Down under in the Old Dart

I have travelled half way across the world to play cricket in the Old Dart and the only bowlers I have faced are Aussies.

It’s like facing up at Lorn Park and seeing the likes of Matthew Trappel, Andrew Kealy or Michael Eccleston ready to send down another delivery against Northern Suburbs, just with different scenery and sporting a vest to battle the slightly colder conditions.

Alright, I may be over exaggerating, it was not that cold (I actually wore thongs, or should I say flip flops, for three days in England) and not all the bowlers I faced were Aussies – there were some New Zealanders and South Africans as well.

In all seriousness, out of the four matches I played in, just three of the bowlers I confronted were Englishmen.

At Old Hill against the Midlands Club Cricket Conference, we were up against Belmont all rounder and NSW Country Representative Mark Littlewood (4-11 from six overs).

It was a similar story with the bat.

In the same match Littlewood (38 not out) combined with QLD Country Representative, and comfortably the best batsman we have come up against this tour, Brian May (80 not out) to ease the home team to victory.

Four days later against the Middlesex League XI at Ealing, it was 2006 Australian under-19 representative Jackson Bird (2-15 from six overs) as well as two other Australians, two New Zealanders and a South African.

Against the Club Cricket Conference (CCC) at Bushey Park, Teddington, it was South African Wes Morrick (78) who did the damage.

And in the AOC’s final match in Pommie Land the tourists were up against the internationals again with Auckland opening bowler and English county player Lance Shaw (5-30 off 15 overs) and Australian Michael King (4-66 off 14.4 overs) playing the starring role for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Arundel Castle.

Unfortunately we went down in all five of our matches in England but we were up against some tough opposition.

Our final match at Arundel Castle, the same venue that has been used by the Australian team for its first match of previous Ashes Tours, presented the best opportunity for a win and the AOC fell just 11 runs short of the 184 runs required for victory in the time and declaration match.

Batting at nine, Rob Flanagan made a dashing 27 not out in pursuit of victory instead of shutting up shop and playing for a draw against the MCC, the oldest cricket club in the world.

Flanagan also took 3-36 from his 11 overs in that match and Terry Humphreys bowled tightly for figures of 1-45 from 18 overs, which included eight maidens.

In other matches Flanagan was the only batsman to stand up at Old Hill with a fighting 47 while Humphreys also made a fine half-century against the CCC.

The match against the CCC was a special one for the AOC because it will most likely prove to be the last overseas innings (36) for Australaian rugby league representative and AOC veteran Les Johns, who embarked on his final world tour in 2008.

We played on some magnificent and historic grounds, saw the big London sights (Lords, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Wimbledon, Baker Street and Madame Tussauds), visited Shakespeare in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and discovered the real meaning of lunch and tea at the cricket.

I also have a greater appreciation of why the Ashes means so much to the Australians and after suffering a white wash in England (although nowhere near the scale or importance of the battle between the national teams) all I want to do is go back and beat the Poms.

Josh Callinan

Pic: Holding up the Belmore, I mean, Tower Bridge.

Castles, customs and Cuddles

From downtown Dublin we left for Glascow, Scotland, in an aircraft more suited for Fred Flinstone than flying.

But we arrived safely, despite one Northern Suburbs player (aka Terry Humphreys), who joined the tour in Dublin, attempting to get through customs without his passport - Oh Terry!

We settled in Coatbridge, ten minutes outside Glascow, and before long we had picked up a straggler from the side of the street.

He was a rough looking bloke with thin brown hair and bloodshot eyes from the night before and he was wearing a red tracksuit top, dirty shorts and no socks.

Welcome aboard Josh “Cuddles” Geary.

Cuddles, better known in Maitland as the opening batsman for Northern Suburbs who counts himself dreadfully unlucky not to bowl more, is currently playing for Dumfries in one of the Scottish national leagues, and he decided to join up with the AOC World Tour for a week.

For the sake of his parents Pat and Trish, who will be reading this from the comforts of their Ashtonfield lounge room, I will spare you all the stories but Rob “Flash” Flanagan and I looked after him, he always had a roof over his head and overall, he is doing well.

Although, he may need some more money, new underwear and a pair of fresh socks, sooner rather than later, to survive the fresh Scottish summer.

In Glascow we played two matches at Drumpellier, including one against former NSW player Ed Cowan, for one win and one loss, while the final match, at Titwood (a one-day international approved ground), was washed out.

Flash scored valuable runs in game one to help us get across the line in the final over while Customs (aka Terry Humphreys) batted well for 74 runs on day two.

While in Glascow I tried haggis, (a local word for deep fried mince and let me tell you I won’t do that twice), had a week’s worth of the most satisfying hot breakfast’s and also managed to drink a couple of Tooheys Extra Dry at the Walkabout Bar, which were easily the best brews of the tour.

If there is one thing I have learnt while being away, it’s that Australia has the best tasting beer anywhere in the world.

What’s even better is that no one really knows about it other than Australians because the only beer from down under that is exported overseas is Fosters – and no one in Australia drinks Fosters.

From Glascow we went to Edinburgh for a night, with the likes of Keira Knightly and co for the film festival and a sneaky look at the infamous castle.

From the land of Loch Ness it is onto the Old Dart for a five match series (Bring on the Ashes!).

Josh Callinan

Pic: Edinburgh Castle

In love with the luck of the Irish

I have been swept off my feet, I am completely and madly in love, and I am down on one knee ready to propose.

Ireland, will you marry me?

From the moment I laid eyes on the evergreen fields that lace the land of leprechauns and four leaf clovers, Ireland and its people have cast a magic spell on me stronger than a Harry Potter potion at Hogwartz.

It started with the girl at the airport who generously gave me the inside running on what pubs to frequent in Dublin, then the gentleman at customs smiled and let me through without a landing card, and to top it all off, the luggage trolleys were on the house.

Just when you thought it could not get any better, it did – the Australian Old Collegians (AOC) squad was picked up by a bus company called Callinan Coaches (Coach of the Year 2008).

It’s only the best service for Aussies in Ireland!

But the dream run did not stop there, it just upgraded from Erin McNaught to Jessica Alba.

Instead of going straight to the hotel we were transported directly from the airport, with uniforms still on and luggage in the boot, to the welcoming gates of Ireland’s finest institution – the Guiness Factory (I’m not sure if this says anything about the Callinan drinking habits but that’s another story!).

With such a top start to the morning it was little wonder that I felt completely at ease upon arrival in Ireland, especially coming from The Big Apple.

What a contrast downtown Dublin was when compared to the hustle and bustle of downtown New York and a district like Times Square.

In Ireland the district is Temple Bar and after a grade three Chinese burn it was off next door to this mystical community and the luck of the Irish kept falling our way – the beer was cold, the live Irish music was playing and the people were just happy.

The Irish are so friendly, so easy going and show a genuine interest in talking to you and sharing a laugh, actually, lots of laughs.

On the cricket field we won two from two (Malahide and then Strabane in Northern Ireland) and both were 10 run thrillers where victory was only secured in the final over.

I picked up two man-of-the-match awards, skippered the team at Malahide and broke my captain’s duck on tour but it was the shenanigans afterwards that struck harder than a Brett Lee bouncer.

Following the official post match presentation and dinner we shared in some sterling renditions of traditional Irish ballads like Danny Boy and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.

We quickly replied with some Aussie classics such as Waltzing Matilda and Advance Australia Fair (despite the fact that most of us, except the man known as Stuart “the human iPod” Aley, only knew the first verse and chorus of both tunes).

Another Irish highlight, another magic moment, another reason to fall in love with Ireland.

The only thing left for me to decide is when I am coming back.

And that all depends on whether or not she accepts my proposal!

Josh Callinan

Pic: Another Guiness anyone?

Do you guys play baseball?

If I had a dollar for every time that a North American asked me what cricket was, I would not have paid for a beer in the last two weeks.

“It’s just like baseball” I explain to the avid and inquisitive, yet slightly confused, American sports fan – “but better”.

This response has reeled in more perplexed expressions than Daryl Cullinan facing Shane Warne but it has definitely been worthwhile.

So has the North American leg of the Australian Old Collegians (AOC) World Tour.

From a surprise helicopter ride over Niagra Falls (on my 22^nd birthday) to the depths of despair at Ground Zero in New York, and from the hallow turf of Yankee Stadium to the heights of the CN Tower in Toronto – the last two weeks have been an absolute whirl wind.

And although the beer in this part of the world does not taste anywhere near as good as Tooheys Extra Dry on a summer’s afternoon, or any afternoon for that matter, it has not seemed to matter at all.

On the field during the last two weeks we have played five matches and won three against players ranging in abilities from Canadian internationals to rich, retired businessmen.

Our first match in Vancouver was played at Brockton Park, which lies within the confines of Canada’s beautiful Stanley Park.

It is a venue, which has been described by Sir Donald Bradman as the “prettiest ground in the world”.

And after playing cricket amidst the greenest of grass, seemingly endless rows of long, slender pine trees, superbly crafted totem poles, on the edge of a beautiful harbour, with ice capped mountains in the background – it is hard to disagree.

Beacon Hill Park in Victoria (Vancouver Island) was also picturesque while in the east of the country, the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club proved difficult to play on with a hessian mat-like surface laid on top of an unprepared pitch.

But another venue highlight, besides a pub in Victoria aptly named the Sticky Wicket (we definately got stuck on a sticky wicket that night), would have to be our unscheduled match in the heart of New York’s famous Central Park.

A group of nine Australians playing cricket as a stream of yellow taxi cabs drove past and passers-by stared in our direction as if to say – that’s not baseball.

Consequently that morning, my faithful Slazenger V1200 made history by becoming the first ever cricket bat (as far as I am aware) in the Empire State Building, Madison Square Gardens and Times Square.

The people have been just as random as the experiences and who would have thought that half way across the world you could meet so many travellers from Maitland.

First of all, former Maitland Mercury sports journalist Cecilia Peoples watched our match at Brockton Park, then Maitland cricket umpire Glen Crew was lining up for a helicopter ride at Niagra Falls, and I also met the brother of my Year 8 metal work teacher (So, if you read this Mr McGrath, your brother and his wife said to say hello).

An amazing fortnight and with 31 days still to look forward to – bring on the UK!

Josh Callinan

PS – I am in serious trouble on the euchre score board. Flash 11 – Cal 4.

Pic: "Take me out to the ball game." Me at Yankees Stadium in its final year before being demolished.