Kyoto CC - 198 all out vs. Osaka Bulldogs - 256 off 34 oversFantastic first outing of the season for Kyoto CC ended in a keenly fought defeat at the hands of an understrength Bulldogs at a dinky little ground in deepest Hyogo-ken, virtually a 3 hour train journey from the temples of Kyoto.
Losing the toss, Osaka opted to bat and survived a testing first few overs from Jimmy Last & Oli Kinghorn with the new ball. Oli found some lovely swing and beat the Osaka openers several times with deliveries that swung like a banana. (See this week's cricket tutorial video on swing bowling at the foot of this article).
Once Oli bowled former Sri Lankan u-19 batsman Miyuru in the first over after drinks (inspired captaincy decision by D Hannah) Osaka were on the rack, but a few loose overs and short boundaries square of the wicket saw the run rate accelerate in the second half of the innings. Bowling credits go to 35-over format debutants Steve Cook (3 wickets clean bowled) and Chai Cameron (pictured top) who ended up with a couple of wickets. Matt Grant kept up his reputation as the best gully fieldsman in Kansai with a stunning 'slow-mo' grab at the tail end of the innings and Darren Hannah was pretty tidy behind the pegs. It's no exaggeration to say that this was Kyoto's best fielding display for a long time, and mention must be made to the volume and enthusiasm generated throughout the 35 overs - Sagar Kuroda taking the credit there.
As the season-opening friendly it was important all our batsmen got time at the crease, and Matt Grant, Sagar Kuroda, Simon Cornelius, and Chai Cameron all got their eye in nicely. Arguably the two class bats of the club - D Hannah and Oli Kinghorn - got out when seemingly set. If those two can fire with Tristan Grey and Raza added to the top order, Kyoto CC should compete handsomely for honours this year. Chai's powerful 62 at the tail-end of the innings capped a superb debut and he was awarded the Man of The Match : Points: 3 - Chai, 2- Steve, 1 - Matt.
Extended statistics to follow at a later date. St.Patrick's Night round the Irish pubs in Kyoto Saturday March 17th. Matt Grant had the idea of wearing our Kyoto CC shirts when we're out on the razz for a bit of crafty guerilla marketing - raise the profile of the club, find new players, attract sponsorship. Hope all you fellas are keen.
Keep posted for details on upcoming fixtures.
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