St Lucia - Off to a shocker

OCCC 44 lost to Southern XI 124 (Crump M 3-18, Gates 3-19, Harman 2-19, Watkinson 2-27) by 80 runs
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Less than two days after arriving in St Lucia and after a fairly gruelling minibus journey, we opened the tour with a match against a Southern XI at the St Lucia NCA’s Beauchamp Cricket Ground. The venue, built with funding from disgraced billionaire Allen Stanford, was damp after overnight rain, but the heavy roller did its work and we were able to start the 35-over match an hour after the scheduled time.

Despite the loud concerns expressed by Alan Cope, the pitch remained true throughout, albeit slow and low with runs hard to come by. Our seamers took time to work out the best length to bowl by which time the hosts had cruised to 89 for 2. But then came a moment of inspiration from Jonny Gates, the captain on the day. He brought himself on and to widespread incredulity held a rasping caught-and-bowled chance in his first over; he then proved lightning can strike twice by doing exactly the same thing in his next over. Matt Crump returned to pick up late wickets, and Henry Watkinson, whose first ball on tour disappeared into the nearby houses, recovered well.

Set 125 to win, hopes were high. Briefly. Simon Copelston spooned the first ball of the innings to cover, and then Cope left Rob Merry stranded, even without the direct hit, as we slid to 2 for 2. David Bugge (2), after a cautious start, lost his leg stump. Cope (2) could do little about one that stopped on him, and then Gates (0) played on the second ball he faced. At 11 for 5 we faced humiliation, and only some brief aggression from Will Howard (21) allowed us to limp to 44, the lowest score we have ever made abroad. Five ducks told their own tale, and other than Howard and extras (12) the highest score was 4. Only a stop at a rum shack on the way home helped ease the pain.