Representative Cricket

Last Friday night a phone call came in asking Xavier and Andy to play for the Weston team in the ACT Super-League competition. For the uninformed, this is a competition between the various indoor cricket centres in the region (Lyneham, Weson, Kambah and Goulburn) - ideally consisting of the "best" players from each centre. It's played in 3 grades with centres able to enter multiple teams per division if they want.

This was not the most ordinary way to be spending a Saturday night, but Xavier and Andy accepted the invitation (aka selection) and showed up to give it a go. The match was a low-scoring encounter in the 'twos' (ie second division) competition against the team from Goulburn, under the watchful eye of everyone's favourite Lyneham umpire, Dean. Weston Blast were victorious 70-45.

Pre-game, the Popped Collars boys gleaned much amusement from the team huddles that were taking place after each over and/or wicket... and more amusement when they realised that their own team would be doing it as well! Indeed, the games and teams were/are even more serious than Brad or Jake at their most serious. Xavier took a few attempts to work out what the boys were chanting at the break-up of each of the huddles (turned out it was "Blast!", the team name). Andy, meanwhile, did know the correct exclamation, but decided to mix it up a bit by saying whatever other rhyming word he could come up with at the time... "Fast!"... "Last!"... "Cast!"...

For the record, Andy bowled 3/5 and Xavier 4/-6 with two absolute sitters also dropped off his bowling... no fielders names shall be mentioned, but Andy did comment after the game that he now "knows how Sanjit feels" having been placed fielding at point, and forced to deal with balls bouncing out of the corners. They then scored 2 and 4 respectively with the bat in a failed attempt to chase a skin of 13. The bowlers were no better than the good bowlers that the Popped Collars would encounter week to week, but the new challenge was dealing with a full team of good fielders, in strategic and well placed fielding locations.

The best demonstration of this was the final ball they faced, which Xavier punched to the side net for a safe two, to tie the skin. That is, it would have been safe in any regular game - but on this occasion, the fielder in close jumped up and batted the ball back to the 'keeper for a direct hit with one stump to aim at. Andy was short of his ground and the expected tied skin turned into a 7-run loss.

Good times, but Saturday night and $17 a game... not something to be done too regularly... espeically when one is already playing Friday and Monday nights as it is!