Cricket

Foakes on his way there too.

Surrey’s batting lineup is absolutely ridiculous in this game.

Popeyyyyyyyyy

Come on the Rey

Cant wait until I can have a lazy day at Old Trafford with a few pints of Thwaites and a newspaper.

Saqib Mahmood giving it some proper wheels here https://twitter.com/lancscricket/status/1383467837667250184?s=20

Bit of a queue for an England cap these days but his time will come.

Might want to pour a drink out for any Warwickshire supporters today

Not great going for Hampshire either

Nah, delightful bowling from Clark and Clarke. Waiting for us to royally fuck this up...

Daughter starting to play in the local "Smash it" U11 girls league this weekend.

The parents have to do all of the various jobs and I'm really hoping I don't get thrown straight into the deep end either umpiring or scoring (I've just had an hour long intro session into the Play Cricket scoring app - ugh).

Watching cricket, and playing recreationally/occasionally at school thousands of years ago, is all a bit different to trying to keep an eye on things during a real game, even if it is a bunch of U11's.

If I do end up being the best option for an umpire it'll be chaotic to say the least.

Do they have DRS in u11 matches?

The players from the batting side umpired when I played second XI cricket.

Application of the rules was sporadic at times.

Relax and remember you’re all there to enjoy it. Advise rather than enforce - if a player oversteps on their delivery, for example, they won’t learn much from conceding a no ball the first couple of times.

Also - do you really need to be marking every dot ball in the scorebook for u11 cricket? I’d say probably not.

The only people that moan about umpires are the bowlers and batsman that get out lbw, the rest of us are happy that someone else is out there trying to count to 6.

Rules will be applied gently but consistently hopefully, we (our club and set of parents at least) want the girls to have fun rather than have any kind of "win at all costs" mentality, although we've heard that some of the other teams in the league are a bit more ruthless.

Hopefully the majority of teams will agree to be a bit more lenient at first, the suggestion was to warn them of the first no ball (unless it's huge or and results in a really unplayable ball) and guide them in from there. It helps that wides and no-balls don't need to be re-bowled, it's a straight 6 balls from each over regardless.

(This is partly the concern for me over scoring and umpiring, remembering that things aren't quite the same as "normal" cricket. It's "pairs" cricket so each pair is in for 2 overs and can't be out, each wicket just costs the team -5 runs.)

We'll be doing the scoring on paper first, and if we don't balls that up then I can transfer it to the app after the game(s). Or, hopefully, we'll have someone doing paper scoring and someone else plugging it into the app at the same time.

Identification of the players is going to be the big problem at first, most parents don't know any of the other kids at all. Hopefully none of the parents try and drop-off and pick them up later.

Identification of the players

“BOWLER’S NAME!”

And remember standard scoring payment is £2.50, a free tea and a half a shandy in the clubhouse...

tea
clubhouse

Where do you play, Lord's?

Our tea equals a can (special brew for the older members, lager for the more respectable) and a fag/spliff. Supermalt if you're in form and reckon you fancy the look of the oppo.

The 'clubhouse' is usually a nearby tree that can double as a toilet and partial roof when rain stops play.

Apparently only about 3 players 'know how to score' too. As one of those 3, i can assure you that £2.50 payment and a free drink is the stuff of impossible dreams. If you want to be relieved from your umpiring stint then you have to just walk off the pitch and force the issue otherwise you will be out there for 40 overs.

Where do you play, Lord's?

*(rates were correct as per Notts League Div 2 ca. 1993)

The dot balls are the easy ones! I scored an under 8 match on Saturday. Favourite entry on the score card was a wide (2 runs) on which they than ran 2 more, then a poor throw meant they tried to scamper two over throws, but the none striker was run out (-5). Net total for the ball - 0 but not a dot.

If it's the same as ours, the pairs are supposed to all play each other - so the same two bowlers bowl 4 overs (2 each) at two batsmen. At the change of innings, those roles should be reversed so the batsmen bowl at the bowlers that bowled at them....there is then a pairs bonus point system based on whether as a pair they beat the other pair.

This does means if you get organised at the start you can get all the names in order and make sure they are spelt right.

Used to play/score in some nice grounds in Nottinghamshire. Edwinstowe, near the Major Oak was nice and Hoveringham (I think) had a handy beer hatch from the next-door pub just off the third man boundary at one end - needless to say everyone volunteered to field there...

Sometimes it's nice outside that there London. ;)

Beer hatch near the boundary. That's amazing

Ha ha. Only cricket could make under 8s sport more complicated than the Duckworth Lewis method.

If I'm ever asked to umpire I just exclusively do square leg, because I am fearful of a howler. Ah

Anyway, IPL off, bring the boys home blahblahblah

I once turned down an LBW and when I was angrily asked why, the only thing I could think to say was that I hadn’t really been paying attention and the batsman gets the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, IPL off, bring the boys home blahblahblah

I hope they’re all free contractually to play county cricket.

Every ground should have one...

we've got two brothers and a dad, surname: Watts

cue hilarious japery EVERY WEEK.