in 60 days’ time after 21 years plus service (21 years, 1 month and 11 days to be precise).
Feeling quite depressed about it, yes leap year day, very apt, what was I leaping into, then in less a month time, were in Covid19 lockdown!!
But nearly 7 months on, I feel like a new man, I can actually do DIY, the mortgage is paid off, back playing cricket (shame not bowling) chatting with my local MP and keeping my wife happy as she gets used to working from home. ? More to come,
It’s Birthday and officially retirement time!! -
Week 23 – August 3rd 2020 – Week 20 of lockdown
When I play cricket, I know I will get a bruise or two. Later on in the season I was to find out why I do bruise so badly. ??
Of course I’m back playing cricket, so the bruises reappear. -
Week 22 –July 27th 2020 – Week 19 of lockdown
So first game back at Manor Field, hopefully this Saturday’s weather will be much better. Well it couldn’t be worse 🙂
Fixture – 2nd XI v Sheppey II (Home)
Thankfully the weather was much pleasant. 🙂
Sheppey won the toss and decided to bat. Despite steady opening spells by Glen Freeman and Kieran Poole no breakthrough was made. The Sheppey openers gradually took the game away from us and it was only when 2nd and 3rd change bowlers Munhib Syed and Christopher Payne came on, that we finally took a wicket at 130-1.
They were actually our only two successful bowlers, as again poor fielding led to several drop catches and runs that shouldn’t have been scored, with 3 of the Sheppey players reaching half centuries, plus extras helping out, with 47 runs too.
Sheppey II 262-4 in 40 overs – Oliver Hill 59, Daniel Whiting 55, Alex Patt 71*, Munhib Syed 7-0-43-2, Christopher Payne 6-1-35-2
In reply only three batsman made double figures, Glen Freeman 14, Munhib Syed 13 and the best New Ash Green knock of the day Kieran Poole 40.
I batted down at number 10 and felt really comfortable, until I decided to go for a mad run and was sent back, but too late I was run out for 6 to end the match.
New Ash Green 99 in 30.1 overs – Kieran Poole 40, Tony Bond 10-3-12-5 – lost by 163 runs. – Things could only get better surely 🙂
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Week 21 –July 20th 2020 – Week 18 of lockdown
Well after my last game in August 2018, it was time to find the kit bag and get ready again to play. Of course you just knew that the weather was going to play apart, especially after how nice it had been so far.
The game was – 2nd XI v Orpington Ocelots II at a ground that had bad history for me. Back in the 90’s on the hottest day of year so far in June, I was coming on to bowl my second spell to try and restrict the team score. It might have been partly my fault as I didn’t warm up that much as I had already bowled 10 overs that day in my first spell and had been in the field for over 2 hours.
The 3rd ball of the over as I run in, I just collapsed in a heap, my hamstring went, and it was like someone had shot me in my leg. Little did I know that was the last time I would be a bowler of high quality. 🙁
Saturday arrived and the weather app (though I don’t trust it), had been showing rain from around 11am on. Now I’ve played for over 40 years and have seen many people injured because of playing in the rain. For me cricket is to be played in the sun with a cool breeze, (you can dream lol especially in England, how did we invent the game).
I was waiting for the call to say it would be called off, but no, the journey had to be made, of course within 5 minutes of setting of, it started to rain.
Now in COVID19 time, the changing rooms are closed, so it best you turn up in your whites.
It was good to see the team again, but not this weather and I spoke with the skipper Glen and made my feelings known.
Due to COVID19, there were no points at state, no promotion or relegation which made the decision to play even crazier. It was decided to be a 26 overs match.
Glen won the toss and elected to field, for the most part it was steady drizzle, but definitely not enjoyable. Our bowling was average and our fielding very poor.
Orpington Ocelots 198-4 from 26 overs – Pankaj Singh 55* , Deepak Krishnegowda 68* , Glen Freeman 6-0-36-2 , Felix Quantrill 4-0-21-2
At tea, which was bring your own tea, the rain started to get heavier, so I went to my car for my food and shelter. I thought this has to be called off, looking at the direction of the cloud coming from, it was just thick cloud.
Someone came down and said we were going out to bat, I said seriously. Putting my umbrella up, I walked back up and sure enough we were out batting. On the fall of Martyn Greene wicket, it really started to pour and they came off. I said to Glen, this needs to be called off, and I was going any way, I heard the home team say, were give it 15 minutes.
I thought NO NO, I found there skipper and said why are we giving it 15 minutes, you can see there is no break in the cloud, the weather app is showing rain for the rest of the day, do you want someone hurt and anyway I’m going.
Would I feel bad if they waited and went back out, NO, my health and safety comes first, not just for me, but the rest of the team, obviously there grown up and can make their own decision, but often a group of men just stand around and no one can.
The rain did continue for the rest of the day and I was glad to get home, unchanged and showered to get warm again.
New Ash Green 2-1 from 2 overs Match abandoned as a draw.
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Week 19 –July 6th 2020 – Week 16 of lockdown
International cricket returned but not as we know it, with the first test between England and West Indies in a bio secure environment Rose Bowl Southampton.
No crowds.
Players living together and staying at the grounds hotel.
Taking a knee at the start of the match.
Local umpires.
Highlights on the BBC with the lead presenter a female.
West Indies winning by 4 wickets
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Week 18 –June 29th 2020 – Week 15 of lockdown
This was the news I had been waiting for. I was in a good place now and with the weather being so good, I had already made myself available to play for New Ash Green.
Dear all,
We are delighted that the UK Government has given the green light for recreational cricket in England* to return from Saturday July 11.
The latest update from the UK Government signals progression from Step 3 to Step 4 of ECB’s roadmap to return for the recreational game, meaning competitive cricket matches in England with adjustments to respect hygiene and social distancing would be permitted.
ECB has maintained a constant dialogue with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) throughout this process and the UK Government have stated that COVID-secure guidance will be published in the coming days.
Guidelines are already prepared for the return of recreational cricket and following the Prime Minister’s comments, will now be finalised and published early next week.
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Week 15 –June 8th 2020 – Week 12 of lockdown
People that know me, know cricket is a big part of my life, when I was 10, myself and a group of friends, from April right through to October, virtually every weekend day and school holidays, we would go off to this piece of land and play cricket. We would take food and drink and just play.
I even had a trial for Kent, but only public school children were taken on.
I played adult cricket from 13 and have met some lovely people over the years, the Chelsfield Exiles Saturday was a blast, on the field and off, thankfully Claire understood what cricket meant to me and the Saturday team welcomed her.
I have been captain and chairman of the club.
In my later life, I have played league cricket for New Ash Green and even won a medal for winning a league, I just wished the players would believe in themselves in the second team, there are some quality players that would easily walk into other teams!!.
Obviously COVID19 had stopped cricket, but as you see from the ECB roadmap, they wanted people playing, with my depression lifted, I wanted to play again, so made myself available again for New Ash Green.
ECB roadmap to get cricket playing again. -
Week 6 – April 6th 2020 – Week 3 of lockdown
Hmm that project didn’t last long thanks to Covid19.
I know, let do from 2000, all test matches, see how players have performed this century. Of we start.
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Week 3 – March 16th 2020
The England cricket team were sent home from Sri Lanka and I couldn’t see when International cricket would be played again. My 2020 decade project was completed, I thought I have to keep my mind active, so I decided to work on 2000 test project.
A common theme is starting to appear, as I wasn’t expecting all the errors I was finding on cricinfo for each test match!!
