WE were given a bit of a wake-up call in our cup defeat to Edgworth on Sunday.

We had a bit of a nightmare to be honest, which was disappointing after winning our first six league games.

It might be the best thing for our league season, because if you go into games with a cocky attitude and get complacent after a set of good results it can come back to bite you on the bum. I don’t necessarily think we were complacent, we just didn’t bat well.

After the previous day’s win against Stretford, with more than 500 runs scored on the same wicket we were happy to keep Edgworth down to 162 but we just didn’t bat well. Our pro, Kaustub Pawar, failed for the first time and I had wondered what would happen when others had to take up the slack after someone has been batting all the way through in the other games this season.

We needed six when I came in at number 11 but I didn’t last, I was out without scoring, which was embarrassing for me. Even though other people were saying it wasn’t down to me and the runs should have been knocked off long before I had to come in that didn’t help. It has happened before – last season I came in as last man, needing just a run to win and it didn’t go to plan then either, as I was out without scoring.

We have always tried to get a strong batting line-up that bats deep down the order, we feel that’s the way to win things, but we had that and just didn’t perform. If you don’t put in a performance against good teams with good players in you are not going to win, and for me the defeat spells the end of Sunday cricket. I’m gutted to be out of the cup, not least because it means I may be forced into walking round Ikea on Sundays from now on! I don’t think I could go through too many double-header weekends anyway, I don’t think my body would take it – I nearly snapped in half bowling my first balls on Sunday.

One of the lads in the second team, Dave Willets, scored his first ever 100 for the club on Saturday, not too long after having a new hip, so if I can get myself down for two new hips and knees maybe I can carry on and avoid spending long Sunday afternoons looking at Swedish flat-pack furniture!

At the other extreme, we had one of the youngest and fittest at the club, Cameron Smith, play his fourth game of the week. The thing is, he was only allowed to bowl seven overs in a spell then had to wait 10 to 15 overs before he could come back on. This is a directive passed down by Lancashire to allow players to play for longer – it’s not something I am too keen on, I could bowl a 15-over stint but these young, fit lads can only do seven. They might be having a really good spell then get forced out of the attack.

That is modern cricket for you.