2005 Tour to Barbados, W.I.
TINO'S BARMY ARMY STORM BARBADOSAs England was reaching Ashes fever, Cardiff's cricketers headed out to the West Indies to tour Barbados, an island renowned for a rich cricket history. The tour, sponsored by DTZ, turned out to be a fairytale for the 14 players lucky enough to represent the University. After experiencing back-to-back defeats early on in the tour, the side met West Indian cricketer Tino Best on a night out. Quite incredibly, Tino turned up to play for Cardiff in their next game against local legends Maxwell CC. He chipped in with 54 runs and 3 wickets on his Cardiff debut, steering the tourists to the first of three wins on the tour.
Best is the fourth fastest bowler in the world, earning 11 Test caps for the West Indies. He ended up playing all of Cardiff's four remaining fixtures on the island, scoring a total of 249 runs and taking 11 wickets. He used the games as ideal preparation for the West Indies tour of Australia this winter, where he will be playing alongside Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul against Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting.
Pre-Tino, Cardiff struggled early on against schoolboy champions of the island, Combermere, who smashed 284 past the visitors in 30 overs; winning by a massive 150 run margin, despite Neil Mantell's five-wicket haul and guest captain Will Muse's gutsy innings of 46. The heat was unbearable and concentration was easily lost.
After that heavy defeat, Passage Road didn't make the tourists stay any easier. Muse continued his great form with his maiden century (105), ably supported by the top order of Chris Allen (34) and James Woodroof (27), as the side posted 191-7 from 35 overs. However, with the exception of left-arm spinner Pete Church (3-27), Cardiff's bowlers could not fathom the cross line batting typical of West Indian batsman, who favoured the aerial route, making the tourists endure some huge hits and expensive bowling figures. An improved performance still saw Cardiff unluckily suffer a 2-wicket defeat.
The third game was held at the picturesque ground of Maxwell CC, where debutant Tino Best (54) and Muse (66) steered the side to a comfortable 110 run victory. Although not bowling flat out, Best caused the batsman all sorts of problems with his pace and ferocity. He took that form into the next game against Friendship CC, as Cardiff posted a competitive 165-6 (Best 74, Muse 29, Woodroof 29). Best then took five wickets (including a hat-trick) and took one of the finest gully catches Barbados has ever seen, as Cardiff edged home by 24 runs. Everything in that game went through Tino; he had a magnetism to the ball, as all of the greatest players have.
Cardiff then returned to Passage Road to face their 1st team, and the locals smashed 244-9, which proved just too big for the visitors, who fell 63 runs short, despite Neil Mantell's best efforts (3-50 and 34 runs). The final game of the tour saw Best hit 94 and Ali Price 53 not out as Cardiff piled up 237-7 against Lodge School. Price, Cardiff's quickest and most aggressive bowler then did huge damage with the ball, destroying the opposition's top order with a combination of pace and bounce taking 4 wickets for 15 runs. He was lethal on what Cardiff viewed as a great batting track, guaranteeing a 124 run win for the University, with undeniably the best spell of bowling on tour.
The visitors also experienced a local phenomenon of tape ball cricket. Passage Road were the opposition once more, and the hosts really showed them how to play the game! Under floodlights, they use a tennis ball covered in white insulation tape to play a 25 over a side slog. It was an incredible experience, but playing under bright lights and the fast pace of the game was difficult to adjust to. Only Matthew Button-Stephens showed real grit with the bat (27) as the side slumped to 69 all out, 127 runs shy of their target.
Cardiff can now move into the new BUSA campaign with renewed confidence and energy, after learning from one of the world's greatest. Tino Best is the perfect example of professionalism; he taught the players so much, not just about the skills of cricket, but the attitude that is required to succeed. He wanted to win more than anyone, taking every ball as seriously as the last, even to the point of sledging the younger opposition! He is world renowned as one of the most enthusiastic players, justifying his nickname 'Animal'. However, under that fearsome exterior lies one of the nicest and most generous men in cricket, genuinely appreciating Cardiff's best efforts to accommodate the superstar. In a speech he made to the players, he thanked the side for making him feel like a genuine Cardiff player, and promised to dedicate his maiden 5-wicket Test match haul or half century to the team. Cardiff's players have always dreamt of playing Test cricket, and Tino gave them the next best thing, moments we will always cherish.
TOUR STATS
Batting:
P Runs HSNOs Average
1. Will Muse5258105051.6
2. Tino Best 424994062.25
3. Ali Price 510553*352.5
4. J.Woodroof58129016.2
5. Neil Mantell57134223.6
Bowling:
1.Tino Best: 21.4-1-76-11 (Average 6.9)
2.Neil Mantell: 19-0-142-9 (Average 15.7)
3.Ali Price: 22-0-127-7 (Average 18.1)
4.Pete Church: 20-1-144-6 (Average 24)
5.James Collins: 23-1-157-6 (Average 26.2)
2002 Tour to Barbados, W.I.
Cardiff University's Cricket Club returned recently from its hugely successful tour of the West Indies. Fifteen members left for Barbados on August 25th where they enjoyed a terrific ten nights, before a final four nights in Tobago.Bizarrely, the weather proved disruptive and acounted for the abandonment of three of the seven fixtures. Monsoon season meant that the island's climate was less hospitable than its inhabitants. The matches completed were a real treat however. Although they may now deny it, many of the party were approaching the cricket with a good deal of trepidation.
In fact, the opposition was poor at times, while in other matches where it was of a slightly superior quality, challenging and competitive matches were ensured. The team certainly did not let themselves down, winning two and losing two. Ian Jack's batting performance in the first game was the only point at which the entire team was genuinely humiliated.
The encounter with West Indies University at their campus ground, was unforgettable. At a venue recently graced by Australia, Cardiff performed at their impressive best to dismiss the hosts for only 124.
Ben Warwick, Joe Robinson and Ed Jones all took wickets. The pace and accuracy of the opposing bowlers then provided a severe examination of the Cardiff batting. Andy Diggles, Will Muse, Ian Jack and Ed Jones all made good contributions but captain Steve Clarke was awarded the task of smashing the opening bowler for nine runs off the last four deliveries to win the game. The captain failed, but the narrow defeat could not spoil what had been a tremendous occasion.
A shambolic defeat to Combermere School was the team's only other loss. An embarassing low occurred when, during the Combermere innings, the batsman decided that having hit Alex Tucker's first two balls for six, continuing to bat right handed was an unnecessary bore.
The team recovered by cruching another of the local schools, Alma Parris, soon after. Lloyd Ebden, Muse, Jones, and Tucker again made runs while the tour's leading wicket takers, Jack and Robinson, ripped through the opposition batting.
Many of the off-the-field antics will also live long in the hearts and minds of the club's players. Having paid their entrance fees, heavyweights Muse and Sam Sheppard were inspiring in their destruction of the free bar. In their case, Barbados reluctantly witnessed binge drinking on a scale almost unheard of on the island.
Days without matches were filled with an excellent programme of activities. Perhaps most memorable was the Catamaran trip along the coast. Stopping twice to snorkle over a ship-wreck and then with turles, before being treated to a fine lunch and a free bar. Ben Warwick's demolition of the vessel's beer supply was as astonishing as his behaviour later that day. In central Bridgetown, a 6ft 7" ranting Englishman is a little hard to hide and it took several team members some hours to nurse him back to physical and mental health.
Even so, Warwick earned the sincere gratitude of everyone on tour for the work that he put in to ensure the trip was such a success. Thank you Ben. Now, where to in 2005?
