WORLD TOUR – Match 7

Thrashed, is, I think a suitable word to describe this match.

Knowing we were playing the full Australian team at international level, I packed our team with batsmen, to ensure that we would at least get a few runs on the board.

We scored a magnificent 44 – and they kindly gave us an extra 10 in no-balls and wides. Most of our runs came off accidental nicks – their bowling was so fast that the tiniest edge sent the ball flying to the boundary, or (more often) into a fielder’s waiting hands.

Only as the match wore on did I manage to persuade some players to try blocking, or indeed leaving, and wait for an easier ball. As you will see, I (for instance) managed to last 40 balls before being out.

Tea was interesting. Kangaroo sandwiches. I’ll say no more.

It seemed unlikely that we would be able to defend such a low score. I tried out most bowling styles, to see which was having most effect. Spin bowling seemed to be the best option – we were at least beating the bat occasionally, and being reasonably economic. Sadly, in the end, nothing we could do was enough, and with the only smile being raised by my heavily flighted ball drifting very slightly (a new trick, I’ve just learned) and managing to fool an opener into playing outside the line (Richard kindly took this photo of the moment) they cantered past our score.

So, the series stands at 1-1, with the final match being played next week. It will be another international level game, so stand by for a similar result, unless our batsmen spend a lot of time in the nets this week.