JOHN HENDLEY'S WOLVES TOUR BLOG: PART THREE
After training today came the Ashes match between six of The Warriors finest and six volunteers from the Wolves squad.
And there were plenty of them (volunteers) at first including Andy Keogh, who held the bat like he was playing baseball, and Stephen Ward, who announced that "this stick's heavy" when picking up the sacred willow.
But when I told them that Glenn McGrath was coming out of retirement for the game and that he was looking forward to sending a few lively ones down at The Poms, interest suddenly waned.
Glenn wasn't going to be there at all, I just wanted to wind them up. And that was a ploy which backfired because I ended up having to beg them to play before we accumulated the six players needed.
The match started in style with our skipper, Friendo, (George Friend to the uninitiated) losing the toss.
Stears opened the bowling and he got clobbered for ten off the first two balls. Things looked bleak but then he conjured up a brute of a delivery to trap Luke Pomersbach plumb in front.
The appeal was hysterical. I think the umpire feared for his life if he said 'not out' so the finger was raised.
When you think of the great bowlers that have played at the WACA, and the importance of some of the wickets that have fallen, you can totally understand the 'high fives' celebrations.
But this celebration for Stears' efforts proved totally alien to the ground and the sport.
Screaming like wailing banshees five members of the team piled on top of Stears who had thrown himself, Klinsmann style, to the floor in midwicket. It just wasn't cricket.
The match progressed and had they not allowed a little flexibility in knocking ten runs off their score every time they lost a wicket, the Warriors would have scored 103 in their six allotted overs - that's 17 an over.
But as they lost six wickets the target was 54 and, urged on by the likes of Henry, Kights, Hilly, Keogh and Marcus Hahnemann, our lads manfully set about their task.
When I say urged on, the batsmen found themselves victims of ribald comments and jeers from their own team-mates. Who needs a sledging Aussie with friends like that.
But somehow the winning target was reached and, on the day the real Ashes began on the other side of the world, first blood went to the Poms.
Meanwhile Karl Henry invaded the pitch and somehow managed to get himself on the picture of the two teams at the end when all he had done throughout proceedings was to heap scorn on his team.
Finally, a Platypus Update: I have been informed by staff members at The WACA, that Perth Zoo does indeed stock Platypuses. I'm booking a trip there on Sunday. Wonder if they have a bar?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Meanwhile Foz's replacement on the Australian exchange programme - Skippy the Kangaroo - was certainly not going to let today's cricketing events pass him by either....
