Saturday Arvos v. Sunday Morners, Sunday 6th May 2001

The Sunday Morners (your friendly social tennis group) decided to have a go at pitting their skills against the KCC cricketers and their wives/girlfriends/daughters, and thus a match was arranged for the 6th of May.

For many Morners it was a kind of introduction to the game but they all plunged in with great enthusiasm once Nickie set the ball rolling. The captain, David, and some other blokes like Sanjay, Vishwa, Ted and Colin organised 3 net sessions in all and the ladies turned out in full to get a feel of pad-encased leg before wicket. The Morners were taking this seriously and even practiced catching the ball till their palms turned purple. By the end there was a general consensus that the Saturday Arvos were in for a surprise.

Sunday dawned bright and hot and the cricket field was sprinkled with roughly 20 orange- shirted fielders. The Morners, in bright green, batted first and Maki and Vishwa opened the batting amidst loud applause. Ted Attwater was dressed in appropriate umpire attire; white nurses gown and very little underneath, but did his job well by ignoring the overstepping and wides.

The score at the end read 168 and considering that the men had to bat one-handed (a feat some of them managed with aplomb) it was a good score to set the opponents, who opened the batting with former COC Bharat Gohel and Daphne. Bharat batted manfully and it could only have been the pressure of chasing such a formidable target that prompted him to use both hands and hit a six. In fact the Arvos belted out a few more of such two-handed sixes but we’ll ignore that in the name of good sportsmanship. Having said that, Simon Scanlan enthralled with his lusty drives and what seemed to be an unbelievably powerful pull shot over the ropes, all done scrupulously with one hand as far as we could see.

In the previous innings the Arvos had fielded with remarkable dexterity and had unfortunately seen many a ball trickle away for a boundary despite fleet footed fielders like Ravi desperately giving chase. Catches were dropped regularly and the bails remained largely undisturbed.

The Morners had a relatively easier time fielding, considering the sun was not at its zenith by that time. The fielding standards were as high as the Arvos’ had been, but mention must be made of Colin’s blinder of a catch behind the stumps and Gerry’s sterling wicket keeping. Andy’s left- handed catch at short mid-on was another beauty. Pierre and Rego were outstanding at the boundary and their spectacular efforts went a long way in making the Morners feel they’d put up a reasonably good show on the field.

The day’s fun and games ended with a bbq at the poolside and it gave the two sides a chance to sit down together and get to know each other better. David, Julie and Simon very kindly provided the live music, which has to go down as one of the best in town. The captain of the opposing team, Burji Shroff, made a stirring speech and presented the beautiful trophy to David. The whole effort (special thanks to Nickie for organising it all so well) was such a success that the Morners are now planning to invite the Arvos for a return match of tennis, with details still to be finalised.

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Cricket in a Kimono

I am a Japanese woman, born and brought up in Tokyo, but living in Hong Kong for over 20 years.

I love sports since my childhood: nothing super standard but I have experienced many sports in my life; catch ball, dodge ball, softball, swimming, high jump, 80 meter Hurdles, 9 players Volleyball (old-style), basketball and finally tennis from the age of 18 until now.

But I had never seen cricket in Japan or any of the other countries I flew to as a former airhostess. My Australian husband is not a cricketer, but he enjoys watching the game on some weekends at the Kowloon Cricket Club. I used to accompany him and his friends for half an hour or so and I learned that cricket has only one innings (baseball term for batting time) each, and therefore if a batsman is out he has no more chances. This part of the format somehow discouraged me to learn further and get into the sport.

One night, when we were playing bridge in the bar the big screen was pulled down and a big crowd gathered to watch a live telecast of a cricket match. It was India against Australia. I joined in and soon became even more excited than some of the keen expert fans. The reason was because I saw Sachin (of India, needless to say) bat for the first time. It was his day and if I remember correctly he scored a 100. I was fascinated by this short, chubby, heavily built guy whose name it was easy for me to remember as in Japan we have a similar name for a girl, Sachi or Sachiko (meaning Fortune).

He was hitting the ball hard all over the place; in the air, on the ground, forward, backward, left and right. He bent down so well to control the hitting of the ball. His movement was a constant smooth flow, over and over, yet with endless variety. Gee… it was not like anybody's style I had seen and I thought it was the Art of Sport. That day his name was noted in my brain and his style of batting was saved in my memory box. Later, just to show my admiration, I imitated his batting to my friends.

Then one day I got the chance to play real cricket in our club. I am in the tennis league and for fun, we decided to have a match against the KCC cricketers. I managed to attend 2 out of the 3 practice sessions, or 'nets' and we novices got a feel of the game. Many of us found the ball far too hard to catch with bare hands, and we soon had several mini purple spots here and there on our palms and fingers. Luckily I had brought along lots of ice and it came in useful for the injuries. Then the bat was so heavy and the strange grip made it hard to control it. But somehow, eye on the ball, I soon managed to start hitting the balls which pitched in front of my body. I was advised not to bat like in baseball.

When I bowled, our coach said I was bending my elbows so it was illegal. It was so hard to keep my arm straight, but then I remembered one of the volleyball service styles and it worked! I was starting to enjoy myself very much and before pack up on our last net session I had one more treat in store. Two young men (I think they were Pakistani) from the Hong Kong cricket team came to practice. I asked one, 'Are you Sachin of Hong Kong?' He smiled and said ,'No, we are bowlers, Sachin is coming.' So I stayed to watch and Whaaao! How fast they bowled and how hard they hit the ball! It was almost frightening! Once the bowler ran full speed and slipped on the slippery turf, fell flat on his face, then got up as if nothing had happened and resumed bowling. This close-up demonstration was very exciting and informative.

Finally the Big Day arrived and our side batted first. I walked out to open the batting with a more experienced Indian batsman. I hit the first ball, heard someone yell 'Run!' and ran like hell. The heavy pads made me slip but I got up and ran like a woman with a mission. There was huge applause from the crowd. Sadly I could not hit a 4 but I did make 7 runs in all and I was proud of myself.

Fielding was more difficult as I was not used to standing in the sun for so long. Still, I managed to stop a few boundaries and was cheered wildly by my teammates. In the end we made 168 runs and were beaten by the opponents, as was to be expected. However, I never could imagine that in my life I would play cricket, never dreamed of being the opening batswoman and scoring runs. It was a very colourful and enjoyable introduction to this wonderful sport.

Life is Learning and full of Wonderful Surprises!

Cheers,

Japanese Sport Lover,
Maki

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Robbie Lee Trophy, 5th May 2001
Result: KCC lost by 5 wkts

This annual fixture is played between KCC and CCC and is in memory of Mr Lee, who served as President of both Clubs in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The match began with the ceremonial consumption of two jogs of Pimms. Whether this had any influence on the result is anybody's guess but ….. KCC won the toss and as none of the bowlers had arrived, elected to bat. An opening partnership of 57 from Burji Shroff and Travis Pittman (who had no time to quaff a Pimms or two) augured well. But with half team comprised of Saracens, the captain should have known better. Once Travis was out for a swift 37, Burji was forced to drop anchor and consolidate as wickets fell all around him, eventually being forced to retire for a well compiled 51. Of the other "batsmen", only Dave Arthur (23) managed to break 20 and with the assistance of Bharat Gohel put on 30 for the sixth wicket. All out for 167 on a good grass wicket - not too promising.

For the visitors, evergreen Bob Fotheringham took 4 for 22, Steve Weatherley 2 for 29 and that well-known hockey player, Roger Nissim 2 for 26.

The usual Saracens-style team talk followed at half-time. Do we want to win? Standard answer - not sure. I've got to leave early, the pool looks inviting, the red wine is getting too warm etc. Unfortunately, all our efforts in the sun (not helped by the usual dropped catches) were to no avail as CCC were never really troubled in getting such a low score. Mark Eames, led from the front, and hit an effortless before retiring on 51. Bob Fotheringham rode his luck and stroked an unbeaten 45 and tried hard to run out Doug Jones, who ended up with 21. Eight KCC bowlers were used including the new spin-twins, Shiroy Vachha and Burji Shroff. Only Steve Wilson with 2 for 10 made any impact.

At the conclusion of the game, KCC Captain of Cricket Burji Shroff presented the CCC captain, John Freeman, with a Club Shield as this was his final cricket match in HK after 27 years. John has been an ever present on the cricket fields of HK and has been a major mover in keeping cricket alive at CCC including promoting the annual CCC 6s tournament.

My thanks go to all the players who took part and played the game in the right spirit. Also, to the evil umpire, Fahmy Jowharsha; Jenny Lethbridge, our scorer; Ah Kwong and the Club ground staff and catering team. Your efforts all contributed to a very pleasant afternoon and it certainly beats the office!

At KCC: CCC 168-5 (M Eames 51*, R Fotheringham 45*) beat KCC 167 (B Shroff 51, T Pittman 37; R Fotheringham 4-22) by 5 wkts

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Tony Gough Cup, 29th April 2001
Result: KCC lost by ??

Scorecard and match report yet available, but here are a couple of photos from the match.

 

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Fincher Shield, 29th April 2001
Result: KCC lost by 8 wkts

Scorecard and match report yet available.

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KCC/HKCC XI v. Marylebone CC, 10th April 2001
Result: MCC won by 96 runs

At KCC: MCC 270-8 (B Debenham 104, A Dodemaide 55*; C Williams 2-43, R Nuttall 2-4) beat KCC/HKCC XI 174-9 (R Nuttall 39; S Ball 3-29, A Dodemaide 2-25, R Cooke 2-44) by 96 runs

[Full Scorecard]

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British Embassy Tokyo Visit, 23-24 March 2001

Cricket in Japan has been played on an organised basis since 1868 when the Yokohama Cricket Club was founded. In the 1880’s an annual inter-port cricket match was established between the expatriates living in Yokohama, in the east and the port of Kobe, 400 miles to the west. Over time other sports were added and the cricket match continued to be played, apart from war years, until 1962, when Kobe’s decline as a centre for overseas trade led to a decline in expatriate residents.

In 1982, the annual cricket fixture between the two clubs was re-established and to the surprise of the Yokohama contingent ( in 1912, the Y.C.C. had been re-named the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club when it moved to a free-hold site above the city where it remains today with its extensive club house and all round sports facilities), Kobe fielded five Japanese players in their XI, who in their excitement, had attracted three television news crews which came to cover the game.

Since 1982, cricket development has never looked back. For decades, the Y.C.A.C. had been playing friendly matches against the various foreign communities, the embassies and trading houses, but the last twenty years has seen the gradual development of various, though separate, leagues for the foreign and Japanese communities (teams are fed by the leading Japanese universities which formed student clubs in the 1980’s under the enthusiastic leadership of Professor Yamada from Kobe who caught the cricket “bug” after a trip to the UK in 1975…the first year of the World Cup).

British Embassy C.C. are members of the Kanto (eastern Japan) league. Like all of the clubs, except for Y.CA.C. and Fuji C.C., they are an independent, “wandering” team. From next year when several leagues plan to combine, they will join the second division of the national league when Japanese, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Indian, and other club teams from all over the country will come together for the first time to compete at national league level. Standards of play will, no doubt, continue to rise, as will the time spent travelling enormous distances, when frequent trips to cities such as Fuji, Osaka and Maebashi from Tokyo will involve yet more 300 to 600 mile round trips.

FRIDAY MARCH 23: KCC XI vs BRITISH EMBASSY, TOKYO

EMBASSY: 192-5 off 35 overs (Charles O’Brian 1-18, Lal 2-23, Brett Kininmont 72, Tom Goodwin 73)

KCC XI: 189-10 off 34.3 overs (Kininmont 3-23, Gilhooly 2-28, Steve Wilson 46, Lal 36, Rob Wilkins 27)
Result: Embassy won by 4 runs.

After losing 2 wickets for 10 runs, the Embassy pair Goodwin and Kininmont put on 163 for the third wicket as KCC used eight bowlers to try to achieve a breakthrough following tight opening spells by O ‘ Brian and Lal . Not until Steve Wilson was brought on and Lal returned to the attack did the Embassy batting come under pressure.

When KCC went into bat needing a relatively modest five and a half runs per over strike rate, the club lost Mukesh Butani early for 3 as Steve Wilson built up a solid foundation for the team’s innings with an excellent 46. When the dependable Lal was out for a solid 36, KCC needed 58 to win off 10 overs with 5 wickets in hand. With wickets falling steadily KCC were “eight down” in the 28th over needing 20 to win.

Wilkins and Azeem batted steadily while O’ Brian sat looking menacing in the pavilion with his pads on. With just 9 balls left and with 4 to win Wilkins was caught by Creak “over his shoulder” at mid wicket going for the winning runs. This left O’ Brian the task of hitting the winning runs. As Azeem played out the last two balls of the 24th over, Charles faced the best bowler in the match, Rob. Gilhooly. After two gallant attempts, with the field brought in to defend the unlikely stolen singles, Charles struck a beautifully-timed shot for the winner – but for the body of Creak, yet again, who, unable to avoid the catch close in, clung on to the ball and won the game for the visitors by 4 runs.

SATURDAY MARCH 24: KCC XI vs BRITISH EMBASSY, TOKYO

KCC XI: 189-7 off 35 overs (Wilson 68, Johnson 38, Wilkins 33 not out, Franklin 2-59)
EMBASSY: 190-5 off 32.3 overs (Bridge 74, Kininmont 39, Creak 28 not out, Wilosn 2-48).
Result: Embassy won by 5 wickets.

Wilson and Wilkins joined nine players unaffected by the previous night’s after-match activities to form the next club team to take on the tourists in the two match series.

Short of regular bowlers the C.O.C., Burji Shroff, elected to bat first in another 35 over contest.

Against accurate bowling the KCC XI was only just into the 70’s at the halfway drinks interval for only two wickets lost. With Wilson giving good support, Johnson, coming in at number 4 in the 16th over when the score was 53, raised the pace with 38 in just 5 overs at the crease, falling at 109.. Wilson then took the score to 142 when he was fifth out for 68 in the 26th over.

Wilkins came in at number 7 and helped take the score from 142 to 189 in the last 9 overs with 33 not out runs, supported by Mycroft and Club President, Mike Kennedy.

Finishing on 189-7 in 35 overs, it was clear that the club’s total was going to be a difficult total to defend, given the evidence of the previous day and the fact that the club had gone into the match with a weaker bowling attack than twenty-four hours earlier.

That proved to be the case. Though wickets fell at 27 and 57, the Embassy was always ahead of the run rate. Butani Senior bowled very accurately in his long ten over opening bowler spell, taking 1-38. Once he was out of the attack KCC found containing the Embassy run flow more difficult to contend with.

Bridge scored a determined 74 before he skied a catch off Wilson and third out when the score was 129. By that time it was too late.

The Embassy cruised another victory by 5 wickets with 2.3 overs to spare to take the series 2-0.

Though the KCC lost the series, the games were well fought and were played in the right spirit. Everyone enjoyed the after-match fare and the chance to talk cricket with fellow enthusiasts from another country.

As usual all the participants were grateful for the support of the club and its staff for setting up all the facilities.

And, a particular vote of thanks to Hon. Sec. Cricket Section, David Arthur, for making all the arrangements for the match and teams and to the COC and the cricket section committee for being so supportive.

Finally, thanks to the Embassy team for coming all this way. In my book, you would be welcome any time.

- Robert Wilkins