Ivanhoe Nets – Wednesday 20 March 2024
Another Wednesday, another visit to Hatfield for an examination by pace and spin for 8 hardy Cricket fanatics.
On a personal note, it is very pleasing to see three left handers playing with the minds of the bowlers…and most took a few deliveries to find their range and the lines that tie lefties in knots.
From the first ball, Peter had cranked it up to full, bowling very swiftly and moving the ball through the air and getting some good cut off the seam. Saquib was another that had the ball hooping around.
We took over two nets, according everyone a good quarter hour of batting and tested out the fitness of the bowlers…good workout but the more senior citizens might feel the effects of 45 minutes of non-stop bowling (not sure I can put my hand up to say I was one of those, as my shoulder is rather stiff!).
Those that rely on guile and deception were not left behind, with many a batter bamboozled by some sharp turn imparted on the ball. John was working on the various non-spinning changeups as well as some big turning leggies. Will bowled a few absolute beauties with the ball deviating significantly from the pitch.
There was an almost end of term freedom and joi de vie in the stroke play of the batters, but this caused everyone’s stumps to be rearranged at least once. There was a cacophony of thundering cracks from the ball being smote interspersed with a hollow rattle of ball clattering the wickets.
Hopefully the powerful batting and hitting will continue into the season but with a little more discipline – batters will need to remember they need to be in to score…
Author: Hansi B