MATCH SUMMARY
19 Oct.
Whalers 96ao (Gould 29) lost
to Kenya Kongonis 100-2 by 8
wickets.
25 Oct.
Whalers 102-9 innings closed
(28.4 overs Osgood 41) lost to Mombasa
Sports Club 103-3 (20.2 overs) by 7 wickets.
26 Oct.
Whalers 139ao (34.3 overs
English 37, Hanmer 35, Khalil 22*) lost to Mombasa
Sports Club 196-7 (40 overs Gould 2-30 English 2-22) by 57 runs.
01 Nov. Rift
Valley Sports Club (35 over game):
Whalers 108-7 (31.5 overs
English 27, Giles 20*) beat Rift Valley
Invitation XI 107ao 34.5 overs (Khalil 3-11, Judd 2-13) by 3 wickets.
The game
against Ruaraka was rained off
without a ball being bowled.
Friday 17
October 2008
The time had finally arrived…after a mammoth effort
from James Gould Number 11 (“JGn11”) we had managed to assemble a typical
Whalers side that comprised a large number of bowlers and a couple of batsmen
for good measure (and at least for the first game no recognised wicket-keeper).
At the allotted time of 5pm most of the team had arrived and had treated the
departures hall to white but ripped torsos as we changed into our tour shirts
that had been swiftly organised by one of the Whalettes on tour, Beth. JGn11 looked rather surprised as Si Whistler
arrived at the Virgin check-in. Apparently JGn11 had forgotten to book his
tickets, transfers, accommodation etc… it then turned out that Si was
travelling to Chile - the paleness departed from JGn11’s face to reveal his
more natural marginally less pale complexion.
After waiting for the final stragglers to arrive we
checked in and made it through security in time to down a pint each, decide who
the wicket keeper was going to be for the first game and for Ed to purchase
enough food to keep him going for 8 hours before boarding the plane.
As we settled into our seats to enjoy the in-flight
movies and try and get some sleep we realised that Virgin cleverly managed to
spread us out around the plane strategically placing us next to each and every
available screaming baby.
Saturday 18
October
After a restless, but uneventful flight we arrived in
Having finally paid over our $50 we made it through to
meet up with Jiff who had flow in from
Having only just left the airport we spotted our first
zebra. Clearly suffering from rigor-mortis the animal lay on its back with all
four legs in the air in the middle of the duel carriageway – sadly none of us
had our cameras or hunting knifes ready. After a short journey to the Nairobi
Club we all retired to bed for a brief morning snooze.
Like any good cricket team warming up before our
impending game we decided to play football. Teams were divided into the over
and under 30s factions. After some hard tackling from Kamal and some superb
goal keeping from Jiff experience won over and the over 30s walked off 4-2
victors.
A one and half hour net session followed where we got
back into the rhythm of batting and bowling before giving up and hitting the
surprisingly cold pool. The inevitable beers followed (plus two obligatory
bowls of chips for Channa) before heading out for a Chinese (we were in
Sunday 19
October
With rains surrounding
Al and Rich strode confidently to the middle after
some requisite photos of them leaving the pavilion. After a slow but steady
start we looked like we might be able to build a decent score, however the
first wicket fell after we’d reached 23 after Al offered the team some unneeded
catching practice. The next four partnerships managed to add a massive tally of
5 leaving the score at 28-5 (thanks to Channa, Pip and Ed all getting out very
quickly). Ads then came in and managed to waft what now looked impressive 7.
JGn11 came in to bat (clearly defining his no.11 handle) intent to score runs
without getting out (a novel concept I know). Some impressive batting, decent
shots and the more than the odd played and missed resulted in a score that
later turned out to be 30% of the Whalers runs. Dan clearly hadn’t left his
trademark bungee cord in
At the change of innings the teams settled down for
light lunch of steak and fries. With one of the Whalers demonstrating his Boy
Scout (or potentially drinking) skills by opening all of the drinks with a knife.
Even with a bowling weighted team, a slow outfield,
and youth and exuberance on our side we knew that 96 would be a difficult
target to defend. Khalil and Osgood opened the bowling and with our wicket
keeper arriving tomorrow Ed settled down behind the stumps to collect the odd
wide that the batsmen failed to hit. It wasn’t until the first change when
JGn11 stepped up that we struck with our first wicket as Print was cleanly
bowled for 12. Jiff came on to bowl as the second change for some 70mph off-breaks
(somewhat surprising the waiting batsmen who almost fell to Jiff’s first ball
yorker) before claiming Regos wicket with a good catch from Pip. Kamal and Gilo
finished off the bowling, but little could be done to stop the result. The
Kenya Kongonis ended on 100-2 after 19 overs.
Gould (JGn11) 29
Dan Osgood 15.
Walters 7.2-2-7-4
Toye 8-7-2-3
Sawyer 35
Rego 30
Gould (JGn11) 4-1-11-1
Jiff Judd 3-0-14-1
As the victorious Kenya Kongonis gathered around with
applause and handshakes, the Whalers found relief from aching joints by sitting
down on the neatly laid out chairs and receiving an ice cold Tusker beer from
the waiters, which no doubt was a local remedy for acute dehydration. We had
been in the country for just over a day and already we had recognised the role
that this brand of beer would play in the next two weeks of cricket.
The Kongonis, made the Whalers feel extremely welcome
and after a few hearty speeches, much adulation and several complimentary
comments (none regarding our standard of cricket!) it was the turn of skipper
of the day Number Eleven Jimmy Gould to get up and say a few words. Eloquent as
ever James strode forth and delivered a toe curling speech and the shock and
joy on the streaming faces of all was a sight to see, this however rapidly
brought the initial celebrations to a close.
Once washed and changed the Whalers rejoined the
Kongonis in the pavilion for a lovely evening barbeque. Unfortunately the rain
descended and refuge had to be found in the clubhouse. Needless to say food was
eaten, small talk was made, beer was inhaled and even a game of poker was
played.
The evening’s festivities were highlighted by Ed and
Rich being warned that their Ginger hair and pale complexion made them an easy
target for the sun. In particular one of the Kongonis Matriarchs became so
agitated at Rich and Ed’s blasé attitude that said Whalers had to beat a hasty
retreat, least they be shown the correct technique for the application of sun
screen!
Monday 20th
October
The morning saw the Whalers depart on the much
anticipated trip to
Unfortunately whether it was the weight of the
passengers or whether it was the driving style, the poor van decided that it has
had enough and promptly broke down. What started as an over heated engine soon
developed into plumes of steam, startling the nearby herd of donkeys. Slowly
while the engine cooled down the Whalers stood by nervously as if gazelles out
in the open, one by one the locals came to stare and point, and slowly but
surely approach these strangely dressed creatures, who for a little while had
been rubbing themselves and their friends with a white creamy substance.
After allowing the steaming radiator to cool down the
boys jumped back into the van which unbelievably started and headed towards the
nearest town with the aim of locating a service station. The service station,
after carrying out emergency surgery, let the van loose with a clean bill of
health. This was probably a rash call as the van promptly broke
down…fortunately within rolling distance of another service station. At this
point the Whalers were 3 hours into a 2 hr journey with a distance yet to be
travelled. After a bit of faff the decision to hop into a taxi was made. Said
taxi having engaged warp speed reached Longonot in no time.
Upon arrival at Longonot the Whalers were a man down
as Geoff Judd decided that he would rather sit and have a read. The rest of us
carried on and after an hour and a half the last two whalers made it to the
top. (Those two will remain anonymous as the idea was to get to the top alive
NOT first!)
Tuesday 21st
October
Bleary eyes were commonplace when looking around the
breakfast table that morning. The heavens had not stopped upending themselves
on
After breakfast the Whalers crowded at the entrance to
After warm-ups, fielding practise, frisbee throwing
and serious catching practise, we were still no clearer on whether or not we
would be playing. At 1pm we gave up the ghost and hopped back in the bus. The
day was saved by a visit to the nearby shopping complex. A decent lunch later a
game of mini-golf was proposed. It is still unclear as to who won the day, but
it was a lot of fun having a go. After the mini-golf course was destroyed the
rampant Whalers turned their attention to a spot of bowling. Many pints later
and after two full games of bowling Rich was crowned king of the pins, and the
Whalers piled into the bus to head back to Nairobi club to prepare for the
evening and our first proper night out in Nairobi.
This commenced at the excellent Tamambos restaurant.
Notable incidents included Channa’s slightly dubious selection of French wine
and Ed’s burping issue, and that was just before the starters had been ordered.
Later on in the meal Jimmy offered to run the
Determined to pursue the evening beyond the close of
the meal most of the squad got taxis to one of
The evening was to continue at the back bar at Nairobi
Club where orders of Amarula, port, Glenmoranje and a Guinness bottle (for the
chef) were duly placed and Gilo spent the rest of the evening attempting to
enter into conversation with the chef - and largely failing. More fool him as
he missed out on the musical highlight of tour with Pip lending his best Head
Chorister voice to a performance of Molly Malone with Channa beat boxing next
to him. Unfortunately this performance will not be appearing on YouTube as I
was laughing too much to be able to record it.
Wednesday 22nd
October
On Wednesday morning Jimmy, Ads and Colonel Kamal
arose early to play golf while other squad members went for a stroll in
After an extensive check-out faff that absorbed pretty
much the entire day and still managed to lose Toby’s bag, it was finally time
for the Whalers to venture onto public transport and the delights of the night
train to
Thursday 23rd
October
As dawn broke on Thursday, some of the very earlier
risers were able to get some early safari action in from the train as we
meandered through
On arrival into hot and humid
The early evening brought a game of beach cricket. The
six into the sea and out rule led to the leg-side full toss being the delivery
of choice as a succession of batsmen just couldn’t resist and duly launched the
ball into the shallow waters. Toby continued to demonstrate the prowess of his
occasional bowling with three wickets in an over. After dinner we retired to
the beachside bar to discuss Jimmy’s love life, nicknames and who could throw
the furthest. The matchbox game was introduced and at one point Channa
despatched a six finger fine of gin.
Friday 24th
October
Friday was a free day in advance of the first of two very
big matches on the weekend. A hardcore party awoke at 7am to get some early
morning snorkelling action in. After breakfast in an attempt to get used to
physical exercise in the heat, a quick game of beach volleyball was organised.
Unfortunately copious sweating and extremely hot sand led to an early and
exhausted conclusion at around 10am. Table-tennis in the shade of the games
room continued to prove a popular option with Ed and Jimmy fighting it out for
top honours.
Some members of the squad went into downtown
After an energetic half dozen had managed a lively if
narrow game of touch rugby on the beach as the sun went down we all retired to
the seafood restaurant for a civilised meal dominated by some extravagant
lobster dishes.
Saturday 25th
October
The Whalers second cricketing challenge of the tour
was a visit to Mombasa Sports Club for the first of two games, a 30 over affair
with a 2pm start. In hot and humid conditions the toss was won by the home side
that elected to field. The Whalers named a changed side with Dario and Toby
making their first tour appearances.
Opening up for the Whalers was an unfamiliar
partnership of Dickenson and Osgood. The start was a solid one until Al was out
caught behind chasing a wide one with the score on just 15. The dismissal
brought Dario to the crease on his return from injury. Unfortunately the injury
had not healed as well as hoped, and Dazzler was forced to retire hurt on 6.
With Dan holding strong at one end, the catalogue of woe continued at the other
with Khalil and Pip both dismissed cheaply for 1 and 5 respectively. Channa
strode to the crease to join Dan but added only four singles before being run
out from a standing start at the non-striker’s end. Perhaps he was worrying too
much about the roll-ups in his pocket? With Ads also perishing swiftly it was
Toby who finally provided Dan with some support, and was the only other batsmen
to make double figures with a solid 17. Dan’s watchful 41 off 66 balls came to
an end with a second run out, and Jimmy managed to complete a hatrick of run
outs without facing a ball.
Despite some late order swinging from Jiff and Ed the
Whalers innings was closed on 102-9 off just 28.4 overs. It was a disappointing
total, and only thanks to Dan’s sterling effort that we made three figures.
Wickets were shared amongst the
With a small total to defend the Whalers needed early
wickets and were immediately in business as a short delivery from Khalil was
sent looping towards midwicket when Channa took his first ever Whalers catch
moving smartly round from square leg and prompting Panesaresque celebrations.
After this initial success Khalil continued to bowl
very well with just six runs coming off his four overs. Despite their initial
setback the
In the following over the game was up for the Whalers
as Maulik hit the winning runs to finish on 34 not out, and Mombasa Sports Club
had won by seven wickets with over 9 overs to spare. So, an improvement on
their first match performance from the Whalers, with some tidy bowling and
decent fielding, but ultimately the batsmen hadn’t contributed enough runs. The
Whalers retired to some beers and pondered the task ahead of playing a stronger
After the game we shared a few beers with the local
rugby club boys before heading back to the hotel for a much deserved dinner.
The nightly ‘entertainment’ followed in the form of a very bad stage show,
charting the history of
Sunday 26th
October
Al took the helm for the 40 over Sunday game and we
returned to the magnificent Mombasa Sports Club to face the home side, who
looked surprisingly similar team to the one who had beaten us yesterday.
Humidity aside, the weather was remarkably similar to a damp spring day at
Chiswick. Al won the toss and chose to take advantage of the conditions and
have a bowl. Gouldy started brightly with Yusuf being knocked over early doors
with a peach of a delivery, Khalil kept it tight at the other end. Amit Bhudia
the much vaunted Kenyan international strode to the crease. After a duck
yesterday he had something to prove to the mighty Whalers. However he came
unstuck early doors with some sharp work from Dan at point and was run out for
just 3. His career average is 33 for
A curry lunch followed with a much needed sit down and
rehydration. The new look partnership of Pip and Jif strode to the crease with
the sun shining again. A steady start was needed to tick along at the 5 an over
needed to reach our target. Jif didn’t last long for a quack and Channa
followed suit leaving us in trouble at 15 for 2. Al looked good before being
out for a tidy catch at gully for 9. Pip was looking settled and building a
nice innings but partners were falling, Toby for 11 (lbw) leaving Whalers at 55
for 4. Ads came in and started to rebuild with Pip and took the score onto 85
for 5 off 27 overs. With the run rate rising, the call came at one of the
regular drinks breaks to hit out and Pip got caught soon after for an excellent
37. Ads followed soon after for a career best of 35. With the run rate rising the
tail had to have a bit of a slog. Gouldy had a go, Kamal got ran out and Ed
delivered one lusty blow before being bowled. However, Khalil put together a
wonderful cameo of 22 with a huge 6 over cow corner. 148 was the final total.
Whilst 50 runs off the target, if some catches had been held it could have been
a lot closer. A good game and much better account by the Whalers. The beers
tasted better but thoughts were of what could have been.
Mom Pip
Muppet Gouldy
leaving his socks on the top of the bus
Champagne Khalil’s Six
Gouldy 6 - 30 - 0 - 2
Pip 3 - 22 - 0 - 2
Kamal 3 - 10 - 0- 1
Pip 37
Ads 35
Khalil 22
Under the cover of the darkness the Whalers proceeded
down the
Shown to our cabins, we dumped our bags and were
“gonged” to dinner. The Whalettes were
excited to sample the infamous meal (especially the fish course) for the first
time and were not left disappointed!
Indeed, they felt privileged in comparison to Martin who didn’t even get
batter around his finger-sized piece of ‘fish’.
Drinking commenced and we returned to our cabins for
the games to begin after the staff had kindly turned down our beds. There was a split party - a sleeping cabin, a
gambling cabin and the party cabin (complete with disco lights and full
surround sound system). Channa was out first in the poker and came to join the
party cabin, by popular demand showcasing his immense beat-boxing talents. Choir boy Pip joined in the serenading of the
cabin and a full karaoke session kicked off, accompanied by a game of statues
(courtesy of Ad’s flashlight).
Having discovered they were long lost cousins a Kiwi
corner developed – Jiff and Frith spent hours reminiscing about anything and
everything from
One by one Al picked off the remaining poker competition
forcing them to join the party cabin where a drinking game of “one fat hen and
a couple of ducks” provoked much hilarity (pls ask Toby for the rules!) We were obviously so useless that we drank
the train dry just a few hours into the 14 hour journey. The lack of drink sent everyone back to their
cabins for some much needed sleep, all except Pip that was ….
Pip carried on the party in the corridor – alone,
singing loudly along to his iPod to classics such as Bon Jovi’s Always and
Tasmin Archer’s Sleeping Satellite, or as Pip would say “F’ing tunes”
(accompanied by appropriate arm gestures).
Monday 27th
October
Several bumpy hours later we were woken by the Hi De
Hi Xylophone calling us to an appetising breakfast. We were now rolling though
The beautiful countryside was soon replaced by the
outskirts of the
After a quick freshen up we headed off for lunch at
the Karen Blixen estate. A fleeting
affair some may suppose, but not here, as it took many hours for any food to
arrive, with only a giant tortoise and Kamal falling off his chair to keep us
all entertained. Hunger pains clearly
got to Gilo, weak from hunger all he could offer the conversation was the
somewhat surprising comment “do fish have eyes?”
Next stop was the ATM faff – again not a difficult
task but the Whalers (especially James Gould number 11) managed to turn it into
an epic adventure. All fully loaded with
cash we headed to the giraffe sanctuary where we met Rothschild giraffes with
45cm antiseptic saliva covered tongues (Gilo - “they could do some damage”).
Dinner that evening was at Carnivore - the meat
eater’s paradise. During a feast of
crocodile and ostrich balls Jiff was moved to tears during his special “Jambo
Bwana” birthday rendition by the restaurant staff. He was a little confused as his birthday was
three weeks previous – but Gilo relished the moment more than anyone. Having lowered the flag on the table and
Frith having mounted the restaurant zebra, we retired to the Nairobi Club
suitably full to the point of being sick.
Heading to a bar in the Nairobi Club we were cast back
into Victorian England as whilst attesting to order 14 drinks the Whalettes
were told “no ladies in this bar”.
Despite the Whalers protesting that no “ladies” were present (the
cheek!), we were evicted back into the library for our daily nightcap of
Amarula. During a robust debate over the
fairness of the exclusion, the only non-Whaler occupant of the library piped up
with … “Can you keep it down please, I am reading” (as there was a power cut
the “reader” had resorted to reading his week old Daily Telegraph with his
mobile phone). Well bu**er off and go
read somewhere else we all thought … instead we desperately tried to whisper
before heading to bed to prepare for a long drive ahead.
Tuesday 28th
October
Departing the Nairobi Club with an early morning
start, we were introduced to Jambo 1, Jambo 2 and Jambo 3 driven by chatty
Moses and his Silent Assassins and headed off on the long road trip to the
Masai Mara. Déjà vu ensued when Jambo 2
broke down on the outskirts of
After many hours we arrived at the Fig Tree Lodge and
were all stunned by our beautiful river side tents but had no time to enjoy our
abodes as we were straight out on our first game drive. Well what can we say – it was a pretty
special few hours and we clocked 3 of the big 5 (lions, buffalo and elephant)
with ease. Not to mention the plentiful
zebra, impala, gazelles, giraffe, warthog, secretary bird (especially for James
Gould no 11). How would this ever be
beaten????
Wednesday 29th
October
The Whalers gathered for an early breakfast and
regaled each other with stories of Channa’s bedtime noises, weird anti-Malaria
drugs induced dreams and sleepless nights. Khalil was able to confirm that this
was all due to the Hippos that had been mating outside our tents for hours (he
had got up in the night and sneaked a peak through the tent mesh – wisely not
venturing outside). Their good stamina
was noted and it was decided that pulling a hippo in a club perhaps wasn’t such
a bad thing.
In addition to the weird dreams other side effects of
the Malaria drugs seemed to be taking hold, with Beth especially, who developed
an Elephant-man type speech impediment, complete with lisp! The next paragraph of this report was written
by her at the time…
Thome of the group (Dario, Dan,
Jameth Gould no 11, Ed, Beth and
Frith) departed on a very early balloon thlight
with that captain Mike from Brithtol.
It was truly magical few hourth
and after a bumpy landing on a termite mound we were twreated to a full champagne breakfatht. Dario tucked into the triple G&Ts at 830 and we were
joined by guesth including giraffeth and impalath in the middle of the Mara.
Ahem, thank you Beth…
The rest of the group got an extra few hours sleep
before setting out on another game drive where they were lucky enough to
witness a lion kill a wilderbeast. We
were told how special it was but all video footage we have seen was either of
the ground or sky as the Whalers whooped in excitement!
The lioness showed the kind of guile that had been
absent all tour while hunting her prey. She showed herself to the wildebeest to
panic them and then out of sight moved round to where she expected them to go
and chose her moment to pounce perfectly. Timing the whole thing like a Michael
Bevan one day innings. Naturalist Richard Giles said “It was one of the most
exciting things I have ever seen” all the more incredible considering that he
was sharing with Channa and must have been used to eye-opening firsts.
After an afternoon of sleeping in our luxury tents or
spending it poolside, yet more game drives awaited that afternoon. Today we
were treated to a cheetah with baby cubs, warthogs with babies and the
highlight, one of only fifty black rhinos in the Mara (good spot Ed!)
Thursday 30
October
We had a long trip to Nakuru ahead of us today but
Jimmy had managed to persuade our illustrious drivers to stick to the agreed
schedule and take us on a final jaunt into the Masai Mara before setting off,
so it was another early start from the Fig Tree lodge. We still hadn’t seen a
leopard and the kill that was seen yesterday had only served to keep our
enthusiasm high for animal spotting despite the early starts and bumpy roads.
So once again we set off on a fresh morning with hope in our hearts but sadly a
few hippos, elephants and giraffes were all that were seen this time – probably
enough to satisfy a novice safari goer but our expectations had grown in the
past two days.
Back to the lodge to hear some strange news at the
breakfast table that Al had become a nocturnal fantasy for some of the Whalers.
Apparently Frith had dreamt that he had taken her on a tour of his favourite
tube station. OK, that’s strange enough but Pip then confessed that he had been
dreaming of Al too. Now I would agree with the next man that Al is a good
looking and “fun-to-be-around” chap, but Pip had some hard questions to answer
at the breakfast table.
Time was of the essence because we had a long trip
ahead of us to Nakuru, so we piled into the matutus again and left the Mara
with cameras full of furry photos and some fantastic memories.
We were not looking forward to this journey at all.
The state of the roads are pretty poor and although the drivers seemed to be
off-road specialists they couldn’t help but punctuate the continuous rattle
from the stony roads by hitting potholes at 60kph which sent a shock up the
spine – especially tiring for the bad back brigade of Dario and Beth. And it
didn’t help matters that we had already done most of this trip coming the other
way.
After about three hours in the saddle we arrived back
in Narok for a break to spend 10ksh. There was no prospect of any lunch stop
later on so we stocked up on chocolate and crisps before getting back into the
vans to head north. One of the drivers, Michael, said that they don’t normally
take this road because with just a drop of rain it turns to mud and is
impassable. Despite rain clouds looming on the horizon we ploughed on along the
road north up into the
As the matutus rumbled and bumped into the hills it
was amazing to see such a fertile landscape. Michael gave us the low-down on
what had been happening here. People had moved into the forest and felled the
trees to cultivate the land, and it seemed as though they were doing quite well
as a result. But the government wants to protect the limited rainforest that
exists in Kenya so it is planning to forcibly remove the residents and plant
new trees, although we saw little evidence of this tension, instead we saw the
road lined with kids walking home from school. As soon as they saw us coming
they would rush towards us giving us the thumbs up, a big smile and shouting
“watalii biro!”, which means “tourists biro!”. Apparently a lot of the
tourists, especially the French, hand out pens and sweets to the kids as they
pass through. Unfortunately all we had for them was a smile and a wave, but
we’ll remember for the next time.
The state of the road was starting to become tiresome
but soon we were out of the hills and getting closer to Nakuru where the roads
are better. Although the roads were better now Dario was still experiencing
rumbles, but of a different kind. It must have been something he had at
breakfast but with only 30mins to Nakuru he couldn’t wait anymore and had to
force the convoy to stop. We pulled over at a petrol station and followed a few
directions to find a community church with a convenience out the back. It’s the
moment any traveller in a developing country dreads, but whatever the state of
the toilet it couldn’t have been that bad because the concerned face Dario had
when he disappeared around the corner turned to glee about 10mins later.
The final stretch into Nakuru was a lot smoother and
we made good time to get to the Rift Valley safari park to sneak in another
couple of hours gawping at animals. A huge lake is a feature of this park,
which was teeming with a carpet of pink flamingos and storks and despite the
large group of snoozing buffalo nearby we were allowed to step out of the
matutus and take some snaps. Further down the track we saw white rhino, giraffe
and elephants but that elusive leopard remained absent. The vans made their way
up a hill to a vantage point where we could get a fantastic view of the park
from up high and tease a family of baboons. Unfortunately for jimmy the best
view he got was a hole in the ground as he seemed to have had the same
breakfast as Dario but before too long we were back on the road. It was
starting to get dark so, after a long and tiring day in the vans, we made our
way to the Rift Valley lodge where dinner and evening entertainment awaited us.
Dinner was entertaining in itself, as we got the resident musician to sing Jif
“Happy Birthday” again – he didn’t cry this time, although some of us did with
laughter. The evening entertainment was “entertainment” in its loosest sense.
There was a similar team of acrobats to those we saw in Mombassa except they
danced to the sounds of a tinny hi-fi, the type my sister had when she was 8,
and, frankly, just did fancy handstands. This was followed by the highlight of
the evening, the acoustic guitar singer who made a b-line for us and insisted
that he could play “anything”, yes “anything” we wanted…which turned out to be
“anything” so long as it was Bob Marley. It was ironic considering the origin
of the Whalers name. We did make the most of the situation and had a good
sing-song before retiring to bed and leaving Al with a drunk dutch man who was
trying to couple him off with his sister.
Friday 31
October
Friday morning brought our final safari trip of the
holiday. Most of us were up bright and early but Al, Toby and Pip chose to
sleep in. There was no word about the dutch sister so we’d have to get answers
from Al later.
This time our drivers were on a mission to find a
leopard and chose to split up. We spent two hours staring intensely at the
trees before finally accepting that it wasn’t going to happen on this trip, so
reluctantly we turned tail and headed back to he lodge just in time for
breakfast. The rest of the day was spent by the pool before we head off into
Nakuru. We had a full panoramic view of the safari park with a beautiful blue
sky – it was an idyllic few hours that we knew would probably be our last time
to really relax before we return home. In fact, it was so idyllic, even Ed was
seen sunbathing – even rarer than a leopard. Not so rare were antics from
Channa (as rare as a gazelle) who dived into the swimming pool with a load of
cash in his pocket much to everybody’s amusement. Ads kicked arse at scrabble,
opening the game with a 98 pointer, and before we knew it it was time to make a
break for Nakuru and the Rift Valley Sports Club (RVSC). It was only a short
drive but we took our time through the safari park, just in case a leopard
decided to make an appearance…but no.
Nakuru seemed unaffected by tourism, a working town
with plenty of bustle and noise. We arrived at the RVSC, which is a similar
kind of relic from the colonial days as the Nairobi Club and was to be the
venue for our final match tomorrow. We heard a rumour that the pitch would be
artificial, and it was true. The outfield was pretty good, even if the grass
was a bit long and the pitch inspection was short lived, not much to see except
a clay track that will supposedly be covered in matting – we hoped.
We had a couple of hours to kill before dinner so some
wondered off into town to continue the other hunt for that other illusive
animal, the Tusker T-shirt (barrus dentis subucula), and general tourist tat.
But soon enough we were all in the bar at RVSC. But Dan was having none of this
lounging around and was keen to get people thinking about the match tomorrow,
so he suggested some fielding practice that turned into a football match. The
game was going well until Beth stepped onto the field of play needing her room
key from Ed so he dipped into his pockets…once…twice…three times, each time
with a deeper grimace on his face. It was clear that it had fallen out onto the
grass. It was starting to get dark by now so, like ants that had lost their
way, there was a frantic scurry with heads pointing down at the grass, lots of
action but no organisation. As the sun started to dip below the horizon it was
time for someone to get a grip of this situation, bring on Toby. Like a true
forensic search that any viewer of CSI would be familiar with, Toby took the
lead and organised us into a line, each an arms-length apart. We moved with
military precision slowly across the football pitch and sure enough Frith
shouted out as if she’s won the
That was probably the highlight of the evening as
dinner and drinks at the bar followed the usual format. By 10pm people started
to drift off to bed and even the sound of the nearby night club thumping away
couldn’t tempt anyone else to carry the night on and we were all in bed by 11pm
– probably best considering the match tomorrow.
Saturday 1
November
It was the day of our final match, this time against
the Rift Valley Sports Club and it was one we were feeling quite confident
about.
We had to get the match underway by 10am so it was an
early breakfast to get in a decent warm up and some team photos. We’d been used
to some pretty good food over the past couple of weeks so to get a funny brown
slop served up today was a bit disappointing, most of us stuck to toast.
The ground staff were busying away laying the matt
down on the pitch, which was pinned down with nails and Tusker beer bottle
tops, very apt. With the pitch being prepared all we needed now was an oppo,
but there were rumours in the camp that they were struggling to get enough
players together. Luckily there were a few brits hanging around who were here
to teach kids cricket, they’re part of the “cricket without boundaries” charity
and they were only too pleased to make up the numbers.
With the team photos done we were ready to get going.
Dan got everyone into the circle where he delivered some inspiring and arousing
words (I assume) to get the team in the groove. The staff finished marking out
the boundary (finally) and so we were ready to rock.
RVSC won the toss and chose to bat, 35 overs each way
was agreed. It was a hot and sunny day so it was going to be a tough day in the
field for the Whalers.
Khalil and Gouldy were spearheading the attack and
they were up for it. Khalil’s pace in the first over was clearly too much for
the oppo as they knicked one up into the air behind. It was definitely one for
the keeper, and Toby went for it but couldn’t position himself correctly and
spilled. It was a disappointing start but hopefully not a sign of things to
come. The oppo started well, even if a little slow, poking around 1s and 2s.
But it was in the 7th over that Khalil took first blood for the
Whalers getting the batsman caught behind, and when Gouldy struck in the next
over the Whalers’ tails were really up. Toby took an excellent catch for
Gouldy’s wicket but the decision was later changed to LBW – much to Toby’s
dismay. Now RVSC had Arti and Dalveer at the crease, both of whom looked
comfortable. Khalil had bowled a good, sharp first spell and deserved his
wicket but the skipper made the first bowling change and replaced him with
Gilo…and that did the trick. Dalveer fell LBW and RVSC were 34 for 3. Things
were looking good for the Whalers as Sahil came to the crease.
It was time for Gouldy to take a break, queue Jif, and
he was good. Tight and sharp, he didn’t let the batsmen settle and Sahil could
only manage a few runs before his middle stump was knocked over. The Whalers
were now like a pride of lions stalking their prey…and they pounced again (or
rather Dan did) only two overs later with a great catch taken off Jif’s bowling
at deep mid off.
At this point Arti was still at the crease and looking
solid but Pip was now in the attack and Arti took a swipe only to scoop it
straight up into the air. Any of four Whalers could have taken the catch but
Channa was the quickest to the call and launched himself at it. Unfortunately
he launched himself a little too far, mis-judged and dropped. Arti now was our
main target if were to close this game down.
But another dropped catch from Kamal off Gilo’s
bowling only served to heighten the anxiety that maybe we could let this game
slip. This middle part of the RVSC innings saw a lot of runs leaked and a few
nerves and frustrations were starting to set in. Ed was probably trying too
hard when he delivered his double bouncer. Even the Whalettes were sensing that
things were getting a little tetchy so they shipped water out to the players,
cheered and flag-waved as best they could.
Ed was back on for a second spell and rightly sorted
things out with a good wicket with Jif taking the catch at gully. Then Dan took
the crucial wicket of Arti with Ads taking a great catch at cover and so now it
was just a matter of mopping things up. Arti finished just short of his half
century on 47 and after he departed the runs dried up for RVSC. As they only
had 10 players their lowest scorer Joesph batted twice, but it didn’t take
Khalil long to grab the final two wickets and RVSC were all out for 107 after
34.5 overs.
Khalil 3-11
Gouldy 1-8
Ed 1-16
Gilo 1-14
Jif 2-13
Kamal 1-16
Pip 0-17
Dan 1-9
Arti 47
It was a few more runs than we would have liked but it
was a total we were confident we could get. Lunch would be ready at 13.00 and
we finished earlier than expected so we decided to get a few overs in before
lunch. It was a straight turn around and Al and Pip started the assault on the
108 target.
The opening attack from RVSC was sharp and straight
and proved too much for Al who was quickly out, bowled playing to a ball he
probably should have played straight. But Pip at the other end seemed focused
and resolute so after the first six overs we were one wicket down with not many
runs on the board. Time for lunch.
Pip chose not to dip out of his concentration and
found it hard to eat his chicken curry. Gouldy was equally serious about the
job in hand and it wasn’t long before they were heading back out to the middle
to continue the innings.
But Gouldy’s determination to make a good innings was
not enough to avoid being trapped LBW in the first over after lunch, much to
his consternation. As he stormed off into the pavilion he was passed by Channa
striding forward in the opposite direction towards the crease. As Pip continued
his careful watch at one end Channa played an entertaining, and effective, mix
of steady defence and wild attack at the other. The entertainment was
heightened as Pip guided a ball down the leg side and immediately charged down
the wicket looking for a run, but wisely Channa sent him straight back as it
had gone straight to a fielder and there was definitely no run there. No harm
done…except in the very next ball the same happened again but this time Channa
chose to run. Channa’s pretty sharp between the wickets but even he could not
out run a direct hit on the stumps and he was promptly run out much to the enjoyment
of the oppo. In comes Toby.
The next few overs were sedate to say the least. To be
precise the next seven overs produced only 17 runs as Toby and Pip blocked and
swiped with some comedy running between the wickets in between. The “crowd” on
the sidelines were getting a little frustrated but at least wickets were in
tact.
Eventually Pip was caught for a diligent 27 which
brought Kamal to the crease with orders to up the run rate. In the meantime the
“cricketers without boundaries” had to leave to get back to
Kamal gets 10 out of 10 for effort and perseverance
but he struggled to connect with the ball and the run rate still faltered.
There were mumblings on the side lines that we may not actually get to the
target with the required run rate at four an over and with overs running out.
To make matters worse the opening bowler Dalveer returned to the attack and
there was real concern.
Kamal succumbed to Dalveer LBW which brought Gilo to
the crease. Gilo gave the run rate a kick up the backside and the innings was
back on course. Toby was eventually caught for a steadfast 18. A couple of good
overs later, with 5 extras given away in one of them, the pressure was slowly
being relieved and instead of spluttering the Whalers two-stroke clicked into
gear. Khalil could sense victory and tried to get there sooner rather than
later but got stumped instead, so it was left to Gilo to hit the winning runs
and finally the Whalers had sealed their first international victory, by three
wickets.
We made it harder work than it probably should have
been, and we had a little help from the oppo who gave away 30 extras but it was
a sweet victory nevertheless and one well deserved. Thinking back to our first
international match against Dambulla CC and on the outfield in 35°c and 99%
humidity in
Al 0
Pip 27
Gouldy 2
Channa 5
Toby 18
Kamal 2
Gilo 20*
Khalil 3
Dan 1*
Dalveer 3/11
Arfhan 3/21
Muppet: Channa going for a wander out of his crease
MOM: Gilo winning runs, 20 not out, 1 wicket
After the last game
Heady with their first international victory, beers
flowed like champagne and spirits were running high as we loaded the buses with
beer and sped back to NBO to get out on it. A speedy drive home with beers led
to a few comedy road side loo stops. Steak and chips followed at the NBO club
and awards were presented as follows:
Player of the Tour: Khalil
Muppet Moment of the Tour: JGn11 Leaving his socks on top of the bus.
Champagne
Moment of the Tour: Gilo hitting the winning
runs
With the serious work done it was time to get out on
the piss and we headed to Westlands for the obligatory post tour Mojitos. These
were a touch better than in
Sunday 1st
November
Sore heads met at an early Breakfast and it was off to
the airport to head home. We said good bye to Jiff for his 2 day trip back to
NZ, a great effort for coming along. Beth and Ed were heading to