Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Inverhaugh Cricket Club
Saturday 23 June 2012
by Neville Cardus (channeling through Prashant Bhawalkar)
Photo by Kat Roche

During the annual tour match between Pirates of the St Lawrence and Inverhaugh CC, a number of records were broken and cricketing lessons dished out. The first of these records was the Inverhaugh total of 363 for 4 in 40 overs, to which the beleaguered Pirates mustered only 144, losing 5 wickets in the process. The second was a personal triumph for one of the Pirates, David Blechynden who managed to go past his idol Glenn McGrath’s highest one-day international score of 11. The battler from Kalgoorlie swatted 20 and expressed elation by exclaiming in no uncertain terms, “I feel like to Tooheys, I feel like a Tooheys, I feel like a Tooheys or two…” Sadly he was denied this request due to non-availability and had to settle for a rum and coke.

Batting first, Inverhaugh underlined their class by revealing the secret to effective scoring — always maintain an awareness of field placings, look for gaps, and dispatch pies. It is significant that from the 306 Inverhaugh runs that came off the bat (57 were extras) only 12 came through sixes. This approach was a marked contrast to the usual opposing teams who flay the Pirates.

Throughout the innings, aided by a snooker table outfield, plethora of wides and spate of long hops either side of the wicket, the Inverhaugh batsmen showed class and refinement by playing delicately-placed shots that penetrated every corner of the field, putting the Pirate sweepers through a five-mile run throughout the afternoon. Chief among these were Singh (100 retired – dropped at extra cover on 99) and Allamby (95). The Pirates bowling was led by a spell of 2-44 from skipper Bell who trapped Alamby and the dangerous Cockwell through arm balls.

Bell followed up this performance with a brave 64 not out against top-quality bowling. He was well-supported by Blechynden and Legault. In the end, the Inverhaugh players were simply more experienced than the Pirates and made full use of this advantage. Valuable lessons were learnt by the gracious tourists and it is hoped that they apply these to future games.

Pirates of the St Lawrence versus Inverhaugh Cricket Club
Saturday 23 June 2012
Inverhaugh, near Guelph, Ontario
Match type: 40 overs per side
Weather conditions: Possible to steam rice but it would take a while
Result: Inverhaugh CC won by 219 runs

Inverhaugh CC Innings

Extras 57 (Byes 2, Leg Byes 4, No Balls 8, Wides 43)
Total 363 for 4 in 40 overs

FoW (1-42, 2-219, 3-283)

Pirates of the St Lawrence Innings

Extras 29 (Byes 5, Leg Byes 0, No Balls 1, Wides 23)
Total 144 for 5 in 40 overs

FoW (1-0, 2-29, 3-90, 4-112, 5-128)