Due to a combination of being busy, abroad and lazy, I have not one, but two games to update you on. You lucky things, you. Both were heavy defeats, both brought about very few runs…
The forward defensive, demonstrated here by Jacques Kallis, has been my most played shot so far this season
The first game was a couple of weeks back now for Royal Ascot Cricket Club 3rd XI. A good friend of mine skippers the side and begged me to open the batting for them (he didn’t, they just had a space in the side and I said I’d play).
This appearance wasn’t the result of a big money transfer from Englefield Green Cricket Club to Royal Ascot. Far from it. My beloved EGCC simply had a rest week, so I was at a loose end without any cricket to ruin my Saturday afternoon.
Conditions had been in keeping with much of the English summer in the week leading up to the fixture; wet, windy and miserable. It looked to be the same on the day, but wet had deserted windy and miserable and the game took place.
We batted first and I strode out alongside a new teammate. 45 minutes and 12 overs later I returned to the pavilion thanks to being plumb lbw to their opening bowler. In the process I’d made Chris Tavare look exciting. I returned with four runs to my name from three scoring shots.
Royal Ascot went on to a heavy eight wicket defeat as the middle order fell apart in a total of 120-odd. The runs were knocked off in sprightly fashion after tea and everyone was home in time for the final Group A fixtures of Euro 2012.
My season’s average at this point was 7.50, starting to lag behind KP in the desert.
The following weekend was spent in Sorrento, southern Italy. Very nice it is, too. No cricket though. None whatsoever. Which is a shame, because conditions are perfect. They don’t know a switch-hit from a Dil-scoop down there though…
So it was on to this weekend and my return to the EGCC 2nd XI, this time as captain. Usual skipper Dave Emerson was elsewhere, so after a panic about the responsibility over who should be making the tea, we took to the field having lost the toss, ready to bowl Park Hill CC out.
We nearly managed this, restricting them to 152/7 from 45 overs. When it came to chasing this total, however, we were some way short of threatening them. I fell for three this time, although I didn’t average 10mins per run, so it was more KP than Tavare in that respect. The team fell for 80.
This has left my season’s average at 6.00. This, obviously, is utterly shit. I’ve got a week off to think about my game, so will update you all in a couple of weeks as to how I’m getting on.
I need at least 29 runs in my next innings to get the challenge of matching KP in the UAE back on track. After just three games, things are getting away from me…
By Miles Reucroft
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Seems interesting to open for Royal Ascot Cricket Club 3rd XI. So being captain of EGCC 2nd XI, you must have enjoyed being on top!!!!!
You’re in bad company on the averages front there. As watched Amla whilst surrounded by South Africans keen to express their joy at The Oval, I had to chuckle as he went on to score more runs than my entire past seven seasons in the game have yielded. Keep us to date on your average – I’d like to see if I can fair any better….although it should be said there are far too many septuagenarians out there who save that one perfect ball as an echo of their youth for my innings (ahem).