Highlander999
ICC President
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Location
- London
The Daffodil Strikes Back
"Come on boys, lets do this!!!!"
That was the cry as we left the changing rooms and headed out to the middle. We were all pretty pumped out, and us bowlers were going to be bending our backs to try and skittle through the Essex top order. Dizzy and Cooky were going to be opening the bowling with myself being the replacement bowler for one of them. I was hoping that Dizzy and Cooky could pick up a couple of wickets as it would make our life a lot easier. Don't get me wrong, we weren't expecting to win, but we wanted to shake Essex up and not be considered a walk-over.
I was positioned in at gully and would be wide awake. With Dizzy running in at full pelt, there was a very good chance of an edge. There was quite a lot of chat going around as everyone buoyed each other whilst giving the batsmen some constructive advice
Cooky's comment, involving a goat, Gallian's mother and a fish tank :confused: 
was one of the funniest I have ever heard. Perhaps that comment put Gallian of, we'll never know, but the very next ball he was clean bowled by Dizzy when he mis-judged the bounce and played over the ball. Everyone came running in and started hugging Dizzy, it was the perfect start, Essex were 5/1.
As Alistair Cook, walked out, we all watched the replay on the big screen. It was a beautiful slower delivery by Dizzy and Gallian had no chance. Dizzy was pretty pumped up and exchanged some words with Cook,
"You see that you pup. That is nothing compared to what will happen as I rip your stumps out of the ground. Why not go back to mummy?"
We all jeered at this, trying to make Cook, as uncomfortable as possible. I had one final look at the last wicket, via stump cam. It raised a few cheers from the home supporters
With the team so pumped up and Cooky and Dizzy bending their backs, the Essex batsmen had their work cut out. The ball had beaten the edge numerous times, and a thick edge had whistled past me before I had even had a chance to move. Then all of a sudden two wickets fell for only three runs, Jefferson and the crucial one of Andy Flower. Jefferson got an absolute peach from Cooky. It swung from about a foot outside off-stump to hit him plumb in front of middle stump. I think Cooky was quite disappointed. He had wanted to see the middle-stump cart-wheeling backwards.
Flower meanwhile tried to carve Dizzy back over his head. He took a massive edge and it flew high into the air, and straight into the hands off the skip at third-man
It was a massive wicket, as Flower had years of experience and this was his final year of domestic cricket. Dizzy stared at him all the way back to the pavillion. This was the Dizzy of old. The Dizzy who used to put the ball down at 90mph, and was the bane of all international batsman. I was pleased he was on my team.
I had a wee word to Cooky about getting his name-sake out,
"Mate. Remember in the South Africa tour. The Saffas, got Cook out loads of times with the yorker/full toss. He kept trying to pull them but missing it and being trapped LBW. Worth a try?"
"I suppose there is no harm in giving it a whirl if it has been tried and tested. I get the credit for thinking it up if it works
""Oh of course mate, your famous for your plans
: "I remembered watching the Test vs South Africa at Lords. Cook had played across the line far too often and this had resulted in him being trapped LBW all the time. Cooky's plan was to bowl a low full toss at him and see if it worked.
It did :happy
Cooky did some weird shizzle and got the ball to swing into him. Cook attempted to slog him away, but missed it. The ball smashed into his pads.
"HOWZAT!!!!!!!"
Cook was walking before the finger had even been raised. We had got another international player, this time for only 5, and Essex were now 20/4. I came running up to Cooky,
"Didn't I tell you!!!
""No idea what you mean
"With high-fives all around, we waited whilst another international, Ravi Bopara came out to the crease. We accidently
hit him with the ball as it was thrown to Cooky. All these little mind games were eroding away the batsmen's confidence. It was turning into a very exciting game.
For the next few overs, Ravi Bopara and Grant Flower were able to just negotiate Cooky and Dizzy as the ball lost it's shine, and begun to swing less and less. Run-rate didn't matter at all, wickets were the key thing here. We needed them and they had to defend them. At the start of the eleventh over, I was given the ball by the skip.
"Right Tom. Cooky and Dizzy have done an excellent job, now it is down to you. I want a good line and length, probing at the batsman, leaving him not sure whether to play or leave. We still are in the powerplay overs, so remember that anything past the fielders will probably reach the boundary. And finally. No loose runs. We have too little to defend with as it is, without giving away wides and no-balls. Think you can do it?"
"I'll be giving it 110% skip."
"That's the stuff, Tommy, my lad"
There was a hell of a lot of pressure on me. Essex only needed 30 runs, whilst still having 6 wickets in hand. I would have to have the bowling spell of my life. I was determined to give it my best shot though.
