Our first tourists of 2024

Scorecard
Great Glen CC 165/5 
BICC 170/1 

A warm and sunny lunchtime greeted the players arriving at Montjuic to host our first touring team of the year, Great Glen from the Leicestershire league. 

With a 1pm start the match had time for 25 overs per innings and after winning the toss Great Glen batted first. Unfortunately our visitors had some last minute problems and could only bring six of their own players. With our own availability over subscribed with players “working from home/students/early retirement” we loaned our former captain Umer  “batting for his average” Razi, new boy Uwijal and Anton Kritzinger to bolster Great Glens batting line up.

Opening the bowling from the city end with some serious swing was Jones, he soon had the Great Glen openers Umi and Pina poking and prodding while our keeper Ash was diving beautifully behind the stumps to deliveries that strayed down the leg side. Jones bowled consistently well without taking a wicket with 27 coming off his 4 overs. Meanwhile our skipper Shri was steaming in like the Calcutta express and deserved a wicket or two but finished with 20 off his 2 overs. 

Entering the fray up next was our very own answer to to the Luftwaffe, Max, dropping his short pitched chin music like it was going out of fashion. Max finished with no wickets but only 16 off his 3 overs. Somehow the Great Glen openers were still hanging around, keeping the scoreboard just about ticking over.

Next into the bowling attack was Karthik, soon the breakthrough came and the opener Pina was caught by Shiri out in the deep for 19. First drop for Great Glen was Uwijal, keen to make up for his duck last time out, was quickly calling a suicide single which momentarily had both batters running towards the same end, somehow they both avoided being run out. After more trick shots then a Reeperbann hooker Uwujal fell for 10, LBW, playing all round a full toss that really should have been dispatched to the next postcode. Bowling the pie was none other than crocodile Eldridge, who was glad to “snap” up another wicket on his journey back to first team status. 

Fresh from his stint at NASA, Wills was launched into the bowling attack with some rockets. Wills took a stunning catch low to his left of his own bowling, and after two more catches from Maroof, finished with the bang tidy figures of 3/22 off 4 overs. During the chaos Umi was retired for 44* and at the fall of one wicket Anton come out to finish on 12* while Karin from Great Glen was one of Wills victims accumulating a well played 34. Mishmash bowled well to no avail but was economical with only 20 off 4 overs. 

Striding out to open the batting for BICC like a couple of gladiators was Ash and Maroof, slaying the bowling to all four corners. Ash succumbed to one big shot too many and holed out, caught at deep mid off for 28. Next man in Shane dispatched his first delivery off the pads for a boundary to put any fear of a BICC duck trophy away for another day. Maroof and Shane settled down pinching singles and playing confidently, until Great Glen introduced the spin twins, Umi and Anton in to the attack. For a few overs in the middle of the innings there were more dots than book of Morse code but Shane and Maroof knuckled down and released the pressure. Eventually Maroof retired on 44* and in came Mishmash to steer the good ship home, retiring on 20* with Skipper Shri sensing victory coming out to smash a six off his only delivery and win the game leaving Shane stranded on 41*.

Shane Lightley