Hilfestellungen » been one of the frontrunners.It was

Once upon a time, when Sundays were as cloudless as our clarity of purpose, we would have donned our whites and taken to the field, and there the modern world would be held at bay for a few sweet, sweet hours by its great antidote, village cricket. But the wheel of fate is ever spinning and before long we slid off the teamsheet, distracted by family, work and the myriad other calls upon our time. Sulking in our tents like so many modern-day Achilleses, we could only slowly appreciate when the game might fit back into our lives, or we might fit our lives back into the game. And when, finally, we are tempted back into the fray, we search for our old armour in vain.And theres the rub: what do we do about equipment? Do we kit ourselves up to the eyeballs or just stroll out with the barest of bare necessities? Theres a fine line to be walked here, and its the one between the pavilion and the middle. And back.As we all know, cricket is played largely in the head (certainly my best innings have taken place there), but its not just our attitude or expectations that count: the opposition has a part to play here, too. No one wants to be that player, do they? The one whose journey to the middle (and back again) is accompanied by the fateful words all the gear, no idea.But if we judge a player by the gear they sport, or their journey to the crease, we are fools and may well end up hoist by our own petard.I am told that when I walk out to bat against a new team, they can be somewhat worried. Not because my swagger is akin to that of some legendary Greek warrior, my bat cutting slices in the air like a demiurges scimitar, but because my gait is, well, Im not sure how best to describe it, other than to say it wouldnt strike fear into your average penguin. Teams have been known to ask the umpire if they should bowl nicely, and how the hell Im going to run between the wickets.But my problem with cricket isnt Parkinsons, its lack of talent. Of course, it doesnt help that my bat shakes, my feet wont move and my left-hand grip is fast diminishing, but once Im out of the blocks, Im plenty quick enough to steal singles. My appearance makes expectations dip, however - and my life in the middle somewhat easier (sometimes). And my kit? As Nicholas Hogg pointed out recently, cricket can be an expensive pastime, but then, what hobby isnt? When I was 21 I taught at a contemporary-music school, and my evening classes were full of middle-aged men who, finding that they were suddenly richer in both time and money than they had been in 20 years, decided to revisit their youth in the shape of the electric guitar. You think crickets expensive? Try catching the guitar bug. These men would often show up to class with a different guitar each week, each worth more than my entire rig, while I was still playing the guitar I bought for ￡150 when I was 17. And you know what? These uber-axes didnt make them better guitarists, but they did have two very positive results (apart from keeping guitar makers in business). The high-quality guitar not only allows the player to squeeze that little bit more out of their ability, but, perhaps more importantly, it makes them feel good. And that, for me, is the point of the exercise.If theres a pastime more perfectly tailored for good-old-days romanticism than cricket, however, Ive yet to discover it. Hed never have got away with that if he had one of the old bats, Its all the fault of helmets, DRS is ruining everything, hang on, no, T20 is ruining everything, oh, wait, Covered pitches are ruining everything, and so on and on. The image of the old-timer with his fraying, ill-fitting pads and 20-year old bat coming to the middle and showing up the middle-aged arriviste with the hand-shaved wand and moulded thigh pad is as seductive as ever it was. But its not only a daft image, its unfair to both parties.Weve all played that shot before. You know, the one where body, bat and ball become one for a split-second and your spirit is electrified. You enter the realm of the truly sublime as you transcend time and space and the ball, oh, the ball. No one moves in the field, because everyone feels what you feel. Perfection. The nature of a really good bat is such that using it increases the chances of experiencing this harmonic convergence.Now, youre not going to tell me that our mythical old-timer isnt going to get more value from his shots using a good bat.I have a good bat - a very good bat, in fact. Every so often I play a shot that is almost worthy of it, causing one or other of the fielders to ask me what it is. I reckon its worth 20% of my runs over the course of a season, and more to the point, if I time a worthy shot early enough, my confidence soars. If Im out early, no ones any the wiser. (Im, ahem, between sponsors)The same goes for protective gear, except that not only does well-designed, well-made kit help you function better, it protects you better. As a keeper, I want the best gloves I can afford. They feel better, help me take more catches, and protect my hands better. In fact, I want fitted gloves, because my little finger never quite sits right and its vulnerable enough as it is. (If anyone fancies making me a pair, drop me a line.) I often see other, better keepers with greatly inferior gloves, and after getting over my embarrassment wonder why they dont step up a gear... in gear.What matters most in the professional game is results. There is no Armenian judge giving extra points for style, just a scorer marking down the result of each ball. Of course, pretty runs have a different psychological impact on the game than ugly runs do, but no team worth its salt picks a player who makes elegant 20s over one who makes ugly 60s. Do they? But we dont play the professional game. We play real cricket, recreational cricket. We are the giants on whose shoulders the professionals stand. In our game, its all about feeling good. Its a game we play for pleasure, and if it makes you feel good to play with a ￡400 bat, and you can afford it, then you just go for it. After all, youre effectively subsidising the whole cricket industry. And its almost Christmas.Dont forget, however, that while an awesome bat may allow you to get full value from your shots, it might just make a bowler take you more (or less) seriously than they ought, and it will certainly allow the opposition to get full value from your feathered edges.Cooper Kupp Youth Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Orlando Pace Youth Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/cooper-kupp-jersey/ . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Cory Littleton Womens Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Jack Youngblood Youth Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.Fireball winger Andrew Nabbout has urged Newcastle not to take their foot off the gas against Adelaide, as the Jets attempt to build on a breakthrough win by cracking the A-Leagues top six.The Jets put a flat Perth to the sword 2-1 last weekend to secure the clubs first triumph in the west since 2005 - and their first in eight games this campaign.Nabbout was the star as Mark Jones injury-afflicted side took 27 shots on goal in a performance that lifted them from ninth to seventh and belied their previously below-par form.They now have two home games against teams behind them on the table in the last-placed Reds and eighth-placed Wellington.Depending how Western Sydney fare against the Phoenix this weekend, a Jets win over the struggling Reds at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night could squeeze them into finals contention.Nabbout, who returned early from an ankle injury to claim his third man-of-the-match honour in seven appearances, was optimistic it could be the start of something for the Hunter-based club.We really bounced back from the last five or six games and showed that on our day we can keep up with the best, Nabbout told AAP.ddddddddddddTo do it against Perth is quality, because theyve always been one of the frontrunners.It was the perfect result for us and hopefully we can build on that.But the 23-year-old also warned their surprise display against the Glory was exactly why they couldnt afford to underestimate any opponent.Nabbout was particularly alert to Adelaides attacking threats in Spanish striker Sergi Guardiola, along with returned stars Henrique and Sergio Cirio.Were not going to take our foot off the gas one bit regardless of which team were playing against, Nabbout said.And were wary of Adelaide because a lot of people are saying now is the perfect time to hit them while theyre down.But it could be the other way - they could come out firing like we did against Perth and it could go all wrong for us.Wellington will be the same having come off a 3-0 win against the Mariners, and we cant take them lightly either because their coach (Ernie Merrick) is gone and they might feel rejuvenated. 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