At long last some games.The previous issue of the Sky Times was full of parties and AGM's. None of that this time. We're back to the bread and butter of the Kanto Cup, and the nitty gritty of Nagoya. In fact we're so packed with action that there is precious little room for anything else. Nevertheless there is just enough space to squeeze in the Second Test. Oh, and there is also an electronic missive from the Druid.
You may be pleased to know that there is no offering from our investigative reporter, the intrepid Sheerluck Schwarzenegger, this issue. He is away in Calcutta, hot on the trail of a new curry recipe.
So rest those aching limbs, pour a cool Budweiser (of the Czech variety), stretch out on that futon, and be prepared to read.
 
 

The plum blossoms had been and gone; the cherry blossoms too. The wisteria had made their brief appearance, the azaleas were on their last legs, and even the irises were in full bloom. According to the lunar calendar summer had already commenced, but still we had seen no cricket at the ACO this year.
There had been a practice back in March which only five club stalwarts (Ume, Takashi, Todd, Anton and Robert) attended, surely securing their places in all games this season.
Since then the rain had put paid to five fixtures, so it was with great anticipation that the Kytes approached their opening match of the last season of the second millenium.

We knew that we were not really prepared for the game, but what we were totally unprepared for was the sight that awaited us at the ACO. In typical Kytes-style the first shock of the season hit us before a ball could be bowled.
The entire ACO had been turned into a sea of tents. There were knapsacks, berets and little woggles everywhere. It looked just like a scouts' jamboree. Closer inspection revealed that it was.
When R-G M surveyed the scene he almost erupted, but at least Ume was prepared and headed him off at the pass. After a few words with Robert the scouts started disencamping and the ACO was tentless by 11am. We had hoped that they might inadvertently leave one behind, since Randy was back in the States and the Randitent unavailable any more, but no such luck.
It still left loads of preparation to be done: pitching, cutting, mowing, rolling and marking. These were all accomplished in double quick time, R-G M was awarded his badge for pitch preparation, and play was able to commence at 11.50.

All this activity had left precious little time to panic about the opposition. Not only was this a Kanto Cup game, it was against the reigning Kanto Cup champions, Friends CC which is fronted by the awesome Aamir Ali, the scorer of the two highest scores ever seen at the ACO: 187 and 187no (is there any significance in this number?).
The outfield had just been cut so looked great, and the weather conditions were perfect for cricket: cloudy with some sun, still, dry, 23 degrees Celsius and moderate humidity. The newly-cut pitch is just to the river-side of last season's and also at a slight angle; the uneven surface needs plenty of rolling and, with the softness caused by the recent rain, the bounce was not always going to be true for either side.
Bruce, skippa for the first time, actually won the toss and had the confidence to bat; and, when Ume was cajoled into opening with Anton, it was clear that the captaincy was now firmly in the Harris
The v-c negotiated the first over with customary aplomb, but Ume was unlucky and a soft bounce resulted in his first ball being spooned to mid-off for a golden quack quack.
Takashi was next and was just beginning to settle in, indeed one rasping four was hit, before he too departed. It was unclear whether the ball had struck glove or forearm before rebounding from his face to the keeper, but he sportingly replied "Tabun," when questioned and walked. Kenji was also foxed by the slow bounce and went to another catch at mid-off.
Meanwhile Anton was concentrating well, dealing with all the balls that kept low, and attacking the few wayward deliveries. When Todd joined him at 9/3 a bit of stability was needed. The two Kiwis batted well against some hostile bowling and, whilst not scoring fast, were at least keeping the Tomodachis at bay. The partnership lasted nearly an hour during 14 overs. Though extracting only 36 runs it was good to see some battling batting, which gave a psychological lift to the remaining batsmen.
For his first few overs Aamir had appeared a little disinterested, trotting in and spraying the ball a bit, but two incidents were to change this. Firstly Slog no-balled Malik for chucking and secondly, Todd enquired whether Aamir was getting any older. Galvanised into action, a few scorching overs ensued. The main recipient of these was the innocent Anton who stood firm, but in his first 4 overs Aamir conceded only a wide, and the Kytes' run-rate was not going to post a defendable total.

Anton was eventually out for a sterling 26, which included three 4's, and my goodness he was bowled again, the umpteenth low bounce squirting through his defence. Todd was still there though and a towering 6 let everyone know what he was capable of.
Aamir's pace was still in evidence when Nick went in and, during a brief but entertaining innings, a few extra words were added to the lexicon of batting calls. To the basic and familiar cries of 'Waiting', 'Yes', 'No', and 'Sorry', Nick has now introduced the calls of 'Stop' and 'You beauty'. The former was used at the moment of impact of bat on ball when Todd was facing Aamir, and the latter was heard when Todd squeezed a single from the last delivery of a Malik over.
Avoidance of Aamir's bowling couldn't go on indefinitely and eventually Nick was on strike. He took the bull by the horns and went for it. His first delivery resulted in a swing of the bat and 4 byes. The second in a slash over 2nd slip Malik, who raised his hand more in hope than intention, only to see the ball ricochet up from his palm and gently fall into his waiting hands, good catch. Little did we realise at this point that Nick too had been motivated and great things were just around the corner.
This brought Skippa to the crease, determined to continue the good batting of the other \5 players. With Todd out for a resolute 18, Bruce was in need of support, and he got it from Malcolm and Kevin, the two partnerships totalling a valuable 39 runs; the Kytes tail was wagging. Bruce, facing the later bowlers connected to good effect and two massive 6's and four 4's enabled him to topscore with 33, bowled in the final over trying to lift the ball across the Abekawa again.
 When No 10 Slog entered the fray Kev waltzed down the pitch to give him a pep-talk. "There are three balls left. Robert is in next. He wants to know what guard you want". Message received, and Slog and Kevin eked out a few more singles to leave the Kytes on 114/8 from the full 40 overs. Jamshed Ali was the pick of the Friends bowlers with 3/14, and Aamir finished with 2/12.

Over the much-missed curry the Kytes in whites reflected that their total looked nowhere near enough. A required run-rate of under 3 an over was surely not asking too much of a Friends team that batted down to number 12.
Nevertheless the Kytes were a little better prepared for fielding, Skippa insisting on some catching practice, followed by some stretching, and the Kytes were as ready as they get.

Todd opened and his first over was all over the place. The Amigos must have thought it was going to be even easier than expected. However Bruce's first delivery of the season yielded the first wicket. It was a case of Ume Strikes Back as our Phantom Menace safely pouched Asad Ali's shot in those star paws of his, revenge for his own departure earlier. A few coincidences here: both Ume's and Asad's dismissals were golden ducks, both were first ball of the second over, both were caught at short mid-off, and both were none too pleased.
Todd bowled another loose over and after only three overs Friends were on 27/1 and well on their way. Naeem Uddin Qureshi in particular had no hesitation in striking anything hittable and the boundaries kept coming at one or two an over.
There was nothing very much wrong with the fielding, Kevin performing as solidly as ever in his silly position; Malcolm, Kenji, and Takashi all contributed well, but the f-c was having a few problems in stemming the flow of runs. Then suddenly, in the space of three overs, 3 wickets fell.
Firstly Skippa clesn bowled Naeem with another that kepr frustratingly low. Naeem had by this time hit his way to 41, which would end up as the day's topscore.
Secondly a revitalised Nick trapped the Friends' captain lbw. Aamir had scored a mere single, before taking a swing at a cleverly flighted ball that straightened off the pitch. Whilst he would never claim to be a Shane Warne, it is dangerous to underestimate Nick. Although Aamir was plumb we have experienced a number of umpires turning down such appeals, but Malik did not hesitate to make the decision, bearing no malice for the no-ball that was called on his bowling earlier, commendable.
Under normal circumstances it would be difficult to beat the elation in capturing Aamir's wicket, but in the very next over Nick took our breath away. A short delivery from Bruce was smashed by Munir Ahmed Hussain to the mid-off boundary but Nick reacted like lightning and, running across from cover, stretched out his right arm to take a screamer of a catch out of nowhere. It was one of the best catches ever witnessed at the ACO.
Friends were now on 70/4 and the Kytes were on a high. Buoyed by his successes Nick whipped his next few overs through with a good deal more pace, perhaps overly so, since his greatest weapon, guile, was left on the backburner.
The following overs were well-played by Iiqdar Ejaz Hussain and Sajjad Ahmed and soon the Amis were back on track. Ejaz hit four 6's in his 37 as Friends equalled the Kytes' total in the 14th over. Anton brought the fielders in and, Sajjad, no doubt eyeing the wide open spaces in the outfield, took an almighty swing which sent the ball into low orbit. It may well have brushed a couple of kites on its way back, straight down Slog's throat at mid-off. Of the eight catches in this game no less than five were taken in the mid-off/wide cover region. Bruce claimed another wicket and finished with 4/51, a good day all round for Skippa.
Ejaz ended the game with a single and Friends were victors by 5 wickets. Kytes were by no means humiliated and Friends were never in danger, but it was a really good game, played in great spirit. Many thanks to the scorers, Kamran and Hiroko U. MVP-Nick

PS - Yoshida's soba shop was the place for the Kytes to prove what a beac they are, promptly ordering 'juppon' on arrival as some lively banter got underway.
It appears that a cricket tour of New Caledonia is fairly certain now and the 1-week jaunt looks very good value at around \140,000 all-in.
Fantasy Cricket is now up and running and the burning question is why so many people spent \1 on Grandad.
The sour-faced proprietress still smiles as infrequently as ever, but at least her basic scowl has now progressed to something resembling a glare. And she still has eyes for the f-c. Slog hoped they might be for him but the heathen was well out of luck and the Kiwi meat-market remains her current beau.
 
 

For many the image conjured by the word 'sand' is one of an endless beach, swaying palm-trees, the gentle lapping of shimmering turquoise waters, while sharing a coconut dacquiri with the creature of your dreams.
In Nagoya it's different. Here sand is of the hard, unforgiving variety, and is used as a surface for cricket. The mat still exists though it seems to get a little more frayed every season. It is now a rather narrow strip which tends to stir umpires into calling more wides than they should.
As part of a 4 game series for the Tokai Friendship Trophy (2 home, 2 away), the Kytes travelled to the Miyoshi high-school ground, arriving a little after 11, under overcast skies, still, dry, at 28?C with moderate humidity.

With Skippa Harris otherwise engaged, Capn Anton took over, lost the toss and decided on a lefty opening bowling attack of Todd and Takashi. Toddy's line was certainly an improvement on the previous game, it could hardly have been worse, but his rhythm was affected by a string of no-balls. Takashi, in his first bowl of the season, was also out of sorts and the Nagoya openers, Jeffrey and Tasleem got off to a swift start.
The first 50 came in the 7th over and, after a dropped catch by Slog, followed by a missed run-out from the keeper, things went from bad to worse for the Kytes. Balls were fumbled, overthrows given away, and the Nagoyan openers took full advantage with some savage hitting. The steadying influence of Kevin's close fielding was sorely missed. Francis came on as first change, and Capn as second but the runs kept coming.
Anything piercing the field sped to the boundary across the super-fast sand, and a few sixes were hit too. One particular shot cleared the boundary, the school fence, the road outside,and a small garden before slamming into one of those pretty little houses opposite. Fortunately the occupants appeared to be out and no damage was visible. Another six hit one of the school windows, but again no damage to anything but the Kytes' rapidly advancing target.
The openers had smashed 113 when Francis eventually made the breakthrough in the 15th over, Todd making a well-judged catch at cover point, and Tasleen went for a very good 58. Having had some success with one third string bowler, Capn experimented further and called on Slog.
His gentle spinners enticed a few risky shots and Robert made a very neat stumping as Jeffrey charged and missed, out for 54. Then Martin made a fingertip catch from a top edge to give Slog a brace.
The runs were still flowing however, the loss of a few wickets having no effect on Nasreem and Rafi who continued to flay the attack and 200 was reached in the 22nd over, with the Kytes' chances of victory receding rapidly.
Slog had not finished though and did a 'Neil' with a c&b, Nasreem departing for a quickfire 44. At this stage a piece of inspired captaincy gained the next wicket. Todd was brought back, and mid-off dispensed with, tempting a lofted shot in that area. Sure enough it came from the second ball, but it was slightly mistimed, enabling a waiting Ume to run from cover and pouch an excellent catch, and Todd ended with 1/31, very tight bowling in the sandy conditions.
Somehow Slog managed to capture another 2 wickets, and was actually on a hat-trick, and so did Francis, this unlikely pairing finishing with 5/70 and 3/60 respectively. Rafi was unbeaten with a top-score of 59, and Nagoya plundered 309/9 from their 35 overs, which included a huge total of 62 extras, 38 of which were deemed wides.

Over a choice curry the Men in white ruminated on the asking-rate, nearly 9 an over, and Capn strode out with Kenji to knock off the runs.
After three overs the score had raced to 19, but even that was behind the required rate. Jeffrey and Ruwais thundered in; Capn unluckily played on to Jeffrey, but Kenji stuck at it. Suzuki-san survived numerous appeals before being plumb lbw to the ecstatic Jeffrey, and the Nagoyans were on a high.
The point at which exuberance spills over into gamesmanship is never clear. It is also related to that old linguistic dilemma: is communication the message intended or the message perceived? Whatever the view, the fielding side were hovering above the line of acceptability at this stage.

Ruwais pierced Martin's defence, but Kenji was gaining in confidence and one peach of a cut flew to the boundary. In all he hit 4 fours for his 22 in the best Kytes innings.
Todd managed a few boundaries too, but went cheaply, Francis too, and the Sri Lankans had put the game out of reach as the Kytes slumped to 79/5 from 17 overs.
Then the unthinkable happened: Slog slogged. Ume hit a few too, and Malcolm provided some good support. But it was Slog's hour and at one point he hit 4 consecutive boundaries, topscoring with 41, last out with the Kytes ending up on 133 from 28 overs. As far as Fantasy Cricket is concerned Slog's all-round performance piled up an astonishing 22 fantasy points, and anyone with him in their team should seriously consider changing it right now, since it's never going to happen again this millenium.
Victory to Nagoya by a massive 176 runs. It would be all to easy for the Shizuokans to blame the conditions but the fact remains that the Kytes were well and truly tanned on the sand. Scorer-Hiroko U, MVP-Slog
 
 

The theme this time is umpiring. Answers are to be found somewhere else in this issue.

a) When do the umpires change ends?
b) After agreeing to play in unfit light conditions can the batsmen subsequently appeal for bad light?
c) What is to be done if the umpires disagree over a decision?
d) What is the signal for 'Out'?
e) Is consultation between umpires and scorers allowed?
 
 

A great day of cricket was played on a hot, 24?C, cloudless day at the ACO. Luckily Capn Anton won the toss and put us in to bat because Todd for one was not 100% and needed a couple of Aspirin (Thanks Ume!) to reduce the heavy pounding he felt in his head.
Pitch conditions were not ideal. The ground was a bit soft, allowing the ball to come onto the bat rather slowly.

Shizuoka started off its innings in typical fashion. A few quick wickets and we were reeling at 16/3. The bowling was nothing special but people were getting themselves out, naturally.
Then Todd managed to turn around the game with a fine 81. He was supported briefly by Matt, Nick and Ume, and also by a good knock from Nial who remained on 21no.
In the end Shizuoka's score was 179/9 off 40 overs, a great turnaround, and the highlight of the innings was seeing Todd finally being able to put some runs on the board, including 7 sixes and 4 fours.

Japan Selection's innings was a slow and cautious one. Whether they were actually going for our total remained to be seen. Most batsmen were content to just push the ball around for quick singles which was hardly threatening to our score.
With wickets falling fairly regularly we had the taste of victory on our lips which I must say was a strange and foreign taste to us all.
Every bowler performed well. We finally got to see whether 'Matt the Myth' was just a myth or not. He turned out to be a rather lethal bowler, hitting one batsman twice on the helmet and once in his guts. Anton deservedly picked up three wickets, Nick got one, Todd three and Martin, with his creative long-hops, two.
With that Japan was bowled out for 105, and Shizuoka recorded its first comfortable win in centuries.

The only downer of the day was our fielding; 'our' meaning one person in particular. Nick was not happy as he saw two sharp chances, but nonetheless chances, go down at first slip. Anton too missed out on a fourth wicket when a ball that went as high as the Tokyo Tower was put down at mid-off by the same first slip fielder, Todd! Apparently he had so much time to catch the damn thing he could easily have run over to get Takashi's deck chair and returned to set himself up for a really comfortable catch.
Despite his shocking display in the field, Todd was awarded Player of the Day for Shizuoka, that is after he had paid his fines of course!
 

PS: If you haven't already guessed this match report was compiled by none other than the game's MVP himself. Ed, away on a scouting mission, was unable to make the game. No, Ed has not joined the scout group that laid seige to the ACO a few weeks back; he was last seen with Sheerluck Schwarzenegger, boarding a flight to India, in the next stage of the Great Curry Hunt.
 

On an overcast day, dry, light breeze, 25?C, with high humidity, the Kytes welcomed the newly-formed and inventively-named Tokyo Giants for their debut game. The Giants are a team of Pakistanis who have formed a breakaway club from the Edogawa Falcons, and many of them are no strangers to the ACO.

The pitch was slow, but bouncy, and the outfield was covered in parts by the dreaded clover which would prevent nearly every drive from reaching the boundary. Tokyo won the toss and decided to face.

The Giants' openers got of to a fair start and it was not until the 8th over with the score on 36 that Nick made the breakthrough courtesy of a great low catch from Ume, and in the next over Todd claimed the second with a good catch from Neil, back after a long lay-off.
Matt entered the attack and was steaming in from the mountain end, but even though he was conceding little in the way of runs his first wicket as a Kyte was proving elusive. Neil wasted no time in gaining his first wicket of the season, a clean bowled round the legs and the Giants were suddenly on 48/3.
And when Matt finally got that debut wicket, Nick taking a snorter of a catch at slip, the sore was 57/4, but the dangerous Fayaz was just getting started. In fact if it were not for him the Giants would have struggled to make three figures, and his cavalier innings of 4 fours and 2 sixes in a score of 58no would prove decisive.
Matt got a well-deserved second wicket, uprooting middle stump, and wickets continued to fall regularly, Skippa picking up four of the lower order, two to cracking catches from Anton, and the total was on 121/9.
Fayaz had not finished though and a fighting last wicket stand of 43 would frustrate the Kytes until Matt bagged a third with a c&b that any one of four fielders could have taken, but Matt was not to be denied.
The Tokyo Giants posted a total of 164ao from 38 overs, a good score in the conditions, bolstered by that 58 from Fayaz and 22 wides.

Skippa Bruce decided to open with himself and Ume, but Ume departed without troubling the scorer (though she might be giving him a bit of stick later on) and Matt was soon out in the centre, wielding the willow. He connected with a few and missed some others and was soon out caught for 11 but there is no doubt that one day, when everything goes his way, Matt is going to take an attack apart.
Skippa meanwhile was striking the ball well, and Anton had played himself in, before both fell in quick succession to catches and the Kytes were 47/4 from 10 overs. The run-rate was OK but too many wickets had been thrown away in the quest for quick runs.
Neil, Todd and Takashi were all bowled cheaply as the Giants bowlers shared the wickets around. Only Nial of the other batsmen made double figures with a combative 11 and the innings petered out to a paltry 87ao from 29 overs, normal service had been resumed.
The best bowling figures were from Mahmood with 3/7 and keeper Amjad made three catches, as the Tokyo Giants turned in a very good fielding performance and gained victory by 77 runs. Scorer-Hiroko, MVP-Skippa

Once more the Kytes batting left a lot to be desired; some crease occupation would not go amiss.
 

The answers:

a) After both sides have had one innings.
b) Yes
c) The actual state of things shall continue.
d)Raising the index finger above the head
e) Yes
 
 

On a reasonably fine 26oC day Skippa managed to win the toss and elected to bat first. With Francis and birthday boy Anton opening the innings started off slowly due to some quick and accurate bowling by Mark C and Mohsin Mohammad.
Soon Mark had Francis in trouble with some great inswinging yorkers until Francis decided to leave one which was directly on his off stump.
At No.3 Matt was attacking at the outset. Anything short or pitched too much up was smacked away. In no time at all Matt was on 26 while Anton was surviving at the other end. Then disaster struck.
Matt lost his concentration and was bowled. From then on wickets fell fairly regularly with the late order making a brief charge led by Nick with a fighting 11. Soon we were all out for 95.

Fuji opened with their captain and Mohsin. Matt and Nick opened the bowling. Fuji lost only one wicket before hitting the required runs.
The only bowler who really slowed Fuji down was Matt and he really deserved to get the wicket, and nearly got a second as Anton, fielding at first slip, let down a real rocket. Nick was smashed out of the attack and Bruce replaced him. Todd, thankfully, was not needed.

Kytes' MVP was Matt, and the derby game was played in a good spirit with drinks afterwards, though sadly without Fuji's abstemious Pakistani contingent who were already on their long return journey.

PS - You may be surprised to find that our guest reporter for this game was once again our very own hot Toddy. Many thanks.

The last sighting of Ed was in a Calcutta gutter, discharging profusely from both ends simultaneously.
"Weak stomach?" jibed a passer-by.
Ed was down but not out.
"Whaddyamean?," he chundered, "Bet you couldn't even hurl a cricket ball this far!"
 
 

Ed switched on the computer in his office suite only to find an E-mail from Slog, whose New Age team had popped over to the New World for a game.
The message is printed in full:

Dear Mr Case

Date: 4th July
Match: Hollywood Bowlers v Stonehenge Druids
Venue: Venice Beach, LA
Conditions: Pitch-More sand than Nagoya. Outfield-Surf's up.
Weather: It never rains in Southern California.

We're just in the middle of our Independence Day game against the Hollywood Bowlers, a motley assortment of bodybuilders, rollerbladers and lifeguards. They are led by President Jimmy Reagan, a peanut farmer in Beverly Hills, who owns a square yard of land wedged between the George Michael john and the Hugh Grant lay-by.
Anyway, what I want to tell you is that one of their fielders, a certain Randy Blaver, whilst surfing in from deep cover, saw a soft old cricket ball being washed up onto the beach.
I've got it here right now, and it looks like one of yours. There's a faded white inscription which says something like 'Best Bonker 1996 Todo Hotlips'.
So, do you want your ball back?

slog@bat.ball
 
 

We all know about Brian Lara's record test score of 376, and also of his record first-class score of 501no. But they both fall well short of the highest individual score ever made at any level of cricket, which was compiled exactly 100 years ago.

It began on Thursday June 22nd 1899 at Clifton College, Gloucestershire, UK, in a match between Clark's House XI and North Town Junior XI, comprising 12 and 13 year-olds.
Clark's opening batsman, 13 year-old Arthur Edward Jeune Collins, embarked on an innings of epic proportions. In 2hrs 30mins that afternoon he scored 200, and on Friday he continued his merry way and reached 509, surviving a dropped catch by Eberle when on a mere 400.
The game resumed on Monday but only 55mins of play were possible and Collins advanced to 598. The last batsman had already come in with the total at 698/9, and lent staunch support as Collins passed his sextuple-century on Tuesday afternoon. He was obviously not in the form of the previous days as he was subsequently dropped at 605 and again at 619, but eventually Eberle made amends by catching the No 11 batsmen, leaving Collins stranded on 628no from a total of 836.
The game unsurprisingly finished with victory to Clark's (North Town were skittled out for 87 and 61) by an innings and 688 runs, and to cap it all Collins ended up with match bowling figures of 11/63, and a total of at least 84 fantasy points according to the Kytes system.

So whatever happened to Arthur Collins? Well, he went on to play for the Clifton XI and Old Cliftonians with some distinction, but never made it to first-class level.
He enlisted as a soldier and played frequently for the Army team. After marriage in spring 1914, Lieutenant Collins was sent to the poppy fields of France, and was killed in action in November of that year, aged 28.