Iain O'Brien's Cricket Blog

 

It a lovely day here in London; the weather has been great this last week to be fair, and because of that we have been able to train, play and enjoy our time leading up to the T20 World Cup.

 

We arrived in London on Saturday, the day of the FA Cup final and guess what, a group of us managed to get our hands on a few tickets and go.  What an event, what a stadium, what a treat.  We sat in the Chelsea section; it didn’t really matter as none of us really had an allegiance to either them or Everton. 

 

Got to the hotel, checked in and then was straight out, with the wife, to a show.  We went and saw The Lion King; amazing.  Really loved it and that is one of the treats of being in London, the things you can just go, see and do.

 

But back to the cricket news aye...??

 

The two day previous to getting to London we had two more warm up matches, one vs the PCA (which included a couple of Irish, Netherlands, a the left over NZ guys not in our XI and Darren Gough).  A one sided match where we won easily and there were some standout performances.  Taylor 74, Gups 56 and Jesse 37.  I managed three wickets and am really starting to feel like my T20 bowling is getting better and better.  I’m doing everything I can to keep it simple, using Dan at mid off to bounce ideas off, and making sure my run up is smooth.  It’s starting to feel good.

 

 

Then on Friday we played the Netherlands, again a one sided match.  We scored 194 off our 20 overs; Baz top scoring with 62 and some great cameos in there from Broom, Styris, and Oram.  This match for me was another step forward, sure, with no disrespect to the Dutch boys, the quality of the opposition wasn’t of that of India and Australia that we face today and tomorrow in two more warm up matches, but is was still good to bowl well with rhythm and control.  The run up was my real concentration in this one and it seems the more I cruise in, the better position I get myself in at the crease and therefore give myself a better chance of getting where I want it.  I know I can’t always have such a cruisey run up as when the wind blows you have to battle a bit more to get to the crease, but for now, it’s working really well.

 

 

This evening we head off to Lords for our 5^th warm up match against the current T20 World Cup Champions, India.  Our last series was against them at home and in the two T20 matches we had some good success; we won them both.  The ODI’s that followed weren’t so good for us though.  It’ll be a good match tonight against a seriously destructive batting line up and a very experienced T20 bowling attack; a real insight to see where we really are in our preparation for this event.

 

The following evening we play Australia at the Oval in our final hit out before we start, for real, on the 6^th against Scotland.

 

I’m really excited with this event.  Sure the word “excited” is used a lot in interviews and chats with the media, but I really am.  This is my first World event where all nations are attending.  Just four months ago I wasn’t even in the Black Cap One Day team and now I am here at the T20 World Cup... I’m excited.  But hopefully I’ve learnt enough lately to realise that my excitement levels can hinder my performance, so I have to keep it simple and keep those emotions under control.

 

 

This always happens; the team joins up for a tour and we are worked really hard up until a couple of days out from the first big game.  And it’s been no different here.  The amount of time we have been on our feet training in this last week has been more than, I would say, normal and the by product is that there is a tired set of boys.  The bowling coach wants his piece, the fielding and batting work need doing and our physical trainer wants his piece too.  The schedule has been tough and it’s not about to get any easier over the next few days.

 

In the last two days we have played Bangladesh and Ireland in warm up games.  It was Bangladesh down here at Wormsley, where we’ve been training and then up to Derby to the County Ground to play Ireland.  Both were good games for different reasons.

 

The Banga game was a tight one, we let them get away to a pretty handy start with the bat through some not so good bowling, myself guilty of some very good and some very bad; which was also the problem in the Ireland game, but I’ll get to that soon.  We pulled it back really nicely through the middle with Dan, Nath, Butts and then didn’t do too bad at the death as well. 

We needed 147 to win.  Not a big score, but still one that was going to take a bit of work against a disciplined bowling attack.  We needed 12 off the last over and it came down to the last ball for us to knock it off.  Nathan McCullum did this in typical McCullum fashion, six off the first ball and then a four off the last to secure the win.  It was a bit of a wakeup call and the review early the next morning brought forward some parts of the game where we need to take chances more rather than sitting back and hoping it will happen.

 

I had been bowling really well in the training game suitations that we’d be doing out in the middle and then came into this game with an uneasy feeling and didn’t get it quite right.  As I said I was either good or bad.  And I know why; it’s never been easy for me to control some of the emotions that are needed to replicate the good things ball after ball.

 

As I said, we were up early for the review before heading up to Derby for the Ireland match.  It was raining down here and raining in Derby when we set off.  The grounds man had assured us that the rain would stay away for the afternoon and we’d get a full game in; and this grounds man was right.  The rain stayed away and we got a full game in. 

 

We bowled first and I got through my first couple of overs for around six runs; a big difference from the day before.  My third over wasn’t quite as good, but I’ll take the improvements from the day before.  Again we tied it up really well through the middle, Dan his normal self and Jesse contributing a two over spell for just four runs and picking up three wickets at the same time; a little game changer right there.

My death over wasn’t great.  I started with a no ball what went for four.  I haven’t bowled a no ball for quite a while and it annoys me a lot when I do, especially when it’s a free hit to follow.  I managed a dot ball on the free hit, thank goodness, although the rest of the over was again either good or bad.  A slower ball that went for six and an attempted yorker that went for four, not my best work I then finished off with two dots which I was pretty thankful for.

 

So we had 150 to chase.  Not a bad score and it was going to take some work getting...... that was until Ross Taylor stepped up!  Eight sixes in one innings takes you a very long way to winning game and that we did with about 3 overs to spare.  Some of the sixes were huge; one clean over the players sheds at extra cover into a pretty strong breeze.  And that was that, an ice bath for me, a warm shower, a quick meal and we were back on the bus heading back down here.   I must mention Guppys innings of 47 off 45 who started us off well and then took the back seat role when Ross was going off.

 

The bus trip was tough, my body, along with most of the others, was a bit sore and tired after two games in two days with the four hour return bus trip.

 

It was an early start again this morning, straight to the ground to get some training in before Scotland took on the West Indies at Wormsley.  I had a day off bowling today and was quite happy about it; my back was a little sore and tight.  I got our physio to get stuck in and loosen it up.  I’ll tell you, for all the pain she put me through if it hadn’t of felt a lot better when I got off the table I was never going to get back on.  I’ll be getting back on, I felt a whole better.  Nice job Kate!  I had a good bat and then we headed off to do some fielding at another ground so that game could start.  I’ve always got work to do here and after we had finished I went back and did some more as I wasn’t happy with what I had got through in the session.  I’ve been having problems picking up the distance of the ball off the bat.  So I had a whole heap of running catches to work on.  The only thing about working like this is that you sprint and catch a ball then sprint and catch another.  It is a killer.  I caught a couple I didn’t think I’d get to but then dropped a couple I had over run.  This distance thing is annoying me.  Maybe I should have taken up the offer of getting my eyes checked when I was in Napier last.....

 

This afternoon was a gym session where our trainer wanted us to go quite hard.  I did and hopefully I won’t be too sore and tired in the morning for another early start when we play the England PCA at 9am. 

 

 

 

 

It’s Friday night and I’m knackered.  After playing on Tuesday for Leicestershire against Nottingham, travelling here to just outside of Oxford to join the training camp for the T20 World Cup and training hard the last couple of days, the last thing I could think of is a Friday night out on the juice; well not quite, I could actually go a couple, but they won’t be good for me, so I’ll give them a miss.

 

Tuesdays match result did not matter for us in terms of progressing in the FPT competition.  We were already out of contention for the semis.  Of course we were out there to win, and to do our best to win but it was also a chance to change the team up a little and give a couple of guys a game in either different positions or just be playing.  This was my first game back after getting hit in the ribs 10 days ago.  I had had a really good bowl in the nets the previous day, which was my first bowl back, and I was supprised at how good I felt and how pain free I was while bowling; that doesn’t happen very often!!  Straight away I felt good at the crease and had that sometimes illusive rhythm.  I passed myself fit for the next day’s game and was really looking forward to getting back out and playing.

 

Weather was not forecasted great for the game and it kept up its promise.  Rain came in a couple of times and eventually finished Notts’s innings at about the 36 over mark.  The rain kept coming in and only left time for a 10 over chase, we were set 77 off 10 overs.  We didn’t quite get there after losing a couple of wickets close together in the middle of the chase.  It wasn’t to be today and there was that too familiar feeling of a loss. 

 

I bowled 6.3 overs for around 30 which I was reasonably happy with.  My first two overs I felt really good, bowled well and tied them down nicely.  My next two I tried to bowl a little too fast, I was just so excited to be back out on the park, fit, and feeling good and I got a little carried away.  I pulled it back in the last two overs of my spell and picked up a wicket in a maiden over and then my next only went for one.  A good finish to my first match and spell back and I could now head off to this training camp with confidence that I am both fit and feeling good with my bowling.

 

Our training base is at a ground called Wormsley, it’s the late Sir John Paul Getty’s ex residence.  He decided he wanted a cricket ground in his grounds, so he built one.  It’s a really beautiful ground with great on and off field facilities and it’s been a treat to train and play here.   I’ll add some photos tomorrow hopefully....

 

Since I joined up we’ve haven’t been in the nets, we’ve been out in the middle going through game situations with proper fields, full intensity bowling and some very, very big hits.  The boys have obviously been training hard back in NZ before getting here and in the couple of days they got here before I joined up.   It has been an impressive start to the T20 WC campaign. 

 

Tomorrow will be another tough day with morning and afternoon sessions out in the middle.  I was tired after this afternoon session but after a swim back at the hotel and a good meal I am looking forward to getting back out there and training hard. 

 

We played a game yesterday afternoon as part of our preparation.  We played against the New Zealand Cricket Club; New Zealanders living in London who ‘wander’ around the south east playing around 20 fixtures a year.  They were never going to be strong opponents but it was still good match practice none the less.  Guppy shone in this match scoring a spectacular 101 off 53 balls with some massive hits included; a treat to watch.  I was pretty happy with four overs for 18 and picking up a cheeky wicket too.

 

So, onwards we head towards the World Cup.  Franky joined us today from Glos and a couple of the IPL boys turn up tomorrow.  It’ll be good to get everyone here and firing over the next few days.

 

Just a quick one to get this rolling.

 

Thanks to those that have signed in to bea able to leave comments, especially as this site isn't quite at 100% yet; it'll be great to get your feedback on content and layouts.

 

Yesterday I joined up with the NZ team to go into camp ahead of the T20 World Cup.  It was a good feeling being back with the NZ lads, not all of us are here just yet with the IPL lads finishing up and heading over as their teams are knocked out of the compitition and Franky with Glos in the Friends Provident Trophy here in the County League; Leicestershire, the team I've been with were knocked out, hence joining up with the lads that were based in NZ since the end of our last summer.

 

 

I'll be back on tonight to get a full post in, but just wanted to say 'Welcome and thanks for coming along..."

 

 

OB

I’ve got a bit of time on my hands at the moment. Playing for Leicestershire in the most recent Championship match (4 day) I got hit in the ribs while batting in the second innings. I’ll come to that in a bit.

So, so far over here I haven’t done as well as I’d have hoped. In my first couple of matches my action wasn’t really there and had to do some work on it during a training session that I managed to squeeze in before this Championship match. I had a good little bowl out in the middle in training, slowed everything down and just concentrated on a strong load up and release. My run up rhythm came quickly and then all of a sudden I was hitting the catcher’s glove hard from a nice length. It had come back to me and I had learnt some more about where my action needs to be and how to get it there when it falls over.

We turned up to the ground in Bristol, where Glocestershire are based, to a pleasant surprise. I had been told of the cold and somewhat dank changing rooms that were on offer there; we were very happy to get use of the new changing rooms. They were fantastic, comfortable and easily a large enough area for a International team; a couple of very good baths for either hot or cold baths. Nice work Glos!

The pitched looked like something I wanted to bowl on and was really impressed with our openers getting through the morning session without loss; a great job by these two. Unfortunately it didn’t quite continue. We lost eight wickets around the 80-90 mark and scratched through to 133. After such a great opening partnership we didn’t do well enough after that. I was pretty happy with my 23 and got through some tough stuff too.

I was looking forward to bowling on this deck; I had watched the Glos bowlers get some pace, bounce and a little movement; a couple of things that I don’t mind. I bowled well, I was really happy with how it came out and the lengths I was hitting. Of course, as normal, I was trying to bowl a touch fuller than my natural lengths are, not quite hitting it, but still making them play, and miss, in areas I want them to be playing in was what I needed to be doing after a average couple of weeks here at the start.

I got through 32 overs and ended up with two wickets. I feel that on another day it could have been maybe six or seven. I have certainly bowled worse and had more wickets. Thirty two overs is quite a few but I felt really good, when you bowl well the body is generally doing the things it should be and body parts don’t hurt as much. It’s when you don’t bowl well that the body hurts as the sequences are out and you end up muscling rather than using rhythm to get it in the right place. Of course the baths were used for both hot and colds as I’m always trying my best to keep the body right for the next day.

Second innings batting and we’re 260 behind. A tough ask to save this one if the weather doesn’t interfere. It didn’t, and we ended up getting 71 in front and Glos knocked it off without loss; a ten wicket loss. It was a pretty good effort to 331 with a couple of lads getting some real good scores without going on to make them special. Always need guys to make sores special as they can be the winning, or saving, of a match. I got 31 in the second innings in a partnership of 55 with Carl Crowe. I earned every one of that 31 in this innings. I got a pounding from Steve Kirby from over and mostly around the wicket. Mostly I feel I played him quite well, he was quick and aggressive. I have had a lot of short stuff since the Gabba Test in Australia and am getting better at facing it. As I’ve said if I can get under a bouncer early I generally get under the rest. I couldn’t pick up (see) Kirby as well as I have picked others in the past and it was tough. It took a lot of mental effort to try not to back away and just slog. I tried as hard as I could to stay in line and play as solidly as I could and in that effort I got pinned by stepping out of my game plan. I had a pull shot that I stepped away from and opened up my right side, the ball went thud and I knew I was in trouble.

I tried to warm up to bowl during the change of innings but just could not get through any part of my action without it hurting, lots! So I sat in the changing room with ice on my side. I had thought earlier in the day that if we had of got 150 in front we had a chance of winning. Not to be and a couple of games on the bench for me.

Because I know you all care..... The ribs are coming along ok, a lot better over the last couple of days that it was in the first two. I had a good work out in the gym this morning with Suzie, our Leicestershire Trainer, I couldn’t do everything I would do normally but got through some good stuff and will get back in there tomorrow to do more.

Some people have asked why I’m not off playing in the IPL, well cause I’m here playing for Leicestershire. I got asked to play during the India series but as I had already signed for Leicestershire I couldn’t take up the offer. I just spoke to Graham Napier, who’s just been selected in the England T20 WC team and has been a team mate of mine at Wellington; he said he had a great time with his team Mumbai Indians and throughout the time he was there in the tournament. Hopefully next time it comes around I’ll get a chance to play as it looks and sounds like a great tournament to be a part of.

Well, it’s cold here right now. I’m at home in England, on the couch about to pack and drive to Bristol for the start of tomorrows Championship match vs Gloucestershire.

I’ve been over here for two weeks now after a few extra days back in NZ waiting on my passport to come back with a Visa entry stamp in it to come and play for Leicestershire.

Probably about time I sat down and did a bit of a catch up, starting with the final day of International cricket for the summer in New Zealand.

Originally I was going to get this done sitting in the departures lounge of Auckland Airport as I waited for me flight to the UK to join up with Leicestershire County CC, but as I am still sitting here in Wellington, over a week after my original departure date I thought it was about time got this all down.

My summer of bowling has finished. I have just had a massive feed of fried chicken, approved and signed off by both our trainer and physio. I need to put some weight back on my body and fried chicken is a good place to start. I haven't had a feed like that for a very long time and I am actually not feeling the best after it as my body isn't used to a high fat meal at the moment. But I'll survive and I'm sure I'll be ok in the morning.

Well, it wasn't quite a scythe that we took to the Indian batters, more a small, not so sharp, butter knife; but we hung tough and were rewarded with two wickets just after lunch and then a couple late in the day.

It was always going to be a hard day, the pitch was flat the wind was going to be tough to deal with and our bodies are sore and tired; it was going to Test cricket, plan and simple.

Not the day I was hoping for is an understatement.I sat down to write this a little earlier but wasn't really in a good mood and what I was typing was a little bit angry, I was having a bit of a moan about a few things, not related to today's play either. But I'll leave all that cause I'm feeling better now; best not to blog angry, huh. Today didn't go to plan, I think it's fair to say.It started off pretty well, Tommy picked up Sharma, 1st ball of the 3rd over of the day. We're off the park, boots off and feet up.I spent the day switching between the changing room and the viewing area trying to change the luck of the guys out there. Don't move seats if someone is in, don't talk about how good someone is playing; these things can jinx or curse and innings. So I was up and about trying to find a place where the luck was good. Khan bowled really well today, he seemed to have it on a string and even the bad balls ended up as good ones. I've bowled my share of short wide ones and they've ended up at the boundary not wicket taking deliveries, it was with him today.I was padding up just before tea, I was hoping to be tucking into a big feed as a part of a recovery day. Soon after tea I was in, Khan still bowling well and Singh drifting it and spinning it a little from the other. It was Baz and I again, hopeful of another partnership with him that would bring a little respectability to our score. We were going pretty well together, the pitch was playing pretty flat and I was feeling ok. I got a couple of very good bouncers early, the first one didn't miss by much, just pulling my head out of the way right at the last second. After those couple I was feeling better about picking up the ball and getting under the short ones. If I can get under a couple of bouncers early I start to feel a lot better about batting, it means I'm watching the ball and am picking it up early. When I fend and swing at early bouncers it means I am having issues seeing the ball and I may not last to long. I hit my new top score today. Nothing special, but still it's a personal best and I'm pretty happy about it. I should have and could have scored more too. I nicked one that I had been hitting well in defence trying to look for a single. I was disappointed to get out in that way on that track and it now meant that we had to go back out and bowl, that I was more disappointed about.It hadn't been a warm day and it certainly wasn't warm heading back out to bowl now. The shadows were long, the wind was cold and most of us are pretty tired but we went out there to give it everything.I got to do my usual role of bowling into the wind, it was quite a good breeze but tomorrow is set to be stronger again.I got through four overs pretty good and then got a crack down wind. I had been looking forward to this and was going to go real hard and crank as much out of my body as I could.I hit some pretty good speeds and I am looking forward to a good run down it tomorrow, although my main role will be from the up wind end where I'll have to work hard getting to the crease and concentrate harder as the wind can blow you off course at the top of the jump.It's more about muscling it there rather than using rhythm to get the ball down the other end. Lets hope for a good day tomorrow and that we can scythe through the most prolific run scoring team there is.