Match Reports 2013-14
September 21, 2013
Saturday League Div 2
Lamma C.C. vs SCC Lancers
Result: Lamma CC win by 6 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Lamma CC's Saturday Championship Division Two season got off to the best possible start on Saturday as a well-balanced team saw off the challenge of SCC Lancers. The Lancers finished a place higher than us in last season's league ladder and have defeated us in our last two league meetings, making a victory on Saturday all the more satisfying for the team.
After losing the toss, we were asked to field on a red hot day at PKVR, and we were made to work hard in the field by an attacking (if somewhat cavalier at times!) batting line-up. Tom Woods and Alex Price opened up, and although in-roads were made steadily with the ball, the runs were also rattled off at a fast rate. Good controlling spells were delivered from Royce McDonald, Mark Burns and in particular a wicketless but fine 7 over spell from Akbar Khan, but runs generally flowed, culminating in a daunting final total of 240-9. I think it's fair to say we were a little rusty as a unit with the ball, and need to improve on our control. We don't want to be chasing 240 each week! Some excellent catches were taken in the gully by both Mark and Royce, and by and large our fielding was reasonably sharp, which was one of our strong features throughout last season.
On to our innings, and a statement of intent was made by Simon Joyce from the word go. Opening up with vastly experienced Butt Hussain, Joycey was not to be overshadowed, and proceeded to lay a strong foundation for the team by thumping 33 from 20 balls, before falling perhaps somewhat unluckily LBW to a ball that seemed a touch on the high side. We lost the two further wickets of Andy Fullard and Ross Burgmann quickly to leave us precariously placed on 79-3. This brought our junior development player Akbar Khan to the wicket, and what ensued was a composed, almost effortless partnership between him and the unflustered Hussain. Hitting the ball to all areas of the ground, the pair began what they made look like a simple task, compiling an excellent partnership of 162 to see us to a winning total of 241-3. Hussain finished with a serene 112, and Akbar produced his maiden half-century for the club with 59.
This completed a superb start to the season, but there is definitely work to do to improve during our next showing against Laguna Gully on October 1st.
One win down, eleven to go!
Saturday League Div 2
Lamma C.C. vs SCC Lancers
Result: Lamma CC win by 6 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Lamma CC's Saturday Championship Division Two season got off to the best possible start on Saturday as a well-balanced team saw off the challenge of SCC Lancers. The Lancers finished a place higher than us in last season's league ladder and have defeated us in our last two league meetings, making a victory on Saturday all the more satisfying for the team.
After losing the toss, we were asked to field on a red hot day at PKVR, and we were made to work hard in the field by an attacking (if somewhat cavalier at times!) batting line-up. Tom Woods and Alex Price opened up, and although in-roads were made steadily with the ball, the runs were also rattled off at a fast rate. Good controlling spells were delivered from Royce McDonald, Mark Burns and in particular a wicketless but fine 7 over spell from Akbar Khan, but runs generally flowed, culminating in a daunting final total of 240-9. I think it's fair to say we were a little rusty as a unit with the ball, and need to improve on our control. We don't want to be chasing 240 each week! Some excellent catches were taken in the gully by both Mark and Royce, and by and large our fielding was reasonably sharp, which was one of our strong features throughout last season.
On to our innings, and a statement of intent was made by Simon Joyce from the word go. Opening up with vastly experienced Butt Hussain, Joycey was not to be overshadowed, and proceeded to lay a strong foundation for the team by thumping 33 from 20 balls, before falling perhaps somewhat unluckily LBW to a ball that seemed a touch on the high side. We lost the two further wickets of Andy Fullard and Ross Burgmann quickly to leave us precariously placed on 79-3. This brought our junior development player Akbar Khan to the wicket, and what ensued was a composed, almost effortless partnership between him and the unflustered Hussain. Hitting the ball to all areas of the ground, the pair began what they made look like a simple task, compiling an excellent partnership of 162 to see us to a winning total of 241-3. Hussain finished with a serene 112, and Akbar produced his maiden half-century for the club with 59.
This completed a superb start to the season, but there is definitely work to do to improve during our next showing against Laguna Gully on October 1st.
One win down, eleven to go!
October 1, 2013
Saturday League Div 2
Lamma C.C. vs Laguna Gully
Result: Lamma CC win by 6 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Our successful start to the new season continued this week as Lamma made it 2 wins out of 2 with another strong victory over Laguna Gully at PKVR. Captain Andy Fullard made it 2 lost tosses out of 2, forcing the lads to once again boil in the exposed outfield as Laguna elected to bat first.
Success and tragedy followed in quick succession, as Tom Woods sent their opener packing with the first ball of the game, only to pull up with a shoulder injury in his second over and gift 12th man Ben Cooper the opportunity to sweat to death with the rest of us for the remainder of the innings!
Our bowling showed signs of improvement from the previous game, with particularly a stand-out spell of 3-28 from Alex Price's 7 overs, and we looked in total control at drinks, with Laguna reeling at 79-7. Firm contributions from Royce McDonald and Akbar Khan had kept us in control. Laguna's 8th wicket pair had other ideas however and regained the advantage with a hundred run partnership, before Andy Fullard (2-20) and Royce (3-39) finally made the breakthroughs to finish the innings off for 198, a good deal more than we had hoped for them to reach at drinks!
Once again we were indebted to the sublime stroke-play of Butt Hussain in our reply, who carried his bat for the second game in a row, making 127 in our victory hunt. He was ably supported in a third wicket partnership by newcomer to the team Richie Abbot, who made an incredibly sensible and supportive 30 on his début in a strong partnership that established the victory push after we had lost the early wickets of Simon Joyce and Andy F. A slight wobble occurred in the aftermath of Richie's dismissal when one of last week's batting heroes, Akbar Khan, fell for 0. The team needn't have worried though, as straight to the rescue came the reliable and evergreen Monty Burns, who hit an uncomplicated 21 alongside Hussain's level headed batting to see us home to a victory by 6 wickets, complete with bonus point!
There were pluses and minuses in the field this week, as we held on to some good catches, but also spilled four, and the haze coming off the ground in the heat meant at times we were playing against two batsmen and the pitch itself!
After two games we now sit 3rd in Division 2 with 9 points, and a game against the current league leaders is just around the corner, as we head guns blazing into a long double weekend of fixtures on the 12th and 14th October!
Saturday League Div 2
Lamma C.C. vs Laguna Gully
Result: Lamma CC win by 6 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Our successful start to the new season continued this week as Lamma made it 2 wins out of 2 with another strong victory over Laguna Gully at PKVR. Captain Andy Fullard made it 2 lost tosses out of 2, forcing the lads to once again boil in the exposed outfield as Laguna elected to bat first.
Success and tragedy followed in quick succession, as Tom Woods sent their opener packing with the first ball of the game, only to pull up with a shoulder injury in his second over and gift 12th man Ben Cooper the opportunity to sweat to death with the rest of us for the remainder of the innings!
Our bowling showed signs of improvement from the previous game, with particularly a stand-out spell of 3-28 from Alex Price's 7 overs, and we looked in total control at drinks, with Laguna reeling at 79-7. Firm contributions from Royce McDonald and Akbar Khan had kept us in control. Laguna's 8th wicket pair had other ideas however and regained the advantage with a hundred run partnership, before Andy Fullard (2-20) and Royce (3-39) finally made the breakthroughs to finish the innings off for 198, a good deal more than we had hoped for them to reach at drinks!
Once again we were indebted to the sublime stroke-play of Butt Hussain in our reply, who carried his bat for the second game in a row, making 127 in our victory hunt. He was ably supported in a third wicket partnership by newcomer to the team Richie Abbot, who made an incredibly sensible and supportive 30 on his début in a strong partnership that established the victory push after we had lost the early wickets of Simon Joyce and Andy F. A slight wobble occurred in the aftermath of Richie's dismissal when one of last week's batting heroes, Akbar Khan, fell for 0. The team needn't have worried though, as straight to the rescue came the reliable and evergreen Monty Burns, who hit an uncomplicated 21 alongside Hussain's level headed batting to see us home to a victory by 6 wickets, complete with bonus point!
There were pluses and minuses in the field this week, as we held on to some good catches, but also spilled four, and the haze coming off the ground in the heat meant at times we were playing against two batsmen and the pitch itself!
After two games we now sit 3rd in Division 2 with 9 points, and a game against the current league leaders is just around the corner, as we head guns blazing into a long double weekend of fixtures on the 12th and 14th October!
Friday, 11 October
HKCC Taverners v Lamma CC
Social Match
By Jason Bailey of The Taverners
“If we win, jubilation; if we lose, despair. It matters not how we played the game, but whether we won - or lost.” Vic Marks (1988) on limited-over cricket.
Not much to play for then?... Only honour and pride. The Taverners welcomed Royce's Lamma to the hallowed Ground, the magnificent theatre of dreams and nightmares that is the Hong Kong Cricket Club oval, in what was going to be a close and testing affair.
The Ground, bathing in beautiful afternoon sunshine, benefiting from the lower humidity of the Hong Kong Autumn, a better day to play could not be had. Everyone was hoping the cricket would match the setting and, of course, after a close match that the Taverners would emerge victorious.
Lamma, technically appearing as a touring side fresh from the seafood restaurants and specialist coffee houses in “little Amsterdam”, won the toss and elected to bat.
Lamma Innings
Captain George set the field, looking to limit the tourists to wishful thinking than a smash and grab on the trophy Lamma brought with them. Mike Muir took the gloves and the Chef and Bob Bettridge opened the attack, taking on the finest Lamma had to offer. Lamma struck out from the off, with solid batting demonstrated throughout the order. However the Taverners' fielding was superb, runs limited and bowling tight with 4 bowled, 2 batsmen run out and 4 catches taken.
Fielding highlights included a display of quick reactions by Gianluca, to field and throw to the stumps dismissing opener Andy Scott for 8.
The Chef, at the tip of the spear, took the bowling honours with a haul of 4 for 21 off 5 overs, which included the coveted wicket of Lamma top scorer Tom Downey. And the Chef finished off the Lamma innings sitting on a hat trick!
Watching Tom smash his way to 51, which included 6 sixes and a brace of fours, I was reminded of the quote from Jon Arlott on a Clive Lloyd four: “A stroke of a man knocking a thistle top with a walking stick”.
Gianluca, putting behind him a series of great smashes, completed a memorable fielding day by bowling the hard hitting Mike Iannini.
The Lamma batting was solid throughout the order, with their batsmen punishing lose balls to put them over the rope and (if the netting wasn't there) into the pool, or the Tennis Association courts, at every opportunity. Their innings including 9 sixes and 10 fours, a quality batting performance, leaving Taverners a high target to chase.
Lamma 197 off 35 overs. Notable: Tom Downey 51, Brenton McDonald 37, Mark Smith 33, Brad Tarr 30*.
Taverners: The Chef 4/21 and George 3/24.
The Taverners' fielding unit displayed great hands to take their catches and hard work in the field to limit a quality Lamma attack.
At the change, Captain George clearly felt proud of the team for the performance so far and that the game was within our grasp. Instructions given to go out, enjoy the afternoon sun, and play on towards what would be a tight but ultimately victorious finish.
No dopey performances from Lamma with the bat - it was a good thing that Joel had cut the grass earlier in the day... but how would they fair with the ball?
Taverners Innings
For the Taverners, Captain George trusted the start to seasoned opener Bob Bettridge (Bob opening both the bowling and the batting for the first time since he was 11!) and, in a rush of blood, the enthusiastic but inexperienced Jason Bailey.
Bob on strike calmly settled in seeing off the first over. Jason at the other end danced up the wicket towards a clear wide, attempting to smash Mike Ianninis' opening delivery, only to commit a novice error in missing the ball and leaving himself stranded outside of the crease. There is hardly a worse or lonelier sound to that of the rattle of the stumps, collected on this occasion by pumped up Lamma wicket keeper Brad Tarr, to end your day before it starts. Trevor Bailey summed up Jason's innings with the applicable quote: “On the first day Logie decided to chance his arm and it came off.”
With George (umpiring) hiding his face under his cap, Jason out for a GD retired to the dressing room and didn’t resurface until the Taverners had amassed 70 off 10 overs for the fall of only one further wicket - a disappointed Duncan was caught for 9 while going for the boundary to take the Taverners to 25 for 2.
After the early dismissals, what the team needed was a settling partnership. Bob solidly pushed on to retire unbeaten for 30* and, partnered with Doug Mulcock, advanced the score to 72 until Doug was caught by Tom Downing, off Paul Nind for a well earned 23.
Up next, George, who completed an innings worthy of a captain to punish a dropped catch and go on to make 22 off 26 balls. George and Dave took the score to 128 for 4 in a partnership of 56 before George was dismissed in a rare display of catching by Lamma - caught and bowled Mark Smith.
By now the victory was looking possible with the Taverners' higher run rate, but relax we could not, nor could we afford any more cheap wickets.
Gianluca up next, was unable to match his bowling performance and was bowled by Paul Nind for 2.
David had a superb afternoon at the crease amassing a highly respectable 26 before finally succumbing to a delivery from Runcieman.
Andrew at the crease faced the ferocious attack of Mark Smith who found the edge and Andrew was caught behind by the ever alert Brad Tarr. A quality quote, applicable in this circumstance is that of the great Greg Chappell: “I can’t really say I’m batting badly. I’m not batting long enough to be batting badly”.
Never mind Andrew, next time!
With Ashish making steady progress with the bat, punishing some lax fielding and dropped catches, the Taverners began to feel the match was swinging their way. Ashish made an unbeaten 24 off 25, anchoring the finish.
Enter Mike Muir, after a busy day in the gloves, to complete a match winning performance with the bat. Making an unbeaten 33 off 20 balls Mike, putting behind him the run out in the opening Taverners vs Taverners match, to slog his way to a man of the match innings characterised by smashing his first ball for a six, reminding us all of the quote from the lovable Richie Benaud commenting on a Justin Lager six: “He’s not quite got hold of that one, if he had it would have gone for a 9”.
The Chef, stepping in to complete the innings, faced 4 balls and finished with an unbeaten 6, seeing off Royces’ Lamma side for a tremendous Taverners victory. Queue the celebrations!
Taverners 200 off 33; Notable: Mike Muir 33*, Bob Bettridge 30*, David Doyle 26, Ashish Shukla 24* and Jason Bailey GD (for the wrong reasons).
Lamma: Tom Downey 1/23 off 6 overs, Paul Nind 2/26 off 4 overs, Mark Smith 2/12 off 3 overs.
A close and highly enjoyable match to open the visiting calendar. The trophy, kindly donated at every expense spared by Lamma, went to the Taverners.
Many congratulations and a big thank you must go to the tourists, Royce's’ Lamma, for a quality performance the result of which could have gone either way.
Man of the Match was a close decision with nominations for Bob Bettridge for his all round performance, Chef for his performance with the ball and Mike for gloves and bat. Voting was close between Chef and Mike, ultimately the accolade went to Mike for his memorable innings and hard working afternoon with the gloves. Well done Mike!
Speeches from both captains were completed with the teams enjoying a refreshing beverage. The only red eyes... those from hay fever.
The Taverners' performance can easily be summed up by the Bill Toomey [Athlete] quote: “There is no one magic move or secret that creates victory, but lots of little items that when added together can make you victorious.”
HKCC Taverners v Lamma CC
Social Match
By Jason Bailey of The Taverners
“If we win, jubilation; if we lose, despair. It matters not how we played the game, but whether we won - or lost.” Vic Marks (1988) on limited-over cricket.
Not much to play for then?... Only honour and pride. The Taverners welcomed Royce's Lamma to the hallowed Ground, the magnificent theatre of dreams and nightmares that is the Hong Kong Cricket Club oval, in what was going to be a close and testing affair.
The Ground, bathing in beautiful afternoon sunshine, benefiting from the lower humidity of the Hong Kong Autumn, a better day to play could not be had. Everyone was hoping the cricket would match the setting and, of course, after a close match that the Taverners would emerge victorious.
Lamma, technically appearing as a touring side fresh from the seafood restaurants and specialist coffee houses in “little Amsterdam”, won the toss and elected to bat.
Lamma Innings
Captain George set the field, looking to limit the tourists to wishful thinking than a smash and grab on the trophy Lamma brought with them. Mike Muir took the gloves and the Chef and Bob Bettridge opened the attack, taking on the finest Lamma had to offer. Lamma struck out from the off, with solid batting demonstrated throughout the order. However the Taverners' fielding was superb, runs limited and bowling tight with 4 bowled, 2 batsmen run out and 4 catches taken.
Fielding highlights included a display of quick reactions by Gianluca, to field and throw to the stumps dismissing opener Andy Scott for 8.
The Chef, at the tip of the spear, took the bowling honours with a haul of 4 for 21 off 5 overs, which included the coveted wicket of Lamma top scorer Tom Downey. And the Chef finished off the Lamma innings sitting on a hat trick!
Watching Tom smash his way to 51, which included 6 sixes and a brace of fours, I was reminded of the quote from Jon Arlott on a Clive Lloyd four: “A stroke of a man knocking a thistle top with a walking stick”.
Gianluca, putting behind him a series of great smashes, completed a memorable fielding day by bowling the hard hitting Mike Iannini.
The Lamma batting was solid throughout the order, with their batsmen punishing lose balls to put them over the rope and (if the netting wasn't there) into the pool, or the Tennis Association courts, at every opportunity. Their innings including 9 sixes and 10 fours, a quality batting performance, leaving Taverners a high target to chase.
Lamma 197 off 35 overs. Notable: Tom Downey 51, Brenton McDonald 37, Mark Smith 33, Brad Tarr 30*.
Taverners: The Chef 4/21 and George 3/24.
The Taverners' fielding unit displayed great hands to take their catches and hard work in the field to limit a quality Lamma attack.
At the change, Captain George clearly felt proud of the team for the performance so far and that the game was within our grasp. Instructions given to go out, enjoy the afternoon sun, and play on towards what would be a tight but ultimately victorious finish.
No dopey performances from Lamma with the bat - it was a good thing that Joel had cut the grass earlier in the day... but how would they fair with the ball?
Taverners Innings
For the Taverners, Captain George trusted the start to seasoned opener Bob Bettridge (Bob opening both the bowling and the batting for the first time since he was 11!) and, in a rush of blood, the enthusiastic but inexperienced Jason Bailey.
Bob on strike calmly settled in seeing off the first over. Jason at the other end danced up the wicket towards a clear wide, attempting to smash Mike Ianninis' opening delivery, only to commit a novice error in missing the ball and leaving himself stranded outside of the crease. There is hardly a worse or lonelier sound to that of the rattle of the stumps, collected on this occasion by pumped up Lamma wicket keeper Brad Tarr, to end your day before it starts. Trevor Bailey summed up Jason's innings with the applicable quote: “On the first day Logie decided to chance his arm and it came off.”
With George (umpiring) hiding his face under his cap, Jason out for a GD retired to the dressing room and didn’t resurface until the Taverners had amassed 70 off 10 overs for the fall of only one further wicket - a disappointed Duncan was caught for 9 while going for the boundary to take the Taverners to 25 for 2.
After the early dismissals, what the team needed was a settling partnership. Bob solidly pushed on to retire unbeaten for 30* and, partnered with Doug Mulcock, advanced the score to 72 until Doug was caught by Tom Downing, off Paul Nind for a well earned 23.
Up next, George, who completed an innings worthy of a captain to punish a dropped catch and go on to make 22 off 26 balls. George and Dave took the score to 128 for 4 in a partnership of 56 before George was dismissed in a rare display of catching by Lamma - caught and bowled Mark Smith.
By now the victory was looking possible with the Taverners' higher run rate, but relax we could not, nor could we afford any more cheap wickets.
Gianluca up next, was unable to match his bowling performance and was bowled by Paul Nind for 2.
David had a superb afternoon at the crease amassing a highly respectable 26 before finally succumbing to a delivery from Runcieman.
Andrew at the crease faced the ferocious attack of Mark Smith who found the edge and Andrew was caught behind by the ever alert Brad Tarr. A quality quote, applicable in this circumstance is that of the great Greg Chappell: “I can’t really say I’m batting badly. I’m not batting long enough to be batting badly”.
Never mind Andrew, next time!
With Ashish making steady progress with the bat, punishing some lax fielding and dropped catches, the Taverners began to feel the match was swinging their way. Ashish made an unbeaten 24 off 25, anchoring the finish.
Enter Mike Muir, after a busy day in the gloves, to complete a match winning performance with the bat. Making an unbeaten 33 off 20 balls Mike, putting behind him the run out in the opening Taverners vs Taverners match, to slog his way to a man of the match innings characterised by smashing his first ball for a six, reminding us all of the quote from the lovable Richie Benaud commenting on a Justin Lager six: “He’s not quite got hold of that one, if he had it would have gone for a 9”.
The Chef, stepping in to complete the innings, faced 4 balls and finished with an unbeaten 6, seeing off Royces’ Lamma side for a tremendous Taverners victory. Queue the celebrations!
Taverners 200 off 33; Notable: Mike Muir 33*, Bob Bettridge 30*, David Doyle 26, Ashish Shukla 24* and Jason Bailey GD (for the wrong reasons).
Lamma: Tom Downey 1/23 off 6 overs, Paul Nind 2/26 off 4 overs, Mark Smith 2/12 off 3 overs.
A close and highly enjoyable match to open the visiting calendar. The trophy, kindly donated at every expense spared by Lamma, went to the Taverners.
Many congratulations and a big thank you must go to the tourists, Royce's’ Lamma, for a quality performance the result of which could have gone either way.
Man of the Match was a close decision with nominations for Bob Bettridge for his all round performance, Chef for his performance with the ball and Mike for gloves and bat. Voting was close between Chef and Mike, ultimately the accolade went to Mike for his memorable innings and hard working afternoon with the gloves. Well done Mike!
Speeches from both captains were completed with the teams enjoying a refreshing beverage. The only red eyes... those from hay fever.
The Taverners' performance can easily be summed up by the Bill Toomey [Athlete] quote: “There is no one magic move or secret that creates victory, but lots of little items that when added together can make you victorious.”
Saturday, October 12th
Saturday League Division Two
Pioneers CC vs. Lamma CC
Result: Lamma won by 47 runs
By Andy Fullard
Lamma’s winning start to the season was extended to three games on Saturday with victory over relative newcomers Pioneers CC at PKVR. Continuing to maintain his reputation as a useless tosser, Andy F. lost the toss again, but was invited to bat by the opposition. Pioneers were new to the league last season and had struggled to gain any momentum against all opponents, yet they showed signs of development from last season, bowling plenty of line and length and making batsmen wait for bad balls (more of the bad balls later!). Our batting order suffered the problem of not being able to kick on from the starts players made. Seven batsmen made it into double figures, but through a combination of good bowling, some not-so-good umpiring and a couple of poor shots, our highest run-scorer was Royce McDonald, run out for a battling 32 in what became a match saving eighth wicket partnership of 79 with Lamma debutant Henry Parker (25 n.o.). Pioneers failed to bowl their allotted 35 overs in the given time limit, meaning Lamma would only be obliged to bowl 33 overs at them in reply. Look at the result of the match and then consider that the reason Pioneers did not bowl their overs in time was that they bowled 32 wides and 2 no balls, which culminated in the addition of exactly 47 runs to the Lamma total! Lessons for everyone there! We eventually compiled a competitive 184/8.
Our bowling response began strongly, with wickets falling at regular intervals to all bowlers. Indeed, all eyes were on an early finish as we continued to strike up to and after drinks, leaving Pioneers 90/8 after around 18 overs. What we hadn’t banked on was the arrival of the man at no. 10 for Pioneers, clearly misplaced in the batting order, or perhaps choosing to demote himself so as to give way to the development of other players in the side. A few well-placed drives and thumps later, the score had moved on to 137/8, with the man at the wicket successfully farming the strike and leaving Pioneers with the distant, but possible hope of scoring under 50 to win in 7 overs. Thankfully one lusty blow too many had the man caught comfortably at long-off by Richie Abbott, leaving Richie himself the chance to dismiss a slightly less daunting no. 11 and finish the game off, much to the relief of all concerned.
This was a solid team performance, and collectively with the ball and in the field, we acquitted ourselves excellently. Lots of good catches and there were 2 wickets apiece for Ben Cooper, Alex Price and the returning Brenton McDonald, whilst Royce produced figures of 3-22 to add to his first innings knock of 32. The result, complete with bonus point, puts us level at the top of the table with HKCC Witherers; our next opponents!
Saturday League Division Two
Pioneers CC vs. Lamma CC
Result: Lamma won by 47 runs
By Andy Fullard
Lamma’s winning start to the season was extended to three games on Saturday with victory over relative newcomers Pioneers CC at PKVR. Continuing to maintain his reputation as a useless tosser, Andy F. lost the toss again, but was invited to bat by the opposition. Pioneers were new to the league last season and had struggled to gain any momentum against all opponents, yet they showed signs of development from last season, bowling plenty of line and length and making batsmen wait for bad balls (more of the bad balls later!). Our batting order suffered the problem of not being able to kick on from the starts players made. Seven batsmen made it into double figures, but through a combination of good bowling, some not-so-good umpiring and a couple of poor shots, our highest run-scorer was Royce McDonald, run out for a battling 32 in what became a match saving eighth wicket partnership of 79 with Lamma debutant Henry Parker (25 n.o.). Pioneers failed to bowl their allotted 35 overs in the given time limit, meaning Lamma would only be obliged to bowl 33 overs at them in reply. Look at the result of the match and then consider that the reason Pioneers did not bowl their overs in time was that they bowled 32 wides and 2 no balls, which culminated in the addition of exactly 47 runs to the Lamma total! Lessons for everyone there! We eventually compiled a competitive 184/8.
Our bowling response began strongly, with wickets falling at regular intervals to all bowlers. Indeed, all eyes were on an early finish as we continued to strike up to and after drinks, leaving Pioneers 90/8 after around 18 overs. What we hadn’t banked on was the arrival of the man at no. 10 for Pioneers, clearly misplaced in the batting order, or perhaps choosing to demote himself so as to give way to the development of other players in the side. A few well-placed drives and thumps later, the score had moved on to 137/8, with the man at the wicket successfully farming the strike and leaving Pioneers with the distant, but possible hope of scoring under 50 to win in 7 overs. Thankfully one lusty blow too many had the man caught comfortably at long-off by Richie Abbott, leaving Richie himself the chance to dismiss a slightly less daunting no. 11 and finish the game off, much to the relief of all concerned.
This was a solid team performance, and collectively with the ball and in the field, we acquitted ourselves excellently. Lots of good catches and there were 2 wickets apiece for Ben Cooper, Alex Price and the returning Brenton McDonald, whilst Royce produced figures of 3-22 to add to his first innings knock of 32. The result, complete with bonus point, puts us level at the top of the table with HKCC Witherers; our next opponents!
Monday, October 14th
Saturday League Division Two
HKCC Witherers vs. Lamma CC
Result: HKCC Witherers won by 8 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Crunch! It appears the honeymoon is over and we now need to focus on picking ourselves up to get back to winning ways. Our winning streak was rudely interrupted by a very strong HKCC Witherers side in our top of the table clash on Monday’s public holiday.
Perhaps Andy should continue to lose the toss or just forfeit it in future, as for the first time this season he won it, and the team lost the game! (I’ll call “Edge” next time).
Lamma batted first on a turf wicket at HKCC and began really well, with runs coming at a swift rate from both Butt Hussain and Tom Callahan, before Hussain was caught behind for 23, top-edging a hook shot to their own premier league player Mark Wright. Still, at 50/1 we had a strong foundation. Although Brad
Tarr fell cheaply, Richie Abbott and Tom pushed the score up towards the 100 mark, before Richie fell and sadly quickly afterwards so did Tom, having made an accomplished and excellently composed 45. There was a collective feeling of disappointment for Tom, who thoroughly deserved to go on and make a half-century.
After that the wheels fell off somewhat rapidly, with Ross Burgmann’s quick-fire 19 being the only moment of joy in a capitulation to 141 all out. General agreement was that the wicket was turning a lot and there was plenty for the bowlers, although a more competitive total would have been 180 plus.
More disaster befell us early in Witherers’ reply. After taking an early wicket, Hussain took a tumble in his bowling follow through during the eighth over, badly injuring his knee and facilitating his immediate exit from the game to go to hospital. We are informed that the injury was a sprain, and he will be able to make a full recovery in a week or so. Thankfully our next league outing is four weeks away!
The most painful thing about losing this particular game was that once again we could not ask for more effort and commitment from our bowlers and fielders. Akbar Khan's bowling is becoming increasingly difficult to get away, and although we only managed one more wicket from Royce late in the run chase, the standard of our ground fielding was excellent. Every man walked off the pitch knowing that every effort had been made to contain the situation. The simple truth is that we got nowhere near enough of a total to defend, and the Witherers batting attack is very strong this season.
So we look forward to when we next play on November 9th, to work on the batting and hope to consign this defeat to the dustbin with a resurgent performance against LSW Warriors. Second spot after four games is a healthy place to be and we need to maintain a top four place up to the nine game mark in the season to have a chance of playing for promotion. Onward.
Saturday League Division Two
HKCC Witherers vs. Lamma CC
Result: HKCC Witherers won by 8 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Crunch! It appears the honeymoon is over and we now need to focus on picking ourselves up to get back to winning ways. Our winning streak was rudely interrupted by a very strong HKCC Witherers side in our top of the table clash on Monday’s public holiday.
Perhaps Andy should continue to lose the toss or just forfeit it in future, as for the first time this season he won it, and the team lost the game! (I’ll call “Edge” next time).
Lamma batted first on a turf wicket at HKCC and began really well, with runs coming at a swift rate from both Butt Hussain and Tom Callahan, before Hussain was caught behind for 23, top-edging a hook shot to their own premier league player Mark Wright. Still, at 50/1 we had a strong foundation. Although Brad
Tarr fell cheaply, Richie Abbott and Tom pushed the score up towards the 100 mark, before Richie fell and sadly quickly afterwards so did Tom, having made an accomplished and excellently composed 45. There was a collective feeling of disappointment for Tom, who thoroughly deserved to go on and make a half-century.
After that the wheels fell off somewhat rapidly, with Ross Burgmann’s quick-fire 19 being the only moment of joy in a capitulation to 141 all out. General agreement was that the wicket was turning a lot and there was plenty for the bowlers, although a more competitive total would have been 180 plus.
More disaster befell us early in Witherers’ reply. After taking an early wicket, Hussain took a tumble in his bowling follow through during the eighth over, badly injuring his knee and facilitating his immediate exit from the game to go to hospital. We are informed that the injury was a sprain, and he will be able to make a full recovery in a week or so. Thankfully our next league outing is four weeks away!
The most painful thing about losing this particular game was that once again we could not ask for more effort and commitment from our bowlers and fielders. Akbar Khan's bowling is becoming increasingly difficult to get away, and although we only managed one more wicket from Royce late in the run chase, the standard of our ground fielding was excellent. Every man walked off the pitch knowing that every effort had been made to contain the situation. The simple truth is that we got nowhere near enough of a total to defend, and the Witherers batting attack is very strong this season.
So we look forward to when we next play on November 9th, to work on the batting and hope to consign this defeat to the dustbin with a resurgent performance against LSW Warriors. Second spot after four games is a healthy place to be and we need to maintain a top four place up to the nine game mark in the season to have a chance of playing for promotion. Onward.
Saturday, November 9th
Saturday League Division 2
Lamma CC vs. LSW Warriors
Result: LSW won by 7 runs (run-rate calculation)
By Andy Fullard
How many times must the bails fall down before they're removed for good? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. On a very windy Mission Road ground, feeling the fall out from Typhoon Haiyan, we unfortunately fell to a second successive league defeat to a very strong LSW team... but not without a great deal of grit from a determined batting performance.
Andy returned to the familiar territory of losing the toss and we dutifully went about the business of fielding against what can best be described as a hard-hitting, slightly clumsy but effective LSW batting attack. It is never pleasant to see your bowling being bludgeoned by a combination of sheer brute force and pure ugliness at times in regard to shot selection, but the fact remains that on their way to an eventual 215-9, the LSW batsmen found a formula that any fielding team would find it difficult to bowl and set fields to. They are now unbeaten in four league matches and will cause headaches for their opposition in future games.
A toiling bowling attack was highlighted by a return of three wickets for Royce McDonald and a brace for Mark Burns. But the real highlights of our time in the field (apart from the removal of the bails for good after they repeatedly were blown off the stumps!) came in the form of two run-outs, both a combination of the accurate throwing arm of Mark Burns and the efficiency of Butt Hussain's wicket keeping. The ancient saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again," was epitomised by a number of LSW batsmen attempting to take on Monty's arm at extra cover, whilst deciding it is better not to give a clear call to your batting partner. This culminated in one near miss very early on, followed by two perfectly executed run-outs in quick succession. Perhaps instead of sticking to ancient sayings, a leaf could be taken from Homer Simpson's book; "Kids, you tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is Never Try."
Chasing a total of 215 is no easy task, but we began our innings steadily before Tom Callahan was adjudged LBW for 9. As with our innings against Pioneers, we then showed that all of our batsmen are capable of making starts, with 7 men in total making it into double figures (Richie Abbott 39, Andy F. 21, Hussain 20, Akbar Khan, Monty and Royce 14, Simon Joyce 12), but we still need that big score from someone to put a stamp of authority on our efforts. These are still positive signs though, as we are proving that through collective batting efforts we can still make decent totals without leaning too heavily on the same player each game. Our eventual total of 185-9 was admittedly well short of the target, however we were denied our final over (yes, we would have required five sixes and a single to win!) due to an apparent case of bad light which was decided upon by the umpires... It was in fact darker than the Mariana Trench and had been for several overs! Then came into play the mystical art of re-calculating run rates, something to do with the stars aligning, having a word with the spirit world and pressing a lot of buttons on calculators. Our defeat was reduced to just 7 runs, just to drive a more painful nail into our coffin!
We will seek a return to the feeling of victory in two weeks time against CCC Jing Sun. This season is far from over...
Saturday League Division 2
Lamma CC vs. LSW Warriors
Result: LSW won by 7 runs (run-rate calculation)
By Andy Fullard
How many times must the bails fall down before they're removed for good? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. On a very windy Mission Road ground, feeling the fall out from Typhoon Haiyan, we unfortunately fell to a second successive league defeat to a very strong LSW team... but not without a great deal of grit from a determined batting performance.
Andy returned to the familiar territory of losing the toss and we dutifully went about the business of fielding against what can best be described as a hard-hitting, slightly clumsy but effective LSW batting attack. It is never pleasant to see your bowling being bludgeoned by a combination of sheer brute force and pure ugliness at times in regard to shot selection, but the fact remains that on their way to an eventual 215-9, the LSW batsmen found a formula that any fielding team would find it difficult to bowl and set fields to. They are now unbeaten in four league matches and will cause headaches for their opposition in future games.
A toiling bowling attack was highlighted by a return of three wickets for Royce McDonald and a brace for Mark Burns. But the real highlights of our time in the field (apart from the removal of the bails for good after they repeatedly were blown off the stumps!) came in the form of two run-outs, both a combination of the accurate throwing arm of Mark Burns and the efficiency of Butt Hussain's wicket keeping. The ancient saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again," was epitomised by a number of LSW batsmen attempting to take on Monty's arm at extra cover, whilst deciding it is better not to give a clear call to your batting partner. This culminated in one near miss very early on, followed by two perfectly executed run-outs in quick succession. Perhaps instead of sticking to ancient sayings, a leaf could be taken from Homer Simpson's book; "Kids, you tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is Never Try."
Chasing a total of 215 is no easy task, but we began our innings steadily before Tom Callahan was adjudged LBW for 9. As with our innings against Pioneers, we then showed that all of our batsmen are capable of making starts, with 7 men in total making it into double figures (Richie Abbott 39, Andy F. 21, Hussain 20, Akbar Khan, Monty and Royce 14, Simon Joyce 12), but we still need that big score from someone to put a stamp of authority on our efforts. These are still positive signs though, as we are proving that through collective batting efforts we can still make decent totals without leaning too heavily on the same player each game. Our eventual total of 185-9 was admittedly well short of the target, however we were denied our final over (yes, we would have required five sixes and a single to win!) due to an apparent case of bad light which was decided upon by the umpires... It was in fact darker than the Mariana Trench and had been for several overs! Then came into play the mystical art of re-calculating run rates, something to do with the stars aligning, having a word with the spirit world and pressing a lot of buttons on calculators. Our defeat was reduced to just 7 runs, just to drive a more painful nail into our coffin!
We will seek a return to the feeling of victory in two weeks time against CCC Jing Sun. This season is far from over...
Saturday, November 23rd
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. CCC Jing Sun
Result: CCC Jing Sun won by 109 runs
By Andy Fullard
Playing with a slightly depleted bowling attack, and against a fully loaded CCC Jing Sun side, we slumped to a third successive league defeat on a largely forgettable Saturday at PKVR. Andy is getting used to the idea of simply asking the opposition what they want to do before the game starts these days, seeing as the toss of a coin appears to be a thoroughly pointless exercise.
To sum up: They batted, scored a lot and bowled so tightly that we never got going! We toiled hard in the field, with a strong and determined display from a committed set of fielders. Indeed, we could have been forgiven for thinking we were well set after Tom Woods scooped two wickets in the opening over. Our joy was made to be short lived by a strong middle order. We lacked major bowling depth with several regular contributors absent, and conceding a final total of 264-5 meant we were always going to be up against it in our run chase.
The chase began solidly, with an opening partnership of 40 between Brad Tarr and Butt Hussain. The problem was that the opposition bowling was so accurate, the partnership used up 12 overs and we found ourselves requiring 220 more runs in 23 overs, with the bowling attack being relentless and giving nothing away. Our final total of 155-9 saw most men come and go at regular intervals without ever really settling, with the huge exception of Brad, dismissed on the last ball of the game for a battling 71.
A bad day at the office, but major credit had to be given to a very disciplined Jing Sun team, who definitely look like a strong proposition against anyone. Next up we have CCC Hung See, a very important game for two reasons. Firstly we are desperate to reverse the losing trend, and it is also our last game before a seven week lay-off. We’d all like to enter that break with smiles on our faces!
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. CCC Jing Sun
Result: CCC Jing Sun won by 109 runs
By Andy Fullard
Playing with a slightly depleted bowling attack, and against a fully loaded CCC Jing Sun side, we slumped to a third successive league defeat on a largely forgettable Saturday at PKVR. Andy is getting used to the idea of simply asking the opposition what they want to do before the game starts these days, seeing as the toss of a coin appears to be a thoroughly pointless exercise.
To sum up: They batted, scored a lot and bowled so tightly that we never got going! We toiled hard in the field, with a strong and determined display from a committed set of fielders. Indeed, we could have been forgiven for thinking we were well set after Tom Woods scooped two wickets in the opening over. Our joy was made to be short lived by a strong middle order. We lacked major bowling depth with several regular contributors absent, and conceding a final total of 264-5 meant we were always going to be up against it in our run chase.
The chase began solidly, with an opening partnership of 40 between Brad Tarr and Butt Hussain. The problem was that the opposition bowling was so accurate, the partnership used up 12 overs and we found ourselves requiring 220 more runs in 23 overs, with the bowling attack being relentless and giving nothing away. Our final total of 155-9 saw most men come and go at regular intervals without ever really settling, with the huge exception of Brad, dismissed on the last ball of the game for a battling 71.
A bad day at the office, but major credit had to be given to a very disciplined Jing Sun team, who definitely look like a strong proposition against anyone. Next up we have CCC Hung See, a very important game for two reasons. Firstly we are desperate to reverse the losing trend, and it is also our last game before a seven week lay-off. We’d all like to enter that break with smiles on our faces!
Saturday, December 7th, 2013
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. CCC Hung See
Result: Lamma won by 9 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Hallelujah! Get in! Jolly good show! Back slaps all round and better tasting beer afterwards! We finished off our league commitments for 2013 with a thumping win against CCC Hung See at Police School Road, ensuring we can return to league cricket in January 2014 with our sights still firmly fixed on a possible top four finish and chance to play for promotion.
Hung See are a development team consisting of Chinese players, and entered the league two seasons ago. It is fair to say that they are a weaker opposition than most, but they are certainly showing definite signs of development, with one player in particular, Henry Siu, playing a very measured and responsible innings of 41 in Saturday’s game. For a side who not so long ago were being dismissed for 60 or 70, they now appear to be regularly pushing well over the 100 mark, notably scoring 185-6 against their club mates CCC Jing Sun. We were able to bowl Hung See out for 125, with wickets shared around all bowlers and the excitement levels of the team were raised at the sight of new player Dave Thomas sending down some very quick stuff, at times turning Brad into a leaping goalkeeper behind the stumps! Importantly the effort in the field (I say “field”, what I mean is “cabbage patch”) was really strong again. Seven good clean catches were taken, and a nod needs to go to Mike Iannini for his watchfulness and consistency on what is the most unpredictable outfield in Hong Kong!
Whatever signs of improvement Hung See have begun to show in their batting was not reciprocated in their bowling attack though, and Brad and Hussain produced a fast partnership of 113 in 10 overs, before Brad fell for 24 to former Lamma player Henry Lam, leaving Hussain and Mike to administer the last rites, Hussain finishing unbeaten on 69. The scoreline gave us not only a bonus point but also a huge boost in overall run rate, which could prove pivotal in the league ladder after the all-important first nine games.
Now on to our Club Christmas Lunch and a look forward to the crucial two games in January and February.
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. CCC Hung See
Result: Lamma won by 9 wickets
By Andy Fullard
Hallelujah! Get in! Jolly good show! Back slaps all round and better tasting beer afterwards! We finished off our league commitments for 2013 with a thumping win against CCC Hung See at Police School Road, ensuring we can return to league cricket in January 2014 with our sights still firmly fixed on a possible top four finish and chance to play for promotion.
Hung See are a development team consisting of Chinese players, and entered the league two seasons ago. It is fair to say that they are a weaker opposition than most, but they are certainly showing definite signs of development, with one player in particular, Henry Siu, playing a very measured and responsible innings of 41 in Saturday’s game. For a side who not so long ago were being dismissed for 60 or 70, they now appear to be regularly pushing well over the 100 mark, notably scoring 185-6 against their club mates CCC Jing Sun. We were able to bowl Hung See out for 125, with wickets shared around all bowlers and the excitement levels of the team were raised at the sight of new player Dave Thomas sending down some very quick stuff, at times turning Brad into a leaping goalkeeper behind the stumps! Importantly the effort in the field (I say “field”, what I mean is “cabbage patch”) was really strong again. Seven good clean catches were taken, and a nod needs to go to Mike Iannini for his watchfulness and consistency on what is the most unpredictable outfield in Hong Kong!
Whatever signs of improvement Hung See have begun to show in their batting was not reciprocated in their bowling attack though, and Brad and Hussain produced a fast partnership of 113 in 10 overs, before Brad fell for 24 to former Lamma player Henry Lam, leaving Hussain and Mike to administer the last rites, Hussain finishing unbeaten on 69. The scoreline gave us not only a bonus point but also a huge boost in overall run rate, which could prove pivotal in the league ladder after the all-important first nine games.
Now on to our Club Christmas Lunch and a look forward to the crucial two games in January and February.
Saturday, January 25th, 2014
Saturday League Division Two
Centaurs vs. Lamma CC
Result: Centaurs won by 5 wickets
By Andy Fullard
In our first game in 2014, we chose to bat at Mission Road on a sunny day, against fellow independent team Centaurs. It was certainly an innings of two contrasting halves as we made steady progress towards the mid-innings drinks break and walked off in the solid position of 85-1. But losing the wickets of Butt Hussain for 39 and Andy Fullard for 30 in the couple of overs after drinks caused a run drought and an eventual collapse! With the exception of newcomer Dave Thomas’ contribution of a much needed 43, we saw an all too familiar story unfold as we shot ourselves royally in the foot and stuttered to a very disappointing 165 all out, featuring the worrying loss of the last 4 wickets for just 3 runs! As a batting team we are constantly reminding ourselves that we can be better than this, however we need it all to click much more regularly on Saturdays.
Defending a total of 165 at Mission Road is never going to be an easy task, but although the scoreline eventually showed that we came second on the day, it must be said that our showing with the ball was one of the tightest of the year. To contain our opponents’ scoring and make them bat until the end of the 34th over to get over the line was admirable from our attack, with all the regular bowlers making a concerted effort to restrict the flow of runs, all the time knowing that we had a sub-par total to defend. The addition of even another 15 to 20 runs to our total could have made the difference. Nevertheless, the Centaurs batsmen played sensibly to get over the line, leaving us very disappointed and knowing full well that the result now meant qualifying for the top 4 play-offs lay in hoping other teams’ results went our way in the subsequent weeks.
Saturday League Division Two
Centaurs vs. Lamma CC
Result: Centaurs won by 5 wickets
By Andy Fullard
In our first game in 2014, we chose to bat at Mission Road on a sunny day, against fellow independent team Centaurs. It was certainly an innings of two contrasting halves as we made steady progress towards the mid-innings drinks break and walked off in the solid position of 85-1. But losing the wickets of Butt Hussain for 39 and Andy Fullard for 30 in the couple of overs after drinks caused a run drought and an eventual collapse! With the exception of newcomer Dave Thomas’ contribution of a much needed 43, we saw an all too familiar story unfold as we shot ourselves royally in the foot and stuttered to a very disappointing 165 all out, featuring the worrying loss of the last 4 wickets for just 3 runs! As a batting team we are constantly reminding ourselves that we can be better than this, however we need it all to click much more regularly on Saturdays.
Defending a total of 165 at Mission Road is never going to be an easy task, but although the scoreline eventually showed that we came second on the day, it must be said that our showing with the ball was one of the tightest of the year. To contain our opponents’ scoring and make them bat until the end of the 34th over to get over the line was admirable from our attack, with all the regular bowlers making a concerted effort to restrict the flow of runs, all the time knowing that we had a sub-par total to defend. The addition of even another 15 to 20 runs to our total could have made the difference. Nevertheless, the Centaurs batsmen played sensibly to get over the line, leaving us very disappointed and knowing full well that the result now meant qualifying for the top 4 play-offs lay in hoping other teams’ results went our way in the subsequent weeks.
Saturday, February 15th
Saturday League Division Two
HKCC Gap Ramblers vs. Lamma CC
Result: HKCC Gap Ramblers won by 39 runs
By Andy Fullard
Other teams’ results did NOT go our way in the subsequent weeks! Unfortunately we entered our game against Gap Ramblers at HKCC knowing that the gap in points between them and ourselves was too wide to close and secure a top 4 placing for the last part of the season. So instead of playing for a play-off place, we were playing for pride, and to try and upset the momentum that Gap Ramblers would want to carry into the play-offs.
It didn’t start too well. Asked to take the field, we were able to “restrict” their order to 273-4 in 35 overs. Our bowling attack found itself being abused to the short boundary on one side of the field, and our usually very tight fielding was perhaps not up to scratch. A couple of dropped catches occurred earlier in the innings that 99 times out of 100 we would have taken. This was however compounded by skipper Andy Fullard taking a caught and bowled chance that 99 times out of 100 anyone would have dropped, making a mockery of the sitter he dropped at midwicket the previous over! By and large it was a forgettable performance on the field, and a huge task lay ahead for our batsmen.
The swashbuckling Simon Joyce charged out to open with Butt Hussain, and began to repeat his thumping tactics from our first league game, before falling for 14 in just the fourth over. Ross Burgmann then batted sensibly for 15, supporting Hussain in a 61 run stand before being run out. Then came a superb partnership between Hussain and one of this season’s new players Richie Abbott, who put together 97, including Richie’s maiden half century for the Club. After Richie’s departure (55), at 176-3, we were very much still in the hunt. Unfortunately the momentum would slowly begin to shift, with the loss of Akhbar Khan quickly, and then, after compiling his third league century of the season (102), Hussain was stumped attempting to go big and push the run rate along. A steady trickle of wickets in the dying overs while trying to battle a growing run rate eventually saw us fizzle out to 234-8 in our allotment of overs. We had, however, shown a lot of character in our batting compared to our previous innings against Centaurs. There are three league games left to play, and we intend to play them hard.
Saturday League Division Two
HKCC Gap Ramblers vs. Lamma CC
Result: HKCC Gap Ramblers won by 39 runs
By Andy Fullard
Other teams’ results did NOT go our way in the subsequent weeks! Unfortunately we entered our game against Gap Ramblers at HKCC knowing that the gap in points between them and ourselves was too wide to close and secure a top 4 placing for the last part of the season. So instead of playing for a play-off place, we were playing for pride, and to try and upset the momentum that Gap Ramblers would want to carry into the play-offs.
It didn’t start too well. Asked to take the field, we were able to “restrict” their order to 273-4 in 35 overs. Our bowling attack found itself being abused to the short boundary on one side of the field, and our usually very tight fielding was perhaps not up to scratch. A couple of dropped catches occurred earlier in the innings that 99 times out of 100 we would have taken. This was however compounded by skipper Andy Fullard taking a caught and bowled chance that 99 times out of 100 anyone would have dropped, making a mockery of the sitter he dropped at midwicket the previous over! By and large it was a forgettable performance on the field, and a huge task lay ahead for our batsmen.
The swashbuckling Simon Joyce charged out to open with Butt Hussain, and began to repeat his thumping tactics from our first league game, before falling for 14 in just the fourth over. Ross Burgmann then batted sensibly for 15, supporting Hussain in a 61 run stand before being run out. Then came a superb partnership between Hussain and one of this season’s new players Richie Abbott, who put together 97, including Richie’s maiden half century for the Club. After Richie’s departure (55), at 176-3, we were very much still in the hunt. Unfortunately the momentum would slowly begin to shift, with the loss of Akhbar Khan quickly, and then, after compiling his third league century of the season (102), Hussain was stumped attempting to go big and push the run rate along. A steady trickle of wickets in the dying overs while trying to battle a growing run rate eventually saw us fizzle out to 234-8 in our allotment of overs. We had, however, shown a lot of character in our batting compared to our previous innings against Centaurs. There are three league games left to play, and we intend to play them hard.
Saturday, March 1st
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. Laguna Gully
Result: Laguna Gully won by 4 wickets
By Andy Fullard
League Game number 10. Toss status: Won 2, Lost 8. Perhaps Andy can start seeking alternatives to tossing coins, such as claiming that being at the ground first gives you the right to choose what to do? Or maybe just barefaced cheating with a double headed coin?
Put into bat by Laguna Gully, we managed as a unit to recapture the “glory” of our innings against Centaurs, but this time in reverse! A succession of wickets fell early on to leave us reeling at 42-5, before the breaks were put on and order was restored somewhat by a tremendous partnership of 105 between Akhbar Khan and Lamma legend Mark “Monty” Burns. Akhbar compiled his second half century of the season, with Monty making 41, allowing us to at least have something to defend. With the departure of both men late in the innings though, we were skittled for 167. Another tough task to defend.
The encouraging fall of wickets at regular intervals kept us interested up to the drinks break, with Laguna Gully taking the break at 80-6. A good two wicket opening spell from Tom Woods was supported by a phenomenal spell of 3-28 from Akhbar Khan, who just for good measure threw a run out from square leg into the bargain. Greedy! But we could not break the seventh wicket partnership. Royce McDonald bowled a great spell of 7 overs for 16 without any luck getting a wicket, and run by run an eventual partnership of 98 saw the Laguna Gully boys home with three overs to spare. We have now won just 4 out of 10 games this season and seek to even up that balance with our final two matches this month. We started strong, and now need to finish strong to be able to hold our heads up come the end of the season. Come on boys!
Saturday League Division Two
Lamma CC vs. Laguna Gully
Result: Laguna Gully won by 4 wickets
By Andy Fullard
League Game number 10. Toss status: Won 2, Lost 8. Perhaps Andy can start seeking alternatives to tossing coins, such as claiming that being at the ground first gives you the right to choose what to do? Or maybe just barefaced cheating with a double headed coin?
Put into bat by Laguna Gully, we managed as a unit to recapture the “glory” of our innings against Centaurs, but this time in reverse! A succession of wickets fell early on to leave us reeling at 42-5, before the breaks were put on and order was restored somewhat by a tremendous partnership of 105 between Akhbar Khan and Lamma legend Mark “Monty” Burns. Akhbar compiled his second half century of the season, with Monty making 41, allowing us to at least have something to defend. With the departure of both men late in the innings though, we were skittled for 167. Another tough task to defend.
The encouraging fall of wickets at regular intervals kept us interested up to the drinks break, with Laguna Gully taking the break at 80-6. A good two wicket opening spell from Tom Woods was supported by a phenomenal spell of 3-28 from Akhbar Khan, who just for good measure threw a run out from square leg into the bargain. Greedy! But we could not break the seventh wicket partnership. Royce McDonald bowled a great spell of 7 overs for 16 without any luck getting a wicket, and run by run an eventual partnership of 98 saw the Laguna Gully boys home with three overs to spare. We have now won just 4 out of 10 games this season and seek to even up that balance with our final two matches this month. We started strong, and now need to finish strong to be able to hold our heads up come the end of the season. Come on boys!
Sunday, May 25th
Social Game
Lamma C.C. vs, HKUCC
Result: HKU won by 137ish runs
By Tom Woods
Lamma goes into meltdown
On a day that can only be described as ridiculously f@#*ing HOT, social skipper Woodsy lost the toss and Lamma were sent out into the heat to field. Things looked promising at the midway stage with father and son combo Brenton and Royce McDonald taking three wickets. Roycey’s catch to remove danger man Ali was nothing short of spectacular.
Sadly for Lamma, those three wickets were the only ones that would fall in the HKU innings. The HKU batsmen tonked the wilting, flaccid, lifeless, drooping, sagging Lamma bowlers to all corners of Sandy Bay. The pure, unadulterated relief on the faces of the Lamma players when Mick Fisher invoked the ‘mercy rule’ allowing them to trudge off the field after 32 overs (instead of the agreed 35) said it all.
Trying to find batsmen willing to head out and face the music was like trying to find a polar bear in a snowstorm (except not really as it was incredibly f@#*ing HOT!). Stand in player, Khan, got us off to a reasonable start, before Lamma’s middle order completely collapsed. When the seventh wicket fell and Woodsy wandered out, the writing was well and truly on the wall. No one, not even Woodsy himself, could have predicted what was going to happen next…
Woodsy hit 70!!! The innings included six 6s and six 4s and lasted about 30 balls. In between, Kahn returned to complete a nice 50. Gaffa made a rock-solid 14 seeing both Khan and Woodsy across the line for their 50s.
Needless to say, Lamma were all out for 200ish and never threatened HKU's colossal total. Special mention to Jeremy Payne, an HKU stalwart and occasional Lamma tourist who played his final game at Sandy Bay in this match. And did I mention that it was f@#*ing HOT!!!
Social Game
Lamma C.C. vs, HKUCC
Result: HKU won by 137ish runs
By Tom Woods
Lamma goes into meltdown
On a day that can only be described as ridiculously f@#*ing HOT, social skipper Woodsy lost the toss and Lamma were sent out into the heat to field. Things looked promising at the midway stage with father and son combo Brenton and Royce McDonald taking three wickets. Roycey’s catch to remove danger man Ali was nothing short of spectacular.
Sadly for Lamma, those three wickets were the only ones that would fall in the HKU innings. The HKU batsmen tonked the wilting, flaccid, lifeless, drooping, sagging Lamma bowlers to all corners of Sandy Bay. The pure, unadulterated relief on the faces of the Lamma players when Mick Fisher invoked the ‘mercy rule’ allowing them to trudge off the field after 32 overs (instead of the agreed 35) said it all.
Trying to find batsmen willing to head out and face the music was like trying to find a polar bear in a snowstorm (except not really as it was incredibly f@#*ing HOT!). Stand in player, Khan, got us off to a reasonable start, before Lamma’s middle order completely collapsed. When the seventh wicket fell and Woodsy wandered out, the writing was well and truly on the wall. No one, not even Woodsy himself, could have predicted what was going to happen next…
Woodsy hit 70!!! The innings included six 6s and six 4s and lasted about 30 balls. In between, Kahn returned to complete a nice 50. Gaffa made a rock-solid 14 seeing both Khan and Woodsy across the line for their 50s.
Needless to say, Lamma were all out for 200ish and never threatened HKU's colossal total. Special mention to Jeremy Payne, an HKU stalwart and occasional Lamma tourist who played his final game at Sandy Bay in this match. And did I mention that it was f@#*ing HOT!!!
