Alright, folks, today’s practice diary is all about this thing called white ball cricket. Heard it was getting popular, sounded like a fun twist on the regular game, so I figured, why not give it a whirl myself? Jumped right in, no fancy plans, just wanted to see what it was about.
Starting Off – Total Confusion
First up, I needed gear. Everyone online yakked about needing a special white ball. Easy enough, right? Headed down to the local sports store. Asked the guy for a “white ball cricket ball.” He looked at me like I had two heads. “Cricket ball? Yeah, mate… they’re usually red.” Ended up grabbing a standard white cricket ball used for indoor practice – figured it had to be something like what they meant. Already felt like I was fumbling in the dark.
Found a patch of grass near my place – not a proper pitch, but it’d have to do. No fancy stumps either. Scrounged around and found three kinda-similar-sized sticks. Jammed them into the dirt. Looked wobbly as heck, but hey, it was a start. My bat? Just my old trusty one from years back.
The Reality Check (aka Getting Smacked)
Thought I’d just bowl like normal. Big mistake. That white ball? Thing felt completely different in my hand. Softer, somehow. Tried my usual run-up and delivery. The darn thing just… died. Didn’t bounce like the red leather one at all. It sorta just plopped halfway down the “pitch” and rolled sadly towards the imaginary batter. Felt utterly useless.
- Softer Feel: Much less solid than a traditional ball.
- Weird Bounce: Didn’t come off the ground right, kept staying low.
- Zero Swing: My attempts to make it curve in the air? Forget it. Went dead straight every time.
Tried adjusting. Bowled slower. Bowled faster. Changed my grip like five times. Nothing worked. Felt completely hopeless trying to get any kind of decent pace or movement. Whole neighborhood probably heard me muttering curses.
Switching Sides – Maybe Batting’s Easier?
Fine. Maybe I suck at bowling this thing. How about batting? Got my buddy involved as a makeshift bowler. Stood there with my bat, feeling slightly hopeful. He lobbed the ball at me gently. I went for a textbook straight drive.
That satisfying thwack? Didn’t happen. More like a dull thud. And the ball? Didn’t fly off the bat like I expected. It sorta just… dropped. Didn’t have the zip off the blade like the normal ball. Felt like I was hitting a wet sock.
Timing was completely off too. Everything felt sluggish. Played a few awkward shots before giving up on batting practice too. Definitely wasn’t channeling my inner Kohli today.
Why Bother? Here’s The Thing
Felt pretty stupid, honestly. Spent a good hour basically failing. But here’s what I did get:
- Massive Respect: People who make white ball cricket look easy? Absolute legends. That ball is deceptive.
- Different Game: It genuinely forces different skills. You can’t just muscle it like with the hard ball.
- Touch & Feel Matters: Suddenly, things like wrist position and just how you stroke the ball became way more important.
Yeah, it was frustrating. Yeah, my neighbors probably got a free comedy show. But that’s what practice is sometimes! It’s not always pretty success stories. Sometimes it’s just figuring out why something is harder than it looks. White ball cricket? It’s a whole different animal. Gotta go back and keep tinkering. Gotta learn that feel. Cheers for reading my mess of a practice session!
