KCL Match v Nagoya, 29th May 2005, at Fuji

"So you had a game today", said the guy in Nippon Rentacar when I returned the Hiace. “Polo you play, isn’t it?” Par for the course I suppose, but at least he had an excuse.

Little did we suspect that one of the most eventful games in Ichihara’s brief and colourful history lay in store for us as we all met up at Ochanomizu station. Sanny started the day as he meant to go on, not just “one short”, but 700 short as he sped through the toll gate at Kasumigaseki like a man who wants to get home from the pub before his chips get cold. Meanwhile in the other car generations were bridged and cultures crossed on the way out as the careers of Linda Carter and Halle Berry came under the microscope.

We rocked up at the ground in good time, only to find softball games in progress on the hallowed Fuji turf. Conflicting info left us none the wiser about the prognosis for the remainder of the day and we were lucky that Anton was there to check things out for us; otherwise we might have been looking at a “situation”.

At this stage the day hung in the balance, with a full to overflowing esky of beer sitting there, surrounded by thirsty listless Sharks. Luckily the Wombats-Lalazar game distracted some, and others headed to the nets to try and get into the groove. Eventually, the softies wrapped up their tournament early and it was “game on” for a 1pm start.

Nagoya captain Khan won the toss and put us in, and with Cam dropping down to 4 in an attempt to recover his form that meant that David P and Iain L headed out to try and give the Sharks a good start in a match reduced to 30-overs. Alas, it was not to be, as unbelievably for the third game running I ran myself out, this time without even facing a ball.

So, from stand up comic to stand-in captain and enter Dhugal, who contributed 17 off 23, before being bowled by Ahmed. At this stage we were 37/2 in the 9th over and scoring at a dangerously slow rate, due to the persistent Nagoya bowling. Cam wasn’t able to break the shackles, but David Lollback’s arrival in the 12th over proved to be just what was needed as first he steadied the ship with David P, and then launched into the bowling, finishing with 36 off 28 balls including a six and five 4s. Their 70 run partnership pulled the Sharks back into the game - after we’d taken 14 overs to reach 50, the second 50 came up in the 19th over.

After David L departed, caught trying to hit another massive 6 into the wind, David P pulled a hamstring and had to bat with Dhugal as runner until he was bowled by Ali Imran for 45 (74 balls, two 4s), then Ian Astley (16 off 21), Sanny (13 off 16) and Paul saw out the innings. Paul hit a six and then was poleaxed next ball by a bouncer which hit him smack on the lug with a sickening crack that sounded like a gunshot from the boundary. Once he had recovered and retired hurt that left Markus to face the last ball, which he scrambled a single from.

So, 175/6 was looking like a tough total to defend, but we were fired up by our skipper Dhugal and relishing the challenge. It all looked good when Levi snapped up their opener third ball of the innings, but that was to be the only joy for the Sharks as Saeed Masood and Naveed Akhtar put on a partnership of 89 for the second wicket.

David P broke up the party in the 14th over with a stunning horizontal catch to dismiss Saeed for 35 off Ian Astley’s bowling, and then Markus chipped in with the wicket of Saqib. Suddenly the Sharks were back in the hunt at 96/3, but Nagoya pulled away again with Naveed passing 50 in a flurry of boundaries before Ian A ran him out with a sharp bit of work. Four down with 44 required in 10 overs and the Sharks scented blood again.

From here on the game see-sawed dramatically as wickets tumbled and tensions rose. Atta ul Haq had his middle stump pegged back by Ian A and then Markus pulled off a great catch on the boundary to get rid of Tariq off Paul. 148/6 and the pressure was all on Nagoya.

Ian picked up his third wicket thanks to a fine catch by Dhugal, who then took over for his second spell and promptly flattened Shahzad’s middle stump to leave Nagoya reeling at 159/8, still 17 runs short.

Imtiaz Ahmed, however, proved his worth to his team, adding to his miserly bowling figures by cracking a six and a four to bring them back off the ropes, sealing the win with 15 balls to spare after we’d been treated to the sight of Nagoya captain Khan sprinting onto the field to argue the toss about a decision. Perhaps if he’d built up as much speed in his run up he’d have had more than the one wicket to show for it.

So, the first taste of defeat this season, made all the harder to swallow by the fact that it was partly of our own making. Although the game was threatening to boil over at one stage as some dubious calls (non-calls) were made by the square leg umpire, who managed to change his mind several times about one run out decision, our top order didn’t score quickly enough and a couple of catches went down that would normally have been safely pouched.

On the plus side, we found strength in depth in the team with Dhugal proving a worthy stand-in as captain for Chris. Cam ‘got any Guns & Roses’ Mulla donned the gloves in the absence of all our three designated keepers and did a fine job, conceding just two byes and only being denied a run out by some eccentric umpiring. Otherwise, Ian Astley bowled his heart out in his last game before returning to the UK for the summer and was justly rewarded with three wickets and a run out. Haste ye back, sir. Candidates for play of the day included David L’s 6 and David P’s mid-air catch.

The journey back was safely negotiated thanks to a replenished esky and a visit to the Golden Arches, although an unscheduled stop had to be made for Paul to make a deposit on the grassy knoll. Dunno which would have hurt more for Mr D. on Monday, his noggin or his arse.

To wrap up what has turned into a bit of a marathon screed (despite many things left unsaid) I’d just like to give mad props to Brett, whose sterling work with the purse strings goes unseen and unsung until he’s not there to do it, and Chris for driving in the face of temptation while everyone in the back is guzzling tinnies. Mate, I know exactly how you must feel now.

by Iain L.