I played Cricket Again!

[THX_1138]

Since the intercollege India vs. Pakistan match last winter in September, a torn mensci later, four months of physical rehabilitation, and 15 miles of slow jogging a week for the entire summer later... i finally played cricket again... And i instantly attained a new found respect for fast bowling. Not that i ever doubted the skill, the agility and physical fitness required, but to return from a serious injury, to compensate for the injury with a new, unnatural action, being always weary of a possible relapse... takes a toil. I bowled a tight first over, a tight second... however in my sixth, i got laid into by this young lad who probably has not graduated from high school. Inbetween extras, he 'shallacked' for a two boundaries and a six in the first three balls. some wides and no balls later, when i finally got some measure of him, he flicked a slower on towards midwicket where the least competent fielder and possible graduate of the Mohammed Yousuf School of Fielding flubbed a catch (the ball passed between his palms which met an instant later in a thunderous clap) and rolled all the way to the boundary. in the end, my torture had a number: 27 runs (18 off the bat). There is a silver lining to the cloud though, on a low bounce pitch, me and my captain (who had not killed me since this abyssmal display) shephered our team to victory with 4 overs to spare... and yeah i took 18 runs of another tundler's bowling. In the end, i guess i am not yet ready... need to strengthen my shoulder, my knee and maybe find a new shoe with greater cushioning to lessend the impact of my delievery stride! (end shameless gloating)

[ludhianvi]

Cool thread elite! I had not played cricket for a good 6-7 or even 8 years. Then this summer I have played a few weeks, and I have completely forgotten my runup and bowling action. Probably, because some long time ago, I was trying to mimic other bowlers' actions and now I have a severe problem with my runup. I had gotten hit by a baseball on my knee by some fool. The jump is also missing and I find myself laboring to the delivery stride without any rhythm whatsoever. Mind you, I was a pretty decent bowler in my younger years even at around 8 or 9 but have lost it completely now. I seem to taken to the cleaners nowdays playing park cricket by recent highschool grads hitting me for fours and sixes. Coming on to batting, I have actually improved on my batting over the years. But put into a match situation , and when it is my turn to bat, the heart beats like that of a hummingbird. The pressure surmounts and there is no feet movement. I try to pre-meditate my shots and lose the plot. In between all this, I get run out and its time for some water to cool me down and plan the next delivery or shot. I suppose I need the practice and some time to get back into the grove.

[THX_1138]

Cool thread elite! I had not played cricket for a good 6-7 or even 8 years. Then this summer I have played a few weeks, and I have completely forgotten my runup and bowling action. Probably, because some long time ago, I was trying to mimic other bowlers' actions and now I have a severe problem with my runup. I had gotten hit by a baseball on my knee by some fool. The jump is also missing and I find myself laboring to the delivery stride without any rhythm whatsoever. Mind you, I was a pretty decent bowler in my younger years even at around 8 or 9 but have lost it completely now. I seem to taken to the cleaners nowdays playing park cricket by recent highschool grads hitting me for fours and sixes. Coming on to batting, I have actually improved on my batting over the years. But put into a match situation , and when it is my turn to bat, the heart beats like that of a hummingbird. The pressure surmounts and there is no feet movement. I try to pre-meditate my shots and lose the plot. In between all this, I get run out and its time for some water to cool me down and plan the next delivery or shot. I suppose I need the practice and some time to get back into the grove.

do you bowl with a significant leap? i realized that my leap for quite unneccessary as my pace is almost exclusively from the shoulder and back... i noticed a bunch of really fast bowlers do not have any noticable leap, shane bond being a prominent example! and how exactly did you get hit on your knee with a baseball bat? my battings is quite decent on irregular pitches since i sort of talk myself into the shot... for instance on this pitch the ball was keeping low, so the moment it was pitched at a good length i told myself that anything in the line of the stumps or coming in, i would defend with a straight bat... nothing on the backfoot, no lunging for the ball... it difficult to hit a six when you bend forward into the shot, but retaining my wicket is a decent compensation! however on flat pitch were the need of the hour is to strike the ball hard and fast, i would be in shambles as my approach would be too defensive!

[ludhianvi]

do you bowl with a significant leap? i realized that my leap for quite unneccessary as my pace is almost exclusively from the shoulder and back... i noticed a bunch of really fast bowlers do not have any noticable leap' date=' shane bond being a prominent example![/quote'] I need momentum to bowl and the leap was part of my bowling some years back. It wasnt a significant leap but it was there. I have heard Holding talk that a long leap is good to carry the momentum forward into the final stride. But recently in the Asia cup, I think it was either Amir Sohail or Waqar Younis that the final stride should be smaller. So two contrasting views. I suppose whatever works for you. There seems to be a lot of pressure put on the ankle with a significant leap like the one Zaheer Khan used to have early on in his career. Guys like Wasim Akram didnt have a leap as he used his shoulders more.

and how exactly did you get hit on your knee with a baseball bat?

Actually that was while in high school playing baseball, and I was running towards first base after hitting the ball and the second baseman, in trying to throw the ball to the first baseball struck the ball at full speed right in the middle of the side of my knee. The fact that I dont have much meat around my knees didnt help either.

my battings is quite decent on irregular pitches since i sort of talk myself into the shot... for instance on this pitch the ball was keeping low, so the moment it was pitched at a good length i told myself that anything in the line of the stumps or coming in, i would defend with a straight bat... nothing on the backfoot, no lunging for the ball... it difficult to hit a six when you bend forward into the shot, but retaining my wicket is a decent compensation! however on flat pitch were the need of the hour is to strike the ball hard and fast, i would be in shambles as my approach would be too defensive!

Good strategy. I'm quite defensive, and like to play orthodox shots, much like Dravid. So when I try to hit a six, my elbows are already bent and get locked as if I am trying to play a drive. The pitch, if you can call it a pitch, we play on is the baseball diamond with all the gravel and uneven bounce with a hard tennis ball that has cork inside. Some of the balls bounce up and some skid through. Fast bowlers really get hammered as they provide the pace; spinners are much harder to face.