Well, the scoreboard says it all really, Victoria are a long way behind the required run rate, but have only lost a couple of wickets.
Victoria started well, by stroking the ball nicely into the gaps, picking up ones and two's here and there. Unfortunately as the first few others progressed, those ones ad two's became fewer and further between. Clarke was happy to see that Lee was bowling at speeds of up to 97mph, and decided to give him a while bowling from one end whereas Clark wasn't quite up to scratch at the other end and so he was off after only a couple of overs. I knew i wouldn't be replacing him, the coach had said that Nathan (Hauritz) would come on before me, so as the coach had said, Nathan came on before me and had quite a few overs. I was wondering when I would get my chance, the overs kept ticking over, and every time Michael (Clarke) seemed happy to continue with Lee and Hauritz, yes they were keeping the score down, but they weren't taking wickets. Maybe he has something against us brits for winning the ashes, I don't know, but again and again, an over ended and I still wasn't bowling. Eventually, Brett (Lee) was tiring, we could all see it, 97mph had become 94mph, and 94mph had gradually slipped into the 80's. Runs were beginning to come easier for the Victoria openers, and eventually the coach signalled to the captain to get me on.
I bowled my first few overs nervously, I had been a bag of bones ever since I stepped out onto the pitch, what if I dropped a catch? what if I missed a run out opportunity? Eventually though, the team got behind me, they could sense that I was nervous and needed some help. A couple of appeals for stumpings and LBW's were turned down, and Clarke was looking to take me off, however Brad Haddin had other ideas, Clarke signalled to Moises Henriques to get warmed up, and Brad decided to start shouting at Michael Clarke until he was persuaded to keep me on, apparently the pair have been on tenterhooks ever since they got back from the UK only a few months before.
Anyway, overs came and went, and although I was now 3 overs 1 maiden and 4 runs, I still hadn't got that opening wicket, which I was striving for. Brett Lee had returned after a rest, on for Nathan Hauritz, and begun to unsettle the Victoria batsmen. It came in my fourth over, I pitched it up what I thought was a little bit too far, but the batsman just seemed completely bewildered by it, edging it straight to backward point. Arms went up all around the SCG. I was mobbed by my team-mates, all apart from Clarke, who was obviously quite put out that Haddin's idea had worked.
Out of all my team-mates, so far I would say that Moises Henriques is the best guy in the changing rooms, very funny, but knows when to act serious if something needs to be done. One of the main differences between Pro and Amateur cricket is that it is dead silent out in the middle of the SCG, but when you are playing away at Old Merchant Taylors on a pleasant September afternoon, there is loads of banter flying left, right and center.
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