Monday, October 15, 2007

Cricket Boy's First Steps

The slap of leather against willow. The gentle applause from the crowd. The smell of the dry grass that crunched under his feet. The feel of the giant pads, strapped tight against his legs, making him walk like a constipated brachiosaurus. The heavy bat, dragging along behind him.

Thus it was that Cricket Boy made his way to the crease for the very first time.

He lifted the bat, weighted it in his hands, then lowered it so the tip touched the sandy spot by the stumps and turned side on to the ball. The bowler, unemcumbered by pads, scurried towards him, released the ball - a flash of red - clatter - stumps ahoy! Out first ball.

To be continued as the cricket season unrolls...

6 comments:

Robin S. said...

I love watching cricket, even though I only understand a little bit of it.

My husband tells me Americna baseball is an offshoot/weird version of cricket, but I think cricket is better looking. I love the classiness of it.

This is your son playing? Very cool

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Constipated brachiosaurus! Awesome imagery there. I don't know much about cricket, will you share some more about it with your stories? This sounds like a great start here!

McKoala said...

Alas, I don't understand much about cricket either... Turns out you have to keep your arm straight while bowling - who knew? So we have a field full of six and seven year olds whirling their arms around like helicopter blades to practice the motion. Quite funny.

To me, it's a chance to sit in the sun in a deck chair with a chocolate croissant and a thermos of tea. Ah, this is the life.

I'll track Cricket Boy's progress through the season, but I already suspect that there may not be as much action as in the Soccer Boy days.

Chris Eldin said...

I wish I knew more about cricket also. There are many sports which haven't caught on in the U.S. and I don't know why.
Maybe David Beckham will make soccer (football) more popular!

McKoala said...

It's true, CL, your country has its own ideas about sport! That also applies down here, though, they have three distinct versions of football/rugby, all with an oval ball, all with their own rules. Very confusing. And then there's soccer, which they also sometimes call football - 'the one with the round ball'.

I'll try and track down some simple cricket rules.

Robin S. said...

Cool about the cricket rules. I'll read them soon.

I think the several days long test match idea is amazing.

Keep us posted on Cricket Boy1