Ali Hits 95 as Debutant Honda Shifts into Overdrive

by Max Turnbull

The morning of the 20th brought a sense of familiarity for some and thoughts of ‘who in their right mind wakes up at 5am to play cricket in Tokyo’ for others. Yet here we are, off the back of a bitter loss in round one the Wombats were poised to show the league that we can still put the ball on the pitch. The Wombats decided to bat after winning the toss, possibly after flipping a coin, consulting a crystal ball, or just sensing the pitch vibes.

Opening the innings, Masaki Kawashima surprised all new comers with his elegant straight bat had the middle order licking their lips after professionally taking the shine off the ball. Muhammad Ali, not the heavyweight champ but certainly the top order marauder, pounded 95 off 92 — narrowly missing out on a century because cricket likes to tease. He slapped 9 fours and a six that probably frightened a nearby flock of birds. Max Turnbull (51 off 47) added flair and finesse with one of the most village half centuries ever seen by man before getting run out in what might’ve been a mix-up or a brilliant plan by his partner to retain strike. Guy Dormer (22* off 14) and Ieuan Hames (12 off 6) threw late punches to propel the Wombats to 262/6 in their 40 overs.

Extras decided to show up strong, contributing a generous 25 runs — almost enough to make the team of the week. The Rising Stars, needing 263, probably regretted not bringing a priest, a fortune teller, or at least an umbrella.

James Honda, the humble debutant, bowled like a man possessed, taking 4 wickets for 37 runs — snapping the top order like snack-sized pretzels. Kavin Jinasena (2/28) and Rasika Ethugala (1/34) added polish to the performance.  Muhammad Ali wasn’t content with just batting glory – applying the pressure with some tight off-spin to give Jimmy Honda got a well deserved rest, despite a head high full toss on the first ball his tidy 0/27 showed apparently being good at one thing just isn’t enough anymore.

With this emphatic win, the Tokyo Wombats proved why they’re the apex marsupials of JCL Division 2. The Rising Stars? Well, they’ll shine another day — but maybe after some serious net sessions and a chat about the art of not getting run out, bowled, or mysteriously disappearing from the scorecard.