IIm grateful to Derbyshire for providing me with this opportunity

I went from being a promising cricketer to a has-been without a major career in the intervening period. It was a route many took. As a has-been, I played league cricket in two cities with a group of overgrown enthusiasts who had the reverse of amnesia - they could remember things that never happened. For example, taking incredible catches at slip, or scoring a century.We strutted out to bat like our heroes, with our collars raised. We knew all the stories, all the jokes - and that convinced us we had all the strokes, knew all the tricks, and that on a clear day we could make the ball reverse swing. And that we could do it on a belly full of beer, which was the staple lunch.Surprisingly, in both phases - the promising and the has-been - we did identical things. We picked national teams with a shrewdness and a lack of bias that was impressive. We knew so much theory it was a wonder we were able to let go of the ball while bowling. As batsmen we were so conscious of where our left shoulder, right foot, even the parting of our hair ought to be, that our regular dismissals for single-digit scores were put down to astrological reasons.Our heads were filled with statistics. In later years our bank codes were built around 6996, 8032, 413 and other well-known figures from the game. We thought we were unique in all this - including the manner in which we followed the fortunes of the national team.The true cricket lover is a fantasist, a legend in his own mind. One such, Marcus Berkmann, has captured some of this flavour in his delightful Rain Men. Cricket forces its players into such contortions of body and mind that it amazes me there arent more books on the humour of the game. Rain Men is not, as one review has suggested, the Fever Pitch of cricket. Fever Pitch (by Nick Hornby) is a tribute to fandom by an Arsenal supporter, but it lacks the lunacy of Rain Men. Or perhaps it is easier for me to identify with a cricket obsessive. One of my regrets as a PG Wodehouse fan is that the Master chose to move to the US, and baseball and golf, despite being a cricket fan. He has written some evocative pieces on cricket (brought together in the book Wodehouse At The Wicket edited by Murray Hedgcock), but nothing commensurate with his interest in the game. This was a sound business decision, calculated not to alienate his American audience, for Wodehouse continued to follow the game. Legend has it that he gave up his bank job after taking off to The Oval to watch Jessops Match (Gilbert Jessop made 104 out off 139 before Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst took England to a one-wicket win in 1902), and being forced to return to work before the fireworks started.In Swami and Friends, RK Narayan has written engagingly on the game, capturing the anxieties of the young minds playing it in the local community. But Rain Men (subtitle: The Madness of Cricket) is different because it meshes obsession, resignation, and the batting average that reads like a shoe size. And it speaks uncomfortable truths, especially about the village game, so beloved of myth-makers.Village cricket is a brutal sport in which the strong thrive and the weak are quickly pummelled into submission, says Berkmann. Never in hundreds of village cricket matches have I seen a floppy-eared bunny rabbit scamper anywhere, unless its under the wheels of a passing lorry. Robin redbreasts search in vain for branches of 200-year oaks from which to tweet, as Farmer Giles has had them all cut down. The last burly blacksmith died in 1967. The new parson spends Saturday afternoons with his friend Clive.Berkmanns team, Captain Scott XI (named after the polar explorer who is the symbol of the second best) plays as only such teams can. Without anything incidental like trophies or prestige to aim at, most friendly sides have long since opted for internal strife, he says, and adds, To be treated with the respect you arent due is the dream of every talentless sportsman. Many of my old club-mates will vouch for that.Rain Men by Marcus Berkmann Little, Brown, 1996Wodehouse at the Wicket by PG Wodehouse Hutchinson, 1997 Corey Davis Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. Warren Moon Titans Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-37-Amani-Hooker-Womens-Jersey/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Bruce Matthews Youth Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Nate Davis Womens Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Derbyshire have signed Luis Reece, the top-order Lancashire batsman, on a two-year deal.He becomes the first signing since Kim Barnetts appointment as director of cricket came with the avowed intent to switch some expenditure away from coaches to strengthen the playing staff.Reece was named as Lancashires young player of the year in 2013 as they secured promotion to Division One, hitting 722 runs at an average of 55, but he struggled to adjust to the standards of Division One and was affected by injury.He gradually fell from favour as the likes of Haseeb Hameed gained prominence.During a four-year stint with Lancashire, he made 30 appearances across all three formats, scoring 1,235 runs at an average of 31. He also offers a left-arm option with the ball and has taken 22 wickets at senior level.Barnett said: Luis is a very talented batsman, in both red and white ball cricket, and is also an improving left-arm seam bowler.He had limited opportunities at Lancashire over the last few seasons, mainly due to injury, but when called upon he performed to a high level and shown his abilities.This is a fresh start for Luis and provides him with a chance to show us what he can do. He will further strengthen our line-up and provide us with another option at the top of the order.Reece, 26, said: IIm grateful to Derbyshire for providing me with this opportunity.dddddddddddd Speaking to the Club, they have exciting ambitions for the years ahead and I cant wait to get started.Derbyshire have some ground to make up. They finished bottom in Division Two of the Championship without a win and failed to progress in both limited-overs competitions.Born in Taunton, Reece first played for Lancashire Second XI in 2007 at the age of 17, and was offered a place on the Red Rose Academy in the following year. He was however, not initially offered professional terms at Lancashire, and moved to university in Leeds where his cricket career began to pick up pace.Most notably, he claimed 7 for 21 against Sussex, and at one stage had the incredible figures of 5 for from five overs. His batting form in 2013 saw him narrowly miss out on a place on the England Performance Programme. He began 2014 with great optimism, representing MCC in the Champion County match in Abu Dhabi, but injury - including a broken hand when he thumped a dressing room door during a difficult personal period - and poor form intervened and he was released by Lancashire at the end of the 2016 season. ' ' '