Tempting as it is to take the piss out of our beloved Chairman, his efforts this week were enormously helpful. More on this later.
What this relates to in some way in the inherent challenge of coming to this Captaincy after spending several years as ring master for a friendly side. I’m not so naïve as to not know anything about what I’m doing but am prone to defaulting into accommodating/weak policy decisions that do not necessarily help the team. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing you might say.
One example of this occurs during the week’s selection process. There were a plethora of useful and talented players available at all levels, so much so that the intrepid VI-Kings skipper managed to conjure up enough for two matches (respect mate). With this relative bonus comes some difficult decisions about who is being offered what and where. Before I launch into a moan about this, I should perhaps acknowledge that the skippers above have it harder- they have to have conversations about actual performances and form whereas I can contain most of what is discussed with ‘dropped’ players to the utility box (e.g. “need a keeper/bowler/someone who can run mate”). Despite some great efforts above me, there are occasions when a player is asked to play down and finds this a little inexplicable. There were a few different whatsapp chats that fit this category this week- understandable with so much evident downward pressure on selection. There is sometimes a tendency to read rather one-dimensional interpretations into this and I have even done it myself historically. Why won’t people play wherever they are asked and do so without hesitation? This simple question belies a much more complex set of answers. We must acknowledge that being asked to drop a level does not guarantee being able to ‘fill yer boots’ with runs or wickets. For one thing, the lack of expert leadership, covered pitches or appointed umpires makes things much less predictable. In other words, you are in the hands of fate. And let’s say you get ropey lbw decision or the earnest (but unskilled) field drop your chances and allow too many runs to escape across the rope. What then? Well, there is every possibility that another facile take might lead to an impression that one is not even ‘performing’ lower down. Rather unfair in many ways wouldn’t you say? Quite apart from this train of thought there is the diminished enjoyment of not playing with regular teammates, the travelling to remote bits of Saarf London, the crap (away) teas, feeling you have ‘done your time’ in lower ranks, etc. to sully the adventure.
Speaking of crappy and Saarf London, this week’s fixture was held on a converted football pitch in deepest darkest Worcester Park. Highlights included no pavilion, no amenities, limited parking and a Police chase of a fugitive in the field next door (this happened)- rough. The oppo were second top and so our chances of knocking them off were limited, even with a boost of excess 4s players in the side. I recalled that our first week of the season was meant to be against this mob and despite me trying to convince them that torrential rain (with no break forecast) suggested no game, they forced us (both teams) to convene at the side of the ground to have a rather prosaic 60 minutes together watching the Red Lion track get saturated. Badgers…and not the good kind. Similarly, there was rain at the start time for this week’s fixture although some respite was predicted. That led to huddled lads underneath big trees trying to stay dry. A few disappeared off to their cars for a bit of work or social media. Their skipper approached me with some unique suggestions. If we abandoned a formal break for lunch he said, and ate during the batting innings, using some of the ‘discretionary’ time he had calculated the league had given us, we could have more overs than the formula stated we had lost. While we should have had only 30 overs left each, he thought 35 would be much better. I can see now that this was his attempt to maximise his side’s chance of victory as limited overs inevitably gives greater importance to what might otherwise be small events (i.e. chance). Either that or he and his crew thought they could pad their stats against us. This is where my daft friendly team skipper persona emerged (#getthegameon). I initially agreed to this, but when relating it to the lads I heard the Chairman (playing as keeper for us) pipe up that it was not on. He [correctly] said that this would make calculations during any further rain interruptions much more difficult, that the team needed a rest after fielding and that there were established regulations by the league that should be followed (which he had reviewed in detail during the break). Immediately seeing the error of my ways, I doubled back and told the oppo skipper that we would be going with plan A after all. Some forcefully put views were shared but nothing antisocial. Dealing with disappointment can be such a journey. I am very grateful to the Chair for this intervention, and it showed me that perhaps this gig is about more than simply administering the event- it is about my further experience and development as a cricketer.
As for the match, well…our loose early bowling, the dodgy track and lack of depth batting wise meant that we were chasing the game (they posted 195 off 30 overs). A big ask, and we did get 65% of the way there. However, with a huge bounce off a length on a drying rec pitch, getting comfortable at the crease was impossible. We were not able to extend the winning streak. My own performance included one reasonable catch, one dropped sitter (worst feeling in cricket), one direct hit run out and one run (batting at 10). Sounds like an odd thing to say but it almost feels like £14 well spent.
Next week: a local derby at home.