The Beamer

An orange ball similar to the ones used by us in Pembs  not the exact one I hasten to add. Apologies for the delay in posting blog number two, I just haven’t summoned the energy to get up and write it which is probably a combination of being shattered from looking after a poorly two year old, rendering the nights long and restless; and the blues setting in knowing that I won’t be donning the whites again in 2013. The end of a cricket season can bring relief if you’ve had a tortuous few months but anguish and despair if it’s been relatively decent. I’m somewhat torn between the two with decent performances interspersed with those ranging from indifferent to embarrassing. Anyway, enough of my travails at Lamphey let’s talk about something topical, like orange cricket balls. The announcement that a decision had been made to trial orange cricket balls in the much tinkered with Duggie Morris cup brought a degree of excitement to the County AGM two years ago. ‘At last,’...

Now that the dust has settled, the days become shorter and thoughts of cricket turn to rugby or football it’s time to reflect on the season that’s just passed, one where the sun shone more often than not and the batsmen made hay while the bowlers toiled. Some men stood out, others didn’t yet one team rose above the rest to confirm themselves as the best in the county, one that swept all before them and one that commands the respect of players past and present throughout the Shire. That team is Neyland. Idioms and clichés are well used in sport with the majority being derided by even those that use them yet the one that states ‘There is no I in team’ rings true of a side that refuses to lay down even when the going gets tough. A quick look down the teamsheet reveals no star names. There is no Simon Holliday, no Danny Caine or no Johnny Pawlett. There are no dynamic cricketers (although Paul Murray could have something to say about that when he gets going) yet each playe...