I put it to you, m'Lud, that no other sport is as pleasing to the eye as cricket. And in particular, the art of batting, and within that art, the technique we used to call the straight bat (meaning, of course, the vertical bat) effected, in the case of a right-handed batsman, by raising high the left elbow while stepping into the line of the ball. As youngsters, we were told to practise our strokes in front of a mirror. I did. Back defensive: Right foot, step back, across and in front of the stumps. Then left leg close the gap, feet together. High left elbow, bat vertical, in front of the body. I had it off to a T.
One Sunday, Ayr (my team) was playing an early season friendly match against Clydesdale who had a new professional. Each club was allowed one professional player. Mr Rock, from Jamaica, was over six feet tall and a fast bowler. When it came my turn to face him, I knew just what to do. I'd been practising all winter at the mirror. His first ball flew past me at chest height before I'd even moved my feet. But I was ready for his second. Right foot back, left together, high left elbow, straight bat - perfect. The ball struck the face of the bat squarely and dropped like a stone at my feet. Unfortunately, mirror practice does nothing to strengthen the wrists, so the bat flew backwards on impact, catching me a fierce blow in the goolies which ended my brief innings. Style, 10. Effectiveness, 0.
Hi Dave Interesting to see this post. Did you know that Ayr CC have published their archive of cricket stats for players? You make an appearance with a bowling return of 1 for 2, a batting partnership of 4 with Bill Manson and an important catch to dismiss a batsman on 84. The most interesting stat for me is the record of team mates that you have played with which is on this link. Could you predict who is on this list? Gordon C:-https://www2.cricketstatz.com/ss/p/D-McCLURE/?season=&grade=0&pool=&club=20915&playerid=257136
ReplyDeleteHi Gordon - how on Earth did you happen on this post? Lots of familiar names on that stats page. I'd no idea it existed. Somebody's put a lot of effort into poring through a season's worth of scorebooks. 1969, we were still at school, 5th year. I didn't play much in my working years, except for a brief spell with Glasgow Victoria Park CC and much more recently, a couple of seasons with Al Jazeera Veterans, playing in the deserts of Qatar in the blazing heat! Hope all's well with you :)
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