A day at the Sanya cricket match, with few lads from VOR teams
We happily absorbed Patrick into the Sanya Cricket Team fold and played a game of "individuals-try-to-get-the-batsman-out"
Match Report Saturday 11 February 2012 by David Taylor
I must say I was a bit nervous going into Saturday’s cricket match. I mean, we’ve always been a beer-drinking-under-a-palm-tree kind of cricket team and we’ve always joked that the Sanya Cricket Team has never been beaten. Until a proper cricket team turn up for a serious sporting challenge, and probably beat us soundly, we can always claim to be undefeated. But that’s never going to happen. Or could it?
Patrick, down at the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters, gave me a call asking if a few of the lads could come along to our beach cricket match on Saturday. Now, to my mind, that could just mean that a group of athletic and competitive types, probably from the commonwealth, might just form a 6 man team and call it a “friendly”.
It seemed like a perfectly good idea. It even sounded fun.. But it would be disastrous for the Sanya Cricket Team’s proud status of “never, ever, been beaten”. Faced against such a side, we might just struggle to defend our wickets.
As it turned out, there was something “important” going on Saturday, which required all hands to work, so only a small team of Volvo Ocean Racing guys turned up. I can’t imagine what the Volvo Ocean Racing management could think of that could possibly be more important than a spot of beach cricket, really!
Anyway, we happily absorbed Patrick into the Sanya Cricket Team fold and played a game of “individuals-try-to-get-the-batsman-out”, to make sure there was no risk that the visitor could score a decisive victory.
Our chief scorer, David, settling into the just-slung scorer’s hammock, was met by the local hammock police firmly advising that hammocks are simply not allowed. It’s a rule. And our hammock is right outside their police box. David, our favourite curmudgeon, responded from his hammock with a flurry of fluent Cantonese, protesting the matter. The poor policemen didn’t fully know how to deal with the foreigner who could speak Chinese, or at least a funny dialect of it. The matter was resolved easily enough by untying the hammock, at least until the policemen went for their lunch.
Nothing really eventful happened on Saturday. We all just had a jolly good day out. The weather was perfect. The skies blue, the water warm, the tide right, the palm tree pavilion cool, the beer was cold, and the company was in good form; all summed up by David’s quip to Jamie, fielding with a can of beer, feet in the water and feeling rather smug about life for the moment; “So, Jamie; where did it all go wrong?”.
We had one innings, where everyone had a bat. Then we paused for drinks. Then somewhere halfway down the batting order of the second innings, fielders started drifting towards the palm tree pavilion for refreshments, followed slowly by batsmen, bowlers and eventually the umpire. Such is the nature of our game, catering to the peoples’ general will.
However, a second game kicked off later in the afternoon, by those who arrived during the afternoon and by those who wanted to play and simply did so. There were some spectacular catches and bowling by grown ups keen to challenge their mates. And there were chivalrous fumbling of catches as little girls scurried between wickets delighted to have hit the ball and made a run.
Awards were presented at the presentation dinner at Dolphin Sports Bar. A special award was given to “The Best Visiting Little Girl Player Who Played Really Really Well”. And the winner was: Zoe, who won a little matching Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo and an umbrella that you can use, even if it isn’t raining.
The prize for “The Best Supporting Sister of The Best Visiting Little Girl Player Who Played Really Really Well” went to….. drum roll please…. Emmy. Who would have guessed hey. A particularly unstylish sunhat was given to Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing captain, Ian Walker, just because the thought of him wearing it in at the helm in the most important around the world ocean race is funny. Kimberley Wang got a team uniform of matching two piece Sanya Suit for being bowled out twice without giving up. And Jamie Boag got the very last “Hainan Beer” vest, (sponsored by Asian Pacific Breweries) awarded in part for spectacular play and partly because nobody can imagine Jamie wearing it.
The most runs scored in two innings was 17. But I’m not sure anyone’s really that interested, except maybe Michael Ross Munro.
So here is the question: If there was a proper cricketing challenge, would the Volvo Ocean Race Cricket Team (Volvo OR) have beaten the Peoples Royal International Cricket Club Sanya (PRICCS)? There was quite some discussion about the outcome of this hypothetical match; the jury is still out on the matter, so I guess we’ll never know.
Thus, the Sanya Cricket Team remain; Undefeated!
We were all winners on Saturday. It doesn’t get much better.
A special thanks to the Volvo Ocean Race for letting Patrick come to cover the event. To Abu Dhabi Ocean Race Team for sending us your fastest, strongest, fittest and finest minds. To Ben at Dolphin Sports Bar for his unwavering support and effort. And the most important thanks to everyone who turns up for the cricket day out.
The game schedule is now posted on www.sanyacricketclub.com. The next game is on Saturday 17 March 2012, which happens to be Saint Patrick’s Day. There are rumours that the Xiamen Cricket Team are coming to Sanya, mounting sporting challenge against the mighty PRICCS on that very day.. But we’ll see about that.
SOURCE: Sanya Cricket Club & WOS Team