A rollercoaster ride!

So here we are! The final match of another long cricket season and for a change, there is still so much to play for in the Nottinghamshire Premier League as we enter the final day. Speaking with Jon Terry after training on Tuesday, he could not remember a season in recent years where things at both ends of the table were still in the balance.

Unfortunately for ourselves, we still have the glimmer of light showing from the trap door beneath our feet, and so our first and foremost objective this weekend will be to secure the two points that we need to confirm our Premier League status for another season. It is obviously disappointing that we have not be able to close off this question prior to the last league game, but we are pleased that everything is in our hands this weekend to ensure we don’t have a slip-up.

The League is alive with chatter at the moment over many issues, some of which are not really for my place to comment at this stage, certainly not until the shake-out has become clear. However, our focus as a team, as it has been all season, will be to ensure we finish the season as high as we can, and that is what our time and efforts will be focused on come this weekend.

It has been a tough season at Kimberley this year, there is no doubt about that. However, there are also many many positives and highlights in what has actually been, on a personal note, a very enjoyable and rewarding few months.

There have been many individual performances that have brought a great smile to my face. Paldip Sidhu’s two hundreds, particularly the second against Welbeck that set us up for a big winning draw. Bharat Popli’s brilliant innings against Rolls Royce which enabled us to take a surprisingly large haul of points in another positive result. Alex King’s bowling against Papplewick both at home and away that enabled us to claim two big wins. These performances were all crucial to gaining good points at vital stages of the season.

It has perhaps though, been the consistent performances of Sam Johnson and the excellent leadership of Sam Ogrizovic, that has really been the catalyst for the fact we have for the large part, been able to keep ourselves just about out of trouble. The key is to make sure we now do that for one more week!

From my point of view, taking on the role of ‘Coach’ has been a tough but thoroughly enjoyable experience. It has been emotionally draining as you really live and breath every delivery out there, even when we are batting and doing well. You not only want to do well yourself, but also you want everyone in the team to do well, because you know how hard they are working during the week to make sure they are well prepared. You then have to endure their disappointments, but can revel in their highs, and I think the season that Bharat has had probably sums up that rollercoaster ride the most! We now need to ensure we get our heads down for one last effort and ensure that Saturday night can be a big celebration of a season well fought, and with much learnt. Winter well!

Captaincy can be a tough gig!

It has been quite a hectic couple of weeks for me. After a wonderful wedding day two weekends ago, I was then challenged with the task of starting my new job two days later. Perhaps the biggest task though, was taking on the Kimberley Captaincy from Sam Ogrizovic last weekend!

With Sam taking a well deserved break this week, I was asked to ‘take the reigns’, so to speak, and after 25 overs of their innings I was probably wishing I hadn’t ! After losing Atif Sheikh to injury the day before the game, and on a fresh new Kimberley wicket which proved to be a beautiful surface to bat on, the opening pair from Plumtree batted exceptionally well, and made us work very hard in the field.

Thankfully we did eventually make a break through, and although we slowed their scoring in the later stages of the innings, their total of 310 was always going to be a near impossible chase.

Captaincy can be a tough gig. Saturday was a casing example! Sometimes, whatever the resources at your disposal, you can’t seem to find the right formula to get yourself into the game. Like any team sport, you need the backing of all the team members for you to be successful, and when we lost young Liam Webb to injury early in the game, it really highlighted that point.

This week I have been able to reflect on the decision that I made on Saturday and evaluate if I would have done things differently. There are certain things that maybe I would have looked to change, but fundamentally, I think you have to stand by your decisions. It is important though, in any sport or walk of life, to review your performance to see if you can improve on what you have done for next time.

It will be good to have Sam back with us this weekend, as we get towards the crunch part of the season. With two games remaining we are in a good position to avoid the drop, but we are also very conscious of the fact that we still have much work to do to ensure our safety.

We face a difficult job this weekend as we take on West Indian Cavaliers. The ‘Cavs’ have a remarkable ability to recruit players seemingly from all over the country. I am always impressed with the dedication their players show in travelling so far to play for them. I must take this opportunity to congratulate them on their success in the ECB National Cup, which reflects well on the Nottinghamshire Premier League. It will no doubt be a really though game for us, and one in which we will need to raise our performance levels significantly from last weekend.