Track runs, rugby and reindeer food: Hamish Marshall on his winter so far
8 January 2015
In the latest in our series of player blogs Hamish Marshall brings us up to speed on his high (and low) lights of the close season.
From golfing holidays with former team mates to pre-season training and visits from Santa it has been a busy time for the batsman...
Happy New Year everyone!
Well, I've been a busy lad since the end of the 2014 summer. There’s been fun times with my young family, two golfing trips and of course training at The Bristol County Ground.
I had five days playing golf for the Lords Taverners in October with my old Gloucestershire team mate, Steve Kirby. It was great catching up with Kirbs and for those of you who were wondering...he hasn't changed a bit!
We started back at the club in November, very refreshed and ready to go. As always there was some catching up to do with the young lads, finding out what sort of antics they had got up to. A quick holiday overseas is always popular. Denty went to Thailand, Rodders ventured to Greece and the Taylor brothers tried Germany.
We always dread the track sessions on our return and Chris Bodman didn't fail us once again! It only took 16mins of shuttles to bring 10 men to the foetal position gasping for air. It hurt at the time but with a vigorous county season ahead we know it will benefit us.
I had a great day over the bridge in Cardiff watching the All Blacks vs Wales. The Millenium Stadium is a great place to watch rugby and when they fence off the middle of the city centre it makes for a real party atmosphere. I was happy with the result too!
We were all told the news just before Christmas that John Bracewell was leaving the club. Personally, Braces was my coach here and back in NZ for nearly 10 years so he's played a big part in my career. He will be sorely missed but we wish him all the best with his next venture.
As for Christmas, it was pretty much all about the kids. It was great to see their joy and excitement as they rustled through their stockings. Ollie (just gone three years) was thrilled that Santa ate his mince pie, pistachios and polished off the bottle of beer he left for him! Out on the lawn, the reindeer had finished their bucket of water and reindeer food which made for all round smiles!
Now it's time to get stuck back into training and get ready for the season ahead. Hope you've all wintered well and look forward to seeing you all down at The Bristol County Ground and Cheltenham Festival in 2015.
Marshy
