Sporting Torture

1st May. After 6 months of waiting, frustrating indoor practice and watching the snow wanting the Summer to be here, it had finally arrived. The cricket season. After my midweek claims that I wasn't as excited as I should be, Saturday night came quickly, (after a refereeing postponement), and the excitement was through the roof. A long, and hopefully, successful Summer awaits. I was like a little kid at Christmas, trying to get to sleep, but not being able to. Sounds sad? I don't care.

Maybe I was dreaming when I finally drifted off to sleep, because despite being excited and looking forward immensely to the start of a new season, everything that could of gone wrong, did. I'll talk you through it, (if you're not interested.... Billie... Skip to the bit about the pub, where things get MUCH better!)

Anyway. We turned up to this ground in Hitchin, (well, near Hitchin..), and upon arrival, found out we had a late, late drop-out, leaving us with 10 players. Losing a player in cricket is vitally important. You can really see the gap in the field, and at the end of the day, you have 1 less person to bat. But, no matter. We would fight on! We lost the toss on a good-looking early season track, (apologies for the jargon), at which point I would be asked to keep. No matter. I've done it a few times before and I'm surprisingly confident with a pair of wicket-keeping gloves. We started off quite well. We got an early wicket, thanks to a diving one-handed catch from Yours Truly, (Of course, I have a reputation to uphold), but that is honestly about as good as it gets. Their number 3, hit us all around Hertfordshire and finally got out for 97. A few other contributions of 50+, even with a nifty take standing up to Collins by me, left them with a total, after 45 thigh-bursting, sweat-inducing, brain-muddling overs, of 316. It was nothing short of sporting torture.

We were never going to win. Despite claims that the situation needed, "a big attitude" and "confidence", the conviction in the voices suggesting it, were not there. I knew this. Everyone else knew this. Nevertheless, I would still go out and bat. Personal milestones up for grabs, but what happened was nothing short of a nightmare. I opened the batting all of last year, never really that afraid I would get out first ball of the innings. Today... My legs had gone. Keeping for 45 overs really takes it out on your thighs and hands, and as I walked out in to the middle, my legs were wobbling like jelly. Being inactive for the last 3-4 months has taken it's toll. There was a fairly considerable pause as the sight-screens were sorted and the wicket-keeper grabbed his gloves, but finally, after the longest Winter imaginable, I was out there, in the middle.

And then I was back in the changing room. I don't know what happened. This bowler, (allegedly an overseas bowler), had an average run-up, and looked fairly lazy, but before I even knew what happened, I heard the crack of ball on wood. Clean bowled. 1st ball. Diamond Duck. I had been beaten for pace, and as I trudged off, head bowed more out of embarrassment than annoyance, I felt the anger surge up inside me. Upon reaching the changing rooms, I chucked my bat at the wall, took off my pads, grabbed my phone and a drink, and went to sit down where no one could see me. This is unlike me. I don't get angry when I lose out. I just don't. I'm a very good loser, content with taking part. My competitiveness is all but zero, but today was different. The anticipation of another season.. The excitement of being out there again... All ruined.

Those 20 minutes, sat round the back of the pavilion, were dark. I had just embarrassed myself in front of all my team-mates, and provided no fight to a situation that needed it. The words of the captain were still ringing in my ears. "Preserve your wicket"... For those 20 minutes, I was as down as I ever have been..

I came round however, helping to score our very average innings of 154, losing by 162 runs... We hadn't even got halfway to our target. Annihalation. To be honest, by this stage, I just wanted to go home. The worst possible start, to what I have a strange feeling, is going to be an awfully long season...

But now, the pub quiz! Upon getting back from cricket, I was out the door as quickly as you can say, "Jack Daniels", and was on my way to the weekly Sunday night quiz. I won't mention the quiz itself, as we were missing our usual brainboxes, but on Sundays, there is a special game of Bingo, that you don't need a brain cell to play. 1 line wins a tube of pringles, 2 lines wins a tube of pringles and something else, (today being a fair amount of Dairy Milk), and a full house wins a round of drinks for your team. Upon winning 2 lines, and an insanely loud call of "YEP!", from myself, we were greeted with our prize, and after a tense and long wait for my single number, 48, to come up, we cheered as I had won our team a free drink each! Lovely! I took advantage and had a JD and coke, as you do, and my mood from earlier had brightened considerably!

Towards the end of the night, there was a power cut. For some reason, I thought this warranted a trip to the old stomping ground, BP. I have been in there a couple of times in recent weeks, just to say hello to the cool people that worked there, so I thought I'd do the same tonight. Expecting to run in to The Wall again, I was greatly surprised to see Female Alex and Kash working the night-shift and after letting me in, (as the doors were locked), I went ahead and stole all of the waste food from the day before. Sandwiches, cakes, bottles of drink. I had the lot, and seeing as there was a power cut, there were no cameras to see me! Kerching! I also learnt that The Wall was not there, and will not be there for the next 12 weeks, which must surely spell the end of his BP career. Just a shame it never happened while I was there! Never mind...
It's a shame about today. I had been looking forward to today for so, so long, and for it to go like that is a killer. However, I shall remind myself that I got a duck in my first competitive match last year, and went on to get my first ton and a good season. There is a long way to go, but many more matches like today... No thanks.