Today saw the first mighty clash between BEWCC and Australia. It was a wonderful close game. Australia Won the toss and decided to bat. It was a muggy hot day and Australia set a total of 192 from 35 overs. BEWCC bowled and fielded like demons, wickets were spread throughout the team and every time a batsmen made progress the team came together and pegged things back. The bowling was particularly tight in the final overs. Anu bowled quite beautifully and was supported by a committed team.

BEWCC then batted well, JBS and ADM set the tone with a fine start before Anu hit a fine half century. JPR injected passion and pace into the scoring, but ultimately a very close finish fell to the bowlers to close. Harry stood firm and he and Deni scrambled the last few runs to win with a single from the last ball. The game ebbed and flowed a number of times. Fortunately for BEWCC the recent ashes pattern was maintained and BEWCC prevailed.

Tomorrow brings the West Indies. Another mighty game could follow.

BEWCCs original approach to touring was in evidence last night. Large parts of the squad forced themselves to stay awake until 4 am simply in a selfless effort to adjust their bodies to local time.
The venue for this magnificent effort just happened to be a local night club.

Not withstanding a demanding night, most squad members made it to practice at the Nehru Park.

Practice was hot. The team are resplendent in red training kit and worked through some demanding drills in characteristic cheerfulness despite extreme heat. A warm up game of touch rugby degenerated when Jamie Williams took it upon himself to revert to full contact. We only hope he shows such tenacity tomorrow in the face of the Aussies. 

After practice the opening ceremony was centred around an invitation match against a Judge's XI. The organisers surpassed themselves by pitching Lord Percy and JC against each other. Mighty blows and tricky spin were never more furiously exchanged. Serious injury was avoided, narrowly as two bullish cricketers locked horns!

The match was televised and illuminated by BEWCCs own JPR, JBS and Australia's Johno providing incisive commentary. The commentary high point must surely have come when JBS and JPR boldly declared a batsmen to be out despite a clear dropped catch. The bemused batsman dutifully walked only to be called back by an equally perplexed bowler!

Tomorrow the team take on Australia in a titanic struggle. Will the best traditions of a great Ashes summer be followed with a BEWCC victory?

BEWCC are simply coiled springs waiting to let slip the dogs of war. Who will prevail?

Oops, I'm sure that it was in my bag.

It was perhaps inevitable that such a focused group of single minded cricketers should overlook the occasional peripheral matter.

What is the big deal with passports? Such a small document can become so hugely significant. 

Sadly one of our number, and he should know better, was so overcome by the thought of a sea of red trousers that his elusive passport skipped lightly from his hand prior to arrival at Heathrow. The conversion to red has been a long and difficult path, but has now taken a firm grip within the squad.

Fortunately he had always wanted to return to Mumbai, the gateway of BEWCCs first passage to India, and was only too happy to take a later flight and connection.

Rumours that this was all a careful ruse to allow the final half of England's World Cup qualifier to be heard on the radio, and to miss a compelling seminar in India, are utterly false.

What a plonker!

Lift Off (In Red)

Finally the great day has arrived! Your mysterious correspondent returns, hoping to be the first to relay news of magnificent victories as BEWCC's finest bestride the sub-continent. Alternatively to get in the excuses before we land back in Blighty.

Yesterday was marked by the final arrival of our kit. We are truly magnificent. The colour red is sweeping through the club, red strides are very much the order of the day as essential number 1 wear. (Though one or two mutinous views have apparently been encountered). Kit delivery to London was slightly later than expected and the first confrontation of the tour was only narrowly avoided by the courier in question being too fearful to face the wrath of Lord Percy. He shot off like a rat up a drainpipe as the magnificent LP strode out with purpose to challenge him. Purpose we all hope to see again as LP sets about the Aussie attack with veuve and élan.

The playing kit is topped off by a shockingly red cap. Williams, if his routinely sedentary approach to fielding is to be seen again in the sub-continent, may well be mistaken for a letter box. His magnificent pre-tour weight-loss program seemed to suffer a sad reversal in recent weeks. Rumours abound that he intends, once again, to be the only tourist able to boast of a weight gain after the constitutional demands of Indian cuisine and hospitality. The cut of our playing trousers does seem to have been modelled on the JPR rump. But even billowing pantaloons will surely fail to slow down the urgent running between the wickets that shall be shown all of BEWCCs batsmen, and possibly even JBS! He of course has little to prove as in the words of Sir G Sobers "the boy can bat".

Pre-tour nets have brought the BEWCC Knights to a fever pitch of ability. Corinthian spirit abounds as we set out to put our opponents to the sword. Rumours of over confidence can be scotched though it has been suggested that our Mighty Skipper has reached a point of such confidence that he felt able to miss certain pre-tour preliminaries in order to cultivate his baby caring technique! He is, as ever, an example to us all.

Today we leave our shores for a wonderful adventure in the Orient. 

Sadly dearest Doddy is unable to join this tour, but his wise advice, "Never go out to bat on the middle ball of a hat-trick", rings in our ears!

The game is afoot...........

1 more day

Australia win lawyers world cup at the Oval

Chasing 193, the Aussies got home with a ball to spare as Tiplady [75], Forbes [43 on one leg] and Rowell [25] powered them home from the unlikely start of being 8 for 3...scoring 11 off the last over to win.
The next venue for the Lawyers World Cup is the West Indies.
An amazing day at the Oval - full report to follow.

Semi Finals day - matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand

Semi finals day saw Australia beat the West Indies and India beat Pakistan.

For England the return of Bewcc saw us re-energised, but we came unstuck against a good Sri Lankan side [despite Bobby Forrest holding one skier so deeply to his chest that we thought he had inhaled it and Deni mathews taking a champagne moment catch at gully).
When batting Philip Marshall had the misfortune to be run out by his own runner...sorry Philip!

The game against New Zealand saw a gallant run chase of 123 be brought home by the lads in the last over after a good start by the skip and Jay. Jamie Cameron was the surprise star bowler taking 4 wickets with our usual mix of straight ones and well caught long hops /full tosses etc...

The Parrot returns! BEWCC Found

HAPPY DAYS - BEWCC HAS BEEN FOUND

ALL WILL BE WELL FROM NOW ON

FINES COURT

The full record of fines can be seen under the heading ooposite entitled the Tour Oscars

A good night saw the two Lords Justices dispense summary justice aided by 10 yr old Jura - the island brand that was once enhanced / sullied by the Williams rock legend
History relates much singing as seen above by our best and our most enthusaistic singers

The Real Ashes and A Platinum Diamond Duck

Whilst their counterparts are losing another test the legal Aussies prevailed at the Emmanuel Ground yesterday. We would love to blame a dog loving umpire or a South African with a wooden pad but we were beaten by a team of excellent bowlers



Put in by the skip the Aussies made 178 off 35 - despite some outstanding chirping in the field.
Best sledge was - "Come on boys they can't stand this heat"

Jamie Williams [whose own mother would not describe him as agile in the field] was sledged by his own side for "fielding like a coiled panther"...not

Olly [the umpires enemy] Moore bowled the best spell - Q held a good catch - and Bobby Forrest [the brewing apprentice] bowled in 2 spells without a cigarette break but did need emergency rehydration on the boundary folloing his epic cultural tour of Cambridge on Saturday

Batting featured the first ever Platinum Diamond Duck [also known as a hamstrung goose]: Jamie Williams went out to bat with a Union Jack in his pocket; this may have slowed the welsh flyer down. Jay was disconcerted by a sudden burst of activity from Williams who insisted on processing to the strikers end in bold defiance of the finest Australian fielder. His Celtic grin was seen to falter in a contortion only usaully encountered in his hamstrings, as an arrow like throw left his Ashes dreams in embers. Run out without facing a ball off the first ball of the innings he then walked off to regroup at deep backwards hamstrung square leg humming a melancholy Welsh air

David Rhodes went out to bat against their very fast quick without a helmet - cue the following conversation

Pie Chucker: Mate, haven't you been watching the game?
Rhodes: What - you mean the test match?
Pie Chucker: No - the fact that our quick is bowling at about 80mph and you have not got a helmet
Cue much Rhodes chuntering about not needing one ... and then batting well

We got around 130 for 5 but were always behind on the clock

Afterwards an epic session of Anglo /Aussie team bonding followed with a Fines court back at Churchill

South Africa Result - Bewcc missing

Despite batting first and posting a total of 193, the south africans beat us with around 3 overs to spare

Batting was the complete package with Q getting 70 and Bobby a muscular 50.

David Rhodes is a good tourist, but he was out to the south african quick and came back to the lads with the following comment:
"Sorry lads but the ball was so fast I never ever saw it"
He wears glasses and we believe he fully deserves his "Should have gone to Specsavers" award

In the field we were in the game until their opener nicked a big edge off Olly Moore ...Olly may have the best looking family but he is clearly the Umpires enemy and our appeal for caught behind was turned down by umpire and bat. It was left to the groundsman to comment that "that bloke must have wooden pads!"

Jamie Cameron took 2 catches
Bewcc has been mislaid

England Hang on for a Draw in a Limited Overs Match

As the shadows lengthened on the Leys Ground in Cambridge, Lord Bob Percy Hall, clad in his Union Jack [rescued from the embers of Hyderabad] batted purposefully for a draw, which was achieved with England at 100 odd for 9, chasing Pakistans 163 all out. This denouement was preceded by an epic display of fielding by England, who took 9 catches to dismiss Pakistan on a hard flat pitch that is the best in Cambridge.
IN THE FIELD:
Aided by our usual showery start - described by Q to the their opening bat as a "perfect English summer's day" we gave their openers an easy start, but this was brought back by tight bowling from the "Devon Destroyer" Deni Mathews, Olly [the umpires enemy] Moore finding his range and Charles Prior - shaking off an overnight disagreement with the lasagne - all bowling a tight off stump line. We had them 63 for 2 at the halfway point, but our bowling suffered in the second spell. But the catching was immense.

- the "leaping salmon" award goes to Jay who held a diving blinder at mid off - he is really beginning to understand the team ethic and the need to "leap like a salmon and go down like a wounded buffalo", and has completely forgotten the woeful simplicity of his catching style from earlier in the tournament.
- Mat Gullick made two skiers to long on look simple
- we held two sharp caught and bowled and Q took another in the deep
- Your correspondent GO took one in the deep, and celebrated with a double Harbajan roll [afterwards he was told by our opponents "we thought you were injured" -until the Harbajan roll was explained to them]
- but our star player was Jarod, who held 3 catches, one of which was running across the sightscreen at long off and which was of test standard - high above his shoulders on the run, and hard hit. He is clearly our best fielder, in a team that now really competes in the field. We have a good selection of deep catchers, good short men for the singles and Jamie Williams to keep the lads entertained... He performed an impressive log-rolling impersonation at mid off whilst executing one stop.

Pakistan batted well and low down the order all hitting purposefully, but their score of 163 was gettable off 30 overs

BATTING:
This did not get off to a good start. Jarod played on again, Mat Gullick got a steaming yorker that did him first ball, and the pride of Wales kept out the hat trick ball, only to run himself out 10 minutes later. At 20 for 3 things got worse when Doddy's bad run continued with a first baller and both Q and Jay fell trying to push things along. Their openers bowled a tight, pacy line and the Pakistanis are always dangerous when their tails are up. At 50 for 6 Charles Prior and Olly Moore staged a mini recovery before Charles fell, bringing your correspondent to the crease. The gentle sledging picked up a notch as I was greeted with shouts of "that bat looks an antique" [it is and belongs to Mat] "I am looking forward to reading about your dismissal on the blog tomorrow" and "do you have insurance?"
Just to make it interesting the Pakistan captain brought back their openers. Olly looked good until the curse of the umpire struck again. Chatting to the umpire at the non strikers end, I should have known trouble loomed when he said to me "we must get a move on - I have to feed my dog".
Sure enough a few balls later Olly was hit on the pads by a ball that hit his bat and was going down leg side. Up went the trigger finger like an Exocet.

Into this arena of a dog-loving umpire, worsening light [it now being 8pm], students wandering in front of the sightscreen, and rampaging openers, came the calming influence of Lord Bob Percy Hall. Bob played some elegant nine-iron golf shot punches over cover, and a crisp all-run 4 over mid wicket before wafting outside off stump to their opener. As one the Pakistanis rose for the catch behind, your correspondent must confess he heard some sort of click but there was no discernable movement off the bat. Amazingly the dog-loving umpire resisted this chance to end the fray and reprieved Bob, who clearly felt he had not hit it and remained unmoved. At cover point a rather rotund Pakistani was heard to utter "Oh Bob" in a slightly disgruntled way. This incident persuaded their opener to come in off his super long run at serious pace. Bob described this as "a trifle unsporting", but happily hit another 9 iron for a single with two successive overthrows.
Finally succumbing to their quick bowler, Bob departed to leave Deni to stride in, brandishing the bat he calls "Excalibur!" Then the umpire struck again - despite their only having been 28.5 overs, he decided his dog needed him and said this was the last ball. Undaunted, Deni danced down the wicket to their quick and got a triumphant leg bye.


This draw was achieved despite this being a limited overs match.
In normal circumstances such a "result" would not matter and would go down as a loss, but rumours are reaching us that the South Africans declined to play Australia and may be forfeiting their points.

Watch this space
PS Mat G changed our theme music from Meatloaf to S Club 7. We think this may have been a mistake - bring back Meat we say, and unleash the Bat out of Hell against the South Africans