Fuji T20 vs Bundy Rumblers and Uenomiya HS
29 Mar 2014 by Chris Molloy
The Sharks began their 2014 outdoor season with a trip down to Fuji on March 29 to take on Australia-based veteran social team the Bundy Rumblers and Osaka-based high school team Uenomiya in two friendly T20 matches. The day began well with fine weather and clear views of the beautiful Mt. Fuji. The trip down proved slightly more problematic, with traffic delaying the arrival of a few players.
The match started a little late, with the Sharks batting first with only eight players at the ground and hoping to at least preserve those wickets until the cavalry could arrive. Eventually, the team would consist of Molloy, Sagar, Anton, Takady, Vicky, Chris T., Sumon, Adit, Mairaj, and debutants Sankar and Pavethy. Chris T. kindly offered the services of his sons Marcus and Ashley to the visiting team, lifting their numbers to ten.
The innings got off to a shaky start, with Molloy bowled for a second-ball duck off a slow in-swinger. His problems did not end on the pitch, as he was immediately forced by the Bundy Rumblers’ entourage—via a gleaming Chris T.—to don a (rather cute) duck-shaped hat of shame. And to wait/hope for another duck to emerge from within the team, and pass the hat on to the culprit.
First-time opener Sagar and early-season specialist Anton then put on a productive partnership of 26. Anton struck back-to-back boundaries with a drive through mid-off and a powerful cut, and seemed to be growing in confidence. Sagar, too, was approaching his goal of double figures, and coping pretty well with the Rumblers’ mix of swing and flighted medium pace/spin. However, both were bowled with the score on 26, bringing two new batsmen to the crease, and offering Molloy some hope of shedding his increasingly hot duck-hat of shame.
Takady duly obliged, falling LBW off his first ball. While suggesting that he may have been hard done by with the decision, he nonetheless was happy to claim the cute yellow hat from Molloy. His dismissal brought to the crease Vicky, who swiftly set about launching a counter-attack. The Shark’s batsman of the year in 2013 carried on his fine form, hitting two fours and three sixes in a well-made 29, and hitting confidently down the ground. He put on an innings-high partnership of 30 with newcomer Sankar, who appeared comfortable before being dismissed for 4.
Vicky was dismissed by the first of two good catches for Ashley Thurgate, which brought father Chris T. to the crease. After playing out a few dots and getting off the mark with a single, Chris was caught spectacularly on the leg-side boundary, with the fielder holding his poise as the ball threatened to sail over the ropes. In a match played, for the most part, with a very Sunday-morning-stroll kind of intensity, this catch certainly came as a bolt from the blue, and aroused the enthusiasm of those watching.
Debutant Pavethy claimed the second golden duck of the day, and with it the duck-hat of shame from a delighted Takady. Meanwhile, Sumon was playing himself in nicely, striking a couple of fours, including an eye-pleasing sweep to backward square leg. Adit hit a rapid-fire 2 (off 2) before falling LBW, and Sumon fell victim to a great catch by Marcus Thurgate at point off a well-struck pull shot, leaving number 11 Mairaj stranded on 0 not out. All in all, it was a rather average display of batting, with the Sharks all out for just 81 and failing to bat out their 20 overs. Vicky top-scored with 29, and Anton and Sumon could also draw some confidence from their respective scores of 12 and 13.
Defending just 81 would not be an easy task, but we knew that our strong bowling lineup could enable us to do so. Opening bowlers Adit and Takady began well, with Takady starting off with a maiden in his first over. Adit uncharacteristically struggled to land the ball in his second over, though, and conceded ten runs. Both bowled two overs, before Sagar and Vicky came on and maintained pressure on the Rumblers’ openers.
The lack of scoring momentum eventually prompted induced a risky single, and Takady swooped in from cover to score a direct hit and send back Donovan with the score on 16 in the fifth over. Vicky then claimed the prized scalp of Pfingst with a nick through to wicketkeeper Chris T. The Rumblers showed little attacking intent early on, and seemed happy to wait for bad balls, of which there were precious few. With the score at 31 for 2 after ten overs, the required run rate had climbed to five per over.
Pavethy claimed a maiden wicket, bowling number 3 batsmen Bramley through the gate. Marcus Thurgate struck a boundary off his second ball, but could not add to his score before offering a simple return catch that was held comfortably by Anton off the bowling of Sumon. Anton’s mix of flight and purchase had the batsman struggling for their timing, and he went for just six runs of his first two overs. The third proved costly though, as external factors (wind, etc.) pushed Anton off his length, and the Rumblers reaped 13 runs.
Adit came back into the attack with 14 needed of the last three overs. He conceded just five runs and also castled the aggressive Downie. Defending nine runs in the penultimate over, Molloy limited scoring to just four, but could not dislodge the swashbuckling Harvey, who was threatening to win the game for the visitors.
The final over was bowled by Vicky, with the Rumblers needing five for victory. A bye slipped through Chris T. off the first ball, which was followed by a couple of wides. Harvey then connected sweetly with a mow to cow corner, thereby securing victory for the Aussie veterans.
So in the end, we followed a lackluster batting performance with a solid effort in the field. The pressure situations toward the end of the match should serve as good learning experiences for matches going forward, albeit that we will hope to come out on the other side of the equation. The game was played in warm spirits against a very friendly bunch of Aussie veterans, who were particularly generous with their gifts later in the day.
We took our revenge on Uenomiya High School. It was a very short match as good Sharks wicket to wicket bowling was met with some youthful shot selection. On a pitch with a bit of nibble this lead to Uenomiya being all out for a bit over 20 after 8 overs. Sankar’s 3 fer stood out with his military mediums reeking havoc. Vicky lead the response and quickly knocked off the required runs against some pretty handy bowling, it must be said.
Thanks to all the umpires involved, to Anton for acting as MO and most of all to Chris T for his organization throughout the day and weeks building up to the tournament.
