Hot Dogs cooked on Hindenburg gas burner

Pleasure v Hot Dogs, SRC, Sunday 21 April 2019

On 21 April Bashers CC Pleasure took on Hot Dogs on Pitch 2 at the Shanghai Rugby Club. We recorded our first win of the season with some outstanding efforts.

Paps (S Jolly) nearly recorded one of the great individual performances, just failing to get on the honours board as both batsman and bowler. Fisty Cymbals (OV Voice) showed why so many are calling him the Bashers Boycott. The skipper, Bambi (JB Boynton), led by example, while Hindenburg (A Marshall) exploded into action to bring the opposition innings crashing to the ground (obvious – I know). In fairness, we probably had the better of the conditions, as when they were batting the light was poor. Having said that, the drizzle didn´t help our bowlers. Luckily, our bowlers didn’t bowl drizzle.

Bambi won the toss and elected to don pads. Fisty Cymbals showed that the skipper was right to have confidence in his batters as he made his way into double figures before inexplicably missing a straight one and – rather like Boycott himself – standing there as if the ball hitting off stump shouldn´t really be allowed to interrupt his innings. No matter – as Swiper (VV Viswanath) strode out to the middle. Unfortunately, he had to leave shortly afterwards, as he had also missed a straight one that swung into him and was LBW.

Hot Dogs have some good bowlers and it was difficult batting. After 23 overs we had 120 on the scoreboard. Luckily, at this point the skipper and Paps set about demolishing the bowling attack and took us to 198 for three. As someone pointed out on the coach back to ‘Cages’, their strike rate was highly impressive: almost 100 for Paps and 130 for Bambi.

But could the bowlers come to the party? 

One of their opening batsman (SA Bhosale) had a fantastic eye and set about attacking everything that Warcry (Y Feng) and Giraffe (C Bhansali) sent down at him in the first four overs. Catches were going down. Heads were dropping. Thoughts were turning to post-match beers – about 10 minutes away, or so it seemed in the gloom. Luckily, at this moment Paps came in from the pavilion end and induced a mistake so that Bhosale sliced a rising delivery onto his stumps. 

Paps claimed another three of wickets, with some unplayable deliveries that had the stumps ripped out of the ground and cartwheeling at Korean (S Malcon) and the slip cordon. The skipper turned in a few useful overs to cut the run rate and pile pressure on their batsmen. Stroker (TO Oickers) was involved in a sensational run out, sliding-and-throwing the ball in one swoop like a cross between a falcon, a spinning wheel and a cricketer. 

And then it was turn for Hindenberg. Five wickets fell in a blur of tight, aggressive bowling and fine wicket keeping from Korean. Two Hot Dogs fell caught, one was LBW and two had their poles rearranged. Glitter (M Sun) took a fine catch at point.

Hot Dogs were dismissed for 125 off 19.5 overs. The first team had also recorded a good victory, and so it was time for a few celebratory jars and match fines.