It's been a busy few days - they always are - and since Friday's trip to Werribee I've been all over the place doing all sorts of stuff. I'll begin, naturally enough, at the beginning - Saturday, and my debut and quite possibly only game of cricket for Koonung Heights IVth XI, against the "all-the-gear-but-no-idea" might of Park Orchard CC. We were on the back of an 18 game unbeaten streak while Park Orchard were, apparently, bottom of the table (or "the ladder", as they call it here).
Dunno if we won the toss or not, but we were fielding first in this 40/40 encounter, and I came on to bowl after about 20 overs, with Park's innings delicately poised on about 85/2. Over began dot, dot, but third ball I managed to lure out their attacking batsman with a bit of flight on a legspinner. Sure enough, the ball caught the edge and was taken behind by the keeper - our captain. I turned to appeal as the skipper began throwing the ball in the air, but the ball slipped out of his gloves sideways. Park Orchard's man who was acting umpire at the time decided that it could not be given out, on the basis that our keeper "wasn't in control of the ball" - an unfortunate, but fair enough decision as far as I was concerned. However, our skip took a slightly more volatile view, and proceeded to unleash a verbal tirade against their umpire that would have offended John McEnroe. Understandably, their man retorted, and for a few minutes things got pretty ugly out in the Victoria sun. Thankfully, all was forgotten when I got the same guy out caught (properly) the next over!
After 6 overs with the ball, I was all set for a good bosh with the bat as we set about chasing 190 to win off our 40 overs. We got off to a great start - we were 110/2 at the 20-over tea break - but sure enough the wheels soon well off. When I went in we were 139/5, and when walked out 3 balls later the score hadn't moved. All that had changed was that I now had the dubious honour of having scored ducks on 4 different continents...
Our inevitable demise from that stage wasn't met with too many tears, but things were put in perspective when a few 1st XI players glanced through our scorebook later with a look of shock. Turns out Park Orchard IVs had been fielding 2 1st XI bowlers, one of whom was described as "scary as shit" by various 1st teamers. So, in conclusion, we put up an excellent battle in a totally unfair contest...!
Anyway, with cricket all wrapped up I went home to meet a few more of my extended family: Chris (my second cousin) and 3 of his daughters (who, if we were being technical, would probably be third-cousins-once-removed or something). Plenty of "make the English boy say something stereotypically English" banter ensued - great fun for all concerned - and come Sunday we went on a big road trip to Bendigo, about 150km north-west of Melbourne - to drop them home again. Bendigo's famous for being a major mining town - there was a time when anyone who dug 2 metres underground would find gold nuggets. Unfortunately pretty much every inch of topsoil has been turned over, but you can still walk around the whole town underground through the mammoth network of mines. And what with gold prices skyrocketing at the moment, many mines are continuing to dig deeper.
A tidy bit of local fish and chips was consumed before we were back on the road back south, and another quickfire packing job was in order before Monday morning's departure up here to Mooroopna. This is the hometown for my extended family here in Australia - Beata (Mum's cousin) and her late husband - lived here after migrating from Bombay, and here is where the family home remains. Beata's amazing on the piano/organ, so I've been treated to a whole selection of performances with various choirs she plays for, including an excellent performance this morning with a group of old ladies known as the "Silver Belles". What's interesting, and takes some getting used to, is that they've got their own Christmas Carols over here that don't involve cold, dark or seeing amidst the winter's snow. The one that stood out was "Christmas in the Scrub", with sample lyrics:
At Christmas time the birds all sing,
The rabbits jump, the lizards crawl
At Christmas time the outback rings,
All for the birth of God.
For the birth of God, the wallabies hop!
For the birth of God, the cockatoos squawk!
For the birth of God, the platypus swims!
For the birth of God, the kookaburra laughs!
For the birth of God was such exciting news,
They'd never heard before.
They came from all the land,
To see this baby in the straw.
When you're used to robins in the snow and tidings of comfort and joy, it's Christmas on it's head!
So we're about 180km north-north-east of Melbourne, just next to the larger town of Shepparton, and are pretty much in the heart of Victoria's farmland region. Many a backpacker heads up to Shepparton from January to March in order to get involved in some fruit picking - it pays per how much you collect, so the stronger you are, the richer you are. Unfortunately my timing's just off and I'm too early for the season, but I'm taking advantage of my time here to check out a few of the cool historic towns in the surrounding area. But more of that will follow at a later stage...
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