Limited Overs

Casey at the Bat

~ Ernest L. Thayer (1888)

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:

The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,

And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,

A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest

Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;

They thought, “If only Casey could but get a whack at that—

We’d put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.”

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,

And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;

So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,

For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,

And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;

And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,

There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;

It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;

It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,

For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

***

To be fair, I need to acknowledge the cricketers in the family, as well as the ballerinas and divers.  The fact that I only have a two year old photograph of Milo cricket sessions on Deakin oval (and a bad one at that - three boys in a badly composed line) is testament to my negligible interest in this sport.

We have now moved up a notch from Milo mini-training sessions to two-hour modified games.  'Limited overs' I think is what they are called. Heaven help us when it comes to these all day marathons in the higher grades.  There goes the weekend.  The girls and I shall do matinees and swim all day.

The Strong Silent One has volunteered to coach the Under 9 boys at our local club. Last week, he wrote the following message to the team, which is pure poetry itself.  No idea what half of it means, but isn't it lyrical?

This week's results for the Canberra Times are below and updated statistics are enclosed.

Best bowling figures today was Luke with 0/14 from 4 overs and Adam topped the batting (12).

For me, the shot of the day was Callum's four behind square leg.  

Josh also did well, coming in with second best figures with both bat and ball.

Josh also scored the most runs off the bat (8), followed by Callum (6).

Just goes to show how punishing (or favourable) the scoring system can be - with no wickets conceded, Josh would have scored 32 and Callum 24.

Maybe at training this week, we need to practice running between wickets and defensive batting.

ps.  The main poem above is an American baseball poem first published in The San Francisco Examiner.  Shows how much I know.