Village
Greenies V Kingston Cricket Club,
Aug 2007, Sabina Park.
With
characters the likes of Jabba and pirate-looking Greybeard...
not to mention a speeding, freaked out cripple... or
a shady club called Platinum... or a bloke who now goes by the name "Bongo"
and a bus driver whose only CD was a very short-lived Celine Dion 's Greatest
Hits, the Village Greenies Sabina tour of 2007 turned out to be a classic. With
a streetwise Hector leading his band of very merry men, the land of Bob,
or Dennis Brown if you're in the know, welcomed the lads with rain, a jerk stand
from hell and about 4000 Red Stripes!!
Big thanks must to go to Hector. Surely
we only scratched the surface but Hector showed the lads a fair slice of what Jamaica
had on offer
and who also parked our freckles in the next best thing to a beer in a hammock
on a cliff side bar up over the mountains in Ocho Rios... with
awesome views and an all too easy-going attitude that had Ledge taken back to
memories of a bar out in a reptatious town called Nimbin back in
Aussie.
Did we
make an impact?? You bet. The Kingston Cricket Club
has officially thrown open their doors and we have been welcomed back with open
arms, as it is fair to say that in all its history they have probably never seen
a fine session / bar tab the likes of ours!! With groundsman "Jabba" and a wily
Graybeard to keep us entertained, the Heinies were coming out by the crate
load!!
Truthfully I was under the impression Sabina’s
match stats were to be locked away; never to be found, burned and scattered
across the land of Bob… or thrown into the never-never of "what goes on a
trip ...stays on a trip" but alas they have somehow found their way to this
report. Sh*t sorry lads!! To be truthful, we never stood much of a
chance (these Jamaicans could play) but in the end the game was
exactly that - a friendly match fought out in good spirit. One interesting side
note illustrating just one of the contrasts between the two teams was in our
training schedules. One Wednesday a week with ten blokes at best doesn’t quite
compare with 3 nights a week with the use of indoor facilities where an average
turn out is somewhere up around 60!!
Ok, so
we may have been mildly hung-over as the
bus pulled into a rain free Sabina but if you had been on the bus ride of bus
rides back to Kingston that previous night, where
for the first time, as we bounced and bopped back on over the mountains, where
Bob hit the airwaves for the first time and Sam "the Bongo" Dawson was
born, we could be excused for being somewhat rusty! Not to mention our day
that started at 10am up in Ocho Rios .
Big
Red (or the man who was tagged by a Jamaican as "the man who only drinks and
smokes"!) as usual provided non stop entertainment, although at one point
we thought we were a dead certainty for a lynching, when a Rasta-man in a
wheelchair was taken for a flat strapped run up and down the sidewalk by Red!!
Locals stopped in the street dropping their shopping bags staring, mouths agape,
none too many were smiling but thankfully the Rasta man didn't seem to mind!!
Dinner’s entertainment at Dunn River Falls was also supplied by O’Connor. In an
attempt to find his missing sunnies, the threat was thrown to all, that if we
didn’t let on where they were, the tables would be upside down in seconds and he
was going home!! Of course the dopey bugger didn’t realize they were still on
his blo$dy noggin!! And when arm wrestling broke out at one end of the table,
Craig Scott was deemed unbeatable. That was until Red yells out from nowhere to
one of the chef/ waiters, "Hey High Tower... come and take on Scott!!". It
wouldn’t have been the same with out Redsy on board, I tell
ya!!!
Hector’s call for a 1am curfew was respectfully
adhered to by all, but Hector’s final words of wisdom at dinner before heading
back to Kingston went something
along the lines... "Gentlemen, we have had a fantastic day here in Ocho Rios
and we have
a very big task tomorrow. Let’s make this our last round of drinks...". And with
that it was a cheers to Hector and all.
If we were in the army, the troops would surely
have all been court-marshalled. Not ten minutes later, as the bus pulled away
from Dunn's Falls, a gas station on the outskirts of Ocho
Rios was gutted
of red stripes. The bus, joined by Bruce and Bob, along with the fellas vanished
on into the night.
That Sunday morning we had picked up a couple of
locals to fill the team, namely "Jo Jo" (Hectors nephew... a.k.a. High
Tower) and "John John". With a photo shoot of the lads and Sabina's surroundings
complete, Hector walked out for the toss. To the sounds of many in song from a
Sunday morning church somewhere out beyond the grounds, Hector won the toss.
1ST INNINGS
Greenies take to the field
in Sabina.
Not unlike an enormous amphitheater, the first
thing that strikes you standing in the field here is the sound of the willow
hitting leather. A stock standard block sounds like ruddy canon fire! And you
can only imagine what a full blooded clobbering sounded like, trust me - we
know. We saw plenty... mostly over our heads. To say that these blokes could
play was somewhat of an understatement. And that outfield, sh#t we'd be making
scores over 300 had Smith Road even come close!!
In what became standard practice, the two openers walked
off, retiring themselves on 52 and 58 respectively. And they were bl%$dy kids!!
In that time there had been 5 sixes and 11 fours... and we had High Tower bowling
pretty well in all that! Then a fella by the name of Morgan came out. He was
on the wrong side of at the least 45 years of age (I think Hector mentioned he
had played for Jamaica ) and the only
thing stopping him making the Windies team at that time was a bloke called
Gordon Greenidge. Stuff me he could hit 'em... I think Ledge's first two balls
to Morgan never came back!! Then another went over my head and over the ropes.
But Ledge won the day taking our first wicket when Morgan went for it again,
smashing a mistimed hit way up out near the ropes, with yours truly shatting
himself as it headed my way... thankfully it stuck to the
hands!
3*/140 from 19. (*Technically!)
An
Aussie Queenslander by the name of Nash was
having his first hit out for Kingston after
relocating to Jamaica to fire up his
cricket career. Ledge had apparently played along side him back in Aussie (small
world ...eh?). Anyway, Nash walked away after taking it easy with 7 fours and
making 50 odd too. The other fella by the name of Winter decided to walk away
with him!
Barnaby
didn't. He was sent packing, as Hector was finally rewarded
for his efforts - busting into Barnaby's legs. And a fella by the name
of Scott followed close behind with High Tower putting somewhat more effort into
a ball than telling all of us where the hell to stand, sending middle stump
flying. With a team strike rate of 123, the pain was over. As for the bowling
stats, did I tell ya about our day up in Ocho Rios !!! Of the
Greenies, Hector had the best economy rate, at a shade under seven.
End of Innings. 7*/262 from 35.
2ND INNINGS.
Lunch upstairs was shared with picture framed
memories of touring teams of old, before it was our turn to show blokes a thing
or two about cricket. So with both openers Wetherell and Jackson back in the
clubhouse for about 20 odd runs, we sent Craig Scott and High Tower out in
retaliation. Both were looking settled, with Kingston bowling spin
from both ends. We weren't sure if it was pure tactic, or Kingston trying to
make a day of it, or be it just plain old arrogance, but the Greenies would not
see any of their renowned fast bowling for the remainder of this
day.
Scott
put on a hard earned 25, notching up two
boundaries before being caught in close. Ledge is coming out. It's a certainty. Kingston
is just
outright arrogant. Ledge nicks a ball to slips, which is duly caught... but not
one of them seems remotely interested!! Ledge is standing there like a raw
prawn, not knowing if he's out or what, while the bas#$rds walk around like it
never happened. Big Red, the star of last week's triumphant semi final, had no
luck either after being stumped trying to be the first Greenie to stick a ball
into the new stands!!
6/68 from 22.
Rain barrelled through from the east, forcing the
covers to come on for a second time that day. The Kingston fellas had had
enough, and were into the beers as the rain passed. Even the umpires had gone
missing! Keen for a hit on Sabina, I stupidly pleaded my case for a return to
the field, using the "blokes had paid a lot of dosh to be here etc, once in a
lifetime opportunity blah blah blah" line. Groundsy Jabba even had his hand out
looking for money to pull the covers off! Alas they were one over later. The
umps returned and the tailenders were given their chance to have a hit on
Sabina.
Rups whacked a ripper four before being caught by
Morgan and didn't I feel like the biggest moron after dragging everyone back
out... only to be bowled for a golden! With John John run out for 15, Hector and
Sammy Bongo Dawson wagged the tail. Bongo Dawson was in scintilating form,
belting two boundaries before carrying his bat for a well earned
15.
107 all out.
As mentioned earlier, the fine session was a
beauty. Forgive me but I'm somewhat vague on the awards though the fine bottle
was empty pretty bl%$dy fast!! The club's catering was first class, with tables
set out for all the lads, and surprisingly they never ran out of beer!! Speeches
from both captains emphatically embraced a return and with luck we shall
once again play on Sabina.
| Sunday, August 12 2007 (11:40) at
Sabina Park |
| Village Greenies Jamaica 2007 won
toss and decided to field |
|
Kingston XI |
Village Greenies Jamaica
2007 |
| 262 for 3 (35.0 overs) |
107 all out (34.2
overs) |
|
|
| Batsman |
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
Mins |
4s |
6s |
S/r |
| R Johnson |
retd, not out |
|
52 |
50 |
74 |
4 |
3 |
104.00 |
| S Ricketts |
retd, not out |
|
58 |
47 |
82 |
7 |
2 |
123.40 |
| B Nash |
retd, not out |
|
59 |
52 |
65 |
7 |
0 |
113.46 |
| D Morgan |
c S Richards |
b A Ledger |
15 |
7 |
13 |
2 |
1 |
214.29 |
| C Winter |
retd, not out |
|
28 |
24 |
45 |
4 |
0 |
116.67 |
| K Scott |
|
b H Tower |
15 |
20 |
21 |
2 |
0 |
75.00 |
| D Barnaby*+ |
lbw |
b H Robinson |
2 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
66.67 |
| S Johnson |
not out |
|
6 |
6 |
52 |
0 |
0 |
100.00 |
| P Harrison |
not out |
|
4 |
2 |
39 |
0 |
0 |
200.00 |
| Extras |
1nb 20w 2lb 0b
0pen |
23 |
| Provisional Score For
Innings |
262 |
| Penalties awarded
following Innings |
0 |
| Total |
262 |
for
3 |
| Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
Wd |
Nb |
S/r |
Econ |
| H Tower |
7.0 |
2 |
32 |
1 |
2 (2) |
0 (0) |
44.00 |
4.57 |
| R Bool |
6.0 |
0 |
57 |
0 |
7 (7) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
9.50 |
| H Robinson |
6.0 |
0 |
41 |
1 |
0 (0) |
1 (1) |
37.00 |
6.83 |
| S Dawson |
5.0 |
0 |
36 |
0 |
1 (1) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
7.20 |
| A Ledger |
5.0 |
0 |
35 |
1 |
2 (4) |
0 (0) |
32.00 |
7.00 |
| M Jackson |
3.0 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
1 (1) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
8.33 |
| S O'Connor |
3.0 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
1 (5) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
11.33 |
| Batsman |
Fall of Wicket |
Partnership |
Batsmen |
Over |
| R Johnson |
*112-0 |
112 |
R Johnson (52) S Ricketts
(52) |
15.1 |
| S Ricketts |
*121-0 |
9 |
S Ricketts (6) B Nash
(2) |
17.0 |
| D Morgan |
140-1 |
19 |
D Morgan (15) B Nash (4) |
19.5 |
| B Nash |
*232-1 |
92 |
B Nash (53) C Winter
(28) |
30.0 |
| C Winter |
*232-1 |
0 |
C Winter (0) K Scott (0) |
30.0 |
| D Barnaby |
239-2 |
7 |
D Barnaby (2) K Scott
(3) |
31.5 |
| K Scott |
258-3 |
19 |
K Scott (12) S Johnson
(6) |
34.4 |
| Village Greenies Jamaica
2007 |
| Batsman |
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
Mins |
4s |
6s |
S/r |
| M Jackson |
c T Coke |
b K Scott |
4 |
12 |
38 |
0 |
0 |
33.33 |
| S Wetherell |
|
b S Ricketts |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
50.00 |
| C Scott |
c(sub) |
b D Morgan |
25 |
43 |
71 |
2 |
0 |
58.14 |
| J Wayne+ |
c B Nash |
b P Harrison |
25 |
49 |
39 |
1 |
1 |
51.02 |
| A Ledger |
c K Scott |
b D Morgan |
0 |
3 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
| H Tower |
run out (C Winter) |
|
15 |
37 |
39 |
2 |
0 |
40.54 |
| S O'Connor |
st(sub) |
b D Morgan |
3 |
14 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
21.43 |
| R Bool |
c D Morgan |
b P Harrison |
8 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
160.00 |
| S Richards |
|
b P Harrison |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
| S Dawson |
not out |
|
15 |
30 |
30 |
2 |
0 |
50.00 |
| H Robinson* |
|
b T Coke |
6 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
46.15 |
| Extras |
0nb 4w 0lb 1b
0pen |
5 |
| Provisional Score For
Innings |
107 |
| Penalties awarded
following Innings |
0 |
| Total |
107 |
all
out |
| Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
Wd |
Nb |
S/r |
Econ |
| S Ricketts |
2.0 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
2 (2) |
0 (0) |
14.00 |
7.00 |
| D Barnaby |
7.0 |
1 |
21 |
0 |
1 (1) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
3.00 |
| K Scott |
5.0 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
30.00 |
1.60 |
| D Morgan |
7.0 |
2 |
30 |
3 |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
14.00 |
4.29 |
| P Harrison |
7.0 |
2 |
19 |
3 |
1 (1) |
0 (0) |
14.33 |
2.71 |
| C Winter |
3.0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
1.00 |
| R Johnson |
3.0 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.00 |
3.33 |
| T Coke |
0.2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2.00 |
3.00 |
| Batsman |
Fall of Wicket |
Partnership |
Batsmen |
Over |
| S Wetherell |
5-1 |
5 |
S Wetherell (1) M Jackson
(1) |
0.4 |
| M Jackson |
18-2 |
13 |
M Jackson (1) C Scott
(11) |
5.0 |
| C Scott |
58-3 |
40 |
C Scott (14) J Wayne
(25) |
16.5 |
| J Wayne |
58-4 |
0 |
J Wayne (0) A Ledger (0) |
17.3 |
| A Ledger |
58-5 |
0 |
A Ledger (0) H Tower (0) |
18.2 |
| S O'Connor |
68-6 |
10 |
S O'Connor (3) H Tower
(6) |
22.4 |
| R Bool |
77-7 |
9 |
R Bool (8) H Tower (1) |
23.4 |
| S Richards |
77-8 |
0 |
S Richards (0) H Tower
(0) |
23.5 |
| H Tower |
97-9 |
20 |
H Tower (8) S Dawson
(11) |
30.0 |
| H Robinson |
107-10 |
10 |
H Robinson (6) S Dawson
(4) |
34.2 |
| Weather: Cloudy Pitch:
Hard |