ANZA IV (5th Grade) vs Golden CC 2 Match Report

On one of the smallest and non picturesque pitches in Singapore ANZA4 took on Golden CC in the battle of the school ground. The ground was sopping wet with yesterdays rainfall but the opposition captain was confident that the ground would dry out in an hour. After returning from McDs for a morning brew we found a small gathering of kids looking like they wanted to play for ANZA (maybe they knew we needed some help). Actually the ground was double booked with the little league so rather than picking teams from a school yard line up and against some of the well wishes of the not so happy parents we decided to go out and play on their ground in a show of defiance


This is where things turned a little pear shaped and something tells me asking the kids to sod-off wasn't good karma as we proceeded to loose the toss with a double headed rupee and asked to bat (im bringing me own coin next toss).



Normally you would relish the chance to bat first in the cool morning breeze, but on a rain sodden ground with a pitch that produced lifting balls behind a good length, and balls hugging the pitch just off a length you wish you had won the toss



The first wicket was..well.. you could call it lots of things



Silly, Stupid, Batsmans Brain Fart, Suicidal run to nowhere, pilot error



And there were a number of comments after the batsman (who shall not be named for fear of ridicule) walked back to his mates looking for solace


What the hell you were you thinking?



The last time I saw something like that when I was playing under 12's



Lets just say it involved a few practice swings, a stumping and the rest of 5th grade can fill in the gaps over a pint. The batsman has found his true calling in 5th grade


Back to the game...


To the oppositions credit that were bowling good lines and the swinging ball sent the stumps tumbling on numerous occasions. Geoff "the ever reliable" Forday stabilized the innings with a handy 11runs then James Dickinson and Koushik Muruthy piled on some handy runs until Koushik decided to end his innings ala IPL style by sweeping the ball into the stumps. James was top score a tantalizing 48 not out and Anza ended with a respectable 140 off 24 overs.


Afternoon tea wasn't worth the wait or the words im writing so on to the bowling.....


It was as if we were playing on a different pitch than the early morning, no venomous spitting balls off a length we new the going was tough. Both Vankat and James Howlett bowled well under the conditions, however some dropped catches off Vankat took toll on his figures. In fact most players looked like a roadrunner on a treadmill so the wet conditions didn't make for many catches. The batsmans had full intention on making little of our score. Two lost balls in the opposing school ground and 11 guys resembling more like a chocolate easter bunny later the opposition managed the score with 8 overs to spare.
 Our goal was to get more than 5 points and get a game in the process. Well we got a game and at least we had fun in the process of losing. Points will have to wait till next game



Notable bashers
James Dickinson 48 not out

Koushik Muruthy 19

Sundries 44


Notable chuckers
James Dickinson 2- 20 off 3
James Howlett 1 for 24 off 5

Written by
Andrew Spain (Captain)