As a first weekend of the cricket season it would be hard to beat this one for a gentle and most pleasant introduction. Despite the weather today being most un-cricket-like I sense that my season has now properly begun.
On Friday evening I attended my first YMCA Annual Dinner. Held in Wanderers RFC on the Merrion Road, it was a superb evening and I must thank YMCA CC and also my host, Angus Dunlop. Eoghan Delany impressed with his prowess and knowledge and together with Alan Rowden, they set the bar high for the other speakers, but speaking on behalf of the guests, Ciaran Sharp matched those heights and kept what could have been a very tough crowd fully entertained for a good 30 minutes. He touched upon various subjects during his speech and of course had several targets which he hit square on, especially with his singing, accompanied by James Fitzpatrick on guitar. The role of the guitar did seem to be to give Ciaran a guide as to which key to sing in: advice which he sometimes tried to take. But the crowd were not interested in the tone, but the content and here Ciaran excels. Each verse aimed with accuracy and each chorus filled by crowd participation.
YMCA members excelled sartorially as one has come to expect. The one surprise was that Heatley Tector, after his appearance on the tele-visual screens supporting the Irish Under 19’s in bright green trousers, reverted to a more traditional, conservative colour and style, whilst Alan Lewis donned the YMCA red slacks. Is this a sign of things to come or a one off?
Jack Tector and Lorcan Tucker from the Under 19’s (but over 18) attended, and despite having just got off a flight home from Bangladesh did not display any signs of jet-lag or indeed any ill-effects from their world cup odyssey. Similarly Heatley Tector and Barry Tucker also seemed to have enjoyed their trip out there supporting their boys, and being out in the sun had agreed with them, without making them look like they had been tango’ed.
Age has definitely become a factor and when Saturday morning came and went without disturbing me (or my head) too much, I was glad I had not followed the example of Ed Dwyer who had gone from the dinner to Leggs and House. He probably did so in an effort to get some practice in for his forthcoming Strictly Come Dancing appearance. Ed will be twirling and whirling his partner on Saturday 2nd April in the Leopardstown Pavilion. The event is in aid of Loreto Hockey and this must be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity to see young Ed sparkle. I am not sure if Ed is the celebrity or the professional dancer although based on seeing him in the ‘Broke on a few evenings I could hazard a guess.
Age was also a factor on Sunday when Pembroke’s Indoor Nets season began. Who would have thought that holding a 3lb bat for ten minutes would be so strenuous? The first test of any new season is ‘can I see the ball?’ Once that test was passed, the next was ‘can I hit it?’ The second test was not the resounding success I had hoped for, but there was at least one ball that managed to find its way to the middle of the bat, perhaps more through luck than skill. Turning the arm over was limited to slow inaccurate attempted off-spin, as I was unwilling to bend the back this early in the season. That’ll come when someone smacks a couple of boundaries off my bowling in April!!
Numbers at nets were down, as only a dozen showed. The low numbers were either due to players choosing to watch England versus Italy in the Six Nations, Sunday afternoon football seeing Leicester City, Manchester City and Aston Villa all lose by varying degrees, or by having to pacify their other half with over-priced chocolates and roses thus recognising St. Valentine’s Day as their romantic day of the year. If I had been told beforehand that only a dozen would show, I could have named at least nine who refused to sit in a packed restaurant being ripped off and being told they had to leave within 90 minutes, or ordering a heart shaped pizza and a rose from a garage forecourt. I suspect next week will see a fuller crowd with no Six Nations and no Hallmark holidays!