Hello Sharks and supporters,
July is normally a month that is packed out with cricket matches in the expectation that a good number of them will be rained off as the seasonal weather patterns sweep the country. In the event, we ended up playing all but one of our fixtures. Alas, rain might have been better…
On the Pitch…
The 1st XI got our rotten July under way with a rain cancelled match against the Tigers. The following weekend though they were squashed by Alpha Quashers not even making it to three figures. The hundreds column was again left untouched as a youthful Sharks 1st XI were sent into a spin by Taniyama’s Max CC.
The 2nd XI had a slightly better go of it against Sano 2nds losing by just 2 wickets in a low scoring match notable for a superb fivefer by Spin Master Molloy and some acrobatic catching by a couple of the more seasoned members of the side, Terry’s backpedaling, slo-mo contorted one and a half hander being the pick of the bunch.
The Japan Cup side, needing a solid win over Tsukuba, was brim full of confidence. Tsukuba were winless thus far and several of their top players were busy bleeding at their annual blood-donating event in Ibaraki. The Sharks failed to smell any claret though and struggled to deal with the tail, missing out on a semi-final slot. Just to finish off the campaign on the right note, the following weekend they also lost the Wooden Spoon match against the same opponents lacking the firepower of their rejuvenated opponents. Perhaps we could do with a course of leeches over the off season. It’s not all bad though – Neel’s excellent performances over the two legs were noted by both sides.
Our great strength in July was undoubtedly our umpiring. We had a stack of games to officiate and several Sharks raised their hands at the sound of the clarion call. Many thanks to our July umpires: Koji, Rakib, Big Nick (all 1st timers – congrats), Viv, Rubal and of course KB yet again. All are reported to have done a sterling job.
Off the pitch…
The redevelopment work at Tanuma is now underway as no precious artifacts were found in the exploratory digs. We’ve had several games moved from the SICG to the compact Sano 4 so plenty of average-improving boundaries on offer there. The development of Sammu in Chiba is continuing at its own, conservative pace. CT is keeping an eye on things – more papers have been signed, more heads nodded, more hands shaken. Although perhaps not in the spectacular fashion we would like, things are progressing well.
Terry, Dave + Kyoko + George, Big Nick + Mahoko, Nick Creece, CT, Anton and KB all met up in Funabashi for the annual Uminohi shindig. The ludicrously cheap happy hour Gin & Tonics flowed freely, more than washing away the unpleasant taste of the morning’s loss to Tsukuba.
A big thank you to our report writers for the month: Kavin, Asala and Neel. Hugely entertaining reading from you all.
Ins and Outs…
This traditionally quiet stage of the season has been traditionally quiet.
Other Teams…
Sano 1st XI could not rustle up XI players willing to go to Fuji for their only “away” match of the season and forfeited 5 points to the Wombats. There is talk of further action to be taken but we’ll see.
Prashant watchers will be pleased to see that he added another 100 or so runs to his andPaddy Foley’s season’s total. The man in form though is the Tigers 1st XI star bat Ravichandran who helped himself to a 50 and then a ton in successive games, followed by another hatful in the JPL. Watch out Sharks bowlers everywhere!
Anything else…
During our Wooden Spoon match vs Tsukuba, the boundary filled up pretty quickly with what we thought might be Kavin’s travelling fanbase. However the 40 or so fairly local Sri Lankans were there to set up their Sri Lanka festival which was to feature a tapeball competition among other things. It would be nice if we could tap into that community for a few players as they have some solid looking bats and crafty bowlers.
Meanwhile, Charles Steinhardt, our erstwhile cow corner cosmologist, was back in town for a conference and joined the 2nd XI match vs Sano 2nds. He was his usual terrier-like self in the field but his bowling has really changed – no wides!! He managed to trouble the scorers with a few runs and trouble everyone else under the tent too with a lengthy diagnosis of his 17 ball over which came to an end clean bowled. Not out of course! Why’s that Charles?Back foot no ball! Right you are Charles…
Stay warm Sharks!
Anton
