And while Pleasure had posted a better record than the Dynamite last year, we were mindful that this was the team that had crushed us early in the season and run down what at the time was believed to be an insurmountable total on the back of a 164* performance. It was time to rectify these past performances.

The promised “Big Bus” was absent and so the Camel contingent of the Bashers piled in to the smaller, provincial party bus. Fully loaded and ready to go, we…waited…for Filthy to arrive. As nerves and Kooka pies were passed around, a person who has remained unnamed, dropped the entirety of his guts, forcing every window on the bus to be opened. Filthy arrived just as the tide of accusations was rolling towards Omega (“One might have slipped by”) and Tubby (“First you called me fat and now you say I smell”). Off to the ground.

Arriving at SRFC gave the entire team the opportunity to check in for the first time under the SRFC’s new U.S. airport-styled security procedures (apparently the millimeter wave machines are on their way). Alas, technical difficulties ensued and the entire team simply walked by the counter and onto the field. Amazingly, no terrorist attacks occurred.

New playing shirts were handed out (“very light, should be good in summer”) and the team took to fielding while Tank made sure the in progress Digital-Leopards match would be over on time (”I don’t care when you started, you’re finishing at 1:30, use penalty runs if you have to”). Filthy debuted a young new Indian fast bowler who had traveled from Suzhou to try out for the Bashers, then promptly lost him when the guy started talking to a couple of Leopards and then departed with them after their game.

Korean lost the toss, but achieved the desired decision, and the Bashers were put into the field.

Tight opening spells by Tubby and Growler produced a couple of early wickets and a fair bit of heartening Aussie chirp. Bugs followed, prepping himself for each delivery by uttering expletives at himself. Rock, playing in his final game of before departing for the Mid East offered flight and guile. Swoosh, Omega, Tank and Korean also figured in the Bashers bowling attack, with Swoop and Omega both taking two wickets apiece and Korean using his captain’s prerogative to boost the confidence of the batting side and his other bowlers by posting the most runs conceded from an over in his single appearance (after Tank had cowed the batsman into calling for a helmet).

The mantra of “Don’t bowl wides” was uttered at various points throughout the warm-up but it didn’t have an obvious affect on the bowlers as the extras piled up throughout the innings (except for Bugs, who was the only Basher to not concede a single extra).

At the end of 30, Dynamite’s score stood at 187, a high but not ungainly total.

Pleasure opened the attack with Pitstop and Manoj at the crease. Unaccustomed to batting without Pothole, Pitstop lofted the 7th ball he faced to point and was out for 1. Following a swaggering boundary shot, Manoj went down LBW on 7. Rock scored a boundary with the first ball he faced, and then let the second one through to his castle, out for 4. Growler followed quickly with a questionable LBW after he charged down the wicket at a short-pitched delivery only to be called out by the umpire when the ball hit his pads. He returned to the pavilion out for 1 and the Bashers in the midst of an epic top order Bashers collapse – 4 for 20.

It fell to Swoop and Tubby to stabilize the innings. And with plenty of overs in hand and a stream of well placed shots, that is exactly what they did. Dynamite sledges and cheers slowly turned to silence as Tubby and Swoop began to accumulate runs. When Tubby was finally run out after a quick fire 37 from 26 balls, the partnership had produce over 70 runs and turned the innings around.

Omega, who had witnessed most of the previous partnership from the vantage of square leg, produced a picket fence of singles, before lashing out for some boundaries. When Swoop was finally bowled for 46, this second partnership with had netted another 70 plus runs.

After Badabing was called out LBW on 4 (the third LBW of the day for those keeping score), Korean walked in with the Bashers needing less runs than balls to win. What followed was the best worst chirp of the day from Dynamite (“All the pressure’s on them!”). Needless to say, the confusion on the batsmen at the crease to this chirp didn’t affect their stroke play as Omega came within a foot of winning the match with a boundary, only to have to run three and leave the winning run to Korean, who finished the match with a single to claim the first victory of the season for the Bashers. 188/7.

• Sunday 18 March 2012 SRFC Far
  Bashers Pleasure 188/7 (4)
  Dynamite Devils 187/7 (0)

Bowling
Growler: 6-0-32-2
Omega: 5-0-36-2
Swoop: 4-0-16-2

Batting
Swoop: 46 from 64 (4 fours)
Omega: 44* from 42 (5 fours)
Tubby: 37 from 26 (5 fours, 2 sixes)

While en route, Bugs’ concern over the fate of the missing debutant grew to panic levels. He called his mobile, only to wake a “hot sounding” girl who confessed that she didn’t know where said debutant was; he insisted that Tank send an email with last minute directions to the SRFC; he even broached the idea of Shanghaiing a local who was walking along side the bus simply because he happened to be wearing all white. Despite this missing man, the team’s arrival at SRFC was uneventful, though looking back, perhaps the team should have taken better stock of the bus and its driver while disembarking.

Bugs discussed the finer details of the match with Pudong skipper and former Basher (sell out) James Gooding and after various accommodations were made for 12th men, and with the toss won, he put Pudong into bat.

With 10 men and a Pudong stand-in, the debutant having still failed to show, Growler took the new ball and began a spell of flight and guile that tied the batsmen down with swing and pace. Bowling six overs on the trot, he was effective against Pudong’s willow wielders, claiming the opening batsman’s scalp three balls into his final over.

Partnering Growler from the Pavilion End and bringing his newfound bounce and velocity with him was Tank. While his six overs were not able to pry a wicket from the stingy Pudong batsmen, Tanks’s constant bodyline and beamers bowled in quick succession did soften the resolve of the opening bats. With 12 overs gone, Pudong were at 73 for 1.

The late-coming debutant by this time had made it to the ground, having realized halfway through his Starbucks that the game was not being played at the Dulwich pitch that he was looking at. With a full team ready for the edges and slogs that were sure to come, Omega stepped into the attack, looking to work the batsmen into playing bad shots. The change of pace slowed the Pudong attack with the only runs from his first over coming on wides. With the wind causing the ball to swing down leg, Omega was replaced after two overs at the Far Field End by Swoop, who’s bowling was not as affected by the swirling conditions.

Bugs meanwhile, had taken up the attack from Tank at the Pavilion End, and soon sent the second opener packing with a misplaced shot, ably taken by Growler at Mid On. Wickets continued to fall as Omega made up for some shoddy slips work with a screamer of a one-handed catch at Forward Point.

Having already been dropped once by Pitstop in the deep, Pudong’s big batting Aussie (of South African descent apparently) was a bit reticent to hit in to the air and was only beginning to get going when A trois took a masterly delivered ball from Swoop and knocked the bails off for the fourth wicket of the innings.

With the pavilion to his back and the wind now in his favor, Omega took up the attack again and the wickets began to tumble. Two bowled, one caught and bowled, and one stumping later – with some 6’s and 4’s sprinkled in between – Pudong reached then end of their innings 213 for 9.

Having reached higher totals on two previous occasions this year alone, and with Pothole walking confidently to the crease with last match’s 74 firmly in his mind, Pleasure was ready to assault the Pudong score. Ten balls and four runs later, he was back at the tents, a thick edge caught at Backward Point.

Any concern was quickly forgotten when Growler squared up at the crease. The feeling of concern returned with a vengeance after only five balls when Growler was also sent back to the tents, having been caught in the covers. Omega replaced him at the crease, and after being inexplicably dropped by the wicket keeper on 8, was clean bowled by James Gooding the next ball.

The weight of the Bashers attack now fell to Pitstop, who fought through some able Pudong bowling and anchored a batting side sent adrift by the fall of the top and middle order. Debutant Tantric, who’s last outing in England was a duck, hit a boundary for his first runs, then watched a cover drive taken for yet another catch by the Pudong fielders. Fellow debutant El Gringo, fresh from the Mexican cricket league, was able to add runs, but could not bring down the required run rate as the score ticked up all to slowly in the face of Pudong’s concerted bowling attack.

Pitstop’s valiant innings came to an end in the 26th over when he hit into a catch. He finished with a hard fought 55 from 81 deliveries including five 4’s. El Gringo was out to a catch having added 33 to the score, Swoop ran himself out trying to stretch a 2 after a blazing 15 off 9 balls, and A trois smashed two of the first three balls he faced over the square leg boundary as the team tried to close the gap in the finals overs. When Korean waked to the crease with one ball to come in the innings however, Pleasure was only on 167, needing 47 to win. One leg glance later, and the Bashers arrived at their final score: 168 for 7 after 30 overs.

• Sunday 4 September 2011 SRFC Near
  Pudong Power 213/9 (7.53)
  Bashers Pleasure 168/7 (3.48)

With the game lost and an afternoon to look forward to, Pleasure headed to the parking lot with thoughts of cold beers and Bashers initiations in mind. The luxurious bus that had been so appreciated on the way out was no where to be found. Parked at the end of the driveway and sans driver, the team was left waiting in the SRFC lobby as calls were placed to the Camel and The Toe. After 45 minutes of fruitless searching, the bus arrived without explanation and the decision was made to conduct the fines session on the way to the Camel. With Omega (driving) and Korean (umpiring) missing, and two debutants initiated (the aforementioned slow to come Tantric and El Gringo), the fines session proceeded through the entirety of the return trip, providing ample distraction from the dreariness of Shanghai gridlock.

Extras and dropped catches and solid Pudong bowling put Pleasure on the back foot in the chase for a large total. It was unfortunately one chase that Pleasure was not able to complete despite an all-star performance from Pitstop. The loss drops Pleasure one rank in the standings but the team is still in the hunt for the final semi-final spot.

2011 Division Two

The Dragons represent the best cricketers in the SCC and are selected based on ability and as such the Dragons are the top team we can put out on the field.

The Pirates are selected to represent as many of the different clubs as possible with the intention of including players that have contributed to the SCC with their time, efforts and enthusiasm and whom may otherwise not get a chance to play for the SCC rep teams.

As mentioned earlier, it would be great if we could get as many supporters down to the SRFC to support your SCC teammates. They are representing everyone single one of us that plays cricket across the the seven clubs and three leagues. Buses depart from the Camel around 10:30 am on Saturday and 9:30 am on Sunday.

“With 60 games completed, and another 51 to go until the champions are crowned, the final standings are still very much up in the air. Parity is the word for the 2011 SCC League, where the final three playoff spots in each division remain attainable for the vast majority of teams.”

The full report and current league standings are available on the SCC website.

A great article on cricket (albeit written for an American audience). From the new sports website Grantland.com.

“We are told that in ODI (One-Day International) tournaments, the team that bats first wins 72 percent of the time. This whole thing is basically NFL overtime. So when India wins the toss and elects to hit first, it strikes us as odd that the announcers would bother to discuss whether that decision is wise, but they do. They then do an interview with the Pakistani captain who does an admirable job of pretending that if he’d won the toss he would probably have just chosen to bat second anyway, but you can clearly tell he just died a little inside.”

Click here to read the full article.

Fellow Basher Sandeep “Mr. Tickle” Abichandani of Kebabs on the Grille fame has opened a new Thai restaurant near People’s Square.

The restaurant, Thai Aroma, serves “authentic Thai food in the heart of the city,” and is offering up a 10 percent discount for every visit until August 31 for all Kebabs on the Grille guests.

Thai Aroma
Unit 103, 227 North Huangpi Road, close to Nanjing West Road, inside Central Plaza
Tel: 021 33150129 / 021 33150132 / 15921803307
Email: thaiaroma2011@gmail.com

Kebabs on the Grille
505  Zhongshan Nan Lu
Inside The Cool Docks, close to the Bund
Tel: 61526567 / 15921803307
www.kebabsonthegrille.com

Both liked to get dirty, only one could sing.

PhillieBot, a one-armed, three-wheeled robot, designed by engineers at the University of Pennsylvania, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday’s baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.

Full story here.