The Team is Alright

Jags 162/9 (Parrish 30, Phillips 26*, J Barker 26*, J Horner 25*, Ben A 3-28) beat Sharks 145/4 (Ganysham 27*, Jeeva 25*, J Horner 2-26) by 17 runs

Man of the Match - Adam Phillips

Being a parent is a funny experience - you create actual life and watch it grow helpless and feeble, needing your continuous attention for its every need for months and years on end. It is both the most humbling of experience, and the most rewarding, but at times incredibly frustrating as you literally have to do everything for your child without really spending time on yourself. You sign up for it though, or most of us do deliberately, so you nurture and care for your creation without getting frustrated or impatient, knowing you have made a choice that cannot be undone. You have created something outside of yourself for which you will ever be responsible.

Then at some point, your child outgrows you, no longer has the need for continous attention, and probably pays nothing more than a passing interest in you and achieves more than you did when you were the sole source of reward and comfort. So you go from essential to redundant, as is the natral order of things.

This is how I think of the Jags - when I started it 11 years ago, it was 4/5 sort of cricketers and 4/5 volunteers coming along each week to get spanked. I had to do a lot of organising, a lot of batting and bowling (I know, hilarious), fielding, and without my continuous effort, it would have failed and collapsed in a heap. I used to celebrate losing by less than 30 runs and I remember taking a load of people out to the pub to get hammered when we first took 5 wickets in a game (it took a while, and we lost by a lot, but still).

Now, I am more or less redundant to the actual cricket part of the team - contributing mainly by organising. I can still offer a knock or a catch here or there, but it's an actual team, successful and reliable, supporting each other and when one player fails, others step up. It's quite nice really, just turning up knowing you may do something well this evening, or you may not, but your own contribution no longer matters in the way it once did. That's what a team is, when one fails, another steps up, when someone can't another does - and the tortuous parenting analogy above is definitely apt - since I think if I fucked off to South East Asia for a bit (which I did a few years ago), the team itself would actually continue all by itself, and likely do very well.

Onto the cricket. We won the toss and played Sharks at Kings. 

This was literally the hottest week there has ever been: which if you read the Guardian means we are all well and truly fucking fucked and will be living in huts on the side of volcanoes in 10 years time and is somehow something to do with Brexit; and if you read the Daily Mail it means, wahaay, get on the beach and enjoy those UV rays all you mathafackrs - unless you are a public sector worker in which case do your important work in non air-conditioned premises, do not expect a payrise or appreciation ever, and your government will sack lots of you soon to save costs. Political discourse is so polarised at the moment, middle ground is not a thing.

Scorchio!

The hot weather meant a fairly benign pitch, a fast outfield and runs for the taking. Parrish and Fardell started and Parrish was in "ebullient" form according to the opposition. He really was though, cracking a couple of 4's and a delightful six that hit the top of the sightscreen on the full. 

I scored 1 behind square before managing to lose my wicket in the most comical way I have personally managed for 3 seasons. A short pitched ball wide of leg stump sat up there for the taking. With absolultey no danger, I swung expecting an easy connection, and by somehow defying the laws of physics the ball grazed the bat, clipped my glove, turned 45 degrees towards the stumps in mid air and then turned 45 degrees down and hit middle stump. There wasn't a single celebration, and it took all my fortitude to just go "ah well" and take it in my stride as I walked off trying not to betray the inner turmoil that lead me to believe that the Gods of cricket were laughing from upon high. There ended my contribution to the evening.

Mr Craig Barker joined Mr Parrish for a bit and Parrish was on solid and scintillating form, retiring in double quick fashion pushing a couple of 2's and scoring at a mega clip to get us off to a super fast start. I've found this season that it's sometimes a shame when Mr Parrish gets off to such a flyer and we are playing a friendly, as with a league game he may well have cruised past 50 again without much ado. Craig was joined by Phillips and a change of bowling brought a more testing time period. Sharks knew they had to arrest the rate, and so they did. Phillips however was absolutely determined to not let the more challenging bowling impact things, and pushed 1's and 2's with aplomb, hitting some nice 4's and being able supported by Craig at the other end. I think that pushing the fielding team on 1's and 2's earns you a lot of runs towards a big total, and thus is it proved, I recall a nice 4 here or there from both, but mostly the scoring never ceased. 

Craig eventually fell to a caught and bowled for the ages, cracking a firm strike back over the bowling, who in turn leapt and single handedly plucked it from the air - for a definite and very solid candidate for champagne moment of the season. Hard lines, Craig - but a catch like that is fair enough. Brett joined proceedings for a bit and Phillips kept pushing the rate, Brett hit an absolute monster cow corner 6, somehow also with grace and poise, before holing out to short square next ball. Cozzie then strolled out and was the second unfortunate wicket of the evening, playing back to one that just shot off the deck and didn't really get up more than 6 inches from the ground, to trap him plum LBW.

Barker was out with Phillips for a bit before Phillips retired, having kept the scoring going, and done a thoroughly impressive job keeping us moving. Horner joined Barker and "Team James" both scored well throughout, with some wristy strokes and a Horner offside wallop that I can recall. Barker was almost out stumped, but appears to have got his leg back, with his father umpiring fastidiously at square leg.

Both retired after some very good play, Mr T Bennett strolled out at the lofty position of 9, scoring nicely before falling bowled to the normal opening bowler for Sharks. Mr Yaxley and the returning Mr Parrish were left to finish proceedings, there was a slight slowing of the rate at the death over stage, and Mr Parrish was caught out at long on hitting the last ball a little bit too well. 162. Nice.

Bennett and Brett opened the bowling, and Brett kept up his pitch for Chancellor in the next government, such was his economy rate. Both batsmen found it hard and Bennett removed one notable Sharks opener, using a combination from the previous week, B Benett, C Barker, mid on. He was a bit more wayward, conceding 4's either side of the wicket, than normal - and I would describe it as an eventful phase of the game - with Brett opening with a maiden over at the other end. The next Shark was very class with the blade, hitting a lovely straight drive and moving his feet well to push scoring along, eventually being out retired after the most cultured display of the evening. Marc at the other end was finding it hard, but honestly the bowling was very good with Brett in particular showing incredible control.

J Barker had a couple of overs, and seems to be getting quicker week on week. J Horner was again a demon in the field. Mr Mann turned up to cheer from the sidelines, freshly crocked but still there to support. James Barker found some good range and Sharks were well behind on the rate. Horner replaced Brett and extracted a wicket, played on. He then quickly bowled another having tied proceedings down somewhat, showing great depth to the Jags bowling lineup - all 5 of them. Yaxley swung into the attack but found himself facing two very strong Sharks batsmen, in particular Jeeva who is a beast when he gets going. Some ace fielding setting and stump work from Parrish kept it tight though, with runs not easy to score. Yaxley was walloped about briefly, but not disheartened found a lot of control on the back of some boundaries, and extracted a batsman with a brillant top of off jobbie.

Jeeva retired in fast fashion, showing his range throughout - Sharks were well off, but had stayed competitively close despite this - and the last batsmen did well to get them as close as they did. They fell 17 or 19 runs short depending on which match report you read - a good evening for the Jags with 4 retirees, some good fielding and wickets, and some incredible bowling control.

I spent the whole 20 overs running from deep square leg to deep square leg in an effort to contribute something to the evening, but offered no further contribution beyond the comedy dismissal. I then lost my wedding ring in the console of my car and had to rip all the plastic trim off to find it. 

I think we'll just call it a good day for the team.