Firstly, apologies for this update taking so long but it took me a while to find an internet café, and when I did it closed for refurbishment a few days later.

Calum MacLeod and I eventually arrived in Sydney after delays in Glasgow which resulted in us having a 10 minute sprint from terminal 1 to terminal 2 at Heathrow. When we got to our terminal we then had another sprint to get to our boarding gate where we had to be checked in. Due to the fact we didn’t have time to check in at a desk.

On arrival in Sydney we were told that our bags didn’t make the connection flight at Heathrow so we would have to go to the baggage service centre to sort that out. When we got there they told us that only our kit bags didn’t make it, which wasn't too bad as neither of us were picked to play on the first weekend. At least we had clothes to wear. We then went through to meet the guys who were picking us up. One of my team mates that I played with at Middlesex, Pat Darwin was there to meet me, and Ian Young and Tim MacKay (West of Scotland overseas amateur) were there to meet Calum.

I spent my first day with Pat at his house watching cricket on TV although I could barely keep my eyes open. We then went and sorted out getting a phone before heading off to Bankstown indoor centre for practice as it was raining and too wet to practice outdoors. I just watched and chatted to the other guys as I was shattered. After the practice we went back to the cricket club for a barbecue and pre season meeting. I then left with Corey Richards as I was going to stay with him for a few days before moving in with one of the young bowlers in the team.

Once I got to Corey's I didn’t waste any time in getting into bed, I hadn't been as tired as that ever before. The next few days I just relaxed around the house watching dvds and then went to watch the first game of the season at Bankstown oval against Sydney University on the Saturday.

When we got to the ground I saw Ian Moran, another Scotland overseas player, who was playing against Bankstown. My watching of the 1st Grade game didnt last very long as about 2 or 3 overs in to the game I was asked if I wanted to field for the 3rd Grade side as they were a player short. So after borrowing whites and boots I went over to the 2nd pitch. I don’t know how but I managed to wangle myself in the slip cordon for most of the game and snared a good low catch and therefore contributed to a win.

On the Sunday I went with Corey, his wife and daughter to Bondi Beach for the Afternoon. It was a really nice day and we sat and had lunch looking over the beach. I can see myself spending a lot of time there.

I moved into a flat in Kirribilli with Jackson Bird, another fast bowler who also played in the U19 world cup in Sri Lanka. The flat is in the possibly the best location in Sydney, it looks over Sydney Harbour and is directly opposite the Sydney Opera House and pretty much underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We are in good company there too as the Prime Minister John Howard lives on the same street.

The first week I spent going for runs around the harbour and over the bridge which makes running more enjoyable when the views are so good. I attended practice on Tuesday and Thursday which were both really good. It is a real professional setup at Bankstown. Both practices went well and already the coach gave me things to work on. I had impressed at training and was picked to play 2nd Grade against Manly on the weekend, which I was pleased about and really looking forward to playing.

We won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a flat wicket. I was due to bat at 8. It didn’t look like I would bat for a while either as we were 150-1 at lunch. After the loss of a few wickets I went in and got myself to 21 before getting out. We ended up on 290. We then bowled about 9 overs in the evening but we didn’t get any wickets. I was looking forward to bowling on the Sunday. Things didn’t get of to a good start and at lunch Manly were 120-2. I picked up one of the 2 wickets. After lunch things got much better and we bowled better lines and our spinners managed to get the middle order out, and we ended up bowling them out for 245. I got the last wicket and finished with 2 for the match. I was happy with my first game, but knew I could still improve on that.

I worked hard at training on my lines and getting rhythm when I bowled as it wasn't quite there during the game. By the Thursday I was much happier with the way I was bowling. I had been picked again for the 2nd Grade side to play against Blacktown. I spent the rest of the week having a look around the area and went into the city.

We won the toss against Blacktown and decided to bowl in what looked like seamer friendly conditions and they were. We had Blacktown 90-5 at lunch, and I had taken one of those wickets and we hoped to wrap up the last 5 pretty early. That wasn't the case, numbers 9 and 10 both scored 50's as the wicket flattened out and they ended up getting to 270 after 8 or 9 drop catches. Again I got the last wicket and ended up with figures of 2-53 in 15 overs, which could have been 3 or 4 had catches been held. We batted for 9 overs in the evening and our openers got us to 50 at the close, again I was due in at number 8.

During the week most of our emphasis was on batting as that would be what we would be doing on the weekend. We had some good net sessions and also did a lot of fielding due to the number of drops on the weekend. On the Wednesday, I went out to Penrith to meet Youngie (Ian Young) as the guy he was staying with and his friend challenged us to Scotland V Australia golf match. I got the train out there which took about an hour and he came and met me at the station. We arrived at the golf course to take up the challenge. Youngie and I were leading for most of the 1st 9 holes, but it was a round of golf which included some very good, very average and some absolute rubbish golf. Eventually, as much as it pains me to say it Scottish golf choked, it had to happen! We lost by 1 shot which was due to the fact that some double figure scores were carded.

The Saturday came and our openers couldn’t carry on from where they left off and both were out pretty early, but thanks to one of the best 100's I've seen from one of your younger guys we were getting close to their score. It was looking more and more likely that I wouldn’t bat, which was good from a team point of view, but I would liked to have had a hit. Some more wickets fell and I was due in next when we passed their score. We could have batted on but both teams decided to call it quits and we went away with another win.

Training again went well in the week with a more intense focus as round 3 was due to be one day matches. I didn’t get up to much other than looking for jobs and running, going a bit further as I was more familiar with the surroundings and not so worried about getting lost. I took it upon myself to cook Jackson and I dinner one night as he had cooked for us most other nights, which is a bonus, I’m not a fan of cooking.

I had learned that 4-5 1st Grade guys would be coming back from being overseas so selections would be tough and I might have to drop down a Grade. This was the case and I was due to play 3rd Grade at North Sydney No 2 pitch. This was quite handy as it is about 10 minutes away from our flat. We arrived at the ground to find what looked more like a Scottish wicket; green and damp. I was looking forward to bowling on it, but surprisingly we won the toss and the skipper had a change of plan and we batted first! Wrong decision I thought to myself, and at 40-4 I wasn't wrong. I went in at 8 got of the mark early and then was giving out caught behind, although I didn’t hit it. Our tail wagged a bit and we ended up on 173 for 8 after 50 overs. We thought that would be defendable on that wicket. When we came to bowl it had flattened out over lunch like at Blacktown last week. They got off to a good start, and were looking like winning from the first few overs, which is never the case in cricket. I bowled first change and bowled my 10 overs in a row, ending with figures of 1-30 and that included a partnership with another bowler of 17 overs 3 wickets for 9 runs in the middle of a one day innings. Our spinner and our captain then claimed 7 wickets between them and we managed to bowl then out for 145, proving that anything can happen in cricket.

After the game we had a club night out, as 4 of the 5 Grades had won their games. We met up at a bar on the rocks that was a typical Scottish pub. We had a few beers there and went on to other places before I called it a night at 3am. I found out at practice on the Tuesday that some of the guys had kept on going till 6am. On Monday of this week I planned to look for more jobs, and applied for one at a car showroom nearby as a yard hand. This would work in perfectly with cricket as it is through the week only and I can choose what days I work. So I would be able to work that around cricket if I get it, so fingers crossed.

On Tuesday we had another good practice session although there wasn't as many people as usual, which was good in a way as it meant we got a longer hit in the nets. There hasn't been much else to do this week as it has been raining since Wednesday, and practice was indoors on Thursday night, and with space limited there wasn't much room for the bowlers.

Another one of the guys I played with at Middlesex has also come out here to play for the winter, so that gives me another person to meet up with while I’m here. We are back to the 2 day games for round 4 and I have been brought back into the 2nd Grade side to play Sutherland at Bankstown oval. I am looking forward to that providing it stays dry as showers are forecast for the weekend.

I will let you know how that game goes and what else I get up to in my next update from Sydney, it won't take so long for me to get round to doing it then.