April 25, 2011 - Match Report

The day of the match was thankfully sunny (temperature in the shade: 22C; relative humidity: 68%). These warm conditions are considered ideal for cricket given the level of physical activity of the players rarely exceeds that of the spectators.

Shortly after the meeting time of 1300 hrs the BBQ arrived and the pitch underwent pre-match preparation from the field staff. Some practice sessions were undertaken to allow players to become accustomed to the flow and bounce characteristics of the pitch and outfield. There appeared to be some confusion regarding straight-arm bowling, but that was soon ironed out by some 'community-coaching'.

At 1500 both teams were assembled and counted, the rules of the game detailed and the coin tossed - an unlucky call by MEG coach/captain Brendan allowed the FEMs to assume the advantage of batting first. The rules of the day were adapted in order to give everyone a 'fair go' - a great tradition of our ANZAC heroes (the match being coincidentally held on the Australian national holiday of ANZAC Day). In practice this meant that the number of deliveries the batter was allowed to receive was limited, and instead of the batter's innings being terminated by a wicket, they instead lost 5 runs.

The FEM innings panned out quite well, with only 2 batters ending up with a negative score. High scorer was Joy on 14 (in his second innings), followed by special guest Dan, on 12. The total number of runs scored was 108, provided largely by the tail-end batsmen and women. This was offset somewhat by the loss of 8 wickets, bringing the net total to 68.

The MEG bowling performance was quite respectable, with no bowler conceding more than 14 runs in their over of 6 balls. The high performer was Karen, who conceded 2 runs for 2 wickets (2/2), followed by Juan David with 0/1.

At the change of innings, the MEGs took to the daunting run chase with gallantry, which unfortunately did not translate into runs. 2 of the opening 4 batters fell with a score of minus 10 at the close of their allotted balls. Presumably the excitement of the chase combined with pressure from the coach was too much for the MEG lineup and the trend of negative scores continued. High scorer of the innings (and the day) was Brendan, on 24, followed by Ilina, on 12. Having played a high-risk game to score 109 runs, the team was badly hurt by wickets, losing 90 runs to end up on 19.

The FEMs produced a mixed bowling scoresheet, with concessions of up to 19 runs by FEM bowlers. High performer was Javier with 0/3, followed by Cristina, with 2/2.

A second innings was considered but, given the hour, stumps was called for the day instead. There continued great festivities including slack-lining and Mongolian wrestling late into the night.

The records of the day have gone into the archives and the names of the victors carved into the Perpetual Trophy. The players will no doubt rest up after the strenuous game before commencing training with their sights set on the ANZAC Day Challenge 2012. In the meantime, we await with great anticipation the First Annual Herderbau Touch Football Carnival to be played later in the Summer Season.