It was under the shade of several large gum trees yesterday evening, where we were seeking some relief from the day's high of thirty-seven degrees Celsius (98F), that we learned that Cameron's last cricket game of the season was canceled due to the heat. Judging from the expressions on all of the faces, including those of the coach, the parents, and the players, the relief was universal. About the best thing that can be said with respect to Cameron's cricket team this season is that they have been blessed with plenty of character-building opportunities. Four weeks ago, for example, when the boys realized the opposing team had merely doubled their score rather than tripled or quadrupled it, there was cheering and celebration.
We had driven to the field last night prepared not only with several ice-filled water bottles, but also with the resigned determination to make the best of a difficult situation. Cameron's team would have been in the field the entire evening had they played, as this was the second day of a two day test match. The previous week his team had been at bat for the duration of the excruciatingly long four-hour period, and in spite of Cameron's high hopes that this last time he would finally bat well and score many runs, he lobbed one high into the air after scoring only two. It was caught, of course, and that was it for him. In cricket, when you are out, you are out for the remainder of the game, and that can be a very cruel thing. There are no second chances, let alone a third or a fourth.

And so, rather than watching cricket last night, or at least pretending to watch and understand, I stood chatting with Cameron's coach and a few parents while keeping an eye on James who was rolling around in the dirt complaining about the heat. The coach had a laugh over this classic Australian scene, and offered to take my picture if I would just climb up into one of the nearby gum trees and hug a branch. As I was wearing a short white skirt, I declined his offer, although it might have been a good one for the blog. The talk turned to baseball, and then to the dreaded arena of politics. I was questioned as to the need for the lengthy lead up to the U.S. presidential election every four years, and I countered with asking them to explain the soap opera that is currently taking place amongst Australia's politicians.
In the meantime, the boys took advantage of their unexpected freedom to race through the park playing tiggy (tag), in the process becoming much hotter no doubt than had they been playing the rather sedentary game of cricket they had been meant to play. Eventually there were a few speeches (Aussies love to make and listen to speeches): from the coach to the players, from a parent to the coach, and from one of the boys to the team manager. Gifts were distributed, the tea consumed, and it was time to go home.
It is more fun to write about a winning season than a losing one, which perhaps explains why I haven't blogged much about Cameron playing cricket this season. It has been a big part of his life for the past few months, however, and he has enjoyed watching it on the telly, and playing it in the backyard with his good friend and mentor Gus, in addition to training and playing with his team. He throws around phrases that I can't begin to understand ("He was out for a golden duck," for example), and has absolutely loved to corner each new set of guests to our house and attempt to explain the game to them. Inevitably they grow increasingly confused, until Ross or I come to their rescue and change the subject.



I do have some pictures of Cameron playing cricket a few weeks ago when Amy was visiting. On that particular night his team had shown up for the second day of a two day test match already having lost the game. The only thing that could possibly happen was the additional scoring of runs for the opposing team, a bit like having to play the second half of the ninth inning when you have already lost, except that the inning lasts for hours. The pictures are happy ones, however, because the other team eventually declared the game to be over and gave the losing side another go at batting. It didn't really count for anything, but it was fun practice, and Cameron managed to hit a couple of balls pretty well. You can see the coach smiling at him in one of the pictures, and I love how excited he was for Cameron.
Somehow I managed to capture his two best hits. You can see the ball if you look carefully in the next two photos.







Thanks, Amy, for the last photo!

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