Round Up of News from Mexico (19 Nov 1999)

19 November 1999

Round Up of News from Mexico

The Mexico City intra-club competition resumed the weekend before last, with Aztecs playing Reforma in the first 30 overs game.

The weekend before Mexico City travelled to Houston where it played its annual game against the Memorial Cricket Club.

Hugo van Belle reports:

"Mexico went into the game having won the last two games in Mexico in March and in Houston the previous October.

Due to the unsettled weather the game was played out over 35 overs per team.

Mexico`s captain, Mali Khurana, won the toss and elected to bat.

After a slowish start Nigel Brians, one of the two openers, started to find form and was unlucky to be out for 23 (proved to be Mexico`s top score). The decent batting line-up never fullfilled its potential with the likes of Hugo van Belle and Paul Longshaw being out early on. Nick Deakin and Jonathon Froome did manage 19 apiece which helped MCCC reach their total of 132 off 35 overs. A disappointing total.

Mike Greathead, Memorial`s illustrious South African captain gave everyone a bowl. No-one bowled more than 4 overs and the combination of leg and off spin from both ends proved too much for the MCCC.

Defending such a paltry total Captain Khurana decided to bowl left arm leggy, Jonathon Froome, for the entire innings (there being no restrictions on bowlers for this match). It should be mentioned that Froome had been flown in from Edinburgh, Scotland by the Club to do a job. He set about the task of containment in fine style. Not one of the Memorial batsmen could second guess Froome`s leg breaks and as our Chairman mentioned, had Froome been bowling from both ends we would have won!

That was not the case. Nick Deakin bowled 3 overs. John Lawrence bowled two overs. Hugo van Belle had figures of 12-3-56-3 and Froome finished with 16.4-5-46-3.

If it had not been for the patience of Mike Greathead and a cool, sensible 53 Memorial would have done well to get half the score. As it was he punished anything short and hit van Belle for a couple of glorious on-drives for six.

Memorial reached Mexico`s total with eight balls to spare and seven wickets down.

The result was a fair one on the balance of play. Mexico just didn`t score enough runs. 160 might have been enough.

But to Mexico`s credit they did catch and field particularly well. 6 catches in all were held, one or two quite spectacularly!

Most impressive of them all must be Chairman Roger Nunn fielding at mid-on who off Nick Deakin`s short-pitched delivery nonchalantly stuck out his left arm and at full-stretch reeled in a ball (one-handed) that surely would have gone for four! Undoubtedly catch of the day.

All that remains to be said is that the cricket topped a wonderful weekend which was centred on a great rapport and sense of camaraderie that exists between the two teams.

We all look forward to March 11th and the return match in Mexico City."

The Mexico City Cricket Club is always keen to receive more visiting teams. If you like the sound of cricket at altitude contact Hugo: hugo@designet.com.mx