Well, it’s been a long time between rants by TWCC presidents in this section of the website! As you can see below, the last one was just over four years ago by long-standing president J.Shearer. I am now in my third year as president of this great club – and to be honest, the last 3 or 4 years have been much tougher in terms of on-field performances and player recruitment compared to the years leading up to my presidency. After winning the JCL division 1 title in 2009, we suffered our first ever defeat to the Chiba Sharks in the 2010 JCL final. It was hard to come to terms with losing to a side for the first time ever over a period of 9 years! The Sharks thought all of their christmas’ had come at once though….I’ll never forget David Lollback of the sharks grabbing a stump after we failed to overtake their target by the end of the 40th over…..we’re playing cricket in Japan Lollybags….where ya gonna take that stump? Back to the storage shed in Sano? Nothing against Dave of course….he’s a good mate. Anyway….life goes on….and the Sharks haven’t beaten us a second time yet….and we will hope to keep it that way next month when we face them again at Sano ground 3.
In 2011, Sano eliminated us in the semi final, but we had our chance for revenge in the 2012 grand final at Tanuma High School. Unfortunately, we were robbed of another JCL title in this game by a few dropped catches and poor umpiring decisions that went against us. Despite a darth of players during 2011 and 2012, I think we punched above our weight somewhat, especially in 2012, in getting to the final, so I am sure if we can pick up some new personnel in the next year or so, we will be back to our best sooner rather than later.
Of course, the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011, did not help to attract more cricketers to Japan! Many foreigners left the country…in droves actually….and since then we have struggled to attract regular players. Many wombats have come and gone over these few years…..but now is the time to rebuild, so all of you please put the feelers out and talk to your mates about how much fun it is to get on the piss with the wommies after a fun day of cricket.
From a social perspective though, we have continued to hold successful quiz nights and raise funds for the club….and some of the wombats out of the burrow, lead by stalwart Ian Gason, continue to attend the Chiang Mai sixes every year for some fun and games. Zulu is back in Tokyo and keen to play a few games (and making trouble wherever his red boxing shoes take him), captain Beath is ramping up efforts to make us a better catching side, however ex-president Shearer has gone missing of late, moving his place of residence to Fuji of all places. If the JCA was not so Sano-centric, Dino could probably play more games with us….but unfortunately this year, he will only act as treasurer of the club. Hopefully next year we will secure a better mix of Fuji and Sano games.
That’s about all from me then…..let’s make sure we get a win on the board against the sharks next month…and we can build from there. We do have one JCL game in Fuji (vs paddy foleys), so hopefully we can crank the BBQ after that game and continue the Tomei tradition on the way back. We also have a friendly scheduled for Sep 14 with the new Hokushinetsu team, which will be played in Fuji….so more meat and beers then too!
But wait…there’s more! I nearly forget to mention….the Tokyo Ashes are back!! Yes….word on the streets is that the British Embassy team is active again….so we have managed to secure a date to once again do battle for the Tokyo Ashes!! This great event continued for many years until the British Embassy team folded a few years back. In fact, the Wombats have never lost the Tokyo Ashes….so we must certainly fire up for this clash. The date is set for November 2 in Fuji….on the newly laid pitch of Fuji 1 actually….which also has a lovely outfield, so expect a comfortable fielding experience minus the bobblies. A BBQ will of course follow this match. Sausages or burgers? I will let you all vote on that one.
OK then….make sure you all check the fixtures page and free up your schedules!!
Cheers,
Alex Koolhof – President