It was with nervous anticipation when 1:30 pm ticked past, and DCC only had half the team present at the “suggested” meeting time. The ICC official already putting us on notice for a 5 pm finished, quickly renegotiated to 5:30pm by the present audience. The toss was performed in the middle, no negotiation to bat first being attempted, the toss was duly lost and the boys were fielding. DCC was in fortunate position to have 11 plus Watto (official scorer for the day – how I wished we had that for last Saturday’s night game!!).
The opening spell by Mike was only spoilt by 2 wides and streaky shots past 3rd man for 4. Dave was the initial destroyer claiming 2 wickets in his 2nd over. The father & son tag team saw Rohan take a maiden wicket over in his first followed by a 2rd wicket in his second. The run rate was kept very slow, wickets kept falling, enter Ieuan “Terminator” Carney who proceeded to bowl a first delivery he would rather forget, in swinging beamer shoulder height and following the retreating new batsmen, with a slight dip to connect with the batsman’s glove edge just below the chin, latter needing to retire and attend A&E for his injured pinky (Our thoughts are on his well-being). The eventful over also saw the new batsman miss a straight delivery avoiding all forms of available protection and connecting with the “Box”. This was followed by spin bowling, Stu making a great start conceding only 5 but not wanting to catch balls hit gently back to him twice in the over; this was followed by Ollie conceding 3 plus one wide. Essentially the bowling was tight, drinks being taken after 9 overs with the Oysters Catchers sitting on 40 runs for 5 wickets. This is where Ashley’s’ renegotiation skills came to the fore explaining to all in the change room we need to make a game of it etc… and so the “bookie John” effect took hold. Overs 10 and 11 saw the Oysters put on 33 off Stu (12runs) and Olly (21 runs). Enough said. Digby (1 wicket) and Callum (3 wickets) had great spells with equally great fielding by DCC – catches taken and run out effected from mid-off with a direct hit). The last 2 wickets fell to Stu and Ollie leaving the Oyster Catchers on a modest 99 from 17.21 overs.
With a run rate of 5 per over, Captain Ash rearranged the batting line up to give all a chance to bat. I believe he succeeded in that goalJ. DCC opening with Ieuan and Rohan both getting off the mark and trying to play aggressive shots. The pitch was holding up slightly and lacked pace (emphasis made for Lee’s benefit). First wicket to go was Ieuan for 6 (13 balls) followed by Rohan for 9 (5 balls). This brought Lee and Ash to the crease with plenty of time to get ones eye in. This was taken very literally and reminiscent of “Alec Bannerman” (google the name J)
Lee was eventually out 0 (13 Balls). On the positive it was a 10 run partnership with Ash. Stu briefly joined Ash and departed for 0 (3 balls). Pottie joined Ash and proceeded to put on a 36 runs partnership with Ash before Pottie was catch at mid-on for 20 (25 balls). Digby came to partner Ash, with Ash being next to go attempting to march down the pitch to smack the ball over the ropes only to miss it and be stumped for 16 (33 balls). Dave partnered with Digby to put on 29 runs before Digby was out for 10 runs (11 balls) [DCC 96/7 after 14.2].No panic yet as we had wickets in hand. Mike hoping to hit the winning runs was quickly taking the long walk back being bowled for 0 (2 balls) [DCC96/8 after 14.4]. Callum confidently walked up to complete what Mike could not, however was caught and bowled for 0 (7 balls) [DCC 98/9 after 15.5]. Well thoughts went back to Ollie over where he conceded 21 runs (bookie John influence) was he in the right frame of mind – Panic !!!. Digby making a comment hopefully the wide’s will win the game J and that proved to be the case, with the winning runs courtesy of 4 wide’s down leg side leaving Dave on 13 runs not out off 12 Balls and Ollie 1 not out. Top Scorer for DCC was Mr. Wides with 28 for 16 overs.
In conclusion a great game played with true cricket spirit and won by DCC, eventually. The DCC discount at Kickers was appropriately utilised by both teams…..
See if you can spot the Beatles songs – a drink to the person who gets all 45!
The day before yesterday saw an experienced DCC side taking on a strong Abu Dhabi team who had booked in a wisely-timed fixture after a hard day’s night at the Annual Awards Night. The day trippers had made it to the ICC well before the bad boys from the night before had arrived at the ground, a worrying sign of things to come.
On a “bordering blustery day” there were even signs of rain before a shout of here comes the sun reverberated around the outfield as play commenced. Don’t ask me why but the dark glasses-wearing Dexy, looking a little weary, volunteered his services to open the batting with Harry, even though Ash had already told the story of how Dexy had been banned from further drinking after a grape juice altercation the previous evening. After a rousing speech by skipper Brown, ‘don’t let me down’ being the take home message, the pair strode out to the middle with the players back in the cheap seats shouting ‘you know what to do.’ After a glorious shot from Harry in the early overs, upper-cutting their quickie for four, the scoring rate started to slow down to a snail’s pace, due to some incredibly accurate bowling from the ADCC openers.
Dexy was eventually the first man out, adjudged caught behind from a lifting delivery that was athletically snaffled by the chirpy wicket keeper. Had the DRS been accepted by both captains the decision would have been overturned as it appeared to nick off a nipple rather than the inside edge, leaving the not guilty Dexy to berate the umpiring of Racchitt and offering to show him the bruise later! In went, Callum, some new DCC young blood on debut, whose first ball was a sharp bouncer that the Aussie decided to rebuff with his shoulder in true Steve Waugh style. However, this show of manliness was his only act of defiance as he was soon out LBW to the accurate inswingers of the ADCC captain. Harvey was in next as the score slowly trickled along, Harry nudging and nurdling it around to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The ADCC opening pair had bowled themselves out, and although the score was in the region of 40-2 the Darjeeling side, and especially the beautiful dreamer and birthday boy Cookie, thought that we can work it out and start flying towards a respectable total. This optimism, however, was short-lived as Harvey quickly departed, bringing captain Brown to the crease just as the Abu Dhabi bowlers were getting better and better, their 1st change pair not afraid to dig it in, leaving Harry searchin’ and with no reply. He seemed sure to fall, but now and then was able to rotate the strike and gradually push the score up towards 70 for 3. He was later heard in the bar saying that ‘all things must pass and that all I’ve got to do is see off the openers and then I’ll be on my way.’ In hindsight this may have been wishful thinking. Brown eventually broke up the minor partnership, after playing a few lusty strokes. He was caught out by a slower ball from the ever impressive Wilkinson, with every little thing going right for the fast bowler.
This brought Etienne to the crease, and in spite of all the danger, he and Harry were able to push the score towards the illusive hundred mark. After smashing a couple of meaty sixes that went long, long, long, the impressive South African departed bringing Racchitt to the wicket. He who said to himself that these bowlers ‘don’t bother me’ as he milked runs all around the ground. However, this was to be the end of the counter attack as he fell, followed quickly by Cook, hooking his second ball straight to deep square leg, as he trudged off thinking ‘I should have known better.’ Some final over scampering between the wickets, with shouts of ‘run for your life,’ ‘get back’ and ‘wait’ being heard all around the ground, left the innings at a below par 127 for 9 from 25 overs. After a Lombardi-esque speech from Brown at the halfway stage, ‘all together now’ being the take home message, the Darjeeling outfit knew that only an imperious bowling performance would leave them with anything to show from this match.
The ball was thrown straight to all-rounder and ADCC old boy, Etienne, for the opening over. The South African started with a tight first couple of overs, followed by a slightly looser set of twelve from new boy, Peacock, before the experienced Harvey was brought into the attack. However, although there were ferocious deliveries that kept the ADCC batsmen on their toes, they were able to accumulate runs at a canter and had quickly amassed 65 for the loss of only one wicket, massively helped by some shoddy fielding and some ‘come and get it’ bowling. Krish, Cookie and Racchitt all came into the attack, bowling some expert deliveries, Cookie especially landing a few balls on a matchbox, but the off-colour DCC side had very little to offer a far superior ADCC team.
Ash charged in to chance his arm and at least grab a couple of consolation wickets but not even his right arm mediums could help in this cause. The boundaries were coming here, there and everywhere and it wasn’t long before we were finally put out of our misery, the Darjeeling side glad all over.
Onwards to the next fixtures, a much improved all round performance needed to get back to winning ways. I’m sure it won’t be long!
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, DCC made a terrific start with both Nathan and Jono scoring freely in the powerplay. With the loss of Nathan (for a breezy 30) and the field spread for the slower bowlers the scoring slowed slightly in the middle overs. Jono and Dannie picked up ones and twos until an over of 22 broke the shackles.
When Dannie was finally out ( his final score being 32 for 5), it was left to Jono and the middle order (Ben/Raj) to see DCC to a very competitive score of 174 of which Jono’s contribution was a fine 76.
In reply Omnicom were never really in with a shout. Dave and Rich opened the bowling and both picked up early wickets. All the bowlers were backed up well in the field with some excellent ground fielding and an enthusiastic keeper who picked up a couple of stumpings.
With Gully and myself brought on to relieve the openers, the required rate continued to climb with wickets falling at regular intervals. There were a few lusty blows which never threatened the Darjeeling win and Raj mopped up with 4 wickets. He narrowly missed out on a hatrick with a fine display of controlled, accurate bowling.
The game was finished in style with an excellent diving catch from Jamie and we were able to enjoy a slightly earlier beverage due to finishing the bout within the distance.
Another enjoyable victory. A lovely way to spend a beautiful afternoon .
Greetings all from your jolly tall safa
As I sat very early indeed at the Icc admiring its brilliant facilities my wife mentioned to me that it was already 13h10 and the game is starting at 13h30 (according to my brilliant email reading) I started feeling a little drop of sweat brewing on my forehead… Had I got it all wrong are we playing at the 7s??? I did a quick 100m dash to the reception which resulted in me almost rupturing my spleen and had a quick chat with the receptionist ( and I did not swear I promise ) and he took 1 look at me and said yes Darjeeling are playing at 2pm, well I was relieved.
Now onto cricket, Captain Mike Tyson (Jono) still rushing with adrenalin from his 12 rounds in the ring with a lad the night before LOST the toss and we were put into field. Greg Moses opened the attack and bowled with some fire and aggression and was unlucky not to take a wicket but finished with 3-0-11. From the other end Viv had a go and bowled with the slightest amount of aggression and was quite polite in complimenting the batsmen on how he has the ability to play such unorthodox cricket strokes… ( well thats how I remembered it at least ) 4-1-28 good catch from Krish at covers. Blikkies then came into the attack with the drip still attached from the hospital and bowled a tight first over then the fever from his ebola took charge in the second and he fetched a straight drive 6 finishing with 2-0-15. Kesby the aussie spin destroyer bowled with some fine turn and restricted the hackers ending with 4-2-26, Sir Ash bowled a fine spell bamboozeling the batsmen ripping through them with brilliant figures of 3.5-3-27. Krish had the luck of the Irish with him and as they say s#%t takes wickets and he proceeded to take 2 quick wickets off full tosses and one which went down leg and got hit straight to Kesby at short fine leg however wickets are wickets. So the Hackers aka hard hitters were restricted by good bowling and brilliant fielding ( as there were only 2 drop catches which I think is a new record for DCC, jolly good show lads ) for a mere 128 all out in the 19th over.
Captain Jono Tyson opened the batting with a rather pale looking Blikkies, the fever got the better of him and he perished without troubling the scorers and just made it off the pitch where he rolled over and proceeded to almost cough up a lung ( get well soon mate ). In came Greg Moses who got a peach of a nut and got bowled for a uncharacteristic 6. Brad came in at 4 and batted around captain Jono who batted wonderfully and they put on a decent partnership until Jono took revenge on Brad for running him out when he was 16 years old hitting it onto the bowlers foot which hit the stumps at the other end running Brad out for a hard fought 15. Jono however began to re-enact his previous night and started to slap the bowlers to all corners of the ground. Chris at square leg called a no ball as Hitters “spinner” chucked one which resulted in their Captain dropping his lip and walking off the field. We needed a diplomatic person here to save the day and none so other than the Cool headed Tall safa Viv to offer his skills at square leg and so the game continued. Jamie batting with some fine timing of the ball ticked the score board over until Jono decided to get bowled with a fine knock of 81 thus bringing Kirky to the crease who eased the last 3 runs needed off 2 balls. Jamie finishing on 11 not out. DCC winning by 7 wickets. Some shook hands afterwards most went sulking off but we had a good laugh in the change rooms with some beverages and ended up at the Els club for a few pints!
Ps… beware of the hand dryer in the ICC changeroom its the spawn of Satan….
Cheers
Viv ( the polite bowler )
We arrived to see da opponents warming up for da better part of an hour. Activities that would put most of us ous on our knees hay.
We where surprised to see no babelasses (hangovers) in da changing rooms. Our kaptein Nick had choosen to use da bat first and sent in da Dominator and Mnr Julius. Finking Mnr Julius would use dis rare opportunity with da bat, he got out cheaply caught behind for 1 walking after a wide where to be given. Da usual LBW shouts we are all remembering was in da match as well. I then walked in to support da Dominator. Getting a lucky 20 I was to be getting caught. Dis sent in da much awaited comeback from Rannie Dees. Getting dropped on da ous first ball… And den getting bowled fird ball was not the BIG standard we ous are all knowing of dis guy. Den da new guy Sheldon walked on to bring da run rate up scoring a vinnige 24 to help da Dominator dat was red in da face. Mnr Visser came in scoring 9 den getting bowled, playing around a straight one. Da kaptein and da Dominator got us to 138 after running 3 vinnige 2s in da last over with kaptein ending on 7 n.o and a mighty performance from da Dominator 64 n.o.
Having to dafend 138 we where having to bowl very very well. We stared wif Mnr Visser and Mnr Julius. Visser started offf well but den der where a few wides da next over from Julius going for 14. Da first breakfrew was from Vissier in his second over. Rohan den came on to replace Julius, starting offf wif a few wides da ou came right in his second over. Da new guy Sheldon took a fantastic catch stading at silly point off Rohans bowling after getting into da ous head bringing SA cricket sledges to Dubai.Da batsman stood der wif no belief of what happened.Rohans bowling figures ended off on 1-20 in 4. Da running between da wickets where to be very very poor giving us 2 run outs. Der kaptein was one of da ous getting run out which mad him very very angry so he frew his bat almost hitting Daves little man. Ash bowled well keeping it tight as a tiger getting 1 wicket for 21 in 4. Mnr Visser came back and got another wicket ending his spell on 2-29 in 4. Having no more bowling peoples because kapteins back was not leka we where forced to bring on Rannie Dees. Dis ou was going for a few but Dave was keeping it tight like a tiger winning us da game in da last over by hitting da ous stumps. Rannies figures where 1-24 in 3 and Daves 3-12 in 3.2
Dis getting us da win by 5 runs!
Im sure da Dominators face is still red, what a innings.
There was much anticipation in the lead up of this game against Fly Dubai at SES. Have beaten us a few weeks ago, we were hoping to get the better off them in this encounter.
There was a struggle to get eleven players on the field for DCC post Thursday night hangovers etc. However, when all members turned up the fact that the match was reduced from 25 to 20 overs given the heat and mosquitoes factor wasn’t encouraging!
Our Captain Nick, having won the toss decided we would bat first and set a formidable total on the board. Chris and Ian had the honour to open the batting and get us to a flying start. Tight bowling by the opposition didn’t allow us to get way and when the first wicket fell for 18, the second wicket fell at 29.
With both our openers gone it was down our in-form batsmen Jason and Greg to steady the ship. However, Jason’s knee started playing up and when Jason retired hurt along with the runner we knew we were in trouble.
We were rescued by some very clever batting by Greg who finished on 52 not out despite running out of partners, and the 2nd highest runner scorer was the extras column at 35. We managed a score at SES of 132 off 20 overs.
It was down to our bowlers to bail us out and they nearly did but the dropped catches allowed the opposition back in and win the game from us. The new ball was given to Chris and Jacob and the first wicket of the opposition fell when Ash took a brilliant catch in the long on boundary. A few overs later Nick cleaned bowled one of their batsman what appeared to be an in-swinging Yorker!
We were right back in the game, so we thought. However when Ash came on to bowl we had could have had the Captain of Fly Dubai along with their other in form batsmen out if we held on to three dropped catches.
The match lasted until the 18th over, however had we held on to those crucial catches we could have won as it was always difficult for a new batsmen to settle in and score runs.
A hot balmy afternoon awaited both teams at the ICC. The pre-match discussion centered around the Cannons good record on grass and Darjeeling’s makeshift bowling attack. Danny Rees made his debut for the club and proudly hung up his Welsh towel in the change rooms for all to see.
The Cannons won the toss and no surprise, batted first. Darjeeling opened up with Etienne and Danny. The opening batsman (in particular Clint) took advantage of the quick outfield and some fullish deliveries and started hitting boundaries at will. Captain Ash decided to turn to spin, first, Kim (aka Warney) who got some turn straight away. Unfortunately, the batsman took advantage of the few balls that didn’t get a chance to turn, and at the first drinks break (7 overs – it was hot!!) the Cannons were no loss for around 70-80.
Finally, a change in luck for Darjeeling, the Cannon’s opener smashed a straight ball at Clint, who took a blow to his right hand. The other opener retired shortly thereafter suffering from heat fatigue. Captain Ash turned to Browny who bowled 4 very tight overs from one end, building up some great pressure.
The turning point of the game was when Ash brought himself onto bowl. Firstly, taking the prize wicket of Clint after Andrew took a juggling catch at mid-on. Ash then proceeded to destroy the Cannon’s middle order. Whilst some of the “Cannons” were a little “Loose” with their shot selection, all credit to Ash who finished up with a “michelle pfifer” – 4 overs 5 wickets for 12. Sackers also bowled a couple of tidy overs and took a wicket. The bowlers were well supported by the fielders (Cameron, Nathan and Noel behind the stumps etc.) and after looking like scoring 220, the Cannons made a sub-par score of 163.
Darjeeling opened the batting with Danny and Browny – who made a great start to the run chase with an opening partnership of over 100. In fact, the only problem was working out exactly how much they both scored – as the scorers from the Cannons team had got slightly confused for some reason with our openers (despite only one wearing a helmet). Anyway, Danny finally retired with heat fatigue after scoring a well made half century on debut. Sackers was next in and unfortunately got a straight one first up and was on his way. Noel then stepped up and with Browny scored some quick runs together and sometime in the 19th over we had reached our target with the loss of only 1 wicket. All credit to Browny who batted throughout the innings and remained around 80 not out – having been on the field for the entire match.
A good win for Darjeeling – which we celebrated with a few pints with the Cannons at the Ernie Ells club.
Amid feverish anticipation and much mystery surrounding the identity of two “Guest” players for Darjeeling, Friday 7th June dawned hot and humid with no sign of rain. Dry Docks World (DDW) have regularly beaten us over the last couple of years, and hopes were high that Nick had unearthed a couple of talented ringers (a la Dougie G) to again give us a better chance of revenge. Breath was baited as we waited to see who turned up.
First mystery Guest turned out to be prolific run accumulator and some time stumper, Brad Wissink, back in Dubai to complete a market moving property deal, thus finally ridding himself of the mortgage I did for him 5 years ago. We waited for the second guest, and waited, and waited. Nick finally admitted it was Grisdale J, back with special approval from the Chairman, but as he failed to appear his place was taken by David’s young son Rahan.
Nick finally lost the toss and we took the field with Greg Moses opening up from the water tank end. After his first ball castling of the chirpy but slow moving keeper last week, hopes were high for a repeat, but Greg’s loosener this time was smeared back past him for 4. 8 off the first over, but a pulled intercostal muscle meant Greg had to retire to slip, and proceeded to distract the keeper with a discussion on the rupturing of various internal organs.
Julius started off from the road end with a plumb LBW appeal turned down amid gasps of disbelief and howls of “I say old chap, that can’t be right”, or words to that effect. Julius calmly accepted the decision and got his revenge a couple of overs later by clean bowling the guy. Overall, an excellent spell of 3 overs 1 for 26, which might have been 1 for 20 if the batsman hadn’t taken Greg up on his challenge to prove he was strong enough to hit a straight 6.
Brian replaced Greg, and bowled a hostile and effective spell for figures of 4 overs, 1 for 29.
The turning point of the match came when Nick pulled the masterstroke of introducing the spin of Steve Brown, Ash B and Neil Colbeck. From a position of 79 for 1 after 10, and 100 after 12, Darjeeling managed to restrict DDW to a sub-par score of 144 for 7 after their 20 overs. Stevie finished with figures of 4 overs, 2 for 25, Ash 4 overs, 2 for 23, and Neil 3 overs, 2 for 20.
However, the real star for Darjeeling was the catching and fielding which was undoubtedly the best for many a year. Stevie took 3 catches, Brian 2, including a spectacular effort on the boundary, and even Julius swooped like a gazelle to take a fine running catch at deep mid-wicket. The other wicket was a stumping by yours truly.
Set 145 to win, Darjeeling opened with the returning Brad and Brian, and they weathered some fast and hostile bowling from the DDW openers. Brad smashed his way to a belligerent 7 off 18 balls before being well caught down the leg side, but Brian was in fine and fluent form and kept the run rate well under control.
Nick came and went for 4, bringing Stevie B to the crease. He kept Brian company until they paused for drinks mysteriously after only 8 overs. Returning refreshed, the pair milked and slashed the bowling to all parts until Brian was stumped by a couple of yards for an excellent 62 (42 balls). At that point only about 25 were needed from 4 overs, but the wheels started to come off. First I was bowled for 2, then Neil departed for a duck.
That placed to burden of winning the match squarely on Stevie’s shoulders, and he responded by hitting 18 off the 18th over. So, 3 needed for victory with two overs left, Julius facing. A couple of dots and then the clatter of stumps as he was cleaned up off an inside edge. David strolled to the crease and swung and missed the next 3 deliveries. A very rare wicket maiden, and still 3 to win.
Two balls later the match was ours with Stevie ending up on a fine 45 not out from just 30 balls.
All in all, a great performance from Darjeeling, and special thanks to David’s two lads for filling in so well.
The after match pleasantries were completed, and so to bed. Or in my case an evening of White Collar Boxing. Bizarre concept!
Farooq CC (supported by du) squared off against Darjeeling Cricket Club (supported by du) in a friendly 40 over game @ the Fairgrounds Oval yesterday (8th March 2013).
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Farooq CC were rocked back in the second over of the innings when Rashid Khan was cleaned up by Adel Farooq for a duck. From then on, it was all Farooq CC with two big partnerships, the first (143 Runs) between Ahmed Shaukat and Qais Farooq and the second (74 runs) between Qais Farooq and Waqas Khan with Farooq CC getting a competitive 269/4 at the end of the innings.
Qais Farooq played a stellar knock (although he was assisted by a couple of dropped chances) to score a superb 102 not out in 116 balls (9 x 4s) with Ahmed Shaukat (86 off 88 balls, 9 x 4s) and Waqas Khan (41 off 24 balls, 5 x 4s, 1 x 6s) being the other main contributors. For Darjeeling CC, Gris (7/0/37/0), Adel Farooq (7/0/53/1) and Ben (3/0/22/1) were the main bowlers.
Chasing a competitive target, Darjeeling got off to a sedate but stable start as J Houghton (24 off 34 balls, 3x4s) and N Raymond (67 off 115 balls, 9x4s) put on a decent 41 run partnership before Adel Reyal (5/0/34/3) picked up a couple of quick wickets to peg Darjeeling CC back to 76/4. The fall of the 4th wicket brought Adel Farooq to the crease and he, along with N Raymond, put together a brisk 100 run partnership in an attempt to bring Darjeeling CC back into the game. Adel scored a superb 44 off 48 deliveries (3x4s,3x6s) before being dismissed. Qais Farooq followed up his batting performance with a wonderful bowling performance (8/2/41/3), the match ending with Farooq CC (supported by du) winning the match by 84 runs.
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Friday saw Darjeeling take on a slightly weakened Loose Canons team. After the last performance against them this was much needed.
The day began with several of the players typically showing up hungover. Thankfully Chris won the toss and elected to bat. Unfortunately though he decided to open up with the two most hungover players with yours truly and Steve Brown (with Grisdale still missing).
The brave decision by the captain was quickly vindicated as Darjeeling got off to a flyer with a scoring rate comfortably over 10 an over. The two openers made light work of some average bowling posting an opening partnership of 136 in the 12th over with yours truly out LBW (Questionably?) for a fine 68 off 37 balls with 52 runs coming through the leg side. Stevie followed soon after for a very well made 57 from 36 balls caught at point – Darjeeling being 145-2 in 12.3 overs at this stage. In came Olly and Nathan to slow down Darjeeling’s scoring rate with a partnership off 87 in just under 10 overs ending with Nathan being caught for 36. In came Pete and back out he went. First ball. A determined Grisdale stumbled towards the wicket hitting two huge sixes of his first two balls before being caught by the traitor hitting towards the longest boundary against the wind – falling one yard short from a third consecutive six. Captain Magnificent (Yes I want to open again) came in for the last 10 balls scoring a quick 15 from 8 balls with Olly anchoring the innings for an excellent 42 ball 52*.
Darjeeling finishing on 274-5 in our 25 overs no thanks to the opposition bowling 25 wides and 7 no balls. The traitor comfortably had their best bowling figures going for 25 in his three overs with no wickets while Bradders finished one short of his 50 in his three overs.
Darjeeling feeling confident of a win strode out to the middle knowing that Bradders was the key man to get out early. Grisdale and Gary Turner opened up with Gary getting a wicket in his first over bowling a full toss which the batsmen hit to short extra with yours truly taking a stunning one handed catch. Bradders soon got hold of Gary though hitting him for 21 of his third over and looking good. Ash could and should have made a better effort to catch a top edged pull from Gris’ bowling however instead decided to take a couple of steps backwards before watching the ball land behind him. Fortunately for Darjeeling Gris soon got his man caught at point – an excellent diving catch by Olly – to remove Bradders for an aggressive 56 off just 26 balls. Luckily Captain AT was not playing and fielding in his usual point position as surely that would have gone for four. This left the Loose Canons on 73-2 in 6.4 overs with the traitor coming in. Grisdale finishing on four overs 1 for 35 and Gary T four overs 1 for 43.
Darjeeling then began to take wickets regularly with Olly taking a wicket in his second over – a superb catch by yours truly running towards third man and taking a skier over his shoulder. Not all of Darjeeling’s members were quite on the ball as yours truly was and some very average fielding followed culminating with Captain Magnificent labeling some of the fielding as ‘toilet’ before dropping a sitter himself which Stevie was quick to point out.
On came the spinners Moxey, Badger and Ash keeping things tight and picking up wickets at regular intervals. Ash with the pick of the figures finishing on 3-44 in his five overs while Badger bowled five tight overs only conceding 34-1 while Moxey went for 38-1 from four overs. Loose Canons finishing on 221-8 from their 25 overs with the traitor ending up on a fine 63* from 59 balls. A convincing 53 run win for the mighty Darjeeling who put on a great show for their fans (AT, Sackers and Brian)
A great days cricket had by all with special mention to Pete Foley who played his first game in a long time and got out first ball however some exceptional looking dives in the field (even though nowhere near the ball) will keep him in contention for selection next week. A few cheap beverages at Girders followed before those left standing went to Barasti.
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On what can only be described as a perfect day for cricket the Darjeeling Cricket Club took on an unknown rival (later to be identified as a team we thrashed before at SES) on the smaller pitch at the ICC and previous venue of a fine Grisdale batting display.
While indulging in in a fast-growing pre-match ritual of devouring a choice of Burger King or Hardy’s pre-match chatter was mostly centered around certain members’ conquests of the the previous, Jono AKA The Darjeeling Bicycle sharing what he described as a stereotypical Dubai hookup with a teacher and Greg adding that he for the first time saw a certain member of the DCC known for his anger management issues showing a softer side, the table was set for a standard random day at the home of DCC.
With members arriving from 12:30 to 1:15 for a 12:45 team get together and some confusion caused by the term “bring a few scoops” amongst the internationals of DCC, the source of the confusion and the second-last player to arrive, Gary Turner AKA the Guv’nor was selected to Captain the side, due to club captain Chris Dommett’s reluctance to captain the team from keeper, against the Wombats/Nomads/ Without a Name, which at this stage had 3 players at the ground consisting of two slightly portly cricketers and a gentleman resembling a Bollywood actor playing the role of the Rambo of the cricket field.
With the classic line of “my team is still coming from Friday prayers” uttered by the opposition captain, the Guv’nor proceeded to win the toss and in true DCC form, elected to bat, a decision not driven by tactical prowess but by a culture of Friday hangovers and a memory of desert weather conditions. So the day of normal randomness continued as DCC Umpire Shiju and Umpire Banerjee took to the field to call ‘Play’ on a 25-over match.
Out strode Sackers and the Bicycle to open the batting against the Wombats who were at this stage recognized as a team we played before when an aforementioned DCC member with anger management issues scored 90 against Sharjah and were outplayed by DCC. The opposition by this time had grown to 9 players with two of their team still praying hard.
Sackers started scoring from some Jonathan Trott-like shots but not in true Sackers style gave away his wicket softly with a practice catch to the opposition off the bowling of Hamad, before the opposition had reached the full complement of 11 fielders.
Out strode Greg Moses to the pitch with his signature fisherman’s hat and a bat won for player of the tournament in Chiang Mai. His feng shui just seemed right after having witnessed the first time emotional display and armed with a new pre batting ritual involving two fingers and a foul smell (details of which are being withheld due to the open nature of Facebook and fear of having to enter into a witness protection program for revealing them) Mr. Share the Love himself went on to build a Rahul Dravid rock of an innings.
In the meantime, more and more scoops (beverages, biere, brews, lagers, XXXX’s etc, for the rest of us non Oldham Athletic supporters) were being enjoyed next to the pitch, which bode well for the banter but perhaps not the batting performance needed by the middle order.
Bicycle, during all this, started his innings nervously, very unlike a man with his Casanova-like exploits but started to find his stride not too long after Mr. Moses walked in, and proceeded to bash a few fours for a very good 40 and an innings-defining partnership of 73 with Greg before being bowled by “one that kept straight” otherwise known as a “beauty” from the bowling of Moiz, who was proving to be a be a bit of a thorn in the side of the Darjeeling run rate along with Taz “Sharapova” who had a Shoaib Ahktar like run up and a Maria Sharapova like grunt upon delivery.
Unfortunately, a batting collapse reminiscent of the England cricket team of the nineties, South Africa in a Cricket World Cup or the more recent collapse of the Pakistan middle order in their previous test in South Africa, commenced with depressing ease.
First came and went the reluctant captain, usually dominant, out for 1, bowled by Haroon, followed by the self-proclaimed agricultural cricketer, Nathan Cartwright, out for 6, bowled by Abid.
Which led to an attempt at an innings-stabilizing 7 of 9 balls innings (Strike rate significantly helped by 4 overthrows) from Jules “Tats” Mooney, caught off Moiz with teddy bears, rattles and puzzles lining the way back to the changing room along with some choice words. Which brought in Mr. Comeback, Nick Harvey, who was soon after caught off the bowling of Hamad for 4.
All this action happening while Greg was building a beautiful game-saving attempt of an innings on the other side of the scooped-up middle order, while bravely trying to hide the pain of his pulled hammie and fighting the burning sensation in his nostrils. The question being raised at this point, will Mr. Share the Love be able to bowl with a pulled hammie, since we were looking a little bit short of a few wicket takers, which as we all know, is crucial for winning a game of cricket.
Finally, after a serious batting wobble, in strode Gully, red-eyed from a week-long visit from his wife’s cousin and looking brittle, therefore setting the opposition bowlers at ease, to bring some form of support for the superb innings being played by Greg.
After feeding the strike to Greg with three well-taken singles, the gentleman out in the middle realized that Greg running with a pulled hamstring was not in the spirit of Darjeeling Cricket, so Gully decided to let loose and hit two classy fours before trying one shot too far and was caught off the bowling of Taz (of the Sharapova kind, not to be mistaken with the Tasmanian kind) for a crucial 11.
In strode the “taking one for the team” player of the day, your’s truly, to witness some brutal hitting by Greg, a short run of a very well-taken two runs (disputed with the umpire, the first of two dubious umpiring calls for the day) and a brave sacrifice run-out to protect the Batsman of the Day’s wicket for a well-run duck without facing a ball.
This left only one ball of the innings which Greg proceeded to hit through the air, only to be dropped and ending the innings, carrying his bat, for a long overdue 108, his first 100 after the sad demise of the Darjeeling Cricket Club grounds in 2008, may she rest in peace.
With a softish target of 207 set for the opposition, Darjeeling took to the field and after a brief stint of enthusiastic fielding practice, set about defending their total, opening the bowling with the deceptive Gully from the Academy End and Jules from the School End as a well-fuelled Gris replaced Ash to umpire for the first 10 overs, while the latter tucked into a Stella or two.
The opening bowlers proceeded to keep it about as tight as a loosely-tied westminster tie, with some quality dot balls mixed in with some good balls dispatched to the boundary, but there was hope in Darjeeling’s slightly scooped-up blurry eyes when Jules took the wicket of Mannu sharply caught by the candidate of comeback player of the year, Nick Harvey for 5, which brought to the crease a blue padded, Inzamam ul-Haq like communicator between the wickets, Omar.
Gully proceeded to bowl his five overs on the trot, which is no mean fitness feat for any DCC bowler, unlucky to end his spell wicketless, conceding 44 runs and with Jules finishing 4 of his overs on at the other end with figures of 1 for 38, Darjeeling were still battling hard to stay in the game.
During Jules’ spell, the second dubious call of the day was made when Gris called a (low) slow ball full toss a no ball, which brought about a pleasant exchange of shits and giggles between the Guv’nor and Jules and said umpire, with the other umpire proclaiming his support for his fellow umpire with a well timed: “What to do?”. The call was also later falsely blamed on the innocent square leg fielder.
Jules was replaced by Nick at the school end and he came in to bowl like a man who did not spend any time away from the game with an injury. Nick was the only other wicket taker in the innings bowling Karan “Bollywood Rambo” with a pearler for a well played and showy 62. Nick ending the day the pick of the Darjeeling bowlers with 1 for 38 of his 4 overs.
The Bicycle then replaced Gully at the academy end and clearly thought that a slow full toss would be his stock ball of the day, with ‘Taz’ Tauseef, who replaced the Bollywood Rambo and the blue-padded Omar proceeding to take advantage of the fine weather and friendly pitch, though rarely used by the Bicycle. Not even a change of ends stopped the full toss frenzy and Jono ended the day with an uncharacteristic 52 runs of his 5 overs with no wickets.
Mohit was brought on to replace the Bicycle and stem the flow of runs and did a great job in his first over, but unfortunately, consistency let him down in the second and Mo was knocked around a bit in his second for figures of 0 for 21.
it was now clear that Greg’s hammie was costing us on the bowling front with the aforementioned lack of wicket-takers taking effect, facing a team spurred on by the wild celebrations and Asian drums from the other pitch, where a corporate cricket day was in full swing with spectators lining up for food boxes, etc.
With Darjeeling’s fielding being good to pretty good despite a few misfields, a dropped catch and a half-chance, we could not take any benefit from some poor running from Omar and Tauseef as they merrily continued chipping away at the target, getting the Wombats into a very comfortable position.
The Guv’nor brought himself on to replace Mohit for one over and went for 12 runs in the 19th over of the game, leaving the Wombats 2 runs to get with 5 overs remaining.
On came CD, some say a little too late, and after 3 balls and a hamstring-inspired misfield, the game was all over, the Wombats beating Darjeeling by 8 wickets with several overs to spare.
Despite the loss, it was a thoroughly enjoyable game made better by great banter, scandalous dressing room stories and good opposition who understand the spirit of cricket.
The Wombats were worthy opponents and with a bit more depth on the bowling front, they are very beatable.
Unfortunately, I cannot do a Girders report, but judging by the pace of scoops being consumed until the time we were asked to leave the dressing room, some quality shenanigans were had.
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With the Darjeeling 2’s finishing up on Oval 2, the Darjeeling 1’s kicked off on Oval 1 vs the XL40’s. With the pre-negotiated toss sorted, Gris and Brian strode to the crease. Jules screaming to Skipper Brian “Whats the batting order” to receive a reply of “just work it out yourself”…. Leadership of legends
While some might have viewed the proceeding few overs as respect being shown by these two flat track bullies, consensus was the ill-effects of the early hours drinking session. Neither could get the wily XL40’s bowlers off the square and Gris fell early doors for 2 in the 3rd and then went MIA for 90 minutes! Hmmmmm…..
Jules strode to the crease to be faced with such express pace not seen at the ICC since Badger last bowled, the XL40’s had the measure of these two young lads and the crowd in the stand were watching something akin to paint drying!
Having built a solid foundation, with Jules milking a few runs hear and there, at about a run a ball (yawn) until Brian decided to go aerial with some great effect until he was run out for 47 (off 34) and a good partnership of 68 with Darjeeling at 2/79 off 11.
After a few challenges with technology, Badger stripped the iPad off Nick for Brian to now control the scoring, to only have the iPad thrown back at him within an over and Badger praying he didn’t have to bat with his broken foot.
Jules and Noel kept the scoreboard ticking over, until Jules was bowled trying to ensure he had a better strike rate than Ash for 39 (off 34 NB: better than a run a ball), leaving Darjeeling teetering on 3/98 off 13
After a quick change of pads, Gully strode out looking forward to facing a ball after the diamond duck of his last dig…. Walking back a few balls later for a 3-ball duck, plumb LBW, and still without an average in 2013, wondering what it would feel like to have some leather on his bat….
After a power nap in the change rooms, Jonno walked out… and walked back almost as quickly caught and bowled for 2. Darjeeling 5/101 off 15
‘Almost’ run a ball Ash kept Noel company for solid 5 overs as Noel started carving up the opposition, of the 58 run partnership, Ash added 6 (off 10 NB: yes not quite ‘almost’ run a ball Ash) and Darjeeling at a slightly more respectable 6/159 off 20
AT came out and started where he left off in the earlier game, while Noel was teeing off. Noel was finally bowled for 72 off 35 balls after 23 overs, leaving AT and Dommett to close the innings out. Dommett heard the call from Jonno and Gully and ensure he hogged the strike for the last 2 overs leaving AT stranded not out 16 off 16 (no not quite 50 in a day!) and himself at 13 off 9 and Darjeeling a respectable (albeit sub-par) 7/207 on a good deck.
The XL40’s innings started with Gris dictating terms on where he wasn’t going to field, Jonno sleeping at 1st slip, Badger limping with ‘apparently’ a broken foot, Ettienne holding his broken thumb, Ash in his Skins and no-one scoring on the iPad.
Brian decided to open with the express pace combination of Gully and Ettienne (well… when taking into consideration the XL40’s attack!) The XL openers nudged a few around and after 4 overs were 0 for not many (NB: above point “no-one scoring on the iPad”) Gully 0/10 off his 2, and Ettienne 0-11 off his 2.
Great captaincy brought on Ash ‘almost run a ball’ Banerjee in his Skins… bowling a maiden! Followed by Badger hopping to the crease, like a rabbit caught in a trap, bowling another maiden (his only over for the day!). There was something not right, Darjeeling were fielding like demons!
With spin now the call of the day, Jonno came on to throw down a few darts (literally!) but got milked by the wiley old fella’s but he did bring about the first chance, a sitter dropped by Jules (now this is the Darjeeling we remember!) Jonno obviously thinking watching Badger running (sorry hopping) in the field was funny, kept throwing pies up and outside off ensuring we could see that sight over and over again. Ball magnet Ettienne, with his broken thumb, got in on the action no matter where he was fielding, with Dommett the unfortunate collateral damage of this strategy breaking his finger again (from memory dropping a catch?) with the call from AT “it might be straight now!”
Ash ‘almost a run a ball’ Banerjee finished his spell with ANOTHER MAIDEN… 3 overs, 2 maidens for 3 runs, bowled well… must be the Skins helping!
Jonno finished his 3 overs with 26 stripped from him and no wickets in sight. With a team meeting between Jonno and Gully, it was decided that in no way would they let AT get better bowling figures than them! The strategy working a treat with some runs milked through slips, and the ball going to the left or the right of Gully at short 3rd man or square leg… as a catch came, Gully was all over it until he remember his pact with Jonno and grassed it at full stretch….. AT finished with 0/29 off his 3 (phew!)
Jules bowled a couple of overs of pies (turning them? Yeah right!) bowling off a step… having worked out that the only way he was going to get a wicket was if he caught it himself, he threw up a dolly and took a caught and bowled buying himself another over of absolute shite… finishing with 1/3 off his two overs including some of the best grunts when attempting legspin every seen, especially for balls that didn’t turn! XL finally loose a wicket and are 1 for not that many.
Gris came on with some leggies…. Also getting in on the grunt action started by Jules, according to Noel he got a few to actually turn and hop… again the ball kept going to the left or the right of Gully (either at Gully or leg slip!) making him run more than he has in 15 years, with Gris finishing at 0/33 off his 4.
At the other end Brian kept it interesting with a tight spell of 1/13 off his 3, also accepting if he was going to get a wicket he would have to catch it, with a caught and bowled. The second wicket left XL trembling at 2 for not many more (about 120-ish off 21)
For reason unbeknown, Brian gave the ball to Gully to close out the XL innings, being forced to continue this leg spin theory with now everybody aware of the Jonno/Gully pact… Gully got seriously carted… finishing with 0/24 off his 4 (still better figures that AT) even though mysteriously balls kept going left and right of fieldsmen straight to the boundary!
Darjeeling won by plenty (about 50/60), good fun but cant say anyone other than Noel played to their ability! Only one thing left to do…. To the pub!
Ash finally took his Skins off, Badger went to hospital (well, talked about it), Captain Brian spent 4 hours discussing the nuances of his 100% win ratio as Captain, Jules saved the captains mobile, AT did a smoke bomb and faded away, Jonno found a pair of shoes to get into Mahiki that ‘had character’ (he didn’t make it to Mahiki and neither did those shoes! Probably ANOTHER Bullfrog or 3 at Barasti?), Greg while not having played, kept what was left of the team together at Girders and said captain of the day decided that Jumeirah Beach needed a splattering of colour ….. of the Magners hue.
It must be time for another Jaeger challenge?
