JCL1 – Chiba Sharks vs Tokyo Wombats
Fuji 2, Saturday June 28, 2014. By Dave Lollback
A short time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Sharks played a JCL Division 1 match against the Wombats. It was our second match against them for season 2014. The toss? I’m not sure who won but it usually doesn’t matter – Sharks always want to bat first, and Wombats always want to bowl first. Surprisingly, Sharks batted first. We scored 7/218 off 40 overs. Wombats saw that 218 and raised it one, winning the game for the loss of 4 wickets with a couple of overs to spare. Cue tired beers on the way home.
Batting
Rewinding back a little bit, Karthik and I (meaning Dave; Dave Lollback does not refer to Dave Lollback in the third person) opened up for the Sharks, facing the pacy and varied stylings of new Wombat Yusri and the long follow-through of new Wombat Nigel. Karthik started spritely with one of his trademark charges down the wicket for the hoick over cow, but he afridied himself trying to repeat it a couple of balls later, making a good ball look great by missing it.
Affable Sharks debutant Amit then joined me at the wicket for an even shorter stay, getting a peach from Yusri, who was finding his range with a canny selection of wides and straight ones. Two wickets down for not many and it was starting to feel like a danger view, as the French say. Sharks started looking around for escape goats.
Enter Prashant. Straight away you could tell he was in the mood to make some big runs. He played within himself initially, soaking up a few dots, but secure in the knowledge that when he got his eye in he would catch up in a big way later.
Prashant and I formed a handy partnership, taking the score along to 80-odd with some good shots and some lucky escapes along the way (me being more responsible for the latter). By this time we had managed to see off some spells from the post-modern bowling actions of Rony and new Wombat Rasika, only for Yusri to come back on and have me edging behind, just three balls before drinks. Great time for a reckless swipe, d___head.
Skipper Vicky, returning to the team after a bout of sciatica, waddled out to join Prashant after drinks and showed us what can be achieved with a good eye and minimal footwork. By this time Prashant was starting to cruise, remaining watchful but also applying the boundary-hammer to anything loose. Vicky manfully stuck around, cracking a couple of fours with typical Sancheti flourish, before missing one from Rony after a 30-ball stay. Sharks four down for 120-odd. The Wombats lunch count was also down by one or two, as some peckish crows helped themselves to some plastic-wrapped Family Mart delicacies. The crows were soon seen off by an alert Wombat and some rocks hurled by deadly accurate Shark shoulder cannons. (No animals harmed.)
The last part of the innings saw a flurry of Sharks coming and going, with new Shark Nanda, Sankar, and Anton all unselfishly giving away their wickets in the search for quick runs or to get Prashant on strike. Thanks to their efforts, some brutal hitting from Prashant, some uncharacteristically comical fielding from the Wombats, and a generous wide count, we managed to post 200 and a few more. Prashant finished with a superlative 96* off 90 balls.
While the ground looked a treat on the day, the surrounding canopy of foliage is so dense now that a ball just needs to inch into it to cause a 5-minute delay while fielders listlessly kick at plants “looking” for it. So we were getting behind the clock.
|
Batsman |
How Out |
4/6 |
Balls |
Runs |
| Dave | Caught | 4/1 | 70 | 40 |
| Karthik | Bowled | 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Amit | Bowled | — | 2 | 0 |
| Prashant | NOT OUT | 6/6 | 90 | 96 |
| Varun | Bowled | 2 | 30 | 13 |
| Nanda | Bowled | 1 | 24 | 9 |
| Sankar | Caught | — | 7 | 6 |
| Alwin | NOT OUT | — | 1 | 0 |
| Anton | Run out | — | 2 | 0 |
| Aditya | DNB | — | — | |
| Mairaj | DNB | — | — | |
| 171 | ||||
| W 35 NB 1 B 4 LB 7 | Extras | 47 | ||
|
40 overs |
7 | for | 218 | |
>>>>>>>>>>
Bowling
The second innings started well enough. We picked up regular Sharks tormentor Gav in the second over with a regulation caught behind. Soon after, old Wombat stager Jarrad was lucky to survive an eardrum-breaking LBW shout.
But try as we might, we couldn’t get the key second wicket and soon Wombats were looking comfortable. Anything short sped smartly into the undergrowth and we were in a profligate mood. Vicky tried a number of bowlers, with Alwin eventually getting the key wicket of Jarrad for a well-played half ton before Wombats passed 100, which was cause for optimism. But despite a few more wickets, Mairaj’s antics in the field, and some good bowling from Prashant and later from Sankar, we couldn’t knock over the Wombats middle order quickly enough, and their batsmen Luke and Evan put on a smart partnership that basically took the Wombats home. Well done Wombats. Game finishes in near darkness. It’s only in Japan that 80 overs take 7 and a half hours.
|
Bowler |
Overs |
Maidens |
wd/nb |
Runs |
Wickets |
| Aditya | 5 | 34 | 0 | ||
| Dave | 8 | 1 | 5 | 33 | 1 |
| Nanda | 4 | 5 | 29 | 0 | |
| Karthik | 2 | 1 | 23 | 0 | |
| Alwin | 4 | 4 | 19 | 1 | |
| Prashant | 8 | 45 | 1 | ||
| Sankar | 6 | 1 | 24 | 1 | |
| Varun | 0.3 | 5 | 11 | 0 | |
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Special thanks to our debutants Amit and Nanda – things were looking a little grim earlier in the week so we were grateful to have 11 men on the day. Also a personal thanks to the Wombats for the complimentary barbecued snack after the game. Much appreciated.
Editors (KB) Notes;
Dave again understated his great all-round game (and season). A 40 opening with the bat and a miserly 1-33 of 8 overs – and it takes a good ball to get Beath caught behind. Prashant also came to the party against the Wombats and it was probably bitter-sweet to get a good score but to miss a well-deserved ton. Add about 15 overs and a catch as ‘keeper and a wicket to a fantastic all-round performance from Mr. Kale. (I’m sure he would have taken a duck if we had won the game, though.) We only got 4 Wombats but all caught behind. Three of those to Karthik, who took up the big gloves from Prashant. Great effort in a pressure spot and we add another option in that position. And we added two new Sharks. Welcome Nanda and Amit!!
