A glorious Saturday morning at the Hirsch set the scene, with a scheduled 9:00am meet. In typical MCC fashion, six players arrived on time. Preparations were underway as Munich CC awaited their opposition: a notably hungover Sharks CC side, touring in from Cambridge, UK.
Match 1: MCC vs Sharks CC
Stand-in skipper Phil offered the Sharks the choice of batting or bowling and they elected to bat.
Munich took to the field with 10 men, briefly, as Amol arrived in the 4th over having misjudged the start time. Richard and Christian opened the bowling with excellent discipline, keeping things tight against two openers who, by this point, had already cracked open a beer. After six overs, Sharks crawled to 26/0.
Hamza and Phil continued the pressure through the middle overs. The breakthrough finally came after Ralph, one of the openers, retired in the 10th. Phil then struck twice in two balls, including the now-infamous: “Bowled Bowes, caught WK Llewellyn.”
Rahul then tore through the middle order with an outstanding spell of 3-0-12-3, well supported by Malte. Shrey, handed the 20th over, showed promise, including three edges flying through second slip. Needless to say he would be opening the next game!
Munich’s fielding effort included eight dropped catches, though that’s where we’ll leave that.
Sharks finished on 97.
In response, Milhouse and Amol opened, though Milhouse’s stay was brief. Vishal, batting with purpose and having boldly predicted a 50, played well for his 35 before being controversially retired by the captain, he’ll argue that decision for weeks. Amol contributed 15 before packing his bag and heading off to Lohhof to ensure he wouldn’t be late for the Sunday league game!
Hamza and Shrey saw the chase home, with Hamza sealing the win in style with two towering sixes. A convincing victory, and MCC’s first competitive win of the season.
Match 2: Sharks CC vs Hillesley CC
With MCC briefly stepping aside, Sharks faced Hillesley CC from Gloucester. Attention from the hosts may have dipped slightly, with some distracted by urgent beverage resupply duties.
Between innings, Rahul delivered an absolute BBQ masterclass, feeding 40 hungry players with 50 burgers, 120 sausages, and an array of sides. By early afternoon, three crates of beer had already disappeared prompting aforementioned mid-match resupply.
Sharks emerged victorious by approximately 20 runs in a well-contested match.
Match 3: MCC vs Hillesley CC
Hillesley won the toss and opted to bat, continuing their lineup from the previous gam, meaning their “openers” were effectively numbers eight and nine.
Shrey struck early, delivering a superb base of middle stump yorker with his third ball to claim his first wicket for the club. Hamza followed suit shortly after, also striking with his third delivery.
Phil joined the attack and delivered yet another “Bowled Bowes, caught WK Llewellyn” moment.
Hillesley’s innings gained momentum through Raj, who clobbered 2 6s on his way to a quick 25 before retiring, and a hard-hitting batter aptly nicknamed “Smash,” who lived up to expectations. Shrey returned to wrap things up, finishing with three wickets as Hillesley posted 123.
In reply, MCC got off to a strong start with Milhouse and Richard putting on 41 for the first wicket before both fell in quick succession. Malte and Shahana (on debut) steadied the innings, but with the run rate climbing, both retired to give others a chance.
With 5 overs remaining, Phil and Dave took on the chase. Dave’s innings was short-lived. Phil played a variety of hockey shots, finishing unbeaten on 32, but MCC ultimately fell 22 runs short.
An outstanding day of cricket and camaraderie: nearly 120 overs bowled, 50 burgers and 100+ sausages consumed, and approximately 150 beers enjoyed.
Munich CC were delighted to host Sharks CC and Hillesley CC, and look forward to welcoming both sides again in the future.
