A ring, a ring of Ringers

LCFC v KFC 09/02/2014

Such is the rivalry between these two clubs that by the time the first game of the day between Lima Indians and Eidegenossen had finished, both teams had completed their warm-ups and were waiting to get it on!  Normally we have to wait a few minutes while one person or other has to finish off a parenting duty or is stuck in one of the many non-existent Sunday traffic jams or extracting themselves from a lady of the night or something even more outlandish.  But no, 22 players muzzles unleashed, ready for the off.

Well anyway,  Hodgy, LCFC skipper won the toss and as tradition dictates, batted first.  Cracking start from the skipper, out first ball to a classic delivery from Buesst, he of happylandia, pitching outside off and cutting in destroying the stumps.  Myers, vice-captain for the season, went on the offensive immediately pulling and driving Spry of Underwaterlandia (the west country in UK is currently suffering from heavy flooding) before hooking onto his own stumps.  A solemn walk back to the boundary befell him also. 13-2, not a great start.  Tony the finger then came in and after a brief hit was caught behind beautifully of a great ball that cut away from him and Gav Breeze took a neck choker.  Konrad was soon out LBW to a straight ball 4m up the pitch. 

The trouble was that KFC’s powder had run dry.  After Buesst and Spry they simply did not have the bowling to keep the score down.  Hans and new boy Alex Farrar set about the remaining bowlers, Finn Mclelland whose wavering spin was too often too short, which is a cardinal sin on this pudding of a wicket, was soon dispatched.  Farrar was soon retired on 25+.  In came another new boy Paul Zonka.  What is it with Australians and their ability to choose surnames that go so well with cricket?  Last year we had Donkin now Zonka.  Journalists dream I say!  Well he truly zonked the ball and achieved something I have never seen before and will probably never see again.  He managed to hit 2 sixes onto the same car in consecutive balls.  I have a meeting with club sports liaison officer about that in about an hour……  Well he came and went hitting 25+ off about 8 balls.  Hans and Walter then continued the run scoring until De Witt was retired also.  Jorge Pancorovo and Walter continued until the score was 180ish.  Walter also retired, a first I think in the Apertura, would have to check the anals, sorry annals.  So score set at 205 off 20 overs, which was pretty good considering LCFC had been wavering at 49 for 4 off 7 overs and could quite easily have capitulated.  LCFC batted in a very non-ringerish way with 4 players completing the maximum and helped ably by KFC’s rather wanton ways with the ball.

KFC came into bat and were soon into the bowling, Buesst and Mclelland hitting De Witt and Zonka around.  Zonka was not the slowest bowler on the track.  It will be a shame that his 6 month sabbatical in Peru is completed in 3 weeks.  His star has shone bright.    Buesst then smacked LCFC everywhere and was soon retired bringing in the KFC middle order.  Sorry, don't have the score card and can’t tell you the names of the KFC players but they were not able to put up much of a fight as a combination of Tony Sanford and Julian Walter soon dismantled the much vaunted middle order  Sanford of straight lines and Walter of Blurred Lines.  One day they will whisper the words Sanford and Walter in the same way they talk of Laker and Lock….. as if!  Actually it was down to some pretty spectacular catching from the field that made both bowlers look good and two downright evil balls from Sanford that practically went underground to bowl the batsmen.  Back to the catching, that man Zonks, you can’t keep him down.  KFC batsman hits it high and wide to mid-on.  Zonks runs 20m in and dives a la Nick Farr Jones to take an unbelievable diving catch.  Myers an over later then does a similar diving catch to scoop an off drive and finally to finish off an Aussie hat trick of catches Konrad running back over his shoulder took an almighty steepler.  Walter had Spry LBW flush on a full toss and Breeze, bowled, deceived in the flight.  Myers then mopped up the rest, bowling Catchpole to finish off the job.

LCFC had won by 125 runs, massive!

We better not forget the skipper, Hodgy who did a magnificent job motivating and setting both an interesting batting lineup and field, in order to maximize the most input possible from all the players.  He did a standup job. 

What did we learn today?  Recruitment is key.  Zonka is an LCFC legend, beer is drunk afterwards.

Postscript:  Could not stay to enjoy the festivities at the club as I went to the theatre afterwards to watch a musical called Mentiras.  A an excellent performance of 80’s Spanish Popmusic, a parody of Mexican Soap Operas.  It was professionally produced with great choreography and much enjoyment by the performers.  She Who Must Be Obeyed, that's exactly how Lima Cricket played today.