Ibiza CC's Benidorm Tour
IBIZA C.C.'s annual Benidorm trip vs "SPORTING" ALFAS C.C.
7/11/09 30 overs match.
Ibiza batted first for a change and managed a respectable 154 for 8 wickets off the 30 overs, with Adam "Big man" Johnston contributing 42 and Stuart "Bradford" Browne 43, while "Cocoa" Fowler hit a defiant 21 not out; Alfas' best bowler, Wasim Ur-Rehman finished with 3 for 18. However, this match was against the Spanish cricket league's leading team, which includes several players who also play for Spain, and they achieved the target with a couple of overs to spare, with Mark Spencer scoring 54 and Gary Crompton 46, winning by 5 wickets. This match marked the last game captained by the irrepressible Martin"Shaggy" Makepeace, after 4 years in charge, including winning the Balearic Cup in 2007, and seeing Ibiza C.C. win more matches than they lost over several seasons.
8/11/09 35 overs match.
One minute's silence was observed by all players for the sad disappearance on Saturday 7/11/09 of one of Sporting Alfas' leading players and founder members, Clive Woodbridge, who was instrumental in obtaining recognition for the club and substantially increasing its fixtures.
Ibiza once again went against the habit of previous years to bat first, which, given the festivities of the night before, was possibly optimistic, and this decision made by the new Ibiza captain Jeremy "Beamer" Parmenter on winning the toss, was greeted somewhat ironically by the Alfas captain (let's call him "Big Phil" to protect his identity), who suggested that Ibiza wanted the match completed quickly!
In any event, Ibiza eventually were all out for 146 in 32 overs, which was reasonable, after having been at 22 for 3 early on, and achieved with a robust 61 from Chris "Xav" Xavier, an uncharacteristic 30 from Robin "Hood" Parmenter, and a brief cameo of 22 from Adam Johnston. Alfas' bowlers were consistently accurate, with Bob Norton (3 for 28) and Pete Packiam (2 for 13) doing the most damage.
This target was at least 40 runs short, and with Alfas "2nd"X1 including a couple of Spain team players and notably the talented all rounder Fran Upzal (who scored an unbeaten century in the 2008 Sunday fixture), they reached it by the 31st over, with Fran Upzal on 57 not out, assisted by Karl Packiam with 33, winning by 7 wickets. Stuart Browne was the most successful Ibiza bowler with 2 for 27.
All in all, this was an enjoyable weekend for all Ibiza players and signalled the traditional end of season trip to Benidorm for a couple of nights out with friends, not forgetting to play some cricket! It is worth commenting however that this writer was led to believe by the Alfas Sunday captain a few years ago that the Sunday fixture was always supposed to be an opportunity for the club's less regular players and youngsters to get a game against a generally weaker visiting team, as the 1st X1 always plays on the Saturday. This "tradition" seems to have disappeared in the last couple of years with the inclusion of 1st X1 and Spanish team members in the Sunday game, which is a pity, given that it is the end of the season for Ibiza, with several first team players always unavailable.
In other Ibiza C.C. news, after the recent AGM, the new committee has now been confirmed as follows:
Martin Makepeace: Chairman
Jeremy Parmenter: Captain
Lyn Carpenter: Treasurer
Adrian Ireland: Fixtures Secretary
Paul Ambrose: Social Secretary
Robin Parmenter: Press Secretary
That's it for now,
Yours, RP Hood.