The Rematch Under Lights

Being the fantastic hosts they were, Sunshine CC made up for the moist tie on Thursday by organising a rematch once the rain had stopped and the strip became playable again. For most of us the first time we had played in pyjamas with a white ball under floodlights.

A better pic of the Sunshine pitch under lights will follow shortly

 The hosts looked to match their off-field prowess with some on-field fireworks but got off to the worst possible start, losing their opener to the first ball of the match - a thick outside edge to Martin off Reuben. But that was the only wobble Sunshine experienced in their split 25-over innings. After a partnership of 104, their big-hitting number 5 came in and smoked 2 sixes and 2 fours to bolster their total to 153 for 4.

In reply, BCC needed 5.8 rpo in their second innings, but lost wickets regularly and stalwarts André and Reuben went cheaply leaving the middle order with a chance to be heroes. But when Aaron fell to a freak piece of fielding - run out having smeared the ball back to the bowler only for him to dive and throw in one movement to find Aaron well short - the task of winning looked decidedly Herculean. Despite decent cameos from Martin and Siva, BCC fell short.

Reuben and Volker get stuck in

The free burgers and 'snags' couldn't soften the blow of losing yet another game, but Volker and Reuben did their best to get their money's worth!

After the feasting, we headed back to the hostel for an early night and a chance to get some much needed rest before the last chance to salvage some cricketing pride from the tour.

The Compo at Clifton Hill

Finally we got a glorious day of sunshine to play cricket. After quickly changing the studs over for use on an artificial track, Reuben won the toss and batted. Having agreed a 50-over game with the opposing captain, openers Ashwin and Reuben were surprised to hear the umpires insist on a 40-over game in the 9th over of our innings! Despite the rather surprising change of format, the top 5 pushed hard. We regularly lost wickets throughout the innings, but a steady partnership of 48 between Nisarg and Mark allowed the lower-order batsmen to go for their shots. We ended up with 154 for 8 giving the bowlers something to work with.

Martin taking a diving catch off Siva

Alas, despite some inspired bowling and catching, the Clifton Hill mob knew their pitch and chased well. Their overseas player, from England, played very well at the end scoring 61 to chase down our modest total with ten balls to spare - yet another loss for the boys.

Full-on Indian

Battered and bruised, we headed back to the hostel. To lighten our spirits, we decided to go for a curry and spend the evening marvelling at/cursing Watto's incredible 161 not out against England in the ODI that day. Ash, Siva & Arvind ensured the Sikh restaurant owner gave us the best food he had to offer, starting off with the obligatory round of chai.

The Great Ocean Drive

Due to Saturday being the day on which all clubs play league cricket in Melbourne, we planned a rest day and a chance to do some sightseeing along Australia's spectacular south coast. The Great Ocean road is basically and invention of the Victoria Tourist Board - but there is no hype when it comes to the actual sights. The 12 Apostles are a group of stacks and arches littering the coastline.

Doing the Siva 'roar' overlooking the 12 Apostles

One of the arches, called London Bridge, fell into the sea in 1990, and the resulting bays and geographical features are truly amazing.

London Bridge: fell down

After a fish and chip lunch (battered prawns included!), we even managed to go swimming in a Bond-like bay where the water was cool and the sun was hot!

Day at the beach

It was a truly relaxing day off and chance to recharge the batteries before the final 3 games.

The Sunshine Experience

After yesterday’s disappointment, one look at the skies in the morning didn’t lead us to believe that anything had changed. Thanks to a bit of on-the-fly organisation, the game was moved to an artificial pitch, but the rain continued to fall.

Sunshine CC and Berlin CC

Waiting for the rain to stop

But we had not reckoned on Sunshine’s hospitality and determination to get the game played. They had really gone to town. They had red/black BCC team shirts made up, they had organised a photographer from the local press – and originally the game had been due to be played under floodlights with 150 spectators expected. As it was only a handful turned out, as a quick break in the rain allowed us to get out on the pitch. We bowled first and got Sunshine all out for 130 in 19.3 overs. In reply, Nisarg and Ashwin got us off to a good start in the pouring rain and we were up with the run rate throughout our innings despite losing regular wickets. In the end, it came down to the last over and we needed 5 to win. Having scrambled singles and leg byes, we required just 2 to win off the last ball, Reuben got bat on ball and scooted through to secure the tie! A dramatic end to a rain-sodden game.

Ashwin leading Australia's youth astray

 Back at their clubhouse, we were treated to schnitzel or steak with all the trimmings – and all the beers we could eat!

Mini-pool series

After the presentation, Ashwin frittered away everyone else’s money on the greyhound racing on TV and Reuben, Arvind and Martin combined to win the mini-pool series 3-2.

The Melbourne Washout

As predicted, the flagship Melbourne game was unable to be played due to heavy rain. It has basically not stopped raining since we arrived. The Crusaders were kind enough to give us a day’s notice by SMS that the game was cancelled so we decided to use the time to acquaint ourselves with Melbourne and rest aching limbs.

Federation Square (free Wifi)

Some of the lads went off to watch the early qualifying rounds of the Australian open – and ended up sheltering from the rain under a tree shared by some 6-foot tall, toned Russian hopeful, while others chose the cultured angle and visited an exhibition of self-portraits, including several paintings by Rembrandt. Siva and Ashwin unfortunately spent 5 hours at casualty trying to get some treatment for an ear infection, only to then be told they didn’t have the right equipment at the hospital.

Lads at Queen Victoria market

 In the evening, before we returned to cricket and the 1^st Twenty20 International, we headed up to the Queen Victoria Market to grab a bite of whatever was on offer – and there was a lot on offer. From tapas to squid, fish & chips or even Kangaroos burgers. Then we found a pub to watch Australia get beaten once again – certainly cheering for England got lots of disapproving looks, but the owners didn’t mind, they already had their 8 A$ for each beer!

Queen Victoria Market

Ned Kelly and the dead roos

Bradman Oval

Bright and early the next morning we set off on our 12-hour trek to Melbourne. Surprisingly, despite the previous evening’s antics, we left on time and reached our first lunch stop, the Bradman Oval at Bowral – a wonderfully picturesque pitch adjacent to the Bradman Museum. The Mosman executives were kind enough to present us with free tickets. Berlin loves to save!

At the Bradman Musem in Bowral

Another 4 hours and 5 dead Roos later, we reached our second, unscheduled stop – Glenrowan, the famous scene of Ned Kelly’s last stand! It nearly became Reuben’s last stand as he was attacked by a swarm of army ants not far from the spot where Ned left the Anne Jones Inn decked out in 100-kilo armour. Curiously, Ned covered his head, arms and body with armour – but forgot to protect his legs, so the constables simply aimed there! He survived and was later hanged at Melbourne gaol.

As we approached Melbourne, the heavens opened and the rain fell for the last 2 hours of the journey – totally unprecedented for this time of year! Here’s hoping none of the games are cancelled, but that seems unlikely.

The Mosman Challenge

With moisture still heavy in the air, we headed to Mosman CC for the final game of the Sydney leg at the Rawlson Oval. André’s mother had spent the previous day plucking 7 chickens for lunch and Volker proudly informed us, after checking his emails, that the game had been postponed until 2 pm – but alas this was a breakdown in communication and John was seen to be jumping up and down on his hat in frustration and the players slowly dawdled from the hostel to the van!

Mosman CC

Of course, the game had not been postponed and we were lucky to start on time at 11 am for the first 50 over game on tour. Despite rain on the previous evening, the pitch was covered and in perfect condition. The boundaries are large at Mosman so it meant a lot of running and chasing the ball. Again, the setting was spectacular, overlooking Manly to the west and Balmoral to the east.

Scoring behind glass

Mosman were competitive and obviously used to winning – they even had a league umpire equipped with his own Pith helmet. Unfortunately, despite an excellent performance with the ball – we got them all out for 146 in 45 overs – we couldn’t cross the finish line coming up 14 runs short. Reuben finished strongly with 4 for 39 and 33 with the bat.

After the game we headed to Balmoral beach again for more fish and chips, scoffing them down on an outcrop of land reaching into the sea, with the strains of an open-air production of Hamlet in the background! In the evening, we drank away the disappointment of 4 losses, polishing off a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of Yellow Tail, and half a bottle of Bacardi whilst debating who is better: Bradman or Tendulkar!

Lads against the picket fence

The Pikies…

Our third opponents were a club steeped in tradition. I Zingari (meaning the gypsies) are a long-established club with a wonderful pitch at Camden Park. The setting was as beautiful as Mandalong but without the cicada chorus. I Zingari are obviously used to hosting touring teams and they were extremely good at it. Despite the rain they were keen to get started ASAP and had prepared a wonderfully healthy lunch.

I Zingari pavilion

 The captains decided on a new format: a two innings’ game of 20 and 25 overs. We bowled first and restricted the gypsies to 51 for 4 from their first 20 overs. It didn’t sound much but the pitch was tricky and we only got 39 from our first 20.

In the afternoon the pitched dried out as the sun came out and we allowed the hosts to reach 137 for 9. We lost wickets early in the chase and recovered through a partnership of 62 between Reuben and Martin – but the scoring rate was too slow and we needed 45 from the last 5 overs.

André and Nick at the crease

 Our ring-ins, Davo and Stevo chipped in with some hard hitting but it wasn’t enough and we ended up losing by 10 runs. The disappointment was softened by the backdrop, the food, the post-match beer – and the sight of a Goanna snoozing on the side of a tree.

Spot the Goanna

Roseville CC

Despite the scorching sunshine, our second game was also under threat of cancellation due to the overnight rain. Australians are obviously not used to rain affecting their matches and any slight moisture in the air is greeted with pessimism and shouts of ‘not a chance of playing today’! After being informed that the game would not take place at the intended ground as it was ‘waterlogged’ (?!?!), André’s organisational skills came into their own and he set about arranging an alternative council ground. Half an hour later and we were all set for a 20-over bash. Great work from Penfold there!

Martin celebrating a stumping off Arvind

The pitch actually had an amazing view perched on top of a spit of land overlooking the bay and the ocean – although the strip was artificial and the ground was postage-stamp sized. We batted first and despite early losses posted a respectable, if below-par, 141, with Reuben smashing 2 huge sixes on to the roof of the pavilion. The opposition made short work of our total and although we took regular wickets – Arvind taking a 3-fer and Siva picking up two run-outs – they got the runs with 4 overs to spare.

So with an early finish we headed down to Balmoral beach for some frolicking in the sea! But this was also washed out as a huge downpour came and forced us to take shelter in the nearby fish and chip shop. Very tasty!

Reuben & Siva on Balmoral beach

In the evening, we headed off to the Oaks in Neutral Bay to sink a few Merlot’s or Carlton’s and we rounded off the evening with a game of pool – India vs Rest of the World! It was a tense thriller with much strategy being discussed and shortly before we were kicked out, I potted the winning black into the side pocket. India went off skulking and muttering something about a decision review system…

On the road to Mandalong

Although I had been led to believe that Australia is one of the hottest continents on Earth, it certainly wasn’t very dry as we drove north of Sydney on the road to Mandalong, where Mosman CC was waiting to welcome us at their fairly remote but picturesque cricket ground. The monsoon-like rain seriously threatened to scupper our first game of the tour. Luckily our host used a tarpaulin cover on the square and after a couple more showers, the sun finally came out and we agreed to play a 35-over game.

The pavillion at Mandalong

Reuben and André went out to bat first to a constant cacophony of screeching coming from the local cicada population. It sounded worse than a Berlin ambulance siren – Reuben was hoping that if he nicked one, it wouldn’t be heard above the din. The openers gave us a decent platform although it was difficult to bat on the drying track. The ball seemed to get stuck in the pitch and we managed only a modest run rate of 4 an over. After André lobbed one to gully and Reuben had hit a huge six, our ringer, Anthony, went about bludgeoning the Reader’s ball to all parts. With contributions from Ashwin, Siva and me, we got the score up to 146 for 5.

The opposition had the better of the conditions as the sun came out later and dried up the pitch. They started well and, despite losing one opener as he skied one to me off Reuben, looked to be cruising. However, BCC came back and after Mosman’s opener retired on 50 (as agreed before the game) took a spree of wickets. In the end it came down to a last over thriller. They needed 15 off 5 overs with only one wicket in hand - but finally got home with 3 balls to spare.

BCC's openers take the field as the rain stops

It was a great experience to play cricket in the ‘bush’ with cicada’s screeching in the background and wallabies among the spectators. Unfortunately, there were no redbacks in the makeshift toilets, but no one seemed too bothered as they tucked in to their ‘snags’ at lunch!

Ashes 5th Test at the SCG, Day 3

Having suffered at the hands of Australian cricket for the best part of 2 decades, how fitting is was to combine my first trip to Australia with a visit to the SCG to watch England trounce Australia in the Ashes. The atmosphere was awesome and not unlike a sunny day at Lord’s - except there was none of the stuffiness. The Australian fans were more scathing of their own players than the English and the sledging coming from the fans in the stands was relentless.

André was kind enough to find us seats with no shade so we could really work on our tans. And it got really hot as the afternoon wore on. Really hot. This was not like Lord’s – anyone without sun crème would have burned more quickly than Jamie Oliver’s school dinners. Although some preferred to cover themselves from head to toe so as to make sure the sun couldn’t get the more remote parts (see pic.)

Pink-suited man at SCG

Siva and Martin at SCG

 Through his rapidly expanding network of media contacts, André managed to secure us a radio interview with ABC. We were escorted into the Bradman media centre and into the warren of broadcasting rooms where Sky Sports, BBC and ABC all had the best seats in the house to commentate on the on-field goings-on. I brushed past Beefy who looked straight past me (actually he looked right over me  - him being a strapping 6’5” or so). Athers looked accusingly at us as he reached for another chocolate muffin from the media buffet and Boycott and Tony Greig were busy looking important and thinking up new ways to say how good England were. Shane Warne was also up there – not smoking and not eating muffins! Finding an empty room turned out to be impossible so we decided to hold the interview outside to the sound of beer barrels being rolled in the background. I think it went well – I managed to mention the web address, so with any luck we may have an influx of overseas players next year!

Arrival in Sydney

So after a gruelling 22-hour flight the main tour party finally touched down in an overcast but pleasantly warm Sydney. It was probably the worst flight of my life, having been wedged in between two giants for the first flight to Hong Kong, I was then treated to the pleasure of sitting next to an Englishman who was very probably suffering from a serious bout of dengue fever. He had to ‘pop to the loo’ every five minutes and was sniffling like a wounded rhino and breathing his germs over everyone within a five mile radius.

Volker had a bit of a scare as he checked in at Tegel. His ruthless German efficiency confused BA staff at the counter who couldn’t find his visa registration. It turned out he had entered the extra letter on his passport denoting nationality. The system wasn’t able to process the extra information and the gum-chewing BA employee could only quote from ‘Little Britain’ – “Computer says no!”

Arvind was able to show off his teleporting skills at Hong Kong airport – after being stopped for carrying nail scissors in his hand luggage, he then teleported over to the departure gate leaving us waiting at security scratching our heads. He then showed us the trick again at baggage reclaim – although why he needed to take a flight to Sydney is not clear as he could have simply teleported straight from his home in Berlin to the hostel in Sydney!

So unfortunately, no missing luggage or grounded planes to report – the ‘main’ tour party arrived safely and John Leslie was on hand at the airport to drive us to our hostel. Stage 1 complete.