Today was the day the team had been waiting for. The first game of the tour; and a day night game at that.

It took nearly an hour driving through the streets of Delhi to reach the Jamia Hamdard University Cricket Ground . On arrival the ground looked exactly like how an Indian cricket ground should look. There were four men operating the electric roller, one to drive and three to hold the power cord. The outfield was green but with potholes and rubbish. The Pavilion was a well appointed shed complete with sofas and working toilet.

Larry lost the toss and we were given the task of bowling. We all looked professional in our black tour shirts and black pants, except the Cougar who is still under the impression that navy is the new black. After team photos we took to the field with more enthusiasm and chatter than had been seen or heard for a long time in Masters cricket.

The pitch was completely grassless, rolled clay and bound to break up during the game. Frank took the new (white) ball and first up induced a legside edge which Morrie as keeper promptly fumbled and dropped. Wayne opened from the other end with a series of full tosses that were dispatched to all parts of the ground . One hit the ball travelled quickly over the ground. Although a full size field it was going to be ones or fours. Frank and Wayne each took an early wicket, but the runs just kept leaking. Franks five overs were fantastic, the batters did not like his pace and bounce.

Wickets fell at a regular rate, but all the opposition batters could hit the ball well and often off good balls as well as bad. Once past a fielder a four was invariably scored. Our enthusiasm was damped when first the Cougar and then Frank limped off the field with muscle strains (Groin, heart and hamstring). With only 10 fielders the run leak became a flood.

I took great pleasure in bowling Amit, an opposition player who arrived with his man carrying his bag. The man unpacked and packed the bag and stood five metres behind Amit all the time. Amit batted like he owned half of Delhi, he probably does.

The white ball was being hammered and fell apart by the 30^th over and had to be replaced . At the end of 40 overs the opposition, The Victory Team had scored 291 runs for seven wickets, a run rate of over 7 an over!

Lunch was from a local bakery consisting of chicken burgers, coleslaw sandwiches and crisps. As with all Indian food the food was tasty and had a tang.

Brad and myself opened the batting and got off to good start maintaining a six an over run rate. After a typically streaky start I hit a couple of sixes and retired at 41. Brad became our third injury casualty of the day but still got some runs. The opposition bowlers were a mixed lot with some interesting actions (chuckers!), but they bowled the right length and we never able to maintain the necessary run rate. Robin batted very well for 39 and everyone else got a start and a few runs. In the spirit of international co-operation the Indian captain allowed us an extra 10 overs to chase their score and all 12 of the WAMs batting plus the two retired batsmen (me and Robin) returning we batted into the night under the lights. I managed to slog three more sixes and finished not out on 66 with team making 242 runs off 45 overs. Everyone enjoyed themselves, even the injured and the two WAM WAGs who took heaps of photos.

After some photos and presentations to the opposition and the excellent umpire, it was back on the bus with an esky of Kingfisher Extra Strong for journey back to the Hotel.

It was a very pleasant evening so we went outside to celebrate the day's cricket in the garden. A very large bill was racked up the team as they celebrated a great day’s cricket. Goodness knows how much would have been spent if we had won.