Well, mostly because whenever I ask Rog or Steve-o for a few balls in the nets they give me the most relectantly hangdog look along the lines of "It's incredibly painful. Do I really have to?" that I feel guilty.

So I did buy a bowling machine about five minutes ago. I'll bring it to skipper's day if it arrives in time.

http://www.bola.co.uk/cricket.html

"Professional" model, with automatic feeder. I look forward to testing you all against the short ball.