CRICKET IN CLAPHAM

I went to Clapham Common to watch Shaun and his team play cricket. It is fairly social stuff. They drink from cans of beer when fielding. The teams are 8-a-side and they play for twenty overs each innings. It is clearly a lot of fun.

When we arrived, there was a team of Aussies playing the game before. Shaun and his mate Alban knew these guys because they had played against them before. Interestingly enough, Shaun played a team of South Africans. So it was an Antipodean gathering. Unfortunately for Shaun and his team, the South African team they played were far superior. They scored 213 and Shaun's team scored 99.

It was difficult conditions to play in. The ground was wet and players, who mostly had sneakers not cricket boots with sprigs, slipped over from time to time. It was also showery (fortunately not all the time) and it got quite cold so it was a little unpleasant to stand and watch for several hours. I did enjoy it though. The banter was great. We went for a beer to a pub called The Alexandra and watched NZ play Pakistan at Twenty20 cricket.