Waiting to bat ...

... when you're five down for not a lot

These are numbers 8, 9 and 10, next men in, their state of preparedness and pensiveness perfectly correlated with the order in which they are due to bat. Cricket is a hard game. It's a harsh game. It takes from you far more often than it gives back. It seeks out your weaknesses - especially when you're low on confidence. It has a really nasty habit of kicking you when you're down. Just like life. The cricket field is the crucible in which these men have been forged from boys.

Why do they play then? Why do they open themselves to this kind of agony every summer weekend? Why do I watch and vicariously experience that same agony? For the same reason that we get out of bed each morning to face the challenges of the new day. For when life is good, it is so good that it repays all the bad times and all the hard work. To use a cricket metaphor (with apologies to those it will be lost upon!), one perfectly timed cover drive allows you to forget all the dismissals for a duck, the defeats, the hours and hours of practice. For a split second of time you experience a power and a control and a grace that lies beyond words. It's a moment of epiphany. All the agony is repaid in such a moment. Just as in life.

Forrest and Roam both played for the first team today, against Guiseley, arch rivals and the team they beat in the cup earlier in the season on what was a great day for the boys, particularly Forrest. The tables were turned rather drastically today. After collapsing to a paltry 43 last week we were put in and collapsed again to 20-5 before rallying somewhat. Sadly, once that sixth wicket fell, the guys pictured here were all out to the crease and back again in very short order. To his great credit, Roam, as last man, defended well and hung around long enough to help put on over twenty for the final wicket, easily the second best stand of the innings, allowing us to just creep into three figures.

We needed a bit of luck with the ball but it was not to be. We lost by a very comfortable eight wickets. The guys were very down on themselves, not so much because they lost but because they weren't competitive - for the second successive week. I'm sure the pendulum will swing the other way soon. They are a very young side by the standards of this high quality league. And very talented. They will learn from the bitter experience of the last few weeks and become better players for it. These kind of defeats are all part of the apprenticeship they're serving. They have the potential to achieve great things.

I've had a very chilled day. I've been able to turn my head off almost completely and give myself some space and perspective. It would have been lovely if the boys had delivered a win but they've reminded me of the natural ebb and flow of life. Just as ups are always followed by downs, those downs are invariably followed by ups. I can feel the return of my usual optimistic self. I hate it when he goes missing!