Vilnius CC

5th Sep 2015 - Vingis Park
Lost by 1 wicket - NRR = 2.14

The first match of the tour was against Vilnius CC, a collection of British ex-pats, Indian ex-pats and locals. In breaking with tradition, most of the team arrived in relatively good shape and even went to the effort of some catching practice before the game. The notable exception was James Shearman who couldn't really bring himself to an upright position.

We were playing in front of a huge open-faced stadium, with an oval track encircling a nice patch of grass. During the game there was a fun run going on, with constant music blaring out and confused Lithuanians strolling across the outfield. The pitch itself was a half-length flexi-wicket, with about as even a bounce as a rugby ball on cobblestones.

CIPA elected to bat first to give captain Shearman more time to recover, and the openers quickly discovered the pitfalls of the wicket, both falling to unplayable pea-rollers. John Hull experienced the other side of the spectrum, with a ball rearing up and hitting his wrist, incapacitating him for the rest of tour.

As usual, CIPA relied on the dependable overseas import, Simon Thomas who didn't seem to be worried by the uneven bounce, taking advantage of anything that was slightly wayward. Andy Spurr briefly attempted to hold up an end, but eventually Simon just ran out of partners.

A respectable 146 was posted, which we thought was more than defendable given that 8 of the team got out to pretty much unplayable balls (Chris Milton bucking the trend and getting himself out).

Tea was a curry cooked by Lithuania's finest curry chef, who had won numerous international awards for his food. I think CIPA didn't fully appreciate this, and even the mild spice was too much for some.

Perhaps it was lack of local knowledge, but none of CIPA's bowlers could replicate the uneven bounce Vilnius CC generated, and the runs were being knocked off just below the run rate. CIPA had a further handicap in the form of a horizontal James Shearman whose only bouts of movement were towards the woods behind fine leg. Andy Spurr took over the keeping, which wasn't the easiest task.

Special mention goes to Justin Wilson who clearly thought he hadn't bagged 'easiest drop of the year' by allegedly 'loosing the ball in the sun' to a chance that a 6 year old would have snaffled.

Worn down by a long day, CIPA lost track of the runs and the last 10 overs came with a real chance of losing the game. Fielding got sloppy and runs were being leaked all around until the last over, Vilnius requiring 1 to win with 2 wickets in hand. An unnecessary run out on the second ball brought Vilunis' no 11 to the wicket with 9 fielders crowding the bat. Not one to disappoint, Chirs Milton bowled a full toss that snicked the bat and ran down to third man, much to the batsman's glee.

A very enjoyable game, but one where the majority of CIPA won't want to write home about! We hung around with the opposition at the bar after the game before being driven back in the pouring rain to lick our wounds and come back the next day.

Batting

Player	Runs scored	How Out	4s	6s	SR
James Duffy	1	Bowled	0	0	33
Mark Dean		Bowled	0	0	0
John Hull		Bowled	0	0	0
Simon Thomas	70*		3	4	104
Justin Wilson		Bowled	0	0	0
Andy Spurr	20	Bowled	3	0	74
Andy Grant	4	Bowled	1	0	80
Stuart Lumsden	4	Bowled	0	0	50
Rob Jackson		Bowled	0	0	0
Chris Milton	9	Caught	1	0	60
Dave Prothero	2*		0	0	50
Extras	36				-

CIPA - 146 for 9 off 30
Scorebook

Login to see and make comments