Edinburgh South Cricket Club

Hi all,

Just thought I'd drop a quick note re state of affairs as we head into the business end of the season.  After a tough start, the 1sts have been thinking about how many wins we need to stay up with an aspiration of being mid table.  For me, this weekend summed division 1 up and should also serve as a source of positive inspiration for those in the squad.  We beat a St Boswells side convincingly this weekend.  Below us, Watsonian's beat Holy Cross and Edinburgh Accies beat Murrayfield DAFS.  This has closed the league up considerably. 

Of the six league games we have left, realistically five are more than winable.  With all the other teams taking points off eachother, if we go on a run starting this weekend with two wins over Dunfermline and the regional academy (on Sunday), we could still finish third and be the top ranked 1st XI side in the league.  We've done this before - in fact we've done it several times in the last few years.  It's this sort of positive thinking and some hard work that should get us to a good position.

To do that, we need to practice our skills and our plans.  This weekend we took some great catches - a big weakness so far this year - and now need to get consistent with it.  Most the games we have lost, someone scored big having been dropped early. and get down to the Inch on Tuesdays and Thursday.  There's a really good reason for this personally if I can't convince you as a team.  People like Ian Ross, Luke Johnson, Graeme Smith, Paul Murphy and Paul Wilson are all examples of people who have improved considerably over the last few years.  Some of them didn't even know how to hold a bat when they turned up, but they are working hard at practice and its paying off.  You've then got the likes of Luke Johnson, Calum Raine and Ross Byford who are putting performances in.   I expect some of these players will be 1s players within the next two - three years if they continue to progress, and if they go up, someone has to come down.  That will strengthen all the sides overall.

The 2nds and the 3rds both still have realistic chances of promotion this season, despite losing at the weekend.  And the 4ths are still looking for their first win - although they have got close a couple of times!

Bottom line - lets make the extra effort over the next few weeks to come down to training - not just to turn up but with a plan of something to work on.  This is as much working out your game situations and role to play as much as it is technique - something that has been lacking at points this year.  Speak to me, Graeme, Ian or anyone else and we'll make the effort to work with you.  I'm personally willing to put the time in with anyone who wants to improve. 

The progress some of the above cricketers have made just by working hard on a plan for their skills shows that if even twice as many that are doing it at the moment start to do this, all sides in the club will move forward again.

Finally, lets make every effort to turn out for as many remaining league games as we can.  A big push here and we can finish on a real high this year. 

See you all down at practice!

Paul