Foundation XI – 2013 Tour of England | The International Cricket Hall of Fame.

16 July 2013
A warm & sunny day greeted the Bradman Foundation XI as we made the short drive on the M4 to Wokingham to play the Lord’s & Commons. Ashes tension was high as we arrived at the beautiful new ground & pavilion and although there was only one wicket to fall at Trent Bridge, no one was allowed to leave their seats until the lunch break. Needless to say, the break proved fatal for the Aussies and our match eventually took priority.

Batting first, the BFXI made a cautious start due to the early loss of Andrew Dean, a victim to our host John Redwood MP and Andy’s own over-exuberance the night before, stating his desire to open. There were no such flirtations from Hayden Kerr who pounced like a cougar on anything short or full to motor past his previous score at Belvoir. Ably assisted by Garth Dean until he top-edged a delivery onto his lip to retire hurt at 19, Hayden continued the onslaught to reach his century with a six. He retired on 105 but back playing for the BFXI and in front of his parents for the first time, Nish Dagli produced another classy innings of 58 retired. Despite a midweek trip to Scotland, Duncan forgot to bring his Andy Murray Wimbledon racquet and was deceived by the tennis ball bounce but good hitting from Luke Hanrahan in his first game on tour allowed the total to reach 4-243 from our 35 overs.

A sumptuous tea break was a welcome relief from the warm conditions and the opening attack of Peter Cox & Luke Hanrahan kept the scoring to a modest rate, despite some poor fielding from the BXFI. Luke took the first wicket in the 8th over to have the Lord’s & Commons at 1-33 however the next 15 overs were expensive, once again assisted by some poor catching & fielding as though it was granting a parliamentary privilege to our hosts. Hayden Kerr was brought on to restore the faith and gained the vital wicket of Darlington for a well made 47. A couple of run-outs sealed the fate of the home team but not before opener James Morris MP completed an outstanding 100 not out in the last over. The Lord’s & Commons finished at 5-217 for a well deserved victory to the BFXI.
Peter Buscall

09 July 2013
The magnificent Belvoir Castle hosted our match on July 8 and after meeting the Duchess of Rutland and a tour of the castle, the two teams made the short drive to the cricket ground. Lunch was followed by the toss and upon winning the verdict, the Duchess XI captain Darren Bicknall chose to bat first on a wicket which suggested a bit of help was on offer to the bowlers.

After a close encounter with a chilli the previous evening, Hayden Kerr was fired up and steamed in to take two early wickets but the local middle order produced some good partnerships to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Making up the numbers for the home team, Nish Dagli produced a bright & breezy innings of 34 to set back the Bradman cause and along with a good knock by Darren Bicknall, the Duchess XI was all out for 216 in the final over. Showing their talent & versatility, Michael Johns bowled a few unplayable deliveries to finish with 3-13 and Wayne Loader took 3 catches & 2 stumpings with the wicket-keeping gloves.

The resumption of play saw the early wicket of captain Duncan Macpherson, chopping one onto his stumps as the result of movement & slow bounce however still fired up, Hayden Kerr launched into a frenzy of fours, ten in total, before a premature shot to a slower ball spooned an easy catch to end a promising innings of 45. Ken Preston & Wayne Loader kept the scoreboard moving at a steady rate to stay ahead but the introduction of spin saw Darren Bicknall (4-15) put in very large dent into the Bradman middle order, aided & abetted with some good catching from Nish. Despite double figure contributions from most batsman, the tide had turned against the BFXI and we were all out for 170, 46 runs short.

Our many thanks to the Duchess & Darren Bicknall for their warm hospitality & friendship. The beauty of Belvoir Castle provided a stunning background to a wonderful game of cricket played in the right spirit, although Nish was invited to ring the local taxi company for a ride home!! Dinner & drinks at the Manner Arms completed an outstanding day and we look forward to our next visit to Belvoir.
Buckets

08 July
The magnificent Belvoir Castle hosted our match on July 8 and after meeting the Duchess of Rutland and a tour of the castle, the two teams made the short drive to the cricket ground. Lunch was followed by the toss and upon winning the verdict, the Duchess XI captain Darren Bicknall chose to bat first on a wicket which suggested a bit of help was on offer to the bowlers.

05 July
Under sunny skies, the Bradman Foundation XI battled the MCC at the postage stamp sized Nursery Ground at Lord’s. On arrival, the team was applauded by a large group of schoolboys who were attending for practice in the Cricket Academy nets.

After that stirring welcome, a number of players availed themselves of the opportunity to have a short net practice in the very impressive indoor Academy complex. The group was delighted by the arrival by the Foundation Executive Director, Rina Hore, fresh off her plane from Australia.

MCC won the toss and batted. Their start was cautious and excellent bowling by Dave Talbert ( 8overs,1 for23,) and Hayden Kerr ( 7 overs, 2 for 30) kept MCC to 2 for 99 at the drinks break after 21 overs.

They received good initial support from Greg Griffith and Wayne Loader, however the MCC batsmen then got on top of the bowling and ended up with 4 for 301, with 2 century makers. This was considered about par for the small oval, so was not an unrealistic target.

The Bradman XI got off to a slow start, but Ryan Haigh then started to strike the ball sweetly. He was finally dismissed for 53.

A thrilling partnership of 99 between Andrew Lowe and James Crowley then took place, before James was dismissed by a freakish catch for 35. Duncan Macpherson and Andrew Lowe then combined until Andrew was dismissed for 80.

At this stage Bradman needed 10 runs an over and the task proved just too much. MCC bowled a very tight line and eventually we fell short by 41 runs, scoring a very creditable 7 for 260. Duncan scored a stylish 37 and Nish Dagli remained 20 not out and Andrew Dean 10 not out. The MCC proved just a little too strong in all facets of the game, but The BFXI was certainly not disgraced.

The match was played in a very good spirit, set up by the good captaincy of Duncan Macpherson and Graeme Rickham. Bradman came its closest to beating MCC and we will look forward to the next memorable opportunity.

This was certainly a day to savour and will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the tour.
Peter Cox

30 June
It was a happy & glorious day at Sheffield Park to open our tour of England and a good crowd assembled to enjoy the beautiful gardens & historic setting. Upon winning the toss, the Sheffield Park XI batted first and made a very fast start of 78 runs from the first 10 overs. However, the introduction of John Morris & Greg Griffiths into the attack resulted in two wickets to stem the flow of runs. After the drinks break, a silly run-out of their number 3 batsman attempting a third run for a well made 60 saw a dramatic collapse to 9-138. Thoughts of chasing a small total started to disappear as the Sheffield Park captain, an opener masquerading as a number 11, batted sensibly to defend and eventually attack the Bradman bowlers to register a half century and an unbeaten 10th wicket partnership of 75 to amount a total of 9-213. The best BFXI bowlers were John Morris with 3-40 (8) & Andrew Dean 2-35 (7).

In reply, after a wonderful tea break, the early loss of Ryan Haigh brought James Crowley to the crease. Runs started to flow with great fluency with James dispatching anything short or wide to the boundary. However, most of the bowling was tight on the stumps, especially from captain Tim Davy (3-19) producing a steady flow of wickets. Once Crowley was finally dismissed for a magnificent 86, the run rate became too difficult although tail end resistance from Thos, Peter Cox & John Morris held out to leave the Bradman Foundation XI at 9-188 from our 40 overs.

Our thanks to the National Trust and the Armadillos CC for a wonderful day of cricket at this beautiful ground. Sheffield Park was the home of Lord Sheffield, the man who donated our Sheffield Shield and the ground has hosted many Australian touring teams during the time of WG Grace, as featured on the clubhouse wall. For the Bradman Foundation XI, it was an honour and a privilege to commence our tour on this historic ground and as the shadows lengthened across the pitch, good cheer between the teams emphasised the importance of the location and the spirit of cricket between Australia & England.

Thanking you and cheers for now,
Buckets