Welcome back to the chronicle of the triumph of hope over expectation. Tuesday brought a new sense of belief to the team as our latest ringer, Phil the Kiwi potato farmer, joined the ranks –this promised to add some fire power to all facets of our game.
The day started once again with a quest to locate the rest of the team. Phone calls went through to voicemail and text messages remained unanswered. More by luck than judgement we gathered for lunch by the pool at D2 and learned of Dicky’s experiences that morning with a bath full of yoghurt. Chas and Nige had opted to avail of the services of the blind masseuses in the north of the city, which constituted an hour of pummelling and plenty of yelps of anguish. All this in the cause of being able to raise the bowling arm above shoulder height…. Millers meanwhile had been on a recce to check out the Mandarin Oriental and returned to report that this is, without doubt, the most ostentatious hotel in the world.
Lunch was followed by a trip to the music hire shop and a brief but ultimately futile negotiation for the hire of drums guitars and sound system. The planned jamming session was therefore postponed pending further discussions and maybe a one-off for Friday night.
Next stop was the Gymkhana Club, and preparations for the next match. Things did not start too well as Nige marched up to the wrong tent and introduced himself to the MayThais, notwithstanding the fact that we were not due to play them until Wednesday. On the plus side, we were pleased to welcome Rasta to our tent, having successfully avoided the dog police on the way in. The atmosphere was undoubtedly subdued in the SBCC marquee, due partly to the wish to avoid being talked at by the stuck record that is Dunners, but also because the UN Irish Pub, our immediate neighbours to our right, were conducting a full-on fining session that was ultimately to get through eight bottles of vodka accompanied by an ever-increasing noise level.
The Irish lads, Mark and Chris, were particularly quiet due to their 7am finish after a night at Jackie’s Van, although Chris chose to point the finger of blame at Dicky for introducing the concept of the Gin and Tonic with a G&T chaser. Slowly, the cobwebs were swept aside and eventually there was a move to the nets to limber up for the game ahead. Hope was riding high on the form of Phil, and it was with some nervousness that we watched his first delivery miss the nets completely and disappear into the stream at the back of the club. Nige meanwhile continued to direct the ball in every direction except that of the stumps, and it took the intervention of our friend John from the Wombats to suggest bowling round the wicket, which actually seemed to improve things considerably. Dicky had agreed to hand over the gloves to Matt for the day so took the opportunity to get his eye in with the ball, and when Phil went in for a bat we realised we had a proper cricketer in our midst’s.
The inviolate sanctity of the draw took another pounding as the names came out in a remarkably similar order to those of the previous day, with Matt & Dicky first out of the hat, followed by Chas, Nige and Chris with Phil bringing up the rear. It was quickly agreed to use this as the bowling order and bat through the list form the bottom up.
Nige and Phil set off around the boundary to meet the Gymkhana Cavaliers (we had finally managed to find out who we were playing), and stopped off along the way to pick up some beers to try and bribe them into agreeing to let us bat first. The bribe swiftly disappeared into the Cavaliers’ coolbox, much to the consternation of the SBCC, and matters turned to the toss. The old adage “tails never fails” is proving less reliable as each day passes, and with Nige making it three lost tosses out of three, the SBCC were sent into the field.
And so to the action. Dicky paced out his run and launched into his first over of the tournament. The rustiness was undoubtedly there as two consecutive wides lulled the batsman into a sense of security but then came the Jaffa! Looping in, and yorking the batsman on the second bounce, it was the death rattle and only the second SBCC wicket in the competition! Hopes were sky high at this stage, but a further wide introduced a reality check into proceedings, and the over ended with the Cavaliers on 14 for one.
Fresh from his treatment at the hands of the blind masseuses, Chas prepared to bowl the second over, conscious no doubt that he was the teams most penetrative bowler to date and recognising the need to make further inroads. Sadly, today was not to be his day, which we should maybe have expected based on the grunts of pain that accompanied each delivery he bowled in the nets, and the only “w”s in the scorebook were to be the two wides. Nige was next up with his new round the wicket action which can only be described as a qualified success at best – a couple of straight deliveries, but two wides as well, including the cardinal sin of a wide on the last ball which gave the Cavaliers an extra delivery.
Finally it was the turn of the ringers. Chris took the next over but sadly the effects of Jackie’s Van were still in evidence, and he will no doubt be disappointed with the 4 wides that kept the Cavaliers score heading north. Phil completed proceedings with a mixed bag that carries some promise for the matches to follow. A milestone, however, had been reached as the Cavaliers score was inflated by the substantial contribution of 52 extras. This was impressive enough for the commentator to remark on it over the PA, breaking off from his much appreciated plugs for Tuskers Bar.
The run chase, therefore was 84 to win, and all hopes rested on the shoulders of Phil and Chris, since the tail began with Nige at three. And there was plenty to cheer, as the two big men set about their task with great intent. Suddenly the SBCC discovered the art of scoring boundaries, with Chris hitting two more sixes to add to his one from Sunday, and Phil crossing the rope regularly. The run-rate ultimately proved too big an ask, but Phil signed off the innings in great style by launching a monumental six over midwicket to get us to 67 without loss – 32 to Phil and 22 to Chris. We had outscored the Cavaliers off the bat, but fallen victim once again to our inability to bowl straight. The loss of no wickets, however, earned us a bonus point – our first of the tournament!
