Panda Paw

I have a Panda Paw !

But I earned it - another bruise that I can show off :-) I know - sucker for punishment.

First game back after the big shin bruise last night. I knew I'd be suffering a bit in this one, as the shin bruise and lower leg swelling was stopping a sore ankle from recovering properly.

World Cup is competing with Cricket on telly is competing with actual Cricket at the moment. I've been remembering why I'm not a great fan of football (although I watch pretty much every other sport), the players have no honour or integrity. They'll complain if opposition players aren't sent off and will writhe in agony if they break a fingernail. I've got no respect for people like that.

I enjoy playing the game when I occasionally join in with kicking a ball about but the attitude of the so called professionals leaves a lot to be desired.

So while USA are playing Slovenia, I have domestic Twenty 20 cricket on the telly :-) (With World Cup on the little laptop screen too, cos I still want to know who wins)

Actual cricket takes precedence over everything else though. I'm getting on a bit in years, I carry lots of injuries but I'll still keep turning out for the team. Weekend games might be a bit long for me but the midweek evening games are just about perfect.

Yesterday's game was the first one in a fortnight and the first one after Monster Bruise. It's not quite gone yet and the ankle is tender still but that didn't keep me away. Sure, makes me think a little more about how I play but thinking around your limits helps you push them. People have been remarking about how my fielding is being pretty decent at the moment, so I must be doing something right.

And this is after me ducking out of the way of one that had my name on it last night ... Picture - batsman hits it towards me. It's coming reasonably quick, nae bother. Long barrier comes out to stop it if my hands didn't. Ball comes, bounces once, bounces twice. Oo eck ! second bounce is a bit lairy ... and a ball that was coming to my hands is now heading straight for my nose !

Instinct took over, better part of valour got me out the way very quickly. Muahahaha - bobbles and bad bounces like that happen in cricket, makes it more interesting. Especially if the missile coming your way is 5 and a quarter ounces of damn hard cricket ball :-)

I didn't get a bat, which I really don't mind seeing as the guys who did hammered 197 runs. That's quite a bit for those games ... On to the fielding. I'm a pretty vicious critic of myself. While others think I'm throwing myself around and being effective, I'm seeing someone who is pulling the punch on throws and missing runout chances.

I just hate seeing runs being given up if I think I could have done something about it, so if someone's shouting "take your time" and "easy" and I then look up to see that it was actually a run out chance, I get a little peeved. Makes you wonder why the Field Marshal is telling the fielder to pull a punch on a throw when there was a genuine wicket chance. Irritating. Maybe they're trying to avoid bruises even though they're wearing gloves ?

Anyway - bit of irritation coming perhaps from a touch of personality clash. On the one hand, you have a fielder who is used to controlling an area by moving to anticipate where the ball is going to go. On the other, you have the Field Marshal who likes fielders to stay exactly where they are put. You can probably tell that I don't think he knows what he's doing ...

I need more practice really so I can ignore the shouts of "Easy" and chuck in some hand stingers in the hope of getting run outs. I look for at least run out from my fielding over the course of a season.

Apart from that stuff though - did pretty well. I managed to ignore the ankle and saved a decent number of runs by stopping boundaries. Ankle survived for most of the game, before the ground opened up and grabbed it. REALLY ! That's what actually happened when I took that tumble.

Honest :-)

Panda Paw ? Got a couple of bruises on my left hand due to stopping one that would have rocketed for 4. I think I put more than the required effort in and the Panda Paw gives me something I can show off.

The best bruises are the ones you can show off as badges for putting the effort in.