Dear Cricket Monthly,Cuppers It was all a terrible mistake. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Jamon-Brown-Jersey/ . Clare Hall is a very small Cambridge college, composed, apart from staff and a handful of Fellows, mostly of senior graduate students and professors from abroad who visit for a year.This year someone at a central computer automatically entered ours in the list of teams to play cricket in Cuppers, the intercollegiate competition that takes place during the spring term, one that is short, marred by exams and finally upended by May Balls. We were drawn against Fitzwilliam. Could we field a team?We do have the nucleus for a team on site: among others, Andy, our imperturbable head porter; Dave, the gardener, a champion ploughman and ballroom dancer; Iain, the senior tutor, well placed to establish whether applicants to the college have cricketing as well as academic qualifications; and captain Sam, doubly an allrounder in that, while doing college accounts, he dreams of organising all-year-round cricket.But we cant make up a full team without an annual intake of people coming from the cricket-playing Commonwealth, together with erstwhile baseball players and a tail of other newcomers from as far afield as Singapore and Syria, all ready to give the English game a go.I was away and missed the Fitzwilliam match and called in to learn we had batted first and been all out for 19. Never mind, I said, at least double figures. What a pity that chap who plays for the MCC wasnt playing for us. Oh, but he was, came the reply. And? In the first over he was involved in a mix-up which resulted in the other opener being run out, and then he was clean bowled in the next over.News of our ten-wicket defeat clearly never reached our next opponents, Magdalene College, who conceded the match in advance. We sported a proud 1-1 Cuppers record.Visitors from London Our season this year included a fixture against a North London occasional XI founded by one of our own members, who, for his good offices, was dubbed a turncoat. We played what was intended to be a two-innings match of 16 overs an innings (that in effect became a one-innings match since not everybody on either side had a chance to bat). Peculiarly, Conrad the double agent, playing for the Interlopers, was the only player to bat and be out twice.Another oddity, apparently, was my (first-innings) umpiring. I had been out of the game for more than 50 years and had not umpired since 1957, when wides and no-balls (full tosses or grounders in those days) were things for batsmen to chase and hit. My failure to call these fashionable extras probably cost us the match. Result: Clare Hall, 119 for 0 and 78 for 6. Interlopers, 97 for 3 and 99 for 3.The Grand Challenge match Our club had no problem putting together two teams for the Grand Midsummer Challenge match between the college Presidents XII and the Students (including, incongruously, three players whose combined ages amounted to 210 years).As usual, about a dozen different countries were represented on the field but, sadly, no women (the sadder since last year the college bursar, a lady, took a decisive catch in the slips). Rain fortunately stopped shortly before play was due to start, and a low-scoring match was the more notable for the fact that nobody, but nobody, was out for a duck.One duck would have been particularly tragic: Desmond had travelled all the way back from China just to play in this game after a terrible misfortune last year, when he had been bowled first ball of the match by a yorker that he supposed, since it didnt bounce in front of him, was a no-ball. What had intrigued him was that, crestfallen as he was, he had enjoyed the taste of a team victory, and even more, the company at dinner that evening of the man who had bowled him out.This year Desmond was delighted not only to score but to hold on to a catch. He also figured in the result in another, curious, way. Put on to bowl for the first time in his life, this son of an Asian badminton champion served up a series of shuttlecock lobs. Eventually the umpire at his end, Darshil, the one (Thailand) international on the field, was forced to call a series of sky-high wides and these may have helped to determine the result of the match. At the traditional dinner that followed, it was the duty of the college president, in his capacity as match referee, to award the trophy to the captain of the winning team. According to the scorebook, the Presidents Men had scored 56 for 4 in reply to the Students 67 for 6 in a foreshortened 16-over match. The president, a distinguished law-giver, could never be accused of special pleading, but a senior member of his team (a former captain and this years highest scorer) appealed to the college rules that declared the team scoring the greater number of runs was the winner, and that, once eccentric extras were discounted, the presidents team had outscored the Students by 46 runs to 42. While the president overruled this objection and found in favour of the students, the club had been reminded that the decisive player in their fortunes had again been extras.Single-wicket cricket Nets, both indoor during the winter at Fenners (us at Fenners) and outside in the spring, are the sociable heart of a small club like ours, uncertain whether six will turn up or 16. In the summer it becomes altogether too tempting to pass by a vacant pitch on the way to the nets, and so we try to get a quorum out for the odd pick-up game.One enchanted evening following our big match this year, we booked a pitch but only seven turned up, including a sturdy Scot who had taken to the Sassenach game with such gusto he was suffering from a ricked back and a damaged left knee. What to do? We settled on a series of single-wicket contests (maximum three overs per batsman). Up first, I was closing in on the solid but attainable 9 scored by my 80-year-old opponent from Massachusetts (three years my senior) when I foolishly hit around a ball well outside the off stump and played on. Mid-Atlantic title to the USA.Two Williams brothers, vying for the family title if not the championship of Wales, then went head to head in an exciting encounter that remained in the balance till the last ball after both ran for everything: 15-14. That left our big hitter and incorrigible sledger from old Oz to challenge a keen newcomer from Syria. Luke, sportingly offering to bat left-handed, required only one of his massive sixes to win, but after limiting Wesam to 5 and scoring two singles in reply, he popped a catch to our 80-year-old at point. World title (Clare Hall version) to Syria.Short as our season had been, we had experienced a fair share of crickets vagaries. An ad-hoc post-season decision to abolish the hierarchy of club officers that had itself been ad hoc prevents me from signing myself as honorary president or equally as Twelfth Man.And so I remain, Sir, Your Own Special Correspondent in the Fens http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Hats/ .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Lance-Dunbar-Jersey/ . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Deacon-Jones-Jersey/ . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons.The Toronto Blue Jays have dropped three of their last four after that incredible 11-game win streak. They are still just four games back of Baltimore for the second wild card slot, but its pretty clear, if the Jays are going to stay in the thick of the fight, they must upgrade their starting pitching. One bad start Thursday night shouldnt necessarily turn Chien-Ming Wang into a write-off, but face it; Wang was generally regarded as stop gap when the Jays got him, and with the uncertainty about the return dates of Brandon Morrow and J.A. Happ, Alex Anthopoulos has to strike while the Jays still have a chance to make some noise in the race. Ill bet there will be more scouts in the press box Friday night at Miami than there will be fans in the seats. The Padres are taking on the Marlins and both starting pitchers are rumoured to be on the block. Edinson Volquez, whos (5-6) 5.67 ERA will be facing one of the few recognizable faces the Marlins have left in righty Ricky Nolasco, whos 4-7 with a 3.68 earned run average. The Dodgers are rumoured to be willing to pay a pretty hefty price to get Nolasco, but the Orioles, Red Sox and Blue Jays are looking for rotation help as well. Boston could be getting desperate now that Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester are both hurting, while the Os dont seem to have a definitive ace. The Blue Jays have reportedly already scouted Volquez at least once. Nolasco, who is 30-years old, is making $11.5 million this season and is an impending free agent. Volquez turns 30 next week and comes a bit cheaper at $5.725 million for this season. He too is in a contract year. Nolasco has the better career ledger at 80-71 with a 4.43 ERA and once won 15 games in a season. Volquez is (49-46) with a 4.65 earned run average. Those arent the only two said to be available. The Blue Jays were one of several teams at Milwaukee Thursday night scouting Cubs righty Matt Garza. The scouts were well rewarded for their time. Garza, coming off an elbow procedure that delayed the start of his season, was outstanding for the Cubs. He scattered eight hits over seven innings and struck out a season-high of 10 to boost his record to 3-1. The Cubs downed the Brewers 7-2. Garza, an imposing figure at 64 and 215 pounds, is making $10.255 million this season and can walk at the end of the season. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Torry-Holt-Jersey/. Hes 29-years-old and has never quite fulfilled his potential, racking up a career record of 60-62. An old friend, Chicago sportscaster George Ofman, is speculating Garza could be dealt before the weekend is out but Texas is rumoured to be the team to watch out for if the bidding steps up. One thing that really makes Garza enticing to the Jays is that he won 34 games over a three year span pitching in the AL East with Tampa Bay, including a 15 victory season in 2010. Another possibility is the Brewers Yovani Gallardo. Hes only 6-7 this season with a 4.20 ERA, however, over his career in Milwaukee, the 27-year-old is 75-50 with a 3.69 earned run average. Arizona has been looking closely at him. The problem for the Jays is that the price tag on any of these starters is going to be driven up by the number of teams that are interested. The Blue Jays also gave up a flock of prospects last year to get the likes of R.A. Dickey (Travis DArnaud and Noah Syndergaard) and Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle ( Henderson Alvarez and Adeiny Hechavarria). The July 31 non-waiver deadline is still just over a month away but if the Blue Jays are going to stay in contention, they may have to be creative and strike now. Quite a week for a couple of Blue Jays "fan faves." Munenori Kawasaki, who captured the hearts of the fans and his teammates, was optioned to Buffalo to make room for the return of Jose Reyes. The very same day, Pittsburgh designated John MacDonald for assignment. For the 38-year-old Johnny Mac, you wondered if his career might be over. Talk about reversal of fortunes, after Thursday nights game, Kawasaki was called back up to replace Melky Cabrera on the roster after he went on the DL with a sore left knee that had been bothering him for the bulk of the season. Then, the Pirates swapped MacDonald to the Phillies and all was right in the Baseball Universe. The Pirates, incidentally, have pulled into a first place tie in the NL Central with St. Louis and appear poised to end a 20-year string of missing the post-season. The Blue Jays, of course, are right behind them with a 19-year playoff drought. 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