Story Three Lions on the Shirt? - Match Day: Northamptonshire fight back!!!

[usy]

Scotland Power.

 

[Roofrom50]

great stuff mate. Nice Hattrick from you. Keep up the good work. :happy

 

[shantanu_rooney]

superb update...loved the animations...congrats to u abt ur hatrick...West Indies in a spot of trouble...Again great bowling by Martin and Jimmy...KUTGW

 

[freddiw]

hahaha that was awesome update...like the gfx although still sometimes a touch crowded

AWEsOME animation and like the writing great hat-rick and tom has to have some england recognition now

 

[jarl]

Nice update with the presentation Highlander999

 

[OrderDX]

brillaint update as always Tom and a great hat trick a brilliant read as well well done keep the work up!!!

 

[surendar]

Magnificent update! :hpraise that detailed description of your hattrick over was a class.. You were lucky enough that, umpire just took it easy in your early part of your over. Control Tom.. Take it easy!

Fantastic story, Tom! Mindblowing.. Keep it up

 

[Highlander999]

Thanks for the sigs usy. I'll start using one of them. I have been very busy recently, been getting exam results and doing open days for university so might be a couple of days before next update. Thanks for comments and keep them coming :hpraise

 

[tonka998]

No worries Tom! Great update as usual and a great hat-trick! Well done!

 

[Highlander999]

Friday 5th April

Sitting up on the balcony gave me time to reflect on how my life had been these past few weeks. I had been so caught up in all the fuss of playing county cricket, I decided that I should I pay my parents a visit soon as I hadn't seen them for ages. Perhaps I could even introduce Gemma to them? I was sure they would like her but we still had a long way to go yet. We had to take things nice and easy.

Out in the middle things were going very well for us. David was leading by example and had really been smashing the ball all over the place. It appeared to me that all the rumours about the West Indies pace attack being dead were true. This was a shame for me as I had really wanted to play against the best but it seemed the days of Walsh bowling 90 mph+ are long gone. With David and Matty appearing to latch on to this weak bowling attack the run-rate was soon well under our control. David had been hogging the strike scoring lots of boundaries while Matty had been rotating it. Eventually the Windies got David out when nicked one to Chanderpaul at second slip. His brief cameo had set us up nicely. So far this season, David had been the in-form batsman.

Unfortunately for us we now suffered a mini-collapse, with Matty the other opening batsman soon perishing getting out as well. We now looked to be in a bit of trouble as we had lost two quick wickets. Hopefully Martin and Mike would stabalise our innings. David came over to me. He was dripping in sweat. That brief knock had taken it out of the old boy

"Hey Tom. I've decided to send you in next. I want to see how you cope in the 20/20 format of the game. Your going to have to bat sensibly and score at a good rate. Just make a few runs and get us home and dry."

This was a massive chance. I had originally been told I would bat at 7 but to be batting at 5 was a great oppurtunity. I now begun to pay more attention to the game and was trying to pick up any points which might make my life eaiser. I saw that the Windies had begun to bowl a lot of yorkers to slow the run-rate down. It was one of these which got Martin. He looked to be getting frustrated by the tight bowling being employed and attempted to heave Best back over his head. He completely missed it and his pegs were knocked back. The score was 63/3 and we needed 88 more runs off 12 overs, a very reachable target. I got a good luck kiss from Gemma and lots of slaps on the back from the team (luckily no kisses ) I was ready to make my impact on 20/20 cricket

I must admit that it was a very nerve racking feeling walking out there in front of such a big crowd. Although the West Indies bowling attack is not as strong as it used to be it is still dangerous. I took a guard of middle and leg to give me an advantage against the yorkers. Best looked very fired up and it was making me nervous. My hands begun to tremble. "Control yourself" I thought but it didn't help. Best came running in and bowled at me. I went forward on the defensive and missed it. It struck my pads

"HOWZAT!!!!!!!!!!"

Oh my God I looked at the umpire begging him to keep his finger down. It felt close. Eventually he gave a brief shake of his head. Thank God for that. That would have been a disaster, a first ball duck. Mike came down the pitch.

"Hey Tom, don't get too worked up. Just play every ball on it's merit. Don't let them psyche you out. Just play your natural game."

Best was lined up again. With Mike's words still fresh in my ears I begun to calm down. Best came roaring in again. He released the ball. It was a bit wide. I stepped across and ran the ball down to third man. I shouted "YES" and headed off. However Mike screamed "NO" he however then set of. We were in trouble as Gayle was running in to field. I was running to the non-strikers end but I was in trouble as I had hesitated. The call went up for the throw to go to the non-strikers end. I had no idea how close the ball was so I threw myself at the crease and landed sprawling in the dirt. I saw the ball go flying by and get picked up by Lara backing up. I was off the mark. Just

After a nervous start by me things began to get better. I began to play some more confident shots. The best one I played was a lovely cover drive of Best for 4 runs. He was not happy. We began to knock away the runs with ease and our score kept on getting nearer to theirs. Lara began to sound more sharp in giving his orders in the field and I could tell he was nervous. I began to take more of the strike and play some more flamboyant shots. As the 50 partnership was brought up I overtook Mike's score. We had a wee chat.

"We're doing a jood job here Tom. We need to just keep up this good work and we'll be fine. Don't do anything silly just nice and easy. Keep the calling clear so we don't have any silly run-outs."

I listened to the words of the senior player. They were very true. We had got Kent into a super position.

I had begun to head back to the crease but noticed the umpires had called for a drinks break. This was actually quite welcome as although I had only faced 14 balls I was getting very hot. My plan at the moment was pretty clear. We needed 39 runs for victory. I decided that I would not be selfish and try and go for the half-century but concentrate on just seeing out this innings. I told Mike this and he was pleased with my attitude. We got told by the drinks carrier that Graham had been able to turn up finally from the hospital and although his leg looked bad he was ok and was pleased we were in such a good position. This greatly cheered me up as I liked Graham and thought he was an excellent coach. Up on the big screen some stas were flashing by for the crowd. It showed how at the moment we were on the same run-rate as the West Indies had been at this stage but we had a lot more wickets in hand. It was a pleasant sight as I normally hate stats

The umpires eventually sent the drinks back and signalled it was time for play to resume. I had to focus again and make sure I did not get out. I knew many batsmen perished after breaks where they lose their rhythm. I wasn't going to be one of the many victims of drinks breaks I would be there at the end. I hoped.

 

[Manly]

Lucky with the run-out lol, get the calling sorted!

 

[freddiw]

awesome update maybe your best.....KEep up teh good work i love it...you cant lose here good luck after drinks

 

[Karachi Xpress]

Thats good batting by you Tom! Lucky with the run-out.

Nice presentation!

 

[Pakistani Army]

Great batting Tom. Show them what you've got.

Great works mate. Just 38 runs to go mate.

 

[Spoobir]

Where did Windies' other 4 runs come from?