Ebony's Net Challenge...Part Two

Straight to the challenge I told you about last week, then. The rules were, I had to face four overs against a spin bowler, Locksy, from the men's A grade (just below state level). I couldn't get out and I had to hit four boundaries. The whole men's and women's sections had turned out unexpectedly, but I was feeling confident even though there was a lot of banter… then I got to the crease.

In the back of my head I had planned for a left-arm orthodox spinner, as that was what everybody had told me he was, so I was surprised when the first one spun back in… and viciously. He was actually a Chinaman bowler.

The first over was playing sensibly and he chucked in a full toss which I pumped away for a six. I was giving him a bit of cheeky chat and then came the wrong'un and I had no clue, but he didn't get me at that point.

He tossed a few up and I hit them nicely through the covers, so I was semi-settling down. I started getting nervous because I wasn't going for the big shots and the lads started up: "This is not a Test match." The keeper was chatting and the girls joined in, trying to encourage me: "Come on Ebs, hit out, hit out." Three overs gone, one over left and I needed three boundaries. The pressure was building.

The first one I miscued over midwicket, then my head went and I lost it. I got out three times trying to hit straight so Locksy had won. But I still won as dinner was on him anyway!

It was definitely an interesting experience, and put me under pressure, which gave me further insight into how to hold my nerve – I will look to repeat such challenges in the future. As a side point, it was good to get the club interacting and afterwards it was nice to know that the guys thought I was a decent player, and that I hadn't let women's cricket down.

And because I was feeling a bit gutted about failing the challenge, I was more determined and put in some intense practice in a session on Friday I had arranged with Australia's Emma Sampson. I had already had sorted out a net with another Aussie player, Kris Britt, at the Adelaide Oval on the Tuesday prior to the challenge, it's good to be able to get this experience.

I got to work on the off-side shots and that gave me confidence going into Saturday's match against Northern Districts, who are just above us in second in the table. Rain overnight meant it was a lively wicket, and with the ball seaming around I knew it was important to play sensibly and only hit out when the ball was really there.

The first ten were quite slow, then when the pitch dried out it was time to capitalise, picking a few areas to go for the boundaries. I felt really well set then I was run out by a direct hit on 48. Fuming. We batted the 50 overs but were at least 50 runs short and we ended up losing pretty easily. At least it wasn't scorching this week, though.

Off the field, I managed to get to the India-Sri Lanka ODI thanks to Jen's colleague Bek at South Australia who organised a ticket and for me to sit in the press conference to see it from the other side. It was interesting to hear Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene talking so much about their innings, they said a lot more about batting than is often reported in the press through lack of space, and I picked up a few tips.

I also went to Victor Harbour, Bluff and Middleton, all in the south on the coast, and they were breathtakingly beautiful places, a must-see for anybody coming out here.

I am so looking forward to the next game because at last I'll get to play alongside Emma but even more exciting is being on the same team as my batting idol Karen Rolton who I've idolised since I was when 14 when I saw her play in England. Everybody's been quite amused by how nervous I get when I'm around her but this is going to mean so much to me and hopefully I can learn from her, too.

The Heat Is On...

I hit club training on Wednesday night, having got there early with Dan, we had a session beforehand. A few of the club people were watching, including some Under-16s. As I came out of the net and took my helmet off a young blonde boy said: "Oh, it's a girl!"

While taking off my pads he approached me and dared me to have a net, saying: "I bet we can get you out," so I said "Game on." It's not the first such challenge – while I can't speak for all female players, there is a certain responsibility to represent women's cricket and I like the battle. Anyway, he added: "But it's Twenty20 mode," so I joked, cheekily: "Even better, I'll smack you out of the park!"

Sizing them up quickly - an inswinger, a seamer and a few spinners – I played sensibly for a few overs, although being bowled by a inswinging yorker early doors. I hit my groove though and felt like Viv Richards, deciding to tell the bowlers where I was going to hit them before I did so. A bit cocky but it riled them up.

I then smacked boundary after boundary; I was enjoying myself in this mini-Ashes, it was good experience and they soon became quiet. One of the dads who was watching decided to get stuck in and he was a good bowler but couldn't get me out. My favourite comment was from a leggie who, after being despatched, put his hands behind his heads and solemnly declared: "It's hard being a spinner on days like this." It ended well and we've all arranged another net.

Game day soon followed near the city, an utter scorcher on a decent track with a fast outfield, the last thing you want when fielding in the burning sun. It was 38C, the hottest day of cricket I've experienced, and other cricket in lower levels was called off. Not ours. They racked up 230 with one of the state players making a ton, and so the heat was certainly on.

I was dying in the field 30 overs in, while my fellow Pommie Jenny had already ducked under the cold shower mid-innings with spikes on which I may do next time! The Aussies told me afterwards of tips such as using cooling neck crystals, soaking your cap in the drinks-break ice and making sure you're properly hydrated. It was a huge learning experience to play in such extreme heat and in hindsight actually great experience for the future.

Coming in early at my by-now customary number three slot, I played a cut and a pull but I couldn't watch the ball all the way on to the bat and didn't even have any energy to move my feet. I was eventually trapped lbw to a good, low outswinger and headed straight for the cold shower for ten minutes. We put up a fight and my experienced team-mate Jatz added 70 to go with her four wickets but it wasn't enough.

At the clubhouse in the evening the guys had played the first day of a two-dayer and one of the members came up and said he'd heard of the Under-16 net earlier in the week. That sparked conversation with the others that led to… yet another challenge!

Locky, a left-arm spinner, said he needed only four overs to get me out, but I win if I hit four boundaries. A free meal rests on it… so tune in next week to see who's buying.

Unbeaten 98 Takes Port Adelaide To Victory

I started the week pretty fuming about getting out for seven in my first innings, so my house mate Dan and I made a pact to get in the nets every day. We were on a mixture of concrete, astro and grass nets, whatever we could get our hands on for our nets version of the Ashes. On top of that, I attended club trainings – yes, plural: there are two per week, which you don't get at that level in England, one a net and one a fielding practice. It was quite enjoyable to be able to focus on the skills in that way.

The game quickly came around on Sunday and I was feeling prepared. When I arrived at the ground and had a look around it was like it should be: a good wicket, fast outfield and a clear sky.

We fielded first, like last week, and we kept them to 203 – including a direct-hit run-out from me - which I thought would be a comfortable chase. Wrong. I was batting at three again and was once more at the crease early following a short-but-sweet start. There were a few slight concerns about there not being a scoreboard, my other house mate Jenny tells me this is the norm though us 'Poms' have no idea why.

I approached the innings being a bit more patient this time and got off to a good partnership with Chuck. I was feeling pretty comfortable then we had a collapse of 5 for about 20, which obviously left the situation much more awkward. Then we got down to the last wicket and needed a daunting 49 between us.

When I decided it was time to start hitting out I realised the benefit of being in Australia rather than at home. You can practise in the nets all you like, but there's no substitute for the real deal.

Before coming out I had been practising shots in pressure situations over extra cover, midwicket and cow corner and now I was able to milk it (no pun intended). In the game the task was made more difficult as we were never 100 per cent sure what we were chasing but we got there in the end. I finished on 98 not out, very happy… but the Surrey academy director Gareth Townsend texted to say it should have been a ton.

And he wants me to pay back a run for every pound the flight cost Surrey. Challenge on.

As I'm getting into the groove out here I'm noticing more and more differences in cricket which could be incorporated at home. The first is free-hits: I've never played them at club, county or Super Fours level but it is something we do at the top so maybe they should be filtered through the English system.

Batting on is allowed at the end of the games even after a result to get extra points and practice. I think that's a great idea because it gives people the chance to continue to work on match scenarios.

The state women play with coloured clothing and white balls, so if our county sides were to do the same then that would smooth the transition to international level. White balls are different as they lose swing quickly, which is obviously easier for batting, but the bowlers need to think even more.

Off the pitch there's been some progress with getting the women's game on television, and terrestrial at that. Women's cricket hasn't been on TV in Australia since the 2005 World Cup final, while we're lucky that the ECB have a deal where Sky must show at least two of our games a year.

But on Sunday, Channel Nine showed highlights of the Twenty20 at the MCG and it was pleasing to see my name up there in lights, although they missed the "Rainford" bit off, ahem.

I even made it on the screen in person – well, if you had taped it and pressed 'Pause' at the correct nanosecond you could see a blurry me running out with a drink!

Seriously though there were some decent skills on show and apparently even that one twenty-over match helped to bring more converts to the game. We just need more publicity but things are heading in the right direction.

Welcome to Australia...

Being on first batting standby for England I was expecting to spend the rest of the winter training indoors at Loughborough and Guildford. Instead I found myself heading to Adelaide because of an impromptu arrangement with an English friend Jenny who has moved out there and said why don't I come over and play for Port Adelaide, the team which Australia's captain Karen Rolton and fast bowler Emma Sampson also play for. Who could refuse? A week after the email came through I'd cleared everything with the ECB and was on the long flight, courtesy of Surrey.

Walking through Melbourne airport (there were no last-minute deals to Adelaide) I was suddenly accosted by four panting women who I had heard creeping up on me at speed. I turned around sharply, puzzled, and there were my England mates... thinking I had stolen a team bag because they'd seen the lions logo in the bustling crowd. We had a good laugh and then I said goodbye and arranged to link up with them at the Series opener, the Twenty20 at the MCG.

But before that I had some acclimatising to do. As luck would have it, the house is on the beach, the gym is two minutes away and the club, which has a bowling machine, is five minutes. I was itching to get out there on the grass, or turf as they call it out here, to play my first cricket for six months. Before I got my chance, Australia were playing India at the Adelaide Oval and I managed to acquire a member's ticket through a kind man I'd met on the 12-hour train journey into Adelaide from Melbourne. Good work! Aussies are really genuine and friendly and pretty straight-talking, and I had a really nice day although it was really hot, something I've not been used to for months and months. I had to pile on the sunscreen.

I'd been hoping to uncover some secrets about the Australian game at all levels and when club nets soon rolled round I thought "Here's my chance." I immediately noticed some differences. The way they encouraged youngsters (they identified what they needed to work on from a young age) and the way the boys trained - after they had their nets, they would then go off and spend half an hour working on what didn't go right in the nets with a lot more purpose. Playing-wise, the ball was bouncing more than I was used to, and coming through at a fair lick too, so I had to work on my back-foot technique on the bowling machine afterwards. And people were pretty vocal about wanting to get you out.

But other than that things were much the same as in England, nets were nets really.

A few days later Emma had her leaving drinks (to join the Australia team in Melbourne) at a venue along the beachfront from us, and I had the chance to meet the rest of our club team. Emma, or Sambo as we know her, told us that highlights of the Twenty20 (which was being played as a curtain raiser for the men) were going to be on Channel Nine. Out here women's cricket has not been televised since the 2005 World Cup, so this is quite a big deal - whereas at home we have at least two full games a year live on Sky.

So then I got a flight back to Melbourne for the Twenty20 on Friday. Dobbo [Mark Dobson, England head coach] had said to me to bring out my kit just in case but when I got the call-up to be 12th man it was only an hour and a half before the game. Still, I didn't have time to be nervous, I was just excited. It was an amazing experience being in front of a crowd of nearly 30000 and get my name on the big screen. (Well, not all of it, as I've got four middle names!)

It was a far cry from not thinking I would be able to play cricket again a few years ago. Now I'm focussing all my energies on getting back into the eleven. I'm feeling really positive, fit and happy, and I'm loving my cricket... almost as much as Mr Cricket himself, Mike Hussey, whose new book I'm reading at the moment. He's a real inspiration for the way he conducts himself and the preparation that goes into his own game, which is a really interesting insight and something which can assist me in my own approach.

Speaking of inspiring sports stars, we had the good fortune to see Shane Warne and Cathy Freeman in the hospitality at the MCG. Warne worked so hard on his game throughout, which is really admirable and what can you say about Cathy Freeman? She's just amazing and it was a real privilege to meet her.

After a week of uninterrupted sunshine, match day dawned quite overcast which made me feel at home. The girls gave me a cap and a shirt, which was really kind of them, and I had my helmet customised by team-mate Jano who fixed on a Port Adelaide crest sticker. We were playing against some South Australia state players on a lively wicket and a slow outfield and it felt pretty strange to be outside in early February. Although I was with England in India at this time last year, that felt different because it was a tour, whereas this time I'm living here. We fielded first and I got stuck in with a catch and a run-out, both from mid-on, which helped me to settle in to the game.

We were set 176 and a quick wicket meant I was in early doors - I'm keeping Karen Rolton's No 3 spot warm while she's with Australia! Batting felt all right, the ball was moving a little bit. I played a few singles, then pulled a short ball for four and felt settled. Then one stayed low, and I tried to pull it to midwicket. The next one was a bouncer - which you'd never get at home - and I thought I'd take it on but I picked out the fielder and I was on my way. Fuming... but every run you make out here is really valuable, it's really useful getting time in the middle (and in a match situation obviously) rather than being in indoor nets as I would have been.

The first game back is always going to be a case of finding your feet and I took away the fact that I'm going to work on spending more time at the crease. I certainly spent a lot of time in the nets the day after, working on 'seeing the seam', a tip from Mike Hussey, which forces you to watch the ball more. I also practised facing more of the short stuff as Dan gave me plenty of chin music... and a nice souvenir bruise on my forearm. These Aussies play it tough but it's a good schooling and I'm looking forward to the next challenges.