Round 4

Crusaders v. Mainlanders

Tartars v. Kai Tak

Round 3

Crusaders v. Kai Tak

Tartars v. DBS

Round 2

Tartars v. Police

Crusaders v. Nomads

Round 1

Tartars v. Gap Ramblers

Saracens v. islanders

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Round 3

Infidels v. Yamano XI

Colts v. Vagabonds

Round 2

Templars v. Pakistan
Association

Infidels v. Optimists

Round 1

Templars v. Yamano XI

Colts v. Scorpions

Round 3 - 30th September 2001

Infidels v. Yamano XI at KCC
Result: Infidels lost by 13 runs

NB. - The result of this match was later reversed by the MDC after ruling that slow bowling by the Yamano XI had adversely affected Infidels ability to reach the total. The last 5 overs of the Infidels innings, bowled after 5:20PM were voided and at the 45 over mark, Infidels held a superior run-rate, so they were declared the winners.

Don was early. All hail to the great man for this impressive lack of lateness. A revision of his nickname is on the cards if he can be early more often. We had BOB who is yet to be named but is F@#$%^&* marvellous. Imran was switched off. Green was unfathomably pathetic in the field but we had BOB. Willo opened impressively but some wayward stuff from Imran and Toby meant we let them get away early. The middle session was great with the much maligned owner of 2 wives coming to the fore in the field and with the ball.

Don is not a good fielder very often. He also shares with his skipper a lack of athleticism. Some may say he doesnt always read the game very well and this was certainly the case when a ball was cut to him at point. It was a ball that Jack Hill the blind miner could tell you was always going to spin away from him. But Jack Hill forgot to tell Don. As he set off in pursuit his skipper was heard to mutter something about schoolboy cricket but Don had got up early and Don was with it. Don threw on the turn as Malik to his peril had taken Don for granted. Bullseye!!!! "You will do me any day Don" said the skipper. Don gets a lot of mentions in my reports and I will say unashamedly that I love the man. Sadly I am third in line for his affections as if you don't already know Don has a couple of wives stashed away. He bowled beautifully and cut a swathe through the middle order. With the help of Ravi Nicky and Roy we pegged them back manfully.

Bob took a catch that you had to see to believe. Picture Shiroy at one of those all-you-can eat shindigs. Imagine how he would attack it if he knew the minutes remaining were single in their digit. Bob had eyes only for the ball and no thought was given to personal comfort or safety. Take a bow Bob. Among their other off season signings or should I say purchases The Yamanos found a guy hawking tailored socks just back of Nathan Road and it turns out that the tailor can bat and he manufactured 55 off the last 5 overs which turned a very gettable 220 into a competitive 257.

Eames and Waters got us away. Waters was a different man. He was positive and he was focused and he can proudly let his mum read this report. He did however bail out to an injudicious one. Green is out of sorts and although he managed to put on 60 with the sleeping veteran it was hardly vintage stuff. The bowling was as good as it gets in this neck of the woods but thanks to Eames we were never far from the mark. Roy is second only to Don in the skippers roll of honour as he continues to perform. He just needs a big score and Don's elevated status may be under threat although Roy's lack of even the one wife will always count against him. Eames fell for 65. Toby came and went bang bang and then went. Ravi was steadfast but the equation got away from us. Jardine and Williams took them on but the bowling was of a high quality and we finally fell a few short. The top 6 all got starts but only Eames and Ravi were there long enough to have an impact. Disappointing was the ridiculous over rate of The Yamanos and the incessant dribble that comes from the mouth of Dev and the other 8 captains. "Too many chiefs" I say. We lost yes we did. But Don was early and Bob was unearthed. I am unsure of Bobs marital situation but in the event that he is more than once wived then we are surely in the company of another great.

At KCC: Yamano XI 257-9 (M Ahmed 50, S Malik 69, F Mohammed 36*; D Mohammed 4-40) beat Infidels 244-8 (N Waters 39, M Eames 65, R Lamsam 34, R Sujanani 30*; M Dar 3-66) by 13 runs.

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KCC Colts v. Vagabonds at Mission Road
Colts lost by 9 wickets

No report received.

At Mission Road: Vagabonds 122-1(H Butt 67*, T Graban 41*) beat Colts 121 (H Butt 4-39, M Bulusu 5-39) by 9 wickets.

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Round 2 - 23rd September 2001

Templars v. Pakistan Association at KCC
Result: Templars won by 23 runs

No report received.

At KCC: Templars 268-7 (R Sharma 63, S Lama 34*, TR Kalyanaraman 73) beat Pakistan Association 245-9 (A Amdani 45, M Ali 44, R Ali 52, K Hussain 36*) by 23 runs.

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Infidels v. Optimists at Mission Road
Result: Infidels won by 2 wickets

Don was late. A mixture of emotions flooded my system as the new season was finally upon us. The strongest emotion was frustration as Don was late but it was his arrival that served to ease the frustration and I was first confused then amused by Don's work for the rest of the day.

I am a teacher and thus am used to any number of cap-in-hand excuses for tardiness. Recently I put it to Napolean Chan of Form 3A " Napolean, where is your homework ?" floored and flabbergasted I was by his swift rejoinder " I am absent Mr Green". The point is I should be ready for anything but Don still managed to leave his mark. " Where have you been Don?" I said. Audaciously and innocently came the reply from Don " I thought it was yesterday".

Don bowled quite well and struck a vital blow in dismissing a rampaging Brew. He did not bat and neither did he do what most other people do when waiting to bat. While others umpire score cheer urge groan (in the case of The Waters schemozzle) etc.... Don went into the far reaches of Tin Kwon DO and with one of his hoodlum buddies he assembled a kite and then without so much as a by your leave he let it loose for a thorough workout in the skies over Mongkok.

Don is one of the few Infidels without a nickname. The original rule for nicknames was that the last sound had to be DEL eg wadDEL (Green) MudDEL (Waters). I am making an exception for Don as I have believe Don is exceptional. Don will be henceforth known as DELinquent. Having laid bare my thoughts of Don I will say on a positive note that he is in possession of 2 wives and a personal masseuse.

Dave BefudDEL Arthur filled in for DELinquent and proved to me the most spectacularly dressed cricketer in the long and proud history of The DELs. We started well. TrunDEL (Farcy) and BunDEL (Baker) were accurate and penetrating but at the same time the menace of Brew loomed large. FonDEL (White ) NooDEL (Roy ) and CanDEL (Ravi) all bowled well and it was FonDEL who tickled the stump of Roxburgh causing his ejection. BunDEL and TrunDEL were reintroduced and both took wickets and kept the rate in check. On the stroke of drinks DELinquent got Brew to a top catch by The CanDEL and we went in cockahoop.

The fielding had been excellent until MudDEL (Waters) in consecutive overs circumnavigated 2 half hit sweeps and then kicked the first and ushered the second to the boundary. While all this was happening MudDEL took 3 wickets 2 of which were courtesy of KneeDEL (Eames) of the deep. The Optimists stuttered to 219 and we left qite satisfied. A bright start between RidDEL (Heild) and KneeDEL was just what Doctor Arthur ordered. WadDEL (Green) came in at the loss of RidDEL. And WadDEL went...ashamed and in pain having not threatened the ink in CudDEL's (Jenny) pen. The NooDEL breezed to 40 before getting a dodgy LB. The CanDEL gave 3 chances in his 10 minute stay. The KneeDEL soldiered on.

MudDEL's arrival muddied the Waters a little. Until this stage the discussion in the shed was in which over we might get past the score. By the time the mercy rule was invoked and Booth accepted the catch thankfully (for us) we had changed the question. It was not a matter of what over but rather what day. MudDEL impersonated a drunk butterfly catcher with a twitch as he waved paddled swatted and fished at balls outrageously close to his stumps. KneeDEL soldiered on.

FonDEL didn't hit the button and the jitters had set in. PudDEL (Brewster) was out of sorts and out of action (or so we thought) when judged LB and then graciously recalled in what was a monumental example of sportsmanship which provided food for discussion in the bar. PudDEL did not make them pay. KneeDEL needed a shot as heat and cramp took the toll but BunDEL was cool when needed and belligerent when required and after KneeDEL perished TrunDEL joined to get us over the line.

A great knock by KneeDEL but realistic support came only from NooDEL and BunDEL. A better effort from a couple of senior batsmen will be needed if we are to maintain our unbeaten run. Great to see 3 members of the squad turn up to support. A sure sign of a good season.

Enough of cricket now to matters of the heart. RidDEL was married in the off season. Well done. FonDEL is to wed in January. Fair play to him. Don has 2 wives. Bravo Don. But the question raised by this columnist is Which Del is next. Recently 4 DELs have been sighted in the throes of serious relationships and the book is open to who will tie first. Will it be:

• MoDEL ( Williams ) and DELovely ( Helen ) 6 to 1
• GrumBEL (Jards ) and DELicious (Brigid) 5 to 4
• TrunDEL and DELectable (July) 12 to1
• MudDEL and DELuded (Audrey) name your own price.

At Mission Road: Infidels 220-8 (M Eames 100, R Lamsam 38) beat Optimists 219-9 (S Brew 93; N Waters 3-17) by 2 wickets.

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Round 1 - 16th September 2001

Templars v. Yamano XI at KCC
Result: Templars won by 238 runs

It was a usual start to the season with most key players either traveling or not having returned from the summer break. The skipper for the season, Anurag Bhatnagar, ace fast bowler Faizi Khan, "top wannaby batsman" Erle Periera, and "trophy winning captain" TR were not available, and as such the Templars went in with a very weak, but enthusiastic side. Sher Lama was given the task of leading the side, and one thing he did right was to win the toss. It was a very hot and humid day, and the last thing the side wanted was people chasing leather and fainting from heat exhaustion, given there were two cases reported the previous day from PTS.

The batting order was sorted so that Rahul could come in at 4 instead of opening the innings. Vijay "Goldman Sachs" Karnani volunteered to open, though his eyes were hardly open. He was awake a ball later from the very musical sound of a Khalid Khan delivery shatterring his leg stump. Jaideep "Scarface" Malhotra went in at 1 for 1 and came back at 1 for 2 with his leg stump too being sent for a walk by a quick Khalid Khan delivery. Khalid Khan had been "signed on" by Yamano for a rumoured HK$30,000, repotedly the first deal of its kind in Hong Kong cricket. Rahul went in at 4 and thwarted the hat-trick by despatching the first ball to the square leg fence. Slowly but surely Anup and Rahul set about repairing the innings. With the introduction of spin, Anup and Rahul both opened out and the run-rate picked up. They put on 110 runs before Anup was out to a smart catch in the covers of Jawaid Iqbal. The Hong Kong spinner was plugging away, keeping the run rate down under four an over. Sher Lama did not last long, stumped of the slow left arm spin of Munir. At 135 for 3 of 34 overs, Rahul found good support from Aftab Ahmad. Aftab is usually know for smashing the ball around the park, but on this occasion he defended well and only hit the ball that landed in his arc. He was severe on Jawaid prompting Devang Shah the very vocall opposition skipper to reintroduce Khalid. A big mistake. Rahul had by now settled in and was stroking the ball well. He took to Khalid and smashed him all over the park that left the big fast bowler shaking his head in disgust. Once past his hundred Rahul played only 18 more balls to get to 147. He and Aftab put on 105 runs for the fifth wicket. With Khalid bowling 9 ball overs Yamano Friend were penalised 5 overs and they needed 284 to win in 45 overs. Not too hard an ask, given their batting strength. Please note that, the newly signed Khalid Khan finished with figures of 2 for 107 of 13 overs, just a wee bit expensive.

But, the Templars had something different in store. The new ball was given to Templars debutant Sanjay Kumar. With his very first ball he had the opening batsman brilliantly caught at point by the pint-sized Azam Ahmad, two balls later the fresh Under 19 import from Mumbai was sent packing, caught behind. Lama, with his fourth ball of his first over sent Tari Mohammed's off-stump for a walk. With the dangerous Amjad Mehmood still around and Shari Ahmad at the other end, Templars were still facing an uphill task. But Sanjay changed that with the very first ball of his second over, with Amjad Mehmood nicking one to first slip for Rahul to take a smart catch. Jawaid Iqbal came to the crease and two balls later was dropped at point by Azam, did not matter, as in his next over Sanjay tempted him with a bouncer only for Vijay Karnani to take an excellent running catch at backward square leg. Lama from the other end accounted for the other danger man Shari Ahmad, trapping him front. At 7 for 7 in 8 overs, it was all over for last years Sunday League runners-up. They were all out for 45, not before Lama picked 5, Sanjay 4 and Jaideep Malhotra, took a high spinning catch at point, that too with his dark glasses on, unbelievable...well for that matter, so was the entire match.

Great start to the season for Templars. Well done everyone.

At Mission Road, Templars 283-8 (A Nainani 41, R Sharma 147, A Ahmed 35; D Shah 4-45) beat Yamano XI 45 (S Lama 5-24, Sanjay 4-4) by 238 runs.

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KCC Colts v. Scorpions at KCC
Result: Colts lost by 9 wickets

No report received.

At KCC: Scorpions 121-1 in 15 overs (K Hawthorn 36, T Smart 51 not out) beat KCC Colts 119 (A Smith 4-20) by 9 wickets.

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