2009 SEASON APPROACHES....
After the AGM (Feb 21), this will be someone else's column, so I just want to say ooroo and thanks. Yous blokes are a special bunch (sometimes in that Yooralla "special" way....) and it's been great to be a part of this Club and work with yous all, on and off the field. You have all been very supportive of the Wombats events, from buying and selling raffle tickets, getting ya mates to Trivia Nights, chipping in a Senner for the sweeps, and recently bringing a few new faces to the Club.
A few special mentions: Paul Shax for all things photographic; Nobbie Mann, the model of raffle ticket salesman; Andy, Burkey and Al, our 3 webmistresses; Luke Ray, right hand man and raffle ticket salesman; Jarrad, for amongst many things looking after the Club wine cellar; Mark Kelly, for the new U-beaut Raffle Tickets; Burkey for assisting on the Trivia Night; and GT, supplier of marvelous ANZ goodies.
The just completed CM6s Quiz Night went off pretty well - technical hitches coming at the very first question aside! A fair bit of the entry fee for the Sixes was covered that night. The house was full, no mean feat for the middle of the ski-season. LOTS of new faces there too, with as many as 5 or 6 fellas looking to don the whites in '09. Looked like everyone enjoyed themselves. Appropriately, it was CM veteran Paul's Men In Black that walked out with the major prizes, from ANZ, Hardys and CM6s goods too. Ross's Pelicans, Burkey & Shaxxie's Drifters also walked out winners, with new Wombats Ted and John taking 4th. The Jose Cuervo Award went to GT's Red Roosters - better luck next time!
Since losing young Mark Ainslie and Christopher Mortimer, things have been a bit quite - a couple of bo-nen-kais and Chrissie dos, a spot of cricket watching at the Black Lion. Only Shaxxie made the Japan Cup, hardly a surprise as it followed the Presentation Night!
Jarrad was crowned Worst Dressed again (and with me off, could be his for a while yet), scooped the Golden Thong. Reggie got the Quote, Morty the Sledge (again - these Englishmen....). Herschelle Gibbs was a tight race between Rhino and Luke, but Luke won that for what really was an Under 9s level drop. A new name sits on the Dummy Spit, with six-time winner Jarrad and Bish joined by The Skipper, Chuckie!
Coming up, cricket is just around the corner. AGM 21st of Feb will be followed by our first practise sessions starting March. Looking forward to seeing as few long, lost faces at both. March 15th we are back on the Tomei - practise match v Predators at Shizuoka.
Chiang Mai Sixes starts March 29th, with a few quiet pre-tournament beverages in Bangkok Friday 27th. Wish some of you blokes could sort your shit out and get there! Me, Kyal, Jarrad and - of course - Marty will be joined again by 27 Test Sri Lankan Ravindra Pushpakamara, an excellent addition to our squad. Expect to see his best footwork at Hot Shot. OK, yes that is FIVE, and it is a SIXES......we'll see. Anyone!??!
Once the cricket starts, I'm sure the drinking will pick up too. Hopefully we can get some of the Aust-SA Tests at The Black Lion. As usual, we'll have the main Trivia Night and Club Raffle in the middle of the year. And of course, there will be many post-training and post-game laughs, as well as some post-work nocturnal adventures. Reggie's buck's night and another Zulu Tour? You heard it first here!
Looking forward to bigger and better things in 2009.
SOCIAL UPDATE (September 2008)
It's been a funny old year at the Wombats. A disturbing trend emerged in spring, whereby the familiar call of "Who's up for a beer?" would be met by silence.
Whilst it's possible we are all getting older, there is little to suggest we are getting wiser or more mature! Fortunately Zulu came along and shook us all awake. What a great reminder of what a great club we are. Let's face it, winning premierships is great, but who'd want to win a flag with a bunch of deadshits? Zulu's Wombat stats don't make compelling reading, but his contribution to this Club is an immense buzz. As we Wombats enter a transitional phase, we need to remind ourselves that the game is only part of what we do.
Entering the business end of the season, what HAS happened in Wombat-land? Our smallest ever squad to Chiang Mai very nearly came back victorious. Boosted by local love-rat Robin and Sri Lankan international Ravindra Pushpakamura, Wombats spluttered through the rounds under Marty's unique leadership, before choking dramatically in the final. But as the skipper said, "Mate, I don't give a shit about the cricket!" To those of you who piked it, your loss was our gain. A bloody good time was had by all.
A trio of Wombats - Chuck, Laids and Jarrad - headed to Jersey for the WCL Div 5s. Not as successful as hoped for, but they've put Japan cricket on the map. Let's hope the expanded 8 division WCL doesn't clash with Chiang Mai though!
The Trivia Night was a full house, and the annual Raffle sold a heap of ticket, so well done to all of yous that helped out. Stupid team names and stupid answers aplenty. A mysterious man in mysterious shades, Jim Cole, failed to set the answer sheets on fire. Sadly the winner was Jarrad's Blood Sweat and Beers, edging out the aussie embassy team by just 1 question.
Importantly, a good time was had by all. Great to catch up with Chiang Mai supporters Paul and Todd, old Wombats like Jimmy and Spacey, and Dan McGrath again proved his encylopedic knowledge of cricket.
Not long after, the Zulu Show blew into town, leaving us all a little worse for wear. Thanks to Big Roy O'Carroll, we had the pleasure of meeting Mr and Mrs Daniel Vettori, and taking them out for a bit of sushi and a few beers. Dan kindly signed a Chiang Mai Sixes shirt, which the Club will donate to the Sixes as a fund-raiser. Thanks Dan. Come back for your pachinko fix some time!
Rowdy Grant Turner has secured our second sponsor, ANZ Bank, who have decked us out in U-beaut Club polo shirts, sports bags and stubbie holders. Oh, and they chipped in a nice wedge to help cover our costs! Great blokes, them folks at ANZ- told Gunns to shove their pulp mill. Need a home loan? Click on the sponsors' page!
Aussie Beef himself, Nobbie Mann has flown the coop. A grand final 4fa, and his maiden 50 at Shiz stand out, but Axe is another Wombat you don't measure in stats. An all round good bloke with that ability to rally marsupials that we so need. Best of luck back in the Apple Isle, Axe.
Next off will be Mr Ainslie, and Mr Mortimer. Their reputations speak for themselves. One of them I had the pleasure of touring CM with; the other I hope I get the chance soon. Filling their boots - on the field and off it - will be a Herculean task. Rumours of a farewell "extravaganza" start here!
New blood joined the camp, Madan and Ross Allen. Madan's a little hard to get out for a drink (Nagoya!) but Ross shouldn't be too hard, living in the 'pong itself! It's important that we all extend the welcome to these new blokes, and any more that come along. Ross does have the dubious honour of being the first Wombat allergic to beer!
So, in the next few months we came expect a few farewells, and few welcomes, a few games of cricket even! Australia v India, winner take all final round of the Test - 16 bottles! (Another 3-for-Y1000 sweep will cover the Aussie summer, by the way.)
Before you can say Hadlee is a wanker, we'll be back at the Black Lion for the prize night, and down at Tokyo Racecourse for the Japan Cup! Then it's cold, snow, snowboards or bored, over-priced Chrissie Hols and more.
2008 SEASON APPROACHES....
The cricket world slowly but surely goes mad, the BCCI tail wagging the ICC dog, as a shameless queue of cricket whores roll over and say tickle me. So will the 20-over frenzy reach Japan? Rumours are circulating that SONY will shell out out $1.5 billion to cover a franchised comp in Japan: Jarrad Shearer opening the batting for the KFC Kumagaya Kamikazes, facing Mark Ainslie bowling for the Hiroshima Hello Kitty Heroes? Jim Cole of the Chiba Coca-Cola Crows suffers Courtney Jones slapping six MAXIMUMS for the Nakano Panasonic Powderfreaks?
We can dream....and after a few beers, such bullshit ideas might seem feasible.
Anyhow, back in the real world.....
CRICKET season is almost upon us. Dust off the whites, warm up ya sledges, buy the missus some batteries and say "see ya luv!"
Lots of ideas came out of the AGM, although one of them was based on a dubious theory - we have a large following of girls! That's news, Morty.....
From slave auctions to hanami, BBQs and quizzes, one theme was constant: MORE EFFORT. Since the demise of The Clubhouse, we have wandered homeless like the North Melbourne Football Club - minus the Wayne Carey Toilet Tango of course. Whether it is at the Blue Oyster Bar or the Baywatch Babe Watch Bar, make the effort to get out, shoot the shit, wind up Jarrad and have a laugh with your fellow Wombats.
Personally, I hope to see a few of you in Osaki, even if you just come for the aerobics class perving!!
A bigger effort is needed too in the fund-raising stakes this year. A smaller than expected crowd at the quiz night in '07 didn't help things. This year we MUST have a full house, so be warned: First in best dressed; no priority places for Wombats this year. And please, DON'T LET JARRAD WIN!
Our sponsor, HARDYS' WINES are on board again this year, with another generous allotment of wines. There'll be HARDYS at the Quiz Night and HARDYS at the raffle, and if we play any cricket HARDYS Man of the Match awards.
We will be looking at the Wombats hosting a party sometime, some place. Maybe Morty can find some of that large female following and bring it along? (Hang on, Morty, is the following large, or is it the females themselves that are substantial???) Ross The Wrecker proposed a Last Man Standing prize night, a great idea, if we can logisticise it. Bringing the barbie down to Koiwa for a combo training/eating session sounds easier.
The revamped 4-for-Y1000 cricket sweeps have gone well, 20 blokes signing up to show their expertise. Thanks guys. First series, the Div 2 clash between England and New Zealand starts March 5. Check your picks on the web to see how badly you're doing.
Expect a few more things throughout the year. If it moves, you can bet on it!
IF you have ANY IDEAS for a Wombats Day Out, either to turn a profit or just have a turn, don't be shy.
Reckon on some HANAMI action at the end of March. Some of us will be under the Spotlight in Chiang Mai, but that's a different story.....
See ya when I see ya......
Curly
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