Owzthat

My Dad loved the game cricket. As a boy he had a game called ‘Owzthat’ which was based upon the game of cricket. With a name like that I can’t help but think it was invented by a Yorkshire man! As an adult he kept the game in his desk draw. Perhaps he played it when bored with work. My brother’s son who is a keen cricket player now has the game in his keeping. 

Owzthat by Penny Sinclair

That sound,
When leather strikes willow.
A quintessential English game,
Of bygone Sunday afternoons.
Where single runs are won from gentle taps,
Or sixes gained from mighty thwacks.
And every now and then,
A lucky spin, a leg or off,
Or maybe a bouncer or reverse swing,
Catches the batsman at odds.
Bails tumble, stumps fall.
‘Owzthat!’ a jubilant bowler cries,
Anticipating the umpire’s call.