Howzat!

The Bahrain Camels enjoyed the perfect warm-up for their forthcoming tour to England by thrashing a star-studded International XI by 127 runs at the Rugby Club in Saar at the weekend.

The Camels faced a stiff challenge from the International XI who recently recorded two handsome victories against the Awali Taverners at the Awali Oval.
On grass however, the International XI failed to live up to their reputation.
The Camels scored 231 runs for two in 24 overs while the International XI managed only 104 and were all out in 18 overs.
A combination of belligerent batting by the Camels and sub-standard bowling from the International XI meant the tourists scored at almost 10 an over for the entire innings.
To give every player a chance to bat, batsmen had to retire on reaching 20.
Every Camel, barring two, made it to 20. Multi-centurion, Sanjay Rathod was caught one-handed by a diving Bill Jeffries off his first ball, while Matt Davies fell to a superb reaction catch by Dave Willis at first slip.
Aswini Sharma, Ahmed Isamail, David Axtell, Mark Seaman, Tony Shepherd, Sandeep Soneja, Mike Williams and Feroze all powered and punched the ball, peppering the short boundaries with fours and sixes.
The Camel’s winning innings was only slowed by the diligent bowling of Hamish McCallum and Guy Parker who were the only two bowlers to consistently bowl on a line and length although even McCallum was not immune to punishment as Seaman hit him out of the ground over the longest boundary.
It was a different story for the International XI’s innings. Where the Internationals had bowled full-tosses and half-trackers, the camels bowled a good length and allowed the wicket to do its work.
This strategy was ideal for the Camel’s opening bowler, Steve Turner, who ripped through the International XI’s top order resulting in the first three Internationals scoring only one run between them. Only Bill Jeffries reached 20 in an otherwise miserable batting performance.
All the camels bowled well … an excellent augury for the upcoming eight-match UK tour starting on July 15. It is their 13th consecutive tour of the UK and this year, their first four matches against the Barmy Army, Victoria Festival XI, Belvoir Castle XI and Bingham CC will be quartered at the world-famous test ground at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire.
They will also play one match at Leicestershire’s Grace Road. The Camels will then move to the Dales of North Yorkshire for four more exciting fixtures.