Get this party started


Wow! What a night!

2 games for us to watch last night - Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, followed by the blockbuster West Indies v South Africa.

We couldn't have had a more contrasting experience. The cricket in the first game was nothing to write home about - pretty tame, and a poor standard if I'm honest. The odd display of excellence, but nothing that enticed me to blow the little shell hooter I had been given on entry.

As that first game limped to the end, the stand began to fill up in anticipation of the home side game. Watching the Windies in the warm up, they looked strong, confident, athletic, intimidating. The South Africans are a good team - this would be a tasty contest!

The Windies batted first, and the tiny Shabnim Ismail from South Africa ripped through their top order with an incredible spell of fast bowling. It was a proper David v Goliath display that silenced the crowd, and a lesson to all us 'small' players that you can take on anyone! Game on.

The Windies battled on - 4's an 6's greeted with roars from the stand as the home crowd willed their team over the 100 mark. My little shell hooter was getting a good tooting as I was whipped along with party vibe.



With 108 as their target, the South Africans started slowly but at 48-2 off 11 looked well placed to get the target...

But the Windies crowd were having none of it, and feeding off the energy, their players were magnificent in the field - 3 run outs and 4 wickets - each received with huge noise, dancing, and my little hooter of course.

The South Africans collapsed to 76 all out, and the Windies had pulled off a 31 run victory with 8 balls to spare. The crowd, as you would imagine, went crazy.


I wondered how it must have felt out there in the middle as a lonely South African. Up until this game, all of the women's matches we've attended so far have had a sprinkling of spectators, a polite ripple of applause and a 'play up play up and play the game' feel.

But this one was something else. As the women's game progresses, and the audiences (hopefully) get bigger, the '12th man' factor will surely add an extra dimension to the game. If it was me, I'd burst into tears if 1000's of home fans cheered as I dropped a catch. Are the players tough enough? And can they perform under that kind of pressure...

BIG game shaping up for Friday as England take on the wounded South Africans, and then HUGE game on Sunday as England get to face the Windies. Take heed, England, the Windies have a 12th man in tow!

Comments

  1. What a wonderful experience and some good games to look forward to. Sunday’s game with the West Indies will be the highlight. The twelfth man at St James’ Park this season, however, was a bit of a damp squib, but the Windies lot are a Different kettle of fish, so get the flags flying and your hooter serviced before you go, Dad 🤪🤩🤪

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    Replies
    1. The hooter is well and truly ready. Tomorrow is the game that will probs decide who will go through to the finals, but, as you say, whatever happens, Sunday's game will be the highlight!

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