The morning after the night before ... a very tired & hungover squad checked out of the Hotel & had a farewell lunch with Evelin, who had become a part of the team over the previous few days & an honourary Redondan, before heading to the Airport.
The Team are keen to return to defend our title but the Redondan Cricket Board will be meeting to decide whether to specialise in the Ice Cricket form of the game ot to try & rise through the ranks of Internation Cticket & take on the likes of Afghanistan, Croatia & The Czech Republic
Tallinn is a wonderful unspoilt City & Estonia is undoubtedly a great Country & on behalf of The Redondan Cricket Team I would like to thank everybody for making our visit so memorable
The Story Continues ..........
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ice Cricket World Cup - Saturday
At the previous days Captains meeting, Rob Brookes, the Tournaments Organiser, informed us that due to global warming the Ice had not formed on Lake Harku & therefore the Tournament would be held in the Jeti Hall.
The Jeti Hall is a former Soviet Missile Facory & a monstrosity that Stalin & Glasgow's town planners would have been proud of & the fact that The Estonians have converted it into an international venue deserves great credit
We were informed that in addition to the two Redondan Sides there would be sides representing England, Australia, Estonia & Gibraltar.
The Competition itself would be a 6 a side tournament, 6 overs each side & with all players having to bowl an over & results fed into a league which would determine the eventual winners.
The Competition was being covered by Reuters who had sent a TV Crew & Radio 5 in the UK.Dan Smith, who had handled our booking in the UK also informed us that there had been press interest in The Kingdom Of Redonda & our entry into The Ice Cricket World Cup including an approach from the Daily Mail before he left
During the initial games, players from all sides were very tentative assessing what they could and couldn't do without falling flat on their faces.
However as the Tournament progressed Batsmen were sliding in from halfway down the wicket and fielders were crashing into boundary boards.
At the end of the Tournament Redonda South had won all their games whilst Redonda North lost to England in the last over of the game & to Redonda South on the last Ball of the Tournament
The final Table was
Redonda South : Ice Cricket World Champions
Redonda North
Gibraltar
England
Australia
Estonia
The remainder of the afternoon was spent unwinding at Molly Malones & inevitably conversation turned to which honour King Leo would bestow on his returning Champions.
There were also vague plans made for an Open Bus Trip & a trip to Lords with the Ice Cricket World Cup Trophy
A Celebratory Dinner was held at The Peppersack Restaurant which included prize giving & a number of drinking games following which the majority of the Squad spent the rest of the night at The Pub With No Name bamboozling locals with the psychic / magic trick & celebrating in a style worthy of World Champions
The Jeti Hall & Ex Soviet Missile Factory
Redonda take on Estonia
Ice Cricket is not the only attraction in Estonia !!!
The Redondan National Ice Cricket Team
Estonian Cricketer Marko / Slim Shady
The Jeti Hall is a former Soviet Missile Facory & a monstrosity that Stalin & Glasgow's town planners would have been proud of & the fact that The Estonians have converted it into an international venue deserves great credit
We were informed that in addition to the two Redondan Sides there would be sides representing England, Australia, Estonia & Gibraltar.
The Competition itself would be a 6 a side tournament, 6 overs each side & with all players having to bowl an over & results fed into a league which would determine the eventual winners.
The Competition was being covered by Reuters who had sent a TV Crew & Radio 5 in the UK.Dan Smith, who had handled our booking in the UK also informed us that there had been press interest in The Kingdom Of Redonda & our entry into The Ice Cricket World Cup including an approach from the Daily Mail before he left
During the initial games, players from all sides were very tentative assessing what they could and couldn't do without falling flat on their faces.
However as the Tournament progressed Batsmen were sliding in from halfway down the wicket and fielders were crashing into boundary boards.
At the end of the Tournament Redonda South had won all their games whilst Redonda North lost to England in the last over of the game & to Redonda South on the last Ball of the Tournament
The final Table was
Redonda South : Ice Cricket World Champions
Redonda North
Gibraltar
England
Australia
Estonia
The remainder of the afternoon was spent unwinding at Molly Malones & inevitably conversation turned to which honour King Leo would bestow on his returning Champions.
There were also vague plans made for an Open Bus Trip & a trip to Lords with the Ice Cricket World Cup Trophy
A Celebratory Dinner was held at The Peppersack Restaurant which included prize giving & a number of drinking games following which the majority of the Squad spent the rest of the night at The Pub With No Name bamboozling locals with the psychic / magic trick & celebrating in a style worthy of World Champions
The Jeti Hall & Ex Soviet Missile Factory
Redonda take on Estonia
Ice Cricket is not the only attraction in Estonia !!!
The Redondan National Ice Cricket Team
Estonian Cricketer Marko / Slim Shady
Ice Cricket World Cup - Friday
The flash Champagne / Cider/ Urine drinkers awoke the following morning with no obvious side effects from the night before & undertook a rigorous training session in the local park whilst the more 'frugal' members of the squad who had continued drinking Beer nursed their hangovers.
At 11am Evelin arrived & took us on tour of what must be one of Europes most beautiful Cities.
Our preconceptions of Estonia had been of Babushkas and rotting tower blocks, but Tallinn is a City with Chic new constructions twinned with a delightful old town that would grace any Chocolate Box.
I was disappointed that flash Cars roamed the street & that there were no sign of Trabants running on 2 Stroke fuel being steered by Dogs sitting on the drivers knee that I had expected to see
Our tour of the City ended inevitably in Molly Malones Sports Bar, where the Test Match was being shown. It was here that Nick Hales was approached by a Street Vendor pedalling Viagra. We explained that somebody know as 'The Corpse' was probably the least likely member of our party to need his wares & he left without making a sale, although several of the 'elder' member of the party left very shortly afterwards with a desperate need to visit the 'toilet'.
With the Competition looming and levels of nerves & excitement increasing, it was decided that the Squad needed a release & to burn of their energy & a Go Karting Competition was arranged between the North & South again upping the level animosity between supposed Team Mates
Following the Safety Briefing which consisted of ' there are the helmets, you can wear them if you want' we took to the grid & awaited the chequered flag.
Ali Jackson with testosterone coursing through his veins caused a massive pile up, nearly crippling several of his team mates & decapitating our Chaperone, which allowed Matt Crawley to pick his way through the wreckage & race unopposed to victory & in the process earning himself the first nomination for Redonda's Sports Personality Of The Year
For our Pre Tournament meal Evelin booked us into the Troika Russian Restaurant in the heart of the Town Square where we feasted on traditional Russian food which included Roast Bear & settled back to enjoy traditional Russian Dancers & Music. Andy Bowden also seemed to take on amazing psychic powers, due apparently to a small magic Dog called 'Jack' purchased from Romanian Gypsies
.
During the festivities we received a disturbing text from Rob Croucher who was joining the squad a day late, & would be representing the North, to inform us that he was on his way & intended to 'Go large tonight'.
On previous Tours Rob has behaved like an over excited puppy,his flame burnt brightly but very briefly & he tended to blow himself out on the first night & was useless for any remaining days.
His text informing me that he was 'Going Large' the day before the Ice Cricket World Cup was akin to Andrew Flintoff telling the ECB he fancied a shandy & a play on the Pedalos the day before the biggest game of his life !!
Of equal concern was that Robs text triggered his room mate & fellow Northerner, Matt Crawley, to decide that the best way to deal with his own nerves was to increase his intake of Vodka & egged on by Southerner Russ Cole, with an evil glint in his eye, proceeded to drink his way into oblivion.
Other members of the North followed his lead & at least one member ended up returning his meal to the Restaurants Toilet & by the time Rob arrived several of his team mates were incoherent dribbling wrecks & Captain Andy Bowden realised that the chances of victory were diminishing rapidly
Until this point our Chaperone, Evelin, had been the perfect Hostess. However I began to suspect that the Estonian Team had sent her to sabotage our prospects & on leaving Troika she suggested that we visit a traditional Estonian Bar where they serve a drink unique to the Pub.
My fears were heightened, when on entering the small drinking hole we encountered several Estonians passed out on the Bar & those still standing resembled characters from the Michael Jackson Thriller Video.
Evelin ordered a round of 'Millimallicas' a drink that seemed to contain Estonian Moonshine & Tabasco which rips the skin from your mouth & throat as it goes down.
The drinks were served by a Man who was 50 at the most, however Evelin swore that he had worked there for over 60 years. Not wanting to question her integrity we assumed that Estonian Years must be slightly differant to Human Years !!
Matt Crawley, now on his second wind, downed 4 Millimallicas a record broken the following night by Ernie McDade
Ray Clarke Orders Bear
Roy Wood : Not a Massive Ice Cricket fan
At 11am Evelin arrived & took us on tour of what must be one of Europes most beautiful Cities.
Our preconceptions of Estonia had been of Babushkas and rotting tower blocks, but Tallinn is a City with Chic new constructions twinned with a delightful old town that would grace any Chocolate Box.
I was disappointed that flash Cars roamed the street & that there were no sign of Trabants running on 2 Stroke fuel being steered by Dogs sitting on the drivers knee that I had expected to see
Our tour of the City ended inevitably in Molly Malones Sports Bar, where the Test Match was being shown. It was here that Nick Hales was approached by a Street Vendor pedalling Viagra. We explained that somebody know as 'The Corpse' was probably the least likely member of our party to need his wares & he left without making a sale, although several of the 'elder' member of the party left very shortly afterwards with a desperate need to visit the 'toilet'.
With the Competition looming and levels of nerves & excitement increasing, it was decided that the Squad needed a release & to burn of their energy & a Go Karting Competition was arranged between the North & South again upping the level animosity between supposed Team Mates
Following the Safety Briefing which consisted of ' there are the helmets, you can wear them if you want' we took to the grid & awaited the chequered flag.
Ali Jackson with testosterone coursing through his veins caused a massive pile up, nearly crippling several of his team mates & decapitating our Chaperone, which allowed Matt Crawley to pick his way through the wreckage & race unopposed to victory & in the process earning himself the first nomination for Redonda's Sports Personality Of The Year
For our Pre Tournament meal Evelin booked us into the Troika Russian Restaurant in the heart of the Town Square where we feasted on traditional Russian food which included Roast Bear & settled back to enjoy traditional Russian Dancers & Music. Andy Bowden also seemed to take on amazing psychic powers, due apparently to a small magic Dog called 'Jack' purchased from Romanian Gypsies
.
During the festivities we received a disturbing text from Rob Croucher who was joining the squad a day late, & would be representing the North, to inform us that he was on his way & intended to 'Go large tonight'.
On previous Tours Rob has behaved like an over excited puppy,his flame burnt brightly but very briefly & he tended to blow himself out on the first night & was useless for any remaining days.
His text informing me that he was 'Going Large' the day before the Ice Cricket World Cup was akin to Andrew Flintoff telling the ECB he fancied a shandy & a play on the Pedalos the day before the biggest game of his life !!
Of equal concern was that Robs text triggered his room mate & fellow Northerner, Matt Crawley, to decide that the best way to deal with his own nerves was to increase his intake of Vodka & egged on by Southerner Russ Cole, with an evil glint in his eye, proceeded to drink his way into oblivion.
Other members of the North followed his lead & at least one member ended up returning his meal to the Restaurants Toilet & by the time Rob arrived several of his team mates were incoherent dribbling wrecks & Captain Andy Bowden realised that the chances of victory were diminishing rapidly
Until this point our Chaperone, Evelin, had been the perfect Hostess. However I began to suspect that the Estonian Team had sent her to sabotage our prospects & on leaving Troika she suggested that we visit a traditional Estonian Bar where they serve a drink unique to the Pub.
My fears were heightened, when on entering the small drinking hole we encountered several Estonians passed out on the Bar & those still standing resembled characters from the Michael Jackson Thriller Video.
Evelin ordered a round of 'Millimallicas' a drink that seemed to contain Estonian Moonshine & Tabasco which rips the skin from your mouth & throat as it goes down.
The drinks were served by a Man who was 50 at the most, however Evelin swore that he had worked there for over 60 years. Not wanting to question her integrity we assumed that Estonian Years must be slightly differant to Human Years !!
Matt Crawley, now on his second wind, downed 4 Millimallicas a record broken the following night by Ernie McDade
Bizarrely the team met Roy Wood from Wizard in the Pub with No Name, not sure why he was there but apparently he is not a huge fan of Ice Cricket
Matt Crawley Redondan Go Kart Champion
Rob Croucher: Over Excitable
Ray Clarke Orders Bear
Roy Wood : Not a Massive Ice Cricket fan
Ice Cricket World Cup - Thursday
The Redondan National Cricket Squad met at Gatwick slightly nervous at the prospect of a 3 hour flight to Tallinn with Estonian Air. Having encountered various issues in booking 16 people onto the flight many of the squad were expecting the plane to resemble the one Buddy Holly got off.
We were however pleasantly surprised that it was perfectly OK & there were no sign of the expected Goats & Chickens running up & down the aisle.
The only disappointment was that all the hot food had been handed out before the Hostess got to us & we were left with the choice of Pringles or Beef Jerky.
We had entered 2 teams into the Ice Cricket World Cup Tournament to be played on Saturday & during the flight the inevitable queries regarding teams & selection cropped up.
It was decided that the teams would represent the North & South of Redonda.The North,everything from Rasta Cliffs to Shiels Sumit would be Captained by Andy Bowden & everything South would be Captained by Andy Rooke.
The responsibility for selection was handed to the Estonian Airways Hostess who pulled names out of a hat & immediately triggered inter Island rivalry which lasted throughout the trip.
As the planeload of testosterone charged Cricketers swooped over the Baltic touching down on a snow surrounded runway I struggled to picture Estonias Cricketers on tour against the might of 75th placed Venezuela.
As we passed through Arrivals we were met by Evelin our pretty blonde Chaperone holding a sign saying 'Redondan Cricket team' .. I was over the moon. I had half expected the whole event to be a massive con & that we would arrive in Estonia at 11pm with no Hotel & nobody speaking English
We checked into our Hotel which was billed as having a Casino, however although perfectly comfortable it was no Caesars Palace, the Casino extended to 3 slot machines.
Although now close to midnight nobody was ready to turn in & Evelin took us to a Bar for food and a few drinks. Here she coped commendably with our Machine Gun questioning and having made sure that we were fed and watered and happy in our new surroundings left us to unwind having agreed to take us on a cultural tour around Tallinn the next day
Evelins departure sparked events that led to the evening taking a turn for the worse.
Having had a couple of Beers & with wallets bulging with thousands of Estonian Kroon several of the flashier members of the squad decided to Celebrate the start of the tour with a bottle of Champagne.
A bottle of Moet was duely delivered,however the contents were clearly not Champagne. Either the Barman had decided to decant some local Cider or more concerningly has simply chosen to relieve himself in the Bottle, we will never be sure ..
Having made a tentitive complaint, we got the impression that any escalation would be dealt with by a couple of shady Russian Mafia types & the Tour would be over before it had even started.
Most of us left in disgust at the blatent rip off, but a couple of the lads decided to make the best of the situation and act as ambassadors for Redonda & spent the rest of the evening befriendly the few locals still there at 3am.
Indeed the next morning Billy Webb proudly proclaimed that he now knew how to say 'nose' in Estonian ... the rest of the squad agreed that this was a great return on investment for what was probally the most expensive bottle of urine in the world
Evelin : Our Chaperone
Billy Webb : Fluent In Estonian
We were however pleasantly surprised that it was perfectly OK & there were no sign of the expected Goats & Chickens running up & down the aisle.
The only disappointment was that all the hot food had been handed out before the Hostess got to us & we were left with the choice of Pringles or Beef Jerky.
We had entered 2 teams into the Ice Cricket World Cup Tournament to be played on Saturday & during the flight the inevitable queries regarding teams & selection cropped up.
It was decided that the teams would represent the North & South of Redonda.The North,everything from Rasta Cliffs to Shiels Sumit would be Captained by Andy Bowden & everything South would be Captained by Andy Rooke.
The responsibility for selection was handed to the Estonian Airways Hostess who pulled names out of a hat & immediately triggered inter Island rivalry which lasted throughout the trip.
As the planeload of testosterone charged Cricketers swooped over the Baltic touching down on a snow surrounded runway I struggled to picture Estonias Cricketers on tour against the might of 75th placed Venezuela.
As we passed through Arrivals we were met by Evelin our pretty blonde Chaperone holding a sign saying 'Redondan Cricket team' .. I was over the moon. I had half expected the whole event to be a massive con & that we would arrive in Estonia at 11pm with no Hotel & nobody speaking English
We checked into our Hotel which was billed as having a Casino, however although perfectly comfortable it was no Caesars Palace, the Casino extended to 3 slot machines.
Although now close to midnight nobody was ready to turn in & Evelin took us to a Bar for food and a few drinks. Here she coped commendably with our Machine Gun questioning and having made sure that we were fed and watered and happy in our new surroundings left us to unwind having agreed to take us on a cultural tour around Tallinn the next day
Evelins departure sparked events that led to the evening taking a turn for the worse.
Having had a couple of Beers & with wallets bulging with thousands of Estonian Kroon several of the flashier members of the squad decided to Celebrate the start of the tour with a bottle of Champagne.
A bottle of Moet was duely delivered,however the contents were clearly not Champagne. Either the Barman had decided to decant some local Cider or more concerningly has simply chosen to relieve himself in the Bottle, we will never be sure ..
Having made a tentitive complaint, we got the impression that any escalation would be dealt with by a couple of shady Russian Mafia types & the Tour would be over before it had even started.
Most of us left in disgust at the blatent rip off, but a couple of the lads decided to make the best of the situation and act as ambassadors for Redonda & spent the rest of the evening befriendly the few locals still there at 3am.
Indeed the next morning Billy Webb proudly proclaimed that he now knew how to say 'nose' in Estonian ... the rest of the squad agreed that this was a great return on investment for what was probally the most expensive bottle of urine in the world
Evelin : Our Chaperone
Billy Webb : Fluent In Estonian
South Redondans
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Ice Cricket World Cup
Having founded the new Redondan International Cricket Team we needed to decide who would be our first opponents
Forget Bangladesh, accoring to Angus Bell's Book 'Slogging The Slavs' Estonia has the worst International Cricket Team in the World. At 105th in the (unofficial) rankings, they fall short of Sierra Leone (joint 51st with Switzerland) and 74th place Sweden (sandwiched between Panama and Venezuela).
Where better to for a fledgling International Cricket Team to start than at the bottom of the Rankings
Estonia also happen to host The Ice Cricket World Cup in the beautiful City of Tallinn ...
Due to take place on Saturday 7th March The Redondan National Cricket Team have entered their first Tournament !!
Forget Bangladesh, accoring to Angus Bell's Book 'Slogging The Slavs' Estonia has the worst International Cricket Team in the World. At 105th in the (unofficial) rankings, they fall short of Sierra Leone (joint 51st with Switzerland) and 74th place Sweden (sandwiched between Panama and Venezuela).
Where better to for a fledgling International Cricket Team to start than at the bottom of the Rankings
Estonia also happen to host The Ice Cricket World Cup in the beautiful City of Tallinn ...
Due to take place on Saturday 7th March The Redondan National Cricket Team have entered their first Tournament !!
The Redonda National Cricket Team
Redonda Sport is made up primarily of individuals who play Cricket in the I'Anson Cricket League which was founded in Grayshott, Hampshire in January 1901.It is believed the league, which draws its member clubs from Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex, to be the oldest continuously-operating cricket league in England, and possibly the world.
For many years our pre season training has consisted of a few days in Benidorm, playing against ex-pats in disused Bullrings by day & enjoying the cultural delights of the City by night.
In 2008 the idea of forming a Redondan International Cricket X1 was born & again we approached King Leo for his permission to represent the Island.
On the 23rd October 2008 his Highness King Leo granted us permission to represent the Kingdom & the Redondan National Cricket team was founded
Andy Bowden
Redondan Cricket Captain
For many years our pre season training has consisted of a few days in Benidorm, playing against ex-pats in disused Bullrings by day & enjoying the cultural delights of the City by night.
In 2008 the idea of forming a Redondan International Cricket X1 was born & again we approached King Leo for his permission to represent the Island.
On the 23rd October 2008 his Highness King Leo granted us permission to represent the Kingdom & the Redondan National Cricket team was founded
Andy Bowden
Redondan Cricket Captain
Redonda Sport
We came across King Leo during a trip to Antigua & the strange quirk of History & romantic tale of the Island was explained to us.
On our return to the UK we wanted to help his Highness promote the Kingdom & spread the story.
Being keen sportsmen we decided the best way to do this was via the medium of Sport.
We proposed the concept of a Golf Tournament to King Leo who gave his blessing & at cosiderable expense a Trophy was produced and The Golf Championship Of Redonda was played at the Old Thorns Golf and Country Club in 2005.
The Tournament is a Ryder Cup style competition between teams Captained by Andy Bowden & Rob Croucher & is played annually, current holders are the Bowden team
On our return to the UK we wanted to help his Highness promote the Kingdom & spread the story.
Being keen sportsmen we decided the best way to do this was via the medium of Sport.
We proposed the concept of a Golf Tournament to King Leo who gave his blessing & at cosiderable expense a Trophy was produced and The Golf Championship Of Redonda was played at the Old Thorns Golf and Country Club in 2005.
The Tournament is a Ryder Cup style competition between teams Captained by Andy Bowden & Rob Croucher & is played annually, current holders are the Bowden team
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