New Year resolve is to carry on living the game

It's the middle of summer over here but in true sympathetic form I came down with a cold just after Christmas.

Off I went to the pharmacist to talk about possible remedies. Our banned substance list contains the major ingredients for nearly all cough and cold medicines so I'm only allowed orange Strepsils and whatever I can find in the herbal section.

New Year was spent at Lake Tekapo with, amongst others, Clare Taylor & Mandie Godliman. We arrived in mid-afternoon and spent time in the swimming pool before walking around the lake. After a quiet dinner and a few beers, we went along to listen to a band counting down the old year and welcoming the new. Not a big night out since we had to drive the 200km back to Christchurch the next morning in time for the ODI at Jade stadium.

The build-up to this match in Christchurch had been huge and as expected the stadium was almost full. The Indians batted first and after some poor shot selection and some tidy bowling from the Black Caps were dismissed for a woeful 108. The Black Caps made the runs from 30 overs but with five wickets down, their top order has not been in dominating form.

New Year and very few resolutions for me. I'm playing some good cricket at the moment and feel that sticking to my gameplan and living the game as I am at the moment is working for me. I'm missing strange things from home. Family & friends of course but also darkness, winter soups and Sunday roasts.

Saturday 4th January saw the start of the build-up for the state matches. Middle practice and fielding drills followed by throw downs and more fielding practice on Sunday. Alongside the state practice and matches I also have to fit in pre-tour England fitness sessions so there were gym visits on Friday and Sunday and beach sprint work on Saturday evening.

Training went well and we all met up on the Monday morning to face the old enemy, Auckland. They had just beaten Otago in two rain-affected matches and Canterbury had lost to them in the state finals two years running.

The pressure was on for a good result. We lost the toss on Monday and Auckland elected to bat. We broke their opening partnership early and with both openers back in the pavilion within three overs we were off to a good start. Drumm and Brown batted well for Auckland and they finished on 175 from their 50 overs.

Canterbury lost an early wicket in reply but Nic Payne and I formed another hundred partnership to take us to 109 before a mini collapse saw us at 109 for four. Rowan Milburn batted excellently with lower order bats to score 42 not out and bring us victory with a couple of overs to spare.

On Tuesday, Auckland won the toss again and once more elected to bat. Again Canterbury gained early momentum with a wicket but Drumm and Rolls started to build a partnership. This was broken by McNeil with a carefully disguised full toss which Rolls placed straight into the hands of Daly at mid-on. Drumm left the field only a short while later after attempting to sweep the left arm spinner Steele, the ball hitting her on the jaw. After a quick visit to A&E she was back in the final overs to take Auckland to 151 all out.

Haidee Tiffen was the star of the Canterbury reply with 79 not out including two sixes off the off-spinner Gruber, the second of which won us the match. I chipped in with 43, a slower scoring rate for me reflecting a need to retain wickets on a pitch that was getting a little inconsistent in bounce.

With four wins and a bonus point we're at the top of the table and hoping that the four matches this weekend against Central Districts and Wellington will bring more victories.

After post-match drinks with the Auckland girls, it was off to the gym for me. A strength session, the hardest yet in this phase, completely finished me off and it was all I could do to get back to the flat and lounge on the sofa watching TV.