2024 - Paris
Day 2
By: Tom Cason
With multiply daily direct flights to Paris, you’d think the tour difficulties wouldn’t start until the squad had to deal with the French’s aversion to speaking English, but things went awry before most had started their Friday, as Damo missed an alarm and then a flight. Fortunately there were seats available on the afternoon flight and he arrived with the majority of the squad mid afternoon.
The tour started with a scenic walk from the Eiffel tower to the Louvre, followed by three courses of classic French cuisine and matching vino to round out a quiet but satisfying evening.
The games for the weekend were at the Standard Athletic Club, which has been providing a touch of home to (mostly British) immigrants since 1890. The pitch looked fantastic, with a lush outfield and a backdrop of trees around three quarters of the ground. A video report of the first day’s play is on its way from our resident drone pilot (Thomas), so I’ll leave the tails of ducks and rain delays to him. For now it is enough to know it was a hard fought battle followed by pints and snooker, then steaks and wine.
Day 2 began with a classic French breakfast of croissants and coffee, followed by some more transport complications, with a local running event causing closures to roads around the ground. Some of us managed to exit our taxis a few kms from the ground and enjoy a google maps assisted walk the rest of the way, while others followed the runners in the wrong direction, eventually arriving at the ground in the nick of time to suit up for our bowling effort.
The SAC innings started well, with a couple of good partnerships setting the locals up for a solid total, but some tidy catching and fielding backed up the bowling, and a steady flow of wickets reigned them in after drinks and SAC were restricted to a respectable but gettable 184. Highlights were a couple of great catches behind the stumps, a pair of runouts, and 2 wickets for Thomas Townsend (2/25). Aneesh (1/34 off 7) and Damon (1/25 off 8) also deserve kudos for some tight bowling keeping the run rate in check.
After an Indian feast for lunch, SAC came out firing with a tight opening spell, picking up 2 wickets in the 2nd over including an absolute peach to rattle the bails and give Thomas the first Aliens golden duck of the season. Aneesh also didn’t trouble the scorers, and by the time their first change came on and picked up Damon (20) in the 9th over, we were 4/32 and starting to feel the pressure. Fortunately the experienced Dennis joined the fresh faced Avra to settle heartrates and lower blood pressures, putting on 37 before Dennis mistimed a drive to mid-on for 25.
I walked out at #7 feeling less than confident after my 2nd ball duck on Saturday, but with Avra chirping away at the other end we set to pushing the slower bowlers around the field and running way too many 1s and 2s. After we’d put on 60 Avra (35) chased a wide ball and popped one up to point, returning to the sheds to rest his weary legs.
That was enough to get us within striking range, needing 46 of the remaining 9 overs. After a cameo from Milton (4) was ended by a screamer at mid-on, Branson (2*) strode to the crease with gritted teeth, ready to grind out the remaining 12 runs. Fortunately, with a few runs to go, the SAC opener tried to bounce one off my helmet, and I got enough on it to clear fine leg and bring the game to a close with a couple of overs to spare. The slow over rate meant we were too late for beers in the clubhouse, but the bistrot near the hotel gave us all we asked for, including Pernod Ricard for those who felt the need.
Monday saw a bunch of sore bodies making their way home on flights throughout the day, and as if to bookend the trip Damo and I came within 15 minutes of missing ours. Lucky you had me there Crawfo.
Thanks all for making it another successful tour, and especially to Boxy who endured a slow train from Germany to make dinner on Friday night, and all the Parisian ring-ins who helped us secure the victories. Two solid performances set us up for a strong start to the season. SAC were a worthy opponent and Paris a great destination. I’m sure we’ll be back in the future.
