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.