Shanghai International Cricket Sixes 2005

Plate Semi-Finalists was the best Lamma CC could do on the field,
while maintaining their reputation of it!

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Lamma CC came away empty-handed from Shanghai for the second year in a row. Serious questions are now being asked of the team’s off-field preparation and selection policies.

In the most controversial selection policy of the campaign, star recruit Ian Healy was named as Lamma CC’s third-string keeper.

Tour Captain Jonno Seifman explains: “Basically, our team gets picked on performance. Heals has a good reputation, but what’s he done lately? In the heat of battle, I need guys behind the stumps who have some recent form on the board. It was a tough call to demote Heals, but I feel that Brad and Chris have done the job and there’s no reason to change them. If Heals trains hard over the next 12 months, he may get a run behind the stumps in next year’s tournament. We’ll be keeping an eye on him.”

However, third choice keeper Healy proved to be a more than capable bowler, going on to win bowler of the tournament award. In what was later described as “the best over ever bowled by an ex-Australian wicket keeper in Shanghai,” Heals took 3 wickets in 4 balls against Formosa CC.

Heals also starred with the bat, but later put most of that down to playing with Imran Sports equipment.

Below is a game-by-game account of how Lamma fared in Shanghai:

Game 1: Lamma CC def IMF Beijing

Comfortable victory against the boys from Beijing, with Lamma batting first and piling on 69 runs. Heals and Jonno opened the batting and got the team off to a decent start, with Imran, Dinesh and Brad all chipping in as well.

After tight bowling all round, Lamma held IMF to 40-odd runs and the result never looked in doubt.

Game 2: Pudong Dulwich CC def Lamma CC

Lamma put up a good fight against a team that included former South African test player Omar Henry.

Batting first, Chris and Jonno played a very watchful first over, which was bowled by May Xin, the tournament’s only female player. The runs then started coming more freely, with Jonno retiring on 31 and Chris and Imran also getting on the board.

It wasn’t enough though, and PDCC ended up needing 6 runs off the last over. Heals bowled a great over to ensure the game went down to the last ball. With 1 run needed, PDCC got a streaky edge that went to the boundary and the game was theirs.

PDCC went on the play in the Cup Final.

Game 3: Lamma CC def Formosa CC

In a game that was postponed due to bad light from the previous day, Lamma batted first and hit a moderate 53 against the boys from Taiwan.

With Brad bowling a 26 run opening over, things were looking grim. However, tight bowling from Jonno, Greg and Imran helped claw us back into the game. Then Heals came on to take 3 wickets in 4 balls and wrap the game up for Lamma. Great effort, that.

Game 4: Shanghai Dragons def Lamma CC (Plate Semi Final)

In a game that took Lamma-Shanghai silliness to a completely new level, it was decided that instead of tossing a coin, teams would do a Breezer relay race to determine who batted and bowled. Thankfully someone was manning the bar at 8.30am.

After downing what was described as a “slow” Breezer leg, Capt’n Jonno later explained: “It’s hard to force stuff down your throat when there’s other stuff in your stomach that’s trying to make its way upwards at exactly the same time.”

Shanghai won the “toss” and batted, hitting 63 runs. Tight overs by Milky, Greg and Imran kept the runs down.

However, it was simply too much on a day when Shanghai bowled fairly tidily. Jonno, Imran and Brad all got into the runs, but it wasn’t enough.

With our day over at 9.30am, it was time to settle in for a few beers and the odd kip in the chair.

Special mention also must be made of the official tournament dinner at the Grand Hyatt Pudong on the Saturday night. With over 500 people in attendance, the tournament organisers should get a lot of credit for putting on such a fantastic event.

The dinner was actually sophisticated enough for the Lamma team to resist the urge to do a quick Breezer race before the food arrived. However, looking spectacular in Hawaiian shirts sourced by Chris, the Lamma boys were never far from the action.

MC Ian Healy hosted A Question of Sport trivia quiz involving Dean Jones, Omar Henry, Deadly Derek Underwood and ACC Chief Executive, Syed Ashraful Huq

Heals also paid homage to his new club by introducing himself with those now immortal lines: “For those who don’t know me, my name is Ian Healy and I play for the Lamma Cricket Club.” Great effort, that.

Definitely a night to remember.

Read Ian Healy’s own take on the Shanghai Sixes in his piece on CricInfo.

Before this report gets wrapped up, special mention must to go the following team members:

Steve “Milky” Bolshaw: Milky deserves special mention for failing to make it out of his hotel room for the entirety of Saturday. His reward was being made to do two Breezers at 8.30am on Sunday.

Greg Mason: Didn’t get much batting time, but still got plenty of runs thanks to some dodgy food and/or the local water.

Dinesh Tandon: Looked debonair in his Hawaiian shirt and blazer at Saturday night’s tournament function. I wasn’t going to mention his golden duck in our semi-final, but what the hell?

Chris Coombes: Within hours of stepping off the plane, Chris was covered head-to-toe in foam bubbles on the dance floor of a Shanghai nightclub. Super effort, that.

Brad Tarr: Brad has the distinction of being the first choice wicket-keeper over Ian Healy. Heals later insisted that he really preferred bowling, but I could definitely sense some disappointment in his voice.

Imran Idrees: Batted, bowled and fielded magnificently. Spot the non-drinker!

Kev Bishop: Lamma’s “Go to guy’ was a great addition on tour, taking loads of photos and providing much needed team support. His “Chris Covered In Bubbles” photo collection is up for several awards and will be shown at a gallery near you soon.

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