21/05/2006: Dhugal Beddingfield shows the difference between a first team and a second team as Ichihara Sharks C.C. demolish  Shizuoka Kytes C.C. 2nd XI (the Clowns C.C.): 
D-2: 
Ichihara Sharks C.C.: 340/7 (40 overs) (D. Beddingfield, 143; Extras, 79; C. Thurgate, 37; N. Creece, 32; M. Sharpe, 3/59) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. 2nd XI (the Clowns C.C.): 161 (24.1 overs) (A. harvey, 41; M. Sharpe, 37) 
Ichihara Sharks C.C. won by 179 runs 
Umpire: Rashid Wadood 
Scorer: N. Harrison 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Read Report by Iain Lambert HERE>> 
Check KCL Schedule HERE>> 
Check Shizuoka Kytes C.C. Schedule HERE>> 

13~14/05/2006: Kanto Cricket League:  
Rain ruins the day again:  
May 14th 
D-1:  
Shizuoka Kytes CC vs. Indian Engineers CC:  
Match drawn (waterlogged ground) 
D-2: 
Paddy Foley7s CC vs. Fuji far Esast CC: 
Match drawn (waterlogged ground) 

10/05/2006: Kanto Cricket League:   
Schedule Changes:  
For various reasons there has been fiddlings with the KCL Schedule this week. Make sure you are cognizant of the changes! 
Check KCL Schedule HERE>> 
Check Shizuoka Kytes C.C. Schedule HERE>> 

30/04/2006: We have got new Friends in France: Saumur Crcieket Club. 

30/04/2006:  New Primary School Cricket Club! 
Shizuhata Naka primary School, Shizuoka City 
Read more HERE>> 

23/04/2006: Kanto Cricket League 
The Kytes send the Wombats running back into their holes: 
D-1: 
Shizuoka Kytes CC: 293/7 (40 0vers) (A. Harvey; 90; Kunwar Mahender; 56; G. Brady, 3/35) 
Tokyo Wombats: 107 (S. Burke, 42; T. Whisker, 32) 
Shizuoka Kytes CC won by 186 runs 
Umpire: Chris Thurgate 
Scorers: T. Phillips & N. Harrison 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Read Report by Ian Gason HERE>> (Great prose!) 
Robert-Gilles Martineau writes: 

 

But the battle still had to be won, the Wombats having the same vaunted batsmen who took them to the D-1 Final last year. 
Well, in spite of two missing starting bowlers who had not played in the KCL last year, another unknown with the name of Benjamin “Topper” Tomlinson quickly had his compatriots in the enemy camp revise some of their ideas with sheer pace and aggression. Chuck saw in horror the first ball he had finally middled with the bat go straight to Tomo who pulled out the catch of the day. It was soon payback time for Monogamist when he smartly caught Dino’s inside edge off the same bowler. The game would have been all over almost at once if Spitometer had not put down a difficult catch off an edge by last year year’s best D-1 batsman, Steve Burke. He and Kiwi Tim Whisker put 62 runs on the board before the latter fell to a good one from Kojak who had been revived to block the progress once and for all. From 70/3, the Wombats simply collapsed with 3 suicidal run outs and unconfident batting. Spitometer redeemed himself by catching Steve Burke who spooned Porno’s (Shit Takes Wickets) full toss in the deep and the Kytes were soon celebrating. 
The Division 1 promises to be a hard fought affair upon learning the victories of Wyverns and Giants against Millennium and YCAC. With Friends and Indian Engineers to complete the show, each encounter should provide plenty of drama! 
After the game, the Wombats had the grace to offer their sponsors’s wine to Ashy for Man Of The Match, to Tomo for The Play Of The Day and to Gerard Brady for The Best Wombat Of The Day. 
And then both teams (minus Kojak who was hurrying back to bed) repaired to Yoshida Soba to reminisce on their exploits of the day. But for once the Kytes did not have to listen to that ridiculous song! 

09/04/2006: Kanto Cricket League:  
Newly promoted Shizuoka Kytes C.C. make last year's Millennium C.C. sweat for their win:  
D-!: 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 164 (34.3 overs) (M. Sharpe, 57; Munir Ahmed, 4/32) 
Millennium C.C.: 167/7 (36.5 overs) (N. Miyaji, 37; K. Matsuhisa, 36; Arbab Mohammad, 3/35) 
Millennium C.C. won by 3 wickets. 
Scorers: N. Harrison & R-G. Martineau 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Robert-Gilles Martineau writes: 
On a sunny if blustery day everyone almost came on time. Had a few new supporters on whom Porno vainly tried to impress his licentious ways. Team in good spirits. Everything’s fine.  
A little detail had escaped most of our members’ attention though: the opposition, nothing less than last year’s Champions had taken no chances, and had brought their best team, whereas the Kytes were missing their star batsman, Robb “Monogamist” McKenna (work), our new second-strike bowler, Benjamin “Tomo” Tomlinson (work) and a valuable if not idiosyncratic all-rounder, Todd “Elephant” Phillips (blood clot taken out barely in time, or we would have to go through a funeral instead of a cricket game-serious!) 
Ashley “Ashy” Harvey almost screamed for all to hear that he had won the toss and elected to bat. 
The new opening partnership of Joel “Pants” Chamberlain and Arbab “Kojak” Mohammad could not wait to assail the opposition. Bilbo had asked Sharpy to warn the batsmen that the Millennium CC’s opening bowler Yuta Matsubara (Japan National Team) could swing the ball in appreciatively. Apparently the two Ozzies have a communication problem as Pants was bowled through the gate after only 4 balls. Came in Skipper Ashy who looked good after a couple of boundaries off the same bowler when he played another swinger on his stumps. 17/2. 
Matthew “Sharpy” Sharpe opted for attack and sent the first ball over the boundary. Kojak emulated him in a more sedate way and the two had added 88 runs, bringing the score to 105 in 18 overs when Sharpy (57-11 fours) could not resist chasing a wide ball from Razzaq Cheema and got caught behind. Then bad luck and bad discipline disrupted the solid base that had Millennium in trouble. Kojak (28) got out lbw in spite of an edge. Kunwar “Samir” Mahender (7 – the first time he scored less than 45 runs in the KCL) could not resist wildly swishing his bat at wily Munir Ahmed and got caught on the boundary. Lalith “Larry” Prelis, after two unsuccessful attempts to get himself out, finally managed to offer his wicket on a platter while an aghast Subo had to watch him all the way walk to his end. Bilbo later enquired what language the two Sri Lankans used for communication. Subo replied that Larry does not speak between wickets… 
Subodha “Subo” Gunawardene played well enough until he threw the bat at Munir and gave away an easy catch. Nicholas “Porno” Shannon had enough time to score a 4 and a 6 before Munir had the last word. Matthew “Curly” Ryan was unlucky not to score a 6 against poor bowling and got caught on the boundary instead and Benjamin “Ben Ben” Wooler got a duck for his last game in Japan. 
Total: 164. Not much to defend against a team who successfully chased 281 last year on their way to stardom. 
But our new Skipper would have none of it and had his players running on the pitch in a refreshingly aggressive mood. 
The opposition was likewise minded and Munir struck a 6 off Sharpy’s second ball, but the burly Ozzie struck when he had Mohammad Rizwan plumb lbw with the last ball of his over. Then Kojak did the same with the last ball of his over to get rid of the dangerous Munir Ahmed. The battle was on! 
But it was a Japanese player who proved to be the undoing of the Kytes that day, namely K. Matsuhisa, who in between some good shots had some incredible luck to amass 36 runs in 81 balls (Bilbo actually enquired on his marital status - not married actually). S. Kanzaki and Skipper T. Fuji helped him along before being ousted by good balls from Ashy and Curly. Curly got rid of the dangerous Razzaq Cheema helped by Larry’s mid-riff catch (someone said the ball got actually stuck between two rolls of fat). Arbab finally got the best of plucky K. Matsuhisa. 
Score: 125/7 for 32 overs. 
Anything could happen. 
Unfortunately for the Kytes, N. Miyaji (37) and Y. Matsubara, after seeing the troublesome Curly off hit out at the tiring Ashy and Subo to reach 167 with 19 balls to spare to the cheers of a relieved Millennium team. 
The Kytes did their best to win the game but they fell to a more disciplined and experienced team who nonetheless sweated a lot before they reached safety. 
A very exciting game, which augurs well for the future of both teams. 
Man of the Match: Munir Ahmed 

Newcomers Gunma Eleven Star C.C. mercilessly humble Fuji Far East C.C.: 
D-2:  
Gunma Eleven Star C.C.: 295/7 (40 overs) (Asif S. Butt, 106; Ishafiq Ahmed, 45; Syed Shaib U Din, 44) 
Fuji Far East C.C.: 55 (20.3 overs) (Mohammad S. Akbar, 5/18) 
Gunma Eleven Star  C.C. won by 240 runs 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 

02/04/2006: Rain prevents the Shizuoka Clash for the second year in a row! 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. 2nd XI vs. Fuji far East C.C.: Drawn 
What can you write about the rain but that it is so boring! 

26/03/2006: Friendlies: The Kytes try a few new recruits in their double win over Paddy Foley's C.C.: 
Check Scoresheets HERE>> 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 197/5 (20 overs) (A. Harvey, 61*; Arbab Mohammad, 48*; Subhoda Gunawardene, 38*) 
Paddy foley's C.C.: 114/7 (20 overs) (R. Matthews, 31*) 
Shizuoka Kytes c.C. won by 82 runs 
Nicholas "Porno" Shannon writes: 
It was a cool day.Cloudy and as is often the case windy.The paddy's lads can bearing gifts of beer and their usual cast of characters ( read very emotional brothers....) and one very classy cricketer( how J.Kay 
never got into the N.S.W state team is beyond me...) 
We won the toss and elected to bat.Amish was looking for a ton ,only to find a duck........bad luck mate,really. 
Ashly and Arbab smacked them around,both boys scoring freely. Eventually they retired to give some others a bat.A trend which caught on,until the tail gave away their wickets.Subo hit J.Kay ,who had been bowling exceptionally well for 4 straight sixes.Great stuff. 
Kytes entered a high score and the prospects for Paddys looked grim.As they were..... 
Arbab and Nick opened the bowling.Arbab struck quickly and we were away.J Kay offered resistance but was unable to contain the urge to up the tempo and was caught out to a juicy one from Nick.J Kay was working hard for Kytes as he had just run out one of the emotional brothers....not on purpose either??? 
It all fell apart for Paddys then.Look at the score sheet and get the feel for it. 
Arbab had a go at keeeping( probably his last) 
Special mention must go to Matthews for Paddys.A good bloke who had to work with one of the brothers emotional.He made 31.His highest score ever. 
A fun game had by all! 
Also some hot catching by Amish.This bloke has got some talent, eh........ 
Larry also looked professional in the silly position. 
It was an enjoyabe game.Almost as enjoyabe as the beers afterwards...... 

Pady Foley's C.C.: 119/9 (20 overs) (Pushan Bannerjee, 3/18) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 120/8 (19.1 overs) (Subhoda Gunawardene, 37*; M. Timbrell, 3/11; Udaya Athukorala, 3/23) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 2 wickets 
Ashley "Ashy" writes: 
Well there was a very quick change over for the second 20/20 game and as we had a few new players to play today we had to chop and change the team around. Paddy Foley’s went into bat first and pretty much continued the same way as in the first game, everyone getting a few runs but not be able to continue on for a big score with E. Holden (25), A. Chuana (11), R. Matthews (23), U. Athukorala (25) and T. Halford making any real contribution to the score. This made it easier for our bowlers as we were always on attack and it also gave us a chance to give everyone a bowl. Paddy’s made a similar total to the first game of 9/119. Larry our captain for the second game decided to change the batting order from the first game and gave the new boys a bit of practice out in the middle and like Paddy Foley’s we also lost wickets for very few runs and it was turning into a very close game, until Ahamed Shah (20) and a couple of old hands, Subhoda (37*) and Arbab (9) took control of the game to get us past Paddy Foley’s score. Well Done boys. Thanks to all the new boys for coming so far to play and thanks to Paddy Foley’s team for playing in great spirit and good luck for your season. 

19/03/2006: Todd Phillips survives another scary moment! 

 

12/03/2006: Kytes C.C. 1st XI and 2nd XI's schedule announced! 
Check HERE>> 
Friendly vs. Tokyo Sri Lanka Lions C.C. cancelled! 
Torrential showers the night before until early morning prevented the game to be played. 

12/03/2006: The Kytes start their season on a positive note: 
Friendly: 
Shizuoka Kytes cCC.: 187/9 (30 overs) (J. Chamberlain, 49; Subhoda gunawardene, 30; Dhanuka, 3/16) 
Serendib C.C.: 99 (Asanga, 31; B. Tomlinson, 3/20) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 88 runs 
Scorer: N. Harrison 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Ashley Harvey writes: 
Well the first game of the season started on a cold and rainy day but that didn’t stop both the Kytes CC and the Serendib CC playing. To be honest, I don’t think a typhoon would have stopped us from playing this game, as mostly everyone was keen to play cricket after a five-month break. 
Anyway we won the first toss of the season and chose to bat first. Arbab and Joel were given the job to get the season off to a good start but it wasn’t to be as Arbab was given out caught behind for 1 (with the score on 6) off Shanaka. Ashley was next to come but was soon out to a well-bowled yorker for 8 (56) by Dhanuka (Serendib’s captain). Matt was the next in and he too was bowled a yorker first ball but managed to keep it out with a well place big toe. It wasn’t long after that that Dhanuka had Matt caught for 13 (88) for his second wicket of the day. Subo was next in and was looking very relaxed out there scoring at a nice pace while his partner Joel was smashing some big sixes. Until he was bowled by Jayathura for 49 (99). This brought out Kieran and for his last game for the Kytes he was hoping for a great innings, but it wasn’t to be as he was bowled by Pubudu for 15 (153). Without any runs added, Subo was the next to go, caught for 30 (153) off Dhanuka. Todd came in and after making some very nice shots and not injuring any part of his body was caught for 12 (168) off Ganga. Both Alex 1 (172) and Nick 5 (183) were quick to come and go which left Ben W., whose goal was to score more than 2 this time. He smashed 2 great fours, one of which was a misfield but I know he will put that down to the timing of the shot and Ben T. who only had the last ball to get any runs and so he smashed it for a four to give the Shizuoka Kytes 187/9 after their 30 overs. 

After a quick lunch the boys were out warming up their hands as the rain had stopped but the wind was still pretty cold. Matt opened the bowling and in a first for me to see he didn’t get a wicket in the game. Kieran from the other end started nicely taking the first wicket of Lasith l.b.w for 0 (4). After that both Asanga and Ganga were scoring freely and it wasn’t until Arbab came on that we got our second wicket, Asanga bowled for 31 (51).  Ben T. at the other also got success in is first over too with the wicket of Ganga, caught for 19 (51). Dhanuka was hitting some nice shots for his 16 (71) but was caught by Arbab off Ben T. The last 7 wickets fell for only 28 runs with Ben W. combining with Subo for a run out and Ben T, Todd, Alex and Nick (2) grabbing the remaining ones to give the Shizuoka Kytes their first win of the 2006 season. 

Comment of the day came from Matt when he was umpiring and called “ change of bowler. Right arm over coming around the wicket.” Nice one Matt.  
Shot of the day. No, it wasn’t either of the Bens or Neil having a shot at me but, Joel’s not one but two huge sixes which almost smashed into a parked van. 
Even though the game was played in cold and rainy conditions, both teams played in good spirit. The Kytes will be wanting to build on their performance for the next game and I have no doubt that Serendib CC will do very well this season. Good luck guys.  
Thanks Ashley 

22/01/2006: Kanto Cricket League Annual General Meeting: 
The 2005-2006 KCL AGM was conducted under the guidance of Anton McCloy at Paddy Foley's Irish Pub in Tokyo. 
Check all the details HERE 

11/01/2005: Anton McCloy umpiring in New Zealand: 

Anton McCloy writes: 
From December 28th 2005 to January 5th 2006, I had the opportunity to help umpire the NZ U17 National Tournament at Nelson Park, Napier – New Zealand.  New Zealand Cricket has been offering this opportunity and covering the fees and expenses on the ground for umpires from around the EAP region for a number of years now.  NZ Cricket’s generosity and ongoing co-operation with the EAP administration has been a major influence on the improvement of umpiring standards around the region with attending umpires taking back with them valuable experience of high-intensity cricket on good turf tracks.  For example, the umpiring career of the 2004-2005 EAP umpire (Shahul Hameed – Indonesia) has literally gone ahead in leaps and bounds and he’s standing in this years U19 World Cup in Sri Lanka – something he attributes in no small part to his experience in NZ.  Big footsteps to follow indeed!! 

Anyway… 

After a quiet Xmas in my hometown in the far south of New Zealand I made my way to Napier on the East coast of New Zealand’s North Island.  Napier is a picturesque town of about 56,000 people that lies on the East coast in the centre of a district well known for its fine wine and many art deco style buildings – the result of a building boom after a devastating earthquake in the early 1900’s.   

Nelson Park was the venue, as it has been for several years for this tournament, and has as its head groundsman the same man responsible for McLean Park – Napier’s international cricket venue just over the road.  The tournament had six participating teams and they played a round robin of three 2-day matches and two 1-day matches over nine days – a tough schedule for both the players and umpires. 

Early nerves were evident at the tournament dinner held on the eve of the first game – lots of sideway looks – sizing up the opposition and getting used to the company of team-mates they would have to live with for the next 9 days.  The delicious (good Kiwi fare) dinner was followed by a managers/captains/umpires/tournament directors meeting where playing conditions were discussed and minor concerns resolved. 

Jan. 28th – time to start umpiring my first ever two-day game and 3rd game on grass – not what my umpiring partner wanted to hear I’m sure so I didn’t tell him until stumps the following day.  My nerves were heightened by learning a few minutes before play that Graeme Reardon (former NZ umpire) was doing a NZCUA Boundary Assessment on my partner and me for the 2 days – comforting thought as I started the game.  The first game was between Wellington and Auckland and ended in a deserved first innings win to eventual tournament winner Auckland.  My partner Peter Gasston, and I, finished the match feeling happy with our performance and this was reflected in our assessments and discussions with Graeme.  This, in hindsight, gave me an invaluable boost to my confidence for the rest of the tournament. 

By the end of the second match that finished on New Years Eve I was pretty tired and ready for a day off.  I had never umpired for more than two-days in a row and certainly had never done more than 100 overs in a day as these young lads were doing with seeming ease.  New Years day was a quiet affair as the ump’s all had plans and people to see so I used the day to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet at the beach and reading a book at the motel – valuable time indeed. 
 

The last four days of the tournament were a two-day match and the 2 one-day matches. 
Again, confidence was good from the preceding matches thanks to good partners – Peter Gasston and Dave Patterson.  Everything went swimmingly well actually until the start of the first one-dayer where my partner and I made a mistake that earned us some frowns and side-way glances at the lunch table not to mention a hefty fine at the nightly umpire’s court session! Lesson learnt - we resolved not to make that elementary error again – ever!  
The tournament finished on Jan 5th and the umpires celebrated with a night out at a restaurant – one of many fine places to eat in Napier – called the “Speight’s Ale House”. 
A good night was had by all with numbers and addresses exchanged for future use.  We all went our separate ways early the next morning – some off to umpire first class matches, others to carry on with their summer.   

I, however, went looking for some more cricket and was lucky enough to be invited to “hang-out” with the umpires/officials in attendance at the fourth NZ vs. Sri Lanka one-day match in Napier.  It was a good chance to catch-up again with Brian Aldridge – NZ umpires manager and organizer of my trip as well as Darrell Hair whom I had spent some time with in Kuala Lumpur in early 2005 as well as meet some of NZ’s top officials. 

I had the opportunity to get an inside look into how a match of this size happens and what goes on behind the scenes.  I attended the ground/facilities inspection, the security meeting and also tagged along to inspect the players bats for the ICC – I didn’t know much about bats or security but it was very interesting to look, listen and learn some of  what is happening away from the camera’s.  

Game day saw me with an “All Areas” pass and officially dubbed the “5th Umpire” which was fine with me because my most strenuous task of the day was carrying the communications equipment bag.  The rest of the day was spent watching and talking cricket with a huge range of interesting people as well tapping into the food and refreshment supplies meant for the real umpires!! 

In summary the trip has been of huge benefit to me personally and will be of benefit to umpiring here in Japan.  I hope to implement a few NZ playing conditions into our Kanto Competition for 2006. Despite it being quite late to do this I think the changes will improve umpires consistency and player satisfaction across the board. Also, some techniques aimed at improving the teamwork aspect of umpiring will be introduced into umpire training this year.  It’s a big year for cricket in Japan in many ways and I’m confident Japan Umpiring will keep pace with developments. 

In conclusion I’d like to thank the following people for their generosity and acceptance of me during the trip: Jeremy Busby, Chris Cogdale, Mike Fenn, Peter Gasston, Dave Patterson and Geoff Pollard  – colleagues and “wise elders” at the U17 tournament along with Brian Aldridge and Phil Jones who put up with me tagging along to get an inside look at the inner workings of an ODI – very much appreciated indeed. Also, special thanks to Jeremy Busby and Dave Patterson’s better halves – behind any good umpire is a good lady keeping them fed, and their clothes washed during a tournament – much appreciated! 
I, and any other EAP umpires lucky enough to have this chance in the future, should value the opportunity to work with umpires of this level and remember the dozens of long-serving and hard-working domestic umpires that would jump at the opportunity to umpire this tournament. 

Happy New Year and Good Cricket to you all!! 

Anton McCloy - Japan 

31.12.2005 /HAMISH BIDWELL writes:  
When you hear there's a Japanese umpire officiating at the national under-17 tournament at Nelson Park, the last bloke you're keeping your eyes peeled for is a tall, broad-shouldered Anglo-Saxon.  

You're expecting, well ... something different from Anton McCloy, the affable man from Ranfurly in Central Otago that sits down beside you, following a request to the tournament organisers for "a yarn with that Japanese ump." McCloy is part of a four-man East Asia-Pacific (EAP) elite umpires panel who attend tournaments around the world, right through from World Cup qualifiers to age-group affairs such as this one in Napier.  
  
It's all a far cry from how things began back in Central.  
"It just started with club stuff where we had to umpire our own games in the country competition," McCloy said.  

"So that was all the umpiring experience I had in New Zealand and then I've played cricket in Japan for the last nine years in the main Kanto competition, which is based around Tokyo, where there's about 17 clubs involved. It was an entirely expatriate competition initially with eight or nine core expat teams but now it's expanded, so a lot of local people who didn't even know cricket existed in Japan have developed an interest in it.  

"So from playing that, some in the final used to get a bit testy because it was an expat competition and you could get a team of Sri Lankans playing a team of Australians and there'd be Indians and Pakistanis and some South Africans and Zimbabweans floating around, who all come from different cricketing cultures.  

"So they asked me and a very good friend of mine, Mark McAtamney from Rotorua, to come and ump these particularly testy games and we had a reasonable grasp of the rules and had been playing against these guys for years."  

That's not the least of McCloy and McAtamney's responsibilities when it comes to keeping the Japanese competition afloat.  

"We don't have the time or the manpower to have grass wickets over there and because there's nowhere to play in central Tokyo, we play in the city I live in, Fuji City, right at the foot of Mount Fuji," McCloy said.  

"There's two grounds, side-by-side, with concrete artificials and, again, because Mark and I are the only cricketers in the area, we cut all the grass and do all the painting and cut down all the bush around it.  

"It's two-and-a-half hours on the toll highway from Tokyo every time people want to play, although the rich boys come down on the bullet train and take a taxi down the dirt track to the ground."  

McCloy also acts as an unofficial umpire development officer for the Japanese Cricket Association and it was through that that he came into contact with New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) umpire's manager Brian Aldridge.  

NZC, along with the Australian Cricket Board, is responsible for developing the game in all EAP countries and Aldridge, along with Australian test umpires Darrell Hair and Steve Davis and EAP umpire's co-ordinator, Tony Cooper, from Fiji, have become mentors of sorts for McCloy.  

Their tutelage saw him invited to the World Cup Qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, where he stood in two matches and was the third umpire in another.  

Then, like this week in Hawke's Bay, McCloy has to pinch himself and wonder what's he's done to be in such elite company.  

"I mean these guys have had years and years at the top level of umpiring."  

"But if these guys tell me that I'm doing the job and that I'm good enough to be here, then so be it." 
20/12/2005: More pictures of September 25th Kids Cricket Day sent by Chikae Harrington! 

17/12/2005: Anton McCloy on Umpiring duty in New Zealand! 

11/12/2005: Groundwork day at the ACO!: 
When I arrived at the ACO at 9:50, I wondered if we ought have played last week's game then, such a balmy day it was. Oh well,... 
Did some repair job until Frizzy (Mark Steward) turned up at 10:30. We filled the fire pit and covered the scorer's mound with a thick layer of sand. After a few tries we managed to get the cutter started and I let Frizzy learn the arcanes of high grass cutting along the trench. Did a very good job actually!  
Went back to fill holes with red loam and do some weeding (%#&$#%). 
Porno (Nicholas Shannon) finally turned up at 12:30. By then Frizzy and I were having our lunch. Porno got busy calling Sharpy/Cataignede (Matthew Sharpe) who belatedly turned up at 12:50. The two of them set themselves to changing the blades of the two cutters available and after using them for more than half an hour realized they had somehow managed to fix them the other way round. It took them that long to realize they were not cutting grass! Talk of Ozzie technology!  
Lumbering Elelephant (Todd Phillips) somehow appeared at 13:50 with a vanload of unwanted tools and set himself to do some trench clearing and later joined me to clean the BBQ pit. 
By then, the two Ozzies were doing some really serious cutting along the Terrace. We joined to rake their handiwork away onto the river bed. After helping getting rid of some unwanted stones, Frizzy had to go back to help his Missus. Bunny (Shoaib Aziz) thought it was about time to show his puffy drunk face at 14:55. We asked him to set light to the grass piles, but couldn't manage and soon gave up. We left at 15:30. 
The high grass along the river bed is all cut including along the trench and an extra ten yards towards the Lone Tree End, providing for a new vantage point. The BBQ pit is clean, the scorer's mound is ready, the holes have been filled. 
We (Lumbering Elephant, Bunny and I) went to pay a visit to Pendragon (Neil Harrison) at the hospital. Bunny managed to lose his way as usual! 
On January 29th (Sunday), we shall have to do the %#$'&% weeding, dig out some more out of the trench, move the gear away to open space for benches to be moved out of the boundary and see what further improvements we could come up with. 
The ground is beauty, even with all that brown grass. Can't wait for next Spring! 
Bilbo (Robert-Gilles Martineau) 

06/12/2005: Mark Steward teaches Cricket at Tenma-cho Primary School!: 
Read Mark's great report HERE>> 

05/12/2005: Neil Harrison hospitalized for knee repairs! 
After jeoel Chamberlain, Francis newman and Arthur Harrison, Neil Harrison has been treated at the Shizuoka Rheumatism Surgery! Next in line is Robert-Gilles martineau (sriously!) 

04/12/2005:Pacific Friendship Cup Final: Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C. squeeze past Shizuoka Kytes in a cliffhanger played in cataclysmic conditions! 
Shizuoka Kytes: 196 (28.3 overs) (R. McKenna, 53; M. Sharpe, 37; Arbab Mohammad, 33; Extras, 36; Biju Paul, 3/24; Rahul deo, 3/29; Vimal Vikrant, 3/46) 
Tokyo indian Engineers c.C.: 198/9 (29 overs) (Prashanth, 66; Extras, 47; M. Sharpe, 3/43; 4 stumpings by R. McKenna) 
Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C. won by 1 wicket 
Scorer: Robert-Gilles Martineau 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Details coming soon! 

30/11/2005: Anton McCloy Selected for EAP Umpire's Panel 
Congratulations to Fuji Far East CC member Anton McCloy, who was selected to the inaugural EAP Umpire's Panel. 
The full 2006 EAP Umpires Panel is as follows:  
1. Tony Cooper (Fiji) 
2. Shahul Hameed (Indonesia) 
3. Lakani Oala (PNG) 
4. Anton McCloy (Japan) 
5. Lionel Browne (Cook Islands) 
Positions on the Panel are reviewed each year subject to criteria such as performance assessment and umpiring activity in one's country. Tony Cooper is the EAP Umpiring Coordinator and Tony and Shahul are already  
members of the ICC Associates & Affiliates Umpires Panel. 
Neil Harrison of Shizuoka Kytes, Geoff Cleland (Vanuatu), Semi Halanukonuka (Tonga), Grant Johnson (Vanuatu) and Paul Poulos (Samoa) will form a supplementary panel of umpires to be called on as and when required. 

27/011/2005: 
Shizuoka Youth Cricket Development: 

20/11/2005: 
Kanto Cricket League Division 2 Final:  
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. Complete clean sweep by overcoming gritty Wyverns C.C.:  
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 200 (34.3 overs) (A. Harvey, 53; J. Chamberlain, 33; M. Sharpe, 31; G. Beath, 4/29) 
Wyverns C.C.: 184/9 (35 overs) (G. Beath, 53; S. nakamura, 35+ Subhoda Gunawardena, 4/29; M. Sharpe, 3/44) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 16 runs 
Scorers: Shizuka Kubota, Chiyomi Isogawa, Robert-Gilles Martineau 
Check Scoresheet HERE>>  
Robert-Gilles Martineau writes: 
Chilly but bright day. All Wyverns at the ground before half of their smaller flying kin  (the Kytes if you have not understood) could make it to their own eyries. The Big Owl (Anton McCloy) suddenly having to make it back to his own nest, we were left to take care of ourselves. No problem. The Wyverns are great birds of the same feather. We organized ourselves quickly (special thanks to our friends for giving a big hand with the ground chores all day long!), tossed a piece of metal in the air (crows, keep away), and found out that the Kytes had a chance to bat first, which Captain Neil took with both hands (talons?). 
Matthew Sharpe (or whatever odd names he is beeing called) and Joel Chamberlain progressed easily until Joel twisted his knee again on 26 and score at 49 to momentarily retire and being replaced by Ashley Harvey (Can somebody shoot him out of his socks and cap?). The pair was going along at more than 5 an over when Captain Yanai (Junmei Hanada was catching up with all the work accumulated during his trip to Vanuatu with the National Team) decided it was about time to introduce his trump card in the guise of Gavin Beath. Division 1 opponents had better beware of that particular player or they shall nurse bitten toes. He so frustrated Matt that the latter was induced in his sole  loose shot of the day although it took a flying Hirose to make a spectacular catch (the more for the dolly he had previoulsy dropped). Arbab Mohammad joined Ashley at 74 but left with the score at 115 off a weak shot at one of Tsuruoka's innocuous slow balls to be caught by that man Gavin Beath. Subhdha Gunawardena came to help Ashley until the latter fell at 146 off an indifferent shot off Hirose. We should have scored 22~230 runs but the rest folded (their wings?) gently except for a few boundaries from "Girlie" File and "Porno" Shannon. Nick Shannon had the honour to score our 300th 4 of the season!  Big Ostrich Phillips had enough time at the crease to fracture his big toe, but valliantly kept lumbering around for the rest of the game. Score at 200 sharp off 34.3 overs. The Wyverns had done far better than expected (by the Kytes). Gavin Beath, the pick of day with 4/29 and 2 catches. Great fielding from all Wyverns (must have saved at least 25 runs) and great keeping from T. Chino as usual. 
Quick lunch, leaving enough time for Old Crow Scorer to synge his feathers when foraging too close to the fire of his own making. 

On form the Kytes were looking for an early retreat to the Soba Shop and its freebies to enjoy the company of quite an unusual flock of  hens who had come to support their cocks/stags unless they had mistaken themselves into believing another BBQ was on hand...But Gavin Beath decided otherwise. First Arbab conceded 3 boundaries before Gavin switched onto Matt to middle 4 boundaries  before the latter took some revenge by inducing T. Chino into an edge into Kieran File's gloves. Arbab having settled into his miser's bowling act, Neil opted to bring in Nick early. He did his job well although not aided by the fielders who were showing stiff bodies and hands in the growing cold. Arbab did well to remove T. Noguchi thanks to a goose-like arse-damaging catch from Matt. Score: 78/2 off 14 overs. Exactly the same pace as ours. Things started to go the wrong way when S. Nakamura's dolly was dropped off Ashley by our keeper who was more thinking about his hen's warm plumage than the game itself. Shu had another close escape almost just after when a pop-up evaded Matt. Shu and Gavin had amassed a 46-run partnership and were going away with the game, when Subhoda ,before bowling his fourth ball in his first over, asked Neil to drop a few metres back. Gavin middled the next ball directly to Neil who had just enough time to pull out the catch, the winning one, of the game. Fahim Kawsar got run out having faced only one ball, and when at 156, Shu Nakamura finally fell to Matt who had come back with a vengeance, the writing on the wall had completely changed. Subhoda closed the innings in spite of a late slog by K. Edagawa and the mother of all dollies being dropped by no one but Ashley. The poor Wyverns were left to score 25 off the last over, but managed only 9 of them. 
The pick of the innings was Subhoda's vital bowling performance (exacly the same as Gavin Beath) that irremediately closed the door after Gavin Beath's somewhat unlucky demise. Ashley did well to limit the damage, too. Actually the bowlers did not panick in spite of Gavin's onslaught, and with a little help from the fielders should have made the job easier. Well, a Final played in the second half of November is certainly not an easy proposition but the Wyverns certainly showed more prowess in their fielding. On the other hand the Kytes had lame ducks all over the field with Todd (fractured toe), Joel (torn cruciate ligaments), Neil (going to have his knee operated) and Subo (light torn muscle thigh). 
One of the most exciting games of the season with quite a few spectators present including former Captains Patrick and Imtiaz, our Sponsor, Karl Emerson, and Nick's sire. 

The Kytes posted the perfect clean slate by beating all opponents in Division 2 (7 during the group matches with 2 games rained out and the last 2 during the play-offs. 

A great thanks to the Wyverns whom we shall meet next year. We shall make sure to have a BBQ ready then! 

Men of the Match: Gavin Beath & Subhoda Gunawardena 

15/11/2005: SBS TV airs their report on Shizuoka Cricket! 
Almost 5 minutes of air time were devoted to Cricket in shizuoka and Miwa primary School. A copy each has been sent to the EAP ICC in Australia and the JCA. For more copies, contact Robert-Gilles Martineau! 

12/011/2005: Friendly: Shizuoka Kytes C.C. somehow squeezes past the Tokyo British Embassy C.C. with last ball of the match: 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 187/6 (30 overs) (A. Harvey, 97*, M. Sharpe, 33+ W. Daley, 3/3) 
Toyo british Embassy C.C.: 182/3 (30 overs) (B. Kininmont, 96; K. Irie, 40) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. beat Tokyo British Embassy C.C. by 5 runs 
Check Scoresheet HERE>>  
Neil Harrison writes: 
Kytes bucked their recent trend of getting on the wrong side of tight matches down at the ACO on Sunday, holding their nerve to squeak a 5-run win over British Embassy. It was a great day for cricket - clear with an occasional breeze blowing up from the ocean. So great, in fact, that the match had to be reduced to 30 overs a side as so many people turned up late. Kytes also suffered two match-day withdrawals and had to press The Grand Old Man into service. Bruce also answered an emergency call. Kytes lent the Embassy 2 fielders to cover for their Japanese contingent, who  
were missing presumed incompetent "somewhere in Shizuoka". 
The Captain bucked a personal trend and won the toss, sending the Prelis cousins, of the famed Richmond School of Sodomy, in to open the Kytes' innings in auspicious circumstances. The partnership itself wasn't very auspicious, and Lalith was soon back on the terrace after playing an ugly hoik over a straight ball on the stumps from Embasy Skipper Warren Daley. Subodha looked to be settling well but a series of back-breaking short balls from Chris Thompson ruffled his plumage and he gloved one to slip. New boy Ben Tomlinson didn't hang around long for Kytes either and at 31/3, things didn't look too hot. A solid 52-run partnership at 5 an  
over between Ashley and Hairbear saw Kytes back on track, although the Embassy bowlers always managed to do enough to keep the run rate in check. 
Two quick wickets for leggie Kenji Murata (Hairbear beaten outside off and clinically dispatched by Tom Goodwin, the Captain heaving a full toss to Brent Kininmont at long-off) again knocked Kytes back, only for a free-flowing 62-run partnership at more than 6 an over between Ashley and Matthew Alphonse Sharpe to hand the initiative back to Kytes. Kenji extracted a measure of revenge for Sharpey smacking him onto the ground golf track three times when he held onto a sliced swipe at mid-off at the second attempt, but the Pornographer joined Ashley for the last few overs to see Kytes to a very healthy 187/6. 
Overall a good bowling effort by the Embassy, particularly Andy  
Pritchard, Warren and Chris, but there were too many wides. 
For Kytes, another class innings from the man who sleeps with his  
average under his pillow. Ashley finished on 97* off 89 balls with 10x4 and 2x6. Only one chance to speak of, an edge that split the slips, and just 3 runs away from becoming the first Kyte to score two tons in a season. Matt (33 off 31, 1x4, 3x6) was the only other Kyte to get going. 

Kytes took the field with inklings of an Embassy collapse and an early start on the waiting beer. After 5 overs, they were still contemplating the early start on the beer, but not quite in the same circumstances.  
Brent and Warren got Embassy off to an absolute flier. There were  
already 42 runs on the board and Brent was creaming anything pitched up to the boundary. Matt (mysteriously recorded in the Embassy scorebook as "Gayboy") suffered particularly harshly and was relieved to be relieved after bowling 3 overs of "Hit me!" balls. At the other end, Hairbear took a mauling in his first 2 overs but got his act together, his next 3 overs conceding only 3 runs. Ashley replaced Gayboy/Matt (depends which scorebook you look at) and helped reel in the run rate. These two bowled steadily and gave Kytes fresh hope, particularly when Ashley managed to bowl Warren off his pads for 20. But there was no collapse as Koh Irie  
came in and set about catching up with Brent. New Ben had a go from the Lone Tree End but took a pasting and Embassy went in for drinks nicely placed and with the advantage on 97/1. 
After drinks, Subo and His Pornliness bowled good spells in tandem that again put Kytes ahead. The boundaries dried up but excellent running kept the required rate down. By now Brent was swinging at anything and a bevy of chances bit the dust, some of them gobsmackingly simple. Subo came off after a roasting in his 4th over gave the advantage once more to Embassy. Porno reeled them back in again but Matt returned and went for 16. Advantage Embassy. Porno bowled another stingy over and Matt followed suit. 10 runs to win off the last over. Hairbear came on to bowl it and to his credit he wanted it. The first 3 balls gave up 4 runs. 6 to win. The fourth clipped Brent's leg stump and went through to  
Brucie without troubling the bails. What have you got to do? (The answer is "Better"!) The fifth bowled Brent off his pads. Andy Pritchard came in to face his last ball in Japan and still 6 to win. The stuff of fairy tales. Of course, in the real world you play a monster swing and miss and get bowled. Hard luck Andy, hard luck Embassy. Kytes win a cracking match played in great spirit by 5 runs. Time for a beer and a barbie. 
Embassy finished on 183/3, which is a great effort. Brent made 96 (8x4, 6x6) and early on, when everything came off the middle, looked like he was going to finish the match early. Warren gave good support for the first wicket stand and Koh (40 runs, 6x4) came in and played a good clever innings to keep the target always within reach. 
For Kytes, Ashley, Hairbear, Subo and Shizuoka's very own Ron Jeremy all bowled extremely well to tie the Embassy down at various stages of the innings. The number of wides (27 by Embassy, 9 by Kytes) proved crucial - well bowled, boys. The fielding was - what's the word? - mixed. The catching was - well, there wasn't any. 

The beer and barbie were, by contrast, excellent. Cheers to the Embassy for staying for a while. 

Man of the Match - Ashley - bowled well to go with a great innings. 

Finally a word of farewell to Andy Pritchard and Tom Goodwin who will be leaving Japan in the next few weeks. It was a pleasure meeting you. All the best for the future. 

08/11/2005: SBS TV visits Miwa Primary School for report! 
As promised, the SBS TV crew, led by Mr. Yoshimoto, came to Miwa Primary School on Tuesday to shoot a report on the School Cricket Club. Loads of fun. Mr. Yoshimoto, who must be the most knowledgeable Japanese reporter when it comes to Cricket (he covered the EAP ICC Tournament in Fuji in May 2004) informed us the report would be on air on November 15th during the evening news! 

23/10/2005: Friendly:The Kytes lose a second straight tight game:  
Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C.: 186 (37.4 overs) (R. Lahodiuq, 42; Himansu Pankelkoy, 40; Subhoda Gunawardena, 3/23) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 178 (31.2 overs) (M. Sharpe; 35) 
Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C. won by 8 runs 
Check Scoresheet HERE>>  
Report by Nicholas Shannon (heavily edite by Neil Harrison): 
Well as expected we had a great game. Our opposition was keyed up and ready for action. Luckily enough theseblokes were the Indian Engineers, so the game was played in the best of spirits! I like that. 
Par for course, Neil lost the toss and we were in for a bowl. A few of us were nursing hangovers on account of Ashley's wedding, others for some crap all hallows eve party and the rest of us appeared as usual... 
This, however, is no excuse for some of the less threatening bowling straight off! Still, blokes out there were searching for bunnies and nothing could stand in their way....A little bowling break and another shot later on......Hmmmmm. 
The Engineers opened with Himansu and Prashant. Overall Himansu did very well, picking up 40 runs. Prashant didn't do so well, being bowled by  
ieran for 5. However, I must add that Prashant looked thegoods.The best of the Engineers was Lahodiuq. 42 runs saw him as the top scorer. David Davies was at the crease and unfortunately for the Indians was incapable of capitalising on his opportunity. I put it down to too much applied pressure.....He was promptly bowled by Subodha for 29.Enter Bikash........He looks handsome and arrived at the crease with poise...Perhaps one of the day's worst deliveries took his middle stump. Very unlucky! As the dispatcher of this dodgy delivery, I felt pretty bad. I said as much to the umpire..." I feel sorry for Bikash". His reply..... "I feel sorry foryou".......COOL.... 
Bikash had worse to come....... 
Sharpe came in and picked up the tail. On a hat-trick. The fifth time  
for our team this year!Credit to Subo for his good bowling, too. Larry got a wicket, too. 
Engineers amassed 186..... 

Shizuoka came in with Matt and Larry. Larry's time as a top order  
batsman for Richmond School of Sodomy in Sri Lanka served him well. Larry was out there for almost 16 overs! 21 runs only but a magnificent performance.I can see Larry and his "L" bat as a regular number 5!!Sharpe put in a solid show. Much more convincing than his time with the ball.... Good stuff....A lovely 35. 
The Engineers were working through the Kytes' lineup. Ben did well. New Matt came and went. Subo got 28. Neil made a promising 15 and when he went, it was looking bad for the Kytes. 7 down, but one Kyte wasn't going to bat. We'd even given the Engineers Cousin Tom because they had ten and we thought we had twelve. 
Next Shannon came in to bat. With a season average of 3, we thought this would be short. It was, but it was brutal too! David Davies to deal with......6. Next Bikash with vengeance......6. I lost Subo when he gloved a bouncer to the keeper. Bunny copped another duck. Bilby came in with Bunny as his runner - talk about a death wish! Santosh pitched one up on my stumps.........6. 
Bikash was spewing.....Santosh was sweating. 9 runs to go... and I blew it!!!!!! Santosh bowled me next ball.......Shit....all over. 
A wonderful game. 
I was impressed by 4 points. 
David Davies was honest enough as an umpire to admit he messed up. 
Cousin Tom fielded 60 overs and never faced a ball as a batsman. 
I hit a bunch of 6's, my first in Japan. 
And we drank a bunch of booze after the game. 

Disappointments....... 
We didn't get to drink with Cousin Tom, Prashant and the boys. 
Bobby had his hands full and couldn't make the game. 
Biju was afraid I'd snag his wicket......and didn't come. 
Bikash was bowled by a shit ball but still got hit for 6 byme...(Sorry  
Bikash). 
Shizuoka Kytes lost.... 

Still we will be seeing you Engineers in Division 1 next year! 
All the best to you. 

24/09/2005: Friendly: Paddy Foley's C.C. post their maiden win in last game of the season with 2 balls to spare!  
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 150 (B. Harris, 57; T. Robinson, 4/30; Udaya Athukorala, 3/33) 
Paddy Foley's: 151/9 (B. Fallahay, 36; N. Shannon, 3/11; Subhda Gunawardena, 3/16) 
Paddy Foley's C.C. won y 1 wicket 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 

15/09/2005: Shizuoka Cricket youth programme cited on the ICC-EAP Website: 
Russell James of the ICC East Asia Pacific Development has posted us on the ICC-EAP Website: 
For more details check HERE>> 

11/09/2005: Latest Report on children's activities 
Children's programme steadily expanding. 

September 25th: Youth CricKet Day at the Abe River Ground 

October 2nd: The members of the Shizuoka Kytes C.C. having had their game postponed due to KCL priorities were practising on the adjacent ground when they had the surprise to see Tomo coming along with his mother to join the practice. I was umpiring at the time, but the lads told me he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Captain neil had a chat with his mother and gave the kid his grown up son's bat to Tomo who could not believe it! 

October 9th: KCL Division 2 Semi-Final. 
The Kytes having destroyed their opponents in less than 2 hours (we are in Division 1 next year!) decide to use all that time made available practising. It was then than Tomo proved once for all he would stay with us when he appeared bringing a friend along called Kohei Mochizuki (nicknamed "Mochi"). Kieran almost automatically ran to them and spent a good hour coaching them to be later helped by RGM after he had finished his scoring and other duties. We gave the boys one ball each and suggested that they practised at their own school ground and invite more friends on next Sunday. 
As you can little things start big ones! 

11/09/2005: Kanto Cricket League:  
The Kytes soar over the D-2 Semi-finals into 2006 D-1!  

With proceedings managing to get underway Sunday (to the amazement of some "wedding crashers"), the weather, whether it was going to rain or not (???), was always on the minds of everyone. 

Fuji won the toss, surprise surprise (the Captain's record now an  
impressive Won 2, Lost 11), and decided to bat. Which was the right decision to make as they were missing two players. Myself (Matt) and Arbab opened the bowling and were on target pretty much straight away (except for the odd wide!!!). The conditions were a little slippery but unlike a certain Kiwi (no names mentioned here Ashley...DOH!), we were able to stay upright and bowl a tight line. So tight in fact that the only runs for the first 8 overs were thanks to "the odd wide one".  
Junior managed to drive me nicely for two in my fifth but on the last ball of that over he went for one outside off and was brilliantly caught in gully by Captain Fantastic (that'd be Neil). The second ball of my sixth removed a somewhat surprised Imamura, taking his off stump! I was unlucky (I'm allowed to say that) not to have McTamney out LBW the very next ball but as fate would have it, he got the benefit of the umpire's doubt!!! Those two wickets drew me level with Shannon, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the KCL, Kytes and possibly all of Japan for all we know. After my sixth I thought I'd give the "I can't find my line because I keep slipping" Kiwi, Ashley, a crack at a few easy targets!!!  
Meanwhile at the other end, Arbab was bowling a line tighter than a Robb McKenna first date. He eventually picked up the other opener, Saito, who faced 31 deliveries (all from Arbab) and was out bowled for a big fat ZERO (surely a new KCL record for longest duck). Ashley picked up probably the softest wicket of the day and then was the benefactor of a brilliant throw from McKenna and a poor call from McTamney (just ask Anton), to run out Anton who was looking very ominous as he was striking the ball with the timing of a Swiss watch. Amazing really because a few hours before that he wouldn't have even been able to tell the time on a Swiss watch!!! ;-) With only 2 wickets remaining, the Captain called  
Shannon into the attack as he loves rabbiting and he's picked up the odd "Bunny" this year. His first ball drew an edge from McTamney for a lucky single, the second was defended carefully by Kawashima. Next came the inevitable wide, followed by a slighter outside off. Next ball trapped Kawashima half forward with bat behind pad, and next man Orita was comprehensively bowled for a Golden to end the innings. I was in tears by this stage, Shannon was back in front again by two wickets!!! Fuji were all out for a new record low of 24. Figures were shared with Shannon 2/2 off 5 balls, Arbab 2/5 off 8 overs (and 3 of those were from wides!!! His 5 maidens could also be a record), myself (Matt) 2/7 off 6 overs and the expensive Kiwi, Ashley, 1/9 off 5 overs!!! 

Robb and Pants, who has now earned his fourth nickname of the year, Amish, easily accounted for the 25 runs needed in less than six overs, the highlight being Amish's 6 to get the final runs! 

An excellent effort from all, and a special mention to the Lumbering  
Elephant, Phillips, who somehow managed to injure himself (and let us all know about it for the rest of the day) fielding one that was racing along the ground like a tracer bullet....or so he said anyway ;-) 

Great work guys, now to knock off Wyverns to have an unbeaten year in KCL. Bad luck to the Dragons for not quite getting there!!! 

11/09/2005: Kanto Cricket League: 
D-2: One representative of Shizuoka Prefecture will play in KCL D-1 next year! 
Fuji Far East C.C. manages to qualify for the Semi-0Finals in very last game!: 
Fuji Far East C.C.: 284/5 (40 overs)  (M. McTamney, 124*, H. Takahashi, 56; D. Cooper, 3/61) 
Dragons C.C.: 191 (D. Davies, 67; G. Azavedo, 45; Shivaranjan Barkadavu, 31; A. McCloy, 3/28) 
Fuji Far East C.C. beat Dragons C.C. by 93 runs 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 

Shizuoka Kytes get good practice before their Semi-Finals: 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 296/5 (40 overs) (Arbab Mohammad, 130; Kunwar Mahender, 47; M. Sharpe, 45) 
Tokyo Bay Districts C.C.: 92 (M. Sharpe, 3/17; 3 run outs) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 204 runs 
Umpires: Gavin Beath & Makoto Mori 
Scorer: Robert-Gilles Martineau 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Neil Harrison writes: 
The Shizuoka Kytes juggernaut flattened Tokyo Bay on Sunday to sign off unbeaten in their KCL fixture list. 
It was a cloudy but hot day down at the ACO and a season-high 4 Kytes managed to turn up before the opposition. Tokyo Bay turned up with one player lost in transit and promptly lost the toss too. The Captain pretended that he had to think before deciding to bat. Things were looking good. 
Matt and Ashley opened up surprisingly sedately and the Grand Old Man did what he does best and fretted on the mound. Sachin mixed up his bowlers quite frequently and this seemed to throw Kytes off balance. When Sachin bowled a lethargic Ashley in the 12th over the score was 45 and the Grand Old Man was fidgeting all over his mound (close your eyes and think a moment). 
Arbab came in and looked to up the scoring, but the tight fielding, oppressive heat and some idiosyncratic running kept the rate down. When Matt popped a soft catch to Amit Lal at mid-on, Kytes were 106/2 off 22 overs and TGOM was starting to bounce in his seat. Never mind, said the Captain, Pants is bound to do something. And he did. He got out lbw after 6 balls. In true Australian fashion, Pants claimed an inside edge and a Kiwi umpire, just like... But I promised not to mention that. 
Samir arrived and put the first ball he faced in the river. Business as usual, then. TGOM started to feel a calm coming on. Only started, mind. The long handles came out and 119 runs were added in 14 overs. The Captain and the Pornographer generously retrieved a succession of heave-hos from the river bed till Samir got under one from Mayank and skied a return chance which was safely and gratefully accepted. 
Kieran stepped out and helped Arbab keep the rate up around 8 an over with some clean drives, crazy running and one very impressive pulled six after taking a stroll down the track. Arbab brought up his ton in fine style with another sweet pull to the boundary. Time for Mayank to bowl the last over and 18 needed to reach the magic 300. Arbab sends the first two deliveries bird-watching over the ground golf ground. He tries again 3rd ball but miscues and they run 2. He tries again 4th ball but miscues again and is brilliantly caught on the boundary slope by Vineet Singh. Kieran is on strike with 2 balls to score 4 runs, but he plays a couple of girlie Kiwi wafts and the keeper is sharp enough to preclude byes. 

Still, 296/5 isn't bad. Arbab had 130 of those (93 balls, 9x4, 7x6) in an innings that started out risky but improved as it went on. Samir (47 off 28 balls, 2x4, 5x6) once again did the business in sixes and got out just as a big score beckoned. Matt (45 off 67 balls, 3x4) was content to play anchor again and seemed untroubled by the bowling. Until he got out. 

Tokyo Bay were unlucky that their AWOL member was one of their better bowlers and that Ken was suffering from a heavy cold. Dinesh (8-0-0-36) bowled well without luck and Mayank (8-0-2-47) sent down some good stuff, but also a fair few poor deliveries. The fielding was very good apart from one dropped dolly off Arbab. 

The reply kicked off in disastrous fashion when Sachin lost his off stump to Matt first ball. Heavy cloud and spots of rain in the air had the Kytes changing over double-quick in order to get the required 20 overs in to get a result, and Matt and Ashley bowled straight through. Matt got Ken to pop a dolly to Pants at short midwicket and had Shiramizu lbw soon after. As the prospect of rain receded, the only hope for Tokyo Bay was a Mayank special, but he contrived to run himself out for 3 in lame circumstances, which rather deflated the match. Kytes' attention switched to a different tussle - would Matt be able to reel in the Pornmeister in the KCL wicket-taking stakes? With those three wickets, Matt drew level and he still had 4 overs to bowl. The next two to go were runouts. Vineet then sliced Ashley over mid-off, where the diminutive Matthew Sharpe stretched his little legs, leapt into the air and snatched the ball one-handed and blind. One of those catches that only stick on days when things are going your way. Dinesh gifted Kytes another runout and Matt's overs were done. Enter the Porn Star with only two wickets left for him. Anand and Amit both smashed full-tosses into the river. Amit pulled another gift for 4. 18 runs off Porno's first 7 balls. Amit tried again but, to his surprise, and everybody else's, it was a good ball that turned and jumped and just flicked the bails. The square-leg umpire was called on to confirm the dismissal. Matt's heartfelt congratulations rang around the ground: "Oh, you c*nt!" Team spirit lives on. Porno remembered how to bowl and Arbab bottled up the other end. The runs dried up and the game ended soon after when Kartik played outside a regulation off-spinner and was bowled. More joy for Matt. Tokyo Bay all out for 92 in the 21st over, Kytes win by 204. 

Only Anand (25*) showed competence and resistance in a disappointing effort. Kato briefly sparkled, belting Ashley for three consecutive boundaries, but poor shots and very poor running and calling cost wickets and runs.  

For Kytes, Matt (8-0-3-17) bowled excellently. Ashley (8-0-1-50) got smacked around a bit, but did the required job. The fielding was excellent and all three runouts came as a result of good throws (2 from Samir, 1 from Subodha) and sharp keeping (by Kieran). 

Thanks to Tokyo Bay for the game and for staying for the barbie, to Gavin Beath and Makoto Mori of Wyverns for a good job of umpiring and to the Grand Old Man for scoring. 

Man of the Match: Arbab Mohammad - An excellent innings. 

Footnote: Congratulations to Fuji Farm Boys on beating Dragons to earn a semi-final berth vs Kytes. 
2005 Kanto Cricket League Tables  
Read more HERE>> 

25/08/2005:Neil Harrison of Shizuoka Kytes C.C. selected as one of the Umpires to officiate in the Vanuatu ICC-EAP Tournament end of September!: 
Read all details HERE>> 

16/08/2005: Final National Squad for ICC-EAP Tournament in Vanuatu announced! 
Hirokazu (Junior) Takahashi Fuji Far East CC (Starting members) and Kazuhisa Orita   Fuji Far East CC (Reserves) chosen! 
Read all details HERE>> 

07/08/2005: JapanCricket League: 
D-2: Wyverns throw the D-2 wide open with win over Fuji far East C.C.: 
Wyverns C.C.: 234/9 (40 overs) (Y. Hirose, 64; J. Hanada, 54; T. Chino, 36; Extras, 36) 
Fuji far East C.C.: 85 (Extras, 31; K. Sakamoto, 3/14) 
Wyverns C.C. won by 149 runs 
Umpire: Younus Mansoori 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 

 

24/07/2005:Friendly: New blood and old reverse Engineers' drive! 
Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C.: 194 (38.? overs) ( Vimal Vikrant, 44, Bikash Mohanty, 30; N. Harrison, 5/32; M. Sharpe, 3/41 & 4 catches:Club record!) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 198/4 (35.? overs) (Subodha, 37*, J. Chamberlain, 32) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 6 wickets 
Check Scoresheet HERE>> 
Neil Harrison writes: 
The venue was different, but the result was the same as Kytes and Indian Engineers played out another ultra-friendly on Fuji 1. Kytes could only muster ten for the day as flimsy excuses such as tennis and shopping with the missus depleted the ranks once again. Engineers were on the ground at 9:50. Miraculously, three Kytes were on time - the three who had to travel the farthest to get to Fuji. Apologies to the Engineers on behalf of the rest. 

Vimal won the toss for Engineers and chose to bat in clear, hot conditions that promised misery for the fielding side. The Captain has now won the toss once in 11 matches this season. To encourage the use of "irregulars", the captains agreed that at least 8 bowlers must bowl 2 overs each, with a maximum of 7 overs per bowler. 

Matt opened the bowling from the Ocean End and Arbab started from the Shink End. These two bowled well, but the cropped outfield, combined with extra pace off the pitch and gaps in the field, made boundaries easier than usual to come by. Vimal started off with a couple of streaky boundaries but quickly settled. Porno pulled off a sliding stop on the softball diamond and got some sand in his vagina. Bobby looked impatient and fell in the 7th over, driving over a slow yorker from Matt. Santosh came in but never looked comfortable, quickly feathering Lalith to Kytes' 5th keeper of the season Bruce "Half Moon" Harris. Santosh walked even though the umpire missed the edge - sporting stuff. The Porn Star replaced Lalith but couldn't find his rhythm due to the sand in his vagina. Vimal launched one into orbit. It came down on top of Pants at long-on, but bounced off. Poor Porno - usually it's "Shit gets wickets" for him, but today it was "Shit gets hammered"! Matt persuaded the Captain to have a go - this was not a part of the plan. Nor were 5 wickets in 5 overs. The first one was the crucial one, as Vimal went for another big on-drive but this time Pants made no mistake. Sanjeeb miscued a sweep to Matt at square leg for a good tumbling catch. Bikash clipped one off his toes for Matt to take a good catch diving forward. Mahesh tried to send his first ball to Pants at long-on, but misread the prodigious swing and missed the ball. Ashok the Spin survived the hat-trick ball but gifted a soft lob to Matt in the next over. Scoring had slowed almost to a trickle at this stage as Arbab, Matt and Ashley returned in order at the Ocean End, Matt bowling 2 and catching 1 to equal the Kytes record for catches in a match. 

For the Engineers, Vimal (44) continued his good form with the bat and looked to have laid the foundations for a big score when he got out. Bikash contributed valuable runs lower down. At 15 overs, on 107/2, Engineers looked to be cruising to a big score, but once again Kytes' early bowlers managed to come back and stifle the slog. 

Kytes generally bowled well, even the so-called irregulars. While the Captain (5-0-0-32) and Matt (7-2-3-21) grabbed the wickets, Ashley (6-0-1-23), Arbab (7-1-0-31), Lalith and Subodha all made valuable contributions. 
The fielding was generally good, though four tough chances were put down. It seemed that every time someone dropped a clanger, they redeemed themselves with good work almost immediately. 

Kytes then went shopping, which meant the Captain had to open with Pants and Arbab had to umpire padded up. I've said this before, but... make an effort, boys! 
Jagan and Vimal started accurately for Engineers, but couldn't put the openers under any pressure. Pants got his eye in while the Captain scratched around for the form he left behind somewhere many years ago. Nisar replaced Jagan and bowled a tame sighter. Mahesh replaced Vimal, and almost got the Captain off a sneaky edge for 4. Nisar's next overs were all venom and short stuff and made the Captain dance. Pants then took Mahesh apart and out of the attack with big sixes into the jungle. With the 50 up in the 10th over, Nisar was replaced by Santosh and the Captain was gone bowled off his pads - a wicket maiden? This is not the Santosh we know and love. Sanjeeb came on and got Pants on 32 slashing at a ball too close for the shot. 58/2 but no collapse as Arbab and Matt brought the hundred up with solid defence and hard-hit boundaries. Both eventually fell for 21 to loose drives outside off, Arbab giving a soft catch to Sanjeeb at slip off Ashok the Spin, Matt slicing high to Vimal at mid-off. Subodha came in and settled immediately, joined by Ashley "Average" Harvey. These two played sensible, patient cricket to see Kytes safely home - apart from the 3 chances Ashley offered, that is. The winning runs were fittingly scored by Subodha with an emphatic drive to the long on boundary. 

None of the Engineers bowled particularly badly (apart from one veteran's lone over which contained 8 wides - and no, it wasn't Santosh), but none had the penetration to cut through the batting either. Nisar bowled a good hostile first spell but couldn't repeat it later on. Vimal's variations seemed ineffective on the Fuji concrete and he ended up bowling leggies. Sanjeeb and Ashok the Spin both bowled tidily but couldn't get enough turn to cause panic. 
The Engineers fielded very well until a flurry of mistakes near the end of the innings. 

Thanks again to the Engineers for another great day's cricket. 

Man of the Match: Subodha - A very accomplished debut for Kytes after 2½ years away from cricket. 

Finally, a farewell to Ashok the Spin, who is transferring to London. Hope this isn't the last time we have played cricket with you Ashok. All the best! 

24/07/2005: Kanto Cricket League: 
Typhoon No 7 wrecks the day! 
D-2: 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. vs. Wyverns C.C.: Match drawn (rained out) 

12/07/2005: Peter De Boeck, the Belgium Cricket Federation Treasurer and European Cricket Council Umpire has sent us his report on Umpiring in Shizuoka/Japan! 
Check Report HERE>> 

11/07/2005: Kanto Cricket League: 
D-2: Overnight storm leaves unplayable pitch in its wake to frustrate participants in the Shizuoka Derby: 
Fuji Far East C.C. vs. Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: Match drawn 
A storm crashing on Shizuoka Prefecture for more than 12 consecutive hours flooded the Fuji pitches into swimming pools to cancel the long-awaited Shizuoka Derby, particularly frustrating the Kytes who has gathered their best team ever this year for that event. 
Bruce Harris, Neil Harrison and Robert-Gilles Martineau decided to vent their feelings on the ACO Terrace which saw some of its weeds pulled out in rage! 

05/07/2005: Miwa Primary School Cricket Club Coaching Session: 

June 28th, 2005 
Robert-Gilles Martineau, not being available, Mrs. Kazujo Nishida conducted the Coaching Session by herself following instructions handed to her the preceding saturday. The first half concentrated on batting and bowling indoors, regardless of the results with the accent on bowler/batsman face-off. She spent the second half explaining the fine points of the real game. Quite a few questions were asked, as the kids are impatient to start playing a real game. 

July 5th, 2005 
Robert-Gilles Martineau came a bit earlier to prepare a playing area on the School ground. A fortyby 60 metres area was already avalaible marked by ropes. After checking that the area was safe, he drew with chalk provided by the school a pitch with stumps placed at 16 metres from each other and batting creases marked one metre ahead. Return creases were also marked to define balls to be accepted as "fair" or to be "replayed". Finally the skin-ground pitch was raked and pebbles taken away to provide with a flat hard surface (see pic). 
We then proceeded with a real game, a pair game, actually. All performances were written down on original scoresheets. Not all kids could have a turn at bat or ball, but they were told wthey would all eventually have their go. Mrs. Kazuko Nishida kept all the record and was provided with more scoresheets. The day was very hot and sultry and kids showed various degrees of concentration. Apparently, although their catching and fielding is way above average, they have not caught the niceties of field-placing yet. 
Before closing the session, R-G. made a point to explain the manners and respect expected from all corners when playing cricket and distributed Shizuoka Kytes C.C. stickers to every kid. That little attention seemed to please them as it identified them to a bigger picture. 
The summer break will start next week. Therefore the next session will take place probably on the 13th of September.The Kytes Cricket Club also left a set for very small kids on loan to be used by first graders. 

On July 3rd, we had a long talk with Peter De Boeck, from the Belgium Cricket Federation, who paid us a visit here in Shizuoka and helped umpire one of our games (see related article at http://japan-cricket.com/ ). He said that when they visited primary schools they made a point of donationg Kwik Crciket Kits. We think this is a good hint for the JCA who is going to receive money from the ICC now that they are Associate members! As for the kits themselves, we use British-made Kwik Crciket kits as they come in a nice sturdy and practical bag with litterature. The kits "available" in Japan, cheap as they are, come in bits and pieces and are of dubious design. The Japanese being very finnicky by nature ought to be offered a better image and kit when first introduced to the game! 

To be continued. 

03/07/2005: Shizuoka Kytes C.C. welcomes the visit of Peter De Boeck, the Belgium Cricket Federation Treasurer and European Cricket Council Umpire 

214/06/2005: The Kytes' statistics are on display!: 
Check and do not complain at: 
BATTING, BOWLING  & FIELDING STATS 

21/06/2005: Miwa Primary School Cricket Club Coaching Session: 
The third practice session for the Miwa Primary School Cricket Club (i.e. officially endorsed extracurricular activity) was held on Tuesday June 21st under the direction of Robert-Gilles Martineau, member of the Shizuoka Kytes Cricket Club. 
On a very sultry day (the rainy season has started), the 24 members of the Club were all smiles as usual when they entered the large school gymnasium. The area had been prepared for a straightaway start after the usual greetings. 
Four sets of stumps had been placed at equal distance from each other. The drill was designed as follows: 
One wicket-keeper behind the stumps. One batsman standing on a crease clearly marked on the the floor with one line extending forward from the centre of the wicket. One "tosser" standing about six metres away backed up by a "receiver" and two "retrievers" way back. 
The tosser was requested to bowl five balls underhand with one bounce to the batsman. The batsman was instructed to hit forward drives only. After every five balls, the wicket-keeper took the place of the batsman, the batsman became a retriever, the receiver a new tosser and a retriever the new receiver and so on for thirty minutes. Mrs. Nishida and R-G. Martineau moved among the kids dispensing advice and encouragement. We had then the kids sit down to explain again the batting grip and the forward drive, insisting on the fact that if they could master that particular stroke they would find batting an easy and entertaining propostion. 
Next, before starting the bowling/batting drill in earnest, R-G. Martineau showed and explained the bowler's basic grip with the index and middle fingers along the seam and then the basic action. A good dozen balls were bowled by the instructor to impress the action into the kids' heads. As a diversion, R-G. Martineau showed what various spins can do. The kids seem to be especially interested in the technique of leg spin. 
We divided the 24 kids into the same four groups (we keep working with identical groups as Japanese kids are more comfortable practising with the same individuals. Real games will be a different story, though). 
One wicket-keeper, one batsman and four bowlers bowling real overarm over the wicket (wickets were placed 12~13 metres apart). Once again the batsman was requested to forward drive whenever possible. The order was changed every four balls and the drill lasted a good thirty minutes. We had to bring it to an end eventually to the disappointment of some of the kids. 
I was greatly surprised to find out that four sixth grader girls practising in the same goup were all bowling beyond my expectations (they were also batting pretty well!). They had already picked up the fact that running up at a slant will greatly help them maintain a straight line to the stumps. the loop was nearly perfect and the length more than correct. The boy in their group, who was actually very good at batting, had real difficulty to pick hem up. 
To finish the session, I asked the four of them to bowl at me in front of all the other kids. The kids saw defense batting for the first time and Mrs Nishida explained why I was doing such a demonstration. The balls bowled at me were very good indeed. Here are four kids who will have to be followed beyond Primary School. Plenty of work for the Kytes C.C. I can see we shall have to put our heads together as to how we can create some kind of academy and enlarge the club! 
  
To be continued. 

19/06/2005: Kanto Cricket League: 
D-2: Kytes' agressive batting wins tough game over plucky Sharks: 
Ichihara Sharks C.C.: 227/8 (40 overs) (G. Vass, 66; D. Lollback, 60, N. Creece, 32; N. Shannon, 3/52) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C.: 230/5 (29.5 overs) (M. Sharpe, 63; Knwar mahender, 56; R. McKenna, 53; Arbab Mohammad, 43*) 
Shizuoka Kytes C.C. won by 5 wickets 
Umpire: J. Shearer 
Scorer: R-G. Martineau 
Check scoresheet HERE>> 
Neil Harrison writes: 
Shizuoka Kytes pulled away at the top of Division 2 with a convincing victory over second-placed Ichihara Sharks in a game that proved to be a good day out for the batsmen. Sharks won the toss and chose to bat in muggy conditions with a slight breeze from the east. The grass was cut  
to its lowest ever thanks to the council boys' brand new mower and the ground was still firm despite midweek rain - not quite a 300-run pitch, but close. 
The match started on a sober note following a minute's silence to mark the sad death of Mark Ferris' son Tyler. 
Out in the middle, Matt (Matthew Sharpe) opened up from the Lone Tree End and was right on the money with a maiden first up. Arbab (Arbab Mohammad) started from the Bridge End in similar fashion. David Lollback was prepared to hang around and play himself in, but Cam Mulla decided to get after the bowling and skied a pull to Toddler (Todd Phillips) at backward square leg in the third over. Nick Creece  came in and quickly took the initiative, picking up the rate without giving chances. Lollback survived a big shout for caught behind off Matt (glove or thigh? Will we ever know?) and took that as a cue to start opening his shoulders with good effect. A double bowling change saw Toddler replace Matt and Ashley (Ashley Harvey)  replace Arbab, but the breakthrough didn't come. But just when Creece was looking set for another big score, he walked across his stumps to pull a full toss from Ashley, only to miss and be hit plumb in front. There was no collapse though, as Greg Vass came in and took advantage of the deteriorating Kytes bowling to steer Sharks to drinks well placed on 99/2. 
Another double bowling change after drinks brought Lalith (Lalith Prelis) on to bowl at his old muckers from the Lone Tree End, while the Porn Star (Nicholas Shannon)  had a go from the Bridge. Lollback and Vass took the opportunity to attack, but just as they looked to be getting on top, another big Lollback drive found Ashley on the long-on boundary. Ashley pouched it safely enough, but managed to hurt his girly Kiwi fingers in doing so, preventing him from bowling his remaining three overs. Ben Parker came in and looked to make hay, but Porno lured him out for a wide one and The Bigamist (Robb McKenna) whipped his bails off toot sweet. When Porno bowls a decent ball, nothing much happens, but when he sends down shit, there's wickets or runs.Skipper Chris Thurgate now joined Vass to restart the charge and their run-a-ball 50-partnership put Sharks back on top, but when these two fell in quick succession, both skying big drives, the wheels fell off somewhat and nobody else managed to get after the bowling. Markus Adams skied Toddler to Matt at long on and Porno got Iain Lambert with another stumping off a nearly-wide, leaving Kytes wondering if there was a way back into the gloves for regular keeper Kieran. 

Sharks wouldn't have been delighted with 227/8 from their 40 overs, but it was nevertheless a defendable score. Creece (32 off 29, 3x4, 2x6) came out as  the pick of the batting and was looking ominously set for a big score when he got out. Lollback (60 off 75, 8x4, 1x6) and Vass (66 off 79, 4x4, 3x6) played similar innings, starting slowly and building well.  
Both hit the ball in the air quite often, but always managed to find a gap. Thurgate (28 off 29, 4x4) also gave good support. Between them they laid a good foundation for the late spurt that didn't happen. 
Arbab (8-0-0-30) and Matt (8-2-1-27) shared the bowling honours, both  putting in solid opening spells and coming back at the death to stifle  Sharks in the slog ~Arbab's last 3 went for 5 runs, Matt's last 3 went for 12~. Porn Boy (7-0-3-52) and Toddler (7-0-2-52) shared 5  wickets without really convincing the batsmen that they were in danger  of getting out, Porno once again proving his "Shit gets wickets!" theory. 
The fielding was top notch again, with only one missed half-chance.  There was some electric work from Samir (Kunwar mahender) in the covers, and special  mention must be made of Quimby (Anthony Day), playing his first match for 7 years. He  may have forgotten how to run and dress in that time, but fortunately he  remembered how to catch, bagging Vass at long on. 

Matt and The Bigamist opened up for Kytes with clouds closing in and the  occasional spot of rain falling. 
Cue carnage. The Bigamist, with his own private harem in situ on the  bench to impress, was in inspired form. This innings was the Beauty.  Some of the best driving your correspondent has seen in Japan. Just when it was looking too easy, Parker let one drift down leg, Bigamy helped it  on its way, and Pettifer dove across to take an excellent one-handed  catch. Bigamy had scored 53 of the 72-run opening stand. There wasn't to  be any let-up though, as Samir came in charged up. This innings was the  Beast. Samir powered his way to 50 in 25 balls, seeing Kytes past the  100 mark inside 12 overs. Having scored 56 of a partnership of 79,  however, Samir was deservedly out attempting a ridiculous left-handed  pull for another six off Adams. A ludicrous way to get out and not the  sort of thing to endear yourself to your opponents. 
Next to join Matt was Arbab, still due a decent score this season. While  Bigamy and Samir had been providing the fireworks, Matt had been rock  solid down the other and decided it was his turn now, accelerating to his 50 in a flurry of boundaries before snicking Lollback to the keeper.  
This and successive ducks for Toddler and Lalith gave the fielding  Sharks their first cause for optimism since the first ball, but just as  it seemed Lollback might be able to turn the screw, Arbab woke up and  finished the game with 4 consecutive fours in the 30th over. 

That was the healthiest top four performance ever by Kytes - Robb (53 off 33, 10x4) was sheer class, Matt (63 off 69, 8x4, 2x6) was rock  solid, Samir (56 off 27, 2x4, 7x6) was brutal and Arbab (43* off 39, 8x4, 1x6) was clinical. 
None of the Sharks' bowlers really got on top of the batting. The  Bigamist knocked them to the canvas and then Samir made sure they didn't  get up. Just as Lollback was restoring order (his first 3 overs gave up  only 5 runs), Arbab came along and messed it all up again. Thurgate  (8-0-1-37) was the only bowler able to apply a brake, and Parker  (7-0-1-46) deserves credit for bowling 7 overs straight off from the  
Bridge while all-comers at the Lone Tree End were being pasted to the  boundary.  

A good recovery for Kytes after indifferent displays versus Dragons and Adore. Those Fuji Farmboys next up must be quaking in their wellies. 

Thanks to Sharks for the game, and for sticking around for a beer. 
Thanks also to the scorers, to Bruce on the bar, to the fans who came  from far and wide, and to Jarrad of Wombats, who did a first rate job of  the umpiring. 

Man of the Match: A toughie. Arbab's in there with his batting and bowling, McKenna's in there with his batting and keeping, Samir's in  there with his batting and fielding, but I'll go for Matt Sharpe - 1  wicket, 2 maidens, 2 catches, 2 50-partnerships and 63 runs. 
 
Fuji Far East consolidate standings with win over Adore C.C.thanks to H. Takahashi's batting and M. Saito's all-round abilities: 
Fuji Far East C.C.: 201 (40 overs) (H. Takahashi, 78; Extras, 42, 3 runouts) 
Adore C.C.: 152 (G. Brady, 37; M. Saito, 4/28) 
Fuji Far East C.C. won by 49 runs 
Umpire: Saqib Khan 
Check scoresheet HERE>> 
Anton McCloy writes: 
Fuji Far East CC put another mark in the good column after an enjoyable but relatively uneventful game of cricket against Adore CC last Sunday. 

As per usual I don’t know who won the toss but FFE batted first and again opened with a solid partnership of 117 before Saito and Junior departed in the space of 3 runs not long after drinks.  Junior compiled a solid 70 odd and Saito 20 odd.  FFE again couldn’t capitalize on the good start as it should have and scratched it’s way to 201 of the 40 overs with the highlight being a wonderful timed blow to and over the boundary by young Ito. 
Run-outs came back to haunt FFE with three victims being a tribute to Adore’s good efforts in the field despite their big night out on Saturday. 

FFE, again playing with 10, struggled early in the field with Adore’s opening batsmen making light work of FFE’s usually tight opening bowlers although Jun Saito straightened up and came back to finish his eight with good figures.  Regular loss of wickets hindered Adore’s fight at the crease and no real partnerships of substance were established as Masaki Saito continued his busy day by taking out Adores middle order as well as effecting a couple of run-outs in the tail.  Highlights for Adore were opener Kobayashi’s approach to getting runs as well as Gerard Brady’s quick-fire 37  of 31 batting at 7 – most of which appear against my name on the score sheet. 

Thanks from both teams to the Nagoya CC umpires for their polite, firm and con