Ep 344: Sam Gaffney, Leanne Cox (December 22, 2011)

Rounds: Here.


Richard reveals that Sam plays indoor cricket, and asks why the indoor version specifically.  Sam lists a few of the advantages: It doesn't take very long; it never gets rained out; and you don't get sunburned playing it (which he asides is good for him, and as a similarly-complexioned person I can certainly relate to that).  He plays it a couple of times a week; Richard asks if it has a different feel to the outdoor game.  Sam notes a major difference that everyone gets to bat for four overs and bowl for two overs, so you don't get a duck and have to sit there watching everyone else for six hours.  It's much more participatory, as Richard puts it.

Challenging Sam tonight is Leanne Cox, a secondary maths and physics teacher.  (That's what Richard says, anyway... should that have been "secondary school"?  She teaches at Frankston High School, at any rate.)  Leanne has the rather unusual habit of counting letters in words, especially in long words; she admits that this makes reading books a particularly slow process.  She's quite quick at it by now, and Richard opines somewhat optimistically that it may help her in the game.  It's hard to see a direct connection, but such a habit will have made her pay more attention to words than most people, and that could plausibly make her more adept at manipulating them.


It's a close game tonight; Leanne gets the jump in the first round with a well-spotted eight, but Sam equalises in the next round.  Assisted by easy numbers rounds, thereafter it is level-pegging all the way to the conundrum; neither solves it, and a second conundrum is required.  Sam finds this one quickly, and is probably relieved to take the 67 to 57 victory.  Leanne certainly had chances -- most notably in round 4 -- and may perhaps consider herself a little unlucky; a score of 57 would be enough to win most games.

I was in better form tonight, just missing that initial eight but otherwise doing as well as possible.  That gave me a satisfactory winning margin, and puts my record against Sam at two games apiece.

As usual, details after the jump.