Catch

It remains very stressful at work but I did at least fix a few stubborn bugs today and I left the office this evening feeling a little less overwhelmed than yesterday. I saw these guys on the walk to the office this morning. I stood watching for a short while before I saw the photographic potential. These are big and heavy roof slates, yet they were being tossed around with astonishing ease. You wouldn't want to miss though. One of these could decapitate you! It was impressive to watch the teamwork.

I feel compelled to mention the cricket. This World Cup has pretty much passed me by, the time difference making it very hard to follow any matches and get involved in the tournament - which is just as well really. The management of the England team has been such a shambles that I was very happy to see them get beaten by Bangladesh. They deserve a spot in the quarter-finals far more then we do. Hopefully, this early exit will force some much needed changes in approach.

Limited over cricket is a game of instincts. You learn the deep skills of the sport playing the long form of the game, which is measured and often highly tactical, but when it comes to the one day format you have to free yourself to play without inhibition. That's what other teams do. We appear to be completely stifled by statistical analysis. It's as if the players have given up taking responsibility for their own game, trusting instead to the numbers and methods fed to them by the coaches. It doesn't work like that. Cricket is the oddest of all team sports because in any given moment there is almost always a complete focus on the individual. Teamwork actually plays a minimal part. The personal responsibility is total. Yet we seem to have created an environment where our players aren't feeling that. They are playing by numbers rather than gut instinct. It's all being over-thought.

I have to admit that right now I'm actually finding it more fascinating than frustrating. It's hard to call a winner at the moment, but I would love to see New Zealand go all the way.