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Isle of Man Tour to Spain 2006 ( sponsored by the STANDARD BANK ).

Saturday 30th September 2006:  Isle of Man  v  Spain  50 overs O.D.I. at La Manga Club

Result:  Isle of Man beat Spain by 5 wickets.

Spain skipper Graham Howe won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny day. Openers Adam Johnson and David Climent started well and added 64 before Johnson was caught by Pearce off Gareth Roome just before the drinks break for a hard hit 45. Wasim Khan was then caught at slip by Garrett off Gareth Morris. Climent and skipper Howe added 78 and at 149 for 2 with 13 overs to go a score in excess of 250 looked likely. However, the introduction of Graeme Garrett's off-spin changed things around when he had Howe caught by Morris for 20 and David Climent well held by Scott Pearce at long on for an excellent 74, both in his first over. Spain never really recovered from this double blow and only added 55 for the last 8 wickets to be all out for 204 with Garrett taking 3-27 and Scott Pearce 3-30.

In reply Peter Richards (31) and Jon Norrington (26) put on 64 for the first wicket before they both fell in quick succession. Max Stokoe went for 1 as did skipper Rob Webber and at 87-4 off 30 overs things were looking difficult. Gareth Morris was then joined by Graeme Garrett (25) in a crucial stand of 77 off less than 14 overs to give the Isle of Man a chance at 164-5 when Garrett was out to Khan. Scott Pearce joined Morris and they managed to take the score to 196-5 with one over to go. Needing 9 for victory Morris hit 2 two's before rocking back to pull the 4th ball of the over way over backward square led for a huge 6 and a superb win. Gareth Morris rightly took the man-of-the-match honours with a great 85 not out which included 4 fours and 4 sixes.

Sunday 1st October 2006: Isle of Man v Spain  50 overs O.D.I. at La Manga Club

Result:  Isle of Man beat Spain by 173 runs.

Following such a close win on Saturday against opponents who had finished 5 places above them in the ECC Affiliates Championships in Belgium last year the Isle of Man team wondered how they would fair on Sunday. The answer was the almost perfect game. Winning the toss and deciding to bat first in hot conditions the Isle of Man openers, Norrington and Richards, patiently put together a record stand of 125 off 35 overs before Richards was dismissed for 56 by Abbas. Gareth Morris then added a rapid 25 before falling to Sam Lupsom. Ollie Webster joined Norrington and they took the score to 194 when Norrington was lbw to Ben Fletcher for a well-judged 56. Ollie Webster then cut loose and brought up his 50 off just 26 balls before ending with 62 not out off 29. Graeme Garrett added 17 not out off just 5 balls and the Isle of Man were well pleased with a total of 258-4 off their 50 overs.

Setting out on a difficult run chase Spain were rocked by Scott Pearce who removed the dangerous Shafique Ali, Adam Johnson and skipper Graham Howe with just 10 on the board. Spain never recovered from this opening salvo and Pearce ( 5-25 ) and debutant Andy Sewell ( 5-22 ) ran through the batting order to dismiss the hosts for just 85 in 26.5 overs to win by 173 runs. This was  a near perfect performance from the Isle of Man team and ranks as one of their best ever results. Spain skipper Graham Howe was full of praise, giving full credit to the Island team for their excellent performance. Many thanks go to the Asociacion Espanola de Cricket officials, especially George Wambeek, for making these games possible. Many thanks also to Standard Bank for the sponsorship which made this tour possible.

Monday 3rd October: Island Select XI  v  La Manga CC  (  20/20 Match ).

Result: Island Select XI beat La Manga CC by 45 runs.

Monday saw the Island put out a Select XI to play La Manga CC in a 20/20 game. Batting first the Island Select struggled to 99-6 off 16 overs with young opener Andrew Turner from Crosby standing firm. Enter Ramsey's Chris McConnell who proceeded to hammer 45 off just 14 balls with 3 sixes before being caught at long-off.Garreth Roome then struck 24 off just 6 ballsto leave the final score at 159-7 off 20 overs with Andrew Turner running well and defying the heat to remain unbeaten on 36.

Chasing this daunting total the La Manga CC also reached 99-6 off 16 overs but they no answer to the "McConnell/Roome blast" and could only finish on 114-9, Shafique Ali top-scoring on 23. Ollie Webster ( 3-23 ) and Max Stokoe ( 2-8 ) were the pick of the bowlers as the Island Select won by 45 runs.

Tuesday 4th October: Island Select XI v Costa Blanca All Stars ( 45 overs per side ).

Result: Costa Blanca All Stars won by 5 wickets.

Tuesday's final friendly game saw an Island Select XI take on Costa Blanca All Stars who included players from La Manga CC, Mojacar CC and Isle of Man players Ollie Webster and Chris McConnell. The Island Select batted first and posted a creditable score of 213-6 off 45 overs. Christian Steripulos led the way with 52 and Pete Richards ( 36 ), Jon Norrington ( 32 ) and Gareth Morris ( 30 ) also contributed. Jim Rose took 2-19 while Matt Sherry put down a great 9 overs for just 11 runs. The All Stars lost a couple of early wickets before Neil Brook ( 16 ) and Matt Sherry ( 28 ) helped opener Shafique Ali to take the score to 133-4. Ollie Webster then joined Shafique and they added 66 in just 8 overs to the dismay of a tiring Island side before Ollie went for 29 including one of the biggest six hits of the week which ended up in a garden! Jim Rose and Shafique saw the All Stars home comfortably for a 5 wicket win in the 40th over with the popular Shafique completing a magnificent century to end on 104 not out with 7 sixes and 7 fours.

This brought to an end the Standard Bank sponsored tour to Spain on which the Island team gained valuable international experience and made valuable contacts. The squad enjoyed a wonderful 4 days at the La Manga complex and achieved much. Many thanks again to George Wambeek and his colleagues for all their hard work which resulted in us having a great time. Gracias, George. Thanks again to the Standard Bank whose generous help made the trip possible.