Semis - part 2

Sat rolled around and all of us somehow managed to find the grounds that was halfway
to Canberra. We got there in time to watch the opponents wrapping up a practice session.
Some of the younger guys on our side had never seen a practice session and were quite
curious as to what happened in these sessions. They were not sure whether to clap or
laugh…

The more senior guys were happy to see the opponents wear themselves out before the
game. Rajitha (one of the most senior guys) quickly laid out his chair and went to sleep.

The toss was tossed and as usual we lost. We were asked to bat. Ricky padded up. Nirav
asked him to take his pads off. This has now become a standard routine. Nirav offered
a few throw downs to one of the openers who had no idea what that meant and politely
declined. He said he didn't like to eat too much before batting. Nirav acknowledged.

When it was time to head out to the middle, the openers headed out. It was such a long
walk to the middle that the more senior opener immediately called for a drink as soon as
he reached the pitch. The ground was huge and the grass was tall enough to hide a small
elephant. It was clear that runs were not going to come easily, but this didn’t worry the
opener because runs never came easily to him.

The innings got off to a flyer with the first ball being smashed for a quick single. Truth
is the ball landed in front of the fielder but due to the thick grass, the fielder had a bit of
trouble finding the ball so the batsmen were able to scamper a single. Not much happened
after that for about 8 overs or so other than many swings and misses while the batsmen
tried hard to get themselves out. Then finally one of the openers managed to get bat on
ball and that was the end of that – the ball went straight into the hands of the fielder.

Although the scorebook had only registered about 11 in about 8 overs, according to the
D-L (Dias- Las) formula that takes into account the new ball, the quality of the bowlers,
the freshness of the fielders, the height of the grass, the age of the batsman and distance
to the boundaries, Ndias had in fact contributed the equivalent of 180 runs while Las had
contributed about 30. Another good performance by the openers worthy of the man of the
match award.

So with not much on the board, we had lost our first wicket and it looked like it was
time to start packing the kit. Prasad made his way to the middle asking for directions
from the returning opener on his way out as he had left his GPS in the car. Prasad
and Lasith then guided BHCC to a point that was far from safe. Lasith swung wildly
at anything that was on the pitch and Prasad started going over the top. The lads in
the pavilion were struggling to watch and were too busy telling each other bad jokes.

Lasith eventually found a way to get out and made the long lonely walk back, sending
Chani to the crease. Las had amassed about 70 runs according to the DL formula.

Getting Chani to the ground was a story in itself. He claims to have been really busy all
week studying for some big exam and even threatened to pull out. When it was made
clear to him that his team came before his country and family, he agreed to find a way to
show up but pointed out that he was going to have to drive half-way around the country

to get there. It was made clear to him that we didn’t care.

He showed up in time and quickly padded up. We did warn him it was incredibly hot
out in the middle. He said not to worry because he wasn't planning on being out there
too long. But then Chani and Prasad decided the walk back was too long to make so
they stayed out there for a while – ordered drinks between balls. Prasad ordered a Scotch
on the Rocks but was knocked back by Ricky the bar tender who said his credit was no
good.

They built a pretty good partnership until eventually Prasad decided to test the catching
capabilities of the opponents and gifted his wicket. Unfortunately for us they accepted the
gift graciously and directed him to the pavilion.

Prasad refused to go anywhere until the third umpire was asked to review the catch. Sach
quickly reviewed his camera footage and fount nothing but pictures of nude models in
his memory. All the guys gathered around the camera and there oohs and ahhs eminating
from the stands. The then pointed Prasad to the dressing room. Prasad notified the umpire
that the dressing room was locked and preferred to stay out in the middle. The umpire
said he didn’t care. Sach did manage to capture Prasad on camera as he crossed the rope
on the way back.

This wicket set the cat amongst the pigeons because it is usually around this time that
our side starts heading for the parking lot. Captain NG told everyone to relax as he
always does and he put on his cape and charged out to the middle with bat held high.

Sam had shown up as he always does to support the boyz and because there were two
ICC umpires out in the middle he was putting his favourite pencil to the task with the
score book. Dilshan was getting lessons from Sam on how to score and he was seen
using all ten fingers and even a few toes to count.

Prasad came back and asked for the rule book to see if he could identify any loopholes
and claim victory immediately. He found a formula to calculate who wins based on
the number of overs bowled a day. Problem was the formula required adding a couple
of numbers together and this required Prasad to sit down and ask for a calculator.

While Prasad was scratching his head, the rest of the boys were becoming a bit fidgety.
Charuka got ready. Every man and his dog started telling Charuka what to do. In the one
ear he was told to go have fun, while at the same time being told in the other ear to not do
anything silly.

He decided he needed to take a leak, but because the changing rooms were locked he
went and relieved himself on the closest fence that separated the park from the neighbor’s
house. Not long after that, the owner of that house came out with her dog and walked
the dog straight up to our kit and asked the dog to take a leak. Fortunately the dog was
a cricket lover and refused to piss in the kit and instead chose to relieve itself into one
of the guys bags. We all agreed that this was a fair considering the damage Charuka had
done to the neighbour’s fence.

During a drinks break, captain NG was ordered to not go for any big shots to which he
simply responded by giving the finger. Chani and Nirav went back and paved the way.
Then Chani did some fancy footwork but not much else and was given out plumb in
front. He had no hesitation in walking back although from the pavilion, which was about
half a mile away from the centre and at a 45-degree angle to the pitch, the ball looked like
it was clearly going down leg. There was a bit of cursing by a few of the guys.

The praying had started at this point because we were still below the 100 run mark
and normally when we get to this stage, the innings comes to a rapid fire close.

Ricky was on his hands and knees, but we all knew he was praying for another wicket
so that he could get to bat. Aiyesh was getting ready by rolling up his sleeves, but
then Rajitha finally woke up and decided to pad up. Ricky was not happy with that
development. He asked the guys to be quiet so that Rajitha would go back to sleep.

Then Charuka and Nirav got going and were on fire. They were finding the boundary
with ease and running between the wickets like there was no tomorrow. Nirav once
again decided we had enough runs and found a way to make his way back. Things were,
however, still very precarious. We felt that if we could get to 170 we would have a
fighting chance. We were still some 40-50 runs short of that.

Rajitha strolled out. Sam quickly put one run against his name and was about to give him
run out before he had even reached the crease, but then he did the unexpected. As soon
as he hit the ball he started running, and then the whole team started shouting for him to
crease his bat. So he creased his bat from half way down the pitch and got in safely, albeit
barely.

He then proceeded to score runs in an unprecedented performance. Sam was baffled by
this and was very irritated. He was expecting to put three runs against Charuka’s name
and 1 run out against Rajitha. Instead he was made to work. These guys blew away there
averages with this one innings.

Charuka top scored with a brisk 46 while Rajitha got his top score for the past 10 years
– previous high score being 16. Ndias pointed out that Charuka’s performance needed to
be attributed to Ndias’ coaching in the nets the previous night… He took the credit for
Charuka’s 46 runs, taking his own score to 49!

Eventually both Rajitha and Charuka handed their bats over to the rest in waiting and
they didn’t disappoint either. Sam was a bit disappointed with the amount of work he
was made to do, but even he was seen smiling with the total. Aiyesh, Sacha, Dilshan and
Baner put on some great partnerships.

At one point Ndias was asked to send out a message to the batman asking them to get a
few more runs. He went out and told one of them that their car was being stolen. That got
them him running.

In the end, Dilshan contributed 28 runs in no time while Baner hit a quick fire 9. We
ended up with 207 for 9 after 70 overs. No other team has batted 70 overs this season.

The boys were pumped on Sunday to rip into the opponents. Prasad and Rajitha were
busy losing another match across town and were replaced by Tricky Sam – that is Ricky
and Sam.

The morning started with Dilshan sending a frantic sms to everyone saying his small toe
on his left foot was in pain and he was not sure if he would be able to contribute much to
the side. He was told to use one of his other toes.

Chani then bowled two balls and started holding his leg. He spent the rest of the day
limping around but still managed to bag 4 wickets. Sacha took the new ball and was on
heat. Between Sacha, Nirav and Chani, the batsmen struggled.

They managed to score their required 3 runs an over. At drinks they were on track with
3 for 84. So Ricky was thrown the ball to give the batsman some relief… His two overs
cost as much as Nirav’s 17 overs. The opponents paid for Ricky’s beer after the game.

Then Dilshan was brought onto the field to intimidate the batsman by standing in first
slip. The very next ball flew off the bat and went straight to Dilshan who tried to get
out of the way, but his toe refused to corporate. In the end he had to protect himself and
the ball got lodged between his palms. He claimed the catch – that is he claimed that he
meant to catch it… We all knew better…

Nirav took a similar catch. He was so shocked that he caught it that he ran around the
pitch screaming with his hands in the air… The guys had to chase him and tackle him to
get him to stop. We were not sure if he was in pain or if it was the pleasure of seeing the
ball in his hands. Ricky gave him a big kiss and all was well…

The opening batsmen proved to be a serious thorn in the side and kept going. He finally
launched into one ball that was going for six about three feet off the ground. It was
travelling like a bullet until the mid-on fielder pulled off some incredible field and
knocked it to the ground, saving his team 5 runs.

The batsman then hit another beautiful cut shot that went straight into Las’ hands… Las
quickly ran away to avoid being kissed by Ricky. Ndias pointed out that had the previous
big hit not been stopped, Las would not have had the opportunity to take that beautiful
catch… everyone agreed that Ndias deserved all the credit for Las’ catch. He told Sam to
put that catch down under his name.

Then towards the end, another partnership started brewing. Chani tried to bowl one of his
faster balls, but due to him only having one leg to stand on, it was one of the slowest balls
he’s bowled all season. The batsman hit it straight up in the air. Ricky shouted at the top
of the voice that the catch was his. Everyone else shouted a big “NO” but it was too late.
The only other person close to it was Baner, but he fled the scene, deciding it was better
to console Ricky than have everyone console him.

All the guys immediately started walking towards Ricky preparing their words of
consolation even before the ball had finished going all the way up. Then it started coming

down and Ricky locked his eyes firmly on it. Ricky has had a lot of practice looking
straight up into the sky – something he’s mastered during his bowling.

The ball came straight down and landed on his thumb. He didn’t flinch. Somehow it
managed to stay balanced on his thumb long enough for him to claim it. All the guys
who had their boots ready to rip into Ricky rear end immediately patted him on the
back instead. Nirav gave him a big kiss. That catch more or less sealed the match.

Of course, Nirav still had to take a few more amazing wickets with some dodgy balls that
went to the left and the right and then the left again, but that catch was a definite turning
point.

Nirav bowled one ball that was going to the slips as a clear wide so the batsman let it
go, but then it turned around, came back and took the off stump out of the ground. The
batsman stood there baffled as did the umpire and all the fielders… Nirav, however,
was doing laps around the pitch with his hands in the air and had to be tackled one more
time…

It was a great win with everybody (except for our opening batsman) contributing to the
win. The opening batsman said he wanted to know what it was like to be carried by the
side, hence his decision to not contribute.

All in all, it was a great performance and a great ride to the finals… Just one more such
performance now and … everyone will be spared this drivel…

How’z That…