Poetic License?

Consolidation

By Jez Clarke (aged thirty and one third)

Sunny April 2011 and that rainy afternoon last September where the Division 1 trophy was presented seemed, well…..at least half a football season ago.

As I cleared the BBQ, two mowers, patio furniture, redundant bike and a set of equally redundant golf clubs from the front of my shed I came across a dusty, spider trodden Kookaburra Cricket bag.

Many different statements rang  in my ears all of which made me wonder if this time next year the bag in question may remain assiduous* neighbour to the bike and clubs.

“Big step up next year you know?”

“Good job you had Andre Russell, you’ll struggle without him”

“Have a season in the seconds won’t you?”

“Have some travelling to do next year”

“Signed any new players?”

Although all valid points, with the determination and dedication of a club hoping to continue their success and a group of players honed into the same ethic with the same ultimate goal nothing is impossible.

Just as last year’s goal was to gain promotion from Division One into the illustrious Birmingham League, this years would be consolidation and survival. Not an easy feat in a league which sees the bottom third return to their respective county league each year.

 Last year we went fully equipped to achieve this goal with the inclusion of one Andre Russell in our armoury. Andre is a different subject all together and will be a talking point of the club as well as many of his opponents (let alone himself) for many years to come but let’s just say with some knowledgeable, painstaking searching and a huge slice of timing and luck in close season 2009 the skipper played a blinder by securing the Jamaicans services. Andre played half the games for us in 2010 and by doing so did enough to prove himself to the WICB and enough for us to prove to sceptics we could continue our form without him. Good luck Dre.

So, with the strike bowler gone we look to strengthen the bowling as a unit. We have had a couple of allies sitting on the fence between Regency Road (Malvern CC) and North End Lane (BGCC) for a while now and, with Malvern’s relegation and our promotion not much persuasion was needed to push them over to pastures new where the green is most definitely grassier !

Brothers Jon & Adam Dovey were welcomed with open arms as was team mate Tom Poole .They joined the first net session with the same enthusiasm and drive as the existing squad members albeit with some bad habits / creases that Smeds wasted no time in running his subtle iron “STRAIGHT” over !

Dre has been replaced in the form of Kiwi import Matt McEwan. This poor lad literally had some massive boots to fill on arrival so can be forgiven for trying too hard at times, umpires describe him as “annoying as deep heat in the jock strap” but he has already returned 20 wickets in his 7 games at less than 11.Keep it up Matt.

So seven games in and we are sitting pretty at the top of the table Played 7 Won 6, Abandoned 1, a dream start! Of course the talk has now changed....

“Going to walk this league ain’t ya?”

“Not as good as the Worcs league is it?”

“When are we gonna see someone give you a game?”

Just as last year patio talk is listened to and it is taken within its context and the lads know that they can only continue playing within themselves and doing the basics well. Yes we have had a good start and have won by some large margins but from what we have seen so far each team we have faced is capable of beating each other and although no team has stood out exceptionally strong neither have any looked particularly weak.

We are under no illusions that sooner or later we will not find ourselves in one of the dream starts we have featured in so many times already this year and will have to alter our game accordingly. When this does happen hopefully we will have the strength, depth and character to come through it with a positive result……….. only time will tell.

I think the skipper would say that, “the game plan doesn’t change” and  “it’s 20 more points towards safety” and to “take a game at a time” and “let’s have a look where we are when we go into the last third of the season”.  Well I know he would because he’s churns clichés out for a living (teacher)! In fact in a T20 game last evening vs league stalwarts Bromsgrove he told the bowlers to “Keep it simple” followed by “no slower balls” although “If you do have a slower ball don’t be afraid to use it”

Momentum is the buzz word and, like the afore mentioned slower ball I’m not afraid to use as we go into the weekends game on the back of last night’s awesome win. The club as a whole, both on the field or patio, were proud of the performance displayed and it will be remembered as somewhat of a marker as to how far we have come.

Tarra

Jez – Specialist Number 8 finisher / Head Cheerleader

*The start of this article can basically be dismissed as it was added in form of poetic license. I didn’t really get my bag out of the shed in April as I had been attending winter nets since February, I don’t own a bike or golf clubs and don’t know what assiduous means!