Time Flies

It is hard to believe it is now just over a year since our incredible trip!

Well watch this space because we can now confirm that plans are underway for a future tour to the Carribean. Look out!

Our club also has a new homepage up and running. Check it out here: http://www.pinjarracc.com.au

Mandurah Mail Wrap Up

This article appeared in the Mandurah Mail last week...

GWN News Wrap Up

This segment appeared on GWN news this evening. Nice job Cam...

Blog Stats

The google software allows for an amazing analysis of stats of visits to the blog site. Here is a brief summary so far:

Total visits: 1708
Total page views: 5440
Visits by country of origin: Australia 1299, India 304, USA 28, Canada 23, UK 9, Malaysia 6, Singapore 4, Mexico 4, Germany 2, Russia 2 and a host of other countries 1 ea.
Most visits in one day: 102 on July 6th (when the video was posted)
Most page views in one day: 407 on July 17th (the last day of our tour)

Don't go away - there will still be items of interest to have a look at here as the dust settles after a truly incredible tour.

Farewells and Welcome Home

It was mixed feelings as the touring group spent the final day on Friday shopping and packing. then at 7:30 it was off to the airport by bus. Sad scenes as we farewelled Lucky outside the airport, but not before presenting him with a brand new digital camera. Lucky had average about 250 pics a day on tour using my camera, (peaking at about 350 in 3 hrs on one morning!!) and so this was a very fitting gift. It was an awful feeling having to say farewell, leaving Lucky behind as the rest of us went inside the airport to check-in.
Bangalore airport was very modern and quite new, and after a few issues sorting out overweight baggage (not an issue in the end as they quite sensibly averaged the weight out over all group members) we were soon through customs and onto the plane. Take off on schedule just after 11pm but it was a long night flying through to Singapore with very little chance to sleep.
The 3 hour stopover in Singapore seemed to take an eternity, but then it was onto the plane and off to Perth. We arrived on time just after 2pm. Customs took some time as they were interested in the cleanliness of our cricket boots, which a few needed cleaning, but we were soon through the doors and into the warm welcome of family and friends.
The tour now over, back to the realities of work and our normal daily lives! Cam has his work cut out, with almost 31 hours of tape that needs review and editing. We all eagerly await Cam what you will produce.
And so it has ended. Farewell Lucky and Farewell India! We all have such wonderful memories of an amazing 18 days. Shabash, shabash! Hopefully we can look forward to welcoming a team from Bangalore to our shores in the not too distant future.
On behalf of everyone at Pinjarra Cricket club, thanks again to Senthil, Thilak, Dennis Lillee, MRF, The Park Hotel and their staff, Sriram Group, BEL Sports Club, the Solitaire Hotel and their staff, and of course Lucky, for a totally amazing experience that we will never forget.
Watch this space for updates on the DVD production.

School Visit Truly Remarkable

On a day that is best described as magical, the touring group on Tuesday visited Lucky’s former school. This government funded middle school provides free education to some very poor people.
But the school itself is also poor. Of the 500 children, most sit on the floor as only a handful of class rooms have desks. Materials such as books and stationery are very limited.

Through fundraising efforts, some generous donations, and the touring group itself, we were able to make a significant contribution to the school. On our first full day in Bangalore, several members of the touring party spent the day with Lucky securing good deals to purchase materials for the school from local wholesalers. We were very pleased to secure the following at good prices:

5 radios – to enable the use of radio broadcast lessons.
6 floor carpets – to make sitting on the floor a little more comfortable for the students
500 packs of stationery – consisting of books, geometry sets, pencil cases, pencils, sharpeners – one for every child of the school.
500 packs of uniform material – every child received enough material already cut to size to enable a new school uniform to be sewn. 500 shirts, 290 skirts, 210 shorts.

This material was delivered to the school in the morning morning and the touring group arrived early in the afternoon to check out the school, meet the teachers and children, and formerly present the materials during a school assembly.

We probably hadn’t thought much about how we were to be received but it is true to say that what happened exceeded any of our expectations, and totally blew us away. The head mistress, teachers (and educational officials that visited) treated us like Royalty (the only thing missing was the red carpet) and the kids treated us like rock stars.

None of the staff or children could speak any English at all, so the only communication we had was body language, (or Lucky if he happened to be nearby to translate). But the beaming smiles on all their faces said it all.

Smiles, waves, handshakes, photos, laughs, and more smiles. Johnny McKay was especially popular, at one stage appearing to be pulled apart by each arm and leg in a different direction, by about 20 children at once. The kids begged for their photo to be taken, and then mobbed whoever took it to have a look at themselves.

After checking out the classes and performing a few different activities with some of the children, we were then given lunch before a formal assembly took place. We sat up the front like royal dignatories. We were blessed, then each given a lay of flowers draped around our necks. 500 loud and happy children sat in front of us. Each of us then had the opportunity to give a gift pack to about 10 children one by one.

The proceedings were completed when each of us sat amongst the children as Lucky taught them to give three cheers. But is was so exhilarating to everyone that Lucky just kept going. 3 cheers turned into about 24. None of us wanted to leave but in the end we had kept the children longer than their normal school day and none of them had yet had their lunch!

Chaos then broke out as the energy level of the kids somehow rose to even newer heights as the food was brought out. As the teachers regained control we noted that the disciplinary tactics used by the teachers differ somewhat to what we use in Australia (a stick proving a very effective tool).

After farewelling the students (a few hundred handshakes and smiles each within a few minutes) we then had some photos with the teachers and it was all over. The teachers kept telling Lucky what a wonderful gesture this was by us, and how they had never seen any generosity like it.

So thank you so much to those supporters and donors who contributed. You really did make a difference to this school and the 500 students.

Thanks to:

Ravenswood Hotel

Rod Duggan

Barry House

Jeff Miller

Dennis Lillee

Anthony Stubberfield

Jason (Mad Dog) Muir

Boyd Colgan

Tony Massara

Kath Allen

Maggie Caramia from M&MJ Constructions

Hallyburton Family

Sam Burge

Final Match v BEL Sports Club July 16th

The Pinjarra Cricket Club today were welcomed like royalty to the BEL (Bharat
Electronics Limited) Sports Club for their final match of the tour. We assembled in front of the pavilion and received a formal welcome, introduction and handshake from the president of the BEL Sports Club and were then introduced to all of the players.

The ground was like nothing we had ever seen. A terrific grandstand, with our change room on the top level. As we walked the steps we were very pleased to see a welcome poster for us, as well as another poster advertising our match. The outfield was orange clay without any grass at all. Dusty and hard. Incredible. The wicket was clay with a matting cover, similar to what we played on in Chennai but in better condition.

The match was to be 30 overs each, and was umpired by state level umpires. Included in the onlookers was the captain of the Indian men’s Hockey Team, Sandeep Michael, who apparently now enjoys cricket as a growing hobby. Our touring group was very pleased to meet him and happy that he appeared to enjoy meeting us.

Also surrounding the ground, much to our interest, was about 30 to 40 members of the Indian Army Artillary Division, who were conducting a product acceptance test of what appeared to be some battery powered communication devices. We felt very safe.

BEL captain Shakir Hussain won the toss and elected to bowl. Miller and Ford opened, and got off to a flying start. Miller got off the mark with a quick single and managed to collide heavily with a fielder at the bowlers end, but earnt 4 overthrows in the process. Ford dispatched several balls to the boundary. The matting wicket was playing true although the bounce was a little high and slow compared to the turf wickets we had been playing on.

In the 4th over Ford fell victim to the different bounce, popping a square cut to point to make it one for 25. Ford gone for 18 off only 11 balls. Miller and Narayana pushed the score along steadily. Spin was then introduced and the tidy bowling slowed the scoring rate, although there were plenty of singles. Miller decided to take on off spinner Gangadhar attempting to hit him for six over deep long off, only to stand in shock as it went straight to the fielder who spilled it. Miller was still standing in his crease and never even took a run (and subsequently incurred a 200 Rp fine from the fines master).

Runs continued to flow steadily, until the 14th over when Narayana snicked a cut to the gloves of keeper to go for 15 off 32 balls. Now 2 for 76.

Four overs later, Miller again tried to hit Gangadhar for six, this time over mid wicket, but fell 2 metres short and was gone for 46 off 39 balls. Now 3 for 95 after 18 overs.

The next few wickets fell a little more frequently than what the tourists would have liked, and it began to look shaky whether they would last out the overs. McKay made only 3 before he was caught off a leading edge, Burley made a 2 ball duck, and Davidson made a golden duck. Meanwhile Pack had made a good 14 until he pushed a drive in the air to cover. Now 6 for 110 in the 22nd over.

Hallyburton and Hennessy built a good partnership, scoring freely, until Hennessy top edged a pull shot to be gone for a well made 17. Riley came to the wicket and he also looked comfortable, until Hallyburton misjudged a single and called Riley through to see him short of his ground and run out for 4. 8 for 151 in the 27th.

Hallyburton then took to the bowling, hitting several boundaries, including a six over long on. Davidson lasted only 1 ball, spooning an easy catch. Turner then hit a massive six over long on before being caught off Singh. 12th batsmen (as agreed between the captains) saw Miles come in who managed to get 2 and the tourists finished with a very competitive 178 off their 30 overs.

After a 10 minute break, which included very nice refreshments thanks to our hosts, we were out in the field for the final time. What an experience. Red and hard as rock, and dusty. The strong wind not only kept blowing the bails off, it kept creating small dust storms.

McKay opened and struggled in the windy conditions, the first over going for 15. Hennessy also took a while to get his rhythm. Apparently one of the bolts that was holding the matting down was located right where he was landing his back foot. This got rectified and soon Hennessy’s bowling was looking very tidy.

Runs flowed fairly freely however, the tourists incurring several miss-fields as they attempted to adapt to the alien conditions. The frequent dust storms and particles of red grit in the eyes and mouth adding to the challenge of fielding in these conditions. At one stage, Riley was observed to be running in to bowl with his eyes closed to keep the dust out.

Captain Shakhir (former state junior cricketer for Karnataka) was the main contributor to the runs, with several well played shots to the boundary. The other opener Sudhakar was also batting well, until being hit on the wrist by a Hennessy bouncer, having to retire hurt for 16.

Riley replaced McKay but the runs kept ticking over. Captain Miller gave spinner Narayana a bowl in an attempt to buy a wicket, and after conceding 15 runs in his first over, successfully had Shakhir stumped. There was conjecture however, Pack had fumbled the ball, and Shakhir did not attempt to make his ground. The umpire suggested he was actually out retired as the batsmen was half way to the pavilion by the time Pack took the bails off. One for 106 in the 14th over.

Runs continued to flow without success for the tourists, and it was looking like we were in for another comfortable defeat. Miller came on to bowl for the first time of the tour, and had some success in slowing the run rate. As did Ford at the other end. After a few tidy overs, Ford claimed Arun lbw for 34 in the 24th over, but with only 18 required it looked inevitable that the BEL side would coast to victory. But the tourists rallied.

Miller and Ford continued to bowl tidily, and the fielders lifted their game. After Miller bowled his last over (the 27th) the tourists still needed 7 runs off the final 3 overs. And then Ford claimed 2 wickets for only 2 runs and the tourists were somehow in with a sniff. 5 runs needed off the final 2 overs with new batsmen at the crease.

McKay returned to the attack, only to see an edgy shot go down to Hennessy at deep 3rd man. Hennessy made a mess of it and it went through for 4. Hennessy would claim later that it deflected off the only patch of grass in the whole outfield. The scores were now level. McKay unfortunately strayed the next one down the leg side for a wide, and it was over.

The tourists were happy to have played a competitive match to finish off their tour. The captain was especially proud of how the team fought to the end for the final half hour, making the hosts earn their victory.

After the match, we were honoured to receive a wonderful lunch of curries, parathas, rice, soup and fruit salad and icecream. Followed by a special presentation of mementos. The Pinjarra Cricket Club was privileged to receive such hospitality, and this will be remembered for a long, long time by each member of the touring party.

The day was a wonderful finale for our tour. A good game of cricket, on facilities that we would never experience in Australia, and welcomed so warmly by our hosts. Thank you so much to the BEL sports club for providing us with the opportunity.

Pinjarra 178 defeated by BEL Sports Club 4 for 179 with 1.4 overs to spare.

T20 Challenge July 15th

The much anticipated T20 double header against Lucky’s Invitational XI took place today at Jain International Residential School. Conditions were overcast and cool in the mid 20’s with the threat of a shower or two. The boys were looking forward to resuming play on this very nice ground, having played here on Monday. However, the 6 am start to catch the bus to the ground was a little challenging to say the least. The 1.5 hr trip was very, very quiet.

After careful explanation that the $2 aussie coin did indeed have a tails side, even though there was a head on each side, Pinjarra won the toss and decided to bat.

The batting order had a new look. Ford was rested and Pack and Narayana opened the innings. Narayana got a single first ball. Pack left his first ball, only to see his off stump knocked out the ground. Pack claimed that the ball moved prodigiously off the wicket. (This was later refuted by the umpire who caught the bus back to Bangalore with us – he claimed it went straight and Pack had simply misjudged it – at most it kept a little low.) In any case, the dismissal brought much delight to room mate Ford, who had been dismissed in similar circumstances in Chennai – but he had managed to capture Pack’s dismissal on video.

Liddelow took to the crease and the score moved briskly, helped by a few boundaries on the lightning fast outfield, plus an over abundance of wides – the bowlers seeming to struggle in the breezy conditions. If the 5th over, Liddelow was bowled by Sadiq for 10 and the score was 2 for 45. Riley came to the crease and unfortunately failed to trouble the scorers, lbw on his second ball faced.

This brought Rawlings to the crease, who was looking down the barrel of his 3rd successive duck. And it nearly was – but the keeper was standing up to the medium pace of Stalin and the edge was put down. Rawlings went on to hang around for quite a while, making 15 off 33 balls before being stumped.

Meanwhile Hallyburton (or Hally Bruton as he is now known by the locals) came to the crease and managed 4 off 13 balls before being bowled by leg spinner Nadig. Nadig has modelled his bowling on that of Shane Warne, and claims to have met him several times. His action is amazingly similar and the only difference in his approach and delivery action observable to us was that was he doesn’t have blond hair.

Miller came to the crease and hit 8 off 10 balls but was dismissed off a long hop hitting it straight down the throat of deep mid wicket. This made it 6 for 75 in the 13th. Burley and Miles added a few while the sundry total continued to outpace the batsmen. Miles was clean bowled for 5 off 15 balls, and this time walked, much to the applause of his team mates. Burley remained not out (again) on 14 off 21 balls, and Danny Turner made 1 off just one ball.

Pinjarra finishing at 105 for 8 after their 20 overs, top scorers being extras (32) followed by Rawlings (15). But the tally was boosted by a penalty of 11 runs being awarded, due to the slow over rate of the hosts. The target was now 117, capable of being defended, but a little disappointing.

Lucky’s XI started confidently. McKay was getting good swing at his end, but Riley, having been given the new ball into the wind, struggled to get his line and length. After 4 overs the score was 0 for 32. The introduction of Danny Turner into the wind for the 6th over paid off immediately with a regulation slips catch to Narayana very first ball of his spell, opener Bakash gone for 21 off 17 balls. 1 for 42 in the 6th. Two overs later, Turner struck again, clean blowing Whaeed for 2. Pinjarra back in the hunt now with the score at 2 for 47.

Other opener Pradeep however was intent on asserting himself and smashed several boundaries in quick succession. Liddelow especially took some punishment. No4 Stalin then also decided to get in on the act. The score advancing quickly to 106 before Stalin was snapped up by a great catch by McKay on mid on for 28 off 21 balls to give Burley his first wicket on international soil.

The next over, Mukund on only 1 was clean bowled by Riley, who looked much better in his second spell.

But the damage had been done, and Pradeep and Yasir coasted their side to victory, Pradeep hitting the winning runs with a classic shot over mid off for 4, still with 4 overs spare.

Pinjarra 8 for 116 defeated by Luckys XI, 4 for 120.

There was then an hours break before the next match. During this time we presented cricket gear to some local children who wouldn’t normally be able to afford their own gear. This gear was donated by Meuleman’s, who asked for nothing in return. A great gesture and the smiles on the kids faces said it all.

After curries, parathas and rice for lunch, the toss this time was won by Lucky’s XI who decided to bat.

The tourists on this occasion looked much more threatening. McKay was getting good outswing, and bowled a very tidy first over. Turner was then given the new ball, and captain Miller was questioning his judgment when his first ball was dispatched for 6 over mid wicket. But the very next ball caught a snick to the keeper Pack making it 1 for 10 after 1.2 overs.

McKay then had opener Mukund caught at mid off by Burley for 2 and it was 2 for 14. Naveed was then clean bowled 3 balls later to make it 3 for 15 and the Pinjarra boys were elated. Stalin was looking dangerous advancing to 17 fairly quickly, but McKay had his 3rd wicket when he clean bowled him.

Two balls later, the run maker in the first game, Pradeep, was clean bowled for a duck and the tourists had the hosts reeling at 5 for 43 after 7 overs.

Rajesh had a couple of lives, a skied drive going very high and landing at the bowlers crease, only to be missed by Turner, and a chance at long off being spilled by Miles. The score advanced to 5 for 71 off 12.4 overs when the skies opened and drowned proceedings in monsoonal rain. The tourists were disappointed as they sensed they were on top and perhaps headed for their first victory.

Lucky’s XI 5 for 71. Match Drawn. This result meaning the hosts took the T20 challenge 1-0.

After pleasant exchange of trophies and mementos, and plenty of photos, it was back on the bus for the long journey back to the hotel. A good day of cricket but sad that it was cut short by the weather.