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The Highest level of your ability

54 (47.4%)

Enjoying yourself and your cricket

60 (52.6%)

Total Members Voted: 114

[lethalshrapnel]

I have played some friendlies against some horrible teams this year. Complete. Waste. Of. Time.

[ppccopener]

completley stuck in this conundrum myself
47 this year and playing a good standard where my stats have nose-dived last year big time
my team still want me to play for them cos ive got an overall record which is one of the best in my club
oddly enough, at some points last year I played as well as I have done for years,but cannot do it well enough for long enough.
We jumped upto div 1 in our championship by default and the standard is much better.
i will give it half a season and if I really cant get scores consistentley I will have to move to a lower standard
at this moment there is no youngster coming thru in my position(1), if there was i would move to accomodate
very difficult situation for some of us to make a decision this is,glad i'm not alone 

[jamielsn15]

the key moment came when i played agaisnt someone from the league above, 5 years ago i would have murdered his bowling but it seemed to me that i had lost the magic through playing at a lower standard.

Great point - you can get into very bad habits playing against lesser opposition...

[fasteddie]

I think age has a big say in the poll.

5 years ago it was 'the highest', now it's playing a good standard but enjoying it more.
Maybe my time in the Middlesex league drained some enjoyment.

[trypewriter]

I think age has a big say in the poll.

5 years ago it was 'the highest', now it's playing a good standard but enjoying it more.
Maybe my time in the Middlesex league drained some enjoyment.

With age comes wisdom - and arthritis etc. etc. As the late Warren Zevon said 'Enjoy every sandwich.'

[uknsaunders]

Great point - you can get into very bad habits playing against lesser opposition...

you do. My old club spent 1 very successful season in a league that was disbanding. The next league we joined placed us about 4 divisions lower than we should of been, as we had "only 1 team" at the time (we have 3 now). We, as a club had to get tough Sunday/t20 fixtures to keep us sharp. You'd literally go from playing against 10 kids on a Saturday to a top Barnsley League team on a Sunday,t20 against a Div 1 Airewharfe and then back to a team with 8 men on a Saturday. Took a few beatings outside of Saturdays, but when you play rubbish teams on rubbish wickets you get lulled into a false sense of security!

When I played a good level of TVL stuff I had to be pinpoint precise and do something with the ball. If I served up a half volley or long hop I might as well wave it goodbye. Such were the quality of oppo and decks. Play on poorer wickets and weaker batters and you get away with alot of stuff. That said I didn't enjoy it playing some of the higher TVL stuff, got to the point I would be telling myself not to bowl a bad ball or wishing a catch doesn't come too me. Mentally not a good place to be as you can't relax and enjoy it.

[trypewriter]

No point doing it if it isn't enjoyable. 

[uknsaunders]

I think age has a big say in the poll.

5 years ago it was 'the highest', now it's playing a good standard but enjoying it more.
Maybe my time in the Middlesex league drained some enjoyment.

agree - I think I said a few pages back the older folks might take a more "enlightened" view with the benefit of experience. Not to say playing at the highest level is wrong, but knowing when you are too good or not good enough is as important. Doesn't mean you drop down 10 divisions but enjoyment comes from participation.

[trypewriter]

agree - I think I said a few pages back the older folks might take a more "enlightened" view with the benefit of experience. Not to say playing at the highest level is wrong, but knowing when you are too good or not good enough is as important. Doesn't mean you drop down 10 divisions but enjoyment comes from participation.

Well put

[ProCricketer1982]

I think it's about what you want from the game. If you want to be able to brag about being a x or y level then you chase levels. If however you just want to play good cricket, around your level (so say getting a 50 if batting is actually an acheivement or 3/4 wickets is hard work) then that's probably the perfect level for you. If you genuinely find it easy to score 50+ runs most weeks or bowl 4/5/6/7 wickets most weeks then you either like being the big fish or are playing too low down. This I feel will bring your own level down so when you do come up against decent batting/bowling you'll find you get found out very quickly.

Each to their own though, some players like to know they can just rock up , bat up the order and get decent runs week in week out and bowl 8+ overs for not many runs and get wickets. LIke I said, depends if you want to brag or not.

PS - I've gone for the half and half. Looking for where will give me the most game time BUT also a test. 2 league innings so far and opened in both.. 105* and 51*.. My theory suggests its currently to low a level but I'm thinking/hoping the oppos improve as the season goes on as I can't believe either I'm that good or this level is that bad!

[fasteddie]

agree - I think I said a few pages back the older folks might take a more "enlightened" view with the benefit of experience. Not to say playing at the highest level is wrong, but knowing when you are too good or not good enough is as important. Doesn't mean you drop down 10 divisions but enjoyment comes from participation.

A good point, well presented! (that's an Army saying and not a comment on your impeccable grammar ;-)

My wife tells me that I don't need to prove anything anymore when it comes to cricket. Her excuse I am sure to encouraging me to throttle back a tad. White line fever still reigns, even if I am a tad slower these days.

It is nice to mix it up and not have the weekly slog of thrashing your ageing frame.

[LMQ21]

As a less than average cricketer, I am only in the game for the enjoyment and fun of it.

Having developed my keeping over the last few years I have bounced between 2XI and 3XI, more through shortness of players than ability or any other reason. Without a batting bone in my body, I usually am the start of the tail if not the end of the tail. However, I look forward to the cricket season all year round. Playing Football at a very high standard I enjoy the transition to cricket during the Summer.

I don't think I could play at the level of our 1st Team due to the amount of pressure and the standard of the cricket. I have always accepted I will never be an outstanding cricket. Although I wouldn't say I lack the ambition, I personally believe that I wouldn't be a useful team asset at a higher standard, therefore would rather enjoy my complimentary 5 runs batting at 9 for the 3rd team.

On the other hand, as a youth development coach for my club, I do strive to develop our youth players, possibly due to my personal failures at that age and knowing what is achievable.

Sorry for the rant 

[ABello1]

after growing up through the age groups at the club where a few family members had played for years (as it is with most cricketing families) and establishing my self in the 1st as a 16 year old playing div 1 then ecb premier as it  was changed to playing with mates that i had grown up with through the age groups etc    then came a stage when relegation followed relegation and ended u in div 2 by now many had grown up families kids jobs at where ever the uni was and even the odd one decided on another country

After a few years of captaincy  and a few years of different clubs asking to come here or there i decided it was time for me to fly the nest of my family club and get back to highest standard i could play     

in a round about way of playing with mates or highest standard i have now gone full circle of playing with original mates to a high standard to now playing high standard with new bunch of mates

[lukemannionzimbabwe]

I would play at the highest level, I am way too competitive and at this stage too committed to my cricket to play at a lower level, I find myself anxious to see what the higher leagues have scored etc etc

[lethalshrapnel]

This is what it can feel like at the top. Some perspective for us mortals -

http://theoldbatsman.blogspot.in/2013/05/letting-go.html