KCL – Chiba Sharks vs YCAC, 20/6/2010
Our odyssey with bat and ball this third weekend in a row was to the salubrious environs of Yokohama Country & Athletic Club. With rain threatening all week we can count ourselves lucky to get a game in, but unfortunately it was quite the case of de ja vu in some respects.
Batting
We were sent in to bat by YCAC with Kris and Nikhil opening under overcast skies considering whether to rain or not. Runs were tough against the feisty former Sri Lankan U/19, Amila, and winged but canny veteran, Kamran. The first wicket was a somewhat controversial decision but saw a disappointed Kris (4) run out by a lazer-like return from covers. Distance back to the pavilion 6,324 kilometres. This brought Dave to the crease, fresh-ish from his top-scoring knock of 66 the previous week. Nikhil knuckled down to let Dave (27) find his deepening groove, which he did, lacing a couple of muscly drives. He was unlucky to be caught in the deep just after the drinks break by a stretching fielder, whose fingers extended several knuckles, ET-like, when it seemed the ball had cleared him. Dave and Nikhil put on 62. Sumon, our own former U/19 from Bangladesh, strolled out to join Nikhil, whose application to maintain his end was undoubtable. Sumon quickly showed his class by giving the somewhat pedestrian scoreboard a good kick in the arse and greeted the returning opening quick with a lovely brace of 4s. 
His wicket in the 37th over was unfortunately, but his 41 off 45 was both wristy and powerful. The Sumon-Nikhil combo yielded 70-odd. With probably not-enough runs on the board and only a few overs left we needed to put several feet to the pedal. This was not be, however. Nikhil (right) fell for 48, just short of a deserved, ‘thou-shall-not-pass’, half-century. Capt’n Chris holed out in the deep trying to force the issue as the opening YCAC bowlers returned to make sure there was no late flurry of boundaries. Yes, we probably should have made more, but every innings is a lesson and for the third week in a row we batted out our overs. Considering some of our spectacular collapses of 2009, that at least is encouraging when we welcome back a number of our key stroke-makers. We may not have found the boundary but we have found some mettle. But, what we make is what we have, and what we have is what we defend. Sharks 8/157 off 40 overs.
Batting Figures
Balls Faced-Runs (how out)
Kris B. 18-4 runs (run out) (Author’s note: I bloody WASN’T!)
Nikhil 114-48 (caught behind)
Dave 37-27 (caught deep)
Sumon 45-41 (bowled)
Chris T. 3-2 (caught deep)
Gurjinder 3-2 (bowled)
Navin 1-2 (C & B)
Anton 5-3 (n.o.)
Anshul 2-1 (stumped)
Alexis DNB
Levi DNB
Extras 28
Total: 8-157
Fielding
A shade over 150 at YCAC was going to take something extra from the Chiba Sharks, particularly as we fielded probably our least-experienced team for the year and some YCACers were in good nick. We started fairly well with Alexis bowling a great line, eventually rewarded with the wicket of dangerman, Chandana. Sumon, however, made the first breakthrough bowling the former BECC opener. Perennial thorn-in-the-side Kamran’s extraction, run out backing up off a fingernail deflection by bowler Dave was a bonus. When Sumon removed the other stubborn set opener with an excellent slips catch from Nikhil, we had four key bats out for under 100 and gave ourselves a sniff. The weather, however, finally made up its mind about what to do, i.e. p!#& or get of the map, and it did the former. A couple of very brief and light showers were just enough to give footing concerns to our big quicks running in on the Flex pitch and made gripping the ball difficult. A rapid 33 from the YCAC No. 5 put paid to our aspirations and the remaining YCAC batsmen did enough to get them to our total with plenty of overs to spare but not without some jitters we imagine. YCAC 6/158 off 24.
Bowling Figures
Overs – Wicket – Runs
Alexis 7-1-20 (bowled)
Levi 3-0-17
Dave 3-0-11
Sumon 5-2-28 (bowled; caught at slip Nikhil)
Gurjinder 2-1-18 (bowled)
Anshul 1-1-10 (caught Alexis)
Navin 3-0-21
Cricket is about taking your chances. Chances to score runs, chances to take wickets. Throw in a bit of luck here and there and in tight situations when a side does these things it generally wins. All, including YCAC, probably agree that IF we had made another 20-odd or IF we had held a catch or IF we had had X player we might have taken the points. But, we didn’t, and that, as the Great Bard would have said if he’d spent more time with a bat or ball in hand rather than a quill and parchment, is that.
We lost, but all is not lost. What we did see was Nikhil put in a mighty effort to come tantalisingly close to a thoroughly deserved 50, we saw Alexis bowl a great, tight and a bit luckless spell, we saw Sharks yet again determined to keep fighting it out, we saw Anshul nail his first wicket for the Sharks and a batting stance of such murderous intent that even the scorers quivered, we saw a couple of nice catches by Nikhil and Alexis, we saw a very nervous and I think quite brave Koji take his first steps into real cricket as a fielder sub (and take some nice photos to boot!).
Store this one away, Sharks, and look out YCAC in 2011. We have a score to settle with ourselves. A Shark scorned (or sconed) is a Shark to fear.
