One thing that I do have on my trip to New Zealand is plenty of ‘down-time’. My professional priorities over here are the East Coast Bays Cricket Club commitments, my own personal training and my private coaching. The East Coast Bays hours of work are mostly in the evenings. My personal training takes up approximately two hours a day and the same can be said of my private coaching on the whole. This provides me with some good time through the day to do some ‘extra-curricula’ activities.
When the weather is good, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to cafes, beaches and heading out to relax with a coffee, good book and a swim. When the weather is poor, suffice to say that New Zealand TV is terrible. I am currently watching the movie ‘Enchanted’. This is not my choice. However, at 8.30pm on a Sunday evening, having flicked between the cricket and the Australian Open tennis all afternoon, I am lacking a strong argument to watch what I would like. So Enchanted it is. Is it a cartoon? Is it a comedy? Is it a musical? One thing is for sure: it’s not a classic. It’s comically cheesy at best. At worst it’s infuriately frustrating.
Talking of cheesy, has the musical drama ‘Glee’ hit the screens in the UK yet? I’m still trying to work out if this show is classic satire or the epitome of a stereotype.
I am in the middle of a two week break from bowling whilst I try to get over a niggle that has just niggled too much over the last few weeks. Luckily I have been the leading run-scorer in the two day competition for us, so my participation as purely a batsman was never questioned. Unluckily, I was promoted to open the innings, where we have had trouble every game this season. After three days of showers the wicket was sticky to say the least. I tried to leave well and get forward but after lasting six overs and managing to squeeze four runs from somewhere, I was bowled by one that moved in after watching several move away (past my outside edge).
The niggle is a slight concern at the moment, but I have decided that if has not cleared up in a couple more weeks, then I will come home a month early. This will give me six weeks of daily treatment and no pressure to bowl until the start of the English county season, and the best chance of being fully fit for Northants. If the injury does improve, then I look forward to staying out here until mid-March and building up some good stamina and bowling fitness outdoors whilst the rest of my county colleagues struggle with the cold weather and the not-so-realistic simulation of playing indoors.
I have a session of physio treatment booked in for early tomorrow, followed by a good gym session. I feel pretty energised after a relaxing Sunday on the coach. And I will probably find myself asleep quite early, judging on how this film is turning out…. zzzzz.
