Roy & the Bull Riders

Cricket Australia XI 250 all out
v England 515 all out
Cricket Australia XI 121-3
close on Day 3

Four Day Tour Match

Played at Townsville, Queensland

Friday 17 November 2017

374 Australian Beer Ticks

It was difficult to concentrate fully on the Cricket today. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to write. Firstly, there was a Beer Tick in the ground. Love a Beer Tick in the ground me. The catering in the ground has a very Australian feel to it. There is a wagon selling coffee. Multitudinous ways. Size. Number of shots. Temperature. Frothiness or otherwise of milk. You need a fucking grid. Thing is, each one takes an age to make. If you want to go down to the Wagon for a brew, you have to really commit.

One of the catering windows in the wall of the stand sells grub & pop. Pies, hotdogs, crisps, chocolate, Coke, that sort of thing.

The other, completely separate, you have to walk from one to the other, catering window sells booze, just booze, nowt but booze. Booze. There was some fella, whose family wanted a pie, some lemonade, a Lager & a Cappuccino on Day One. He's still queuing up at one of the many different outlets he'll need. No. Really.

For the record the Beers on offer in tins are;
XXXX Gold
Iron Jack
Hahn's

But, today, we went into the Function Rooms for a Full On Aussie Hospitality Event. Organised by & for Townsville Cricket & their grassroots. Free bar between 12 noon & 3pm. FFS, I know how to plan my attack on that. You've got to have the right strategy or …. well, you know the rules. The tick in there was a Full Strengther (4.2%), XXXX Summer Bright Lager.

The Carrier Bag Firm were proud, Proud I tell you, to chuck ourselves right in it. I was even invited to draw the Business Card Raffle on stage. The fella kept calling me “Richard from England” as he introduced me. He'd had a few. To cap it all, I drew a Queensland Cricket business card out to cries of “FIX”.

The event was lovely. And, we've had a blinding day. But. Barmy. Ex Aus Test Batsman Andrew Symonds was sort of guest of honour come MC. The event kicked off with Andrew Symonds interviewing two American Professional Bull Riders. I'll let that sink in. England. Cricket Australia. Up country Queensland. Carrier Bag Firm. Free bar. Andrew “Roy” Symonds. Bull Riders. Americans. What a time to be alive.

Maybe now you'll understand why it was a tad difficult to concentrate on the Cricket. Malan has done himself favours with a 109. Broad was playing lap sweeps. Oh do come on. Hit him in The V. Woakes & Crane organised a nice 58 run partnership for the 10th. Mainly by not playing lap sweeps. It's not going to sound sensible. But, 515 felt underpowered from where we were. And then I felt, in between timed runs to the bar & raffle draws, that it got away from our bowlers a bit.

Great day though….

561/1186