U19s Cricket in April, Mackay QLD and Damon Runyon's take ...

Editors note: self-indulgent Saturday again. Thank you for being here in Mackay, QLD. It might not sound so serious, apologies, it is though an important time for many young cricketers, and I do understand that, and my own responsibilities. I hope you enjoy the read.

The non-capitalisation of its remaining five letters leads you to a place of humility and is likely to explain the diffidence that Mackay might feel toward itself.

This is Mackay, Queensland (QLD) - the location of - Cricket Australia's Male U19 Championships, 2022

April, and cricket in Australia, are as foreign to each other as prohibition and honesty.

You can apportion the majority of blame at the foot of all things evil - Covid 19, and its merry band of variants. Whereas prohibition, well, that was ludicrously introduced as a means to reduce; crime and corruption! It was lauded as a 'noble experiment' - only in America.

Still, here we are, talking about; strike-rates, economy, white balls that don't swing: turning ones into twos, death bowling, change-ups, and the list goes on! 

Ten teams are competing the championships; three from NSW; two from both Queensland and Victoria; and one each from South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory. It seems Mr. Mark McGowan failed to RSVP. Funny that!

Two coaches, a physio, and in some cases a team manager make up the support staff, with 14 players on each team. Mackay is awash with 'cricket talk' A modern cricket dictionary is in the making at 'SpeakingNick' 

VIC Country Captain - Josh Garner

Also in town are families wishing the absolute best for their nearly-departed off-spring, the last hurrah before they head into the murky waters of open-age cricket, and in some cases, the even seedier world of professional cricket. Heaven forbid.

My mother laid bare the fact that cricket would not suffice in providing me with all that was needed in adult life; dad was a little more optimistic. Either way, I should have listened to both with more intent.

Fear not, I will be sure to encourage my charges to listen attentively to their parental advice. Now, and beyond.

Back to Mackay.

Google, or a derivative of, describes Mackay as a city in Queensland., this is validated when you compare population numbers from 2018 to now - 80,000 - and now nearly 120,000 - making it one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the Sunshine State.

My current interpretation leads me to a place of sub-tropical sprawling suburbia, with an undertone of larrikiness, that could easily escalate to a 'naïve art style' dedication to the practices of villainy. 

You, probably - should digest this as an overreaction on my part.

However, there is a certain perverse attraction to the 'wrong side of the street' - much the same as peering over a ten-storey balcony when you know you suffer from vertigo!

I must say though, the late, great, Damon Runyon, would have had a field day here characterising the luminary street characters. It is safe to assume Mackay could easily provide an assortment of dodgy players to populate the pages of a Runyon short story.

There is something Runyonesque about Mackay.

Mackay, QLD

You're probably wondering, what the hell is he talking about? that's me.

Well, in self-defence, it is Saturday, a tournament rest day, and the Masters golf took up most of the morning, which has now given way to some random keyboard thoughts, and a self-indulgent Saturday afternoon in Mackay.

Actually, for the sake of the parents who will never see these words, there was a good part of the morning taken up with statistical analysis, of the cricket, not the golf!

VIC Country, my team, currently sits 1-1, with challenging games ahead. My fellow coach hails from Bendigo - yesterday's loss to VIC Metro was a tough pill for him to swallow. I assimilate to the Country team based on believing I am more blue-collar than white. Abstract thinking.

I was tempted to interpret our playing roster through the eyes of the aforementioned Mr. Runyon.

Coach Crone urged a re-think; he championed a technical analysis of each player; an individual essay on strengths, and further strengths (in the main aimed toward their parents) - it sounded like a body of work and not much self-indulgence! We deferred.

So I went right ahead; after all, the proof of popular fiction is the sound of pages turning. And, maybe, just maybe, this is about your introduction to the incomparable Damon Runyon; apologies to those of you who are already acquainted. 

Some fictional names, derived from members of our team will appear in the footer. Maybe!

Until then, you can enjoy some present tense wizardry from Mr. Runyon

Here is an extract from one of his very best short stories; not too complex, but hopefully, just enough to arouse your curiosity...

It seems that one spring day, a character by the name of Nicely-Nicely Jones arrives in a ward in a hospital in the City of Newark, N.J., with such a severe case of pneumonia that the attending physician, who is a horse player at heart, and very absentminded, writes 100, 40 and 10 on the chart over Nicely-Nicely's bed.

It comes out afterward that what the physician means is that it is 100 to 1 in his line that Nicely-Nicely does not recover at all, 40 to 1 that he will not last a week, and 10 to 1 that if he does get well he will never be the same again.

I can hear you laughing, all the way to Mackay! It seems everyone in Runyon's stories are 'horse players'

Tomorrow, we play QLD Metro; Monday, it will be NSW Metro, and then play-off games thereafter. In no particular order, we look forward to these Runyonesque characters playing their part...

Actually, on reflection, I will listen to Coach Crone, apart from the essay bit, and his continual advocacy of lower-order batting! We will shelf the aliases for another time

Play well, Country boys, and enjoy the hospitable environs of a diffident Mackay.