May, 2014 – Shark Attack Sack the British Embassy at Yokohama

Japan Cup. Sharks vs British Embassy, YC&AC

3 May, 2014 – By Scott Musgrave

Sharks marched out on Saturday into a glorious spring evening to open our T20 Japan Cup campaign at YCAC against the British Embassy. We finished 2013 really well in the national finals in Sano only to fall short. In the run up to this game Dave channeled Winston Churchill, or was it General Douglas MacArthur, and laid out his firm expectations for the game. Here are some edited highlights of his email to the team:

“The British Embassy team is an unknown quantity to us. This won’t be a problem, because we’ll win by playing our way.”

(Bowling) “When you have the rock in your hand, kick arse.”

(Batting) “If we bat first, we will score 140+.”

(Fielding) “We will motivate ourselves in the field, and not wait for others to motivate us.”

“I challenge you, in fact I dare you, to do what it takes to achieve a personal best on Saturday night. Don’t go to Yokohama if you’re not willing to commit to that. Go out and earn a victory tomorrow.”

 So we did.

In Vicky’s absence Dave captained the team of: Murad, Karthik, Prashant, Dave L, Sumon (WK), Pave, KB, Anton, Mairaj, Rui and Scott. Chris M came as 12^th and Sankar, still injured, showed great team spirit to come and support.

 Batting

Dave’s Japan Cup tenure started with losing the toss, which had the Sharks set the target with the bat for the first twenty overs. Karthik and Murad as the right/left combination were sent out to face the opening barrage. Runs started to trickle in with Murad playing the anchor role while Karthik opened his shoulders. The latter Shark pulverized some of the early bowling on offer striking four sweet boundaries in his opening scoring shots.

Unfortunately the partnership was short lived and Murad was sent back to the sheds by a sharp piece of fielding at short fine leg with the score on 26 in the 5^th over. This however only brought out the in-form Prashant to take on the inexperienced British Embassy attack. Unfortunately only an over later Karthik was to fall on a handy 22 runs off 13 balls.

This was to be the Embassy’s undoing as this only brought the resolute and thoroughly win-focused captain of the Sharks, Dave Lollback, to the centre stage. Together with Prashant, the pair pounded on 90 runs in 9 overs with some sumptuous boundaries including two well struck sixes.

Dave cannoned many a ball straight up the ground while Prashant was exquisite, flicking off his pads. He was however to fall a bit lazily LBW on 46 leaving Sumon and later, Pave, to support Dave for the rest of his mighty innings. The deep whump of the sweet centre of Dave’s bat on ball as he drove was like distant cannonade in the Negishi night. In the end the Shark captain ended with 62 of 37 deliveries. A fine captain’s knock.

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Bowling

Now with a very healthy 174 on the board the Sharks circled for a feast on the BECC batsman. Living up to our name, the fielders snapped up every chance and picked up any and all scraps. Backing up was especially sharp and allowed us to give the running batsmen no respite. Kris Bayne was particularly indomitable at mid-on where nothing got past the veteran. Rui prowled the outer boundary like a big cat. A great highlight was Mairaj chasing down a ball to the deepest and darkest fence, sliding and delivering the ball back to be returned by supporting KB. As a unit though, in both bowling and fielding, the Sharks went out to execute a plan and went completed it flawlessly.

Young Rui Matsumura was handed the white ball to open the bowling with Karthik and after settling into his rhythm, the wonderkid bamboozled his victims with swing and accuracy; he claimed the first opener’s stumps and trapped the second in front. Runs were drying up for the Brits and it was Scott who found the third breakthrough in his final over. After numerous close shaves and a hard slog bowling into the wind, Scott found the top of the middle stump to send another back to the pavilion.

There seemed to be a recovery on the cards when the hard hitting Azbar knocked a few fours off Dave and Pave, but it was merely delaying the inevitable as a fantastic transition to the bowling styles of Murad picked up the two set batsman leaving the rest to Pave whom was very unlucky not to claim a hat-trick. While he was denied his third wicket in a row, it was to come the following ball, cleaning up the stumps. 3 in 4 balls and a maiden. The Sharks now in complete control, Karthik was brought back into the attack and picked up the final wicket in the 19^th over, bowling an inexperienced American tail-ender for nought to finish the innings. BECC all out for 84.

The Sharks showed a perfect example of what you can do in a game when you have a comprehensive plan. The bowlers hit their lengths and lines (apart from 14 wides) and the batsmen did their jobs with the willow. In a great team effort, the Sharks are well on their way to starting their title defense of the South Kanto Cup! Dave was pleased. Winston and Doug would be proud.

Many thanks to BECC for the game, particularly Keith their skipper who did a lot of the organizing, to umpire Beath, as unflappable with the finger as he is with the bat, and to Chris Molloy who gamely turned out as 12th man to support the side.

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