It was my first Monday in London since quite some time ago.

Lesson-wise, getting through Monday requires a fair bit of effort. There're one Econs lecture, 2 Abstract Maths Lectures and one Abstract Maths Class. I could feel my brain crying out for help at the end of the academic day.

Then there were the cricket trials.

We met at St Johns Wood Station. Having chatted with some of the guys, I realised that the probability of me making a fool out of myself (in cricket terms) was immense. I mean, the only ever Cricket experience I had was playing with some dudes about half my age at Katong Park. Equally embarrasing (even before the trials began) was that I had no idea what a "box" was. For those who do not know, it is something men wear to protect the sensitive area.

So the trials began. It has been a long time since I bowled against 'empty' stumps, so my bowling was rather wayward at the start. Furthermore, I was bowling against a real batsman this time. Anyway, the bowling became a bit more stable after a while.

Just a sidenote, I personally feel that the entire motion of bowling in cricket (from the run-up to the mini-jump and the swinging of the arm) is elegant and graceful. It really requires a lot of skill and training to execute such a manoever.

I guess since I have ZERO (proper) cricket experience, my aim was just to get the right width and length. It got better as I bowled more.

Then came the batting. It was my maident attempt at batting with pads and gloves on (minus the BOX). The whole set of gear on me was rather asphyxiating, especially the helmet. As expected, I missed several of the balls that were bowled towards me. I was LBWed a few times, others I'd probably have been caught. But still, it was a good experience.

After an hour or so, the session came to an end. I was probably the worst ever player (in history) to grace the Nets of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Still, it was great fun. And some of the better (much better) players gave me rather encouraging advice. A few of them said that I should stick at cricket, because my bowling improved over the hour, and I have the potential to be a decent bowler. They were probably just being polite, but still it made me feel better.

I just find it so sad that so few people from the motherland can appreciate Cricket. Sure, it does not always provide the same kind of adrenalin rush that Soccer of Basketball does, but it is a sport that requires skill, patience and judgement. People who label cricket a boring sport are just plain ignorant.

Since I probably will never ever get to play cricket when I return to Singapore, I guess I will make use of my time here in London to do more batting and bowling.

Ok, enough of balls and boxes, I think I'll be heading to dreamland now.

Later.