GTA Zeebras Cricket Club

Our very own Brummie. After years of dominating the Warwickshire cricketing arena, Manny Pacquiao, disappeared into the wilderness. Back now for the mighty Striped Pants, I give you Shadow! More than capable with bat and ball, this wild cat loves propping up the bar and larking around. Be sure to see Shad O'Malley on our travels this season!! In his first season O'Malley put in some useful performances down the order and was very economical with the ball. On the social side O'Malley was odds-on to win the new award of 'Legend of the Year' but faded at the end and lost out to Steve Simmonds. Since his ill-fated tour where he went 8 (eight) hours home earlier then everyone else O'Malley's reputation has gone downhill rapidly after his hatred of gin came out and his love of women's coats. We will see what the 2010 season holds for the Jelle Klassen look-a-like.

One of the GTA Zeebra’s most improving stars. Mark has shown great improvement on and off the field. His management and success of working the whip money has bagged him the Treasurer role. He has also managed to overcome his fear of the cricket ball. Some might call him gay over his cricket ball fear we just call him Harry Hill. Being run out by one of team mates last year Mark has vowed to make 50 this year! (Please don’t mention the running out incident as it is still a sore point.)

Product of the spawn of Satan Steve ‘Angry Anderson’ Barclay is a mild version of the fallen angel, unless you put mint in his chilli sauce and not tell him. Steve is passionate about food (generally it’s all he thinks about) and a new addition to the Tavender real ale club. Steve shows drive and determination on the cricket ground but can easily be distracted by the tea. He has modestly vowed to average 50 by mid June.

Aluminum magnate Jim "Too Smooth" Booth is one of the most committed members of the side travelling a hundred miles for home games from his Cambridgeshire mansion. Self proclaimed ladies man Jim is more than profficient with both bat and ball, but unfortunately for the Zeebras hates playing cricket, prefering to spend time discussing the world with run run and the GTA Zeebra's WAGS. Suffers from the weekest arms in the world allowing him to bowl one over a season before his arm turns to jelly.

Northern Indie rocker Brookes made the longest of all journies to play 2 games in 2008, travelling from the delightful market town of Louth in Lincs. The former lethario is joining again this year in a move some may put down to trying to escape the new pleasures of co-habiting, especially as he has to deal with severe nose bleeds when travelling further some than Peterbrough. A true bumpkin his trickey swing bowling will make he a key addition to the club

Brother to the 'skip', Brucey currently lives off a reputation fostered by his elder sibling and one net session in a hampton school hall. His brother is hoping to keep him out of the team as long as possible as so not to be upstaged. Unfortunately (although not for his brother), he is not available until the middle of the season due to degree commitments at the University of Birmingham.

Getting his name from flying with the 633 squadron and deploying the bouncing bomb Bomber has been a marked member of the team. As a result of his RAF days he shows composure and restrain on the cricket field. Owning half of Cornwall Bomber also brings a natural talent to lead the minions when Skip is not present. Bomber has been the leading force in the composition of the club motto….. Churchill would have been proud and so will his newly born son.

Bob 'El Bandito' Gallagher is another new member this year. After making his first appearance at the Christmas Do and winning the Golf competition he also had the audacity to have a girlfriend with a cool name like Peggy drive him into london from Hemel! A clear sportsman Bob has shown a good eye for the ball and banter and will challenge Winky Thompson for the 6 and out trophy this year

Lights,camera...no action!The scene of last tour, for his bemused room buddies. The preparation was exquisite, the performance questionable!James 'Kleenex' Harris is a 'dab-hand' on the cricket field, showing the ability with the ball and the... pre-drinking! A great addition to the squad, our friendly 'Chubby Wanker' will be seen at the peak of physical fitness trundling in during the season, whether it's up to the crease or up to a bar!

A regular feature of the team and an avid supporter of the Chelsea scum! Graham aka Monkey will fly around the cricket ground like a chimp on the trapeze. This is usually due to the fact that he has scored a duck, 5 to be precise. Monkey captures the essence of the GTA Zeebras Cricket team with a story to tell and a joke to make. Be warned that once started on a story you could be there for a very long time. Monkey has also provided the team with their motto before the first ball was bowled in their first game.

The nicest man you will every meet, so nice he might play for the other team instead of his own if they look like they are struggling. Ben provides the team with extra coaching and training guidance, through the power of stars and planet alignments. This can take some time to achieve and generally the game is long gone before Ben has concluded what is needed for the team. Don’t touch him too often he may be radioactive.

The world's best dressed Teaching Assistant Gary will put his much younger new teammates (Some half his age) to shame with his athletic ability. He is actually able to say 'I was playing for Bogner Regis CC long before you were born Sonny'. Yet to turn out for the club he carries the burden of the future of the club, not him personally but his 10 year old son Daniel.

The most famous look-a-like in the whole team Ches has brought his cheeky boyish looks to rival McFarlene in the pulling stakes. His ability to pull when asleep will be a match for Mike's all contact is allowed approach. Ches rates himself as a specialist catcher which will make him a good addition to the clubs awesome feilding capabilities.

Although appearing to be a quiet and reserved sort of chap, it has been proven that looks can be deceiving. Steve, more commonly known as Gene, has slotted in to the GTA Zeebras successfuly. With his ability to score ducks and take wickets with full tosses, he has shown himself to be a fully fledged GTA Zeebra. His prowess on the dance floors of South West London is also something not to be missed. A Mike in the making perhaps?

Our resident thespian is another newcomer to the game. He offers unbounded potential in an aspect of the game yet to be discovered and if his enthusiasm is anything to go by he may just be able to take the Beered-up-wonders role next year. An aficionado of mens clothing he is looking forward to wearing and admiring a vast array of jock-straps this year. A true team player, I am sure that he will always be there if you need help arranging your box or a quick rubdown following a delivery that nips back into that most delicate of areas.

A vast improvement has been seen in his game in the early season nets with Shaggy now display one of the finest forward defensives since the great Bruce. This upturn in form must be in part down to his increased scoring ratio as main love interest at the local Am-Dram club.

A lover of corners in pubs Stocksy is a quiet but entertaining member of the team. At times Stocksy can have a dribbling problem, he blames his nerves, we blame the beer.
Stocksy has promised that this season he will wear proper cricket shoes on the pitch and not his converse trainers which may help him speed up his run rate which is rumoured to be slower than the skip. The team hopes to have more appearances this year as long as they don’t fall on one of his girlfriend’s four birthdays.

Tinker Tailor, or PT as he is known, is a very accurate medium pace bowler. When on his game he is almost unplayable, delivering ball after ball of perfect line and length. Dissappears early on most nights out due to his refusal to drink beer and insistance on necking half pints of Scotch. Had the highest proportion of Whip money spent on him last year.

One of the largest members of the team Run Run is not to be messed with. A fully qualified umpire he has proven to be of great value on the field and with the scoring wenches. Daniel is dedicated to the game and will sacrifice anything to help the team, body slamming in to the floor to take a catch is normal for him. Carrying a number of drinking related injuries it is unsure how many games Daniel will be take part in. Doctors have advised him not to undertake dance offs in clubs for a while. This is great news to his younger brother, who generally is put off by Daniels presence on the field.

Youngest of the Tavender brothers on the team, Tim has proven to be a star in the making. Without much tuition and practice Tim showed Mike just how to take wickets on tour. Ruck Ruck has also provided stimulating debates with the other Tavender members, none of which have ever got out of control! The reward for the safe return of his phone is still up for grabs, you know who you are as he gave it to you in a club to take a photo of himself!

Known as Billy or Winky to his friends, Billy has provided a more mature approach to the game. He has shown the club that as long as he is not playing for US he will score runs. People are beginning to think that Billy is being paid by the other cricket teams to sabotage our glowing record on the pitch. Billy also provides his father on occasions and Thompson senior has shown that he can actually take wickets, score runs for the Zeebras.