Dropping catches rarely loses matches

I mean dropped what is considered a relatively easy chance?

Chances are you have - and I know I certainly have more than my fair share.

But have you ever been shunned by your whole team for dropping a catch? Made to feel you were the worst person in the world and you wanted to ground to swallow you up?

Yes - well that’s happened to me too.

But I have always been a great believer that nobody deliberatley drops a catch and that you should move on.

On Saturday, I had four catches dropped off my bowling (one of them admittedly was a return catch that went straight through my hands).

And two of the ‘culprits’ apologised to me afterwards.

Now there was no need to apologise - they just needed to make sure they take the next chance that comes along. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.

There is no point holding a grudge.

You might think ‘that’s not the attitude’ but I have the philosophy - enjoyment first, winning second.

If I am doing neither, then I will stop playing cricket.

Do you think the England team shunned Alastair Cook for his dropped slip catch off Paranavitana on the second day at Lord’s? No, I imagine Cook felt a lot worse than anyone else.

On another note, we had a minute’s silence before the game on Saturday to mark the deaths of former Three Bridges club president and player Bernard Barker and Henfield cricketer Mark Smith.

It made you remember what really matters.

For anyone who dropped catches over the weekend - you are forgiven.