yes, indeed, look you see. the title of this post is the opening line to a rather famous poem; one of those illustrious ones where people only recall the first two lines. the second line to this one evokes images of cricket being played on the village green. and so this must be all cricket related.
during the course of the week James told or if you like informed us that, at invitation, he was to resume his cricketing career. as you might expect my (considerably) better half and i were most supportive of this. even, as it happens, when it transpired that we would need to be up and about tres early on Sunday morning to take him to a match.
well, that last bit was of course much more of a supportive challenge for my (considerably) better half than i. as it even further happens i tend to be an early riser, so to speak, enjoying a couple of hours of peace and quiet in the morning before anyone else is up.
not the greatest quality picture i know, to be sure, but the above is indeed James batting. although maybe it is just my eyes and you could all see that quite clearly.
exactly where was it that James made his "return debut" to the game that he has a passion for? not his home ground as such, but rather the M.C.C. ground. no, not the M.C.C., at least not yet. rather Marske Cricket Club; a venue where his grandad possibly once played and most likely had a pint or two at.
i say "return debut" as that's kind of probably what it is. whilst he played at school in South Africa, he hadn't really picked up the game here, at home for us and at the home of cricket. when playing for fun with some friends his talents became clear, however, and they requested that he reconsider his sort of retirement. hence us being at Marske Cricket Club around 9am on a cold, wet and windy Sunday.
but of course William came along too, for he had absolutely no choice in the matter. apparently there are laws or some such condition about being a parent which means you can't just leave them alone, not even if you promise to check in on them every half hour or so.
that sounds like he wasn't interested, which is most decidedly untrue. William seems keen to get playing cricket to, and had some wonderful fun in the practice nets, throwing the ball and bashing away with the bat.
a picture of James prepared and ready to go off and bat? sure, why not......
how did he get on? allowing for the fact that he was lacking in practice and warm ups as such, rather well. unlike his father he seems to have patience, which is to say that certain deliveries he let go by rather than try to welly all out of the ground. an unfortunate snick saw him play the ball onto his stumps, but otherwise some most splendid strokes saw the ball roll across the outfield.
it would be unlikely that you'd particularly wish to see me, but be warned the next picture contains exactly that. it's of me and my (considerably) better half, and as she is 33% of the 75% of my family whom you all like a good deal more than you like me, you will just have to put up with it.
yes, indeed, my beard is getting quite formidable, pronounced and long, is it not? chance has not permitted me to travel to London as such as yet, hence me not using that splendid Fortnum & Mason gift card for a beard trim and style. perhaps i should, in the interim, consult some form or sort of non Fortnum & Mason means of having it trimmed. although the people seem to prefer it this length.
as mentioned earlier, it was a cold, wet and windy day that day. so much so that, as point of fact, i expected the match to be called off. no such approach exists in the game today, with matches being played in a bold manner, no matter how brutal the weather is. no bad thing, i suppose.
James had a bit of a bowl too, as it happens. rather wisely, and at the insistence of the coaches and his mum, he did so with hi black bodied, white sleeved jumper jacket thing on.
and how did the bowling go? a very tidy first over, with a splendidly bowled wicket taken with just the third delivery. his second over, however, revealed there is much he needs to learn in order to develop and improve. generally a good line and length was found for his bowling, but the loose nature of his approach pleased the batter very much indeed. as in the ball got dispensed around the field a bit during that second over.
the result of the game? cricket of course won. every single match of cricket should end with the principles, the spirit and the beauty of the game being declared champion.
from a match conclusion perspective, alas no, James and his team were not triumphant. not that they did badly. with it being their first game of the season as opposed to their opponents' third, and the fact that they were one player down, they all did extremely well.
and, most importantly, they all had a thoroughly good time, with all of them playing a game that, even at their young age, they have a great love for.
unless summer comes along soon i have every reason to suspect that there are several cold and wet mornings ahead of me over the next few weeks, if not months. this is no bad thing. since i am up and about early anyway, what better things to do with my time that watch a spot of cricket?
with that, until the next time, then.....................
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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