We played our last matches of the season on Saturday…

This was a 6’s tournament hosted by Vale of Leven Cricket club. The format of these tournaments does not normally suit my game- each side has only 6 players, and 5 of them bowls one over each. Vale added a few more rules to ensure as even a contest as possible; no LBWs, and a different pair of batsmen had to open in each game. 6’s cricket is all about high impact hitting, athletic fielding and tight bowling.

Innellan CC (my team) really struggled to pull together a side, and so in the end I pulled in some help. This included Euan, Louie and his dad Phil.

And we beat everybody! It is an unusual thing for me- I am not really used to winning cricket matches, let alone whole tournaments. Louie batted out of his skin- he is a rising star and is on the verge of the national Scotland under 15’s team. We all bowled well, but somehow I managed to find a crop of fast spinners that people found impossible to hit. One of my overs was a maiden. Will kept wicket rather than bowling- something he loves to do, hiding from the pressure of being the bowler that everyone (but Will himself) thinks he is. In the end I decided that he was due a rest- and he crashed a few fours to complete his day.

I was very proud of my little team- not only did we win, but we played the game as it should be played. We were courteous, friendly and fair, and when others were getting angry and aggressive we just ignored them and carried on doing our thing.

Now the season is done. The dark space of winter welcomes no cricket. We are left only with memories.

And a trophy on the mantelpiece…