Over the many decades, indeed centuries, that cricket has been played across the globe there have been far too many many memorable moments to record, some with the bat, some with the ball, some out in the field, and some in the changing rooms (“What happens in the changing rooms, …..”, as the cliche goes!). In searching through the Valley of Peace Cricket Club’s archives we came across an extreme example of field positioning by Team Boon, showing a degree of confidence that few other field settings can portray. “Intimidating” could well be the term but the more competitive types would proffer the use of “strategic” instead.
Team Boon stand out as having what’s become a dramatic & long-held tradition in the field. In the words of Scott Cartwright, “they start (every game) with this formation until the first run is scored; the person at 9th slip, who is usually the youngest player playing for them that day, has to field the ball where ever it goes in the field. They resume their normal positions after the first run has been scored. A terrific tradition that has been going over 20 years”.
Team Boon open the innings in their familiar field positions
Team Boon are not the only team to have colourfully spread themselves across the greater slip cordon over the decades, with 9th slip almost closer to the boundary than to the stumps! For example:
Damien Fleming bowling for Australia’s 50-over side vs the hapless Zimbabweans
Australian, Dennis Lillee’s familiar set field for all English batsmen
