First up on the tour were Zamigos, a nomadic team with some history, at Kampong CC's home ground just outside of Utrecht. It was one of the best grounds I have played at, and one of the few non-Astro wickets in the country. I had been chosen to skipper, which was a first for me, and despite a thunderously quick opener (albeit not too accurate) the top five put on a defendable total of 209.

Toby, opening, scored 108*, confirming the thoughts of many for this being his rightful place in the order. Ahmed, coming in at three, though hitting an admiral 2 from 7 balls, also confirmed that he is most comfortable bagging red inkers from the number 11 position.

It was Ahmed and Aroon who won the game for us really. They got the two set batsmen out and finished with 6 wickets between them. The Zamigos' innings finished with a wicket for Mutz "don't even f**king encourage me yeah" Siddiqui. I hadn't really done too much at a sunny Utrecht, apart from being surprised by an impromptu speech from the opposition skipper, but had enjoyed every moment.

We were treated to some excellent food post game and crates upon crates of beer. It was a great start to a great tour which I think everyone enjoyed, even Reny's in laws who travelled a few hours to see him score a solitary run!

JS