View from the Perch
Issue Five - 22nd February
2006
Greetings fellow Parrots,
Thought it about time to get off the nest and let you all know what has been
happening in the Avian world of cricket. We've played 2 more games since the
New Year and because you have received no reports on these, you are correct
in assuming that we lost them both!
Match Reports
To refresh your memory we went down fighting against the best side in
Thailand domestic cricket late last November, and after the Christmas break
we ventured out to Rangsit to take on the young up and coming talent in the
Kingdom -the Thai Colts. Winning the toss and sending them in we bowled
particularly well and restricted the youngsters to 199 with our opening
bowlers Slatts (3-26) and Vick (4-31) displaying superb line and length.
Nick (9-0-26) was as economical as ever and the fielders did their jobs,
dropping about 6 catches and effecting a couple of run outs. 200 to win
against 15 and 16 year olds - very gettable.
Yeah very gettable if any bloody Parrot decided to pull finger and build an
innings. I blame Gilchrist and Ponting et al. because obviously the boys had
been feasting on their smash bash batting on the tele and decided "if it's
good enough for Gilly, it's good enough for me!" Practically everybody got
caught at deep mid on or off and the colts who still have no need for
Gillette or Schick products bowled out the experienced Parrots for 136 runs.
Your scribe here got 70 and the only other double figures came from Slatts'
11 not out. Pretty piss poor Parrot play, I'd say.
Never mind, a tremendous vodka session followed and all disappointment was
soon put on the back burner, the Prez fell asleep on the esky and later used
the cats eyes on the road to navigate himself home and Tree obliterated a
poorly placed pot plant at Deano's condo en route to a sorrow drowning
session with Rodney at The Green Parrot on Soi 33.
A couple of weeks off and we were ready to take on a team of south Asians
who somewhat oddly refer to themselves as "the Champions Cricket Club".
After the impressive efforts of our opening bowlers last game, we sent the
chumpions in and this time our bowlers were even more superb. A faultless
display from all bowlers including Slatts' 6 overs, 1 for 7 runs, Vick's 1
for 24, JD's 1 for 31 and Raja's 3 for 18 bowled out the opposition for a
paltry 146 runs - a very gettable target (yeah - I know, heard that
somewhere before eh?...). We dropped our usual quota of 7 catches again, but
like a dyslexic president from Texas, we have learned to live with our
little foibles and just cheerfully get on with things.
Disaster struck in the opening overs of our innings. It would seem that the
umpires had decided that the game was not interesting enough and managed to
find a couple of LBW's and a run out. 3 for 5 and our 3 best batsmen in the
pavilion. The run out was particularly special with the ump reporting that
the batsman's bat was touching the line but not over the line - all this
from a direct hit following a quick single - a spectacular piece of vision
for sure! Steve P (17) and TTree (27) battled valiantly but unfortunately
the day was not ours and the Parrots were bundled out for 99. It is never
acceptable to place the blame of a defeat at the umpires but occasionally
they do change the course of a match.
Enough of the sour grapes and onto the grape flavoured vodka and an even
more sensational slammer session. The Prez managed to stay awake this time
but TTree , not content with mere pot plants, had an altercation with a car
at a roundabout - 3 hours at the cop shop and 1000 baht later...Another
memorable Parrot day
Special mention must be made regarding the camaraderie and mateship of the
lads. Strunky and Sledge were at the ground for the duration fulfilling
their 12th men duties and Neil and Or from Happiness bar turned up to cheer
the boys on and deliver a much needed 3rd bottle of voddy. Great Stuff lads!
(and Or)
Colonels Cup
Now for the real reason for this Perch. This Saturday the Siam Cricket Club
Parrots take on the Southerners at the Polo club in Bangkok. As you know in
these matches we compete for the Colonels Cup, named after and donated by
Siam CC patron and long time Southerners member, David Dufall. The Parrots
currently have possession of the silverware following our 9 wicket win
chasing 286 last year in Chiang Mai. Naturally all members are most welcome
to come down and have a look. The game starts at 9am and finishes at 3pm.
Please drop me a line if you need directions or have any questions.
Alternatively we'll see you in the Green Parrot on Saturday night.
Junior Cricket development
An important part of the Siam CC is to aid the development of young Thai
cricketers in the rural areas. We have taken the Khon Kaen juniors (ages
from10 -16) under our wing and we provide them with financial assistance for
travelling, accommodation, equipment and incidentals like shoes and shirts.
I'm pleased and proud to report that our help enabled them to travel down to
Hua Hin for a weekend tournament last month. The boys had a great trip and
nearly all of them had never seen the beach or the sea before. They spent
every moment when not playing cricket frolicking and cavorting on the beach
with squeals of delight, a glint in the eye and a look of sheer joy and
wonderment on their faces (basically the same as the expressions on the
faces of D Currie and Deano when we pull out the vodka). Without our help
there is no way these boys could have afforded the trip south. Projects like
this are where your 500 baht social membership goes, so a big thank you to
all our social members.
Parrot International Players
Last week I had the honour of joining our fellow Parrots who have played
international cricket when I represented Thailand in an ACC sanctioned
Emerging Nations Tournament held in Bangkok. Obviously something went right
(otherwise I wouldn't be shamelessly skiting) and I scratched around in the
first game against the might of Bhutan (yes, Bhutan) for a pretty boring 68.
The peacock turned into a feather duster in the second game and final
against the Maldives (yes, the Maldives) where I stupidly threw my wicket
away for a measly 10 runs and we lost the game. From man of the match to
dickhead of the match in 2 games - ain't cricket a great leveller!
The other international Parrots on our books are; Dave Currie, Steve Penney,
Charlee Kader, Raja, Vick (all Thailand) and Colin "Funky" Miller from
Australia (spot the odd one out?)
Had enough?
wait, there's more...
Our website is in the last stages of tinkering and I'll let you know the
moment it's ready. Big thanks to Jase Manning for his work on this.
We're exploring options for more Parrot Tours and are looking at Vietnam,
Yokohama, Phuket and a rematch with the fellas from Myanmar in Chiang Mai.
I'll keep you posted.
During Songkran (April 10 -14) the last ever Hua Hin sixes will take place
and anybody interested in attending (playing or partying) this great week
should drop me a line. Actually this is where the Parrots were first
conceived after a vodka binge (much like a few of the Parrots many moons ago
I'll wager)
Speaking of conceptions, we have a few little hatchlings in the club (little
Al, Georgina and Rosalie) progressing well and a few more on the way. A very
fertile cricket club indeed.
Any members who wish to renew your memberships (500 baht) please contact me
and I'll arrange to give you our new Parrot discount card.
Welcome to new members, Phil, Jeff, Will and Grahame, great to have your
support.
Remaining league fixtures:
Vs Southerners 25th Feb @ Polo
Vs BCC#1 26TH March @ AIT
Vs RBSC 6TH April @ Polo
Vs Elite 9th April @ AIT
Parrot Sponsors :
Green Parrot Bar and Grill - Sukhumvit Soi 33
Global Turf Consulting
Southern Cross Sports
Big Chilli
Well another long spiel, but you know how much I do love to talk...
Hope everyone and your families are fit and well
Cheers
Kiwi
