Saturday 17th June Tongans v Caribbean away

Long Grass and Bare Patches

The first of the three games this weekend for the club took place at Caribbean's ground in north Leeds. Various stories had emanated from other clubs in the league and so it was with some trepidation that the Tongans arrived for the fixture.

The full circle of white fencing around the ground and modern pavilion were unfortunately somewhat offset by an outfield of very variable length and a square that consisted of bare patches and flattened rye grass.

It was with some surprise therefore that skipper Taylor decided to bat having won the toss - perhaps he just wanted to ensure that we all got back to see the England - Germany Euro2000 game.

The Caribbean 'A' team were emulating their 1st Xl and headed the 2nd Division, so we could assume that their bowling attack would be a little daunting. As it was the unusual opening pairing of Dalton and Charlton managed to eat up a number of overs though accumulating few runs.

The wicket was soon showing its true variation with balls both running along the ground and flying through to the keeper at head height, so it was with no great surprise that once the wickets began to fall, they continued to do so at a steady rate.

At one time it looked like the Tongans would struggle to reach a total of 20, but some unorthodox late swinging eventually took the total beyond the 30 mark.

An early tea brought news that the England team were also struggling against their Caribbean opposition, as were our 1st Xl. Not looking like a good Saturday at all!

The Caribbean innings could have been stretched out a little had a sharp chance been held by Shaun at silly mid-on off Pat Sowerby, but the result of this was that the batsmen decided that it was not a good idea to hang around out here too long - so they didn't. The ball was hit hard into the outfield and some rapid running between the wickets soon saw the Caribbean openers passing the required total.

So to the Greyhound to drown our sorrows and see if the 1st Xl can fair any better.