Danubian Kangaroos 4 6 David Tosics c Bhudia b East 0 0 0 Gabor Murlasits st Glover b East 2 0 0 Tamas Kertesz b Bownas 7 1 0 Janos Matyasfalvi st Glover b East 0 0 0 Tamas Torok c Messina b Bownas 41 3 3 Szabolcs Liptak c Leckonby b Bownas 1 0 0 David Torok + b Leckonby 4 1 0 Gabor Nadudvari c Glover b Bownas 1 0 0 Gabor Torok * c Messina b Kaushik 0 0 0 Ferenc Zsigri b Leckonby 0 0 0 Balazs Nagy not out 0 0 0 Extras 3nb 39w 1b 0lb 43 Total 21.1 overs all out 99

Baggy Blues won by 43 runs

'Blues for the Roos!'

This match held a lot at stake for both sides, with for each team a victory strengthening their odds for making the semi-finals, a loss making such an achievement less than likely. It was a case of 'third time lucky' for the fixture itself to make a start, and what a start it made.

Put in to bat with an already weakened batting line-up (Matt Watson-Broughton injured, a 'senior batsman' absent without leave, and various others just unavailable, that regular part of the 'intrigue' of our Hungarian Cricket League), the aim for the Blues was to somehow make it through the 25 overs for the first time this season.

The second ball of the match made this seem unlikely - Mike Glover well caught near the boundary: 1 for 1. The second over of the match made it seem impossible - Kaushik also well caught and the Blues in a real mess at 2 for 10, with no 'recognised batsmen' left to come, judging from the results of the season so far.

Enter Hiran de Silva. 'Much promise' had never really turned in to active runs for Hiran in Hungary, but this was to be his day. A slightly edgy start to match the tenseness of the match - and to reflect the tight bowling of the Terrific Töröks – was followed by a composed and almost risk-free innings that finished along with the 25th over: 46 not out for Hiran was the performance that decided this match. Along the way Andrew Leckonby 26 (and yet another LBW to his collection this season - 3 out of 5 in the League, plus 2 out of 2 in Prague!), Matt Watson-Broughton 12 (injured, ill, and rushed in to the batting line-up to 'have a bash'), and Nitin Bhudia 24 n.o. found some HCL form to get the Baggies through to 142-4 in the face of some decidedly impressive bowling from this team almost full of cricketing debutants.

The Kangaroos innings began solidly enough, but the steady trickle of wickets and the slower than required rate of runs built the pressure. Martin East made an impressive return to the League with 3-23, and looked like making that 4 wickets for what must have been a full minute, as the belted ball from danger man Tamás Török climbed and climbed and dropped and dropped all the way in to – and out of – the shaky hands of Leckonby. Török was on just 8 at the time (from 2 balls! His intention was clear!) and it was widely known that that dropped catch had left the match wide open...

The pain grew for Leckonby as he brought himself back to bowl to the man he had just dropped: a powerful 6 and a 'straight back over your head, mate' 4 was the immediate reminder that catches win matches. Twice more did the Blues forget this code as two more chances fell during Török's master-blaster performance. Wickets had been steadily tumbling at the other end but another danger man awaited: Tamás' brother Gábor stepped to the crease with the chase absolutely gettable, and the two Roos who could do the Blues were there to get that chase. But, to the immense relief of the Baggies, it was not to be and finally another match-winner was found, this time in the safe hands of David Messina, who firstly sprinted, slid, and dived forward to brilliantly catch Török G, before holding on to the visually simpler but psychologically close-to-impossible catch to eventually see Török T. on his way back to the sound box for a truly entertaining 41.

That was, effectively, game over, and the end result was a 43-run win for the Baggy Blues. Seems comfortable enough, but those who were there know that it was far from a walkover.

Huge congratulations must go to the Kangaroos for the level they have achieved in such a short time: this match was much closer than the scoreboard reflects, and much closer than anyone would have imagined when Gábor first suggested that he would develop an all-Hungarian team to compete in our league. The almost-perfect fielding performance - holding the catches that mattered when they mattered – was complemented by signs of a developing batting talent that some solid winter workouts can bring the Kangaroos to be a force to reckon with in 2009. Added to that, the atmosphere of this tense match was one which all players involved must be commended for, and the 'Spirit of Cricket' was truly raised high.

Interesting fact: Baggy Blues' skipper Andrew Leckonby enters the next match with the opportunity for an unusual hat-trick: having taken a wicket with the last ball of his third over, and the first ball of his 4th over (which was from a different end and much later in the match, to end the Kangaroos innings), Leckonby could take a wicket with his first ball in the next match to complete a hat-trick over 3 completely different overs, in two completely different matches.

Man of the match: Hiran de Silva