Jumping up in your pants, knocking over a full glass of water and searching blindly on all fours for a phone wasn't the best start to my day off but nothing wakes me up quicker than my mobile going off.
After all it could be important; that job offer, that girl ringing me back, that offer of a year's supply of Cornish pasties - but it never is, in fact for some reason it's always the opticians, which is ironic really because when I wake up without my contact lenses in I can't see a bloody thing.
But this morning it was different. Specsavers must have been busy.
"Do you want to play a cricket match tonight?"
It was my mate Tom and I have to admit that I nearly turned his offer down. Part of it was tiredness but part of it was fear.
As a teenager I loved cricket and was actually pretty good. But same old story, as the years went by I stopped playing and became more of an armchair fan. Apart from a couple of games I hadn't picked up a bat in years and was worried that I might embarrass myself.
Then I remembered the challenge. Cricket is the second sport on my list. If I want to have any chance of not making an idiot of myself in front of the Luxembourg cricket team I'd better start playing now.
"Count me in mate, I'll be there."
My plan for the cricket comeback was to just do a bit of fielding and that seemed fine when our team batted first and we only lost four wickets.
Then I was asked to bowl for the first time in about six years and I just couldn't refuse.
"No heroics here lad," said the skipper, "line and length will do."
The nerves were getting to me at the start of my run-up but somehow with my first ball I got the line, I got the length and I also... Got a wicket!
Unbelievably the batsman had half volleyed it straight to a fielder at extra cover and I was too busy standing in stunned silence to celebrate.
Then after high-fives from my new team mates I started my next run up believing that somehow I had just turned into Bob Willis or Glenn McGrath - I was confident, I was aggressive, I was determined and... I bowled a bloody wide - typical!
But they gave me another over and a couple of average balls later I picked up a second wicket; rolling back the years to cut the ball past the batsman and give my mate Tom the perfect stumping chance.
So figures of 2 for 8 on my cricket comeback, I’m definitely pleased with that and keen now to get more games in.
Better go now though, the phone's ringing. It could be someone offering me another chance to play cricket, it could be that girl wanting to congratulate me for my two wickets, it could be a Luxemburg selector who just happened to be walking past the pitch in Chipping Sodbury and wants me in the next line-up!
"Hello Mr Bennett it's Specsavers here..."
Sunday, 19 July 2009
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