Bashers Cricket Club

Bashers,
The Business Team are in the Final!!!

Yesterday, in an absolute rip-roaring game of cricket, we held our nerve and managed to beat the Devils in a low-scoring thriller.

An 08:30 start at the SRFC was always going to be unpleasant, but the team arrived in fine fettle  with a combined total of zero hang-overs to share between the team.
A damp outfield with conditions set to improve made this a difficult decision upon the toss – but fortunately the Devils won, and the New Anti-Basher  decided to have a bowl first.
His decision seemed vindicated as the Bashers top-order struggled against the Newton/Anugula new ball partnership. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals until Cassius and Paps started to gradually turn things round. Cassius eventually departed, and useful contributions from the lower order and some fantastic  running between the wickets combined with Paps’ 37 meant the Bashers reached a final score of 146 – a total we would have settled for at the drinksbreak. Interestingly… or embarrassingly…  this total was reached without a single boundary.
The Devils began their run chase ominously – with Anugula successfully chancing him arm and sending the ball to all corners with  a combination of text-book slogs and agricultural heaves. They raced to 87/1 after thirteen over – with a special mention to Don Juan whose three overs contributed 33 runs…
The decision was made to combine our lethal slow bowling partnership of Inquisition and Divinyl who had tied the Devils up last time we played them and again this ploy worked. Men crowded round the bat and huge pressure was applied on the batsmen. It worked.
Leppa took 4 for not many in his 8 overs, Divinyl 3 off  8 as the Devils lost their last 9 wickets for 45 runs.
It was breathtaking stuff – a great example of Bashers spirit – turning the match around through great running, great fielding and great bowling.

Victory clutched from the jaws of defeat. Magical.

Next week – Bashers vs K2 final. Bring it on.

Epic!

The Bashers did represent over the weekend, well done fellas. Newest Basher Danny “Saint” Morrison proved he is a worthy Basher.  A lot of  stuff happened, much no doubt forgotten and quite a bit probably best forgotten.

First a handful of piccies to seal some of the memories are here

higher resolution versions are available of you ask BS

Secondly let’s all use the comments section here to log our choicest moments from the sixes in a kind of group hug lumberjack report.

As the clock struck 7AM on a balmy October’s morn, a handful of battle wearied Bashers soldiers converged on the Big Bamboo bound for SRFC headquarters in WaiGaoQiao, our enemy this week = K2. ‘Made In’ was the first casualty claiming [incorrectly as it was later pointed out] that he was incapable of pulling up after Swahili’s B’day bash, and was thus pulling a dodgy one. Pussy. So much for your 50 n.o. out predication and 5 wickets. 2^nd no-show and hardly surprising was Circus, always happy playing the role of the clown, but obviously not at 7:00 AM on a Sunday morning. Lightweight. Swahili was also MIA [I’ve got a feeling his b’day party the night before was more a gay orgy than actual party], but he managed to rock up a little latter so he redeemed himself somewhat… (more…)

With the Bashers’ fully loaded city bus express, chauffeured by Shanghai Transport Service’s equivalent of a metro-sexual, heading straight for Bashers’ Beach, the scent of victory and Lambrusco was thick in the air. The ride itself was mainly uneventful, if you don’t count the fact that it was decided by unanimous vote that next year’s Bashers uniform would basically be designed by Dolce and Gabbana (scarves, handkerchiefs and cummerbuns…please).

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It all seemed perfectly normal for a bright sunny Sunday morning; Birdshit slept through the first alarm, Tank was late, Swahili wasn’t sure where he slept.  But it wasn’t until the Pusher revealed that he had got in a massive 24 hour kip the day before that it became clear the Pleasure team had been quietly building up its reserves.  It’s possible the impending afternoon of complimentary booze at Cuvee was a factor, but still, there was something different.

The Dulwich security guards were the first to feel the sting; tension mounted as a dozen Bashers armed with near empty tunnel beers faced off against a trio of uniforms bearing framed certificates warning us not to trespass.  Birdshit’s quick decision to conduct the team’s first ever warm up with a lap around the field defused the crisis, and possibly sowed the seeds of brilliance to follow.

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Spirits were high as Bashers Pleasure left the Big Bamboo in the team’s new transport mode of red taxis.

Captain Tank was well-primed that following Pleasure’s horrible loss the previous Sunday, the plan was to bat first and bat long.

He lost the toss and was promptly inserted, the God’s smiling on The Tank’s pre-ordained plan. Swahili and Smasher led the charge; Swahili lasting only a few balls including a dropped catch behind and Smasher contributing a quick fire 20 before perishing in the gully. Bugs followed and managed two boundaries before playing a horrible, mistimed pull which was snapped up at mid-wicket. Circus did not trouble the scorers which bought Tank to the crease to join Sir Dick who had come in at the last moment in preference to watching Lady Dick’s touch rugby game which was being played on an adjacent field. This was a rather pathetic attempt to show who wore the trousers in the Churchill household but one gratefully acknowledged by his team mates as he compiled 50 not out in a stand of 76 with Captain Tank whose repeated lusty baseball pulls from outside off to the leg side boundary seemed to consistently flummox the opposition. Long Dong aided Captain Tank at the end of the innings allowing Pleasure to set an imposing 169 to win.

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It was like poetry really… actually more like theatre, the sky was almost blue, the teams’ athletes, were loaded up with carbs, coffee, pies and dumplings. We were on the verge of something special today, sans hangover there was a definite air of anticipation. The date of 6.9 (2009) suggested it was going to be one to remember…

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… well done England.
No gloating from me, I promise…

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Heading into today’s match-up, K2 were the undefeated league leaders in the Santa Fe Premiership. The Bashers Business season， which had started with such promise， had hit a speed wobble having dropped their last two encounters. The Bashers were up for the challenge, but they would have to make do without the service of three of their key players. Their hippy haired singer was unable to front, behind the stumps, their top run scorer and skipper was too busy bad mouthing his teams batting ability out in the English Countryside. And their opening paceman the Cranky Walrus, had the shits.

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On a bright sunny afternoon, 5 bashers, 2 doggies and 3 devils rolled out of bed and found themselves waiting to play a game against the SCA XI at TongJi University. Despite severe reservations on the pitch, I mean football ground, the  lack of bounce in the outfield and a rather dangerous seaming warm up delivery from Channa (the 2nd most dangerous delivery he bowled), the pitch played relatively well.

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