tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2010:/iainobrien//151 2009-12-04T10:43:43Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.14045 2009-12-04T10:41:16Z 2009-12-04T10:43:43Z

Tonight, I was ‘balls out’ going for it, and I felt great. I’ll be going ‘balls out’ tomorrow too

Iain O'Brien Not good enough, simple as that. I can say though, tonight, I was ‘balls out’ going for it, and I felt great. I’ll be going ‘balls out’ tomorrow too. I want this one; I really want to pull us back into the game. I love this ground, I love playing here, I want to do something special and I don’t want this one to get away from us. I had got Butt in the first innings with a bouncer, which was going to be the base of the plan in the second innings. It worked. I got one just about perfect and Butt’s gloved it to Ross for the catch. I also picked up the other opener. It was last ball of the over; Farhat was on strike, Yousuf, the new batter, at the non-strikers end. Quite often, in this situation, you’ll bowl a bouncer to keep the new batter down the non-strikers end so that the next over is started at them. I went to Dan, who was bowling at the other end, and asked him if he wanted Yousuf, meaning do you want me to make sure it’s a ‘dot’ ball with a bouncer. He replied “I want you to give yourself the best opportunity to get him out; nick him out.” So I did. I nicked him out. I was happy making sure Dan could bowl to the new batter, I was even happier to have a wicket and Dan would still be bowling to the new batter. If we can keep Pakistan to around 250, again, and leave us a chase of about 400 we’ll at least have the best batting conditions of the match. That’s the positive and we have to believe in every positive we can find. The Pakistan bowlers bowled really well, and we nicked and missed the balls we should have missed and nicked. I couldn’t believe how many times we, as a bowling group, went past the Pakistani’s edge without nicks in the first innings. It got pretty unbelievable at one stage. But we hung tough and caught some great catches; I was a little surprised that the one I took stuck. I was very happy that I got to it, and even happier that it fell nicely into my hands. We obviously need quick wickets, and yesterday’s hopes, in my blog, couldn’t have been further from what happened. Here’s hoping for a great day in Wellington and a better day of cricket for New Zealanders. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.14017 2009-12-03T11:24:59Z 2009-12-04T10:43:49Z

Delayed start, soggy outfield, very quick lunch and we’re into it; day one of the second Test is underway. And a pretty engrossing day it was too!

Iain O'Brien Delayed start, soggy outfield, very quick lunch and we’re into it; day one of the second Test is underway. And a pretty engrossing day it was too! We knew the outfield was going to be very wet as it was splashing a lot underfoot just walking on it when we went to train the day before. It was a lot better when we arrived this morning but still very wet and a bit splashy in places; hence the delayed start. The problem with the outfield, apart from being a bit slippery, was that it was quite wet through part of the run-up from the Northern end. Running through the soggy bits isn’t the issue; it’s the water that gets transferred from the bottom of your boots to where you are landing on the pitch that causes the problems. Eventually the pitch gets wet and becomes slippery. This can be quite scary - hitting the crease at a decent running speed and trying to keep a stable front foot while delivering the ball can become difficult. This did cause a couple of problems today, but it’s just part of the game and sometimes you have just got to get on with it! Dan won the toss - I’ve written that a lot if you’ve followed these blogs. Tuffey, playing in his first Test in five years opened the bowling with Tommy. It is great to see Tower (Tuffey) back. He’s been working so hard and finally gets his chance back in the Fern. The wind was blowing from the south - that’s the cold wind here at the Basin and it’s also not the common wind direction. This meant I would bowl from a slightly unfamiliar RA Vance Stand end and it’s fair to say it took me three overs to settle. The next three were a lot better and cost just three runs. Not having a decent bowl leading up to this match hasn’t helped me in finding my rhythm quickly, as well. Dan turned me around to bowl with the wind for my second spell. I had been bowling at around 125-129 kmh in my first spell and in this spell I reached 144 kmh a few times and hung around in the 140’s quite a bit. I felt great with the wind behind me and bowling from the end that I have made mine for Wellington and New Zealand. I picked up the first wicket after getting Butt to hit one straight up to Tower at mid on. The openers had done a great job; they left the ball very well on a tough surface and played the right lines but Butt's wicket opened the gates up. I bowled a really good over to Umar next up and made it really uncomfortable for the youngster in just his second Test. Dan then picked up two wickets in one over, Farhat and Yousuf, and we were well on top. I kept making Umar’s life difficult and was really feeling great at this time: quick and aggressive and I really wanted a couple more wickets. Dan congratulated me on my spell at the end of an over, which meant I wouldn’t bowl the next one when I really wanted to keep bowling. I made an unhappy grunt in protest when he reminded me there were only two minutes until tea. Arh, that'll be why I'm done then - sorry Dan, I got that wrong. Smiles all around. Those wickets didn’t come for me, but we finished the day with Pakistan on 161 for 6 and we are in a good position to knock them over tomorrow and have a decent bat. We would love to set up a big score and help out poor Wyvern Hunt (91 years old, not 93 as I had written), who presented us with our caps last night, and make this Test a little less close. Time for a bath, catch you tomorrow night … tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.14000 2009-12-02T09:55:23Z 2009-12-04T10:43:53Z

It’s just a quick one tonight before we head into tomorrow’s second Test match. As I’ve said in previous blogs, this Test is a special one for a few reasons. It will be the 50th Test match held at the...

Iain O'Brien It’s just a quick one tonight before we head into tomorrow’s second Test match. As I’ve said in previous blogs, this Test is a special one for a few reasons. It will be the 50th Test match held at the Basin Reserve. The ground holds a very special place in my heart as it’s my home ground, where I’ve learnt how to play cricket, not just take part. Tonight our caps were presented to us by a proud 93-year-old; he’s been to every Test match at the Basin. This kind of love for the game means a lot to us players. We love the game, but we also love to play in front of a crowd. No point more proven than last week in Dunedin where the crowd pulled us along and possibly shaped an amazing final day. It’s been a tough buildup. We’ve not been able to get outside even once to train since we arrived in Wellington. This is not perfect, but it is also not the worst. It was a tired team that walked off the park last Saturday: the enforced lower key training sessions may well play a part in helping us stay stronger for longer. We’ve still been training, but you cannot train at the same intensity indoors as you can out. I’ve just been out for a curry with a very good mate and feel really good; properly excited in anticipation of another Test at the Basin. Test wins at the Basin are special, they are celebrated differently to other Test matches; why? I don’t really know, but it is such a great ground to play at and that may have something to do with it. I’m not getting ahead of myself here, we’ve got some bloody hard work in front of us to achieve a win here, but we will be go full throttle from ball one. Wellington, if you’re reading this, get along, help us out, make some positive noise like there was in Dunedin last week. Make it a special five days, make it a Test to remember for you and for us. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13956 2009-11-29T09:15:37Z 2009-12-04T10:43:59Z

I can’t really explain the feelings that are still running through me now, but what I can tell you, if I could bottle this, save it up somehow and tap in to it when times are tough, life would be so much better

Iain O'Brien

I’ve never dislocated a finger, let alone one of my bowling digits and didn’t really know how or if I’d be able to keep bowling © Getty Images

  Wellington, on a great day, is amazing. Today is a great day, and not just because it’s a great day in Wellington. The first Test of the summer was a beauty. Whichever way it was going to go on the final day it was going to be an entertaining day of Test cricket and well worth the admission charge. And they turned out to watch. It was a great atmosphere right from the start of the day. It only got better and in that last session, when we needed four wickets and Pakistan needed 40 runs, the Dunedin crowd was the twelfth man out there with us on the park, fighting hard with us. It was amazing and I have never played in front of a crowd like that. With the intimacy of the ground and the closeness of the crowd, the 2,200 people that were there, made it sound and fell like 60,000; great job Dunedin and to those who travelled to be there for the last day (you boys who drove up from Queenstown, great job!!). We won; but you already know that. It was amazing; but you already know that too. I can’t really explain the feelings that are still running through me now, but what I can tell you, if I could bottle this, save it up somehow and tap in to it when times are tough, life would be so much better. I just feel amazing. I feel like I’ve always wanted to feel from playing this game. I’ve been a part of a winning Test team before, but to have played a big part in a win when things were really against us is just absolutely amazing. Just remember Pakistan needed 55 with five wickets left. The odds were really stacked against us at that stage.]]> The day didn’t start to well; the plan was to bat for as long as we could. Well we did bat as long as we could, but it wasn’t as long as we wanted. I was done by a good set from Gul, three good bouncers, the first one hitting me reasonably hard, and then the full straight one hitting me dead in front. We had two referrals left, there was no point having them left over so I asked for it to be referred. I straight away apologised to Tufal for doing so, I was almost certain that I was dead, but I was just hoping that I had, maybe, got a little nick on it, or maybe it hit me just outside the line, anything, I had to check. I didn’t nick it, and it didn’t hit me outside the line. I was dead. This was going to be a nervy day now, more so because we could only set Pakistan 250 in 90 overs. A very gettable target, and we were going to need some help from wherever we find it. Hopefully the pitch would play up more, and hopefully the ball would reverse like it did in the first innings. We got lucky, the pitch did play up a little and the ball did reverse. We had a great start, Bondy and Tommy [Martin] picked up a wicket each. Two great catches by Baz and McIntosh respectively. Great catching was going to be so important in this one; Pakistan had shown that already for the wrong reasons. I was nervous, really nervous. I had not bowled well in the second half of my overs in the first innings and really needed to do a whole lot better here if we were going to win this one. I had looked at my spells from the first innings to see what changed throughout the day; there was one thing I picked up straight away. Basically I wasn’t rocking back from the waist in my jump, I was still leaning forward from running in. These meant things weren’t quite in the right place at delivery and the results speak for themselves. I hit warm-ups on day four practicing this and again yesterday (day five) I was really focusing on it before we got out into the middle. So heading out to start up the defence of 250, I knew things were on the line. If I had another day like I did on day three, my Test career might have been gone. Yesterday was 'Career Day' for me. Get it right and I’ll be fine, get it wrong and I could be gone. Pretty scary stuff; these are the things that go through your head, it’s enough that I’ve got to go out and bowl to some great batters, but to contend with other head-messing stuff is really tough. I started good; my action felt good, the reviewing and fix I had done with my action was working. I bowled a tight six-over spell first up, created a couple of nicks that didn’t carry, but I kept the runs down and the pressure on. There was a great feel out in the field, we were really enjoying ourselves. A partnership between Umar and Yousuf was beginning to look troublesome. They had put on 40 when Tommy bowled a ball that changed the game. Whacking it in short, rising sharply, rushing at Yousuf, grabbing some glove leather on the way past and safely thudding into Baz’s gloves. A defining moment in the match! We were back as favourites at that moment and we just needed to get at least one of the brothers out and we would be well in front. Just Malik to deal with before Kamran would join Umar - the partnership that devastated us in the first innings. By now the ball was reversing, it had been from about the 15th over. We really needed this, as do all attacks on flat tracks. I changed ends, and so did the wind. That didn’t impress me! But this was going to be my moment, this was going to be my spell. Just before tea I got Malik. Fifty five runs to get and five wickets in hand for Pakistan, and just then it became four in hand. I bowled Malik a bouncer, that didn’t get up, he ducked it and it only just got over his back. I thought I’d go again, another bouncer, hoping the bounce would be different and get a different result. It was and it did. It rose like the ball Tommy bowled to Yousuf. It flew through, grabbed an edge and I had my first wicket of the match. The match was still on the edge and it was now tea. I had bowled four overs before and was pretty sure I was going to get the ball straight after too. It was going to be a tough session, the last one of the match, and we were all pretty tired and sore. In my third over after tea I had my finger rearranged. Umar whacked one straight, I stuck out a hand more to stop the ball than catch it. If it stuck happy days, it didn’t though. It did take the end of my middle finger on its way past, and bent it the wrong way. The very end joint of my middle finger was bent up; it’s only supposed to bend down towards the palm. It hurt when the ball hit, nothing out of the ordinary there, it was only when I looked at it that I realised that I was in some trouble. I waved to our physio, hoping she could put it back in straight away and I would be able to carry on. I’ve never dislocated a finger, let alone one of my bowling digits and didn’t really know how or if I’d be able to keep bowling. Kate (our physio) got it back in, on her third attempt; my hand was sweaty and she kept slipping off. We’ve since heard that this joint is one of the toughest to get back in. I felt it ‘clunk’ back into place, this hurt, a lot, too. I was really starting to worry that I wouldn’t be able to bowl. I remember asking Dan if it went for four; now that would have really annoyed me if that’d happened, it only went for two, so not all was in vain. I grabbed the ball and gripped it in my right had trying to ‘feel’ the ball in my fingers. It felt a bit weird, it had sort of gone a bit numb; this worried me a little as I need to feel where these fingers are at delivery. I bowled a ball to Fulton at cover to see how it would go. It was going to be ok. It wasn’t perfect, but it’ll have to do. I’ll at least finish this over and see about the next. I’ve been told my next ball was 5 kmph quicker than a couple of previous balls; it really must have been an adrenalin hit. I actually started to feel pretty good, finger sore, sure, but I was in the game, I was going to do something special. Bondy got Umar a couple of overs later; it was another great return catch. Bondy just grabs these catches, it’s amazing! We were right back in the hot seat. The amount of ‘man love’ was amazing, it was hugs all round, we were pumped. That was one very special debut from what will probably be a very special player. I bowled the next over and I had Kamran lbw. Every wicket was a huge celebration and for this one we got to celebrate three times. We celebrated big when Taufel raised his finger, we celebrated again when we got word from the shed that the appeal that was reviewed would stay with the on field umpires decision, and then we celebrated the third time when Taufel’s finger was raised again. The tension was amazing; the atmosphere was so good to be a part of. I had really been looking forward to bowling to Gul since this morning when he hit me on the grill, and here was my opportunity. Do I bounce him and try to hit him, ruffle him up a little, or do I just hang to the plans, bowl tightly, nick him off or bring the stumps into play. I didn’t bounce him, but I’m sure he was expecting it. I got him in my next over, Gul nicked one between keeper and first slip, I thought it was going to be his lucky day. A couple of balls later he scooped one to Dan at mid off. We were running around like mad men now. It really was going to happen. More hugs, more high fives, more pats on the back, all while I’m trying to keep my right (sore) hand out of the way of all the emotions. It was now that we really knew that we could/should and hopefully would win this Test. Well, the rest now is history. Dan came on and does what he does so well with tailenders, he picked up the remaining two wickets. The celebrations on the park were huge, it was brilliant. The crowd had been amazing; they really were our 12th man that day. I sure that the Wellington crowd can create an atmosphere similar and make the Basin Reserve’s 50th Test match great Test to play in. I managed to grab a couple of stumps, one for me and one for Umar, he really did deserve one from this Test. Unfortunately for him it will be one to remember for his individual performance, not for the teams result. With him and Aamer in this team, these two young men, with their standout performances will take Pakistan a long way! I had my finger checked today, no breaks or fractures; that’s good. It just hurts and is swollen and a bit blue. It should be fine for Thursday, my home ground, the Basin Reserve, my favourite track to bowl on, wild horses couldn’t keep me away! tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13913 2009-11-27T11:04:01Z 2009-12-04T10:44:03Z

I woke this morning to a lot of noise outside. It was either raining very heavily, a tidal wave was coming, or there was a gale coming through

Iain O'Brien Day Three

	Shane Bond marked his return to Test cricket with a five-wicket haul © Getty Images

I woke this morning to a lot of noise outside. It was either raining very heavily, a tidal wave was coming, or there was a gale coming through. It was the later and that meant a tough day at the office for me. I bowl into the wind, that’s one of the jobs I have made my own. It is something I have prided myself on and if you’ve read a lot of my blogs you’ll know this; if you haven’t; when I was starting out for Wellington I picked the worst job in the team and I made myself good at it. There’s always a vacancy for the worst job in the work force. Doing that job has meant tough days at the office, but it does mean that I’m at the office, and I really do like my office! I was 2 not out overnight and was looking forward to sticking around with the bat as long as possible. I’ve made a goal for myself every time I go out to bat to face 50 balls. If I do that the partnership should be up around the 50-run mark; even if I’ve only scored 10. Batting with Bondy was going to be fun, we were going to take every run on offer, and I knew he was pretty keen on hitting a couple of big balls! I was pretty happy too that Asif and Gul were not at full pace; they looked pretty tired from the day before. I nicked a four and got a cover drive away off Gul. I was premeditating a little with that ball. I was guessing it was going to be full, and if it was, I was going to hit it as hard as I could. I had the wind behind me so if I didn’t quite get it, if it was in the air, it should still, hopefully, carry over the straight fielders. It was too wide to hit straight, so I just flung the bat at it, and it came off ok; sweet. My first bowling spell was eight overs before lunch and then three straight after. Eleven overs of the first 14 to be bowled into that wind that day. It was hard work, and I was going well. I felt good, my rhythm good and my speeds were right up there. I felt like I was really doing my job, I was keeping the runs down so we could attack from the other end, and I was also making life tough for the batters that were in. The ‘into-the-wind’ role is often measured by how many wickets are taken at the other end, and in my first spell there was three; I was doing my job. But that was where it ended. I came back for my second spell and I was average. I leaked more runs than we all wanted; I couldn’t keep things tight and quiet from my end. We went to tea and I was pretty pissed at myself for that spell. The bothers Akmal were together and playing with freedom. Umar, on debut and dropped (a toughie), was really taking the counterattack to us, and it was paying off. Kamran was hanging with him and also scoring well. I got an opportunity from the downwind end, I was really looking forward to this spell, a chance to let loose, to bowl fast and express myself. I still have to bowl well, keep things tight and build pressure. I did none of the mentioned. Absolutely none of them! I got smashed. It wasn’t good enough at all and, after my poor spell into the wind previously, I was feeling pretty average. My first 11 overs went for around 30, my next 10 went for 70. Not good enough. The Akmals batted well, not going to take that away from them at all. I just didn’t bowl well enough and it meant they got away from us. We probably could have bowled Pakistan out for around 200 had we done things as good as we started. Bondy’s return was brilliant. He had four wickets at the end of the day. He bowled fast, really fast, after lunch and picked up three wickets in 10 balls. A game changing spell, and had Flynn of taken a screamer at gully, it would have been a four-wicket spell and Pakistan would have been six down for around 90. Game on! Eight down at the end of the day, we’re still in a great position, pick the two wickets up cheaply in the morning and rest up for a massive fourth-innings charge to win the match. Day Four
Bondy and Tom (Chris Martin) opened up and it was Tom who picked up the first wicket. We were off the park when Bondy picked up his fifth wicket. It has been a brilliant come back and a pleasure to share the field with him again. Yesterday Bondy did the hot paperclip through the toe nail trick to release the pressure that had built up because of the constant banging on the end of the boot. It was hurting a lot and I know how much this hurts, both the banging on the end of the boot when smashing down on it at delivery and then the paperclip through the nail. He was at it again when we came off again today. His big toe is a mess and he’s bowled through some pain to get the first-innings job done. I too needed to do the same, but I was staying clear of the paperclip this time. That just hurts too much. I sourced a very small drill bit and between thumb and finger I drilled my toe nail until I reached the blood beneath to release the pressure. It’s not a nice feeling and it doesn’t look to good but it does make things a bit better. Guptill was doing some short-ball work in the nets before warm ups, under arms from five or six meters, and he wore one above his right eye. I’d normally say he was silly for doing that without a helmet on, but I was doing it the other day, so who am I to talk! I didn’t wear one though! So with his eye a bit puffy and vision maybe not quite 100% when he and McIntosh opened up for us. Two down with no runs on the board, Guptill and Flynn back in the shed; and I called our first innings the worst start possible. Taylor scored his second 50 of the match in a partnership with Mac and we started to look better until a mix up left Taylor run out; really not what we needed. We lost wickets reasonable regularly from there and at stumps, drawn early because of bad light again, we are 244 in front with two wickets in hand. Elliott and I head back out there tomorrow to put as many runs on the board as we can before bowling for the win. The rules around ‘light’ have changed. In the past the umpires offer the option to the batters to ‘go’ or ‘stay’. Not anymore, it is their decision alone. The batters get no option at all and in our camp that has caused a little annoyance. We have lost a wicket in both innings just (one ball) before the umpires have taken us off for bad light. And yes, it does play a big part; it was very hard to pick up the one ball I faced in the first innings and the two I faced tonight. The second ball I faced tonight I didn’t really pick up till it was about half way down. I was very happy it wasn’t a short one! We’ve got some work to do tomorrow, we need as many runs as we can muster and then we are going to need a huge effort from the four bowlers to take the 10 wickets we’ll need for the win. Whatever happens, it’s going to be a great day’s viewing and I hope to either see you at the ground, sitting in front of your TV, listening on the radio or following it on Cricinfo. I’ll catch you on Sunday, I won’t write tomorrow night, hopefully I’ll be celebrating (mildly) a very special Test victory.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13897 2009-11-26T13:10:49Z 2009-12-04T10:44:08Z

I’m done, I’m pretty well knackered. And to be fair to my team mates I’m going to have to do this writeup tomorrow. We didn’t get off the park until 7:40 pm, back to the hotel at 8:30; straight to...

Iain O'Brien I’m done, I’m pretty well knackered. And to be fair to my team mates I’m going to have to do this writeup tomorrow. We didn’t get off the park until 7:40 pm, back to the hotel at 8:30; straight to see the massage therapist and then out for some food. I’ve just got back and it’s 10:40 pm. I have to sleep. Sorry. It was a tough day, a whole lot of good and one bit of bad; and that bit of bad lasted a little too long for our liking! I’ll do a whole run-through tomorrow night and cover off my batting (13 not out) and my bowling (the two halves of it), and also a great comeback by one great bowler! tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13882 2009-11-25T09:05:36Z 2009-12-04T10:44:12Z

Dan and Baz played well again, it was great watching them take us “oh so close” to lunch. It was then Bondy’s job to get Dan through to his 100. This is a big job, it’s a tough job, to come in when someone is near a milestone, you don’t want to get out on them and make it someone else’s job, you want to be out there with them and enjoy it with them. It wasn’t to be though. Dan, in the gloom, nicked one on 99 and the ended another great knock of his

Iain O'Brien

Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori added 164 for the seventh wicket © Getty Images

From Cricinfo.com 125.6 Umar Gul to O'Brien, 2 runs, fullish outside off and he pushes it wide of mid-off, more description of that in O'Brien's blog tonight Too right you’re going to hear about it; apart from making a couple of cups of coffee and a toasted sandwich, I didn’t do too much else today. The sun was out again when I pulled the curtains open, looked like another good day for cricket down here. The forecast wasn’t too great with rain due in later on. I got the late bus to the ground, straight into the shed and threw my batting gear on quickly and headed out to the nets for a hit before warm-ups started proper. I hit it ok, got a few balls out of the middle, ducked a few short ones, played Saqlain Mushtaq really well and was feeling really good. It was a quick run back to the shed, gear off and out to the middle to start warm-ups with the team. It was an easy warm-up with a short game, stretches and then into whatever you needed to do to be ready for the day. I headed off to do some fielding, catch some catches, pick up a few ground balls and then into some bowling. I was woeful in the warm-ups with my bowling. I felt fast right from ball one but my radar was off. It’s sometimes harder to find pace than it is to find direction so of the two things to have in warm-ups, I’d rather have the pace. Losing the radar in the nets works me up a little bit; although in the past when I’ve bowled poorly during practice, I’ve gone out and bowled well when it counts. I got through probably two overs and just let it go; I walked away. It wasn’t going to let it get the best of me, I just walked away knowing that I did feel fast and energetic, but the radar was slightly off. For me, that’s experience paying off. Walking away, relying on the mental side to take over when the physical isn’t quite there.]]> Dan and Baz played well again, it was great watching them take us “oh so close” to lunch. It was then Bondy’s job to get Dan through to his 100. This is a big job, it’s a tough job, to come in when someone is near a milestone, you don’t want to get out on them and make it someone else’s job, you want to be out there with them and enjoy it with them. It wasn’t to be though. Dan, in the gloom, nicked one on 99 and the ended another great knock of his. It was now my turn to head out there, it was pretty dark, and the chat in the changing room was that we shouldn’t be out there. It’s not our decision though, so we keep playing. I got a full toss, about thigh height and let out a ‘whah’ in surprise when it got to me. It was tough to pick up and I wasn’t expecting it to come at me so high without bouncing. I was pretty sure I was going to get a yorker, so I was set up for a full ball, I managed to hit it ok for a couple and got a cheer from the small, but vocal, crowd that was still at the park. Thanks guys! Rain interrupted the day quite a bit and because of it we only got through 36 overs. Batting four sessions was our first goal and we’ve got there, reached 400 and are happy with what we’ve achieved so far. There was a fair amount of rain too while we were still out there playing, so if things happen like they should it could be quite tough to bat on first thing up in the morning. So whatever happens, it should be very interesting viewing. Not like that ‘bowler-breaking’ run feast that’s happening in Kanpur at the moment! Follow me on Twitter too: http://twitter.com/iainobrien tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13866 2009-11-24T09:33:15Z 2009-12-04T10:44:16Z

I woke up this morning, pulled the curtains open, and knew straight away that we would be batting

Iain O'Brien Captains meeting done and dusted, massage finished, food done, blog and sleep to go before we head into the first Test of the summer against Pakistan, here in Dunedin. This is a home series for Pakistan; Dunedin is about as far away from home they could find themselves climatically. I can’t believe I’ve just used the word ‘climatically’. It was very cold when we got here on Saturday, it has warmed up a bit, but when the wind comes in the temperature certainly drops a lot! We’ve trained the last two days and trained well. It’s a good feeling when you look around the nets and field seeing the boys all going well; hitting the planned areas in the nets, taking our catches (slippers and outfielders) and showing the intensity that we’ll need to bring on game day tomorrow. In our captains meeting our guest that handed out our Test Caps was Richard (Dick) Taylor, 1974 Commonwealth Games gold medalist in the 10,000 meters. This was a very special one for us. A Kiwi legend that put so much into one event, against a great field, and came up trumps! It was an honour to have him in our presence and have him present our caps. We’re looking to bat first if blue is the major colour in the sky. The pitch looks like it will be pretty good first up to bat on; although that goes against a lot of first-class matches that are played down here. They quite often are over in less than three days. The last two Tests down here, the Bangers and the Windies, have been flat and pretty slow wickets. We’re expecting much of the same this time too. Our bowling attack is probably one of the oldest put out on a park. We’ve been called ‘wizened’ and ‘geriatric’ by an ex-player in the media. It’s fair to say that between us (Martin, Bond, Tuffy and I) we’ve had a good laugh at it. We all feel great, sure it doesn’t get any easier, but in terms of fitness, energies, love of the game and desire, we’re as young as anyone would want to be! Day one
I woke up this morning, pulled the curtains open and knew straight away that we would be batting. I was almost certain that if Pakistan won the toss they would bowl and, as it was a very blue sky, I knew we’d be batting. Dan lost the toss and we’re batting. As always I was keen for a bowl but also, as always, it’s nice to have the feet up to watch the boys bat. I had a really good warm up, my bowling feels great at the moment (I know I maybe shouldn’t say that as it could very quickly bite me in the arse, but I feel great so I’m in a good place). The body is feeling fresh and full of energy. Boots off, ankle brace off, trainers on and coffee in hand; time to settle in for the first session. There is always the little bit of nerves when you want to bat first and get to. Is that track going to do, or not do, what we think it will? Are they going to use the new ball as good as they’d hope to? Is it going to swing, seam, bounce or all of them? We got off to the worst start possible, Tim McIntosh out first ball. Flynn was then out in the sixth over and we were 27-2. It is tough trying to stay positive in the viewing room when things don’t quite go to play; it goes pretty quiet for quite a while. The laughter and banter dries up for a bit and much as we try to stay positive there is always that little bit of you that says “please don’t let me have my pads on before tea! Please don’t make me bowl today!” Guptill and Taylor got the banter and laughter going back in our shed. They played brilliantly and got us right back on track. Dan and Baz finished the day for us on a high, getting through six down sets us up for tomorrow nicely. This Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), which is on its official debut, had a good day out for us today. Baz was given out, second to last ball of the day, LBW. He challenged the decision and with the aid of technology he was given not out. Please note I’m not saying the original decision on Baz was a bad one either; in real time it looked pretty good! The way the system is now set up, in regards to how it was used during the West Indies series last summer, is a whole lot better. I’m still not saying I’m in complete favour of it, but I guess if there are less bad decisions made, the more true the battle will become.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13809 2009-11-21T08:24:56Z 2009-12-04T10:44:20Z

Iain O'Brien

Queenstown day one: It's cold out there © Iain O'Brien

  It’s been a while... missed me?? Well, let’s kick this off with a bit of a catch up. I’ve been back in New Zealand for about three weeks. I’ve really enjoyed being back, catching up with friends and actually being able to get into the gym to build some strength as opposed to just doing ‘maintenance’ work. In saying that, I was very disappointed to not go to the UAE for the one-day and Twenty20 series. Still, I’ve made the best of a situation I wasn’t too happy with. So far I’ve played one 'Plunket Shield' (four-day domestic competition) for Wellington and this last week played for a New Zealand Invitation team vs Pakistan. I’ve been really happy with how I’ve gone. The match for Wellington we drew against Canterbury. We had a very good chance to win it but just couldn’t break a very good partnership. I only took one second-innings wicket when we were trying to bowl them out; disappointed with that but I’ll add it to the five I got in the first innings and I walk away from that match happy with my form, my health, my strength, my pace (especially) and how I kept my energies throughout the match. I really felt good throughout this match. Pace was good, probably the quickest I have bowled for an entire match and I got through some overs!]]>

The remarkables: Warming up slowly © Iain O'Brien

  Last week, in Queenstown, we played Pakistan in a ‘warm-up match’ for them. Warm-up is hardly the word to use for the first day of the match. Pakistan bowled first and it wasn’t too warm out there. I know I’ve said how hard it is to play when it is hot, but for these guys it must be so hard to get into it when you are so cold. The ground at Queenstown is as amazing as it gets in terms of the beauty that surrounds it. If you’ve never been to watch a match there you really are missing out. The pitch is flat, there is always lots of runs scored there and the scenery really is second to none! This match ended in a very tame draw at tea on the third day. The pitch was just so flat and without the intensity that a ‘proper’ match would have, taking wickets became very tough. It was a good work out though, I picked up a couple of wickets, hit for a run-out with just one stump to hit (pretty proud of that!) and scored 13 runs while hitting a six and taking a short one that didn’t get up from Abdur Rauf on the upper arm. Not a bad few days on the park really. While I was batting something strange happened. I was actually willing Rauf to bounce me. All of a sudden I wanted bouncers. See, strange!!!! There’s a pretty good rationale behind it though. There is only so much bouncer training you can do in the nets, there is nothing like facing them out in the middle. If I get under a couple early then I feel a whole heap better about playing from then on. I swayed one from Rauf early; next ball, straighter, didn’t quite get up and hit me. No problems, it hurt a little, they always do, but nothing to worry about at all. It was actually quite good for me. I was in a reasonable position and it didn’t bounce like it should have. No dramas, let’s move on ...

	Queenstown day three: View from the lunch room © Iain O'Brien

So, I’m now in Dunedin with the New Zealand team, we joined up today. I drove the four hours it took to get here (we went the wrong way, care of Tuffey!) in the wind and rain. It’s a pretty drive but mostly obscured by nasty looking clouds. It’s good to see all the guys again, catch up on the UAE tour and get the new team kit issue ... I really only play for the ‘kit’; for all the training and playing gear. It’s my favourite time, the new ‘kit’ issues. You know me well enough now to know I’m kidding... yeah!!?? Anyway, it bed time now after a team meal out, a very good Italian feed at Etursco. Free plug for them because the food was soooo good!! Nice job, thanks! I’ll try to be more regular with my updates now. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll be trying! Don't forget to get little updates via twitter: iainobrien]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13170 2009-10-12T10:16:37Z 2009-12-04T10:44:26Z

It feels like I was just here yesterday. I’m sitting in Frankfurt Airport waiting for a connecting flight. I wasn’t here yesterday or even been here before but just seven days ago I departed the UK for South Africa, going...

Iain O'Brien It feels like I was just here yesterday. I’m sitting in Frankfurt Airport waiting for a connecting flight. I wasn’t here yesterday or even been here before but just seven days ago I departed the UK for South Africa, going via Munich Airport, and this airport feels exactly the same. It’s 6.30am, I got off the plane at 5.45am. I’m a bit tired. I managed to get a bit of sleep on the 9 hr flight from Johannesburg but not enough to make up for the previous night’s lack thereof. The night before last, we lost the Champions Trophy. We weren’t good enough, sure we were the underdog, but it still would have been great to have made the match closer. Australia deserved to win; they are the deserved winners of the 2009 Champions Trophy. Dan (Vettori) was ruled out of the match early although not many of us knew anything. His hammy had been bad in the semi-final vs Pakistan and probably shouldn’t have played that one; so the final, after doing a little more damage to it in his Man of the Match performance against Pakistan, was out of the question; although we all knew how much he wanted to play. I was out in the middle with some of the guys kicking a football around before warm-ups started when the coach came up to Jeetan Patel, hand on shoulder, and said “Mate, you’re playing.” It’s always a great feeling getting that ‘chat’ especially when you’ve worked so hard, consistently, to be ready to play. I knew how Jeets was feeling; overjoyed for himself and hugely disappointed for Dan and the team to lose such a player. There was a little bit of ‘shell shock’ when we all realised we were going to be missing a stand-out player and our captain; not an uneasy feeling but we knew our chances of winning had just taken a hit. You need to have the best team possible out in the big matches. We’ve had our injuries throughout this tournament like nobody’s business. I was only there because of one, [Aaron] Redmond and [James] Franklin, both playing, were there for the same reason; late call-ups after injuries. We had our best team on the park that we could field. We had lost [Jesse] Ryder, [Jacob] Oram and [Daryll] Tuffy; all guys who would have been playing had they been fit. The good thing within the NZ setup at the moment is that we have some bloody good players waiting to get their turn (again). The match against Pakistan was brilliant; we knew we had held them to a score we would have been very happy with before the match started. Sure, their tail put on a couple more than we’d like, but we’d take it. And our run chase was superb. Grant Elliott was at his best. The pace of his innings made our chase feel comfortable and when Dan joined him still with over 100 to get, we were still very confident of getting through. Grant and Dan put on 104, a fifth-wicket partnership record for the Wanderers, to get us to within four of the needed runs. They took their time, because we had it, and took their chances, because they were given. A catch at cover, that should have been taken, really put the final within reach. Their partnership was 40 from 70 balls at one stage, if I remember rightly. A little slow but controlled none the less. They then proceeded to up tempo. The hundred brought up from almost even balls. The Powerplay used perfectly! I’m now home and have had a short break in Belgium, Bruges to be exact. Great fun, great city; more about that later. I’ll get this finished and leave some room for another in a couple of days but before I finish I want to have a small dig at the South Africa press. Sitting at the airport in Jo’burg, Franky and I sat reading the paper, the morning after the final. The way the two main stories read on the back page, the main sports page, was that it was unfortunate that the ‘underdog couldn’t come through.’ We both sat there and thought that it was poor media, not for us, we’d have loved to have won, but for the Australians that won the event, the Champions Trophy. They won it, they deserved it. They went through the tournament unbeaten and deserved to win. Unfortunately the tone of these two stories was that it would have been great if NZ had won, against all odds; instead of congratulating Australia for a great tournament. Had we been Australian we would have been very disappointed that our success was not celebrated like it should have been. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.13022 2009-10-03T09:22:50Z 2009-12-04T10:44:30Z

If you've been reading you'd know I have had nine days off before coming here; no bowling for nine days.

Iain O'Brien

Well, I'm here in Johannesburg, at the Champions Trophy. I didn't think I'd be here. If you've read my last post then you'll know I was expecting a three-week break. I got nine days into that and I got a call from our New Zealand coach, Andy Moles, telling me that I'd be travelling the next day to come into the squad. Daryl Tuffey had broken his hand while fielding in the Sri Lanka game. He bowled after doing it which is an amazing effort, but in the morning his hand was huge. Like one of those big 'foam hands' you wear at the baseball from what I have heard. I feel really bad that Daryl couldn't finish the tournament, it's a terrible thing to be bowling really well and pick up a very unexpected injury that rules you out of such a special competition. I feel really bad for him and wish him as quick a recovery as possible!]]> Stepped off the plane at 9.30 on October 1, straight to the hotel, check in, go and get a hair cut (sorry sis!) off to get some lunch, some biltong and then to training. If you've been reading you'd know I have had nine days off before coming here; no bowling for nine days. I was a little worried about the form I'd take into the nets, but I did know I was fresh and felt great. I started easy and got into it pretty quickly. I felt great and I was very happy with how I bowled. I went for an hour as hard as I could, trying to do as much catch up as I could. It was a very good hour. Lengths were good, yorkers came out well, slower ball needs some work! Yesterday, my second day here, and it was into the nets again for as much as I could do. Again it was really good. My pace is right there and I had it swinging nicely with an older ball too. Very happy! And here we are, game day. We leave in 30 minutes or so to head to the ground to take on a very impressive Pakistan team. The boys are very confident after playing some great cricket against a fantastic Sri Lanka team and England who, apart from last night, have played well and deserved their semi final spot. I will be carry the drinks, and I knew this yesterday morning before training, hence going hard at training to get myself as good as I could and give as much quality bowling in the nets as possible. Wish us well, it's going to be a great semi! tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.12953 2009-09-29T08:17:57Z 2009-12-04T10:44:35Z

Iain O'Brien

I walked because I had dished out so much ‘chat’ to Paranavitana that it was only fair that I ‘practice what I preach’ © Getty Images

  It’s a day short of a month since I last blogged. I had written a piece to finish off the Sri Lanka tour the day after I got back to the UK and somehow lost 700 words into the ether. It frustrated me, a lot, to the point where I just couldn’t be bothered writing. It was a strange response really, especially as I have enjoyed writing the blogs even when I’ve been tired, sore and after we’ve been defeated. I’m back blogging and will aim to get a couple out a week, albeit smaller pieces as I’m not playing cricket for a while. It’s break time. It’s time for some time off bowling; no more warm ups for a while. I say ‘warm ups’ because you’ll find that warm ups are the part of the day that most cricketers dislike the most. Towards the end of the season, it is often counted down not in playing days but by warm ups remaining. I’ll let you in on another secret; we actually don’t mind the rain, and some guys are actually different people because of it. It’s been nine days since I last bowled, a Championship match, played vs Kent in Canterbury, and I’ve enjoyed every day of it. This was my last game for Leicestershire this season; there was still one more Championship match and a Pro40 left. In the original plan with Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) I wasn’t supposed to be playing after the Sri Lankan tour. Between us we sorted out a two-week extension that took in two Champo’s and two Pro40’s. I had already booked a week’s holiday with my wife, which took in the last couple of matches and thought it best if I keep those dates for our holiday rather than another week with Leicestershire. In my last match I didn’t bother the scorers much, at all. Made a duck and then wheeled through 21 overs without a wicket. I actually bowled really well and was especially happy to finish a long season with that kind of pace and consistency. I just didn’t take any wickets; there was a dropped catch, but they happen. We finished that match with a draw, a pretty good result from the position we got ourselves in. ]]> I should touch on the SL tour and how that finished. I left the night the Test finished, a group of five of us, Test only players for this tour and headed off at 10pm. After a couple of beers in the bar, a meal and then a quick pack it was off back to England for me. We lost the second Test, but you already know that, but we put up more of a fight than maybe some would have predicted. It was improbable that we’d successfully chase down what SL left us and the only real way forward was the draw. And that was especially the thought going into the last day; can we survive the day with just four wickets in hand? We did better than we thought, so well in fact that, even in my head, and that can be a pretty dark place, I could maybe even see us reach the nearly 500 target we were set. I was batting with Dan (Vettori) and a number flashed up on the big screen -144. Don’t ask me why, but I know that’s a square number (12*12) and it sort of come to me that between Dan and I, however silly it might sound, we could put together 12 little partnerships of 12; I’d get a couple of singles, maybe a boundary here and there (probably an edge, but who cares) and Dan would contribute more frequently and substantially. We had maybe put on 30 at the time and it was something that I tried to keep going in my head. The only problem was that my scoring had dried up. I didn’t have a clue on how to score off Rangana Herath. I could keep him out, defend and defend, but to score off him, for me safely, was near on impossible; so I just kept keeping him out, “Dan’ll have to score a double-ton to win it!” In our partnership of 69 I scored off 75 balls in 77 minutes. This was easily my best innings. Not my highest score but it was what I had been trying to do for a long time. I had a batting target to face 50 balls; I knew if I got to 50 balls the partnership would be at least 50 and the time batted can only be good for the team, no matter how many runs I score, or don’t score! This target I have mentioned in previous blogs but not quite revelled. It’s not really anything big but just a target I’ve been trying to reach. And I got there. My innings wasn’t quite without controversy though. Here’s an excerpt of my dismissal in Cricinfo: “104.5 - Herath to O'Brien, no run, lunges forward to defend and the ball appears to land just before silly point fielder Paranavitana who takes it and appeals for a catch ... umpires confer .. Sanga has a chat with the umpires who go upstairs .. and verdict is not out ... ... replays suggested it bounced clearly ...” Paranavitana appealed and no one else around him even moved. [Kumar] Sangakkara who had as good a view as me, Dilshan (at slip) the same view too. No one else went up; Paranavitana appealed again, and again. Throwing the ball up and continuing on. I got pretty angry at him; I said a few words towards him suggesting that he shouldn’t appeal. He actually copped some abuse from me; I got proper stuck into him. The ball bounced about a foot in front of him, clearly and he continued on with the appeal. Sanga and Dilshan both asked me if it bounced and I said “yeah, about a foot short”. Umpires went upstairs and “not out”. I continued to ‘chat’ to Paranavitana, as I said, I was angry about him appealing for something that was clearly not out. And this was the reason why, when I got the faintest of edges on a ball from Herath, that I walked. Often I will look up at the umpire to see his finger go up; as there was an innings in the past when I walked for one I thought I nicked, but actually didn’t; so, most of the time I leave it to the umpire. I walked because I had dished out so much ‘chat’ to Paranavitana that it was only fair that I ‘practice what I preach’. I’m not sure the finger would have been raised but I knew I had done the right thing. Ask me though if there were only 20 runs left what would I have I done... I don’t know if I could answer that one! I was gutted to be out, proud of how long I’d been out there, proud to have put on a partnership of 69 with Dan, proud to have got Dan through to his 100 (not quite like what I did to Jesse Ryder in Hamilton vs India) but so damn disappointed to be walking off the park. So here we are, a month on from that Test, and I’m back in Matlock. I’ll be here in the UK for another couple of weeks with one lovely week’s holiday under my belt and two to go. Catch you soon... tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.12433 2009-08-28T16:55:09Z 2009-12-04T10:44:39Z

Iain O'Brien

I almost got stuck out in the middle when the covers came from all corners, I had to get a bit of a sprint on to avoid being trapped in the middle in the pouring rain! © Cricinfo Ltd

  On Day Two, Dan [Vettori] joined a very, very special club. He became just the eighth player to reach 3000 runs and take 300 wickets. I know this meant a lot to Dan but you wouldn’t have known that by any of the actions Dan makes. He goes about his business, reaching his own milestones, sometimes some of them go unnoticed, and doing his job without the ego lesser players carry. He doesn’t carry on after taking wickets like some; he doesn’t run about pumping the air after scoring a ton. He is Dan, he is what you see; strongly motivated to be the best player he can be and take this, and the next NZ team to the top of our sport. And while being a great player, team-mate and captain, has made me a better bowler and it’s still a great thrill to walk out alongside him. This morning, again, didn’t go to plan. Five down overnight and we needed to bat and bat and bat. We were back in the field just before lunch 182 behind. I was pretty angry, angry at getting out how I did and also about having to be back out fielding before lunch. I took the new ball straight after lunch and went as hard as I could. I put my anger into the ball and bowled a good spell. No wickets but the intent I was trying to bring was something I hoped we could keep going with. 157/2, 339 runs in front when the rains came. I almost got stuck out in the middle when the covers came from all corners, I had to get a bit of a sprint on to avoid being trapped in the middle in the pouring rain! We could sure do with a bit more of it!? ]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.12411 2009-08-27T16:42:08Z 2009-12-04T10:44:43Z

My legs decided that they didn’t really want to carry me and I had to fight to get to the wicket let alone try to get into my jump.

Iain O'Brien

It’s been a while and I don’t really know where to start. Firstly, I guess, we lost the first Test. Old news really, but it wasn’t a strong enough performance from us. To go down as we did in the fourth innings was, well, weak. While in Galle, 12 of the 15 guys got sick. It seemed like it was just a matter of time before the whole travelling party got sick. Over the course of the match a few of the guys were so ill that they couldn’t even get themselves to the ground. It wasn’t pretty. The thing about whatever we got was that it lasted less than 24 hours but the side-effects of being sick meant that energy was hard to find for the next few days afterwards.]]> I got sick at the end of day three. We had come off for tea and Sri Lanka had declared; it was about an hour after that that I started to go downhill. Soon after I was vomiting and feeling very average. The timing of the onset was as good as it could have been, if there is ever a good time to get sick. I knew that I’d be back at the hotel soon and be able to spend as much time as I had to that night going back and forth from my bed and the toilet; and there were quite a few trips. I felt okay in the morning; I had the option to stay at the hotel for the morning and come down to the ground at lunch. I wanted to watch the boys bat and be a part of the changing room so I headed down with the team. Recovering from it has taken longer than I thought. Putting the weight back on and getting energy back has been tough. The two days training before the match were a little subdued, still getting through what I needed to be ready for this Test. I was a little nervous about selection for this Test. I hadn’t had a great game in Galle, three wickets that cost me around 60 a piece and going for almost six runs per over. Not good at all. So on the one hand I was prepared to make way for Tuffey and on the other I was thinking that before that Test I had been a pretty good performer and deserved the next Test. I think, so far in this Test, I’ve generally performed up to the standard I’ve set myself in the previous 12-18 months. We really wanted to bat first in this match and when, from the changing room, we saw Kumar head to the toss interview first, we knew we were bowling; no one needed to ask Dan to make sure. I had a good first spell, sweat pouring off and my face getting redder and redder. I managed to keep Dilshan quiet, something I couldn’t do at Galle, with better lengths. My first spell of six overs went for 10. That’s 30 runs less than my first four overs at Galle!!?? It was in my second spell when I picked up a wicket. The first ball of my eighth over Dilshan smashed one back to me, I guess I have to call it a dropped chance, but if I had caught that one you’d still be hearing me celebrating it. It hit me hard; I hardly had time to move my hands even in self defence. I followed through and asked Dilshan “is that all you’ve got, you’re going to have to hit it harder than that!” I do say some silly things sometimes. Next ball, it didn’t quite come out of my hand quite right and was shorter and slower, it held up and a leading edge back to me with a whole lot pace on it. I grabbed it with delight; it was a big one for me and the team. My third spell for the day was not good. I came out after tea and really wanted to consolidate the work I had done up until here and get through three or four good overs. I didn’t. My legs decided that they didn’t really want to carry me and I had to fight to get to the wicket let alone try to get into my jump. I really had nothing in the tank for this spell and bowled poorly. I went off just after drinks to get my hand looked at (the one I tried to catch that Dilshan shot with earlier) but before I left the park Dan wanted a quick group chat. He gave it to us, it’s not often Dan gets angry, but he let us have it. The hour after tea had been poor, not even close to the standards we need to achieve to win a Test match. It was deserved and it’s fair to say from there to the end of the day we were better. I got three overs with the new ball before the day was over. The energy came back, my jump was strong and I bowled a lot better. It was good to come off the park finishing with a good spell. I was knackered though, it was going to be a meal and a very early night. I opened up this morning and continued on where I left off last night. Things felt pretty good. I had got through four overs and I could feel that Dan was toying with replacing me, I tried to get into the umpire and give him my hat and glasses before he had a chance to, I got a fifth over. Mahela had hardly played a bad shot in his innings, and the cover drive he played in this over was as good as any. I was then rather happy when he nicked one through to Baz for a catch and his wicket when he was on 92. Happy days, a breakthrough and it would then open up an end. Kapugedera and the keeper Jayawardene hung about with the very in-form Samaraweera for a couple of very good partnerships. After they both were dismissed it was then a fight for the ball. I couldn’t get it and it was left to Jeetan and Dan to clean up the tail. Jeets finished with a well deserved four-wicket haul and we picked up the last seven wickets for around 150 and the last five for just 27. Brilliant. More tomorrow...... tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/iainobrien//151.12261 2009-08-20T16:49:18Z 2009-12-04T10:44:47Z

I’ve got a target I’d love to get to, not a run target but a balls faced target. If I get close then I know Dan and I will have put on a partnership of note

Iain O'Brien

Well, there’s no excuse for me not to blog tonight. It was a day with the feet up, one to rest and recover after a couple of hot, hard days in the field. It wasn’t quite as I’d have preferred it though. I’d have rather not had to put the pads on let alone get out there and bat. I love batting, don’t get me wrong, I was just hoping that we’d bat strongly throughout the day and we could have another ‘batting’ warm up tomorrow. Not to be though, we’ve got ourselves in a little bit of trouble, and are going to have to work hard to get ourselves out of it. It might also be fair to say we haven’t quite had the ‘rub of the green’ in a couple of the decisions; you take the bad ones with the good and that’s just the way cricket is. The rain this morning was amazing. If you had of said we would have got through 70-odd overs today at 10am this morning I would have laughed at you! There was no way that was going to happen; but it did. The groundstaff have done a great job with the ground; covering and uncovering. They’ve worked as hard as we have in the middle and it’s paid off in us being able to play.]]>

Mowing the outfield: He was doing about 30kmph aorund the outfield © Iain O'Brien

  It became my turn to bat around 5pm. The light had just started to deteriorate and SL had quite a new ball; brilliant, just brilliant!? I had been watching the pace of the quicks, both on TV and live, and was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be their pace that was going to be my undoing. In fact I wasn’t really too worried about the quicks; it was these two spinners that were causing me some head problems. Before bad light stopped play on the third day I had faced nine balls and scored three; a good start. I faced two balls from Murali; I picked them as an offie first and then the doosra. When I got back upstairs to the changing room I re-watched the footage to see if I had got it right. In fact I got them both wrong. It was the other way around. I’ll work had on trying to pick him tomorrow, but more importantly work had with Dan and try to bat for as long as possible. I’ve got a target I’d love to get to, not a run target but a balls faced target. If I get close then I know Dan and I will have put on a partnership of note. Check out this blog with more photos at: http://iainobrien.co.nz Follow on twitter: iainobrien]]>