| 1 May - Salix CC in Hungary |
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After an hour's wait until the rain stopped, the triangular series began with a ten-man Salix A team skippered by Elvis facing an HCA 10 lead by Chris Priest with Swordsman's third team, being five Salix guys and five HCA players, sitting out the first match.
The HCA batted first and batted well despite the slippery plastic wicket and troublesome lack of bounce in the wet, Guru and Michael Chapman contributing best to a decent 71 off 10 overs. The Salix lads threatened here and there but were picked off one by one, mostly swinging and missing low, straight ones.
Match 1: HCA beat Salix A by 22 runs
Match 2, which was peppered with much good-natured banter, saw the Half-Breeds take on Salix A and the wickets fell fast. At one stage the Half-Breeds were on 18 for 6 but late runs from Greg and Adrian meant that Salix would need 43 to win - that 43 wasn't a bad score considering how tough it was to bat out there. The West Londoners had a good go at chasing it down but fell just short.
Match 2: Half-Breeds beat Salix A by 8 runs
So, the day finished with a winner-takes-all decider between the Half-Breeds and the HCA, this time lead by Kushal. Swordsman elected to bat and his side kept the scoreboard ticking to post 46 off their 10 overs. Then Mahesh bowled with typical verve and, again, accurate bowling and decent catches meant that the HCA were wobbling on 22 for 6 with 3 overs to go. Luckily for the home side, Guru and Kushal then steadied the ship to swipe late runs and claim the overall tournament victory for the HCA.
Match 3: HCA beat Half-Breeds by 2 wickets
Man of the Tournament: Guru
Many thanks to Salix CC for flying to this unobvious cricketing Mecca and cheering us up in the drizzly gloom of Godollo. We'd love to host you again some time. Thanks also goes to Adrian Zador who organized the match-day arrangements and helped Salix make the most of the social side of their mini tour. |
Final positions:
HCA XI
Half-Breeds
Salix CC |
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