I'm always there mate! Would love to read this further!
Story Cricket? Story of my life...
- Thread starter qpeedore
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qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
You're that one person then. Yes, of course I'll continue. It's not a particularly "cricket" story, although cricket does feature in it.
Side note: There's an anecdotal, probably an urban legend story of a band playing at a music festival. Now you know these festivals, there are like 5 stages and different bands play at different times. So it's after midnight and this one small band is scheduled to play. But everyone is either asleep or just doesn't care. Then they see one flicker of light from a lighter, way off in the distance...one flame. The band played their entire set for that one person.
Again it's just a story but has enough truth in it to wonder...it might actually have happened.
So put up your lighter @Yash. because I'll see this through!
Side note: There's an anecdotal, probably an urban legend story of a band playing at a music festival. Now you know these festivals, there are like 5 stages and different bands play at different times. So it's after midnight and this one small band is scheduled to play. But everyone is either asleep or just doesn't care. Then they see one flicker of light from a lighter, way off in the distance...one flame. The band played their entire set for that one person.
Again it's just a story but has enough truth in it to wonder...it might actually have happened.
So put up your lighter @Yash. because I'll see this through!
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Alright. Let's see what I can come up with. Writing from the seat of my pants here, so I'm literally typing this up as we speak. It's 11.54am at the moment where I live, and IPL and YouTube aside, I'm dedicating the next while to this story. And WhatsApp...apparently my sister is now deciding that this is the time to have a conversation...
Chapter 21 - "A Scooby"
We were still frozen in time. Eliza definitely wasn't. She almost skipped into the room and went right between us. "Didn't anyone hear me?" she asked. "Sammy's up and awake!"
Of course we heard her. Did it register in our minds? Of course it did. But she had said something in particular.
"Did you," I began, "Um, did you say he's asking for James?"
She shrugged. "That's what the doctor told me. James. That's you, Mr. Jaime...or what was it that Mr. Qpee says? Jaime or James or Jim or Jim-a-ling-a-ding-dong."
Jaime smiled. "The next time you call me a ding-dong, Liza, you're out of the first eleven."
"Well he asked for you."
I unfroze for a moment longer. Thankfully there wasn't an anxiety attack on the cards. I looked at Sam's parents. Yep, father looking all annoyed almost to the point of being angry. Mother looking, dare I say...well, she looked sort of cute but strong. Dad might be the one who called the shots, but mom was the one who made the decisions.
"I don't think that Sam wants to see ding-dong here," I said, gesturing toward Jaime. "What, I actually am allowed to call you that."
Jaime shrugged.
"I think," I started again, "Sam might want to see someone really special to him. While I do wish his first request was to see his parents, I'm pretty sure it's not them or Jaime he would like to see."
Everyone continued to stare at me. I realised quite quickly that I was getting nowhere. Thankfully a doctor came into the room and half rescued me.
"Hi."
He looked sleepy. I mean, when you see someone looking sleepy you sort of know it. The half-closed eyes, the long blinks, the sluggish movements. This guy was none of that, yet he just conveyed a sleepiness in him that could probably be contagious. I didn't envy his job. He had probably been awake for longer than Scott, who was, of course, very much asleep at his apartment at the moment.
In the room there were us five. Sam's parents, myself, Jaime, and the bubbly Eliza. Six if you count the sleepy doctor. Outside of the room, there were about a million kids' faces, peering in.
"Next of kin for one S. Adams?"
His words drove a spike through my chest. The hell? Nobody uses the phrase "next of kin" unless it's time for a lawyer to read a will. Mr. and Mrs. Adams nodded and looked up.
"Your...your son, I take it?" More nodding. "Okay, he's fine. Everything went well with the surgery and he woke up on his own. He was a bit groggy at first but he's quite lucid right now. I've offered him the chance to have two, exactly two, visitors. We don't allow more than two visitors at any time in the ICU and I see that right now you have half a football team here..."
Jaime cut in. "It's a full cricket team, doc."
The doctor gave the slightest shake of his head and continued. "Whatever it is, we cannot have everyone visiting him today. Now after my initial assessment of him, he asked to see a James. I think that whoever this James is should be allowed to see him first. Mr. Adams, might I ask if your first name is James?"
Sam's father shook his head. "No, it's Arthur. Art, Artie...I don't see how that can be termed as James. But as his parents we should be the first ones to see him, shouldn't we?"
Again a slight shake of the head from the doctor.
"I'm sorry, in his situation, we think if he doesn't see the person he's requested, it might do more negative than positive."
Art blinked and I swear, I thought fire was in those eyes.
"So you're telling me...you're telling ME...that I cannot see my son because he wants to see some random James?! What the hell is wrong with you? That's MY SON you have in there, and I guarantee you that there is no damn JAMES that he wants to see!"
Eliza grabbed onto my arm. I gave her a glance and a nod. Tensions were getting a bit high. Now, not that high that you could cut it with a knife or anything, but I suppose a spoon might have been helpful.
"Actually sir," I said, "There is no damn JAMES on the team, as you quite so clearly said. But...erm...I think I might know who he wants to see. And I think he should be allowed to see the person that he thinks of most highly."
Art glared at me. I...I...okay we start at one, then two, then three, four, five...see I haven't even gotten to the alphabet yet...six...
"Doctor, if you don't have a Scooby, I'll go see Sammy with that alleged James."
Now it was the doctor's turn to glare at me. Great. Now out of six people in the room I had a full one third of glares. Plus, Eliza was still holding onto my arm and I was getting that tingly feeling down in my fingertips. She might have been squeezing too hard.
"Scooby Doo? What the hell?" was all the doctor could say.
"Erm...sorry. English rhyming slang...Scooby-Doo rhymes with clue...so it's like...anyways, yeah. I read a lot. We'll go see him. But Mr. and Mrs. Arthur here should be next. Agreed?"
This was quickly becoming something akin to a farce. Doctor Unnamed (I always thought that as a doctor you should introduce yourself, but them's what life gives you I guess) he was still glaring at me.
It was at this point that the man of the hour walked in, not privy to the past few minutes.
"Mr. Qpee, Mr. Scott isn't answering his phone. It's going straight to voicemail. I tried several times."
So now there were more glares. Aimed at him, thankfully. Only Eliza, Jaime, and myself didn't glare. And Eliza thankfully let go of my arm. I smiled and took a quick look at Sam's parents and the doctor.
"Jameson, your boyfriend wants to see you."
(12.49pm. Okay, what can you do? I don't quite like to write for more than an hour at a time. Not at my best, but still stronger than my average. Cricket will eventually return, don't worry. The stuff with the doctor is mostly true, I don't often look sleepy but I'm often damn sleepy...it sort of affects how I talk to patients. Taking a few liberties otherwise though. We aren't that bad, and we do genuinely care about people. Again to @Yash. for being that one flame for which the band will play on.
And...erm...yeah, I do realise now that I have a character named Sam Adams. Wasn't intentional.)
Chapter 21 - "A Scooby"
We were still frozen in time. Eliza definitely wasn't. She almost skipped into the room and went right between us. "Didn't anyone hear me?" she asked. "Sammy's up and awake!"
Of course we heard her. Did it register in our minds? Of course it did. But she had said something in particular.
"Did you," I began, "Um, did you say he's asking for James?"
She shrugged. "That's what the doctor told me. James. That's you, Mr. Jaime...or what was it that Mr. Qpee says? Jaime or James or Jim or Jim-a-ling-a-ding-dong."
Jaime smiled. "The next time you call me a ding-dong, Liza, you're out of the first eleven."
"Well he asked for you."
I unfroze for a moment longer. Thankfully there wasn't an anxiety attack on the cards. I looked at Sam's parents. Yep, father looking all annoyed almost to the point of being angry. Mother looking, dare I say...well, she looked sort of cute but strong. Dad might be the one who called the shots, but mom was the one who made the decisions.
"I don't think that Sam wants to see ding-dong here," I said, gesturing toward Jaime. "What, I actually am allowed to call you that."
Jaime shrugged.
"I think," I started again, "Sam might want to see someone really special to him. While I do wish his first request was to see his parents, I'm pretty sure it's not them or Jaime he would like to see."
Everyone continued to stare at me. I realised quite quickly that I was getting nowhere. Thankfully a doctor came into the room and half rescued me.
"Hi."
He looked sleepy. I mean, when you see someone looking sleepy you sort of know it. The half-closed eyes, the long blinks, the sluggish movements. This guy was none of that, yet he just conveyed a sleepiness in him that could probably be contagious. I didn't envy his job. He had probably been awake for longer than Scott, who was, of course, very much asleep at his apartment at the moment.
In the room there were us five. Sam's parents, myself, Jaime, and the bubbly Eliza. Six if you count the sleepy doctor. Outside of the room, there were about a million kids' faces, peering in.
"Next of kin for one S. Adams?"
His words drove a spike through my chest. The hell? Nobody uses the phrase "next of kin" unless it's time for a lawyer to read a will. Mr. and Mrs. Adams nodded and looked up.
"Your...your son, I take it?" More nodding. "Okay, he's fine. Everything went well with the surgery and he woke up on his own. He was a bit groggy at first but he's quite lucid right now. I've offered him the chance to have two, exactly two, visitors. We don't allow more than two visitors at any time in the ICU and I see that right now you have half a football team here..."
Jaime cut in. "It's a full cricket team, doc."
The doctor gave the slightest shake of his head and continued. "Whatever it is, we cannot have everyone visiting him today. Now after my initial assessment of him, he asked to see a James. I think that whoever this James is should be allowed to see him first. Mr. Adams, might I ask if your first name is James?"
Sam's father shook his head. "No, it's Arthur. Art, Artie...I don't see how that can be termed as James. But as his parents we should be the first ones to see him, shouldn't we?"
Again a slight shake of the head from the doctor.
"I'm sorry, in his situation, we think if he doesn't see the person he's requested, it might do more negative than positive."
Art blinked and I swear, I thought fire was in those eyes.
"So you're telling me...you're telling ME...that I cannot see my son because he wants to see some random James?! What the hell is wrong with you? That's MY SON you have in there, and I guarantee you that there is no damn JAMES that he wants to see!"
Eliza grabbed onto my arm. I gave her a glance and a nod. Tensions were getting a bit high. Now, not that high that you could cut it with a knife or anything, but I suppose a spoon might have been helpful.
"Actually sir," I said, "There is no damn JAMES on the team, as you quite so clearly said. But...erm...I think I might know who he wants to see. And I think he should be allowed to see the person that he thinks of most highly."
Art glared at me. I...I...okay we start at one, then two, then three, four, five...see I haven't even gotten to the alphabet yet...six...
"Doctor, if you don't have a Scooby, I'll go see Sammy with that alleged James."
Now it was the doctor's turn to glare at me. Great. Now out of six people in the room I had a full one third of glares. Plus, Eliza was still holding onto my arm and I was getting that tingly feeling down in my fingertips. She might have been squeezing too hard.
"Scooby Doo? What the hell?" was all the doctor could say.
"Erm...sorry. English rhyming slang...Scooby-Doo rhymes with clue...so it's like...anyways, yeah. I read a lot. We'll go see him. But Mr. and Mrs. Arthur here should be next. Agreed?"
This was quickly becoming something akin to a farce. Doctor Unnamed (I always thought that as a doctor you should introduce yourself, but them's what life gives you I guess) he was still glaring at me.
It was at this point that the man of the hour walked in, not privy to the past few minutes.
"Mr. Qpee, Mr. Scott isn't answering his phone. It's going straight to voicemail. I tried several times."
So now there were more glares. Aimed at him, thankfully. Only Eliza, Jaime, and myself didn't glare. And Eliza thankfully let go of my arm. I smiled and took a quick look at Sam's parents and the doctor.
"Jameson, your boyfriend wants to see you."
(12.49pm. Okay, what can you do? I don't quite like to write for more than an hour at a time. Not at my best, but still stronger than my average. Cricket will eventually return, don't worry. The stuff with the doctor is mostly true, I don't often look sleepy but I'm often damn sleepy...it sort of affects how I talk to patients. Taking a few liberties otherwise though. We aren't that bad, and we do genuinely care about people. Again to @Yash. for being that one flame for which the band will play on.
And...erm...yeah, I do realise now that I have a character named Sam Adams. Wasn't intentional.)
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Indeed.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
So I'll update soon. Two super overs in one day with the IPL is a bit much, plus I am actually sort of tired and requiring sleep.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Seems like the IPL just doesn't want me to sleep. As per my umpire thread, they will keep playing Super Overs until there's a winner. Batsmen can't bat again, and bowlers can't bowl again.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Right. So for those of you who have been following the story thus far, you guys all know. For those of you who haven't, I'm a fictional me playing cricket somewhere in the USA. After injuring my captain and getting banned from my original team, I formed a team of high school kids, who thankfully didn't come last for the past couple of seasons. Now we have a $25k prize to play for and in the very first game for us this season, one of the kids got injured and had surgery and is now in the ICU. He's asking for his boyfriend, something which, obviously, was previously unknown to most.
Let's go.
Chapter 22 - "He's bla-"
I was ready to walk out of the room, but of course, Mr. Arthur Adams had something to say. He stood up and glared at me. If you've been following, that's part of the one third of people glaring my way in the past ten minutes. I suppose something can be said that the room now contained seven people with Jameson's arrival, and thus it wasn't exactly one third any longer, but then the damn doctor took his cue to quietly slip away. Damn bitch. But, considering that he was one of the original glare-ers...well, the odds were sort of in my favour again, I think.
"Boyfriend?" Art asked, his nervous gesture toward Jameson being sort of half-hearted. "My son...and...and...well...him?"
Eliza pipped up before I had a chance to stop her. What is it with 17 year old girls? On the field she could match anyone for intensity. Off the field she was the typical teenage girl.
"So what? They really like each other!"
"Liza, shh..." Jaime said, "You're really not helping here."
"No, Mr. Jaime. I don't care. You guys just don't know. All you adults are the damn same way. If you'd seen them together, you'd know. Come on, Jameson, tell them. Tell them!"
I'd only reached the letter E at this point in time. This entire day was pushing my anxiety to its limits. If I reached Z I wasn't quite sure where I'd start. The NATO alphabet maybe? Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta...I had made it to around O for Oscar by the time I decided to speak again.
"Alright, alright. Everybody out. Mr. and Mrs. Adams, you guys stay. Spiderman...well, Jameson...you stay. I'm staying. Liza, Ding-dong, leave please. Jaime, take the team somewhere that's not here...well I don't know...let them go hunting for that nurse that Sean and Greg like or something. Take my wallet and go get them some food, I don't care."
I pulled out my wallet and threw it at Jaime. True to his reflexes, he caught it easily one-handed. "Um, Qpee...you've got four dollars and an old subway ticket in here."
"Good, that's about 36 cents each, plus a free ride to somewhere north of here for one of you. Can you just leave us alone?"
Jaime shook his head and left with Eliza, ushering the rest of the team away. I gestured to Jameson for him to sit in one of the free chairs, while I took another. There was a moment of silence in the room, which I broke first.
"This tall young man here is Jameson. I call him Spiderman, because those arms sort of shouldn't extend the way they do. He's tall, slim, highly uncoordinated, and when he picks up a bat in this hobby, as you call it, the bat looks like a toothpick. He's in the team because he's dedicated, he bats well in the lower order, and his knowledge of cricket is perhaps only just behind myself, Scott, and Jaime. Plus, those arms and legs aren't just there for show. Yeah, knobbly knees. Yeah, arms that sort of look ungainly...shh...yes Jameson I'm getting to the good parts. Those limbs skitter-scatter all over the place in the field and grab up everything. The ball comes his way, he'll have it in his hands before long. That's the Spider in him.
"Now, you've heard a lot of things. And believe me, I really would have liked that Sammy's first request was to see you. But Mrs. Adams, you said he squeezed your hand, right? He knew you were there. Now he wants to see someone important to him. And that...is this tall drink of Coca-Cola right here."
Mrs. Adams began, "But...he's..."
I cut her off. "Yes, he's. And that's the thing is it, that it's a he? Mrs. Adams, we're well into the 21st century. Whether it's a she, a he, it shouldn't matter. Or do I seriously need to destroy your son's life while he's still fighting for it?"
She shrunk back a little. But now it was Arthur's turn, and he leaned forward.
"But he's bla-"
I rose from my chair so hard that it hit the wall behind me. "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING ANOTHER LETTER OF THAT WORD!"
I grabbed Jameson's arm and started pulling him out of the room. "Spiderman, we're gonna go see Sammy, whether or not this c*nt wants us to or not.
Jameson had no choice but to follow me. We went to the visiting area, where we were handed our gowns, gloves and masks. Jameson kept glancing at me.
"Mr. Qpee...um, you sure you handled that well? Like, I mean...maybe you need an anger management course or something...I dunno, just saying."
Wow. Even the kids?
"Way ahead of you there, Spidey. Look, I got you to see him, didn't I?"
"I guess you did. Sir, you don't have to come you know."
"Nah, don't worry. I'll keep the beast in check for a while. Now you look absolutely ridiculous in your outfit and I bet I do too. Let's go see Sammy."
We had to sign in (with gloves on, that's quite a feat), then we had to enter through some sort of space age thing where the outside door can't be open at the same time as the inside door. Then a nurse met us, looked at our visitor IDs, confirmed that we were there to see Sam, and finally took us to him.
In three minutes I'd gone through more checks than if the CIA or FBI was investigating me.
Sam was leaning back at an angle on a bed. There were lines and tubes everywhere. Quiet but not silent beepings from all sorts of machines were around. But he was awake. And he recognised us immediately.
"Oh, my...God...Jameson...they let you in? Jameson...you holding up okay?"
I stepped back a bit. I turned to ask a nurse whether Sam could give Jameson a hug. She said sure, but she did have to help him out, what with all the lines attached to his arm and all. "Now that's all," she warned us, "I'm not here just to help give hugs all day." We assured her that the one hug would be quite sufficient. I let Sam and Jameson talk for a while before Sam called me over.
"Hey, Mr. Qpee. So...tough time with it, huh?"
I started to have memories of the ball and I felt myself becoming a bit dizzy again. But Sam brought me back down to the earth.
"Hey, sir...I think I need help negotiating the bouncer. I can't play it well."
Jameson gave Sam a nudge on his shoulder, setting a couple of monitors alarming for a few seconds. "No duh, you bitch. You scared us...scared me...you can't leave me..."
"I'm way stronger than that. Plus, who can say they have a hole in their head. I can!"
I looked at the said head. Wrapped with layers of bandages, it definitely looked intimidating. Sam continued to speak.
"They're not sure about my strength. I'm moving all my arms and legs, they're pretty happy about that. But they're not sure if you know, one side will be weaker than the other. They mentioned physiotherapy and stuff. Hey, Jameson...psst...that nurse over there...she knows more about my body than you'd ever know right now..."
"Sam!" I said, taken aback.
"Well, it's true, you can ask her...hey, guys? Mr. Qpee?"
"Yeah, Sam, I'm here, buddy."
"I had a brain surgery last night, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did, bud. And you're doing quite well according to the doctor. Your parents were here earlier too, when you were just waking up. You squeezed your mom's hand to let her know you were there."
"I did? Wow, I don't remember that. My dad is probably angry with me, huh."
"Why would he be?"
"Well, remember I used to play baseball. Was pretty good, too. Then I started playing with you guys...I'm not sure if...if...I dunno. I can't remember what I was talking about. Am I going to be stupid too? After this?"
Oh, God. No. Not that type of question. No...he couldn't. Could he? No. Nonononononono-
"Sammy if I have to feed you everyday, I'll always be here." Jameson cut in.
"You have a long road to recovery," I restarted, "Let's take it one day at a time."
Sam's eyes were not exactly focused. Whether it was the medications, or the injury, or the surgery, or whatever...but they had a bit of a slight odd look to them. "Can I ever play cricket again, sir?"
I shook my head. "Now's not the time to talk about that, son. You heal up. I promise you that you're never far from our team. Okay?"
He nodded, then grimaced. It might have hurt a bit to nod. The friendly nurse came by shortly to let us know that our time was coming to an end. I let Sam and Jameson spend that time whispering to each other, then we left.
As we were doffing our equipment, I saw he had tears in his eyes.
"Thanks, sir." he said.
"Hey, he has you to think of. He'll get there."
(Took a bit more than an hour with this one, started rough but I don't like massive edits. Next update definitely has cricket.)
Let's go.
Chapter 22 - "He's bla-"
I was ready to walk out of the room, but of course, Mr. Arthur Adams had something to say. He stood up and glared at me. If you've been following, that's part of the one third of people glaring my way in the past ten minutes. I suppose something can be said that the room now contained seven people with Jameson's arrival, and thus it wasn't exactly one third any longer, but then the damn doctor took his cue to quietly slip away. Damn bitch. But, considering that he was one of the original glare-ers...well, the odds were sort of in my favour again, I think.
"Boyfriend?" Art asked, his nervous gesture toward Jameson being sort of half-hearted. "My son...and...and...well...him?"
Eliza pipped up before I had a chance to stop her. What is it with 17 year old girls? On the field she could match anyone for intensity. Off the field she was the typical teenage girl.
"So what? They really like each other!"
"Liza, shh..." Jaime said, "You're really not helping here."
"No, Mr. Jaime. I don't care. You guys just don't know. All you adults are the damn same way. If you'd seen them together, you'd know. Come on, Jameson, tell them. Tell them!"
I'd only reached the letter E at this point in time. This entire day was pushing my anxiety to its limits. If I reached Z I wasn't quite sure where I'd start. The NATO alphabet maybe? Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta...I had made it to around O for Oscar by the time I decided to speak again.
"Alright, alright. Everybody out. Mr. and Mrs. Adams, you guys stay. Spiderman...well, Jameson...you stay. I'm staying. Liza, Ding-dong, leave please. Jaime, take the team somewhere that's not here...well I don't know...let them go hunting for that nurse that Sean and Greg like or something. Take my wallet and go get them some food, I don't care."
I pulled out my wallet and threw it at Jaime. True to his reflexes, he caught it easily one-handed. "Um, Qpee...you've got four dollars and an old subway ticket in here."
"Good, that's about 36 cents each, plus a free ride to somewhere north of here for one of you. Can you just leave us alone?"
Jaime shook his head and left with Eliza, ushering the rest of the team away. I gestured to Jameson for him to sit in one of the free chairs, while I took another. There was a moment of silence in the room, which I broke first.
"This tall young man here is Jameson. I call him Spiderman, because those arms sort of shouldn't extend the way they do. He's tall, slim, highly uncoordinated, and when he picks up a bat in this hobby, as you call it, the bat looks like a toothpick. He's in the team because he's dedicated, he bats well in the lower order, and his knowledge of cricket is perhaps only just behind myself, Scott, and Jaime. Plus, those arms and legs aren't just there for show. Yeah, knobbly knees. Yeah, arms that sort of look ungainly...shh...yes Jameson I'm getting to the good parts. Those limbs skitter-scatter all over the place in the field and grab up everything. The ball comes his way, he'll have it in his hands before long. That's the Spider in him.
"Now, you've heard a lot of things. And believe me, I really would have liked that Sammy's first request was to see you. But Mrs. Adams, you said he squeezed your hand, right? He knew you were there. Now he wants to see someone important to him. And that...is this tall drink of Coca-Cola right here."
Mrs. Adams began, "But...he's..."
I cut her off. "Yes, he's. And that's the thing is it, that it's a he? Mrs. Adams, we're well into the 21st century. Whether it's a she, a he, it shouldn't matter. Or do I seriously need to destroy your son's life while he's still fighting for it?"
She shrunk back a little. But now it was Arthur's turn, and he leaned forward.
"But he's bla-"
I rose from my chair so hard that it hit the wall behind me. "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING ANOTHER LETTER OF THAT WORD!"
I grabbed Jameson's arm and started pulling him out of the room. "Spiderman, we're gonna go see Sammy, whether or not this c*nt wants us to or not.
Jameson had no choice but to follow me. We went to the visiting area, where we were handed our gowns, gloves and masks. Jameson kept glancing at me.
"Mr. Qpee...um, you sure you handled that well? Like, I mean...maybe you need an anger management course or something...I dunno, just saying."
Wow. Even the kids?
"Way ahead of you there, Spidey. Look, I got you to see him, didn't I?"
"I guess you did. Sir, you don't have to come you know."
"Nah, don't worry. I'll keep the beast in check for a while. Now you look absolutely ridiculous in your outfit and I bet I do too. Let's go see Sammy."
We had to sign in (with gloves on, that's quite a feat), then we had to enter through some sort of space age thing where the outside door can't be open at the same time as the inside door. Then a nurse met us, looked at our visitor IDs, confirmed that we were there to see Sam, and finally took us to him.
In three minutes I'd gone through more checks than if the CIA or FBI was investigating me.
Sam was leaning back at an angle on a bed. There were lines and tubes everywhere. Quiet but not silent beepings from all sorts of machines were around. But he was awake. And he recognised us immediately.
"Oh, my...God...Jameson...they let you in? Jameson...you holding up okay?"
I stepped back a bit. I turned to ask a nurse whether Sam could give Jameson a hug. She said sure, but she did have to help him out, what with all the lines attached to his arm and all. "Now that's all," she warned us, "I'm not here just to help give hugs all day." We assured her that the one hug would be quite sufficient. I let Sam and Jameson talk for a while before Sam called me over.
"Hey, Mr. Qpee. So...tough time with it, huh?"
I started to have memories of the ball and I felt myself becoming a bit dizzy again. But Sam brought me back down to the earth.
"Hey, sir...I think I need help negotiating the bouncer. I can't play it well."
Jameson gave Sam a nudge on his shoulder, setting a couple of monitors alarming for a few seconds. "No duh, you bitch. You scared us...scared me...you can't leave me..."
"I'm way stronger than that. Plus, who can say they have a hole in their head. I can!"
I looked at the said head. Wrapped with layers of bandages, it definitely looked intimidating. Sam continued to speak.
"They're not sure about my strength. I'm moving all my arms and legs, they're pretty happy about that. But they're not sure if you know, one side will be weaker than the other. They mentioned physiotherapy and stuff. Hey, Jameson...psst...that nurse over there...she knows more about my body than you'd ever know right now..."
"Sam!" I said, taken aback.
"Well, it's true, you can ask her...hey, guys? Mr. Qpee?"
"Yeah, Sam, I'm here, buddy."
"I had a brain surgery last night, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did, bud. And you're doing quite well according to the doctor. Your parents were here earlier too, when you were just waking up. You squeezed your mom's hand to let her know you were there."
"I did? Wow, I don't remember that. My dad is probably angry with me, huh."
"Why would he be?"
"Well, remember I used to play baseball. Was pretty good, too. Then I started playing with you guys...I'm not sure if...if...I dunno. I can't remember what I was talking about. Am I going to be stupid too? After this?"
Oh, God. No. Not that type of question. No...he couldn't. Could he? No. Nonononononono-
"Sammy if I have to feed you everyday, I'll always be here." Jameson cut in.
"You have a long road to recovery," I restarted, "Let's take it one day at a time."
Sam's eyes were not exactly focused. Whether it was the medications, or the injury, or the surgery, or whatever...but they had a bit of a slight odd look to them. "Can I ever play cricket again, sir?"
I shook my head. "Now's not the time to talk about that, son. You heal up. I promise you that you're never far from our team. Okay?"
He nodded, then grimaced. It might have hurt a bit to nod. The friendly nurse came by shortly to let us know that our time was coming to an end. I let Sam and Jameson spend that time whispering to each other, then we left.
As we were doffing our equipment, I saw he had tears in his eyes.
"Thanks, sir." he said.
"Hey, he has you to think of. He'll get there."
(Took a bit more than an hour with this one, started rough but I don't like massive edits. Next update definitely has cricket.)
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Thanks are absolutely welcome. It means that people are reading. But comments help even more. Thanks to @Yash. for doing just that. Tell me if you like the writing style. Tell me what you want to see happen. Hell, tell me if I'm doing a nonsense job. All of these things do help. As I said, right now I'm writing totally impromptu. No document. Just the Reply box. So...who knows? Your suggestion might just make it into the story. You won't know if you don't suggest, and I don't read minds.
But yeah, the above is my update for today.
Just a way to get some stress out, and writing is very very good for that.
Thoughts:
- I actually wanted Scott to be the gay character, but then I started writing the chapters and this is how it turned out.
- No, I don't ever have a plan when I write. I just start and see wherever it takes me.
- I recently read through a few stories from Brett Lee and a ghostwriter that seem similar to this, except those stories are aimed at a young adult audience.
- Cricket will return to this story very soon. Just didn't want to skim over the storyline at hand.
- Once there is one flame, I'll continue this. Which is why I need the likes and comments. Just not trying to be a comment whore here.
(EDIT: Tagging those who wanted me to keep this up... @Till Valhalla @NePtuNe Gaming @Pinch hitter )
But yeah, the above is my update for today.
Just a way to get some stress out, and writing is very very good for that.
Thoughts:
- I actually wanted Scott to be the gay character, but then I started writing the chapters and this is how it turned out.
- No, I don't ever have a plan when I write. I just start and see wherever it takes me.
- I recently read through a few stories from Brett Lee and a ghostwriter that seem similar to this, except those stories are aimed at a young adult audience.
- Cricket will return to this story very soon. Just didn't want to skim over the storyline at hand.
- Once there is one flame, I'll continue this. Which is why I need the likes and comments. Just not trying to be a comment whore here.
(EDIT: Tagging those who wanted me to keep this up... @Till Valhalla @NePtuNe Gaming @Pinch hitter )
Last edited:
Sorry for the late comment, missed the alert about this somehow.
It's going great, and I really hope that he is able to play cricket again and hit bouncers for fun!
And that anger part, Arthur brought it upon himself with that racist remark.
It's going great, and I really hope that he is able to play cricket again and hit bouncers for fun!
And that anger part, Arthur brought it upon himself with that racist remark.
qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Chapter 23 - "Us three will look on"
Well, I definitely did feel more comfortable after seeing my boy Sammy rally through. He was out of the ICU the day after we'd seen him for the first time, and then started work with the physiotherapists. They still weren't sure if he would lose any total strength, but he was getting stronger every day. In fact, when our trio of Jaime, Scott, and myself had seen him just the day before, he was actually out of bed and pottering around the ward. Mr. Adams had been talked into submission by his wife and Jameson was no longer that guy. I did say she was the one who controlled everything.
And all too soon the week had passed, but during that week so much had happened. Mr. Gables (he of the KillToxin, Inc. ilk) had called me and expressed concern and a willingness to help offset some of the medical costs for Sam. Strangely enough, so did Mr. Browne the third. Which, if you think about it, is weird. Guy runs a funeral home and all, you'd think he might have gotten more business if Sam...if Sam...um, let's not go there, okay?
With the week over, it was Saturday afternoon and we were playing at home against the Marauders. I was one less than the 15 members I had just a week before, and we needed at least 13 people to constitute a team. If anyone got injured today, we'd be in some trouble.
The good thing about playing at home is that I get to tell the school gardener how to prepare the pitch. I wanted to have him grow the grass a bit longer before he rolled it in. Let Miles and Greg get some seam movement. Might be a little bit skiddy for Ranu and myself spinning, but maybe one or two could grip.
The other good thing about playing at home was that we had support from some of the other kids in the school and even a couple members of staff. We also had a few members of the other teams in the tournament lurking here and there, looking on to see how strong we were without our anchor.
We were all gathered in the locker room after me and Scott had walked around the field and checked the pitch. Yep, the gardener/groundsman had done pretty much what I'd asked.
"Alright guys, and Liza," I started, "We have all had a tough week. Is there anyone who feels like they absolutely cannot play today?"
I was hit with a resounding chorus of "NO!" from everyone.
"Good. Now, obviously everyone can't play. We've got 14 players now, and I know that everyone wants to play this match for Sammy. We've got to submit our team lineups to the umpires in about fifteen minutes."
I looked left at Scott, and then right, toward Jaime.
"We've decided that..." I cleared my throat..."Well, us three will look on. All 11 of you will play. Sean, you'll captain the team on the field. Michael, you're vice."
There was a collective gasp. Scott held both his hand up for silence.
"Listen," he said, "This match is for Sam. We believe in you, and you all were closer to him than we can ever be. You're the ones who deserve to be on the field. You've got the talent, you've got the skills, and you guys can do this. We'll be right there on the boundary rope, but you know we can't directly get involved in the game. But we think that you all need this. Some of you might be scared, some of you might be a bit sad. Leave it all in here, and when you get out on that field, know that we believe in you."
Jaime felt as if he had his point to add too. "Plus, remember that I went to this school, I know exactly what everyone who comes from here is capable of. Now, some of you guys aren't here anymore, but we owe it to you to show all that you can give."
I nodded. "Now look," I continued, "The pitch is grassy. If we win the toss we're bowling first. Miles, you're up first. The pitch is grassy. Not much clouds up above. From what I've been told, KillToxin is giving us new balls for every match. So you need to keep that shine on. You need to pitch it maybe just short of that good-to-full length. Give it time to swing, but then seam it. You get natural inswing to the right hander. If you can pitch it on that goodish length and then take it away, Sean and Vishan will be right there to snatch the edge. I want you to focus on just outside off stump. Greg, you're a bit different. You can do cutters quite well. Set the batsmen up. I want you to bowl at the stumps with the cutters. But just when he's used to one type, bowl the other. You'll castle him. You guys do a split 3-and-2 overs each, or even a 3-and-3. Leave at least one over back until the end. Then you don't worry about the pitch. Full and on off. If the batsman hits you through leg, full and wide outside off. Understood?"
They both nodded.
"Sean, are you confident with standing up and taking balls behind the batsman's back?"
Sean made that gesture with his head wobbling on his neck like he was from the subcontinent. Clearly Vishan and Ranu had worn off on him, because that gesture meant he wasn't quite sure.
"Yes or no, Sean?"
"I've done it a lot in practice sir," he said, "But I'm not sure if I can do it in a match yet."
I turned to Ranu. "We'll take that risk. Ranu, you rip the ball as much as you can. Sean, if you can't gather the wide ones and try the stumpings, at least prevent any more runs. Ranu, just rip it. You'll come on around over 10-ish or so. Sean, you'll decide that. Wil?"
The formerly shy young HeartSoft intern looked at me.
"Wil, I'm going to need you to step up here. You need to keep things quiet after the PowerPlay. You don't think you're much of a bowler, but we think otherwise. Your job isn't to take wickets. Bowl defensively. If you see a chance to attack, go ahead, but your job is to keep the rate down. If they score anything around a run a ball or less from your 4 overs, then we're good."
Wil nodded.
"Vishan, when you come on, you're going to be the attacker. Let Wil keep them under pressure, and you attack. They're going to want to score big, and that's your chance to get wickets. You can go for a bit, but with Wil, you guys need to take control of the middle overs. in your 8 overs combined, anything like 2 or 3 for about 40 is a great return."
"Yes, sir," Vishan replied, "Wil, we both bowl off spin. Maybe one of us should go over the wicket and one of us around."
"That's a great thought." I said, and both Scott and Jaime had similar praise. "You guys work it out."
I turned to Jason.
"Jason, you're the emergency bowler. If anyone gets hit out of the attack, you're going to have to take over."
Jason looked shocked. "But sir," he began, "Sir, I...I've never bowled in a match!"
I shook my head. "But you bowl in our practise sessions, and you've got a good action and a good arm. You're going to be the reserve bowler just in case. I'm going to do some more work with you, actually, you do have a different action than me but I already see good things happening for you."
Eliza raised her hand.
"But that's only if we're bowling first. What if we're batting first?"
"If we're batting first, Liza, you'll open with Michael. Nothing changes whether we're batting first or second. Liza, you will anchor the innings. Michael, you bat as you always have done. Jason in at one down instead of Jaime. You can get the gaps, Jase. I don't want to hear any talk of runouts with you and Liza. Communicate with your girlfriend."
I heard a bit of a stifled laugh from more than one person.
"Sean gets pushed up to take Scott's usual place. Jameson bats in his usual middle order accumulator spot, then Alex as our power hitter in the lower middle. Sean, you can swap Jameson and Alex if needed. Then Wil, Vishan, Greg, Ranu, Miles. We have a very top-heavy batting order, so the first five or six, you guys need to score the bulk of the runs. Got it?"
Grunts of assent.
"Alright, well, Sean, this is the first time you're captain, so the three of us have a little presentation for you. Jaime?"
Jaime went to his kit bag and took out a brand new team cap. He held it over his head like it was a crown and bestowed it on Sean before bowing reverently. The only thing the rest of us could do was laugh.
Sam was still in our minds, but I figured that by giving the chance for the kids to play their hearts out, they could do this.
Well, I definitely did feel more comfortable after seeing my boy Sammy rally through. He was out of the ICU the day after we'd seen him for the first time, and then started work with the physiotherapists. They still weren't sure if he would lose any total strength, but he was getting stronger every day. In fact, when our trio of Jaime, Scott, and myself had seen him just the day before, he was actually out of bed and pottering around the ward. Mr. Adams had been talked into submission by his wife and Jameson was no longer that guy. I did say she was the one who controlled everything.
And all too soon the week had passed, but during that week so much had happened. Mr. Gables (he of the KillToxin, Inc. ilk) had called me and expressed concern and a willingness to help offset some of the medical costs for Sam. Strangely enough, so did Mr. Browne the third. Which, if you think about it, is weird. Guy runs a funeral home and all, you'd think he might have gotten more business if Sam...if Sam...um, let's not go there, okay?
With the week over, it was Saturday afternoon and we were playing at home against the Marauders. I was one less than the 15 members I had just a week before, and we needed at least 13 people to constitute a team. If anyone got injured today, we'd be in some trouble.
The good thing about playing at home is that I get to tell the school gardener how to prepare the pitch. I wanted to have him grow the grass a bit longer before he rolled it in. Let Miles and Greg get some seam movement. Might be a little bit skiddy for Ranu and myself spinning, but maybe one or two could grip.
The other good thing about playing at home was that we had support from some of the other kids in the school and even a couple members of staff. We also had a few members of the other teams in the tournament lurking here and there, looking on to see how strong we were without our anchor.
We were all gathered in the locker room after me and Scott had walked around the field and checked the pitch. Yep, the gardener/groundsman had done pretty much what I'd asked.
"Alright guys, and Liza," I started, "We have all had a tough week. Is there anyone who feels like they absolutely cannot play today?"
I was hit with a resounding chorus of "NO!" from everyone.
"Good. Now, obviously everyone can't play. We've got 14 players now, and I know that everyone wants to play this match for Sammy. We've got to submit our team lineups to the umpires in about fifteen minutes."
I looked left at Scott, and then right, toward Jaime.
"We've decided that..." I cleared my throat..."Well, us three will look on. All 11 of you will play. Sean, you'll captain the team on the field. Michael, you're vice."
There was a collective gasp. Scott held both his hand up for silence.
"Listen," he said, "This match is for Sam. We believe in you, and you all were closer to him than we can ever be. You're the ones who deserve to be on the field. You've got the talent, you've got the skills, and you guys can do this. We'll be right there on the boundary rope, but you know we can't directly get involved in the game. But we think that you all need this. Some of you might be scared, some of you might be a bit sad. Leave it all in here, and when you get out on that field, know that we believe in you."
Jaime felt as if he had his point to add too. "Plus, remember that I went to this school, I know exactly what everyone who comes from here is capable of. Now, some of you guys aren't here anymore, but we owe it to you to show all that you can give."
I nodded. "Now look," I continued, "The pitch is grassy. If we win the toss we're bowling first. Miles, you're up first. The pitch is grassy. Not much clouds up above. From what I've been told, KillToxin is giving us new balls for every match. So you need to keep that shine on. You need to pitch it maybe just short of that good-to-full length. Give it time to swing, but then seam it. You get natural inswing to the right hander. If you can pitch it on that goodish length and then take it away, Sean and Vishan will be right there to snatch the edge. I want you to focus on just outside off stump. Greg, you're a bit different. You can do cutters quite well. Set the batsmen up. I want you to bowl at the stumps with the cutters. But just when he's used to one type, bowl the other. You'll castle him. You guys do a split 3-and-2 overs each, or even a 3-and-3. Leave at least one over back until the end. Then you don't worry about the pitch. Full and on off. If the batsman hits you through leg, full and wide outside off. Understood?"
They both nodded.
"Sean, are you confident with standing up and taking balls behind the batsman's back?"
Sean made that gesture with his head wobbling on his neck like he was from the subcontinent. Clearly Vishan and Ranu had worn off on him, because that gesture meant he wasn't quite sure.
"Yes or no, Sean?"
"I've done it a lot in practice sir," he said, "But I'm not sure if I can do it in a match yet."
I turned to Ranu. "We'll take that risk. Ranu, you rip the ball as much as you can. Sean, if you can't gather the wide ones and try the stumpings, at least prevent any more runs. Ranu, just rip it. You'll come on around over 10-ish or so. Sean, you'll decide that. Wil?"
The formerly shy young HeartSoft intern looked at me.
"Wil, I'm going to need you to step up here. You need to keep things quiet after the PowerPlay. You don't think you're much of a bowler, but we think otherwise. Your job isn't to take wickets. Bowl defensively. If you see a chance to attack, go ahead, but your job is to keep the rate down. If they score anything around a run a ball or less from your 4 overs, then we're good."
Wil nodded.
"Vishan, when you come on, you're going to be the attacker. Let Wil keep them under pressure, and you attack. They're going to want to score big, and that's your chance to get wickets. You can go for a bit, but with Wil, you guys need to take control of the middle overs. in your 8 overs combined, anything like 2 or 3 for about 40 is a great return."
"Yes, sir," Vishan replied, "Wil, we both bowl off spin. Maybe one of us should go over the wicket and one of us around."
"That's a great thought." I said, and both Scott and Jaime had similar praise. "You guys work it out."
I turned to Jason.
"Jason, you're the emergency bowler. If anyone gets hit out of the attack, you're going to have to take over."
Jason looked shocked. "But sir," he began, "Sir, I...I've never bowled in a match!"
I shook my head. "But you bowl in our practise sessions, and you've got a good action and a good arm. You're going to be the reserve bowler just in case. I'm going to do some more work with you, actually, you do have a different action than me but I already see good things happening for you."
Eliza raised her hand.
"But that's only if we're bowling first. What if we're batting first?"
"If we're batting first, Liza, you'll open with Michael. Nothing changes whether we're batting first or second. Liza, you will anchor the innings. Michael, you bat as you always have done. Jason in at one down instead of Jaime. You can get the gaps, Jase. I don't want to hear any talk of runouts with you and Liza. Communicate with your girlfriend."
I heard a bit of a stifled laugh from more than one person.
"Sean gets pushed up to take Scott's usual place. Jameson bats in his usual middle order accumulator spot, then Alex as our power hitter in the lower middle. Sean, you can swap Jameson and Alex if needed. Then Wil, Vishan, Greg, Ranu, Miles. We have a very top-heavy batting order, so the first five or six, you guys need to score the bulk of the runs. Got it?"
Grunts of assent.
"Alright, well, Sean, this is the first time you're captain, so the three of us have a little presentation for you. Jaime?"
Jaime went to his kit bag and took out a brand new team cap. He held it over his head like it was a crown and bestowed it on Sean before bowing reverently. The only thing the rest of us could do was laugh.
Sam was still in our minds, but I figured that by giving the chance for the kids to play their hearts out, they could do this.
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qpeedore
SOTM Winner - July 2014
Match report - ThunderDogs vs. Marauders, KillToxin League, Group 2
Report courtesy of www.notarealcricketwebsite.com
Preview
The ThunderDogs have been rocked by a devastating injury to one of their first team batsmen, Samuel Adams, who was on the receiving end of what initially seemed to be an innocuous bouncer just last week. Unfortunately the result of that ball was that Adams needed to go to the hospital and eventually required surgery for a haematoma. Words are that he may yet make a full recovery, but it is early days. Best wishes go out to his family and friends, including his team. That same team who has a match to play today. One wonders what effect that terrible injury will have on the minds of their players.
There has been word that the three senior players on the team will not be playing today. With captain Ryon Cupidore, Scott Ross, and Jaime Saunders not in the first eleven, this team has lost a wealth of experience on the field. The team was named after the "underdog" status, but even now, things seem grim.
The Marauders are confident, after a win last Sunday, they will be looking to push themselves further with another 2 points in this tournament. The top teams will go into a knockout for a $25,000 prize, remember that. Marauders have already stamped their authority once, and against what has to be termed an unproven team, they will be looking to run right through them.
Toss
New captain Sean Simpson comes to the edge of the field and shakes hands with his Marauders counterpart. The umpire has the coin and tosses it and the Marauders captain calls tails, which was unsuccessful. The ThunderDogs have won the toss and Simpson chooses to bowl first.
More to follow...
Sean came to us and told us that we had won the toss.
"Right, now Sean, we're in the team seats for this one. Give them hell." I said.
Scott also gave some advice. "Take it right under your eyes. You stretch out for the ball, you'll drop it. Right under your eyes."
Jaime, never one to feel left out, added, "For Sammy!"
Play, overs 1-5
It was unusual to see this ThunderDogs team without their core trio on the field, but all of the young players definitely seemed fired up. There was their fast bowling prospect Miles, standing at the top of his mark, stretching. He finally ran in to the crease and delivered one that was bit too wide outside off stump for the batsman to be worried about. No shot offered, but one ball down. Miles marked his runup again, and started the next ball about six inches closer in. Not a big change, in all honesty, but it definitely paid rewards as his last ball touched down on a good length and perhaps just moved a little bit away from the pitch. The batsman played and missed. The fielding team clapped him on, and his third ball pitched on a good length, swinging in. The batsman jammed his bat down and it took the inside edge and ran down to fine leg for a couple. The Marauders were off the mark.
Miles was getting some swing, which is a credit for the KillToxin company (if it's not KillToxin it's not a Kill) for being able to give these players new balls for every match.
The next ball was fast, full, and honed in on middle stump. The lone female in the team, one Eliza, in fact, in this entire league, she dived and stopped the ball at midwicket and had a shy at the striker's end stumps. Sean Simpson did well to prevent the overthrow.
Miles kept the batsmen quiet but could not prevent another two runs from being scored. At the end of one over, the Marauders were 4 for no loss.
Greg was the bowler entrusted with the ball from the next end. He started bowling some practice balls. But wait, no. Simpson came up to Greg and Michael, the vice captain for this match, and eventually the Sri Lankan man Ranu was given the ball. Unusual.
Ranu took his usual run up and came in. His first ball was pitched on middle but spun to be collected outside off. No run. The second ball was a gentle leg spinner that the Marauders batsman took high, mighty, and over the rope for six. (A KillToxin Kill!)
The third ball, Ranu pitched the ball a bit shorter, spinning away from the right hander. The batsman came up the pitch, missed. Simpson fumbled but collected in the end and all but demolished all three stumps even as he was shouting his appeal. It was not a question. It was a celebration. The batsman was well and truly out. The Marauders were now 10 for 1 after 1.2 overs.
As the new, now left-handed batsman, walked in, Sean Simpson was co-ordinating his field. Ranu came into bowl, this time from around the wicket and looking to put the ball into the batsman. However, that was all too easy and it was played out past Eliza at midwicket for a single. Ranu then bowled one wide outside off that got a thick edge down to the boundary. By the end of the over, the Maruaders were 16 for 1.
Miles was ready, and he still had the right hander on strike. He bowled a decent enough over, with only 7 runs coming from it. Not terrible.
Simpson decided to give the ball to Greg and he was bowling to the left hander. But with the pitch as it was, the young Scotsman got enough movement off of the pitch that they could only take 4 off of his first over.
Miles was given a third over on the trot. Now he was for the first time, bowling to the left hander. His first ball was absolutely unplayable. Pitched on middle with a little away swing to the left-handed batsman, all that could be done was to hang the bat out to dry.
But if the first was unplayable, the second was very playable. Except that the batsman played the wrong shot. A short, wide one that was there to be hit, the batsman pulled across the line and the ball went high into the air to be caught by Eliza at midwicket. The Marauders were not in the best of positions, having lost their second wicket for only 27.
Miles kept the pressure up, but he could not prevent an edge through slips for four off of his last ball of the over. After 5 overs, the Marauders were 31 for 2.
"Damn," Scott said, "They're fired up like crazy."
I nodded, "If they keep this up, they might actually bowl them out within 20."
"Gotta keep the pressure up," Jaime said, "Gotta keep it going."
(EDIT: I missed an italic BBCode tag somewhere. Can't fix it now. Will fix it eventually.)
(DOUBLE EDIT: Fixed. There's a different font for the match report vs. the character interactions. I've done two updates today. Will do some more soon, but perhaps not today.)
Report courtesy of www.notarealcricketwebsite.com
Preview
The ThunderDogs have been rocked by a devastating injury to one of their first team batsmen, Samuel Adams, who was on the receiving end of what initially seemed to be an innocuous bouncer just last week. Unfortunately the result of that ball was that Adams needed to go to the hospital and eventually required surgery for a haematoma. Words are that he may yet make a full recovery, but it is early days. Best wishes go out to his family and friends, including his team. That same team who has a match to play today. One wonders what effect that terrible injury will have on the minds of their players.
There has been word that the three senior players on the team will not be playing today. With captain Ryon Cupidore, Scott Ross, and Jaime Saunders not in the first eleven, this team has lost a wealth of experience on the field. The team was named after the "underdog" status, but even now, things seem grim.
The Marauders are confident, after a win last Sunday, they will be looking to push themselves further with another 2 points in this tournament. The top teams will go into a knockout for a $25,000 prize, remember that. Marauders have already stamped their authority once, and against what has to be termed an unproven team, they will be looking to run right through them.
Toss
New captain Sean Simpson comes to the edge of the field and shakes hands with his Marauders counterpart. The umpire has the coin and tosses it and the Marauders captain calls tails, which was unsuccessful. The ThunderDogs have won the toss and Simpson chooses to bowl first.
More to follow...
Sean came to us and told us that we had won the toss.
"Right, now Sean, we're in the team seats for this one. Give them hell." I said.
Scott also gave some advice. "Take it right under your eyes. You stretch out for the ball, you'll drop it. Right under your eyes."
Jaime, never one to feel left out, added, "For Sammy!"
Play, overs 1-5
It was unusual to see this ThunderDogs team without their core trio on the field, but all of the young players definitely seemed fired up. There was their fast bowling prospect Miles, standing at the top of his mark, stretching. He finally ran in to the crease and delivered one that was bit too wide outside off stump for the batsman to be worried about. No shot offered, but one ball down. Miles marked his runup again, and started the next ball about six inches closer in. Not a big change, in all honesty, but it definitely paid rewards as his last ball touched down on a good length and perhaps just moved a little bit away from the pitch. The batsman played and missed. The fielding team clapped him on, and his third ball pitched on a good length, swinging in. The batsman jammed his bat down and it took the inside edge and ran down to fine leg for a couple. The Marauders were off the mark.
Miles was getting some swing, which is a credit for the KillToxin company (if it's not KillToxin it's not a Kill) for being able to give these players new balls for every match.
The next ball was fast, full, and honed in on middle stump. The lone female in the team, one Eliza, in fact, in this entire league, she dived and stopped the ball at midwicket and had a shy at the striker's end stumps. Sean Simpson did well to prevent the overthrow.
Miles kept the batsmen quiet but could not prevent another two runs from being scored. At the end of one over, the Marauders were 4 for no loss.
Greg was the bowler entrusted with the ball from the next end. He started bowling some practice balls. But wait, no. Simpson came up to Greg and Michael, the vice captain for this match, and eventually the Sri Lankan man Ranu was given the ball. Unusual.
Ranu took his usual run up and came in. His first ball was pitched on middle but spun to be collected outside off. No run. The second ball was a gentle leg spinner that the Marauders batsman took high, mighty, and over the rope for six. (A KillToxin Kill!)
The third ball, Ranu pitched the ball a bit shorter, spinning away from the right hander. The batsman came up the pitch, missed. Simpson fumbled but collected in the end and all but demolished all three stumps even as he was shouting his appeal. It was not a question. It was a celebration. The batsman was well and truly out. The Marauders were now 10 for 1 after 1.2 overs.
As the new, now left-handed batsman, walked in, Sean Simpson was co-ordinating his field. Ranu came into bowl, this time from around the wicket and looking to put the ball into the batsman. However, that was all too easy and it was played out past Eliza at midwicket for a single. Ranu then bowled one wide outside off that got a thick edge down to the boundary. By the end of the over, the Maruaders were 16 for 1.
Miles was ready, and he still had the right hander on strike. He bowled a decent enough over, with only 7 runs coming from it. Not terrible.
Simpson decided to give the ball to Greg and he was bowling to the left hander. But with the pitch as it was, the young Scotsman got enough movement off of the pitch that they could only take 4 off of his first over.
Miles was given a third over on the trot. Now he was for the first time, bowling to the left hander. His first ball was absolutely unplayable. Pitched on middle with a little away swing to the left-handed batsman, all that could be done was to hang the bat out to dry.
But if the first was unplayable, the second was very playable. Except that the batsman played the wrong shot. A short, wide one that was there to be hit, the batsman pulled across the line and the ball went high into the air to be caught by Eliza at midwicket. The Marauders were not in the best of positions, having lost their second wicket for only 27.
Miles kept the pressure up, but he could not prevent an edge through slips for four off of his last ball of the over. After 5 overs, the Marauders were 31 for 2.
"Damn," Scott said, "They're fired up like crazy."
I nodded, "If they keep this up, they might actually bowl them out within 20."
"Gotta keep the pressure up," Jaime said, "Gotta keep it going."
(EDIT: I missed an italic BBCode tag somewhere. Can't fix it now. Will fix it eventually.)
(DOUBLE EDIT: Fixed. There's a different font for the match report vs. the character interactions. I've done two updates today. Will do some more soon, but perhaps not today.)
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