08/09/2021
For those who follow possibly the best team in the world. Here is the first match report of the new season.
Often when you get accustomed to certain things, change is never good. Your local pub given a facelift is never going to go down well with some diehards. Then again, the idea of no change is more dangerous than a bit of restoration. It was therefore, with some anticipation rather than hesitancy that people arrived at Po Kong Village Road on Saturday, yes Saturday.
For those who have not been following the fortunes of the Bears in recent months, quite a remarkable transformation has occured. And to say that about a remarkable team must mean something.
Having won the division in the indoor league over the summer, and tireless work from Shubham, Raj, and Seth, to name a few, the Bears are now in the Saturday league.
Just the idea that you can go out and watch or play cricket and still have another day of the weekend was a bit of a mindfuddle.
PKVR, or Hong Kong's Newlands, as it shall, it seems, forever now be known, was going to be a change from the other bowl at GDB. The other bowl, unfortunately being an upturned one. The ground was flat, you could see all the players, there were drinks machines, and a real toilet. Maybe the most exciting thing was that in the spectators stand, you could sit at a height advantage and really see what was going on. This ordinarily would have been enough of a story. Then the Bears started to play.
From the outset, fielding was sharp, and it was not long before the first wicket fell, then 2, and 3. Consistent pace bowling of an accuracy which showed how much better than GDB the Bears can be given the chance. 60/3 and all was going well, then came a 10-minute drinks break.
Momentum ended up being another story on Saturday afternoon. After the break, with the sun in the wrong place to see anything above head height, 3 or 4 chances were not taken. Momentum shifted, but the Bears have sharper claws than they used to and a succession of clean-bowled wickets by Ryan and it swung again. Massive shouts out for debutants Ayub who bowled with a tight-line assurance and pedigree of someone who deserves a consistent place in this league, and Shakeel who bowled very well too, but more about him later. He deserves a special mention.
Raj and Ryan up to bat. Now, whether this is a deliberate bowling ploy, I'd hope not. But Raj faced a series of wides which he left admirably. 35 overs is a long game. After the 7th or 8th wide, one was an absolute jaffa that swung late and clipped his off stump.
Ryan stepped up. On a flat pitch, in a new league, it was written that someone would have a historic day. We all know Ryan's 50's troubles. If you can see the boundary though, it does help. He has never hit it cleaner than he was hitting it and there was no way that they were going to get him out. 33 off 32 balls, he was assured and in control. Then there was a mix up and he was gone.
The thing that we saw at HK Newlands was that to get the Bears out now, you have to bowl real cricket bowls. Nicks and proper cricket dismissals are needed to dismiss them, but also they are still in a place where in their headspace they sometimes do themselves injustice. The Bears showed that they have the skills to be in this league, but they need to have patience. As if there were not enough stories written today, there was time for one more. The most stubborn man in a team of stubborn men is quite an accomplishment, but it has seemed that previously there has never been a time where Ben can just sit and take his time. That is exactly what was needed to shift the momentum, and he did it superbly. Late flicks and cuts to Third Man were impressively effortless. There was again no real way that the Govenor was going to be out other than by his own sword or the oppressive heat. He clearly had sunstroke, but such is his obstination, he carried on playing.
This was not the last story though. He was given out when he clearly wasn't and that set the cat among the pigeons. People started panicing and we lost even more wickets.
The stories did not stop there though. Having already impressed with extremely accurate bowling, second debutant, Shakeel batted almost throughout the innings to take us agonisingly close to the finish line.
Suddenly from nowhere, an LCSD official came on the pitch, blew a whistle and it was all over. The Bears had bowled all their overs, but the oppo hadn't. What followed might have been considered a greater test of patience than the actual game as both sides tried to see if they could work out what was going on.
As for a result? That is still being discussed by the powers that be. We will find out soon enough, but that is out of our hands. Maybe we should not really dwell on it for how were the Bears overall? There was some alarm at the end, so it was maybe a bit lucky. In their favour, they did not though send a severe warning to the other teams in the league to say, "Look at us." but throughout, they could have made it easier for themselves. Maybe they did themselves an injustice.
Sterner tests will come. Skills-wise they are more than capable. It is just a matter of referencing Rudyard and keeping their heads when all around them are losing theirs. If they do that, there is no stopping them and this change is 100% for the good.
