Cup Update

The 2011 President's Trophy final vs Fauldhouse will be played at Grange Loan (Carlton CC) on Sunday 29th April.

Fire in Babylon

Sky may have all the live coverage but the Beeb is doing a very nice line in high class cricket documentaries at the moment (see Inspiration below).

Fire in Babylon, the story of the West Indies' domination of Test cricket for much of the '70s and '80s, is on BBC4 this Monday at 10 pm. The trailer's here.

Indoor update

Details of HX's rescheduled games HERE

AGM news: Back to the future for 1sts as Russell/ Fraser takeover

Headlines:

*New 1st XI Captain for 2012 - Dougie Russell with Keith Fraser as vice.
*Norrie Webb retains his 2nd XI Captaincy status with Andy Quinn elected as vice.
*It's the status quo for the 3rd XI dream team with Ken Lawrie and Andy Graham as Captain & Vice respectively.
*But, as ever, those with real power and influence stay put.

Ex-pat Pat to be an ex-pat

No caption required

Captaincy Race Blown Wide Open

Cross captaincy leadership hopeful Bishop 'Pat' Lynch is both delighted and gutted to announce that he is not much longer to be a Crosser.

Due to personal reasons, he (and his good lady) shall soon be making a return back to Australia just in time for winter and those chilly 20-odd degree temperatures. Indeed, the move 'home' should all be done & dusted prior to our new season.

Headlines

For the rest of us, with the AGM tomorrow, we've been spared just in the nick of time, from a seasons worth of amazingly imaginative 'Lynch Mob' headlines in the EEN.

Captaincy

The Bishop had recently been propelled towards the top of a long list of contenders for the 1st XI captaincy. As usual, I was absolutely bang on in my analysis when I said "the best & worst sledger in the club holds the fatal 'early front-runner' tag".

Barbarism

The Bish has of course endeared himself to Crossers on various counts in his short stint at Arbo. He single-handedly halted the avalanche of Fair Play Awards we'd come to take for granted with his vicious weekly denunciations of young children in opposing teams.

Homoeroticism

However, his influence wasn't all good. Avoiding all national stereotypes Big Pat loved a XXXX or three, preferably mixed in with a bit of male bonding in the form of manly arm-wrestling (due to Arbo's strict No Sheep policy) which he has introduced of a Saturday evening. Will there be a 'Bishop Lynch Trophy' inaugurated in 2012 for the competition he established???

Fielding

The Bish also excelled in setting new standards in the field. Even if, like me, you weren't actually there, you will still vividly recall 'that drop' at Grange Loan. The ball being passed along the slip cordon and placed into the big man's pocket before he contrived to grass it. Sadly I have to mention his gravity defying, full stretch, once in an era catch at Roseburn a week later.

Swansong

So, whilst there won't be a big psuedo-religious Aussie leading our troops onto the field of battle this coming season, Pat will of course be leading us into the Games Hall of battle in the LiveSportOnTV Indoor 6's at Liberton High School this evening at 7.30*. Any East Academy players reading this might want to rush along to hand out some jip before the opportunity for revenge expires.

Leaving Drinks

No details as yet, but I'm sure something will be arranged.

* Despite the 6's taking place at the same time and in the same place every week, there has been a 'muck up with the booking' and there will be no 6's tonight.

Inspiration

The rise of the Afghan national cricket team through the world ranks is one of the most surprising and inspiring stories of recent years.

Unfortunately, their first ODI against a Test-playing nation ended in heavy defeat by Pakistan last week, but this week there's another chance to find out how the Afghans went from rubble pitches in refugee camps to their new home in a 27,000 seater stadium in Sharjah.

Out of the Ashes, an award-winning documentary, is being shown on BBC2 on Wednesday night at 11.20 pm.

The President Calls on All Loyal Members

You thought I dead! I fool you big time!

Eleven days lying in a state. I tell you that some hangover.

That French Cognac sure got big kick. Serve me right for drinking cheap stuff - that muck only $10,000 a bottle. No wonder I Kim Jong very bloody Il. I sick as dog (mmm...that making me peckish).

Anyway, you get message. You stuck with same old President whatever happen, get it?

So now you come to annual general plenary session of people's socialist representatives thingy...whatever...and you clap me for like, six hours or something. Then I get back to brandy 'cos you so boring.

I so lonely.

Maybe you hear last captain of our armed forces have unpleasant...err...accident. Anyway he not going to be captain no more, so now we need some other jump-up peasant to play big general. It terrible job, trying to win with only rusty old pea-shooters, but someone got do it.

So you come to annual general thingy and you volunteer, OK? Some people think I going to choose, but I too busy. Can't be bothered, OK? So you choose, I not care. Whatever.

So lonely.

Disappointment as AGM doesn't coincide with Scotland playing in 6 Nations

Two posts in a row without any visual stimulation??? There shall be no hat-trick for the texties on my watch!!!

Be there or be compost

For anyone new to Presidential re-elections (HX AGM's), here is a photo of last years stitch-up. The Green Room seldom looks this good. Although there is nothing at all sinister in these jovial gatherings, Messrs Astley & Dannreuther have not been heard from since when they were rumoured to have 'apologised' for their non-attendance and 'left' the club.

El Presidente may come across as a happy-go-lucky, port swilling, be-bearded, gardening teddy bear, but the evil capitalist oinker that he has tried to stuff deep back inside can rear it's ugly head without any warning. It is my understanding that poor Roland (who survived a brush with Patsy Putin) is pushing up the begonia's in Shifty's new town allotment whilst The Good Doctor gets a monthly rotate in the Presidential Compost Heap.

Dearest Leader ever

Those previous Presidential Elections results in full:
(Candidates ~ share of vote)


2008
E Presidente ~ 106% (record share topped up with postal votes)
S Russell ~ 2% (dispatched East to Siberiapans)


2009
E Presidente ~ 112% (record share of the vote as popularity rises)
D Craig ~ 0% (banned from the club sine die)



2010
E Presidente ~ 107% (obviously thought 2009 winning margin may be viewed as suspicious)
S Saunders ~ -3% (told to go away, but likely to turn up out of the blue at any time)



2011
E Presidente ~ 118% (record breaking share of the vote)
M Din ~ 3% (greatest ever runner up score, but record margin of defeat to boot)

AGM

Saturday 18th February, 5pm at Arbo. No 6 Nations, no excuses.

Nets and AGM

And back down to earth with a bump ..... Winter nets will again be held at the Galleon sports centre at George Watson's on Colinton Road. 2pm-4pm on Saturdays 25th February, 3rd March, 10th March, 17th March and 24th March. As usual, new players are very welcome. Just turn up on the day or, if you prefer, email us at this address.

AGM details will be released shortly - basically as soon as the Dear Leader and I have stitched up the 1st XI captaincy election and got our contacts in the Asian gambling syndicates to put the club funds on the sacrificial victim lucky winner down at Honest Keith's bookies. (Of course, keen readers of this blog may remember that the captaincy was actually decided over a year ago.)