Year: 2010

Glad you had a good season and enjoyed it despite the injuries. That shin injury sound slike it could have bene a fracture y'know – from your description of it, the length of time to heal and the fact you couldn't put power down through it!

I have a feeling (looking outside at semi-apocalypse) that we’ve played our last game for this year.

How did the season go ? It was my first season back for quite some time, I have to thank a work colleague (the Batman) for getting me back in when I had given up looking to play again. I’m glad I did, because I’ve enjoyed quite a bit of this season. It’s come at a cost, I picked up one new injury and got reminded of a few more. But that’s a cost I’ll gladly pay in return for the feeling of the wind rushing past my ears as I kick it up to max speed. That’s not a feeling I get too often, as Max Speed needs a lot of room cos it is pretty quick and my brakes are rubbish.

It’s a good feeling knowing that even though I’m 35 (serious thought working that out again earlier) and need help to count up the injuries (not enough fingers), I’m still one of the faster runners that take to the field for our team (over a short distance before it turns to coughing, spluttering and redness). We finished better than we started, with our last 7 games played getting us 7 wins. Early season didn’t go so well, with us losing a few games we should really have won. No league final for us this year.

I hadn’t played a match for 3, maybe 4 years, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew bowling would be a bad idea because I’d had the embarassment of what may have been 6-7 wides in a practice thing we tried on an evening where the opposition didn’t turn up. I think that was last year and my only outing that season. I’ve had the shoulder injury since I was 23 but I’d usually been able to bowl through it. It’s progressed though, such that there’s a kind of blockage with the mechanics of the bowling with the result being I can’t control the length I bowl now.

So I only bat now and attempt to salvage as much as possible of the shoulder by staying in the in field so I don’t have to throw too hard. It’s been a mixed bag. When fit, I’ve been able to use my speed to get to the ball quickly, which usually scares batsmen into not running. Once you get second thoughts into their head, that’s half the battle. Appearing competent makes them hesitate, which makes the job much easier.

Gets me grass stains too. I don’t consider that I’ve put enough effort in unless I’ve earned at least one big green or brown (from the mud!) mark on my whites. Or on my shirt, as happened in the game where I fielded a ball standing on my head. Literally. No kidding !

I was surprised to remember technique with the batting in the early knocks. A 2 and a 9 don’t sound like much but it was encouraging enough to get me bat shopping. Mistake … Or was it 🙂 I had my highest score for a little while (a 34) but that knock probably lost us a game by taking up too much time. The new bat felt great in the shop and for the first few knocks but eventually I correlated missing the ball too much with it being too light. Back to the old bat and the first scoring shot was a six.

This season has been about the injuries a little too much. I did actually play through 2 games uninjured ! Apart from the shoulder, which is something I don’t count any more 🙂 First game, I damage something in my groin (again). Groin strains are a little weird, feel weird too. Best description of their effect is that it’s difficult to start moving and tricky to turn. Get pointed in a direction and you can GO. Because it affected my acceleration and reaction time, I ended up fielding closer than usual. And I field close.

That’s another of the old injuries, which I first got in my second season with the home village team. I’d just got fit again from a back injury that hit pre-season nets and thought I’d be able to lengthen my bowling run up to get me more pace. Ah well, the longer run up led to the groin strain. Doh ! Another old injury or more a “tendency” is cramp. I used to have a lot of trouble here, with muscles tending to want to go boom. I’ve done better there this year, with the cramp only partially hitting once.

Good preparation aids proper performance (ok, I “borrowed” a saying there … and corrupted it) In my case, it’s preparing in the afternoon of a game to avoid running out of batteries during the game. You have to listen to what your body asks for, if you don’t do that with exercise then something is going to bite you.

The big injury story of the year was the ankle and shin. I got whacked while fielding. My own fault really, using your hands to grab the ball hurts far less than just getting in the way of it. I should have got this one checked out, as I suspect I could have got the bragging rights of a cracked bone proved by X-Ray. It’s still a little sore after I dunno how many weeks but at least I can put power through it on hard ground now. Not comfortably but it is improving enough for it to be a safer bet when I indulge in the sport of dodging trucks.

Anyway, the aftermath of an 8 inch bruise slowed me down but I’m still pleased there were several comments of “What’s happened to Sleepypete this year, he’s throwing himself around a fair bit ?” Comments like that make Sleepy happy.

Another bruise was the Panda Paw, which I suspect further cemented the Little Canteen Girl’s opinion of me being a little strange. Ok, more than a little strange.

Other highlights (lowlights ?) include being an ambulance driver. I’ve been at several games where an impromptu ambulance has been called for. Once I was the passenger. Once I was batting while their keeper got taken off to hospital (smashed fingers, not pretty). I got hit on the head again in that game but batted on ok because the helmet did its job. First time I’ve been the driver …

I also ran out the Batman to preserve my lead in the averages 🙂 Ok, I was standing down the other end shouting NO while he went for a run that wasn’t there but perverseness means I’m claiming responsibility anyway.

To sum it up, we had a slow start to the season but 7 wins on the trot made it an excellent finish. I helped with runs, sharp fielding and 3 catches through the season.

Glad I came back.

I think I need to avoid buying any more kit this year … Last night :

Head into "Sports Shop", check out new whites. Only see sizes of "Large, Medium, Boys Large" on them. Choose "Large Boys" thinking that the littler legs won't drag too much.

Bad move … I find the label later (cunningly hidden under the jaws of the hangers) Large Boys = 30" waist.

And I still managed to get them on !
(meant to reply last night but brain = mush)

As I said on FB – woohoo! Though perhaps, it's natural order being restored courtesy of an hat and bat 😉

Yep, that’s right, the natural order of the universe is breaking down.

What’s the proof ? Game on Wednesday had 2 incidents that are highly unusual. The second was not so much of a surprise, as it was my third catch of the year. Going back to the old hat has really helped my fielding as I can track the ball properly again. I’m also fielding well enough to secure a place at my favoured infield position which is kinder on the shoulder.

Still, 3 catches this year is a good return, I’ve only dropped 1 so far (not counting the couple I didn’t quite reach). No runouts yet, I must be scaring batsmen into not running, which is half the battle. A bit of energy injected early on makes it easier later.

What was the first incident ? Well, it’s one that doesn’t come every day. It’s my first of the year and must be the first in quite a few seasons. The scorers needed several repeats of the signal from our umpire because they thought he was joking. I’d gone back to my old bat after missing shots with the new one. It was the first scoring shot of my innings.

Ok, I’ve built that up hugely, what happened ?

I hit a six.

That’s right – one hit, clearing the boundary. Can’t remember when I hit my last, it may be decades.

Definite signs that the Natural Order of the Universe is breaking down. The sudden spurt of batting form didn’t last though. I stole a single at the end of that over, followed by a comment of “perhaps that was a bad idea” as I knew what was coming from the other end. Quick, little bit of swing and I almost dug out an excellent over. Out for 7.

Which is incidentally also the number of games we’ve run on the trot. Our fielding isn’t great, with catches refused and several of our fielders showing huge Ball Fright but somehow we keep winning those close games. It’s good stuff 🙂 We were lucky to get the game in too, after torrential rain on Monday and Tuesday.

I’m becoming more a fan of my phone too now after a shaky start. The 3g internet problem was sorted out late Wednesday giving full functionality to the little handset. It has several app toys in there to keep the SleepyGeek happy. I’ve only managed to catch TrackID out a couple of times so far, although NeoReader can’t even recognise the bar code of a KitKat. It requires educating.

The battery is lasting longer too, still going strong after almost 2 days. So it’s forgiven and will hopefully fit in the rather thin pocket of my leather jacket. It’s a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini. If I’m not a fan of endorsements but will pass one on if it does well. Being a free upgrade helps there too.

What now ? Twenty20 finals day on the telly at the moment, although it’s being disrupted by rain. Hoping they get 3 full games in, I’m currently watching Marcus Trescothick hammer the ball to all parts. Go Tres !

Pizza is due in the break between 2nd semi and final, although the heavy rain we have here at the moment may make me delay that.

The future’s bright, unless you put your mobile phone contract with someone who will pass your personal details to every third party mobile phone upgrader under the sun.

Gotta be fair to H3G though, they haven’t done that unlike my last mobile phone provider. Ok, I kinda started in the middle of a post there 🙂

I have a new mobile phone … It’s brand spanking new modern technology. However, this isn’t a “best thing since sliced bread” post … No, far from it. Gadgets have their place but I reckon the people who make them are forgetting the basic requirements as they hunt to pack in more and more functionality.

What’s a phone for ? It’s to make calls and send & receive text messages. It must have enough battery life to give you a decent chance to be away from the charger. Anything else is just fluff. Internet is nice, gps is ok, especially when you’re somewhere strange and are looking to get around. Satnav capability is creditable but to be honest, I don’t think a little screen will beat my old iPaq based combo. Although the iPaq is car bound. Touchscreens are a gucci change for cleaning up the look of phones but after struggling to enter my wifi password, I’m not convinced.

What’s the cost of all these new fangled features engineered to enrage the Luddite Tendency ? Let’s list them :

Battery life. First and most important feature. I used to think my last phone was a bit poor because at about 3 days, it didn’t have nearly as much the one before which lasted for over a week between charges. This one has a battery life of 36 hours … And that’s with all the bells and whistles turned off.

That’s not good. Bonus functionality should not get in the way of core functionality. If I was away from power for a weekend, this phone would die halfway through the weekend unless I went for severe power management (turning off when not in use).

Troubles with data connection. I can’t get a 3g signal through … and that’s at work as well as at home. I’ll have to see what it’s like at the Mall when I have a whinge at the 3 shop. I can get data to it through my wifi network but that’s only useful at home.

More on the touchpad. I have to admit, after struggling heavily on Friday I’ve found it much easier to put those tricky passwords in. (I apply Kung Fu to my passwords now … and it is strong) Still, I think I’ll end up missing real buttons.

Where was I ? Hmm, mid rant until I thought I’d found a fix for that internet trouble … Which seems to have worked and then failed again. Ho Hum. The internet issue is patchy, we’ll see what they say in the shop.

The battery issue is likely to be the real killer, if I switch back to my old phone it’ll be because I don’t want to put the phone on charge every night. That’s looking like a “when I switch back” to be honest … It was a bit clunky compared to the previous Nokia but it wasn’t too shabby. It would have been a much tougher choice if the upgrade hadn’t been free 🙂

PS It’s not all bad. This new Android phone comes with an applet called TrackID. It’ll listen to about 5 seconds of music and then try and identify it. I haven’t caught it out yet, despite trying a few things. Must look for something particularly obscure in my iTunes collection …

Well, maybe not yet at least.

Cricket is one sport where tailoring your gear to support you while playing really helps. And that’s from toe to noggin. It’s pretty tough to go into a sprint on ground made greasy by dew when you don’t have spikes on. Spikeyboots really help 🙂 And a good pair of boots will keep you playing when you get a toecrusher from a bowler.

When I’m in the field, I generate a lot of heat so I depend on just a few bits n pieces. I have my SpikyBoots which are still going strong after a few years. (Ok, they’re starting to fall apart but they’ll last a bit longer) I have a couple of pairs of white trousers which now desperately need a wash 🙂 I throw myself around in the field and never feel I’ve put the required effort in unless I get at least one new grass stain. To give me the confidence to dive around, I wear a pair of knee supports. They’re quite honestly, RUBBISH ! They don’t give much support to knee ligaments but they do at least give some padding against the ground while being RUBBISH means they don’t hinder movement.

I don’t tend to wear a jumper now, although I used to when I was a young pup. Couldn’t bowl in a jumper … having that wool around my shoulder put me off. (This was when my arm was 100%). Finishing the fielding outfit is what I have on my head. I’ve never worn contacts, so I’ll always be with my glasses on. Top that off with a rainhat and you’ll see a crazy disreputable person in :

Shabby boots, grass stained whites, a tubby tummy attempting to creep out from underneath a shirt that is never tucked in, hands spread wide to help me start with tearing off after the ball and my trademark demonic grin lurking below glasses and rainhat*.

*(with English weather, I refuse to call it a sunhat)

One of the guys is leaving our project, so we celebrated by heading off to Lords for a day at the cricket. It was a great day out, good company, interesting weather, close exciting games and the right team (our’s!) won. And I walked out of there with a new hat 🙂

I like my new hat 🙂 But after Wednesday’s game it looks like it’ll be kept aside as a non cricket playing hat. Maybe a watching hat :-).

Depth perception is pretty critical when you’re in the field, it goes towards timing dives and knowing where to stand for a catch. So I’m depending on my glasses being well aligned, to let me judge where the ball is correctly. To have the best chance, you need to be able to put a 50p on the ground where you think the ball will land, as soon as it goes up in the air. What happens if the eyes are out of alignment is that the 50p landing point guess will move as the ball gets closer. So you set yourself for the ball landing in one place, if you stay then the ball will either go over your head or land short.

Or, if the glasses/eyes are doing really badly, it’ll land 6 foot to the side … Not had that kind of embarassment for years though, my current pair of glasses have done the depth perception much better than any I’ve had in the past.

Funnily enough, I never really needed good depth perception while batting … Although what I’ve forgotten this year is that the helmet has helped because it lets you level your eyes with the horizon. You forget more technique than you ever learn.

What happened Wednesday was a bit embarassing. Looks like the new hat was a bit big, so it comes down over my head more. That means it hits the legs at the back of my glasses, which knocks that alignment out just a little. It’s a pretty close thing, so you can only really tell if it’s ok when the ball is coming towards you and not even then. I held one catch but missed stopping the ball with a few dives.

And then there’s the one on the boundary … I was actually sub fielding for the other side, so when the instant guess says it’ll land 30 feet short I’m thinking “fine, wasn’t planning on catching one of our guys anyway”. Then it starts getting closer through its trajectory, closer, closer and that 50p landing point is suddenly just 8 feet away … To the point where it’s probably easier to go for the catch than let it bounce. Especially as the cricket ball bounce made the rotten thing move 5 feet to the right.

Yep – embarassing. So the new hat is fired and I’m back to the old one. Old hat is fine 🙂 It sticks on well and has a bit of air up there (although that’s filled by my hair). The brim is a bit unruly though, so it has issues keeping the sun out.

Still, after me beating myself up for getting caught out by gear we did actually win. Closer game than it needed to be, with me standing at the other end when the winning runs were knocked off. I got 4 not out, having dropped down the order to give a cramping leg chance to settle down. 4 plus 1 catch isn’t bad, especially when the early catch prevented one of their openers from making an impact. I threw myself around in the field again, with the bad ankles standing up to the strain well. Calf wasn’t so good, it wanted to explode on me due to cramp. I blame poor preparation, Wednesday at work was extremely hectic.

Oh, before I finish, I have been reasonably pleased with myself this week … Firstly, I managed to avoid buying another bat on Tuesday. Why another bat ? Ask a cricketer that question and you’ll get a blank “Why not ? It’s there ?” look. The other reason is cos I’ve still managed to avoid sledging the bloke who’s going out with the Evil Ex, who’s also played in the last couple of games. I have a feeling that if I had started sledging him, I would definitely not have stopped as there was plenty of excuses for it.

That said, I’m not going to start sledging the guy now, I’ll just close out with a Youtube link :
Chris Rea’s Gonna Buy A Hat.

Muahaha – I take it you've just become aware of that moronic survey as well.

Spotted those in HMV today going for 2 for £10 … was very tempted 🙂

Strangely enough, my inbox was hit harder this week than last …

Work is "fun" here too, we have people who say they do stuff but need very careful checking to point out where they haven't.

Firefly and Jericho both ended before their time. Serenity was a decent continuation but it kinda tore up that universe. Same with Defying Gravity and B5 Crusade, excellent concepts killed off by idiot moguls.

LoL @ the parking spaces reference! Too right!

You need Killers, Iron Maiden, Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind. IMHO the early albums are by far the best.