AND you thought the Australian cricket team was under pressure to perform on its upcoming tour of India.
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The heat being applied to the Anglers XI to finally score a win against the Boat People XI this year at Toronto is hotter than anything Steve Smith and his men have felt.
The reason is the self-named Boat People (comprising the sailing and cruising fraternity) are gunning for their third straight victory over the Anglers (fishing club) in the annual Pontoon Cricket Challenge at Royal Motor Yacht Club, Toronto, on Australia Day.
Anglers spokesperson Tony Cummins said his mob would stop the rot.
Otherwise, he said, the selectors would have to make some tough decisions.
“An unnamed source said this is the Anglers XI captain Stephen Keddie’s last chance,” he smiled.
“We’ve also been training every afternoon in the bar.”
It’s all part of the banter that has come to accompany the increasingly popular spectator event.
Pontoon cricket is played on a floating pitch with the waters of Lake Macquarie as the outfield.
The bowling and batting resemble backyard cricket, with a tennis ball, house rules, and designating scoring targets.
But it’s the fielding that really sets this form of cricket apart, and what spectators come to watch.
Fielders use any small un-motorised flotation device they like.
The person at point might opt for a blow-up kiddies pool.
Sharp movers might patrol the covers in a kayak or on a surfboard.
While a tyre tube is usually the go for those fielding at floating slip.
“The crowds have grown bigger every year, and we’re expecting them to grow again this year,” Mr Cummins said.
The club’s newly completed beer garden, with landscaped terraces, shaded tables and barbecue area, will be a hub of activity for families.
And for the first time, an inflatable water slide (free to use) will be provided for children from 9am to 4pm.
Businesses from Toronto and Woodrising have again provided a stack of raffle prizes for the day, and the event’s inaugural major sponsor, First National Real Estate, Toronto, has come on board, Mr Cummins said.
The cricket will be played – rain, hail or shine – from 11am to about 2pm, while musician Dean Dee will entertain the crowd from 2pm to 5pm.
There will be plenty of cool drinks and food available for spectators with sausage sandwiches ($2) and steak sandwiches ($3) from the barbecue, Mr Cummins said.
“It’s just a lot of fun, with a lot of laughs, and a chance to watch grown people make clowns of themselves,” he said.
(Footnote: News of the Toronto cricket innovation had apparently spread, with “cricket on a barge” in Sydney Harbour now being advertised, Mr Cummins said.)