Its the preserve of cricketers of any age, location and ability: a Thursday evening, a setting sun, and a practice wicket underdone.So here I am, a nominal batsman on the wrong side of youth, three overs into a spell of ungainly part-time net bowling, awaiting a bat.To the relief of just about everyone, a call finally comes for me to put em on. Ive done this dance a thousand times before, but the gruff command still elicits that short, electric bolt of adrenaline inside. Or is it nerves? Ive never quite worked it out. That Ive survived until this point should instil me with confidence that I will once more, but Ive no time for rationality at this point.Sam, youre in the first net, Im told. Im not usually in the first net. The first net is where our best bowlers bowl. The first net is the good net. I do my best impression of a casual saunter to the mess of cricket bags that lies 20 metres away, and manage to make an important mental note: the quickest bowler in our club is currently batting, so I am free from his thunderbolts for now.There are almost innumerable aims when it comes to net batting. Maybe today Ill summon the courage to use my feet to the spinners. Perhaps I should try to unearth that on-drive that has forever eluded me. Ditto a pull shot. But to bastardise the flightiest of corporate language, these are nothing but blue-sky goals. My true aims are better defined by what I want not to happen.Yes, when it comes to net batting, its simple: dont get hit and dont get out.I unzip my cricket kit with a familiar, concealed tremble of hands. They contradict an external composure as I rifle through my still-disorganised bag in the only way I know how - hastily. Left pad, right pad, wheres my box? Last couple! bellows our organiser as I fumble further for a thigh pad and helmet.My eyes may be trained on my gear but my ears are elsewhere. I hear a distant grunt from an imposing quick in the nets, immediately followed by the thud of leather into flesh. It sounds like inside thigh. A chorus of oohs trails from the bowling cohort, and then a sound even more chilling that that: laughter. The auditory terror prompts me to re-tighten my gloves for the third time as my heart quickens appreciably.My batting predecessor finally completes the third iteration of his last one and the net is mine. Not that Im feeling much ownership of this space. Three sinewy top-grade quicks and a solitary spinner await as I take guard - something I do to simulate a match situation. It immediately feels ridiculous. The bowlers arent fooled; my bat wafts at the first one as I contemplate the concrete in my feet. The ball springs from the back net with a vigour that suggests to me, for a moment, that it may roll all the way back to the bowler. It stops some way short of that. Our eyes meet as if to say Whos fetching this thing? I dont think twice. I get the ball, because for now I am the servant.Minutes pass and I still cannot find the upward social mobility I desperately seek. Balls seem to cannon into a thick outside edge here, the splice of the bat there, or just fizz past me entirely. Like any seasoned cricketer I first turn to my internal compendium of excuses. Is it the wicket? Is it the fading light? Is it that our bowlers regularly bowl from 18 yards? Whatever it is, its hard to find solace when Ive forgotten how the middle of my bat feels. To make matters worse, this always seems to be the time when batsmen in the other nets start receiving praise for glorious front- and back-foot play. I can only guess they are on better wickets.Even so, Ive not been hit, and Im not out.With a hypothetical score of 3 from 17 deliveries, my personal stakes are raised. Our fastest bowler, previously batting, decides to join the first net. I calculate that we are halfway through our allotted batting time, so Ill face a maximum of four or five deliveries from him.We face them more than anyone else, but theres always an oddity to competing against your team-mates. Together on the weekend, you appreciate their efforts from multiple angles - a view from mid-off, a view from gully, a view from the pavilion. Perhaps this is why its so chastening to study the strained face of your clubs fastest bowler front-on as he hurtles in to bowl at you. I feel paralysed by the sum of his physical aggression as I brace for the hard flash of red. He enters his delivery stride, I see something and I waft at that something again. Except, this time it strikes the middle of the bat, sending the ball careering through hypothetical cover-point. The ball rolls back off the net and settles at my feet as I look up to survey the scene.I see an angry young muscular man who wants his ball immediately, so I oblige. I am still in mild shock. My bottom hand, the protagonist in my heroic victory seconds earlier, then became the villain. In returning the vanquished ball to my opponent, my underarm is so limp that it arrives on the half-volley, forcing him into an unwanted bend of the lower back and a higher level of coordination to retrieve the ball. It rolls past him and into the path of a bowler in the second net, who now stops his run-up with a deep groan.My high-pitched Sorry, mate is received without acknowledgement.To be continued… Air Jordan 6 For Sale Cheap .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. 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RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have signed general manager Ron Francis to a contract extension through the 2018-19 season, the team announced Tuesday.Financial terms were not disclosed.I appreciate the fact that (owner Peter Karmanos Jr.) is willing to give me the extension, Francis said. Were going in the right direction, so its exciting to help continue that.Francis, 53, is a Hall of Fame player beginning his 11th season in a management role with the Hurricanes and his third since taking over for Jim Rutherford as general manager. Hes led the youth movement that helped the Hurricanes improve 15 points in the standings last season, trading captain and franchise face Eric Staal while reshaping the team around a core of younger players.Ron has rebuilt our organization the right way, stocking our team and system with young players who will help this franchise compete for the Stanley Cup year in and year out, Karmanos said. Im thrilled that he will continue to see the job through. The future is very bright for the Hurricanes in Carolina.With the move, the Hurricanes have locked up two key management figures this summer. In July, they siggned coach Bill Peters to an extension, also through 2018-19.dddddddddddd.Francis said after he finished Peters extension, Karmanos approached him and said now I want to take care of you.He sat down and said, This is what Id like to do, Francis said. And I said, OK, Pete, thats fair. It was just a matter of getting things signed.Francis also said forward Raffi Torres will try out for the team when camp begins in September.Torres hasnt played a regular-season game in the NHL since 2013-14, and last October was suspended for 41 games -- the longest suspension in NHL history for a hit on another player -- and fined $440,000 for his illegal check on Anaheims Jakob Silfverberg during a preseason game.You all know the way I played the game -- I dont condone those kinds of hits, and I think they were dealt with the right way, Francis said. Hes served his time, hes forfeited his money and hopefully hes in a different place. ... Its not a contract. Its a tryout. He has to earn a contract. He has to earn a spot in our lineup. ' ' '