Tartars v.
Crusaders

Round 13

Saracens v. HKU

Crusaders v.
Kai Tak

Tartars v. KGV

Rescheduled

Saracens v.
Centaurs

Rescheduled Match - 20th December 1997

Round 5

Tartars v. Crusaders at KCC
Result: Crusaders won by three wickets

Tartars had this to say....

This week, a long time observer of the game and general bon viveur, Arthur 'Both Both' Lawson, was at the club to watch local rivals Tartars and Crusaders do battle in the Saturday league. This is what he saw.....

"An absolutely cracking game of cricket down at the club last Saturday. Bit of a see-saw affair with the Tartars batting first and making a fairly slow start of it. Had a lefty opening for Îem who looked quite good but had a bit of a tumble early on and got himself run out. Pretty swift work by the fielding side though. The other opener took his time and ended up six short of a ton. Looked quite good.

ãCrusaders looked a first rate fielding outfit too. Excellent opening spinner, bit of a TV personality they told me, but he didnât let that go to his head and bowled a very tidy line and length. My word they were sharp in the field too. Havenât seen a zippier looking bunch of old folk for a long while.

Anyway, they went in to bat chasing 183 and weathered a fierce opening spell with some alacrity. A couple of the top order did all the hard work only to get themselves out to easy shots but luckily their middle order came up with the goods and stepped things up a bit.

To cut a longish story short, the whole game eventually hinged on the penultimate over. The Crusaders went into it needing about 20 off 12 and damned near finished it there and then. The first ball was that most difficult of deliveries; a waist high full bunger on the leg stick, but Trayford somehow managed to edge it for six into the practice nets. A couple of other lusty blows from him and someone called 'Hyphen' and it was all over really.

Excellent stuff. Cheers!"

Crusaders replied with the following report....

Unlucky Tartars Fall Under Steward's Spell

Crusaders rode their luck and benefited from a couple of dubious umpiring decisions to snatch a thoroughly undeserved win against local rivals Tartars at KCC.

Nazir, whose 94 sparkled like the Christmas decorations that spontaneously combusted above a group of Filipina revellers in Central ("Look, Linda, a MIRACLE!!"), had to be content with the Man of the Match award, as his team went down in the final over to the ignominy of the Hyphen slice. Unfortunately, only veteran Steve Winterhalder stayed with him for any length of time, as Andy Steward warmed up for the Hancock Shield with a return of 6 for 54.

Still, a total of 183 looked quite safe against a Crusaders side reeling from three consecutive defeats. The top order did nothing to refute such doubts, as Crusaders slumped to 45-3. It took a stand of 85 between Steward (50) and Davies (39) to swing things Crusaders' way, but not without controversy. First, an appeal for a stumping against Steward was turned down when his back foot was on the popping crease, and then Trayford was given the benefit of the doubt against a direct hit.

Tartars manager 'Arry Kneecap hit out against the match officials. "I got the standard answer from the ump - 'go away,' " said the Wimbledon manager.

"It's another umpire trying to get a bit of notoriety. The television replay clearly showed that Waters should have been out. Anyone who can wear matching brown corduroy jacket, shirt and tie when reading the news shouldn't wait for the third umpire anyway."

At KCC (played 20/12/97): Crusaders 187-6 (A Steward 50, G Davies 39; A Raham 3-37) beat Tartars 183-9 (Nazir 94; A Steward 6-54) by four wickets.

Round 13 - 13th December 1997

Saracens v. HKU at Sandy Bay
Result: Saracens won by three wickets.

Match report not currently available.

At Sandy Bay: Saracens 178-7 (Z Shroff 30, J Khan 60*; A Price 4-31) beat HKU 177-6 (B Adamson 46, A Price 51; R Sharma 3-43) by three wickets.

Crusaders v. Kai Tak at Mission Road
Result: Crusaders lost by 93 runs.

Kai Tak on Autopilot as Sanjay Returns for Crusaders

Crusaders failed to stop the rot, as the men from Cathay strolled to a 93 run win at sunny Mission Road. A rash of late withdrawals saw Crusaders take the field with just nine men, Sanjay Bhimsaria making his first appearance for 18 months. The former Nepali international (though now doing a fair impression of Chief Inspector Clouseau's inflatable disguise) put in a creditable performance, with ball (2-50), bat (42) and semaphore - his frenzied appeals to the captain to bring him on to bowl in danger of diverting planes landing at nearby Kai Tak.

At least no-one can complain of not getting a game. All bar stand-in wicket-keeper Pittman and invalid Davies got a bowl, and everyone had a chance to bat too before Crusaders were dismissed in the last over of the day with batting points secured. Highlights in the field included another dropped catch by the former colony skipper Davies off Lethbridge, who then let his captain share the feeling with a drop of his own. Baker was the safe pair of hands this week, making a couple of tricky catches look easy in the deep.

In reply to Kai Tak's colossal 286-5, Crusaders got off to a breezy start, scoring from the start at a rate of 5 or 6 an over. Ominously, they were losing wickets in the process, as first Baker and then Steward perished to loose shots. Pittman played beautifully for his 23, but then, as has happened rather too often, fell when he should have been looking to establish himself. One straight drive, though, will linger long in the memory.

Enter Davies, who compiled an excellent half century, dispatching the poor ball unerringly to the boundary. But requiring 8+ an over after suffering at the the belligerent hands of Lacamp (132) and Hodgson (58), Crusaders were never in with a realistic chance of winning the game.

That should all change next week, when they take on fellow strugglers Tartars in the first local derby of the campaign. Hopefully with 11 men......

Tartars v. KGV at KCC
Result: Tartars won by ??

Match report not currently available.

Rescheduled Match - 6th December 1997

Round 4

Saracens v. Centaurs at Mission Road
Result: Saracens won by 97 runs.

Match report not currently available.

At Mission Road (played 6/12/97): Saracens 270-5 (R Sharma 115, Y Vachha 46*) beat Centaurs 173 (M Peck 62, T Scott 32; Y Vachha 3-25) by 97 runs.

Infidels v.
Scorpions

Templars v.
Optimists

Dragons v. LSW

Rescheduled

Infidels v. LSW

Round 12 - 14th December 1997

Infidels v. Scorpions at HKCC
Result: Infidels lost by 60 runs.

This seasons first visit to the Gap, for the Infidels, having earlier beaten both the HKCC sides at Coxâs Road, was always going to be tough.

The Scorpions won the toss, and elected to bat. The Infidels took to the field in festive headgear (Santa-Hats) and proceeded to bowl the first over with all eleven players (except the bowler) still wearing them. This was a positive change, I would add, from the headgear the Infidels were last seen wearing around Wanchai on Friday night, following their Christmas dinner!!

A very positive start from the Infidels, with some fine bowling from Jamshaid Khan, soon had the Scorps struggling at 30-3. This could have been even worse for them, had a couple of chances been held. One a routine catch in the slips (which was later made amends for) and a second, which could only be described as a 'dolly', to mid on. The second chance proving very costly, as the Scorps pair of Mallinson and Way then combined for a partnership of over 100 which changed the course of the game.

Some very erratic and untidy bowling followed and the Scorpionsâ batsmen continued to score freely. After a couple of quick breakthroughs, the Infidels started to claw there way back into the game, when a total of well over 300 looked on the cards. When a one-armed Andy Yates (having fractured his arm playing rugby) came into bat at No.10 (the number 11 must have been pretty rank - Ed.) and managed to score a few singles to frustrate the Infidels more, it looked like it wasn't going to be the Infidelsâ day. Cannell and Steward then bagged two wickets apiece to wrap up the tail and the Scorpions innings closed on 265.

With the clock ticking and Nick Waters knowing he had to leave to read the news, he had 10-15 minutes to score as quickly as he could, disrupt their game plan, and get into a taxi. This was exactly what he did. Gavin Erasmus was the unfortunate bowler, with his opening delivery being 'bludgeoned' through cow corner to the boundary, followed by 11 looks of utter amazement! Nick batted for 3.5 overs in this style and scored 29 valuable runs, before being caught and making a dash. Jamshaid Khan, was then very well caught behind by Richard Townsley and the Infidels were 46-2.

Mark Eames and Geoff Hurrell then started to put together a partnership, and were scoring comfortably, with some nice drives and quick running. Eames however, fell for 34 and was quickly followed by Hurrell - out quoted by Baker, who said he was "looking good" the ball before and was told to "keep quiet" and not say such things! Andy Steward, said he didn't believe sayings like that, but quickly changed his mind as he strode to the crease.

The middle order failed to contribute much as Mir fell quickly, chasing a wide one; Williams didn't last much longer; nor did Baker, who was brilliantly caught by Tim Smart in the deep, with a running and acrobatic take. This left the Infidels with 9,10, Jack and another 120 runs required. Cannell went to the wicket and, after a shaky start, managed to find the boundary on a few occasions, and along with Steward, the pair, reached the 175 mark. Cannell was then out and Don Mohammed came to the crease. He too looked shaky early on, but got off the mark, with a big six ! Steward continued to score, until he reached 40 when he holed out to extra cover. With the total on 195, it was important to make the 200 mark and the 2 extra batting points. This was achieved by Don with his second big six (his only scoring strokes) but Shakil succumbed not long after and the innings closed on 205.

It was a disappointing result once again. With better bowling and fielding and more application with the bat the outcome could have been quite different (Jim stating the obvious - Ed.).

The next game for the Infidels sees them take on the Dragons at the KCC in a rescheduled fixture on the 4th January 1998. Due to absences, Andy Steward will be making his debut as skipper. Good luck Andy and the team. I look forward to some good news on my return.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and successful New Year.

(What I want to know is how a one-armed Andy Yates still manged to take 3-38? - Ed.) Not sure why there is a descrepancy between the scores - Ed. again.

At HKCC: Scorpions 265-8 (D Mallinson 68, N Way 57, A Watermeyer 43; J Khan 4-27) beat Infidels 183 (M Eames 34, A Steward 40; A Watermeyer 3-42, A Yates 3-38) by 82 runs.

Templars v. Optimists at KCC
Result: Templars won by one wicket.

"The game of the season!!"

Over the past few years there has never been a predictable result when the Templars and Optimists meet on the pitch and this weekend was no different. Both teams had not played for nearly 3 weeks with the ACC youth cup enforcing the break, but this did not in anyway detract from a game between two combative foes that was decided on the last ball of the day.

The Optimists batted first and all eyes were on Stuart Brew who was coming off 180 the previous day. The Templars opening pair of Jamshaid and Sutherland, however got on top early and with both bowling a good line on a greenish pitch, they managed to move the new ball and trouble both openers. The breakthrough came from Paul who was bowling a fiery spell of Yorkshire seam and he dismissed Brewie caught behind. He followed up this dismissal with another and with Jamshaid picking up one from the other end the Optimists were 3 for 40.

But never to be underestimated the Optimists fought back through the dogged Mark Winstanley and Richard Nuttal. The two put on 90 runs, although poor fielding could have broken the partnership for less. The initial tight spells of pace bowled by Jamshaid and Paul were followed up with spin from Graham, Yarman and Rahul, but none could get a break through. The re-introduction of an inspired Paul Sutherland found that breakthrough and Winstanley was eventually out for 30 and Nuttal 67. From 130 for 4 the Optimists crumbled to all out for 172. The destroyer - Paul Sutherland, with 4 for 12 in one of the best displays of controlled seam at the KCC since the retirement of "the accurate one" Paul Creswell.

The reply from Templars was initially controlled and our top order put us in a winning position early on. Deano and Grayson started well with Grayson a well compiled 32 in his last innings before returning to school in Australia. Deano was inspired and hit a quick fire 52 much to the amazement of the Optimists who watched as the man they had considered to be "Boycott-like" put on a display that would have made Jayasuria proud. He brought our score to 100 for 1after only 20 overs, but after his dismissal, the worm started to turn.

Pat and Rahul were both dismissed cheaply, as was Dyutish and Jamshaid. Chris Palmer sensibly occupied the crease for sometime, but found it difficult to score runs in the face of tight bowling. The overs ticked over with the runs slowing to a trickle and it was then left to Yarman and returning Templar, Angus Maxwell to win the game in the 48th over. The equation, 12 runs required, 12 balls, 2 wickets in hand.

Things improved dramatically in the 49th over as Angus and Yarman threw caution to the wind and smashed 10 off the over thanks to a considerable degree of luck and some brave strokes over the in-field. On one of the balls, Angus skied a ball almost directly towards the safe hands of Stuart Brew, only for him to lose sight of the ball and see it dribble over the boundary line for 4!

So the final over required 1 run to tie and 2 runs to win.... surely a fait accompli - not so fast... Angus faced the first 3 balls of Stuart Brew's last over without scoring a run. On the 4th ball he was bowled. Graham Evans strode to the crease to be met by his fellow veteran, Yarman. There are probably no two more experienced cricketers at the KCC, but the task at hand was not an easy one. Graham made the game a tie with a single off the 5th ball and it was up to Yarman to win it off the last ball of the day!!! This he did not do easily, swinging at and missing the ball, but... the keeper fumbled it and Graham scampered through for a single!!! Just to rub salt into the Optimists wounds, the 3rd man picked up the ball and hurled it at the stumps, missing and watched it go for 4 overthrows. The final result then a win by one wicket with a score of 175.

One of the great wins of the year and a fine spectacle of a finish in front of many KCC members watching from the balcony.

At KCC: Templars 172-9 (D Kelly 54, G Tyndale 34; A Ashman 3-14) beat Optimists 171 (R Nuttal 67; P Sutherland 4-12) by one wicket.

Dragons v. LSW at Mission Road
Result: Dragons lost by 62 runs.

Match report not currently available.

At Mission Road: LSW 306-6 (T Nimkar 60, M Cheruparambil 110, R Farcy 57) beat Dragons 244-6 (Z Shroff 62, R Sujanani 58, B Gohel 55*; D Silva 4-42) by 62 runs.

Rescheduled Match - 7th December 1997

Round 8

Infidels v. LSW at Mission Road
Result: Infidels lost by 95 runs.

Match report not currently available.

At Mission Road (played 7/12/97): LSW 301-7 (R Farcy 121, K Raza 44, J Iqbal 30; J Khan 3-74) beat Infidels 206 (M Eames 74) by 95 runs.