Spirit of Cricket

Firstly apologies for the lack of blogging, we had experienced a few defeats and the camp was not a happy one, that alongside going on a week long stag do which took me two weeks to recover from made blogging very difficult for a few weeks but hopefully back on track now.

Firstly I’ll tackle the defeats as a few of you have been ribbing me on twitter with crack such as ‘only blog when your winning’ etc. I have to admit, it is so much easier to blog when you’re winning. Without wanting to sound like a massive time Charlie, when you play at a club with the recent history and success as South North you don’t experience defeats all that often so when three come along in a row it is quite difficult to swallow. We lost to Blaydon after trying to bat out for a draw, we then went to Tynemouth and despite only posting 150 should have won the game having them 7 down with 40 odd still needed and finally we went to Newcastle and despite posting 300 seen them chase it down mainly due to a brilliant 170 compiled by their Durham CCC player Michael Richardson. The defeats where very hard to take and definitely set us back somewhat in our quest to bring the league title back to the ‘Bullring’ although we are now back on track and playing some decent cricket so its still all to play for at the top. One thing I think the three defeats highlighted is the fact that the North East Premier League is a very strong league and even the perceived weaker teams are capable of beating any one on their day. They all have players who may not be the most consistent but on any given day can take a game away from you. Our captain keeps telling me he hates complacency, which is a trait I am often guilty of (note to self).

 So we had a few defeats then got back on track with a couple of wins and more recently spent days on end trying to amuse ourselves in the changing rooms which brings me onto the current hot topic amongst the NEPL tweeters. Over the past two weeks we have seen our resurgence in form haltered by the elements. We have endured many long and tedious hours hanging around the changing rooms playing one hand one bounce, eager for the rain to stop, whilst our opposition has been very uninterested in playing any cricket. Two days in a row we had the pleasure of facing Benwell Hill who, from their actions and enthusiasm I can only conclude, do not like playing cricket. To the Benwell Hill lad’s cricket seems like a chore, someone should let them know that it is actually a hobby, an activity pursued for pleasure and relaxation, and if they hate playing so much they can always choose to stay at home. Saying that, the shoe was well and truly on the other foot when we entertained Blaydon this past Sunday.

Blaydon got off to a decent if somewhat controversial start having Adam Heather caught behind off his thigh pad whilst his hands where raised above his head shouldering arms, Most in the ground could see that the ball was absolutely no where near the bat or gloves. The bowler didn’t appeal and when Adam was dismissed by the umpire the bowler actually told their captain ‘He hasn’t hit it’ to which the Blaydon players simply shrugged and allowed Adam to leave the field, which he did in a somewhat agitated manner. Their decision not to recall the batsmen in my opinion is fair enough, we would have probably done the same if the roles where reversed. Blaydon then took one more wicket leaving us on 15 for 2 with 6 over’s bowled when the heavens opened.

The rain was torrential, so much so that the groundsman hadn’t even finished sorting the main covers out when there were puddles forming on the wicket ends and the bowler’s fun ups. The rain didn’t last long, maybe fifteen minutes; however the amount that fell was sufficient enough for the majority of people in the ground to concur that no further play would be possible. We hung around for a few hours without any decisions being made until about 5:30pm when the umpires called the captains together. The Blaydon captain, with his team being in a strong position, was keen to play despite how wet the bowlers run ups were. We on the other hand where not so keen. The loss of time had meant that if play was resumed it would be reduced to a 20/20 game and we would resume on 15 for 2 having used up six of our allotted twenty over’s with field restrictions in place. It’s an absolute no brainer that we wouldn’t be as keen to play and I guarantee any other team put in the same position would take the same standpoint. Having said that, had the ground actually been fit for play we would have had no problem with the umpire’s decision and simply got on with the task at hand. The umpires finally decided that no play was possible and called the game off much to the disappointment of the Blaydon captain (@growler_33) who simply walked off, dismissing the advances of the home captain and umpires to shake hands. This is an understandable reaction in the heat of the moment, especially given that the game would more than likely be replayed the following Sunday when Blaydon’s front line seam attack would be at 35000 feet en route to a stag do (who goes on stag do’s during the cricket season????). However, to make matters worse, @growler_33 then proceeded to tweet how it was a dark day for the spirit of cricket which provoked dialogue firstly from myself and then from other such as @lovetheturret, @ali6dots and @seymourT66. Hopefully the tweeting was all taken in the light hearted manner it was meant. Im going to keep this weeks (Months????) blog short sweet and to the point by simply drawing reference from a certain document, no prizes for guessing which one.

Responsibility of captains

The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game

4. The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for:

• Your opponents

• The roles of the umpires

5. It is against the Spirit of the Game:

• To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture

• To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:
  (a) to appeal knowing that the batsman is not out

@growler_33 please take note, Bridgey may be out for a few more games yet. And regarding the umbrella reference, we will save that story for a rainy day.