And we are off - in the bitter, bitter cold
Freezing temparatures, runs and rainbow grips
The mornings were deceptively sunny last weekend. It looked warm if you looked out the window but stepping outside quickly ended any hope of warmth. A bitterly cold wind blew in gusts as the clouds slowly rolled in. Cricket wasn’t meant to be played in this weather. There is cold, and then there is frostbite on the cricket pitch!
We played two friendlies that weekend. I watched much of the first, regretting my agreement to play in the second the following day as the weather wasn’t getting any warmer.
Sunday morning rolled around, and I was optimistic about the day ahead despite the freezing temperatures.
Once I arrived at the ground, it felt different. Plenty of layers on and out we went, bowling first. As long as you kept moving you kept warm! We were set a chase of a little over 300; it felt like a long afternoon was in store. Although we fell 25 runs short, we had a positive run chase with two players making hundreds. I batted at number three and despite it taking me ages to score my first run my nerves settled and I raced quickly to thirty, playing some confident pulls and drives through midwicket. Unfortunately, I was caught playing a shot too early and mistiming it, but I still felt confident of the season ahead after that innings.
The following weekend the sun was out and it felt like cricket season. Life always feels better in the sunshine; that’s for sure. I was picked to play for our second team. This isn’t my usual team but my team’s season wasn’t due to start for another couple of weeks, so I was grateful to be picked. We batted first and soon enough I was out in the middle when the first wicket fell. I felt confident and was seeing the ball well, hitting two clean boundaries before miscuing back to the bowler. Ten runs accumulated. Not enough, a wasted opportunity. But a silver lining — it was ten more runs than I had scored in three games for our second team the previous season! So not all was lost. I pulled a muscle in my leg when batting and struggled through our time in the field. We didn’t last the allocated time though; we were soundly beaten and the game finished early. It was pretty brutal in the end. Not the best start to our league season.
The weekend produced a couple of surprises though. A few players ordered rainbow grips for their bats. These are a small symbol of support for the LGBT community and for me and I appreciated the gesture. I’ve written about my grip before and how it has caused a stir, but hopefully with more of my teammates having the same grip the issue will both die down yet awareness be raised all at the same time. This has got to be a good thing, right?
Towards the end of the evening at the club, following our heavy loss, a couple of players said they would like to adopt rainbow laces for at least one match this year. That would mean a great deal to me, whether it is just them or my whole team or club. It would feel like another step in the right direction and would help boost my confidence at a time when it risks being shaken so easily so early in the season. The expectations I have on myself are high, probably too high, and when that happens, I need to remain positive as we move to the next set of matches, this weekend when the weather is due to be cold again. Such are the joys of British weather. I remain hopeful my leg will heal, and I’ll be out there in the cold!
