Tours organiser Konchada set up a friendly against the Pak Orient away as they needed preparation for their T20 match against the Baden Wurttemberg champions on Sunday 13th. We should have played at the Hirschanger but Pak Orient wanted practice on their ground. We managed to get a full team with the help of a ringer from MIC and Anit Rai a friend of Toke.
The usual culprits sent SMS messages that they would be late due to bubonic plague in Upper Volta, the house being on fire etc. but, only 20 minutes late and after some rather erotic swapping of white trousers, the game began.
Skipper for the day Bowes, who had been on his back ill all week lost the toss and we were asked to field. Actually fielding is rather a misnomer for what we did and it has to be among the top performances for dropped catches, balls passing through spread legs and going for four and so on. Still no-one is perfect.
The Pak Orient openers Matheen and Murtaza faced MCC opening bowlers Qureshi and Sestan. They, like the first seven MCC bowlers, opened their spell with delightful boundary balls, in fact the first spell balls of these seven bowlers went for 36 runs. Only Gattinger and Langwadt were different, Gattinger bowled a wide and then a six whereas Langwadt four wides and two no-balls before his first legal ball was hit for a single – well done Marco. After four overs they were 52 for 0 and this run rate or thereabouts was maintained throughout their innings. The first wicket fell on 117, Murtaza rather hilariously run out with both batmen at the same end. Matheen retired with the score on 166 in the 15th over when drinks were taken. With the score on 201 Rahim, their teenage prodigy, was superbly stumped by iron gloves Bowes off Toke’s bowling. The next two batsmen, Basit and Zubair retired out with the score on 256 in the 23rd over. Ali, their captain was run out for the second consecutive time against MCC in the 26th over and Khalid rather amusingly was out hit wicket – he did a Warnie from Edgbaston 2005 and trod on the stumps. Waleed Junior retired, Sarfaraz was bowled by ringer Mudassir from the MICs and they finished on 340 all out 29.5 overs.
After the tea break and a tactical discussion as to how 341 in 30 overs was a cake walk MCC opened with Toke’s mate Anil Rai and Chakrabarty (without an “h”). The first ball was a wide and Chakrabarty was run out on the first legal ball. Six runs later Toke had had enough and two runs after that new boy on the block Anil went. Sestan, who was looking very good and Konchada put on a magnificent six runs for the fourth before Konchada departed. Four runs later we were 19 for four down after Sestan omitted to run his bat in, basics Igor, basics. Now, in the context of the innings, Qureshi and Bowes put on a superb 58 for the fifth wicket, Qureshi finally being bowled by Zubair for 40, the highest score of the innings. Bowes and Mudassir put on 33 for the sixth until Mudassir was run out with the score on a fairly respectable 110. Gattinger played his trade mark cross bat and was bowled for 2, six runs later Bowes capitulated with the score on 121 but then Hashimi, who was given a chance when he wandered out of his crease, was stumped but the opposition withdrew their appeal, and Langwadt put on 24 for the last wicket. It was Marco`s first ever runs for MCC and included a boundary four so congratulations Marco.
The batting performance in the end turned a pretty disastrous day into something slightly enjoyable so we look forward to the next friendly at the Hirschanger on 12th September against the MICs.
Rai, 3, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 39 runs, 0 wkts
Chakrabarty, 0, run out,
Toke, 4, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 35 runs, 1 wkt
Sestan, 4, run out, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts
Konchada, 2, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 19 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch
Qureshi, 40, bowled, 6 overs, 0 mdns, 52 runs, 0 wkts
Bowes, 31, caught, 1 stumping
Mudassir, 17, run out, 4.5 overs, 0 mdns, 39 runs, 2 wkts
Gattinger, 2, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts
Hashimi, 14, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 56 runs, 1 wkt
Langwadt, 5*, 1 over, 0 mdns, 20 runs, 0 wkts.
MCC, 145 for 10 in 29.2 overs, lost to Pak orient,340 for 10 in 30 overs by 195 runs
MCC MOM: Bowes
