Let the games begin!

I originally wrote this on Monday, 25 February 2008. Here it is in all it's glory:

This Friday just past saw the grading game of the Action Cricket team. The game went similarly to the first test for Bangladesh against South Africa. Lots of positives, but ultimately unsuccessful.

The raw numbers paint a bleak picture, with us conceding 84 runs in their 16 overs, and only managing 55 in response.

Things started excellently, with Ruaan winning the toss and electing to field. The pitch was hard, without much chance of breaking up, and had been well swept. Ideal for batting. However, with the relatively inexperienced team at his disposal, Ruaan decided that chasing a target would be much easier than setting one. The slab of concrete wasn’t going to change much between innings either …

The opening pair of the opposition fought through the netting and strode out to the middle, with our war-cry (“Woes”) ringing in their ears. JC – the premier strike bowler – pawed at the ground and set off to bowl his blistering pace. The first over was relatively tight, conceding just 8 runs. His strike partner, the inimitable Jeff, started poorly, with two wides, but then settled down. His fourth delivery produced the first wicket, caught at long off. The remaining overs, bowled by the feisty Fred and randy Ruaan, conceded a further 20 runs between them, and the first batting pair trudged off to a respectable 30.

5th change brought on Dano, who started with 2 no balls, but then bettered the performance with a catch off his third delivery. Danie did a great job holding up an end, with no boundaries off his first. The next over saw myself take up the ball, and bowl 2 no balls. The incredible lack of pace saw the batsman overbalance reaching for the third, and with the ball lodged firmly in our wicky, dazzling Darren’s fat rolls, it was a simple matter to fall on the stumps and get our first stumping. This heroic act complete, he limped to the bowler’s end ready to turn his arm over. 2 run outs later, and the second batting pair trudged off for another 30.

Then things started to change. The next 4 overs saw 4 wickets for 21; and the final four an emphatic 7 wickets for just 3 (final over was an incredible 4 for -9, bowled by Ruaan).

With a final cry of Woes ringing around the stadium, the sides swapped roles, and our opening bats (Jeff and Darren) took the field. A frightening 4 run outs, 1 stumping and 2 catches later, and they were off, limping and sweating buckets. The partnership had managed to put on 14 runs. Things did not get better.

The second pairing of Dano and Fred took to the field and immediately showed the rust. Dano was bowled off the first ball he faced, and stumped 3 balls later. Thereafter, Both Fred and Dano’s bats developed an aversion to the ground and 6 run outs came during the next 3 overs. The partnership wondered off dazed, having added just 2 to the score. Our third intrepid pair wandered in like doomed men on a sinking ship. Myself and Danie did manage to score some runs before Danie was stumped twice in quick succession. I then completely missed a full toss which thundered into my off stump (which the Charlie behind the stumps tried to suggest was actually an inswinging Yorker). Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke I missed another one in the very next over. We finished our allotted 4 overs adding only 5 runs.

The final pairing rescued some blushes, with the most solid partnership of the entire game. Ruaan and JC lost only 1 wicket (Ruaan stumped) and managed to put on 34 runs, including a massive 4 off the flashing blade of JC.

So. Grading game over, and now we wait with baited breath to discover which league we end up in.