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The Perfect Partnership . . . 30 years in the making
It was a
warm, humid and somewhat overcast Saturday afternoon with just over an
hour left to play in the day, as I sat watching from the side line as my
eldest son Simon opened the batting for his cricket team. Simon has
played cricket for just on fifteen years and for many of those years he
was an opening batsmen, but in recent times he has always preferred to
bat lower down the order, so to open the batting is now very much out
character for him. However, on this day his captain had asked him to do
it and he said yes.
He and his
batting partner played very well and the team got off to a flying start
scoring nearly 70 runs by the end of the days play. As he left the
field, I could see that he was very pleased with his efforts and I was
also very proud of him.
One of the
spectators sitting with me during the last hour of play made a comment
about the age of Simon's bat and almost without thinking I replied that
it was over thirty years old and still going strong. He replied that
they don't make bats like that any more, implying that there was a
certain quality about a bat that had stood the test of time.
At that very
moment my mind skipped back over the years and I recalled snippets in
the life of the bat, an SS Perfect Club Model made from English willow
by Stuart Surridge. I had purchased it when I was a young man playing
afternoon park cricket, and at that time most cricketers used the bats
that their cricket club supplied in the team kit. So you can imagine how
proud I was to have my very own perfect bat, equally, I had saved up to
buy it, so it became a treasured possession.
The perfect bat
came with its own special carry bag, complete with a small instruction
booklet attached to the bat handle which included advice on how to care
for the bat, the need for regular oiling with linseed oil, and the
obligatory cleaning of the batting surface with light grain sandpaper to
remove the red cricket ball dints and marks.
For over four
years I used the perfect bat with moderate success, then work and family
commitments took over and my cricket playing days came to an end. My
perfect bat remained in the carry bag for around eight years, until I
returned to play the indoor cricket, a shortened version of game played
under lights. My perfect bat had now entered its second decade in its
cricketing life and still looked as good as new, once it had been
sanded, oiled and had a new batting grip.
During this time
Simon was born and as he grew older he started to play sport, which
included junior cricket and I either coached or managed every team he
played for over the next twelve years. During the latter part of his
junior years in cricket, Simon always had his own cricket bat, so my bat
remained safely stored in the carry bag, only coming out on the rare
occasion that I played a game of social cricket.
When Simon was
old enough to play senior cricket, he and I had the chance to play
together in an afternoon competition for our club and it was time for my
perfect bat to be taken out of its carry bag, lightly sanded, rubbed
down with linseed oil and have a new batting grip fitted. Only this time
Simon was using it when he batted and I used his old bat.
I can remember
asking him if he wanted me to buy him a new bat, but I was quickly told
that he would like to use my perfect bat, as long as I didn't mind. How
could I possibly mind, my son wanted to use my perfect bat which was
older than him and had been used by me on and off for well over twenty
years. The fact that Simon did want to use it has always amazed me,
given that the majority of our team mates all had the latest and most up
to date bats available on the market.
It was about
this time that Simon changed the way he batted. He became a more
attacking batsman who enjoyed his time at the batting crease and many
good scores were the order of the day in the innings that he played. The
great delight for me was that I was playing in the same team with him
and either watching him from the side lines or on the odd occasion
batting with him. On one occasion when he did not play, I had the
opportunity to use my perfect bat and made my highest score of my
cricketing career. As you can imagine the perfect bat got a liberal
sanding and the customary oiling after that innings.
I can still
vividly remember one inning that Simon played on an extremely hot, humid
and very windy Saturday afternoon in February 2003 and he came very
close to scoring a 100 runs, which is better known in the cricketing
world as a century or a ton. In the end exhausted from the heat, he was
out just short of the score all cricketers strive for every time they
bat, however, it had been a wonderful inning. Sadly on that afternoon
our capital city was hit with the worst bush fires that you could
imagine and hundreds of people lost their homes and all their
possessions.
Coincidently, it
was in the light of Simon's wonderful innings with the perfect bat and
in the shadow of the bush fire disaster that launched my on going
passion for inspiring and uplifting stories and messages.
So now the
perfect bat has been around for over three decades and it is still going
strong, it once was mine but now in every way it belongs to Simon,
although I still make sure that it is sanded and well oiled at the start
of each cricket season, and a new batting grip is fitted, whenever it is
required.
When I first
bought the perfect bat, little did I know that it one day it would be
used by my son and that I would have the honour and great pleasure of
not only coaching and watching him play, but also playing with him and
see him make lots of runs.
At the start of
this cricket season, Simon decided to join another cricket team, but
still play with the same club. Loyalty to his club has always been
important to him whether it is cricket or soccer, which is a very rare
quality in today's world. So as I left the cricket ground on that
Saturday afternoon, I reflected that whilst I was not playing cricket
with him this season, it was both timely and very appropriate for him to
being playing with all his friends and mates. Over the last fifteen
years we have had many days together on the cricket field and how lucky
have I been to have such an experience, as I am sure that there are very
few fathers that have the opportunity to play a competitive sport like
cricket with their son.
After watching
him opening the batting, I also now know that each time that he goes out
to bat; he takes with him not only my best wishes, support and thoughts,
but also a perfect bat that once was mine, but is now his.
I have decided
to rename it Simon's Stuart Surridge bat and for me the triple S also
stands for three decades. It is my greatest wish that this perfect
partnership will continue well beyond his first century in cricket, and
into a fourth decade.
Inspired by Simon and the perfect bat - written by Keith Ready, a very
proud father and semi-retired cricketer.
Post script from an even
prouder father
The Perfect Partnership was written on Sunday October 23, 2005 and the
next week Simon went on to score 75 runs and along with his batting
partner set a new team record for an opening partnership of 165 runs. On
Saturday December 10, 2005 Simon scored his first century with his
beloved triple S bat. I had the pleasure of watching him score every
one of his 120 runs not out. If you know something about the game of
cricket, you will identify with the fact that he scored his runs in just
under 2 hours and hit a six over mid off to bring up the first of what I
am sure will be many more three figure scores.
Keith Ready is an Australian based business adviser and trainer
whose specialty is working with his clients to improve top and bottom
line business performance in a measurable way, through people.
Keith is publisher of InspirEmail which provides inspirational
messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account.
You can visit his website at
www.agiftofinspiration.com.au
www.agiftofinspiration.com.auand
he
can be contacted via e-mail at info@agiftofinspiration.com.au
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