Round 5 - 30th October 1999

Crusaders v. Mainlanders at KCC
Result: Crusaders lost by 6 wickets

What a debacle. With Don't call me Nicky working, Lards doing the team shopping in UK, Lethers meeting his expatriate family and Rabbi and Travis out of town we struggled to put out a side and made use of the schoolboy fill in programme again together with a hockey player grabbed form the KCC balcony.

The Mainlanders with three Sunday opening bowlers (Khaled the Impaler from Paks, Mohanna Marsookial and Imran Fartsee from Big Saiyonara ) rocked up late after going to KGV but being nice guys we allowed them to start late with a full side on the park. Skip won the toss again and batted. Khaled was trembling witth anticipation when he saw that Chanel Celebrity was opening for Crusaders with Taz Devil. Taz Devil noted as saying to Skip, "geez they've got a good attack - I'd better get my head down" - next ball tried to cut a straight one which took out the off
pole. Chanel Celebrity's bat was kept incident free with duck on the gliterratti function menu for this week. Having spared no expense we flew in Trayford from UK exile to save us from pakhilation and he achieved a superb golden duck. To cut a short story short, Khaled got 6 for 32 of which 15 were no balls and Crusaders ended up with 83, 12th man Extras top scoring with 28. Taz Devil assisted with quick draw LB Mcfinger and calling dead ball every time Beefy tried to avoid Khaled's short ones.

Never say die until the fat cow croaks, we got stuck in to their batting and had them 4 down at the death. Unfortunately, the interpretation of LBW (straight one) as applied freely by Crusaders' umpires was sadly unequally applied by the opposition and the Mainlander's captain Ramafootinfrontwika benefited thereby albeit pieces of his knee cap are embedded into the centre stump. It was boring being top of the league anyway and Crusader's policy of sharing it about was quite magnanimous this week.

At KCC: HKCA Mainlanders 84-4 beat Crusaders 83 (K Khan 6-32) by six wickets

Tartars v. St George's at KGV
Result: Tartars lost by three wickets

No report received.

At KGV: St George's 192-7 (Zaffarullah 81) beat Tartars 190-9 (TR Kalyanaraman 60; Javed 4-26) by 3 wickets

Round 4 - 23rd October 1999

Saracens v. Islanders at KGV
Result: Saracens won by seven wickets

Eleven go Wild at KGV

I say chaps isn’t it jolly being back here at KGV at this wonderful ground. "It’s just like my carpet at home" said Burjers. I do love running around on it and isn’t fielding exciting. You never know whether you’re going to get hit in the face or the goolies." "What’s goolies?" said Shiroy. Poor Shiroy said he couldn’t play after hurting his leg jumping out of the way of a hockey ball. "But Shiroy you couldn’t play before," said cheeky Gilly the team wit.

Yarmie won the toss to the taunts of his son playing for the opposition. "We’re going to kick your butts," he said charmingly . He has obviously been spending too much time with Uncle Shiroy. "Hard to miss a Saracen but," said the nasty Finesmaster, "Have you brought your pocket money?" Poor Earl was missing after falling on his balls and cracking a rib. A pretty tricky thing to do with his mother in law in town. Hope that couch is comfortable Earl?

So we began our adventure. With the opening attack of PC and the Fines master with a combined age of more than all the opposition put together. Yarman was in super form in the gully and did a really funny trick of completely missing a ball as it looped slowly towards him. "I missed the angle," he said. "Never mind Yarman," said the Fines master who was bowling, I really like the batsman hitting me out of the ground now. Can you take me off." So he did. But our replacement young Jammy pulled something early on and had to go off.

Some very old schoolboys were batting. Shabir, Nasir and Ilyas having great fun hitting the ball into the trees and even climbing them with pads on to get the ball back. Leave it up there said bowler Yarman. It will save the trip next time."

Soon sanity returned with the Cat taking a catch on the boundary with a technique designed to save the family jewels. Then a tragic event. An injury to our closing bowler the Burjmeister. Swooping (?) in from the boundary to take a catch with his famous crocodile technique the hard ball hit him on the finger and broke it. So off he went with the supporting cries of his team mates, "This will be expensive Budge and then there’s the hospital costs as well."

189 runs to chase and we knew it would be pretty hard with a tail starting at 3. Grump and Rav started off like an express. Then Grump playing snooker with his bat - out and enter PC. Few worries at the start and then the ball smote to all parts with his classic shot. Rav out for 88 after two chances off young Vachha and PC with a 50. Vijay hits the winning runs.

The match was played in a great spirit and the ground apart was how cricket should be played. The 3 adults with the schoolboys gave them a great example of how the game should be played. If only it was ever thus.

Fine of the week. Burji Shroff. Refusing to come back and bat.

At KGV: Saracens 191-3 (R Sujanani 88, P Cresswell 59) beat Islanders 189-5 (S Malik 93, N Hameed 43; R Sharma 3-46) by 7 wkts

Tartars v. Centaurs at KCC
Result: Tartars won by ten wickets

At KCC: Tartars 93-0 (TR Kalyanaraman 42*, F Saeed 32*) beat Centaurs 92 (E Tse 3-29, Butani 3-10) by 10 wkts

Round 3 - 9th October 1999

Saracens v. Mainlanders at KCC
Result: Saracens won by 82 runs

The Mattress

Taking inspiration from the summer movie sensation the new KCC artificial pitch will soon be known as a graveyard for bowlers and a featherbed for batters. Double springed at that with the ball popping up beautifully crying, "Hit me, Hit Me." Messrs. Sharma and Reevy Keanunani dutifully obeyed and dispatched the poor schoolboys and accompanying adults to all parts. This after the longest opening over ever bowled with @ 145 wides. I exaggerate of course but not by much. A first century for the Ravinator, in his third season with the Saracens. An expensive undertaking indeed. Yet another one for the Grump. How can we be sure that he is not really a computer induced image who is impossible to destroy? Saracens often feel they are in a dream and hope they’ll wake up soon.

The Skip had returned from his travels to the Planet Zog and did all the usual things. His bowling spell was inspired by the wish to develop youth cricket and give the young batters more confidence. In this he succeeded admirably. This bowling on this pitch. What more could young batters want. In the end the boys did not give their wickets away and batted well and with credit.

Fine of the Week. Young Keanunani for his long awaited ton for the Saracens.

At KCC: Saracens 273 for 2 (R Sharma 100, R Sujanani 118) beat HKCA Mainlanders 191-3 (N Savlani 62*, K Kumaria 44*) by 82 runs

Crusaders v. Police at KGV
Result: Crusaders won by 17 runs

Crusaders moved to KGV as PTS being used for PLA Executions

Captain won the toss again and batted (we had five men there at the time of the toss). Taz Devil and Don't Call Me Nicky opened and Taz Devil missed a straight one on leg stump for 16. Don't Call Me Nicky Section 39'd (assaulted) the police attack for 110 not out, Brewbags and Lards got 30 each and Hutch the Last game Crutch tonked 24 not working giving us a total of 233.

Police made a spirited reply having lost opener Redcap Howard who managed to hit a Bjorn wide for zero with the stock of his bat. The other opener, Walton walked when he nicked one behind and was summarily executed by Arnie on the boundary. Sawhnoff made a shotgun 73 before being caught and bowled by Lethers and Police ended with a creditable 217 all out.

Having agreed to share the food only Redcap appeared back at KCC so we drank their share as well and billed Redcap's account.

At KGV (instead of PTS): Crusaders 233 for 2 (N Waters 110*) beat Police 217 (T Sawney 73, G Jones 35; T Johnsen 3-42) by 16 runs

Round 2 - 2nd October 1999

Crusaders v. Nomads at HKCC
Result: Crusaders lost by four wickets

A depleted 'B' side without 'Don't Call Me Nicky', 'Beefy', 'Hutch on a Crutch' and 'Fu' Cannell were inserted by the home side, much to the chagrin of Ash who had just ordered half a steer between two pizza crusts as his diet snack. Tazzie Devil made 83 on the SLOW (excuse for a) synthetic pitch and Lards 64. How dare they get out knowing that the rest of the team would make 22 between them! So we made 186 which would have been a good score if we could have bowled with Beefy and Hutch on a Crutch the next weekend instead. As it was at 72-3 off 18 overs we were still in with a chance, especially since we were playing 13 men again this week.

Sadly, half deckers on a slow track with 35 yard boundaries was a recipe for disaster and we lost. We did however drink a serious amount of brown Philippine piss and cost the home side dearly in their wallets.

At HKCC: Nomads 190-6 (R Ross 70*, P Varty 46; D Green 3-42) beat Crusaders 186-9 (D Green 83, G Jardine 64; A Ashman 3-60, M Costain 3-30) by 4 wickets

Tartars v. DBS at KCC
Result: Tartars won by 1 run

No report received. By all accounts, this was an ill-tempered match with accusations of cheating and chucking; beamers bowled at the batsman from 15 yards; a 'mankading' and blatant run-outs not given out. Some of the behaviour exhibited was described as 'disgraceful' and a full report has been sent to the HKCA League & Cup Committee for possible action. Expect to hear the repercussions in a later issue of the ME.

At KCC: Tartars 196-4 (TR Kalyanaraman 79, S Bhimsaria 60) beat DBS 195 for 8 (I Mir 76, M Ling 51; S Cox 3-25) by 1 run

Rescheduled Fixtures - 1st October 1999

Crusaders v. CCC at DBS
Result: Crusaders won by 59 runs

Never played in a jungle before this day. DBS grass was long and the pitch surrounded by a sand trap that would stop a Formula 1 car let alone a cricket ball. The run ups had carefully disguised pot holes under the sand covering to snare any unsuspecting person who dared run up properly.

We won the toss and elected to bat. Doc Dougie had a stock lot of red 2 piece seconds which he conned us into using for this game. Having fed the Tazzie Devil some red rat meat we unleashed him on the unsuspecting CCC horde which has Defector Eames and Gapper Stearns playing for them as well as FOT Fotheringham. Nelson Pittman smote a quick 20 and Taz Devil struggled to get 110. Bionic Brewbags stroked 67 not collapsed and we ended with 219 which, given the jungle outfield and sand trap was worth 300 at KCC.

Doc Dougie showed his cricket captaincy ability by opening with the Defector and Weatherman. Drop them back, give Defector one and bowl five at Weatherman was the simple task we achieved. Defector took most of the game to get 65 before Lethers out thought him with a long hop directed to backward deep fine leg. CCC made 160 after Fu Cannell 1-18 and Bjorn 3-32 impressed with their swinging balls.

At DBS: Crusaders 219-2 (D Green 110, R Brewster 67*) beat CCC 160-5 (M Eames 65; T Johnsen 3-32) by 59 runs

Saracens v. Police at KCC
Result: Saracens won by 77 runs

The Finethom Menace

It had been a quiet time on Planet Saracen. They had managed to repel the forces of Lamma the previous season and were basking in the glories of trophies won under the leadership of the Yar man. Little did they know that a figure out of their past would soon be amongst them once again wreaking havoc and destruction. Some had planned holidays to exotic parts. Others put away money for their children’s education. Burji Shroff had promised his wife that he had saved up enough money to take her to McDonalds. They had lured others to their ranks with the promises of victory and cheap cricket. Enter stage left O’B Wants More Money, the Finesmaster, thirsty for the green and red and even the occasional brown. His appetite keen after a year amongst the barren poverty ridden Tarts who could only appease him by giving him a shiny round yellow object every week.

So on this auspicious day, the anniversary of another glorious revolution, the Saracens took the field. Their opponents The Police, once capitalist running dogs and colonial tyrants but now transformed to heroes of the revolution. How well would the Saracens adjust again to playing with the knowledge that a spilled catch, an injudicious remark, even a look could result in financial ruin.

The Saracens batted first but nervousness probably denied the Grump from turning his 50 into the customary ton. The rest sort of subsided to 160 odd. Captain for the day in the absence of the Yar man, was the Ravinator who tried the Tarts trick of giving the FM the new ball. Then horror of horrors he dropped a catch off the FM’s bowling and took him off. Was this the sort of behaviour for a man with a wife and young child to support? Rash indeed. From the other end the grizzled veteran form of PC wheeled away through 10 overs in the heat. Then the Saracens unleashed their firepower on the poor Plods. No not Buji but Jammy. Attacking fast and furiously he had the batsman trying to play him from the swimming pool rather than the crease. Then of course denied his ton the Grump came on and took 5. All out for 80.

Fine of the week. The Finesmaster of course for leaving this sorry crew and letting them develop delusions of grandeur.

At KCC: Saracens 165 for 7 (R Sharma 53; C Ball 5-34) beat Police 88 all out (R Sharma 5-23) by 77 runs

Round 5 - 31st October 1999

Templars v. Infidels at KCC
Result: Templars won by 30 runs

Infidel's skipper Simon Scanlon writes...

"... I am in a state of depression with the way that we have been playing. Not that it has been all bad just that we don't seem to be able to string a whole days cricket together. Once again the Infidels were able to play well for three quarters of the match but during the remaining quarter the Templars got away with the bag. This of course does not take anything away from the Templars who are a very good side and who bowled and batted well.

After the Pakistan game of last week we were determined to make amends and keep ourselves in the hunt for the title by putting on a good show against the Templars in the KCC derby. The toss went well for myself but apart from that I can't boast of any great contribution. The opening pair of Sharma and Nimkar started well going in to the first drinks break without loss. With a change in the bowling of Tarr for Patdur we were able to get Tripti out for 50. Ravi was next to go for 21 and soon after Rahul fell for an unusual total of 64. I really thought that once he makes it to this stage we most often see three figures. Having taken these important wickets the Infidels were beginning to see some daylight. The bowling of Green, Tarr, Patidar and Duddey was nice and tight and in the 42 over the Templars were 197-6. At this stage I was of the belief that we would be chasing a total of around 240. This was not to be as the lower order of Lama and Faizi mashed the ball all over the park and left us with the unenviable task of chasing 278. Well done to the lower order of the Templars.

So with the task at hand and the lessons learned from the previous week we structured the batting to give ourselves the best chance of accelerating in the middle order. What we did not have this week was the depth of batting that we took into the Pakistan match. We were minus Waters, Jardine and Tailor who was also badly missed in the bowling attack. Greeny started well caning a number of cracking pull shots to the boundary. These were impressive but not quite as impressive as the ball that took steady Eddies off peg. Ray claims that he has seen Mark Eames only bowled once in his entire time in Hong Kong. We took this as an exaggeration but with Damian's tales of lost betting money at the TAB and horses breaking legs at the first hurdle in a steeple chase one could not be faulted for a little fib. This marked the start of a mini collapse in the top order. Faizi really bowled very well and even in the late order he was generally on line. Greeny stepped over a full toss from Faizi and exited with a well compiled 22. Tiku Patidar fell for the change in batting grip trick by Brad Tarr and was caught facing his first delivery. 3-37 in the ninth placed us in a some what precarious situation and we were going to need an innings steadying performance from one of the middle order. This was given by Ray Brewster who made a polished 73. I chipped in with 54 and at one stage I thought that we were in for a chance if both Ray and I were able to keep the total ticking over. Alas this was not to be and the Infidels were retired to the pavilion for a total of 248. In the wash up if we had restricted the Templars to 240 then the initial batting collapse would have been acceptable as the total would have been easier to achieve. But this is cricket and we look forward to a short break to regroup.

At KCC: Templars 278-8 (R Sharma 64, T Nimkar 50; D Green 5-30) beat Infidels 248 (R Brewster 73, S Scanlon 54; R Sujanani 3-25) by 30 runs

Round 4 - 24th October 1999

Templars v. Dragons at KCC
Result: Templars won by six wickets

Templars fielded first on the Colts debut game at KCC. The grass wicket look flat with more grass than we have seen at KCC in recent years.

Dyutish and Tony Correa opened the batting and started well with a 4 off the first ball from the tall Faizy Khan. Dyutish however fell early with his normal loose "get out" shot which he looks to play too often early on in his innings. The batting failed to inspire until Ritesh settled in an played some excellent shots on both sides of the wicket against the Templars medium pacers. He managed to stay in for a well compiled 33, but received support from few of his team mates, with the exception of Nassam who showed some application by defending from one end. The Colts were finally bundled out for 93 a disappointing total against a bowling attack which lacked venom.

The Templars were faced with achieving their total in less than 15 overs in order to secure maximum points and came out attacking. Danesh however had other ideas. He bowled his best spell of the season and with the new ball, extracted bounce and movement off the grass wicket by bowling very full. He was rewarded with 3 wickets, and showed the value of pitching the ball up on a grass track.

The Colts were making it difficult for the Templars up to the 12th over when with 4 wickets down Rahul Sharme and Anul Rug decided to chance their arm to obtain maximum points. They achieved this with one over to spare, although all credit ot the Colts for fighting it out and making them work for every point.

Some positives to take from this week:-

- Danesh showed us how to bowl with the new ball.
- There is now a new wicket-keeper batsman in HK.
- Good catching again makes a difference and 4 wickets in 15 overs would have made a difference with more runs on the board.

At KCC: Templars 94-4 (A Bhatnagar 34*; D Qureshi 3-40) beat Dragons 93 (R Jhaveri 33; R Sharma 3-17) by six wkts

Infidels v. Pakistan Association at Mission Road
Result: Infidels lost by five wickets

Well once again the cries of "What could have been" echo through my head. We had been looking forward to this encounter for quite a while as it would have evened out the League as well as given us retribution for losing to Pakistan in the Cup final last year if we had won. Sadly this was not to be. Things didn't start well once again with the Captain getting the now inevitable phone call early Sunday morning to say that someone had dropped out. This time it was Chris Williams who took a turn for the worse at a gig his band was playing in. We still believe that we haven't heard the full story on this matter and the team are dying to know what song they were playing at the time of his collapse. Anyone care to guess? we are running a book on it.

Fortunately Chris agreed to come along and help out in the field and we are most grateful for this effort. In the end however it was not our performance in the field that let us down but some pour strategic planning on my behalf. What we are possessed with, apart from a love of alcohol, are a large number of batsmen and not the slogging type bat that is required in the middle order in Hong Kong cricket. Eames and Green who are undoubtedly the best opening pair in Hong Kong, if not the world, I'm trumping this up a bit, got us off to a terrific start and the seen was set for a most encouraging total by the first drinks break. Damian posted a very nice 32 before giving his wicket away to Hussain. I then came to the wicket and apart from a small cameo of running Mark Eames out, contributed little in the way of runs before falling to Khalid. Nick Waters and Ray Brewster then steadied the ship with Ray eventually going on to remain 58 not out. Graeme Jardine also posted a nicely compiled 36 not out. What we failed to do in only losing 4 wickets was to capitalise on our solid batting line up. From the 32nd over to the 37th there was only 10 runs scored and this is where I believe that we lost the game. The bowling from Pakistan was admittedly tight with S. Hussain bowling 15 overs for 49 runs. What is required is one or two bats going in and having a go. We finished with a total of 229/4 which in retrospect was 40 to 50 runs to few and what we should be capable of.

I don't have figures in front of me as the Pakistan manager has not forwarded to me the results sheet but the first two overs from Adrian Baker were the fastest and most deadly bowling display that I have seen for some time. The ball was literally leaping off a good length and creating all sorts of havoc. The first wicket went off the first ball caught behind down the leg side. In his second over Adrian claimed another wicket in similar fashion. What is not told in the book is the unplayable deliveries that were cannoning into the batsmen. Well done to the Pakistan bats who weathered the storm with the opener going on to make a century. Tiku Patidur also chipped in with some excellent line and length bowling that I look forward to more of as the season progresses. In the end though I felt that the game petered out and Pakistan got the required runs in the 40th over. If it was a two day game we might have been in a better position but alas it is not. Points that we must take away are that the batting line up needs to be changed and a more flexible approach to the order taken too suit the state of play on the day.

We look forward to the match against the Templars next week.

At Mission Road: Pakistan Association 230-5 (I Gul 102*, S Malik 47; A Baker 3-57) beat Infidels 229-4 (G Jardine 42*, R Brewster 58*) by 5 wkts

Rearranged Fixture - 17th October 1999

Dragons v. Friends XI at Mission Road
Result: Dragons lost by 218 runs

At MR: Friends XI 352 all out (Shabbir 70, Anoop 56; T Yau 4-49) beat KCC Dragons 134 all out (Manan 3-24) by 218 runs

Round 3 - 10th October 1999

Templars v. Optimists at KCC
Result: Templars won by nine wickets

On a hot and humid Sunday the team took a decision that if the toss was won we would field first. The wicket looked interesting - some grass, a bit firm and perhaps just a bit dry on top. The opposition won the toss and elected to bat.

Within minutes we had Hong Kong's premier batsman Stewart Brew back in pavilion dismissed behind the wicket off Jammy, with Amit Agarwal the keeper taking an absolute blinder. Jammy and Faizi bowled beautifully, exploiting the early morning movement the wicket offered. Faizi in particular was incredibly consistent and kept a tight hold on the HKCC batters. He bowled 8 overs from one end conceding only 15 runs. Jammy was his usual self, mixture of unplayable deliveries, no-balls, wides - he picked up three wickets in his opening spell of six overs. Erle Pereira was called on to replace Jammy only to further strengthen our hold on the batsmen. He was excellent, very accurate and bowled to his field. He got two batsmen out bowled, going for the cut. The skip, in his first spell was a tad wayward. Jammy got his fourth wicket in his second burst of three overs, with Amit taking his third catch behind the wicket. Erle was called back for his second spell towards the end of the innings to put a complete break on the run scoring, with the skipper getting rid of Adrian Ashman, the top scorer and wrapping up the tail. Mention here of the Templars fielding - it was safe and steady with Erle making a customary mess of a rather easy catch at square leg off Faizi's first delivery of the day. Amit Agarwal, our keeper was brilliant behind the stumps. Well done Amit, Jammy and Erle.

Calculators were brought out to work out the number of overs to secure maximum batting points. We needed to make 140 in 25 overs or less.

The batting order was changed with the skip and Ravi going in to start the innings. Ravi looked like he wanted to finish the innings in 10 overs. The first three Ashman overs saw Ravi taking 30 runs off him, with the brand new ball disappearing onto the KCC Coffee Shop roof. Ravi hit 41 runs in only 24 balls and when he got out playing a ball into Steve Atkinson's lap at deep square leg (he came on as a sub) the damage had been done. The skipper took over from Ravi and, with Triputi running into some sort of ominous batting form, finished the innings in 23.2 overs. Sharma 65 n.o., Nimkar 34 n.o.

It was great to see the Templars recording a very convincing victory. Brilliant all round display by the team.

At KCC: Templars 142-1 (R Sharma 65*, R Sujanani 41) beat Optimists 139 (A Ashman 33; J Khan 4-26, E Pereira 4-46) by 9 wkts

Infidels v. Scorpions at HKCC
Result: Infidels lost by 126 runs

Well this is definitely one that the boys will want to forget. All was not looking well when on Saturday evening the team was reduced to nine players due to the unavailability of two players at a late stage. Fortunately the ever-reliable Ray Brewster stepped in to once again to take the gloves. This bolstered the team number to 10. So far this season we have not been able to put out a full 11 and this will be one of the main aims in the matches leading up to Xmas.

So with only nine men at the start of play it was going to be a struggle to contain the Scorpions from the onset, with one notably small boundary as the most northern pitch had been prepared by the groundsman. What then followed was an excellent display of bowling by both Jim Cannell and Tiku Patidar. Both bowlers were placing the ball right on the spot and keeping the opening pair of Smart and Hollioke tied down. The Infidels bowling was helped by what I thought was the best fielding performance that the side has put in the last couple of years. Every ball that went to hand was surely taken and there were few misfields if any. Jim Cannell finished with figures of 11 overs two maidens 3/33 and Tiku finished with six overs two maidens 0/20. The change pair of Green and Tailor then put on a sound display of conservation bowling limiting the Scorpions during the middle portion of their innings. Jiggy particularly showed excellence with the ball, getting some good turn out of the wicket. He was definitely on target and had the side had an extra player his figures of 13 overs 4/74 would have been reduced by at least 25 runs and he no doubt would have taken a few extra wickets. Jiggy was also helped by the quick hands of Ray Brewster who snatched four stumpings.

With only ten men the effort to contain the Scorpions to 8/219 was great. The target also seemed well within the reach of a very strong batting line up. Or this is what we thought. As it turns out the majority of talent had been watered down the previous evening with the post match drinks from Saturday. To say that we looked mediocre is to give us to much credit. The first over looked promising with Damo hitting a cracking cut shot and a further boundary that was the promise of a fast paced knock. However facing the last ball of the over he succumbed to the whims of the pitch and in attempting a pull shot he had his off stump dislodged. Steady Eddie followed soon after somehow grafting the ball onto his stumps with his back foot. Muddy we thought for sure was in for a big one having struck a ton the day before and even though we had lost two quick wickets we weren't worried yet. Nick managed to knick one to the keeper shortly thereafter which I think nobody bar himself heard the contact with the bat. An Australian definitely wouldn't have walked, but then again when do they.

Next to the crease strode Ray Brewster. He was full of confidence after taking four stumpings, but I was having none of it and saw that he was stranded mid crease with only one way to walk, being towards the pavilion. Sorry Ray. Jards fell soon after for four. The pitch played its part in my dismissal staying low and having me adjudged LBW trying to play a similar shot to Greenie off a far slower bowler. Tiku was able to knock up a respectable 20 being the last man to fall and see that the Infidels were all out for 93.

So in the wash up what did we learn. We certainly needed to just bat straight on a fairly even track that occasionally kept low. All that it would have taken was a couple of partnerships at a steady pace and the game should have been ours. In the field we were tremendous. No doubt about it. What I hope for is that it is still early season and this was our very bad game for the year.

At HKCC: Scropions 219-8 (Hollioke 76, T Smart 68; Taylor 4-79, J Cannell 3-33) beat Infidels 93 (Lalchandani 4-20) by 126 runs

Round 2 - 3rd October 1999

Infidels v. Dragons at KCC
Result: Infidels won by 203 runs

With eight out of the seventeen man squad away on various duties, including the captain being called out to fly to London the night befire the game, Messrs Jardine and Cannell finally were able to persuade 9 others that a third day of cricket in a row was still preferable to enduring the rigours of sleeping in on a Sunday morning. (Thanks again to Brewbags - I hope you find the new car soon - and the 'Third Degree' Burns for stepping in at the last moment - being transferred especially for the game and has been transferred back to Vagabonds.) We weren't the only ones suffering from early season shortages, however Captain Courageous Lethbridge was confronted with school exams rather than aching bodies and beer guts, and the Dragons, alias Colts, could only muster a compliment of 10 souls.

And so to commence playing on grass for the new season. Lethers won the toss (carried out in the changing room as both captains were unsure of their numbers and more unsure if their physical condition to have to keep going up and down stairs from the changing room) and after consultation with the senior pro 'Too Tall' Correa, elected to field on a hot, but thankfully breezy morning. 'Psych' Ward (nickname courtesy of Tazzie) declined the opportunity to open with Eames, so Green stepped into the breech again, with his third bat in as many days. Mis-timing, missed sleep and miscellaneous extras saw Infidels prosper, with Green increasingly resembling a man with terminal piles than an 'ex-semi-pro' (read into that what you will). He finally succumbed to the pace of 'Too Tall' Correa (off three paces) for 54, bringing his excellent tally for the weekend to just short of 250 runs (Rahul and Steads watch out). He was replaced with Teeks, who again showed how little timing can get you many runs by top edging a number of pulls/hooks for six (one actually came off the middle of the back of the bat - the only thing he timed all day). Steads finally had enough of the nagging stuff from 'Too Tall' and preceded to catching practice on the leg side for the second time over the weekend, but this time short of his 50. In stepped debuntante Brad 'Hot' Tarr (by this time Tazzie was beside himself with the number of nicknames he was producing to the crowd's pleasure - all 5 of us), who, after an initially circumspect view of the bowling, opened up with his vast array of leg side shots, many off the bottom of the bat. Teeks, going for another swipe, provided yet another catch, but it was pleasing to see him past 50 and KCC can only hope that he may find the middle of the bat in the weeks to come (compasses are available from Lard, alias 'Jew Boy'). Worthy contributions from Mukesh 'Boots' Butani (Taz in heaven again), Ward and the 'Jigster' (somewhere between the Krebs Cycle and Osmo-regulation - mock A Level exam on Monday morning) saw us to a total of 310 for 6, with the 6 all caught. Not a bad total for the batting line up, with Messrs Brewbags and Lard waiting in the wings at numbers nine and ten respectively.

The Dragons innings did not start well and 'Fu' Cannell took an early toll on the opposition. Some respectability and control of the innings was brought back by 'Too Tall' Correa, who obviously is thriving in being 'Uncle Tony II', three feet above the rest. Some impressive shots (not seen at all at the end of last season) came from his favourite weapon (he is nurturing a new wand) and it was good to see his hunger for the game had seemingly returned. The Jigster by this time had been brought on by the Captain, who thought a long spell would concentrate the mind and help with those long chain hydrocarbons that would be required the morning after. He bowled unchanged from the KBGC end and was unlucky only to pick up one scalp (cranial hairpiece for the more biologically minded).

An intervening short heavy shower after 13 overs produced on resumption a popping wicket and it was alarming to see the top of the wicket disintegrate during the first game of the season. Gentlemen, many helmets and arm guards may be required over the coming weeks and Captains may want to have the St Johns Ambulance on standby for the LSW and the Pakistan Association. With a short interlude from 'Third Degree' Burns, associated with a few smacks to the boundary, Fu Cannell bought about the demise of 'Too Tall' and the beginning of the end for the Dragons. Only Captain Courageous (Uncle Tony I) played with any sought of authority and hit two pleasing off side cover drives for four, which had the Crusaders players on both sides inquiring what shop he had purchased those shots from in the close season. Fu finished with six out of the nine wickets on offer and still looked fresh after his 12.3 overs.

Of pleasing note for all cricketers at the Club was the performance of the U19 Colts. Their enthusiasm for the game was extremely good to see - the old buggers on the other side couldn't move by the end of the game. Their out fielding was excellent and better than many of the Sunday sides (they took four good catches), they have some good bowling potential (watch out for Mr Uyangoda - Tazzie nickname 'Uganda'' Lard's nickname 'Idi') and they will have better days with the bat. Credit must go to the two senior pros Messrs Lethbridge and Correa who marshalled well their young chargers and should be admired by all players and cricket followers for the job they are trying to do. Lastly, thanks to Shiroy for standing for the entire game after an energy-sapping hockey game, no breakfast, and a sprint from Mission Road after being gersumped by another for the Templars v. LSW clash. Also thanks to Jim Middleton, who has also followed Swifty into the annuals of the Hong Kong Cricket Umpires Association in officiating two Sunday League games on the same day.

At KCC: Infidels 310-6 (D Green 54, M Eames 45, T Patidar 58, B Tarr 47; A Correa 3-68, D Chaudhuri 3-63) beat Dragons 107 (A Correa 33; J Cannell 6-43) by 203 runs

Templars v. Pakistan Association at Mission Road
Result: Templars lost by seven wickets

Rain Gods spoil what might have been.

We won the toss on a cool Sunday morning and elected to bat. Always thought that the Pakistani's were never terribly good at chasing.

Our usual opening pair of Triputi Nimkar and the skipper opened the innings against what we thought was a depleted bowling attack, Khalid and Salim Malik, with Zubair having transfered to LSW. In less than two overs we were 4 for 2, with both the openers back in the pavilion, Triputi was yorked by Khalid and the skip played a rash shot to wide delivery from Malik. Ravi Sujanani and TR got together and started building the innings. TR played an absolutely peach of a knock, taking the fight to Khalid and Malik. What the Templars would have given for it to last just a little longer. Ravi was just beginning to time the ball when be played across one from Munir and was adjudged LBW. TR too played across the line only to scoop an easy catch to Malik at mid-on. At 70 for 4 we were soon at 85 for 6 with Jaideep Malhotra and Anurag Bhatnagar contributing negligible amounts to the score. It was here we saw the best partnership of the game develop between Erle Pereira and Templars débutante Amit Agarwal. They put on nearly 90 for the 7th wicket, slowly but steadily accumulating their runs in singles and two's. Special mention here for Erle who has come of age as a true batsman. Amit showed that he was a true fighter in a tight situation and weathered the short hostile stuff from Khalid with admirable display of technique and grit. Jamshed and Lama, towards the end of the innings hit some lusty blows to get us to 186.

We took the field with Lama and Jammy given the task of sharing the new ball. Both were ineffective on a slow wicket and the skipper was forced to introduce spin early. With Erle and the skip operating in tandem the Pakistani openers were put on the backfoot and the scoring dried up completely. Runs became a struggle for them, and in 19 overs they had managed only 43 runs when rain hit us. The Pakistani's were well behind the run rate required at this stage. Soon we were back on the rain-drenched ground with the umpire ruling that the ground and more importantly the wicket was good enough to play on. Well the playing conditions were not ideal to say the least. The ball was like soap; the run -up completely slippery and the wicket had retained water. Advantage Pakistan and they took full advantage of the conditions that only 15 minutes ago were against them. The skipper managed to get both the openers back in the pavilion bowled playing across the line. Number three Hashmi too succumbed in a similar fashion. But then Erle dropped what was a crucial caught-and-bowled chance off Salim Malik. But then with the ball not turning, no bounce, no pace in the wicket saw Wasim Imtiaz and Salim Malik playing an attacking array of shots and brining the Pakistan Association home with a couple of overs to spare.

Well played all.

At Mission Road: Pakistan Association 168-3 (revised target) (W Imtiaz 76; R Sharma 3-48) beat Templars 186 (TR Kalyanaraman 45; K Khan 3-42, M Hussain 3-22) by 7 wickets