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On Thursday, taking advantage of the Sant Joan holidays, we welcomed the University of Reading’s cricket team to the baseball ground in Montjuïc. With a 2 o’clock meet, we were prepared for something of a warm day. This was only compounded when Umer Razi managed to lose the toss against a random Reading player (rather than their captain), who rather sensibly put us in the field. Their squad consisted of a mix of first- and second-team players, as well as some social members enjoying an end of year blowout. Despite it being their only game of the week, they had enjoyed some beach cricket and even had a bowl in the bay. Their youthfulness managed not to show that they had been out until about 7am that morning… Such youthfulness was not on show for our opening bowler Simon Eldridge, as Umer went for a spin/ swing opening bowling combination with Sam Phillipps at the “other end”. Sam bowled a wicket maiden in the second over to get us on the board. Henry Hawkes came into the attack soon after and picked up a first BICC wicket (in his last game before leaving!), well caught by the keeper Barry Edwards. This was a trick that Mohsin Nawaz later repeated, as he also picked up a wicket first over. There was a drinks break taken after 16 overs, as we all gave up on trying to make it through the innings without one (it was rather warm!), before the students went on the attack for the final four overs. Reading finished on a respectable 144 from their 20 overs. Barry opened up with Ravi Maduranga, also in his last game for the club before moving. They got us off to a reasonable start before Ravi got out. Barry followed the ball before the more smartly arranged halfway drinks break with us on 75/2 and looking like favourites. Once Umer and Mohsin had been dismissed, it left us with one of the oldest batting partnerships of BICC history - Simon and Anton! They led us across the line to something of a comfortable win. We headed up to the bar after the game to rehydrate before the Sant Joan festivities that night! Great to meet Reading, and we hope to welcome them back again in the future. Sam Phillipps 
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All scorecards here With the 40th anniversary of the first Barcelona CC match just a couple of days away, current and former members were invited to Vidreres for a big celebration. Despite a few last minute drop outs, there were 29 players there as well as a few spectators. Their debuts are spread out over the past 15 years or so (or indeed yet to come!) and came from all corners of the globe - with some nine countries represented on the day. A seven-a-side tournament had been arranged, with the four teams to be captained by three former BICC captains, Damien McMullen (2013-14), Alex Wollauz (2014-16), Mohsin Nawaz (2016-2020) and current captain Umer Razi (2022- ).  The four captains. L-R: Mohsin, Damien, Umer, Alex. The first match saw Alex’s Team A play Damien’s Team B. Despite a wicket in the first over, Team B put on a hefty 70 runs in their five overs thanks to contributions from Jack and Ravindu. Team A were never quite with it in the chase, finishing 18 runs short. The second match was between Mohsin’s Team C and Umer’s Team D. It was a much lower scoring affair, with D only managing 35/1 despite a solid knock from Jon. Team C completed the chase after just 20 balls, Nial and Shubh ensuring a 5 wicket win. A short break was taken for our biryani and samosa lunch. In Team A’s second match they had more success with the bat, finishing with a respectable 61 runs. Team C were seemingly chasing it down with no trouble, until drama struck in the final over. With just three needed from the final four balls, Alex ran out Nial, attempting a second run, from the deep. Sam bowled both Mohsin and Nick first ball leaving two still needed off the final ball. Shubh edged to stand-in keeper Edward who dropped it and could only watch the batters scramble the two runs needed! As if that wasn’t enough excitement there was another break after this game, as we noticed a fire had broken out in the next field. A helicopter appeared shortly afterwards to nick some water from the swimming pool next door, leaving us to hold our marquees and tents down. When that drama had subsided, we could continue with the tournament. The penultimate group game was much more mundane than the previous hour’s entertainment! Team B scored 55/2 from their five overs, thanks to some lusty blows from Bill (and a good amount of wides). Team D knocked the total off with an over to spare, Umer finishing 44* off just 17 balls. The last group game was between Team D and Team A, who were desperately looking for a win after heartbreak in their previous game, whilst Team D knew they needed to win for a chance to play the final. In something of a reverse batting order, Sam and Anoushka opened. The two batted the whole innings finishing on 40, Sam surprising the spectators with an out of character 25*. Team D again chased down the total with an over to spare, Umer finishing the game with a four. This meant that three teams had two wins, so a bowl out was arranged to decide the two teams that would progress to the final. With only one player hitting the stumps from each team in the original phase, it went to sudden death. Shubh hit the stumps for the second consecutive time, sending his Team C to the final. Shortly afterwards, Simon too hit the stumps, thus eliminating Team B and setting up a C vs D final. The final was a six-a-side affair, with both teams having lost a player to injury before or during the day. Team C batted first and, despite losing Nial first ball set up a daunting total of 70/3, thanks to runs from Mohsin (24) and Maroof (32*). A shoutout should also go to Nick for his brilliant 0* (0 balls) who deservedly walked off raising his bat to the applause of the onlookers. Team D knew they had a challenge on, knowing they were about 10 runs above par. With the top 3 only able to deal in singles, the runrate quickly got away from them and it was clear who was likely to win. Umer hit a quick 27* but it was nowhere near enough and Team C finished as champions, winning the final by 21 runs! Prizes were awarded at the end, with Sam winning bowler of the day and Nial winning batter of the day. Team A were awarded the BICC-branded wooden spoon and Team C their tiny plastic medals that most couldn’t get over their heads (and not just because their ego had risen). We returned to Barcelona on the bus with many heading to Koh-i-Noor for a curry and a Cobra, thanks to our new sponsor. My personal thanks go to everyone on the committee who helped put this together; to Mohsin for organising the new commemorative shirts; to everyone who turned up and made it a great day to remember; and to those who didn’t but have kept the club going over the years, despite all the difficulties. It was a day that showed just what this club is, a multicultural community united by cricket and playing the game in a good spirit (but with a competitive streak!). Here’s to 40 years more! In memory of Phil Paterson Smith MBE, the founder of Barcelona CC (and Madrid CC), who sadly passed away in March this year. Sam Phillipps The first match saw Alex’s Team A play Damien’s Team B. Despite a wicket in the first over, Team B put on a heft 70 runs in their five overs thanks to contributions from Jack and Ravindu. Team A were never quite with it in the chase, finishing 18 runs short. The second match was between Mohsin’s Team C and Umer’s Team D. It was a much lower scoring affair, with D only managing 35/1 despite a solid knock from Jon. Team C completed the chase after just 20 balls, Nial and Shubh ensuring a 5 wicket win. A short break was taken for our biryani and samosa lunch. In Team A’s second match they had more success with the bat, finishing with a respectable 61 runs. Team C were seemingly chasing it down with no trouble, until drama struck in the final over. With just three needed from the final four balls, Alex ran out Nial, attempting a second run, from the deep. Sam bowled both Mohsin and Nick first ball leaving two still needed off the final ball. Shubh edged to stand-in keeper Edward, who dropped it and could only watch the batters scramble the two runs needed! The next group game was much more mundane than the previous hour’s entertainment! Team B scored 55/2 from their five overs, thanks to some lusty blows from Bill (and a good amount of wides). Team D knocked the total off with an over to spare, Umer finishing 44* off just 17 balls. To liven things up, there was another break after this game, as we noticed a fire had broken out in the next field. A helicopter appeared shortly afterwards to nick some water from the swimming pool next door, leaving us to hold our marquees and tents down. When that drama had subsided, we could continue with the tournament. The penultimate game saw Teams B and C face each other. B batted first and it was their captain Damien who scored most of the runs (44/70) in another high scoring contest. He fell short of the only 50 of the day trying to get there in style. C made a real close game of it, majorly helped by 27 (twenty-seven!) extras. Openers Nial (22) and Mohsin (20) were still there at the end but their team finished one run short of what would have been the chase of the day. The last group game was between Team D and Team A, who were desperately looking for a win after heartbreak in their previous game, whilst Team D knew they needed to win for a chance to play the final. In something of a reverse batting order, Sam and Anoushka opened. The two batted the whole innings finishing on 40, Sam surprising the spectators with an out of character 25*. Team D again chased down the total with an over to spare, Umer finishing the game with a four. This meant that three teams had two wins, so a bowl out was arranged to decide the two teams that would progress to the final. With only one player hitting the stumps from each team in the original phase, it went to sudden death. Shubh hit the stumps for the second consecutive time, sending his Team C to the final. Shortly afterwards, Simon too hit the stumps, thus eliminating Team B and setting up a C vs D final. The final was a six-a-side affair, with both teams having lost a player to injury before or during the day. Team C batted first and, despite losing Nial first ball set up a daunting total of 70/3, thanks to runs from Mohsin (24) and Maroof (32*). A shoutout should also go to Nick for his brilliant 0* (off 0 balls) who deservedly walked off raising his bat to the applause of the onlookers. Team D knew they had a challenge on, knowing they were about 10 runs above par. With the top 3 only able to deal in singles, the runrate quickly got away from them and it was clear who was likely to win. Umer hit a quick 27* but it was nowhere near enough and Team C finished as champions, winning the final by 21 runs! Prizes were awarded at the end, with Sam winning bowler of the day and Nial winning batter of the day. Team A were awarded the BICC-branded wooden spoon and Team C their tiny plastic medals that most couldn’t get over their heads (and not just because their ego had risen). We returned to Barcelona on the bus with many heading to Koh-i-Noor for a curry and a Cobra, thanks to our new sponsor. My personal thanks go to everyone on the committee who helped put this together; to Mohsin for organising the new commemorative shirts; to everyone who turned up and made it a great day to remember; and to those who didn’t but have kept the club going over the years, despite all the difficulties. It was a day that showed just what this club is, a multicultural community united by cricket and playing the game in a good spirit (but with a competitive streak!). Here’s to 40 years more! In memory of Phil Paterson Smith, the founder of Barcelona CC (and Madrid CC), who sadly passed away in March this year. Sam Phillipps  The winning team L-R: Nial, Leandro, Mohsin, Maroof (kneeling), Nick, Shubh.  The whole gang (almost) |
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