Going With The Wind

There used to be a time when I woke up on Saturday morning raring to go and eager to make the most of every hour of the day - but of late the will just hasn't been there. It took me a long time to get going today, any thought the previous night of getting out for a morning ride soon put to rest, not helped by the strong wind and a threat of a bit of rain.

The plan was always to ride across to Harrogate to watch the boys play cricket for the first team this afternoon, Roam being drafted in to bolster up the bowling with a few people either injured or away. In the end I went straight there, although it wasn't quite as straight as intended because I had a bit of trouble locating the ground at Bilton. I've always found Harrogate a bit confusing to navigate. Setting off late, stopping to chat to the wonderful Ernie, then a few detours, all meant that by the time I arrived the score was 76-1 with Forrest on 34, having done his job of seeing off the new ball and giving the team a very solid foundation. The very first ball I saw him face he got out. Talk about a heart-sinking moment. What was really terrible for me is that this was the third successive time this has happened. Over a period of the last month I've seen him face just three balls, in three matches, experiencing the pain of watching him get out to each one. The moment I arrive I'm immediately denied the pleasure (and pain) of watching him bat. It's hard to believe. I'm not sure whether it's he who is jinxing me or me who is jinxing him!

Fortunately, thankfully indeed, things got better from there. The lads went through the gears in the second half of the innings and managed to score 90 runs off the last 10 overs to post, on what was a very good deck, a reasonably competitive score of 213. To win against Bilton, challenging at the top of the league, we would have to bowl and field very well indeed. Roam was trusted to open the bowling, into the stiff breeze, and did a stirling job, keeping it very tight and picking up the first wicket. As a team, to a man, everyone gave their all with the ball and in the field. We kept the scoreboard pressure on and as a result the wickets slowly fell. Each time they looked like getting on top of the rate we pegged another one back. It was a wonderful game of cricket, the result remaining in balance right through the innings.

With just a few overs to go one man stood between us and a famous victory. The opposition No.4 had reached his fifty, was well set and could easily have taken the game away from us. But he was running out of partners and we successfully kept him off strike with some passionate fielding. It got to the point where he had to take risks and in an effort to go big with a six he hit one right down Forrest's throat at long-on. It went very high and he had to run in from the boundary to take the catch - which he took with no question of doubt in his mind. I've seen Forrest take so many catches in the deep like this that I knew he was going to take it. His confidence is supreme in these situations. I like to take some credit for that. All those countless hours of throwing balls high in the air for the boys to catch have paid off.

The guys were ecstatic. They knew they had won the game in that moment. The last two wickets fell in quick succession and we finished up winning by the seemingly comfortable margin of 35 runs. It was closer and far more nerve-wracking than that margin would suggest. It was a game they absolutely had to win. It's hard to remember a better all around team performance. We remain bottom but there are four teams in the mix down there at the wrong end of the table. There is real belief now that they can escape the drop. It's going to be a very exciting end to the season.

By the time I'd cycled back, taking a few stops to take photos, the sun had set and it was quite dark, although the strong wind that has been blowing all day had died down. I was so absorbed in the cricket that I pretty much forgot about photography, despite the beautiful skies that the game was played under. This shot is a reminder of the unusual clouds that formed late in the day, and also of Hurricane Bertha which I presume was responsible for them, and all that wind - a precursor to the horrendous weather shortly to arrive. It was a day where I thought I'd be fighting against the wind but it turned out to be completely the other way around.