Stanford Le Hope cc

Standford Le Hope cc is the up and coming game this Sunday and the lambs to slaughter for some of my Wrist Spin. It looks like the Captain will be Matt Hills, so when he'll play me I don't know, but can't really see him putting me in as an opener. Looks like quite a good team with some good players, Alex is there with me ready to chuck up some of his Leg Spin as well. The game is at their ground in Standford Le Hope so if I get a chance I may go over there and have a look and see if it's going to turn. It should do as it's been raining and it'll be a bit sticky like it was that day at Dartford.

I've had a nose around their website and come across a few hopefuls. This mob have got some off Spinners and a 'Leg Spinner' who doesn't describe himself as a wrist spinner, so they might fancy their chances against the real stuff. These blokes probably would have had some practice in the nets over the winter against their own spinners and will be thinking that they can play spin? There's also the Leg Spinner, so that gives them an edge as well to a very small extent. But they will all probably be suffering from *Net Spin Syndrome. (NSS).

Potential Openers -

Phil Anderson RH Opener also bowls a bit of spin 1-39 against Southend being his Best Bowling figures. 48 being his best batting total.

Alex Ellis; RH patient opener has scored 65 against Belhus before.

Geoff Lake; RH Top Order 114 his highest.

There's more but I got fed up of looking for them but came across the Danger Man for me - Peter Gray: A Leftie - On the website the captain says -
" Despite never training he is simply the best wicket keeper batsman in Thurrock. With his unorthodox batting style he is capable of taking any bowling attack apart and winning games single handedly " His batting record is 200 and it clearly states that he is the best LH bat they've ever had.

John Harris; Is also a Leftie but his profile isn't anywhere near as ominous.

They have got a bloke Michael Gray who's been bowling Leg Spin since 1985, but he's listed as being a Saturday 1st XI player. If he's been chucking the stuff since then we'll be expecting the full repetoire from him and I'll be interested in seeing how good he's got over the last 24 years of bowling leg spin. I'll be watching for his inward-spinning Grimmett Top Spinner and his Wrong- Wrong Un that goes the other way. He's got good figures 7 for 40 against Langdon Hills.

Not all of them are listed as being Sunday players and it may pan out that hardly any of these blokes will play, but if they do there's a couple there I need to adopt different strategies with so if the rain holds off tomorrow I'll see if I can have a few chucks on my practice wicket. But the most interesting thing will be to see a bloke who's bowled wrist spin for 24 years. So fingers crossed some of these blokes may be at the match?

NSS. (Net Spin Syndrome). Clarrie Grimmett the Grandfather of Wrist Spin dismissed practicing in the nets against batsmen as being an almost pointless exercise if you're a wrist spinner. He makes the point that the batsman will bat in a wholly unrealistic manner while in the nets because there are no consequences for his actions. So in a net situation they will bat with a flair and bravery that can't be transfered to a match situation. The net (excuse the pun) affect is that they fool themselves into believing that they can play spin whereas the truth is they can't, not in that way they can't and for the wrist spinner it's a wholly pointless exercise that can be soul destroying because of the manner with which the batsman plays and gets the better of you. Grimmett always advocated practice alone to the point that throughout his career he had a backyard wicket in each of his bacakyards and he'd practice every day for hours and carried on doing so into his 80's.