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Week 8

Hi guys, I’m back for another blog.  It’s been a bit longer than usual since my last blog and with good reason too. 

Since the start of this online endeavour I haven’t spoken much about myself or my own experiences.  Due to recent experiences, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of my stories.  As stated in my small profile I do enjoy playing cricket.  This has been the main reason why I have been a little lax with my blogging lately.  I play cricket for the Western Districts & University of Canberra Cricket Club.  Despite some very poor performances from our team since Christmas, we just managed to scrape into the finals of the two-day competition.  The finals of this competition are played over three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), hence why I have missed the past two lectures and tutorials and have decided to write this blog about some of my experiences rather than the class content.

I will aim to link some of the past topics such as ‘performing, mentoring and reflecting’ from week six to this post.  As I stated we just snuck into the finals.  Finishing 4^th we were faced with the challenge of playing minor premiers Tuggeranong.  The match seesawed for three days but we came out on top.  This saw us progress through to the grand final against Queanbeyan.  Queanbeyan is always a tough opponent, thanks largely to a strong contingent of representative players.  We elected to bowl first on Friday and had them in a lot of trouble at 5 for 87 at lunch.  Unfortunately poor fielding on our behalf allowed them to form some strong lower order partnerships and build a total of 395. 

Although we were chasing a considerably large total (particularly for Canberra cricket) we knew we had a very strong chance of winning the game.  However, ill-discipline with the bat and some good bowling saw us crumble to being all out for a measly 132.  Losing is never fun, but losing by such a hefty margin in a grand final is very disappointing and quite humiliating.  From our point of view, it’s now important that everyone involved in the game has learnt something and can come back next season as a better player.

I said I would try and incorporate the week 6 topic into this post.  Well in my opinion we have plenty of mentors around the club.  Everyone is happy to offer advice and help out where they can.  The mentoring aspect of our season began last year around July.  Despite being the middle of winter we would meet on a cold Friday night when we should be watching the football and work closely on some aspects of our game which needed correction.  I think the mentoring ‘phase’ lasted the whole summer and although at times it is not as strong as at other times it is very much an ongoing aspect of playing sport. 

As for the performance aspect, well that can simply be viewed as the length of the season.  However, in my opinion it is not necessarily that simple.  The season is roughly six months long and for a player to ‘perform’ every week for that length of time is a phenomenal effort.  Players will inevitably experience peaks and troughs in regards to their performance throughout a season.  I would like to suggest however, that performance is not simply the numbers and figures which sit next to a person’s name.  Cricket in particular is a ‘numbers’ game but often these figures don’t tell the true story of how a player performed.  Competing in team sports requires a combined effort and although some players may finish the game with average looking statistics, their performance could well have permitted another team member to excel, thus leaving the team in a fantastic position to win the game.  A perfect example was the 2005 Boxing Day test match between Australia and South Africa at the MCG.  The following YouTube clip tells the story but essentially, Glenn McGrath walked out to bat when Mike Hussey was on 27.  Mcgrath only scored 11 runs, but he batted for two hours which allowed Hussey to score a hundred and put Australia in a commanding position, from which they went on to win the match.  The scorecard from the game can also be viewed here.

Hussey celebrates

Finally, is the reflecting aspect.  Some teams or individuals may opt to frequently reflect throughout the season, or even after each game.  As a team, we would speak about the good and bad to come out of the game we had played and we would aim to improve and build on it for the next game.  Since the heavy loss in the grand final though, I can’t help but think that I will be reflecting about the game for quite some time to come.  We had our opportunities to seize the game and take control but we just couldn’t quite do it.  This experience has made me more determined to ensure I do everything I can to prepare myself and my teammates for any future finals that we play in.  This game got me thinking, is there a time limit on how long one can reflect for?  I certainly won’t forget this game in a hurry and like I said if I get another opportunity to win a competition I will be reflecting on this missed chance to try and prepare not only myself but also the team.  Whether that chance may come next season, or in ten seasons time, I will be looking back on this experience to ensure I have learnt and improved in order to give my team the best possible chance of victory.

Thank you for reading and please post your thoughts below!