Cricket In Outback Australia - Memories Of A 10 Year Old Boy
Playing cricket in an outback town in the 1970s with my father as a young child is something all children did in remote areas of Australia. Quite often, the team was short so proud dads would often bring in their progeny to make up the numbers.
Peak Hill, a town of 1500 people and approximately 350 miles from Sydney was no different. In fact, paradoxically, our cricket team was called Peak Hill Golf Club because the golf club actually sponsored the cricket team - confusing in itself.
I remember one particular episode when "The Pushbike Song" was number 1 at the time and 'pushing' it we were, batting second chasing 150 runs to win in 100 degree heat, on a Malthoid pitch whose bubbles grew by the hour as the sun"s rays intensified. These pitches were made of a rubbery type substance with a view to allowing consistent bounce to the batter but sadly struggled in the searing outback heat ultimately causing all sorts of problems when facing the bowlers.
I was batting Number 6, so while I waited for my turn to bat, I decided to have a cool dip at the local swimming pool. We had just finished fielding against the opposition in searing heat when suddenly I could see a mad woman (my mother) running towards us waving her arms around like a maniac yelling "You're in already - they're all waiting for you!" (We were four batsmen out off only 13 balls).
I bolted down to the ground and hurriedly suited up. I walked out to the centre of the pitch and was met by the other batsman on my team. I asked him what the bowling was doing.
"Straight up and down (no curve balls) but watch those bubbles!!"
And so I took centre and after being told by our own player/umpire that the bowler from Tomingley, was "right arm over and very tricky", I hit the ball and took off for a dicey run (to first base so to speak). Using the kit leg pads for protection from the hard red cricket ball was not a good idea as they were so old and dilapidated, the padding was hanging out of them so much so that I tripped over my them and the uneven pitch. Lying face down flat on the ground I heard the umpire yell "You're out!"
My father was not impressed with my poor judgment.
As I dusted myself off, the other batsman castigated me "I told you to watch out for those bubbles!".
Our next batsman, "Oats" O"Leary, a sort of much bigger and rounder version of the Michellin Man, came out and absolutely hammered the cricket ball to all parts of the ground even on such a diabolical pitch. The opposition mightn"t have had famous Australian cricketers such as Shane Warne or Colin McCool (nickname "Lost"?), but they did have Jerry from Tomingley and this truly had to be one of the great wins of cricket.
Being too young to go inside, I remember sitting in the car outside the golf club where the team drank merrily after the game and my father actually brought out 2 Lemon squashes with a packet of crisps which truly emphasised what a great win it was. We ended up having Chinese take away which every outback small club seems to have although the fish dishes are not recommended.
These days, when I see the media and National teams complain about 5th day pitches and how difficult they are to bat on and win, I just shake my head and smile to myself.
"Oats" O"Leary must be laughing his head off.
Author: Peter Scolari
More information on this article can be found at http://www.mycommunitypoint.com
Symonds, modern day cricket's latest victim - Cricketnext.com
Sydney Morning Herald Symonds, modern day cricket's latest victim Cricketnext.com, India - Symonds is just the latest to have been consumed by the treadmill of constant cricket . Once touted as the fastest bowler in the world, Shaun Tait walked ... Walters calls for Symonds to clean up his act VIEW: Discipline is key to success in modern sports Doug Walters blasts Andrew Symonds -Cricket: NZC chairman steps down - New Zealand Herald
3 News NZ Cricket : NZC chairman steps down New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chairman Sir John Anderson is set to end his innings, after an announcement today that he is retiring from the board. ... Former NZRU chief switches to cricket Sir John Anderson steps down as chairman of New Zealand CricketPCB's hope for a 'compensation series' fading out - Expressindia.com
GulfNews PCB's hope for a 'compensation series' fading out Expressindia.com, India - Karachi, September 3: : The internal bickering in the South African Cricket may put pay to the Pakistan Cricket Board's hopes of conducting a tri-series in ... PCB looks for options for Pakistan team PCB top brass meets next week to fill gaping hole India has unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing: Spokesman - -