Cricket Diary: No More Stuff!!

If there were any regular readers of these cricket diaries they would know that I have way way too much cricket stuff partly through the generosity of Williamson Boucher, Masuri and Gray-Nicolls, partly because I play for so many different teams, but mainly (and there is no denying this) because I have an addictive personality and am more than a little anal over having things ‘just right’.

So … having promised Sandra and myself that I would purchase no more cricket stuff over the winter and this season I am very happy to report that I succeeded. Well that is if you don’t count the Gray-Nicolls Hypernova 2000 gloves I was gifted (and have just reviewed) which I don’t, or the absolutely necessary No Boundaries clothing that I have purchased, which of course I don’t!!!

I have even managed to find a consistent (and to me logical) way of using it all – even if setting up No Boundaries CC was a tad excessive way of achieving this.

Playing Kit

A definite change since my day not just in style but with the introduction of sponsors and club logos:

Penkridge Cricket Club: they did not have a club shop as such as they had a couple of suppliers and being naive and new to the game (aged 57!) I bought some Kookaburra Whites and had the Penkridge logo embroidered onto them.

Barlaston Cricket Club: they have a club shop so I bought Short Sleeved Shirt (I don’t like long sleeves and play with a base layer if cold), Sleeveless and Sleeved Playing Sweater and Trousers – what I call a set, as well as a few leisure items.

Gray-Nicolls: I have a set (as above) of their whites which I planned to wear for charity games (and have done) but now I will only really wear then when I play for the XL (Forty) Club as they use Gray-Nicolls kit.

Forty Club: I have a club Gray-Nicolls short sleeved shirt which you get when you join.

Metronomes: I a have a coloured playing shirt (Marshall, 63), coloured playing trousers and cap which I got to support them and will wear if ever called upon to play which isn’t very likely which is a shame.

Staffordshire Seniors: I have a set of their branded Duncan Fearnley kit

No Boundaries CC: gone full monty with this from the club shop with a set of whites and a set of coloured kit and …. a lot of leisure clothing!

Both Barlaston and No Boundaries use Masuri kit which I think is really good, as is the Gray-Nicolls stuff. The Duncan Fearnley stuff I don’t like at all, and the Kookaburra is OK but not great.

Training Kit

Initially I got a lot of Gray-Nicolls stuff which is great and I decided that I would just use this and not worry about club branded training kit, and then I set up No Boundaries so of course I have pretty much the full range!!!

Equipment

OK this is where it gets both embarrassing and totally over the top!

Indoor Nets

Masuri: I use a Masuri Bat, ELine Batting Gloves, TLine Thigh Guard and TLIne Batting Pads in the indoor nets with Staffordshire Cricket. The bat is the same weight that I use in a match but I would never use a match day bat against bowling machine balls.

Gray-Nicolls: I use a Gray-Nicolls Bat, Black Legend Pads, Masuri ELine Thigh Guard and Gray-Nicolls Batting Gloves in the indoor nets at Edgbaston. Same comment as above regards bat.

Outdoor Nets

Gray-Nicolls: I use a Gray-Nicolls Bat, Prestige Batting Pads, Gray-Nicolls Batting Gloves and a Legend Thigh Guard in the outdoor nets

Match Day

Red Ball: I use a Masuri ELine Bat, ELIne Pro Gloves, ELine Batting Pads and a TLIne Thigh Guard.

White/Pink Ball: I use a Williamson Boucher Bat, Gray-Nicolls Legend Black Pads, Masuri ELine Thigh Guard and Gray-Nicolls Hypernova 2000 Gloves.

I use Payntr shoes and have a set of white spiked and rubbers and a pair of coloured spiked and rubbers.

I tend to field in the appropriate club baseball cap, but bat in my No Boundaries cricket cap (or the Barlaston one).

So I do tend to use most of the stuff, but even within the items above I have spares: 3 Pairs of Masuri Batting Gloves, 3 Pairs of Gray-Nicolls Batting Gloves.

What can I say. My name is Chris Marshall and I am an addict!