JCL2 – Sharks vs Adore, Sano 4, 12 May 2013
By Dave Rear
After overnight rain that threatened a second washout in a row, it was a relief for the inaugural Sharks 2nd XI to see bright sunshine and a dry pitch upon their arrival at Sano 4. The youthful Japanese team Adore awaited, newly relegated from Division One and no doubt keen to exact their revenge against the club whose last gasp win last season had put them there. With no fewer than nine debutants in the Sharks line-up, including five youngsters, there was a bit of concern that the ceremony to hand out caps and shirts might last longer than the game itself. But in the end a well-rounded performance with both bat and ball saw off the sprightly Adore and ensured that the Sharks 2 started their season with a bang.
The team was led by veteran Chris Thurgate, and it was thanks to his tireless efforts promoting cricket in Chiba that we were able to field so many youngsters. These were Atharva, Kentaro, Rui, Takuma, and Tsubasa, and they were joined in the starting eleven by three more debutants in the form of Moto, Ryan and Mairaj. Rounding up the numbers were veterans Kris B. and Dave R., and debutant Alwin who kindly turned out as twelfth man.
Chris’ inclination was to bowl first, given our line up. However, Adore won the toss and put the Sharks in to bat.
Batting
Chiba Sharks 7 for 191 in 40 overs
With so many debutants in the side, there was something of an unknown quantity to the Sharks batting line-up. While the Adore bowlers are seldom lethal, they bowl at a healthy pace and with good accuracy. Cool heads and a careful approach were required by the Sharks batters if they were to compile a competitive score. And that is exactly what they did. Building on an excellent opening partnership by Chris T. and Kris B., the Sharks cruised to a good total, thanks in large part to the efforts of their youngsters, who showed several of their more age-challenged colleagues how to bat.
The backbone of the innings was Chris. He mixed sensible caution with trademark straight hitting to strike a superb 76 runs, holding the innings together right up to the final stages. He was supported initially by opening partner Kris, who outscored his captain before falling somewhat unluckily for a very well-made 23. His departure brought two quick wickets, with Ryan unfortunate to get a very good yorker from Adore paceman Sunaoka. Youngster Atharva then settled in, hitting a good boundary in his six runs and calmly playing out 27 deliveries to steady the ship.
Then came Dave R.. Knowing that the Sharks had never won a game when he scored a run, or lost one for that matter, he kept up his tradition of falling for a duck. But it turned out that this was just a cunning ploy to bring My-Y player Rui to the crease. Putting on 63 runs with Chris, he combined solid defense with searing hitting, three times clearing the ropes including a massive swat over long on that will live long in the memory. Clearly here is a future Japanese star in the making. The eventual dismissal of Chris did little to stop the flow of runs. Rui took his score on to 39 from just 44 balls, while Kentaro and Moto both batted well to finish unbeaten. All in all, it was an excellent performance by an inexperienced line-up, and one that bodes well for the rest of the season and beyond.>
|
Batsman |
How Out |
4/6 |
Balls |
Runs |
| C. Thurgate | Caught behind | 6/5 | 90 | 76 |
| K. Bayne | Caught behind | 4/- | 37 | 23 |
| R. Peters | Bowled | -/- | 6 | 3 |
| Q. Mairaj | Caught | -/- | 2 | 0 |
| A. Kulkarni | Caught | 1/- | 27 | 6 |
| D. Rear | Caught behind | -/- | 6 | 0 |
| R. Matsumura | Bowled | 2/3 | 44 | 39 |
| K. Minami | Not Out | -/- | 11 | 5 |
| M. Shimizu | Not Out | -/- | 8 | 3 |
| T. Yamashita | DNB | |||
| T. Kotaka | DNB | |||
| Extras | 37 | |||
| 7 | for | 191 |
Bowling and Fielding
Adore all out for 137 in 26.2 overs
The Sharks total appeared defendable, but it would still require a good bowling and fielding performance to stifle an Adore batting line-up that contained a bit of power as well as skill. As it turned out, the Sharks provided both, with five good catches from the team’s My-Y contingent helping the bowlers to take regular wickets and bowl out the opposition well short of the target.
Tsubasa and Rui opened things up, bowling with good pace to keep the Adore openers honest and prevent them from taking an early initiative. Then Dave R. came on and, rolling back the years, stayed on for all of his allotted eight overs. Just don’t expect him to do that in July. The spell brought a rare Shark 5fer by the end, with Captain Chris providing a stifling field to pressurise the batsmen into mistakes. Three wickets came to sharp catches by Takuma and Kentaro, who combined for five in total (including a double teaming deflection and catch) earning high praise from both teammates and opposition alike. At the other end, Ryan bowled an excellent five-over spell, picking up two wickets and unlucky that a pair of rare dropped catches prevented him from taking two more. As the Adore batting petered out under the pressure, Atharva bowled skillfully and accurately to knock out their last three batsmen for just two runs, earning the Sharks a comfortable 53 run victory.
|
Bowler |
Ov |
Mdn |
w/nb |
Runs |
Wkts |
| T. Kotaka | 3 | 0 | 11 | 22 | 0 |
| R. Matsumura | 4 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 0 |
| D. Rear | 8 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 5 |
| K. Bayne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| M. Shimizu | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| R. Peters | 5 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 2 |
| A. Kulkarni | 2.2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| T. Yamashita | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
>>>>>>>>>>
The infamous English football analyst Alan Hansen once commented that you never win anything with kids, just before the youthful Manchester United team of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and co. swept all before them to win the English Premier League. Now the silly Hansen has been proved wrong a second time. The five teenage members of the Sharks team put in superb performances with the bat and the ball and in the field to first help the team build a healthy total with the bat and then restrict the opposition with the ball. The fielding in particular was excellent. Always quick to prevent singles and with sharp catching to ensure that few chances were wasted, the youngsters were tiger sharks rather than pups, and their confidence and skill bodes extremely well not only for the Sharks but, hopefully, Japanese cricket as a whole.
Many thanks to new Shark Alwin for turning out as 12th man. As is often the case, he was worth his weight in gold as he had to field most of the match for the injured KB. On this evidence, the decision to create a Sharks 2nd XI looks a great one, and let’s hope we can maintain this level for the rest of the season.
