Kinross Cricket

We were having lunch at Loch Leven Larder, enjoying the splendid view over the said Loch. We were entertained by the lengthy ritual of Kinross Cricket Club arriving and getting ready to play. First the man in the petrol driven sit-on roller rolled the pitch.

Then the assorted players - in their whites - played around with the ball. Then the umpire arrived for the serious business of inspecting the pitch. When he seemed happy, 14 players emerged, which seemed slightly odd as those of us watching expected 22, but they seemed to be expecting to manage with 14. Maybe cricket has changed since I was a slow but very crafty spin bowler of unrealised potential at school (ie, not yesterday). Then the umpire came back to the pavilion (portakabin) for the stumps and bails and installed them. The sequencing here didn't seem quite right to me.

And finally, the umpire checked the 6 coins in his pocket, made an appropriate gesture to the assembled players and scorekeeper, and the bowler bowled the first ball. Which is what you see in this picture. I suspect the many and varied bird life of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve had seen this all before. They certainly seem unperturbed by it.