Diary Dates

The next three months promise to be the busiest ever for Shanghai Cricket Club. Tomorrow's Super Sunday (Hot Dogs - Maharajahs; Bashers - Pudong) is the last of the O'Malleys League fixtures until after the International Sixes. The Hot Dogs will be looking to make it nine from nine and all but guarantee a place in the grand final; a win for Pudong should guarantee at least a place in 2nd vs. 3rd play-off, whilst the Bashers badly need points to keep their Championship hopes alive. >From next week the Santa Fe Sixes commences and runs for 5 weeks, providing an opportunity for those wishing to play in the Int'l Sixes to impress the newly formed selection panel. Also in August is a tour to Jakarta... after last year's unforgettable trip, Pete Cain is organising numbers for a trip at the end of August. Please contact him on 1362 195 1419 or at pac@shanghaitrading.net if you're interested. The Shanghai International Sixes is now only 6 weeks away - our stars this year are Viv Richards (flying from London this time!) and Doug Walters. It's still to be confirmed, but an expansion to 14 teams is now likely, with 4 games on the afternoon of Friday 10th September getting the tournament underway. Functions are planned for the Friday and Sunday nights, but the main event is the Gala dinner on the Saturday night - this is the Club's biggest fundraiser of the year, so please tell your friends and start getting tables together now... contact Scott Brown at scott@redfern.com.cn for more. O'Malleys league fixtures resume immediately afterwards as the teams vie for a place in the grand final, currently scheduled for the end of October. The October holiday will see a return of the popular fixture between the Under the Thumb XI and the Emancipated XI. However the highlight of the month will be the joint Dragons and Pearls tour to Hong Kong over the weekend of 15-17th October. The tour will see the resumption of the Interport matches between us and Hong Kong Cricket Club. The first match was played way back in 1866 and the mens teams will compete for the P&O Bokhara Cup - click here for more on the history between SCC and HKCC.

The provisional schedule for the tour is: 

Friday:  am  SCC Pearls vs HKCC Ladies 
         pm  SCC Dragons vs HKCC 
 
Saturday: P&O Bokhara Cup   SCC Dragons vs HKCC 
 
Sunday: SCC Pearls vs Hong Kong ladies (National Team) 
        SCC Dragons vs. Lamma CC 
            

With 5 games we will be looking to take substantial squads (especially given the attrition rate on the last tour).... and whatever happens on the field it will be great fun off it, so all supporters/partners welcome. Please contact me (Mike) for more details. The last weekend in October is also the Hong Kong Sixes, to which we also intend sending a side. Start working on the boss for those Hong Kong "business meetings" now! Latest version of the schedule available here

O'Malleys League - Bashers-Hot Dogs Match Report

At Joe's farewell party the Bashers were even more confident than usual about their chances of an upset last weekend. Hope is a fine thing, and come Scorching Sunday, they were only slightly more sober but every bit as ebullient when they won the toss and decided to bat. Mal Collins got them off to a flying start before a mix-up of schoolgirl proportions saw him comfortably run out in a hail of expletives. Thereafter, an intriguing battle ensued as the Hot Dogs quicks Andre Casson and Tim Stuckey tried unsuccessfully to remove Paul Turner and Neal Watkins, the latter of whom played an innings that made Coach Joe look like Freddie Flintoff. Paul Turner on the other hand was his usual belligerent self, and took particular delight in smashing Mike Tsesmelis' medium paced swingers around. Having charged to 68 he hoiked at one too many and was bowled by Andre, but the Bashers were now in a good position to launch an assault at the end of the innings. With newboy Will Leaf looking compact and Ponting-esque they would have been looking at a score of 200, but Mike came back to bowl him and JJ Lim and the innings faltered. Andre unnerved James Gooding with a perfectly directed bouncer first ball, and he was on his way shortly afterwards, but a few late-order contributions and a lot of extras took the Bashers to 172-8. In pursuit, the Hot Dogs lost Duncan 'Specialist Fielder' Falzon early, before Joe Hepworth, with a positively reckless 30 from 54 balls, and Andre with an explosive 40, took control for the Hot Dogs. They then fell in quick succession and Anthony Maxwell followed to give the Bashers hope. With 80 still required from 16 overs the game was anyone's, but at one end Mike played sensibly for 42* from 41, and at the other Saeed Hattea dispatched anything loose with ease and efficiency in an classy innings of 54* from 44 to see the Hot Dogs calmly home.

News

The email database is being updated and split into beginners cricket and normal cricket. Those on the beginners list will continue to receive newsletters and general club emails, but will also be sent separate messages by Pru and Clodagh regarding their activities. Our database now also stores phone numbers and company names. The Captains of the 4 league teams are responsible for ensuring their players are all added (with contacts). If you have any questions about the list, again, please contact Mike

Quotes of the Week

We would like to thank our Club sponsors for their support in helping us develop cricket in China

For more information on Shanghai Cricket Club visit www.eteams.com/shanghaicricketclub
or contact
Mike Tsesmelis 1362 1935 miketsesmelis@hotmail.com
Pru Ashby 1391 854 4442 prua@marcusevanssh.com
Ed Molony 1390 1899 662 edward_molony@yahoo.com