Wednesday 04/10/10

On Tuesday we travelled from Kingston to Runaway Bay but today saw us get back to match practise. At Kaiser Sports Club we played Jamaica in a 50 over game. To my surprise I was rested.

Niall O’Brien was also rested due to a sternum complete. It was a flat wicket but with some moisture showing in the wicket we lost the toss and were put into bat. We got 227 and really fell 60 to 80 runs short of what we should have got. Gary Wilson got a good 50, but silly dismissals throughout the innings cost us.

Danza Hyatt who has played club cricket in Ireland got a great 100 and guided his team to victory.

Thursday 08/04/10

With a 9:30am fitness session this morning it certainly wasn’t a late night. With the ageing players given a pool session the rest of the team were put through their paces on the beach.

With our only day off for sometime it was an opportunity to play some golf. Kevin, Andre, John and Basil McNamee (President) went looking for success. Unfortunately Andre and I came second best. Some unbelievable shots were played none better than the 25ft putt by the “Pres” to halve the hole and win the game on the 16th.

Friday 09/04/10

Another early start for me as I had a school visit with the Digicel team. I was collected at 8:30 and travelled about 45 mins to a school on the beach front (what a great view for the students). Obviously school is on a break but to see the kids turn up there and enjoy the hour or so was a real buzz for me.

We played some cricket and had copious amounts of photos taken, but I enjoyed the time with the kids. It was from there to a team training session at the Kaiser Sports Club. It was hot and Coach Simmons put us through a gruelling 4 and half hour session. Back to the pool and then the regulation team meeting.

Saturday 10/04/10

This was the day our T20 campaign got underway. We played Jamaica at the scene of the 2007 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony – Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium. The day I led my adopted country on our first World Cup – a truly special memory. We batted first and posted a decent total of 127 but after getting a great start we probably fell 20 short of our target.

We knew a good start in the first 6 overs would set the game up and we did that. I bowled 4 overs, 2 for 22, Andre Botha bowled 4 overs 2 for 19 and young Gary Kidd 2 for 13 from his 4. WE won by 7 runs and let’s hope this is the start of a winning streak. We have a bit of lunch on our return and a pool session followed.

The afternoon was spent playing pool with some of the lads; let me tell you Paul Stirling has had a misspent youth. Lol.

Sunday 11/04/10

It was nice to have a lie in today as our game was the second of the day. Team meeting was at 9:30am as we prepared to play against the West Indies. We left for the stadium at 12:45pm to witness Canada being beaten by Jamaica.

We lost the toss and were in the field. We got off to a great start with wickets in the second, third and fourth overs. The West Indies were only 70 odd from 14 overs. The following 6 overs turned the game with WI posting 144, a tough task on a slow, low, turning track.

Unfortunately our chase started in a similar fashion. We were 13 for 3 and things didn’t get any better. We fell 30 short and a shock upset slipped through our fingers. I managed 28 not out, maybe a move up the order might come my way!

We head back to Kingston tomorrow morning for our remaining 3 games.

Before all that we have a fitness session in the morning at 7:30… I can’t wait…

Monday 12/04/10

Well today saw us up early and on the beach at the hotel. A gruelling session was finished and the boys spent the next 45 mins feeding like vultures. We packed our bags and had another team meeting about a few issues and then got on the bus for a 3 hour journey to Kingston.

We then spent the next 2 hours waiting to get our rooms, not a great start in The Knutsford Court Hotel. Chill out tonight with training tomorrow afternoon.