Julia's 1998 Ashes Tour Diary...
DAY 1 - 1 July 1998
Having survived my first day in England, I thought it an appropriate time to begin the diary of the Australian tour of England and Ireland. The diary has been nicknamed the Ashes Tour Diary.
Prior to leaving for England on Tuesday, the squad arrived in Sydney for a 3 day camp. This consisted of a psychology session with our psychologist Anthony Stewart who also happens to be the psychologist for the Sydney Swans. We thought we should see if his theories actually worked by going to see the Swans vs Adelaide. Unfortunately for some (Belinda Clark & Lisa Keightley who had been giving Karen Rolton heaps), the Swans didn't play at their best. Back to the drawing board Anthony. During the camp we also did a lot of sprint work. Well those of us who weren't injured that is eg Charlie Mason. During one of the sprint sessions we noticed Chuck was taking things pretty easy so we decided to question her about it. She informed us she was doing injury management. Not that she was injured but to prevent herself getting injured. Good theory Chuck!
Lyn Larsen our Manager, (aka Whisper), has seemed to come down with the flu and can't now speak. Her nickname has now been changed to the "Hoarse Whisperer".
Charlie Mason, one of the more geographically challenged in the team, has stated that she wants to get a photo of herself with one leg on each side of the border of England and Ireland. Michelle Goszko who tends to lack in the history dept (refer to World Cup diary & Mt Goszko) has decided to take a ride, when the opportunity arises, on one of the Big Ben buses. Everyday is a school day with this team.
Upon arriving in England we were greeted by bad moods, irritability, shortness and just general rudeness. We were more than delighted to hear the good news that England had been beaten at the World Cup by Argentina in a penalty shoot-out. This of course sparked a few choruses of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" which didn't go down particularly well with our slightly hungover bus driver. Naturally the old "at least we weren't beaten by Iran" came to surface. If we are going to get narky we just might have to bring up the rugby, or the cricket but I wouldn't do a thing like that. The bad news about all of this behaviour from the English was that, whether they had won the game or not, that was how they acted.
The day was filled with a run in Hyde Park, which is conveniently located opposite our Hotel, and with a bit of familiarisation around the area.
DAY 2 - 2 July 1998
Today was a relatively easy day with a 4 hour training session at Lord's followed by our sprint work in Hyde Park. Most of us are still feeling a little weary from the trip and the time adjustment. Being light until about 9.30pm every night also doesn't help. I'm sure we'll get used to it over the next 2 months.
DAY 3 - 3 July 1998
Another early rise which didn't bother any of us because we are still waking up at 5am anyway. A short jog and some plyometric work made up our morning session before heading off to Lord's for another 3 hour session. Most of the girls are starting to get used to the slow and turning pitches. Usually in Australia I'm about 3 seconds late on the ball so now I've actually just caught up.
The evening was spent at the Australian High Commission who put on a night which rivalled Delhi's High Commission. A few of the English players and officials also were invited and found our wines a little bit stronger than their pommy ones. The coach in fact found the floor a more comfortable place to finish her drink. I simply chose to use the red as a lipstick on my lips and teeth for the rest of the night.
DAY 4 - 4 July 1998
This morning we had an 8am start doing stability work with the Swiss (F.I.T.) balls. The session soon turned to mayhem when Karen Rolton decided to attempt kneeling on the ball. After several failed attempts it was also decided to abandon any abdominal work as Karen had already given us a sufficient workout in that area.
The "How to see London in 1 day" tour with Avril Fahey as tour guide, went horribly wrong as on our way to Westminster Abbey we came across the Gay Pride March. Most of our film was used on the parade with possibly Big Ben being in the background purely by chance in some of the photos. Three simple rules for the parade most be noted.
1. Your t-shirt size must be six sizes too small for you
2. Any exposed flesh was to be pierced.
3. If you are allergic to leather - go straight
Karen Rolton also took out the Goose of the Day award by stating that she didn't care if she saw the President's House when referring to No. 10 Downing Street.
That afternoon while waiting for our washing to be completed in the local laundrette, we all piled into the local pub to watch the quarter finals of the World Cup, Holland vs Argentina. Melanie Jones is now 5 pounds poorer whereas my bet is still going strong. However Holland have to play Brasil in the semis next. Vive Holland!
DAY 5 - 5 July 1998
Today we played the England U21 side. We scored 5 for 266 from 50 overs whereas the U21 score 7 for 99 from their 50. It was good to have a game especially seeing this is the first game for 3 to 4 months for most of the girls. Belinda Clark scored 91 from 96 balls with Jo Broadbent 67, Lisa Keightley 45 and Melanie Jones 31 not out all great support. Karen Rolton and Avril Fahey were probably the best of the bowlers with 2 for 16 and 2 for 6 respectively.
One of the highlights of the day (especially to those Liberal supporters in the team) was the visit of John Major to the game. (Ex-President to one Karen Rolton).
The ground we played at was called the Wilf Slack Memorial Ground, named after a West Indian player who died from a stroke at quite an early age. Melanie Jones' father used to play with Wilf (first name terms) and a small reunion of all the players seemed to be going on at the game. Our game was the first major game played there. Of course Mel now has a huge following of West Indian men. (The list is forever growing).
DAY 6 - 6 July 1998
Another quiet day after our game yesterday. A light fielding session on the main field at Lord's today was the highlight of the day. The ground has a very noticeable slope on it which makes fielding very interesting. A short sprint session was held after training (down the slope of course).
A tour of Lord's proved a favourite with most people and also gave us some insight into where we will be sitting, walking down to the ground etc when we play the Poms on the 21st July.
The rest of the afternoon was spent washing, writing postcards and basically just relaxing, something which has been fairly rare since going into camp a week and a half ago.
DAY 7 - 7 July 1998
Today is to be described as a tragedy. My Aussie Classic tape has been ruined and on which song? Yes you guessed it - I go to Rio, Peter Allen. At least we've got Michelle Goszko's tapes to fall back on, Hit Machine 19, 20, 22, 24 etc.
We played South of England today at Shenley Cricket Club which is actually one of the Lord's Grounds so it was in fantastic condition and the day put on pretty good weather for us as well. Karen Rolton scored 119 runs from 111 balls with Jane Franklin scoring 75 not out. I'd like to tell you more about the 2nd innings but unfortunately in the 11th over, one of their batsmen padded up to our spinner, Olivia Magno, and deflected it straight into my face. Three and a half hours, two hospitals and a very bad headache later I arrived back at the ground knowing exactly what I knew before I left the ground. I had a broken nose. My opinion of the English was lifted as the Doctor at the ENT dept was wearing Dougal (from the Magic Carousel) cufflinks. It was hard to believe but yes someone in London had a sense of humour. I'm still trying to convince the rest of the team he exists.
In my absence it was noted that Melanie Jones made friends with a 6'3" blonde masseur who was at the ground and was found discussing an injury none of us were aware of.
The game ended with South England 5/141 from their 50 so we have had two full length games which is a great warm-up.
This evening we all went downstairs to the bar to watch Holland vs Brazil in the World Cup semi-final and were pleased to find quite a large group of fanatical Brazilian supporters to gee up. And they took the bait everytime. One Brazilian supporter did leave after Holland scored the equaliser and we went a little overboard with our high-fiving and cheering. Brazil however did have the last laugh, winning the Penalty shootout 4-2. That was until they found out we were Australian and not Dutch!
DAY 8 - 8 July 1998
Today I came down to the foyer to the tune of Willy, Caramello and Kenny Koala due to the swollen bridge of my nose and also my eyes. It's great to be in such a supportive team. I remember when I came off the field yesterday, Avril Fahey (one of our more sensitive team members) saying, "Is your nose supposed to be facing your ear?" NOTE: Avril Fahey not to be invited to my deathbed.
Our bus trip to Chester was uneventful except when after a 45 minute stop we returned to our bus only to find Michelle Goszko missing. She was in fact on the bus next to us wondering where we all were. Erica Sainsbury, our scorer, also joined the touring party today.
The afternoon was left to our devices of either swim, gym or run. Belinda Clark and Cathryn Fitzpatrick opted for the run but managed to get lost on their way. It ended up being very similar to a scene from Forrest Gump but fortunately a few friendly locals directed the girls out of their paddock and back on the road out of Wales.
DAY 9 - 9 July 1998
As much as I have tried to ignore it, there is one thing that stands out in my mind about today. Sure we scored 285, sure we kept them to under 100 for the fifty overs. But all that pales in comparison to the first (that I've known) male streaker at a Women's cricket game. And this wasn't just your drunk spur of the moment streak. I believe this man had been planning the streak for quite a while. He quite calmly walked in about 8 overs into the game walked around to the square leg boundary and watched for two overs. Next thing he is out there, clobber off, all over tan & totally hairless greeting everyone with "Have a good day", then runs off, puts his clothes back on, walks back around in front of us and leaves. We of course couldn't let him leave without commenting on how cold it was - but he was the first to admit it. He strutted out of the Cricket Club like he'd just scored a ton for his country without realising he had just made the biggest goose out of himself. Oh well!
This evening we all went to the local Italian restaurant for a pasta/pizza. Charlie Mason was feeling a bit crook so she went home early. The rest of us all caught cabs home later on to be caught up in a conversation with the cabbie. CABBIE: "So you are all going to Kent tomorrow? US: "No we are going to Scarborough (Scarburra to Karen Rolton). CABBIE: "Better tell your friend because she's going to Kent tomorrow" Small towns are a real worry.
DAY 10 - 10 July 1998
After an early start doing sprint work and then breakfast we headed into Chester to visit the sites and soon discovered there weren't too many. Back on the bus to head off to York. Here we had about a 3 hour stop and visited York Minster, Clifford's Tower and The Shambles. Lyn Larsen rediscovered her fear of small places when climbing the Tower at the Minster only to remember she hated it in 1987 when she climbed it previously. As for myself and Mel you could say we had a slight run in with a fruiterer who was a little bit obsessed with his fruit and not his customer service. After serving us and giving us the wrong fruit, he then refused to swap it, then refused to take it back and then demanded we give it back. We ended up giving him the grapes back but not the way he would have liked them. Thus our first team cocktail night was called the Grapevine Crossover (technique used in giving back the grapes).
On our return to the bus we discovered that our Bus Driver had kindly given away one of our slabs of Coke donated to us by Coca-Cola (go the plug for the sponsor) and then decided to go under the bus, grab out another slab and pop it in the bus so we wouldn't realise any were missing. Fortunately a few of the girls popped back early to witness the event. Nothing has been said to the driver yet but if you're reading this Tony, we're on to you!
On arrival in Scarborough we went looking for dinner and if you are after something other than fish or mushy peas (world famous apparently) then don't come to Scarborough.
DAY 11 - 11 July 1998
The Fat Rascal Pub was the venue for the Bledisloe Cup this morning at 10.30am. The management of the pub had agreed to open a half hour early for us so we could see the start of the game. Fortunately William Hill also opened nice and early. Melanie Jones has had a turn around in betting form when myself, Bronwyn & Lisa Keightley put a bit of peer pressure on her to back the Oz. Go the Wallabies!
The training venue today was a private field owned by McCain's as the field we'll be playing on was being used in the Cricket Week Festival. During training we go the occasional waft of McCain's food and I'll give you the tip, I'm never eating frozen pizza again.
After training we popped out to the ground where we will be playing against England. The track looks like a belter and has produced a lot of runs over the past few days. While at the game we met Onslow (or someone very similar to him from Keeping up Appearances). He insists he will be at our game tomorrow and if we are lucky, Mrs Bucket may turn up as well.
DAY 12 - 12 July 1998
Our first game against England was a bit closer than we would have liked it to be. This was mainly due to a number of stoppages during the day for rain and having the total overs changed 3 times. We managed to hang on with Belinda Clark batting first and scoring 95 not out from 96 balls and Karen (two hits) Rolton getting 31 off 17 balls. Fortunately our run rate was high enough to cope with the recalculations every time and we ended up winning by 11 runs (or higher run rate as they say here in England). Belinda Clark also became only the third player, and the first Aussie, to pass the 2000 run mark in one-day internationals.
The game was into the last over when another bout of rain blew over but fortunately for us one of the groundsmen was an Australian, who we had befriended, and his shoelace had come undone just as they were supposed to bring the covers on. End of over Game Australia.
We discovered during the day that our Room Attendant, Naomi aged 15, was being paid more than us, so we made her work for the money. Our shoes are now shined, pads and spikes clean and waterbottles filled for the next game.
After the game we had a few quiet drinks (XXXX on tap - Woo Hoo!) with the officials and other players. While there the lady who had taken me to the hospital with my broken nose went up to Fitzy and commented on how well her nose had healed!
The English squad also have two girls named Clare Taylor in their team. One Clare is spelt with an I in it though. When telling Lisa Keightley about the two Clare's, Lisa asked which Clare was which. I said the one that toured India was the Clare without the I. Fortunately I stopped Lisa before she had time to ask "Which one hasn't got the eye?" , but the look on her face gave it away.
DAY 13 - 13 July 1998
Our trip to Derby came and went with the only excitement being us passing the Poms but you get used to that. The trip being only 2 and a half hours long we had the afternoon free and spent it in Nottingham, about a half hour trip from Derby. We were all keen to see a proper castle as we hadn't had time to do much sightseeeing and Nottingham did have a Castle where Robin Hood saved Maid Marian from. That excitement soon diminished not long after arrival as this was obviously some sort of English joke. Not only was there no castle but there were maps of what the castle would have looked like if it had been there. Go on shut your eyes and imagine. I can do that from my backyard in Brisbane mate so you know what you can do with your castle!
The next hour and a half was spent looking for something to do in Nottingham which has the tourist appeal of Chernobyl. The Information Bureau was sign posted very well but had obviously shut down due to the only people coming in asking how to get out of Nottingham. Our bus driver was then 25 minutes late picking us up prompting the call for his punishment being no more Coke for the rest of the week. Better put the Sprite under lock and key.
A half hour jog completed the day with even our Physio and Manager completing the run. God we must be losing some fitness.
DAY 14 - 14 July 1998
A two hour training session at Derbyshire County Cricket Ground, where we will be playing tomorrow, took up most of our morning. Mine and Belinda's pads still haven't dried from the yellow paint we sprayed on them 3 days ago. We have discovered that the paint was not in fact paint but rust-proofer. Mine are currently in my kit bag and I'm hoping I'm not going to have to bat tomorrow because I'll be batting in plastic bags that are stuck to my pads at the moment. If you look on the bright side though, at least they won't rust.
The rest of the day was spent washing, walking, playing soccer or creating havoc with the video that BBC apparently want to put to air. I don't think they know what they've got themselves into as there are a few girls in the team who rate themselves as a bit of a Steven Spielberg and Jodie Foster.
DAY 15 - 15 July 1998
This morning at breakfast we were discussing quite a few people's dreams over the past few nights and I was doing my best Quentin Watts trying to interpret the dreams. In fact I was just trying to work out exactly what was wrong with me because my dreams are so bizarre but anyway. Most people had, if not in the past, dreams about cricket like forgetting to take your bat our to bat, or forgetting how to bat etc. Our scorer Erica Sainsbury joined in the conversation and informed us it wasn't just cricketers who have these dreams. She dreams quite regularly that she's running late to score and just can't remember how to score. I wonder if umpires have dreams like that. In fact I think they lived that dream in our game today. It was the first time the 3rd Umpire had been used in a Women's cricket game in England and boy did they give it a workout.
Today we played our 2nd game at Derby against England, lost the toss and were sent in to bat. 204 runs later, thanks to Mel Jones 58 (No.1 victim of the 3rd Umpire) and Lisa Keightley 59, our innings was over. England were dismissed for 140 with Charlie Mason taking 4-24 complete with sunglasses on for the last wicket. (Charlie knew the cameras were on her so she worked it big time. Looking good Chuck. Like it! Oh yeah!) Some of the day was cheered on by Michael Slater to the pleasure of our team and even some of the pommy team.
We're off to Brighton tomorrow so a quick recovery swim and early for most of us.
Follow Julia to Lords...in Part II of the Diary....
