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Tales from Down Under, November 19
Chorley-based cricket star Luis Reece is currently playing for Sunshine Coast Scorchers in Australia and is sending back weekly reports of his adventures...
It's just over two months since I reached the land of paradise and as time has gone on I have experienced more and more things.
For example last week I came across my first Australian spider.
It was just after work when I went into my bathroom and reached to brush my teeth when I had a cockroach fly towards my face.
As I ducked and looked down, there next to my feet was this very large, hairy, brown spider.
The spider must have been as big as the palm of my hand. Unsure what type of spider it was – and whether it was dangerous – I decided to back off out of the bathroom.
Alex (the other Pom I share with) came to have a look. To my amusement Alex reached down with a container to capture the spider only for the spider to jump and run after Alex!
It was to great relief when we finally captured the spider in the plastic container and decided to leave it in full display for landlord Bryan Haggarty to have a look in the morning.
We left a note for Haggs so he could tell us what kind it was but when we woke up before leaving for work we realised the container was empty and the spider had gone.
Unfortunately – or fortunately depending on your point of view – we never got to know if the spider was poisonous.
A few days later I got home from another long day of cricket and was in the middle of making something to eat (nothing compared to mum's cooking!) when our friend the spider returned.
I was speaking to my mum on the phone when I saw this familiar large, hairy, brown spider looking at me.
Unfortunately I was on my own as Haggs and Alex had gone out to hit the night life in Mooloolaba.
Unsure what else to do I decided to try and capture the spider – when the thought struck me that it might be capable of hurting me.
Some people could call it being scared, I'd like to think of it as damage limitation. As a result I decided to visit a neighbour for some advice.
He came over and had a look at the spider, told me it was called a Huntsman.
Apparently their bites weren't too dangerous. Finally I captured the friendly thing and released him outside.
As well as the spider it's been a busy time on the cricket field.
I was recently promoted to bat at number three but was a shade unlucky to play on for seven.
Thankfully I had more joy with the ball and took 3-11 from seven overs but it wasn't quite enough to force the win.
Every game throws up new challenges and I recently found myself bowling to a hard-hitting batsman called Nick Kruger, who has played for Queensland Bulls.
Luckily I managed to get him out and finished with figures of 3-12 off 9.4 overs and they were dismissed for less than 100 as they chased our total of 300.
It was memorable stuff – but not quite as memorable as my encounter with my first Australian spider.
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Weather for Leyland
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
