#7 – The Spirit of the Game: What I learnt from D-Grade Cricket

1 – Take opportunities and seize moments

It’s 38 degrees on a Sunday afternoon. No beach, no ice cream, no shops. Just hours under the scorching sun, concentrating and waiting.

Then after what feels like a lifetime of sitting in a GP’s waiting room, the ball comes your way. Maybe it’s fast along the ground, maybe it’s skied into the air. Either way you’re ready at that moment to take control of the situation…

2 – Look after your teammates

…but sometimes one gets past you. You might have teammates you don’t necessarily get along with; annoying teammates, older guys and Essendon supporters.

It doesn’t matter. You play for each other and support each other. When you all trust each other you have a better time and perform better as a team.

3 – Reset every ball

You can hit one into next year and feel like Chris Gayle. You can drop a catch and feel like Kamran Akmal. The next ball is always about 30 seconds away and you need to quickly compose yourself.

No resting on your laurels and no time to mope. Bounce back and back yourself in for the next challenge.

4 – Shake hands and share beers

Sledging is one of my favourite aspects of the game to be honest. You have an open licence to unsettle the opposition (without going too far); and they can do the same back to you.

But no matter what, everyone shakes hands (or nowadays bumps fists) after the game and clinks cans of warm beer left outside all day.

Be combative. Be amicable. Be resilient. Be a team player.

Next week: Burnout & Blackout