Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
In week that saw the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth, it was a bleak house for the Australian Desert Ashes Team, writes Trevor Burt.
Doug Perrins is that most unusual of men – an eloquent, mild mannered Australian. He is also the man saddled with carrying the burden of being the captain of the Australian team. In their annual match with England, Dough performed heroics with the bat, scoring 41 not out and then could only watch as the rest of his side succumbed to both the incessant RAF marching music and the Scrooge-like England bowling; Keith Sinclair starring with three wickets in the same number of overs for a miserly 17 runs.
Peter Fryer ran in, in a manner reminiscent of Magwitch, capturing two Aussie wickets in two overs for as few runs as Oliver Twist had pieces of meat on his plate. All in all, the tale of two teams unfolded in England’s favour, as they rattled up a huge score of 262 for 6 in 24 overs.
Australia’s 23 wides kept pace with the marching band of the RAF squadron, while Paddy Bateson (25), Peter Hunt (20), Bob Hope (21), Guy Parker (22) and Chris Bloodworth (20) flashed their blades like demented orchestral conductors.
Charles Forward smashed a brutal 38 as the Aussies toiled under the wintry Bahrain skies – as pale blue as an RAF uniform.
In reply, the Australians, most of whom had been dragged like Pip from the orphanage of the Australian Navy Command, could muster a mere 159 all out in 19.3 overs. The Australian bowling figures seemed to have been dragged from an Old Curiosity Shop and do not bear repetition.
England’s captain Keith Veryard, sporting a physiognomy that would make even Sam Weller blush, was as immodest in his victory speech as a modern-day Fagin with a pocket full of contents of other folk’s pockets.
Ignoring Veryard’s gloating and the cacophonous music, Lt Commander Robin Swift of the Royal Australian Navy was kind enough to present the desert Ashes Trophy to Veryard yet again.
The Desert Ashes is also a fitting memorial for Paul Moran, an Australian press reporter and stalwart Awali Taverness cricketer, who died in Iraq in the course of his duties. Before the game, a minute’s silence was observed by both teams in his honour.
