Match Report

Tour to Vis, Croatia

Cricket on the Dalmatian island of Vis has a long and illustrious (if spasmodic) history, dating back to the Napoleonic wars of the early nineteenth century. In 1810, Captain Sir William Hoste, a former midshipman under Nelson and one of the most talented naval captains of the time, was given charge of a small squadron of naval vessels to harass French and Italian shipping in the Adriatic, a role he fulfilled with considerable success from his base on the island of Vis (Lissa in Italian). On arrival in Vis, Sir William encouraged the playing of cricket around the harbour to keep his troops morale in good order between naval engagements, the first record of cricket played on an Adriatic island.

The following year, in 1811, Napoleon, apparently with a plan to attack the Ottoman Empire, determined to root out the annoying Brits, who were disrupting the traffic, sent a much larger fleet to take on Sir William. In March 1811, the two relatively small fleets met in the battle of Vis. Sir William, aboard his flagship, HMS Amphion, having hoisted the signal ‘Remember Nelson’ read the very light winds more clearly than his French counterpart, which put him at an advantage for the first exchange of gunfire. This swept the foredeck of the French flagship, the Favorite, clear of French sailors and, more importantly his opposite number and many senior French officers. The Favorite was sufficiently badly damaged to drift ashore on Vis and be totally lost.

Sir William’s flotilla sank another of the French ships and secured the surrender of a third. However, the perfidious French, realising that the small British squadron had also been significantly damaged in the exchanges, then pretended that they had not surrendered after all (terribly bad form at the time and subject to a prolonged exchange of letters, along the lines of “you cheated and we want our ship back”), and sailed back to the French base on the nearby island of Hvar. The surviving French crew, soldiers and sailors from the Favorite surrendered on Vis to a couple of midshipmen, left ashore to mind the fort, and a group of locals. It is not clear, if Sir William had been emulating Drake by playing cricket as the French approached.

The battle of Vis was instrumental in the beginning of the end for Napoleon, one of the last major naval engagements at sea under sail and is one of the more significant naval battles of which nobody has ever heard.

Sadly, cricket was discontinued following the departure of Sir William, but his signal to the flotilla ‘Remember Nelson’ is worn by players of the modern Sir William Hoste Cricket Club to this day.  However, the British were back on Vis during the Second World War, when it became a forward base for Fitzroy McLean supporting Tito and the Yugoslav partisans, against the occupying German forces.  A large airstrip was built on flat land in the south of the island to act as a forward base for British aerial support for the partisans and as an emergency runway for American bombers, who might not make it back to base in Italy. Senator George McGovern, who contested the presidential election in 1972, landed his B-24 Liberator bomber on Vis, an emergency landing from which his crew emerged unscathed, and for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is not recorded, as far as I am aware, if cricket was organised by Fitzroy Macean, while he was on the island.

Cricket returned to Vis in the early twenty first century as members of the Croatian diaspora began to come back to the island following the end of communism in the early nineties. One such was Oliver Roki, who returned from Australia in 2002, and built a cricket ground out of a vineyard and former helipad at Plisko Polje, at the western end of the WWII airstrip. Many of the current team are locals from the island.

Come the second half of the Vis season (no cricket in June, July and August, as the players are fully engaged during the peak of the tourist season and it is very hot), the matting wicket is surrounded by an outfield of bare but very stony earth with an alarming amount of thorny residue from the weeds, which had been mown and rolled. Diving in the outfield was not for the faint hearted. The ground is surrounded by olives, juniper, vines and Mediterranean pines, with an occasional fig, and features, Canterbury like, an olive tree within the boundary, under which lunch is served.  Set in a lovely rural location, the surroundings are home to swallows and buzzards, an array of butterflies, lizards rushing around the boundary and a multitude of ants in the outfield for whom cricketers must be a bit of a nuisance.  As we walked off at the end of our final game a Peregrine Falcon circled over the pines to the north

Our first opponents on tour were fellow (and regular) Vis tourists, the BBC Bushmen.  Another wandering club, founded in 1942 by members of the BBC at Bush House, some of their team were concerned to see a number of fit young men carrying cricket bags on to the ferry at Split on Thursday afternoon. Concern turned to alarm, when the Stragglers arrived at the ground wearing newly issued tour caps. These looked disconcertingly like MAGA caps, and the Bushmen now believed that they were about to play a group of fit, young athletes with some extreme political views. Fortunately, the only bit they got right was, for most, the ‘young’. A first night on tour, sampling almost every bar on Vis before being ejected in the early hours, does wonders for match fitness.

Facing an unusual format (a four innings T20), tour guide, Patch Mitchell won the toss and elected to bat, sending James Stabb and Benny Smallwood to build a sound foundation. This they achieved with a mix of audacious attacking shots and well-placed singles into the gaps.  It all come to an end, when a remarkable catch was taken at extra cover by Tom Roles (winner of the champagne moment for the match, a lot of money was riding on the ball) to send Benny (39) back to the pavilion.  Archie joined Stabber, who was now finding the boundary, but in doing so, pulled an important muscle in his groin and was less and less able to run.  Offered a runner, Stabber leapt at the chance, and in the next few balls, he, Archie and the next man, Kieran, played musical chairs.  Archie (17) was adjudged LBW, while failing to connect with a reverse sweep.  Kieran moved from runner to batsman, Archie now as runner.  The next ball Stabber (29) stepped uncertainly out of his crease and, missing the ball by a foot, he was never getting back.  He and Archie trooped off.  KP, sadly, did not last much longer, and his demise brought Charlie and Toby together for the beginnings of a run fest.  The score at the end of the 17^th over was a fairly modest 112 for 4.  Charlie (19) and Toby (34) applied some impetus, although both fell in the process, leaving Patch and Hugo to strike a boundary each and bring the first innings to a close on 158 for 6.

The Chairman and Hugo opened up for the Straggs, giving little away in the early exchanges but failed to make a breakthrough. Archie Brealy at first change found an edge with his first ball, tidily collected by George behind the stumps.  KP was also on, with his first couple of overs keeping the Bushmen on the back foot, the score a modest 51 for 1 at the half-way point. Kieran picked up a wicket and, just as number three began to take liberties with the change bowlers, Charlie induced a false sweep to KP at short fine – hard to keep him out of the game.  Hugo came back on for the final over and Toby took the first of two catches of the day off Hugo’s bowling, the Bushmen finishing on 135 for 4, and the Straggs going into the second innings with a 23-run advantage.  A substantial lunch of beer, meat, gnocchi and vegetables was enjoyed in the shade of the old olive tree within the boundary, the rules for which were not quite as complex as those for the trees at Street End.

Tom and George opened for the second innings, with very different fortunes. George hit a sumptuous boundary and was bowled immediately thereafter.  Tom began to hide balls in the vineyard and just couldn’t stop. His next partner was Mitch, and together they put on a mixed display of elegant stroke play and brutal hitting in a partnership of 133.  The only inconvenience was the regularity with which they hit the ball into the boundary juniper on the other side of the ground from the vineyard. It was well populated with brambles, making recovery something of a challenge.  Mitch (57) reached his half century and walked around one to be stumped. Hugo, hoping to build on his first innings ‘not out’ was promptly returned to base, and Toby arrived for a final flourish with Tom. The Bushmen bowlers were taking a pounding as Tom approached his ton, the second for Stragglers in a (sort of) T20 format, while Toby smashed his way to an undefeated 50*. Tom finished on 115*, an unbroken partnership of 93 in 30 balls, the total 236 for 3, and a target for the Bushmen to chase of 260.

The Bushmen openers came out with intent, punishing bad balls from KP and the Chairman.  The faint possibility of a shock was short-lived, with Hugo taking a hard-hit catch at mid-on to remove number one.  At the other end Pablo Smith was toying with Mitch’s slip cordon, guiding almost every ball wide of the cordon, or, as it became increasing packed, between the fielders.  On the odd occasion that the cordon became too intimate, Pablo unleashed a square cut to send Archie scampering to the boundary.  Also busy in the outfield (again) was KP, who was covering almost the whole of the leg side, both on the boundary and saving singles.  Finally, a meaningful partnership of 58 was brought to an end by George (2 for 33), who also managed to clean up Pablo for 65 and ended any possibility of a surprise.  Benny (2 for 17) and Hugo bowling left arm spin (2 for 9) now took advantage of the opening to run through most of the tail, the innings closing on 162 for 7, victory for the Stragglers by 97 runs.

Pablo Smith was presented with the Bushmen man of the match award for his determined and hugely entertaining resistance in the second innings.