Hello and welcome to this edition of the I.E.C.C. Newsletter.
As the KCL 2004 enters the last stages of the league matches it has become more and more difficult to predict who exactly will be the semi-finalists of D-I. Although the defending champions Tokyo Giants are almost certain to qualify for the semi-final, they were dealt with a jolt when the underdogs YC&AC defeated them in a rain curtailed match. With two matches remainig, they are leading the way with 18 points.
With just one match each remaining, the Indian Engineers and YC&AC are in an unenviable position with 10 and 12 points respectively. A win for YC&AC means that they will in all likelihood occupy one of the top four spots barring any upsets and washouts in the other matches while a win for the Engineers will put them in contention with at least the British Embassy(14 points), and may be some more teams as well, for the semi-final spot. The unfortunate team that will be taking the heat of both these teams' do-or-die effort on consecutive weekends is the Millennium.
Meanwhile in D-II, Lalazar leads the pack with an impeccable unbeaten record. Having won 4 out of 5 matches and one washout, they are just 2 points ahead of MAX, who benefited from two walkover victories, with 18 points. The other team that maintains a clean slate in D-II is the Wombats. Tokyo Bay still maintains their record of no wins while the Edogawa Falcons earned the dubious reputation of the only team that was penalised(-2 points) this season for failing to intimate the KCL Committee in time of their intention to concede a walkover.
Meanwhile in D-II, Edogawa Falcons kicked themselves out of any contention by forfeiting two of their games. They have also been penalised by 2 points for forfeiting the game with less than 48 hours remaining, the statutory time frame to inform the KCL Committee of such walkovers. D-II is currently being led by surprise package MAX(16 pts) and Lalazar(14pts).
The only team in the entire competition not to have a single victory against their name is Tokyo Bay, who is languishing at the bottom with just 2 points earned from a washed out match.
Latest KCL results are available here.The Japan National team was declared winners of the recently concluded Japan Friendship Cup on the Net Run Rate basis. The tournament, conducted at the Fuji grounds between August 20 and 22 to raise the awareness and profile of cricket in Japan as well as to establish a friendly relationship with other countries in the region, was competed by the visitng Bangladesh Discovery Cricket Academy, KCL All-Star Selection, Japan Selection and JCA Board Presidents Eleven.
Although the visiting Bangladeshis lost all their matches, the budding cricketers and the talents available to that country were on display during the tournament. With all the local teams securing equal number of victories(2 each), the National team was declared winners on a superior NRR.
The star umpire of the tournament was 'Sir' Neil Harrison.
Brief results:
August 20
Match #1
Japan National Team: 239(48 overs). M Alam 58, S Nakamura 33, M Ferris 31, A Kamal 3/32, A Babar 3/46.
KCL All Stars: 240/8(41.2 overs). A Ali 60; K Ali 56, D Gleeson 52, M Alam 4/41.
Match #2
JCA Board XI: 249(49.3 overs). J Shearer 106, J Babar 48, C Bangshi 4/50, K Hossain 3/34.
Bangladesh Discovery Academy: 247(49.4 overs). SI Mozammel 55, Nazril 49, K Hossain 37, I Gason 3/68.
August 21
Match #1
Japan National Team: 201(43.3 overs). R Chima 62, M Ahmed 50, N Uddin 4/26, K Wadano 3/59.
JCA Board XI: 159(44.2 overs). N Uddin 53, M Ahmed 5/31, A King 3/25.
Match #2
Bangladesh Discovery Academy: 249/9. S Islam 105*, SI Mozammel 52, D Gleeson 3/37.
KCL All Stars: 250/9. S Sampath 121, SI Mozammel 4/44.
August 22
Match #1
Bangladesh Discovery Academy: 215(48.3 overs). K Hossain 49, C Bangshi 43, SI Mozammel 39, N Saida 4/25.
Japan National Team: 218/6(39.5 overs). R Chima 73*, J Hanada 60, M Rizwan 37.
Match #2
JCA Board XI: 290(50 overs). Shariful 113, N Ram 32, A Ali 3/51.
KCL All Stars: 285(48.2 overs). U Farooq 117, A Hussain 58, N Ram 4/36.
Have you heard of a score like 37/19? Well, that is kirikiti for you, the Samoan version of cricket. After one of the readers alerted us about this unique sport played in Samoa, we did some research and came up with the following:
The Samoans say that they invented the game of cricket. The Samoan version of the game, kirikiti, is one long party, with teams of twenty or more per side usually between villages, matches lasting several days, and generous catering provided by the host village.
Strangers are permitted to join in as long as they can follow the less-than-Lords' rules. Games are played with a three-sided bat, an indeterminate number of players, umpires who use their whistle for any number of reasons (including just the sheer joy of being alive), and continue for an indefinite number of days, before the winner is decided by a mysterious process known only to Samoans. The only hard-and-fast rule is that the host team automatically forfeits the game if they can't supply enough food to the visiting village.
Kirikiti bears only a passing resemblance to cricket played elsewhere. The similarity consists of the fact that there is a bat, with three sides which makes controlling the direction very hard, and ball. There are no limits in the number of players in a team, which are of mixed sex. The object of the game would be to hit a ball through a goal. The large number of fielders ensures that batters don't last long and the game only stops when the ball gets lost.
It is played all year round usually between teams from different villages. If, as you wander around the islands, you come across a game in progress, ask the villagers playing, and you may be able to take part. The game is taken very seriously, with inter-village competitions culminating in a national championship each September.
Kirikiti is road hazard. Every village has a concrete strip, usually in the sand near the road, with outfielders having to keep their eyes on the traffic as well as the ball.
Kirikiti is an example of a sport where everyone in the community is involved, in a variety of roles (as players, administrators, in food preparation, or as spectators). During the unit of work, the students learn about these roles and the responsibilities attached to each. For example, the coach teaches their team the physical skills, the rules, and appropriate protocol for competitions. The fa'aluma leads the supporters in encouraging the team and mocking the opposition. The team manager, helped by the supporters, organises suitable equipment, clothing, and a traditional Samoan dish for morning or afternoon tea. On competition day, the correct procedures are followed and authentic kirikiti terms are used throughout the game.
Here are some kirikiti links:
Some news item on kirikiti: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/frontpage/seattle_pima1x220010818.pdf
A typical match report: http://www.samoaobserver.ws/news/sports/sp0903/0209sp001.htm
Some kirikiti photos: http://www.pacificflair.com/SITE_Default/SITE_Samoa/Kilikiti.asp
Robert-Gilles "Bilbo"/"Grand Old Man" Martineau writes:
This year will see the 20th Anniversary of our first-ever game played in Shizuoka, on November 3rd,
1984 to be precise. Two players form this game are still playing in Japan, namely Richard Anthony
"Tony" Fordyce and Robert-Gilles "Bilbo"/"Grand Old Man" Martineau.
The celebrations schedule is tentatively as follows:
October 31st: game vs. YC&AC
November 14th: game vs. British Embassy C.C.
November 28th: game vs. Indian Engineers C.C.
All the matches will be followed by a BBQ!
Some of the most popular cricketing personalities have some astonishing look-alikes, and not just anybody, the look-alikes too are world renowned celebrities, except for Sachin Tendulkar's duplicate, of course, as discovered by the Indian daily, Times of India.
Click the link below for the letter to Japan Cricket from Matthew Kennedy, ICC Global Development Manager, on the successful completion of the four-nation EAP Challenge held in Japan in May this year.
Letter in MS Word format.
The Tachikawa City, a city north-west of Tokyo, is willing to make a ground available for cricket, provided at least 10 people, either residents of or working in Tachikawa, is registered with the City Office as a group. If any of our readers belong to one of those categories or know anyone who is in that category and would be interested in helping cricket, please get in touch with Biju Paul at bijupaul@hotmail.com.
Note: Beginning Issue #39 (May 6), we bring you some interesting snippets from the cricket world, to celebrate the fourth anniversary this Newsletter and first anniversary of our popular "Trivial Facts" series. The same will be published on the front page of our website too.
Greg Thomas was bowling to Viv Richards in a county game. Viv missed a superb outswinger, and Thomas said "It's red, round and weighs about 5 ounces." The next ball, Viv hit Thomas out of the ground and replied, "Greg, you know what it looks like. Go ahead and find it!"
1. Among current Test players, England's Darren Gough is supposed to be owning most number of
credit cards - 17 - until all of them were stolen in early July this year.
2. Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas and Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerti
Bandara Herath are the names of two Sri Lankan cricketers - the former a current player and the
latter a former player.
That's all in this edition!