I Don't Like Cricket, Oh no.. I Love It!

With enormous pride coursing through my veins after Shane Watson's outstanding and admirable performance for the Australian Cricket Team in the first day of the Fifth Test at The Oval yesterday, I have been left with the urge to post something Cricket.  Watson copped a ball just below the ear coming at him at 88mph at the hands of England's Stuart Broad.  I always get a little nervous when Broad's up to bowl but now it will be for a whole different reason.  Watson went on to make his career best of 176 runs, which in my opinion should go down in the history books after a blow like that.  What a trooper! I could write all day about how Shane Watson is the best all-rounder cricketer around, but I sadly think I would be the only one who would get anything out of it or read it for that matter.  So......

Have you found yourself in a relationship where your partner is obsessed with watching the Cricket?  I myself was in this situation a couple of years ago... and then I actually started paying attention and walked out with a love of cricket that my next partner will have to tolerate.  (*Inserts evil laugh here*) Cricket in someway has always been part of my family as my granddad used to play and umpire, but it wasn't until I met a cricket obsessed boyfriend that I even bothered to give it the time of day.  Little by little I picked up things while watching, but why not take a few minutes now to learn some basics that are sure to impress your partner.  I will admit in Cricket, there is much to learn, but what I have found is that the more I learn the more I enjoy the game.  So next time your partner tries to explain to you what is happening, you can knock their socks off and finish their sentence.  Of course there will still be much to learn but it can't hurt to start here.

To start with TERMINOLOGY:-

• "Stump" - A stump is the three vertical posts that form the wicket. 
• "Off Stump" - Is the stump on the offside of the wicket.  Or better described as the same side of the batsman's bat. (this can change depending on if the batsmen are left or right handed.) 
• "Middle Stump" - Is the center stump as per names suggestion.
• "Leg Stump" - Is the stump on the onside of the wicket.  Which means the same side as the batsman's leg. (also can change depending on if the batsmen are left or right handed.)
• "Stumps" - Is also a term that is used to indicate the end of a days play.
• "No ball" - Is a ball delivered incorrectly and becomes a penalty to the fielding team.  The batting side receives an additional run and another ball must be bowled in its place. 
• "Beamer" - Is a ball that does not bounce and passes above the batsman's waist height.  The penalty of a beamer is an instant no ball. 
• "Wide Ball" - A wide ball is a delivery of the ball either too wide or high for a batsman to hit.  This is determined by the umpire.
• "Third Umpire" - the third umpire is an off field umpire, also known as a TV umpire.  This umpire makes final decisions on questions passed on to him by the two umpires on the field.  
• "Hat Trick" - A hat trick, not to be mistaken with a velvet hat trick LOL, is when a bowler takes out 3 wickets one after another. 
  

Now for the BASICS:-

• There are 11 players per side.
• Each turn to bat while the other team fields is known as an innings.
• There are 6 balls bowled in an over.
• Boundaries: 4 points are earned when the ball bounces before the barrier. 6 points are earned if the ball goes over the barrier or into the crowed.
• A Test Match has four innings.  Meaning each team bats and fields twice.
• A One Day International (ODI) have a set number of overs that each team face.
• Twenty20 International have 20 overs per side.
• "How's That!" is a phrase yelled out when a fielder believes a batsmen is out.  It is then up to the umpire to make the call.
• A batsmen can be run out or stumped if any part of him or his bat are behind the crease.

And lastly, WAYS A BATSMEN GETS OUT:-

• BOWLED - When a wicket is hit by a bowlers delivery of the ball.  It does not matter if the ball has first touched the bat, glove or any part of the batsmen beforehand.
• CAUGHT - If the ball hits the bat or the batman's hand before being caught by a fielder, they are out.
• TIMED OUT - The next batsman up after the previous batsman is out has 3 minutes to be at the crease ready for play.
• HIT THE BALL TWICE - If the ball is hit twice by the batsman other then for reasoning of protecting his wicket, he is out. 
• HIT WICKET - After a balls delivery if a batsman's body or bat knocks his wicket out, he is out.
• OBSTRUCTING THE FIELD - If a batsman purposely obstructs the opposing team by word or action, he is out.
• RUN OUT - If the wicket is put down whilst the batsman is behind the crease at any time during the play of the ball.
• STUMPED - If the batsmen is out of his crease and not attempting to run the wicket keeper can put down the wicket resulting in the batsmen being out.
• LEG BEFORE WICKET (LBW) - The fielding side is entitled to appeal if the ball hits any part of the batsman (with the exception of the hand holding the bat) but would have otherwise hit the wicket if the batsman had not been in the way.

Remember, don't be afraid to ask questions.  If it's something they are passionate about they will be more then willing to teach you all they know.  And more importantly, impressed by your interest in not only letting them spend date night watching the game, but that you are taking the extra mile and learning about something that is important to them.

And even if I am the only person who will ever read this post.... at least I can look back on the little things I have learnt as a proud Australian Cricket supporter!  And, thank god for commentators and wikipedia :)  I don't like cricket.. oh no, I LOVE IT ! 

The Curse of Unrequited Love

Unrequited love is among the most painful things that one can feel and unfortunately we have all felt the heartache that comes with it at least once in our lives.

To add to this, social media makes it so easy to look into things that are said. You find yourself asking, “What does he/she mean by that?” or “Does that mean he/she is thinking about me.” Or my favourite, “What he/she really means is.” The entirety of it can be exhausting. And because you are feeling something that they are not aware of, it can result in emotional draining. You get defensive over text messages that may very well just be an outcome of you misreading what is written. Or alternatively to this, even making excuses for someone mistreating you.

You distance yourself from the person to ease the hurt and hopefully take away your feelings for them, but instead you find yourself romanticizing them. Focusing on all the things that they would do if you were with them, or even magnifying what they have done in the past, much like you would do in a toxic relationship. You find yourself focusing on the things that they have done in the past or what you hope they would do, rather then what they actually do.

There is no easy way to escape this curse. There is always the option of telling the person your true feelings, which can possibly lead to your feelings being returned, but if this backfires you are left with nothing but rejection. Fear of rejection is ultimately what stops us from expressing our true feelings to the people we have them for. And our lack of belief in ourselves is what leads us to think that we are not remarkable enough for the person of our desires to notice us in any real way.  Some people just aren't ready to let go of the possibilities that can be shattered when those feelings are not returned.

There really are only 2 options:

1.   Tell the person. If they do not feel the same, you no longer have the hope and can take the first steps to moving on with your life and finding someone who can return your feelings.

2.    Keep prolonging the negative feelings that come with your secret until the object of your desire has unknowingly hurt you more then you can handle.

I say, do everything you can to convince yourself to tell your crush how you feel. At least then you know if there is a chance, as opposed to wasting your time hoping that there may be one and trying to find signs of interest or common feelings. Life is too short to play the “what if” game. Nobody likes playing games when it comes to their feelings, so why subject yourself to doing just that? Take the risk and believe that you are worthy of being loved back. If they do not see you for who you are then the only solution to this is finding someone who does. No need to change or downplay yourself just because someone is blind to your worth.

At the end of the day, there really are no answers to this one. Some situations can be stickier then others. Some people just don’t have the option to be able to tell the person of their passion how they feel. Whether it be because your crush is married, in a relationship, a parent of your friend, or even a really close family friend. These situations leave prolonged awkwardness. Not everyone has the opportunity to walk away if things do not go the way they hope. If you have any ideas on how to cope with unrequited love or any personal stories of your own experiences, please share in the comment box below. Your experience may help someone else.

Hens Night Madness!!

Just a quick update of my awesomely fun-filled weekend. There is nothing like a traditional hens night party to bring out all the willies and equally just as much alcohol and girly immature fun :) 

Saturday night found me slipping into my cricket outfit, complete with mini bat, cap and sneakers and enthusiastically playing the part along with my friends with parts of their own: Dee (the nun and bride to be), East (the bad ass biker chick) and Mel (the hot teacher)! 

The night consisted of penis straws and rings, a shirtless waiter, inflatable doodles, a male blow up doll, a pin the willy on the man, a peni piñata filled with condom surprises, ginormous granny undies that read "size matters" (that I did a little dancing in!), terrible karaoke attempts, a blindfold with a winky on it that resulted in my brother pointing out the obvious and calling me a dickhead (Thanks Douggie!) and I can't forget the solo 2013 Ashes cricket score checks throughout the night. 

East and I ended up going into town afterwards with new found confidence and made friends and models out of the security guys at our favourite nightclub. We also discovered fellow costume party goers even more flamboyant then ourselves that were more then happy to pose for pics. Embarrassingly after getting into the club by showing my ID, I was re-carded when getting a drink at the bar. (I still think she was trying to suss out what cricket player I was!!) :) but nothing could have been more embarrassing then discovering I still had my eye mask on my hat that read "wake me for sex!" That came off quick smart!  

Nothing like a bit of silliness to make you appreciate the people you have in your life even more then before. Wishing my beautiful friend Dionne and her husband-to-be Michael a full-filling life as husband and wife. 

To find little goodies for your hens night, check out our website www.confidenceiskeylingerie.com.au to find something a little naughty to make your night!