http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/ en Copyright 2010 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:41:16 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 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. http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/i_want_to_do_something_special.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/i_want_to_do_something_special.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:41:16 +0000 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! http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/wind_wickets_and_tower_returns.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/wind_wickets_and_tower_returns.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:24:59 +0000 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. http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/calling_wellington_calling_wel.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/12/calling_wellington_calling_wel.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:55:23 +0000

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.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/thank_you_dunedin.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/thank_you_dunedin.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:15:37 +0000 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.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/hot_paper_clip_and_toenail_tre.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/hot_paper_clip_and_toenail_tre.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:04:01 +0000 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! http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/rated_zzzz.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/rated_zzzz.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:10:49 +0000

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.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/off_day_at_the_warmups_but_goo.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/off_day_at_the_warmups_but_goo.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:05:36 +0000 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! http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/good_end_after_the_worst_start.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/good_end_after_the_worst_start.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:33:15 +0000

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!]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/a_satisfying_start_to_the_seas.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/11/a_satisfying_start_to_the_seas.php Pakistan in New Zealand 2009-10 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:24:56 +0000 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. http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/10/they_were_the_champions_my_fri.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/10/they_were_the_champions_my_fri.php ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:16:37 +0000

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!]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/10/hitting_the_ground_running.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/10/hitting_the_ground_running.php ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:22:50 +0000

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. ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/09/back_at_the_keyboard.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/09/back_at_the_keyboard.php County Cricket 2009 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:17:57 +0000

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!? ]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/cheers_dan.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/cheers_dan.php New Zealand in Sri Lanka 2009 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:55:09 +0000

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.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/_its_been_a_while.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/_its_been_a_while.php New Zealand in Sri Lanka 2009 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:42:08 +0000

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.]]> http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/picking_muralis_doosra.php http://blogs.cricinfo.com/iainobrien/archives/2009/08/picking_muralis_doosra.php New Zealand in Sri Lanka 2009 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:49:18 +0000