In case you needed reminding just how great cricket can be, you just missed your chance for our day out at Qui Vive on Sunday was indeed that great reminder. Not only was the sun out and the grass green (though it resembled the old Hippo heights and was thus in need of a good mow) the airtemperature was perfect and the players of ACC3 and 4 who had combined for this friendly against our archenemy (we beat them twice last year but still they became champion) looked the classic village cricket team in their assembly of different white costumes.

Classic of course was also Fraas being late because he had only just got into his bed, and the trip to Hoofddorp which was made to feel like the trip to our other archenemies Groningen, by people insisting on they knew the right way to this elusive ground. So, Imran, Hasrat, Abid, Zeddy & Sajid from ACC3 and Joost, Brian, Richard, Fraas, Robert from ACC4 further strengthened by Umer, who is ACC2 this season, were asked to bat first.
Hasrat and Bruce* opened, with Zeddy and Umer coming in to steady things, and before we knew it we were 16-4 with Zeddy and Umer being quacked on their way out. Sajid, Joost and Abid did some repairwork. Joost never having batted anywhere but no. 11 repaid his captains confidence in batting him 6th by staying out for half an hour and knocking up 8 runs, whilst being in good partnerships. Fraas came and was looking good (lack of sleep can help batting for your mind doesn’t think about all the great shots you could play) until Umer gave him advice on with which hand to hold the bat whilst running. It was something like first in your left and then switch to your right or the otherway around, in any case it confused Fraas sufficiently and also Robert didn’t really get it so they both departed and ACC was 91-9. However Imran was looking good and Richard was our last man who had just bought the best bat in the world from Malik, there was some speculation as to what Richard had to do exactly to obtain this bat but the proof and the evidence was right there in his hands, the best bat in the world. You may be, as we all were, very curious as to what makes this bat the best bat in world. Well, you have to see it to believe it. For starters this bat has more edges than you can imagine. Not just an inside edge or a top edge, No Way! This bat had edges in places other batmakers can only dream about. The thing is the opposition has never seen edges like that. So the ball starts looping and popping all over the place and one by one the Quivive players are all dumbfounded and stupefied at even having these chances that they of course then all spill! Exactly as the batmakers had planned. You can imagine what a psychological blow this process becomes to the opposition as Imran and Richard add 32 runs for the last wicket. Finally Richard takes pity on them and middles one which they then can take with a great diving catch and leave the field with a semblance of dignity left.
 
Of course 123 is no great total, so should you only bowl your best bowlers or aim to have everyone bowl a few overs as it is a practice game. We huddle and our skipper convinces us the latter is the best course of action. We are here to enjoy ourselves, he says, a day out in the sun, just enjoy your cricket. Little did we know of course that this again was a befuddling tactic, much like the best bat in the world. And as we enjoyed everyones few overs, with lots of atmosphere in the field, stimulated by discussions on where exactly gully was, (Sajid proving that where he thought gully was, at least was a place you can take three great catches whatever you want to call that position) we started to take wickets. Richard took four and as it was a friendly only gave any batsman that hit him to the boundary  the eye but not the lip. Quivive however got really close but Umer still had to make up for his two ball duck (had I mentioned that yet). He proved yet again to be the clutch bowler. Just like vs bloemendaal last season, when push and shove come around, when the tough need to get going, when it comes down to the nitty gritty and you need to get a lbw decision to win a game, give Umer the ball. I don’t know how he does it, it has something to do with his haircut maybe, but with only a few runs needed for them to overtake us he gets their guy to do the finger thing. An uncanny gift. So our tactic proved a winning one. And also a great day out in the field playing that ole game. Maybe we didn’t really need reminding how great the game is. But we did it just the same.
 
* O yeah Bruce is Brian but we call him Bruce cause he’s a kiwi