After finishing the season for our Christmas Break, we (Central Lions) are currently 3rd in the league table.
It’s Christmas holidays now in Australia, and we have 4 weeks off from cricket. I will be staying with our Cricket Club Captain, Dylan, and his family, as will our other overseas player, Dave, who is also English and from Cornwall.
Dylans parents live in Newland Arm, a beautiful house overlooking the lakes, they own 2 boats and a jet-ski, so we have been out on the water everyday, either jet-skiing or fishing, enjoying the high temperature of 43 degrees!
We went out on the boat to see Pelican Island, it was amazing to see the views and the pelicans flying over the water.
We went into Melbourne to watch a days play of the Australia versus India Test Match, it was good to be back at the ground again. We got to see the Australian players having a coaching session and practising before the match. Unfortunately, we only stayed for a few hours, as play was stopped due to heavy rain. I have enclosed a photograph of the train station in Melbourne, as I was impressed by the building and its architecture.
Christmas Day was very different for me this year, we all sat outside for lunch, looking over the lake, in sweltering heat, enjoying lots of different fish dishes, including oysters and octopus, and obviously had a few cold beers. It is Australia after all! In the evening we sat around an open fire playing games with all of Dylans family. Dylans parents really looked after me, including buying me presents, funny Australian keepsakes, from a toy Kangaroo to Australian flag pyjamas!
Last weekend, Saturday 10th January, we were due to have a first Cricket match since the Christmas break, but this was rained off, as we have been having very heavy rain storms, with a lot of thunder and lightning.
Next weekend there is no league game, but on the Sunday we are playing an Australia versus England game. This will see the English overseas players from the league play against their Australia hosts! This will be a competitive match I’m sure, but we’re all looking forward to it! I’ll let you know how it goes on my next blog!
Happy New Year to you all!!