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| The tour party at Newlands
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The sixth major overseas tour by the club started in the wet of Lusaka and ended with victory in the midst of a South African township. In between there were two washouts, three defeats and no end of memorable experiences in both Zambia and Cape Town.
The trip was the first under new management, with Ed Henderson, Rob Merry and (occasionally) Tristan Rosenfeldt taking over from Rick Johnson and Martin Williamson. The organisation was excellent and the mistakes – and what tour doesn’t have them – were minimal. The problems that materialized were almost entirely self-inflicted.
The tour party set out on Boxing Day, Johnny Gates gaining the first success by persuading BA cabin crew that he had just got engaged to Alice with complementary champagne flowing as a result. The party was brought down to earth as the landing in Lusaka might as well have been done by a sea plane. The opening game later that day was immediately written off by many who retired to bed, leaving Henderson and Eds Copleston to head to the ground for the most cursory of inspections and some ego-inflating interviews with local TV. Some of the squad surfaced in the afternoon to coach youngsters, the others kept their powder dry for a long opening-night dinner. The second game a day later was also washed out.
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| White water on the Zambezi
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A quite remarkable ten-hour coach journey, only punctuated by a stop at OC Chris Roe’s Alive and Kicking outlet, tested the resolve of the group, but the awesome views of Victoria Falls made the trip worthwhile. Over the next 48 hours there was white-water rafting, swimming on the edge of the Falls themselves (for the brave) and a helicopter trip over the Falls (the rather older Chetwodes), and no end of partying, especially on New Years’ Eve. Alan Cope’s hard-man credentials suffered when he bottled a promise to bungee jump over the Zambezi.
The business end of the trip began when the party reached Cape Town after another grueling day traveling. We finally took to the field for our first match against Van der Stel CC in Stellenbosch, a beautiful mountain-ringed ground. We got off to a good start, taking early wickets before their Cape Cobras ringer revived the innings. Chasing 221, Matt Crump made a spirited 88, but sadly his was the only contribution of note as we were bowled out for 146.
The next day came match two against Western Province CC, at the quite outstanding venue at the foot of Table Mountain. We again failed to score at anything like the required rate, and again were reliant on forties from the Crumps to give us anything remotely defendable. As it was, 160 for 8 was never enough and we slid to a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat, partially made up for by a super braai afterwards and then a night at Camp’s Bay.
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| Henry Watkinson takes our one wicket at Western Province
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Two days’ rest, which involved long lunches, longer evenings and a day out watching sharks that was perfect other than the complete absence of sharks, set us up for our third match at the sublime Constantia CC, nestled in a vineyard in the hills to the south of Cape Town. After a shaky start we reduced our hosts to 98 for5 only for our paucity of front-line bowlers to be cruelly exposed. The last seven overs went for 109 and we were left chasing 268, a target that become a formality as we limped to 30 for 3 in ther 10th over. From then on it was damage limitation, and we kept the margin of defeat under 100.
A day of wine tasting and a night of remarkable excess was not the ideal preparation for our final game in the heart of a township. The contrast between this and our previous matches was brought home by the stark warning that no one was to venture more than a few yards from the pavilion and under no circumstances was anyone to do anything as foolish as go for a walk round the boundary. The area was depressingly grim but we had an excellent game. Nobody played the big innings but Damian Hill, as he had done throughout, led the way and we made 152 for 8, better than had appeared likely. For five overs our bowling was dreadful, with no fewer than 11 wides, before we gradually found our control and started taking wickets. The pressure grew on the home side and despite a late rally, we scraped a 16-run win, finally salvaging something from the tour.
The evening was spent at Newlands where we were entertained to an end-of-tour dinner in the WPCC chairman’s lounge. Damian Hill was named batsman of the tour, Michael Chetwode the bowler, Tom Merry the fielder and Keith Crump the Man of the Tour. Celebrations went on long and hard before the return home the next day.
Overall, the tour on the field was not a success. Our front-line batsmen, excepting Matt Crump and Hill, failed to provide the big innings needed and as a result we were always defending small totals. We also lacked enough firepower, and when Matt Crump and Cope were reduced to spinners, only Ed Henderson offered anything threatening. Chetwode showed the value of accuracy and was out best bowler. In the field, the Merrys and Langmead were outstanding.
An enjoyable trip, perhaps slightly too much partying but after the washouts in Lusaka perhaps that was understandable. Nevertheless, nobody will forget the Vic Falls, Gates’s performance at Panama Jacks, the continuing impact of the blazers and Rosenfeldt’s remarkable and self-destructive fines night. Two years and counting until the next trip.
Tour Squad Michael Chetwode, Alan Cope, Eds Copleston (capt), Alex Craven, Johnny Gates, Ed Henderson, Damien Hill, Rick Johnson, Sam Langmead, Rob Merry, Tom Merry, Mike Roper, Tristan Rosenfeldt, Henry Watkinson, Martin Williamson, Sam Worthy. Louise Chetwode, Keith Crump, Linda Crump, Grace Johnson, Melissa Johnson, Milly Johnson, Alice Smith.
