Strongroom achieve 1st win on Asian soil at 20th attempt
Pokhara, Nepal, 3/24/2018
Strongroom won by 70 runs
Strongroom: 142
Machapuchre: 72 [C.Rubagumya 4-23]
View the Scorecard
And so we arrived at the Pokhara ground for the final fixture on our Nepal tour. This was our last chance. The day kicked off with an elaborate and very generous presentation ceremony, with local dignitaries, individual sashes and plaques for every Strongroom tourist, and speeches. The local head of the Pokhara cricket board handed out the gifts, and we would be seeing much more of him later that evening. If you would like to find out more about that evening, I’d recommend you ask one of David Siddal, Jon Gower or Ian Hutchcroft - all of whom can supply an entertaining summary.
Again we lost the toss. Obviously we did! However, they took some pity on our plight, and asked us to bat first. We were up against a Machapuchre team with some Pokhara Academy youngsters.
We managed a total of 142 in 36 overs. Again there were some rash shots, and David Siddal was reprieved after incorrectly being given out caught behind. Ujjal and Vinay again looked really good, with both scoring 21 apiece in a middle-order and confirming their subcontinental specialism. We weren’t particularly happy with 142, but, we still felt we were in with a chance if we secured some early breakthroughs.
Indeed, once we started bowling, wickets fell consistently throughout. The ball was swinging a great deal under cloudy skies, proving too much for Tim to handle, who even tried holding the ball cross seam (but it still swung wildly). Ujjal and Joe bowled really well, and Clinton was superb - bowling a great line and with swift pace. He really deserved his 4-23.
And so finally...we won our first game in the Asian subcontinent - this our 20th attempt. We win more games than we lost back in London, so, clearly the level of cricket in Asia is that much higher (and, their club cricketers tend to be mostly in their 20s). We were in high spirits, and celebrated back at our neighbouring hotel pool, with momo’s for lunch. There then followed an unforgettable evening...courtesy of our local cricket board chief. It was a very fitting end to a fantastic tour. Subsequently, Ian went off on a trek into the mountains (where he got up to 5,000 metres), and the rest of us travelled back to Kathmandu and said our goodbyes to Clinton. Bring on the next tour!
Written By: J.Gower
|