This unforgettable trip continues with a deep insight into the Indian culture every day, and of course, there is plenty of cricket to meet new friends and enjoy the sport we all love with a passion.
Having flown from Mumbai to Goa on Sunday morning, our sixth game took place in the town of Vasco, about an hour’s drive from the hotel.
On another beautiful day the Grasshoppers won the toss and decided to bat. Cowden, Russell, and Waite all got solid starts, but it was an 80-run partnership between Michael Turkington and Mark Nixon that proved the mainstay of the innings. Nixon played particularly well for his 36 runs and the colourful Turkington made a composed 34. There were also useful late contributions from Peter Maxwell and David Haire, and this took the Grasshoppers total to a creditable 175 in their allocated 40-overs.
The Vasco innings got off to a flying start, but the introduction of Paul Stafford and Neil Watson slowed their progress, and brought the Grasshoppers back into the game. The run rate had started fast but was hauled back, but as the Grasshoppers appeared to be winning control, Vasco’s middle-order batsman Samman then played the decisive innings of the match. He was the difference between the two teams on the day, reaching his half-century with an array of good shots and taking Vasco to the verge of victory before he was well caught by Alan Waite. Nevertheless it was a good game of cricket, albeit one that could have been won had Lady Luck been a little more kind.
The team fought hard throughout the match but on reflection, we were probably 25 to 30 runs short with the bat, and the difficult outfield probably contributed to another 12 to 15 runs being lost. On reflection there were memorable batting highlights from Nixon and Turkington, while excellent bowling from Stafford, Cowden and Watson kept us in contention throughout.
The bowling figures were;
Carlo Rendell 5-0-17-0
Peter Maxwell 3-0-23-1
Paul Stafford 8-0-35-1
Neil Watson 8-1-22-1
Andrew Cowden 6-0-33-2
Lee Nelson 2-0-21-0
Mark Nixon 3-0-21-1
As always there was no time to dwell on the negatives. Another day looms, and another experience beckons. That is the unpredictable excitement of India.
Watch this space…
