Ted Dexter trophy retained by Entrecasteaux
In the sizzling July afternoon heat the two teams gathered under the leafy shade of the plane trees along the banks of the River Bresque. Cricket – what cricket – no, no called George Kasilayake – lunch, lunch. And so it was that we all gathered round and had the most sumptuous lunches kindly put together by Jill. Of course it was one of those lunches where there were quite a number of people to see and talk to and therefore from a personal perspective there was not so much time to eat. Of course this does not stop one from drinking and with copious quantities of pink wine on tap yours truly spent a very pleasant two hours listening, and occasionally interjecting, to whoever happened to be within earshot.
Perhaps this was the scene which had encouraged club stalwarts Rod and Elaine Joyce, and Bob and Jane Bartlett to attend – how very good it was to see them – all looking well and spritely which we don’t believe had anything to do with the wine consumption. But then again when Rod did take to the field some hours later he was allowed to bowl one over and with figures of 1-1-0-1 whatever poison he was taking certainly had its effects.
Ah yes the cricket, what happened to the cricket, I hear you say – well we did eventually get going at about 3pm and here started one of the more extraordinary games I have ever had the pleasure with which to be involved.
Roshan Perera took over the captaincy in colourful style, in a garb of blue and white, and having won the toss he decided to bat. He sent in guest stars Max Harland and Sam Grepne, sons of Ed and Joff – Max was out first ball, caught and bowled by the aforementioned Rod Joyce, so depriving a father son combination as Max was replaced by Ed, who made a promising looking 29 runs not out. In the meantime Sam Grepne (4 retired) had had to retire due to heat exhaustion and so was replaced by his father Joff. It was another cameo role as he was clean bowled first ball so introducing Steve (Mike Lomax’s son in law) to the fray. He looked dangerous and had scored two boundaries before he was caught at cover point which brought the ever resilient Bill Perceval-Maxwell (10)to the crease. For some bizarre reasoning the Entrecasteaux innings closed after only 11 overs in this 15 over fixture with the home side having totaled 67 runs.
The International Club’s response was unfortunately not that impressive – only two batsmen scoring any runs at all – Thomas (17 not out), including two pulls to the midwicket boundary which amassed 10 runs, and young Oliver Lecomte (3), who at the tender age of 11 and having never played cricket before, demonstrated that he has a good eye for the ball. Consequently the International Club’s innings came to an end after 15 overs on only 29 runs – so Entrecateaux won by 38 runs and retained the Ted Dexter Trophy.
A big shout of thanks goes out to George Kasiliyake and all the members of the International Club who supported the fixture and for the excellent lunch that they provided. Thanks also to Phil Batchelor for bringing all the kit to the ground. It had been a day of fun and laughter, much enjoyed by all.