An enthusiastic right-arm leg-spinner has made the most of a rained-out day of cricket.
Moving from Brisbane to Melbourne for work in the middle of the year, Peter quickly signed up for his local cricket club (Melton Mavericks), and impressed enough in training session and in a practice match to be picked in fourth grade.
Unfortunately, Peter’s excitement at playing in his first official game was dampened by constant rain on Friday night and a gloomy Saturday morning.
“We still had to turn up to the ground, but it was cold and gross and pretty obvious we weren’t getting on,” he said.
Rather than go straight home, Peter decided to have a bowl in the nearby nets for a couple of hours.
“The drizzling rain was annoying, but I’ve played in a lot heavier rain back home, so I put up with it. I want to make a go of this new club, so I may as well train whenever I can. My housemates think I’m out at cricket all day, so may as well make the most of my free time.”
Peter’s hard work didn’t go unnoticed, with his captain Mark watching Peter bowl for a few minutes.
“All the boys were in the clubhouse playing poker, and here’s this lunatic practicing in the rain! I wanted to get him inside to bond with the boys, but he seemed pretty zoned in, so I left him alone. That commitment – even in fourth grade – will work in his favour this season.”
The Gurgler presents stories of the Park Cricketer, where we explore the lower reaches of the great game of cricket from the suburban ovals and rural grounds across Australia.
