November 15, 2016

The focus for the training session for my bowling was to focus on a fourth-stump line to the right-handers consistently, but it had to wait for a moment when I attended training. We were straight onto the batting drills, which is precisely the same as what was done at pre-season training. I had felt good with batting again and was hitting them well with the Gray-Nicolls Training bat that I purchased during the off-season to improve my batting.

Mick Delaney the coach called everyone in after a short while to listen to his predecessor, Sam Gaskin who went on emphasizing the need for a routine for batting and bowling. This was something that my own coach Luke Wimbridge had drilled into me, so I knew what Sam was talking about. It is vital to have a routine whenever you’re going through a lousy trot or in supreme form. For me, I tend to focus more on the technical specifics than anything else as I do carry that frame of mind always.

One thing that Sam also mentioned which was quite evident was that we lose wickets in significant clusters and rather than try to play all the shots, it’s always good to stay with your three best scoring options at the start, and gradually you can expand further once you’re more accustomed to the bowling. Hence, we were all challenged to bat as long as we can in the nets. If you get out, you’re out, and your net session is finished. Similarly, if you fail to clear the marked boundary, you were also out. So it was about batting for long periods.

I dreaded that challenge. The last time I had a similar problem was in junior cricket, where I got out first ball to a delivery that spun and took my edge. Thankfully, the experience was better. I got on the front foot reasonably well as I was defending some and attacking the rest of the pitched up deliveries. I even managed to help myself to some short slow bowling until I played an uppish back foot cover drive, which would have carried to cover; hence I was given out. It would have been debatable if it would have carried to the fielder, but I was pleased to bat for a while. Pretty good for someone who hardly bats in 5th grade.

I initially struggled with the ball as the surface was very slippery to run in and bowl with fixed rubber studs. Thankfully, I had my spikes in my cricket kit, so I was able to change into those, and bowling became easier. I claimed three batters; two of them were ‘caught,’ and the other was bowled. However, there were times the ball came even slower unintentionally, so I had, at times, struggled for rhythm and pace. At the end of the session, several team-mates of mine had noticed that I inadvertently slowed down as I approached the bowling crease, which explained why the ball had times came slower than I ran in.

But there was a solution to the observation. I simply had to start with smaller steps and gradually build up to more significant strides as I hit the bowling crease. This is what I’ve picked up from cricket masterclass videos from people like Damien Fleming and my coach Luke. I ended staying back from training to work on this problem. While bowling to Dominic Tran, who needed extra batting practice, it felt the ball came out better with more and extra bounce but without my usual out-swinger. Nevertheless, this was excellent progress bowling wise and plenty to work with for the near future, including Thursday’s training.

On another note, I was grateful that Sagar, manager of the Malayalee Cricket team that plays on fortnightly Sundays, acknowledged that playing constant Saturdays and Sundays has become too much for me to handle. In the past, I fell sick and had hurt myself as a result of too much cricket, so I needed a break. Plus, with stuff to do at home, it felt an excellent choice to withdraw. To be honest, it wouldn’t be fair on the Malayalee team if I wasn’t playing at my best, and it would be better for those who cannot play on Saturdays to play in this team instead ahead of me. While there could be possibilities that I may need to play on Sundays for grade, it is still the right decision to cut back on the regular Sunday cricket.

November 17, 2016

Having made massive strides with my bowling on Tuesday, the onus on me to build on the excellent work today. Despite the run-up being perfect, it felt at times the bowl came too slowly. It was because I was trying to generate the extra bounce and swing through my shoulder rotation like the action of Alzarri Joseph, the current West Indian fast bowler from Antigua. Instead, I decided to replicate Allan Donald’s bowling action. The results were superb as the ball came out with a bit more energy and later on a bit more out-swing. I struggled with bowling at left-handers, but that was because I was bowling too straight. I knew I could start from outside off to the left-hander; I’ll be fine. It will continue to be a work in progress.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the net session, I felt I was in great rhythm when bowling to Amit Pardeshi, who played in my debut game for Ginninderra. I had run in quicker, and I was also getting decent out-swing, which was well noticed by Moeen Cheema, the 1st-grade all-rounder. I simply responded to his observations with a nod and a smile. Amit later, after training, commended me on my bowling and felt I was bowling quicker than Tuesday. I told him his feedback was instrumental in the improvement.

Batting in between the bowling was better. I was going to stick to my initial plan of defending anything on the stumps and score runs if it wasn’t pitched on the stumps. However, if the ball was short, I will try to go for it with the pull. That will be my strategy every time I go out to bat until I’m well set, or we need quick runs.

Then we finished with some fielding. My high-ball catching was hit and miss, but it’s still about getting into the right positions early to take the catch. Nevertheless, I felt my throwing was better. I usually unknowingly have elevation on my throws, which takes a while for the ball to get to the stumps, so I had worked on aiming directly to the top of the stumps, which was a better improvement. Now it was a case of replicating this out in a match.

The selections had been read out after we had a feed and a drink. Only the first four grades were confirmed for Saturday with the rest of the selections to be posted on the website. I knew I will continue in fifth grade with the likelihood of needing to step up in the absence of Adam O’Connor, who will be working this weekend. It will be a matter of whether I’ll be playing on Sunday, but I’m not too bothered if I don’t play because playing in fifth’s is fine for me as long as I bowl every week.

Sometime later, a couple of the boys Rhys Healy and John Prior, in particular, had told me that there were reading my online diary, which is good to hear. Rhys even asked me if I was still posting stuff, and I confirm I was. He seemed a little peeved that I mentioned I got him out in a net session in a previous entry, but I wanted to express how confident I was in my bowling at the time. Anyways, why would I stop writing stuff because I would like to write my life as a grade cricketer in Canberra? It was why, in the first place, I created this online diary.

With the light still around, I decided to return back to bowling practice. Once again, I ran in like Allan Donald and got the ball to swing out at a decent pace. All the work I did on the off-season till now to lose 8 kilos was taking shape. Unfortunately, I started to cramp up in the leg again after a long training session. So I tried to bowl within myself for a short while, which helped me to get swing and bounce before I called it quits after 15 minutes when the cramp was too much to handle.

All of a sudden, I had a spring in my step. I was much quicker than before, and I feel I’m a better bowler than I was at the start of the season. The obvious next step is consistency, which gets you an opportunity in the higher grades as I was told, but I’m not too fussed. All it matter is that I want to bowl every game I play in.

November 18, 2016

As it turned out, I’ll be just playing at Forestry in 5th grade. I will not be required on Sunday, which is fine because playing weekly Saturdays with the rare Sunday is better for me. As expected, Adam O’Connor will not be available as he’s working, so I have a big responsibility as the leader of the attack given our shortage of pace bowlers. When the captain Joe Laria called me, I was hoping of a possibility of a bat as I had been batting well at training, but it depends on how it goes on the day. He felt that I am getting better as a bowler. The rhythm is there, but not the results. This what I was thinking, and I told him that I have extra velocity up my sleeve now thanks to the work I put in at training.

I am relishing the added responsibility with the ball. Still, given the warm weather tomorrow with a maximum temperature of 30 degrees, I must hydrate before the match, especially if I’m going to run in with a more smoother run-up that generated extra pace ball after ball. Perhaps, I would need to for once put aside thoughts of bowling nine overs straight although I felt I could do it given the hard work I put into my fitness.

November 19,2016

Joe had lost the toss, and we were fielding. It was fine for us because we weren’t able to post defendable totals in the past two games. We were playing without the Isons, who were becoming invaluable contributors to our side. But we had Joel Suryawanshi, whom I knew from LMS as a big hitter and a handy pace bowler. I felt leading into the game that we would have fancied our chances against Eastlake, given that they weren’t a top-four team.

Due to the warm weather, both Joe and Martin Boland, the Eastlake captain agreed upon to have drinks after the 15th and 30th overs, which Cricket ACT would encourage as they are very concerned about the health and well-being of the players taking part in the ACT Premier Cricket competition.

I picked the closest end to the carpark only because Joe thought I could hit the patch that was on one side of the wicket. I managed to hit it once, and the ball didn’t bounce once. I was happy nevertheless that I bowled a lot better than the last few games. I was bowling a lot faster than before and got the ball to swing off the pitch and through my action. It immediately caught the attention of Chris Arcella, a.k.a Archie because I was much quicker than last week. Despite the heat, I managed to bowl nine consecutive overs and finish with 1 for 20. The wicket was courtesy of a superb low catch from Joe, which I don’t think anyone else myself included will be able to take.

Courtesy of my spell and with a wicket each from the Dominics Ross and Tran, Eastlake were 3 for 45, which was a much better bowling start than the last few games. Unfortunately, we were unable to sustain that momentum courtesy of sloppiness both with the ball and in the field (although Arcella’s leg side takes was one of the few exceptions). We bowled more full tosses and short balls combined than good deliveries. In particular, Eastlake’s number three bat, Ian Chattin, took advantage of. He rode his luck with a few mishits, dropped catches, missed runouts, and a stumping which went in his favor and finished with 101 not out much to Joe’s frustration. You got to give credit where it’s due, and he ensured they made 6/172 from their 45 overs. Archie felt it was a 200 plus wicket, and I thought we did well to starve Chattin of the strike towards the end, given that he was hitting them well compared to everyone else. Nevertheless, it felt that we missed both Adam O’Connor and Thomas Ison, who can undoubtedly show more control with the ball.

During their innings, though, there were numerous times the ball went into the deep bushes. One time, when a Dominic Tran epic loose ball disappeared out of the oval, several of the guys attempted a lost cause in retrieving the ball. Eventually, one of the Eastlake boys had some sort of replacement ball of about 20 overs old for us to continue with. We later learned that a few cricket balls had been previously lost in the bushes within Forestry Oval.

Now, we had to chase 173 to stop our mini-losing streak. As long as our top order fired for once, we will be set. For once, we didn’t lose our openers cheaply. Umesh Patel may have been bounced out, but Sammy Gautam batted, unlike a man who posted just two runs in his first three innings of the season. He ended up with 23. I suppose he idolizes Virender Sehwag because he was smoking them, particularly of Ahmed Dilraj, the Eastlake fast bowler who I thought had a similar action to the legendary Imran Khan. At the other end, Sandeep Kumar showed more intent, unlike his last two innings, which were to be fair against better teams. At drinks, we were 1 for 58. But we lost 3/7 soon after to David Mankey, who took 4/23 from his 9 overs.

But we were coming back into the contest again through Joel and Sandeep’s 47 run partnership, but we lost Joel then Govind Thiagarajan to be at 6/118 at the next drinks break. It felt that we were going to stare at 4 losses on the trot, but it didn’t seem that way thanks to Joe. It was the first time I’ve seen Joe bat for a while. Archie was telling me that once Joe faces a few deliveries, then he can have a big crack. That’s what exactly happened. Joe made 45 not out and won the game for us by 3 wickets within the 38th over. His striking power against the opening bowlers was out of this world (although he was using Govind’s bat – Sorry Joe if I stole your thunder). He even hooked Dilraj, who was quick for six and punished anything loose with power. He had excellent support from Sandeep, who made 49 and Archie who is yet to be dismissed this season.

We were back in winning ways, and we’re looking forward to our clash with ANU, which should be another win coming. Hopefully, with Adam and both the Isons coming back, it seems that we might have a dominant 5th-grade side in the future, but there’s a likelihood that someone will be going up to 4ths and above for the upcoming 2-day rounds.

Personally, my bowling is even better than when I first started the season. It was also excellent during the game that more people have been reading my diary with great interest and have been making observations and jokes about it.

November 8, 2016

Thankfully the weather stayed away today for training as it allowed me to hone my run-up for bowling. I have been able to bowl reasonably quickly at the start, but the problem was that I was a bit lazy with my knee drive, which would have made life even extra difficult for the batters. It was because I went flat out for pace, which is quite the opposite of what I should be doing.

Hence, I slowed down my run as I focused more on building acceleration of my run-up, which will help my knee-drive, and the results were better, although, at times, my bowling arm was coming through enough. So there was work to do in that aspect.

Batting was a little different at training since we were given a maximum of ten balls to bat a time before you exchange with your batting partner. If you get out within your turn, then you had to turn it over. Thankfully I didn’t get out, but I felt I couldn’t have been better at getting my head over the ball, which was something that Luke had also instilled in me since our days together.

Overall I got a lot out of the training session with the ball in hand, and I didn’t get tired courtesy of the extra energy. It is a testament to the fitness work I’ve done since the off-season, and long may the good work continue.

November 10, 2016

This morning I woke up with a sore back and legs. I usually work out my back and legs whenever I don’t have cricket because it will be critical for my bowling in particular. For the whole day, I had pain in these areas, but it wasn’t going to stop me from training because I wanted to continue bowling.

I added some minor tweaks to my delivery action, which later helped me to be back to my unplayable best. I had quite enjoyed the contest with my 5th-grade captain Joe Laria. I was beating him with out-swing and bounce before he edged a delivery into the slips. It was later good to get his positive feedback from him, and he had suggested what field settings I could do for certain situations for my bowling. It’s really nice to have a captain that thinks a lot about cricket like I do.

November 12, 2016

I was hopeful of a match today once the rain from overnight had cleared. It would have been disappointing to drive for 30 minutes to Queanbeyan and then having to go back home as the pitch would not be dried in time. That’s what happened to our 4th-grade side who had their game abandoned in Chisholm, Tuggeranong, without a toss. It was because there were no covers to protect the pitch from the rain. Instead, with some of our players from the initial starting line-up having withdrawn before the match, we managed to get two players from 4ths, Jess Howard and Jason Cooper.

We were at Brad Haddin Oval (formerly Queanbeyan Town Park) which for cricket nuffies is named after former Australian and NSW Wicket-keeper Brad Haddin whom was involved in two victorious World Cup squads for Australia in 2007 and 2015 and was the main hero with the bat in the victorious Ashes whitewash in 2013-14. Anyways, back to the real cricket. The curator for this oval had told us that although the pitch looked ready, the adjacent square was still damp to be played on. Hence, it was advised that we had to inspect the ground at 2pm with the hope of a 2.30 start.

That left us with at least an hour to kill. I would have loved to go to the nearby Anytime Fitness for a short gym session to warm up my muscles, but I didn’t have my gym gear (I usually carry it in my car, but it was with my parents who need to get around with it for the day). Instead, I went for a significant feed of Subway in the Riverside Plaza shopping center, followed by some Honey Soy and Tandoori chicken wings from Kingsley’s.  By the time I returned, the stumps were already in place, so I thought we’re going to have a game, albeit a reduced one.

Joe lost the toss, and we batted in overcast skies. It was a 37 overs a side game due to the delayed start with 2 bowlers can bowl 8 overs max while the others can bowl a maximum of 7 overs. Quite frankly, our batting continued our usual struggle. Queanbeyan to their credit got the ball to move considerably, and the keeper stood up to their bowlers for the whole innings, which meant that batting outside the crease had been taken away from us. We could only manage 7 for 91 in our allocated overs. I felt the turning point was the freakish catch to dismiss Michael Ison, who looked good again. If the ball was traveling a wee bit higher, then it would have been a safe shot. Govind Thiagarajan’s new personal best of 24 and Chris Arcella unbeaten 23 (despite the fact he felt he wasn’t batting that great) ensured we batted our overs, but Arcella a.k.a Archie thought we should have been proactive against such bowling.

From there, Queanbeyan ran away from the game and consigned us to a hattrick of defeats as they won by 8 wickets. Adam O’Connor and I bowled all right, although we conceded a few boundaries between ourselves. I got the ball to swing, but the line was too straight to my liking, which is why the Queanbeyan openers got me away for a few boundaries. Whenever I bowled outside off, I managed to keep the runs down there. As a result, I finished with 6 wicketless overs for 23. Although it was a slightly forgettable outing, I remember the sledge from the Queanbeyan opening bowler John Fern who was standing as square-leg umpire. Adam had bowled a short ball that hit their captain, who was batting at the time as he tried to pull. John simply said along the lines of “Jeez, his missus has given him a better hook than that,” and I was cracking up laughing.

Although we lost by 8 wickets, we at least managed to push the game till the 31st over courtesy of tight bowling from Jess Howard, who should have got a wicket and Thomas Ison, who got both the openers out in an impressive five-over spell which included a hat-trick of maidens. To be honest, our bowling isn’t too bad. It’s just that our batting and fielding need more improvement, and we can work on it no problem.

Regarding me, I should have bowled around outside-off like I did at training, which was disappointing. I have to go back to basics again, given that after a decent start with the ball in hand in the season, I’ve only taken one wicket in 24 overs across three games. I’ve been keeping it tight, but I need to make subtle changes, particularly for various conditions.

Again my preparations for the weekend were hampered as I only managed to attend training on Tuesday, which was, as a matter of fact, my birthday. I just turned 26 and enjoyed the wishes people gave me in person and on Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp). I bought two kinds of cakes. A Cherry Ripe Brownie cake from Dobinsons in the morning followed by my all-time favorite, the Coffee Pecan Torte from the Cheesecake shop.

I also had to pick up a parcel from the nearby delivery hub at Mitchell since Neethu and family had delivered a gift that turned out a watch with a big clock face. I was even contemplating if I should be attending training on my birthday, but my workmate Vishnu Chari reckon I should. Vishnu had till now was keeping tabs on my performance on turf, so I had some suspicion that he would be interested in playing, so he decided to turn up to training.

Training wasn’t a big turnout comparative to previous sessions I’ve attended. This was mainly because the Melbourne Cup was on, so most people would have been unable to train. I had learned Vishnu had opened before in district cricket in Melbourne, where he came from and was getting back into cricket. He seemed pretty solid in defense and also clipping the loose deliveries away. I think Matty Andrews, the club’s 3rd-grade captain, was just impressed with Vishnu, which was the feedback JP was telling me because he was wondering if Vishnu wanted to fill in as an opener in 4ths. I had remembered Vishnu telling me that he was still rusty and had a way to go before going back to his best form. I was looking through his stats on MyCricket and found out he averages in the 20s with a top score of 129. So he knows how to make good runs. He considers himself a two-day batter, but even in the one day format, patient openers like him can provide a reliable platform to enable the lower batters to take charge of the opposition. I told Vishnu that the club would like him to play 4ths this weekend, and they really liked your batting. He seemed quite happy that he was offered the position, and I wished him well.

Going back to my preparation, I felt on Saturday that I wasn’t “pumping the arms” a bit more such that they were around my eye-line, which will help my rhythm. It worked because I was beating the bat again through movement and bounce and otherwise keeping a very tight line and length, particularly to Matty Andrews. For good measure, I experimented with a slower ball whenever the batters tried to come down the wicket to my bowling, which later I felt became a very effective weapon. I was thrilled that my bowling is now coming together. I got a bit of a bat, but I was mostly facing spin, so it allowed me to practice advancing down the wicket to spin, which I managed to do well before I cramped up in my left leg towards the end of my batting stint. If that wasn’t all, I later hurt my left hand during fielding practice where the ball hit the outer part of the palm, which made it hard for me to grip anything, let alone clench it.

Basically, that ruled me out of any visit to the gym or to practice for the rest of the week, but I still managed to head to work. To make matters worse, I suffered a sore throat, which needed a couple of days to recover. I didn’t want to aggravate it, so I stayed at home for that reason too.

November 5, 2016

Thankfully my health was restored in time for the weekend. I was looking forward to bowling again, but this time, we were in Aranda. Our 4th-grade side had already played at the oval, and it was proving to be a bowlers paradise. They were able to defend 147 against Wests, but they couldn’t chase down 119. There have been stories that the ball keeps extremely low in patches. For example, I heard Jason Cooper and Chakra being undone by shooters, which were pitched short of a length. I mean, how do you play those people must be wondering.

For once, we had 12 people in our lineup. Sam Anavatti got promoted to 4ths, but we managed to get Sandeep and Govind, so hopefully, we will be able to put in a better performance in the field as we will have 11 fielders at all times. I was hopeful that Joe Laria would give me a chance to bat in the middle order like Adam O’Connor did last weekend, but it depends on the situation. It seems I may not be able to bat higher than six unless Joe thought otherwise.

When I later looked at the pitch, there were crumbling patches in places. Our groundsman who looked after the whole ground indicated that it will be a better batting wicket; hence we were hopeful that Aranda wouldn’t play its tricks.

Joe lost the toss, and we were batting. As it turned out, Weston Creek Molonglo is an excellent chasing side as they are genuinely strong in batting compared to bowling. We didn’t get off a good start as Coughlan dismissed Sammy Gautam for a duck and Umesh Patel for 1 to have us at 2 for 2.  Hence, it was up to Michael Ison and Sandeep Kumar to execute the rescue job. Once again, Michael put away filth and chanced his arm from time to time.

In contrast, Sandeep was conscious of the pitch playing low from time to time and played cautiously. He got off the mark after batting for 10 overs by then Michael was about 30. Thanks to them, we were 2 for 68 at drinks with Michael posting his half-century.

They continued to accumulate differently, but before they guided the score past 100, Sandeep hurt his left leg and was limping. We all thought he was going to come off, but he later retired an over later on 12. Michael kept going, but he held out to long-on off Loughlan for the devil’s number in 87. Ultimately, it was his dismissal that killed off any hopes of making at least 200. Blake Nitschke and Thomas Ison did their bit to stay in for about 20 balls each, but both had got out for four and nine, respectively, when they were going to cut loose. The only man to cut loose was Adam O’Connor, who continued where he left off last weekend by finishing with 30 not out from number six. Courtesy of him, we managed to finish with 4/165 from our full 45 overs. Govind Thiagarajan was also 6 not out. Weston Creek pacers towards the end were hard to get away, but based on the opinions of our guys, the pitched seemed to play its part.

I was quite confident about our boys’ chances. Yes, perhaps we could have made more, but we have runs on the board, and they have to get them. For the second game in the row, I took the first over. Somehow I felt anxious because I was up against Ben Campbell, who I knew who could strike big from my Last Man Stands experiences. I don’t know what happened next when I pitch the ball around the stumps, hoping for it to swing out, but the ball went right through him and hit the stumps. I don’t think he knew what had hit him, and I was immediately surprised myself. I simply couldn’t believe it, and no wonder I couldn’t get any more wickets within my 9 consecutive over spell, which was 1 for 30.

The Weston Creek Molonglo batters mostly took the risk of playing across the line, which was annoying, but it was later effective. The exception was their 15-year-old bat Owen Levings who came in at three and batted really well until he dragged on an off-drive to his stumps off the bowling of Thomas Ison. Courtesy of their approach, they chased down our target with about 12 overs to spare and seven wickets in hand (Joe Laria had the other opener, Jon Murphy, well caught by Adam).

During their innings, several of us ended up searching for the ball in the bushes for quite a while after Alex Barich smashed a loose ball from Govind towards deep midwicket, which just eluded Michael Ison’s head and went for four. Boy, it took a while to find the ball, and even the Weston Creek boys had to pitch in to help find that ball. It took a while to find the ball, and by luck, we managed to find the ball. In the midst of a poor over from Govind, from that moment, Weston Creek dominated the game.

We now lost 2 games in a row, having won our first two games. The boys felt we should have at least 175 on the board, given we only lost four wickets. The problem we have in our club as a whole is we don’t have many batters through the grades. Still, I think we must be patient with ourselves because it’s early in the season and we have plenty of time to improve our team performances particularly with the bat and the ball because we bowled several loose deliveries which they punished.

On another matter, I was delighted that Vishnu enjoyed his debut for Ginninderra. He made 13 with three boundaries, and he was happy with how it went. Given our weakness in batting as a club, having Vishnu was a big bonus, and I’m glad that I’ve done my bit inducting him in.

November 6, 2016

During a day-long road trip to Sydney, I was wondering if I could get better at my performances, and I honestly don’t think I can. It’s not as if I don’t really bowl badly in games. Far from it. After 4 games, I bowled 33 overs and took 4 for 100. That’s an average of 25 runs per wicket, an economy rate of 3.03 runs per over, and a strike rate of 49.5 balls per wicket. I have been getting the shot to swing and bounce, which triggered plays and misses, edges, and dropped catches as well as wickets.

Maybe I am too rash in my thinking. I’m doing everything right; it’s just that the results haven’t come my way yet. I remember the great Glenn McGrath believed in the process over results. He said, “If you get the processes right, then the results will take care of itself.” I shouldn’t be impatient and should continue to do what I do best with the ball and continue with strength and conditioning work.

My preparations for the coming weekend were extremely hampered. On Monday, as I was finishing my usual weight-training session at the gym, I felt a little dizzy. Furthermore, I had been waking up a bit tired in the recent past. Then on Tuesday, I thought I had a bit of a fever and decided to ditch training.

I managed to see the doctor, and he diagnosed me to have a viral infection and put me on medication. It got so bad on Thursday that I couldn’t attend work nor training, but I assured JP that I will be able to play on the weekend. With assistance from taking antibiotics, I was able to take the field this weekend as we strived to start the season with a hat-trick of victories.

When I saw the pitch, it was a crumbling wicket, which I thought would be suitable for bowling, but most of the players from both sides reckon it was a good batting wicket. It was no wonder why Joe was a little disappointed not to win and toss and bat. I managed to start off with a maiden by getting some deliveries to move away, but then I made a mess of a catch running from short fine-leg. As a result, the openers put on at least a 50 run partnership despite me beating the bat from time to time. I bowled out with nine wicketless overs for 32 runs. I didn’t think I bowled really well in comparison to last week.

We managed to fight back briefly to have Norths on 3/82 at drinks. Joe took a wicket as a third change. Thomas Ison took a wicket after coming on after me. Then we got a direct hit. When Sam Anavatti took the fourth wicket soon after, we were right back into the contest.  Or so we thought. Stephen “Clarrie’ Grimmett, who I knew from the Last Man Stands cricket came in at number six and rode his luck on his way to an unbeaten 75. He used his feet well to Sam and also hit straight to score his runs. Thanks to him, Norths finished with 9/224 in their 45 overs, so we failed to bowl a team out for once. We fielded really poorly although we were handicapped with ten players at the start and then nine in the last 15 overs since Sam had to go somewhere. It was about 30-40 runs too many, according to Joe.

All we had to do was to see out the new ball and then cash in as it was an excellent batting wicket. But we didn’t get off to the best of starts as we were in trouble at 4 for 27. Sammy Gautam was caught at point of a thick edge. Michael Ison and Umesh Patel were adjudged LBW, and Dominic Ross played a terrible slog across the line, trying to score another boundary. That start effectively killed our run chase as we had to settle in batting out our overs. Blake Nitschke made 32 at number 4. Adam O’Connor batted well for 29 at number 6 before getting a rough LBW decision with the ball was pitched outside leg. Then Sam Anavatti and Thomas Ison were not out with 21 and 12, respectively. Sam even took a blow on the helmet courtesy of a beamer from Josh Barmby, which would have shaken Sam, but he seemed a little unfazed. We finished with 7 for 144, which meant we fell short by 80 runs.

During the innings, Joe had already locked down his three, four and five in the batting order for the games ahead which were Michael Ison, Blake and Sam and he reckon that we will make good progress while he believes Norths won’t make much progress by the time we meet again later in the season.

Although I was a little disappointed in my bowling performance, some of the Norths’ players thought I bowled really well. My mate at work Vishnu Chari thought I also bowled well and was relatively tidy, given that the overall scoring rate was about five runs per over while I conceded under four runs per over.

October 20, 2016

I had only managed to turn up training today, given that I had to prepare for a job interview, which was yesterday on Tuesday night. After warming up my body, I immediately headed for catching practice that was run by the coach Mick Delaney. I always had been hot and cold when it comes to high ball catching. As usual, I struggled initially, which is when Mick intervened by suggesting that I try to get to the direction of the high ball first and steady myself to take the catch rather than trying to taking the catch on the run. As it turned out, it proved to be useful advice, and my catching gradually improved. It’s all about getting in the right position, which is why it’s better to settle underneath the catch, having done the hard work in getting to it. This is something I will have to remember moving forward.

I continued my bowling progress from last week. I couldn’t force many edges, but at least I forced mishits which would have been caught at cover and midwicket at least. The batting wasn’t too bad, but I kind of felt I missed a few opportunities to pull, but I still managed to play shots at the fuller deliveries.

The session finished up with more fielding. This time we were fielding on the edge of the boundary trying to work in pairs in saving a boundary or even taking the high-ball catch. One has to call to make the catch or do the fielding with the other person backing up and returning the ball to the keeper. It was terrific fun and helped us to be mentally prepared whenever we have to field on the boundary during matches, particularly in the last few overs of a one-day innings.

Leading up to the game, we had about eight or nine people, which is worse than last week. I learned it might rain, and hence I was initially hoping rain could save us.

October 22, 2016

When we arrived on the ground, we had only eight players present. The pitch was the same as we were playing last weekend, but this time, the grass was evenly cut, which meant that you don’t have to hit the ball too hard to score boundaries. The boundaries were quite short, according to Duncan Gammage, who showed Dominic Ross and me that he played a Colts game on the same ground where the boundaries were a lot further.

As it turned out, that didn’t really matter. We still had eight players when Joe elected to field upon winning the toss. Thankfully the wind was blowing straight down the pitch rather than sideways, which meant more assistance for my conventional out-swing. Duncan struck on his second ball when Whelan popped a catch to Adam O’Connor at mid-off who took a diving catch. We managed to gain three more players: Michael Galen-Mules and Michael and Thomas Ison, which gave us a full team for once. It was Thomas who took a good catch to get rid of Hammond of Duncan’s bowling, and they were 2 for 12. At the other end, I was getting good vertical bounce and out-swing and had induced plays and misses, edges through the slips, and a dropped catch by Dominic Ross with the gloves that to be fair, the edge came slowly to him and died down. My first six overs went for 13 runs with no wickets.

Thankfully Joe kept me on because I soon took two wickets in consecutive overs. The captain A Wilson edged a steeping out-swinger to Dominic Ross and then JA Wilson smartly caught by Michael Galen-Mules at backward-square. In between that, Adam chipped in with a wicket courtesy of the pitch, which he got a ball to climb and took a leading edge, which was snuffled by Joe at short mid-off. Then, Thomas had Stephenson caught behind, and we had Tuggeranong 6 for 30 at drinks. We knocked them over shortly after drinks for 40 thanks to Duncan Gammage, who finished with 5/6 in 6.5 overs. I finished with 2/14 off nine straight overs with three maidens. Without a doubt, it had been the best performance I had put in with the ball since moving to Canberra.

So we needed a matter of 41 runs to get, but by then, it started to drizzle, and then it got heavier two balls into our innings. As we bowled Tuggeranong out early, we only had to wait till 6pm or so to continue our innings until sunset. Thankfully we were out on the field sooner than that. There was some panic as we lost 3 wickets in two overs. Dominic Tran padded up to one that didn’t swing and bounce and was out LBW. Then Michael Galen-Mules and Sandeep Kumar fell to catches in the same over. Their captain was heard saying, “They certainly don’t want to lose this one.” Thankfully it wasn’t the case courtesy of Michael Ison who put away filth and smashed the ball whenever he was given width. It was his effort that we managed to chase the runs down inside 10 overs as he finished with 35 not out. Once again, we sang the club song as we went two from two.

By the time the game finished, it rained pretty heavily, and I decided to seek refuge in the nearby gym and do my post-match workout which was an idea I plucked out from reading Jock Campbell’s article on Recovery Techniques in a copy of the UK cricket magazine SPIN which I bought in 2007 as part of my overseas trip post year 11 exams.

Since the cricket season had started, I lost further two-three kilos to be at 78 kg. I always strive to keep eliminating body fat so I can be at my best.

I immediately commenced preparing for the 2016/17 cricket season with the help of Dominic Tran (whom I also met in the preseason training). I helped him deal with deliveries pitched around off-stump, and he helped me with my footwork against spin. Whenever the weather was good, we trained in Weetangera nets on Sunday late afternoons; otherwise, we would be at the Kaleen Indoor Sports complex on the early Sunday afternoons.

Both of us had benefited from the practice sessions with both bat and ball. I had tried the James Anderson wobble ball, which at times became a problematic ball for Dominic to negotiate when it swung into him (he’s a left-hander) and then seamed away. I still ensured that I got my stock delivery the inswinger (outswinger to a right-handed bat) to work. I also experimented with off-spin by using the principles that I learned for pace bowling since he needed to practice against spin bowling by hoping to use his feet to decide whether he should go back or forward. As a result, I gained loop and flight, which also troubled Dominic a lot, and since I was bowling cross-seam, some would turn, and some would slide on. I felt I had another string to my bow, but unfortunately, I never tried to bowl spin ever since.

Cricket aside, I had been working on my fitness also since I felt I needed to be fit for grade cricket. I got ideas from Luke on the muscles I should be developing to be able to enhance my skills. Then I sought some initial help from the trainers at Anytime Fitness to help me build muscle the correct way. Although the cost was significantly more than the basic membership, I felt it was money well spent. Gradually, the fat started to melt away. At the end of the previous season, I was 86 kgs, and I gradually lost 5 kgs. It was a good start, but It will be useful to lose as long as I don’t get too thin, which will then make everyone puzzled about my health. I haven’t mentioned this to anyone, but I was inspired by the success story of a family friend in Tarun Sharma. I learned that he became very fit through dedication and discipline despite his busy work-life schedule. We are quite similar people in a way that we both love playing sport and keeping fit and healthy.

My Goals

Without much thought, I wanted to play 100 games, score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in grade within 10-15 years. As long as I stay fit and not injure myself much, I can achieve all my goals within the specified timeframe.

It meant I have to play at least 7-10 games, score at least 70-100 runs, and take 7-10 wickets each season. It should be achievable. I’ll be happy if I score at least 10 runs or take at least a wicket per game.

August 2016

Change in Ginninderra was in the air as they had hired a former Tiger in Mick Delaney, who was a former ACT Comet and South Australian fast bowler. He had captained and coached Weston Creek Molonglo to a title a couple of years ago, which was one of the main reasons why the club brought him into the club. Going through his video interview on YouTube, I also learned that Ginninderra was a stepping stone towards him getting the South Australia contract, and he was happy to be back.

I liked Mick’s ambition and desire to help the club improve in their on-field performances. I was also grateful that he wanted to commence pre-season training sooner rather than later because, in his words, “the season will be around before you know it.” I was very eager to commence pre-season myself, so I was grateful that he was beginning early.

From the moment pre-season started, I always had looked forward to attending the sessions. I enjoyed all the drills that he introduced for batting, bowling, and fielding, which helped those who participated in these sessions to build from the base so that we will be all set to when the season came around. It was the first time ever that I enjoyed fielding training. To be honest, I used to hate it so much, particularly when we get penalized for dropping catches, which isn’t fair because people don’t mean to drop them. Now, I enjoyed it because Mick made them fun and a good learning experience if we ever stuffed up. I even told Mick myself on Facebook, and he appreciated the feedback.  I had really felt that I made the right choice to train with Ginninderra. I wanted to improve, and it has been a great environment to work on your skills to get better.

September 2016

Unfortunately, once the mid-week training sessions started in September, I wasn’t quite in the right frame of mind. I admit that I was distracted, but I had my reasons. I had begun doing after-hours duties at work, which meant I had to be accessible to the phone at all times. Besides, I got engaged on September 3, and I was also distracted with my interstate trips in late September to early October.

Nevertheless, the interstate trips helped me an excellent refreshing break ahead of the cricket season. I went to Adelaide and Perth during this time. Adelaide will remain memorable to me for years to come. I arrived in Adelaide on September 24th afternoon, intending to surprise my fiancee, Neethu, on her 24th birthday. It had been on my mind for some time, and it was closer to the time that I told her parents, who then advised a couple of Neethu’s friends who were looking after the program, Akhil, a.k.a Sonu and Anjutha, a.k.a Anju. Basically, I was in touch with both Sonu and Anju regarding the plans for my surprise entry, and then Sonu’s parents were involved in the planning. On the night before I left, we were quickly going through the events and the motions, as I wanted to ensure that everything went to plan.

While it was a good start that I arrived in Adelaide on time, things didn’t quite go to plan. The idea was that I would be ready to leave my hotel room in the nearby Adelaide Inn by 6.30, but instead, it was only after 7pm that Sonu’s dad asked me to make my way to Arya’s Indian Restaurant.

Due to the unforeseen delays, I was to wait in the main restaurant until the video I created for the occasion was to commence playing. I was grateful that I was offered drinks by the manager, and given that I hardly ate anything since lunch at Sydney Airport and some cookies on the flight to Adelaide, I took advantage by drinking two tall glasses of Mango Lassi (yogurt drink). Considering that dinner at the party was to be served until 8.30 or so, these drinks came at the right time; otherwise, I would have collapsed or fainted.

When the video started playing, Sonu’s dad Ramesh took me closer to the hall where I was to wait in the bar until the Malayalam song, Arikil Pathiye, started playing. My cover nearly got blown during this time when a lady stepped out of the hall with her baby daughter and sat herself down opposite me. She asked me via sign language about my presence or something to that effect, and I immediately nodded my head. As I later came to know, she was Neethu’s Kathak dance teacher who recently gave birth to her baby daughter.

The Arikil Pathiye song commenced and I soon with a rose in hand made my way into the small hall in front of sixty guests and promptly went down on one knee in front of a blindfolded Neethu (who had no idea what was going on at the time) and holding a rose in front. Before too long, Sonu removed the blindfolded, and she was shocked that I was there in front of her. After the initial drama, it later became a fun-filled night and had a chance to meet all the guests and enjoy a much-deserved dinner. The party simply went on till 11.30pm when I eventually arrived back in my hotel room.

October 2016

After the memorable visit to Adelaide, I arrived in Perth on Monday morning. I mostly stayed at home with parents and watching some cricket, India vs. New Zealand test matches, but I had a chance to catch up with Luke for one last time before the season was about to start.

For once, my session with Luke went very well. He liked my progress with bat and ball and my physique and provided little suggestions to improve with both bat and ball. He also asked me to work on my trunk rotation, which I have read before in Dennis Lillee’s autobiography, Menace. He simply told me that I had come a long way since I started working with him in 2013, and he’s happy with the progress and hard work I had put in.

I returned back to Canberra on the 3rd of October, but I couldn’t return to mid-week training due to after-hours duties again, which also means that I had to withdraw from selections for the opening weekend, which will be Twenty20s. As it turned out, only 1st and 2nd grades played while the 3rd and 4th grades were to be played at a later date. So I didn’t miss much.

The season was now fast approaching.

 

I never classified myself as a Twenty20 cricketer due to my inability to be brave with the bat, as I always would like to occupy the crease. But such thoughts had to be put aside as I was called up to play due to lack of numbers.

When I learned that we were in ANU South Oval, I was back to where I used to practice with a couple of friends from work. The outfield was very evenly cut, and the pitch seems a good cricket wicket.

Unfortunately, we lost the toss and were fielding. I later learned we were using a white ball for the match, which meant I had to borrow a spare one-day shirt from Chakra, the captain. Overall it was a good experience playing with a white ball for the first time. The feedback was mixed. Some said the ball does move a lot initially before becoming soft and comfortable to hit. While some people said the white ball doesn’t act any different to its red counterpart except is gets heavily scuffed up, the more it gets used.

ANU was off to a flying start with 29 runs on the board after 3 overs, which prompted Chakra to trial spin through Rony Sood. It worked immediately as he claimed an early wicket and kept the runs down in his four-over quota. Similarly, Adam O’Connor continued his excellent work from yesterday to bowl out with 1 for 25 from his full quota. I was hopeful of a chance once Adam was finished, but that chance never came.

I could have looked at two sides of the coin. One was that the fast outfield, which the batsmen could use the pace to score their runs. The other side was that the spinners were also taken some tap due to some good footwork by the ANU batsmen. My contribution was a sore shoulder, and ANU finished with 6 for 170 from their 20 overs.

Chakra spoke about the need to time the ball given the fast outfield, which was the focus for the first six overs of our chase. Dean Wickham perished in the first over, but that didn’t stop us from a rollicking start courtesy of Vijay Selvarathnam. He smashed 22 in one over, including a hook shot for six that landed out of the ground. He made 36 in quick time, but it was adjudged LBW, and then our innings slid down as the wickets kept tumbling, and the runs continued to dry up.

I ended coming in at number eight, which wasn’t quite the confidence booster I needed, but I thankfully made the most of what I got on a good batting surface. I took some quick singles, punished a short ball to the boundary (which was my first in grade for Ginninderra), and ran hard between wickets. I only made 9, but I managed to add 26 in three overs with Adam as we challenged each other while running between the wickets. We could only muster 8 for 149 in reply, and hence we lost by 21 runs. As this was a knockout comp, ANU proceeded to play the semi against our cross-town rivals, Wests.

I felt that I shouldn’t have turned up, given my lack of opportunity, and I knew I was against it if we had too many bowlers. I’ve told our head selector JP that I’ll be happy to stay in 5ths unless there’s a bowler shortage in the higher grades.

October 11, 2016

Finally, I had managed to attend mid-week training at Ginninderra. By then, I had decided to replicate Ben Hilfenhaus’s bowling action, which generates good out-swing at a decent pace. I had experimented with his bowling action in a Sunday Social game and took 2 wickets in 4 overs, but I had issues with my run-up, especially when I bowl wide of the crease, which doesn’t control my outswing very well.

That’s why I decided on Tuesday to buy and use a bowling marker at training. I placed the marker near the ‘stumps’ at the bowler’s end, where I would place my right foot. The idea is to help me stay closer to the stumps and not give width to the right-handed batters.

As a result, I ripped out three 1st grade batters and nearly had a fourth much to the delight of their teammate Luke Ryan. I clean bowled the vice-captain Rhys Healy, then Lochlan Christian chopped on before captain Brendan Roweth got a faint tickle to the keeper. As I said, I nearly had a fourth, but I spilled a return catch off the coach, Mick Delaney.

Batting was a bit of a challenge with the lack of consistent light in the nets, particularly against the tall fast bowlers. But I managed to bat well. Then we finished with fielding. It was ok to start with, but it got really tough when we were penalized whenever someone missed a catch. The last thing I needed is to remind me of the bad times back in Perth.

October 13, 2016

Thursday training was a big turnout compared to Tuesday. So I didn’t get much of a bat. However, I used the opportunity to continue the excellent work with the bowling. Having managed to control my out-swinger, I decided to engage my right knee, and the results were mind-blowing. Immediately I gained extra bounce, which caused plays and misses, edges, mishits, and the occasional clean bowled.

On Tuesday, after a while, batters were able to hit through the line, but suddenly I felt the tables were turned, and that has brought a bit more confidence for my bowling. The fielding component was better as well. We tried to simulate what we would expect in a game and, from there, practice our catching, throwing, and backing up the wayward throws.

We later had a BBQ afterwards where the selections had gone out. I was hoping to play in the lower grades so I can get some bowling, particularly in 4th grade, whom Jason Cooper reckons I’m better off in that grade based on what he’s seen. As it turned out, I was to play in 5ths at Conder so I can get some bowling. I later got encouragement from Chakra Ravinuthala, the 4th-grade captain, to go and set my field rather than let the 5th-grade skipper Joe Laria set for me.

October 15, 2016

The Conder Oval was right behind the Lanyon Vikings Club, where I attended the Canberra Malayalee Association’s awards night back in July. The pitch was a lot of green, and the outfield was not even across some areas, not adequately cut. The Western Districts & University of Canberra players believe the pitch will cause deliveries to misbehave. Sensing we didn’t have a full team with our captain Joe Laria to rock up later, they put us into bat. We ended up having 10 people turn up with a couple of players that were about 14 years of age. I think they were hoping that could roll us over extremely cheaply, and the start would have reflected that view.

Sammy Gautam, Blake Nitschke, and Will Thomson were dismissed with 14 on the board. Sammy and Blake were bowled playing across the line while Will copped a brute of a delivery that climbed and brushed his glove. We managed to at least bat to drinks when we were 4/45 after 23 overs courtesy of Govind Thiagarajan’s patient 10 that was made across 20-odd overs. After drinks, Caleb Stevens and Sam Anavatti batted really well for us to put on 70 for the 5th wicket. Caleb’s knock was an incredibly mature one, and it came at the right time for us. He got himself in, sussed the pitch out, and went to play his shots. Sam did likewise, but he rotated the strike more when Caleb was dealing in ones and twos. From 4/106 with under 10 overs to go, we would have hoped for 130+, but we lost the plot and got bowled out for 121 in 42.3 overs. Caleb made 44, and Sam made 22. I ended up coming in last and didn’t face a ball when Dominic Ross held out. Had he survived, we could have eked out a few more runs.

I got the opportunity to open the bowling in our defense with Will. I started things off by claiming one of the openers as they tried to go over the top and hand Adam O’Connor (who just arrived from Canada 2 days ago) an easy catch. Will chipped in by knocking over their number three with a similar delivery that Will himself got out to. Meanwhile, the Wests captain, Dean Whitelum, was holding the innings together briefly, and he got lucky against my bowling. A couple of high balls fell short of fielders, and then he was dropped by Blake at mid-on. In amongst off this, I managed to get a few plays and misses while he worked me away through mid-on for a four and then smash a rare full toss of mine for six.

I was done after my sixth over in which I had 1 for 24, and as it turned out, I never bowled again in the match. Not soon after, the number four bat was dismissed by Adam (who was previously in Canada for the last two and a half years) with Will taking the catch. Then Dominic Ross bowled Whitelum with an in-swinger, and Wests were 4 for 40 odd. They obviously had a mini partnership going, but we managed to claim two more wickets before drinks. Sam Anavatti deceived Neil Hathaway with flight and loop to bowl him, and then Surojit Samanta was run out when he tried to get off the mark. At drinks, they were 6 for 70. They were ahead of the rate, but we had a chance knowing we needed just a further 4 wickets.

They continued to take the attack to us, and it seemed that they may have run away with the victory. Joe bowled their number seven who was anchoring the innings, and then Govind claimed the eight-wicket when the number nine batter was caught out trying to clear the infield. As it turned out, Govind had bowled the wrong-un, so that was a piece of smart bowling on his part. Then it got tense, and it really seemed that Wests would sneak through. I was guilty of making that happen as I spilled a simple offering off Govind’s bowling.

However, what transpired next was unbelievable. The number ten bat, Szabo, was adjudged run out by the square-leg umpire when it appeared he plonked his bat down rather than sliding it, which could have saved his wicket. Then Adam clean bowled their number eleven to ensure we snuck home by a single run. Wests all out for 120 with all the bowlers taking a wicket and Adam O’Connor the pick of the bowlers with 2/14 off 6.3 overs.

We managed to sing the club song, which is a tradition similar to how the AFL clubs celebrate when they win. To beat our cross-town rivals by a single run is a great way to start the season despite having only 10 players. As it transpired, all our grades were taking on Wests, and all of our grades won except 1st grade, which is a pretty good achievement.

I had a yarn with Joe after the game; as it turned out, I was given a crappy end with the wind not conducive to support my out-swing. I ended bowling cross-seam that allowed me to generate the out-swing through my action, but it harmed my run-up, so my rhythm was out.

I was hoping for better luck next time I bowl, but it’s an excellent way to get my first wicket in the ACT Premier competition for Ginninderra.

 

 

 

I had previously thought that I would never consider grade cricket a try due to the costs. Still, the 2015/16 season was a disappointment in the Canberra City & Suburban competition on synthetic wickets. It just baffles me that your good deliveries on these wickets get smashed to the boundary, especially across the line. I also came to realize that the bowling coaching I’ve been through looks more suitable for the Turf pitches. Furthermore, in the last few years, I suffered weight gain despite starting off in good shape. Hence I hope I could maintain the discipline in fitness since I had perceived grade cricket to be a challenge. Therefore, I made a conscious decision to play turf from the 2016/17 season.

But something strange had happened…

February 26, 2016

I was coming back from lunch from the Canberra Centre shopping center when I received a Facebook message from John Prior (a.k.a JP whom I met at the preseason training in September) asking me if I would be interested in playing a grade game for Ginninderra. Having said yes, JP asked if I had spikes, and I also said yes. I also mentioned to him that I was free for the next two Saturdays, and hence I was to play in 4th grade and make my debut for Ginninderra and in ACT Premier Cricket. As it turns out, I was asked to play as the juniors who filled in for the senior matches were busy with their own finals.

I had in a matter of fact played on Turf on two occasions albeit in the Public Service League on two Sundays. I bowled 8 wicketless overs for 24 runs at Freebody Oval 1 and got the 4-piece ball to swing both ways. At the same time, I scored 33 with four fours at Kingston Oval in the other (only for the adrenalin to cost my wicket when I went for a fourth consecutive four and therefore was bowled).

However, this will be a different challenge altogether, but I was treating this as a learning experience for the future.

February 27, 2016

It would be expected that I wouldn’t know whom I would be playing with. However, I happened to know captain Jason Cooper whom I bowled to back in September one time. Apart from that, I was meeting the rest of the team for the first time. We were playing on the 2nd Freebody Oval ground (also known as the Neil Bulger Oval), which was different from the other Freebody Oval I had played on in the Public Service League. The wicket ‘looked’ good for batting, but it had some grassy patches.

Nevertheless, we won the toss and chose the bat. Yet we were bowled out for 76 in 45.1 overs.  Queanbeyan captain Peter Jensen took 6/7 off 11.1 overs, including me for just three runs (but I managed to hang around for 26 balls). Only Jason Cooper, Amit Pardeshi, and Ben Healy managed to reach double figures.

When we bowled, I was given the new ball (the previous meeting with Jason helped perhaps). While I bowled all right and got the ball to swing both ways, I couldn’t control my lines, which lead me to concede four wides in a four-over wicketless spell than went for 16 runs (although not helped by misfields). I managed to at least redeem myself with a catch for which Queanbeyan immediately declared at 5/119 off 26 overs. They had a 43 run lead and were hoping to sneak at least a wicket before stumps.

Unfortunately, we were 4 for 7 at stumps as Sandeep Kumar, Mark Wilson, Jason Cooper, and Ben Healy had the dubious honor of being dismissed twice in a day courtesy of Michael Gilshenan who took all four wickets (he finished with 4/2 off 4 overs).  We were in deep strife, and next week, we need a miracle to survive and make a game of this.

February 28, 2016

There were 18 wickets taken last weekend with the grassy patches on the pitch, proving to be quite fatal in terms of the bounce. Some balls kept low, and others were climbing up. As I was fielding, I’ve noticed that some of the Queanbeyan batsmen were batting out of their crease. Hence I thought if I could perhaps adopt a similar strategy if I ever had to bat.

On another note, despite the precarious position, I was hopeful of a stronger showing with the bat. Today, I was on cloud nine, having guided my Sunday Social team into the final. I made my first ever half-century in cricket, which made up for the near misses in my last game in Perth, where I made 48 and also in the same ground in Deakin, where I made 45 having shepherded the tail to a defendable total. To cap it off, I smoked my first ever a couple of sixes of the spinner and ended up with 60 not out off 92 balls. I had kept in mind the overconfidence that cost me my wicket at Kingston, which helped me tremendously.

Luke was happy that I was able to come of age with my batting and appreciated that I was able to keep in mind the principles that he had instilled in me with the bat from the moment I met him. Quite expectedly, my parents were proud of me too.

March 4, 2016

We were against it when we had to start at 4 for 7 with needing another 36 runs to take the game into the fourth innings. To make matters worse, Vasu Patel, the overnight batsman, was absent, and Amit Pardeshi was immediately dismissed by Hollyhead, which meant we were effectively 6 for 7 when I came in. Although I found run-scoring quite hard to come by, I felt I was in control. I at least kept out the good balls while pushing balls into gaps and taking ones and twos. It helped that I batted outside my crease against the quicks and went forward to every ball bowled by Peter Jensen. Despite my efforts, we were soon 9 for 12, and I was joined by the only female in our team, Jess Howard.

This was the first time I was playing with a female in cricket, but throughout the match, I knew she could hang around, bowl some sufficient medium pace, and can field reasonably well. She bowled well last weekend and took an incredible one-handed catch, and today, she kept me company for almost an hour as we tried to delay the inevitable. It obviously started to annoy the wicketkeeper who goaded us into teeing off, which nearly costed my wicket when I tried an ungainly hoick across the line against their young leg-spinner, Siddarth Girish which luckily missed my stumps. I simply said to him, “That’s it. I’ll never listen to you ever again!”. Not long after, I top-edged a block off the bowling of Girish into my eye. Both the square-leg umpire and Jess were wondering if I was ok and I was. I was wearing safety glasses (which I started last week as I’ve heard about Craig Kieswetter’s serious eye injury that triggered his early retirement despite wearing a helmet), which prevented me from severe damage.

Not long after, Girish took the final wicket after drinks when Jess misjudged the length and tried to pull only to be bowled. We were bowled out for 26 within 26.2 overs, and I was left unbeaten with 10, which was the top score. I earned praise from the two Cricket ACT umpires who admired my fight as well as Luke. I told Luke about the wicketkeeper’s yarn, and he would have told him to get stuffed if he was in my position.

While it was disappointing to lose by an innings and 17 runs, we at least didn’t suffer the embarrassment of being bowled out twice on the first day. Weston Creek, also in 4th grade were bowled out for 52 and 21 within the first day against Western Districts & University who declared on 3/163.

I enjoyed the experience of playing grade, and I am already looking forward to playing grade from now on.

 

During a coaching session under my new cricket coach Dr. Masud Rahman (who plays for North Canberra Gungahlin), he told me that I am a quality player and should give Turf cricket a try. While I am grateful that for his positive appraisal, I was quite hesitant to embrace the thought of playing cricket on Turf. This was the first time that playing grade cricket on Turf come into my mind.

I had heard facts from other people whom I know and found that it’s more expensive to play than on synthetic wickets. Furthermore, there was no chance of getting a game, let alone getting a fair opportunity to contribute to a contest. These were the reasons why I was hesitant to embrace the notion of playing grade cricket, and I’ve explained all of this to Masud.

While he understood my concerns, he thought that the deliveries I have bowled during his sessions would be unplayable on turf. He also believed that cricket on synthetic wickets was not proper cricket, which also structured and organized. Furthermore, he recommended me to join Eastlake or Ginninderra since he believes that they do not have many players, and he believes that my skills will be more valued. He didn’t mention North Canberra Gungahlin (they train close to my rented apartment in Harrison) as there were a lot of players, which means that opportunities could be scarce. Looking back, I admired Masud’s integrity despite being a North Canberra Gungahlin cricketer because he knows what I’m after.

Nevertheless, I sought opinions from several people whom I knew from cricket. Almost everyone except my cricket coach from Perth, Luke Wimbridge, was in favor of giving it a go. Luke knew of my progress of my all-round game (particularly with the bat) since I sought his help after the 2012/13 season, and he was concerned that all my gains would be dissipated. Besides, he believes I have some way to go as a cricketer on synthetic wickets.  However, he said there’s no harm in attending a few training sessions with some grade teams, but I shouldn’t whole heartily commit to Turf.

It was a good plan because I intended to evaluate after the upcoming season and possibly commit to grade cricket. I attended a mid-week pre-season training at Ginninderra, which I enjoyed. Some batting, bowling, and fielding drills were run by the coach at the time, Sam Gaskin. It also provided me an opportunity to meet a few people whom I’ve found to be really friendly no matter what grade they were going to play in, higher or lower. That’s important in a club environment as there shouldn’t be any factions as everyone should feel welcomed, which allowed me to develop some friendships.

I was contemplating continuing attending the sessions before committing to grade. However, the costs of playing grade weren’t that affordable, and hence I resigned myself to being a synthetic wicket cricketer for the rest of my life.