View from the Perch
Issue Two - 19th May 2005
Hello to all the Parrots out the around the globe. Parrot!
Long time no hear huh?
As the regular season here in Thailand has come to a close for the Siam
Cricket Club, we thought it might be prudent to let you know what has
happened, what is happening and what is going to happen!
To save a little inbox space and your valuable time (back to work now Nick!)
I'll try to send a few instalments of "From the Perch" over the next few
days.
We've made great strides as a club since our conception (a particularly
vigorous vodka slammer and Heineken warm down session at Hua Hinn 2004) and
we currently boast 62 members from all over the world and a pool of 22
playing members who have all played for the Parrots in some capacity over
the year.
As with any successful Club we owe a great deal of gratitude to our sponsors
and to individuals who often perform above and beyond the call of duty to
make life better for our members.
Our Major sponsors for 2004/05
The Green Parrot Bar and Grill
Global Turf Consulting
The Big Chilli
The Parrots Season 2004/05 in the Cricket Assoc of Thailand Premier league
Quite simply folks, an unforgettable debut season. Basically, a couple of
huge highs, a couple of lows and about a thousand dropped catches!!
To summarise: Played 9 won 2 and lost (well, you do the maths...)
The Season:
Obviously there were plenty of highlights off the field, but our best moment
of glory came when we played the Southerners (a successful long standing
Bangkok club comprising expats from Aus Eng SA NZ) in a match up in Chiang
Mai. This fixture is a classic local derby and the teams play for "The
Colonel's Cup" donated by and named after David Dufall, SCC patron and long
time member of the Southerners. The full report of this exciting match was
printed in the Bangkok Post and is attached to this email but basically the
Southerners batted first and made a formidable 285 off 45 overs. At the
break our Skipper Steve P and his long time Zim mate Wally took the daunting
target in their stride and cracked open a couple of stubbies. The laid back
approach seems to suit us as we rattled up the total in 40 overs losing just
1 wicket to get first dibs on The Colonel's Cup. Justin Barrett finished on
135 not out to become the Parrots first centurion and deserved man of the
match.
There is no doubt that the game was good for the Parrots (local bragging
rights should never be underestimated) but this was surpassed by the great
times both teams had together in Chiang Mai. The air is clean, the beer is
cold, there are birds everywhere, no traffic jams, good people, birds
everywhere, beautiful cricket ground with trees and birds everywhere, so I
invite all members to accompany us on our next trip up north.
The other victory this season (our first official Parrots victory actually)
was a dominant display against TICC where an innings of 66 not out by
Skipper Steve P took us to our target of 158 with 7 wickets to spare.
As for the other games, oddly enough we batted last in all but one match
this season and the Bangkok heat coupled with a few roadies the night before
conspired to see the Parrots a bit short of energy for what was inevitably a
large chase. Overall we bowled pretty well and all bowlers contributed at
times. Standout bowlers were Slatts, DC, Nick "manboobs" Chomonter, TT,
Wanie, JD and Big Wally.
We batted well in stages (versus Southerners and also against RBSC when we
scored 306 in 45 overs, unfortunately chasing 352!) but as a team, we had a
tendency to rely on other batsmen in the order to get the runs. A few longer
committed partnerships will see the batting totals improve. Nearly all
batsmen played at least one solid innings with useful contributions from
Steve P, Glenn Barry, The Prez, DC, Sledge and especially Justin who was the
batting star of the year, so the outlook is positive for next season.
The fielding... oh the fielding...
Ground fielding - fine
Catching - atrocious, deplorable, terrible, lamentable, and just plain
shithouse!!!
Geez we dropped some catches this year folks!
One game we gave up 13 chances!!
Everybody except Michael Strunk (our baseball convert from Washington DC)
dropped at least one catch during the season. In true Parrot fashion we
identified the problem and sought to punish offenders with extra rations of
vodka slammers (went through a couple of bottles each game!!). Needless to
say this plan didn't help at all and will be adopted again next season and
in every game we play.
So, in summary, your club - The SCC Parrots - can bat well enough
(occasionally spectacularly), can bowl good lines and well in partnerships,
but can't catch to save ourselves. Actually in Bangkok the propensity to not
catch anything is usually very handy. Some reprogramming may be in order
here.
That was the season - a mid-table finish (bonus points coming to the
rescue), every playing member making contributions at some time or another
and most importantly many thanks to The Prez and TT for supplying the BIG
esky with sports drinks, beer, beer and a bit more beer for match days.
That's all for now (a bit more news later).
Thanks again to all members for your continuing invaluable support and look
out for...
Upcoming Events:
Golf at Mission Hills Khao Yai - June 4&5
Club BBQ and Presentations - June 25
Local 20/20 cricket competition - June/July - suitable for all cricketers
(more on that later)
Possible trip to Penang in early August for 2 games at Penang Sports Club
Don't forget to catch all the Ashes action on the big Screen at the Green
Parrot in Soi 33 this summer. Great timing in Bkk - starts about 5pm to
midnight Bkk time.
Any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact me: kiwined18@yahoo.co.nz
Cheers
Kiwi
Secretary
