This is it then - over the top...

It's 1am on Saturday morning. I had hoped to be asleep in bed hours ago, but I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about tomorrow's today's game.

It's been a year, three months and twenty-two days since I first started this blog, and since then I've been working my bollocks off to be a better cricketer. I still have a long way to go before I've reached the limit of how far I can improve, but with a few matches last season and a pretty intensive pre-season preparation I'm now in a position to do two things I've never done before: perform well, and under-perform.

Last year was all very well but it simply didn't ultimately matter to me or anyone else whether I was out for a duck, or bowled a wide, or committed a misfield, as that was only to be expected. This season I'm in a position to score a few runs and take a few wickets, and while the technical aspects of my fielding hasn't significantly improved to my knowledge, my increased understanding of the game means I should be better able to anticipate when the ball will come to me, thus I should also be more effective in this area.

My targets for the season are clear, and as I've already set out in a previous post, they are:

• 100 runs with the bat
• 10 wickets with the ball
• 5 wickets in the field

so the question now is, what do I want to aim for in today's game?

Well let's start with the basics: I don't want to get out for a duck. That said, I have never been that bothered by ducks and I hope I never do get too flustered by them - they happen. So, assuming I'm off the mark - what next? Well, let's aim for double figures and leave it at that. Above all though, I don't want to give my wicket away playing a stupid shot, and if possible I want a nice juicy asterisk next to my score.

As for bowling, I'd better start by saying any wicket will do. I've been on Earth for 29 years and 5 days and I've NEVER taken a wicket, not that I've ever really had much opportunity. That said, I don't want to be too timid - a wicket is the bare minimum but I really want to be thinking in terms of two or three. I also, clearly, don't want to go for too many runs. If I can keep the rate below 4 an over then that would be a really good achievement.

As for fielding, I'll just have to do my best to deal which whatever comes my way. Anyway, that's enough - I'm off to bed...